21 Days 1940  N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: 21 Days Together
Director: Basil Dean
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier, Francis L. Sullivan, Hay Petrie, Robert Newton, Laurence Hanray, David Horne, Esme Percy, William Dewhurst
A couple (Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh) has just three weeks together before he plans to confess to a murder he committed in self-defense.
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Ali Baba Nights 1934  N/R, 93 min.
Genre: Musical / Comedy
aka: Chu Chin Chow
Director: Walter Forde
Cast: George Robey, Fritz Kortner, Anna May Wong, John Garrick, Pearl Argyle, Dennis Hoey, Laurence Hanray, Sydney Fairbrother, Thelma Tuson, Francis L. Sullivan, Gibb McLaughlin, Malcolm "Jetsam" McEachern
This musical comedy version of "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" stars George Robey as Ali, Fritz Korner as the captain/robber, and Anna May Wong as the slave woman who comes to Ali's rescue.
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Fire Over England 1937  N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William K. Howard
Cast: Flora Robson, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Raymond Massey, Robert Newton, James Mason, Tamara Desni, Henry Oscar, Laurence Hanray
While made in the 1930s, this film was not released in the United States until 1941 when England was trying to get America to enter the war in Europe. Based on the story of Britain's defeat of the Spanish Armada, the plot involves a British Naval officer (Laurence Olivier) who goes to Spain looking for identities of English traitors.
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Hatter's Castle 1942  N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Lance Comfort
Cast: Deborah Kerr, James Mason, Robert Newton, Emlyn Williams, Beatrice Varley, Henry Oscar, Ian Fleming, George Merritt, Brefni O'Rorke, Laurence Hanray
Based on A.J. Cronin's novel, this is the story of a poor man who tries to expand his horizons and gain social acceptance in the rigid British class system.
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Hotel Reserve 1944 N/R, 79 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Victor Hanbury
Cast: James Mason, Lucie Mannheim, Raymond Lovell, Julien Mitchell, Martin Miller, Herbert Lom, Patricia Medina, David Ward, Frederick Valk, Laurence Hanray
A suspect Nazi spy is caught between Nazis and Nazi hunters at the Hotel Reserve on the Riviera.
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Moonlight Sonata 1937 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Lothar Mendes
Cast: Ignace Jan Paderewsky, Charles Farrell, Marie Tempest, Barbara Greene, Eric Portman, W. Graham Brown, Queenie Leonard, Laurence Hanray, Binkie Stuart, Bryan Powley
The plane in which famed pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski (playing himself) is flying is forced to land on a Swedish estate on which Ingrid (Barbara Greene) and her grandmother (Marie Tempest) live. The story revolves around the attraction between one of the plane's passengers (Eric Portman) and Ingrid. The romance ends when Paderewski intervenes and gives her true love (Charles Farrell) the opportunity to come back into her life.
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On Approval 1944 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Clive Brook
Cast: Clive Brook, Beatrice Lillie, Googie Withers, Roland Culver, O.B. Clarence, Laurence Hanray, Elliott Mason, Hay Petrie, Mollie Munks, Marjorie Rhodes
Based on Frederick Lonsdale's 1926 play, this comedy of manners revolves around a 30-day trial marriage between a titled, but poor, duke (Clive Brook) and an American heiress (Beatrice Lillie) who spend the month at a secluded castle in Scotland where the fun really begins–especially when they are joined by another couple.
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The Private Life of Henry VIII 1933  N/R, 97 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alexander Korda
Cast: Charles Laughton, Merle Oberon, Wendy Barrie, Elsa Lanchester, Robert Donat, Miles Mander, Binnie Barnes, Everley Gregg, Franklin Dyall, Claud Allister, Laurence Hanray, William Austin, John Loder, Gibb McLaughlin, Sam Livesey
Charles Laughton won the Oscar for his portrayal of Henry VIII in this historical film. It is the story of Henry's relationships with five of his six wives and starts with the his marriage to his second wife, Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon), which ends in her execution. Henry's third wife is his mistress Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie) who dies in childbirth. Henry then agrees to an arranged marriage to Anne of Cleves (Elsa Lanchester) that ends when she pushes him into the arms of Lady Catherine Howard (Binnie Barnes). He marries Catherine, but her affair with Henry's friend Thomas Culpepper (Robert Donat) ends in her beheading. Finally, Henry marries widowed Catherine Parr (Everley Gregg) who is determined to take care of him. An Academy Award nomination was received for Best Picture.
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Rembrandt 1936 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alexander Korda
Cast: Charles Laughton, Gertrude Lawrence, Elsa Lanchester, Edward Chapman, Walter Hudd, Roger Livesey, John Bryning, Allan Jeayes, Raymond Huntley, John Clements, Sam Livesey, Austin Trevor, Abraham Sofaer, Laurence Hanray
Charles Laughton is excellent in his role of the famed Dutch painter, Rembrandt. The film covers the last three decades of the painter's life during which he had three wives. After his first wife dies, Rembrandt marries his housekeeper Geertje (Gertrude Lawrence) but that doesn't work when he turns to his maid Hendrickje (Elsa Lanchester), and Geertje leaves him. Hendrickje becomes pregnant, and they marry, but she dies. However, during the decades covered in the story, Rembrandt paints some of his most creative work.
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The Rise of Catherine the Great 1934 N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Catherine the Great
Director: Paul Czinner
Cast: Elisabeth Bergner, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Flora Robson, Gerald du Maurier, Irene Vanbrugh, Griffith Jones, Joan Gardner, Dorothy Hale, Allan Jeayes, Gibb McLaughlin, Clifford Heatherley, Laurence Hanray
In the 18th century, Catherine (Elisabeth Bergner) was summoned by the Empress of Russia (Flora Robson) to marry the Grand Duke Peter (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), and it was not long before she learned that he was mentally unstable and was enjoying numerous affairs. Soon after the Empress dies, Peter assumes the throne, not mentally able to handle the responsibilities, and Catherine is urged to assume power.
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| 1. 21 Days (1940)
aka: 21 Days Together
2. Ali Baba Nights (1934)
aka: Chu Chin Chow
3. Fire Over England (1937)
4. Hatter's Castle (1942)
5. Hotel Reserve (1944)
6. Moonlight Sonata (1937)
7. On Approval (1944)
8. The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
9. Rembrandt (1936)
10. The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934)
aka: Catherine the Great
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