Back Street 1932 N/R, 84 min. Genre: Drama
Director: John M. Stahl Cast: Irene Dunne, John Boles, George Meeker, Zasu Pitts, Arletta Duncan, William Bakewell, Jane Darwell, June Clyde, Doris Lloyd, Walter Catlett, Pat Weigel, James Donlan, Maude Turner Gordon, Shirley Grey, Robert McWade
The ill-fated romance of lovers Rae and Walter (Irene Dunne and John Boles) is doomed because of complications. They part, but their passion for each other remains. Walter does marry another woman, but when he and Rae meet again years later, they enter into a secret love affair, and Rae remains loyal to Walter for the rest of her life.
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Bad Sister 1931 N/R, 68 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Hobart Henley Cast: Conrad Nagel, Sidney Fox, Bette Davis, Zasu Pitts, Humphrey Bogart, Slim Summerville, Charles Winninger, Emma Dunn, Bert Roach
Two sisters, Laura (Bette Davis) and Marianne (Sidney Fox), in the Madison family live different lives. Laura becomes involved with a new man in town (Humphrey Bogart).
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The Bashful Bachelor 1942 N/R, 78 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Malcolm St. Clair Cast: Chester Lauck, Norris Goff, Zasu Pitts, Grady Sutton, Oscar O'Shea, Louise Currie, Constance Purdy, Irving Bacon, Earle Hodgins, Benny Rubin
The radio comedy team of Lum (Chester Lauck) and Abner (Norris Goff) are back for a second film. The plot: Abner agrees to pretend to be a victim in phony accidents so Lum can save him and appear a hero to impress Geraldine (Zasu Pitts).
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Broadway Limited 1941 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Gordon Douglas Cast: Victor McLaglen, Marjorie Woodworth, Dennis O'Keefe, Patsy Kelly, Zasu Pitts, Leonid Kinskey, George E. Stone, Gay Ellen Dakin, Charles C. Wilson, John Sheehan, Edgar Edwards, Eric Alden, Sam McDaniel, Eddie Acuff, J. Farrell MacDonald
Film director Ivan Ivanski (Leonid Kinskey) boards the train from Chicago heading to New York with his up-and-coming star April (Marjorie Woodworth) and secretary Patsy (Patsy Kelly). Ivan wants April to take a baby with her on the trip as a publicity stunt. They find a baby and start the trip, but problems unfold when the engineer suspects that the baby was kidnapped.
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Broken Lullaby 1932 N/R, 77 min. Genre: Drama aka: The Man I Killed
Director: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Nancy Carroll, Phillips Holmes, Louise Carter, Tom Douglas, Emma Dunn, Lucien Littlefield, Tully Marshall, Zasu Pitts, Frank Sheridan, George Bickel, George Irving, Lillian Elliott
A French soldier Paul Renaud (Phillip Holmes) kills enemy soldier Walter Holderlin (Tom Douglas) during a World War I battle. While trying to make it up to the dead man's parents (Lionel Barrymore and Loiuse Carter), he meets Walter's fiancee Elsa (Nancy Carroll) and falls in love with her. Well-told tale.
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The Crooked Circle 1932 N/R, 68 min. Genre: Comedy / Mystery
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone Cast: Ben Lyon, Zasu Pitts, James Gleason, Irene Purcell, C. Henry Gordon, Raymond Hatton, Roscoe Karns, Berton Churchill, Spencer Charters, Robert Frazer, Frank Reicher, Christian Rub
When amateur detectives track down a secret society of hooded students of the occult and confront them in a haunted house, mayhem ensues.
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Dames 1934 N/R, 92 min. Genre: Musical / Comedy
Director: Ray Enright Cast: Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Zasu Pitts, Hugh Herbert, Guy Kibbee, Arthur Vinton, Sammy Fain, Phil Regan, Arthur Aylesworth, Johnny Arthur, Leila Bennett, Berton Churchill
Multi-millionaire Ezra Ounce (Hugh Herbert) leads his friends and family in a campagne for "the preservation of America's Morals." Meanwhile, his distant cousin, Jimmy (Dick Powell), is producing a show in what Ezra believes to be "the demon world of the theater" starring Ezra's niece Barbara (Ruby Keeler). Ezra's solution: hire thugs to wreck the show, and mayhem ensues.
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Eternally Yours 1939 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Tay Garnett Cast: Loretta Young, David Niven, Hugh Herbert, Billie Burke, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Walburn, Zasu Pitts, Broderick Crawford, Virginia Field, Eve Arden, Ralph Graves, Lionel Pape
Anita (Loretta Young) looks forward to a comfortable life when she marries wealthy, stable Don (Broderick Crawford). But when she meets a magician, "The Great Arturo" (David Niven), she falls in love with him, the two marry, and they head out on his travels around the world. Despite her new adventures, she yearns for home, and–after several years of traveling with the flirtatious magician–she decides to leave him and return to the simple life.
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Francis 1949 N/R, 91 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Arthur Lubin Cast: Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina, Zasu Pitts, Tony Curtis, Ray Collins, Chill Wills, John McIntire, Eduard Franz, Howland Chamberlin, Frank Faylen
A West Point cadet (Donald O'Connor) discovers that the mule Francis (voice of Chill Wills) can talk, and Francis manages to get the cadet into all sorts of trouble. First in a series of seven "Francis" films.
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Francis Joins the WACs 1954 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Arthur Lubin Cast: Donald O'Connor, Julie Adams, Chill Wills, Mamie Van Doren, Lynn Bari, Zasu Pitts, Joan Shawlee, Allison Hayes, Mara Corday, Olan Soule
A military mistake causes Peter Stirling (Donald O'Connor) to be sent to an all-female WAC base where he is reunited with old pal Francis the talking mule (voice of Chill Wills). Predictable, but fun. Wills also plays the role of the General.
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It All Came True 1940 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Lewis Seiler Cast: Ann Sheridan, Jeffrey Lynn, Humphrey Bogart, Zasu Pitts, Una O'Connor, John Litel, Grant Mitchell, Felix Bressart, Charles Judels, Howard C. Hickman
When a mobster (Humphrey Bogart) hides out in a boarding house, he ends up helping the Taylor family who reside there. Interesting mix of musical/comedy/drama.
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Life with Father 1947 N/R, 118 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Michael Curtiz Cast: William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor, Zasu Pitts, Edmund Gwenn, Jimmy Lydon, Emma Dunn, Moroni Olsen, Elisabeth Risdon, Martin Milner, Johnny Calkins, Monte Blue, Mary Field, Clara Blandick
During the 1880s, stockbroker Clarence Day (William Powell) lives in New York City with his non-sensible wife Vinnie (Irene Dunne) and their family. Vinnie is determined that Clarence be baptized and that he will "toe the line," and she stops at nothing to get her way. Meanwhile, their eldest son, Clarence, Jr. (James Lydon), is enjoying a romance with Mary (Elizabeth Taylor) who is visiting from out of town, and son John finds a way to make money by selling a questionable potion. This warm-hearted and amusing film received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor (Powell).
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Monte Carlo 1930 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Jack Buchanan, Jeanette MacDonald, Zasu Pitts, Claud Allister, Lionel Belmore, Tyler Brooke, John Roche, Albert Conti, Helen Garden, Donald Novis, Billy Bevan, Sidney Bracey, Frances Dee, Rolfe Sedan
Countess Vera von Conti (Jeanette MacDonald) is engaged to Prince Otto von Seibenheim (Claud Allister), but she does not love him. So, just before the scheduled wedding, Vera heads for Monte Carlo where she loses, time after time, at the casinos. She meets a mysterious man (Jack Buchanan) who asks if he may touch her hair for luck. He strokes her hair, but it is Vera's luck that changes, and she asks him to stay by her side. What Vera does not know is that he is actually the very wealthy Count Rudolph Falliere who is posing as a commoner in order to be near Vera. The Count plays his game until he ends up winning her heart, and they live happily ever after. Among the songs MacDonald sings is, "Beyond the Blue Horizon."
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Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 1934 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Norman Taurog Cast: Pauline Lord, W.C. Fields, Zasu Pitts, Evelyn Venable, Kent Taylor, Donald Meek, Charles Middleton, Jimmy Butler, Virginia Weidler, George Reed
This is the story of Mrs. Wiggs (Pauline Lord), the mother of five children, who handles adversity and manages to instill positive messages in her brood. Remade in 1942.
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Naughty But Nice 1939 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Ray Enright Cast: Ann Sheridan, Dick Powell, Gale Page, Helen Broderick, Ronald Reagan, Allen Jenkins, Zasu Pitts, Max "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom, Jerry Colonna, Luis Alberni
Professor Hardwick (Dick Powell) composes songs with his partner Zelda Manton (Ann Sheridan), but singer Linda McKay (Gale Page) has other plans for his song-writing methods.
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Once in a Lifetime 1932 N/R, 75 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Russell Mack Cast: Jack Oakie, Sidney Fox, Aline MacMahon, Russell Hopton, Zasu Pitts, Louise Fazenda, Gregory Ratoff, Onslow Stevens, Alan Ladd, Robert McWade
This film views Hollywood through the eyes of playwrights George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart who see the entire Hollywood scene as inane, especially when the talkies arrive on the scene.
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Ruggles of Red Gap 1935 N/R, 92 min. Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Leo McCarey Cast: Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charles Ruggles, Zasu Pitts, Roland Young, Leila Hyams, Maude Eburne, Lucien Littlefield, James Burke, Dell Henderson, Leota Lorraine, Clarence Wilson, Heinie Conklin, Frank Rice, Rolfe Sedan
American cattle baron Egbert (Charles Ruggles) and his society-minded wife Effie (Mary Boland) win English manservant Marmaduke Ruggles (Charles Laughton) in a poker game, and the fun begins. Ruggles is not happy to be heading off to the Wild West, but after going to a "beer bust" with Egbert, Ruggles begins to change his mind. Effie passes off Ruggles as an upper-class British officer, and he ends up a town celebrity. Later, Ruggles decides to open his own restaurant and gain independence. A fine rendition of Harry Leon Wilson's story that was filmed twice before and made again in 1950 as "Fancy Pants." The film was nominated for an Oscar as Best Picture.
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The Secret Witness 1931 N/R, 65 min. Genre: Mystery / Drama aka: Terror by Night
Director: Thornton Freeland Cast: Una Merkel, William Collier Jr., Zasu Pitts, Purnell Pratt, Clyde Cook, Ralf Harolde, June Clyde, Rita La Roy, Paul Hurst, Nat Pendleton, Clarence Muse, Hooper Atchley, Billy Bletcher, Mike Donlin, Henry Hall
Wealthy philanderer Herbert Folsom (Hooper Atchley) is found dead from a bullet wound, and there are several suspects who include his wife (Rita La Roy) and the brother of his latest mistress–who committed suicide when Herbert had refused to dump his wife. Ditzy neighbor Lois Martin (Una Merkel) helps in identifying the culprit.
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Shopworn 1932 N/R, 72 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Nick Grinde Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Regis Toomey, Zasu Pitts, Lucien Littlefield, Clara Blandick, Edwin Maxwell, Oscar Apfel, Joe Sawyer, Albert Conti, Wallis Clark
The romance of waitress Kitty Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) and her rich boyfriend (Regis Toomey) is broken up when his mother frames her and she is sent to jail. Years later, Kitty becomes a stage star and is eventually reunited with her lover.
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Sin Takes a Holiday 1930 N/R, 81 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Paul L. Stein Cast: Constance Bennett, Kenneth MacKenna, Basil Rathbone, Zasu Pitts, Rita La Roy, Louis John Bartels, John Roche, Kendall Lee, Muriel Finley, Judith Wood
After agreeing to a marriage of convenience, a young woman (Constance Bennett) is taught some lessons about the value of being true to oneself and must make some real decisions.
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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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Thirteen Hours by Air 1936 N/R, 80 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Mitchell Leisen Cast: Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett, Zasu Pitts, John Howard, Benny Bartlett, Grace Bradley, Alan Baxter, Brian Donlevy, Ruth Donnelly, Dean Jagger
Hijacking and murder is in store for passengers on a commercial airplane flying a transcontinental route.
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This Thing Called Love 1929 N/R, 72 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Paul L. Stein Cast: Edmund Lowe, Constance Bennett, Roscoe Karns, Zasu Pitts, Carmelita Geraghty, John Roche, Stuart Erwin, Ruth Taylor, Wilson Benge, Jean Harlow
Robert Collings (Edmund Lowe) returns home after making a fortune in Peru with the intent of buying a house and finding a wife. But when he goes to his real estate agent's house for dinner and sees the bickering, he decides that marriage is out but still would like to share his house with someone. He meets Ann (Constance Bennett), she moves in, and fulfills the duties of a wife in most respects–except they can each date others. Of course they fall in love. Jean Harlow makes an early film appearance in a bit part.
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The Thrill of It All 1963 N/R, 108 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Jewison Cast: Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, Edward Andrews, Reginald Owen, Zasu Pitts, Elliott Reid, Hayden Rorke, Alex Gerry, Paul Hartman
When she becomes a star in TV commercials, Beverly Boyer (Doris Day) runs into marriage problems as her husband, Dr. Gerald Boyer (James Garner), has problems adjusting to his wife's new lifestyle.
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Westward Passage 1932 N/R, 73 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Robert Milton Cast: Ann Harding, Laurence Olivier, Zasu Pitts, Juliette Compton, Irving Pichel, Edgar Kennedy, Bonita Granville, Ethel Griffies, Don Alvarado, Florence Lake
To attain true happiness, Olivia Van Tyne (Ann Harding) must decide between marriage to Nick (Laurence Olivier) or Harry (Irving Pichel).
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| 1. Back Street (1932)
2. Bad Sister (1931)
3. The Bashful Bachelor (1942)
4. Broadway Limited (1941)
5. Broken Lullaby (1932) aka: The Man I Killed
6. The Crooked Circle (1932)
7. Dames (1934)
8. Eternally Yours (1939)
9. Francis (1949)
10. Francis Joins the WACs (1954)
11. Greed (1925)
12. It All Came True (1940)
13. Let's Face It (1943)
14. Life with Father (1947)
15. Monte Carlo (1930)
16. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934)
17. Naughty But Nice (1939)
18. Once in a Lifetime (1932)
19. The Perfect Marriage (1946)
20. Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
21. The Secret Witness (1931) aka: Terror by Night
22. Shopworn (1932)
23. Sin Takes a Holiday (1930)
24. So's Your Aunt Emma (1942) aka: Meet the Mob
25. Thirteen Hours by Air (1936)
26. This Thing Called Love (1929)
27. The Thrill of It All (1963)
28. Weekend for Three (1941)
29. Westward Passage (1932)
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