Classics

  • Tod Browning – Mark of the Vampire (1935)

    1931-1940ClassicsHorrorTod BrowningUSA

    Sir Karell Borotyn appears to have been killed by Count Mora, a vampire believed to haunt the local village. Now his daughter Irena is the count’s next target. Enter Professor Zelen, an expert on vampires who’s sent in to prevent her death. At the same time, secrets are revealed surrounding the circumstances of Sir Karell’s death.Read More »

  • André De Toth – House of Wax (1953)

    USA1951-1960André De TothClassicsHorror

    An associate burns down a wax museum with the owner inside, but he survives only to become vengeful and murderous.Read More »

  • Steno – I tartassati AKA Fripouillard et Cie AKA The Overtaxed (1959)

    1951-1960ClassicsComedyFranceSteno

    Since the IRS has ordered new taxes, all traders in the village are tormented. Only Torquato Pezzella, a wealthy merchant of rain does not give in to despair general. To escape the contributions it has offered a tax advisor, the very respectable Curto Hector, who is in reality an ignorant on the subject. Still, Pezzella that has so far managed to avoid the taxes through the valuable advice of his new partner. Until one day an inspector of the brigade versatile, the formidable Topponi Fabio decides to check himself the accounting of this individual who is enriched by eye and does not report to the state. The note is difficult to digest; home Pezzella owes more than fifteen million in contributions. However, an unexpected event will upset all the data …Read More »

  • Mike Nichols – Catch-22 (1970)

    USA1961-1970ClassicsMike NicholsWar

    A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation. Catch-22 is a parody of a “military mentality”, and of a bureaucratic society in general.Read More »

  • Jack Arnold – It Came from Outer Space (1953)

    1951-1960ClassicsJack ArnoldSci-FiUSA

    Quote:
    This thoughtful, prototypical film was Universals initial foray into science fiction during the 1950s. While technically not the first sci-fi movie to explore the theme of benevolent aliens threatened by the ignorant, knee-jerk hostility of humans, it more or less set the standard for those that followed. Most of the credit for this belongs to a story treatment by SF legend Ray Bradbury, the sure-handed direction of Jack Arnold (who would go on to helm most of Universal’s top drawer genre flicks of the decade), and a fine performance by lead Richard Carlson… It Came From Outer Space remains the real deal, a genuine genre classic. It’s easily one of the best science fiction films of the 1950s.Read More »

  • Atef Salem – Seraa fil Nil AKA Struggle on the Nile (1959)

    Drama1951-1960Atef SalemClassicsEgypt

    Naïve young Muhasab is asked to accompany his more dependable friend, Mujahed, on a voyage up the Nile to Cairo. Once there, they will sell their boat, the “Bride of the Nile,” in order to buy a barge that will make their village elders more competitive in business and trade. But a ruthless business rival is determined to see that the men never reach Cairo. Matters become even more complicated when Nargis, a scheming carnival dancer, is discovered hiding out in the cargo hold of the “Bride of the Nile.” Starring Omar Sharif in one of his most complex roles, this sensual and atmospheric classic of Egyptian cinema is set on a Nile boat where the conflict between two men is ignited by a seductive gypsy who marries one man but loves the other. Atef Salem directs tour de force performances by Sharif, Rushdi Abaza and Hind Rostom. Ranked #36 on the list of 100 Best Egyptian Films 1933-2007 compiled by a team of Egyptian film critics and published in the Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper.Read More »

  • Helmut Käutner – Himmel ohne Sterne AKA Sky Without Stars (1955)

    Drama1951-1960ClassicsGermanyHelmut Käutner

    Synopsis:
    Anna (Eva Kotthaus) is a factory worker in East Germany. Her five-year-old son Jochen, lives with his grandparents in the West and Anna wants him to live with her, so she abducts him. Along the way she meets Carl (Erik Schumann) who helps her with her son and they fall in love.Read More »

  • Dorothy Arzner – Working Girls (1931)

    1931-1940ClassicsDorothy ArznerRomanceUSA

    Two sisters have arrived in New York straight from the country and settle down in one of those boarding houses for single women. May, the older, is a bit naive, while June, the younger, is much more worldly and world-wise. The next day, they go out looking for jobs and June makes sure her older sister gets one, while she snags herself a job and a saxophone playing beau named Pat Kelly. May also finds a beau, Boyd Wheeler, a young lawyer with a degree from Harvard. While June enjoys herself and the presents she gets from Kelly, May falls more and more in love with Boyd and rejects a proposal from her boss, archaeologist Dr. von Schrader, who then fires her. Without a job, May is free to spend even more time with Boyd, despite her sister’s warnings. She is heartbroken when she learns that Boyd has gotten engaged to a society girl. June does her best to comfort her sister and decides to ask Dr. von Schrader to hire May again.Read More »

  • Dorothy Arzner – Anybody’s Woman (1930)

    1921-1930ClassicsDorothy ArznerDramaUSA

    New York Times Review

    In their enthusiasm for the idea of electric fans carrying voices across hotel courtyards, those concerned with the producing of “Anybody’s Woman,” the talking picture now at both the Times Square Paramount and the Brooklyn Paramount, favor coincidences that are absurdly unconvincing. This more or less ingenious notion can be accepted in an early episode, but when it crops up again in the climactic sequence the result is emphatically disappointing.Read More »

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