Arrowsmith 1931 N/R, 108 min. Genre: Drama
Director: John Ford Cast: Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, A.E. Anson, Myrna Loy, Claude King, Beulah Bondi, Russell Hopton, John Qualen, Richard Bennett, DeWitt Jennings
When Dr. Martin Arrowsmith (Ronald Colman) changes his career from physician to research scientist, everything in his life is affected. In true Sinclair Lewis style, the author reveals the commercial aspect of medicine and how quickly money and social status lead to tragedy for those who get wrapped up in the trappings. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
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Behind That Curtain 1929 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: Irving Cummings Cast: Warner Baxter, Gilbert Emery, Philip Strange, E.L. Park, Lois Moran, Claude King, Boris Karloff, Jamiel Hasson, Peter Gawthorne, John Rogers, Edgar Norton, Frank Finch Smiles
This early sound movie, featuring the wise detective Charlie Chan (E.L. Park), is about an heiress (Lois Moran) who leaves her husband for a new "love" in her life but is about to suffer the consequences.
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Four Men and a Prayer 1938 N/R, 85 min. Genre: Adventure / Mystery
Director: John Ford Cast: Loretta Young, Richard Greene, George Sanders, David Niven, C. Aubrey Smith, J. Edward Bromberg, John Carradine, Alan Hale, Reginald Denny, Barry Fitzgerald, William Henry, Berton Churchill, Claude King, Cecil Cunningham, Frank Dawson
Four brothers (Richard Greene, George Sanders, David Niven, and William Henry) suspect foul play in the murder of their father after he was dishonorably discharged from the British military. They begin an investigation to clear his name and discover more than they had bargained for.
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The Gilded Lily 1935 N/R, 85 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Wesley Ruggles Cast: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, C. Aubrey Smith, Luis Alberni, Eddie Craven, Donald Meek, Grace Bradley, Tom Dugan, Claude King
Marilyn David (Claudette Colbert) must decide between two potential husbands: English duke Charles Gray (Ray Milland) and American Pete Dawes (Fred MacMurray). Good performance by MacMurray helped him reach stardom.
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It Couldn't Have Happened - But It Did 1936 N/R, 70 min. Genre: Drama / Mystery
Director: Phil Rosen Cast: Reginald Denny, Evelyn Brent, Jack La Rue, Inez Courtney, Hugh Marlowe, Claude King, Bryant Washburn, Robert Homans, Crauford Kent, Robert Frazer, Miki Morita, Emily LaRue, Lynton Brent
Two Broadway producers are murdered in circumstances resembling two killings in a play written by Greg Stone (Reginald Denny). Now, Greg is forced by gangster Smiley Clark (Jack La Rue), who is backing the show, to take on the role of detective and track down the real killer in order to clear Smiley's name.
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The Last Outpost 1935 N/R, 72 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: Charles Barton, Louis J. Gasnier Cast: Cary Grant, Gertrude Michael, Claude Rains, Kathleen Burke, Colin Tapley, Akim Tamiroff, Billy Bevan, Georges Renavent, Jameson Thomas, Robert Adair, Claude King, Margaret Swope, Nick Shaid
Injured during the Kurdistan/British war, Captain Michael Andrews (Cary Grant) is brought back to good health by nurse Rosemary Haydon (Gertrude Michael). Although she is married to the man (Claude Rains) who saved Andrews' life, this plays only a small part in their thoughts of the moment.
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Madame X 1929 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama aka: Absinthe
Director: Lionel Barrymore Cast: Ruth Chatterton, Lewis Stone, Raymond Hackett, Holmes Herbert, Eugenie Besserer, John P. Edington, Mitchell Lewis, Ullrich Haupt, Sidney Toler, Richard Carle, Carroll Nye, Claude King
Certainly not the best rendition of the story, but it is a heavy melodrama curio. A bored wife (Ruth Chatterton) is cast into the streets by her husband (Lewis Stone) after he finds out she has been unfaithful. Years later her son (Raymond Hackett), not knowing who she is, defends her on a murder charge. This is the first film to utilize a moving microphone (attached to a fishing pole). The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actress (Chatterton) and Director.
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The Masquerader 1933 N/R, 78 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Richard Wallace Cast: Ronald Colman, Elissa Landi, Halliwell Hobbes, Helen Jerome Eddy, Juliette Compton, David Torrence, Creighton Hale, Eric Wilton, C. Montague Shaw, Claude King
Ronald Colman takes on two roles in this film: a drug addict member of Parliament and his look-alike journalist cousin who takes his place.
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Moonstone 1934 N/R, 62 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: Reginald Barker Cast: David Manners, Phyllis Barry, Jameson Thomas, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Herbert Bunston, Evelyn Bostock, John Davidson, Elspeth Dudgeon, Claude King, Olaf Hytten, Charles Irwin, Fred Walton
Based on Wilkie Collins' mystery, this is the story of a valuable moonstone that was stolen from India in 1799. It is now in the possession of Anne (Phyllis Barry), but it is stolen right out from under her pillow while she sleeps. And the whodunit begins as a Scotland Yard investigator sorts through likely and unlikely suspects.
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The Philadelphia Story 1940 N/R, 112 min. Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: George Cukor Cast: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, John Howard, Ruth Hussey, Roland Young, John Halliday, Mary Nash, Virginia Weidler, Henry Daniell, Lionel Pape, Rex Evans, Hillary Brooke, Lee Phelps, Claude King
Philadelphia's elite citizens are the subject of this romantic comedy. Katharine Hepburn plays socialite Tracy Lord who is divorced from C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) and is about to marry stuffed-shirt George Kittredge (John Howard). James Stewart plays reporter Macaulay Connor who has arrived on the scene to cover the wedding, but he falls in love with the bride-to-be. Stewart carried away an Academy Award for Best Actor. An Academy Award was also given for Best Writing, and nominations were received for Best Picture, Actress (Hepburn), Supporting Actress (Ruth Hussey for her role as Macaulay's girlfriend), and Director.
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Shanghai Express 1932 N/R, 82 min. Genre: Drama / Adventure / Romance
Director: Josef von Sternberg Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland, Eugene Pallette, Lawrence Grant, Louise Closser Hale, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Emile Chautard, Claude King, James B. Leong, Leonard Carey, Willie Fung, Miki Morita, Herbert Evans
In the midst of civil war, the notorious Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich) meets and falls in love with Captain Donald Harvey (Clive Brook) during a trip on the Shanghai Express. One of the train's passengers is the warlord rebel leader, Henry Chang (Warner Oland), waiting for his rebels to ambush the train and take hostages. Among the hostages will be Shanghai Lily and her Captain Harvey.
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Three on the Trail 1936 N/R, 66 min. Genre: Western
Director: Howard Bretherton Cast: William Boyd, James Ellison, Onslow Stevens, Muriel Evans, George "Gabby" Hayes, William Duncan, Claude King, Clara Kimball Young, John St. Polis, Ernie Adams, Jack Rutherford
A gang of cattle rustlers robs a stagecoach, and Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) heads off in hot pursuit.
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| 1. Arrowsmith (1931)
2. Behind That Curtain (1929)
3. Behind the Mask (1932)
4. Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
5. The Gilded Lily (1935)
6. It Couldn't Have Happened - But It Did (1936)
7. The Last Outpost (1935)
8. London After Midnight (1927)
9. Madame X (1929) aka: Absinthe
10. The Masquerader (1933)
11. Moonstone (1934)
12. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
13. Shanghai Express (1932)
14. Three on the Trail (1936)
In The News
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