55 Days at Peking 1963   N/R, 150 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson, John Ireland, Harry Andrews, Paul Lukas, Leo Genn, Robert Helpmann, Kurt Kasznar
At the beginning of the 20th century, a secret society of Boxer rebels fought imperialistic forces that had divided China into commercial spheres. This is the story of the siege of Peking and all the brutalities it entailed. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | The Embassies have to get out and fast | Tar Heel 02/18/2007 | | There should have been more romantic scenes between Charleston Heston and Ava Gardner, which would have created a more entertaining movie. So, as one continues to watch the movie, it has a lovely break in the scenes between Heston and Gardner, who still had the famous beautiful, graceful form. When they are dancing together, you wish it could go on for a longer time and in many more scenes. The acting by the various actors was strong and the script was well written. I thought Paul Lukas gave us a very sensitive performance. When he was in the scenes with Ms. G., she was fantastic. Just another example of her acting abilities no matter what the role demanded. She delivered her part with absolute 4 Star talent. |
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The Band Wagon 1953   N/R, 112 min.
Genre: Family / Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, James Mitchell, Robert Gist, Thurston Hall, Ava Gardner, Steve Forrest, Douglas Fowley, Jack Gargan, Julie Newmar, Emory Parnell, Harry Stanton
This musical is about aging, Hollywood dancer Tony Hunter (Fred Astaire) whose friends Lester and Lily Marton (Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray) convince him to make a career comeback through a Broadway show they have written. Tony agrees to star in the show but runs into problems when the "artistic" director Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan) hires prima ballerina Gabriella Gerard (Cyd Charisse) to star with Tony. Tony and Gabriella do not get along, and the show appears doomed until all involved decide that they must work together if the show is to be a hit on Broadway. Musical numbers include "Dancing in the Dark," "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," and "Louisiana Hayride." 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | not enough good music in it | babydoll07 04/22/2007 | | not enough good music in it and actors were not that good |
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The Barefoot Contessa 1954 N/R, 128 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Marius Goring, Rossano Brazzi, Valentina Cortese, Elizabeth Sellars, Warren Stevens, Franco Interlenghi, Bessie Love, Mari Aldon, Diana Decker, Bill Fraser
Through flashbacks from her graveside, friends (Humphrey Bogart and Edmond O'Brien) tell the story of film star Maria Vargus (Ava Gardner) and her rise and fall. Edmond O'Brien won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor.
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Bhowani Junction 1956 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger, Bill Travers, Abraham Sofaer, Francis Matthews, Marne Maitland, Lionel Jeffries, Peter Illing, Edward Chapman, Freda Jackson
Filmed on location in India, Ava Gardner plays the part of English/Indian Victoria Jones who is in love with British Colonel Rodney Savage (Stewart Granger) and is torn between her fidelity to her husband and desire for Savage.
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The Bible: In the Beginning... 1966  N/R, 174 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: The Bible
Director: John Huston
Cast: Michael Parks, Ulla Bergryd, Richard Harris, John Huston, Stephen Boyd, George C. Scott, Ava Gardner, Peter O'Toole, Franco Nero, Zoe Sallis, Gabriele Ferzetti, Eleonora Rossi Drago, Pupella Maggio, Robert Rietty, Peter Heinze
Using the Book of Genesis as its source, this film has some good moments with stars taking on roles of well-known Biblical characters. Among those featured are Adam (Michael Parks), Eve (Ulla Bergryd), Cain (Richard Harris), Abel (Franco Nero), and Noah (John Huston).
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The Cassandra Crossing 1977 R, 126 min.
Genre: Action / Thriller
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Cast: Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner, Richard Harris, Burt Lancaster, Martin Sheen, Ingrid Thulin, Lee Strasberg, John Phillip Law, O.J. Simpson, Lionel Stander
Set amidst the beautiful scenery of Italy and France, this disaster film is about a deadly virus that has created an epidemic among the train passengers. Conflicts occur between Dr. Chamberlain (Richard Harris) who tries to save his patients, and MacKenzie (Burt Lancaster) who wants to wreck the train to stop the virus' spread.
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City on Fire 1979  N/R, 104 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alvin Rakoff
Cast: Barry Newman, Susan Clark, Shelley Winters, Leslie Nielsen, James Franciscus, Ava Gardner, Henry Fonda, Jonathan Welsh, Terry Haig, Richard Donat, Mavor Moore, Donald Pilon
This is a weak disaster film, despite the good cast. The plot involves an oil-refinery fire that quickly leaps out of control and threatens a drought-stricken community.
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Earthquake 1974 PG, 130 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller
Director: Mark Robson
Cast: Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Richard Roundtree, Lloyd Nolan, Walter Matthau, Ava Gardner, Genevieve Bujold, Lorne Greene, Marjoe Gortner, Barry Sullivan, Victoria Principal, Monica Lewis, Gabriel Dell, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Lloyd Gough
Construction engineer Stewart Graff (Charlton Heston) is undergoing marital problems with his wife Remy (Ava Gardner) and is having an affair with Denise (Genvieve Bujold). Now, his problems multiply when a devastating earthquake hits Los Angeles. It is the special effects that won this film an Oscar.
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East Side, West Side 1949 N/R, 108 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Van Heflin, Ava Gardner, Cyd Charisse, Nancy Davis, Gale Sondergaard, William Conrad, William Frawley, Raymond Greenleaf
An upper-class Manhattan couple, Jessie and Brandon Bourne (Barbara Stanwyck and James Mason), have marital problems because of Brandon's roaming eye.
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Ghosts on the Loose 1943 N/R, 64 min.
Genre: Comedy
aka: The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi
Director: William Beaudine
Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Bela Lugosi, Ava Gardner, Rick Vallin, Minerva Urecal, Ernest Morrison, Bobby Stone, William "Billy" Benedict
The East Side Kids take on a Nazi gang (headed by Bela Lugosi) in this wartime film that depicts the mood in the country during World War II when Nazis threatened the world.
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The Great Sinner 1949 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Siodmak
Cast: Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas, Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead, Ludwig Stossel, Ludwig Donath, Curt Bois
Based on Dostoyevsky's "The Gambler," this film is about gambling addictions. When Fedja (Gregory Peck) helps Pauline Ostrovsky (Ava Gardner) overcome her gambling problems, he becomes addicted himself.
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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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Kid Glove Killer 1942 N/R, 74 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt, Lee Bowman, Samuel S. Hinds, John Litel, Cliff Clark, Eddie Quillan, Nella Walker, Ava Gardner, James Flavin
Police criminologist Gordon McKay (Van Heflin) uses scientific test-tube evidence to solve the mystery behind the mayor's murder.
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The Kidnapping of the President 1980 R, 113 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller
Director: George Mendeluk
Cast: William Shatner, Hal Holbrook, Van Johnson, Ava Gardner, Maury Chaykin, Miguel Fernandes, Michael Kane, Jackie Burroughs, Cindy Girling, Elizabeth Shepard, Michael J. Reynolds, Gary Reineke, Sully Boyar, Ken Anderson, Patrick Brymer
While on a campaign stop in Toronto, the President of the U.S., Adam Scott (Hal Holbrook), is kidnapped by South American terrorist Roberto Assanti (Miguel Fernandes) and his partner Linda Steiner (Cindy Girling). Assanti handcuffs himself to Scott and then claims that he is wired with explosives ready to detonate if demands are not met. Secret Service agent Jerry O'Connor (William Shatner) heads up the rescue team. Van Johnson and Ava Gardner play Vice-President Ethan Richards and his wife Beth.
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The Killers 1946 N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
aka: Ernest Hemingway's The Killers
Director: Robert Siodmak
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker, Sam Levene, William Conrad, Virginia Christine, John Miljan, Donald MacBride, Vince Barnett, Charles McGraw, Charles D. Brown, Jack Lambert, Queenie Smith, Jeff Corey
Ernest Hemmingway's story is the springboard for this tale about killers (Charles McGraw and William Conrad) who murder an aging prizefighter Ole "Swede" Anderson (Burt Lancaster). Insurance investigator Jim Rearden (Edmond O'Brien) looks for "Swede's" beneficiary, and, in a series of flashbacks, he connects "Swede" to an unsolved robbery. It was "Swede" and his ex-girlfriend Kitty Collins (Ava Gardner) who conspired to take the goods, double-cross crime boss Big Jim Colfax (Albert Dekker), and then take off on their own. And, no, they do not live happily ever after.
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Knights of the Round Table 1953 N/R, 115 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Anne Crawford, Stanley Baker, Felix Aylmer, Maureen Swanson, Gabriel Woolf, Niall MacGinnis, Robert Urquhart
This early CinemaScope film takes advantage of that format in its attractive photography and costuming. Robert Taylor plays Sir Lancelot, King Arthur's (Mel Ferrer) trusted knight. Ava Gardner is Queen Guineviere, who falls in love with Lancelot. This romance causes major problems in Camelot.
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The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean 1972 PG, 120 min.
Genre: Western
Director: John Huston
Cast: Paul Newman, Victoria Principal, Roddy McDowall, Ava Gardner, Anthony Perkins, John Huston, Stacy Keach, Ned Beatty, Jacqueline Bisset, Tab Hunter
This comedy Western stars Paul Newman as the hanging judge Roy Bean who avenges his own near-death experience by killing his enemies.
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Lone Star 1952 N/R, 93 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Vincent Sherman
Cast: Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Broderick Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, Beulah Bondi, Ed Begley, William Conrad, William Farnum, Moroni Olsen, Russell Simpson
Set amidst the fervor of attempts to have Texas become one of the United States, Devereaux Burke (Clark Gable) presses for statehood but finds opposition from Martha Ronda (Ava Gardner) and Thomas Craden (Broderick Crawford) who would rather keep Texas as a Republic.
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The Long Hot Summer 1985 TV, 200 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Stuart Cooper
Cast: Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Judith Ivey, Cybill Shepherd, Ava Gardner, William Russ, Wings Hauser, Albert Hall, William Forsythe, Stephen Davies
This made-for-TV remake of the 1958 classic is pretty good. Taken from Faulkner's story "The Hamlet," it tells the story of sex and sin in a small Southern town.
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Mogambo 1953 N/R, 115 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Ford
Cast: Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Donald Sinden, Laurence Naismith, Philip Stainton, Eric Pohlmann, Denis O'Dea, Asa Etula
This remake of "Red Dust" is about a safari in Africa whose guide, Victor Marswell (Clark Gable), becomes involved with two beautiful women (Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly) in his party. Gardner received an Oscar nomination (Actress), as did Kelly (Supporting Actress).
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My Forbidden Past 1951 N/R, 81 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Stevenson
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas, Lucile Watson, Will Wright, Janis Carter, Gordon Oliver, Basil Ruysdael, Clarence Muse, Walter Kingsford
This movie, set in New Orleans, is about a scheming woman (Ava Gardner) who has her eyes set on a young physician (Robert Mitchum), and she will stop at nothing to gain his attentions.
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On the Beach 1959 N/R, 134 min.
Genre: Drama / Sci-Fi
Director: Stanley Kramer
Cast: Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson, John Tate, Lola Brooks, John Meillon, Guy Doleman, Harp McGuire, Kevin Brennan, Grant Taylor
The rest of the world has been destroyed by radiation; however, one United States submarine, captained by Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck) sails into an Australian port where the radiation has not yet traveled. Although the citizens are not yet affected by the deadly radiation, they are suffering from having to survive on their own. Dwight becomes enamored with Moira Davidson (Ava Gardner) and, through her, gets involved with naval officer Peter Holmes (Anthony Perkins) and his wife Mary (Donna Anderson). All have different methods of dealing with their tragic fates.
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One Touch of Venus 1948 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Fantasy / Romance
Director: William A. Seiter
Cast: Ava Gardner, Robert Walker, Dick Haymes, Eve Arden, Tom Conway, Sara Allgood, Arthur O'Connell, James Flavin, George Meeker, Olga San Juan, James Flavin, Hugh Herbert, Anne Nagel, Russ Conway, Eddie Parker
This musical comedy is taken from the Broadway show and involves a department store statue of Venus (Ava Gardner) coming to life after being kissed by employee Eddie Hatch (Robert Walker). Love becomes the order of the day, and Venus and Eddie dance in Central Park. The love affair continues for 24 hours until Venus returns to her pedestal and her immobile form.
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Priest of Love 1981 R, 125 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Christopher Miles
Cast: Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman, Ava Gardner, Penelope Keith, John Gielgud, Sarah Miles, Jorge Rivero, James Faulkner, Massimo Ranieri, Patrick Holt
This is a biography of writer D.H. Lawrence (Ian McKellen) that concentrates on his protective wife, Frieda (Janet Suzman), who helps him during his fatal illness with tuberculosis.
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Regina Roma 1982 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Regina
Director: Jean-Yves Prate
Cast: Anna Karina, Ava Gardner, Ray Sharkey, Anthony Quinn
Mama (Ava Gardner) is the domineering and over-protective mother who tries to ensure her middle-aged son (Ray Sharkey) continues to be closely tied to her. Shy Regina (Anna Karina) and Mama's husband (Anthony Quinn) complete the setting for an emotional hour and a half as the four go at it in their living room.
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Ride, Vaquero 1953 N/R, 91 min.
Genre: Western
Director: John Farrow
Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Anthony Quinn, Kurt Kasznar, Ted de Corsia, Charlita, Jack Elam, Frank McGrath, Walter Baldwin
Rio (Robert Taylor) and Jose Esqueda (Anthony Quinn) are members of a band of outlaws who terrorize settlers in Southwest Texas.
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The Sentinel 1977  R, 93 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Michael Winner
Cast: Chris Sarandon, Cristina Raines, Martin Balsam, John Carradine, Jose Ferrer, Ava Gardner, Arthur Kennedy, Burgess Meredith, Eli Wallach, Tom Berenger, Sylvia Miles, Deborah Raffin, Christopher Walken, Jerry Orbach, Beverly D'Angelo
Fashion model Alison Parker (Cristina Raines) rents an apartment in Brooklyn Heights, moves in, and becomes involved in a world of mysterious noises and a very strange neighbor, Father Francis Matthew Halloran (John Carradine) who is a blind priest. Alison's fiance Michael (Chris Sarandon) investigates and finds that previous tenants were murderers and that Alison's apartment building is situated at the entrance to Hell. Have evil forces chosen Alison for a specific purpose?
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Seven Days in May 1964  N/R, 120 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Martin Balsam, Andrew Duggan, Hugh Marlowe, Whit Bissell, George Macready
Gen. James M. Scott (Burt Lancaster) leads a military conspiracy to take over the United States government. Some military officers are upset about a recent arms treaty signed by President Jordan Lyman. This story shows how strong the laws of America are to maintain order in the Democracy. An Academy Award nomination was received by Edmond O'Brien (Supporting Actor).
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 Show Boat 1951 N/R, 107 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: George Sidney
Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Agnes Moorehead, Robert Sterling, William Warfield, Adele Jergens, Lief Erickson, Norman Leavitt, Fuzzy Knight, Emory Parnell, Regis Toomey
This remake of the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein Broadway musical features Kathryn Grayson in the role of Magnolia, the daughter of the Mississippi riverboat's Captain Andy Hawk (Joe E. Brown). Magnolia takes over the riverboat show's starring role when Julie (Ava Gardner) is forced to leave after local police learn that she is not White but is married to White man Steve (Robert Sterling), and interracial marriages are forbidden. Gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Howard Keel) takes the role of Magnolia's leading man, and they fall in love and marry. But, Gaylord's gambling will prove to be a big problem–until he cleans up his act and returns to Magnolia and their baby daughter. Song standards, such as "Old Man River" (sung beautifully by William Warfield), "Bill," and "Make Believe" make this an enjoyable film.
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Singapore 1947 N/R, 79 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Brahm
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Ava Gardner, Roland Culver, Richard Haydn, Spring Byington, Thomas Gomez, Porter Hall, Edith Evanson, Holmes Herbert, Philip Ahn
This film is a story about an amnesiac who forgets the man she loves. Having thought that she had died in a WWII bombing raid, he discovers his error on a trip back to Singapore after the war, where he returns to resume his smuggling business. This movie was remade as "Istanbul" in 1957.
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The Snows of Kilimanjaro 1952 N/R, 113 min.
Genre: Adventure / Drama / Romance
Director: Henry King
Cast: Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner, Hildegarde Neff, Leo G. Carroll, Marcel Dalio, Torin Thatcher, Helene Stanley, Ivan Lebedeff, Ava Norring, Vincente Gomez, Richard Allen, John Dodsworth, Leonard Carey, Emmett Smith
After suffering injuries on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, Harry Street (Gregory Peck) lies dying and reflects on his past loves–wife Helen (Susan Hayward) and Cynthia (Ava Gardner). While both were very important to him, Cynthia is now dead, and it is Helen who is nursing his wounds and gives him the will to live.
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The Sun Also Rises 1957 N/R, 129 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Henry King
Cast: Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Errol Flynn, Eddie Albert, Gregory Ratoff, Marcel Dalio, Robert Evans, Eduardo Noriega, Henry Daniell
This is an excellent rendition of Hemingway's classic story about the "Lost Generation" of expatriates who roamed Europe between the two World Wars. The plot revolves around an American writer (Tyrone Power) who suffers from impotence following the war.
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Whistle Stop 1946 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Leonide Moguy
Cast: George Raft, Ava Gardner, Victor McLaglen, Tom Conway, Jorja Curtright, Jane Nigh, Florence Bates, Charles Drake, Charles Judels, Carmel Myers, Jimmy Conlin, Jimmy Ames, Mack Gray, Charles Wagenheim, Robert Homans
Small-town girl Mary (Ava Gardner) returns home from Chicago and re-ignites her past romance with ne'er-do-well Kenny (George Raft)–until she becomes involved with a corrupt saloon owner, Lew (Tom Conway). Will Kenny clean-up his act and win Mary back?
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| 1. 55 Days at Peking (1963)
2. The Band Wagon (1953)
3. The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
4. Bhowani Junction (1956)
5. The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966)
aka: The Bible
6. The Blue Bird (1976)
7. The Bribe (1949)
8. The Cassandra Crossing (1977)
9. City on Fire (1979)
10. Earthquake (1974)
11. East Side, West Side (1949)
12. Ghosts on the Loose (1943)
aka: The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi
13. The Great Sinner (1949)
14. The Hucksters (1947)
15. Kid Glove Killer (1942)
16. The Kidnapping of the President (1980)
17. The Killers (1946)
aka: Ernest Hemingway's The Killers
18. Knights of the Round Table (1953)
19. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
20. Lone Star (1952)
21. The Long Hot Summer (1985)
22. Mogambo (1953)
23. My Forbidden Past (1951)
24. The Night of the Iguana (1964)
25. On the Beach (1959)
26. One Touch of Venus (1948)
27. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)
28. Priest of Love (1981)
29. Regina Roma (1982)
aka: Regina
30. Ride, Vaquero (1953)
31. The Sentinel (1977)
32. Seven Days in May (1964)
33. Show Boat (1951)
34. Singapore (1947)
35. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
36. The Sun Also Rises (1957)
37. Whistle Stop (1946)
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