Santa Fe Trail (1940)

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writer: Robert Buckner (original screenplay)
Release Date: 28 December 1940 (USA) more
Genre: Action - Adventure - Biography - Drama - History - Romance - Western


* Cast :
Errol Flynn ... Jeb Stuart
Olivia de Havilland ... Kit Carson Holliday
Raymond Massey ... John Brown
Ronald Reagan ... George Armstrong Custer
Alan Hale ... Tex Bell
William Lundigan ... Bob Holliday
Van Heflin ... Carl Rader
Gene Reynolds ... Jason Brown
Henry O'Neill ... Cyrus K. Holliday
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams ... Windy Brody
Alan Baxter ... Oliver Brown
John Litel ... Martin
Moroni Olsen ... Colonel Robert E. Lee
David Bruce ... Phil Sheridan
Hobart Cavanaugh ... Doyle


* Plot :


The story of Jeb Stuart, his romance with Kit Carson Holliday, friendship with George Custer and battles against John Brown in the days leading up to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

The Flying Deuces (1939)

The Flying Deuces (1939)
Director: A. Edward Sutherland
Writers: Ralph Spence (original story and screenplay) &
Charley Rogers (original story and screenplay) ...
Release Date: 21 January 1949 (France) more
Genre: Comedy


* Cast :

Stan Laurel ... Stan
Oliver Hardy ... Ollie
Jean Parker ... Georgette
Reginald Gardiner ... Francois
Charles Middleton ... Commandant
Jean Del Val ... Sergeant
Crane Whitley ... Corporal (as Clem Wilenchick)
James Finlayson ... Jailor

* Plot :

Oliver is heartbroken when he finds that Georgette, the inkeeper's daughter he's fallen in love with, is already married to dashing Foreign Legion officer Francois.


To forget her, he joins the Legion, taking Stanley with him. Their bumbling eventually gets them charged with desertion and sentenced to a firing squad.


They manage to escape in a stolen airplane, but crash after a wild ride.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Writers: Samson Raphaelson (screenplay)
Miklós László (play)
Release Date: 10 August 1945 (France) more
Genre: Comedy - Romance - Drama


* Cast :

Margaret Sullavan ... Klara Novak
James Stewart ... Alfred Kralik
Frank Morgan ... Hugo Matuschek
Joseph Schildkraut ... Ferencz Vadas
Sara Haden ... Flora
Felix Bressart ... Pirovitch
William Tracy ... Pepi Katona
Inez Courtney ... Ilona Novotny
Sarah Edwards ... Customer
Edwin Maxwell ... Doctor
Charles Halton ... Detective
Charles Smith ... Rudy


* Plot :


Matuschek's" is the gift shop around the corner. Among the staff is Alfred Kralik, a likeable young man who's in love with a woman he has never met and whose name he doesn't even know (their "romance" has been conducted through a post office box)


When Klara Novak comes to work as a clerk in the shop, the sparks begin to fly: she and Alfred can't stand each other. Of course, what neither knows is that Klara is the woman Alfred has been romancing through the mail!

The Conqueror (1956)

Director: Dick Powell
Writer: Oscar Millard (written by)
Release Date: 28 March 1956 (USA) more
Genre: Action - Adventure - Biography - History - Romance


* Cast :


John Wayne ... Temujin, later Genghis Khan
Susan Hayward ... Bortai
Pedro Armendáriz ... Jamuga (as Pedro Armendariz)
Agnes Moorehead ... Hunlun
Thomas Gomez ... Wang Khan
John Hoyt ... Shaman
William Conrad ... Kasar
Ted de Corsia ... Kumlek
Leslie Bradley ... Targutai
Lee Van Cleef ... Chepei
Peter Mamakos ... Bogurchi
Leo Gordon ... Tartar Captain
Richard Loo ... Captain of Wang's guard


* Plot :


In ancient times, the Mongolian warlord Temujin must do battle against the rival tribe that killed his father.


The battles pale in comparison with Temujin's home life, as he attempts to woo the heart of the red-haired Tartar prisoner Bortai whom he has captured in a raid. He must also deal with various intrigues within his palace.


Eventually, Bortai falls to his manly charms, Temujin defeats his enemies within and without, and is crowned Genghis Khan.

East of Borneo (1931)

East of Borneo (1931)
Director: George Melford
Writers: Edwin H. Knopf (writer)
Dale Van Every (story)
Release Date: 1 August 1931 (USA) more
Genre: Adventure


* Cast :

Rose Hobart ... Linda Randolph
Charles Bickford ... Dr. Allan Clark (Dr. Allan Randolph)
Georges Renavent ... Hashim, Prince of Marudu
Lupita Tovar ... Neila
Noble Johnson ... Osman


* Plot :


Woman treks through jungle to find her missing husband, who had left her years before when he believed she was having an affair.


She finds him as the drunken court physician to a tyrannical jungle prince; as if that isn't bad enough, she soon realizes the the prince has eyes for her.

Baby Doll (1956)

Baby Doll is a 1956 film which tells the story of the childlike bride of a Mississippi cotton gin owner, who becomes the pawn in a battle between her husband and his enemy. It stars Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach and Mildred Dunnock. This was Wallach's feature film debut.


The screenplay was written by Tennessee Williams and was based on his one-act play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton. The movie was directed by Elia Kazan. It was filmed in Benoit, Mississippi, in an antebellum home, the only one in Mississippi's Bolivar County.


Elia Kazan won the Golden Globe award for Best Director for Baby Doll. It was also nominated for four other Golden Globe awards, four Academy awards and four British Academy awards, with Eli Wallach taking the BAFTA prize for "Most Promising Newcomer to Film."


While the costume design was not nominated, the film is credited with both the name and originating the popularity of the babydoll nightgown, which derives from the costume worn by Baker's character.


The Catholic Legion of Decency succeeded in having the film withdrawn from release in most U.S. theaters because of their objections over its sexual themes. The movie was banned in many countries like Sweden, due to what was called exaggerated sexual content. The film was also condemned by Time, which called it the "dirtiest American-made motion picture that had ever been legally exhibited".

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
Director: Otto Preminger
Writers: Nelson Algren
Walter Newman
Release Date: 4 July 1956 (France) more
Genre: Drama


* Cast :

Frank Sinatra ... Frankie Machine
Eleanor Parker ... Zosch Machine
Kim Novak ... Molly
Arnold Stang ... Sparrow
Darren McGavin ... Louie
Robert Strauss ... Schwiefka
John Conte ... Drunky
Doro Merande ... Vi
George E. Stone ... Sam Markette
George Mathews ... Williams
Leonid Kinskey ... Dominiwski
Emile Meyer ... Detective Bednar


* Desription :


The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang and Darren McGavin. It was adapted for the screen by Walter Newman, Lewis Meltzer and Ben Hecht (uncredited), and directed by Otto Preminger.


It was nominated for three Academy Awards:


Sinatra for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Joseph C. Wright and Darrell Silvera for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White and Elmer Bernstein for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Sinatra was also nominated for best actor awards by the BAFTAs and The New York Film Critics. The film was controversial for its time; the Motion Picture Association of America refused to certify the film because it showed drug addiction.


The film was released without the MPAA's seal of approval. This sparked a change in production codes, allowing movies more freedom to more deeply explore hitherto taboo subjects such drug abuse, kidnapping, abortion and prostitution.


* Plot :


Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra) is released from prison with a set of drums and a new outlook on life. A former heroin addict, Frankie became clean in prison. On the outside, he greets friends and acquaintances.


Sparrow (Arnold Stang), who runs a con selling homeless dogs, clings to him like a young brother, but Schwiefka (Robert Strauss), whom Frankie used to deal for in his illegal card game, has more sinister reasons for welcoming him back, as does Louis (Darren McGavin), Machine's former heroin dealer.


Frankie sees his wife Zosh (Eleanor Parker), who is wheelchair-bound after a car crash some years ago. Zosh smothers her husband and hinders his attempt to make something of himself. He thinks he has what it takes to play drums for a big band. While calling to make an appointment, he bumps into an old flame, Molly (Kim Novak)...