Berkeley Square 1933  N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Lloyd
Cast: Leslie Howard, Heather Angel, Valerie Taylor, Irene Browne, Beryl Mercer, Lionel Belmore, Alan Mowbray, Samuel S. Hinds, Olaf Hytten, David Torrence
Based on a successful Broadway play, this film represents the first movie in which time travel is featured. Leslie Howard plays the scientist who travels back in time to 1784 London where he enters the body of his ancestor.
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Bonnie Scotland 1935  N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: James W. Horne
Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Anne Grey, David Torrence, June Lang, William Janney, James Finlayson, Vernon Steele, James T. Mack, Mary Gordon, Maurice Black, Daphne Pollard, Lionel Belmore
Stan MacLaurel (Stan Laurel) and Oliver Hardy (Oliver Hardy) stow away on a cattle boat headed for Scotland so that Stan can claim his share of an inheritance left by his uncle. Stan's inheritance amounts only to a set of bagpipes and a snuff box. Penniless, Stan and Oliver make a wrong move and end up enlisted in the British Army on their way to India. All ends well when they put an end to a native uprising–but not without the help of a number of overturned bee hives.
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 Frankenstein 1931   N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Horror / Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Director: James Whale
Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye, Lionel Belmore, Michael Mark, Pauline Moore, Francis Ford, Frederick Kerr, Marilyn Harris, Soledad Jimenez, Mary Gordon, Cecilia Parker
Boris Karloff plays Frankenstein's monster in this "father of horror films." It is the story of Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) who digs up new graves in search of body parts for his experiments in the creation of human life. Frankenstein does succeed, but the life he creates has a violent and murderous brain. When Frankenstein's fiancee Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) arrives at his laboratory with Victor (John Boles) and Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan), they find an eerie scene and a totally changed Frankenstein obsessed with the creation of his monster.
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The Ghost of Frankenstein 1942 N/R, 65 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller / Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Cast: Lon Chaney Jr., Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, Doris Lloyd, Holmes Herbert, Leyland Hodgson, Dwight Frye, Janet Ann Gallow, Barton Yarborough, Olaf Hytten, Lionel Belmore, Harry Cording
Ygor (Bela Lugosi) and the Monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) have survived the wrath of the mob of villagers and arrive at a Balkan village where Dr. Frankenstein's son, Ludwig (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), now lives. Igor and Dr. Bohmer (Lionel Atwill) convince Ludwig to place a new brain in the Monster's head. Through sly work on the part of Igor, he manages to get his own brain transplanted into the Monster, which, of course, results in disaster.
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Jane Eyre 1934 N/R, 62 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Christy Cabanne
Cast: Virginia Bruce, Colin Clive, Beryl Mercer, Jameson Thomas, Aileen Pringle, David Torrence, Lionel Belmore, Edith Fellows, John Rogers, Jean Darling, Ethel Griffies, Claire Du Brey, William Burress, Richard Quine, Joan Standing
As an orphan, Jane (Jean Darling), is sent to an orphanage where she suffers cruel treatment from the headmaster Mr. Brocklehurst (David Torrence). The years pass, and the grown-up Jane (now played by Virginia Bruce) accepts the job of governess at the home of wealthy Edward Rochester (Colin Clive). Jane, at last, is happy, but that all changes when she hears unexplained screams at night and learns that Edward's insane wife Bertha (Claire Du Brey) is hidden in a room of the house. Meanwhile, Edward falls in love with Jane and asks her to marry him, but Bertha ruins their plans, and Jane moves away. Later, Bertha sets fire to the house, and Edward is blinded by the fire. When Jane learns about the fire, she returns to Edward and convinces him that she loves him.
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The Love Parade 1929 N/R, 107 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Lupino Lane, Lillian Roth, Edgar Norton, Eugene Pallette, E.H. Calvert, Lionel Belmore, Virginia Bruce, Ben Turpin, Andre Cheron, Carl Stockdale
A fun-loving diplomat (Maurice Chevalier) is recalled to his country, Sylvania, due to his escapades in France. Back home, the Queen's (Jeanette MacDonald) Cabinet demands that she get married. The Queen selects the diplomat, and the fun and music continue. A good early talkie, which received several Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Actor, and Director.
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Madame X 1920 N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Lloyd
Cast: Pauline Frederick, William Courtleigh, Casson Ferguson, Hardee Kirkland, Lionel Belmore, Alan Roscoe, Maude Louis, John Hohenvest, Correan Kirkham, Sidney Ainsworth, Willard Louis, Cesare Gravina, Maude George
This is one of the best of all versions of "Madame X," the sad story in which the heroine (Pauline Frederick) becomes pregnant and is forced to give up her son. Years later, she returns and kills a man who is intending to blackmail her husband (William Courtleigh). In the subsequent trial, her attorney is her own son (Casson Ferguson)–neither knows of their relationship.
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Monte Carlo 1930 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Jack Buchanan, Jeanette MacDonald, Zasu Pitts, Claud Allister, Lionel Belmore, Tyler Brooke, John Roche, Albert Conti, Helen Garden, Donald Novis, Billy Bevan, Sidney Bracey, Frances Dee, Rolfe Sedan
Countess Vera von Conti (Jeanette MacDonald) is engaged to Prince Otto von Seibenheim (Claud Allister), but she does not love him. So, just before the scheduled wedding, Vera heads for Monte Carlo where she loses, time after time, at the casinos. She meets a mysterious man (Jack Buchanan) who asks if he may touch her hair for luck. He strokes her hair, but it is Vera's luck that changes, and she asks him to stay by her side. What Vera does not know is that he is actually the very wealthy Count Rudolph Falliere who is posing as a commoner in order to be near Vera. The Count plays his game until he ends up winning her heart, and they live happily ever after. Among the songs MacDonald sings is, "Beyond the Blue Horizon."
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Oliver Twist 1933 N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William J. Cowen
Cast: Dickie Moore, Irving Pichel, William "Stage" Boyd, Doris Lloyd, Barbara Kent, Lionel Belmore, Tempe Pigott, Virginia Sale, Harry Holman, Clyde Cook, George Nash, Alec B. Francis, Sonny Ray, George K. Arthur, Nelson McDowell
This is one of the less successful versions of "Oliver Twist." However, it is an interesting entry in the long list of "Oliver Twist" movies. Dickie Moore stars in the title role of young pickpocket Oliver Twist, and Irving Pichel is good as Oliver's tutor, the devious Fagin.
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Oliver Twist 1922  N/R, 77 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Lloyd
Cast: Jackie Coogan, Gladys Brockwell, Lon Chaney, Lionel Belmore, Esther Ralston, George Siegmann, James A. Marcus, Aggie Herring, Nelson McDowell, Lewis Sargent, Joan Standing, Carl Stockdale, Edouard Trebaol, Taylor Graves, Florence Hale
This is a good rendition of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist." Performed as a silent movie, it stars Jackie Coogan in the title role of the young pickpocket Oliver Twist and Lon Chaney as his tutor, the devious Fagin.
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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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Three Ages 1923 N/R, 65 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline
Cast: Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy, Wallace Beery, Joe(2) Roberts, Lillian Lawrence, Blanche Payson, Kewpie Morgan, Lionel Belmore, Oliver Hardy, Louise Emmons
The great comic Buster Keaton provides three comedic love stories–one each in the Stone Age, Roman Empire, and the 1920s. In all three, the roles of the boy (Keaton) , the girl (Margaret Leahy), and the villain (Wallace Beery) (who also is after the girl) are played by the same actors. A good silent film.
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Tower of London 1939 N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Barbara O'Neil, Ian Hunter, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, John Sutton, Leo G. Carroll, Miles Mander, Lionel Belmore
Evil King Richard III (Basil Rathbone) gains the kingdom of England through executions and tortures in the Tower of London. Remade in 1962.
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The Vampire Bat 1933 N/R, 65 min.
Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Mystery / Thriller
Director: Frank R. Strayer
Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Maude Eburne, George E. Stone, Dwight Frye, Robert Frazer, Rita Carlyle, Lionel Belmore, William V. Mong, Stella Adams, Paul Weigel, Harrison Greene, Fern Emmett, Carl Stockdale
There's an epidemic of murders in a European village, with the victims having their blood drained. The villagers are set on the bat theory, since the town is infested by bats–but police inspector Karl (Melvyn Douglas) isn't so sure. After the townsfolk kill a bat-loving outcast (Dwight Frye), things heat up as Karl consults Dr. Otto von Niemann (Lionel Atwill), who believes in the vampire theory. But we all know that Lionel Atwill has been the mad doctor/scientist in many other movies.
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| 1. Berkeley Square (1933)
2. Bonnie Scotland (1935)
3. Frankenstein (1931)
4. The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
5. Jane Eyre (1934)
6. The Love Parade (1929)
7. Madame X (1920)
8. Monte Carlo (1930)
9. Oliver Twist (1933)
10. Oliver Twist (1922)
11. Son of Frankenstein (1939)
12. Three Ages (1923)
13. Tower of London (1939)
14. The Vampire Bat (1933)
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