Corpse Vanishes, The (1942)

“Another kidnapping of a dead bride’s corpse — what a story!”

Synopsis:
A spunky reporter (Luana Walters) investigates a rash of kidnappings involving brides who faint and die at the alter after receiving orchid corsages. When she learns about a mysterious madman (Bela Lugosi) who creates a serum from the brides’ corpses to keep his aging wife [...]

Loves of a Blonde (1965)

“And you — you look like a guitar, too, but one painted by Picasso.”

Synopsis:
A young factory worker (Hana Brejchová) in Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia sleeps with a sweet-talking musician (Vladimir Pucholt) at a company dance, then upsets his parents (Milada Jezková and Josef Sebánek) the next weekend with a surprise visit.

Genres:

Black Comedy
Eastern European Films
Womanizers

Review:
Milos Forman’s second [...]

Menage (1986)

“Bob’s our only friend! He’s changed our lives with his magic wand…”

Synopsis:
A bisexual thief (Gerard Depardieu) entices a down-and-out couple (Michel Blanc and Miou-Miou) into joining him as he robs wealthy homes — then reveals that he has a crush on Antoine (Blanc).

Genres:

Bertrand Blier Films
Black Comedy
French Films
Love Triangle
Sexuality
Thieves and Criminals

Review:
Bertrand Blier’s darkly comedic sex [...]

King of Kings, The (1927)

“Come unto me — rejoice, and be exceeding glad! I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

Synopsis:
After betrayal by his disciple, Judas Iscariot (Joseph Schildkraut), Jesus Christ (H.B. Warner) is crucified, but rises from his tomb three days later.

Genres:

Ancient Greece and Rome
Biblical Stories
Cecil B. DeMille Films
Historical Dramas
Silent Films

Review:
Widely considered to be one of [...]

James Dean Story, The (1957)

“Success was nothing more than the concealing leaf which covered the tree of his loneliness…”

Synopsis:
Directors Robert Altman and George W. George chronicle the tragically brief life of movie star James Dean.

Genres:

Actors and Actresses
Biopics
Documentary
Robert Altman Films

Review:
Released just two years after Dean’s death, this unusual documentary is notable as one of Robert Altman’s first feature films, [...]

Detour (1945)

“That’s life: whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you.”

Synopsis:
While on his way to Los Angeles to meet his girlfriend (Claudia Drake), a pianist (Tom Neal) hitches a ride with a gambler (Edmund MacDonald) who drops dead during the middle of the night. Deciding that no one will believe him [...]

Naked Dawn, The (1955)

“I’m worth more — I work for my living! I take from no one!”

Synopsis:
A bandit (Arthur Kennedy) visits the home of an impressionable newlywed couple (Eugene Iglesias and Betta St. John) and unwittingly changes their lives forever.

Genres:

Catalysts
Edgar Ulmer Films
Greed
Thieves and Criminals
Westerns

Review:
Edgar Ulmer — best known for directing the B-level 1945 thriller Detour — made [...]

Mad Genius, The (1931)

“I will create my own being: that boy! That boy will be my counterpart, he shall be what I should have been…”

Synopsis:
A crippled puppeteer (John Barrymore) named Tsarakov channels his desire for fame as a dancer into an adopted young boy (Frankie Darro); but his unwillingness to allow grown Fedor (Donald Cook) a chance for [...]

Floradora Girl, The (1930)

“If he should mention matrimony, insist on a practical sign of affection — and remember: there’s nothing so practical as jewelry!”

Synopsis:
A chorus girl (Marion Davies) is wooed by a wealthy suitor (Lawrence Gray), who mistakenly believes she’s a gold-digger.

Genres:

Cross-Class Romance
Gold Diggers
Musicals
Showgirls

Review:
Marion Davies is primarily remembered today as William Randolph Hearst’s long-time lover, and for [...]

Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)

“If his life ain’t worth five hundred dollars, it ain’t worth nothin’!”

Synopsis:
A steamboat operator (Will Rogers) and a “swamp girl” named Fleety Belle (Anne Shirley) try to locate a key witness (Berton Churchill) before Rogers’ nephew (John McGuire) is unjustly hung for murder.

Genres:

Cross-Class Romance
Deep South
Falsely Accused
John Ford Films
Race-Against-Time

Review:
Will Rogers’ final film (released after his [...]