Blondie 1938 N/R, 68 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Frank R. Strayer Cast: Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Jonathan Hale, Gene Lockhart, Ann Doran, Gordon Oliver, Kathleen Lockhart, Danny Mummert, Irving Bacon, Dorothy Moore, Fay Helm, Willie Best, Ian Wolfe, Edgar Dearing
Chic Young's comic strip about a suburban family comes to the screen. In this first of a series of 28 films, the Bumsteads (Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton) are worried about the prospect of Dagwood losing his job–the day before their fifth wedding anniversary.
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Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture 1949 N/R, 59 min. Genre: Mystery / Drama
Director: Seymour Friedman Cast: Chester Morris, Maylia, Richard Lane, Don McGuire, Joan Woodbury, Sid Tomack, Frank Sully, Charles Arnt, Luis Van Rooten, Philip Ahn, Peter Brocco, Benson Fong, Edgar Dearing, Fred F. Sears, Pat O'Malley
This film represents the last episode in the "Boston Blackie" series. Once again, Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) and his sidekick The Runt (Sid Tomack replaces George E. Stone for this final episode.) are accused of murder. This time around, they are reported to be leaving a Chinese laundry where the proprietor has been murdered. Blackie and The Runt, as usual, escape from the police and manage to find the real murderer in Wong's Curio Shop where they also find stolen jewels hidden in tea bags.
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Caught in the Draft 1941 N/R, 82 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: David Butler Cast: Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lynne Overman, Eddie Bracken, Clarence Kolb, Irving Bacon, Paul Hurst, Ferike Boros, Arthur Loft, Edgar Dearing
Movie star Don Bolton (Bob Hope) decides to evade the draft but ends up–through a comedy of errors–enlisting in the army.
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Free and Easy 1930 N/R, 92 min. Genre: Comedy aka: Easy Go
Director: Edward Sedgwick Cast: Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Trixie Friganza, Robert Montgomery, Fred Niblo, Edgar Dearing, Gwen Lee, John Miljan, Lionel Barrymore, William Haines, William Collier Sr., Dorothy Sebastian
Buster Keaton speaks for the first time in the movies. Elvira (Anita Page) wins the Gopher City, Kansas, beauty contest, and the prize is a trip to Hollywood that includes a screen test. She is accompanied by her mother (Trixie Friganza) and Elmer (Keaton), and it is Elmer who becomes the star after he crashes the MGM studio gates. But not all is lost for Elvira; she finds her true love (Robert Montgomery).
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Hot Water 1924 N/R, 60 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor Cast: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Josephine Crowell, Charles Stevenson, Mickey McBan, Edgar Dearing, Pat Harmon
This film is divided into three acts. In the first one, newly wed Harold (Harold Lloyd) enters into a henpecked relationship when Wifey (Jobyna Ralston) calls on the phone and asks him to bring home a few things from the market. Those errands include a ride on the trolley with a live turkey in tow. Next, his in-laws arrive for a visit, and Harold takes them for a catastrophic ride in his new car. Finally, Harold chloroforms his ill-tempered mother-in-law (Josephine Crowell), and, when she begins to sleep walk, Harold thinks she is haunting him. All three acts provide good classic comedy scenes.
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It Came from Outer Space 1953 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Jack Arnold Cast: Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Russell Johnson, Kathleen Hughes, Joe Sawyer, Dave Willock, Alan Dexter, George Eldredge, Edgar Dearing
This is the prototype for movies about creatures from outer space who take over bodies of people on earth.
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The Long, Long Trailer 1953 N/R, 103 min. Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn, Gladys Hurlbut, Moroni Olsen, Bert Freed, Madge Blake, Walter Baldwin, Oliver Blake, Perry Sheehan, Frank Gerstle, John Call, Edgar Dearing, Jack Kruschen
While setting off on their honeymoon, Nicky and Tracy Collini (Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball) naively opt to live in a 40-foot trailer in his comedy about getting their rig from one spot to another as Nicky's job sites change. Their decision results in a series of comedic disasters that leave them on the verge of divorce. But, by story's end, their marriage is saved.
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Made for Each Other 1939 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: John Cromwell Cast: Carole Lombard, James Stewart, Charles Coburn, Lucile Watson, Eddie Quillan, Ruth Weston, Donald Briggs, Harry Davenport, Ward Bond, Esther Dale, Alma Kruger, Irving Bacon, Louise Beavers, Edgar Dearing, Mary Field
Having rushed into marriage, a young married couple–Jane and Johnny Mason (Carole Lombard and James Stewart)–finds many problems from all sides. First, Johnny's boss Judge Joseph Doolittle (Charles Coburn) is displeased because he wanted Johnny to marry his daughter (Ruth Weston) and calls him back to work immediately as a trial lawyer. Thus, the honeymoon must be skipped. Johnny's mother (Lucile Watson) moves in with the couple and is hypocritical of everything Jane does. Later, when their baby is born, more problems rise to the fore, and the marriage appears doomed. Then, on New Years Eve, their baby son becomes ill with pneumonia. Johnny appeals to Judge Doolittle for help in obtaining the needed medicine, and he comes to their aid–saving both the baby and the marriage as well.
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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.
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Pot o' Gold 1941 N/R, 84 min. Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: George Marshall Cast: James Stewart, Paulette Goddard, Horace Heidt, Charles Winninger, Mary Gordon, Jed Prouty, Frank Melton, Charles Arnt, Dick Hogan, James Burke, Mary Ruth, Nestor Paiva, Art Carney, James Flavin, Edgar Dearing
Jimmy Haskell (James Stewart) rescues his uncle, C.J. Haskell (Charles Winninger), from more than one tight spot. First, he gets C.J. out of jail, and then he works to get popular bandleader Horace Heidt as a guest on C.J.'s radio show and, despite all the problems, wins Molly's (Paulette Goddard) heart.
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Ruby Gentry 1952 N/R, 82 min. Genre: Drama
Director: King Vidor Cast: Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston, Karl Malden, Tom Tully, Phyllis Avery, James Anderson, Josephine Hutchinson, Herbert Heyes, Charles Cane, Sam Flint, Myra Marsh, Frank Wilcox, Edgar Dearing, Barney Phillips
This is a story about the class system encountered by Ruby (Jennifer Jones) who thought "marrying up" with Boake Tackman (Charlton Heston) would give her the social status she desired. When Boake marries Tracy (Phyllis Avery) instead of Ruby, she marries the very wealthy Jim Gentry (Karl Malden). Later, Jim is killed in an accident, Ruby inherits his fortune, and calls in his loans. Boake is now turned on by Ruby, but their romance is ill-fated, and tragedy lies ahead.
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Silver Canyon 1951 N/R, 71 min. Genre: Western
Director: John English Cast: Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Gail Davis, Jim Davis, Bob Steele, Edgar Dearing, Kenne Duncan, Eugene Borden, Richard Alexander, Terry Frost
Confederate raiders invade the town and Gene Autry and Pat Buttram are framed for the deeds. After the inevitable escape, they set things right.
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Some Like It Hot 1939 N/R, 63 min. Genre: Comedy / Musical aka: Rhythm Romance
Director: George Archainbaud Cast: Bob Hope, Shirley Ross, Una Merkel, Gene Krupa, Rufe Davis, Frank Sully, Richard Denning, Bernard Nedell, Bernadene Hayes, Clarence Wilson, Byron Foulger, Edgar Dearing, Russ Powell
In the era of jitterbugging, carnival barker Nicky Nelson (Bob Hope) acts as an agent promoting the "hot" music of drummer Gene Krupa's band. Nicky has problems getting Krupa's band a gig–until the band scores a success on the boardwalk. Meanwhile, Nicky falls in love with singer Lily Racquel (Shirley Ross) and risks losing everything but takes advantage of one last chance to gain success. The music includes "The Lady's in Love with You," "Some Like It Hot," and "Heart and Soul."
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Swing Time 1936 N/R, 105 min. Genre: Musical / Comedy / Romance
Director: George Stevens Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Betty Furness, Pierre Watkin, Georges Metaxa, Gerald Hamer, Edgar Dearing, Ralph Byrd, Fern Emmett, Frank Mills, Landers Stevens, Bess Flowers
A gambler, John "Lucky" Garnett (Fred Astaire), arrives late and misses his wedding to Margaret (Betty Furness). Now he must prove that he is worthy of marrying her in the future. He goes to New York where he has an on-again, off-again romance with dance instructor Penelope "Penny" Carroll (Ginger Rogers). By story's end, Penny escapes her own wedding to Ricky (Georges Metaxa), and "Lucky" and Penny are reunited. Jerome Kern wrote the score, which includes "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Never Gonna Dance." The first of these won the Oscar for Best Song. One of the pair's best.
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They Gave Him a Gun 1937 N/R, 93 min. Genre: Drama
Director: W.S. Van Dyke Cast: Spencer Tracy, Franchot Tone, Gladys George, Edgar Dearing, Mary Treen, Cliff Edwards, Charles Trowbridge, Joe Sawyer, George Chandler, Gavin Gordon
Returning home after duty in World War I, Jimmy (Franchot Tone), has trouble adapting to civilian life and becomes involved with gangsters until his friend, Fred (Spencer Tracy), finally convinces him to turn his life around.
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| 1. Blondie (1938)
2. Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture (1949)
3. Caught in the Draft (1941)
4. Free and Easy (1930) aka: Easy Go
5. Hot Water (1924)
6. It Came from Outer Space (1953)
7. The Long, Long Trailer (1953)
8. Made for Each Other (1939)
9. Maisie Was a Lady (1941)
10. Pot o' Gold (1941)
11. Ruby Gentry (1952)
12. Silver Canyon (1951)
13. Some Like It Hot (1939) aka: Rhythm Romance
14. Swing Time (1936)
15. They Gave Him a Gun (1937)
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