American Madness 1932 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Capra Cast: Walter Huston, Pat O'Brien, Kay Johnson, Constance Cummings, Gavin Gordon, Arthur Hoyt, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Sterling Holloway, Walter Walker, Robert Ellis
During the 1890s depression, bank president Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston) is at odds with his board members who want to merge with Union Bank. One day the bank is robbed, and chief teller Matt Brown (Pat O'Brien) is accused of the theft. Brown has an alibi, but his loyalty to Dickson stands in his way of using it.
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The Big Shakedown 1934 N/R, 64 min. Genre: Drama
Director: John Francis Dillon Cast: Charles Farrell, Bette Davis, Ricardo Cortez, Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins, Henry O'Neill, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Dewey Robinson, John Wray, Renee Whitney
When a young pharmacist (Charles Farrell) is drawn into the drug kingdom, his wife (Bette Davis) decides she cannot live in his new world.
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Blonde Venus 1932 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Josef von Sternberg Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, Cary Grant, Dickie Moore, Sidney Toler, Hattie McDaniel, Francis Sayles, Sterling Holloway, Al Bridge, Robert Emmett O'Connor
Edward and Helen Farraday (Herbert Marshall and Marlene Dietrich) learn that Edward needs medical treatment to save his life. Helen goes back to work to earn needed funds for medical aid, and when Edward goes to Europe for treatment, Helen begins an affair with her benefactor, Nick Townsend (Cary Grant).
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Boy of the Streets 1937 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William Nigh Cast: Jackie Cooper, Maureen O'Connor, Kathleen Burke, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Marjorie Main, Guy Usher, Matty Fain, George Cleveland, Bill Elliott, Don Latorre, Paul White
Street-kid Chuck Brennan (Jackie Cooper), who leads a neighborhood gang and worships his political operative father, tries to get into business on the corrupt side of city government. It looks like he just may make it–until he is shot by a gangster. Chuck survives but not to fight another day. Instead, he turns his life around with Nora (Maureen O'Connor) by his side.
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The Dark Horse 1932 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Alfred E. Green Cast: Warren William, Bette Davis, Guy Kibbee, Frank McHugh, Vivienne Osborne, Sam Hardy, Robert Warwick, Harry Holman, Charles Sellon, Robert Emmett O'Connor
This political satire features a less-than-competent gubernatorial candidate (Guy Kibbee) who is promoted by a devious campaign manager (Warren William) and his cohort (Bette Davis).
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The Lone Wolf Returns 1935 N/R, 68 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: Roy William Neill Cast: Melvyn Douglas, Gail Patrick, Tala Birell, Henry Mollison, Thurston Hall, Douglass Dumbrille, Nana Bryant, Robert Middlemass, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Raymond Walburn
This is the first of an extended series of Lone Wolf films, which followed earlier silent and early talkie versions. The hero is Michael Lanyard (The Lone Wolf), a dapper jewel thief who is always ready to help a damsel in distress. In this episode, The Lone Wolf (Melvyn Douglas) falls in love with a girl he intends to rob. After backing out, he is blackmailed by crooks to participate in a high-stakes heist.
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Midnight Mary 1933 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: William A. Wellman Cast: Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, Franchot Tone, Andy Devine, Una Merkel, Frank Conroy, Warren Hymer, Harold Huber, Charley Grapewin, Halliwell Hobbes, Ivan F. Simpson, Sandy Roth, Martha Sleeper, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Louise Beavers
While Mary (Loretta Young) is on trial for murder, her story is told through flashbacks. She grows up in poverty, and when she reaches adulthood Mary gets mixed up with Leo the Rat (Ricardo Cortez) and his gang of crooked gamblers (Warren Hymer, Harold Huber, Una Merkel, and Sandy Roth). After meeting wealthy lawyer Tom and becoming romantically involved with him, Mary tries to straighten out her life. But, she finds it difficult to escape her past, and she is torn between "good" Tom and "bad" Leo. Good Wellman and Young efforts.
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The Mysterious Mr. Wong 1934 N/R, 63 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: William Nigh Cast: Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Arline Judge, E. Alyn Warren, Lotus Long, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Edward Peil Sr., Luke Chan, Lee Shumway, Etta Lee
A power-crazed Asian (Bela Lugosi) is obsessed with owning the "12 coins of Confucius" through which he will gain great power.
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A Night at the Opera 1935 N/R, 96 min. Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: Sam Wood Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle, Margaret Dumont, Allan Jones, Sig Ruman, Walter Woolf King, Edward Keane, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Gino Corrado, Frank Yaconelli, Billy Gilbert, Al Bridge, Jonathan Hale
When the Marx Brothers become part of the hoity-toity opera world, comedy abounds in this Marx Brothers' classic. In an attempt to reunite with his lover Rosa (Kitty Carlisle), Ricardo (Allan Jones) joins up with Fiorello and Tomasso (Chico Marx and Harpo Marx) to stow away on a ship headed for New York. They are prepared to pull out all stops to get Ricardo a job as the leading tenor in the New York Opera Company where Rosa is starring as the leading lady. They arrive in New York, but the authorities, who want to catch the stowaways, are on their trail, and they join up with Otis P. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) in their attempt to stay one step ahead of the authorities.
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Paid 1931 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Sam Wood Cast: Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong, Marie Prevost, Douglass Montgomery, John Miljan, Purnell Pratt, Hale Hamilton, Polly Moran, Robert Emmett O'Connor, William Bakewell
An innocent woman, Mary Turner (Joan Crawford), is sent to prison where she turns into a hardened soul bent on revenge.
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Picture Snatcher 1933 N/R, 77 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Lloyd Bacon Cast: James Cagney, Patricia Ellis, Alice White, Ralph Bellamy, Ralf Harolde, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Robert Barrat, G. Pat Collins, Tom Wilson, Renee Whitney, Arthur Vinton, Gino Corrado, Don Brodie, Sterling Holloway, George Chandler
After his release from prison, gangster Danny Kean (James Cagney) decides to go straight. He talks to his friend, newspaper editor Al McLean (Ralph Bellamy), who gets him a job as a tabloid photographer after he takes pictures of a fireman in the process of murdering his wife and lover. Now, Al's girlfriend Allison (Alice White) falls for Danny, but he falls in love with Patricia (Patricia Ellis) who happens to be the daughter of police Lt. Casey Nolan (Robert Emmett O'Connor) who had put him in jail. Danny continues to get unique pictures, including one of a woman dying in the electric chair that was facilitated by Casey. Problems develop when one of Danny's former gang members (Ralf Harolde) enters the scene, but Danny manages to save the day. Fast paced and has its funny moments.
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The Public Enemy 1931 N/R, 83 min. Genre: Action / Drama
Director: William A. Wellman Cast: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell, Donald Cook, Mae Clarke, Beryl Mercer, Leslie Fenton, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Murray Kinnell, Clark "Buddy" Burroughs, Frankie Darro, Frank Coghlan Jr., Tyrell Davis
This gangster film was the vehicle that catapulted James Cagney to the top as a portrayer of tough guys. Tom Powers (Cagney) rises from the slums of Chicago to become a vicious racketeer only to find that the fall from power is inevitable.
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Streets of New York 1939 N/R, 73 min. Genre: Drama aka: The Abe Lincoln of Ninth Avenue
Director: William Nigh Cast: Jackie Cooper, Martin Spellman, Sidney Miller, Buddy Pepper, Bobby Stone, David Durand, Dick Purcell, Marjorie Reynolds, George Cleveland, Robert Emmett O'Connor, George Irving, Robert Emmett Keane
Idealist Jimmy Keenan (Jackie Cooper) attends law school at night and works at a NYC newspaper stand by day. When the mob demands a piece of the action, Jimmy and his young friend, Gimpy (Martin Spellman), fight back.
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Up the River 1930 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: John Ford Cast: Spencer Tracy, Claire Luce, Warren Hymer, Humphrey Bogart, William Collier Sr., Steve Pendleton, Morgan Wallace, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Bob Burns, Pat Somerset, Sharon Lynn, Noel Francis, Louise Mackintosh, Ward Bond
In this very early Humphrey Bogart vehicle, he plays wrongly convicted Steve whose plight is noted by St. Louis (Spencer Tracy) and Dannemora Dan (Warren Hymer) who, in turn, escape from prison to help Steve. Spencer Tracy's film debut.
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| 1. American Madness (1932)
2. The Big Shakedown (1934)
3. Blonde Venus (1932)
4. Boy of the Streets (1937)
5. The Dark Horse (1932)
6. The Lone Wolf Returns (1935)
7. Midnight Mary (1933)
8. The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934)
9. A Night at the Opera (1935)
10. Paid (1931)
11. Picture Snatcher (1933)
12. The Public Enemy (1931)
13. Streets of New York (1939) aka: The Abe Lincoln of Ninth Avenue
14. Up the River (1930)
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