Individual Movie Titles: A to C

INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES

A - C

Abilene Town (1946) - 89 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Ann Dorvak, Edgar Buchanan, Rhonda Fleming & Lloyd Bridges.

Directed by Edwin L. Marin

Following the Civil War in the town of Abilene, a delicate peace is inadvertantly shattered when a group of homesteaders lay down their stakes on the cattlemen's side of town, upsetting the balance that had existed thus far and sparking an all-out war between the farmers, who want the land tamed and property lines drawn, and the cowboys, who want the prairies to be open for their cattle to roam. Into the mix walks a patient sheriff - guess who!

The Abominable Snowman (1957) - 85 mins

Starring Forrest Tucker, Peter Cushing, Maureen Connell, Richard Wattis, Robert Brown & Michael Brill

Directed by Val Guest

At a remote lamasery in the Himalayas, scientist John Rollason (Peter Cushing) studies rare mountain herbs with the help of his wife Helen, and associate Peter, while awaiting the arrival of an American named Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker). Over Helen's objections and warnings by the High Lhama, he sets out with Friend on an expedition to find the elusive Yeti, accompanied by another American named Shelley and a young Scotsman, McNee, who claims to have seen the thing. Footprints are found in the snows and McNee seems strangely affected the closer they get to their quarry's likely habitat but the biggest shock to Rollason is discovering Friend is a showman who only intends to exploit their find, with Shelley his gamehunter-marksman. The conflict between science and commercialism only increases when an enormous anthropoid is shot, and the horror only increases as the party realizes the other Yeti intend to retrieve their fallen comrade and have powers to do so which seem extra-human.

Excellent Hammer horror also titled "The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas" which was shot in the Pyrenees. Fans of Forrest Tucker will enjoy this adventure story.

Above Suspicion (1943) - 88 mins

Starring Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Condrad Veidt, Basil Rathbone & Reginald Owen

Directed by Richard Thorpe

About to set off on his 1939 honeymoon, an Oxford don is approached by the Foreign Office. Knowing war is near, they need to get information back from an unknown source in Germany attempting to smuggle back information about a new superweapon being developed by the Nazis and ask for his help, which he readily offers. At first, the American couple find following the secret trail great fun but as they get deeper into southern Germany they realise real danger threatens them both

Above Us the Waves (1955) - 99 mins

Starring John Mills, John Gregson, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice & Michael Medwin

Directed by Ralph Thomas

The greatest threat to the British navy is the German battleship Tirpitz. Being anchored in a Norwegian fjord, it is impossible to attack it with any chance of success. But the navy trains a special commando to attack it, using little submarines to plant underwater explosives under it.

Ace in the Hole (1951) - 111 mins

Starring Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Porter Hall & Frank Cady

Directed by Billy Wilder

Also released as The Big Carnival, this disturbing noir tells of a frustrated former big-city journalist who is now stuck working for a small Albuquerque newspaper. He sees his chance of returning to the big time when he exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave, but the situation quickly escalates into an out-of-control circus.

Powerful portrayal by Kirk Douglas joining Detective Story of the same year as two of the very best from Kirk - Detective Story is also available from this website

Oscar nominated for Best Screenplay

Across the Pacific (1942) - 97 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Keye Luke & Richard Loo

Directed by John Huston

Bogart plays a U.S. officer of artillery who is court martialled in disgrace (in 1941) and who leaves the country. He gets a job offer in central America with a stop off in Panama. While there he discovers Japanese plot to attack the Panama Canal along with the Pearl Harbor attack.

The three Maltese Falcon leads and director teamed up for this enjoyable WW2 thriller

Action in Arabia (1944) - 72 mins

Starring George Sanders, Virginia Bruce, Gene Lockhart, Robert Armstrong & Lenore Aubert

Directed by Leonide Moguy

Gordon is an American newspaperman at large in Damascus. When a colleague is murdered, Gordon wants to find out why. He is helped along by a glamorous secret agent, who is on the trail of a group of Nazi saboteurs. It turns out that the murder is tied in with a Nazi plan to destroy the Suez Canal.

Nice desert footage interwoven into a tight little adventure.

Action in the North Atlantic (1943) - 126 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey, Alan Hale, Julie Bishop, Ruth Gordon & Dane Clark

Directed by Lloyd Bacon

Lieutenant Joe Rossi is 1st Officer on a Liberty Ship in a great convoy bound from Halifax to Murmansk. After German subs crushed the convoy, his ship loses the convoy and is heading alone to Murmansk. In spite of attacks by German planes and subs he must get the ship safely to Murmansk

A great action WWII film with Bogie at his peak with enjoyable support from Massey - Oscar nominated for Best Writing, Original Story.

Act of Violence (1948) - 82 mins

Starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor & Phyllis Thaxter

Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Van Heflin stars as Frank Enley, a contractor living a peaceful life in a small California town, when Joe Parkson, a man who served in the army with him, arrives in the area, intent on killing him. He follows Frank to a lake where he's fishing but is unable to kill him. When a lakeside bartender tells Frank that a man with a limp is looking for him, Frank is frightened, realizing why he has come. He tells his wife, Edith (Janet Leigh), that Joe is a man who spent time with in a Nazi POW camp, who is now mentally ill, and that he intends to avoid him. When Frank goes to Los Angeles for a business convention, Joe arrives at his house and tells his wife that her husband is responsible for his injury and for the deaths of a number of men. Fearing for her husband's life, Edith heads for L.A. with Joe not far behind.

An unusually disturbing noir from a director better known for more mainstream fare, Act of Violence focuses on a WWII veteran haunted by his past. A film that was close to the director's heart, he said that it represented "the first time that I felt confident that I knew what I was doing and why I was doing it."

Adventure (1945) - 135 mins

Starring Clark Gable, Greer Garson, Joan Blondell, Thomas Mitchell, Tom Tully & John Qualen

Directed by Victor Fleming

A middle-aged Clark Gable returned from active duty in World War II to star in this MGM release.

Harry Patterson (Clark Gable) is the bosun mate on a merchant marine vessel, a tough sailor and fighter with a girl in every port. But while in a San Francisco library, looking up a book on the human soul for his sidekick Mudgin (Thomas Mitchell), Harry meets librarian Emily Sears (Greer Garson), whom he woos, marries, and leaves to sail off on another freighter. When he returns, Emily has retreated to an old farm to await the birth of their child. Harry continues to resent staying in one place, but he ultimately changes his tune when his baby's life hangs in the balance.

Greer Garson and Joan Blondell, playing her outspoken best friend, are both terrific, and Gable gives a less heroic performance that's a thoughtful change for him.

Adventure in Manhattan (1936) - 73 mins

Starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Reginald Owen, Thomas Mitchell & Victor Kilian

Directed by Edward Ludwig

Some high profile robberies have taken place and crime reporter McCrea thinks and has written that the culprit of all these has been a master criminal along the lines of Professor Moriarty. Problem is that this guy is believed dead by all, but McCrea. McCrea is right and it's revealed early enough in the film to be Reginald Owen who is now in the guise of a theatrical producer. And Jean Arthur is an aspiring young ingénue in the cast of a World War I play he's producing which is just a front for a job he is planning.

Thomas Mitchell in one of his earliest screen roles is McCrea's editor and he's his usual good self.

Adventure Island (1947) - 66 mins

Starring Rory Calhoun, Rhonda Fleming, Paul Kelly, John Abbott & Alan Napier

Directed by Sam Newfield

Rory Calhoun, Paul Kelly and John Abbott star as Herrick, Lochlin and Hulsh, three mercenary seamen involved in illegal activities in the South Seas. Hired to pilot a schooner to Australia, the threesome plan instead to rob the vessel of its precious cargo. Much to their dismay, they discover that the cargo is bogus, and that they're stuck taking care of the former captain's pretty but contentious daughter Faith Rhonda Fleming. The four lost souls then find themselves imprisoned by Mr. Atwater (Alan Napier), a megalomaniac who rules a tiny island by exploiting the superstitions of the local natives.

This was another excellent Pine-Thomas production who were also responsible for another superb South Seas adventure: Crosswinds (1951) which is also available from this website

Adventure Island is a remake of the Paramount actioner Ebb Tide (1937 ) which is also available from this website.

Quality Note: Adventure Island is not the greatest of prints but is still of a quality that doesn't detract for viewing pleasure of this fun tale - its also in B&W although it was released theatrically in CineColor

The Adventurers (1951) - 85 mins

Starring Jack Hawkins, Peter Hammond, Dennis Price, Grégoire Aslan & Siobhan McKenna

Directed by David MacDonald

In South Africa at the end of the Boer war, Commando Pieter Brandt (Jack Hawkins) comes across the dead body of a diamond courier. Brandt buries both the courier and his valuable cache of diamonds then heads back to his regiment. After the cessation of hostilities, Brandt raises money for an expedition back into the mountainous regions where the diamonds are hidden. There's no love lost among Brandt and his three treasure-hunting companions; particularly prickly is the relationship between Brandt and Clive Hunter (Dennis Price), whose wife is Brandt's former fiancé.

Sort of an African variation of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (which is also available from this website), The Adventurers is buoyed by an excellent performance by Jack Hawkins.

US titles were Fortune in Diamonds & The Great Adventure

Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951) - 100 mins

Starring Errol Flynn, Micheline Presle, Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Victor Francen & Jim Gérald

Directed by William Marshall

This Franco-American costume drama concerns sea captain Michael Fabian and his involvement with a servant girl Lea Marriote (Micheline Presle), whose thirst for revenge against a prominent New Orleans family who wronged both her and Fabian drives this action packed film. After Fabian defends Lea on a murder charge, she promptly weds George Brissac (Vincent Price), scion of that aforementioned family, thereby laying the groundwork for a final battle.

Filmed in Paris and Nice, the screenplay was written by Errol Flynn from the Robert Shannon novel, Fabulous Ann Madlock.

Adventures of Don Juan (1948) - 110 mins

Starring Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale & Romney Brent

Directed by Vincent Sherman

In a spirited, athletic performance as fabled Spanish swashbuckler/lover Don Juan, Flynn spends the early portions of the film romancing willing young ladies and duelling with jealous husbands. Spain's Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors) assigns Don Juan to head the royal fencing academy to keep him out of trouble. When scheming Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas) plots to topple the monarchy, it is Don Juan's eager young fencing pupils who come to the rescue.

Errol in top form again!

Sumptuous Warner Bros production complete with fabulous Max Steiner score.

The Adventures of Jane Arden (1939) - 58 mins

Starring Rosella Towne, William Gargan, James Stephenson, Benny Rubin & Dennie Moore

Directed by Terry O. Morse

An entertaining screen version of the Monte Barrett-Russell E. Ross comic strip The Adventures of Jane Arden stars Warner contractee Rosella Towne as the title character. Dapper villain Dr. Vanders (James Stephenson) has been using beautiful, gullible young women as pawns in a clever smuggling ring. After rather nastily disposing of socialite Lola Martin (Peggy Shannon), Vanders is virtually a marked man himself: intrepid gal reporter Jane Arden vows to bring the criminals to justice, and never mind that her managing editor sweetheart Ed Towers (William Gargan) warns her off the case. Jane's adventures range from a dangerous ocean voyage to an exciting equestrian chase across the California countryside, with nary a pause for breath.

Fabulous fun with Towne to the fore - why wasn't a series of films with this interesting character?

The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) - 100 mins

Starring Gary Cooper, Sigrid Gurie, Basil Rathbone & Ernest Truex

Directed by Archie Mayo

Marco Polocrosses the sea in search of treasure and adventure, with the help of his loyal sidekick Binguccio and finds both in China, where as the nation's first European visitor he is introduced to several practical innovations, such as pasta and explosives. He is also introduced to Kublai Khan, China's wise and benevolent Emperor, and the Emperor's lovely daughter, Princess Kukuchin. Romance begins to bloom between Marco and the Princess, but Ahmed, the Emperor's ill-tempered assistant, also has his eyes on the Princess, and he is determined to win her hand and usurp Kublai Khan as China's leader.

A lavish retelling of the life of the famed Italian explorer.

Gary Cooper: forever the great adventurer - these Gary Cooper titles are available from this website are:

Morocco (1930), A Farewell to Arms (1932), The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), The General Died at Dawn (1936), The Plainsman (1936), Souls at Sea (1937), The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938), Beau Geste (1939), The Real Glory (1939), The Westerner (1940), North West Mounted Police (1940), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), Cloak and Dagger (1946), Unconquered (1947), Task Force (1949), Distant Drums (1951) & High Noon (1952)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - 102 mins

Starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles & Alan Hale

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Based on the well-known English legend, Robin of Locksley is a noble who is forced to become an outlaw when Prince John the usurper tries to take the throne from his absent brother. He flees to Sherwood forest where he gathers together his Merry Men and is called Robin Hood. He begins to rob the rich and give back to the poor, the townsfolk that are heavily-taxed by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Meanwhile he still has to defend the throne, and woo Maid Marian.

Undoubtedly the best of the best!

Oscar wins for Art Direction, Editing and Score (Erich Wolfgang Korngold)

Oscar Nomination for Best Picture

The Adventures of Tartu (1943) (aka Sabotage Agent) - 111 mins

Starring Robert Donat, Valerie Hobson, Walter Rilla & Glynis Johns

Directed by Harold S. Bucquet

A born British spy is dispatched to Czechoslovakia during World War II. Posing as an ineffectual milquetoast, he is hired as a chemist in a Nazi-controlled poison gas factory. Working in concert with the Underground, he spends his off-hours dismantling the Nazi operation. Then he has to figure a way to get out of Czechoslovakia as adroitly as he got in.

Fans of Robert "39 Steps" Donat will love this film

The Adventuress (1946) - See I See a Dark Stranger elsewhere in this INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section

Affair in Trinidad (1952) - 98 mins

Starring Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Alexander Scourby, Valerie Bettis & Torin Thatcher

Directed by Vincent Sherman

When Steve Emery arrives in Trinidad at the urgent request of his brother, he is stunned to find that his brother has not only been murdered, but that his brother's wife Chris is succumbing to the seduction attempts of the murderer. His feelings are further exacerbated when he discovers that he, too, is becoming strongly attracted to Chris, who is a steamy cabaret singer. She, in turn, is playing off one against the other while betraying the secrets of both men to the police, for whom she is secretly working.

Hayworth at her best!

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The African Queen (1951) - 105 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Theodore Bikel, Peter Bull & Walter Gotell

Directed by John Huston

Adapted from a novel by C.S. Forester (by film critic James Agee), The African Queen stars Humphrey Bogart in his Oscar-winning portrayal of Charlie Allnut, the slovenly, gin-swilling captain of a tramp steamer called the African Queen, which ships supplies to small East African villages during World War I.

Katharine Hepburn plays Rose Sayer, the maiden-lady sister of a prim British missionary (Robert Morley). When invading Germans kill the missionary and level the village, Allnut offers to take Rose back to civilization. She can't tolerate his drinking or bad manners; he isn't crazy about her imperious, judgmental attitude. However it does not take long before their passionate dislike turns to love. Together the disparate duo work to ensure their survival on the treacherous waters and devise an ingenious way to destroy a German gunboat.

Oscar winner for Best Actor (Bogie) as well as Oscar Nominations for Best Actress (Kate Hepburn), Best Director (John Huston), Best Screenplay

The African Queen may well be the perfect adventure film, its roller-coaster storyline complemented by the chemistry between its stars and the wonderful location scenery

Fabulous Print

Against All Flags (1952) - 83 mins

Starring Errol Flynn, Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn & Mildred Natwick

Directed by George Sherman

Its 1700 and the pirates of Madagascar menace the India trade. British officer Brian Hawke has himself cashiered, flogged, and set adrift to infiltrate them. There, Hawke meets Spitfire Stevens, a pirate captain in her own right, and the sparks begin to fly, especially after he rescues adoring young Princess Patma from a captured ship. Meanwhile, Hawke's secret mission proceeds to an action-packed climax.

Flynn is back to his best in what is considered to be "the last of the great swashbucklers"

Air Force (1943) - 124 mins

Starring John Garfield, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy, George Tobias & John Ridgely

Directed by Howard Hawks

The Mary Ann, a B-17 Flying Fortress, takes off from California for Hawaii on a routine training flight on December 6, 1941. The Mary Ann and the rest of the squadron fly right into the middle of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor unarmed and out of gas, and nearly crack up landing on an emergency field; no sooner do they make repairs than the crew comes under attack, and the plane takes off and makes for Hickam Field, which they find a flaming shambles. They fly on to the Philippines, stopping at Wake Island just long enough to meet a few members of the doomed Marine garrison, taking their company mascot, a dog, with them. At Clark Field, the Mary Ann and her crew finally go into action against the enemy, flying in alone against a Japanese invasion force in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Academy Award winner for Best Film Editing; also Oscar Nominations for Cinematography, Special Effects & Screenplay - check out that final scene - when the B-17 ditches in the surf!

A truly fabulous WWII adventure and a great companion-piece to Wake Island (1942) & Thirty Seconds Over Toyko (1944) - both of which are available from this website.

Albuquerque (1948) - 90 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Lon Chaney Jr. & Russell Hayden.

Directed by Ray Enright

Cole Armin comes to Albuquerque to work for his uncle, John, an overly strict and hard-hearted man who operates an ore-hauling freight line, and whose goal is to eliminate a competing line run by Ted Wallace and his sister Celia. Cole tires of his uncle's heavy-handed tactics and switches over to the Wallace side. John and his henchman Juke Murkil aren't impressed.

Al Capone (1959) - 105 mins

Starring Rod Steiger, Fay Spain, James Gregory, Martin Balsam & Nehemiah Persoff

Directed by Richard Wilson

In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end

Alias Nick Beal (1949) - 93 mins

Starring Ray Milland, Audrey Totter, Thomas Mitchell, George Macready, Fred Clark & Geraldine Wall

Directed by John Farrow

This modern-day "Faust" variation benefits from a superb cast. Thomas Mitchell plays Joseph Foster, an honest judge who wants to become governor. Blocked by corrupt political forces, Foster would practically have to make a deal with the Devil to reach his goal. Enter Nick Beal (Ray Milland), a diabolically handsome gent with a slick line of patter and a smooth, infallible method of getting things done. Failing to recognize his benefactor's true identity (after all, Nick has no horns or cloven hooves) Foster agrees to the deal when Nick assures him that the end result is for the good of the people. To bind the bargain, Nick sends out one of his most trusted associates, Donna Allen (Audrey Totter), to keep Foster in line. When Foster finally realizes that he's sold his soul, there seems to be no way out … but that's when the forces of Good, represented by Foster's wife Martha (Geraldine Wall) and his clergyman friend Thomas Gaylord (George Macready), switch into high gear.

An offbeat but extremely satisfying film which benefits from a fabulous Franz Waxman's soundtrack score.

A very good print of this very rare film!

All the King's Men (1949) - 109 mins

Starring Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek, Mercedes McCambridge & Shepperd Strudwick

Directed by Robert Rossen

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Robert Penn Warren, All the King's Men is inspired by the career of Louisiana governor Huey Long. Broderick Crawford won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Willie Stark, a backwoods Southern lawyer who wins the hearts of his constituents by bucking the corrupt state government. Journalist Jack Burden (John Ireland) is impressed by Willie's seeming sincerity, and aids Stark on the road to political power. Once he's reached the governor's mansion, however, Willie proves himself to be as dishonest and despotic as the crooks whom he's replaced. He also cheats shamelessly on his wife with both his campaign manager (Mercedes McCambridge, another Oscar winner) and with Anne Stanton (Joanne Dru), the sister of idealistic doctor Adam Stanton (Sheppard Strudwick). Fiercely protective of his power, Willie organizes a fascistic police force and arranges for "accidents" to befall those who oppose him; even so, he retains the love of the voters by lowering the poverty level, improving the school system, and financing building projects.

In addition to its Oscars for Crawford and McCambridge, All the King's Men won the Best Picture prize.

An out and out classic tour de force!

Fans of Broderick Crawford might like to check out his other starring roles in nourish dramas: The Mob (1951), Scandal Sheet (1952) & New York Confidential (1955) which are also available from this website.

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All the Young Men (1960) - 90 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Sidney Poitier, James Darren, Glenn Corbett & Mort Sahl

Directed by Hall Bartlett

Set right near the 38th Parallel, the dividing line between North and South Korea, this Korea War tale focuses on the relationships of some GI's caught without reinforcements in an old farmhouse. Although the house offers some protection, the men are outnumbered and little by little, casualties mount. After the lieutenant dies, African-American Sergeant Towler (Sidney Poitier) automatically assumes command, and that causes friction among the white soldiers underneath him in particular Sgt. Kincaid (Alan Ladd)

Solid later Ladd vehicle with good support provided by Sidney Poitier

All Through the Night (1941) - 107 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt, Kaaren Verne, Frank McHugh, Peter Lorre, William Demarest & Jackie Gleason

Directed by Vincent Sherman

Humphrey Bogart plays Gloves Donahue, a rough-hewn but essentially decent New York gambler. The Runyonesque plot gets moving when Gloves tries to find out what's holding up his favourite restaurant's daily shipment of cheesecake. Paying a call on the bakery, Gloves stumbles into a Nazi spy ring, masterminded by Conrad Veidt. Mixed up in all this is nightclub singer Kaaren Verne, whose loyalties are in question in her early scenes but who turns out to be as true-blue as the patriotic Gloves. Combining a quick wit with quicker fists, Gloves and his "mob" thwart the Nazis before they're able to skip the country. The cast is a movie buff's dream, ranging from Jane Darwell as Bogart's mom to Peter Lorre as a cynical Nazi flunkey to William Demarest, Frank McHugh, Phil Silvers and Jackie Gleason as Bogie's favourite cohorts.

A great movie with a fabulous script!

Alphaville (1965) - 99 mins (aka Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution)

Starring Eddie Constantine, Ana Karina, Akim Tamiroff, Valérie Boisgel & Jean-Louis Comolli

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

A haggard private eye, Lemmy Caution is sent to an ultramodern city run by a master computer, where his mission is to locate and rescue a scientist who is trapped there. As the story unfolds, the movie tackles a variety of topics such as the dehumanizing effect of technology, wilful suppression of personality, saturation of commercial products etc at the hands of director Jean-Luc Godard.

A perplexing 100 minutes of cinema that manages to be classic film noir, imaginative science-fiction, an action-packed, suspenseful thriller and most surprisingly of all, a very entertaining black comedy.

A cult classic!

Note: This film is in French (spoken) language with English subtitles.

The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943) - 96 mins

Starring Deanna Durbin, Edmond O'Brien, Barry Fitzgerald, Arthur Treacher, Harry Davenport & Grant Mitchell

Directed by Bruce Manning

Deanna Durbin plays Mrs. Holliday but there really is no Mrs. Holliday: it's the guise assumed by idealistic missionary Ruth Kirke Holliday (Durbin) to sneak a group of Chinese war orphans into the US. With the help of ship's steward Timothy (Barry Fitzgerald), Ruth poses as the wife of a wealthy shipping magnate who was lost at sea. This enables her to safely sequester the orphans in the Holliday family mansion until she can cook up her next scheme. But things begin to unravel when Ruth falls in love with her "husband"'s grandson (Edmond O'Brien) and, of course, when Mr. Holliday (Harry Davenport) himself turns up alive and well. The resultant confusion leads to some hilarious moments and bittersweet outcomes.

The Amazing Mrs. Holliday was originally intended as Durbin's dramatic debut, and originally directed by Jean Renoir, but Universal insisted upon retakes and added songs. Though virtually all of Renoir's completed footage was retained, final directorial credit was bestowed upon Bruce Manning, the film's producer.

Oscar Nominated for Best Music

A good comedy role for Edmond O'Brien, following his humorous outings in the previous years' Obliging Young Lady & Powder Town (in which he plays a nutty professor being chased by spies). He also featured strongly in 1941's Parachute Battalion - all of which are available from this website.

Edmond O'Brien was famous for his tough noir roles on the big screen, notably his starring roles in The Web (1947), Fighter Squadron (1948), Backfire (1950), D.O.A. (1950), 711 Ocean Drive (1950), Between Midnight and Dawn (1950), Two of a Kind (1951), The Turning Point (1952), Denver & Rio Grande (1952), The Hitch-Hiker (1953), China Venture (1953), The Shanghai Story (1954), Shield for Murder (1954), 1984 (1956) & A Cry in the Night (1956) - all of which are available from the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of this website. In the late 1950's Edmond O'Brien also made an interesting noir-style detective TV series called Johnny Midnight - a nice set of episodes from this series can be found in the TV Series I-Z section of this website

The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939) - 80 mins

Starring Melvyn Douglas, Joan Blondell, Don Beddoe, Edward Brophy & Ruth Donnelly

Directed by Alexander Hall

A top police detective can never find the time to marry his intended. On the eve of his wedding to long-time fiance Maxine, Mr. Williams is obliged to solve three mysteries in a row. One of these finds him handcuffed to convicted criminal, whilst another requires Williams to disguise himself as a woman, (moustache and all!) Finally, Mr. Williams goes undercover to prove the innocence of accused murderer. Through it all, Maxine gamely remains at Williams' side, determined to march him to the altar come what may - then she herself is deputized by the police force!

Excellent mystery comedy with Douglas & Blondell in fine form

The Ambassador (1984) - 97 mins

Starring Robert Mitchum, Ellen Burstyn, Rock Hudson, Fabio Testi & Donald Pleasance

Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Robert Mitchum plays as U.S. ambassador to Israel whose efforts at reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians run afoul of the somewhat questionable ambitions of security advisor Rock Hudson (in his last theatrical movie role). Meanwhile, Mitchum's wife Ellen Burstyn embarks upon an affair with a PLO leader. When this fact comes to Mitchum's attention, he refuses to pay the prescribed "hush money", sparking a deadly chain reaction.

A good action adventure film shot on location, The Ambassador was adapted from Elmore Leonard's crime novel 52 Pick Up - the book was used as the basis film again two years later, a John Frankenheimer film titled (you guessed it) 52 Pick-Up (1986), which is also available from this website (under "F", for 52)

American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950) - 105 mins

Starring Tyrone Power, Micheline Presle, Tom Ewell, Robert Patten & Tommy Cook

Directed by Fritz Lang

The year is 1942. Ensign Chuck Palmer (Tyrone Power) is stranded in the Japanese-occupied Philippines after his PT Boat is torpedoed. Linking up with several other American refugees, Palmer helps the Filipinos organize a resistance movement against the enemy. They even manage to construct a few jerry-built radio stations to keep tabs on Japanese fleet movements. Palmer finds romance in the form of Jeanne Martinez (Micheline Presle), the wife of a Filipino war hero. Based on the novel by Ira Wolfert, American Guerilla in the Philippines is directed with unvarnished efficiency by Fritz Lang. Standouts in the supporting cast include Tom Ewell as Tyrone Power's wisecracking buddy and Robert Barrat as General Douglas MacArthur.

A truly great adventure yarn directed by one of the best

Tyrone Power: that fabulous adventurer … other great Tyrone Power movies available from this website are: The Mark of Zorro (1940), Johnny Apollo (1940), Blood and Sand (1941), The Black Swan (1942), Son of Fury (1942), The Razor's Edge (1946), Captain From Castile (1947), Nightmare Alley (1947), Prince of Foxes (1949), The Black Rose (1950), Diplomatic Courier (1952) & King of the Khyber Rifles (1953).

The Amsterdam Kill (1977) - 90 mins

Starring Robert Mitchum, Richard Egan, Leslie Neilsen, Braford Dillman & Keye Luke

Directed by Robert Clouse

A Hong Kong-produced crime caper in which former DEA Agent Quinlan, removed from the force some years earlier for stealing confiscated drug money, is hired by Chung Wei, a leader in the Amsterdam drug cartel, who wants out of the business. Quinlan's job is to use Chung's information to tip DEA agents to drug busts, thereby destroying the cartel. But when the first two "tips" go awry, resulting in murdered DEA officers, the feds must decide whether to trust Quinlan further.

Quality Note: not the greatest of color prints for this legendary "cult" film - but quality is still of a level to allow complete enjoyment of Mitchum "going through his paces"

And Now Tomorrow (1944) - 86 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Loretta Young, Susan Haywood, Barry Sullivan & Beulah Bondi

Directed by Irving Pichel

A doctor returns to his home town to set out his shingle. He was born on the poor side of town and so has had a life-long anger towards the town's wealthiest family. When the daughter of this family comes in for treatment, he finds himself faced with a dilemma. A bout with meningitis has left her deaf. He has a new drug that can cure deafness. Will he use it, or will he let his anger prevent him from helping her?

The film re-teams Ladd & Young from their earlier successful actioner: China (1943) - also available from this website

And Then There Were None (1945) - 97 mins

Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward, Roland Young, June Duprez & C. Aubrey Smith

Directed by René Clair

Based on the classic novel by mystery author Agatha Christie (later adapted as the Broadway hit Ten Little Indians). And Then There Were None begins with ten characters, each with a skeleton in his or her closet, on a remote island off the English coast. They soon realize that they have been brought there by an insane judge, who has tried each of them for criminal behaviour in the past, and who now feels it is his duty to render proper justice for each. The struggle to stay alive begins as each "guest" is eliminated in a fashion that corresponds to the titular nursery rhyme.

Fabulous who-dun-it!

Angel Face (1952) - 91 mins

Starring Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Herbert Marshall, Mona Freeman & Leon Ames

Directed by Otto Preminger

When Mrs. Tremayne is mysteriously poisoned with gas, ambulance driver Frank Jessup meets her refined but sensuous stepdaughter Diane, who quickly pursues and infatuates him. Under Diane's seductive influence, Frank is soon the Tremayne chauffeur; but he begins to suspect danger under her surface sweetness. When he shows signs of pulling away, Diane schemes to get him in so deep he'll never get out.

A Howard Hughes production, Angel Face has one of the most sensational conclusions in film - one has to see it to believe it

The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) - 86 mins

Starring Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan, Billy Halop, Bernard Punsley, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall & Frankie Thomas

Directed by Ray Enright

Fresh out of reform school, Gabe Ryan (Frankie Thomas) promises his sister Joy (Ann Sheridan) that he'll go straight, and promptly joins the Beale Street Termites (the Dead Enders), a tough but basically good-hearted street gang. Local mobster William Kroner (Bernard Nedell), seeking out a fall guy for a series of arsons, frames Gabe for a fire in which helpless invalid Sleepy (Punsly) dies. With the help of the other Termites, crusading DA Pat Remson (Ronald Reagan) tries to prove Gabe's innocence.

Starring the Dead End Kids, mostly … they had previously appeared along with Ann Sheridan in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938). The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) sounds like a sequel to that film but it isn't.

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) is also available from this website (see below)

Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) - 95 mins

Starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, George Bancroft, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan & Leo Gorcey

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) and Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien) grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood. Rocky becomes a hero to a gang of teenaged boys (played by Dead End Kids Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bobby Jordan and Bernard Punsley). Father Jerry despairs at this, asking Rocky leave them alone so he can keep the kids on the straight and narrow. Then Rocky's crooked business associates Mac Keefer (George Bancroft) and James Frazier (Humphrey Bogart) attempt to end Father Jerry's radio campaign against the rackets by killing the priest. Rocky whose cynical outlook on life has been softened by his romance with true-blue Laury Ferguson (Anne Sheridan) decides its time to challenge his associates and safe-guard Jerry.

Oscar Nominations for Best Actor (Cagney), Best Director & Best Writing

Humphrey Bogart meets The Dead End Kids again, after a similar tough-guy role opposed to the boys in Dead End (1937)

The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) which also stars Ann Sheridan & The Dead End Kids assaying similar roles sounds like it’s a sequel to Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) – but it isn’t.

Both Dead End (1937) & The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) are also available from this website.

The Angry Hills (1959) - 105 mins

Starring Robert Mitchum, Stanley Baker, Elisabeth Muller, Gia Scala, Theodore Bikel & Sebastian Cabot

Directed by Robert Aldrich

Robert Aldrich (Kiss Me Deadly) directed this cloak-and-dagger yarn (based on a bestseller by Leon Uris), filmed on sumptuous locations in Greece. Set in Athens in 1941, before the Nazis overran the country, Robert Mitchum plays American war correspondent Mike Morrison, who has come into the possession of a list of 16 Greek underground leaders that he agrees to deliver to British intelligence in London for a $20,000 fee. Trying to keep him from getting there is the local Gestapo chief Conrad Heisler (Stanley Baker) and fifth columnist Tassos (Theodore Bikel). Morrison also becomes involved with a group of Greek freedom fighters particularly the beautiful Eleftheria (Gia Scala).

The Angry Red Planet (1959) - 83 mins

Starring Gerald Mohr, Naura Hayden, Les Tremayne, Jack Kruschen, Paul Hahn & J. Edward McKinley

Directed by Ib Melchior

The United States space program reports that its missing, overdue manned Mars probe has returned to Earth orbit, but that they haven't been able to make radio contact with it. When it is brought down by remote control, they find three of the four crewmembers aboard: one of them, Professor Gettell (Les Tremayne), is dead; another, mission commander Colonel Tom O'Bannion (Gerald Mohr), is in a coma and suffering from some kind of alien infection; and the third, exo-biologist Iris Ryan (Nora Hayden), is in a state of shock. The ship's tape library seems to have been wiped clean of any record of what took place on the mission, and the doctors can't begin to save O'Bannion until they know what happened. In desperation, they decide to put Iris Ryan into a state of hypnosis, forcing her to recall the events of the mission. The bulk of the film is an un-narrated flashback in which we see the voyage to Mars and the quartet of explorers - rounded out by technician Sam Jacobs (Jack Kruschen) - proceeding successfully to a landing. As they draw closer to signs of intelligent life, however, the group also encounters increasingly dangerous creatures, including a man-eating plant, a giant bat-rat-spider, and a huge amoeba-like creature that consumes anything in its path.

One of a relative handful of 1950s sci-fi films done in color, The Angry Red Planet did its rivals one better with the use of a special effects process called "Cinemagic," which gave the entire screen a deep red tint but also created the illusion of dimensionality and made the monsters look particularly eerie.

Director Ib Melchior who also wrote the screenplay went on the write and direct another excellent (color) sci-fi film: The Time Travelers (1964) which is also available from this website.

(Melchior also wrote one of the best of The Outer Limits TV series: The Premonition)

Another Dawn (1937) - 73 mins

Starring Errol Flynn, Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Frieda Inescort, Herbert Mundin & Richard Powell

Directed by William Dieterle

Captain Denny Roark (Errol Flynn) is a British army officer stationed in a remote Sahara outpost just after WWI. Against his better judgement, Roark falls in love with Julia (Kay Francis), the wife of his commanding officer Colonel Wister (Ian Hunter). Wister knows what's going on, but he is too much the gentleman to interfere, just as Roark is too much the gentleman to demand that the Colonel grant Julia a divorce.

Nice Erich Wolfgang Korngold musical score

Another Man's Poison (1951) - 90 mins

Starring Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams, Anthony Steel & Barbara Murray

Directed by Irving Rapper

Mystery writer Janet Frobisher lives alone in a dark English country house, when she's not philandering with her secretary's fiancée. At an extremely awkward moment, she has an unwelcome visitor: George Bates, who claims to be the partner in crime of Janet's estranged husband. George insinuates himself into Janet's home and life despite her efforts to get rid of him; the tangled relationships develop into a macabre, murderous cat-and-mouse game.

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Apache Rifles (1964) - 92 mins

Starring Audie Murphy, Michael Dante, Linda Dawson, L. Q. Jones & Ken Lynch

Directed by William Witney

The army commander of an Arizona outpost, Capt. Jeff Stanton (Audie Murphy) despises all Indians until he falls in love with a beautiful missionary girl, Dawn Gillis (Linda Dawson). He must change his ways because one of her parents is an Apache. Unfortunately, his attempts to reform are nearly foiled by greedy gold-seekers trying to start a war with the local Apaches.

Another excellent collaboration between Murphy & director Witney

Appointment in Berlin (1943) - 77 mins

Starring George Sanders, Marguerite Chapman, Onslow Stevens, Gale Sondergaard, Alan Napier & H. P. Sanders

Directed by Alfred E. Green

This wartime melodrama stars George Sanders as Keith Wilson, a disillusioned Britisher who becomes a collaborationist at a Nazi radio station. All the time he's dispensing anti-British propaganda over the airwaves, however, Wilson is actually a secret agent in the employ of the His Majesty's government. It is Wilson's intention to use his intimate relationship with the Germans to expose a worldwide Nazi spy ring. Romance enters the picture in the form of Ilse Preissing (Marguerite Chapman), the sister of a Nazi agent who decides to join Wilson's side.Veteran movie villainess Gale Sondergaard also appears in the film, cast against type as a courageous British intelligence agent.

Quality Note: Not the best of prints but still acceptable enough so as to not interfere with the enjoyment of this great Sanders drama

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Appointment in Honduras (1953) - 79 mins

Starring Glenn Ford, Ann Sheridan, Zachary Scott, Rodolfo Acosta, Jack Elam & Ric Roman

Directed by Jacques Tourneur

Set in Central America, the plotline resembles a Republic serial, with Ms. Sheridan and leading man Glenn Ford facing such perils as man-eating fish, alligators, outsized hornets and a jungle brushfire. Jim Corbett (Glenn Ford) is hired to make certain that a huge sum of cash reaches an ousted South American political leader. Sylvia Sheppard (Ann Sheridan) and her husband Harry (Zachary Scott) are taken hostage by Corbett's crooked employers and forced to go along.

Well directed by Jacques Tourneur, this nice color production is full of such perils as man-eating fish, alligators, outsized hornets and a jungle brushfire - great stuff!

Appointment in London (1952) - 96 mins

Starring Dirk Bogarde, Ian Hunter, Dinah Sheridan, Bryan Forbes & Walter Fitzgerald

Directed by Philip Leacock

Its 1943 and Wing Commander Tim Mason's (Dirk Bogarde) hope is to complete 90 bombing missions before his automatic rotation to a desk job. After the 89th mission, however, he is grounded and ordered to remain so by his superior officer. When a bomber pilot is injured, Mason defies his orders and takes the pilot's place.

A stylish and superior film which was a big hit both in the UK and the US markets

Appointment With Danger (1951) - 89 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart, Jan Sterling, Jack Webb & Harry Morgan

Directed by Lewis Allen

Relentless postal inspector Al Goddard is sent to Gary, Indiana, when another officer is murdered. He must find the nun who witnessed the murder, then infiltrate the gang by convincing them he is a postal inspector gone bad. This is a great Alan Ladd crime drama with interesting support from Jack Webb & Harry Morgan as the villains!

Note that this film is part of a 4 DVD (8 film) Alan Ladd Collection set which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

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Arabian Adventure (1979) - 98 mins

Starring Christopher Lee, Milo O’Shea, Oliver Tobias, Capucine, Peter Cushing & Mickey Rooney

Directed by Kevin Connor

A valiant prince battles an evil sorcerer to rescue his true love in this colorful fantasy, which features high adventure and plenty of special effects. The hero must overcome a number of dangers, along the way receiving help from a beautiful street urchin and a magical rose.

One of nice sextet of sci-fi / fantasy / horror films directed by legendary Brit, Kevin Connor: From Beyond the Grave (1973), The Land That Time Forgot (1975), At the Earth's Core (1976), The People That Time Forgot (1977), Warlords of the Deep (1978) & Arabian Adventure (1979) - all of which are available from this website.

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Arabesque (1966) - 105 mins

Starring Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel, Keiron Moore, Carl Duering & John Merivale

Directed by Stanley Donen

An expert in ancient hieroglyphics unexpectedly finds himself involved in a web of international intrigue in this chic, enjoyably tongue-in-cheek espionage adventure. Gregory Peck stars as David Pollock, an American professor whose predictable academic routine is overturned when he is hired to help translate a mysterious message written in an obscure ancient text. The real trouble begins, however, when everyone from a wealthy oil magnate to a foreign government to brutal criminals starts to chase Pollock, desperate to discover the nature of the deciphered message. Along for the ride is Yasmin Azir (Sophia Loren), the gorgeous lover of Pollock's employers, whose loyalties are questionable, to say the least.

A fabulous Henry Mancini score adds to this well-made example of an airy, intentionally superficial comic adventure.

Arch of Triumph (1948) - 125 mins

Starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Charles Laughton, Louis Calhern & Stephan Bekassy

Directed by Lewis Milestone

Dr. Ravic (Charles Boyer) is a refugee physician practicing medicine illegally in Paris under a false name. He saves Joan Madou (Ingrid Bergman) from committing suicide after the sudden death of her lover. He gets her a job singing at the nightclub where his only friend, Boris Morosov (Louis Calhern), is the doorman. Joan falls in love with Ravic, but he is deported and she finds herself the mistress of wealthy Alex (Stephan Bekassy). Meanwhile, Ravic seeks revenge against a Nazi officer (Charles Laughton) and war is declared between France and Germany.

Based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque.

Armored Car Robbery (1950) - 68 mins

Starring Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman, Douglas Fowley & Gene Evans

Directed by Richard Fleischer

A little-seen fatalistic film noir about a skilled robber who masterminds the ultimate hold-up, only to see his plans falling apart when a cop and two of his fellow criminals are killed in action . It is difficult to appreciate how original heist films still were in the late 40s and early 50s. The title of this fast-paced and tense B-movie thriller tells part of the story of vicious Talman (the DA on Perry Mason) and his gang being pursued relentlessly by gruff cop McGraw, out to avenge the death of his partner. Fleischer, shooting in well-used Los Angeles locations, approaches much of it in a semi-documentary manner in his observation of police methods. Often flatteringly compared with Kubrick's The Killing, the centrepiece is a gripping and incredibly explicit heist that sharp-eyed viewers may recognise as the failed gangsters' blueprint in recent crime comedy Palookaville.

A truly gripping & original noir - director Fleischer and star McGraw were to combine again two years later with great effect for another classic: The Narrow Margin (1952) - which also available from this website

Richard Fleischer directed a string of impressive nourish "B" dramas in Bodyguard (1948), The Clay Pigeon (1949), Follow Me Quietly (1949), Trapped (1949), Armored Car Robbery (1950) & The Narrow Margin (1952) - with that latter earning an Oscar Nomination - before moving up to the majors with Violent Saturday (1955) - all of which are available from this website

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1940) - 84 mins

Starring Leslie Banks, Greta Gynt, Ian McLean, Liane Linden & Anthony Bushell

Directed by Thorold Dickinson

During a charity soccer match between top professional side Arsenal and touring amateur side Trojans, the Trojan's new star player collapses. When he dies, Inspector Slade of Scotland Yard is called in and declares it was murder. It takes all his ingenuity and another death before the motive is discovered and the killer revealed.

Neat little who-dunnit from the Brits

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Arson, Inc. (1949) - 63 mins

Starring Robert Lowery, Anne Gwynne, Edward Brophy, Marcia Mae Jones & Douglas Fowley

Directed by William Berke

Fireman Joe Martin (Robert Lowery) comes to suspect that fires occurring in the warehouse and home of a furrier may have been deliberately set in order to cover thefts. He goes undercover, pretending to have been discharged from the fire department and appearing to ally himself with crooked insurance man Fred Fender (Douglas Fowley), whom Joe suspects of being behind the arson ring. But Joe and his girlfriend Jane Jennings (Anne Gwynne) soon find themselves in over their heads

Fans of Robert “Batman” Lowery will enjoy this tidy noir

Asphalt Jungle (1950) - 112 mins

Starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe & Marilyn Munroe

Directed by John Huston

'Doc' Riedenschneider, legendary crime 'brain' just out of prison, has a brilliant plan for a million-dollar burglary. To pull it off, he recruits safecracker Louis, driver Gus, financial backer Emmerich, and strong-arm man Dix Handley. At first the plan goes like clockwork, but little accidents accumulate and each partner proves to have his own fatal weakness. In the background is a pervasive, grimy urban malaise. This film is a model of its kind, frequently copied and remade no less than 3 times.

Academy Award nominations for Director, Supporting Actor, Screenplay, Cinematography.

Sterling Hayden: ever the maverick, ever the individual - he preferred to sail his yacht around the world rather than act in movies. Yet despite his lack of interest in film, he was lauded and chased by the very finest directors: John Huston, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola & Stanley Kubrick. In each of his roles, Hayden's individuality showed forth whatever the genre of film: noir, adventure, western & swashbuckler. He remains a huge favourite of my Dad (who introduced me to his films) and my son (to whom I, too introduced this powerful actor).

Sterling Hayden films which are available from this website are:

Manhandled (1949), Asphalt Jungle (1950), Denver & Rio Grande (1952), The Golden Hawk (1952), Fighter Attack (1953), Crime Wave (1954), Prince Valiant (1954), Johnny Guitar (1954), Naked Alibi (1954), Suddenly (1954), Battle Taxi (1955), Timberjack (1955), The Killing (1956), Crime of Passion (1954), 5 Steps to Danger (1957), Terror in a Texas Town (1958), Ten Days to Tulara (1958) & The Long Goodbye (1973)

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Assignment in Brittany (1943) - 96 mins

Starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Susan Peters, Margaret Wycherly, Signe Hasso, Richard Worf & George Coulouris

Directed by Jack Conway

During WW2, Free French Capt. Pierre Matard (Jean-Pierre Aumont) appears to bears a remarkable resemblance to Bertrand Conlay, a prisoner of the Allies whom is suspected of being a fifth columnist. Posing as Conlay, Metard gains the confidence of the Nazi occupiers of Brittany. He plays his part to the hilt, even unto romancing Conlay's patriotic girlfriend Anne Pinot (Susan Peters). A life-and-death contretemps with the Nazis follows, excitingly staged by director Jack Conway

Jean-Pierre Aumont makes his American film debut in Assignment in Brittany which is based on the best-selling novel by Helen Macinnes.

Assignment: Paris (1952) - 85 mins

Starring Dana Andrews, Märta Torén, George Sanders, Audrey Totter & Sandro Giglio

Directed by Robert Parrish

Based on a serialized Saturday Evening Post story by Paul and Pauline Gallico, this film stars Dana Andrews as reporter Jimmy Race, assigned to the Paris bureau of the New York Herald Tribune. Race makes the acquaintance of French journalist Jeanne Moray (Marta Toren), who is forced to suppress a white-hot news story about an impending Iron Curtain political conspiracy because she lacks proof. At great risk to himself, Race heads to Budapest to ferret out the facts, sometimes right under the noses of the communist "damage control" experts. George Sanders co-stars as editor Rick Strang, who dispatches Race on his fact-finding mission - partly because of his dedication to truth, and partly because he has designs on the gorgeous Jeanne himself.

Assignment: Paris makes excellent use of authentic Parisian and Hungarian locations, and is a great adventure story!

The Atomic City (1952) - 85 mins

Starring Gene Barry, Lydia Clarke, Michael Moore, Nancy Gates & Lee Aaker

Directed by Jerry Hopper

At Los Alamos, New Mexico, the maximum-security "atomic city" of U.S. nuclear-weapons research, top atomic scientist Frank Addison has a normal, middle-American life with his wife and son - until the boy is kidnapped by enemy agents to extort H-bomb secrets. Result, a fast moving chase thriller with a particularly tense climax played out along the mountain mesas surrounding Los Alamos.

Yes, the son is played by Lee Aaker - Rusty from the hit TV series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (also available from this website in the TV series A - H section)

The Atomic Man (1955) (aka Timeslip) - 79 mins

Starring Gene Nelson, Faith Domergue, Joseph Tomelty, Leonard Williams, Peter Arne & Barry MacKay

Directed by Ken Hughes

Based on a story & subsequent screenplay by prolific sci-fi writer Charles Eric Maine, The Atomic Man of the title is initially Jarvis (Peter Arne) who is fished out of the Thames with a bullet in his back. Jarvis is discovered to be highly radioactive and it turns out that he is the missing atomic scientist, Dr. Stephen Rayner whose exposure to radioactive substances, coupled with his brush with death, has endowed him with remarkable prognostic powers.

With the help of reporter Mike Delaney (Gene Nelson), Rayner sets out to expose a plot hatched by his evil double, a tungsten magnate who is trying to destroy Rayner's experiments in artificial tungsten.

The Atomic Submarine (1959) - 72 mins

Starring Arthur Franz, Dick Foran, Brett Halsey, Paul Dubov & Bob Steele

Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet

Seasoned serial director Spencer Gordon Bennett helmed this story of a one-eyed, octopoidal space alien, wreaking havoc upon atomic subs at the North Pole. The monster is determined to take over the world and Cmdr. Richard 'Reef' Holloway, Capt. 'Skipper' Dan Wendover and Dr. Carl Neilson Jr. (Arthur Franz, Dick Foran, Brett Halsey respectively) head underwater to neutralize the alien's submerged flying saucer.

At Sword's Point (1952) (aka Sons of the Musketeers) - 81 mins

Starring Cornel Wilde, Maureen O'Hara, Robert Douglas, Gladys Cooper & Dan O'Herlihy

Directed by Lewis Allen

France, 1648: Richelieu and Louis XIII are dead, the new king is a minor, and the Duc de Lavalle is in virtually open rebellion, scheming to seize power. As a last resort, Queen Anne summons the heirs of the original Musketeers to her aid, including Claire, daughter of Athos, who when she chooses can miraculously pass as a boy, and wields as fine a sword as any. All their skills will be needed for a battle against increasing odds. One for all and all for one!

Wilde shows just how good he is with a sword in his hand (& even his left hand!)

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Attack on the Iron Coast (1968) - 89 mins

Starring Lloyd Bridges, Andrew Keir, Sue Lloyd, Mark Eden, Maurice Denham & Glyn Owen

Directed by Paul Wendkos

Major James Wilson (Lloyd Bridges) must lead his troops across the English channel in the D-day invasion of Normandy. He trains his regulars for the invasion knowing that many, if not all, may never survive the assault. Wilson is plagued by memories of previous missions that turned out to be suicidal. Captain Franklin (Andrew Keir) is the British officer who opposed the plan and has a personal vendetta against Wilson. The two are thrown together on the same mission when Franklin is slated to command the mine sweepers that transport Wilson's troops to their destination. They face overwhelming odds and a barrage of cannon fire from the Nazi stronghold on the Normandy coast.

Good film with Lloyd Bridges again to the fore in a powerful role.

At the Earth's Core (1976) - 90 mins

Starring Doug McClure, Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Cy Grant, Godfrey James & Sean Lynch

Directed by Kevin Connor

In England around the turn of the century, Dr Abner Perry unveils his invention - The Mole, a giant vehicle designed for exploring the center of the Earth by drilling through the ground. He and engineer David Innes take it on its maiden voyage but it goes out of control and they end up in the prehistoric land of Pellucidar at the Earth's core. There they are captured by The Mahars, intelligent, telepathic flying reptiles which keep primitive humans as their slaves via mind control. David falls for the beautiful slave girl Dia. But when she is chosen as a sacrificial victim in the Mahar city, he organizes the humans to rebellion to save her.

The Land That Time Forgot (1975) was the first of three Edgar Rice Burroughs tales that were adapted for film by British production house Amicus under the direction of Kevin Connor and starring American actor Doug McClure (remember Trampas from the 60's TV series The Virginian ?). The second was At The Earth's Core (1976), which also starred Peter Cushing and the lovely Caroline Munro, and the last was The People That Time Forgot (1977), a sequel to the first film in which Patrick Wayne goes in search for Doug. The Land That Time Forgot is also significant because well known Fantasy writer Michael Moorcock worked on the screenplay. A fourth Connor / McClure film in this series of period lost world films was also produced : Warlords Of Atlantis (1978). Although not based on the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, it followed fairly much the formula set by the other films in the series - a journey by stalwart period English scientists into a lost world filled with monsters, a voyage that takes places in a marvellous vehicle of period technology.

(Kevin Connor sandwiched these 4 films between equally enjoyable sci-fi / fantasy romps: From Beyond the Grave (1973) & Arabian Adventure (1979) - both of which are available from this website)

McClure then returned to US TV but within two years was back on the big screen in the outrageous Humanoids from the Deep (1980). From the Roger Corman (low-budget shocker) stable this film achieved dubious notoriety for its gratuitous and uncompromising approach to the genre

The films all also feature charismatic acting from lantern-jawed lead man Doug McClure and talented support players.

All of these films are available from within this section of the website - they are also available in a 5 DVD set from within the Classic Movie Combination section of this website

The Avengers (1942) - See The Day Will Dawn (1942) elsewhere in the website

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Backfire (1950) - 91 mins

Starring Gordon MacRae, Edmond O’Brien, Virginia Mayo, Dane Clark, Viveca Lindfors & Ed Begley

Directed by Vincent Sherman

When he's discharged from a military hospital, ex-GI Bob Corey (Gordon MacRae) goes on a search for his army buddy Steve Connolly (Edmond O'Brien). A reformed crook, Connolly is on the run after being wrongly accused of murder, and Corey hopes to clear his pal. Along for the ride is Army nurse Julie Benson (Virginia Mayo), who has fallen for Corey. Julie and Corey meet up with various people with whom Connolly has come in contact, one of whom is the actual killer, who now adds the GI and the nurse to the "hit list."

A strong dramatic debut from singing star Gordon MacRae, who is quite compelling in a good role

Then there are his earlier "breakout" roles in Parachute Battalion (1941), Obliging Young Lady (1942), Powder Town (1942) & The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943) - all of which are available from this website.

Background to Danger (1943) - 80 mins

Starring George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Osa Massen & Kurt Katch

Directed by Raoul Walsh

Ankara in neutral Turkey : World War Two. A town of intrigue and of provocateurs. The Germans are planning to leak maps apparently proving that the Russians are about to invade the country. American Joe Barton is in the know and in the middle, along with Zaloshoff and his sister who may or may not be Russians. What is clear though is that odious Colonel Robinson is a full-blown Nazi

Slam bang WWII story (from the trusty pen of Eric Ambler) with a terrific car chase to cap a fast moving tale.

Greenstreet and Lorre in combination again!

Other films to feature the Greenstreet / Lorre combination were The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), Passage to Marseille (1944), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), The Conspirators (1944), Three Strangers (1946 & The Verdict (1946) - all of which are available from this website.

Back to Bataan (1945) - 95 mins

Starring John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Beulah Bondi, Fely Franquelli, Richard Loo & Philip Ahn

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

US Col. Madden and his men are fighting for their lives holding back wave after wave of suicidal Japanese Banzai attacks as the lights slowly go out for the American and Philippine forces. With the US general in command of the Philippines Douglas MacArthur being called back to Australia to regroup the battered and defeated US Army, things look very bleak for the American and Filipino troops still left on the islands.

Madden and Capt. Andres Bonifacio lead a guerrilla war lasting for two and a half years making it possible for the successful allied invasion of Latye in the fall of 1944.

Preceded by a sort-of-prequel: Bataan (1943) which is also available from this website.

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) - 81 mins

Starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine & Lee Marvin

Directed by John Sturges

Spencer Tracy is John J. MacReedy, a one-armed stranger who comes to the tiny town of Black Rock one hot summer day in 1945, the first time the train has stopped there in years. He looks for both a hotel room and a local Japanese farmer named Komoko, but his inquiries are greeted at first with open hostility, then with blunt threats and harassment, and finally with escalating violence. MacReedy soon realizes that he will not be allowed to leave Black Rock. The entire cast is flawless, especially Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin as the mean-spirited town bullies, and the relentlessly paced action never eclipses the film's sobering themes.

A powerfully tense, fast-paced suspense drama with a grim social message about racial prejudice, Bad Day at Black Rock is a rightly-judged classic - nominated for 3 Oscars (Best Actor, Director & Screenplay)

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Bad For Each Other (1953) - 83 mins

Starring Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott, Diane Foster, Mildred Dunnock & Arthur Franz

Directed by Irving Rapper

Charlton Heston plays poor-but-proud Army doctor Tom Owen, who through the influence of Pittsburgh socialite Helen Curtis (Lizabeth Scott) builds up a posh society practice. Though he's happy with the money and prestige, Dr. Owen is at heart a man of the people, and he'd much prefer tending to the families of the local steel miners. During a moment of extreme crisis, Owen is forced to choose immediately between the life offered him by Helen and the course he knows he should be following.

The Badlanders (1958) - 85 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Ernest Borgnine, Katy Jurado, Claire Kelly, Kent Smith & Nehemiah Persoff

Directed by Delmer Daves

Alan Ladd stars in The Badlanders as Peter Van Hook, the mastermind of a gold robbery. The victim-to-be is Cyril Lounsberry (Kent Smith), whose perjured testimony had sent the innocent Van Hook and John McBain (Ernest Borgnine) to prison. Van Hook and McBain conspire with Anita (Katy Jurado) to rob Lounsberry of his ill-gotten gains; meanwhile Lounsberry is planning to ditch his wife and run off with his mistress, Ada Winton (Claire Kelly). Aligning with dynamite expert Vincente (Nehemiah Persoff), Van Hook and his companions pull off the heist. But what next in this tangled web?

The Badlanders is a western remake of The Asphalt Jungle (1950), a fact confirmed by the onscreen credits. As such its included here as a "type of" western film noir

Badman's Territory (1946) - 97 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Ann Richards, Ray Collins & Morgan Conway.

Directed by Tim Whelan

An earnest Texas sheriff meets the likes of the James Gang, the Daltons, Sam Bass and Belle Starr as he paves the way for a lawless territitory known as Badman's Territory to become part of the Oklahama Territory and receive the protection of the Union. Rich characterizations especially from Gabby Hayes as the Coyote Kid in his first of five appearances in Randolph Scott westerns

Bagdad (1949) - 82 mins

Starring Maureen O'Hara, Paul Hubschmid, Vincent Price, John Sutton & Jeff Corey

Directed by Charles Lamont

Maureen O'Hara plays the daughter of a Sheikh who returns from being educated in London, only to find her father is dead and his palace looted. Handsome Paul Christian is suspected of the murder, as is lecherous pasha Vincent Price, but the real villain may be one of the Sheikh's most trusted aides.

Sumptuous color print! - note that there is no "h" in the title

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946) - 86 mins

Starring Cornel Wilde, Anita Louise, Jill Esmond, Edgar Buchanan, Henry Daniell, George Macready & John Abbott

Directed by Henry Levin & George Sherman

This Technicolor swashbuckler stars Cornel Wilde as Robert of Nottingham, son of the legendary Robin Hood. Robert elects to follow in his father's footsteps when oppression rears its ugly head in the form of a despotic Regent (Henry Daniell) and his partner in perfidy Fitz-Herbert (George Macrady). Our hero reunites the Merrie Men, including Friar Tuck (Edgar Buchanan) and Will Scarlet (John Abbott), determined to force the wicked Regent to recognize the Magna Carta. He also finds time to carry on romance with high-born Anita Louise, who has disguised herself as a scullery maid.

Fabulous color print!

Based on a novel by Paul A. Castleton, The Bandit of Sherwood Forest was more or less remade four years later as Rogues of Sherwood Forest (which is also available from this website)

Bank Alarm (1937) - 61 mins

Starring Conrad Nagel, Eleanor Hunt, Vince Barnett Wheeler Oakman & Nat Carr

Directed by Louis J. Gasnier

One of four highly entertaining crime melodramas starring Conrad Nagel and Eleanor Hunt as Federal agents Alan O'Connor and Bobbie Reynolds. On this occasion, the two G-people are on the trail of a gang of desperate bank robbers. Making their job slightly easier is the fact that the crooks are leaving behind a trail of counterfeit money. Unfortunately, they're also leaving a trail of corpses, meaning that Alan and Bobbie had better get a move on before someone else gets bumped off.

Note that all 4 films in this series - the others being: Sinful Cargo (1936), Navy Spy (1937) & The Gold Racket (1937) - are available in a 2 DVD set from the Movies Series (A-M) section of this website

The Bank Raiders (1958) - 62 mins

Starring Peter Reynolds, Sandra Dorne, Sydney Tafler, Lloyd Lamble & Rose Hill

Directed by Maxwell Munden

In this entertainmenter about a minor crook in trouble, Terry is the driver for a successful bank job. He is told by gang-boss Shelton to lie low but instead celebrates with Della, a greedy but alluring party girl, then gets picked up on suspicion. He is released when the key witness refuses to identify him because the gang is holding his fiancee hostage. Shelton tries to shut Terry up for good, but Terry escapes and seeks refuge with Della. She lets him stay, but only if he agrees to confront the gang leader one more time.

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The Barefoot Contessa (1954) - 130 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Marius Goring, Valentina Cortese & Rossano Brazzi

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

The Barefoot Contessa begins at the funeral of Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner), a former Spanish peasant, cabaret dancer and movie star, who at the time of her death was a full-fledged contessa. Her life story unfolds in flashback recollections from her mourners. Film director Harry Dawes (Humphrey Bogart) recalls how his career was saved when he discovered Vargas on behalf of Howard R. Hughes-like mogul Kirk Edwards. Press agent Oscar Muldoon (Edmond O'Brien) remembers how Vargas was wooed and then abandoned by mercurial millionaire Alberto Bravano (Marius Goring), and Italian Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini (Rosanno Brazzi) reflects on how he was able to wed the tempestuous Vargas, only to watch his world crumble after revealing on their wedding night that he was "only half a man."

Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor (Edmond O’Brien). Also Oscar nomination for Writing, Story & Screenplay (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)

Eddie O’Brien at his artistic peak, even though its only a small role!

Barricade (1939) - 71 mins

Starring Alice Faye, Warner Baxter, Charles Winninger, Arthur Treacher & Keye Luke

Directed by Gregory Ratoff

While fleeing war-torn China by train, two Americans, singer Emmy Jordan (Alice Faye) and journalist Hank Topping (Warner Baxter) are attacked by Mongol bandits. United in danger, they seek refuge in the American consulate before attempting another escape from the country.

Excellent adventure story with Faye & Baxter in fine form.

The Bat (1926) - 86 mins

Starring Jack Pickford, Louise Fazenda, Eddie Gribbon & George Beranger

Directed by Roland West

A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer. The trouble is that there are other criminals afoot and the story becomes a mystery as to who is hiding behind the mask. This film became one of the most popular films of the late silent era and is said to be the inspiration for Bob Kane's Batman comic strip

Note: This is a SILENT film

Bataan (1943) - 114 mins

Starring Robert Taylor, George Murphy, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Nolan & Robert Walker

Directed by Tay Garnett

Robert Taylor as Sgt. Bill Dane and a band of American and Philippine soldiers are caught in the Japanese conquest of the Philippines in 1942. As U.S. forces retreat toward Bataan, Dane and a small patrol are ordered to delay the enemy at a strategic bridge. The group blows the bridge and waits for the inevitable enemy thrust to rebuild the bridge and dislodge the Americans. Snipers, malaria, and shortages of medicine, food and potable water become the soldier's daily lot as they cope with the enemy and a dawning knowledge that they have, in fact, been deemed expendable.

MGM and the United States Office of War Information collaborated on Bataan with the official goal to increase public understanding of World War II. The first war film to take place entirely on the battlefield with no scenes of the soldiers on leave, depictions of the home front, or flashbacks to pre-war civilian life.

Bataan prepared its wartime audience for American casualties. Its Alamo-esque storyline emphasized the value of such sacrifice and its diverse group of soldiers compiled of all ranks, races, classes, ages, and creeds portrayed this effort as the duty of all men. It is a depiction of altruism and national unity that both inspired public support of the War and served as the template for World War II films throughout the forties and into the present.

Followed by a sort-of-sequel: Back to Bataan (1945) which is also available from this website.

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Battle at Bloody Beach (1961) - 83 mins

Starring Audie Murphy, Gary Crosby, Dolores Michaels, Alejandro Rey, Barry Atwater

Directed by Herbert Coleman

Real-life WW II hero Audie Murphy stars in this WWII adventure that follows the exploits of a civilian who works closely with Filipino resistance fighters against the Japanese invaders.

Craig Benson (Audie Murphy) has come to the Philippine Islands to find his new wife Ruth (Dolores Michaels) after they were separated during their honeymoon. Ruth is alive but thinks that Craig died under enemy fire. She then begins to fall in love with the underground leader Julio Fontana (Alejandro Rey). Meanwhile, Craig and his buddy Marty (Gary Crosby) must fight the Japanese and the jungle in the hope that they will eventually meet

Battle Circus (1953) - 90 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, June Allyson, Keenan Wynn, Robert Keith & Philip Ahn

Directed by Richard Brooks

Nurse Lt. Ruth McGara is assigned to a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) unit near the front lines of the Korean War. There she meets and is roughly romanced by Major Jed Webbe, one of the unit's surgeons. Webbe is pushy and seems to care only for momentary pleasures, but McGara falls for him just the same. Their romance blossoms in the midst of overwhelming numbers of casualties, threats from the enemy and from the weather, and emergency evacuations that test the mettle of even a unit whose very name suggests quick mobility.

Battleground (1949) - 118 mins

Starring Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Marshall Thompson & James Whitmore

Directed by William A. Wellman

Its December, 1944 and the Nazis, in the face of the onrushing Allies, turned and pushed into the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and Luxembourg for what would be their last major offensive of World War II. During this Battle of the Bulge, they surrounded the town of Bastogne, Belgium, trapping the US Army 101st Airborne Division in the town. To make matters worse for the 101st, thick clouds covered the area for most of the battle. This prevented the Allies from providing air cover and air-dropped supplies to their troops on the ground. This film focuses on one squad of the 101st as they wait for the clouds to break. Meanwhile, they must survive German spies in US Army uniforms, German artillery, winter weather, dwindling supplies, and the fear of being trapped by a hostile force.

An award-winning box-office hit!

Oscar Wins for B&W Cinematography & Writing. Oscar Nominations for Best Picture, Supporting Role (James Whitmore), Director & Editing

Battle in Outer Space (1959) - 90 mins

Starring Ryo Ikebe, Kyôko Anzai, Koreya Senda, Minoru Takada, Leonard Stanford, Harold Conway & Yoshio Tsuchiya

Directed by Ishirô Honda

A group of aliens from the planet Netal in another solar system has designs on conquering Earth. They start off by destroying a space station and its entire crew. They then take over the mind of an Iranian scientist who tries to steal a powerful heat ray that can be used against them. The nations of the earth are banding together to fight off invaders from outer space. At the core of their defense is an attack in which two space ships from the earth land on the moon where the aliens have set up their base of operations. But this pre-emptive strike may not be enough.

Incredible special effects!

I vividly recall seeing this film at my local cinema and being enthralled by it - I didn't notice the dubbing or the slightly Asian appearance of the cast - it was just "good gear" all-the-way.

For all of the originally non-English speaking films which can be found on this website, I have elected to go with the original spoken language with subtitling in English - and its as indicated as such.

But this, Battle in Outer Space (1959) is my single departure (once only). I elected to go with the "International Release" print - dubbed in English and no subtitles.

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Battle Taxi (1955) - 82 mins

Starring Sterling Hayden, Arthur Franz, Marshall Thompson, Leo Needham & John Dennis

Directed by Herbert L. Strock

Set during the height of the Korean War, Battle Taxi tells of Capt. Russ Edwards (Sterling Hayden), an officer of the Helicopter Air Rescue Service, whose job it is to save wounded or stranded soldiers from hostile territory. Lt. Pete Stacy (Arthur Franz) is a jet pilot assigned to the copter service, who at first resents being a non-com but eventually realizes his importance in the scheme of things.

Another action-packed Sterling Hayden vehicle

Sterling Hayden films which are available from this website are:

Beachhead (1954) - 90 mins

Starring Tony Curtis, Frank Lovejoy, Mary Murphy, Eduard Franz & Skip Homeier

Directed by Stuart Heisler

Set in the Philippines during WWII, this suspenseful and realistic war drama chronicles the courage of a unit of US Marines as they try to save a plantation owner/Allied spy and his beautiful daughter from the Japanese who have taken over a densely jungled island. The spy has crucial information to relay so the Marines must hurry. Only two soldiers remain alive after the mission attempt goes horribly wrong. Trapped on the island, they must escort the plantation owner and his daughter to the other side of the island where their ship awaits. They must battle nature, hard terrain, and advancing Japanese troops

This excellent adventure story was shot on location in Hawaii .

Fabulous color print!

Bear Island (1979) - 118 mins

Starring Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Lloyd Bridges & Barbara Parkins

Directed by Don Sharp

A group of people converge on a barren Arctic island. They have their reasons for being there but when a series of mysterious accidents and murders take place, a whole lot of darker motives become apparent. Could the fortune in buried Nazi gold be the key to the mystery?

An intricately plotted suspense thriller from the pen of Alistair MacLean, this film boasts fabulous location photography and excellent performances from a stellar cast

Note: Fans of films based on Alistair MacLean's works might like to check out The Secret Ways (1961), The Satan Bug (1965), When Eight Bells Toll (1971), Puppet on a Chain (1971), Fear Is the Key (1972), Caravan to Vaccarès (1974), Golden Rendezvous (1977), Bear Island (1979) & River of Death (1989) elsewhere in the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of this website.

Additionally, The Alistair MacLean Collection which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website, comprises The Satan Bug (1965), When Eight Bells Toll (1971), Puppet on a Chain (1971) & Fear Is the Key (1972) in a special 4 DVD collection.

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The Beast from 20, 000 Fathoms (1953) - 80 mins

Starring Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods & Lee Van Cleef

Directed by Eugène Lourié

Nuclear physicist Professor Paul Nesbitt (Paul Hubschmid) sees what he believes to be a giant monster after an atomic bomb test in the arctic. The only other witness is killed when he is covered by ice. When Nesbitt returns to the States he tries to convince the world that he did see the monster. He even tries to convince paleontologist Thurgood Ellison (Cecil Kellaway). The only person who will believe him is Ellison's assistant, Lee Hunter (Paula Raymond). Ellison is finally convinced when Nesbitt and a survivor of a ship that was attacked by the monster both identify the monster as a rhedosaurus. Eventually the monster makes its way to New York where it kills several people and not only by devouring them or crushing them with its sheer weight - the beast also is the carrier of a deadly virulent disease!

A longtime "dream" project of production designer-turned-director Eugene Lourie, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms represented effects artist Ray Harryhausen's first solo effort, after assisting Willis O'Brien on Mighty Joe Young (1949).

The Beasts of Marseilles (1957) - See Seven Thunders elsewhere in the website

Beau Geste (1939) - 112 mins

Starring Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, J. Carroll Naish & Susan Hayward

Directed by William A. Wellman

From P.C. (Christopher) Wren's adventure novel Beau Geste opens with the now-famous scenes of a remote, burning desert fort, manned by the dead Foreign Legionnaires, then flashes back to the early lives of the Geste brothers. As children, the Gestes swear eternal loyalty to one another and to their family - so when Beau (Gary Cooper) protects his aunt by confessing to (her) theft and running off to join the infamous French Foreign Legion, he is joined in uniform by faithful brothers John (Ray Milland) and Digby (Robert Preston), who in turn are pursued by the slimy Rasinoff (J. Carroll Naish). Rasinoff is in cahoots with sadistic Legion Sgt. Markov (Brian Donlevy), who is later put in charge of Fort Zinderneuf, where Beau and John are stationed. Then the Arabs attack ….

Without peer as an adventure story, this large scale epic shouldn't be missed.

Oscar Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Brian Donlevy) & Art Direction

Gary Cooper: forever the great adventurer - these Gary Cooper titles are available from this website are:

Before I Hang (1940) - 62 mins

Starring Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett, Edward Van Sloan & Ben Taggart

Directed by Nick Grinde

Condemned to death for a mercy killing, Dr. John Garth (Karloff) continues to experiment in prison to develop a serum that will put at end to the ageing process. On the eve of his execution, he offers himself as guinea pig for his youth serum, which has recently been mixed with the blood of an executed psychopath. Miraculously, Garth does grow younger before the astonished eyes of kindly prison physician Ralph Howard (Edward Van Sloan). Alas, the serum has murderous side effects.

Possibly the best of Karloff?

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Beginning of the End (1957) - 76 mins

Starring Peter Graves, Peggie Castle, Morris Ankrum, Than Wyenn, Richard Benedict & Don C. Harvey

Directed by Bert I. Gordon

Reporter Audrey Aimes (Peggie Castle) is driving along a highway in Illinois when she is stopped by the military and informed that a small town has been destroyed and everyone has seemingly disappeared. She then goes to a lab run by the Department of Agriculture where she meets the lab's director, Dr. Ed Wainwright (Peter Graves). Ed tells her that strange things have been happening ever since he discovered that a bunch of grasshoppers managed to get into a silo containing a batch of radioactive wheat. They soon discover that the grasshoppers have grown to monstrous proportions and not only are devouring the local vegetation, but have developed a taste for human flesh as well. Now the locusts are marching towards Chicago and the military is threatening to destroy the city with the atom bomb.

Behind the Headlines (1937) - 58 mins

Starring Lee Tracy, Diana Gibson, Phillip Huston, Paul Guilfoyle & Donald Meek

Directed by Richard Rosson

Eddie Haines is a radio reporter with Station KBC. He is always getting the scoop, which infuriates those at the New York Star, which happens to employ his ex-girlfriend Mary Bradley. But when Mary is kidnapped while thinking she is getting a scoop on a big story, Eddie and Mary, (ie. the print media and the radio media), must work together to rescue her.

Behind the Headlines (1956) - 65 mins

Starring Paul Carpenter, Adrienne Corri, Hazel Court, Alfie Bass & Ewen Solon

Directed by Charles Saunders

Paul Banner, previously an American reporter working in London, has now gone freelance, leaving his paper so that he can focus more on chasing down facts and selling his stories once he gets them. When showgirl Nina Duke is murdered the press are all harrying the police for statements and facts but Banner hangs back and does a little work of his own to uncover the story. Nina, it transpires, was in jail for blackmail previously so it is possible that this was why she was killed - but can Banner get the story that the police cannot?

This neat little Anglo-American production was based on a novel by Robert Chapman.

Behind the Iron Curtain (1948) - See The Iron Curtain elsewhere in this website

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Behind the Mask (1932) - 68 mins

Starring Jack Holt, Constance Cummings, Boris Karloff, Claude King & Berthe Mann

Directed by John Francis Dillon

Federal agent Jack Hart (Jack Holt) goes undercover to infiltrate a drug smuggling operation headed by a mysterious Mr. X, a criminal mastermind whose identity is unknown even to his henchmen. Befriending small-time gangster Henderson (Boris Karloff), Hart follows the trail of clues in an effort to unmask Mr. X who, it appears, is also running a bogus hospital where victims are killed on the operating table, and their coffins stuffed with narcotics.

Top drawer Holt!

Interestingly this film was penned by Joseph Swerling who went on to write top Gary Cooper films The Real Glory (1939) & The Westerner (1940), Tyrone Power's Blood and Sand (1941), the excellent noir Leave Her to Heaven (1945) and a quite good Alan Ladd actioner Thunder in the East (1952) - all of which are available from this website

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Belle of the Yukon (1944) - 83 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dinah Shore, Bob Burns, Charles Winninger & Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

Directed by William A. Seiter

Honest John Calhoun aka Gentleman Jack (Randolph Scott) is a reformed con man who has fled north from the law and opened a successful dancehall & gambling establishment in the upper reaches of Malamute. Meanwhile, his former lover Belle De Valle (Gypsy Rose Lee), who he deserted when he absconded from justice, arrives as part of a new show troupe and finds her ex-boyfriend's new ways very powerfully. But Lettie Candless (Dinah Shore) also has designs on our hero.

Two Oscar Nominations (Best Song & Best Music)

Belle Starr (1941) - 87 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Shepperd Strudwick & Chil Wills.

Directed by Irving Cummings

When Yankees march in and appropriate Belle Starr's land, she heads to Missouri and joins forces with a Confederate guerrilla. Belle marries the man, and together they become outlaws, hoping to avenge the fallen South. They continue their activities against exploiters until she is shot riding to alert Sam of a trap.

Said to be a combination of Jesse James and Gone with the Wind, this is a big budget western with a top cast

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Bells of Coronado (1950) - 67 mins

Starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Pat Brady, Grant Withers, Leo Cleary & Clifton Young

Directed by William Witney

Blessed with a script and production values that would have done any "A" picture proud, Bells of Coronado has Roy playing an undercover insurance investigator who tangles with a crooked gang that are stealing Uranium from a mine and selling it to foreign spies – the latter hoping to fly their horde out of the country under the noses of the locals.

A favorite amongst Roy Rogers fans – is this his best?

Excellent uncut color print

Bells of Coronado (1950) is part of a nice 6 DVD, 18 film set of Roy Rogers westerns which is available from the "B" Westerns section of this website

There are several other Roy Rogers westerns (ALL UNCUT) available from this (INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES) section of the website: Cowboy and the Senorita (1944), Springtime in the Sierras (1947), Trigger, Jr. (1950) & Trail of Robin Hood (1950).

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Bells of Rosarita (1945) - 68 mins

Starring Roy Rogers, George “Gabby” Hayes, Dale Evans, Grant Withers, Roy Barcroft, ‘Wild Bill’ Elliott, Allan ‘Rocky’ Lane, Sunset Carson, Don ‘Red’ Barry & Robert Livingston

Directed by Frank McDonald

Roy Rogers is appropriately cast as a cowboy star who invariably rescues the heroine from the villain in his movie vehicles. But when Sue Farnum (Dale Evans) is cheated out of her inheritance by the duplicitous business partner (Grant Withers) of her deceased father, Roy finds out that art is imitating life! In order to rescue this genuine damsel in distress, Rogers enlists the aid of his fellow Republic sagebrush stars ‘Wild Bill’ Elliot, Allan ‘Rocky’ Lane, Don ‘Red’ Barry, Robert Livingston, and Sunset Carson - each astride his own "celebrity" horse.

Excellent uncut print

Bells of Rosarita (1945) is part of a nice 6 DVD, 18 film set of Roy Rogers westerns which is available from the "B" Westerns section of this website

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Bells of San Angelo (1947) - 78 mins

Starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Andy Devine, John McGuire David Sharpe & Bob Nolan

Directed by William Witney

Border Patrolman Roy Rogers is sent to the Mexican border in southwest Texas to investigate mysterious doings at the Rancho San Angelo. There, with the help of local sheriff, Cookie Bullfincher (Andy Devine) and Lee Madison (Dale Evans) , a western pulp magazine writer looking for story material, Roy discovers that the Rancho is actually a front for smuggling silver across the Mexico border into the United States.

Strong characterisations and an excellent script make this perhaps Roy’s best western

Very good uncut color print

Bells of San Angelo (1947) is part of a nice 6 DVD, 18 film set of Roy Rogers westerns which is available from the "B" Westerns section of this website

Bend of the River (1952) - 91 mins

Starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Rock Hudson, Jay C. Flippen, Julie Adams & Lori Nelson

Directed by Anthony Mann

Glyn McLyntock (James Stewart) is a former outlaw, now working as trail guide for a group of Oregon-bound farmers. He is aided in this endeavor by Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy), a far-from-reformed horse thief. Upon arriving in Portland, McLyntock gets in the middle of a scam operated by a trader who has reneged on his promise to ship goods to the settlers. Unable to take action through legal channels, McLyntock and farmer Jeremy Baile steal the provision and scurry back to the settlement by boat. On their return, they discover that Cole has sold out to the trader and intends to reclaim the supplies, taking Baile and his daughter Laura as hostages to ensure safe passage.

As in the other Stewart-Mann productions, James Stewart breaks away from his usual easygoing screen persona to play a tough, self-serving rugged individual, whose true motives and loyalties remain in doubt until the very end of the film.

Bend of the River was adapted by Borden Chase from Bill Gulick's novel Bend of the Snake - Chase also scripted two other Stewart/Mann westerns: Winchester '73 (1950) & The Far Country (1954) - see below

Perfect Technicolor Print! - Fabulous

James Stewart & Anthony Mann: their 5 westerns together from 1950 to 1955, rewrote the cowboy story for the big screen - their's were tough, psychological though lyric masterpieces of western cinema - beautifully photographed and expertly written stories with intriguing characters and realistic action - a blueprint for westerns of the 50s (and embraced by Budd Boetticher & Randolph Scott in their excellent collaborations in the late 1950s - see the Randolph Scott section of this website)

This, Bend of the River (1952), was the second of this quintet of Stewart / Mann westerns - preceded by

Winchester '73 (1950) and followed by The Naked Spur (1953), The Far Country (1954) & The Man from Laramie (1955) - each is available from this (the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES) section of the website.

All 5 westerns in the series can also be obtained in an nice boxed set from within the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

Bengal Brigade (1954) - 87 mins

Starring Rock Hudson, Arlene Dahl, Ursula Thiess, Torin Thatcher & Michael Ansara

Directed by Laslo Benedek

This British-India actioner, adapted from a novel by Hall Hunter, casts Rock Hudson as Captain Jeffrey Claybourne of Her Majesty's Service, who is severely disciplined after defying orders. Feeling unworthy of his fiancee Vivian Morrow, the daughter of his superior officer, Claybourne breaks off the engagement until he can restore his reputation. When the duplicitous Rajah Karam launches an all-out attack against the British forces in India, Claybourne finds his opportunity for redemption.

Nice color action film

Rock's other good actioners from this period were Sea Devils (1953) & Captain Lightfoot (1955) - both of which are also available from this website.

Berlin Correspondent (1942) - 70 mins

Starring Dana Andrews, Virginia Gilmore, Mona Maris & Sig Roman

Directed by Eugene Forde

American correspondent Bill Roberts is a thorn in the side of the Nazis, as his paper always scoops the world with the truth about Germany. Gestapo Captain Carl Von Rau means to plug the leak and assigns Karen Hauen who he attends to wed, to the case. Roberts is obtaining his information for his stories and broadcasts from an elderly stamp collector who, defiantly opposed to the Nazis, sells the "proper" stamps to Roberts, giving him the information. Attracted to Karen, Roberts invites her to his apartment where she learns his secret. The old philatelist is sent to a concentration camp, and then Karen learns that he is her father. She appeals to Roberts for help and he, in loyalty to the old man and now in love with Karen, agrees to help. Neatly done spy thriller.

Berlin Express (1948) - 86 mins

Starring Merle Oberon, Robert Ryan, Charles Korvin, Paul Lukas & Robert Coote

Directed by Jacques Tourneur

Taut, suspenseful spy story set in post WW2 Europe in which people from many different countries are passengers on a train. When one of the passengers, a German working for peace, is kidnapped by people who don't want his ideas to work, the others must set aside their differences and work together to find him in time for an important conference.

Bermuda Mystery (1944) - 65 mins

Starring Preston Foster, Ann Rutherford, Charles Butterworth, Helene Reynolds, Richard Lane & Jean Howard

Directed by Benjamin Stoloff

When a man dies of a suspicious heart attack, the victim's niece, Constance Martin hires breezy detective, Steve Carromond. to investigate. The solution to the mystery lies in a tontine-like arrangement, wherein six WW1 vets have pooled their savings for a joint insurance policy, to be collected by the surviving veteran.

Smart little story with nice work from Preston Forster

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Best of the Badmen (1951) - 84 mins

Starring Robert Ryan, Claire Trevor, Jack Buetel, Robert Preston & Walter Brennan

Directed by William D. Russell

Jeff Clanton (Robert Ryan) is a former Union officer who persuades a fictional vigilante group which closely resembles Quantrill's Raiders to lay down their arms and seek out new and honest lives. Clanton is undercut by shifty Pinkerton man Matthew Fowler (Robert Preston), who wants to collect the rewards on the heads of the ex-vigilantes; to that end, he frames Clanton for murder. With the help of Fowler's embittered wife Lily (Claire Trevor), Clanton escapes and turns outlaw with the men whom he'd earlier convinced to turn honest

One of 4 westerns which Robert Ryan made in the 1950s in which he was star - the others being Horizons West (1952), The Proud Ones (1956) & Day of the Outlaw (1959) - all of which are available from this website

Betrayed (1944) - See When Strangers Marry elsewhere in the website

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Between Heaven and Hell (1956) - 94 mins

Starring Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Keith & Brad Dexter

Directed by Richard Fleischer

Seen through flashback, we meet Sam Gifford (Robert Wagner) in pre-WW2 days: an arrogant southern cotton plantation owner who is married to the daughter of a colonel. At the beginning of the war he is mobilized with his National Guard unit as a sergeant, but strikes his commanding officer when revolted by that officer's cowardice in firing on his own men. Downgraded, he is sent to a disciplinary battalion. Sam now discovers his new detachment is commanded by the psychopathic brute Captain Waco Grimes (Broderick Crawford at his absolute best!). While in combat, Sam will gradually become closer to the ordinary soldier, especially Pvt. Willie Crawford (Buddy Ebsen) - working class people he used to despise. He will become another man, a better man.

Great "Pacific Theatre" WW2 film - who remembers Gifford's mad dash down the mountain as the Japanese are heading up the trail …. an incredibly exciting section of an exciting and well-made film

Fabulous wide-screen color print!

Between Midnight and Dawn (1950) - 89 mins

Starring Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien, Gale Storm, Donald Buka & Gale Robbins

Directed by Gordon Douglas

Rocky and Dan, war buddies, are prowl car cops on night duty. Dan is a cynic who views all lawbreakers as scum; Rocky feels more lenient. Both are attracted to the radio voice of communicator Kate Mallory; but in person, Kate proves reluctant to get involved with men who just might stop a bullet. By lucky chance, Rocky and Dan cause big trouble for murderous racketeer Ritchie Garris; but when he swears vengeance, Kate's fears may prove justified.

A solid, no-frills detective drama with O'Brien in great form

Beware, My Lovely (1952) - 77 mins

Starring Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Taylor Holmes, Barbara Whiting & James Willams

Directed by Harry Horner

Adapted from the stage thriller The Man (itself based upon a half-hour radio drama), Beware My Lovely is a taut suspenser tailor-made for the talents of Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan. Lupino plays a pretty widow who impulsively hires handyman Ryan to look after her house. She soon learns Ryan is a dangerous schizophrenic, but by the time she comes to this realization she is unable to escape her house. The tension mounts apace, leading to an unexpected finale.

Beyond Glory (1948) - 82 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Donna Reed, George Macready, George Coulouris & Harold Vermilyea

Directed by John Farrow

An older soldier enters West Point but remains haunted by nagging guilt. It all began in Tunisia during a tremendous battle. The soldier passed out during the fight, and when he awoke he discovered his commanding officer was dead. He blames himself for the death and after being released from the army, he goes to see the officer's wife. Love blossoms, and with her help he enrolls in West Point where he becomes a model cadet until a jealous plebe begins making trouble that eventually sends the soldier to a court-martial hearing. There the truth of the incident is finally revealed.

Excellent Alan Ladd drama

Beyond the Time Barrier (1960) - 75 mins

Starring Robert Clarke, Darlene Tompkins, Vladimir Sokoloff, Boyd 'Red' Morgan & John Van Dreelen

Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer

Experimental pilot Maj. William Allison (Robert Clarke) whilst testing a new rocket powered craft (actually a Convair F-102 interceptor) is hideously disfigured by a mishap in space. In flashback, we learn that Clarke had earlier returned to his base, only to discover that he'd passed through a time warp and that the Earth has been decimated by some disaster or other. He crosses the path of the ruling class, led by the Supreme, and a tribe of mutants, left over from a plague caused by extraterrestrial radiation. Only by returning to his own time can Clarke save the world from this fate.

Director Edgar G. Ulmer introduces some interesting sci-fi touches in this intriguing film which also brings a second collaboration between this director and star Robert Clarke - they initially combined to make the equally intriguing The Man From Planet X (1951) - which is also available from this website.

The Big Chase (1954) - 60 mins

Starring Glenn Langan, Adele Jergens, Lon Chaney Jr., Jim Davis & Douglas Kennedy

Directed by Arthur Hilton

In a flashback told by Police Lt. Ned Daggert to story-hunting reporter Milton Graves, we hear about Korean-War vet Pete Grayson who joins the L.A. Police Academy amid concerns of his safety by his wife pregnant Doris. Meanwhile, in the state prison, inmates Brad Bellows and Jim Meggs are planning a big heist as soon as Brad gets out of prison. The caper they pull, and the resultant chase, all over Hollywood, Los Angeles and a large portion of Southern California, proves that Doris' concerns was more than warranted.

A fine, tight action film with a chase that occupies a substantial part of the film

The Big Chance (1957) - 59 mins

Starring Adrienne Corri, William Russell, Ian Colin, Penelope Bartley & Ferdy Mayne

Directed by Peter Graham Scott

William Russell plays a travel agency clerk who pines away for socialite Adrienne Corri. Unable to support Corri in the manner in which she is accustomed, the desperate Russell seeks out ways of realizing some quick money. He decides to rob the agency where he works.

A great little fast moving thriller!

Director Peter Graham Scott adapted the screenplay from a novel by Pamela Barrington.

The Big Clock (1948) - 95 mins

Starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Macready & Rita Johnson

Directed by John Farrow

A woman has been murdered, and a witness has a description of a suspect leaving her apartment. A magazine editor (Ray Milland) knows that he is the man that the witness saw - but he's innocent, and he must investigate the crime and pretend to search for the suspect. He only has an hour to nail his boss, the real killer (Charles Laughton), before being identified himself. Maureen O'Sullivan (Mrs. Farrow) helps him out, George Macready is Laughton's evil sidekick, and Elsa Lanchester turns up in a brief, but funny and marvelous bit part. Milland is at his most appealing. Laughton is great as a detestable villain. Watching the movie is like reading a stylish page-turner - smooth in style, but with plenty of tension, it clips along at a fine pace, and winding up with an inspired "poetic justice" type ending. Pure entertainment.

The Big Combo (1955) - 89 mins

Starring Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Brian Donlevy, Richard Conte, Lee Van Cleef & Earl Holliman.

Directed by Joseph (H.) Lewis

This raw violent film noir tells the story of Police Lt. Diamond who is told to close his surveillance of suspected mob boss Mr. Brown because it's costing the department too much money and getting no results. Diamond makes one last attempt to uncover evidence against Brown by going to Brown's girlfriend, Susan Lowell.

A cult movie which has been stylishly directed.

Shrewd judges often rate this in their top 5 of film noir titles.

Biggles : Adventures in Time (1986) - 108 mins

Starring Neil Dickson, Alex Hyde-White, Fiona Hutchinson & Peter Cushing

Directed By John Hough

One minute the New Yorker advertising expert Jim Ferguson is at a business party -- the next he finds himself way back in 1917 in a plane fight during WWI. The mysterious Mr. Raymond explains to him that he has a time-twin, to whom he's relocated in space and time whenever one of them is in trouble. So he has to help his twin,: biplane pilot Biggles, in his attempt to destroy a Nazi-German super weapon, that could win their war.

The Big Heat (1953) - 90 mins

Starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin, Carolyn Jones & Alexander Scourby

Directed by Fritz Lang

The Big Heat is director Fritz Lang's landmark bleak, film noir crime classic and violent melodrama. Lang's characteristic expressionistic lighting, use of sets and decor, and costuming sharply reflected the personality traits of the film's major characters. The sparse screenplay of a story laced with revenge, murder, and hate was written by former crime reporter Sidney Boehm and based on a Saturday Evening Post serial and the hard-hitting, brutal 1952 novel by William P. McGivern. The film's title referred to the enforcement crack-down on lawlessness and illegal activities.

Its an uncompromising and grim story of an iron-willed, driven, dedicated, honest, incorruptible homicide detective within a crooked and perverted society and corrupt system at all levels (e.g., the mob, the commissioner, the police, and everyday citizens), and the enormous price that is paid to find justice. The crusading, vigilante rogue cop/hero must erode his idealistic, law-abiding principles when he resorts to the unlawful tactics of the hoodlums after the tragic murder of his young wife by sadistic, viperous gang members led by a big-time crime boss. He enlists the help of one of the gangs' molls in order to seek revenge.

The Big Land (1957) - 92 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Anthony Caruso, Julie Bishop & John Qualen

Directed by Gordon Douglas

Produced by Alan Ladd's own Jaguar company, The Big Land stars Ladd as Texas cattleman Morgan. As a means to expedite shipment of his stock to Missouri, Morgan convinces several Kansas farmers to build a small town as a railroad link between the Rio Grande and Kansas City. He is opposed in this by crooked cattle buyer Brog (Anthony Caruso), who realizes that any speed-up of Morgan's shipments will increase livestock prices.

A great shoot-out: a la Shane!

A nice color print!

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The Big Red One (1980) - 155 mins

Starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco, Kelly Ward & Stéphane Audran

Directed by Samuel Fuller

A US Army sergeant who participated in the WWI now leads a rifle squad in the same division in which he's served, the First Infantry. The squad participates in combat action from storming Vichy French Africa into the long siege of Sicily and Italy, into D-Day at Omaha Beach, and onward through the push to Germany. Throughout the war the Sergeant has engaged in a mini-battle of wills with Pvt. Griff (Mark Hamill), a semi-pacifist whose convictions are destroyed in a horrific scene amid the human genocide of a concentration camp in 1945.

Lee Marvin portrays the division sergeant; he's tough and experienced, to be sure, but he takes on his job with cool professionalism rather than Hollywood bravado. Based on Fuller's wartime own experiences.

The Big Sleep (1946) - 114 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers, Regis Toomey & Dorothy Malone

Directed by Howard Hawks

Classic mystery thriller from Raymond Chandler's first novel : Private-eye Philip Marlowe is hired to keep an eye on General Sternwood's youngest daughter, Carmen, who has fallen into bad company and is likely to do some damage to herself and her family before long. He soon finds himself falling in love with her older sister, Vivien, who initially takes a deep dislike to Mr Marlowe. However, the plot thickens when murder follows murder....

So convoluted even Chandler didn't know who committed one murder (the Sternwood chauffeur) but so incredibly entertaining that no-one has ever cared. Combines powerhouse direction with unforgettable dialogue.

Note that this film is part of the Philip Marlowe "at the Movies" Combination which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

The Big Sleep (1978) - 100 mins

Starring Robert Mitchum, Candy Clark, Oliver Reed, Sylvia Miles, Richard Boone, James Stewart, Joan Collins, Edward Fox & John Mills

Directed by Michael Winner

Set in England, rather than California, the story follows Raymond Chandler's book fairly closely otherwise. Philip Marlowe is asked by the elderly (and near death) General Sternwood to investigate an attempt at blackmail on one of his daughters. He soon finds that the attempt is half hearted at best and seems to be more connected with the disappearance of the other daughter's husband, Rusty Regan. Rusty's wife, seems unconcerned with his disappearance, further complicating the mystery. Only General Sternwood seems concerned as mobsters and hired killers continue to appear in the path of the investigation.

Note that this film is part of the Philip Marlowe "at the Movies" Combination which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

The Big Steal (1949) - 71 mins

Starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, William Bendix, Patric Knowles & Ramon Navarro.

Directed by Don Siegel

Jane and Duke (alias Capt. Blake) accidently meet in Vera Cruz while chasing flim-flam man Fiske. Soon the local Inspector General (El Gato) is involved. Fiske races across Mexico, pursued by Jane and Duke, trailed by the real Capt. Blake. The crafty Inspector General is waiting for them in Tihuacan but they all give him the slip, just in time for the climactic finale. A well made robbery caper set in Mexico and shot on location, this film is full of terrific plot twists and benefits from a very tight script and pacing.

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) - 147 mins

Starring Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand, Edmond O'Brien & Telly Savalas

Directed by John Frankenheimer

In this film based on a true story, Burt Lancaster plays Robert Stroud, a withdrawn prison inmate who cures a sick bird that flies into his cell and eventually becomes a world-renowned ornithologist - all while serving a life sentence. An overbearing warden (Karl Malden) eventually transfers Stroud to the notoriously brutal prison on Alcatraz, but he is able to continue his research, abort a riot, start a romance, and eventually get his story out through a determined reporter (Edmond O'Brien).

Another Tour de Force for Burt!

Oscar Nominated for Best Actor, Supporting Actor (Telly Savalas), Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter) and B&W Cinematography.

Burt Lancaster also made a number of other powerful dramas & gritty noirs: The Killers (1946), Brute Force (1947), Desert Fury (1947), I Walk Alone (1948), Criss Cross (1949), Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Run Silent Run Deep (1958), Seven Days in May (1964) & The Train (1964).

Then, of course there were his fabulous adventure films: The Flame and the Arrow (1950), Ten Tall Men (1951), The Crimson Pirate (1952), South Sea Woman (1953) & His Majesty O'Keefe (1954).

All of the above are available from this website

And how about a Lancaster film that includes elements of the above, namely a gritty & powerful action/adventure outing? - check out Rope of Sand (1949) - which is also available from this website

The Birds (1963) - 119 mins

Starring Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Tippi Hedren & Veronica Cartwright

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

The story begins as an innocuous romantic triangle involving wealthy, spoiled Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), handsome Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), and schoolteacher Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette). The human story begins in a San Francisco pet shop and culminates at the home of Mitch's mother (Jessica Tandy) at Bodega Bay, where the characters' sense of security is slowly eroded by the curious behavior of the birds in the area. At first, it's no more than a sea gull swooping down and pecking at Melanie's head. Things take a truly ugly turn when hundreds of birds converge on a children's party and once the onslaught begins, there's virtually no letup.

Top Flight Hitchcock!

Oscar Nominated for Best Visual Effects

Fans of aussie actor Rod Taylor are well catered for on this website with the following titles available: The Time Machine (1960), Seven Seas to Calais (1962), The Birds (1963), Fate Is the Hunter (1964), 36 Hours (1965), Young Cassidy (1965), The Liquidator (1965), Chuka (1967), Dark of the Sun (aka The Mercenaries) (1968), The High Commissioner aka Nobody Runs Forever (1968), The Hell With Heroes (1968), Powderkeg (1971) & Cry of the Innocent (1980) - all of which are available from the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of this website.

The TV Series section of this website also contains DVD sets of Rod's two TV series: Hong Kong (1960-61) and Bearcats! (1971)

Black Angel (1946) - 80 mins

Starring Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford & Wallace Ford

Directed by Roy William Neill

While Duryea may not be as much of a household name as some of his 40s peers, he still made memorable appearances in a string of the era's lower-profile noirs. Black Angel sees him as an alcoholic who becomes caught up in the case when his ex is murdered; teaming up with the wife of the accused (Vincent) facing execution in spite of his innocence, he tries to track down the real killer. A small but solid little thriller, whose gamble of placing Duryea in the good guy's shoes for once (he was better-known for nabbing the villain roles) pays dividends.

The Black Arrow (1948) - 76 mins

Starring Louis Hayward, Janet Blair, George Macready, Edgar Buchanan & Paul Cavanagh

Directed by Gordon Douglas

This adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow stars Louis Hayward in the title role. Returning from duty in the 15th-century War of the Roses, young Richard Shelton (Hayward) learns that his estate has been claimed by his usurping uncle Sir Daniel Brackley (George Macready), who for good measure has also murdered Richard's father. Forced to elude Brackley's minions, Shelton and his followers eventually manage to thwart the villain with all manner of weaponry, from crossbow to fist. Janet Blair co-stars as Joanna Sedley, whom Richard must rescue from a forced marriage to the brackish Brackley.

A truly great & well-made adventure produced by Edward Small - the same guy who made The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) and its 1940 sequel, The Son of Monte Cristo (which also starred Louise Hayward) as well as 1939's The Man in the Iron Mask (again starring Louise Hayward) and The Corsican Brothers (1941) - all of which are available from this website.

Louis Hayward made a number of "swashbucklers" during his career - there was The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) and The Son of Monte Cristo (1940) followed by The Black Arrow in 1948. Then he filmed The Pirates of Capri (1949) in Italy for legendary director Edgar G. Ulmer, before combining again with The Black Arrow's director Gordon Douglas and co-star George Macready for Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950). Louis Hayward next played Dick Turpin in The Lady and the Bandit (1951) before Captain Pirate (1952) marked his last swordplay movie. He then moved to TV for The Lone Wolf TV series - each of the above films are available from this website, whilst the TV series is available in the TV Series section of this website.

The Black Castle (1952) - 82 mins

Starring Boris Karloff, Richard Greene, Stephen McNally, Rita Corday & Lon Chaney Jr.

Directed by Nathan Juran

18th-century aristocrats, Beckett (Richard Greene) and Count Von Bruno (Stephen McNally) are antagonists. Invited to visit Von Bruno's castle in Austria, Beckett accepts, hoping in this way to prove that the count is responsible for the deaths of two of his friends. The sadistic Von Bruno toys with his guest, intending to subject Beckett to a horrible demise at the first opportunity. When Beckett meets the Count's reluctant bride Elga (Paula Corday), he vows to free her from the accursed castle. Karloff is the Count's humanitarian physician, while his fellow horror-star Lon Chaney Jr. does his usual as a mute but deadly manservant.

Boris Karloff returns to his old Universal stamping grounds in this horror gem.

The Black Knight (1954) - 85 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Patricia Medina, Andre Morell, Harry Andrews, Peter Cushing & Laurence Naismith

Directed by Tay Garnett

John is a young swordmaker who aspires to join the Knights of the Round Table. Unfortunately, he is falsely accused of cowardice and banished from his community. Thanks to the secret tutelage of one of Arthur's knights, John is able to train himself in the art of combat, and soon re-emerges as the vengeance-seeking Black Knight. In this guise, he is able to bring a group of traitors to justice, rout a band of invading Saracens, and rescue his lady love Linet from certain doom.

A lively swashbuckler

A nice color print!

Black Orchid (1953) - 58 mins

Starring Ronald Howard, Olga Edwardes, John Bentley & Mary Laura Wood

Directed by Charles Saunders

John Worthington is a successful doctor who is about to be divorced by his unhappy wife, Sophie. He falls in love with Sophie's sister Christine, but just after the divorce is granted Sophie informs the couple that they cannot marry as it is presently illegal for a man to marry the sister of his ex-wife unless she is dead. Complications arise when John gives Sophie medicine for an illness which so affects her that she is run-down whilst wandering the street.

Neat little who-dun-it from the Brits and starring Ronald Howard (brother of Lesley)

Blackout (1950) - 73 mins

Starring Maxwell Reed, Dinah Sheridan, Eric Pohlmann, Michael Evans & Michael Brennan

Directed by Robert S. Baker

A blind man "witnesses" a murder but doesn't know who the murderers are or who has been murdered or even where he is. Afterwards when his sight is restored, he learns that his girl friend's dead brother is very much alive and may be leading a smuggling ring.

Sterling performances from Maxwell Reed & Eric Pohlmann in this interesting UK noir.

The Black Room (1935) - 70 mins

Starring Boris Karloff, Marian Marsh, Robert Allen, Thurston Hal, John Buckner & Torben Meyer

Directed by Roy William Neill

A curse pronounced upon land baron DeBerghmann has devastating long-range consequences for his twin sons Gregor and Anton. Twenty years later, Anton (Boris Karloff) has developed into a debauched and much-hated despot, disposing of his enemies by dumping their bodies into the "black room" on his estate. But when Anton's kindly, benevolent brother Gregor (also Karloff) returns home after a long absence, he is so beloved by the townspeople that Anton "graciously" gives up his title and estate to Gregor. Actually, Anton plans to kill his brother and take his place so that he can indulge in even more deviltry including the framing of young Lt. Lussan (Robert Allen), the sweetheart of the beautiful Thea (Marian Marsh), for the murder (committed by Anton) of Thea's father Col. Hassel (Thurston Hall).

Karloff in a classic!

The Black Rose (1950) - 120 mins

Starring Tyrone Power, Orson Welles, Cecile Aubry, Jack Hawkins & Michael Rennie

Directed by Henry Hathaway

In the time of the crusades, a Saxon youth is forced to run away from England. He goes with his loyal retainer who brings along a British long bow. The two go all the way to China where they become involved in intrigues in the court of Kubla Kahn.

Is this the best adventure film ever made? - a fabulous big-budget color production with an excellent cast!

Fabulous color print!

Tyrone Power: that fabulous adventurer … other great Tyrone Power movies available from this website are: The Mark of Zorro (1940), Johnny Apollo (1940), Blood and Sand (1941), The Black Swan (1942), Son of Fury (1942), The Razor's Edge (1946), Captain From Castile (1947), Nightmare Alley (1947), Prince of Foxes (1949), American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950), Diplomatic Courier (1952) & King of the Khyber Rifles (1953).

The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) - 99 mins

Starring Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, David Farrar, Barbara Rush, Herbert Marshall & Torin Thatcher

Directed by Rudolph Maté

Based on the robust novel Men of Iron by Howard Pyle, the film tells of Miles, the son of a disgraced knight. Through the sponsorship of the Earl of Mackworth, Miles is trained for knighthood, an arduous process that earns him the ridicule of his fellow trainees, who regard him as little better than a peasant. Eventually, Miles proves his mettle by defeating a plan to oust King Henry IV from the throne of England. On a more personal level, Miles carries on a romance with Mackworth's daughter Lady Anne, while Miles' sister Meg finds happiness in the arms of knight-in-training Francis Gascoyne. The heavy of the piece is the Earl of Alban, whom Miles must ultimately face down in a well-directed climactic set-to.

Great adventure film

Fabulous color print!

Universal followed-up a year later with another Tony Curtis swashbuckler: The Purple Mask (1955) - which is also available from this website

The Black Swan (1942) - 85 mins

Starring Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Laird Cregar, Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders & Anthony Quinn

Directed by Henry King

When notorious pirate Henry Morgan is made governor of Jamaica, he enlists the help of some of his former partners in ridding the Carribean of Buccaneers. When one of them apparently abducts the previous governor's pretty daughter and joins up with the rebels, the stage is set for major confrontations

This fabulous big-budget color production with an excellent cast won an Oscar for Best Color Cinematography. Academy Nominations also for Special Effects & Musical Score

Fabulous color print!

Tyrone Power: that fabulous adventurer … other great Tyrone Power movies available from this website are: The Mark of Zorro (1940), Johnny Apollo (1940), Blood and Sand (1941), Son of Fury (1942), The Razor's Edge (1946), Captain From Castile (1947), Nightmare Alley (1947), Prince of Foxes (1949), The Black Rose (1950), American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950), Diplomatic Courier (1952) & King of the Khyber Rifles (1953).

Blind Alley (1939) - 69 mins

Starring Chester Morris, Ralph Bellamy, Ann Dvorak, Joan Perry & Melville Cooper

Directed by Charles Vidor

A chilling psychological drama in the film-noir tradition reminiscent of the fine melodrama The Desperate Hours. Hal Wilson (Chester Morris) is an escaped killer who hides out in the home of noted psychologist Dr. Shelby (Ralph Bellamy). While Wilson's gang holds Shelby's family and servants hostage, the pipe-smoking mental doctor calmly tries to discover the reasons for Wilson's murderous proclivities. As gun moll Mary (Ann Dvorak) covers Shelby, Wilson willingly allows the doctor to psycho-analyze him, using hypnosis to trace the killer's childhood. Once Shelby forces Wilson to confront his inner demons, the lifelong criminal is never able to kill again. Blind Alley works well as a "film noir," complete with surrealistic dream sequences. A taut story and moody cinematography by Lucien Ballard, with sharp direction from Charles Vidor and superlative acting by Morris and Bellamy earn this film noir entry a top spot in the genre.

The film was remade scene-for-scene in 1949 as The Dark Past, with William Holden as the killer and Lee J. Cobb as the unflappable head shrinker - The Dark Past (1949) is also available from this website

Blood and Sand (1941) - 125 mins

Starring Tyrone Power, Linda Dranell, Rita Haworth, Alla Nazimova, Laird Cregar, Anthony Quinn & J. Carrol Naish

Directed by Rouben Mamoulian

Based on the novel by Vincente Blasco Ibanez, Blood and Sand is the beautifully rendered story of the rise and fall of a young, cocksure Spanish bullfighter, played by Tyrone Power. Working his way slowly up the ladder to success, Power achieves fame when he is praised to skies by fatuous, fickle critic Laird Cregar. A country boy at heart, Power finds himself way over his head with sophisticates, and is soon torn between his pious and faithful wife Linda Darnell and sexy, mercenary Rita Hayworth. Another great adventure story from Tyrone!

Oscar winner for best color cinematography

Fabulous color print!

Tyrone Power: that fabulous adventurer … other great Tyrone Power movies available from this website are: The Mark of Zorro (1940), Johnny Apollo (1940), The Black Swan (1942), Son of Fury (1942), The Razor's Edge (1946), Captain From Castile (1947), Nightmare Alley (1947), Prince of Foxes (1949), The Black Rose (1950), American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950), Diplomatic Courier (1952) & King of the Khyber Rifles (1953).

Blood on the Moon (1948) - 88 mins

Starring Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Preston, Walter Brennan & Phyllis Thaxter

Directed by Robert Wise

When a shady-looking stranger rides into town to join his old friend it is assumed he is a hired gun. But as the new man comes to realise the unlawful nature of his buddy's business and the way the homesteaders are being used, the two men draw apart to become sworn enemies. Yes it’s a western but many judges rate this the first true noir Western! Directed by one of the pioneers of noir.

Fans of Robert Mitchum's noir catalogue will be aware that this western noir has a "companion piece" namely Pursued (1947) - this title also available from this INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section website

Note that Blood on the Moon (1948) & Pursued (1947) are part of a special 2 DVD (4 film) set titled

Robert Mitchum … still out West but in the Lead … - it can be found in the "B" Westerns section of this website.

Blood on the Sun (1945) - 94 mins

Starring James Cagney, Sylvia Sidney, Porter Hall, John Emery, Robert Armstrong & Wallace Ford

Directed by Frank Lloyd

James Cagney stars as Nick Condon, the American editor of a pre-WW2 Tokyo newspaper. When two of his best friends are horribly murdered, Condon suspects that the "peaceful" Japanese military government is up to no good. He dedicates himself to getting his hands on the "Tanka Plan," a Japanese blueprint for conquering the world, and bringing this document to the attention of the Free World. As a result, he is targeted for persecution by the corrupt Tokyo police and betrayed by a traitorous fellow journalist.

Fabulous Cagney in top form!

Oscar Winner for Best B&W Art Direction

Note: This is a very nice print - much better than commercial offerings

The Blue Dahlia (1946) - 96 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard da Silva, Doris Dowling & Hugh Beaumont

Directed by George Marshall

Ex-bomber pilot Johnny Morrison and his buddies George and Buzz (who, with a metal plate in his head, can't stand "monkey music"), return from the war to their home town, Hollywood. In a rude homecoming, Johnny finds his wife Helen behaving like a tramp with oily nightclub owner Eddie Harwood. His marriage over, Johnny wanders off into the night, leaving his gun behind...and someone uses it to murder Helen. Dodging cops and seeking the real killer, Johnny is aided by blonde Joyce, who just happens to be the estranged wife of Eddie Harwood

Tidy film noir utilizing the only film script Raymond Chandler wrote directly for the screen - a script for which he earned an Academy Award Nomination.

The Blue Gardenia (1953) - 90 mins

Starring Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr & George Reeves

Directed by Fritz Lang

After learning that her boyfriend, a GI in Korea, has found someone else, Norah Larkin impulsively agrees to meet womanizer Harry Prebble for dinner. Norah allows herself to get drunk and accept Prebble's invitation to his apartment. When he tries to force himself on her, she hits him with a poker. Unfortunately, Prebble is found dead the next morning, and Norah, not even remembering how she got home, thinks that she killed him. Meanwhile, newspaperman Casey Mayo, looking for an angle, invites the "Blue Gardenia Murderess" to turn herself in to him.

Excellent noir from Fritz Lang, with a stand-out performance from Raymond Burr.

Body and Soul (1947) - 104 mins

Starring John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks & William Conrad

Directed by Robert Rossen

The fight film to which all others are compared. John Garfield portrays Charlie Davis, a Jewish prizefighter whose parents want him to hang up the gloves and get an education. When his father is killed in a bomb explosion, however, the proud Charlie prevents his mother (Anne Revere) from accepting government relief, turns pro, and by hook and crook, rises quickly to the top, winning the championship from Ben (onetime welterweight Canada Lee), who is left with a life-threatening blood clot in his brain. As the champ, Charlie slides into a dissipated lifestyle and throws over his artist girlfriend, Peg Born (Lilli Palmer), for a floozy (Hazel Brooks), falling deeper into the clutches of the gangster who owns him (Lloyd Goff) in the process. Garfield's riveting, Oscar-nominated performance lifts this film to the masterpiece level, as do Robert Rossen's superb direction, the marvelous photography of James Wong Howe and the Oscar-winning editing. The fight sequences, in particular, brought a kind of realism to the genre that had never before existed (Howe wore skates and rolled around the ring shooting the fight scenes with a hand-held camera). A knockout on all levels.

Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Academy Award Nominations for Best Actor & Original Screenplay.

Bodyguard (1948) - 62 mins

Starring Lawrence Tierney, Priscilla Lane, Phillip Reed, June Clayworth, Elizabeth Risdon & Steve Brodie

Directed by Richard Fleischer

Homicide detective Mike Carter is tossed off the police force for insubordination and violating regulations. He reluctantly takes a job as bodyguard to Mrs. Gene Dysen, the owner of a local meat-packing plant. In investigating threats against her life, Carter begins unraveling the murder of a meat inspector at the plant, but not before he himself is framed for the murder of his former supervisor on the police force.

Yep - its Lawrence Tierney as a goodie in this dynamic combination with Fleischer!

Fans of Lawrence Tierney should also check out his lead roles in noir thrillers:

Dillinger (1945), San Quentin (1946), The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947), Born To Kill (1947), Bodyguard (1948) & Kill or Be Killed (1950) - all of which are available from this website

The Bold Caballero (1936) - 70 mins

Starring Robert Livingston, Heather Angel, Sig Ruman, Ian Wolfe, Robert Warwick, & Charles Stevens

Directed by Wells Root

Don Diego Vega is fighting for the peons as the masked avenger Zorro against the wicked machinations of the corrupt Commandante Sebastian Golle. Shortly after Governor Palma (Robert Warwick) and his daughter Lady Isabella (Heather Angel) arrive, the Governor is killed and marked with a Z. When Don Diego's identity as Zorro is revealed to Isabella, she has the Commandante arrest him as the killer.

Movie serial & "B" western cowboy Bob Livingston essays the dual role of foppish Spanish-Californian aristocrat Don Diego, who when the necessity arises dons the mask and black cape of righter-of-wrongs Zorro.

The Bold Caballero, Republic Pictures' first color film, was also the first talkie version of the "Zorro" legend (as originally set down by Johnston McCulley in The Curse of Capistrano).

Note that commercially release prints of this excellent action film are of poor quality and in B&W - not this one!

This is a perfect color print!

Bombardier (1943) - 99 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Pat O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Eddie Albert & Barton MacLane

Directed by Richard Wallace

Major Chick Davis (Pat O'Brien) and Captain Buck Oliver (Randolph Scott) are trainers at a school for bomber pilots. They argue over teaching methods, but Davis's methods prove sound during a bombing raid over Tokyo. But Oliver and his crew are captured and tortured by the Japanese.

Randolph Scott & Pat O'Brien together!

A major moneymaker for RKO and Oscar nominated for Best Visual Effects

Bond of Fear (1956) - 66 mins

Starring Dermot Walsh, Jane Barrett, John Colicos, Jameson Clark & Anthony Pavey

Directed by Henry Cass

A family vacation turns into a nightmare when the travellers discover an escaped killer hiding in their trailer. The killer takes them hostage and forces them to take him to Dover.

No shortage of suspense here in another excellent 50s' noir from the Brits

The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942) - 66 mins

Starring Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Max Rosenbloom & Jeff Donnell

Directed by Lew Landers

Boris Karloff plays an scientist who is experimenting with bringing the dead back to life. To do this, he has "killed" several travelling salesmen and placed them in suspended animation in his basement. Karloff is fiercely protected by his housekeeper (Maude Eburne), who is none too normal herself. Real estate agent Jeff Donnell approaches Karloff to buy his New England home: he wishes to turn the ramshackle domicile into a rustic inn. Other visitors to the Karloff manse are Donnell's ex-husband Larry Parks, and the local sheriff/justice of the peace (Peter Lorre) who holds the high-interest mortgage on the house. Travelling peddler Maxie Rosenbloom also shows up, and is promptly made a subject of Karloff's experimentation.

An enjoyable rip-off of Arsenic and Old Lace, perhaps? but its still Karloff & Lorre at their peak in a great little film

Boomerang! (1947) - 88 mins

Starring Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Cara Williams, Arthur Kennedy & Sam Levene

Directed by Elia Kazan

Directed by Elia Kazan, this is a chilling film noir, the true story about the murder of a priest, the subsequent arrest and trial of a jobless drifter, and the efforts of young state's attorney Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews) to uncover the truth. Closely based on the actual 1924 murder of Fr. Hubert Dahme in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the film was directed by the young Elia Kazan in a highly effective, semi-documentary style. Kazan shot most of the film on location, using high-contrast cinematography and an extremely mobile camera to create a palpable sense of urgency.

The screenplay, expertly crafted by Richard Murphy received an Academy Award nomination.

A great "companion piece" to other Dana Andrews 40's noirs: Fallen Angel & Laura (both of which are available from this website)

Boom Town (1940) - 119 mins

Starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr, Frank Morgan, Lionel Atwill & Chill Wills

Directed by Jack Conway

Clark Gable as "Big John" McMasters and Spencer Tracy is "Square John" Sand both seek their fortunes in the Texas oil fields. They simultaneously fall in love with Elizabeth, but it's "Big John" who wins out. When both Johns grow rich on oil, "Big John" lets money go to his head, and he begins neglecting his wife for the yummy Karen, the precocious companion of businessman Harry Compton. "Square John", who still carries a torch for Elizabeth but doesn't want to see her heart broken, tries to buy off Karen; when this fails, he decides to ruin "Big John" financially. But when "Big John" is charged with violating anti-trust rules by the crooked Compton, "Square John" rushes to the side of his old pal.

Oscar Nominated for Cinematography & Special Effects

Boom Town saw the re-teaming of Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable - back together on screen for the first time since the scintillating It Happened One Night (1934) - which is also available from this website

This is the third (and last) pairing of those two "mega-stars": Clark Gable & Spencer Tracy. They were to appear together on two previous occasions - San Francisco (1936) & Test Pilot (1938) - which are also available from this section of the website.

Border Incident (1949) - 92 mins

Starring Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Howard de Silva, Teresa Celli & Charles McGraw

Directed by Anthony Mann

Anthony Mann's follow-up to his successful T-Men is another pseudodocumentary thriller, with immigration agents struggling to stop the flow of illegal Mexican labor into southern California. But the film's best moments have nothing to do with realism, as Mann's black vision lifts the subject out of the commonplace and into a strange, haunting under-world of elemental violence.

Border River (1954) - 80 mins

Starring Joel McCrea, Yvonne De Carlo, Pedro Armendáriz, Howard Petrie, Ivan Triesault & Erika Nordin

Directed by George Sherman

With the South facing defeat, idealistic Confederate Major Clete Mattson (Joel McCrea) desperately tries to save his army by stealing $2,000,000 in Union gold. He then heads to a raucous border town of Zona Libre, a small enclave on the Rio Grande, hoping to make a munitions deal with Mexican general Calleja (Pedro Armendariz). But first, Mattson must contend with Calleja's double-crossing German military advisor Baron Von Holden (Ivan Triesault), not to mention Calleja's tempestuous sweetheart Carmelita (Yvonne De Carlo), who is also not to be trusted.

Born To Be Bad (1950) - 94 mins

Starring Joan Fontaine, Robert Ryan, Zachary Scott, Joan Leslie & Mel Ferrer

Directed by Nicholas Ray

Christabel fools everyone with her sweet exterior including her cousin Donna and Donna's wealthy fiancée Curtis. The only one who sees through her facade is Jake, a rugged writer who loves her anyway. Christabel also loves Jake, but she loves Curtis' money more. After convincing Curtis that Donna is only interested in him for his money, she tricks Curtis into marrying her. Of course, she still dallies with Jake on the side.

Born To Kill (1947) - 92 mins

Starring Claire Trevor, Lawrence Tierney, Walter Slezak, Audrey Long & Phillip Terry

Directed by Robert Wise

Uncompromising film noir which sees psychopath Tierney marry wealthy girl Long, only to feel more in common with the black sheep of the family, his wife's sister (Trevor). Deliciously dark and directed with enthusiasm by Wise before he'd made it big, Born to Kill is a genuine oddity which explores the dark side of sexuality without moralizing, with the bonus of a cracking murder plot to add some spice. Tierney pitches his performance just right.

Fans of Lawrence Tierney should also check out his lead roles in noir thrillers:

Dillinger (1945), San Quentin (1946), The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947), Born To Kill (1947), Bodyguard (1948) & Kill or Be Killed (1950) - all of which are available from this website

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Borsalino (1970) - 125 mins

Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Catherine Rouvel, Françoise Christophe & Laura Adani

Directed by Jacques Deray

In 1930 Marseilles, two small-time crooks join forces when they meet after brawling over a woman. Starting with fixed horse races and fights, they start to find themselves doing jobs for the local gangster bosses. When they decide to go into the business for themselves, their easy-going approach to crime starts to change.

Based on a Eugene Saccomano novel entitled The Bandits of Marseilles, this film is made more memorable by directors Deray's use of ambience and music to beautifully capture the mood of 1930 Marseilles.

Followed by a sequel entitled Borsalino and Co. (1974)

Note that this title is NOT the more common sequel - this is the original (and the best) and its uncut! - alas: it has a dubbed English soundtrack - a rare treat!

Borsalino and Co. (1974) is also available - see below

Fans of Alain Delon might like to also check out another of his gangster flicks: The Sicilian Clan (1969) which is available elsewhere in this website

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Borsalino and Co. (1974) - 110 mins

Starring Alain Delon, Riccardo Cucciolla, Daniel Ivernel, Reinhard Kolldehoff & André Falcon

Directed by Jacques Deray

The 1970 French crime flick Borsalino featured Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo as charismatic gangsters in 1930s Marseilles. In this sequel Alain Delon is back again playing as Roch Siffredi in a film which picks up where the original concluded: the funeral of François Capella. Seeking redress for this murder of his friend, Roch commences to dispose of his enemies in a variety of novel (and gruesome) methods.

Actually filmed just after the original, Borsalino and Co. was held back from an expectant public for a few years to generate a high level of anticipation (and publicity) for its 1974 release.

Excellent print in French spoken language with English subtitles.

Borsalino (1970) is also available - see above

Fans of Alain Delon might like to also check out another of his gangster flicks: The Sicilian Clan (1969) which is available elsewhere in this website

Botany Bay (1953) - 93 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, James Mason, Patricia Medina, Cedric Hardewicke & Murray Matheson

Directed by John Farrow

Framed for robbery, 18th century medical student Hugh Tallant is sentenced to a New South Wales (Australia) penal colony. En route to the prison, Tallant is tormented by sadistic ship's captain Paul Gilbert, while Gilbert's beloved Sally Monroe takes a fancy to the new prisoner. Once at the colony, Tallant is befriended by Governor Phillips, since the populace is in desperate need of a qualified physician. However Gilbert continues his efforts in persecuting Tallant and a showdown is in the offing

Botany Bay was based on a novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame).

The Bounty Hunter (1954) - 79 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Dolores Dorn, Marie Windsor, Howard Petrie & Harry Antrim.

Directed by André De Toth

A year after a violent train robbery the Pinkerton detective agency hires a bounty hunter to find the three remaining killers. He tracks them to Twin Forks but has no clue to their identity. He then bides his time, hoping that the crooks will tip their hands, lead him to the stolen money, and let down their guard long enough to allow for a speedy capture. Tensions surface as just his presence in town acts as a catalyst for trouble.

A highly entertaining yarn with the killers' identities being unknown (& hard to pick) until the very end

The Bounty Killer (1965) - 92 mins

Starring Dan Duryea, Rod Cameron, Audrey Dalton, Richard Arlen & Buster Crabbe

Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet

Willie Duggan (Dan Duryea) is a Western bounty hunter, expert in his job, but ill at ease with his conscience. He is shunned by the "good" townsfolk until they need him to track down and kill a criminal; the gratitude doesn't last long, and it's back to outcast status for Duryea. The embittered bounty hunter even delivers a condemnation against the "hypocrites" who hire him - but nonetheless takes one more job.

Whilst its probably best remembered as Dan Duryea's last film, The Bounty Killer contains many other points of interests, chiefly its cast! Yep, under the sturdy hand of note serial and "B" western director Spencer Gordon Bennet, we have western veterans: Rod Cameron, Ricahrd Arlen, Buster Crabbe, Fuzzy Knight, Johnny Mack Brown, Eddie Quillan, Bob Steele & Frank Lackteen. And to top it off an appearance by the legendary Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson - the first Western star!

Boy on a Dolphin (1957) - 111 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Clifton Webb, Sophia Loren, Alex Minotis, Jorge Mistral & Laurence Naismith

Directed by Jean Negulesco

Italian screen goddess Sophia Loren made her American film debut with this glossy romantic adventure set and partially filmed on the Greek island of Hydra. Phaedra (Loren) is a female sponge diver who, while combing the waters, discovers the wreckage of a sunken ship with a number of fascinating artifacts, including a statue of a boy astride a dolphin. When Phaedra tells her boyfriend Rhif (Jorge Mistral) about the find, he is convinced that the statue is valuable, and he begins making plans to bring it to dry land for sale. Looking for help, they approach Dr. James Calder (Alan Ladd), an American archeologist working on a project for a Greek museum. Calder wants the statue but can't pay for it - he wants Phaedra and Rhif to donate it to his museum as a remarkable example of Greek statuary. This is hardly what Rhif had in mind, so he turns to Victor Parmalee (Clifton Webb), a wealthy American art collector intrigued by the statue and other valuables that might be in the ship. Rhif and Victor make plans to salvage the ship's contents and send them back to America, for which Rhif will be paid handsomely.

Interesting and handsomely photographed story.

Fabulous Wide-Screen Technicolor Print!

Branded (1950) - 104 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Mona Freeman, Charles Bickford, Brian Keith & Joseph Calleia

Directed by Rudolph Maté

Rancher Charles Bickford comes to believe that drifter Alan Ladd is his long-lost son. In truth, Ladd is a crook, in league with Brian Keith to con Bickford out of his fortune. Intending to go through with the scheme, Ladd has second thoughts when Bickford and his "mother" Selena Royle shower him with the familial affection that he has lacked all his life. Making Ladd even more uncomfortable is the presence of his "sister" Mona Freeman, whom he has grown to love in a manner that might be misconstrued were he really related to her. Fed up with his masquerade, Ladd confesses the hoax and sets about to find Bickford's real son.

The Brasher Doubloon (1947) - 72 mins

Starring George Montgomery, Nancy Guild, Conrad Janis, Roy Roberts & Fritz Kortner

Directed by John Brahm

Philip Marlowe (George Montgomery) gets involved when Leslie Murdock (Conrad Janis) steals a rare doubloon from his mother (Florence Bates) to give to a newsreel photographer in exchange for film that is being used for blackmail purposes. Marlowe's involvement has him encounter a girl who goes into hysterics when touched by a man; a husband-killing woman; three corpses; a couple of scuffles and a secretary who thinks she has killed her boss

This is the Raymond Chandler story "The High Window" - complicated but fun … George Montgomery does a nice Philip Marlowe!

Note that this film is part of the Philip Marlowe "at the Movies" Combination which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

Breakaway (1955) - 72 mins

Starring Tom Conway, Michael Balfour, Honor Blackman, Brian Worth & Bruce Seton

Directed by Henry Cass

When Johnny Matlock whisks away a cold war secret from under the noses of Berlin's top agents, his every move is shadowed as he returns to England. He is summarily set upon and knocked unconscious by enemy agents and his girlfriend is kidnapped. But her handbag is discovered at the scene of the crime by aristocratic PI, Duke Martin - enter Tom Conway (of The Falcon fame - available from the Movie Series section of this website)

Duke discovers the secret formula that the agents are searching for and then proceeds to play a deadly game of double bluff as he schemes to effect the girl's safe return.

Nice work from Tom Conway - back in England again

Tom had also scored good success with Park Plaza 605 two years earlier - again playing a suave PI - this film is also available from this website.

The Breaking Point (1950) - 97 mins

Starring John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Wallace Ford & Sherry Jackson

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Fishing boat captain Harry Morgan charters his boat. Due to strained finances, he is none too careful as to whom he does business with. Real trouble erupts when Harry hires out his boat to transport four men who turn out to be criminals on the lam from a racetrack heist.

A high-voltage refilming of Hemingway's To Have and Have Not with a great screenplay by Ranald MacDougall.

The second of three adaptations of this Hemingway ditty, the others being Bogie's To Have and Have Not (1944) & Audie Murphy's The Gun Runners (1958) - both of which are available from this website

The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) - 102 mins

Starring William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, Robert Strauss, Charles McGraw & Earl Holliman

Directed by Mark Robson

Based on the novel by James Michener, this film stars William Holden as Harry Brubaker, a former military pilot who served in World War II. When he's called back into duty during the Korean conflict, Brubaker is angry, believing he's already served his country and needs to devote himself to his wife Nancy (Grace Kelly) and their children. However, he accepts his commission and is sent back into action as a pilot, with a special assignment to blow up five strategically crucial bridges in Korean territory. This drama, which focuses on the danger and futility of war, also features Frederic March as an admiral who respects the tremendous danger of Brubaker's assignment, and Mickey Rooney as an helicopter pilot.

A great movie & a fabulous finish.

Oscar winner for Best Visual Effects as well as a nomination for Film Editing.

Brighton Rock (1947) - 92 mins

Starring Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell & Nigel Stock

Directed by John Boulting

Gang leader, Pinkie Brown (Richard Attenborough) while leading his men in a racetrack robbery kills a man. He convinces pretty waitress Rose (Carol Marsh) to provide him with an alibi, promising to marry her in exchange. After the wedding, the Pinkie conducts a slow and careful campaign to drive his young wife to suicide.

"A moody, well-acted film with a stunning performance by the 24-year-old Attenborough, Brighton Rock is notable for bringing a new vicious realism to British crime cinema. Adapted by Terrance Rattigan and Graham Greene, from Greene's novel, the screenplay is superlative. The grim realism and sordid subject matter of the film is striking, handled by twin filmmakers Roy and John Boulting, who use mood and dark, stark photography to convey an almost palpable sense of dread".

The Brighton Strangler (1945) - 67 mins

Starring John Loder, June Duprez, Michael St. Angel & Miles Mander

Directed by Max Nosseck

A prominent London actor, lately starring in a play about a maniacal strangler, suffers a head injury when the theatre is bombed by the Nazis. Thereafter, he cannot separate fact from fiction, and periodically becomes the strangler that he is playing on stage.

Tightly scripted and well acted with a 67 minute running time that allows the story to unfold without undue padding or muddled psychological overtones.

Interestingly, John Loder's character is triggered into becoming a murderer whenever someone inadvertently recites one of the lines from his play--a dramatic device later utilized to fuller effect in Richard Condon's The Manchurian Candidate.

Brute Force (1947) - 98 mins

Starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo & Ann Blyth

Directed by Jules Dassin

Burt Lancaster had one of his first starring roles in this hard-hitting prison drama. Capt. Munsey (Hume Cronyn) is a cruel, corrupt prison guard who has his own less-than-ethical ways of dealing with inmates, enough so that Joe Collins (Lancaster) - the toughest inmate in the cell block - has decided to break out. Collins tries to persuade Gallagher (Charles Bickford), the unofficial leader of the inmates and editor of the prison newspaper, to join him, but Gallagher thinks Collins' plan won't work. However, Collins does have the support of his cellmates, most of whom, like himself, wandered into a life of crime thanks to love and good intentions. Collins pulled a bank job to raise money to pay for an operation that could possibly get his girl out of a wheelchair.

Top flight power from Burt!

Fabulous Miklós Rózsamusic score!

Director Jules Dassin would next direct the influential noir drama The Naked City which is also available from this website.

Burt Lancaster also made a number of other powerful dramas & gritty noirs: The Killers (1946), Desert Fury (1947), I Walk Alone (1948), Criss Cross (1949), Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Run Silent Run Deep (1958), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Seven Days in May (1964) & The Train (1964).

Then, of course there were his fabulous adventure films: The Flame and the Arrow (1950), Ten Tall Men (1951), The Crimson Pirate (1952), South Sea Woman (1953) & His Majesty O'Keefe (1954).

All of the above are available from this website

And how about a Lancaster film that includes elements of the above, namely a gritty & powerful action/adventure outing? - check out Rope of Sand (1949) - which is also available from this website

The Buccaneer (1938) - 126 mins

Starring Fredric March, Franciska Gaal, Akim Tamiroff, Margot Grahame, Walter Brennan, Hugh Sothern & Spring Byington

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille's The Buccaneer stars Fredric March as 18th century pirate Jean Lafitte. Operating out of a "buccaneer's haven" of the coast of New Orleans, Lafitte plunders all passing ships for their wealth, but refuses to attack any vessel flying the American flag. During one seafaring skirmish, he rescues Dutch maiden Gretchen (Franziska Gaal) from a sunken ship. Gretchen falls madly in love with the dashing Lafitte, but he has eyes only for aristocratic Louisana belle Annette (Margot Grahame). During the War of 1812, Lafitte is offered a pardon by Andrew Jackson (Hugh Sothern) if he and his pirates will fight on the American side. As good as his word, Lafitte stands shoulder to shoulder with Jackson as they ward off the British at the Battle of New Orleans.

"From the opening scene in which Dolly Madison (Spring Byington) rescues the Declaration of Independence during the burning of Washington to the closing clinch between Lafitte and Gretchen, The Buccaneer is one of DeMille's most exhilarating films."

Oscar Nomination for Best Cinematography

Buchanan Rides Alone (1958) - 78 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Craig Stevens, Barry Kelley, Tol Avery & Peter Whitney.

Directed by Budd Boetticher

On his way home to West Texas, Tom Buchanan rides into the Californian border town of Agry, and into a feud between several members of the Agry family. In helping out a Mexican seeking revenge on one of them, Buchanan finds himself against the whole family. Plenty of plot twists and my Dad's favourite western!

Buffalo Bill (1944) - 90 mins

Starring Joel McCrea, Maureen O'Hara, Linda Darnell, Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Buchanan & Anthony Quinn

Directed by William A. Wellman

Well played by Joel McCrea, Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody is first seen as an army Indian scout, pursuing peaceful coexistence despite the animosity of Chief Yellow Hand (Anthony Quinn) and the obstruction of anti-Indian politicians. He also takes time out to court the lovely Louisa (Maureen O'Hara), the well-bred Eastern girl who will become his wife despite her initial distaste for the West. Under the tutelage of impresario Ned Buntline (Thomas Mitchell), Cody follows up his military career with a more spectacular one as a larger-than-life showman, touring throughout the world with his spectacular Wild West show.

As director John Ford put it: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

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Bullet for a Badman (1964) - 80 mins

Starring Audie Murphy, Darren McGavin, Ruta Lee, Skip Homeier, George Tobias & Alan Hale Jr.

Directed by R.G. Springsteen

Logan Keliher (Audie Murphy) is an ex-lawman who must strap on the guns again to catch a former nemesis, Sam Ward (Darren McGavin), who happens to be the ex husband of Murphy's wife and father of the boy that believes he's Murphy's son.

A treat for Murphy fans!

A Bullet for Joey (1955) - 85 mins

Starring Edward G. Robinson, George Raft, Audrey Totter, George Dolenz & Peter Van Eyck

Directed by Lewis Allen

A communist spy plots the abduction of an important American atomic scientist in this espionage drama. To do his evil deed, he coerces a notorious gangster to do the kidnapping. Meanwhile a G-man is hot on the spy's trail and is determined to protect the endangered scientist. Unfortunately, the spy is on to the detective and plans to bump him off first.

A great Cold war spy thriller with an eye-popping cast!

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Bullshot (1983) - 87 mins

Directed by Dick Clement

Starring Alan Shearman, Diz White, Ronald E. House, Frances Tomelty & Mel Smith

"Bullshot" Crummond (Alan Shearman) is a square-jawed hero of World War I who longs to face off against his German arch-nemesis Count Otto von Bruno (Ronald E. House) one more time. He gets his chance when he must save Rosemary Fenton (Diz White), a damsel in distress whose father has made a top-secret discovery before he died and now Count von Bruno wants that secret for himself.

Alan Shearman & Ronald E. House wrote the stage play Bullshot Crummond and then adapted it for the screen – it’s a clever spoof of Bulldog Drummond

Note that the complete Bulldog Drummond Movie Series is available from within the Movie Series section of this website

Bunco Squad (1950) - 67 mins

Starring Robert Sterling, Loan Dixon, Ricardo Cortez, Douglas Fowley & Elisabeth Risdon

Directed by Herbert I. Leeds

Sgt. Steve Johnson is a big-city detective dedicated to tracking down con artists. His current target is a gang of slicksters who are running a successful seance racket. Wealthy Jessica Royce is on the verge of bequeathing her fortune to the crooks, in exchange for communications from her deceased son. Posing as a couple of "marks," Johnson and girlfriend Grace Bradshaw turn the tables on con-man Anthony Wells and his confreres.

On hand to reveal some of the techniques used by bunco artists is Dante the Magician, aka Harry A. Janssen, making the second of his two screen appearances (the first was in Laurel & Hardy's A-Haunting We Will Go).

Burma Convoy (1941) - 72 mins

Starring Charles Bickford, Evelyn Ankers, Frank Albertson, Cecil Kellaway & Keye Luke

Directed by Noel M. Smith

This action film is set in Asia during World War II tells a trucker who has been driving in convoys along the dangerous Burma Road between Rangoon and Chungking. When he decides it was time to return to the U.S. and become an auto mechanic, he is delayed by his younger brother who arrives in the country. Apparently he is mixed up in some kind of international intrigue and gets killed. The older brother eventually discovers a ring of Eurasian hijackers conspiring to thwart the convoys that deliver vital supplies.

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Bury Me Dead (1947) - 68 mins

Starring June Lockhart, Hugh Beaumont, Cathy O'Donnell, Mark Daniels & Greg McClure

Directed by Bernard Vorhaus

Barbara Carlin (June Lockhart) attends her own funeral and returns home suspecting that her husband, Rod Carlin (Mark Daniels), had tried to do away with her, and is also curious as to just who was the woman buried under her name. She learns that the victim was glamour girl Helen Lawrence (Sonia Darren), with whom her husband had been having an affair. Complications come from her sister Rusty (Cathy O'Donnell) and from her dim-witted prize fighter boyfriend, George Mandley (Greg McClure). The family attorney, Michael Dunn (Hugh Beaumont) has to sort out the situation and in the process provide support for Barbara.

Great to see two icons of 50s / 60s TV in the lead here: June Lockhart (Lassie's Ruth Martin & Lost in Space's Maureen Robinson) & Hugh Beaumont (Leave it to Beaver's Ward Cleaver)

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Bush Christmas (1947) - 80 mins

Starring Chips Rafferty, John Fernside, Helen Grieve, Nicky Yardley & Stan Tolhurst

Directed by Ralph Smart

In a small town in Australia, five children riding their horses from school take a forbidden path and meet two strangers, who give them money and make them promise not to tell anyone about them. The two men learn about Lucy. She's a mare belonging to Mr. Thompson, a sheep farmer and the father of three of the children: Helen (the oldest), John, and six-year-old Snow (so named for the color of his hair). The other two are Michael, an English boy staying with the Thompsons, and Neza, an Australian aboriginal who is the son of one of Mr. Thompson's stockmen. The two men (a third one joins them later) prove to be horse thieves, and when Lucy and her foal turn up missing the next morning, the children know it must have been them. Later, the children tell Mrs. Thompson they're going camping. But their real plan is to find the thieves and get Lucy and the foal back. The children head into the Blue Mountains to track down the thieves, relying on Aboriginal survival skills to keep themselves going.

Often described as an Australian western, Bush Christmas is told in a refreshingly non-condescending fashion with the nominal star being the popular Chips Rafferty, playing a likeable horse rustler.

Director Ralph Smart also wrote the screenplay as well as filling the role of producer, following up on his associate producing role on Chips' excellent The Overlanders (1946) - which is also available from this website

Smart was then to move to England were he successfully produced successful UK TV series The Buccaneers, William Tell & Danger Man - all of which are available from the TV Series section of this website

Chips was to star in two other iconic Aussie productions: 40, 000 Horsemen (1941) & The Overlanders (1946) - both of which are available from this website.

Note that fans of Chips Rafferty may like to check out his charismatic performances in the two Smiley films which were made in Australia in the late 1950s - the are available from within the Movies Series section of this website.

The Caine Mutiny (1954) - 124 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, Robert Francis & Tom Tully

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

During the Second World War, onboard a small insignificant ship in the U.S. Pacific Fleet, an event occurs unlike any that the United States Navy has ever experianced. A Ship's Captain is removed from his command by his Executive Officer in an apparent outright act of mutiny. As the trial of the mutineers unfold, it is then learned that the Captain of the ship was mentally unstable, perhaps even insane. The Navy must then decide: was the Caine Mutiny a criminal act? Or an act of courage to save a ship from destruction at the hands of her Captain.

Absolutely riverting …..

Oscar Nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Humphrey Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Tom Tully), Best Music (Max Steiner), Sound Recording & Screenplay

Calcutta (1947) - 83 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Gail Russell, William Bendix & June Duprez

Directed by John Farrow

Neale and Pedro fly cargo between Chungking and Calcutta. When their buddy Bill is murdered they investigate. Neale meets Bill's fiancée Virginia and becomes suspicious of a deeper plot while also falling for her charms.

The closest thing to an "adventure noir" film

Now a quite nice print!

Note that this film is part of a 4 DVD (8 film) Alan Ladd Collection set which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

California Passage (1950) - 90 mins

Starring Forrest Tucker, Adele Mara, Jim Davis, Estelita Rodriguez, Bill Williams, Peter Miles & Charles Kemper

Directed by Joseph Kane

Beth Martin (Adele Mara) is an Easterner traveling west to be reunited with her brother, Bob (Bill Williams). But Bob is not quite the hard-working miner that Beth and kid brother Tommy (Peter Miles) believed him to be and the newcomers quickly find themselves caught between double-crossing saloon owners Mike Prescott (Forrest Tucker) and Lincoln Corey (Jim Davis).

A nice Republic production (this time in B&W) with Forrest Tucker reuniting with Adele Mara, director Joseph Kane and writer James Edward Grant from Republic's color production, Rock Island Trail earlier in 1950.

Like its predessor, this is a good mix of action and character banter.

Then a few years later came another excellent "A" western from Republic: Jubilee Trail (1954) again with Joseph Kane directing Forrest Tucker.

Both Rock Island Trail (1950) & Jubille Trail (1954) are also available from this website.

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Callan (1974) - 106 mins

Starring Edward Woodward, Eric Porter, Carl Möhner, Catherine Schell, Peter Egan & Russell Hunter

Directed by Don Sharp

David Callan (Edward Woodward), top agent/assassin for the S.I.S., was forced to retired because he had lost his nerve. Now, Callan is called back into service to handle the assassination of Schneider, a German businessman. His former boss promises Callan that he'll be returned to active status if he follows orders, but as always Callan refuses to act until he knows why Schneider has been marked for death.

The legendary Callan! - Edward Woodward's signature role in 43 episodes of the TV series which ran from 1967 until 1972. The pilot TV episode which begat the TV series was called A Magnum for Schneider and it was shown in 1967 as part of the Armchair Theatre UK anthology series.

This big-screen version of the TV series is a remake of that self-same pilot episode! - Lonely (Russell Hunter) is back but Toby Meares is now played by Peter Egan (instead of TV's Anthony Valentine)

Calling Homicide (1956) - 62 mins

Starring Bill Elliott, Myron Healey, John Dennis, Kathleen Case, Don Haggerty & Lyle Talbot

Directed by Edward Bernds

The third film in which the former western star "Wild" Bill Elliott played a detective lieutenant in the Los Angeles homicide division. Lieutenant Andy Doyle (Bill Elliott) of the Los Angeles Sheriff's homicide department, while investigation the mysterious dynamiting death of a young policeman, discovers that the strangling-murder of Francine Norman, owner of a modelling school, is linked with the first killing.

These Allied Artists films were Elliott's last screen roles, and he certainly made the most of it in these tidy noirs. The Andy Doyle police films were a nice swan song for Wild Bill Elliott - the western hero who best combined toughness with dignity. He was tough on the range, and he's just as tough on those mean streets of Los Angeles.

Nice Print Quality!

This is the third in Bill Elliott's "Suits & Fedoras" (Andy Doyle/Flynn) Series

Other films from the series Dial Red 0 (1955), Sudden Danger (1955), Chain of Evidence (1957) & Footsteps in the Night (1957) are also available from the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of the website.

The whole series is also available from the Movie Series A-M section of this website (under "B" for "Bill")

Note: A variety of "Wild Bill" Elliott western DVD sets are available from the Westerns section of this website

Further Note: "Wild Bill" Elliott three serial outings are available from the Movie Serials section of this website

Call Northside 777 (1948) - 111 mins

Starring James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker & E. G. Marshall

Directed by Henry Hathaway

In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad by Frank's mother leads Chicago reporter P.J. O'Neal to look into the case. For some time, O'Neal continues to believe Frank guilty. But when he starts to change his mind, he meets increased resistance from authorities unwilling to be proved wrong.

Call of the Wild (1935) - 95 mins

Starring Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Jack Oakie, Reginald Owen & Frank Conroy

Directed by William A. Wellman

The third & definitive screen version of Jack London's classic adventure story was also the first with sound, and it toyed with the original story a bit to add a love interest for leading man Clark Gable. Jack Thornton (Gable) is a would-be prospector who has headed to Alaska hoping to cash in on the gold rush. However, he loses most of his stake in a poker game and instead ends up buying a Saint Bernard named Buck. He's able to pick up Buck for a song because he's too ill-tempered to pull a sled; Smith (Reginald Owen), Buck's former owner, treated him with cruelty and the dog mangled Smith's hand in retaliation. Jack loves the dog, though, and treats him with care and kindness. Buck bonds with Jack and soon becomes a loyal companion and a good sled dog. Angry and astounded, Smith bets Jack that Buck can't pull a half-ton sled 100 yards; while the old Buck would never have done it, with Jack's urging the dog manages the feat and Jack now has the funds to set out with his friend Shorty (Jack Oakie) to stake their claim. While searching for gold, Jack and Shorty discover Claire Blake (Loretta Young), the wife of a miner who abandoned her to look for a fresh vein of gold. A warmth grows between Claire and Jack in the frozen North, but Jack is forced to help her husband when he runs afoul of thieves trying to steal his claim.

A fabulous "outdoors" adventure film shot on great locations with the actors doing the "hard yards" ie paddling canoes though freezing rivers, trekking through snow storms etc

Fans of Jack London should also check out the film Jack London (1943) which is also available from this section of the website.

Campbell's Kingdom (1957) - 102 mins

Starring Dirk Bogarde, Stanley Baker, Michael Craig, Barbara Murray & James Robertson Justice

Directed by Ralph Thomas

Dirk Bogarde plays Bruce Campbell, a British aristocrat who has been given only six months to live. Inheriting a financially troubled Canadian valley, Campbell finds a new lease on life as he champions the cause of the local citizenry. He is particularly effective in standing up to the excesses of contractor Owen Morgan (Stanley Baker), whose dam project threatens to flood the valley. Well paced, Campbell's Kingdom rewards the viewer's patience with an abundance of action highlights, the best of which is reserved for last.

Based on a novel by Hammond Innes.

Canadian Pacific (1949) - 95 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Jane Wyatt, J. Carroll Naish, Victor Jory & Nancy Olson.

Directed by Edwin L. Marin

Filmed on location in the Canadian Rockies, this grand adventure western gives an account of the building of the Canadian Pacific railroad. Tom Andrews is a rough-and-ready surveyor who learns that fur trapper Dirk Rourke perceives the Canadian Pacific as a threat to his livelihood. Rourke foments an Indian uprising which very nearly destroys the railroad. But Andrews and his hardy band persevere. An exciting piece of filmmaking, evocatively photographed in Cinecolor by Fred Jackman Jr.

Candlelight in Algeria (1944) - 86 mins

Starring James Mason, Carla Lehmann, Raymond Lovell, Enid Stamp-Taylor & Walter Rilla

Directed by George King

Fact, fiction and espionage are combined in this drama that follows the exploits of Eisenhower's top aide, Mark Clark, and other important Allies as they journey to an important meeting held on Algeria's coast. The precise location of this vital secret gathering is upon a piece of film which must not fall into enemy hands, lest the Allied honchos get captured. The film is hidden in a German colony in Algiers. It is up to one of Britains top spies to bring it to safety. He is hindered by a Nazi spy who follows him. He is assisted by an American woman and a French woman. They are successful and gun-play ensues as they try to flee the country.

One of a trilogy of WWII UK films in which Mason played the "good" guy - the other two are Secret Mission (1942) and Hotel Reserve (1944) - which are also available from this website

Canon City (1948) - 82 mins

Starring Scott Brady, Jeff Corey, Whit Bissell, Stanley Clements, Charles Russell, DeForest Kelley & Ralph Byrd

Directed by Crane Wilbur

This suspenseful crime drama reenacts the famed 1947 prison break out of the Canon City, Colorado corrections facility and features the actual warden, Roy Best playing himself. The trouble begins when one prisoner manages to fashion a crude pistol. Enlisting the aid of eleven others, they successfully escape and begin to terrorize the town.

An unabashed "cult classic" with excellent photography from John Alton playing up the sophisticated and compelling lighting. True "noir" in every way.

Canyon Crossroads (1955) - 83 mins

Starring Richard Basehart, Phyllis Kirk, Stephen Elliott, Russell Collins & Richard Hale

Directed by Alfred L. Werker

A mining engineer, who is shunned by his peers for his unorthodox beliefs concerning the whereabouts of large uranium deposits, joins forces with a girl and her father to search for the mineral. When the father is hurt in an accident, daughter and engineer continue the project, aided by a Native American guide. Unbeknownst to the group, a reputable citizen of the town is shadowing them and his intention is to jump their claim.

Cape Fear (1962) - 105 mins

Starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin & Martin Balsam

Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Small-town lawyer Sam Bowden's life becomes torturous when Max Cady re-enters his life. Cady went to jail for 8 years after Bowden testified that Cady attacked a young woman. Now that Cady has been released, he begins to terrorize Bowden and his family, particularly targeting Bowden's daughter, Nancy.

Riveting from the first frame to last. Well shot, with excellent acting, and a great Bernard Herrmann score.

Captain Blood (1935) - 119 mins

Starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill & Basil Rathbone

Directed by Michael Curtiz

The quintessential swashbuckler. Irish doctor Dr. Peter Blood is wrongly sentenced to deportation and slavery to the Caribbean. He plans an escape and now seeking vengeance forms an alliance with the French buccaneer Capt. Levasseur. However during their reign of piracy they capture Arabella Bishop and Blood's feelings are betrayed when he challenges Levasseur over her.

Quintessential Flynn in his "breakout" role and a fabulous Eric Wolfgang Korngold score

Captain Boycott (1947) - 92 mins

Starring Stewart Granger, Kathleen Ryan, Cecil Parker, Mervyn Johns & Alastair Sim

Directed by Frank Launder

Set in early 19th-century Ireland, this fact-based drama chronicles the peasant uprising of peasants who finally tire of the brutality of Captain Boycott, the rent collector for the Earl of Erne. The impoverished farmers conspire to banish him from the area. When Boycott learns of this, he tries to change his image by spending his entire fortune launching a newspaper promotion of his good points. It doesn't work and in desperation, he squanders the rest of his fortune on buying a race horse. He enters it in a big race and bets the rest of his fortune upon it. Unfortunately, just before it wins, the peasants spring to action, start a riot and successfully oust the cruel captain from their lands. It is from this situation that the English word "boycott" is derived.

Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950) - 82 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Wanda Hendrix, Francis Lederer, Joseph Calleia & Celie Lovsky

Directed by Mitchell Leisen

A former OSS operative, Captain Webb Carey returns to Orta, near Milan in Italy after the war to avenge the death of resistance worker Giulia. Much to his surprise, Carey finds that his "deceased" lover is not only still alive, but also the wife of a powerful Italian nobleman. He also discovers to his sorrow that the far-from-grateful Italian villagers hold the Americans responsible for their current financial travails. Carey sticks around, hoping to flush out the traitor who'd caused the wartime deaths of several of his OSS colleagues. The box-office success of Captain Carey USA was enhanced by the incidental musical number "Mona Lisa," which won an Academy Award.

Note that this film is part of a 4 DVD (8 film) Alan Ladd Collection set which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

Captain Caution (1940) - 86 mins

Starring Victor Mature, Louise Platt, Leo Carrillo, Bruce Cabot & Robert Barrat

Directed by Richard Wallace

Set during the war of 1812, Hal Roach's Captain Caution is an unusual swashbuckler in that the "hero" is actually the heroine. Louise Platt plays Corunna, the daughter of Captain Dorman (Robert Barrat), skipper of the American vessel The Olive Branch. When Dorman is killed in battle, Corunna courageously assumes command of the ship, with the help of muscular first mate Dan Marvin (Victor Mature). While trying to bring a valuable cargo to America, the Olive Branch is captured a number of times by the British, but on each occasion Corunna and Marvin manage to wriggle free and carry on their mission. Making life tougher for Corunna is the presence of the lascivious Slade (Bruce Cabot), who'd like to claim both the girl and the ship as his own personal property.

Based on a novel by Kenneth Roberts (Northwest Passage)

Captain China (1950) - 97 mins

Starring John Payne, Gail Russell, Jeffrey Lynn, Lon Chaney Jr. & Michael O'Shea

Directed by Lewis R. Foster

Charles Chinnough, aka Captain China (John Payne), is a ship's captain whose embittered behavior after losing his lady love seemingly leads to tragedy. Accused of deliberately scuttling his ship during a typhoon, Captain China hopes to clear himself by signing on as a common seaman on a vessel captain by his former first mate Brendensen (Jeffrey Lynn). There's no love lost between the two men, and their mutual animosity is intensified when both fall in love with beautiful passenger Kim Mitchell (Gail Russell). A second storm now threatens.

Another fine action yarn from Paramount's Pine-Thomas production outfit.

Quality Note: Not the greatest of prints but still good enough to not interfere with the enjoyment of this excellent adventure

Captain From Castile (1947) - 140 mins

Starring Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Lee J. Cobb & John Sutton

Directed by Henry King

In this big-budget historical adventure, Tyrone Power stars as Pedro De Vargas, a young and impetuous nobleman in 16th Century Spain. Pedro helps to free a slave who belongs to Diego De Silva (John Sutton), but this proves to be a mistake, as Diego is one of the leaders of the Inquisition. Diego soon brands Pedro a heretic, puts his family behind bars, and subjects his 12-year-old sister to torture so horrible it kills her. An outraged Pedro plots his escape, with the help of his friend Juan Garcia (Lee J. Cobb) and hot-blooded peasant girl, Catana Perez (Jean Peters). Pedro and his friends help his parents make their way out of Spain, and he soon joins forces with Hernando Cortez (Cesar Romero), who has an ambitious plan to sail to the new world in search of gold. However, a vengeful Diego uses his powers to foil Cortez, and when Diego is murdered, Pedro becomes the key suspect in the crime. Captain From Castile was shot on location in Morelos, Mexico, where the active volcano Paricutin slowed production, causing delays that expanded the film's budget to a then-extravagant $4.5 million.

Fabulous color print

Tyrone Power: that fabulous adventurer … other great Tyrone Power movies available from this website are: The Mark of Zorro (1940), Johnny Apollo (1940), Blood and Sand (1941), The Black Swan (1942), Son of Fury (1942), The Razor's Edge (1946), Nightmare Alley (1947), Prince of Foxes (1949), The Black Rose (1950), American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950), Diplomatic Courier (1952) & King of the Khyber Rifles (1953).

Captain Lightfoot (1955) - 92 mins

Starring Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Jeff Morrow, Kathleen Ryan & Findlay Currie

Directed Douglas Sirk

Rock Hudson stars as Captain Lightfoot, an 19th century adventurer described by everyone who's ever seen this film as an "Irish Robin Hood". Rebelling against British rule, Hudson causes all sorts of trouble up and down the Auld Sod, usually in the form of well-planned robberies, with the spoils divided amongst the Irish peasantry. Barbara Rush plays the daughter of rebel leader Jeff Morrow. Director Douglas Sirk brings out the best in Rock Hudson, allowing him to go from masked-highwayman activities to his "civilian" pose as a clergyman with utter conviction.

Excellent widescreen color print.

Rock's other good actioners from this period were Sea Devils (1953) & Bengal Brigade (1954) - both of which are also available from this website.

Captain Pirate (1952) - 85 mins

Starring Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, John Sutton, Charles Irwin & Ted de Corsia

Directed by Gordon Douglas

Adapted from Rafael Sabatini's Captain Blood Returns, the film stars Hayward as physician-turned-buccaneer Peter Blood. Now respectably retired in the West Indies, Blood is shaken out of his complacency when he is accused of returning to piracy. Given a chance to clear his name, Blood reassembles his old crew to track down the villain who's pilfered his good name.

Fabulous Technicolor print!

A sort-of-sequel to Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950) - which is also available from this website

Both films were sumptuously produced by Harry Joe Brown - who was perhaps better known for the Randolph Scott westerns that he did at Columbia (check those out in the Randolph Scott section of this website)

Captain Sindbad (1963) - 85 mins

Starring Guy Williams, Heidi Bruhl, Pedro Armendariz, Abraham Sofaer & Bernie Hamilton

Directed Byron Haskin

Captain Sindbad was based on an Arabian Nights story, was filmed in Germany, and starred an American leading man (Guy Williams), a German leading lady (Heidi Bruhl) and a Mexican villain (Pedro Armendariz). The story involves Sindbad's efforts to enter the impenetrable castle where the evil El Kerim's heart is being kept. So long as his heart is outside his body, El Kerim is invulnerable, enabling him to be as wicked and despotic as he chooses. Sindbad comes to the rescue just seconds before the heroine is about to be crushed to death by an elephant.

Adroitly put together by director/cinematographer Byron (War of the Worlds) Haskin and boasting top-notch special effects, it’s a nicely colored rendition with the dashing Guy Williams: made after the Zorro TV series and before Lost in Space, Guy acquits himself well here especially with sword in hand.

Captains of the Clouds (1942) - 114 mins

Starring James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Brenda Marshall, Alan Hale & George Tobias

Directed Michael Curtiz

Cagney in (his first Technicolor appearance) plays Brian MacLean, a hotshot Canadian bush pilot who delights in stealing jobs (and women) away from his competitors. Brian is forced to shape up in a hurry when he's assigned to train other pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force. At the ending of the training period, he is given his first real RCAF assignment: The seemingly unimportant task of shepherding American bomber planes across the Atlantic to England. With startling suddenness, Brian comes to realize the true importance of his job when he is forced into a deadly confrontation with a fleet of Nazi raider planes.

A role most suited to Cagney at his cockiest!

Real-life Canadian WW1 flying ace Billy Bishop plays a small but pivotal role.

Cinematographer Sol Polito earned an Oscar nomination for his vivid color photography, whilst a further nomination went to Ted Smith & Casey Roberts for Art Direction.

Caravan to Vaccarès (1974) - 98 mins

Starring David Birney, Charlotte Rampling, Michael Lonsdale, Marcel Bozzuffi & Michael Bryant

Directed by Geoffrey Reeve

Neil Bowman (David Birney) is a carefree American who is hired by French land baron, the Duc de Croyter (Michel Lonsdale) to smuggle an Eastern European scientist out of France by way of getting him safely aboard a jet bound for America. A svelte young British photographer, Lila (Charlotte Rampling) happens upon the scene just as Neil discovers that he is being pursued by a gang of international pirates, who want the scientist for themselves so that they can grab the secrets that the scientist holds and sell them to the highest bidder.

From the Alistair MacLean novel of the same name, the UK version of this film (this one) actually has the writer's name above the credits!

Note: Fans of films based on Alistair MacLean's works might like to check out The Secret Ways (1961), The Satan Bug (1965), When Eight Bells Toll (1971), Puppet on a Chain (1971), Fear Is the Key (1972), Golden Rendezvous (1977), Bear Island (1979) & River of Death (1989) elsewhere in the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of this website.

The Cariboo Trail (1950) - 81 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Bill Williams, Karin Booth & Victor Jory.

Directed by Edwin L. Marin

While the gold fever is sweeping the Cariboo Region, extending from Kamloops to Prince George, of British Columbia in western Canada, a man heads up into the region with his herd of cattle, because he thinks he can make even more money by rearing animals in the fine pastures. However, his travelling companion turns against him and a local tycoon opposes his plans.

George 'Gabby' Hayes 5^th appearance in Randolph Scott western and unfortunately, his final screen appearance

Excellent Color print (Yes! - Color not B&W!)

Carson City (1952) - 87 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, Raymond Massey, Richard Webb & James Millican.

Directed by André De Toth

When a construction engineer known only as Silent Jeff, commences building a railroad between Nevada's Carson City and Virginia City in the 1870s, he is met with hostility by the locals, who feel that where there are trains, there are bandits. And as expected, a criminal gang headed by Big Jack Davis begins drawing up plans to plunder Carson City. When Silent Jeff vows to get rid of the town's criminal element, the villains frame him on a murder charge.

Richard Webb (later TV' s Captain Midnight) has a pivotal role.

Carve Her Name With Pride (1958) - 119 mins

Starring Virginia McKenna, Paul Scofield, Jack Warner, Denise Grey & Alain Saury

Directed by Lewis Gilbert

Violet joins the war effort when her French husband is killed. By virtue of her facility at languages, Violet is sent by the British secret service to spy on the Germans. Captured, she is tortured to reveal her secrets; her refusal to betray her comrades earns her the grudging respect of her Nazi tormentors.

Based on R. J. Minney's book about real-life British war heroine (& George Cross awardee) Violet Szabo

Casablanca (1942) - 102 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet & Peter Lorre

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Rick Blaine, who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo. Laszlo is a résistance leader, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country - but will he ? Whilst a great action flick, this film holds the mantle as the classic romance film of all time!

Simply the greatest!

A further collaboration for Greenstreet & Lorre.

Other films to feature the Greenstreet / Lorre combination were The Maltese Falcon (1941), Background to Danger (1943), Passage to Marseille (1944), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), The Conspirators (1944), Three Strangers (1946 & The Verdict (1946) - all of which are available from this website.

Cast a Long Shadow (1959) - 82 mins

Starring Audie Murphy, Terry Moore, John Dehner, James Best, Rita Lynn & Denver Pyle

Directed by Thomas Carr

Troubled saddletramp, Matt Brown (Audie Murphy) has a penchant for drinking away his pain - but then he inherits a ranch from the man who may have been his father. So he sets out to reform himself. His efforts are ultimately challenged when his old rivals come to town.

An interesting B&W western from Audie …

Cattle Empire (1958) - 83 mins

Starring Joel McCrea, Gloria Talbot, Don Haggerty, Phyllis Coates, Bing Russell & Paul Brinegar

Directed by Charles Marquis Warren

John Cord (Joel McCrea) is a brave cowboy but he's also an ex-con who the dusty trail as the leader of a major cattle drive. He is offered the job by the very townspeople his gang terrorized a few years before. They are also the same people who put him in prison, and even though he accepts the task, he secretly plots his revenge. Will he get it by proving himself courageous and honest?

Caught (1949) - 88 mins

Starring James Mason, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Ryan & Frank Ferguson

Directed by Max Ophuls

Leonora Eame had married a man worth millions. But her innocent dream became a tormented nightmare once she realized the truth about her husband. He is power mad and insane! Since he will not give her a divorce, she leaves a life of luxury and goes to work as a receptionist in an impoverished doctor's office in NYC's lower east side. After a temporary reconciliation, with her husband, she conceives a child. By the time she finds out she is pregnant, she and the doctor have fallen in love.

A compelling and intelligent story which elicits fine performances from the principals under the skilled direction of Ophuls.

Cause for Alarm! (1951) - 74 mins

Starring Loretta Young, Barry Sullivan, Bruce Cowling, Margalo Gillmore & Brad Morrow

Directed by Tay Garnett

While a man recuperates from a heart-attack, he obsesses with the thought that his wife and his doctor are having an affair, so decides to write a letter to the D.A. accusing the two of trying to kill him. After his wife mails the letter for him, he tells her of its contents which provokes his anger and he attacks her, dying on the spot from another heart attack. Though innocent, she is nevertheless desperate to somehow get the letter back.

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Ceiling Zero (1936) - 95 mins

Starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, June Travis, Stuart Erwin, Barton MacLane & Dick Purcell

Directed by Howard Hawks

James Cagney and Pat O'Brien are supremely typecast as, respectively, Dizzy Davis, a cocky civil aviator and Jake Lee, a sober-sided ground commander. Dizzy ducks out of a dangerous mission in order to dally with pretty Tommy Thomas (June Travis). Texas Clark (Stuart Erwin) takes Dizzy's place, and the unpolished young pilot dies in a fiery wreck. Disgraced in the eyes of his co-workers after Clark's death, Dizzy redeems himself by taking a crucial test flight in fog-laden "ceiling zero."

Adapted from the Broadway play by Frank "Spig" Wead.

Cagney was to play another brash and cocky pilot in Captains of the Clouds (1942).

Ceiling Zero was remade in a WWII setting as International Squadron (1941) with Ronald Reagan in the Cagney role.

Both Captains of the Clouds (1942) & International Squadron (1941) are available from this website.

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Chain Lightning (1950) - 94 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Eleanor Parker, Raymond Massey, Richard Whorf, James Brown & Morris Ankrum

Directed by Stuart Heisler

Lt. Col. Matthew "Matt" Brennan runs into Jo Holloway (a Red Cross girl he romanced in Europe where he was a flyer in World War II), when he is offered a job by jet manufacturer Leland Willis (Raymond Massey) as a test pilot. Carl Troxell (Richard Whorf) wants to sell an escape cockpit to the Air Force and asks Matt to stall the presentation of the prototype JA-3 that doesn't include the ejection seat, to give him more time for the experimental JA-4. But Matt doesn't believe it is yet safe enough to try.

Chain Lightning was Humphrey Bogart's final Warner Bros. film.

Chain of Evidence (1957) - 64 mins

Starring Bill Elliott, Jimmy Lydon, Don Haggerty, Claudia Barrett & Tina Carver

Directed by Paul Landres

Major Vickers is an officer at the 27th Lancers in India 1856. When the regiment is on maneuver, the barracks are attacked by Surat Khan and his soldiers, who massacre British women and children. This leaves an inextinguishable memory and Vickers promises to revenge the dead. Based on Tennyson's poem, with a scintillating climax: the famous Balaklava Heights charge.

Flynn's follow-up to Captain Blood and reuniting director Curtiz and co-star de Havilland. Fabulous production values & wonderful Max Steiner score

This is the 4th in Bill Elliott's "Suits & Fedoras" (Andy Doyle/Flynn) Series

Other films from the series Dial Red 0 (1955), Sudden Danger (1955), Calling Homicide (1956), Chain of Evidence (1957) & Footsteps in the Night (1957) are also available from the INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of the website.

The whole series is also available from the Movie Series A-M section of this website (under "B" for "Bill")

Note: A variety of "Wild Bill" Elliott western DVD sets are available from the Westerns section of this website

Further Note: "Wild Bill" Elliott three serial outings are available from the Movie Serials section of this website

The Challenge (1938) - 76 mins

Starring Robert Douglas, Frank Birch, Luis Trenker, Geoffrey Wardwell & Moran Caplat

Directed by Milton Rosmer

The British adventure film The Challenge is based on a real-life turn-of-the-century competition. The race is on between a team of British mountain climbers and a government-sponsored Italian team to conquer a hazardous alpine peak. Edward Whimper (Robert Douglas) heads the English expedition, while Jean-Antoine Carrel (Luis Trenker) is in charge of the Italians. Actual footage of the Alps is seamlessly blended with studio mockups. Emeric Pressburger, on the verge of his teaming with Michael Powell, wrote the original story for The Challenge (see two Powell and Pressburger combination sets in the Classic Movie Combinations of this website)

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) - 116 mins

Starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Nigel Bruce & David Niven

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Flynn's follow-up to Captain Blood and reuniting director Curtiz and co-star de Havilland. Fabulous production values & wonderful Max Steiner score

Charter Pilot (1940) - 70 mins

Starring Lloyd Nolan, Lynn Bari, Arleen Whelan, George Montgomery, Hobart Cavanaugh & Chick Chandler

Directed by Eugene Forde

King Morgan (Lloyd Nolan) thinks nothing of taking life-threatening risks on a daily basis and is the subject of a radio series based on his adventures. When Morgan marries radio personality Marge Duncan (Lynn Bari), he accedes to her wishes and takes a desk job. Alas, he is unable to resist the call of the clouds, and soon he's back flying between the US and Central America taking on a gang of Nazi saboteurs.

Lloyd Nolan is a lot of fun in this film which was made immediately before his first (of seven) Michael Shayne film(s). His character in Charter Pilot is not too dissimilar to that of his Michael Shayne persona. Lyn Bari was to appear as Mike's long suffering girlfriend in Sleepers West (1941)

The Michael Shayne Movie Series is also available from this website (Movie Series A-M section)

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The Chase (1946) - 86 mins

Starring Robert Cummings, Michèle Morgan, Steve Cochran, Lloyd Corrigan, Jack Holt, Peter Lorre & Don Wilson

Directed by Arthur Ripley

Adapted by Philip Yordan from Cornell Woolrich's The Black Path of Fear (a perennial of the radio series Suspense), the film stars Robert Cummings as Chuck Scott, shell-shocked ex-GI. Tormented by bizarre dreams, Chuck is drawn into the orbit of racketeer Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran). Hired as Roman's chauffeur, Chuck deals as best he can with his boss' faithless wife Lorna (Michele Morgan) and sinister henchman Gino (Peter Lorre). Persuaded by Lorna to help her escape the brutish Roman, Chuck agrees, only to end up accused of a murder he didn't commit. Thus begins the chase of the title, with Chuck eluding not only the authorities but also the stiletto-wielding Gino. Just when it seems that Chuck has cleared himself and all's right with the world, the story takes an unexpected turn, thrusting the hero back into a nightmarish maelstrom.

Fabulous Noir and a nicely restored print - much better than commercial offerings!

The Black Path of Fear featured on Radio can be found in the Suspense section of the Radio Shows on MP3 CD section of this website - the Suspense Radio Shows title (4 CDs) is free - with conditions - why not check out that section of the website!

Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958) - 87 mins

Starring Richard Todd, Anne Baxter, Herbert Lom, Faith Brook & Alexander Knox

Directed by Michael Anderson

A man shows up at Kimberley Prescott's villa claiming to be her brother. But Ward Prescott died in a car accident a year ago, so how can this man be him? Despite Kim's protests that the stranger isn't her brother, everyone else accepts him, including their uncle. Kim begins to fear for her sanity and her life.

A confounding chiller with more than a few adroit plot twists. Before the film has run its course, we learn that the true villain is not necessarily whom it appears to be, nor is the heroine all that she seems.

Chase a Crooked Shadow was based on an 1943 Whistler radio play

Chicago Deadline (1949) - 86 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Donna Reed, June Havoc, Irene Hervey & Arthur Kennedy

Directed by Lewis Allen

Tough reporter Ed Adams (Alan Ladd) wants to get the full story behind the apparent suicide of a young woman. It seems that the girl left behind a notebook with a list of seemingly unrelated names. Adams tracks down each one of the persons cited in the notebook, slowly but surely putting the pieces together. Once the basic mystery is solved, however, there's one surprising loose end left to be tied up. June Havoc co-stars as Leona, self-styled best friend of the decedent, who helps Adams in his quest. As the victim, Donna Reed appears exclusively in flashbacks.

Alan Ladd in top form as always!

Now a quite nice print!

Note that this film is part of a 4 DVD (8 film) Alan Ladd Collection set which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

Children of the Damned (1963) - 90 mins

Starring Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, Barbara Ferris, Alfred Burke, Sheila Allen & Patrick Wymark

Directed by Anton Leader

Five children with remarkable - possibly inhuman - intellectual and psychic powers are discovered by a group of scientists. But as the military cast their eager eye over the children, they escape and hide out in a church - the race is on to protect them before they can be used as weapons, or before the authorities, terrified by their increasing powers, order their destruction.

Sequel to Village of the Damned (1960) which is also available from this website.

China (1943) - 79 mins

Starring Alan Ladd, Loretta Young, William Bendix & Philip Ahn

Directed by John Farrow

Shortly before Pearl Harbor, American opportunist Jones and partner Johnny are in China to sell oil to the invading Japanese army. Cynical about the sufferings of the Chinese, Jones meets compassionate teacher Carolyn Grant while traveling cross-country to Shanghai. Sparks fly between these strong-willed characters, neither budging an inch. But when Jones witnesses a Japanese atrocity, his feelings toward his customers (and Carolyn) begin to change.

An absolute ripper action film with a great ending!

Note that this film is part of a 4 DVD (8 film) Alan Ladd Collection set which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

China Clipper (1936) - 88 mins

Starring Pat O'Brien, Beverly Roberts, Ross Alexander, Humphrey Bogart & Henry B. Walthall

Directed by Ray Enright

Based on the true story of Pan American Airlines, China Clipper was released only a year after the first transpacific flight in history. Pat O'Brien stars as Dave Logan, a man completely obsessed with starting the first commerical airline across the Pacific ocean. Engineer Dad Brunn (Henry B. Walthall) designs the airplane, while Dave teams up with business partner Tom Collins (Ross Alexander) to start up his company. Dave's wife, Jean (Beverley Roberts) has her doubts about the airline business, but loves her husband. Dave hires Hap Stuart (Humphrey Bogart) as the pilot to make his first flight to the Caribbean, where he ends up helping out the local people during a hurricane. Things start to go really wrong for Dave when Jean wants to leave him, his Dad gets ill, and his planes are subject to all kinds of tests.

Fabulous adventure built around this most exciting of undertakings: the first commercial flight from USA to China - across the Pacific, via Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island, Guam & The Philippines thence to Macau.

Screenplay by the legendary Frank Wead

China Corsair (1951) - 76 mins

Starring Jon Hall, Lisa Ferraday, Ron Randell, Douglas Kennedy & Ernest Borgnine

Directed by Ray Nazarro

In this exciting actioner a daring Eurasian woman gets involved with a shipwrecked engineer whom she rescues from a remote island. Together, they have many romantic and exciting adventures as they try to keep a crook from selling her uncle's priceless collection of antique jade.

Excellent adventure yarn with Jon Hall romancing and combating crooks aboard the ship: China Corsair.

China Girl (1942) - 95 mins

Starring Gene Tierney, George Montgomery, Lynn Bari, Victor McLaglen & Alan Baxter

Directed by Henry Hathaway

Charts the exploits of two-fisted newsreel photographer Johnny Williams, stationed in Burma and China in the early stage of WW II. Captured by the Japanese, he escapes from a concentration camp with the aid of beautiful, enigmatic "China Girl" Miss Young. The two arduously make their way back to friendly lines so that Johnny can deliver the vital military information he's managed to glean from his captors.

Boasting great action scenes, China Girl was scripted by Ben Hecht with his usual blend of sentiment and cynicism

China Seas (1935) - 87 mins

Starring Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone & Rosalind Russell

Directed by Tay Garnett

Dynamic Alan Gaskell captains a ship bound from Hong Kong to Singapore. Gaskell tries to turn over a new leaf from his hard-drinking lifestyle after becoming attached to a refined high class English lady, Sybil Barclay. His former girlfriend Dolly is extremely jealous of the budding relationship and tries hard to get the Captain back. He is unimpressed with her loud, obnoxious, and uncivilized manners, even though she is extremely beautiful. Wallace First Mate, Jamesy MacArdle is in league with a gang of pirates who plan to steal the gold shipment being carried in the hold of the steamer. Dolly tumbles to MacArdle's secret, but is unable to convince Gaskell.

A great adventure story told with verve by action/adventure director & South Seas enthusiast Tay Garnet - a jaw dropping cast in top form!

Based on a novel by Crosbie Garstin, China Seas proved that the recently imposed Hollywood production code had little if any effect on the popularity of MGM sex symbols Clark Gable and Jean Harlow.

China Sky (1945) - 78 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Ruth Warrick, Ellen Drew, Anthony Quinn, Richard Loo & Carol Thurston

Directed by Ray Enright

In a hill city of war-torn China, the American mission hospital is run by Dr. Gray Thompson and Dr. Sara Durand, who secretly loves him. Then Gray comes back from the USA with new equipment and a new wife Louise. Louise becomes jealous of Sara and shows herself in poor light during the first Japanese air raid. She wants to take Gray back to the States. Meanwhile the war with Japan intensifies.

China Venture (1953) - 83 mins

Starring Edmond O'Brien, Barry Sullivan, Jocelyn, Leo Gordon, Lee Strasberg & Richard Loo

Directed by Don Siegel

In late 1944, an American guerilla unit led by Capt. Matt Reardon (Edmond O'Brien) learns that a Japanese plane carrying Admiral Amara (Philip Ahn) has crashed in China, in warlord-held territory. Reardon and his men are placed under the command of Naval Intelligence officer Commander Bert Thompson (Barry Sullivan) and sent on a mission to ransom Amara who is not only the head of Japanese naval intelligence, but also one of the few ranking officers in the Japanese high command known to have questioned the wisdom of continuing the war, treat his injuries, and bring him back into American hands. Apart from the instant dislike that Reardon takes to Thompson - a staff officer with no jungle combat experience, who has spent most of the war working in diplomatic circles - the mission is complicated by the large amount of emergency surgical gear, plus the doctor and his aides that Reardon has to get alive through the jungle, and this is made even worse by the fact that one of them is his surgical nurse, a woman (Jocelyn Brando). When Wu King, the warlord with whom they're dealing, proves to be less than trustworthy, Reardon and Thompson have to come up with a way of getting past his larcenous nature and getting Amara out of China ahead of the Japanese soldiers sent to rescue him. In the end, the two officers discover that, though they may have gotten to this place by very different paths, they have the same goal and each is prepared to go as far as the other to see it through.

Another great Edmond O'Brien film!

Chuka (1967) - 105 mins

Starring Rod Taylor, Ernest Borgnine, John Mills, Luciana Paluzzi, James Whitmore & Louis Hayward

Directed by Gordon Douglas

Chuka is a gunslinger whose lonely path leads to a U.S. Army outpost manned by foul-ups, degenerates, and a half-mad, alcoholic commander, Colonel Valois. Surrounded by starving Arapaho Indians clearly getting ready to massacre the fort's inhabitants, Valois refuses to yield to Chuka's demand that everyone clear out and allow the Arapaho to take provisions they need to survive. With Valois drunk and unbending, a creepy second-in-command leading a mutiny, a two-fisted sergeant defending Valois against any criticism, and the presence of two Mexican women (one of whom has a romantic past with Chuka) who will not be spared during a slaughter, things look set for much action.

Great action movie produced by Rod Taylor.

The TV Series section of this website also contains DVD sets of Rod's two TV series: Hong Kong (1960-61) and Bearcats! (1971)

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The Cimarron Kid (1952) - 84 mins

Starring Audie Murphy, Beverly Tyler, James Best, Yvette Duguay, John Hudson & Hugh O’Brian

Directed by Budd Boetticher

After being falsely accused of a payroll heist, Bil Doolin aka The Cimarron Kid (Audie Murphy) heads for the high country, where he joins the outlaw Dalton gang. When the Daltons are decimated during a daring daylight bank robbery, the Kid takes over what is left of the gang and hides out at a local ranch. Here he is reformed by the love of rancher's daughter Carrie Roberts (Beverly Tyler), but not so reformed that he doesn't embark upon one last robbery.

Though director Budd Boetticher is best known to western fans for his collaborative efforts with star Randolph Scott, Boetticher also turned out several good actioners with other cowboy stars including this one in which Audie, who by playing Bill Doolin actually fills the same role that was played by Randolph Scott in The Doolins of Oklahoma (1949). Note that all of the Boetticher / Scott westerns as well as the Gordon Douglas directed The Doolins of Oklahoma (1949) are available from within the Randolph Scott section of this website.

Circumstantial Evidence (1945) - 68 mins

Starring Michael O'Shea, Lloyd Nolan, Trudy Marshall, Billy Cummings & Ruth Ford

Directed by John Larkin

Pugnacious family man Joe Reynolds (Milo O'Shea), blowing his top as usual, threatens violence to an unlikeable storekeeper (Ben Welden). When the latter is killed, Joe is arrested for murder. Thanks to circumstantial evidence and faulty eyewitness accounts, Joe is sentenced to death in what seems to be a matter of days. While awaiting his fate on death row, Joe is regularly visited by his young son Pat (Billy Cummings), who has always believed in his dad's innocence. For Pat's sake, Joe escapes from prison on the eve of his execution. Meanwhile Pat and a family friend, postman Sam Lord (Lloyd Nolan), have sought out the eyewitnesses whose testimony cinched Joe's conviction; with a little gentle persuasion, the witnesses probe their memories and realize that they were mistaken, and that the victim's death was accidental.

Citizen Kane (1941) - 119 mins

Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead & Ray Collins

Directed by Orson Welles

Multimillionaire newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies alone in his extravagant mansion, Xanadu, speaking a single word: "Rosebud". In an attempt to figure out the meaning of this word, a reporter tracks down the people who worked and lived with Kane; they tell their stories in a series of flashbacks that reveal much about Kane's life but not enough to unlock the riddle of his dying breath.

Considered by many to be the best film ever made.

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as well as nominations for Actor & Director (Welles), Art Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Music, Picture & Sound.

Fabulous in every conceivable way

City for Conquest (1940) - 101 mins

Starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Frank Craven, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, George Tobias, Anthony Quinn & Elia Kazan

Directed by Anatole Litvak

Cagney is Danny Kenny, a truck driver who enters "the fight game" and Sheridan his former girlfriend, Peggy. While Danny is realizing success in the ring, he is blinded by acid on the boxing gloves of his opponent during a fight. When Danny attempts to get even with the gangster who was responsible for for his blindness he is wounded. His former manager finances a newsstand for the now blind and handicapped Danny who uses his income to pay for his bother Eddie's music education. The movie ends some time later as Peggy meets/recognizes Danny at his newstand and they both listen to Eddie's first symphony on the radio. The movie is based on a novel of the same name. A rare chance to see a young Elia Kazan in an acting role as a neighborhood pal turned gangster.

City That Never Sleeps (1953) - 90 mins

Starring Gig Young, Mala Powers, William Talman, Edward Arnold & Chill Wills

Directed by John H. Auer

Chicago cop Johnny Kelly, dissatisfied with his job and marriage, would like to run away with his stripper girlfriend Angel Face, but keeps getting cold feet. During one crowded night, Angel Face decides she's had enough vacillation, and crooked lawyer Biddel has an illegal mission for Johnny that could put him in a financial position to act. But other, conflicting schemes are also in progress. Tense and ethically complex in the noir manner and well photographed on location.

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Clash By Night (1952) - 105 mins

Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe, Keith Andes & J. Carrol Naish

Directed by Fritz Lang

Returning to live with her brother, Joe (Keith Andes), at her family's home in a small fishing village, Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) has reached rock bottom. Reeling from the pain of her previous romances, Mae slowly pieces things together and begins dating Jerry (Paul Douglas), a simple-minded fisherman. Butmore suited to Mae's previous tastes is Jerry's slick, boozy pal Earl Pfeiffer (Robert Ryan), a film projectionist who makes his feelings for her known right away despite the fact that he is married. Mae spurns his advances and decides to marry Jerry. Meanwhile, Joe has grown close to ditzy factory worker Peggy (Marilyn Monroe). Some time later, Mae and Jerry have had a baby, and things appear happy, but Mae is not in love with Jerry, and soon finds herself in Earl's arms. Jerry discovers the affair, and during a confrontation with the deceitful couple, Mae reveals that she is leaving to be with Earl.

Taut direction by Fritz Lang and a sizzling performance by Barbara Stanwyck.

Clay Pigeon (1949) - 63 mins

Starring Bill Williams, Barbara Hale, Richard Loo, Richard Quine & Martha Hyer

Directed by Richard Fleischer

Neat Little actioner with Williams, a seaman accused of treason and of responsibility in the death of his friend, on the trail of the real culprit, a Japanese prison guard. Written by Carl Foreman and based on a true story.

A neat combination of real-life husband & wife Williams & Hale under the sturdy direction of Fleischer

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Cleopatra (1934) - 100 mins

Starring Loretta Young, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon, Joseph Schildkraut, Ian Keith & C. Aubrey Smith

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille

In 48 BC, Queen Cleopatra (Claudette Colbert), facing palace revolt in her kingdom of Egypt, welcomes the arrival of Julius Caesar (Warren William) as a way of solidifying her power under Rome. When Caesar, whom she has led astray, is killed, she transfers her affections to Marc Antony (Henry Wilcoxon) and dazzles him her feminine wiles. By turns kittenish and cold-blooded, will Cleo's methods work this time?

Oscar Winner for Best Cinematography

Oscar Nominated for Best Picture, Sound Recording, Film Editing & Assistant Director

The Climax (1944) - 86 mins

Starring Boris Karloff, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey, Gale Sondergaard & Thomas Gomez

Directed by George Waggner

Dr. Hohner (Karloff), theatre physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, murders his mistress, the star soprano when his jealousy drives him to the point of mad obsession. Ten years later, another young singer (Foster) reminds Hohner of the late diva, and his old mania kicks in. Hohner wants to prevent her from singing for anyone but him, even if it means silencing her forever.

Classic Karloff!

Clive of India (1935) - 94 mins

Starring Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Colin Clive, Francis Lister, C. Aubrey Smith & Cesar Romero

Directed by Richard Boleslawski

In the mid-1700's the East India Company has power over commerce on the sub-continent, with the blessings of the British government. A clerk in the company, Robert Clive, is frustrated by his lack of advancement, and transfers to the military arm of the company, where he excels. Clive's leadership and gift for manipulation strengthen England's hold over India and lead to personal wealth, which is often threatened by the enemies he makes along the way.

The infamous "Black Hole of Calcutta" incident is featured in the film.

Another big scale Ronald Colman film

Cloak and Dagger (1946) - 106 mins

Starring Gary Cooper, Lilli Palmer, Robert Alda & Vladimir Sokoloff

Directed by Fritz Lang

Near the end of World War II, the Allies must find out how much the Axis knows about building atomic bombs. The OSS recruits a physicist, Alvah Jesper, to reach his former colleague, Katerin Lodor, now in Switzerland, and bring her out for debriefing. Certainly one of the better movies of its type for that era. It's exciting as well as entertaining and not as dated as one would imagine. Gary Cooper is excellent as a nuclear physicist who turns smoothly into a secret agent. There is a fair amount of action (mainly good old-fashioned shoot-outs), a rather conventional romance and one superbly executed fight sequence. Lots of neat plot twists in a "sort of" noir setting.

Note that this title along with O.S.S. (1946) & 13 Rue Madeleine (1947) are part of a 3 DVD set of The O.S.S. Trilogy which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations of this website.

Note that O.S.S. (1946) & 13 Rue Madeleine (1947) are also available from within this (INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES) section as well.

Gary Cooper: forever the great adventurer - these Gary Cooper titles are available from this website are:

Cloak Without Dagger (1955) (aka Operation Conspiracy) - 69 mins

Starring Philip Friend, Mary Mackenzie, Leslie Dwyer, Allan Cuthbertson & John G. Heller

Directed by Joseph Sterling

Kyra Gabaine, a fashion reporter, is reunited with her war-time lover Felix Gretton. Unwittingly she helps him to track down a war criminal whose capture she had prevented during the war.

Neat little spy yarn from the Brits.

Coast of Skeletons (1965) - 90 mins

Starring Richard Todd, Marianne Koch, Dale Robertson, Heinz Drache & Derek Nimmo

Directed by Robert Lynn

Richard Todd is back as Harry Sanders in another African adventure from the pen of Edgar Wallace. This time he comes upon an insidious scheme to steal the valuables from the sunken ships.

Excellent color print!

The second of two big budget color films starring Richard Todd as Sanders - the other being Death Drums Along the River (1963). Another Sanders story had been filmed 30 year previously with Sanders of the River (1935) - both titles are available from this section of the website

Note further that all three films are part of the Sanders Combination which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

The Cockleshell Heroes (1955) - 94 mins

Starring José Ferrer, Trevor Howard, Dora Bryan, Victor Maddern, Anthony Newley & David Lodge

Directed by José Ferrer

José Ferrer was both star and director of this action packed British WW2 drama. Ferrer is cast as Major Stringer, the officer in charge of a delicate naval operation. Stringer and seven volunteers are expected to paddle four canoes into Nazi-held waters, plant limpet mines on enemy boats, and return safely to their own lines. Of the eight courageous saboteurs, only two survive. The story is abundant with suspense, humor and irony, buoyed by a top-rank supporting cast, including Trevor Howard, Victor Maddern and Anthony Newley (Christopher Lee shows up briefly as a German sub commander). Howard delivers the best performance as a subtly resentful officer who was passed up for promotion in order to work with Major Stringer.

A great WWII film from the Brits!

The Colditz Story (1955) - 94 mins

Starring John Mills, Christopher Rhodes, Lionel Jeffries, Bryan Forbes, Ian Carmichael & Anton Diffring

Directed by Guy Hamilton

During World War II, the impenetrable Colditz castle in Germany was selected as the site for a POW camp. The Germans reason that, since Colditz has been virtually impossible to get into or out of for centuries, it is ideal for housing the most contentious allied prisoners. British officer Pat Reid (John Mills) doesn't agree, and leads an escape through a subterranean tunnel. Only three of the prisoners survive the escape with the next step is to get out of Germany itself.

Based on the reminiscences of P. R. "Pat" Reid, the real-life English officer portrayed in this film by John Mills.

BAFTA nominated for Best Picture

Yet again .. another great WWII film from the Brits!

Colorado Territory (1949) - 94 mins

Starring Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Dorothy Malone, Henry Hull, John Archer & Morris Ankrum

Directed by Raoul Walsh

Outlaw Wes McQueen (Joel McCrea) breaks out of jail and meets up with his gang who are planning a train robbery. He finds them holed up in an old dilapidated Mission, arguing and one of them has a woman with him, a former dance hall girl, Colorado Carson (Virginia Mayo). Wes has decided that he wants to go straight. Having met Lulie Ann Winslow (Dorothy Malone) and her father Fred (Henry Hull), his ideal would be to settle down with her and own his own ranch. Out of loyalty to an old-time partner however, he agrees to go ahead with the train robbery and realizes too late that he is not destined to fulfil his dreams. He and Colorado make a final desperate break when the robbery goes bad.

Colorado Territory is acknowledged by many as a westernized remake of the 1941 crime drama High Sierra (also available from this website). Raoul Walsh, director of the earlier film, returns to helm the remake, doing a grand job on both occasions. Joel McCrea stars in the Humphrey Bogart role, playing a veteran outlaw who hopes to pull off one last, spectacular heist. Virginia Mayo portrays the Ida Lupino counterpart, a "bad" dance-hall girl who proves to be the only person who genuinely cares about McCrea's well-being. As in the earlier film, the climax finds McCrea making a futile bid for escape in the mountains, with tragic consequences.

A stupendous western film - McCrea is tailor made for this role - quietly spoken, well mannered bank robber - but trapped by his "fate". Fabulous cinematography (why didn't they film this in color?) and wonderful musical score by David Buttolph.

The teaming of McCrea with Virginia Mayo was to be repeated 8 years later on The Tall Stranger (1957) - which is also available from this section of the website.

Colt .45 (1950) - 87 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, Zachary Scott, Lloyd Bridges & Alan Hale

Directed by Edwin L. Marin

"A gun, like any other source of power, is a force for either good or evil, being neither in itself, but dependent upon those who possess it". A gun salesman's sample case of Colt 45's is stolen by an outlaw. Accused of being a member of the outlaw gang when they start using the Colts in their hold-ups, the salesman is obliged to track down the crooks. This movie became a TV series in 1957 (starring Wayde Preston as Chris Colt), and as such was retitled Thundercloud during re-release when the TV series was playing. It was the last screen role for the wonderful actor Alan Hale Sr. A fast-paced & well-cast film dotted with frequent bursts of violence and gunplay.

Comanche Station (1960) - 74 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Nancy Gates, Claude Akins & Skip Homeier

Directed by Budd Boetticher

Loner Cody trades with the Comanches to get a white girl released. He is joined on his way back to the girl's husband by an outlaw and his sidekicks. It turns out there is a large reward for the return of the girl, and with the Indians on the warpath and the outlaw being an old enemy of Cody's, things are set for several showdowns.

Another typical interestingly plotted entry from the Scott/Boetticher/Kennedy teaming (their last), in which the old west moral code of right versus wrong gets a surprising twist ending.

Command Decision (1948) - 112 mins

Starring Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson, Brian Donlevy & Charles Bickford

Directed by Sam Wood

With time at a premium, Air Force Brigadier General "Casey" Dennis sends waves of bomber squadrons into Germany to knock out the enemy's jet plane factories. Even his superior officer is appalled by the heavy losses, Dennis seems utterly unconcerned about the fate of his pilots - but his duty is exacting a severe emotional toll on him. Pressure is applied from a misguided US senator, and Dennis is replaced by the supposedly more humane General Garnet who soon realizes that Dennis' decisions were the correct ones, and he vows to continue his predecessor's "suicide missions".

Command Decision is a consummately acted adaptation of William Wister Haines' Broadway play - and what a cast!

Commandoes Strike at Dawn (1942) - 98 mins

Starring Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, Cedric Hardwicke, Alexander Knox & Ray Collins.

Directed by John Farrow

Scripted by Irwin Shaw from a story by C. S. Forester, Commandos Strike at Dawn is a wartime morale-booster, largely set in coastal Norway. Paul Muni stars as Eric Toresen, an apolitical and basically pacifistic Norwegian fisherman who is galvanized into action when his village is occupied by the Nazis. With a group of courageous resistance fighters, Toresen first endeavors to sabotage and demoralize the German troops then escapes to Britain, there to help organize commando raids against his country's oppressors. The supporting cast includes Anna Lee as the hero's true love, Alexander Knox as an icy Nazi commandant, Cedric Hardwicke as a stiff-upper-lip British officer, and Lillian Gish as an iron-willed Norwegian townsperson.

Oscar nominated for Best Music Score

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Confidential Agent (1945) - 118 mins

Starring Charles Boyer, Lauren Bacall, Victor Francen, Wanda Hendrix, George Coulouris, Katina Paxinou & Peter Lorre

Directed by Herman Shumlin

Charles Boyer stars as Luis Denard, a former concert musician operating as anti-Fascist secret agent in the Spanish Civil War. While negotiating with the neutral British for some much needed fuel supplies, Denard falls in love with gorgeous Rose Cullen (Lauren Bacall). Sympathetic to his cause, Rose helps Denard contend with the conniving backstabbing villains Contreras (Peter Lorre) and Mrs. Melandy (Katina Paxinou).

Critics in 1945 liked Confidential Agent but trounced leading lady Lauren Bacall, suggesting that she was merely a pretty amateur who'd coasted to stardom via her associations with actor Humphrey Bogart and director Howard Hawks.

A Graham Greene novel was the source of the Warner Bros. espionage thriller.

Conflict (1945) - 86 mins

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet, Rose Hobart & Charles Drake

Directed by Curtis Bernhardt

Richard Mason (Bogart) fancies his sister-in-law (Smith), so plans an elaborate scheme to murder his wife (Hobart). He exaggerates an injury in a car accident so he can avoid going on a planned trip to the mountains, then follows her and kills her on a deserted highway. When evidence starts mounting that she is not dead at all, however, he is drawn back to the scene of the crime, unsure of what he may find.

Conquest of Space (1955) - 81 mins

Starring Walter Brooke, Eric Fleming, Mickey Shaughnessy, Phil Foster, William Hopper & Benson Fong

Directed by Byron Haskin

A multi-national crew are on the first space flight to Mars with General Samuel T. Merritt (Walter Brooke) heading the team. Supporting him are his son, Captain Barney Merritt (Eric Fleming), Sergeant Mahony (Mickey Shaughnessy), Jackie Siegle (Phil Foster) and Imoto (Benson Fong). As the ship gets closer to their Martian quest, General Merritt cracks and tries to sabotage both the mission and the crew, babbling about the blasphemy of mankind trespassing upon God's domain. His son is called upon to save the mission, with the hope that the crew can still go through with a Mars landing.

This George Pal production pulls out all stops in the special effects department, creating "The Wheel" (a earth-orbiting circular space station), rocket launches into space, and a breathtaking near-collision with an asteroid.

The Conspirators (1944) - 101 mins

Starring Hedy Lamarr, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre & Joseph Calleia

Directed by Jean Negulesco

This Casablanca-esque spy thriller set during WWII centers on the exploits of the notorious "Flying Dutchman," a fugitive resistance leader from Holland who heads for Lisbon where he hooks up with other members of the underground. One of them is a beautiful young woman, and none of the others trust her because she is married to an important German official. For the resistance leader, real trouble comes when he is framed for the murder of a fellow agent. Still he escapes from prison and hides out with his other colleague while he works to prove that he is innocent and carry out a major secret mission for the resistance.

Fabulous Warner Bros. production with a great score from Max Steiner. Another chance to see that redoubtable duo: Sydney Greenstreet & Peter Lorre in another spy/espionage thriller

Other films to feature the Greenstreet / Lorre combination were The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), Background to Danger (1943), Passage to Marseille (1944), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), Three Strangers (1946 & The Verdict (1946) - all of which are available from this website.

Contraband (1940) aka Blackout (1940) - 88 mins

Starring Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Hay Petrie, Joss Ambler, Raymond Lovell & Esmond Knight

Directed by Michael Powell

The Danish freighter Helvig approaches English waters in early 1940 and, in keeping with the needs of British security, it is boarded by customs and naval officials in search of contraband cargo. Her skipper, Captain Anderson (Conrad Veidt), is compelled to ascede to British demands, but dreads the delay, pointing out that the medical supplies in his cargo are vital. Anderssen is a dedicated seaman, all business, even where Mrs. Sorenson (Valerie Hobson), a headstrong passenger, is concerned. Then, on their first night in port, Mrs. Sorenson and a Mr. Pidgeon (Esmond Knight) disappear from the ship with Anderson's landing papers, the captain is in hot pursuit. Forced to join the woman in what seems a mad chase across London by night, he plunges into the eerie world of the blacked out city, following a set of clues through the maze of darkened streets and uncover a Nazi spy ring operating out of a basement in Soho.

In USA, Contraband was originally released under the title Blackout

Original Story & Screenplay by Emeric Pressburger - his second collaboration with director Powell following 1939's The Spy in Black (aka U-Boat 29) and before further combined efforts with 49th Parallel (1941), One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942) & The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) - all of which are available from this website.

Note that Contraband (1940) is part of the Powell, Pressburger & Veidt Combination which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

Note further that Contraband (1940) is also part of the Powell & Pressburger … their War Films … Combination which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

Cornered (1945) - 102 mins

Starring Dick Powell, Walter Slezak, Micheline Cheirel, Nina Vale & Luther Adler

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Consolidating his transformation from soft tenor to hard-boiled private eye in Dmytryk's Murder My Sweet the year before, Powell is even more dour as a tough, cynical loner in search of the man who killed his French wife during the Second World War. The action moves from France to Switzerland to Buenos Aires where a colony of corrupt Europeans is living in splendour. One of its members is the man he is after - a Nazi collaborator. The exciting climax has Powell, prone to attacks of amnesia, unknowingly beating the man to death. The noir atmosphere is sustained well throughout.

Note that this film is part of the Dick Powell "Drama" Combination which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website

Coroner Creek (1948) - 90 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, Marguerite Chapman, George Macready, Edgar Buchanan & Forrest Tucker

Directed by Ray Enright

Single-minded Chris Denning seeks vengeance against the seemingly respectable man responsible for a mysterious death of his fiancee's in a stagecoach raid

A single-minded gunman is bent on tracking down and killing the white man responsible for an Indian raid on a stagecoach. His fiancee was killed in the raid and a large army payroll was stolen. The villain is a "solid citizen" with fingers in several dirty pies. Based on a novel by western specialist Luke Short and having a great fist-fight between Scott & Tucker

The Corsican Brothers (1941) - 111 mins

Starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ruth Warwick, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carroll Naish & John Emery

Directed by Gregory Ratoff

Dumas's swashbuckling adventure yarn starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr as two Siamese twins who were separated at birth (but still spiritually joined) and only came to learn of the other's existence when they reached the age of 21. Both are united by a desire to avenge their parents' deaths at the hands of Baron Colonna but divided by the love of the same woman.

A fabulous adventure yarn with Doug at the peak of his powers!

Dimitri Tiomkin was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score

The Corsican Brothers is independent producer Edward Small's film of this great Alexandre Dumas story.

Small had previously produced The Count of Monte Cristo (another Dumas tale) in 1934, its 1940 sequel, The Son of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) from another Dumas work - all four are available from this website

Corvette K-225 (1943) - 98 mins

Starring Randolph Scott, James Brown, Ella Raines, Barry Fitzgerald & Andy Devine

Directed by Richard Rosson

Randolph Scott was the star of Corvette K-225, a tribute to the World War II corvette escorts which guided Allied convoys through treacherous Atlantic waters. Scott plays the officer in charge of a Royal Canadian corvette cruiser, dedicated to keeping the troops safe from enemy submarine attack. The focus of the film is a danger-ridden journey from Halifax to Britain, the tension quotient heightened by the use of actual combat footage. Corvette K-225 was produced by Howard Hawks, though the direction was credited to Richard Rosson.

Often considered to be Randolph Scott's finest non-western role.

The Cosmic Man (1959) - 72 mins

Starring John Carradine, Bruce Bennett, Angela Greene, Paul Langton & Scotty Morrow

Directed by Herbert S. Greene

When a strange sphere settles down in a California canyon, it causes both the scientific and military communities to gather around in an instant. The object appears to have one figure inside but there is no clear way of penetrating the sphere. As the military brass argue for a destructive course of action, scientist Karl Sorensen (Bruce Bennett) defends the sphere and its passenger, advocating a reasoned approach to the enigma. In the meantime, a ghostly entity wanders around town and a man hidden underneath heavy clothing checks into the lodge where the antagonistic investigators are staying.

Cottage to Let (1941) - 86 mins

Starring Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim, John Mills, Jeanne De Casalis & George Cole

Directed by Anthony Asquith

A taut British wartime spy thriller concerning a revolutionary new bombsight, which has been designed by inventor John Barrington (Leslie Banks). A group of Nazi spies intend to steal the blueprints for the invention and to that end dispatch one of their top agents (John Mills), who parachutes in posing as wounded RAF pilot Lt. Perry. Hailed as a war hero by the gullible locals, Perry rents a cottage from the unsuspecting Barrington and his wife (Jeanne de Casalis). The treacherous Nazi meets his match in the unlikely form of oafish Charles Dimble (Alastair Sim).

Great stuff and an early strong role for the legendary Alastair Sim (check out other Sim entries: Green for Danger (1946) & An Inspector Calls (1954) which are also available from this website)

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Counter-Attack (1945) - 90 mins

Starring Paul Muni, Marguerite Chapman, Lary Parks, Harro Meller, Roman Bohnen, George Macready

Directed by Zoltan Korda

Set during WW II, it centers on a Russian officer, a Russian woman, and seven German soldiers who have been trapped in the ruined cellar of a bombed out factory in a Nazi-controlled town. While waiting for someone to rescue them, the two Russians try to keep the Germans away. Eventually the Russian officer begins toying with a German officer and vice versa as both seek to extract information from the other. The Russian lets on that his troops are planning to construct a tunnel beneath the river. The woman is appalled at this betrayal of information, but her companion reassures her that he can kill the enemy before they have time to share that information. But first they need to get rescued. As time slowly passes, the tension increases, especially when the Russian finds himself falling asleep.

This drama is based on a Broadway play, One Against Seven, which in turn is based on the Russian play Pobyeda.

It was made during the brief period after WWII when Russia and the US were allies and the political overtones of the film are present but probably unintentional. Later, with the advent of the Cold War, many of the actors who participated in this film were called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and accused of being communist sympathizers with some being blacklisted.

Counterfeit (1936) - 73 mins

Starring Chester Morris, Margot Grahame, Lloyd Nolan, Marian Marsh & Claude Gillingwater

Directed by Erle C. Kenton

In this crime drama, a federal agent goes undercover to join a gang of counterfeiters. He pretends to be a murderer. The trouble begins when the gang kidnaps an engraver from Treasury Department. They force him to make a set of plates to print the fake cash.

Nice roles for both Chester "Boston Blackie" Morris and Lloyd "Michael Shayne" Nolan

The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) - 113 mins

Starring Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Raymond Walburn & Irene Hervey

Directed by Rowland V. Lee

Few famous novels have been filmed as often as Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo - and few versions are as enjoyable as this 1934 adaptation starring Robert Donat. Donat plays Edmond Dantes, wrongly accused of a plot against the post-Napoleonic French government. Condemned to a prison cell in the impenetrable Chateau D'If, Dantes vows vengeance against the four conspirators who framed him. He is particularly anxious to give his ex-friend Mondego (Sidney Blackmer) his comeuppance, since it was Mondego who married Dantes' fiancee Mercedes (Elissa Landi). Twelve years pass; with the help of ancient fellow prisoner Abbe Foria, Dantes digs his way out of the Chateau D'If and escapes. He finds the treasure of Monte Cristo, which makes him the wealthiest man in the world. He uses his riches to put his plan of revenge into motion.

The Count of Monte Cristo is independent producer Edward Small's 1934 edition of the Alexandre Dumas classic.

Small went on the produce its 1940 sequel The Son of Monte Cristo, as well as The Man in the Iron Mask (another Dumas tale) in 1939 and 1941's The Corsican Brothers from another Dumas work - all of which are available from this website

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Cowboy and the Senorita (1944) - 78 mins

Starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Mary Lee, John Hubbard, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams & Fuzzy Knight

Directed by Joseph Kane

Roy and sidekick Teddy Bear (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) are a couple of would-be prospectors fired from a small town café when the latter gets in trouble with an irate customer. At the nearby town of Bonanza, the two friends find themselves falsely accused of kidnapping young Chip Williams (Mary Lee), who is actually a runaway. Having befriended both Chip and her half-sister Isabel Martinez (Dale Evans), Roy and Teddy Bear then manage to solve the riddle of a treasure hidden in a supposedly worthless mine - despite the sabotaging efforts of smooth tycoon Craig Allen (John Hubbard).

This was Roy and future wife Dale Evans' first western together

Excellent uncut B&W print!

There are several Roy Rogers westerns (ALL UNCUT) available from this (INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES) section of the website: Cowboy and the Senorita (1944), Bells of Rosarita (1945), Bells of San Angelo (1947), Springtime in the Sierras (1947), Bells of Coronado (1950), Trigger, Jr. (1950) & Trail of Robin Hood (1950).

Additionally, a nice 6 DVD collection of 18 uncut Roy Rogers Westerns (which includes Cowboy and the Senorita) can be found in the "B" WESTERN SERIES section of this website.

Crack-Up (1946) - 93 mins

Starring Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall & Ray Collins

Directed by Irving Reis

George Steele, art curator at a small museum, has an apparent mental breakdown one night, convinced he was in a train wreck...which never happened. In flashback, shortly after proposing to x-ray some old master paintings the museum has on loan, Steele is called on an unplanned nocturnal train trip. He suddenly sees another train ahead, speeding toward his. Is George indeed cracking up, or is there a plot to discredit him? The mystery grows murky with shadowy menace.

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Crash Dive (1943) - 106 mins

Starring Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, James Gleeson & Dame May Whitty

Directed by Archie Mayo

Tyrone Power made his last screen appearance before a three-year stretch in the Marines in this World War II drama. Lt. Ward Stewart (Tyrone Power) has served with distinction as the commander of a PT boat, so his uncle, Adm. Bob Stewart (Minor Watson), gives him a new and more challenging assignment aboard a submarine. Before shipping out, Ward enjoys a night on the town, where he meets and romances a pretty schoolteacher, Jean Hewlett (Anne Baxter). However, when Ward reports for duty, he discovers he'll be serving under Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors (Dana Andrews), who happens to be Jean's boyfriend. On leave and on land, Ward and Dewey are soon caught up in a romantic rivalry, while on duty and under the water they must work together to ferret out Nazi U-boats.

Crash Dive won an Academy Award for the special effects work in the film's battle sequences

Crime by Night (1944) - 72 mins

Starring Jane Wyman, Jerome Cowan, Faye Emerson, Charles Lang & Eleanor Parker

Directed by William Clemens

Detective Sam Campbell and his perky sidekick Robby Vance are called in on a routine child support dispute. Things take an unexpected turn when the client's ex-father-in-law, the head of a chemical plant with a war contract to make a secret formula, is the victim of an axe murder.

A neat little thriller!

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Crime of Passion (1957) - 84 mins

Starring Sterling Hayden, Barbara Stanwyck, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray, Virginia Grey & Royal Dano

Directed by Gerd Oswald

Kathy (Barbara Stanwyck) is a smart and tough 1950's advice columnist at a San Francisco newspaper, with her name plastered on billboards all over the city. One day, Bill Doyle (Sterling Hayden), a Los Angeles detective, walks into her office and there is instant attraction. After marrying Bill, Kathy gives up her career and becomes a homemaker. However, she is not your typical 1950's homemaker. After hosting several cocktail parties in their San Fernando Valley home, she realizes that Bill is content with his position, and shows no ambition in furthering himself. Kathy will not sit idly by while everyone around her is "moving up in the world". She personally takes upon herself the task of pushing Bill's career along, even if it comes down to murder.

Sterling Hayden films which are available from this website are:

Crime Wave (1954) - 73 mins

Starring Sterling Hayden, Gene Nelson, Phyllis Kirk, Ted de Corsia & Charles Bronson

Directed by André De Toth

Three San Quentin escapees (Penny, Hastings and Morgan) kill a cop in a gas-station holdup. Wounded, Morgan flees through black-shadowed streets to the handiest refuge: with former cellmate Steve Lacey, who's paroled, with a new life and lovely wife, and can't afford to be caught associating with old cronies. But homicide detective Sims wants to use Steve to help him catch Penny and Hastings, who in turn extort his help in a bank job. Is there no way out for Steve?

Sterling Hayden films which are available from this website are:

Criminal Court (1946) - 63 mins

Starring Tom Conway, Martha O'Driscoll, Robert Armstrong, Addison Richards & Steve Brodie.

Directed by Robert Wise

A lawyer who is planning to run for District Attorney accidentally kills a gangster who owns the nightclub where the attorney's girlfriend is a singer. Although he manages to cover up his involvement in the crime, his girlfriend discovers the body and is subsequently charged with the murder. A classic "B" noir from the 40's with a top-flight director.

The Crimson Pirate (1952) - 104 mins

Starring Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat, Eva Bartok, Torin Thatcher & Christopher Lee

Directed by Robert Siodmak

Burt Lancaster plays a pirate with a taste for intrigue and acrobatics who involves himself in the goings on of a revolution in the Caribbean in the late 1700s. A light hearted adventure involving prison breaks, an oddball Scientist, sailing ships, naval fights, and tons of swordplay. Cult film that offers loads of thrills and laughs to both children & adults.

Burt Lancaster also made a number of other adventure films of a similar vein: The Flame and the Arrow (1950), Ten Tall Men (1951), South Sea Woman (1953), His Majesty O'Keefe (1954).

Then, of course there were his powerful performances in gritty noirs and dramas: The Killers (1946), Brute Force (1947), Desert Fury (1947), I Walk Alone (1948), Criss Cross (1949), Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Run Silent Run Deep (1958), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Seven Days in May (1964), The Train (1964).

All of the above are available from this website

And how about a Lancaster film that includes elements of the above, namely a gritty & powerful action/adventure outing? - check out Rope of Sand (1949) - which is also available from this website

Crisis (1950) - 95 mins

Starring Cary Grant, José Ferrer, Paula Raymond, Signe Hasso, Ramon Novarro & Gilbert Roland

Directed by Richard Brooks

Cary Grant is the brilliant, world-famous brain surgeon Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson who, while vacationing in a politically unstable Latin American country with his wife, Helen (Paula Raymond), find themselves the unwilling house guests of dictator Raoul Farrago (José Ferrer). Suffering from a brain tumor, Farrago insists that Ferguson operate at once. The "crisis" of the title arises when revolutionary leader Gonzales (Gilbert Roland) demands that Farrago be killed on the operating table and kidnaps Dr. Ferguson's wife to bind the bargain.

Cary Grant is excellent in this thriller.

Criss Cross (1949) - 87 mins

Starring Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally & Richard Long

Directed by Robert Siodmak

Thompson (Lancaster) returns to Los Angeles after an extended absence. He is a complete sap who chooses to blame his life's problems on fate (like many films noir, fate plays a strong role in this one, but Lancaster's character confuses his own inability to make a single good decision as the hand of fate, when he's really just a chump.) He immediately goes after his ex-wife Anna (De Carlo), not really because he wants her back, but because he doesn't want her to date Slim, the crook played by Dan Duryea. When he and De Carlo are caught together by Duryea, he explains that he was pitching a robbery to her, and he wants Duryea to help out. They are going to rob the armored car company that Lancaster managed to get a job at (this is before criminal background checks). Duryea goes along with it, as does De Carlo, but we all know that things aren't going to work out for our hero. A bleak but compelling film noir.

Burt Lancaster also made a number of other powerful dramas & gritty noirs: The Killers (1946), Brute Force (1947), Desert Fury (1947), I Walk Alone (1948), Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Run Silent Run Deep (1958), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Seven Days in May (1964) & The Train (1964).

Then, of course there were his fabulous adventure films: The Flame and the Arrow (1950), Ten Tall Men (1951), The Crimson Pirate (1952), South Sea Woman (1953) & His Majesty O'Keefe (1954).

All of the above are available from this website

And how about a Lancaster film that includes elements of the above, namely a gritty & powerful action/adventure outing? - check out Rope of Sand (1949) - which is also available from this website

The Crooked Way (1949) - 90 mins

Starring John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew, Rhys Williams & Percey Helton

Directed by Robert Florey

John Payne plays memory-deficient veteran Eddie Rice, who runs afoul of mobster Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts) and police inspector Lt. Williams (Rhys Williams). Both the crooks and the cops seem to have good reason to despise Rice, and he'd like to find out why. He won't get any help from his wife Nina (Ellen Drew), however, since she is as hostile towards Rice as everyone else. Gradually, Rice puts the pieces together and discovers that he's far better off not remembering his former self.

The Crooked Way was based on "No Blade Too Sharp", a radio drama by Robert Monroe

Crossfire (1947) - 86 mins

Starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame & Paul Kelly

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Edward Dmytryk's shadowy noir deals with a righteous homicide cop (Young) investigating a murder. Evidence points to demobbed soldier Ryan and his cronies - their motive, anti-Semitism. Mitchum is the sergeant attempting to protect his charges while finding out the truth for himself. This is a classic B-movie, using flashbacks and minimal lighting, making a virtue of its small budget. It's the subject matter and the way it is dealt with that stays with you, explicitly and without apology drawing parallels between the soldiers back from a war and the enemy they were fighting. Brave and impressive stuff.

Academy Award Nominations for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Ryan), Supporting Actress (Grahame) & Screenplay.

The Cross of Lorraine (1943) - 90 mins

Starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Gene Kelly, Cedric Hardwicke, Richard Whorf, Hume Cronyn & Peter Lorre

Directed by Tay Garnett

During WWII, a group of disillusioned French soldiers are approached by Nazi troops and promised safe passage to their homeland. The Frenchmen willingly surrender, only to discover that their next destination is a German concentration camp located near a Gallic village. The anticipated escape attempt results in an uprising from the French villagers hence the film's title, which refers to the emblem of the Free-French underground. The Cross of Lorraine has some remarkably graphic sequences showing the extent of German brutality. The melting pot cast includes Frenchman Jean-Pierre Aumont as a patriot, Hungarian Peter Lorre as a hateful Nazi, American Gene Kelly as a cynical victim of German torture, and Canadian Hume Cronyn as the traditionally rodent-like informer.

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Crossplot (1969) - 96 mins

Starring Roger Moore, Martha Hyer, Alexis Kanner, Claudie Lange, Derek Francis & Bernard Lee

Directed by Alvin Rakoff

Roger Moore plays advertising executive Gary Fenn in this tale about uncovering a sinister plot to murder a visiting African statesman in London. When a photograph is substituted in an advertising proposal, Gary pursues an elusive model for his campaign. When he finds her, he learns that her name is Marla and begins to work with her on the campaign. Then his good life turns bad when someone tries to kill her and frame him for murder! Suddenly on the lam with thugs and the police in pursuit, Gary learns that Marla has caught them up in a complex game of political intrigue that could cost them their lives!

A solid espionage thriller, with a Roger "The Saint" Moore ultimately thwarting the villains by decoding a message secreted in a crossword puzzle - hence the film's title. A climactic shootout in Hyde Park tops this dry run for Roger Moore's subsequent stint as James Bond. The presence of Bernard Lee, who distinguished himself as "M" in the Bond series, adds considerably to the film

Though Roger Moore was born in England and established himself as star of the British TV series The Saint, Crossplot represents Moore's very first British theatrical film. Roger Moore made only two films after finishing The Saint TV series and before his first Bond feature Live and Let Die (1973): Crossplot (1969) & The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970) - both of which are available from this website

Roger Moore made some other interesting films in and around his James Bond tour of duty: Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976), Shout at the Devil (1976), ffolkes (1979) & The Naked Face (1984) - all of which are available from this website

Crossroads (1942) - 83 mins

Starring William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor & Basil Rathbone

Directed by Jack Conway

Diplomat David Talbot (William Powell) and his bride Lucienne (Hedy Lamarr) are enjoying a honeymoon in Paris when David is confronted by extortionists who demand money in exchange for not turning him in to the police. David has no idea what the men are talking about and ignores their threats, but the men prove good to their word, and David finds himself on trial for a series of thefts. At the trial, David's name is cleared when Henri Sarrow (Basil Rathbone) testifies that he knew the man who committed the crimes, a friend of his who recently died. However, after the trial, David meets Sarrow, who informs David that he lied under oath; according to Sarrow, David did indeed commit the robberies while suffering from amnesia after a severe blow to the head, and if he wants to keep the facts quiet, he'll do whatever Sarrow says.

Classic stuff with a fabulous cast!

Crosswinds (1951) - 95 mins

Starring John Payne, Rhonda Fleming, Forrest Tucker, Alan Mowbray, Robert Lowery & John Abbott

Directed by Lewis R. Foster

Paramount's Pine-Thomas unit served up another winner with the Technicolor actioner Crosswinds. Set in New Guinea, the film stars John Payne as schooner captain Pete Singleton, who loses his boat to a pair of scheming gold thieves (Forrest Tucker, Robert Lowery). On board the vessel as a semi-reluctant passenger is embittered war widow Katherine Shelley (Rhonda Fleming). With the help of his disreputable chums The Hon Cecil Daubrey (Alan Mowbray) and Sykes (John Abbott), Singleton does his best to retrieve his schooner and claim Katherine for himself. The last reels are chock full of close shaves, hairbreadth escapes, storms at sea and native uprisings. In short, there's something for everyone in Crosswinds.

The screenplay was adapted by Thomson Burtis from his own novel New Guinea Gold.

They don't get much better than this: a top notch adventure recalling Buster Crabbe's The Sea Hound & Pirates of the High Seas movie serials (available from the Movie Serials section of this website) and The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen & The Sea Hound radio shows (available from the Old Time Radio section of this website)

Quality Note: This color print is not perfect but still of a standard that will not detract from the enjoyment of this fabulous piece of escapism

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The Crusades (1935) - 125 mins

Starring Loretta Young, Henry Wilcoxon, Ian Keith, C. Aubrey Smith, Katherine DeMille & Alan Hale

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille

The Crusades begins in the 12th-century AD, when Jerusalem falls into the hands of the Saracens, and the Christians are slaughtered or sold into slavery. A holy man known as The Hermit (C. Aubrey Smith) rallies the rulers of England and Europe to launch a Crusade to reclaim Jerusalem in the name of Christianity. Among those embarking upon this massive undertaking is England's King Richard the Lion-Hearted (Henry Wilcoxon), who finances his knights by marrying wealthy French princess Berengaria (Loretta Young) sight unseen. Saladin (Ian Keith), the elegant and well-spoken ruler of the Saracens, attempts to stave off the crusaders by kidnapping Berengaria and holding her hostage. Sensing that he can never win against so formidable a collection of foes, Saladin eventually opens the gates of Jerusalem to all but Richard the Lion-Hearted, with whom he has a personal score to settle.

A Huge Production! - as big as The Crusades!

Oscar Nominated for Best Cinematography

Cry Danger (1951) - 79 mins

Starring Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Erdman, William Conrad & Regis Toomey.

Directed by Robert Parrish

Rocky Mulloy, back in town after serving 5 years of a life sentence for armed robbery, hopes to clear his friend Danny Morgan who's still in prison for the same crime. It won't be easy. Even the witness who cleared Rocky thinks he's guilty; Danny's glamorous wife Nancy, living in a sleazy trailer court, seems lukewarm about getting Danny back; cynical cop Gus Cobb just wants to stir things up in hopes that the missing "hot" $100,000 will surface. Plenty of tough talk, night scenes, deceptive dames and double crosses in this atmospheric film noir.

Note that this film is part of the Dick Powell "Drama" Combination which can be found in the Classic Movie Combinations section of this website.

A Cry in the Night (1956) - 75 mins

Starring Edmond O'Brien, Brian Donlevy, Natalie Wood, Raymond Burr, Richard Anderson, Carol Veazie & Mary Lawrence

Directed by Frank Tuttle

Natalie Wood plays what was touted as her first "grown up" role in the tense melodrama. Based loosely on the Caryl Chessman case, the film showcases Raymond Burr as a psycho who stalks and attacks young couples on Lover's Lane. Overpowering Wood's boyfriend, Burr kidnaps the girl and locks her up in a seedy one-room apartment. Though he barely lays a hand on her, Wood has every reason to be terrified of her captor, who has a disturbing habit of brutally killing small animals. Meanwhile, Wood's police-captain father Edmond O'Brien brusquely ignores all manner of civil liberties as he and fellow officer Brian Donlevy turn the town inside out in search of the girl and her abductor. Carol Veazie appears as Burr's blowsy, dominating mother, while Mary Lawrence offers an interesting characterization as Wood's plain-Jane sister, who is jealous of all the attention showered on her missing sibling.

Quality Note: not the greatest of prints but for true "Edmond O'Brien" believers, its still a must see

Cry of the City (1948) - 95 mins

Starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters & Betty Garde

Directed by Robert Siodmak

The story of two tenement-bred, Italian-American, childhood-friends who grow up with radically different views on crime, and are pitted against each other while following their chosen paths: Gangster Martin Rome is seriously wounded during a gun-battle in which he has killed a policeman, while Police Lieutenant-Detective Candella, of the homicide squad, is seeking the solution to another murder in which he suspects Rome may have been involved. Rome is taken to a prison hospital, but he escapes and murders again in an attempt to protect a girl who was innocently involved in some of his crimes. From there, the detective tries to track down Rome, and attempt to shatter the artificial illusions or hero worship on the part of Rome's younger brother.

Excellent noir!

Cry of the Innocent (1980) - 93 mins

Starring Rod Taylor, Joanna Pettet, Nigel Davenport, Cyril Cusack & Walter Gotell

Directed by Michael O'Herlihy

Filmed in Ireland, this big budget movie stars Rod Taylor as an American insurance executive on a grim mission. A private plane has exploded, killing Taylor's wife and children. Also on board was a scientist who was the target of the criminals who engineered the tragedy. A secret formula worth untold millions becomes the centre-piece of the ensuing story and aiding Taylor in bringing the murderers to justice is journalist Joanna Pettet, who bears a close resemblance to Taylor's ex-wife (Pettet plays both roles).

Based on a novel by Frederick Forsyth, with Rod again to the fore in a realistic display

The TV Series section of this website also contains DVD sets of Rod's two TV series: Hong Kong (1960-61) and Bearcats! (1971)

Cry Terror! (1958) - 96 mins

Starring James Mason, Inger Stevens, Rod Steiger, Neville Brand, Angie Dickinson & Kenneth Tobey

Directed by Andrew L. Stone

James Mason plays a television repairman coerced to participate in an extortion plot engineering by bespectacled criminal mastermind Rod Steiger. The villain wants to utilize Mason's technical expertise in rigging up a bomb on an airliner. To insure Mason's cooperation, Steiger's minions hold the repairman's wife (Inger Stevens) and children hostage.

Director Andrew L. Stone, a stickler for realism, filmed Cry Terror! in its entirety on location in New York.

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Cry Wolf (1947) - 83 mins

Starring Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks, Richard Basehart, Jerome Cowan & John Ridgely

Directed by Peter Godfrey

The tense psychological drama Cry Wolf offers a fascinating if not altogether successful change of pace for action star Errol Flynn. Most of the story takes place at a remote and forbidding mansion, where Sandra Marshall (Barbara Stanwyck), the widow of the house's owner, arrives to take charge. An apparent golddigger, Sandra refuses to be bought off with a small cash settlement and insists on claiming her late husband's entire estate, which earns her a powerful enemy in the form of research scientist Mark Caldwell (Flynn). Upon learning that her headstrong sister-in-law Julie (Geraldine Brooks) is kept a virtual prisoner in the house, Sandra begins suspecting that Caldwell is up to no good - a suspicion seemingly confirmed when Julie dies under mysterious circumstances. But as the story slowly unravels, it becomes clear that Caldwell is actually … best not to give too much away here.

Cry Wolf was Geraldine Brooks' first film, and the second for her costar Richard Basehart

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Cult of the Cobra (1955) - 82 mins

Starring Richard Long, Faith Domergue, Marshall Thompson, Kathleen Hughes, Jack Kelly & William Reynolds

Directed by Francis D. Lyon

Six GIs stationed in Asia secretly photograph the arcane rituals of a group of cobra worshippers. At the climax of the ceremony, the cult members turn themselves into snakes. The high priestess catches the soldiers spying and throws a curse upon them. Soon after they return to the US, the vengeful priestess follows them and people begin to die from snake venom poisoning, adding credence to the strange tale told by a surviving GI to the police, who become less sceptical as more evidence is unearthed. More trouble follows when the serpentine goddess falls for the ex-soldier's room-mate.

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The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) - 82 mins

Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Melvyn Hayes & Valerie Gaunt

Directed by Terence Fisher

Told in flashback, the story centers around Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), a dangerously arrogant scientist coming from a fatherless background and embracing only science and reason with any real conviction, who takes it upon himself to play God. Using portions of dead bodies, Victor fashions a synthetic monster (Christopher Lee) Finally and Frankenstein will stop at nothing to achieve the fame, glory and notoriety he desires. His lack of regard for others is frightening even to his mentor Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) who warns him against tampering with the forces of nature and that nothing good will come from it. The imperious Baron orchestrates two murders by "borrowing" the brain of a learned professor, then leaving his next victim at the mercy of the monster.

This was British Hammer Films opening entry into their Horror re-imagining of classic Universal Studios monster films and it is still one of the best - Peter Cushing is outstanding in the role and adds a real sense of tragedy, genius and malice! The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) was followed by Hammer's The Abominable Snowman (1957) with Cushing again to the fore - The Abominable Snowman (1957) is also available from this website

Fans of "Hammer Horror with Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee" might like to check out Horror of Dracula (1958) & The Mummy (1959) elsewhere in this INDIVIDUAL MOVIE TITLES section of this website.

Also worth a look: Frankenstein, Dracula & The Wolf Man Movie Series - It can be found in the Movie Series section of this website.

Curse of the Demon (1957) - see Night of the Demon (1957) elsewhere in this website