39 Steps, The (1935)

“There are twenty million women in this island and I get to be chained to you.”

Synopsis:
A man (Robert Donat) vacationing in London is accused of murdering a mysterious spy (Lucie Mannheim) and soon finds himself on the run, attempting to figure out who or what the “39 Steps” are…

Genres:

Falsely Accused
Fugitives
Hitchcock Films
“No One Believes Me!”
Spies

Response to [...]

Hospital, The (1971)

“The incompetence here is absolutely radiant!”

Synopsis:
A suicidal doctor (George C. Scott) finds his faith in life renewed by a free-spirited young woman (Diana Riggs), whose father is a patient in his dysfunctional New York hospital; meanwhile, doctors and nurses throughout the hospital are mysteriously dropping dead.

Genres:

Black Comedy
Doctors and Nurses
Murder Mystery

Review:
Paddy Chayefsky’s darkly humorous look [...]

Breathless (1960)

“I always get interested in girls who aren’t right for me…”

Synopsis:
An amoral thief (Jean-Paul Belmondo) kills a policeman and tries to convince his aloof American lover (Jean Seberg) to flee to Italy with him.

Genres:

Betrayal
French Films
Godard Films
Outlaws

Response to Peary’s Review:
Jean-Luc Godard “intended his debut film” — which was “inspired by a newspaper item about a [...]

Night of the Demon / Curse of the Demon (1957)

“I’m not a superstitious sucker, like 90% of humanity.”

Synopsis:
An American scientist (Dana Andrews) arrives in England to debunk a devil-worshiping cult led by Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis), but is slowly convinced — in part by Karswell’s niece (Peggy Cummins) — that Karswell may possess truly dangerous supernatural powers after all.

Genres:

Horror
Jacques Tourneur Films
Satanists
Scientists

Response to Peary’s [...]

Scarlet Street (1945)

“How can a man be so dumb…”

Synopsis:
A middle-aged accountant (Edward G. Robinson) henpecked by his wife (Rosalind Ivan) falls for a beautiful prostitute (Joan Bennett) whose pimp boyfriend (Dan Duryea) convinces her to con Robinson into renting her a studio apartment. Soon Bennett is pawning Robinson’s amateur paintings as her own, with unexpected consequences…

Genres:

Artists
Con-Artists
Femmes [...]

Maltese Falcon, The (1941)

“I don’t mind a reasonable amount of trouble…”

Synopsis:
When his partner (Jerome Cowan) is murdered while doing investigation work for a beautiful, mysterious woman (Mary Astor), private detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) digs more deeply into the case, and soon finds himself caught up in a desperate search for an invaluable relic known as the Maltese [...]

High Plains Drifter (1972)

“It’s what people know about themselves inside that makes ‘em afraid.”

Synopsis:
A nameless gunfighter (Clint Eastwood) is hired by the cowardly inhabitants of Lago to protect them against three vicious killers (led by Geoffrey Lewis), who brutally murdered their former marshal.

Genres:

Clint Eastwood Films
Revenge
Westerns

Response to Peary’s Review:
This “well-directed, exciting, oddly amusing film” — which was “inspired [...]

Twentieth Century (1934)

“She loves me; I could tell that through her screaming.”

Synopsis:
An egomaniacal Broadway producer (John Barrymore) tries to convince his former protege and lover (Carole Lombard) to star in his latest show.

Genres:

Actors and Actresses
Comedy
Howard Hawks Films
Play Adaptations
Trains and Subways

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary notes that this Howard Hawks classic (co-written by Ben Hecht and Charles [...]

Satan Met a Lady (1936)

“I’m supposed to be a detective solving a crime case, and everybody thinks I committed the crime!”

Synopsis:
While investigating the mysterious death of his partner (Porter Hall), detective Ted Shane (Warren William) becomes embroiled in a competitive search for the infamous Horn of Roland, desired by a femme fatale (Bette Davis), an Englishman (Anthony Travers), and [...]

Frenzy (1972)

“Just thinking about the lusts of men makes me want to heave.”

Synopsis:
When he’s seen leaving the apartment of his recently murdered ex-wife (Barbara Leigh-Hunt), a down-on-his luck bartender (Jon Finch) is accused of being London’s infamous “Necktie Murderer”; meanwhile, the real culprit (Barry Foster) roams the city freely, and continues to put innocent women — [...]