As You Like It 1936  N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy / Romance
Director: Paul Czinner
Cast: Elisabeth Bergner, Laurence Olivier, Henry Ainley, Sophie Stewart, Felix Aylmer, Aubrey Mather, Austin Trevor, John Laurie
This British production relates William Shakespeare's story of Rosalind (Elisabeth Bergner) who has fallen for Orlando (Laurence Olivier). When Orlando pays no attention to her, Rosalind's solution is to disguise herself as a boy, Ganymede, and follow Orlando into the forest. Confusion reigns–until Rosalind reveals her true identity, and love blossoms.
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Ball of Fire 1941   N/R, 111 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Dana Andrews, Richard Haydn, Oskar Homolka, Henry Travers, S.Z. Sakall, Allen Jenkins, Tully Marshall, Elisha Cook Jr., Leonid Kinskey, Dan Duryea, Aubrey Mather, Ralph Peters, Mary Field
Burlesque dancer Sugarpuss O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck) moves into the home of seven professors, led by Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper), who are writing the "Encyclopedia of Slang." Comedy abounds when the professors learn slang first hand from their new resident and her gangster cohorts. Barbara Stanwyck received an Oscar nomination. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | One of my favorite comedies | 1fatts 03/26/2007 | This comedy, famously modelled on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs places the great Barbara Stanwyck doing the "heart of gold tramp" in the middle of seven ivory tower professors living a monastic life, dedicating themselves to the writing of a new encyclopedia. (You remember written encycolopedias; you used to be able to find them in libraries near the microfiche.)
The professors are a splendid gathering of the best of the character actors of the time: "Cuddles" Sakall, Henry Travers, Hichard Haydn and on and on. Their leader and chief egghead is Gary Cooper playing wonderfully against type. (He did this in a great comic western once: See "Along Came Jones" when it comes along.) The result is funny and charming; and, yes, we really are touched by the innocence of long ago and far away.
For those who don't know the work of the young Barbara Stanwyck, this is a good one to serve as introduction. She really is a ball of fire. |
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 Heaven Can Wait 1943  N/R, 112 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Gene Tierney, Don Ameche, Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, Allyn Joslyn, Eugene Pallette, Signe Hasso, Louis Calhern, Tod Andrews, Helene Reynolds, Aubrey Mather, Scotty Beckett, Clara Blandick
Having lived a life of sin, Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) presents himself to His Excellency (Laird Cregar) at the gates of Hades. However, His Excellency is not sure that he wants to accept Henry, so Henry recalls his 70-year life in an attempt to gain access. His life has been filled with misadventures, romantic infidelities, and even one true love who was Martha (Gene Tierney)–his wife of 25 years. After relating his story, His Excellency tells Henry that his only sin was living life to the fullest and that he is not welcome in Hades. He takes Henry to the elevator and tells him that it may be difficult to get through the Pearly Gates but that if he succeeds he will join Martha. An excellent film based on Ladislaus Bus-Fekete's play, "Birthdays." Oscar nominations were received for Best Picture and Director.
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Hello Frisco, Hello 1943  N/R, 98 min.
Genre: Musical / Comedy
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
Cast: Alice Faye, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Lynn Bari, June Havoc, Ward Bond, Laird Cregar, Aubrey Mather, John Archer, Frank Orth, George Lloyd, Eddie Dunn, Frank Darien, Harry Hayden, Charles Cane
This film is about the romance of a honky-tonk saloon singer Trudy Evans (Alice Faye) on the Barbary Coast and her ambitious lover Johnny Cornell (John Payne). As Trudy rises to stardom, Johnny leaves Trudy for Nob Hill socialite Bernice Croft (Lynn Bari). Trudy then heads for Europe where she gains more success and then returns to the Bay area hoping to reunite with Johnny. The film's song "You'll Never Know" won the Oscar for Best Song.
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The House of Fear 1945 N/R, 69 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Roy William Neill
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Aubrey Mather, Dennis Hoey, Paul Cavanagh, Holmes Herbert, Harry Cording, Sally Shepherd, Gavin Muir, David Clyde
Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) are on the trail of the solution to a number of murders of guests at a Scottish mansion.
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The Hucksters 1947 N/R, 115 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Jack Conway
Cast: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, Ava Gardner, Keenan Wynn, Edward Arnold, Frank Albertson, Aubrey Mather, Richard Gaines
The immorality found in the advertising business is depicted in this film about Victor Norman (Clark Gable) coming to grips with reality during an intense campaign for a beauty soap.
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The Importance of Being Earnest 1952 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Anthony Asquith
Cast: Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Joan Greenwood, Dorothy Tutin, Richard Wattis, Edith Evans, Margaret Rutherford, Miles Malleson, Aubrey Mather, Walter Hudd
This is a delightful (and faithful) rendition of Oscar Wilde's amusing satire on 1890s' social scene. Jack Worthing (Michael Redgrave) and Algernon Moncrieff (Michael Denison) are bachelors of means. Each has a girlfriend, and each goes by the pseudonym of Ernest since the women like that name. When the men become enamored with each others' girlfriends, the fun gets even better.
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It Happened In Brooklyn 1947 N/R, 104 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: Richard Whorf
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford, Jimmy Durante, Gloria Grahame, Marcy McGuire, Aubrey Mather, Tamara Shayne, William Roy, Bobby Long, William Haade, Lumsden Hare, Raymond Largay, William Tannen
Ex-GI Danny Miller (Frank Sinatra) returns to his Brooklyn neighborhood and moves in with his friend Nick Lombardi (Jimmy Durante) who is a high school janitor. Now, his friend from the Army, Jamie Shellgrove (Peter Lawford), arrives in town. Danny and Jamie decide to compose music together and help with a fundraiser for Nick's granddaughter Rae (Marcy McGuire) who wants to be a pianist. Soon both men are romantically attracted to Rae's music teacher Anne Fielding (Kathryn Grayson). Jamie ends up with Anne, but all is not lost when Danny falls for an Army nurse (Gloria Grahame) who he had met in the service.
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Jane Eyre 1944  N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Robert Stevenson
Cast: Joan Fontaine, Orson Welles, Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret O'Brien, Henry Daniell, John Sutton, Agnes Moorehead, Peggy Ann Garner, Sara Allgood, Aubrey Mather, Edith Barrett, Barbara Everest, Hillary Brooke, Mae Marsh, Eily Malyon
As a young girl, Jane (Peggy Ann Garner) is raised in a cruel orphanage, and when she grows up Jane (now played by Joan Fontaine) takes a job as governess for Adele (Margaret O'Brien) at the mansion of Edward Rochester (Orson Welles). Jane is attracted to Rochester, and, in time, he returns her attention. All goes well, until it is revealed that Rochester is married to an insane woman who he keeps locked in the attic. Jane leaves, but, when she learns that Rochester's wife has set fire to the mansion, she returns and finds that Rochester was blinded in the fire. Jane convinces Rochester that her reason for returning is love, not pity, and he returns her affections.
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The Lodger 1944 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Director: John Brahm
Cast: Laird Cregar, George Sanders, Merle Oberon, Cedric Hardwicke, Sara Allgood, Aubrey Mather, Queenie Leonard, David Clyde, Helena Pickard, Billy Bevan, Doris Lloyd, Edmund Breon, Colin Campbell, Lumsden Hare, C. Montague Shaw
This remake of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller stars Laird Cregar as Mr. Slade, the boarding house lodger, who rents a room in a London boardinghouse owned by Ellen Bonting (Sara Allgood). At the same time, Jack the Ripper is killing actresses in London, and Ellen becomes suspicious of Slade. Ellen's niece Kitty (Merle Oberon) is a music-hall actress, and Scotland Yard Inspector John Warwick (George Sanders) is in love with her. Ellen tells Warwick of her suspicions, and, heeding Ellen's warnings, Warwick works to solve the murders. Good performances and lots of chills. Remade as "Man in the Attic."
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 National Velvet 1945 G, 125 min.
Genre: Family / Drama
Director: Clarence Brown
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, Anne Revere, Angela Lansbury, Reginald Owen, Jackie "Butch" Jenkins, Juanita Quigley, Terry Kilburn, Alec Craig, Arthur Treacher, Norma Varden, Arthur Shields, Eugene Loring, Aubrey Mather
Young Velvet Brown (Elizabeth Taylor) has dreamed of owning a horse, and her dreams come true when she wins a horse she names Pie. Velvet forms a bond and softens the heart of ex-jockey Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney) who helps her train Pie. Although her parents (Donald Crisp and Ann Revere) are cautious about Velvet's training plans, her mother parts with saved money that allows Pie to enter the Grand National Race. Velvet, Mi, and Pie go off to the races with Velvet disguised as a jockey, and they win the big race. Anne Revere carried away an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and Clarence Brown was nominated for Best Director.
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Sabotage 1936 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
aka: A Woman Alone
I Married a Murderer
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, Desmond Tester, John Loder, Joyce Barbour, Matthew Boulton, Peter Bull, Sara Allgood, Martita Hunt, Austin Trevor, S.J. Warmington, William Dewhurst, Aubrey Mather, Clare Greet, Torin Thatcher
When a secret group hires people to place bombs in London, movie theater cashier Sylvia Verloc (Sylvia Sidney) suspects that her husband Karl (Oskar Homolka) may be involved. Unbeknownst to Sylvia, Karl has led a secret life as a terrorist, and now government agent Ted Spencer (John Loder) has moved in next door. He befriends Sylvia and her young brother Stevie (Desmond Tester), and Sylvia discusses her doubts about Karl with Ted. Karl begins to suspect that his arrest is in the near future, and he sends unsuspecting Stevie on a mission to carry a bag containing a time bomb to the metro. On the way, Stevie is delayed, and now the question is: Will Stevie deliver the bomb and get safely away before it detonates? Alfred Hitchcock–all the way.
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 The Secret Garden 1949 N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Family
Director: Fred M. Wilcox
Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell, Gladys Cooper, Elsa Lanchester, Brian Roper, Reginald Owen, Aubrey Mather, George Zucco, Lowell Gilmore
This is, perhaps, the best of several filmed versions of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic story. Orphaned and spoiled Mary (Margaret O'Brien) is sent to live with her uncle (Herbert Marshall) in his dark, run-down mansion. The uncle has turned gruff and uncaring since his wife died in a walled garden on the estate, which he now keeps locked. Likewise, he keeps his crippled son, Colin (Dean Stockwell), hidden away. Mary finds the key to the garden, and, with the help of another youth (Brian Roper), brings the garden to life. She also sneaks Colin into the garden on a daily basis. Each family member grows up in the process.
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The Song of Bernadette 1943  N/R, 158 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Henry King
Cast: Jennifer Jones, William Eythe, Charles Bickford, Vincent Price, Lee J. Cobb, Anne Revere, Sig Ruman, Gladys Cooper, Roman Bohnen, Mary Anderson, Aubrey Mather
In the 19th century, Bernadette Soubirous (Jennifer Jones) saw a vision of the Virgin Mary at the Grotto Of Lourdes. Although her vision was doubted by the church, she did not falter in her claim nor her beliefs. The film received four Oscars, including Best Actress for Jennifer Jones. Nominations included Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Charles Bickford), two Supporting Actress (Gladys Cooper and Anne Revere) and Director.
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That Forsythe Woman 1949  N/R, 112 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Compton Bennett
Cast: Errol Flynn, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young, Janet Leigh, Harry Davenport, Halliwell Hobbes, Stanley Logan, Lumsden Hare, Aubrey Mather
Based on John Galsworthy's novel, "The Man of Property," from "The Forsythe Saga," Soames Forsythe's (Errol Flynn) marriage goes on the rocks, and the split has repercussions that echo throughout the family.
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| 1. As You Like It (1936)
2. Ball of Fire (1941)
3. Heaven Can Wait (1943)
4. Hello Frisco, Hello (1943)
5. The House of Fear (1945)
6. The Hucksters (1947)
7. The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)
8. It Happened In Brooklyn (1947)
9. Jane Eyre (1944)
10. The Lodger (1944)
11. National Velvet (1945)
12. Sabotage (1936)
aka: A Woman Alone
aka: I Married a Murderer
13. The Secret Garden (1949)
14. The Song of Bernadette (1943)
15. That Forsythe Woman (1949)
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