Orphans Edward “Blackie” Gallagher and Jim Wade are lifelong friends who take different paths in life. Blackie thrives on gambling and grows up to be a hard-nosed racketeer. Bookworm Wade becomes a D.A. vying for the Governorship. When Blackie’s girlfriend Eleanor leaves him and marries the more down to earth Wade, Blackie harbors no resentment. In fact, their friendship is so strong that Blackie murders an attorney threatening to derail Wade’s bid to become Governor. The morally straight Wade’s last job as D.A. is to convict his friend of the murder, and send him to the electric chair. After he becomes Governor, Wade has the authority to commute Blackie’s death sentence– a decision that pits his high moral ethics against a lifelong friendship.Read More »
1931-1940
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W.S. Van Dyke & George Cukor – Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
Drama1931-1940CrimeGeorge CukorUSAW.S. Van Dyke -
Charles Brabin & Charles Vidor – The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
1931-1940AdventureCharles BrabinCharles VidorHorrorUSAEnglishmen race to find the tomb of Genghis Khan. They have to get there fast, as the evil genius Dr. Fu Manchu is also searching, and if he gets the mysteriously powerful relics, he and his diabolical daughter will enslave the world!Read More »
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Rowland V. Lee – Tower of London (1939)
1931-1940ClassicsHorrorRowland V. LeeUSAIn the 15th century Richard Duke of Gloucester, aided by his club-footed executioner Mord, eliminates those ahead of him in succession to the throne, then occupied by his brother King Edward IV of England. As each murder is accomplished he takes particular delight in removing small figurines, each resembling one of the successors, from a throne-room dollhouse, until he alone remains. After the death of Edward he becomes Richard III, King of England, and need only defeat the exiled Henry Tudor to retain power.Read More »
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Jean Renoir – La vie est à nous AKA The People of France (1936)
1931-1940FranceJean RenoirPoliticsQuote:
A propaganda film produced by the French Communist Party (PCF) for the campaign for the May 1936 elections – which brought the Popular Front to power – “La vie est à nous”, by Jean Renoir, was shot by a team of militant filmmakers and technicians.Read More »
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Alessandro Blasetti – Ettore Fieramosca (1938)
1931-1940AdventureAlessandro BlasettiEpicItalyFreely excerpted from Wikipedia:
In 1503, the French and the Spanish fight over the region surrounding the Sicilian castle of Morreale. Giovanna, the beautiful castellan, yearns to free herself from the foreign yoke and for this she wants to marry a brave knight. Graiano d’Asti deceives her by letting Ettore Fieramosca fight in his place and then bragging with Giovanna about the feat, thus managing to convince her to marry him.Read More » -
Alfred Hitchcock – The Skin Game (1931)
Drama1931-1940Alfred HitchcockUnited KingdomA rich family, the Hillcrests, is fighting against the speculator, Hornblower, who sends away poor farmers to build factories on their lands. When Mrs. Hillcrest finds out that Chloe Hornblower was a prostitute, she uses this secret to blackmail the speculator and force him to stop his businessRead More »
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Joe May – Ihre Majestät die Liebe AKA Her Majesty Love (1931)
1931-1940ComedyGermanyJoe MayWeimar Republic cinemaQuote:
The story is pleasent fluff where Franz Lederer has to marry a rich woman in order to be chief executive of a big firm. He pretends to be in love Käthe von Nagy’s bar girl and just guess how this story could end.Read More » -
Tex Avery – A Wild Hare (1940)
1931-1940AnimationShort FilmTex AveryUSAQuote:
The first official appearance of Bugs Bunny. Elmer is a dimwitted hunter, “wooking for wabbits.” Bugs is a clever, smooth-talking character, who confuses Elmer with double-talk and misdirection. Elmer is no match for the wascally wabbit, even when he thinks Bugs is dead.Read More » -
Tex Avery – I Love to Singa (1936)
1931-1940AnimationShort FilmTex AveryUSAQuote:
A very stern owl who teaches ‘voice, piano & violin, but no jazz!’ becomes a father of four. Very soon, three of his boys turn out to be musical talents in the classical repertoire. However, the fourth isn’t into classical music but into jazz. When he keeps singing jazz songs, the father decides that enough is too much and turns him into the street, much to the distress of the mother. While joyously walking and singing through the forest, the young son stumbles across a radio audition day and decides to try his luck.Read More »









