 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1939  N/R, 71 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Director: Alfred L. Werker
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Ida Lupino, Alan Marshal, George Zucco, Terry Kilburn, Henry Stephenson, E.E. Clive, Arthur Hohl, Mary Gordon, Holmes Herbert, Mary Forbes, May Beatty, Frank Dawson, Peter Willes
Clever detective Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and his faithful cohort, Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce), are trying to foil an attempt by Professor Moriarty (George Zucco) to steal England's Crown Jewels. When Moriarty sends a death threat to socialite Ann Brandon (Ida Lupino), Holmes and Watson are sidetracked while Moriarty goes on with his plot to steal the jewels. Now, Holmes and Watson must split up to prevent murder as well as the theft.
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Always Goodbye 1938  N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Sidney Lanfield
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Herbert Marshall, Ian Hunter, Cesar Romero, Lynn Bari, Binnie Barnes, Mary Forbes, Albert Conti, Franklin Pangborn, Ben Welden
In this remake of "Gallant Lady," Barbara Stanwyck plays the sacrificing mother who gives up her child for adoption.
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Another Dawn 1937  N/R, 73 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: William Dieterle
Cast: Kay Francis, Errol Flynn, Ian Hunter, Frieda Inescort, Mary Forbes, Herbert Mundin, Billy Bevan, Kenneth Hunter, Clyde Cook, Charles Irwin
In this story set in Africa, Captain Denny Roark (Errol Flynn) is grieving over the death of his lover when he falls in love with Julia Ashton (Kay Francis), the wife of his commanding officer.
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 The Awful Truth 1937 N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Leo McCarey
Cast: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Alexander D'Arcy, Cecil Cunningham, Molly Lamont, Esther Dale, Joyce Compton, Mary Forbes, Robert Warwick, Robert Allen
Lucy and Jerry Arriner (Irene Dunne and Cary Grant) divorce after believing each was unfaithful. Lucy was seeing handsome Armand Duvalle (Alex D'Arcy) and now is also dating wealthy neighbor Daniel Leeson (Ralph Bellamy). Meanwhile, Jerry starts dating nightclub singer Dixie Belle Lee (Joyce Compton) and socialite Barbara Vance (Molly Lamont). Their dog seems to be the only thing Lucy and Jerry have in common–until Lucy decides that she wants to resume her marriage to Jerry and starts plotting to get him back. Little does Lucy know that Jerry is still in love with her, and, as they set out to sabotage each other's plans to remarry, the fun begins. Leo McCarey won an Oscar for Best Director, and several other nominations were received, including Best Picture, Actress, and Supporting Actor (Bellamy).
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The Brat 1931  N/R, 60 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Ford
Cast: Sally O'Neil, Alan Dinehart, Frank Albertson, Virginia Cherrill, June Collyer, J. Farrell MacDonald, Mary Forbes, William Collier Sr., Louise Mackintosh, Margaret Mann
A wealthy high-society landowner takes in a poor chorus girl (Sally O'Neil). She changes the family's attitudes in this lesser John Ford film.
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A Farewell to Arms 1932  N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Frank Borzage
Cast: Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes, Adolphe Menjou, Mary Philips, Jack La Rue, Blanche Friderici, Henry Armetta, Mary Forbes, Paul Porcasi, George Humbert, Gilbert Emery, Herman Bing, Gino Corrado, Marcelle Corday, Doris Lloyd
This Ernest Hemingway story about an ill-fated romance during World War I is brought to the screen with Gary Cooper starring as the ambulance driver Lt. Frederic Henry and Helen Hayes in the role of nurse Catherine Barkley. Frederic and Catherine meet and fall in love in war-torn Italy. Their romance leads to Maj. Rinaldi (Adolphe Menjou) becoming jealous and having Catherine transferred to Milan. When Frederic is wounded and taken to Catherine's hospital, the romance resumes. Later, Henry returns to the war while the now-pregnant Catherine travels to Switzerland. Rinaldi intercepts Catherine's letters to Frederic, but when the war ends, Henry goes to Switzerland in search of Catherine.
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 Holiday 1930 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Edward H. Griffith
Cast: Ann Harding, Robert Ames, Mary Astor, Edward Everett Horton, Hedda Hopper, William(2) Holden, Monroe Owsley, Creighton Hale, Mary Forbes, Elizabeth Forrester, Mabel Forrest, Hallam Cooley
This is a film adaptation of Phillip Barry's play about John Case (Robert Ames) who is being coerced into changing his carefree life to join the business firm of his fiancee Julia's (Mary Astor) father. All ends well when Julia's sister Linda (Ann Harding) sees things for what they are, falls in love with John, and saves the day. Harding was nominated for an Oscar. Remade in 1938.
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Houseboat 1958 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Family / Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: Melville Shavelson
Cast: Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Martha Hyer, Harry Guardino, Eduardo Ciannelli, Murray Hamilton, Mimi Gibson, John Litel, Mary Forbes, Madge Kennedy, Charles Herbert, Werner Klemperer, Paul Petersen, Brooks Benedict, Susan Cabot
After Tom Winston's (Cary Grant) estranged wife is killed in an accident, Tom reunites with his children–Elizabeth (Mimi Gibson), David (Paul Petersen), and Robert (Charles Herbert). But, the children are not happy to be living with Tom in his small Washington, D.C. apartment. Tom prepares to move to a large house, but plans fall through, and they move onto a rundown houseboat on the Potomac River. Cinzia (Sophia Loren) signs on as the children's governess, and she helps Tom understand the meaning of love when romance blooms between Tom and Cinzia, and the children will now enjoy a happy family life.
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Nothing But the Truth 1941 N/R, 89 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Elliott Nugent
Cast: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Edward Arnold, Leif Erickson, Helen Vinson, Grant Mitchell, Willie Best, Catherine Doucet, Rose Hobart, Clarence Kolb, Glenn Anders, Mary Forbes, Leon Belasco, Helene Millard, Lee Shumway
Gwen Saunders (Paulette Goddard) gives stockbroker Steve Bennett (Bob Hope) $10,000 and tells him to double its value. Problems really begin when Steve uses the money for a bet that involves his telling the truth–and nothing but–for 24 hours.
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The Picture of Dorian Gray 1945 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama / Fantasy / Horror / Romance
Director: Albert Lewin
Cast: George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Angela Lansbury, Peter Lawford, Donna Reed, Lowell Gilmore, Richard Fraser, Reginald Owen, Mary Forbes, Morton Lowry, Douglas Walton, Miles Mander, Lydia Bilbrook, Billy Bevan, Robert Greig
After his friend Lord Henry Wotton (George Sanders) talks him into it, London aristocrat Dorian Gray (Hurd Hatfield) commissions artist Basil Hallward (Lowell Gilmore) to paint his portrait. When the picture is completed, Gray makes a pact with the Devil to stay eternally young. Years go by, and others grow older, but Gray seems to get younger. Meanwhile, the portrait is hidden away, but it shows Gray's face growing old and disfigured. He murders Hallward to ensure that his secret will not be told and then falls in love with Hallward's niece Gladys (Donna Reed). But, Gladys' ex-boyfriend David (Peter Lawford), whose Aunt Sibyl committed suicide when Gray betrayed her, is suspicious of Gray and sets out to reveal his true, evil nature. Gray: "To get back my youth, I'd do anything in the world–except get up early, take exercise, or be respectable." Angela Lansbury received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
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The Rage of Paris 1938 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Henry Koster
Cast: Danielle Darrieux, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Mischa Auer, Louis Hayward, Helen Broderick, Charles Coleman, Samuel S. Hinds, Nella Walker, Harry Davenport, Lionel Pape, Mary Forbes, Leonard Mudie
Nicole de Cortillon (Danielle Darrieux) needs money. Her solution: catch a rich husband. Wealthy Canadian Bill Duncan (Louis Hayward) becomes the target, and the plan works–until Bill's friend, Jim (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), enters the scene and complications are assured.
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 Roberta 1935 N/R, 106 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: William A. Seiter
Cast: Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, Claire Dodd, Luis Alberni, Lucille Ball, Victor Varconi, Ferdinand Munier, Torben Meyer, Adrian Rosley, Bodil Rosing, Lynne Carver, Mary Forbes
Football star John Kent (Randolph Scott) travels to Paris with "Huck" Haines' (Fred Astaire) band. But, when the band is told by the proprietor that he does not want them to perform, they head to John's Aunt Roberta's (Helen Westley) posh fashion boutique. They meet Huck's old girlfriend Lizzie (Ginger Rogers) who is now the singer Comtesse Schyarwenka, and she finds a job for the band. Meanwhile, Aunt Roberta passes away, and John inherits the boutique and enters into a partnership with Aunt Roberta's assistant Stephanie (Irene Dunne). This is a very early Astaire/Rogers pairing, and it is worthwhile viewing.
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Sadie McKee 1934 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Clarence Brown
Cast: Joan Crawford, Gene Raymond, Franchot Tone, Edward Arnold, Esther Ralston, Jean Dixon, Leo G. Carroll, Akim Tamiroff, Mary Forbes, Helen Ware, Matt McHugh, Zelda Sears, Wade Boteler, Selmer Jackson, Samuel S. Hinds
Housemaid Sadie McKee (Joan Crawford) is working for wealthy Michael Alderson (Franchot Tone) and his family when she elopes with her boyfriend Tommy (Gene Raymond) to New York City. But, before Sadie and Tommy get married, Tommy dumps her when he takes up with showgirl Dolly (Esther Ralston). Devastated, Sadie takes a nightclub job, accepts a drunken marriage proposal from millionaire Jack Brennan (Edward Arnold), and marries him. Now known as a gold digger, Sadie does help Brennan overcome his alcoholism. Has Sadie possibly found true love, or is it still waiting in the wings? The song "All I Do Is Dream of You" was introduced in this film.
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The Sun Never Sets 1939 N/R, 98 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Barbara O'Neil, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill, C. Aubrey Smith, Cecil Kellaway, Virginia Field, Melville Cooper, Mary Forbes, Theodore von Eltz
Two brothers, John (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and Clive (Basil Rathbone), perform a patriotic act to prevent a war in Africa that threatens British colonies in the area.
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Terror by Night 1946 N/R, 60 min.
Genre: Mystery / Drama / Adventure / Thriller
Director: Roy William Neill
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray, Dennis Hoey, Mary Forbes, Billy Bevan, Frederick Worlock, Leyland Hodgson, Harry Cording, Skelton Knaggs, Renee Godfrey, Geoffrey Steele, Janet Murdoch, Gerald Hammer, Boyd Davis
Lady Margaret Carstairs (Mary Forbes) and her son Roland (Geoffrey Steele) are on a train heading for Scotland, and she has hired Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) to guard the "Star of Rhodesia" diamond that she is carrying with her. Doctor Watson (Nigel Bruce) and Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey) are helping Holmes protect the diamond. Holmes switches diamonds with Margaret, but after Roland is killed, and the fake diamond is stolen, Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade set out to solve the mystery.
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The Trespasser 1929 N/R, 91 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Edmund Goulding
Cast: Gloria Swanson, Robert Ames, Purnell Pratt, William(2) Holden, Kay Hammond, Henry B. Walthall, Blanche Friderici, Mary Forbes, Brooks Benedict, Henry Armetta
This is Gloria Swanson's first talkie film. She plays a young wife whose husband (Robert Ames) annuls their marriage when he succumbs to family pressure over his marital choice.
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You Can't Cheat an Honest Man 1939 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: George Marshall, Edward F. Cline
Cast: W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, Constance Moore, John Arledge, James Bush, Thurston Hall, Edward Brophy, Mary Forbes, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Irving Bacon
Struggling circus owner Larson E. Whipsnade (W.C. Fields) struggles to stay away from legal trouble. This trait provides the backdrop for a very funny story about how one problem can quickly multiply into many more.
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You Can't Take It with You 1938  N/R, 120 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, Spring Byington, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Forbes, Dub Taylor, Donald Meek, Halliwell Hobbes, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lillian Yarbo, H.B. Warner
Alice (Jean Arthur) and Tony (James Stewart) meet and fall in love. Alice's family of activists–including patriarch Grandpa Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore), his daughter Penny (Spring Byington), her husband Paul (Samuel S. Hinds) who is into explosives, their would-be ballet dancer daughter Essie (Ann Miller), and her husband Ed (Dub Taylor) who is addicted to his xylophone–"entertain" Tony's aristocratic parents (Edward Arnold and Mary Forbes) in their decaying home. Complications arise with future in-laws' acceptance of each others' families–especially when Tony's parents show up one day early. The film received the Oscar for Best Picture. An Academy Award was also won by Frank Capra as Best Director, and the film received five other nominations, including Spring Byington for Best Supporting Actress.
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You Gotta Stay Happy 1948 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: H.C. Potter
Cast: Joan Fontaine, James Stewart, Eddie Albert, Roland Young, Willard Parker, Percy Kilbride, Porter Hall, Halliwell Hobbes, Mary Forbes, Stanley Prager
A millionaire (Joan Fontaine) forsakes her bridegroom in search of greener pastures with Marvin Payne (James Stewart).
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| 1. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
2. Always Goodbye (1938)
3. Another Dawn (1937)
4. The Awful Truth (1937)
5. Blind Date (1934)
6. The Brat (1931)
7. The Devil to Pay (1930)
8. A Farewell to Arms (1932)
9. Holiday (1930)
10. Houseboat (1958)
11. Nothing But the Truth (1941)
12. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
13. The Rage of Paris (1938)
14. Roberta (1935)
15. Sadie McKee (1934)
16. The Sun Never Sets (1939)
17. Terror by Night (1946)
18. The Trespasser (1929)
19. You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)
20. You Can't Take It with You (1938)
21. You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
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