Background to Danger 1943 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Drama / Adventure / Thriller
Director: Raoul Walsh Cast: George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Osa Massen, Turhan Bey, Frank Puglia, Pedro de Cordoba, Steven Geray, Nestor Paiva, Willard Robertson, Kurt Katch, Jean Del Val, Michael Mark, Wilhelm von Brincken
During World War II, American espionage agent Joe Barton (George Raft) is sent to Ankara where he is given an envelope containing maps showing where the Germans will invade Turkey. Nazi agent Colonel Robinson (Sidney Greenstreet) knows about the maps and orders his agents to severely beat Barton, but he is rescued by Turkish official Zaloshoff (Peter Lorre) and his sister Tamara (Brenda Marshall). The maps are stolen by Robinson's agents, and the chase is on as Barton will stop at nothing to retrieve them.
|  | |
Blood and Sand 1941 N/R, 123 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Rouben Mamoulian Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, Anthony Quinn, Alla Nazimova, J. Carrol Naish, George Reeves, John Carradine, Pedro de Cordoba, Lynn Bari, Laird Cregar, Monty Banks, Vincente Gomez, Fortunio Bonanova, Victor Kilian
In this remake of the 1922 film, popular Spanish bullfighter Juan Gallardo (Tyrone Power) finds his performances lack their previous daring now that he is in the middle of an affair with the beautiful Dona Sol (Rita Hayworth). In an effort to regain the love of his wife, Carmen (Linda Darnell), and to regain lost popularity, Juan Gallardo makes the fateful decision to fight just one more bull.
|  | |
Carmen 1915 N/R, 50 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Cecil B. DeMille Cast: Geraldine Farrar, Wallace Reid, Pedro de Cordoba, Horace B. Carpenter, William Elmer, Milton Brown, Jeanie Macpherson, Anita King, Raymond Hatton, Tex Driscoll
Cigarette factory worker Carmen (Geraldine Farrar) is arrested by Don Jose (Wallace Reid), but after he falls in love with beautiful Carmen, Don Jose sets her free. Now, Carmen runs off with a band of Gypsies, and she falls in love with toreador Escamillo (Pedro de Cordoba). Overcome by jealousy, Don Jose follows Carmen, confronts her at a Seville bullfight, and stabs her to death. This is an early Cecil B. DeMille classic.
|  | |
Charlie Chan in City in Darkness 1939 N/R, 73 min. Genre: Mystery / Drama aka: City in Darkness
Director: Herbert I. Leeds Cast: Sidney Toler, Lynn Bari, Richard Clarke, Harold Huber, Leo G. Carroll, Lon Chaney Jr., Pedro de Cordoba, Dorothy Tree, Douglass Dumbrille, C. Henry Gordon, Noel Madison, Louis Mercier, George Davis, Adrienne D'Ambricourt, Barbara Leonard
When Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) visits friends from World War I in Paris, he finds that Paris is a city of darkness because of air raids preparing for the possible outbreak of World War II. Munitions maker Petroff (Douglass Dumbrille) is murdered, and Charlie investigates. The clues lead to espionage and arms dealings with the Nazis. At the film's end, Charlie talks about the evils of conference table bargaining.
|  | |
Condemned to Live 1935 N/R, 67 min. Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Frank R. Strayer Cast: Ralph Morgan, Maxine Doyle, Russell Gleason, Pedro de Cordoba, Mischa Auer, Lucy Beaumont, Carl Stockdale, Edward Cecil, Barbara Bedford, Robert Frazer, Paul Weigel
Kindly, town doctor Paul Kriston (Ralph Morgan) is well liked by the townsfolk for his generosity. When a series of murders occur that appear to be caused by a vampire, the doctor attempts to find out the cause. But his assistant, Zan (Mischa Auer), knows the truth: it is the doctor who is the vampire.
|  | |
Crisis 1950 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Richard Brooks Cast: Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer, Paula Raymond, Signe Hasso, Gilbert Roland, Leon Ames, Ramon Novarro, Antonio Moreno, Pedro de Cordoba, Soledad Jimenez
Doctor Eugene Norland Ferguson (Cary Grant) and his wife, Helen (Paula Raymond) are kidnapped while vacationing in Central America. The doctor is then forced to perform needed brain surgery on a dictator–the kidnappers want the dictator to die as a result of the surgery.
|  | |
The Devil-Doll 1936 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Tod Browning Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Frank Lawton, Henry B. Walthall, Robert Greig, Lucy Beaumont, Pedro de Cordoba, Rafaela Ottiano, Arthur Hohl
Lionel Barrymore plays a fugitive who, after escaping from prison, uses tiny "devil dolls" to avenge past actions against him.
|  | |
Devil's Island 1940 N/R, 65 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William Clemens Cast: Boris Karloff, Nedda Harrigan, James Stephenson, Adia Kuznetzoff, Rolla Gourvitch, Will Stanton, Edward Keane, Pedro de Cordoba, Al Bridge, Earl Dwire
A French doctor, Charles Gaudet (Boris Karloff), treats a treasonous soldier and is punished with imprisonment on Devil's Island where his presence provides the means to save a young girl's life.
|  | |
Doughboys in Ireland 1943 N/R, 61 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Lew Landers Cast: Kenny Baker, Jeff Donnell, Lynn Merrick, Guy Bonham, Harry Shannon, Dorothy Vaughan, Robert Mitchum, Pedro de Cordoba, Herbert Rawlinson, George Tyne
Orchestra leader Danny O'Keefe (Kenny Baker) is drafted into the Army and sent to Ireland where he helps entertain the troops. He strikes up a romance with a local girl (Jeff Donnell), but things get dicey when his state-side girlfriend (Lynn Merrick) shows up as part of a USO troupe. Not much, but another one of many such World War II tension-relievers.
|  | |
The Falcon in Mexico 1944 N/R, 70 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: William Berke Cast: Tom Conway, Mona Maris, Martha Vickers, Nestor Paiva, Mary Currier, Cecilia Callejo, Emory Parnell, Joseph Vitale, Pedro de Cordoba, Bryant Washburn
When a Mexico City art gallery owner is killed after a painting by a "dead" artist shows up in his shop, the Falcon steps in to solve the mystery.
|  | |
The Ghost Breakers 1940 N/R, 83 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: George Marshall Cast: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Paul Lukas, Willie Best, Anthony Quinn, Tom Dugan, Paul Fix, Richard Carlson, Pedro de Cordoba, Virginia Brissac
Determined to find a treasure, Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard) heads for a haunted house with Larry Lawrence (Bob Hope) in tow. Larry is trying to escape from a bum charge and the police are on his tail as he tries to rid the house of ghosts and help Mary find the missing treasure. This film was remade as "Scared Stiff" with Martin and Lewis.
|  | |
His Brother's Wife 1936 N/R, 91 min. Genre: Drama
Director: W.S. Van Dyke Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, Jean Hersholt, Joseph Calleia, John Eldredge, Samuel S. Hinds, Phyllis Clare, Leonard Mudie, Jed Prouty, Pedro de Cordoba
When Rita (Barbara Stanwyck) is left by her lover, Chris (Robert Taylor), who heads for the jungle on a scientific expedition, she marries his brother out of spite.
|  | |
Kismet 1944 N/R, 100 min. Genre: Adventure / Fantasy aka: Oriental Dream
Director: William Dieterle Cast: Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Edward Arnold, Florence Bates, James Craig, Joy Page, Harry Davenport, Hugh Herbert, Hobart Cavanaugh, Robert Warwick, Morris Ankrum, Harry Cording, Yvonne De Carlo, Victor Kilian, Pedro de Cordoba
In this Arabian Nights tale, the Baghdad "King of Beggars" Hafiz (Ronald Colman) disguises himself as a prince and romances the queen of the castle, Jamilla (Marlene Dietrich). Meanwhile, his daughter Marsinah (Joy Page) is interested in a gardener who is really the Caliph (James Craig). By story's end, fate steps in–Hafiz finds true love with Jamilla, and Caliph and Marsinah live happily ever after. Remade in 1955 as a musical.
|  | |
Law of the Pampas 1939 N/R, 74 min. Genre: Western
Director: Nate Watt Cast: William Boyd, Steffi Duna, Russell Hayden, Sidney Toler, Glenn Strange, Sidney Blackmer, Pedro de Cordoba, Eddie Dean, William Duncan, Martin Garralaga
On a cattle drive to South America, Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) has problems with villains as well as his own foreman.
|  | |
The Light That Failed 1939 N/R, 98 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William A. Wellman Cast: Ronald Colman, Walter Huston, Muriel Angelus, Ida Lupino, Dudley Digges, Ernest Cossart, Pedro de Cordoba, Halliwell Hobbes, Francis McDonald, George Chandler
Based on the Rudyard Kipling story, this film is about a painter, Dick Heldor (Ronald Colman), who races to finish his masterpiece–a portrait of Bessie Broke (Ida Lupino)–before blindness overtakes him.
|  | |
Maid of Salem 1937 N/R, 86 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Lloyd Cast: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Louise Dresser, Gale Sondergaard, Beulah Bondi, Bonita Granville, Donald Meek, Harvey Stephens, E.E. Clive, Benny Bartlett, Edward Ellis, Virginia Weidler, Halliwell Hobbes, Pedro de Cordoba, Madame Sul-Te-Wan
Allegations of women being witches is the subject of this film set in colonial Massachusetts. Pretty good.
|  | |
Mexican Hayride 1948 N/R, 77 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Charles Barton Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Virginia Grey, Luba Malina, John Hubbard, Pedro de Cordoba, Fritz Feld, Tom Powers, Chris-Pin Martin, Frank Fenton
Harry Lambert (Bud Abbott) helps Joe Bascom (Lou Costello) find a lost mine in Mexico and ends up in the middle of a con game. The bullfight scene in which Lou Costello becomes a participant is worth the price of admission.
|  | |
My Favorite Wife 1940 N/R, 88 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Garson Kanin Cast: Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Gail Patrick, Randolph Scott, Ann Shoemaker, Donald MacBride, Scotty Beckett, Hugh O'Connell, Pedro de Cordoba, Granville Bates
After being stranded on an island for seven years, Ellen (Irene Dunne) is finally rescued. Comedy and complications reign when she returns home to find that her husband (Cary Grant) has begun a new life with another woman. Doris Day takes on Dunne's role in the remake: "Move Over, Darling."
|  | |
San Antonio 1945 N/R, 110 min. Genre: Western / Romance
Director: David Butler Cast: Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, S.Z. Sakall, Victor Francen, Florence Bates, John Litel, Paul Kelly, Monte Blue, Doodles Weaver, Paul Kelly, Robert Shayne, John Alvin, Robert Barrat, Pedro de Cordoba, Tom Tyler
Cattleman Clay Hardin (Errol Flynn) arrives in San Antonio, Texas, to capture Roy Stuart (Paul Kelly) who he believes leads a cattle rustling gang. Upon arrival, Clay is attracted to dance-hall singer Jeanne Starr (Alexis Smith) who works in the saloon owned by Roy. Clay believes that Jeanne is in with the crooked rustlers, but he falls in love with her. Tensions rise after Clay's friend Charlie Bell (John Litel) is murdered and culminate in a shoot-out at the Alamo.
|  | |
A Scandal in Paris 1946 N/R, 100 min. Genre: Drama aka: Thieves' Holiday
Director: Douglas Sirk Cast: George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis, Akim Tamiroff, Gene Lockhart, Jo Ann Marlowe, Alma Kruger, Alan Napier, Vladimir Sokoloff, Pedro de Cordoba, Leona Maricle, Fritz Leiber
Based on the exploits of a real-life criminal, the suave Francois (George Sanders) escapes from jail with his friend, Emile (Akim Tamiroff). The adventures begin as Francois pulls off several clever crimes; spends a short time in Napoleon's army; and, after meeting the well-connected Therese (Signe Hasso), rises to Police Chief. He is now free to fill the office with his friends and uses the office for his base of crime operations.
|  | |
Shut My Big Mouth 1942 N/R, 71 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Charles Barton Cast: Joe E. Brown, Adele Mara, Victor Jory, Fritz Feld, Will Wright, Lloyd Bridges, Forrest Tucker, Pedro de Cordoba, Don Beddoe, Russell Simpson
Wellington Holmes (Joe E. Brown) leaves the city and heads to a frontier town where he ends up face-to-face with outlaws.
|  | |
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake 1942 N/R, 98 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: John Cromwell Cast: Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, George Sanders, Frances Farmer, Roddy McDowall, Kay Johnson, John Carradine, Elsa Lanchester, Harry Davenport, Dudley Digges, Halliwell Hobbes, Marten Lamont, Arthur Hohl, Pedro de Cordoba, Heather Thatcher
In England during the reign of George III, an orphaned heir to a dukedom, Benjamin (Roddy McDowall), is being raised by his abusive uncle, Arthur Blake (George Sanders), who uses Benjamin as a bonded servant. Ten years later, Ben (now played by Tyrone Power) rebels and eventually sets sail for South America. Aboard ship, Ben meets a sailor, Caleb Green (John Carradine), and, together, they amass a fortune diving for pearls off a Polynesian island. During this period, Ben falls in love with an island girl he calls Eve (Gene Tierney). With his new wealth, will Ben have the courage to say farewell to Eve and return to London to claim his inheritance?
|  | |
Swamp Fire 1946 N/R, 69 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: William H. Pine Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Virginia Grey, Buster Crabbe, Carol Thurston, Pedro de Cordoba, Pierre Watkin, Marcelle Corday, William Edmunds, Frank Fenton, David Janssen, Edwin Maxwell
Navy war veteran, riverboat captain Johnny (Johnny Weissmuller) plies the waters of the lower Mississippi River and fights it out with evil trapper Mike (Buster Crabbe) over the woman (Virginia Grey) he loves. The only highlight: the fight in the alligator-filled swamp. Look for a young David Janssen.
|  | |
Tarzan Triumphs 1943 N/R, 76 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: William Thiele Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Johnny Sheffield, Frances Gifford, Stanley Ridges, Sig Ruman, Pedro de Cordoba, Philip Van Zandt, Stanley Brown, Otto Reichow, Rex Williams
This World War II propaganda film pits Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) against Nazi paratroopers who land in the jungle.
|  | |
Trouble for Two 1936 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Mystery aka: The Suicide Club
Director: J. Walter Ruben Cast: Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, Louis Hayward, E.E. Clive, Walter Kingsford, Ivan F. Simpson, Robert Greig, Pedro de Cordoba
Taken from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Suicide Club" stories, this lighthearted mystery promises much, but falls short in the end. Prince Florizel (Robert Montgomery) is heir to the throne of Karovia. He joins a mysterious Suicide Club and must survive a series of lethal traps to gain the crown and regain his princess (Rosalind Russell).
|  | |
| 1. Background to Danger (1943)
2. Before I Hang (1940)
3. Blood and Sand (1941)
4. Carmen (1915)
5. Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939) aka: City in Darkness
6. Condemned to Live (1935)
7. Crisis (1950)
8. The Devil-Doll (1936)
9. Devil's Island (1940)
10. Doughboys in Ireland (1943)
11. The Falcon in Mexico (1944)
12. The Ghost Breakers (1940)
13. His Brother's Wife (1936)
14. Kismet (1944) aka: Oriental Dream
15. Law of the Pampas (1939)
16. The Light That Failed (1939)
17. Maid of Salem (1937)
18. Mexican Hayride (1948)
19. My Favorite Wife (1940)
20. San Antonio (1945)
21. A Scandal in Paris (1946) aka: Thieves' Holiday
22. Shut My Big Mouth (1942)
23. Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake (1942)
24. Swamp Fire (1946)
25. Tarzan Triumphs (1943)
26. Trouble for Two (1936) aka: The Suicide Club
In The News
|