20,000 Years in Sing Sing 1933  N/R, 77 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Lyle Talbot, Sheila Terry, Louis Calhern, Grant Mitchell, Arthur Byron, Warren Hymer, Spencer Charters, Harold Huber
Life in Sing Sing prison is depicted as Bette Davis plays the role of Fay, the loyal woman who gives her life and love to Tom Connors (Spencer Tracy).
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Baby Face Morgan 1942  N/R, 60 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Arthur Dreifuss
Cast: Mary Carlisle, Richard Cromwell, Robert Armstrong, Chick Chandler, Charles Judels, Warren Hymer, Vince Barnett, Ralf Harolde, Hal K. Dawson, Kenneth Chryst, Pierce Lyden, Toddy Peterson
This gangster comedy is a tale about over-the-hill mobsters who are tricked into thinking "Baby Face" Morgan (Richard Cromwell) is now in charge of a phony trucking insurance scam. But "Baby Face" isn't in on the scam, pays off claims, and reduces the gang's profits.
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Belle of the Nineties 1934  N/R, 73 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical
Director: Leo McCarey
Cast: Mae West, Roger Pryor, Johnny Mack Brown, John Miljan, Katherine DeMille, James Donlan, Stuart Holmes, Harry Woods, Edward Gargan, Libby Taylor, Warren Hymer, Benny Baker, Morrie Cohan, Frederick Burton, Fuzzy Knight
Despite attentions from many men, St. Louis cabaret blues singer Ruby Carter (Mae West) falls in love with boxer Tiger Kid (Roger Pryor). When Tiger's manager Kirby (James Donlan) wants Ruby out of Tiger's life, she agrees to go and moves to New Orleans. More problems between Ruby and Tiger lie ahead involving the theft of Ruby's jewels. But, by story's end, Ruby ends up with her true love. Duke Ellington and His Orchestra perform, and West sings; the songs include "My Old Flame," "St. Louis Woman," and "Memphis Blues."
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Birth of the Blues 1941 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Victor Schertzinger
Cast: Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Brian Donlevy, Carolyn Lee, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Jack Teagarden, J. Carrol Naish, Cecil Kellaway, Warren Hymer, Horace McMahon
The music is great, but the story of New Orleans jazz is told from the white–not the African-American–perspective and loses its true meaning in the process.
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Bluebeard's Eighth Wife 1938 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Comedy / Mystery / Thriller / Romance
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Edward Everett Horton, David Niven, Elizabeth Patterson, Herman Bing, Warren Hymer, Franklin Pangborn, Rolfe Sedan, Lawrence Grant, Armand Cortes, Lionel Pape, Tyler Brooke, Leon Ames, Joseph Crehan
Multimillionaire Michael Brandon (Gary Cooper) has been married seven times, but he finally meets his match in wife #8 (Claudette Colbert). She has ulterior motives for the marriage, which come to naught when she ultimately falls in love with Michael.
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Born Reckless 1930  N/R, 73 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Ford
Cast: Edmund Lowe, Catherine Dale Owen, Lee Tracy, Marguerite Churchill, Frank Albertson, Warren Hymer, Pat Somerset, William Harrigan, J. Farrell MacDonald, Ferike Boros
Louis Beretti (Edmund Lowe) had been a gangster in the United States, but now he hopes for a reprieve by fighting on the Western Front during World War I.
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The Cat's-Paw 1934 N/R, 101 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Sam Taylor
Cast: Harold Lloyd, Una Merkel, George Barbier, Nat Pendleton, Grace Bradley, Alan Dinehart, Grant Mitchell, E. Alyn Warren, Warren Hymer, J. Farrell MacDonald, James Donlan, Edwin Maxwell, Frank Sheridan, David Holt, Fuzzy Knight
After spending 20 years in China, Ezekiel Cobb (Harold Lloyd) returns to his hometown of Stockport, California, and wins the election for mayor after corrupt politicians convince him to run. Now, he begins a campaign to reform the town and uses his recently gained Chinese wisdom to obtain confessions before running the tough guys out of town.
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Charlie Chan Carries On 1931 N/R, 69 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Hamilton MacFadden
Cast: Warner Oland, Marguerite Churchill, John Garrick, Warren Hymer, William(2) Holden, George Brent, Jason Robards Sr., Marjorie White, C. Henry Gordon, Peter Gawthorne, John T. Murray, John Swor, Goodee Montgomery, Lumsden Hare, Zeffie Tilbury
This film, lost in the archives, features Warner Oland in his first role as Charlie Chan. Charlie is vacationing in London when a wealthy American is murdered in a London hotel. Charlie follows clues that lead him from London to Nice, San Remo, Hong Kong, and Honolulu. This film was remade in 1940 as "Charlie Chan 's Murder Cruise" with Sidney Toler in the title role.
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Destry Rides Again 1939 N/R, 94 min.
Genre: Western
Director: George Marshall
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart, Charles Winninger, Mischa Auer, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Una Merkel, Samuel S. Hinds, Jack Carson, Warren Hymer
Bottleneck is a Western town badly in need of help, and Destry (James Stewart) is hired to do the job. Through peaceful means, mild-mannered Destry cleans up the town.
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Hitler: Dead or Alive 1942 N/R, 72 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Nick Grinde
Cast: Ward Bond, Dorothy Tree, Warren Hymer, Paul Fix, Russell Hicks, Bruce Edwards, Felix Basch, Bobby Watson, Frederick Giermann, Kenneth Harlan, Fee Malten, George Sorel
Ward Bond, Warren Hymer, and Paul Fix play three ex-convicts who try to cash in on a $1,000,000 reward offered by an American businessman for the capture of Adolf Hitler.
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Hold 'Em Jail 1932 N/R, 74 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Taurog
Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Betty Grable, Edgar Kennedy, Edna May Oliver, Roscoe Ates, Paul Hurst, Warren Hymer, Robert Armstrong, Spencer Charters
Prison inmates Curly (Bert Wheeler) and Spider (Robert Woolsey) get involved in prison football–the warden's (Edgar Kennedy) favorite sport.
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Kid Millions 1934 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Eddie Cantor, Ann Sothern, Ethel Merman, George Murphy, Warren Hymer, Paul Harvey, Edgar Kennedy, Paulette Goddard, Lucille Ball, Stanley Fields
After inheriting a fortune, a kid (Eddie Cantor) from Brooklyn goes to Egypt to claim his inheritance. Lucille Ball is one of the "Goldwyn Girls" in this movie.
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Little Miss Marker 1934 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Family
Director: Alexander Hall
Cast: Adolphe Menjou, Dorothy Dell, Shirley Temple, Charles Bickford, Lynne Overman, Frank McGlynn Sr., Warren Hymer, Garry Owen, Willie Best, Frank Conroy
This good Damon Runyan story was a perfect vehicle for Shirley Temple. After her father goes into debt to his bookie, Sorrowful Jones (Adolphe Menjou), Miss Marker (Shirley Temple) becomes a ward of the bookie as an I.O.U. Remade in 1949 as "Sorrowful Jones" with Bob Hope, in 1963 as "Forty Pounds of Trouble" with Tony Curtis, and in 1980 with Walter Matthau.
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Love, Honor and Oh Baby! 1940 N/R, 59 min.
Genre: Comedy / Mystery / Romance
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Donald Woods, Kathryn Adams, Wallace Ford, Marc Lawrence, Warren Hymer, Mona Barrie, Hobart Cavanaugh, Irving Bacon, Frank Puglia, Thomas E. Jackson, Eddy Waller, Matt McHugh, Robert Frazer, David Oliver, Vinton Haworth
After the break-up with his girlfriend, a desolate Brian (Donald Woods) decides to help his sister by hiring a hit man to kill him and allow his sister to collect on his insurance. Then, Brian falls in love with another woman, and now must race against time to figure out who the hit man is and to cancel the contract.
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 Meet John Doe 1941   N/R, 123 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan, Edward Arnold, James Gleason, Spring Byington, Gene Lockhart, Irving Bacon, Regis Toomey, Warren Hymer, J. Farrell MacDonald, Rod La Rocque, Harry Holman, Pierre Watkin, Andrew Tombes
Journalist Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) has been fired from her newspaper job, and she thinks she has found the perfect way to get that job back by printing a fake letter from "John Doe" announcing that he is going to jump off City Hall on New Year's Eve. The stunt works, the newspaper's readership rises, John Doe gains incredible support, and Ann is rehired. Now, Ann must find someone to play "John Doe"–and she does in the form of a soft-spoken hobo, Long John Willoughby (Gary Cooper). His popularity rises, newspaper publisher D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold) puts John Doe on the radio to deliver inspirational speeches, and soon he is deeply involved in politics. But, the politics support those of fascist Norton who has a secret plan to become a dictator of the United States. Will Willoughby catch on in time to save the day? 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | The darkest of the Frank Capra Films | 1fatts 07/22/2007 | It is the depression, and a failed baseball pitcher with a bum arm trying to get by in tough times, finds himself being trained by reporter Barbara Stanwyck to pretend to be John Doe, a symbol of the down-and-out who has promised to jump from the tallest building in town on New Year's Eve. Cooper as "Long John Willoughby" does "the decency of the simple man" quite wonderfully here. It's not as funny as "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town", but more poignant for sure.
The movie is solid Capra, with a Robert Riskin screenplay. But there is a darkness here which other Capra films just hint at. Yes, John Doe doesn't commit suicide. (Love conquers all. Sorry.) But the mildly upbeat ending is artificial. The bad guys win, in effect. The little guys, whom John Doe comes to represent, really are outmatched, outsmarted and defeated by the power of crooked money and crooked politics.
When Capra did Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, he invited all the members of the Senate to a preivew. Hearing that the Senate was presented in something less than pure halo and glory, they stayed away in droves. But it is John Doe that is the real critique, hidden in a comic script and a romantic ending.
Real hollywood film buffs need to be conversant with Capra. This is the one that needs to be the center of the discussion of "The Optimistic Vision of Frank Capra". |
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Men Without Women 1930 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: John Ford
Cast: Kenneth MacKenna, Frank Albertson, Paul Page, Walter McGrail, Stuart Erwin, Warren Hymer, J. Farrell MacDonald, George LeGuere, Charles K. Gerrard, Ben Hendricks Jr.
Following a disabled submarine's descent to the ocean's floor, the desperate crew works out a rescue plan for their survival.
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A Message to Garcia 1936 N/R, 77 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: George Marshall
Cast: Wallace Beery, John Boles, Barbara Stanwyck, Alan Hale, Mona Barrie, Herbert Mundin, Martin Garralaga, Warren Hymer, Frederick Vogeding, John Carradine
During the Spanish-American War, Lieutenant Rowan (John Boles) defeats all odds to faithfully carry a message from President McKinley to Cuban leader Garcia that announces the declaration of war by the United States.
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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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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936 N/R, 118 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille, Raymond Walburn, H.B. Warner, Warren Hymer, Ruth Donnelly, Spencer Charters, Walter Catlett, John Wray, Stanley Andrews, Irving Bacon, George "Gabby" Hayes
In this classic film, Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) inherits $20 million. He leaves his small town and moves to New York City where his lack of sophistication is misinterpreted when he wants to use part of his fortune to help the needy. Newspaper reporter Babe Bennett (Jean Arthur) is sent to get the scoop on Deeds and, in the process, regrets her actions when she falls in love with him. Frank Capra won the Oscar for Best Director, and four other Oscar nominations were received, including Best Picture and Actor (Cooper).
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Mr. Moto in Danger Island 1939 N/R, 63 min.
Genre: Mystery
aka: Danger Island
Director: Herbert I. Leeds
Cast: Peter Lorre, Jean Hersholt, Amanda Duff, Warren Hymer, Richard Lane, Leon Ames, Douglass Dumbrille, Paul Harvey, Robert Lowery, Ward Bond
Peter Lorre again plays Japanese intelligence agent Mr. Moto in this story about diamond smuggling operations in Puerto Rico.
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Mr. Wise Guy 1942 N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: William Nigh
Cast: Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Billy Gilbert, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Douglas Fowley, Joan Barclay, Warren Hymer, Ann Doran, Gabriel Dell, Jack Mulhall, Bobby Stone
The East Side Kids are wrongly accused of stealing a truck and are summarily sent to reform school. Meanwhile, Bill (Douglas Fowley), the brother of Danny (Bobby Jordan), is falsely accused of and sentenced to death for a murder. The boys come up with the solution to the crimes–and just in time.
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The Mysterious Rider 1933 N/R, 59 min.
Genre: Western
aka: The Fighting Phantom
Director: Fred(2) Allen
Cast: Kent Taylor, Lona Andre, Warren Hymer, Irving Pichel, Gail Patrick, Berton Churchill, Cora Sue Collins, Clarence Wilson, E.H. Calvert, Niles Welch
Based on a Zane Grey story, crooked lawyer Cliff Harkness (Irving Pichel) cheats ranchers out of their money and land. Cliff's life takes a turn for the worse when the "Mysterious Rider" (Kent Taylor) comes to the aid of the homesteaders.
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One Way Passage 1932 N/R, 69 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Tay Garnett
Cast: Kay Francis, William Powell, Aline MacMahon, Warren Hymer, Frank McHugh, Herbert Mundin, Frederick Burton, Douglas Gerrard, Roscoe Karns, Dewey Robinson
A dying socialite (Kay Francis) finds love in the person of a condemned convict (William Powell) while both are passengers on an ocean liner. Remade in 1940 as "Til We Meet Again."
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Our Little Girl 1935 N/R, 63 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John S. Robertson
Cast: Shirley Temple, Rosemary Ames, Joel McCrea, Lyle Talbot, Erin O'Brien-Moore, J. Farrell MacDonald, Warren Hymer, Jack Baxley
Molly's (Shirley Temple) dad (Joel McCrea) is a busy physician, and her mother (Rosemary Ames) is being tempted by the neighbor. So, Molly gets to work and saves the day by bringing her parents closer together.
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Phantom Killer 1942 N/R, 61 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: William Beaudine
Cast: Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, John Hamilton, Warren Hymer, Mantan Moreland, J. Farrell MacDonald, Gayne Whitman, Kenneth Harlan, George J. Lewis, Elliott Sullivan, Karl Hackett, Frank Ellis
District Attorney Edward Clark (Dick Purcell) prosecutes the rich, popular, deaf mute John G. Harrison (John Hamilton) on a murder charge. When John is acquitted, the DA investigates and uncovers the fact that the Hamiltons are twin brothers, and the "normal" one is the bad guy. Remake of 1933's "The Sphinx."
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Rhythm on the Range 1936 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Norman Taurog
Cast: Bing Crosby, Frances Farmer, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, Samuel S. Hinds, Lucile Watson, Warren Hymer, George E. Stone, James Burke, Clem Bevans
The classic song "I'm an Old Cowhand" was introduced in this film AND Martha Raye made her film debut. Doris Halloway (Frances Farmer) is a wealthy New Yorker who heads west and meets a ranch hand (Bing Crosby) who, in turn, saves her from kidnappers. This film was remade in 1956 as "Pardners" starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
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Seas Beneath 1931 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Action
Director: John Ford
Cast: George O'Brien, Marion Lessing, Mona Maris, Walter C. Kelly, Warren Hymer, Nat Pendleton, Walter McGrail, Larry Kent, Henry Victor, John Loder
During World War I, a German U-boat has been sinking too many allied ships, so the U.S. Navy goes after it using an innocent-looking schooner that is towing a submarine. The idea is to lure the German submarine out to attack. There is an interesting encounter with lady spies during a stop in the Canary Islands in this film that has some good John Ford touches.
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She Loves Me Not 1934 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Elliott Nugent
Cast: Bing Crosby, Miriam Hopkins, Kitty Carlisle, Edward J. Nugent, Henry Stephenson, Warren Hymer, Lynne Overman, George Barbier, Henry Kolker, Judith Allen
After witnessing a murder, Curly Flagg (Miriam Hopkins), hides out at a men's college where she tries to evade the Mob. This film was remade as "True to the Army" and "How to be Very, Very Popular."
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Show Them No Mercy! 1935 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: George Marshall
Cast: Rochelle Hudson, Cesar Romero, Bruce Cabot, Edward Norris, Edward Brophy, Warren Hymer, Herbert Rawlinson, Robert Gleckler, Charles C. Wilson, William B. Davidson
Kidnappers hold a young couple captive and their very lives rest in the mercy of their captors–until the law finally comes to the rescue. Remade as a Western, "Rawhide."
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Sinner's Holiday 1930 N/R, 59 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John G. Adolfi
Cast: Grant Withers, James Cagney, Evalyn Knapp, Joan Blondell, Lucille La Verne, Noel Madison, Otto Hoffman, Warren Hymer, Hank Mann, Purnell Pratt
In this depressing story (James Cagney's first film), gypsies in an amusement park provide the backdrop for murder.
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So's Your Aunt Emma 1942 N/R, 62 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
aka: Meet the Mob
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Zasu Pitts, Roger Pryor, Douglas Fowley, Warren Hymer, Gwen Kenyon, Elizabeth Russell, Tristram Coffin, Malcolm "Bud" McTaggart, Stanley Blystone, Jack Mulhall, Dick Elliott, Wheeler Oakman
Spinster Aunt Emma (Zasu Pitts) travels to the big city to attend the boxing match of Mickey O'Banion (Malcolm "Bud" McTaggart) who is the son of her long-dead beau. Emma uncovers the fact that Mickey is a victim of mobsters controlling the boxing matches, and the gangsters mistakenly believe that Emma heads up the Ma Barker gang. Emma goes along with the deception, joins forces with a reporter (Roger Pryor), and frees Mickey from gang control.
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Submarine Patrol 1938 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: John Ford
Cast: Richard Greene, Nancy Kelly, Preston Foster, George Bancroft, Slim Summerville, John Carradine, Moroni Olsen, Max "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom, Ward Bond, Warren Hymer
Naval activity during World War I is the background for this adventure about those who patrolled the deep seas looking for enemy submarines.
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Unholy Garden 1931 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Action
Director: George Fitzmaurice
Cast: Ronald Colman, Fay Wray, Estelle Taylor, Tully Marshall, Warren Hymer, Henry Armetta, Mischa Auer, Ullrich Haupt, Lawrence Grant, Henry Kolker
Professional thief Barrington Hunt (Ronald Colman) gets mixed up in intrigue in Algeria where he plots to pit one thief against the other.
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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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You Only Live Once 1937 N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Barton MacLane, Jean Dixon, William Gargan, Warren Hymer, Charles "Chic" Sale, Margaret Hamilton, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Jerome Cowan
Just when ex-con Eddie Taylor (Henry Fonda) and his fiancee Joan Graham (Sylvia Sidney) were on the verge of finding happiness, Eddie is arrested for a robbery in which he had no part. Months later, Eddie kills the prison chaplain and breaks out of prison; he and Joan are forced to run from the police.
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| 1. 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1933)
2. Baby Face Morgan (1942)
3. Belle of the Nineties (1934)
4. Birth of the Blues (1941)
5. Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
6. Born Reckless (1930)
7. The Cat's-Paw (1934)
8. Charlie Chan Carries On (1931)
9. Destry Rides Again (1939)
10. Hitler: Dead or Alive (1942)
11. Hold 'Em Jail (1932)
12. Kid Millions (1934)
13. Little Miss Marker (1934)
14. Love Is a Racket (1932)
15. Love, Honor and Oh Baby! (1940)
16. Meet John Doe (1941)
17. Men Without Women (1930)
18. A Message to Garcia (1936)
19. Midnight Mary (1933)
20. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
21. Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939)
aka: Danger Island
22. Mr. Wise Guy (1942)
23. The Mysterious Rider (1933)
aka: The Fighting Phantom
24. One Way Passage (1932)
25. Our Little Girl (1935)
26. Phantom Killer (1942)
27. Rhythm on the Range (1936)
28. Seas Beneath (1931)
29. She Loves Me Not (1934)
30. Show Them No Mercy! (1935)
31. Sinner's Holiday (1930)
32. So's Your Aunt Emma (1942)
aka: Meet the Mob
33. Submarine Patrol (1938)
34. Unholy Garden (1931)
35. Up the River (1930)
36. You Only Live Once (1937)
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