Sound Films F

Maurice Chevalier

Victor Mc Laglen

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Fabulous Dorseys, The (1947)

Featuring Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. The rise and rise of the Fabulous Dorsey brothers is charted in this whymsical step down memory lane, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey play themselves in this vehicle for their excellent music. From being raised by their father who insists on them learning music, to the split that just saw their careers rise even further... £7.49

 

Face at the Window, The (1932)

Featuring the wonderful overacting of Tod Slaughter. Set in France in 1880. A series of murders is attributed to a Wolf Man. Review: Yes, this film is dated. Yes, it is muddled with every possible plot contrivance imaginable in a mystery-melodrama. But, this film stars one of the kings of the horror screen - a forgotten king named Tod Slaughter. And if you have never had the opportunity and privilege to see him on screen, then you are missing out on a pure cinematic joy. He is the hammiest of the hams with his eyes rolling incessantly, his mischievous leers, his over-pronounced dialogue, and his bombastic gestures... £7.49

 

Fall of the House of Usher, The (1949)

Starring Gwen Watford... £7.49

 

Falling For You (1933)

Starring Jack Hulbert and Cicely Coutneidge... £7.49

 

Fantastic Night aka La Nuit Fantastique (1942)

Directed by Marcel L’Herbier and starring Fernand Gravey and Micheline Presle this is a French film with English subtitles. It has a runtime of 90 mins and the print quality is very good.

Review: La Nuit Fantastique, as directed by Marcel l'Herbier... Those who have watched the director's silent classics l'Argent or l'Inhumaine may have their expectations upset by this movie. Stylistically it is poles apart. It is all fun, chic and froth, nothing much serious going on.
The plot is very simple, Denis a French arts student tends to fall asleep during his nighttime work at the flower market. He has dreams of a beautiful woman in white, and falls in love with her. One night whilst asleep he follows her on a series of fantastic adventures, beset by charming villains on all sides.
As mentioned elsewhere it is ludicrous to believe that Fernand Gravey is young enough to be a student. On the whole though I thought his performance made him a lot more youthful, full of ephebe sensitivity and brass, boyish insolence and naivety. As in all art, but here particularly, disbelief must willingly be suspended, and there will be ample reward. Christiane Nère is brilliant as Gravey's waking girlfriend/shrew who competes with the dream lady. Saturnin Fabre as Professor Thales hams it up brilliantly with the most superb facial expressions you'll ever see. You'll notice that no place names or dates are given, this adds to the intensity of atmosphere. I think it could be quite easy to mistake this movie for an auteur's potboiler. However quite a lot of care obviously went into making this truly escapist fantasy, the characters get to play dress up, make love on roofs, thwart dream plots, thumb there noses at suitors, sleep in flower markets etc. And in my opinion the craft and the acting are seamless. Quite a lot of shadows in this film, probably due to lack of budget, but makes for true magic realism.
Take a holiday from yourself, a purely ecstatic roller-coaster of dream logic awaits, see if you can get your hands on the OOP DVD, mine cost a pretty penny.
N.B. This movie deserves to win the award for worst opening credits ever, truly shocking, don't let them put you off. ... £7.49

 

Farewell to Arms (1932)

Starring Gary Cooper and directed by Frank Borzage. A tale of the love between ambulance driver Lt. Henry and Nurse Catherine Barkley during World War I. The action takes place in Italy and the two fall in love during the war and will stop at nothing to be together. The film also analyses Lt. Henry's feelings on war and the purpose of fighting... £7.49

 

Fast and Loose (1930)

Starring Miriam Hopkins and Carole Lombard. This, the second cinematic version of THE BEST PEOPLE, a play by Avery Hopwood and David Gray that was first staged in 1924 and filmed in 1925, is a period piece that glides over the best efforts of time, its serio-comic point of view intact, a smartly paced affair presenting a strong opportunity for role development beneath its frothy Roaring Twenties backdrop. Paramount casts new contractee Miriam Hopkins for her film debut as wealthy Marian Lenox, along with Charles Starrett as her chauffeur and beau, Carole Lombard ( the "e" was added by a title scribbler for this film), Frank Morgan and whimsical Ilka Chase, all in top form, whilst Preston Sturges reconditions an already witty storyline... £7.49

 

Fatal Hour, The (1940)

Starring Boris Karloff... £7.49

 

Fate (1933) aka Karma

Directed by John Hunt and starring Devika Rani, Himanshu Rai and Abraham Sofaer, this film has a runtime of 68 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.

Plot: The simple plot has the maharani (Devika Rani) fall in love with the neighbouring prince (Rai) despite her father's disapproval. It is presented as an Orientalist fantasy with a, by Indian standards, scandalously prolonged kiss. It was described as 'a sort of American romance done against an Indian background'.

Review: This lavish British-Indian romance was shot on location in actual palaces and temples in India, giving it an authentic feel. The story of a forbidden love affair between a princess and a prince, Karma was a great success on its London release. But it was less well-received in India, shocking many with its long screen kiss (lasting four minutes: a record still unbroken more than 80 years later), though it may have helped that the actors involved, Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai, had been for three years.

Devika Rani (grand-niece of revered Indian poet, novelist, musician and artist Rabindranath Tagore) starred in numerous films during the 1930s and 1940s and is often seen as the first lady of Indian cinema, while Himanshu Rai was something of a mogul, a driving force behind several international co-productions, including The Light of Asia (1925), Shiraz (1928) and A Throw of Dice (1929). The couple would go on to found the respected Bombay Talkies studio a year after Karma was released….£7.49

 

Father's Little Dividend (1951)

Starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor. Stanley Banks is finally recovering from his daughter's wedding when he learns she is going to have a baby. He is strongly opposed at first, and disputes arise between maternal and paternal grandparents... £7.49

 

Feet First (1930)

Starring Harold Lloyd and Barbara Kent... £7.49

 

Fever Mounts At El Pao (1959) aka Fievre Monte a El Pao, La

Directed by Luis Bunuel and starring Gerard Philipe, Maria Felix, Jean Servais and Miguel Angel Ferriz, this film has a runtime of 95 mins and the print quality is good to very good. This is a French and Spanish  language film with English subtitles.

Plot: Aroused citizens assassinate an unpopular Caribbean despot, then two men vie for his gorgeous widow Ines. Ojeda is a steamy, isolated island, the penal colony for an oppressive dictatorship. A reactionary seizes the murdered governor's post, and rushes to eliminate his romantic rival, an idealistic underling. The bureaucrat Vazquez hopes to marshal the angry residents of the capitol, El Pao, plus the many political prisoners, to oust Governor Gual.

Review: Known as «Los ambiciosos» in México, the co-producing country where director Luis Buñueñ relocated to, lived and died, as well as in most Latin American territories, this was made in 1959, the year Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, so while anyone can believe the plot and location refers to him and his homeland, they do not. Yes, the island of Ojeda is a Caribbean country ruled by a dictator (Andrés Soler at his meanest - he does receive credit in the Mexican version), but its banana-based economy (no sugar, tobacco or rum, as in Cuba) and the absence of a guerrilla movement, makes it "NowhereLand" with Gérard Philipe (in his last role) as a handsome idealist who falls for the wrong woman (María Félix looking very beautiful). In any case we will never know if Buñuel or in that case novelist Henri Castillou were able to see the future. A good political melodrama….£7.49

 

Fighting Caravans (1930)

Starring Gary Cooper. A young frontier scout helps guide a freight wagon train across the country, fighting off Indians and evil traders, while his two crusty companions try and save him from falling in love... £7.49

 

Fighting Stock (1935)

Directed by Tom Walls and written by Ben Travers, this Aldwych farce stars Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, Robertson Hare and Marie Lohr. It has a runtime of 69 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.

Plot: On a fishing holiday, irascible Sir Donald Rowley (Walls) is soon at loggerheads with neighbour Rivers. Then nephew Sidney (Lynn) falls for Rivers' stepdaughter. All kinds of complications ensue.

Review: I saw Fighting Stock again recently and I had forgotten just what a little gem this film is. English farce at its best. The story unfolds rapidly and this, combined with the fast pace of the dialogue means that the viewer never has a moment in which to lose interest. The cast has no weak link - most of these actors cut their teeth in rep and farce and the three male leads Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, and Robertson Hare all worked together many times in theatre before collaborating for the cinema and they have a terrific comedic chemistry together. I was struck by the amount of smut and innuendo in the dialogue considering the date of this film. Some lines could be straight out of the Carry On films that came some 30 or 40 years later. Often a film has a certain amount of padding, by which I mean unnecessary scenes that are placed there to try and turn a short story into a feature film. This is not the case with Fighting Stock - every scene is carefully crafted and serves to introduce a new character or further the plot. There is no dead wood at all. Despite now being more than 75 years old there is so much to recommend this fantastic little comedy which deserves to be more widely known….£7.49

 

First A Girl (1935)

Starring Jessie Matthews... £7.49

 

First Love (1939)

Directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Stack, Eugene Pallette, Helen Parrish and Leatrice Joy, this film has a runtime of 85 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.

Plot: In this reworking of Cinderella, orphaned Connie Harding is sent to live with her rich aunt and uncle after graduating from boarding school. She's hardly received with open arms, especially by her snobby cousin Barbara. When the entire family is invited to a major social ball, Barbara sees to it that Connie is forced to stay home. With the aid of her uncle, who acts as her fairy godfather, Connie makes it to the ball and meets her Prince Charming in Ted Drake, her cousin's boyfriend.

Review: This 1939 take on 'Cinderella' works like a charm, and I honestly would never have guessed as much. I found myself being continuously bewitched by it, its sincerely touching and funny script and dialogue, the wealth of small character parts from the laconic spinster teacher ("Old maids are only happy when they cry, you'll find out") and the personable servants to the zany rich family that Durbin's orphan girl has to stand up to.
And of course, over and above everything else, there is Deanna Durbin, a full-fledged young leading lady with a miraculous voice and loads of screen presence and pathos (listen to her sing 'Un bel dì' from 'Madame Butterfly' at the end!). Blonde hunk Robert Stack has his first part ever as the Prince Charming who is left with the empty slipper, but only after a gorgeous series of incredibly romantic encounters. ... £7.49

 

Five Star Final (1931)

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Edward G.Robinson, Marion Marsh, H.B.Warner, George E.Stone and Boris Karloff this film has a runtime of 85 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Review: There is one main reason to watch this—Edward G. Robinson. I almost didn't continue after the first fifteen minutes because this newspaper office drama was so filled with convenient stereotypes and one-liners it was drab.
Then came the obsessive-compulsive reporter played by Robinson, Mr. Randall. He's intense, and he's not in the movie nearly enough. There is a wonderful quirky part by Boris Karloff (a few months before doing Frankenstein's monster). And a slew of decent smaller parts keep it interesting like Aline MacMahon, playing a stenographer (and in her first film role) and Marian Marsh who plays the daughter with increasing intensity right up to the highly volatile last scene.
This is the heyday of the unsung Mervyn LeRoy, a director with at least two unsurpassed movies ("Three on a Match" and "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang"), not including his work on "Wizard of Oz." He has a dozen other really good films to his name, and this one survives despite some filler and a slightly functional approach to the acting and staging. This was the day when directors (and their crews) were pressed to shoot movies in a couple weeks or so, and it shows.
I only wish you could see the second half of this movie alone. It gets more dramatic, and more intense (and the one painfully wooden actress dies), and it really drives home the point against yellow, abusive journalism. The first half is stale enough to turn off a lot of viewers, I'm sure, and it brings down my overall impression of the totality. Luckily, if you make it to the end, you nearly forget the forgettable beginning and will leave with a good taste in your mouth.
And all the drinking in the movie? "God gives us heartache, and the devil gives us whiskey," Randall says as he downs a shot. He's seems to be standing at an ordinary bar, not an illegal speakeasy. But the year is 1931, just before the end of Prohibition. (The premiere was September 1931.) Drink is a frank and normal reality in much of the movie as people swig from bottles in their desk and meet at the bar after work, and it's an eye-opener to counteract the more extreme portrayals of alcohol in the movies. And of course, it's normal for the viewer in the theater at the time as well, part of the general feeling that the time had come to change the laws (which Roosevelt did in early 1933).
So, see this if you like pre-Code films, but stick it out through the more mundane parts. It's worth it…..£7.49

 

Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers (1940)

Serial starring Buster Crabbe. A rogue planet is 'rushing madly toward the earth.' Impending doom creates worldwide pandemonium. But maverick scientist Dr. Zarkov hopes to stay disaster by travelling to the new planet in his experimental rocket. Two chance-met strangers, athletic Flash Gordon and damsel in distress Dale Arden, go with him. Arrived, the trio find Mongo to be a planet of wonders, warring factions, and deadly perils, its orbit controlled by Emperor Ming who has his own sinister plans for earth. Can our heroes, armed only with science and sex appeal, stop him?...£7.99

 

Flesh (1932)

Starring Wallace Beery and Ricardo Cortez... £7.49

 

Flesh Merchants, The (1936)

Starring Joy Reynolds... £7.49

 

Flirtation Walk (1934)

Directed by Frank Borzage and starring Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler and Pat O’Brien this film has a runtime of 97 mins and the print quality is very good.

Plot: A Musical-romance with Dick Powell as a private stationed in Hawaii who gets involved with Ruby Keeler, the general's engaged daughter. In order to avoid a scandal, the pair break up, but meet again years later when Powell's at West Point producing the annual play that turns out to star Keeler.

Review: Some good songs, good cast. Dick Powell handles most of the singing, sounding great as always, even in Hawaiian. Pat O'Brien is enjoyable in a familiar role as the tough guy with a heart of gold. Biggest disappointment of the whole movie is no dancing by the lovely Ruby Keeler. What were they thinking? The movie is very different from the 42nd Street-Footlight Parade-Golddiggers musicals that the Powell/Keeler team is most famous for, and if you expect to see that type of movie, you might be disappointed. I love them in those movies, but I also enjoyed this as something different. It would be nice to see this movie released as part of a DVD box set to complement the great Busby Berkley set released in early 2006....£7.49

 

Flying Deuces (1939)

Starring Laurel and Hardy. Oliver is heartbroken when he finds that Georgette, the inkeeper's daughter he's fallen in love with, is already married to dashing Foreign Legion officer Francois. To forget her, he joins the Legion, taking Stanley with him. Their bumbling eventually gets them charged with desertion and sentenced to a firing squad. They manage to escape in a stolen airplane, but crash after a wild ride... £7.49

 

Flying Down To Rio (1933)

Directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Dolores del Rio, Gene Raymond, Raul Roulien, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, this film has a runtime of 89 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Plot: Aviator and band leader Roger Bond is forever getting his group fired for flirting with the lady guests. When he falls for Brazilian beauty Belinha de Rezende it appears to be for real, even though she is already engaged. His Yankee Clippers band is hired to open the new Hotel Atlântico in Rio and Roger offers to fly Belinha part way home. After a mechanical breakdown and forced landing, Roger is confident and makes his move, but Belinha plays hard to get. She can't seem to decide between Roger and her fiance Júlio. When performing the airborne production number to mark the Hotel's opening, Júlio gets some intriguing ideas...

Review: Flying Down to Rio will always be best known for being the movie that first paired Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but, believe me, its worth goes far beyond just that stunning accomplishment. The lead actor is Gene Raymond, who was one of the funniest actors in early Hollywood. My other favorite Raymond movie is Hitchcock's only foray into straight comedy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where he starred opposite Carole Lombard and was more than up to it. Raymond's female opposite here is Delores de Rio, an actress with whom I am unfamiliar, but, man, is she a beauty. Astaire plays Raymond's best friend and cohort and Rogers plays a singer who tours with them. The film is wonderfully witty and actually very inventive. The editor goes a little crazy with the different types of swipes he uses throughout the film, but they're still neat. It doesn't bother me much that the filmmakers' experiments don't always work. I'm just happy they were trying new things. The cinematography is often great and much more unique than in other RKO musicals. The music is marvelous, especially the show-stopping Carioca (as opposed to Karaoke!), which seems to last forever, but in a good way! This is the number with the Astaire and Rogers dance. The other dancers in the scene are also wonderful, and the editing of that number is particularly amazing. The climactic musical sequence is as amazing as it is silly: seemingly hundreds of women dancing on the wings of flying planes. It's meant to be entertainment for the people below, but, well, the intricate movements of the girls could never have been seen on the ground (reminiscent of the Busby Berkeley number in 42nd Street where the camera shoots the dancers' pattern from above). Again, the editing here is simply remarkable. I can only imagine that the daring stunts perpetrated in the scene, though obviously fake, would have stunned the hell out of an audience in 1933! Today, in the 21st Century, Flying Down to Rio plays as one of the greatest pieces of fluff ever produced. 10/10….£7.49

 

Flying Fool, The (1929)

Starring William Boyd and Marie Prevost... £7.49

 

Follow A Star (1959)

Starring Norman Wisdom... £7.49

 

Follow The Fleet (1936)

Starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers... £7.49

 

Follow Thru (1930)

Directed by Lloyd Corrigan and Lawrence Schwab and starring Charrles ‘Buddy’ Rogers, Nancy Carroll, Zelma O’Neal, Jack Haley, Eugene Pallette and Thelma Todd, this film has a runtime of 92 mins and the print quality is good. This film was shot entirely in Technicolor and survives in decent shape.

Plot: Club champion Lora Moore loses a golf match to a woman from another golf club. Then Jerry Downs, a handsome golf pro, and his goofy friend Jack Martin show up. Lora takes him on as her golf teacher to work on her putt. She falls for him, but so do several other women. Meanwhile, Lora's friend Angie Howard chases after Jack. A lot of silliness ensues.

Review: Rare in cinema is there a movie focusing on women's golf. Rarer still is an existing feature film made in 1930 produced totally in color. And with early microphones still evolving during the first couple of years of talkies, September 1930's "Follow Thru" was one of the few outdoor sound films to be made during that time.
"Follow Thru" was Paramount Picture's second completely color film movie, and it's the earliest such surviving motion picture today viewable by the general public. Adapted from the successful (401 performances) 1929 Broadway musical of the same name, "Follow Thru" delivered an ofttimes saucy look at women's golf along with the men in those golfers' lives.
Movies shot in Technicolor and other competing companies' color film stock systems were fairly popular when musicals were introduced in the early stages of synchronized sound. The devastating toll of improper storage as well as a series of fires inside studio film warehouse facilities have erased most of those early color movies or at least large segments of them. "Follow Thru" was an anomaly in cinema where a print was preserved in a pristine state. The Technicolor used by Paramount was its third process, two strip system offered at the time. Blues and yellows were muted, but Technicolor was more focused on achieving realistic flesh tones than anything else. It would be a couple more years before Technicolor came out with the more realistic three strip process.
Capturing audio outdoors, especially the actors' dialogue, was also an extraordinary feat for Hollywood during this time. There are several noticeable sequences, especially during the golf competition, where the actors delivered their dialogue in a studio sound booth. The editors then looped, or dubbed, their voices during post-production onto the shot film strip's audio track. In other scenes, blimps, a fairly new innovation of padded sleeves wrapped around the camera to muffle its noisy motors, kept the area quiet while audio was being recorded.
"Follow Thru" focuses on a country club's best woman's golfer, Lora Moore (Nancy Carroll), who loses to her opponent at another country club. Looking to improve her game, she meets golf pro Jerry Downs (Charles "Buddy" Rogers). He teaches her a few lessons, including how to love. Jerry's friend, Jack (Jack Haley), a wacky but lovable Teddy Bear-type guy, falls for Lora's friend Angie Howard (Zelma O'Neal). Both Haley and O'Neal were in the Broadway play and marked their second film appearance in "Follow Thru." Boston born and raised Haley is known to today's viewers for his portrayal of the Tin Man in 1939's "The Wizard of Oz."
Nancy Carroll is a prime example of how a very popular and an acknowledged talented actress could sabotage her career by being difficult on the set. Carroll's musical skills on the stage resulted in receiving several movie roles at the dawn of talking pictures. From 1927 until the mid-1930s, Carroll was one of the more active actresses for Paramount. But she constantly complained at the type of characters she was forced to play, and was quite vocal to management and the directors on the movie sets about it. She was such an irritant that, despite her enormous box office appeal, Paramount released her. She received some minor parts in low budget films after that before returning to the stage.
"Follow Thru" was produced during the so-called "Pre-Code" era, where the censors took a more relaxed view of movie situations than later. The scene where voyeurs Haley and Eugene Paulette are hiding above the women's lockers in the club house dressing room would never pass the more restrictive censor board from 1934 onwards. The scene has been pointed out by many viewers as one of the highlights of the film. Says reviewer Nora Fiore, "consider the sequence where Haley and scene-stealing Eugene Pallette sneak into a locker room full of lingerie-clad ladies with the intention of retrieving a ring. After many shocking revelations for girl-shy Haley, the pair sneak out wearing ladies' clothes. And, believe me, you haven't lived until you've seen Eugene Pallette in a striped day dress."...£7.49

 

Fools For Scandal (1936)

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Carole Lombard, Fernand Gravet, Ralph Bellamy, Allen Jenkins and Isabel Jeans, this film has a runtime of 80 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Plot: Rene is broke and Kay is a rich actress visiting Paris. They meet, share a cab and dinner. He is smitten by her, but she leaves for London and he follows. At her house, when he cooks the dessert, the chef quits and he takes the job, unbeknownst to Kay. By the next day, the scandal is all over London about him living in her house and that upsets Philip, who wants Kay for his wife. Kay tells Rene to leave, but Rene plans to get rid of Philip.

Review: An enjoyable character-driven romantic comedy, and a delight it was. Don't expect the best thing since sliced bread, but for a genre which I don't particularly find to be my cup of tea, this made me smile a bit.
Most of the smiling due to Fernand Gravet's performance, slick, charming, funny and clever, as well as the chemistry between he and Lombarde. The supporting roles filled by Bellamy and Jeans were also spot on, creating a great comedic environment.
I don't put much stock into plot when it comes to romantic comedies, regardless of whether it was made yesterday or 60 years ago, so if you can get past that, then you'll truly enjoy yourself….£7.49

 

For The First Time (1959)

Starring Mario Lanza... £7.49

 

Forbidden Music (1938)

Starring Jimmy Durante... £7.49

 

Foreign Affaires(1935)

Excellent British comedy from the Aldwych farce team. Starring Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare. Written by Ben Travers. Upper class but broke, two British scroungers cause havoc in high society on the French Riviera. Revolving door farce with enough mixups, slipups misunderstandings, crafty schemes and chance encounters to provide a rich vein of comedy. ... £7.49

 

Frankenstein (1931)

Starring Boris Karloff... £7.49

 

Freaks (1932)

Starring Wallace Ford and Leila Hyams... £7.49

 

French Way, The aka Fause Alerte (1940)

Directed by Jacques de Baroncelli and starring Micheline Presle, Josephine Baker, Lucien Baroux and Saturnin Fabre, this film has a runtime of 74 mins and the print quality is excellent. This is a French language film with English subtitles and is timecoded throughout. Although shot in 1940 this was not released until June 1945 due to the war.

Plot: World War II has begun, but Parisian neighbors Dalban (biographer of Napoleon) and Mme. Ancelot still feud over his claim that her great- great-grandmother did *not* sleep with the Emperor! Their underage children Claire and Bernard are in love, but cannot marry over their parents' opposition. Dalban enlists beautiful cabaret star Zazu to divert Bernard's attention with a showgirl. But Zazu has her own ideas about young love...and strange things happen in air-raid shelters!

Review: No, this isn't a Josephine Baker vehicle, but neither is she just a cameo. It's an ensemble film, and she fits in well, adding her spirit and charm without upstaging any of the rest of the cast.
French sophisticated comedy was a different flavor from the American screwball comedy of the period, but just as funny if you understand the French outlook. More understated, more accepting of folly as the status quo.
Basically this is a Romeo & Juliette tale. The feud between the families arose because the father of the young man published research proving that the great-x-grandmother of the young woman had NOT had an affair with Napoleon. This was seen by mademoiselle's mama as besmirching the honor/sustaining-myth of her family. If this premise doesn't at least make you smile, then this isn't the film for you.
Being comedy rather than tragedy, of course the lovers manage, with the aid of Baker, a charming clochard (hobo), and a couple of air-raids, to finally bring the families together so they can marry.
Not a great film, but not a bad one either; a reasonable evening's entertainment if you like the Gallic take on life….£7.49

 

Friday The Thirteenth (1933)

Starring Jessie Matthews... £7.49

 

From Hell To Heaven (1933)

Directed by Erle C.Kenton and starring Carole Lombard and Jack Oakie, this film has a runtime of 65 mins and the print quality is decent.

Review: If a lot of people, from vastly different backgrounds, bet on different horses in the same race, most will be disappointed. All seem to have worthwhile motives and causes, and this makes it tough for the moviegoer watching "From Hell To Heaven" to pick a rooting interest throughout the film. They all come to the same hotel awaiting for the big race, hence the "Grand Hotel" type milieu.
Paramount assembled an impressive cast for this horse racing drama, most of whom are forgotten nowadays. Carole Lombard may be the most recognizable name, but she was still playing straight dramatic parts and not doing 'screwball' comedies yet. Jack Oakie is along for comic relief and brings his considerable energy as the track announcer. Also in the cast - and worthy of mention - are some long-ago stars, like Cecil Cunningham, who played parts later taken by Helen Broderick and Alice Brady, and Sidney Blackmer, who later played heavies. This is an old-fashioned track flick and fashionistas will get a kick out of the 30's outfits, while history buffs will take note of a time when bookmakers were legal and jockeys apparently could be switched overnight, before a big race.
"From Hell To Heaven" is an interesting and absorbing story which holds the viewers interest and keeps moving for its 70 minute length. There is some genuine suspense regarding the outcome of the big race, and the viewer can build up sympathy for several of the principals. This played at Capitolfest, Rome, NY, 8/13, and was shown in 35mm…..£7.49

 

Front, The (1976)

Directed by Martin Ritt and starring Woody Allen, Zero Mostel, Herschell Bernardi, Michael Murphy and Andrea Marcovicci this film has a runtime of 95 mins and the print quality is excellent.

Plot: In the early 1950s Howard Prince, who works in a restaurant, helps out a black-listed writer friend by selling a TV station a script under his own name. The money is useful in paying off gambling debts, so he takes on three more such clients. Howard is politically pretty innocent, but involvement with Florence - who quits TV in disgust over things - and friendship with the show's ex-star - now himself blacklisted - make him start to think about what is really going on.

Review: Woody Allen is "The Front" for blacklisted television writers in the 1950s in a film also starring Zero Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, Andrea Marcovicci, and Michael Murphy. Several of the film's participants - director Ritt, writer Bernstein, actors Bernardi and Mostel, were themselves blacklisted.
Woody's character, Howard Prince, has moments of humor, but "The Front" is a drama, and a very good one. Prince agrees to front for a writer-friend and later takes on other blacklisted writers for money. Then comes the day that Prince himself is subpoenaed by the committee, and he has to make a decision about where he stands.
Along the way, Howard falls in love with a principled woman, Marcovicci, who becomes disgusted with the blacklist and quits her television job, and a pathetic comedian, Zero Mostel, who claims to have marched in a May Day parade and subscribed to a communist newspaper because he had a crush on a girl. Then he watches his career shrivel up.
I grew up in the '50s and remember the Red Scare very well, as in school we were always told that the Communists were coming. In Hollywood and Washington, it was believed that the Communists were here infiltrating our government, films, and television. Whether it was true or not is a separate issue from the persecution and hysteria that took place. Actress Lee Grant, for instance, was blacklisted because she went to a funeral of someone who had been accused of being a Communist. John Garfield, Kim Hunter, Gale Sondergaard, Mady Christians, Larry Parks - just a few of the actors blacklisted. There are many examples of people whose careers and lives were ruined because they had once attended a meeting to see what this political ideology was all about, or had a friend who was a Communist. Land of the free indeed….£7.49

 

Front Page, The (1931)

Starring Adolphe Menjou... £7.49

 

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3 disks £20.00

5 disks £30.00

10 disks £50.00

10+ disks £5.00 per disk

 

File transfer

£5.00 per title

 

If you want more information on any of the titles then please email us, we'll be happy to help.

 

Please remember if you need a film to be NTSC to make this clear when ordering

 

 

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Email: silentfilmdvd@gmail.com