Born to Kill 1947  N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Lady of Deceit
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Lawrence Tierney, Claire Trevor, Walter Slezak, Phillip Terry, Audrey Long, Elisha Cook Jr., Isabel Jewell, Esther Howard, Kathryn Card, Tony Barrett
Double murderer Sam Wild (Lawrence Tierney) marries Georgia (Audrey Long), but he prefers her sister (Claire Trevor) with whom he has an affair. Meanwhile, the police investigate the murders. A tough film–classic film noir.
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Champion 1949  N/R, 99 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Mark Robson
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Lola Albright, Ruth Roman, John Daheim, Luis Van Rooten, Harry Shannon, Ralph Sanford, Esther Howard, Polly Bergen, Tim Ryan, Hal March, George Meader
This is the story of boxer Michael 'Midge' Kelly (Kirk Douglas) who fights his way to a championship despite physical and mental problems. He lets nothing and no one–including his shotgun wife Emma (Ruth Roman), his manager Tommy Haley (Paul Stewart), and his crippled brother Connie (Arthur Kennedy)–stand in his way. He wins fights easily, but, after almost losing his crown, Midge tries to turn his life around and keep his championship. Several Academy Award nominations were received, including Best Actor (Douglas), and the film won an Oscar for Best Film Editing.
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Detour 1945  N/R, 67 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Cast: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald, Tim Ryan, Esther Howard, Roger Clark, Pat Gleason, Don Brodie, Harry Strang, Eddie Hall
Al Roberts (Tom Neal) performs as a pianist in a NYC nightclub. After his girlfriend leaves for L.A., Al decides to follow her and hitchhikes his way west. When the man who gave Al a lift dies, Al, fearing that he will be blamed, buries the body and takes the man's identity. Continuing his journey in the dead man's car, Al picks up another hitchhiker, Vera (Ann Savage), who figures out Al's deception, and, under the threat of blackmail, he gets in ever-deeper trouble when he must join in on her scheme. Cheaply made in six days, this classic film noir has rightly become a cult favorite. 1 User Review
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| | Defeatist guy succombs to bad luck and road to destruction | darknessatnoon 01/10/2007 | | Semi cute... true film noir... but I hoped for better dialog... better acting... better characterization... and better plot... and better directing. Would love to see a remake with a more Whitman male lead and more Stanwick femme fatale and crisper direction (...there're a lot of flow-breaking pauses and non-sequiturs). Still... I wouldn't want to have missed seeing it. |
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Dick Tracy vs. Cueball 1946  N/R, 62 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Mystery
Director: Gordon Douglas
Cast: Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, Lyle Latell, Rita Corday, Dick Wessel, Ian Keith, Joseph Crehan, Douglas Walton, Skelton Knaggs, Esther Howard, Byron Foulger, Jimmy Crane, Milton Parsons
Morgan Conway takes on Ralph Byrd's role of detective Dick Tracy who, this time around, is on the trail of Cueball (Dick Wessel), the leader of a gang of jewel thieves.
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The Falcon in San Francisco 1945 N/R, 66 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Cast: Tom Conway, Rita Corday, Edward Brophy, Sharyn Moffett, Fay Helm, Robert Armstrong, George Holmes, Edmund Cobb, Myrna Dell, Esther Howard
The Falcon (Tom Conway) runs into silk smugglers while in pursuit of the murderer of Annie Marshall's (Sharyn Hoffett) nurse.
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The Great Flamarion 1945 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Anthony Mann
Cast: Erich von Stroheim, Mary Beth Hughes, Dan Duryea, Steve Barclay, Lester Allen, Esther Howard, Michael Mark, Joseph Granby, John Hamilton, Carmen(2) Lopez
Circus performing marksman The Great Flamarion (Erich von Stroheim) falls for his assistant, Connie (Mary Beth Hughes). But, there is a problem: Connie is married to Al (Dan Duryea). The solution is to "accidentally" kill Al, and the deed is done. But, will Connie stick with the circus marksman, or will she move on to another man?
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The Great McGinty 1940 N/R, 81 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff, Muriel Angelus, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Allyn Joslyn, Thurston Hall, Harry Rosenthal, Arthur Hoyt, Libby Taylor, Frank Moran, Jimmy Conlin, Dewey Robinson, Esther Howard
Preston Sturges won the Academy Award for Best Writing (original screenplay) for his work on this political satire. The story is about Dan McGinty (William Demarest) who rises to governor of his state and then lets his power slip away because he tries to be honest.
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Hail the Conquering Hero 1944  N/R, 101 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Al Bridge, Bill Edwards, Jimmie Dundee, Georgia Caine, Elizabeth Patterson, Freddie Steele, Harry Hayden, Jimmy Conlin, Chester Conklin, Esther Howard
This "hero" Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith (Eddie Bracken) is really a U.S. Marine Corps reject (he has hay fever!) who returns home to a town whose citizens think he is one of their returning soldiers and deserving of honor. Now, he finds himself running for mayor of the town and tries to explain that he did not serve in the Marine Corps, but he cannot convince his fellow citizens that his reputation is undeserved. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
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Klondike Annie 1936 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Mae West, Victor McLaglen, Philip Reed, Helen Jerome Eddy, Harry Beresford, Harold Huber, Lucile Gleason, Conway Tearle, Esther Howard, Soo Yong
Mae West and the censors–the Legion of Decency–were fighting it out in the mid-1930s; the censors won with this one, taming down the final cut of the film. Mae plays "The Frisco Doll," who kills a man in self-defense and then takes off on a ship for Alaska. On the way, after the ship's captain, Bull (Victor McLaglen), finds that she is on the lam, he blackmails her into providing sexual favors. Taking the place of a missionary who died on the trip, Doll becomes a woman of God, who eventually decides to return to San Francisco to clear herself.
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Merrily We Go to Hell 1932  N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Dorothy Arzner
Cast: Fredric March, Sylvia Sidney, Adrienne Allen, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Kent Taylor, Cary Grant, George Irving, Esther Howard, Florence Britton, Charles Coleman, Harry Cording, Edwin Maxwell, Dennis O'Keefe, Harry Strang, Theresa Harris
A young heiress, Joan Prentice (Sylvia Sidney), marries dashing reporter Jerry Corbett (Fredric March) and–too late–discovers his problem with alcohol. Adding to the problem is Claire (Adrienne Allen) who has her eyes set on Jerry and works to get him away from Joan. Joan gets fed up, leaves Jerry, and returns to her father's (George Irving) home. Now, Joan learns that she is pregnant, and Jerry, meanwhile, dumps Claire when he realizes that he really loves Joan. Love does conquer all of the problems, and Jerry swears off alcohol in order to build a life together with Joan.
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Murder, My Sweet 1944 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Mystery
aka: Farewell My Lovely
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Cast: Dick Powell, Anne Shirley, Mike Mazurki, Claire Trevor, Otto Kruger, Miles Mander, Douglas Walton, Donald Douglas, Ralf Harolde, Esther Howard
This remake of 1942's "The Falcon Takes Over" is the film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's book, "Farewell My Lovely," in which Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) is on the trail of a missing woman. Remade in 1975 as "Farewell, My Lovely."
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My Favorite Blonde 1942 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Sidney Lanfield
Cast: Bob Hope, Madeleine Carroll, Gale Sondergaard, George Zucco, Victor Varconi, Lionel Royce, Walter Kingsford, Edward Gargan, Charles Cane, Bing Crosby, Otto Reichow, Esther Howard, James Burke, Dooley Wilson, Milton Parsons
Vaudeville entertainer Larry Haines (Bob Hope) performs on the stage with his trained penguin. While on a train bound for Los Angeles, Larry meets Karen (Madeleine Carroll) who is a spy. She talks Larry into helping her escape from Nazi agents, and he agrees. Now both of them are on the lam trying to escape their pursuers while the penguin, unbeknownst to Larry, is used by Karen to carry secret documents. Watch for Bing Crosby in his cameo appearance as the man giving Larry and Karen directions.
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| 1. Born to Kill (1947)
aka: Lady of Deceit
2. Champion (1949)
3. Detour (1945)
4. Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)
5. The Falcon in San Francisco (1945)
6. The Great Flamarion (1945)
7. The Great McGinty (1940)
8. Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
9. Klondike Annie (1936)
10. Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
11. Murder, My Sweet (1944)
aka: Farewell My Lovely
12. My Favorite Blonde (1942)
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