Charles Vidor

Frank Sinatra stars in this biography of Joe E. Lewis – one of the great entertainers of the twenties and latterly as a stand up comic in the forties through to the sixties. This after he was beaten almost to death and his face slashed and part of his tongue cut off by the gangsters who ran the joint he worked out of when he threatened to leave. Sinatras performance is one of his very best as an actor and the supporting cast – including Eddie Albert, Jackie Coogan and Mitzi Gaynor – are also very good.Read More »

In a remote region of post-independence India, the love of a blind British woman pricks the conscience of an arms dealer.Read More »

One of the very first Hollywood films that could be described as a noir, this brisk psychological thriller stars Chester Morris as an inmate who escapes from prison and hides out in the home of a famed psychiatrist (Ralph Bellamy). As the hostage doctor begins analyzing his captor and dredges up the secrets of his troubled past, the tables gradually turn. With its striking cinematography by Lucien Ballard and Freudian themes, BLIND ALLEY is an intriguing early expression of film noir.Read More »

During India’s first years of independence from Britain, Steve Gibbs lands his armaments loaded plane in Ghandahar province hoping to get rich. Pacifist Prime Minister Singh hopes to reach an agreement with guerilla leader Khan, the maharajah is a fool, and the British residents are living in the past. Steve’s love interest is Joan Willoughby, the blind daughter of a parson.Read More »

Synopsis:
Hans Christian Andersen was Sam Goldwyn’s final production for RKO Radio release, and also the producer’s last Danny Kaye vehicle. The Moss Hart-Myles Connolly screenplay largely disregards the facts concerning Denmark’s great storyteller, opting for a fanciful blend of comedy, fantasy, romance and music. As played by Kaye, Hans Christian Andersen starts out as a small-town cobbler whose gift for spinning fairy tales is keeping the local kids from attending school. Asked to leave town, Hans heads to Copenhagen to seek his fortune as a writer.Read More »

Englishmen 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 »

Synopsis:
In the late nineteenth century, Ellen Creed works as the live-in companion to Miss Leonora Fiske, a retired actress who lives in the English countryside and who still retains her theatrical mannerisms. Ellen receives notice that the landlady of her two sisters, Emily Creed and Louisa Creed, who currently live in London, is threatening to call the police to haul them away to an asylum because of their disruptive behavior due to their mentally deranged state. Ellen will not allow her sisters to be institutionalized, and convinces Miss Fiske to allow them to stay with them for a couple of days. Miss Fiske was unaware of their deranged mental state when she agreed and is also unaware that Ellen hopes to make their stay permanent.Read More »

Synopsis:
Johnny Farrell has just arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he is making a living cheating in gambling, primarily in informal street games. He begins a more stable life when, upon a chance meeting, he convinces Ballin Mundson, the violent and less than scrupulous owner of the local illegal casino, to hire him on the premise that it is better for Ballin to have the “enemy” on his side. Besides the casino, which the local authorities are aware of, Ballin is involved in an international illegal tungsten cartel. Johnny quickly rises to be Ballin’s trusted right hand man. Read More »

I warned you once. You didn’t
listen. Now you’re through.– Through with what?
– The casino. You’re fired.

You are mistaken. I will be here
after you are gone, Mr. Peasant.

Plot Synopsis
In Argentina, Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) wins money at dice and is held up; but Ballin Mundson (George Macready) rescues him with a sword-cane and recommends a gambling club. Johnny goes there and wins at blackjack. Ballin is the owner and tells him to leave, but Johnny hits back at his thug Casey (Joe Sawyer) and asks for a job. People celebrate the end of the war, and Ballin puts Johnny in charge while he is away…Read More »