Classics

An unjustly neglected, extremely funny jab at the media empire and the world of big business. Beauregard Bottomley (Ronald Colman) is an unemployed genius who holds a Ph.D., skims the encyclopedia for enjoyment and never forgets a thing he’s read. He applies for work at a soap company owned by Burbridge Waters (Vincent Price) but is rebuffed by the suds magnate. Beauregard is so annoyed by the treatment he receives at Waters’s hands that he decides to bankrupt the company by becoming a contestant on the popular radio quiz show. Read More »

Synopsis:
Henry Palfrey, new pupil at the College of Lifemanship at Yeovil, recounts his depressing history to the principal, Mr. Potter. The proprietor of a small family business, he is bullied in his office by his chief clerk; he is humiliated by head waiters; he has been tricked by two second-hand car salesmen into buying a decrepit and costly wreck of a car; he has lost his girl, April Smith, to the insufferable Raymond Delauney; and he has allowed Delauney to beat him at tennis.Read More »

In order to flee from powerful enemies, young Mayan king Balam leads his people north across the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of what will become the United States. They build a home in the new land but come into conflict with a tribe of Native Americans led by their chief, Black Eagle, while both Balam and Black Eagle fall in love the beautiful Mayan princess Ixchel.Read More »

Synopsis:
The trademark of The Phantom, a renowned jewel thief, is a glove left at the scene of the crime. Inspector Clouseau, an expert on The Phantom’s exploits, feels sure that he knows where The Phantom will strike next and leaves Paris for Switzerland, where the famous Lugashi jewel ‘The Pink Panther’ is going to be. However, he does not know who The Phantom really is, or for that matter who anyone else really is…Read More »

Synopsis:
Nerd. Milquetoast. Klutz. These are just three of the many undesirable words that can be used to describe Professor Julius Kelp. But all that changes when the chemistry expert invents a potion that transforms him into a suave, sexy chick magnet, whom Julius aptly names Buddy Love. Unfortunately, there’s one side effect: Buddy can’t control when he’ll change back into Julius, an event that always happens at inopportune times. How will Julius/Buddy resolve his Jekyll-and-Hyde dilemma?Read More »

Synopsis:
Innocent Kate Brady (Rita Tushingham) leaves her family farm and heads for Dublin, where she lives with her former convent friend Baba Brennan (Lynn Redgrave). She soon meets older man Eugene (Peter Finch), who is a writer and intellectual. Kate and Eugene fall in love. However, when Kate’s father finds out about their romance, he is determined to break it up. Kate remains devoted to Eugene, but their love disintegrates when Eugene realizes that he really has nothing in common with Kate.Read More »

The co-drectorial attribution to producer Budd Schulberg is both miselading and unjustified. BP’s meddling “contribution” consisted of cutting and re editing a number of key sequences, beginning with the very opening. Thus Christopher Plummer’s train carraige shared with the array of befeathered floozies en route to Florida is weighed down by a banal voiceover making Ray’s subtle and amusing connection between the finery of the whores and the pillaging of native wildlife screaminlgy obvious, rather than visually graceful. Accordingn to Bernard Eisenschitz Ray was effectively locked out of the shoot for the final sequence – the film was shot largely in sequence- thus the closing scenes in the swamp were in fact directed by Bud Schulberg. Read More »

Synopsis:
Gloriously witty adaptation of the Broadway musical about Professor Henry Higgins, who takes a bet from Colonel Pickering that he can transform unrefined, dirty Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lady, and fool everyone into thinking she really is one, too! He does, and thus young aristocrat Freddy Eynsford-Hill falls madly in love with her. But when Higgins takes all the credit and forgets to acknowledge her efforts, Eliza angrily leaves him for Freddy, and suddenly Higgins realizes he’s grown accustomed to her face and can’t really live without it.Read More »

Ruthless and for some viewers, also vulgar and unpleasant, this comedy by Marcel Carne has a madhouse of characters of dubious morals going through equally questionable antics. Their objectives are primarily self-serving. A former gangster (Paul Meurisse) is interested only in keeping birds, and his take from his last heist to help him go straight. In the same house is Lucie (Dany Saval) who is supporting her Italian lover by sleeping with the butcher. Meanwhile, the butcher’s wife has her own lover, his assistant. Read More »