Irene Dunne and Richard Dix in Cimarron (1931)

Corinne Calvet and John Carroll in Plunderers of Painted Flats (1959)

Can there even be a thing like 'nearly good B-pictures'? At first I wasn't so sure either. But after years of watching B-movies, more often than not I stumbled across a B-picture which I wouldn't exactly consider to be a good (or even brillant) one. On the other hand it didn't reach the absolute bottoms of z-grade moviedom that connoisseurs of this kind of pictures are used to either. It was simply a movie which, in terms of B-pictures, was competently done, had all those ingredients we love so much in this kind of movies, yes, possibly it was even done bad for all the right reasons. But nevertheless, it didn't click with me, didn't offer that special something which makes B-pictures so enjoyable. What you can expect on this list are B-pictures which are not bad per se, they are more like near misses which can still offer plenty for the B-movie fan. Especially if you are a fan of a certain subgenre, actor or whatever. So have fun browsing through the nearly, but not quite, good B-pictures of the 1940s.

If you're up to it, don't hesitate to leave a comment.

PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.

Lotus Long, Keye Luke, and Grant Withers in Phantom of Chinatown (1940)

Here's a list of films set in the Sooner state.

Harry Carey, Boots Mallory, and Bob Steele in Powdersmoke Range (1935)

All Genera: From silents to "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

Joe Besser and Jim Hawthorne in 'Fraidy Cat (1951)

Lorraine Miller and Bob Steele in Riders of the Rio Grande (1943)

Bette Davis, Jimmy Durante, Ann Sheridan, and Monty Woolley in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)

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