Category: Film Classic

Principal Cast : James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond, Frank Faylen, Gloria Grahame, HB Warner, Frank Albertson, Todd Karns, Samuel S Hinds, Mary Treen, Virginia Patton, Charles Williams, Sarah Edwards, William Edmunds, Lillian Randolph, Argentina Brunetti, Bobby Anderson, Ronnie Ralph, Jean Gale, Danny Mummery, Frank Hagney, Carol Goomes, Karolyn Grimes, Larry Simms, Jimmy Hawkins. Synopsis: An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed. ********…

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Principal Cast : William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Porter Hall, Henry Wadsworth, William Henry, Harold Huber, Cesar Romero, Natalie Moorhead, Edward Brophy, Edward Ellis, Cyril Thornton, Skippy the Dog. Synopsis: Former detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it. ******** A sublime murder mystery whodunnit, The Thin Man delivers terrific old-school verbal sparring and a really great mystery element amidst the sparkling chemistry between stars William Powell and Myrna Loy. A massive success at the…

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Principal Cast : Betty Bronson, Ernest Torrence, Mary Brian, Jack Murphy, Phillipe De Lacy, Virginia Brown Faire, George Ali, Esther Ralston, Cyric Chadwick, Anna May Wong, Maurice Murphy, Mickey mcBan, George Crane Jr, Winston Doty, Weston Doty, Terence McMillan, Louis Morrison, Edward Kipling, Robert Milasch. Synopsis: Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook. ******** In 1924, the debut big screen appearance of Peter Pan, JM Barrie’s eponymous…

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Principal Cast : Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Jerome Cowan, Elisha Cook Jr, James Burke, Murray Alper, John Hamilton, Walter Huston. Synopsis: A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette. ***** Nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture, John Huston’s 1941 remake of The Maltese Falcon remains perhaps the definitive potboiler noir detective picture. With Humphrey Bogart making his mark as the indelibly…

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Principal Cast : Bessie Love, Lewis Stone, Lloyd Hughes, Wallace Beery, Arthur Hoyt, Alma Bennett, Virginia Brown, Bull Montana, Francis Finch-Smiles, Jules Cowles, Margaret McWade, George Bunny, Charles Wellesley, Nelson MacDowell, Christpin Martin, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Synopsis: The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam. ******** Some references for our review were obtained from this Silent Era article about The Lost World’s reconstruction and home video history. The Lost World represents a milestone of visual effects in…

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Principal Cast : Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass, Jacques Marin, Paul Bonifas, Thomas Chelimsky. Synopsis: Romance and suspense ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Whom can she trust? ******** Sheer star wattage is the order of the day in Stanley Donen’s classic mystery-thriller Charade, once described as “the greatest Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made”; as true a statement about a film I don’t think I’ve read, for Charade…

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Principal Cast : Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Kate Lester, Winifrid Bryson, Nigel De Brulier, Brandon Hurst, Ernest Torrence, Tully Marshall, Harry von Meter, Raymond Hatton, Nick De Ruiz, Eulalie Jensen, Roy Laidlaw. Synopsis: In fifteenth century Paris, the brother of the archdeacon plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt. Meanwhile, a freakish hunchback falls in love with the gypsy queen. ******** In April 2019, the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, arguably France’s most iconic landmark behind the Eiffel Tower, suffered significant damage after a massive…

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Principal Cast : Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet, Joy Harnon, Morgan Woodward, Luke Askew, Robert Donner, Clifton James, John McLiam, Andre Trotter, Charles Tyner, JD Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas, Marc Cavell, Richard Davalos, Warren Finnerty, Dennis Hopper, Wayne Rogers, Harry Dean Stanton, Ralph Waite, Anthony Zerbe, Buck Kartalian, Joe Don Baker. Synopsis: A laid back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform. ******** Rough, ragged and featuring an all-star cast, Stuart Rosenberg’s 1967 prison drama Cool Hand Luke…

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Principal Cast : James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O’Connell, Eve Arden, Kathryn Grant, George C Scott, Orson Bean, Russ Brown, Murray Hamilton, Brooks West, Ken Lynch, John Qualen, Howard McNear, Alexander Campbell, Ned Wever, Jimmy Conlin, Royal Beal. Synopsis:  A hometown lawyer takes on the high profile case of an army man who murders his wife’s rapist. ******** It’s often said that truth is stranger than fiction. Never has that been more prescient than Otto Preminger’s Best Picture-nominated crime drama, Anatomy Of A Murder, a film based on a…

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Principal Cast : Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Erwin Connelly, Ward Crane, Ford West.Synopsis:  A yound cinema projectionist dreams of becoming a world-famous detective.  ******** You might be surprised to learn, as I was, that Buster Keaton’s 1924 comedic short film Sherlock Jr, in which its star daydreams of becoming a great detective in the mould of Conan Doyle’s eponymous Sherlock Holmes, was met with mediocre critical and popular success. It certainly wasn’t considered the masterpiece status it is afforded today, which goes a long way to understanding more how…

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