1930s

Mentioned in Henri Langlois: Phantom of the Cinematheque:
Throughout the Occupation, Langlois remained active and naturally kept on showing films in this theater, the Museum of Mankind Theater, at great risk. A week or two after war broke out, when Germany declared war on the USSR, he showed us there the film The Lonely White Sail, about the sailors’ revolt that Eisenstein had depicted in Battleship Potemkin. When it ended, the crowd was mute with admiration. And someone said (maybe it was me), ‘Now that screen stands for freedom!'” – Jean RouchRead More »

A famous sound film comedy by Kajira Yamamoto, best known for being the mentor of Akira Kurosawa. This is actually considered a major classic of physical comedy in Japan and remains perhaps the most fondly remembered vehicle for the famous comedian Enoken, who was a major star during the pre-war period.

Quote:
A comedic tale told in four parts, this film follows the antics of the pickpocket Kinta as he is pursued by a low ranking deputy named Kurakichi. The two get into all manner of peccadilloes and encounter a range of peculiar characters as their game of cat and mouse moves across the countryside in the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The title role is played by Enomoto Kenichi (known by his performance name Enoken), a star of screen and stage. Kinta the Pickpocket showcases his indefatigable energy and talent for physical comedy.Read More »

Two cowardly palanquin carriers know the culprit of a murder but are too scared to report it to the police. In the mean time, an innocent man is arrested as the murderer and chaos ensues.Read More »

Quote:
It’s the first film adaptation of Natsumi Soseki’s novel “I Am a Cat”, but I was a little disappointed when I saw it with high expectations, because it’s less than 90 minutes long and there’s no monologue about the cat, so it’s just me in the middle of the human drama. Before that, there are only a few scenes in which I appear.

The world situation at the time of the Russo-Japanese War has been replaced by that of World War I (the attack on Qingdao is shown in a newspaper article. However, since it was filmed before the war, the scenery has a certain feel to it. This atmosphere is something you can’t get in a postwar film.Read More »

A rich widow, nostalgic for the lavish parties of her youth, embarks on a journey to reconnect with the many suitors who once courted her. In doing so, she sets off on a course of discovery, both of herself and of how greatly the world has changed in two decades. Julien Duvivier’s smash hit is a wry, visually inventive tale of romantic pragmatism that deftly combines comedy and drama.Read More »

Twenty years after 3 murders occur in a castle’s “blue room”, three men who each want to marry a beautiful girl decide to spend a night in the room to prove their bravery to her.Read More »

Traveling west, former peace officer Frame Johnson and his three friends arrive in Tombstone, a lawless town controlled by the three Northrup brothers. Preceded by his reputation, the town Council tries to get him to take the job of Marshal. He says he will not wear a badge again but seeing the ruthless Northrup murders he accepts. After a killing on both sides, although outnumbered, Johnson and his two remaing friends head to the OK Corral for a shoot out with the two remaining Northrups and their men.Read More »

Film star Ted Crosley, fed up with movie life, quits pictures to enroll in Midland College, much to the horror of his manager Sam Lewis and his stooge-friend Willie Gumbatz. Ted wishes to enroll in school under an assumed name but Sam, hoping to nip his school plans in the bud, tips off the press and school. En route, Ted has met and fallen in love with Jean Worthington, daughter of Dean Worthington who is counting on Ted’s enrollment to save his job. Ted, as the hero of many college and football movies, is given a royal welcome when he arrives. In an effort to make the Midland football team a bigger draw and pay off the stadium debt, Ted is put on the varsity team, where, his exploits don’t match those he had on screen, and he is actually a liability. He soon incurs the enmity of Biff Gordon, the school’s football hero and Ted’s rival for Jean.Read More »

Dr. Laurence, a once-respectable scientist, begins to research the origin of the mind and the soul. The science community rejects him, and he risks losing everything for which he has worked. He begins to use his discoveries to save his research and further his own causes, thereby becoming… a Mad Scientist, almost unstoppable…Read More »