Christmas in July 1940  N/R, 66 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, Alexander Carr, William Demarest, Ernest Truex, Franklin Pangborn, Harry Hayden, Rod Cameron, Harry Rosenthal, Adrian Morris, Georgia Caine, Julius Tannen, Torben Meyer, Ferike Boros
Believing he has won $10,000 in a slogan contest, a young clerk, Jimmy MacDonald (Dick Powell), tears off on a spending spree and proposes to his girlfriend, Betty Casey (Ellen Drew). When he finds out that the prize is not really his, Jimmy is faced with the consequences of his rash actions.
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 The Fly 1958  N/R, 94 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Kurt Neumann
Cast: Vincent Price, Herbert Marshall, David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Kathleen Freeman, Betty Lou Gerson, Charles Herbert, Eugene Borden, Torben Meyer, Charles Tannen
When scientist Andre (David Hedison) uses himself in an experiment to disintegrate and reassemble atoms, a terrible accident occurs: Andre disintegrates his own atoms and reassembles himself with the atoms of a fly. Two sequels ("Return of the Fly" and "Curse of the Fly") follow.
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Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man 1943 N/R, 73 min.
Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Director: Roy William Neill
Cast: Lon Chaney Jr., Ilona Massey, Bela Lugosi, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Maria Ouspenskaya, Dennis Hoey, Don Barclay, Rex Evans, Dwight Frye, Harry Stubbs, Jeff Corey, Torben Meyer, Doris Lloyd, Martha Vickers
"The Wolf Man" Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) has been resurrected from the dead, and a gypsy lady, Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), tells him that the only way to stay dead is to talk to Dr. Frankenstein. Maleva joins Lawrence in his search for Frankenstein, and when they find Frankenstein's daughter Elsa (Ilona Massey), they learn that Frankenstein has died. Elsa is engaged to scientist Dr. Manning (Patric Knowles) who tries to cure Larry. But, when Frankenstein's monster (Bela Lugosi) is discovered in a block of ice, Larry chips him out, and a battle ensues.
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The Great Moment 1944 N/R, 83 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Joel McCrea, Betty Field, Harry Carey, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Julius Tannen, Edwin Maxwell, Porter Hall, Franklin Pangborn, Grady Sutton, Harry Hayden, Torben Meyer, Victor Potel, Thurston Hall, J. Farrell MacDonald
This story, told through flashbacks, is the saga of the trials and tribulations of W.T.G. Morton (Joel McCrea) who, as a young oral surgeon in the 19th century worked to find a way to take the pain out of tooth extractions. Throughout his efforts, his loyal wife Elizabeth (Betty Field) stands by his side. His discovery of the use of letheon (ether) as an anesthetic marked a huge step in surgical procedures. Fame and fortune are not gained by Morton, but he does eventually become known as "the painless dentist," and Congress votes to reward him $100,000 for his efforts. But, jealous medical rivals just may stand in the way of Morton receiving that award.
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Heartbeat 1946  N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Sam Wood
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Adolphe Menjou, Basil Rathbone, Melville Cooper, Mikhail Rasumny, Eduardo Ciannelli, Mona Maris, Henry Stephenson, Ivan Lebedeff, Bess Flowers, Torben Meyer
After escaping from a reform school, Ariette (Ginger Rogers) returns to the life of a pickpocket in Paris. Now, she plies her trade on a young diplomat (Jean-Pierre Aumont) and ends up falling in love with him.
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 Judgment at Nuremberg 1961  N/R, 190 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Stanley Kramer
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, William Shatner, Ed Binns, Werner Klemperer, Torben Meyer, Kenneth MacKenna
This classic film about the Nazi war crimes as they were presented at the trial at Nuremberg is spellbinding from start to finish. Spencer Tracy plays the compassionate, yet intelligent, American judge, Maximilian Schell excels as the defense attorney, and Burt Lancaster plays the role of the German judge on trial who chose to give in to Nazi threats. Academy Awards were received for Best Actor (Maximilian Schell) and Best Writing; the film was nominated for nine others, including. Best Actor (Spencer Tracy), Director, Supporting Actress (Judy Garland), and Supporting Actor (Montgomery Clift). 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | Prettry much as "important" as it thinks it is | 1fatts 04/05/2007 | Be wary of "important" movies. The cast and crew, the critics and pundits can become so wrapped in the aura of the message that needs to be imparted to a waiting world that the human story is lost and we find ourselves being barraged by sanctimonious monologues or, worse, symbolism piled on symbolism to express the truth that words cannot express. (Honestly, did anyone really understand the last ten minutes of 2001?)
But this movie is better than that. It doesn't escape it all, I suppose, but the center of the thing is the consideration of what is evil and what is decency, played out on a stage of characters who give it humanity.
I have considered -- rather often, actually -- what has traveled best in this film in the last forty-five years and what has traveled less well. It is the underplaying that still holds us, the messages not spoken but shown on faces and in motions. Maximilian Schell's defense attorney is all words and logic, which, at its best moments, serve as a counterpoint to the quiet humanity which the destroyed reflect and the innocent portray. It was an Academy Award well deserved. I don't think Tracy ever did better work. Montgomery Clift's short scene is among the most moving ever filmed. Dietrich, Garland, so many others do such fine work.
Richard Widmark, on the other hand, is too theatrical, as is Burt Lancaster, Werner Klemperer and too many others. It is the writing and the direction, but most of all, it is the strain of taking on the issue.. It was 1961, and Hollywood was finally putting on film the question of the guilt of the Holocaust. It WAS important. The writing was honest enough to cast shadows of complicity over Western big business, Cold War Political Fears, the growing willingness of a war-weary world to turn a blind eye to last year's injustice and the suffering of those too unimportant to be represented. The responsibility, the scope of all that, and, no doubt, the pride of all that led to too much Hollywood is the writing and direction.
Yet, on the whole, "Judgment" remembers to focus on the people and not the speeches, and that rescues the film and redeems it. It is still, even after nearly half a century, shocking, complex and deeply thought provoking.
And, yes, it is important. How important? I don't think anyone should be allowed to graduate high school without having seen this film and discussed it with a knowledgeable, sensitive adult -- not only as a "Holocaust" discussion, but as the starting point for the question of why good people allow evil into the world and what, if anything, moral people can do to stand against it. |
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The Matchmaker 1958  N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Joseph Anthony
Cast: Shirley Booth, Anthony Perkins, Shirley MacLaine, Paul Ford, Robert Morse, Wallace Ford, Perry Wilson, Russell Collins, Rex Evans, Gavin Gordon, Torben Meyer, Bess Flowers
This forerunner of the musical "Hello, Dolly" stars Shirley Booth as matchmaker Dolly Levi who falls in love with Horace Vandergelder (Paul Ford). Anthony Perkins and Shirley MacLaine play the young couple, Cornelius Hackl and Irene Malloy, who Dolly has matched.
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The Palm Beach Story 1942 N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, Rudy Vallee, William Demarest, Sig Arno, Jack Norton, Robert Warwick, Torben Meyer, Franklin Pangborn, Roscoe Ates, Dewey Robinson, Arthur Hoyt, Al Bridge, Fred "Snowflake" Toones
Gerry (Claudette Colbert) leaves her engineer husband, Tom (Joel McCrea), in New York and heads for Florida where she meets snobby John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee). Tom pursues, and comedy ensues.
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 The Prisoner of Zenda 1937 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Adventure / Drama / Romance
Director: John Cromwell
Cast: Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, David Niven, Montagu Love, Byron Foulger, Spencer Charters, Wilhelm von Brincken, Philip Sleeman, Eleanor Wesselhoeft, Charles Halton, Torben Meyer
This is an excellent version of the classic story of Englishman Rudolph Rassendyll (Ronald Colman) who travels to a mythical European country where he is a distant cousin of Prince Rudolf V (also played by Colman). The cousins greatly resemble each other, and Captain Fritz von Tarlenheim (David Niven) and Colonel Zapt (C. Aubrey Smith) take Rudolph to the Prince's hunting lodge where they meet. The next day, it is discovered that the Prince has been kidnapped, and now Rudolph becomes involved in palace intrigue and romance–with the Prince's fiancee Princess Flavia (Madeleine Carroll)–when he is asked to impersonate the Prince.
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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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 Sullivan's Travels 1941 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Comedy / Adventure / Drama / Romance
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Porter Hall, Byron Foulger, Margaret Hayes, Robert Greig, Eric Blore, Torben Meyer, Victor Potel, Richard Webb, Charles R. Moore, Almira Sessions
This spoof on the Hollywood scene has Joel McCrea playing movie director John L. Sullivan who wants to put meaning into his films. To that end, he sets out to meet real people, and with only 10 cents in his pocket, he begins his journey across America and into the real world.
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Sunny 1941 N/R, 98 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Herbert Wilcox
Cast: Anna Neagle, Ray Bolger, John Carroll, Edward Everett Horton, Grace Hartman, Paul Hartman, Frieda Inescort, Helen Westley, Benny Rubin, Muggins Davies, Richard Lane, Martha Tilton, Torben Meyer
Circus star Sunny Sullivan (Anna Neagle) is performing in New Orleans when she falls in love with wealthy Larry Warren (John Carroll). But, the romance has problems in the form of Larry's snobbish family that does not welcome the circus performer into their high-society lifestyle. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Musical Score, and Ray Bolger's dancing certainly adds to the enjoyment.
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Unfaithfully Yours 1948  N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Barbara Lawrence, Rudy Vallee, Lionel Stander, Edgar Kennedy, Kurt Kreuger, Al Bridge, Julius Tannen, Torben Meyer, Robert Greig, Isabel Jewell, Georgia Caine, Evelyn Beresford, J. Farrell MacDonald
Rex Harrison is brilliant as symphony conductor Sir Alfred De Carter whose brother-in-law August (Rudy Vallee) tells him that Alfred's wife, Daphne (Linda Darnell), is having an affair. Alfred obsesses with the thought that Daphne would have another lover and even plots her demise while conducting the orchestra. As he comes up with ways to solve the problem, Alfred sets each solution to a different classical number, and options change with the mood of the music. But, later, his efforts to physically carry out those plans result in slapstick gags, which end in a fiasco. This film was remade in 1984 starring Dudley Moore as the conductor and Nastassja Kinski as the "unfaithful" wife.
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We're No Angels 1955 N/R, 106 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, Peter Ustinov, Joan Bennett, Basil Rathbone, Leo G. Carroll, Lea Penman, Gloria Talbott, Paul Newlan, Torben Meyer, John Baer, John Smith, Joe Ploski, Ross Gould, Victor Romito
Three Devil's Island convicts–Joseph, Albert, and Jules (Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and Peter Ustinov)–escape and take refuge with the Ducotel family (Leo G. Carroll, Joan Bennett, and Gloria Talbott). While living with the Ducotels, the ex-cons protect the family from evil Uncle Andre Trochard (Basil Rathbone) who threatens the family with eviction after auditing the books of the store he owns that the Ducotels manage. The convicts contemplate murdering Trochard, but Albert's pet poisonous snake does the job for them. Now the Ducotels inherit the store and Trochard's fortune. The convicts have solved the family's problems except for finding a mate for Isabelle (Talbott), but soon that problem will be solved, and the convicts will have done their "good" deeds.
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| 1. Christmas in July (1940)
2. The Fly (1958)
3. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
4. The Great Moment (1944)
5. Heartbeat (1946)
6. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
7. The Matchmaker (1958)
8. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
9. The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
10. Roberta (1935)
11. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
12. Sunny (1941)
13. Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
14. We're No Angels (1955)
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