The Big Combo 1955 N/R, 86 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Joseph H. Lewis Cast: Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, Jean Wallace, Robert Middleton, Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman, Helen Walker, Jay Adler, John Hoyt
This film was considered to be extremely vicious at the time of its initial release and is a good example of film noir. Police Lieutenant Diamond (Cornel Wilde) sets out to get the crime boss (Richard Conte), but he is told to drop the case because of associated extra costs and time. Diamond makes one last attempt to bring the boss to justice by soliciting the help of the boss's girlfriend (Jean Wallace) whom Diamond also loves. Matters heat up, and, as in life, the distinction between good and bad is not always clear.
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Blaze of Noon 1947 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: John Farrow Cast: Anne Baxter, William Holden, Sonny Tufts, William Bendix, Sterling Hayden, Howard Da Silva, Will Wright, Johnny Sands, Jean Wallace, Lloyd Corrigan
Early days of the United States Air Mail service provide the subject for this film featuring brothers Colin (William Holden), Roland (Sonny Tufts), Tad (Sterling Hayden), and Keith (Johnny Sands) who pioneered the new profession as daring pilots.
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Jigsaw 1949 N/R, 71 min. Genre: Drama / Mystery aka: Gun Moll
Director: Fletcher Markle Cast: Franchot Tone, Jean Wallace, Myron McCormick, Marc Lawrence, Doe Avedon, Henry Fonda, Marlene Dietrich, Burgess Meredith, John Garfield, Winifred Lenihan, Walter Vaughan, George Breen, Robert Gist, Hester Sondergaard, Luella Gear
A series of murders are taking place in New York, and, after the gangsters kill New York Assistant District Attorney Howard Malloy's (Franchot Tone) friend Charles Riggs (Myron McCormick), he is dedicated to exposing them. The gangsters are a "hate group" involved in stirring up racial prejudice. The group sends Barbara (Jean Wallace) to seduce Howard, but after she has second thoughts, she is murdered also. Now, Malloy is even more determined to bring them to justice.
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Lancelot and Guinevere 1963 N/R, 116 min. Genre: Adventure aka: Sword of Lancelot
Director: Cornel Wilde Cast: Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Brian Aherne, George Baker, Archie Duncan, Adrienne Corri, Michael Meacham, Iain Gregory, Mark Dignam, Reginald Beckwith, John Barrie, Richard Thorpe
The Knights of the Round Table gather around King Arthur (Brian Aherne) once again. But, trouble brews when the most gallant knight, Sir Lancelot (Cornel Wilde), falls in love with Guinevere (Jean Wallace) who is the bride of King Arthur.
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The Man on the Eiffel Tower 1949 N/R, 97 min. Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Director: Burgess Meredith Cast: Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Burgess Meredith, Robert Hutton, Jean Wallace, Patricia Roc, Belita, Wilfrid Hyde-White, William Phipps, William Cottrell, George Thorpe, Chaz Chase, Howard Vernon
Based on Georges Simenon's novel, this is an intriguing tale of a cat-and-mouse game played between police Inspector Jules Maigret (Charles Laughton) and Radek (Franchot Tone), which leads to a climactic chase over Paris rooftops.
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Native Son 1950 N/R, 91 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Pierre Chenal Cast: Richard Wright, Jean Wallace, Gloria Madison, Nicholas Joy, Willa Pearl Curtis, Charles Cane, Jean Michael, George Rigaud, George Green, Ruth Robert
Richard Wright, author of the masterful novel and play, stars as Bigger Thomas, a black man who takes a job as chauffeur to a rich white family. Not comprehending the "rules" of the white world, when he accidentally kills their wild daughter, he attempts to hide her body. While on the lam, he kills again. Although Bigger is directly responsible for the killings, is the problem really with what it means to be black in 1930s America?
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When My Baby Smiles at Me 1948 N/R, 98 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Walter Lang Cast: Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Jack Oakie, June Havoc, James Gleason, Richard Arlen, Robert Emmett Keane, Jean Wallace, George J. Lewis, J. Farrell MacDonald
Dan Dailey was nominated for the Academy Award for his role in this film about a team (Betty Grable and Dailey) who break up but get back together via the stage.
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| 1. Beach Red (1967)
2. The Big Combo (1955)
3. Blaze of Noon (1947)
4. Jigsaw (1949) aka: Gun Moll
5. Lancelot and Guinevere (1963) aka: Sword of Lancelot
6. The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949)
7. Native Son (1950)
8. When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948)
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