USA

  • Curtis Harrington – Fragment of Seeking (1946)

    1941-1950Curtis HarringtonExperimentalQueer Cinema(s)Short FilmUSA

    Quote:
    Harrington plays a young man desperately seeking out the fleeting image of a female companion, and though he never quite catches her, he discovers much more through the surreal explorations of his own sexuality. Made a year before Kenneth Anger’s Fireworks, the films contain some similarities in their treatment of homoerotic themes, though Fragment is more restrained and subtle.Read More »

  • Phil Karlson – 99 River Street (1953)

    1951-1960Film NoirPhil KarlsonThrillerUSA

    Synopsis:
    Having lost his heavyweight championship match, boxer Ernie Driscoll now drives a taxi for a living and earns the scorn of his nagging wife, Pauline, who blames him for her lack of social status. Involved with jewel thief Victor Rawlins, Pauline is murdered by him when she impedes his ability to fence the jewels. Blamed for his wife’s murder, Ernie must track down Rawlins before he leaves the country.Read More »

  • Walter Hill – The Long Riders (1980)

    1971-1980USAWalter HillWestern

    Walter Hill’s first attempt at revisiting the history of the West… Here he retells the story of the James brothers in their raids with the Younger brothers without the romantic aura of the films of Henry King and Nicholas Ray. The parts of the brothers are played by the Carradine brothers and the Keach brothers (who also co-produced and co-scripted the movie)Read More »

  • George Fitzmaurice & Harry d’Abbadie d’Arrast – Raffles (1930)

    1921-1930ClassicsCrimeGeorge FitzmauriceHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastUSA

    Synopsis:
    A distinguished English gentleman has a secret life–he is the notorious jewel thief the press has dubbed “The Amateur Cracksman”. When he meets a woman and falls in love he decides to “retire” from that life, but an old friend comes to him with a predicament that entails him committing one last job.Read More »

  • Vincente Minnelli & Busby Berkeley – Cabin in the Sky (1943)

    1941-1950Busby BerkeleyFantasyMusicalUSAVincente Minnelli

    Synopsis:
    Chronic gambler and carouser “Little” Joe Jackson is shot by Domino Johnson at Jim Henry’s gambling club over an outstanding gambling debt. Little Joe’s wife, the God-fearing Petunia Jackson, prays not only for her husband’s mortal life, but also his eternal soul as she’s afraid that if he dies now, he, despite not being an evil man, won’t make it into heaven. As Little Joe is close to death, he is visited by agents of both the Lord and of Lucifer. They make a deal with him: they will give him six months to atone for the errors of his human life.Read More »

  • Robert Parrish – Cry Danger (1951)

    1951-1960Film NoirRobert ParrishUSA

    Todd Wiener writes:
    In his directorial debut, former editor Robert Parrish skillfully illuminates screenwriter Bill Bowers’ equally acerbic and droll Cry Danger into an underappreciated noir gem.

    Even though this Jerome Cady story was originally purchased by Humphrey Bogart’s Santana Pictures, the film ended up being the only release by Olympic Productions. The tersely pitch-perfect Dick Powell portrays protagonist ex-convict Rocky Mulloy who returns to Los Angeles to find the gang that framed him for a crime he did not commit. Aided by a hard-drinking, crippled ex-marine (brilliantly realized by Richard Erdman), Mulloy sets up home-base at a Bunker Hill trailer camp that is home to his ex-girlfriend Nancy, played by the graceful Rhonda Fleming. Fleming, who was on loan from David O. Selznick’s company for this project, underwent an emergency appendectomy that initially held up the film’s very tight twenty-two day shooting schedule.Read More »

  • Robert Florey – Danger Signal (1945)

    1941-1950Film NoirRobert FloreyUSA

    Quote:
    A mysterious artist – and psychopath – named Ronnie Mason, steals a dead woman’s wedding ring and money and leaves a fake suicide note. The woman’s husband, Thomas Turner, when questioned by the local police, believes his dead wife might have been seeing Mason behind his back. He also believes his wife was murdered, but in the absence of other evidence, the police list it as a suicide and drop the case.Read More »

  • Alfred Hitchcock – Sabotage [+Extras] (1936)

    1931-1940Alfred HitchcockMysteryThrillerUSA

    Synopsis:
    Mr. Verloc is part of a gang of foreign saboteurs operating out of London. He manages a small cinema with his wife and her teenage brother as a cover, but they know nothing of his secret. Scotland Yard assign an undercover detective to work at the shop next to the cinema in order to observe the gang.Read More »

  • Alfred Hitchcock – Saboteur (1942)

    1941-1950Alfred HitchcockClassicsThrillerUSA

    Synopsis:
    Los Angeles aircraft worker Barry Kane evades arrest after he is unjustly accused of sabotage. Following leads, he travels across the country to New York City trying to clear his name by exposing a gang of fascist-supporting saboteurs led by apparently respectable Charles Tobin. Along the way, he involves Pat Martin, eventually preventing another major act of sabotage. They finally catch up with Frank Frye, the man who actually committed the act of sabotage at the aircraft factory.Read More »

Back to top button