1941-1950

VINTAGE EROTICA ANNO 1950
20 Years before the rise of 1970’s hardcore films in the U.S., the commercial pornography produced by the French unleashed a new era of Erotic Cinema.
Suddenly, unlike the common “stag” films of the time, scripts, multiple camera angles, and title credits were introduced into erotic productions.
These extended 15-minute films were intended for private viewing in the back rooms of stores, in homes, and at local brothels.The themes of many of these films were bondage and burlesque; images similar to those produced by Irving Klaw in the U.S. The main difference being that in France the filmmakers would show on-camera sex, and nudity. These films stand out, not only for being ahead of their time, but because they transcend the standards of much of what is being produced today.Read More »

“The Inside Storyo of a Great U.S. Criminal Investigation”
Frank Warren is a treasury agent assigned to put an end to the activities of a powerful mob crime boss. The agent struggles to put together a case but is frustrated when all he finds are terrified witnesses and corrupt police officers. Although most informants end up dead, Agent Warren gets critical information about the mob from an unlikely source.

The film was based on an article entitled “He Trapped Capone,” the first part of the autobiography Undercover Man by Federal Agent Frank J. Wilson, which was serialized in Collier’s in 1947. (Wikipedia)Read More »

Droll French comedian Noel-Noel essays the title role in Le Pere Tranquille (The Quiet Daddy). Contrary to expectations, the star isn’t a secret father, but in fact the unknown head of a WW2 resistance movement. By playing the fool whenever the Nazis are around and about, Noel-Noel is able to conceal his double life and successfully carry out his various sabotage missions. This deft combination of comedy and melodrama builds to a particularly suspenseful climax. Le Pere Tranquille was directed by Rene Clement, who also helmed the classic “underground” film Battle of the Rails. (All Movie Guide)Read More »

Quote:
Made immediately following the end of the war, Blasetti’s Un giorno nella vita follows
the trend of many other Italian films from this moment in history, and investigates the
situation of Italian people locked in mortal conflicts on native soil. In this case, the setting is
a secluded Convent of Nuns, the inhabitants of which appear to have lived through the war
years relatively oblivious and unaffected by the events of the outside world. However, the
peace of the Convent is upset, when a group of Italian partisans led by Amedeo Nazzari
takes shelter on the grounds of the convent. The Germans are in close pursuit, and one of
the partisans is in dire need of medical attention. Elisa Cegani and Mariella Lotti are
featured in the cast of nuns, who decide to aid the wounded partisan, and slowly also come
to sympathize with the battle weary men.Read More »

Shocking and highly controversial at the time of release, The Snake Pit broke new ground in Hollywood cinema for its depiction of mental illness and its treatment.

Olivia de Havilland (Gone with the Wind; The Heiress), delivers an astounding performance as a young bride who suffers a breakdown and finds herself committed to an asylum.Read More »

In this adaptation made during the the London Blitz of George Bernard Shaw’s edgy comedy of the same name, Wendy Hiller as the idealistic title character is running a Salvation Army shelter in the East End that aims to save the souls of the destitute while preserving their physical well-being. She becomes engaged to the sceptical, unworldly Adolphus Cusins (Rex Harrison), a professor of Ancient Greek who discards his agnosticism and joins the Salvation Army to be near his fiancee. Cusins is then startled to learn that Major Barbara in fact comes from a privileged background – she is the grand-daughter of an earl on her mother’s side, and her long-absent estranged father Andrew Undershaft (a young Robert Morley) is a multi-millionaire arms manufacturer.Read More »

Synopsis:
Highly successful London barrister Anthony Keane takes on the case of Italian Maddalena Paradine who is accused of poisoning her blind military hero husband. Keane comes increasingly under her spell, threatening both his marriage and his career.Read More »

Synopsis:
According to a legend, if three strangers gather before an idol of Kwan Yin (the Chinese goddess of fortune and destiny) on the night of the Chinese New Year and make a common wish, Kwan Yin will open her eyes and her heart and grant the wish. In London 1938 on the Chinese New Year, Crystal Shackleford has such an idol and decides to put the legend to the test. She picks two random strangers off the street, and puts the proposition to them. They decide that an ideal wish would be for a sweepstakes ticket they buy equal shares in to be a winner. After all, everyone needs money and a pot is very easy to divide equally, right?Read More »

A reformed thief cracks a ring of art thieves to clear himself of murder charges.Read More »