Ricardo Cortez

Brief Synopsis
J. Ward Thomas of Park Avenue leads a double life as an investment broker and as notorious gambler Spade Martin, despite the protests of his beautiful wife Natalie, a nightclub singer who retired when they married. Spade’s younger brother “Chick” wires Spade from Seattle that he has quit gambling for a job in real estate and is about to marry a nice girl named Betty. Relieved to find his kid brother is straight, Spade sends him $10,000 cash as a wedding present. When a woman posing as a pregnant wife comes to Spade for a loan, Spade gives it to her. Later, when Steve Burdick, the woman’s supposed husband, brags in a bar that he made a fool of Spade, Spade’s hit man, Trigger, kills Burdick. Tired of Spade’s gambling, Natalie books a return engagement at Cafe Nocturne, telling him that she is a singer rather than a wife now. Read More »

Quote:
A woman you will never forget!
A young woman is on trial for murder. In flashback, we learn of her struggles to overcome poverty as a teenager – a mistaken arrest and prison term for shoplifting and lack of employment lead to involvement with gangsters. In a brothel, she meets a young lawyer, scion of a wealthy and prestigious family, who falls for her and helps her turn around her life. But her past catches up with her, and she must face the music rather than cause him scandal.Read More »

Synopsis:
Lawyer Perry Mason is summoned to the Laxter mansion in the dead of night to write granddaughter Wilma out of invalid Peter Laxter’s will, to keep her from marrying suspected fortune hunter Doug. Peter dies in a mysterious fire and Laxter’s two grandsons, Sam Laxter and Frank Oafley, inherit his estate on the condition old caretaker Schuster and his cat Clinker are kept on. When cat-hating Sam threatens Clinker, Perry steps in and learns Laxter’s death was suspicious and the family fortune and diamonds are missing. Schuster’s found dead in his basement apartment, Laxter’s nurse Louise is murdered with Schuster’s crutch, and circumstantial evidence brings Doug to trial for Louise’s death. Mason’s investigation produces a surprise witness who turns the trial around.Read More »

Down-on-his-luck John Ellman is framed for a judge’s murder. After he’s convicted and sentenced to death, witnesses come forth and prove his innocence. But it was too late for a stay to be granted and Ellman is executed. A doctor uses an experimental procedure to restore him to life, though the full outcome is other than expected.Read More »

A gang of racketeers frames down-on-his-luck John Ellman for murder. After a trial finds him guilty, evidence is brought forth proving his innocence, but it is too late and he is executed anyway. A doctor sees an opportunity to use an experimental procedure to restore him to life but is that entirely possible? Desirable?Read More »

Plot:
A cinematic icon, Boris Karloff was one of Hollywood’s greatest actors. Although synonymous with horror, Karloff excelled in other genres as well, providing a lasting legacy of memorable performances. And in this collection of three rarely seen gems drawn from his work at Warner Bros., Karloff shines in a wide range of roles, encompassing mystery, adventure and drama.Read More »

Synopsis:
Tanya, a Russian refugee, is hiding in Rangoon, Burma under the protection of her lover, Tony Evans, a gunrunner working for a weathly underworld leader named Nick. Nick wants to add Tanya to his stable of women in a decadent Rangoon club and intimidates Tony into turning her over to settle a debt. At first the abandoned Tanya refuses to cooperate with Nick, but eventually decides to beat him at his own game and uses sex to gain power. She becomes notorious for her affairs, is re-named “Spot White,” and by blackmailing a British officer, gets passage money out of Rangoon. On the boat to Mandalay, she meets formerly prestigious surgeon Gergory Burton who is now exiled in Burma because of his alcoholism, and they fall in love. Unfortunately, Tony has followed her, and in an attempt to escape the authorities, he frames her for what appears to be his murder. She is arrested, but before the boat docks, Tony comes to Tanya’s cabin and proposes that they open a club like Nick’s, with Tanya as “hostess.” Tanya, desperate to sever her past, poisons Tony, who falls overboard to his death. When they dock in Mandalay, the captain reports that stowaways saw Tony in the hold and it is presumed he escaped in a small boat. Tanya is freed, she confesses her crime to Gregory, and they pledge to start a new life togetherRead More »

A young girl and her father are kicked out of their house by a cruel noblewoman, and the girl’s heart is broken when her sweetheart, the noblewoman’s son, won’t go to Paris with them. After becoming an opera star in Paris, the girl returns to her homeland and finds her romance with the nobleman rekindled.Read More »