Bluebeard's Eighth Wife 1938  N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Comedy / Mystery / Thriller / Romance
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Edward Everett Horton, David Niven, Elizabeth Patterson, Herman Bing, Warren Hymer, Franklin Pangborn, Rolfe Sedan, Lawrence Grant, Armand Cortes, Lionel Pape, Tyler Brooke, Leon Ames, Joseph Crehan
Multimillionaire Michael Brandon (Gary Cooper) has been married seven times, but he finally meets his match in wife #8 (Claudette Colbert). She has ulterior motives for the marriage, which come to naught when she ultimately falls in love with Michael.
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The Canary Murder Case 1929 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Malcolm St. Clair, Frank Tuttle
Cast: William Powell, Louise Brooks, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Eugene Pallette, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Charles(1) Lane, Lawrence Grant, Ned Sparks, Louis John Bartels
This is the first of what would be a series of mysteries centered on the sophisticated Philo Vance. The films spanned nearly 20 years with several actors in the lead role, though William Powell is generally associated with the films. Beautiful nightclub singer Margaret (Louise Brooks), also called the "Canary," is not a nice person. She has affairs with, then blackmails, wealthy men. After meeting her true love, Jimmy (James Hall), she demands one lump-sum payment from each of her playboys. When she is murdered, Jimmy is suspected, and Philo enters the scene to solve the crime. Originally completed as a silent film, the cast was called back to dub the sound. Louise Brooks, an up-and-comer, refused, thus effectively ending her career (except for a few low-budget films).
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The Devil Is a Woman 1935  N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Atwill, Edward Everett Horton, Alison Skipworth, Cesar Romero, Don Alvarado, Tempe Pigott, Francisco Moreno, Hank Mann, Morgan Wallace, Lawrence Grant, Edwin Maxwell
Told in flashbacks, this story involves the memories of Captain Don Pasqual "Pasqualito" Costelar (Lionel Atwill) as he tells young military officer Antonio Galvan (Cesar Romero)–who has just met Concha Perez (Marlene Dietrich)–of the trials and tribulations he suffered when seduced by her many years before. Later that same evening, Pasqual encounters Antonio with Concha and, in a fit of jealousy, challenges him to a duel.
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The Living Ghost 1942  N/R, 61 min.
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
aka: A Walking Nightmare
Lend Me Your Ear
Director: William Beaudine
Cast: James Dunn, Joan Woodbury, Paul McVey, Vera Gordon, Norman Willis, J. Farrell MacDonald, Minerva Urecal, George Eldredge, Jan Wiley, Lawrence Grant, Howard Banks, Gus Glassmire
Ex-detective Nick Trayne (James Dunn) and his assistant, Billie Hilton (Joan Woodbury), search for wealthy-banker, kidnap-victim Walter Craig (Gus Glassmire), and during the investigation Craig turns up alive but in a catatonic state. To solve the new mystery, Nick and Billie follow a trail of clues that leads them to an old shack where eerie experiments involving zombies have been performed.
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The Mask of Fu Manchu 1932  N/R, 68 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Charles Brabin
Cast: Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley, Charles Starrett, Myrna Loy, Jean Hersholt, David Torrence, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Lawrence Grant, Herbert Bunston
Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) plots to obtain the mask of Genghis Khan, which will give him the necessary means to rule the world. Falling into his torture chamber are Terrence Granville (Charles Starrett) and Sheila (Karen Morley), but Scotland Yard's Investigator Nayland Smith (Lewis Stone) enters the picture and saves both the hapless couple and the world from the influence of Fu Manchu.
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Nana 1934 N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Dorothy Arzner
Cast: Anna Sten, Phillips Holmes, Lionel Atwill, Richard Bennett, Mae Clark, Muriel Kirkland, Reginald Owen, Jessie Ralph, Lawrence Grant, Helen Freeman
This is the film adaptation of Zola's tragic story about an aristocratic Parisian, Nana (Anna Sten), and her decision to stop at nothing to reunite two brothers.
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S.O.S. Coast Guard 1937 N/R, 220 min.
Genre: Action
Director: Alan James, William Witney
Cast: Ralph Byrd, Bela Lugosi, Maxine Doyle, Herbert Rawlinson, Lee Ford, John Picorri, Lawrence Grant, Thomas Carr, Carleton Young, George Chesebro, Yakima Canutt, Jack Ingram
Mad scientist Boroff (Bela Lugosi) invents a gas that disintegrates everything in its path and sets out to market it to foreign governments. He also searches for the rare ingredients that will allow for large-scale production. But fear not. Lt. Terry Kent (Ralph Byrd), U.S. Coast Guard, and news woman Jean Norman (Maxine Doyle) stand in Boroff's way in this 12-episode serial.
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Shanghai Express 1932  N/R, 82 min.
Genre: Drama / Adventure / Romance
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland, Eugene Pallette, Lawrence Grant, Louise Closser Hale, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Emile Chautard, Claude King, James B. Leong, Leonard Carey, Willie Fung, Miki Morita, Herbert Evans
In the midst of civil war, the notorious Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich) meets and falls in love with Captain Donald Harvey (Clive Brook) during a trip on the Shanghai Express. One of the train's passengers is the warlord rebel leader, Henry Chang (Warner Oland), waiting for his rebels to ambush the train and take hostages. Among the hostages will be Shanghai Lily and her Captain Harvey.
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Son of Frankenstein 1939  N/R, 94 min.
Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Drama / Thriller
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson, Emma Dunn, Edgar Norton, Lionel Belmore, Lawrence Grant, Ward Bond, Donnie Dunagan, Perry Ivins, Michael Mark, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Caroline Frances Cooke
Doctor Victor Frankenstein's son, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone), returns to the gothic mansion with his wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchins) and son Peter (Donnie Dunagan). Wolf assures his doubting neighbors that he is not like his father. But, when the evil blacksmith Ygor (Bela Lugosi) asks him to bring the Monster back to life, Wolf agrees, revives the Monster (Boris Karloff), and the madness continues. After the Monster kidnaps Peter, Wolf tracks him down and knocks the Monster into a sulfur pit. Will this finally be the end of the Monster?
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Speak Easily 1932 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Edward Sedgwick
Cast: Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Ruth Selwyn, Thelma Todd, Hedda Hopper, William Pawley, Sidney Toler, Lawrence Grant, Henry Armetta, Edward Brophy, DeWitt Jenninsg, Oscar Apfel, Sidney Bracey, Fred Kelsey, Inez Palange
Professor Timoleon Zanders Post (Buster Keaton) has inherited a fortune and decides to enjoy life when he meets and falls in love with a dancer, Eleanor Espere (Thelma Todd). So, he buys her show–including the piano player Jimmy Dodge (Jimmy Durante)–and plans to bring it to Broadway. But, does he have the ability to carry off his plan?
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Unholy Garden 1931 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Action
Director: George Fitzmaurice
Cast: Ronald Colman, Fay Wray, Estelle Taylor, Tully Marshall, Warren Hymer, Henry Armetta, Mischa Auer, Ullrich Haupt, Lawrence Grant, Henry Kolker
Professional thief Barrington Hunt (Ronald Colman) gets mixed up in intrigue in Algeria where he plots to pit one thief against the other.
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Werewolf of London 1935 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Stuart Walker
Cast: Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews, Lawrence Grant, Spring Byington, J.M. Kerrigan, Ethel Griffies, Zeffie Tilbury
Botanist Glendon (Henry Hull) is on a Tibetan expedition when he is bitten by a strange half-man, half-beast (werewolf). Back in London, he transforms into a werewolf during the full moon and terrorizes the city. During the day, he works on a cure (flowering of a Tibetan plant). This is the original werewolf film, predating Lon Chaney's by six years. Though dated, it is still good, and Warner Oland–as the werewolf who bit Glendon and is also after the cure–is particularly good.
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| 1. Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
2. Bulldog Drummond (1929)
3. The Canary Murder Case (1929)
4. The Devil Is a Woman (1935)
5. The Living Ghost (1942)
aka: A Walking Nightmare
aka: Lend Me Your Ear
6. The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
7. Nana (1934)
8. S.O.S. Coast Guard (1937)
9. Shanghai Express (1932)
10. Son of Frankenstein (1939)
11. Speak Easily (1932)
12. Unholy Garden (1931)
13. Werewolf of London (1935)
In The News
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