An American Tragedy 1931  N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Cast: Phillips Holmes, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee, Irving Pichel, Claire McDowell, Frederick Burton, Wallace Middleton, Emmett Corrigan, Lucille La Verne, Charles Middleton
Based on Theodore Dreiser's novel, this is a drama about Roberta Alden's murder. Her story is told through flashbacks during the ensuing trial. The story was remade in 1951 as "A Place in the Sun." The remake is the better of the two versions.
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August Weekend 1936  N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
aka: Weekend Madness
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Valerie Hobson, G.P. Huntley, Paul Harvey, Betty Compson, Claire McDowell, Frank Melton, Dorothea Kent, Maynard Holmes, Gigi Parrish, Howard C. Hickman, Edgar Norton, Paul Irving
Despite his wealthy lifestyle, George Washburne (Paul Harvey) is restless and bored, so he leaves his family behind to go off on a weekend party with beautiful and sexy Claire (Valerie Hobson). But, it doesn't take long before George learns the value of his love for family–especially when he gets mixed up in a tax scandal and the IRS investigates his records. Director Charles Lamont made over 225 movies throughout his career and directed feature comedies such as Ma and Pa Kettle and Abbott & Costello.
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 Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ 1925  N/R, 116 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Ben-Hur
Director: Fred Niblo
Cast: Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy, Frank Currier, Myrna Loy, Claire McDowell, Nigel De Brulier, Betty Bronson, Kathleen Key, Carmel Myers, Mitchell Lewis, Leo White, Charles Belcher, Dale Fuller, Winter Hall
Judah Ben-Hur (Ramon Novarro) is falsely accused of a crime by his childhood friend, Massala (Francis X. Bushman), and is imprisoned. Later, Ben-Hur returns to seek vengeance but, instead, becomes a Christian and takes Christ as his savior in this excellent film that took years in the making.
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The Big House 1930  N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: George W. Hill
Cast: Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, Leila Hyams, George F. Marion, J.C. Nugent, Karl Dane, DeWitt Jennings, Claire McDowell
Based on a violent prison break in 1929, this film set the standard for prison movies that followed. Kent (a young Robert Montgomery) is sent to prison for killing pedestrians while driving drunk. There he is amidst hardened criminals in a tough, overcrowded environment. Mean criminal Butch (Wallace Beery) plans the breakout in this violent (for that time) movie. The film won Academy Awards for Best Sound and Writing; Beery was nominated for Best Actor and the film was nominated for Best Picture.
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By Appointment Only 1933  N/R, 66 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank R. Strayer
Cast: Lew Cody, Aileen Pringle, Sally O'Neil, Marceline Day, Edward Morgan, Edward Martindel, Wilson Benge, Claire McDowell, Pauline Garon, Gladys Blake
Dr. Michael Travers (Lew Cody) gains legal custody of teenager Judy (Sally O'Neil) after her mother dies. Although he is engaged to Diane (Aileen Pringle), Michael leaves on a three-year business trip to Europe, and on his return he falls in love with the now-17-year-old Judy. Whatever will become of Diane?
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Heart o' the Hills 1919 N/R, 55 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Joseph De Grasse, Sidney Franklin
Cast: Mary Pickford, Harold Goodwin, Allan Sears, Fred Huntley, Claire McDowell, Sam De Grasse, W.H. Bainbridge, John Gilbert, Betty Bouton, Fred Warren
As young country girl (Mary Pickford) sets out to avenge the murder of her father, love and maturity also lie ahead. A different kind of role for Pickford who normally played more youthful girls.
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 It Happened One Night 1934  N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Alan Hale, Roscoe Karns, Henry Wadsworth, Claire McDowell, Walter Connolly, Arthur Hoyt, Ward Bond, Milton Kibbee, Jameson Thomas, Blanche Friderici, Charles C. Wilson, Irving Bacon, Bess Flowers
This movie took a clean sweep of the Academy Awards with Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Writer. It relates the romance of a news reporter (Clark Gable) who is out for a story about a spoiled rich girl (Claudette Colbert) who is on the run from her father and fiance. Of course, they fall in love. Clark Gable, "Remember me? I'm the fellow you slept on last night."
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It's Tough to Be Famous 1932 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Mary Brian, Emma Dunn, Walter Catlett, Oscar Apfel, J. Carrol Naish, David Landau, Claire McDowell, Louise Beavers, Harold Minjir
Scotty (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) is a young submarine officer who saves the crew after his submarine sinks. Expecting to sacrifice his life, he is rescued instead and now is a MAJOR media celebrity, causing great disruption in his day-to-day activities. A good study of our obsession with heroes, at least in the 1930s.
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 The Mark of Zorro 1920 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Action
Director: Fred Niblo
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, Robert McKim, Noah Beery, Charles Hill Mailes, Claire McDowell, Noah Beery Jr., Snitz Edwards, Sidney De Gray, George Periolat, Walt Whitman, Tote Du Crow, Milton Berle, Charles Stevens
Spanish nobleman Don Diego Vega (Douglas Fairbanks) watches wealthy landowners mistreat their workers while the evil Governor Alvarado (George Periolat) ignores what is happening. The Governor is also taking over the land of aristocrats, including Don Carlos Pulido (Charles Hill Mailes), his wife Dona Catalina (Claire McDowell), and their daughter Lolita (Marguerite De La Motte). Don Diego dons a mask and becomes Zorro fighting for justice and the abdication of the Governor. Zorro is successful, and, after saving Lolita from the advances of the Governor's henchman Captain Ramon (Robert McKim), Zorro kisses Lolita who has been enamored by him and his successful battles against evil. A classic, silent film.
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 Murder by Television 1935 N/R, 60 min.
Genre: Mystery
aka: The Houghland Murder Case
Director: Clifford Sandforth
Cast: Bela Lugosi, June Collyer, Huntley Gordon, George Meeker, Claire McDowell, Henry Mowbray, Charles Hill Mailes, Hattie McDaniel, Henry Hall, Allen Jung
When a professor demonstrates a new invention–television–he is murdered. Did the television perform the dastardly deed or was it the devilish work of the assistant (Bela Lugosi)?
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Wild Boys of the Road 1933 N/R, 68 min.
Genre: Drama / Adventure
Director: William A. Wellman
Cast: Frankie Darro, Dorothy Coonan Wellman, Edwin Phillips, Rochelle Hudson, Ann Hovey, Grant Mitchell, Sterling Holloway, Charley Grapewin, Ward Bond, Arthur Hohl, Minna Gombell, Claire McDowell, Robert Barrat, Willard Robertson, Wade Boteler
California teenagers Eddie Smith (Frankie Darro) and Tommy Gordon (Edwin Phillips) find their families suffering during the early Depression era and run away to find work. They hop a train and meet others on their trip east, including Sally (Dorothy Coonan Wellman) and Grace (Rochelle Hudson). The mobile group of teens turns into outlaws, and they become involved with other teens, just like themselves, in a quest for survival during desperate times.
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Wild Company 1930 N/R, 73 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Leo McCarey
Cast: Frank Albertson, H.B. Warner, Sharon Lynn, Joyce Compton, Claire McDowell, Bela Lugosi, George Fawcett, Richard Keene, Frances McCoy, Kenneth Thomson
Following an argument with his girlfriend, Larry Grayson (Frank Albertson) heads for a nightclub where he meets Sally who proves to be the last thing he needs.
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The Working Man 1933  N/R, 77 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: John G. Adolfi
Cast: George Arliss, Bette Davis, Hardie Albright, J. Farrell MacDonald, Theodore Newton, Gordon Westcott, Charles E. Evans, Frederick Burton, Edward Van Sloan, Claire McDowell
Shoe manufacturer John Reeves (George Arliss) becomes bored with his work after his main competitor dies. He turns the company over to his bratty nephew (Hardie Albright) and heads off on a vacation. He meets the heirs (Bette Davis and Theodore Newton) of the competitor and finds out that the company is in financial trouble. Pretending to be a laborer, John takes a job with the company and turns it around and becomes a competitor with his nephew. In the process, he teaches the heirs a few lessons.
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| 1. An American Tragedy (1931)
2. August Weekend (1936)
aka: Weekend Madness
3. Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ (1925)
aka: Ben-Hur
4. The Big House (1930)
5. The Big Parade (1925)
6. By Appointment Only (1933)
7. Heart o' the Hills (1919)
8. It Happened One Night (1934)
9. It's Tough to Be Famous (1932)
10. The Mark of Zorro (1920)
11. Murder by Television (1935)
aka: The Houghland Murder Case
12. Wild Boys of the Road (1933)
13. Wild Company (1930)
14. The Working Man (1933)
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