The Bat 1926 N/R, 84 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: Roland West Cast: Tullio Carminati, Charles Herzinger, Louise Fazenda, Emily Fitzroy, Arthur Housman, Robert McKim, Jack Pickford, Eddie Gribbon, George Beranger, Jewel Carmen, Sojin, Lee Shumway
Based on a popular Broadway play by Mary Roberts Rinehart, the story takes place in an old mansion. A killer, who dresses as a giant bat and flashes a bat-shadow on the wall when he strikes, goes after an assorted group of guests at the mansion. Remade by the director in 1930 as a talkie ("The Bat Whispers").
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The Casino Murder Case 1935 N/R, 82 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Paul Lukas, Alison Skipworth, Donald Cook, Rosalind Russell, Arthur Byron, Ted Healy, Eric Blore, Isabel Jewell, Louise Fazenda, Leslie Fenton, Leo G. Carroll, Purnell Pratt
Paul Lukas, accent and all, becomes the fourth Philo Vance. After people are poisoned, Philo is brought in to sort through the suspects in this stretch-in-credibility plot. Rosalind Russell was just beginning to blossom into stardom at the time of this film.
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Noah's Ark 1929 N/R, 100 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Curtiz Cast: Dolores Costello, George O'Brien, Noah Beery, Louise Fazenda, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Paul McAllister, Myrna Loy, Nigel De Brulier, Noble Johnson, Armand Kaliz
George O'Brien plays an American traveling in Europe who must leave the woman he loves–a German–as events beginning World War I intervene in their lives. Flashbacks provide parallels to Noah. Restored; mostly silent film is interesting piece of history to watch.
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The Old Maid 1939 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Edmund Goulding Cast: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, Donald Crisp, Jane Bryan, Louise Fazenda, James Stephenson, Jerome Cowan, William Lundigan, Rand Brooks, Cecilia Loftus, Janet Shaw, William Hopper, Sidney Bracey
Based on Edith Wharton's novel, this is the story of the aftermath of a love affair between Charlotte (Bette Davis) and Clem (George Brent). When Clem dies while fighting in the Civil War, Charlotte is left alone to face unmarried motherhood. Her solution is to give their daughter (Jane Bryan) to a cousin (Miriam Hopkins) to raise as her own. Now, Charlotte watches as her daughter grows up but must remain as an outsider.
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Once in a Lifetime 1932 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Russell Mack Cast: Jack Oakie, Sidney Fox, Aline MacMahon, Russell Hopton, Zasu Pitts, Louise Fazenda, Gregory Ratoff, Onslow Stevens, Alan Ladd, Robert McWade
This film views Hollywood through the eyes of playwrights George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart who see the entire Hollywood scene as inane, especially when the talkies arrive on the scene.
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Swing Your Lady 1938 N/R, 70 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Ray Enright Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Louise Fazenda, Penny Singleton, Leon Weaver, Nat Pendleton, Ronald Reagan, Frank McHugh, Allen Jenkins, Frank Weaver, Ronald Reagan
Ed (Humphrey Bogart) sets up a phony wrestling match between strong-woman Sadie (Louise Fazenda) and Joe (Nat Pendleton).
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The Terror 1928 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Mystery / Horror
Director: Roy Del Ruth Cast: May McAvoy, Louise Fazenda, Edward Everett Horton, Alec B. Francis, Matthew Betz, Holmes Herbert, John Miljan, Otto Hoffman, Joseph W. Girard, Frank Austin, Conrad Nagel, Reed Howes
Edgar Wallace's play is brought to the screen in one of the first "talkies." A mysterious killer is on the loose and is now present at a dinner with assorted guests, including an undercover Scotland Yard investigator. Remade in 1938.
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| 1. The Bat (1926)
2. The Casino Murder Case (1935)
3. Noah's Ark (1929)
4. The Old Maid (1939)
5. Once in a Lifetime (1932)
6. Swing Your Lady (1938)
7. The Terror (1928)
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