Abe Lincoln in Illinois 1940 N/R, 110 min. Genre: Drama
Director: John Cromwell Cast: Raymond Massey, Ruth Gordon, Gene Lockhart, Mary Howard, Howard Da Silva, Dorothy Tree, Harvey Stephens, Minor Watson, Alan Baxter, Elisabeth Risdon, Aldrich Bowker, Maurice Murphy, Louis Jean Heydt, Clem Bevans
Based on Robert E. Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize winning play, this is a classic film about the 16th President, covering his childhood through election to the Presidency. Along with Lincoln's professional life, highlighted by his debates with Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart), his personal life, including the doomed courtship of Ann Rutledge (Mary Howard) and later marriage to Mary Todd (Ruth Gordon in her screen debut) are also part of the story.
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1939 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Family / Adventure / Drama aka: Huckleberry Finn
Director: Richard Thorpe Cast: Mickey Rooney, Rex Ingram, Walter Connolly, William Frawley, Lynne Carver, Jo Ann Sayers, Minor Watson, Elisabeth Risdon, Victor Kilian, Clara Blandick, Wade Boteler, Irving Bacon, Frank Darien, Roger Imhof, E. Alyn Warren
This is a very good remake of the Mark Twain classic as the innocent boy, Huck (Mickey Rooney), and runaway slave Jim (Rex Ingram) meet adventures and become friends as they raft down the Mississippi River. During their trip, Huck and Jim run into con-men "the King" (Walter Connolly) and "the Duke" (William Frawley) who impersonate royalty as part of their swindling schemes. True to Twain's story.
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The Amazing Mrs. Holliday 1943 N/R, 96 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Bruce Manning, Jean Renoir Cast: Deanna Durbin, Edmond O'Brien, Barry Fitzgerald, Arthur Treacher, Harry Davenport, Grant Mitchell, Frieda Inescort, Elisabeth Risdon, Jonathan Hale, Esther Dale
This World War II comedy/drama/musical features Deanna Durbin as a missionary involved with Chinese orphans. A weak plot, but Deanna's singing helps.
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Are Husbands Necessary? 1942 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Taurog Cast: Ray Milland, Betty Field, Patricia Morison, Eugene Pallette, Charles Dingle, Leif Erickson, Richard Haydn, Cecil Kellaway, Elisabeth Risdon, Kathleen Lockhart, Anne Revere, Phillip Terry
George (Ray Milland) and Mary (Betty Field) are a couple with many problems–including financial–who decide to adopt a baby as a partial solution to their irresponsibility.
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The Bride Goes Wild 1948 N/R, 97 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Taurog Cast: Van Johnson, June Allyson, Butch Jenkins, Hume Cronyn, Una Merkel, Arlene Dahl, Lloyd Corrigan, Elisabeth Risdon, Clara Blandick, Richard Derr
The author of children stories, Greg Rawlings (Van Johnson) pretends to be a widower father when he courts schoolteacher Martha Terrytown (June Allyson).
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The Cowboy from Brooklyn 1938 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Lloyd Bacon Cast: Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien, Priscilla Lane, Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan, Emma Dunn, Elisabeth Risdon, James Stephenson, Hobart Cavanaugh
As a ploy to obtain a radio job, a young singer (Dick Powell) pretends he is really a cowboy.
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Craig's Wife 1936 N/R, 73 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Dorothy Arzner Cast: Rosalind Russell, John Boles, Billie Burke, Jane Darwell, Dorothy Wilson, Alma Kruger, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond Walburn, Robert Allen, Elisabeth Risdon
Rosalind Russell hit it big with this film based on George Kelly's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Harriet Craig alienates all around her, including her husband, as she is obsessed with her home and other material possessions. Remade in 1950 as "Harriet Craig," with Joan Crawford in the title role.
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Crime and Punishment 1935 N/R, 86 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Josef von Sternberg Cast: Edward Arnold, Peter Lorre, Marian Marsh, Tala Birell, Elisabeth Risdon, Robert Allen, Douglass Dumbrille, Gene Lockhart, Rafaela Ottiano, Thurston Hall
This is an interesting version of Dostoyevsky's novel about the man (Edward Arnold) who commits a murder and then finds he does have a conscience as well as a need for other people in his life. Peter Lorre plays the intrepid inspector who gets to the "heart" of the matter.
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Down Dakota Way 1949 N/R, 67 min. Genre: Western
Director: William Witney Cast: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Pat Brady, Monty Montana, Elisabeth Risdon, Byron Barr, Roy Barcroft, James Cardwell, Foy Willing, Emmett Vogan
How do you get rid of cattle infected with hoof-and-mouth disease? Well, you get rid of the veterinarian first to cover-up the disease and then start making the deals. Come on, Roy Rogers, help us out.
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The Egg and I 1947 N/R, 110 min. Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Chester Erskine Cast: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Marjorie Main, Louise Allbritton, Percy Kilbride, Donald MacBride, Samuel S. Hinds, Elisabeth Risdon, Fuzzy Knight, Esther Dale, Richard Long, Billy House, Ida Moore, John Berkes, Victor Potel
This witty story is based on Betty MacDonald's popular book about herself (Claudette Colbert) and her husband Bill's (Fred MacMurray) change in lifestyle when they moved from the city to take over a chicken ranch. Marjorie Main was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Ma Kettle.
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Every Girl Should Be Married 1948 N/R, 85 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Don Hartman Cast: Cary Grant, Franchot Tone, Diana Lynn, Betsy Drake, Alan Mowbray, Elisabeth Risdon, Richard Gaines, Harry Hayden, Chick Chandler, Leon Belasco
Married in real life shortly after this filming, Cary Grant and Betsy Drake play the young romantic leads in this movie about a young spinster in search of an eligible bachelor.
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Five Came Back 1939 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: John Farrow Cast: Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, Wendy Barrie, John Carradine, Allen Jenkins, Joseph Calleia, C. Aubrey Smith, Patric Knowles, Elisabeth Risdon, Frank Faylen
This is an interesting, if somewhat dated, film concerning passengers who attempt survival in a jungle full of headhunters after their plane crashes. This was remade as "Back from Eternity."
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Girls on Probation 1938 N/R, 63 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William C. McGann Cast: Jane Bryan, Ronald Reagan, Anthony Averill, Sheila Bromley, Henry O'Neill, Elisabeth Risdon, Sig Ruman, Susan Hayward, James Spottswood
After a young woman (Jane Bryan) is arrested for her unwitting involvement in a bank robbery, her lawyer (Ronald Reagan) falls in love with her.
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Guilty of Treason 1950 N/R, 86 min. Genre: Drama aka: Treason
Director: Felix E. Feist Cast: Charles Bickford, Paul Kelly, Bonita Granville, Richard Derr, Berry Kroeger, Roland Winters, Elisabeth Risdon, John Banner, Morgan Farley, Thomas Browne Henry, Nestor Paiva, Lisa Howard
Hungarian Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty (Charles Bickford) was tried, convicted, and imprisoned for speaking out against Communism after World War II. This anti-Communist film tells his story, including the trial at which it became known that his confession was a result of the use of torture and drugs.
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High Sierra 1941 N/R, 100 min. Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Raoul Walsh Cast: Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Leslie, Alan Curtis, Arthur Kennedy, Henry Hull, Barton MacLane, Henry Travers, Elisabeth Risdon, Cornel Wilde, Eddie Acuff
Ex-con Roy Earle (Humphrey Bogart) heads for a fishing resort in the Sierras, and along the way he meets a farm family on their way to LA in search of work. Their daughter, Velma (Joan Leslie), needs an operation on her club foot, and Roy figures his next robbery will result in money necessary for the surgery. More than a few problems develop, but Roy pays for the operation and, with police in pursuit, takes refuge in the High Sierras.
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Higher and Higher 1943 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: Tim Whelan Cast: Michele Morgan, Jack Haley, Frank Sinatra, Leon Errol, Marcy McGuire, Victor Borge, Mary Wickes, Elisabeth Risdon, Barbara Hale, Mel Torme, Paul Hartman, Grace Hartman, Dooley Wilson, Ivy Scott, Rex Evans
Mr. Drake (Leon Errol) is bankrupt and has not paid his staff in months. Now, his valet Mike (Jack Haley) hatches a scheme to marry off the maid, Millie (Michele Morgan), to wealthy bachelor Frank (Frank Sinatra) who lives next door. Millie poses as Drake's debutante daughter to get the attention of Frank, and the fun begins. Songs include "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" and "This is a Lovely Way to Spend an Evening."
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The Howards of Virginia 1940 N/R, 115 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Lloyd Cast: Cary Grant, Martha Scott, Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Marshal, Paul Kelly, Richard Carlson, Alan Ladd, Irving Bacon, Elisabeth Risdon, Anne Revere, Peter Cushing
This is the story of how one family endured the American Revolutionary War.
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I Live on Danger 1942 N/R, 73 min. Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Director: Sam White Cast: Chester Morris, Jean Parker, Elisabeth Risdon, Edward Norris, Dick Purcell, Roger Pryor, Douglas Fowley, Ralph Sanford, Edwin Maxwell, Patsy Nash, Bernadene Hayes, Billy Nelson
Newsman Jeff Morrell (Chester Morris) sets out to prove the innocence of Eddie (Edward Nelson) upon the urging of Eddie's sister, Susan (Jean Parker). In the process, the couple falls in love, and Jeff is successful in saving Eddie. An OK thriller.
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In Old Amarillo 1951 N/R, 67 min. Genre: Western
Director: William Witney Cast: Roy Rogers, Estelita Rodriguez, Penny Edwards, Pinky Lee, Roy Barcroft, Pierre Watkin, Elisabeth Risdon, Pat Brady, Kenneth Howell, William Holmes
The cattle business is in trouble around Amarillo due to the drought, and, of course, there's always someone to take advantage of the situation. And that person is the dastardly canning guru who wants cheap cattle. But first, he must stop the cattlemen from seeding clouds and bringing water in by train. It's a good thing that investigator Roy Rogers is on the scene.
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The Lady Is Willing 1942 N/R, 93 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Mitchell Leisen Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Fred MacMurray, Aline MacMahon, Stanley Ridges, Arline Judge, Roger Clark, Sterling Holloway, Elisabeth Risdon, Marietta Canty, Harvey Stephens
Broadway star Elizabeth Madden (Marlene Dietrich) wants to adopt a baby, but she needs a husband first. She opts for a staid pediatrician, Doctor Cory McBain (Fred MacMurray), as the solution to her dilemma.
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Life with Father 1947 N/R, 118 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Michael Curtiz Cast: William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor, Zasu Pitts, Edmund Gwenn, Jimmy Lydon, Emma Dunn, Moroni Olsen, Elisabeth Risdon, Martin Milner, Johnny Calkins, Monte Blue, Mary Field, Clara Blandick
During the 1880s, stockbroker Clarence Day (William Powell) lives in New York City with his non-sensible wife Vinnie (Irene Dunne) and their family. Vinnie is determined that Clarence be baptized and that he will "toe the line," and she stops at nothing to get her way. Meanwhile, their eldest son, Clarence, Jr. (James Lydon), is enjoying a romance with Mary (Elizabeth Taylor) who is visiting from out of town, and son John finds a way to make money by selling a questionable potion. This warm-hearted and amusing film received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor (Powell).
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Mad About Music 1938 N/R, 98 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Norman Taurog Cast: Deanna Durbin, Herbert Marshall, Gail Patrick, Arthur Treacher, Helen Parrish, William Frawley, Jackie Moran, Elisabeth Risdon, Franklin Pangborn, Marcia Mae Jones
A young girl boards at a Swiss girls' school while her socialite mother pretends her daughter does not exist–all ends well when the daughter plays cupid and finds the ideal mate for her mother.
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Mannequin 1937 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Borzage Cast: Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, Alan Curtis, Ralph Morgan, Leo Gorcey, Elisabeth Risdon, Mary Philips, Bert Roach, George Chandler, Paul Fix, Oscar O'Shea, Wade Boteler, James Flavin, Mary Gordon, Frank Puglia
A poor working girl, Jessie Cassidy (Joan Crawford), uses wealthy shipping tycoon John L. Hennessey (Spencer Tracy) to attain her dreamed-of destiny. "Always and Always" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
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Never a Dull Moment 1943 N/R, 60 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Edward Lilley Cast: Al Ritz, Harry Ritz, Jimmy Ritz, Frances Langford, Stuart Crawford, Elisabeth Risdon, Mary Beth Hughes, George Zucco, Jack La Rue, Franklin Pangborn, Sammy Stein, Barbara Brown, George Chandler, Ruby Dandridge
The Ritz Brothers (Al, Harry, and Jimmy) get involved with the underworld of gangsters in this fast-paced comedy/musical.
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Nice Girl? 1941 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: William A. Seiter Cast: Deanna Durbin, Franchot Tone, Walter Brennan, Robert Stack, Robert Benchley, Helen Broderick, Ann Gillis, Anne Gwynne, Elisabeth Risdon, Nana Bryant
In this first "adult" role for Deanna Durbin, she plays Jane Dana–who falls asleep in Richard Calvert's (Franchot Tone) home and must now protect her reputation.
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Paris Calling 1941 N/R, 93 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Elisabeth Bergner, Randolph Scott, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard, Lee J. Cobb, Charles Arnt, Eduardo Ciannelli, Elisabeth Risdon, Georges Renavent, William Edmunds
The courage of a Frenchwoman, Marianne (Elisabeth Bergner), who joins the Resistance movement during World War II, is depicted in this insightful film about espionage used to inhibit Nazi control of Paris.
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Random Harvest 1942 N/R, 125 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Ronald Colman, Greer Garson, Philip Dorn, Susan Peters, Henry Travers, Reginald Owen, Rhys Williams, Una O'Connor, Alan Napier, Elisabeth Risdon
Star-crossed lovers (Ronald Colman and Greer Garson) fall in love and marry only to discover that he had amnesia and has now regained his memory–but not of recent events, including his wife. But she remains devoted to him hoping that he will resume his love for her. An excellent film which received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Actor (Colman), Supporting Actress (Susan Peters) and Director.
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The Roaring Twenties 1939 N/R, 104 min. Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Raoul Walsh Cast: James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Jeffrey Lynn, Gladys George, Frank McHugh, Paul Kelly, Elisabeth Risdon, Edward Keane, Joe Sawyer, Eddie Acuff, Joseph Crehan, George Meeker, John Hamilton, Robert Elliott
When Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) returns to America as a veteran of World War I, he fails to find conventional employment. Instead, he forms a successful bootlegging business and is joined by wartime friend George Hally (Humphrey Bogart). Coming to their aid is another buddy, lawyer Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn). This is one of the better gangster films made in Hollywood.
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The Romance of Rosy Ridge 1947 N/R, 105 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Roy Rowland Cast: Van Johnson, Thomas Mitchell, Janet Leigh, Marshall Thompson, Selena Royle, Charles Dingle, Dean Stockwell, Guy Kibbee, Elisabeth Risdon, Russell Simpson
In Janet Leigh's film debut she plays Lissy Anne MacBean whose father Gill (Thomas Mitchell) is against her suitor, Henry Carson (Van Johnson), because of ill feelings coming out of the Civil War.
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Scaramouche 1952 N/R, 118 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: George Sidney Cast: Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer, Henry Wilcoxon, Nina Foch, Robert Coote, Richard Anderson, Lewis Stone, Elisabeth Risdon, Frank Mitchell
This excellent adventure film takes place in pre-Revolutionary War France as nobleman Andre Moreau (Stewart Granger) seeks to avenge his friend's murder. The climax is an unsurpassed sword fight between Moreau and the Marquis de Maynes (Mel Ferrer).
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Sealed Verdict 1948 N/R, 82 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Lewis Allen Cast: Ray Milland, Florence Marly, Broderick Crawford, John Hoyt, John Ridgely, Ludwig Donath, Norbert Schiller, Patricia Miller, Celia Lovsky, Elisabeth Risdon
Captain Kinsella (Broderick Crawford) is suspected of being a Nazi, and Major Robert Lawson (Ray Milland) is determined to find sufficient evidence to put Kinsella away.
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Sierra 1950 N/R, 83 min. Genre: Western
Director: Alfred E. Green Cast: Wanda Hendrix, Audie Murphy, Burl Ives, Dean Jagger, Richard Rober, Tony Curtis, Elisabeth Risdon, Roy Roberts, James Arness, Houseley Stevenson
A father and son stay one step ahead of the law while trying to find evidence of the father's innocence in a crime for which he is the prime suspect.
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Tall in the Saddle 1944 N/R, 87 min. Genre: Western
Director: Edwin L. Marin Cast: John Wayne, George "Gabby" Hayes, Ward Bond, Ella Raines, Audrey Long, Elisabeth Risdon, Paul Fix, Raymond Hatton, Frank Puglia, George Chandler
Rocklin and Dave (John Wayne and "Gabby" Hayes) are the good guys who must fight against bad guy "Judge" Robert Garvey (Ward Bond) in an effort to clear Rocklin of false murder charges.
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They Made Me a Killer 1946 N/R, 64 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William C. Thomas Cast: Robert Lowery, Barbara Britton, Lola Lane, Frank Albertson, Elisabeth Risdon, James Bush, Edmund MacDonald, Ralph Sanford, Byron Barr, Paul Harvey, John Harmon, Will Wright
Wrongfully accused of robbery and murder, Tom Durling (Robert Lowery) escapes from the police and gets help from the sister (Barbara Britton) of the man he is accused of killing. Together, they track down the real criminals.
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Weird Woman 1944 N/R, 62 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: Reginald LeBorg Cast: Lon Chaney Jr., Anne Gwynne, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Morgan, Elisabeth Risdon, Lois Collier, Elizabeth Russell, Harry Hayden, Phil Brown, Jackie Lou Harding
In this "Inner Sanctum" mystery, Professor Norman Reed (Lon Chaney Jr.) runs into major problems with his jealous former love when he brings home his new bride (Anne Gwynne).
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| 1. Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
2. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939) aka: Huckleberry Finn
3. The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943)
4. Are Husbands Necessary? (1942)
5. The Bride Goes Wild (1948)
6. The Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938)
7. Craig's Wife (1936)
8. Crime and Punishment (1935)
9. Down Dakota Way (1949)
10. The Egg and I (1947)
11. Every Girl Should Be Married (1948)
12. Five Came Back (1939)
13. Girls on Probation (1938)
14. Guilty of Treason (1950) aka: Treason
15. High Sierra (1941)
16. Higher and Higher (1943)
17. The Howards of Virginia (1940)
18. I Live on Danger (1942)
19. In Old Amarillo (1951)
20. The Lady Is Willing (1942)
21. Life with Father (1947)
22. Mad About Music (1938)
23. Mannequin (1937)
24. Never a Dull Moment (1943)
25. Nice Girl? (1941)
26. Paris Calling (1941)
27. Random Harvest (1942)
28. The Roaring Twenties (1939)
29. Roll on Texas Moon (1946)
30. The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)
31. Scaramouche (1952)
32. Sealed Verdict (1948)
33. Sierra (1950)
34. Tall in the Saddle (1944)
35. They Made Me a Killer (1946)
36. Weird Woman (1944)
In The News
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