 The Black Cat 1941  N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Horror / Mystery / Comedy
Director: Albert S. Rogell
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Gale Sondergaard, Anne Gwynne, Gladys Cooper, Alan Ladd, Claire Dodd, John Eldredge, Cecilia Loftus
When cat-loving dowager Henrietta Winslow (Cecilia Loftus) dies, her greedy relatives converge on her haunted mansion for the reading of her will looking for their fortunes. Now, they must deal with screams in the night and hidden passages.
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The Case of the Velvet Claws 1936 N/R, 60 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: William Clemens
Cast: Warren William, Claire Dodd, Wini Shaw, Bill Elliott, Joe King, Addison Richards, Eddie Acuff, Olin Howland, Kenneth Harlan, Clara Blandick
Well, what-do-you-know, Perry Mason (Warren William) marries his faithful secretary, Della Street (Claire Dodd). But before they can take off on their honeymoon, Perry is hired (at gunpoint) to stop an article from being printed in a scandal sheet. It turns out that the woman behind the gun is the wife of the publisher of the paper, and she will do anything to ensure that her affair with another is not made public. Fast-paced, fun mystery.
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Charlie Chan in Honolulu 1938  N/R, 67 min.
Genre: Comedy / Mystery / Thriller
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
Cast: Sidney Toler, Phyllis Brooks, Victor Sen Yung, Eddie Collins, Robert Barrat, Philip Ahn, Paul Harvey, Marc Lawrence, George Zucco, Claire Dodd, John "Dusty" King, Richard Lane, Layne Tom Jr., Al Kikume, Arthur Loft
Sidney Toler debuted as the replacement for the deceased Warner Oland in the title role of Charlie Chan in this film about murder aboard a ship docked in the port of Honolulu. Charlie's Number Two Son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) wants to be a detective and intercepts his father's telephone call to investigate the shipboard murder. Jimmy arrives aboard the ship, introduces himself as Charlie Chan, and begins the investigation. Charlie arrives later, straightens out who is really "Charlie Chan," and orders all to stay aboard. Meanwhile, the ship's Captain Johnson (Robert Barrat) wants to take the ship out of the harbor, and the pressure is on Charlie to find clues to the murder, which just might point to Captain Johnson.
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Ex-Lady 1933 N/R, 62 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Florey
Cast: Bette Davis, Gene Raymond, Frank McHugh, Monroe Owsley, Claire Dodd, Kay Strozzi, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Alphonse Ethier, Bodil Rosing
This is Bette Davis' first lead role. She plays a VERY modern woman who is not sure what she wants, but she knows that she does NOT want marriage.
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Footlight Parade 1933  N/R, 104 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Renee Whitney, Ruth Donnelly
This is one of those grand scale musicals that, in this instance, contains some of Busby Berkeley's best work. Chester Kent (James Cagney) is a brash, hustling stage director who faces economic and romantic problems.
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Gambling Lady 1934 N/R, 66 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Archie Mayo
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Pat O'Brien, Claire Dodd, Joel McCrea, C. Aubrey Smith, Arthur Treacher, Philip Reed, Robert Barrat, Arthur Vinton, Ferdinand Gottschalk
Barbara plays the cardsharp daughter of a gambler who proves her honesty when her wealthy husband (Joel McCrea) gets into trouble.
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The Glass Key 1935 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Frank Tuttle
Cast: George Raft, Claire Dodd, Edward Arnold, Rosalind Keith, Ray Milland, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Robert Gleckler, Tammany Young, Charles C. Wilson, Emma Dunn
Based on Dashiell Hammett's novel about a politician (Edward Arnold) accused of murder, this becomes a riveting story of intrigue when his aide (George Raft) determines to clear the name of his boss and must fight the influential Mob. This story was remade in 1942.
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Hard to Handle 1933 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: James Cagney, Mary Brian, Ruth Donnelly, Allen Jenkins, Claire Dodd, Gavin Gordon, Emma Dunn, Robert McWade, Douglass Dumbrille, Matt McHugh
Lefty Merrill (Cagney) is a press agent/con artist who gets into a number of humorous situations, including a get-rich-quick dance marathon. Lots of wisecracking.
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If I Had My Way 1940 N/R, 93 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: David Butler
Cast: Bing Crosby, Gloria Jean, Charles Winninger, El Brendel, Allyn Joslyn, Claire Dodd, Donald Woods, Moroni Olsen, Nana Bryant, Brandon Hurst
When a young girl is orphaned, her deceased father's friends come to her aid as Buzz Blackwell (Bing Crosby) takes Patricia (Gloria Jean) on a train trip to live with her great uncle (Charles Winninger).
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 In the Navy 1941 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Comedy
aka: Abbott and Costello in the Navy
Director: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Powell, Claire Dodd, The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Shemp Howard, William B. Davidson, Thurston Hall, Robert Emmett Keane
A radio entertainer, Tommy Halstead (Dick Powell), joins the Navy to get away from inquiring reporters. Aboard his battleship, he runs into Pomeroy Watson (Lou Costello) and Smokey Adams (Bud Abbott) who help him stay hidden from a prying newswoman, Dorothy Roberts (Claire Dodd).
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Parachute Jumper 1933 N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Leo Carrillo, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Sheila Terry, Harold Huber, Thomas E. Jackson, G. Pat Collins, Walter Brennan
Two ex-Marine aviators (Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Frank McHugh) turn to smuggling drugs and alcohol until Alabama (Bette Davis) turns their lives around.
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 Roberta 1935 N/R, 106 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: William A. Seiter
Cast: Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, Claire Dodd, Luis Alberni, Lucille Ball, Victor Varconi, Ferdinand Munier, Torben Meyer, Adrian Rosley, Bodil Rosing, Lynne Carver, Mary Forbes
Football star John Kent (Randolph Scott) travels to Paris with "Huck" Haines' (Fred Astaire) band. But, when the band is told by the proprietor that he does not want them to perform, they head to John's Aunt Roberta's (Helen Westley) posh fashion boutique. They meet Huck's old girlfriend Lizzie (Ginger Rogers) who is now the singer Comtesse Schyarwenka, and she finds a job for the band. Meanwhile, Aunt Roberta passes away, and John inherits the boutique and enters into a partnership with Aunt Roberta's assistant Stephanie (Irene Dunne). This is a very early Astaire/Rogers pairing, and it is worthwhile viewing.
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Slightly Honorable 1940 N/R, 83 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Tay Garnett
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Broderick Crawford, Edward Arnold, Ruth Terry, Alan Dinehart, Claire Dodd, Bernard Nedell, Eve Arden, Douglass Dumbrille, Phyllis Brooks, Douglas Fowley, Ernest Truex
Corrupt politician Russ Sampson (Edward Arnold) frames lawyer John Webb (Pat O'Brien) for the murder of a woman involved in a scandal. Webb and law partner Russ (Broderick Crawford) set out to find the real murderer.
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This Is the Night 1932 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank Tuttle
Cast: Lili Damita, Roland Young, Charles Ruggles, Thelma Todd, Cary Grant, Irving Bacon, Claire Dodd, Davison Clark, Gino Corrado, Rolfe Sedan
In this feature film debut of Cary Grant, romantic intrigue and pretensions go awry. A bachelor (Roland Young) tries to lure the husband (Cary Grant) of the woman he is attracted to into the arms of another.
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Two Against the World 1936 N/R, 64 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: One Fatal Hour
Director: William C. McGann
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Beverly Roberts, Linda Perry, Carlyle Moore Jr., Henry O'Neill, Claire Dodd, Helen MacKellar, Hobart Cavanaugh, Harry Hayden, Robert Middlemass
A radio show uses murder as its theme in this not-too-successful remake of 1931's "Five Star Final."
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| 1. The Black Cat (1941)
2. The Case of the Curious Bride (1935)
3. The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936)
4. Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)
5. Ex-Lady (1933)
6. Footlight Parade (1933)
7. Gambling Lady (1934)
8. The Glass Key (1935)
9. Hard to Handle (1933)
10. If I Had My Way (1940)
11. In the Navy (1941)
aka: Abbott and Costello in the Navy
12. Parachute Jumper (1933)
13. Roberta (1935)
14. Slightly Honorable (1940)
15. This Is the Night (1932)
16. Two Against the World (1936)
aka: One Fatal Hour
In The News
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