 The Big Sleep 1946  N/R, 114 min.
Genre: Mystery / Drama / Thriller
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers, John Ridgely, Dorothy Malone, Regis Toomey, Elisha Cook Jr., Bob Steele, Louis Jean Heydt, Ben Welden, Peggy Knudsen, Charles Waldron, Charles D. Brown, Trevor Bardette, Joseph Crehan
Private-eye Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by wealthy General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) to investigate the activities of his daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers). At first, Carmen's sister, Vivian (Lauren Bacall), resents Marlowe, but love does enter the picture. Meanwhile, as Marlowe probes into Carmen's activities, the plot thickens, and murders ensue.
|  | |
Brother Orchid 1940   N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern, Humphrey Bogart, Donald Crisp, Ralph Bellamy, Allen Jenkins, Charles D. Brown, Cecil Kellaway, Richard Lane, Paul Guilfoyle, Morgan Conway, John Ridgely, Joseph Crehan, Wilfred Lucas, Tom Tyler
When Little John Sarto (Edward G. Robinson) retires, gangland is quickly taken over by Jack Buck (Humphrey Bogart) who is not about to relinquish his position when Sarto gets bored. Sarto eventually finds happiness in a monastery after a failed attempt at starting another gang. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | Entertaining, informative, fine casting | H.V. Brooke 03/02/2007 | | A splendid example of Hollywood film making ate its best. Great story, great casting with Edward G. Robinson at his best. |
|
| | |
Charlie Chan in Reno 1939  N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Comedy / Thriller
Director: Norman Foster
Cast: Sidney Toler, Ricardo Cortez, Phyllis Brooks, Slim Summerville, Kane Richmond, Victor Sen Yung, Pauline Moore, Robert Lowery, Eddie Collins, Kay Linaker, Louise Henry, Charles D. Brown, Hamilton MacFadden, Iris Wong, Morgan Conway
Mary Whitman (Pauline Moore) goes to Reno seeking to divorce her husband Curtis (Kane Richmond) and checks into a hotel where Jeanne Bentley (Louise Henry), who is also divorcing her husband, is found murdered. Police suspect Mary, and she calls on the services of Honolulu detective Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler). Chan shows up with Number 2 son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) and, while investigating the murder, engages in a battle of wits with local sheriff Tombstone Fletcher (Slim Summerville) who questions Chan's investigating abilities.
| | |
Eve Knew Her Apples 1945 N/R, 64 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Will Jason
Cast: Ann Miller, William Wright, Robert Williams, Ray Walker, Charles D. Brown, John Eldredge, Eddie Bruce, Frank Jaquet, Betty Hill, Syd Saylor, Si Jenks, Jessie Arnold, Al Hill
In this re-make of 1934's Academy Award winning "It Happened One Night," Ann Miller plays popular singer Eve Porter (rather than the rich heiress) who needs to get away for a vacation–and away from her stuffy fiance. So, she skips town by hiding in the back seat of a car owned by newspaper reporter Ward Williams (William Wright). And the fun and adventures begin as Ward seeks a good story while keeping a step ahead of her pursuers. Love blossoms.
| | |
Fingers at the Window 1942  N/R, 79 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Charles Lederer
Cast: Lew Ayres, Laraine Day, Basil Rathbone, Walter Kingsford, Miles Mander, Charles D. Brown, Cliff Clark, James Flavin, William Tannen, Russell Hicks
Oliver Duffy (Lew Ayres) and his girlfriend, Edwina Brown (Laraine Day), sleuth out an axe-murderer who tried to kill Edwina.
| | |
Gold Diggers of 1937 1936 N/R, 101 min.
Genre: Musical / Comedy / Romance
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Victor Moore, Glenda Farrell, Lee Dixon, Osgood Perkins, Charles D. Brown, Joseph Crehan, William B. Davidson, Olin Howland, Rosalind Marquis, Irene Ware, Charles Halton, Paul Irving, Harry C. Bradley
This is the third–and final–"Gold Diggers" film, and Busby Berkeley, though not in the director's chair for this one, still handled the choreography. This time around, unemployed chorus girls Genevieve Larkin (Glenda Farrell) and Norma Perry (Joan Blondell) are in on a plot to buy insurance from Rosmer Peak (Dick Powell) to insure J.J. Horbart (Victor Moore) in order to make money when he dies. Meanwhile, Horbart's partners lost his money in the stock market, and he has no money to finance his next Broadway show. Now, Genevieve falls in love with Horbart who suffers a breakdown when he learns that he is broke. The only way to restore Horbart's health is to put on the show without financial backing. And the show goes on.
| | |
International Lady 1941 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: Tim Whelan
Cast: George Brent, Ilona Massey, Basil Rathbone, Gene Lockhart, George Zucco, Clayton Moore, Francis Pierlot, Martin Kosleck, Charles D. Brown, Marjorie Gateson
U.S. espionage agent Tom Hanley (George Brent) falls in love with Carle Nillson (Ilona Massey). She is really a spy for Hitler and is transmitting information on enemy activity to German U-Boats in the Atlantic.
| | |
Just Before Dawn 1946 N/R, 65 min.
Genre: Mystery / Drama
Director: William Castle
Cast: Warner Baxter, Adele Roberts, Martin Kosleck, Mona Barrie, Marian Miller, Charles D. Brown, Craig Reynolds, Robert Barrat, Charles(2) Lane, George Meeker, Marvin Miller, Charles Arnt, Byron Foulger, Ted Hecht
In the seventh film of the "Crime Doctor" series, Crime Doctor Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter) is on the trail of a killer after being tricked into giving a fatal injection to one of his patients.
| | |
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.
| | |
Maisie Was a Lady 1941 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Edwin L. Marin
Cast: Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Joan Perry, Paul Cavanagh, Edward Ashley, Hans Conried, Edgar Dearing, Charles D. Brown
Brooklyn showgirl Maisie (Ann Sothern) goes to work as a maid for a wealthy–but troubled–family and gets their lives back in order.
| | |
Minesweeper 1943 N/R, 67 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William Berke
Cast: Richard Arlen, Jean Parker, Russell Hayden, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Emma Dunn, Charles D. Brown, Chick Chandler, Douglas Fowley, Frank Fenton, Ralph Sanford, Robert Mitchum, Dub Taylor
Naval officer Richard Houston (Richard Arlen), who had deserted the Navy due to his chronic gambling, reenlists as a seaman under an assumed name when World War II breaks out. He is assigned to a minesweeper where he becomes a hero by destroying a new type of enemy mine. Another film to keep up the morale back home during World War II.
| | |
Notorious 1946  N/R, 103 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin, Reinhold Schunzel, Moroni Olsen, Ivan Triesault, Wally Brown, Gavin Gordon, Alex Minotis, Fay Baker, Antonio Moreno, Friedrich von Ledebur, Charles D. Brown
During World War II, American agent Devlin (Cary Grant) heads to Rio De Janeiro where he works with Alice Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), who is the daughter of a convicted spy. Together, they track down Nazi secrets after she marries German businessman Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains), and Alice and Devlin find Uranium hidden in Sebastian's cellar. This is one of Alfred Hitchcock's best movies. The film received two Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor (Rains).
| | |
On Our Merry Way 1948 N/R, 107 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
aka: A Miracle Can Happen
Director: Leslie Fenton, King Vidor, George Stevens, John Huston
Cast: Burgess Meredith, Paulette Goddard, Fred MacMurray, Hugh Herbert, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour, Victor Moore, Eilene Janssen, Henry Fonda, William Demarest, Harry James, Charles D. Brown, Henry Hull, Eduardo Ciannelli, John Qualen
This film is a series of episodes tied together by the shell of a story about a newspaper reporter (Burgess Meredith) and his new wife (Paulette Goddard–his actual wife at the time). He asks a number of people how a child has changed their lives and gets a variety of answers.
| | |
Reaching for the Sun 1941 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: William A. Wellman
Cast: Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Eddie Bracken, Albert Dekker, Billy Gilbert, George Chandler, Regis Toomey, Bodil Rosing, James Burke, Charles D. Brown
A country fisherman moves to Detroit to find work in a factory for which he plans to earn extra cash to spend on his fishing boat in this amusing film.
| | |
The Senator Was Indiscreet 1947 N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Comedy
aka: Mr. Ashton Was Indiscreet
Director: George S. Kaufman
Cast: William Powell, Ella Raines, Arleen Whelan, Peter Lind Hayes, Ray Collins, Allen Jenkins, Hans Conried, Charles D. Brown, Whit Bissell, Norma Varden
Senator Ashton (William Powell) wants to be President of the United States and hires a press agent to help him attain his lofty ambition.
| | |
Shopworn Angel 1938 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: H.C. Potter
Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Walter Pidgeon, Hattie McDaniel, Nat Pendleton, Sam Levene, Alan Curtis, Charley Grapewin, Charles D. Brown, Jimmy Butler
A self-centered actress (Margaret Sullavan) plays with the affections of a soldier (James Stewart) from Texas who is on his way to battle. Typically good Sullavan/Stewart matchup.
| | |
Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman 1947 N/R, 103 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Smash-Up
Director: Stuart Heisler
Cast: Susan Hayward, Lee Bowman, Marsha Hunt, Eddie Albert, Carl Esmond, Carleton Young, Charles D. Brown, Tom Chatterton, Robert Shayne, George Meeker
Susan Hayward was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress in her role as nightclub singer Angie. While her husband's (Lee Bowman) career soars, Angie hits the skids as she turns to alcohol for comfort.
| | |
Smashing the Money Ring 1939 N/R, 57 min.
Genre: Action
Director: Terry O. Morse
Cast: Ronald Reagan, Margot Stevenson, Eddie Foy Jr., Joe Downing, Charles D. Brown, Elliott Sullivan, Charles C. Wilson, William B. Davidson, Donald Douglas, Joe King
This is the third in a series of Secret Service stories starring Ronald Reagan as Lieutenant "Brass" Bancroft. This time around "Brass" leads his agents in an attempt to stop illegal action at sea.
| | |
Up the River 1938 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Alfred L. Werker
Cast: Preston Foster, Tony Martin, Phyllis Brooks, Slim Summerville, Arthur Treacher, Alan Dinehart, Jane Darwell, Sidney Toler, Eddie Collins, Bill Robinson, Edward Gargan, Robert Allen, Charles D. Brown, Irving Bacon, Ben Welden
In this remake of the 1930 film, con men Chipper Morgan (Preston Foster) and Darby Randall (Arthur Treacher) star on the prison football team. When they learn about a raw deal that a fellow teammate (Tony Martin) has been given, they agree to escape from prison and help him confront the racketeers. The plan does not set well with the warden (Alan Dinehart) who has bet a fortune on the upcoming football game and needs his stars to win. The duo does escape, but, fortunately for the warden, they return to win the game in its final moments.
| | |
| 1. The Big Sleep (1946)
2. Brother Orchid (1940)
3. Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)
4. Eve Knew Her Apples (1945)
5. Fingers at the Window (1942)
6. Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
7. International Lady (1941)
8. Just Before Dawn (1946)
9. The Killers (1946)
aka: Ernest Hemingway's The Killers
10. Maisie Was a Lady (1941)
11. Minesweeper (1943)
12. Notorious (1946)
13. On Our Merry Way (1948)
aka: A Miracle Can Happen
14. Reaching for the Sun (1941)
15. The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)
aka: Mr. Ashton Was Indiscreet
16. Shopworn Angel (1938)
17. Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947)
aka: Smash-Up
18. Smashing the Money Ring (1939)
19. Up the River (1938)
In The News
|
