Subgenre Sampler

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That's Entertainment III (1994): Feat. June Allyson, Cyd Charisse, Lena Horne…; Starlets of the golden age recall their heyday and bring fresh insight to this third showcase of infectious musical highlights.
Big Business (1988): Dir. Jim Abrahams
Feat. Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Fred Ward…; Midler and Tomlin play sets of identical twins in this mixed–identity farce.
That's Dancing! (1985): Dir. Jack Haley, Jr.
Feat. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, James Cagney…; A compilation of splendid dance sequences from dozens of Hollywood films. Includes over fifty top dancers, with the best of the crop generally dating…
Staying On (1980): Dir. Silvio Narizzano
Feat. Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Saeed Jaffrey; Drama based on the award–winning novel by Paul Scott (The Jewel in the Crown), and reuniting BRIEF ENCOUNTER actors Celia Johnson and Trevor…
Chapter Two (1979): Dir. Robert Moore
Feat. James Caan, Marsha Mason, Valerie Harper; Neil SImon's hit play is competently adapted for the big screen. James Caan in a rare romantic role plays a man recently widowed who falls for a…
Hobbit, The (1977): Dir. Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jnr
Feat. Orson Bean, Richard Boone, John Huston…; A homebody demi–human in Middle Earth gets talked into joining a quest with a group of dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon.…
Boy in the Plastic Bubble, The (1976): Dir. Randal Kleiser
Feat. John Travolta, Glynnis O'Connor, Robert Reed; A cult telemovie starring John Travolta as an immune–deficient youngster with potentially fatal allergies, who has to exist in a sealed…
That's Entertainment II (1976): Dir. Gene Kelly
Feat. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Spencer Tracy…; A second helping of musical nostalgia, with Astaire and Kelly again hosting while also contributing a number of brand new dance numbers together.…
Dillinger (1973): Dir. John Milius
Feat. Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman…; A tough portait of the Depression–era bank robber that like BONNIE AND CLYDE, invests the criminal with the mythic qualities of the outlaw.…
Last American Hero, The (1973): Dir. Lamont Johnson
Feat. Jeff Bridges, Valerie Perrine, Geraldine Fitzgerald…; Jeff Bridges' mix of redneck roughness and choirboy sweetness is just right for this 1973 true story of a country kid running moonshine and making…
Bless This House (1972): Dir. Gerald Thomas
Feat. Sidney James; Sidney Carry–On James is the long–suffering head of a madcap household, whose constant tomfoolery cause him endless headaches; his…
Pocket Money (1972): Dir. Stuart Rosenberg
Feat. Paul Newman, Lee Marvin, Strother Martin…; Broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy gets mixed up in some shady dealings with a crooked rancher. Amiable comedy written by a pre–fame…
Dr Seuss - The Cat in the Hat (1971): Animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss' iconic children's story is a television classic in its own right, with script and musical direction overseen by the…
Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus (1971): Dir. Ian Macnaughton
Feat. John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam…; A particularly surreal later–Python, first released on German television. Features strange and often absurd English subtitles.
Plaza Suite (1971): Dir. Arthur Hiller
Feat. Walter Matthau, Maureen Stapleton, Barbara Harris…; Walter Mathau takes on three roles in this winning trilogy of one act plys by Neil Simon all set in the same hotel suite.
Skin Game (1971): Dir. Paul Bogart
Feat. James Garner, Louis Jr. Gossett, Susan Clark…; Beguiling comedy about a pair of con–artists who pose as master and slave to deceive unsuspecting rednecks in the post–civil war era.
Wild Rovers (1971): Dir. Blake Edwards
Feat. William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, Karl Malden…; Saddle–sore cowpunchers William Holden and Ryan O'Neal safeguard their retirement by bank robbery, then head for the Mexican border.…
Angel Levine, The (1970): Dir. Jan Kadar
Feat. Zero Mostel, Harry Belafonte, Ida Kaminska…; In order to earn his wings Belafonte must convince the embittered Mostel that life still has value. Gentle yarn gets by chiefly on the charm of the…
Baby Maker, The (1970): Dir. James Bridges
Feat. Barbara Hershey, Sam Groom, Scott Glenn; Somewhat ahead of its time, this portrays a middle–class American couple who pay a hippy woman to be a surrogate mother for a child.…
King Lear (1970): Dir. Peter Brook
Feat. Paul Scofield, Irene Worth, Jack MacGowran…; This could hardly miss with Shakespeare perennials Paul Schofield in the title role and director Peter Brook at the helm. A strong and rewarding…
Only Game in Town, The (1970): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Warren Beatty, Elizabeth Taylor; An aging showgirl stumbles into a clandestine affair with a brash young gambler. Based on a stage play by Pulitzer Prize winner Frank D. Gilroy.
Rabbit Run (1970): Dir. Jack Smight
Feat. James Caan, Carrie Snodgrass, Anjanette Comer…; James Caan stars in this adaptation of John Updike's acclaimed 1960 novel about a has–been basketball star who impulsively abandones his life…
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970): Dir. Hy Averback
Feat. Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, Suzanne Pleshette…; Tensions rise to boiling point between an Army base and a neighbouring redneck town in this off–beat satire.
There Was a Crooked Man (1970): Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda; Prison inmate Kirk Douglas matches wits with warden Henry Fonda in an attempt to escape. Curious mix of black comedy and melodrama.
Walk in the Spring Rain, A (1970): Dir. Guy Green
Feat. Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Hopkins; Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Hopkins conduct an illicit affair in their middle age. Romantic slush best enjoyed as unintentional comedy.
Where's Poppa? (Going Ape) (1970): Dir. Carl Reiner
Feat. George Segal, Ruth Gordon, Ron Leibman…; George Segal becomes determined to hurry along the demise of his ultra–demanding, super–senile 87 year–old mom (Ruth Gordon). Few…
Arrangement, The (1969): Dir. Elia Kazan
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Faye Dunaway; Advertising exec Kirk Douglas follows a mid–life suicide attempt with some desperate hi–jinks and a cry of rage at his hollow life.…
Cactus Flower (1969): Dir. Gene Saks
Feat. Goldie Hawn, Ingrid Bergman, Walter Matthau; Broadway adaptation won a supporting actress Oscar for Goldie Hawn, playing second fiddle to Ingrid Bergman for the love of dentist Walter Matthau.…
Charro (1969): Dir. Charles M. Warren
Feat. Elvis Presley, Ina Balin, Victor French; An Elvis curiosity which (mis)casts him in a dramatic Western. An unintentional hoot.
Colour of Pomegranates (Color of Pomegranates) (1969): Dir. Sergei Paradjanov
Feat. Sofiko Chiaurel, Melkon Aleksanyan, Vilen Galstyan; A visually exquisite, at times baffling film from the much–censored Armenian director. Retells the life of 18th century mystic poet Sayat Nova…
Phantom Tollbooth, The (1969): Dir. Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow; Young lad Butch Patrick gets a ‘magic tollbooth’ which transports him into the crazed animated world of Chuck Jones (Bugs Bunny), whose…
Scream and Scream Again (1969): Dir. Gordon Hessler
Feat. Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee; Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee all turn in for this Hammer mad–doctor–creates–super–being yarn.
Virgin Soldiers, The (1969): Dir. Norman Cohen
Feat. Lynn Redgrave, Hywel Bennett, Nigel Davenport…; Comdey–drama following a squad of naive young British soldiers in 1950's Singapore who fall for the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major.
Charly (1968): Dir. Ralph Nelson
Feat. Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala…; Child–minded Cliff Robertson has experimental brain–surgery, but his resulting super–intellect proves a mixed blessing. Credible,…
Milky Way, The (1968): Dir. Luis Bunuel
Feat. Paul Frankeur, Laurent Terzieff, Alain Cuny…; Bunuel experiments with narrative in relating theories of traditional Catholicism to the encounters of two wandering vagrants.
Petulia (1968): Dir. Richard Lester
Feat. Julie Christie, George C. Scott, Richard Chamberlain; Peculiar relic from the late 60s, a radical studio pic – anti–narrative, bizarre angles, hip dialogue, contentious themes, Frisco…
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The (1968): Dir. Ronald Neame
Feat. Maggie Smith, Robert Stephens, Pamela Franklin…; Schoolteacher at a private girls school, Maggie Smith grooms and instructs her pupils with a passionate sense of vocation, unfortunately making more…
Anniversary, The (1967): Dir. Roy Thomas Baker
Feat. Bette Davis, Jack Hedley, James Cossins…; Bette Davis sinks her fangs into the role of domineering widow, lording it over three spineless sons at her annual get–togethers. While firmly…
Blood Beast Terror, The (1967): Dir. Vernon Sewell
Feat. Peter Cushing; In Victorian rural England, Peter Cushing's murder enquiries uncovers a beastly weremoth and the gruesome experiments of a crazed entymologist.
Caprice (1967): Dir. Frank Tashlin
Feat. Doris Day, Richard Harris, Michael J. Pollard; Madcap comedy features Day as a spy for a cosmetics company who stumbles upon a drug smuggling ring. Richard Harris plays a fellow agent who may or…
Castle of the Walking Dead (The Torture Chamber Of Dr. Sadism) (1967): Dir. Harald Reinl
Feat. Christopher Lee, Lex Barker, Karin Dor; The blood runs thick for its vintage in this variation on Poe's Pit and the Pendulum in which a Count is drawn and quartered for killing twelve…
Madigan (1967): Dir. Don Siegel
Feat. Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda; Possibly the last film in which cops and crooks dress in snappy fedora hats and dark coats, a craggy Richard Widmark plays the addled NY Inspector…
Oedipus Rex (1967): Dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini
Feat. Silvana Mangano, Franco Citti, Alida Valli; Striking visual achievement, filmed amidst the Moroccan desert and Bologna, describes the Oedipal tale of a tortured soul who murders his father and…
Poor Cow (1967): Dir. Ken Loach
Feat. Carol White, Terence Stamp, Malcolm McDowell; Striking the tone of much of his subsequent work, Ken Loach's debut film gives a semi–documentary edge to the story of 'poor cow' Carol White,…
Before the Revolution (1966): Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci
Feat. Adriana Asti, Francisco Barilli; Bertolucci's second film – made at the age of 22! – demonstrates his bravura visual style fully formed around this coming of age in the…
Few Dollars for Django (1966): Dir. Leon Klimovsky
Feat. Antonio De Teffe, Gloria Osuna, Frank Wolff; Imitation spaghetti–Western, several times removed from the Sergei Leone/Clint Eastwood model, let alone Franco Nero's original 'Django'.…
Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966): Dir. Don Weis
Feat. Nancy Sinatra, Boris Karloff, Tommy Kirk…; Seventh and final in a loose series of 'Beach Party' movies, featuring Nancy Sinatra and an ageing Boris Karloff.
Guerre Est Finie, La (1966): Dir. Alain Resnais
Feat. Yves Montand, Ingrid Thulin, Genevieve Bujold…; (The War is Over). Deeply romantic film in which Spanish Civil War refugee Yves Montand tries in vain to keep alive the memory of his struggle.
Island of Terror (1966): Dir. Terence Fisher
Feat. Peter Cushing; Peter Cushing stars in this Hammer sci–fi tale about cancer research gone awry.
Tobruk (1966): Dir. Arthur Hiller
Feat. Rock Hudson, George Peppard, Guy Stockwell…; This WW2 desert actioner is about the activities of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), who ran commando raids against Rommel and his Afrika…
Walk, Don't Run (1966): Dir. Charles Walters
Feat. Cary Grant; During the Tokyo Olympics, an American athlete shares an apartment with an amorous distraction and a wealthy businessman. Breezy comedy marks Cary…
Die, Monster, Die (1965): Dir. Daniel Heller
Feat. Boris Karloff, Freda Jackson, Nick Adams…; Enjoyable Lovecraft adaptation, featuring an older Boris Karloff going nuts in the greenhouse.
Duel at Diablo (1965): Dir. Ralph Nelson
Feat. Sidney Poitier, James Garner; Violent, off–beat Cowboys–and–Indians conflict successfully revives the formula. With Sidney Poitier, and James Garner in a sober…
Greatest Story Ever Told, The (1965): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Max von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Robert Loggia…; Not the greatest movie ever made, however one might get a kick out of spotting all the famous faces in this reverant, picturesque epic about the life…
Inside Daisy Clover (1965): Dir. Robert Mulligan
Feat. Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Ruth Gordon; Curious account of the rise and fall of a starlet in 30s Hollywood has improved with age thanks to off–kilter performances from Natalie Wood as…
Mickey One (1965): Dir. Arthur Penn
Feat. Warren Beatty, Hurd Hatfield; A young Warren Beatty plays as an entertainer who assumes a new identity to flee growing debts to the mob, and search for meaning in his life. French…
Nanny, The (1965): Dir. Seth Holt
Feat. Bette Davis, Wendy Craig, Jill Bennett; Bette Davis' stoney ambivalence is well employed in this Hammer production as the malevolent/misunderstood minder of a disturbed child who has been…
Othello (1965): Dir. Stuart Burge
Feat. Laurence Olivier, Derek Jacobi, Maggie Smith…; Laurence Olivier transposes his stage performance of Othello for the screen with able supporting cast.
Outlaws Is Coming, The (1965): Dir. Norman Maurer
Feat. Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Joe De Rita; In their last comic feature, the Three Stooges don cowboy hats for a slapstick romp in the Wild West.
She (1965): Dir. Robert Day
Feat. Ursula Andress; A scantily–clad Ursula Andress commands attention in this Hammer exotica as the love–starved eternal queen seeking reincarnation of her…
Simon of the Desert (1965): Dir. Luis Bunuel
Feat. Silvia Pinal, Claudio Brook; A short surrealist fantasy concerning the life of Simon Stylites (Claudio Brook), an early Christian ascetic, who stood for years atop a column in…
Dead Ringer (1964): Dir. Paul Henreid
Feat. Bette Davis; Enjoyable, high camp star vehicle for Bette Davis who is driven by jealousy to murder her twin sister in order to assume her identity. Bette, of…
Hamlet (1964): Dir. Grigori Kozintsev
Feat. Innokenti Smoktunovsky; The legendary Russian version of Shakespeare's play, which visually at least, stands as the greatest yet. Staged amidst the massive battlements of…
Nothing but the Best (1964): Dir. Clive Donner
Feat. Alan Bates, Denholm Elliott, Harry Andrews; Ruthless real estate agent Alan Bates grubs and grafts a way upwards, out of his working–class background and into the snobbish…
Roustabout (1964): Dir. John Rich
Feat. Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck; Relatively pleasing Elvis Presley vehicle. The King joins a carnival run by Barbara Stanwyk.
Secret Invasion, The (1964): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney…; Expedient actioner is a rare, unsensational Roger Corman flick about British intelligence using criminals behind enemy lines in WW2 Yugoslavia.
Thin Red Line, The (1964): Dir. Andrew Marton
Feat. Keir Dullea, Jack Warden; First version of James Jones' war–novel (later redone by Terrence Malick), chronicles the US invasion of Guadalcanal during WWII in grim B&W,…
Empty Canvas, The (La Noia) (1963): Dir. Damiano Damiani
Feat. Bette Davis, Horst Buchholz, Catherine Spaak; Unsuccessful painter Buccholz falls for a young model who spurns his love and drives him to both ruin and his overbearing mother. Based on the novel…
Fugitive, The (TV Series) (1963-1967): Feat. David Janssen; David Janssen is Dr. Richard Kimble, an innocent man accused of murder who escapes prison to track down his wife's killer. Long–running TV…
Gidget Goes to Rome (1963): Dir. Paul Wendkos
Feat. Cindy Carol, James Darren; Cindy Carol as Gidget #2 strays miles from the beach in this affable enough sequel that doesn’t quite have the spontaneous charm of Sandra Dee and…
Girl with Green Eyes (1963): Dir. Desmond Davis
Feat. Peter Finch, Rita Tushingham; Rewarding 'kitchen sink' drama about an ill–fated attraction between a young girl and a married writer. Peter Finch and Rita Tushingham are the…
Heavens Above (1963): Dir. John Boulting
Feat. Peter Sellers; Frightfully British satire of life in the clergy saved from 'Carry–On' status by Peter Sellers' winning performance.
Lilies of the Field (1963): Dir. Ralph Nelson
Feat. Sidney Poitier; Helping to repair a chapel for a convent of German nuns and rewarded with an Oscar for Best Actor, this sees Sidney Poitier giving one of his quieter…
Live it Up! (Sing and Swing) (1963): Dir. Lance Comfort
Feat. David Hemmings; Low–budget, but historically fascinating musical wraps some great mid–60s pop music around its slender plot. Hemmings plays a…
Prize, The (1963): Dir. Mark Robson
Feat. Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer; Paul Newman plays an alcoholic writer in Stockholm to collect his Nobel Prize who drunkenly stumbles upon an overly complicated spy plot.
Siege of the Saxons (1963): Dir. Nathan Juran
Feat. Ronald Lewis, Janette Scott, Ronald Howard; Costume action, with a cartoonish quality, set in a post–King Arthur Britain.
Brain, The (1962): Dir. Freddie Francis
Feat. Anne Heywood, Peter Van Eyck, Bernard Lee…; A well–meaning doctor keeps alive the brain of a sadistic millionaire who gradually compels him to carry out his evil requests. Well directed…
Courtship of Eddie's Father, The (1962): Dir. Vincente Minnelli
Feat. Glenn Ford, Ron Howard, Shirley Jones; Wholesome family comedy, wherein widower Glenn Ford is prodded into romance by his six–year son Ron Howard (who went on to become the…
L-Shaped Room, The (1962): Dir. Bryan Forbes
Feat. Leslie Caron; Defining slice of gritty Brit realism tackles the issue of pregnancy outside marriage with considerable pathos. French girl Leslie Caron crosses the…
Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962): Dir. Sidney Lumet
Feat. Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards Jr.…; Faithful and masterful adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's play about family life, love and losers drinking and tearing each other apart in leafy New…
Madame (1962): Dir. Christian-Jaque
Feat. Sophia Loren, Robert Hossein; Rags–to–riches tale set in Napoleonic France mirrors the real life of its Italian bomb–shell star, Sophia Loren.
Night of the Eagle (Burn, Witch, Burn) (1962): Dir. Sydney Hayers
Feat. Peter Wyngarde, Janet Blair, Margaret Johnston; A successful academic (Peter Wyngarde) plumbs a prime teaching post at an English village idyll, causing a flurry of petty jealousies among the…
Pity Me Not! (Without Each Other) (1962): Dir. Saul Swimmer
Feat. Tony Anthony, Anne Hegiba, Saul Swimmer; A trapeze artist has the unfortunate duty of informing the wife of a fellow performer that her husband has been crushed by an elephant.
Saint, The (TV Series) (1962): Feat. Roger Moore; The role of Simon Templar enabled a young Roger Moore to perfect the savvy quips that would mark him as a natural choice for James Bond. Also…
Three Stooges in Orbit / Meet Hercules (1962): Dir. Edward Bernds
Feat. Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe De Rita; Two features in which the three kings of slapstick are propelled into space with hostile Martians, and visit ancient Rome via a time machine.
Wrong Arm of the Law, The (1962): Dir. Cliff Owen
Feat. Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins…; Hilarious comic spoof, in which a gang of Australian thieves is pursued by Scotland Yard and criminal underworld alike. Peter Sellers is at the…
Z Cars (TV Series) (1962): Feat. Brian Blessed, Joseph Brady; Three episodes of the vintage British police series including the very first story.
Awful Dr. Awloff, The (1961): Dir. Jess Franco
Feat. Howard Vernon; Deranged doctor Howard Vernon collects skin–grafts for his disfigured daughter, in a Spanish makeover of Franju's 'Eyes Without A Face'. A…
Days of Thrills and Laughter (1961): Dir. Various
Feat. Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charles Chaplin…; The third in Robert Youngson's trilogy of definitive compilations of silent comedy, this time with swashbuckling action to match the outrageous…
Intruder, The (I Hate Your Guts) (1961): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. William Shatner, Leo Gordon; The only Corman film ever to lose money is not surprisingly perhaps his best. William Shatner excels as a small–time drifter who preaches the…
Two Rode Together (1961): Dir. John Ford
Feat. James Stewart, Richard Widmark, Shirley Jones; Overlooked Jimmy Stewart and Richard Widmark starrer with the master of the genre at the helm.
Hercules Unchained (1960): Dir. Pietro Francisci
Feat. Steve Reeves; Representative Italian ‘Hercules’ in which Steve Reeves flexes himself on an epic journey to Thebes.
Horror Hotel (The City of the Dead) (1960): Dir. John Moxey
Feat. Christopher Lee; A search party ventures to Salem county after an occult student disappears under mysteriously witchy circumstances. Eerie photography.
Long and the Short and the Tall, The (1960): Dir. Leslie Norman
Feat. Richard Todd, Laurence Harvey, Richard Harris…; A taut WW2 drama, based on a stageplay, set around a dysfunctional British patrol caught out behind enemy lines in Burma. Hinging on the treatment…
October Man, The (1960): Dir. Roy Ward Baker
Feat. John Mills, Joan Greenwood, Edward Chapman…; Atmospheric pot–boiler in which John Mills plays an amnesiac accused of murder who fights to prove his innocence, apprehend the murderer and…
Platinum High School (1960): Dir. Charles Haas
Feat. Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore, Dan Duryea…; Mickey Rooney overheats in investigating his son's death at a military academy. Casting quirks includes singer Conway Twitty.
Rise and Fall of 'Legs' Diamond, The (1960): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Ray Danton, Karen Steele, Elaine Stewart…; A professionally–shot thriller about the career of New York gangster Jack 'Legs' Diamond, who rose to prominence in the 1920s and maintained…
Song Without End (1960): Dir. Charles Vidor, George Cukor
Feat. Dirk Bogarde, Genevieve Page, Capucine…; Pleasant biopic of the great composer Franz Liszt which despite focusing mostly on his love affairs does boast a terrific score. This was Charles…
Sundowners, The (1960): Dir. Fred Zinnemann
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov…; Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr play a devoted couple in 1920s Australia who come to a crossroads over their gypsy lifestyle. Affectionate saga about…
Tall Story (1960): Dir. Joshua Logan
Feat. Jane Fonda, Anthony Perkins; A young Jane Fonda makes her screen debut in this candy–coated comedy as a bubbly co–ed with romantic yearnings for basketballer Anthony…
Thirteen Ghosts (1960): Dir. William Castle
Feat. Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow; A nuclear family inherit a house haunted by a dozen ghosts of various colourful guises and some hidden stash. Trademark William Castle…
When Comedy Was King (1960): Dir. Various
Feat. Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel…; Second anthology of priceless silent comedy from complier Robert Youngson features excerpts from the likes of Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy,…
World of Suzie Wong, The (1960): Dir. Richard Quine
Feat. William Holden, Nancy Kwan; Aspiring artist William Holden courts the Chinese prostitute of the title (Nancy Kwan) in 1950s Hong Kong. Lukewarm dramatically, but with some…
Al Capone (1959): Dir. Richard Wilson
Feat. Rod Steiger, Fay Spain, James Gregory…; Rod Steiger is a belligerent Scarface in this throwback to the 30s gangster films.
Beyond the Time Barrier (1959): Dir. Edgar G. Ulmer
Feat. Robert Clarke; An astronaut on a space mission is unwittingly catapulted into a plague–ridden Earth of 50 years into the future. Inriguing low–budgeter…
Danger Within (1959): Dir. Don Chaffey
Feat. Richard Attenborough; In an Italian POW camp in WW2, 400 plan to escape but one plans to betray. Can you spot the traitor? Richard Attenborough leads the cast of suspects.
FBI Story, The (1959): Dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Feat. James Stewart, Vera Miles, Murray Hamilton…; This official ‘biopic’ of the FBI, seen through the eyes of career agent James Stewart from 1924 to the late 1950s, has sturdy…
Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959): Dir. Edward L. Cahn
Feat. Henry Daniell; Beware–the–family–curse is the theme in this low–budget take on Orville H. Hampton's tale about a family whose members are…
Girls Town (1959): Dir. Charles Haas
Feat. Mamie Van Doren, Mel Torme, Paul Anka…; Wayward teen Mamie Van Doren is sent to a girls' home after being ratted out by 'greaser' Mel Torme. Loaded with rock'n'roll.
Horrors of the Black Museum (1959): Dir. Arthur Crabtree
Feat. Michael Gough, Shirley Anne Field, Geoffrey Keen…; Well–acted Hammer horror about a writer who uses his hypnotised helper to commit a series of inventively gruesome killings.
Horse Soldiers, The (1959): Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers; Set around a Yankee incursion into Rebel territory during the American Civil War, this rates about average against Dir. Ford's other action films. …
Manster, The (1959): Dir. George P. Breakson
Feat. Peter Dyneley; An American correspondent in Japan becomes an unwitting human guinea pig while trying to get the scoop on the work of a reclusive scientist. His…
Summer Place, A (1959): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue…; Lush melodrama set on a remote isle with the two couples of different generations trapped in romantic asides and anxieties.
World of Apu, The (1959): Dir. Satyajit Ray
Feat. Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty; Final installment of the 'Apu trilogy' sees the complexities of adulthood painfully and euphorically realised for Apu through ambition, marriage and…
Young Philadelphians, The (1959): Dir. Vincent Sherman
Feat. Paul Newman, Barbara Rush; Engaging drama with Paul Newman as an attorney of dubious background who defends an affluent friend in a murder trial while hussling his way into the…
Kings Go Forth (1958): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood; Frank Sinatra and Tony Curtis are comrades in arms who fight over Natalie Wood, but her mixed heritage arouses their bigotry instead.
Magician, The (The Face) (1958): Dir. Ingmar Bergman
Feat. Max von Sydow; Bergman's allegorical self–portrait of a controversial travelling magician who exacts revenge on a cynical doctor, but becomes trapped in his…
Marjorie Morningstar (1958): Dir. Irving Capper
Feat. Gene Kelly, Natalie Wood; Would–be actress Natalie Wood gives up her Jewishness and independence to get ahead in this mild adaptation of Herbert Wouk's novel.
Quatermass and the Pit (TV Series) (1958): Dir. Nigel Kneale
Feat. Andre Morell, Cec Linder, Anthony Bushell; The third in the landmark trilogy of serials involves Professor Quatermass in the excavation of an ancient alien–insect capsule in London, and…
Return of Dracula (1958): Dir. Paul Landres
Feat. Francis Lederer; Coinciding with Hammer studios revival of the Transylvanian count, this commendable effort has a long–in–the–tooth Francis Lederer…
Some Came Running (1958): Dir. Vincente Minnelli
Feat. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Shirley Maclaine…; Frank Sinatra gives an affecting, lowkey performance as soldier returning from WW2 to pick up his writing career again. Effective representation…
Brothers Karamazov, The (1957): Dir. Richard Brooks
Feat. Yul Brynner, Maria Schell, Claire Bloom…; A sumptuous Hollywood version of Dostoyevsky's classic novel of Czarist Russia. Centred around Karamazov (Cobb) and his four disparate offspring,…
Golden Age of Comedy, The (1957): Dir. Various
Feat. Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Ben Turpin…; Perfect introduction to the world of silent comedy, this is the first of three celebrated compilations from cinephile Robert Youngson. Hailed as…
Saint Joan (1957): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Jean Seberg, Richard Widmark, John Gielgud…; Colourized version of the Joan of Arc story with Jean Seberg in her acting debut.
She-Creature, The (1957): Dir. Edward L. Cahn
Feat. Marla English, Tom Conway, Chester Morris…; A sideshow hypnotist attains fame by predicting murders that are actually carried out by his lovely assistant, under his hypnotic spell. Slow yet…
Spirit of St. Louis (1957): Dir. Billy Wilder
Feat. James Stewart; Jimmy Stewart embraces the pioneering spirit of Charles Lindberg in this lovingly detailed biography of the first man to cross the Atlantic.
Stopover Tokyo (1957): Dir. Richard L Breen
Feat. Joan Collins, Robert Wagner; Familiar spy story uses exotic locales to best advantage.
Thunder Over Hawaii (Naked Paradise) (1957): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Richard Denning, Beverly Garland; Corman drive–in melodrama exploits a Hawaiian setting and the sensuous Beverly Garland for a tale of savage passion, kidnapping, and robbery of…
Anastasia (1956): Dir. Anatole Litvak
Feat. Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner; Refugee peasant Ingrid Bergman is compelled by Yul Brynner to impersonate the legendary 'lost' Russian princess. All–round high production…
Bad Seed, The (1956): Dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Feat. Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones; A taut, gripping drama about a spoilt, psychotic child who has murdered her classmate. The juicy dialogue and Patty McCormack's wicked performance…
Female Jungle (1956): Dir. Bruno VeSota
Feat. Lawrence Tierney, Jayne Mansfield, John Carradine; Lawrence Tierney, in a rare leading role, plays a hard–drinking cop who puzzles over a nightclub murder encumbered with a 'hangover'. Careful…
Forever Darling (1956): Dir. Alexander Hall
Feat. Lucille Ball, James Mason, Desi Arnaz; The unique talents of Lucille Ball is the strongest aspect of this 'dysfunctional marriage' comedy, starring James Mason as her Guardian Angel. Ball…
Hollywood or Bust (1956): Dir. Frank Tashlin
Feat. Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin; Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin try to crash the Hollywood lifestyle, in frenzied style.
Lone Ranger, The (1956): Dir. Stuart Heisler
Feat. Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Lyle Bettger…; Modest but proficient movie spinoff from the popular 1950s TV series, with the masked one (Moore) and Tonto (Silverheels) taking on a rancher who is…
Plucking the Daisy (Mademoiselle Striptease) (1956): Dir. Roger Vadim
Feat. Brigitte Bardot, Roger Vadim; One of the Brigitte Bardot/Roger Vadim light comedies that relies on Bardot's charms rather more than the simple story of a smalltown woman who is…
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955): Dir. Charles Lamont
Feat. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello; An interesting 'Abbott and Costello' where the duo, circa 1914, take refuge from crooks by hiding in the Mack Sennett studios and end up…
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955): Dir. Charles Lamont
Feat. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor; One of the better films in the 'Abbott and Costello' series, sees the bumbling duo wrapped up in the intrigue surrounding the excavation of The…
Big Combo, The (1955): Dir. Joseph H. Lewis
Feat. Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy; Late period film noir borders on parody, with light and dialogue straight out of some parallel universe. Untouchables–style story has some…
Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Joan Collins; Glossy account of a truelife scandal in early 20th century NYC.
Gunsmoke (TV Series) (1955): Feat. James Arness; James Arness plays Marshal Matt Dillon protecting Dodge City from roaming gunslingers in this seminal TV show – the Grandaddy of TV…
I Died A Thousand Times (1955): Dir. Stuart Heisler
Feat. Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin…; Enjoyable remake of High Sierra that benefits from a fantastic cast and a rousing finale. Look for a young and uncredited Dennis Hopper.
Kismet (1955): Dir. Vincente Minnelli
Feat. Howard Keel, Ann Blyth; An Arabian–Nights style musical, with Howard Keel attempting to woo wicked wizar's wife Ann Blyth.
Land of the Pharaohs (1955): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Jack Hawkins, Joan Collins, Dewey Martin; High–camp spectacle about treachery in ancient Egypt during the building of the great Pyramid has procured something of a cult following, with…
Long Gray Line, The (1955): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Donald Crisp; Engrossing true life tale of military instructors Marty Maher and his rise to the top of his profession.
Picnic (1955): Dir. Joshua Logan
Feat. Kim Novak, Cliff Robertson, William Holden…; Epitome of the 50s smalltown melodrama has the sultry Kim Novak relieved of boyfriend Cliff Robertson and the general Mid–West tedium, by…
Queen Bee (1955): Dir. Ranald MacDougall
Feat. Joan Crawford; Archetypal glamour–bitch Joan Crawford is deliciously hammy as a compulsive socialite who brings destruction to an blue–blooded Southern…
Tight Spot (1955): Dir. Phil Karlson
Feat. Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith…; Tense crime melodrama in which Ginger Rogers is persuaded by attorney Edward G. Robinson to testify against her gangster boyfriend.
Violent Men, The (1955): Dir. Rudolph Mate
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Glenn Ford, Edward G. Robinson…; Barbara Stanwyck, Glenn Ford and Edward G. Robinson transform a standard conflict of the land into a notable diversion.
Broken Lance (1954): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters…; King Lear loosely transposed as a gripping Western melodrama with proud yet stubborn patriarch Spencer Tracy at odds with his ungrateful sons over…
Desiree (1954): Dir. Henry Koster
Feat. Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons; Marlon Brando plays a young Napoleon whose first romance, with Desiree Clay (Jean Simmons), is strained when he is swept into the cut–throat…
Long, Long Trailer, The (1954): Dir. Vincente Minnelli
Feat. Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz; Gallivanting in an enormous RV across America, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz journey to disaster in this winning slapstick comedy. The classic TV…
Rin Tin Tin (TV Series) (1954): Feat. Lee Aaker, James Brown, Joseph Sawyer; Two episodes from the TV series about the eponymous Alsation's adventures at a cavalry outpost.
Romeo and Juliet (1954): Dir. Renato Castellani
Feat. Laurence Harvey, Susan Shentall, Mervyn Jones…; An Italian co–production, this version benefits from magical locations in Verona and Venice and the sumptuous Renaissance–influenced eye…
Sleeping Tiger (1954): Dir. Joseph Losey
Feat. Dirk Bogarde; Suave street–crim Dirk Bogarde is sheltered by one of his victims, a psychiatrist who attempts to cure Bogarde's 'illness'. Shot with a baroque…
Student Prince, The (1954): Dir. Richard Thorpe
Feat. Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, John Ericson…; Taken from the operetta by Sigmund Romberg, and the third filmed version of the tale of a young Prince breaking out into the real world by falling in…
Who Done It? (1954): Dir. Basil Dearden
Feat. Benny Hill; A young Benny Hill nudges and winks his way through his only feature film, as a novice private eye who gets involved with foreign spies.
Young at Heart (1954): Dir. Gordon Douglas
Feat. Frank Sinatra, Doris Day; Slick musical with Frank Sinatra wooing Doris Day, while trying to make it as a singer.
Beggar's Opera, The (1953): Dir. Peter Brook
Feat. Laurence Olivier; Initially a commercial failure, this energetic romp through John Gay's 18th century ribald opera has since been critically acclaimed. In his first…
Bigamist, The (1953): Dir. Ida Lupino
Feat. Edmond O'Brien, Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino…; A San Francisco adoption agency, investigating salesman Edmond O'Brien and wife Joan Fontaine, discover he has a second life, and wife, in LA.…
Captain's Paradise (1953): Dir. Anthony Kimmins
Feat. Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo, Celia Johnson; Nautical romp with captain Alec Guinness paying the price of having a wife in two ports – sultry Yvonne De Carlo and a genial Celia Johnson.
Dangerous When Wet (1953): Dir. Charles Walters
Feat. Esther Williams; Musical starlet Esther Williams gets to do what she does best as an athlete who attempts to swim the English channel. Highlight is a subterranean…
Knights of the Round Table (1953): Dir. Richard Thorpe
Feat. Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer…; Sumptuous retelling of the legends of Camelot was MGM's first Cinemascope production. Tayloris excellent as Lancelot while Ava Gardner is inspired…
Life of Oharu (1953): Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
Feat. Kinuyo Tanaka, Toshiro Mifune; The prolific, though rarely seen dir. Mizoguchi came to attention with this chronicled downfall of a court–concubine in 17th century Japan,…
Lion Is in the Streets, The (1953): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. James Cagney, Barbara Hale; Political parable based on Southern governor Huey Long stars James Cagney as the populist peddler–turned–politico who yields to…
Titanic (1953): Dir. Jean Negulesco
Feat. Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner…; The infamous maritime disaster goes down here in grand Hollywood style, reflecting the onboard marital downswing of Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyk.…
Deadline U.S.A. (1952): Dir. Richard Brooks
Feat. Humphrey Bogart; Tightly scripted account of the newspaper business. Editor–in–Chief: Humphrey Bogart.
Gentle Gunman, The (1952): Dir. Basil Dearden
Feat. Dirk Bogarde, John Mills; Dirk Bogarde and John Mills are Irish brothers sent to London by the IRA during the Blitz, but one succumbs to pacifism.
Ghost Ship (1952): Dir. Vernon Sewell
Feat. Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, Hugh Burden…; Small–budget supernatural yarn with a uniquely British flavour about a couple that purchase a haunted yacht.
Ivanhoe (1952): Dir. Richard Thorpe
Feat. Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine…; Boisterous Middle–Ages spectacular featuring brutal action scenes.
Jumping Jacks (1952): Dir. Norman Taurog
Feat. Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin; The comic duo of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin make an unlikely pair of paratroopers.
Lili (1952): Dir. Charles Walters
Feat. Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer; Fairytale–like story of Leslie Caron's amorous adventures in a carnival is swimming in charm, whimsical songs and 'circus–type'…
Love Nest (1952): Dir. Joseph M. Newman
Feat. Marilyn Monroe; Unremarkable comedy about nosey neighbours in a broken–down apartment block, one of whom is Marilyn Monroe.
Pat and Mike (1952): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy; Athlete Katharine Hepburn pursues track triumphs with the aid of coach Spencer Tracy. Hepburn–Tracy coupling runs like a well–oiled…
Phone Call from a Stranger (1952): Dir. Jean Negulesco
Feat. Bette Davis; Fine acting, from Bette Davis among others, lifts story of aircrash survivors coming together.
Prisoner of Zenda, The (1952): Dir. Richard Thorpe
Feat. Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, James Mason…; Second version of Anthony Hope's archetypal swashbuckler, sees King of Ruritania Stewart Granger deposed by his half–brother and…
Scaramouche (1952): Dir. George Sidney
Feat. Stewart Granger; Stewart Granger is Sabatini's swashbuckling anti–hero who champions the French revolution armed with razor saber and a quiver of tomfoolery. A…
Scared Stiff (1952): Dir. George Marshall
Feat. Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin; Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin make a ‘spooktacle’ of themselves in this version of Paul Dickey and Charles Goddard’s Broadway hit.
Summer with Monika (1952): Dir. Ingmar Bergman
Feat. Harriet Andersson; Early Bergman turns his lens on a pair of working class, teenage lovers. At first this rebellious holiday boat ride comes across as dreamy escapism…
We're Not Married (1952): Dir. Edmund Goulding
Feat. Marilyn Monroe, Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen…; Overlooked Marilyn Monroe starrer is a multi–episode comedy in which six married couples find out their weddings weren't legitimate.
What Price Glory? (1952): Dir. John Ford
Feat. James Cagney, Dan Dailey, Corinne Calvet; Soldiers James Cagney and Dan Dailey take time out from the trenches of WWI for some zesty romantic rivalry over local attraction Corrinne Calvet.
As Young As You Feel (1951): Dir. Harmon Jones
Feat. Marilyn Monroe; A young Marilyn Monroe has a support role in this affable corporate satire about a printing employee who won’t sit still for retirement. Based on a…
Green Grow the Rushes (1951): Dir. Derek Twist
Feat. Richard Burton, Honor Blackman, Roger Livesey…; Minor comedy, of the English variety, set in a brandy–soaked Kent village.
On Dangerous Ground (1951): Dir. Nicholas Ray
Feat. Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond…; Grimly rewarding noir, with real–life tough guy Robert Ryan in one of his best roles. As a cop helping with a protracted rural manhunt, he…
Blue Lamp, The (1950): Dir. Basil Dearden
Feat. Dirk Bogarde, Patrick Doonan, Jack Warner; A confident, precisely–judged thriller set in post–war London, with feral petty–crooks Dirk Bogarde and Patrick Doonan being hunted…
Enforcer, The (1950): Dir. Bretaigne Windust
Feat. Humphrey Bogart; Gripping, well–characterized crime drama leads D.A. Humphrey Bogart into the seedy underworld to trail the leader of a notorious murder ring.
Flame and the Arrow, The (1950): Dir. Jacques Tourneur
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Nick Cravat; Middling, though colourful medieval epic with Lancaster leading as a 'Robin Hood' who leads the peasants of Lombardy into a revolt against the local…
Gone to Earth (1950): Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Feat. Jennifer Jones, David Farrar, Cyril Cusack; Marvellous Technicolor evocation of the rustic Welsh border–country, set around Jennifer Jones’ entry into the world of passionate desire and…
Kim (Rudyard Kipling's Kim) (1950): Dir. Victor Saville
Feat. Errol Flynn, Dean Stockwell, Paul Lukas…; Adventure based on the classic Rudyard Kipling novel of the same name, set during the British Raj in India, where the orphan of a British soldier…
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950): Dir. Gordon Douglas
Feat. James Cagney, Ward Bond, Luther Adler; Hard gangster flick about an escaped con who blackmails, betrays and murders his way through a robbery scam. Hits the mark with a great script and…
Magnet, The (1950): Dir. Charles Frend
Feat. Stephen Murray, Kay Walsh, James Fox; After tricking a school–chum out of a toy magnet, an 11yr–old James Fox gets the guilts and resolves to 'do good'. Quirkily…
Men, The (1950): Dir. Fred Zinnemann
Feat. Marlon Brando, Teresa Wright, Everett Sloane…; Famous as Marlon Brando's film debut, playing a paraplegic war veteran struggling to come to terms with post–war life. Brando's smouldering…
Petty Girl, The (1950): Dir. Nat Perrin
Feat. Constance Cummings; Robert Cummings stars in this comedy–musical as an artist who causes a scandal through his choice of model.
Stromboli (1950): Dir. Roberto Rossellini
Feat. Ingrid Bergman; After his neo–realist masterpieces, this is one of the dir.'s best films, concerning a WW2 refugee who hastily marries an Italian fisherman and…
Summer Interlude (1950): Dir. Ingmar Bergman
Feat. Maj-Britt Nilsson, Birger Malmsten, Alf Kjellin; Perhaps Bergman's first significant work, about an aging ballerina who reflects on a youthful romance with her now–deceased lover in moody…
Three Secrets (1950): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Eleanor Parker, Patricia Neal, Ruth Roman; Three women exchange handkerchiefs and spill their secrets while awaiting news of their children after a plane crashes. You may need the tissues…
Wagon Master, The (1950): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Ben Johnson; Pioneering saga starring Ben Johnson. A personal favourite of its director.
Caught (1949): Dir. Max Ophuls
Feat. Robert Ryan, Barbara Bel Geddes, James Mason; Noir–melodrama hybrid has half–mad millionaire Robert Ryan (a role based on Howard Hughes), wrapping Barbara Bel Geddes in the coils of a…
Champion (1949): Dir. Mark Robson
Feat. Kirk Douglas; Kirk Douglas is sensational as a hot–blooded prize–fighter who winds up hurting himself after alienating the friends and family who aided…
It's a Great Feeling (1949): Dir. David Butler
Feat. Jack Carson, Dennis Morgan, Doris Day…; Soft–edged Hollywood satire with Jack Carson, Denny Morgan and Doris Day on the path to success. Notable for its great array of show–biz…
Ladies of the Chorus (1949): Dir. Phil Karlson
Feat. Marilyn Monroe; Modest musical burlesque has the distinction of giving Marilyn Monroe her first sizeable role.
Love Happy (1949): Dir. David Miller
Feat. Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Marilyn Monroe; Final Marx Bros. comedy, is a downbeat entry, with a brief scene with Marilyn Monroe.
Man on the Eiffel Tower, The (1949): Dir. Burgess Meredith
Feat. Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Burgess Meredith…; Solid early outing for Inspector Maigret has Laughton in the iconic role pursuing a murderer against some splendid Parisian locales.
Mighty Joe Young (1949): Dir. Ernest B. Schoedsack
Feat. Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong…; Worthy successor to KING KONG, reunites many of the cast and crew, with a compellingly different slant on the 'Giant Ape' premise. Here, Armstrong…
My Friend Irma (1949): Dir. George Marshall
Feat. Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin; Clown–prince Jerry Lewis first teamed with Dean Martin in this airheaded comedy based on a hit CBS radio–show.
Quartet (1949): Dir. Ken Annakin, Arthur Crabtree, Harold French
Feat. Dirk Bogarde, Basil Radford, Honor Blackman; Four W Somerset Maugham stories are given exemplary treatment by the best of British, incl. Dirk Bogarde, Basil Radford and Honor Blackman. Unlike…
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949): Dir. Allan Dwan
Feat. John Wayne; Popular WWII saga with John Wayne as a tough Sarg, spurring his troops on in the Pacific.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948): Dir. Charles Barton
Feat. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi…; One of the best of the 35 features A&C made between 1940 and 1956 sends up those golden–age monster mashes with winning gags and detailed…
Blanche Fury (1948): Dir. Marc Allegret
Feat. Valerie Hobson, Stewart Granger, Michael Gough…; Gothic melodrama set around a sombre English country estate, soon to be home to upwardly–ambitious Valerie Hobson. When her secret lover…
Fort Apache (1948): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Shirley Temple; The first film of Ford's cavalry trilogy tells of a maverick martinet (Henry Fonda) at odds with his peers and the Injuns. Followed by SHE WORE A…
Jungle Jim (1948): Dir. William Berke
Feat. Johnny Weissmuller; Johhny Weissmuller's follow–up role to Tarzan, as similiarly styled jungle adventurer, with companion chimpanzee.
Macbeth (1948): Dir. Orson Welles
Feat. Orson Welles, Jeanette Nolan, Roddy McDowall; An expressionistic version of Shakespeare’s Scottish play, with Welles in the title role. Shot quickly and on the cheap, this is notoriously…
Portrait of Jennie (1948): Dir. William Dieterle
Feat. Joseph Cotton, Jennifer Jones, Ethel Barrymore…; An exquisite flight of fantasy, in which starving–artist Joseph Cotton is visited upon by an otherworldly Jennifer Jones. Dazzling photography…
Rachel and the Stranger (1948): Dir. Norman Foster
Feat. William Holden, Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum; Western 'rom–com' with husband William Holden and 'stranger' Robert Mitchum competing for the affections of Loretta Young ('Rachel') towards…
Three Musketeers, The (1948): Dir. George Sidney
Feat. Gene Kelly, Lana Turner; An inventive and high–spirited version with duels presented like musical numbers.
Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, The (1947): Dir. Irving Reis
Feat. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple…; Playboy bachelor Cary Grant is ordered by Judge Myrna Loy to escort her teenage sister (Shirley Temple), so that the ‘bobby–soxer’ might…
Body and Soul (1947): Dir. Robert Rossen
Feat. John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, William Conrad…; Vital companion–piece to FORCE OF EVIL with John Garfield again lined up for the fall, as a naive, get–ahead young boxer whose propensity…
Brighton Rock (1947): Dir. John Boulting
Feat. Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell; One of the coolest British crime flicks sees Richard Attenborough give an attention–grabbing portrayal of a delinquent gang leader who wants…
Dark Passage (1947): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall; Smokey Bogie and Bacall noir thriller in which his convicted murderer flees prison and changes his face to prove his innocence. The first third is…
Farmer's Daughter, The (1947): Dir. H.C. Potter
Feat. Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore…; Congressman Joseph Cotton's maid, Loretta Young, decides to run against him in the next election. A perceptive comedy that won an Oscar for Young.
Guilt of Janet Ames (1947): Dir. Henry Levin
Feat. Rosalind Russell; Rosalind Russell plays an anguished WW2 widow who comes to terms with her husband's death by confronting the five men he saved in a heroic but fatal…
Last of the Redmen (1947): Dir. George Sherman
Feat. Jon Hall, Michael O'Shea; Economy–sized take on the Last Of The Mohicans story.
Red House, The (1947): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Lon McCallister, Dame Judith Anderson…; A man dares to unlock the mystery of the red house in the thick of the woods. Music, photography and Edward G. Robinson in a spooky key role combine…
Sin of Harold Diddlebock, The (Mad Wednesday) (1947): Dir. Preston Sturges
Feat. Harold Lloyd; Harold Lloyd’s last film transplants his go–getting character from the silent film ‘The Freshman’ into the rather different comic…
Two Mrs Carrolls, The (1947): Dir. Peter Godfrey
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Alexis Smith; Bogie plays the baddie in this tense psychodrama – a mad artist who paints his female models before killing them. Barbara Stanwyk is the latest…
Beast with Five Fingers (1946): Dir. Robert Florey
Feat. Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre; Psychological horror with Peter Lorre hamming it up as only he can when spooked and stalked by the severed hand of a maddened pianist.
Bedlam (1946): Dir. Mark Robson
Feat. Val Lewton, Boris Karloff, Anna Lee…; Meticulous though a trifle tame Val Lewton (CAT PEOPLE) production frequents the drawing rooms and asylums of 18th century London. Boris Karloff is…
Captive Heart (1946): Dir. Basil Dearden
Feat. Michael Redgrave, Rachel Kempson, Frederick Leister…; An exciting story of POWs in WWII Germany. Michael Redgrave gives an acclaimed performance as a Czech prisoner masquerading as a British officer.
Cloak and Dagger (1946): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Gary Cooper; Fritz Lang spruces up this WWII spy thriller in which Gaz Cooper takes on the the Nazis.
Dreams That Money Can Buy (1946): Dir. Hans Richter; A luckless artist who sets up business as a merchant of dreams is the plot device that allows the cream of European Avant–Garde – Max…
Duel in the Sun (1946): Dir. King Vidor
Feat. Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten…; Brothers Gregory Peck and James Cotton feud over the family ranch and legacy. Lauded by the likes of Martin Scorsese for its visual splendour, this…
Humoresque (1946): Dir. Jean Negulesco
Feat. Joan Crawford, John Garfield; Elegant drama features Joan Crawford in a towering performance as wealthy patron who falls in love with a gifted musician. A masterpiece of the…
Paisa (1946): Dir. Roberto Rossellini
Feat. Carmela Sazio, Robert Van Loon, Benjamin Emmanuel; Six short films focusing on the minor victories and losses of ordinary folk during WW2. Pioneering the now–familiar use of documentary footage,…
Spiral Staircase, The (1946): Dir. Robert Siodmak
Feat. Dorothy McGuire, Ethel Barrymore; This creaky staircase descends into a spooky mansion of cantankerous matriarchs, mute nymphettes, 'weak' stepsons and impending murder. Dated, yes,…
Woman in Green, The (1946): Dir. Roy Neill
Feat. Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce; Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce play the definitive Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, in this updated (to the 40s) version of the original Conan Doyle…
Body Snatcher, The (1945): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi; Quietly creepy Val Lewton production with Boris Karloff as a sinister grave robber who provides bodies for medical research and then blackmails the…
Diary of a Chambermaid (1945): Dir. Jean Renoir
Feat. Paulette Goddard; Chambermaid Paulette Goddard upsets an aristocratic household brimming with secrets and intrigues. One of Renoir's early Hollywood pictures.
Rhapsody in Blue (1945): Dir. Irving Rapper
Feat. Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith…; George Gershwin's life and work is given a good glossing over from Hollywood, but the magical music keeps things sprightly for over two hours.
Seventh Veil, The (1945): Dir. Compton Bennett
Feat. James Mason, Ann Todd; Renowned film serves up psychiatry in bite sized chunks as a concert pianist is cured of her complexes by a shrink intent on fixing her up with the…
Tonight and Every Night (1945): Dir. Victor Saville
Feat. Rita Hayworth; Rita Hayworth starring musical about a London nightclub during the war which despite bombings and blitzes, never skips a beat.
Wonder Man (1945): Dir. Bruce Humberstone
Feat. Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen…; A typically zany fairy–tale for Danny Kaye, as a mild–mannered student persuaded by the ghost of his dead twin to seek out his murderer.…
Cover Girl (1944): Dir. Charles Vidor
Feat. Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers…; Sheer energy and razzamatazz compensate for the rampant cliches of this Rita Hayworth/Gene Kelly dance–musical, set in the world of magazine…
Fighting Sullivans, The (1944): Dir. Lloyd Bacon
Feat. Anne Baxter, Edward Ryan; Early telling of the true story that inspired SAVING PRIVATE RYAN about five brothers who served in WWII (in reality, at Guadacanal).
Passage to Marseille (1944): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre; Distinguished by the use of flashbacks within flashbacks, this WW2 propaganda piece re–unites the director with CASABLANCA alumnae.
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944): Dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Feat. Spencer Tracy, Robert Mitchum, Robert Walker; True life WW2 story about the first American air raids on Japan with Spencer Tracy and Robert Mitchum in his leading debut.
Torment (Hets) (1944): Dir. Alf Sjoberg
Feat. Stig Jarrel, Alf Kjellin, Mai Zetterling…; Impressionistic study of authoritarian education and adolescent love was scripted by a young Ingmar Bergman, and its universe of cruel twists and…
Uncertain Glory (1944): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Errol Flynn, Paul Lukas, Lucile Watson; Wartime romance with Flynn playing French criminal Jean Picard who vows to make the ultimate sacrifice, only to fall in love.
White Cliffs of Dover, The (1944): Dir. Clarence Brown
Feat. Elizabeth Taylor, Roddy McDowall, Irene Dunne…; Patriotic sentiment up full–bore, this extended saga of English–American fraternising over both World Wars, has Irene Dunne and family…
Air Force (1943): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. John Garfield; Persuasive propaganda piece focusing on the crew of a B–17 bomber, quite thrilling in the hands of director Hawks.
Edge of Darkness (1943): Dir. Lewis Milestone
Feat. Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston…; Taut account of Resistance activities in Norway during WWII, has extra–good camerawork of Erroll Flynn, Ann Sheridan and Walter Huston in some…
Lulu Belle (1943): Dir. Leslie Fenton
Feat. Dorothy Lamour, George Montgomery, Albert Dekker; Montgomery leaves his fiancee to take up with disreputable night club singer Lulu Belle. Almost forgotten musical is mostly of interest for it's…
Desperate Journey (1942): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan; Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan are stranded Allied pilots who flee the clutches of the Nazis in Boy's Own WW2 propaganda film.
Dr Seuss (TV Series) (1942-1994): Dir. Various; The classic children's books in their animated television versions. On tape and disc: "Best of..." containing three Dr Seuss tales – ‘Horton…
Eternel Retour, L' (1942): Dir. Jean Delannoy
Feat. Jean Marais, Madeleine Sologney, Yvonne de Bray…; (Love Eternal) A contemporary take on the legend of Tristan and Isolde, lovers united after death. Jean Cocteau's script is realised with the…
Journey into Fear (1942): Dir. Norman Foster
Feat. Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Rio, Orson Welles…; Hitchcockian suspenser set around an American engineer's adventures in WW2 Turkey. Loaded down with a maze–like plot (written by star Joseph…
Kings Row (1942): Dir. Sam Wood
Feat. Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, Ann Sheridan…; Celebrated and infamous melodrama of the titular smalltown, a seemingly placid American community, around which insanity, poverty and sadism hover…
Les Visiteurs Du Soir (1942): Dir. Marcel Carne
Feat. Arletty, Marie Dea, Fernand Ledoux…; Two of the Devil's henchmen are dispatched to a fairytale–like 15th century castle with an eye to corrupting its inhabitants, especially a pair…
Magnificent Ambersons, The (1942): Dir. Orson Welles
Feat. Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Dolores Costello; Following up CITIZEN KANE, Orson Welles again drew a bead on the American rich, chronicling the dynastic squabbles of a…
Native Land (1942): Dir. Leo Hurwitz, Paul Strand; Impassioned and authentic, this landmark film call for social revolution in Depression–era America blends vivid re–anactments with actual…
One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942): Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Feat. Eric Portman, Bernard Miles, Hugh Williams; Brisk war–thriller about how a six man British aircrew must find their way back to England across the Occupied Netherlands. Raised above the…
Random Harvest (1942): Dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Feat. Ronald Colman, Greer Garson; A shell–shocked WW1 officer marries and is contented until he remembers his past life in the aristocracy. Far–fetched but very enjoyable…
Road to Morocco (1942): Dir. David Butler
Feat. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour; Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour do their bit for the war effort by enchanting the public with mad–cap (rom)antics on the North African…
Secret Weapon, The (1942): Dir. Roy Neill
Feat. Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill…; Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce play the definitive Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, in this updated (to the 40s) version of the original Conan Doyle…
Spy Smasher (1942): Dir. William Whitney
Feat. Kane Richmond, Sam Flint, Marguerite Chapman; Wartime serial adapted from the comic strip has twin brothers protecting democracy from the needle–nosed Nazi spys. 12 instalments on one…
Blood and Sand (1941): Dir. Rouben Mamoulian
Feat. Tyrone Power, Rita Hayworth; Steamy romantic tragedy with Tyrone Power as an accomplished but naive matador whose bull–ring heroics take a back–seat for brazen Rita…
Blossoms in the Dust (1941): Dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Feat. Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Marsha Hunt; Campaigner for orphans–rights Greer Garson frets and furrows her brow to perfection in this slick, high–minded weepie.
Devil and Miss Jones, The (1941): Dir. Sam Wood
Feat. Charles Coburn, Jean Arthur; Tycoon Charles Coburn goes undercover to investigate union activities, and instead falls for shopgirl Jean Arthur. Well–regarded social comedy.
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941): Dir. Alexander Hall
Feat. Claude Rains; Memorable romantic fantasy in which a none–too–bright boxer is killed in a plane crash before arch–angel Claude Rains sends him…
High Sierra (1941): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino; Crucial role that steered Humphrey Bogart towards more sympathetic anti–heroes, here playing a prison escapee/gangster facing the end with Ida…
I Wake Up Screaming (1941): Dir. Bruce Humberstone
Feat. Betty Grable; Betty Grable tackles a dramatic role for this exciting whodunnit surrounding the murder of her sister. Quality film noir with a surprise twist in its…
Little Foxes, The (1941): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall; Masterful period drama adapted from a stageplay by one the great directors. Bette Davis is in brilliant form as Regina, the scheming matron…
Penny Serenade (1941): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Cary Grant, Irene Dunne; Cary Grant and Irene Dunne adopt a infant, then lose it, in a brilliantly crafted tear–jerker.
Woody Woodpecker and Friends (1941): Classic cartoons from the Walter Lantz archive, featuring the iconic woodpecker and stablemates Chilly Willy, Andy Panda, Swing Symphonies and Oswald…
You'll Never Get Rich (1941): Dir. Sidney Lanfield
Feat. Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, John Hubbard…; Generally amusing showbiz comedy has Fred Astaire play a star Broadway dancer who helps his boss (Benchley) out of trouble with his wife over a…
Angels Over Broadway (1940): Dir. Ben Hecht, Lee Garmes
Feat. Douglas Jr. Fairbanks, Rita Hayworth; Off–beat melodrama about three of life's failures who redeem themselves in one night's gambling in a New York cafe.
Brother Orchid (1940): Dir. Lloyd Bacon
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sothern…; Low–key but interesting star vehicle for Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart with the big guy playing a has–been gangster who joins a…
Long Voyage Home, The (1940): Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter…; John Wayne is a Swedish sailor aboard a doom–ridden tramp steamer circa. WWII, in this portmanteau of four stories by Eugene O'Neill. An…
Our Town (1940): Dir. Sam Wood
Feat. Frank Craven, William Holden, Martha Scott; Affectionate study of small–town American life, set in New Hampshire over a twelve year period. Frank Craven narrates our tour of the community…
Return of Frank James (1940): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Jackie Cooper; Worthy sequel to JESSE JAMES with Henry Fonda reprising his role of Frank, now out to avenge the death of his brother.
Road to Singapore (1940): Dir. Victor Schertzinger
Feat. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour; The first of half a dozen 'Road to' films has Bing Crosby and Bob Hope as clowning, crooning rivals vying for the affections of Dorothy Lamour.
Shop Around the Corner, The (1940): Dir. Ernst Lubitsch
Feat. James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Frank Morgan…; One for the pantheon of romantic–comedy this, directed by the illustrious Ernst Lubitsch (of the famed 'Lubitsch touch') and excelling in its…
Westerner, The (1940): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan; Gary Cooper stars in accomplished Texan yarn concerning land disputes. Most impressive, though, is Walter Brennan in an Oscar–winning…
Dark Eyes of London (Human Monster; Dead Eyes of London) (1939): Dir. Walter Summers
Feat. Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt; Weirdly atmospheric chiller has Bela Lugosi using his blind disciples as pawns in an elaborate murder/insurance scam.
Intermezzo (1939): Dir. Gregory Ratoff
Feat. Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, John Halliday; Sweetly sentimental love story sees unhappily married violinist Leslie Howard fall for his protegee Ingrid Bergman.
Jour Se Leve, Le (Daybreak) (1939): Dir. Marcel Carne
Feat. Jean Gabin, Arletty; A renowned example of 'poetic realism', Jean Gabin gives another consummate performance as a doomed anti–hero. His tragic story is told in…
Three Musketeers, The (1939): Dir. Allan Dwan
Feat. Don Ameche, The Ritz Brothers; Early musical rendering with a dashing Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers.
Adventures of Marco Polo, The (1938): Dir. Archie Mayo
Feat. Gary Cooper, Basil Rathbone, George Barbier…; Chronicles the numerous exploits of the famed explorer, played by Gary Cooper. More light–hearted than the usual swashbuckler.
Boys Town (1938): Dir. Norman Taurog
Feat. Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney; Bittersweet weepie in which Spencer Tracy won an Oscar as a priest who develops a school for delinquents with a knee–high Mickey Rooney as his…
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1938): Dir. Roy Del Ruth
Feat. Judy Garland, Robert Taylor, Eleanor Powell; Splendidly lavish "Show Musical", where a flimsy storyline is but an excuse to launch the brilliant dancing talents of Eleanor Powell. Also included…
Dawn Patrol, The (1938): Dir. Edmund Goulding
Feat. Errol Flynn, David Niven; Errol Flynn and David Niven play ace fighter–pilots in a tense action/drama set during WWI.
Good Earth, The (1938): Dir. Sidney Franklin
Feat. Paul Muni, Luise Rainer; Pearl S. Buck's epic novel is given the proud, grand and serious treatment by Hollywood. The tale told is about greed and gain amongst Chinese…
Great Waltz, The (The Life of Johann Strauss) (1938): Dir. Julien Duvivier
Feat. Fernand Gravey, Luise Rainer, Lionel Atwill; The lIfe story of Johann Strauss is given a rich if somewhat corny treatment in this otherwise well–mounted musical biopic.
Hurricane, The (1938): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall; A doomed South Seas romance between islander natives, provides the melodramatic prelude to an awesome special f/x typhoon. Vintage Hollywood…
I Accuse (J'Accuse) (1938): Dir. Abel Gance
Feat. Victor Francen, Line Noro, Marie Lou; Dir. Gance’s own remake of his 1919 silent classic, in which a soldier traumatised by the slaughter of WWI attempts to prevent future…
Marseillaise, La (1938): Dir. Jean Renoir
Feat. Pierre Renoir, Lisa Delamare, Leon Larive…; Renoir's classic depicts events leading up to the French revolution in the 18th Century, electing to extract history from the heart of the common…
Elephant Boy (1937): Dir. Zoltan Korda, Robert Flaherty
Feat. Sabu, Walter Hudd, Allan Jeayes; Docu–drama based on Rudyard Kipling's novel about government elephant hunters in the British Raj, helped by an Indian boy (debut for Sabu).…
Kid Galahad (1937): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart…; A potent prize–fighting movie with room for some romantic asides and weighty egos.
Knight Without Armour (1937): Dir. Jacques Feyder
Feat. Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat, Herbert Lomas…; Visually sumptuous tale of Russian Countess Marlene Dietrich fleeing the 1917 Revolution with the help of Robert Donat. Dir. Feyder made his name as…
Life of Emile Zola, The (1937): Dir. William Dieterle
Feat. Paul Muni; The great French 'naturalist' writer is the subject of this appropriately epic biopic, with Paul Muni giving a signature performance in the title…
Maytime (1937): Dir. Robert Z. Leonard
Feat. Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, John Barrymore; Love affair between opera soprano and two–bit singer in Paris. An exemplary Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy musical.
Oh! Mr Porter (1937): Dir. Marcel Varnel
Feat. Will Hay; One of the best British comedies of the 1930s, this predates Ealing in its winning blend of whimsy, slapstick and inventiveness. Will Hay plays a…
Stella Dallas (1937): Dir. King Vidor
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles; Definitive family melodrama in which Barbara Stanwyck compels as the social–climbing Stella, ultimately driven to painful self–knowledge…
Wee Willie Winkie (1937): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Shirley Temple, Victor McLaglen; Charming adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's adventure story, with young Shirley negotiating between the British army and Afghani rebels.
Dimples (1936): Feat. Shirley Temple, Frank Morgan, Robert Kent; Shirley Temple musical set in the New York Bowery, where the young lass helps her pickpocket grandfather., Soon however her musical talents come to…
Jacques Tati Shorts (1936): Dir. Jacques Tati; Three rare short comedies for those that can't get enough of the French funnyman. Watch your Left! (1936), School for Postmen (1947), and Evening…
Pennies from Heaven (1936): Dir. Norman Z. McLeod
Feat. Bing Crosby; Bing Crosby vehicle sees the showman protecting a little girl from the big bad school system.
Rembrandt (1936): Dir. Alexander Korda
Feat. Charles Laughton; Vignettes from the life of the great 17th century painter whose popularity sharply regressed after he painted 'The Nightwatchmen'. Charles Laughton…
San Francisco (1936): Dir. W.S. Van Dyke, D.W. Griffith
Feat. Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy; Outstanding chronicle of old Frisco, climaxing with great FX earthquake. Stars Clark Gable, amid all star cast .
Swing Time (1936): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers; A fine example of Fred and Ginger's magical screen partnership, their sixth together, weaving the music of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, into…
Dangerous + Hell's House (1935/32): Dir. Alfred Green, Howard Higgin
Feat. Bette Davis; Bette Davis in two early roles – her lead performance as a star–turned–alcoholic in DANGEROUS fetching her the first of two Best…
Annie Oakley (1935): Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Melvyn Douglas…; Sharpshooter Barbara Stanwyck joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for friendly rivalry with resident top gun Preston Foster. A romantic–comic…
Barbary Coast (1935): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Edward G. Robinson…; Set as far out west as a Western can go – San Fransisco, circa the 1850s gold–rush days. Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea are two…
Crime and Punishment (1935): Dir. Josef von Sternberg
Feat. Edward Arnold, Peter Lorre, Marian Marsh; Modest adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel about a criminology student turned murderer who becomes tortured with remorse.
David Copperfield (1935): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. W.C. Fields; Top–line Hollywood–ization of the Dickens classic.
Informer, The (1935): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Victor McLaglen; Stunning character study unfolds when an IRA leader is sold out by his dim–witted friend for reward money. Full–blooded acting by all was…
Le Crime De Monsieur Lange (1935): Dir. Jean Renoir
Feat. Rene Lefevre, Florelle , Jules Berry; One of the dir.’s early classics. Rene Leferve rises to newsprint fame as the author of the serial “Arizona Jim” after his boss, a…
Little Colonel, The (1935): Dir. David Butler
Feat. Shirley Temple; One of Shirley Temple's best vehicles is set in the Deep South, with young Shirl attempting to patch–up her grandparent's broken marriage.
Naughty Marietta (1935): Dir. W.S. Van Dyke
Feat. Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy; The first vehicle for onscreen singing duo Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy – both hugely popular in their day – is a rehash of an…
She Married Her Boss (1935): Dir. Gregory La Cava
Feat. Claudette Colbert; Pleasant romantic comedy stars Claudette Colbert, who just may regret her marital decision.
Tale of Two Cities (1935): Dir. Jack Conway
Feat. Ronald Colman; A model screen adaptation of a classic novel. Script and spectacle are in perfect accord to tell Charles Dickens' story of courage and honour in 18th…
Tarzan and His Mate (1935): Dir. Cedric Gibbons
Feat. Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Neil Hamilton…; Johnny Weissmuller returns in what is widely considered the best of the Tarzan series, with first–rate production values, stunts and Maureen…
Whole Town's Talking, The (1935): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur, Arthur Hohl…; Edward G. Robinson stars in a duel role as a meek office clerk who bares a resemblance to Public Enemy Number One. Entertaining mix of farce and…
Cleopatra (1934): Dir. Cecil B. DeMille
Feat. Claudette Colbert, Warren William; Claudette Colbert stars as the sultry Roman Empress in this baroque De Mille version. Most noted for the lavish barge scene and some startling action…
Merry Widow, The (1934): Dir. Ernst Lubitsch
Feat. Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald; Out of cold–blooded patriotism to his homeland Marshovia, gadabout Maurice Chevalier attempts to seduce millionairess Jeanette MacDonald into…
Scarlet Pimpernel, The (1934): Dir. Harold Young
Feat. Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey, Merle Oberon; Leslie Howard leads a double–life as an aristocratic fop by day and swashbuckling hero by night in the dark days of the French Revolution.…
Betty Boop - The Ultimate Collection (1933-1939): Dir. Max Fleisher; An early cartoon sensation, Betty Boop flashed her curves and batted her eyelids across Depression–era America in an amusing, slightly…
Devil's Brother, The (1933): Dir. Hal Roach
Feat. Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy; Laurel and Hardy become fearless highwaymen in 1700s Italy but meet their match in a notorious highwayman. Funny spoof of Auber's operetta.
Liebelei (1933): Dir. Max Ophuls
Feat. Arthur Schnitzler; An early work from the German maestro of the tracking shot, whose tale of doomed romance between a young soldier and fraulein (taken from a play by…
American Madness (1932): Dir. Frank Capra
Feat. Walter Huston; Vivid parable in which Walter Huston portrays a bank president facing the threat of commercial failure during the Great Depression.
Bill of Divorcement, A (1932): Dir. George Cukor
Feat. John Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn, Billie Burke…; Shell–shocked war veteran John Barrymore returns to the world after 15 years in an asylum, to find that wife Katharine Hepburn (in her screen…
Smilin' Through (1932): Dir. Sidney Franklin
Feat. Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard; Winning tear–jerker with Norma Shearer and Fredric March in dual roles as two sets of unrequited lovers caught in a blood feud.
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932): Dir. W.S. Van Dyke
Feat. Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, Maureen O'Sullivan…; If you're looking for the classic chest beatin', vine swingin' versions of Edgar Rice Burrough's much–abused creation, this is where you start.…
White Zombie (1932): Dir. Victor Halperin
Feat. Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn; Creaky but effectively eerie chiller with Bela Lugosi as a voodoo king menacing naive newlyweds in Haiti. The trance–like direction and tiny…
Cimarron (1931): Dir. Wesley Ruggles
Feat. Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor; Set during the Oklahoma Land Rush of the 1880's, a charismatic newspaper editor claims a plot of land and resettles himself, along with his rather…
Madchen in Uniform (1931): Dir. Leontine Sagan
Feat. Hertha Thiele, Dorothea Wieck; Influential early German sound–film notorious (and censored) for the sensual lesbian overtones that colour its tale of Hertha Thiele's…
Monkey Business (1931): Dir. Norman Z. McLeod
Feat. Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx…; The four Marx Brothers stowaway, crash a society party and manage to hatch a few crooks in the process. Another exercise in breathlessly sustained…
Parlour, Bedroom & Bath (1931): Dir. Edward Sedgewick
Feat. Buster Keaton; Buster Keaton is mistaken for a rich playboy in one of his rare 'talkies'. Not in the same league as his silent classics, but an interesting curio.
Possessed (1931): Dir. Clarence Brown
Feat. Joan Crawford, Clark Gable; Vivid and detailed early drama about a rich NYC lawyer and his mistress, made when its lead performers were both on the verge of stardom. Centred…
Range Feud, The (1931): Dir. D.Ross Lederman
Feat. John Wayne, Buck Jones; A better than B–Western with a young, gangly John Wayne as a ten–galloned Romeo framed for murder while entangled in a feud with his…
Sally in Our Alley (1931): Dir. Maurice Elvey
Feat. Gracie Fields; Gracie Fields debuted in this lightweight English comedy as a heartbroke girl who, on moving to London, hits it off splendid with the Cockneys.…
Big Trail, The (1930): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel…; The film that elevated a young John Wayne from bit–part actor to leading man is this grand saga of a wagon trail, shot in an early form of 70mm.
Blood of a Poet (1930): Dir. Jean Cocteau
Feat. Lee Miller, Pauline Carton; Cocteau's first film is a surrealist gem that sewed the seeds of his style. The Dali/Bunuel influence is clear, but this goes one step further with…
Hitchcock Showcase (1930): Dir. Alfred Hitchcock; Four films from the early career of suspense's elder statesman, available on twin cassettes – MURDER (1930), SKIN GAME (1931), NUMBER 17…
Broadway Melody of 1929 (1929): Dir. Harry Beaumont
Feat. Charles King, Anita Page, Bessie Love…; "100% All Talking! 100% All Singing! 100% All Dancing!" – this creaky MGM tale of two sisters bringing their act to Broadway was tremendously…
Diary of a Lost Girl (1929): Dir. G.W. Pabst
Feat. Louise Brooks; Exceptional follow–up to the eye–opening PANDORA’S BOX, with Louise Brooks again provoking disorder with her unrestrained vitality and…
Little Rascals, The (1929-1938): Highlights from the classic 30s movie serial starring a band of young rapscallions up to adventurous and inventive trouble. On tape, 6 episodes:…
October : 10 Days That Shook the World (1928): Dir. Sergei Eisenstein
Feat. Nikandrov , N. Popov, Boris Livanov; A brilliant reconstruction of the momentous events of 1917, when revolutionary soldiers overthrew the provisional Government bringing Lenin and the…
Cat and the Canary, The (1927): Dir. Paul Leni
Feat. Laura La Plante, Tully Marshall; Seminal haunted house flick centres around the gathering of greedy contestants to the will of a rich relative. Imaginative thrills are executed with…
It (1927): Dir. Clarence Badger
Feat. Clara Bow, Antonio Moreno, Gary Cooper; Clara Bow sprang to stardom in this silent comedy, using ‘it’ to gold–dig department–store boss Antonio Moreno. Memorable for its…
Wings (1927): Dir. William A. Wellman
Feat. Clara Bow, Charles Rogers, Gary Cooper; Renowned silent film represents the epic struggles of the allied airforces in WWI, with brilliant aerial sequences, battle recreations and several…
Mother (1926): Dir. Vsevolod Pudovkin
Feat. Vera Baranovskaya, Nikolai Batalov; In one of the masterpieces of early Russian cinema, a fable of pre–revolutionary worker–resistance and Tsarist oppression is heightened…
Son of the Sheik (1926): Dir. George Fitzmaurice
Feat. Rudolph Valentino; Rudolf Valentino's most famous and best outing is a high camp romp in the desert in which he plays the dual role of father and son, no doubt to…
Greed (1925): Dir. Erich von Stroheim
Feat. ZaSu Pitts, Gibson Gowland, Jean Hersholt; One of the great silent masterpieces paints a savagely ironical portrait of a mismatched marriage in oldtime San Francisco, ruined through greed of…
Lost World, The (1925): Dir. Harry Hoyt
Feat. Bessie Love, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone; An inventive precursor to KING KONG, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's adventure story. Prehistoric monsters abound in this showcase of pioneering…
Wizard of Oz, The (1922): Dir. Larry Semon
Feat. Oliver Hardy, Larry Semon; Original adaptation of the L Frank Baum story, conjures up more laughs than the Judy Garland version, with Oliver Hardy as the Tin–Man, and…
Laurel and Hardy's Laughing 20s (1920-1929): Feat. Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy; A Robert Youngson compilation of shorts from the formidable comedy duo.
Mark of Zorro, The (1920): Dir. Fred Niblo
Feat. Douglas Fairbanks; First outing for the Californian masked righter–of–wrongs established Douglas Fairbanks' swashbuckling screen persona in the public eye.…
Harold Lloyd Collection - Disc 4 (The Kid Brother, Bumping into Broadway, Billy Blazes Esq.) (1919-1927): Dir. Ted Wilde, J A Howe, Hal Roach
Feat. Harold Lloyd; Three classic Harold Lloyd features/shorts. Includes THE KID BROTHER, one of Lloyd's best comedies; he plays an unappreciated sibling in a family…
Burlesque On Carmen (1916): Dir. Charles Chaplin
Feat. Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Ben Turpin; A twist ending highlights Chaplin's second 'feature' in which his forlorn soldier is loved and left by a gypsy girl.
Carmen (1915): Dir. Cecil B. DeMille
Feat. Geraldine Farrar, Wallace Reid; From prolific Hollywood pioneer Cecil B. De Mille, this was one of his many early works that brought famous plays and novels to the screen. Opera…
Laffing Gas (1914-1929): Dir. Various
Feat. Charles Chaplin; Prime comic–narcotic from the early days of the movies and the heyday of Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, Harold Llyod, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and…
Early Cinema - Primitives and Pioneers (1895-1910): A must for cinephiles, historians and the simply curious, this two–volume set of early silent films features rare and important works from…
Grampa's Monster Movies: Feat. Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney…; Al Grampa Lewis from the original Addam's Family hosts this collection of 28 horror trailers unearthed from the vaults of Universal studios. This…
Laugh with the Carry On's: Dir. Gerald Thomas
Feat. Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Williams, Sid James; Best of the Laugh with the Carry On's TV–Series which starred the same cast as the films.
Mondo Lugosi: Feat. Bela Lugosi; A compilation of many great sequences in which Bela Lugosi appeared. The perfect bill for your next vampire masquerade party.
TV Treasures: A complete evening's entertainment from the golden age of TV including an episode each of 'Federal Men in Action', 'I'm the Law', 'Mr. and Mrs.…
Weird Cartoons 1 & 2: Two volumes of the weirdest cartoons from the archives of film history. Highlights include Betty Boop, WW2 propaganda, Cobweb Hotel and Little Black…
Winsor McCay - Animation Legend: Dir. Winsor McCay; Though his surviving oeuvre is small, animator and artist Winsor McCay (1869–1934) was extremely influential in the early development of the…
World's Best Dicks: Dir. Various; Compilation tape of gumshoes, gangsters, broads and bombshells including Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Moto, Dick Tracy, Mr. Wong and many more.

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