Outlaw Blues (1977)

“I’ve done more living in the past two weeks than I did in the last six years.”

Synopsis:
When an ex-convict (Peter Fonda) accidentally shoots a country-western star (James Callahan) who has stolen his song, he goes on the lam with a sympathetic singer (Susan Saint James) who hopes to make him a star.

Genres:

Composers
Ex-Cons
Folk Heroes
Outlaws

Review:
Much like [...]

Private Affairs of Bel Ami, The (1947)

“I do not think it is easy to be a successful scoundrel.”

Synopsis:
A caddish social climber (George Sanders) in 19th century England woos a series of women, then discards them — all while remaining in love with a penniless widow (Angela Lansbury).

Genres:

Historical Drama
Literature Adaptation
Social Climbers
Womanizers

Review:
George Sanders starred in all three of director Albert Lewin’s literary [...]

Slight Case of Murder, A (1938)

“Sure, I’m legit. I’m in favor of law and order.”

Synopsis:
At the end of Prohibition, a bootlegger (Edward G. Robinson) goes legit but struggles to sell his awful-tasting beer. As his business tanks, he goes more and more into debt, and soon owes nearly half a million dollars. Meanwhile, his daughter (Jane Bryan) becomes engaged to [...]

Songwriter (1984)

“I got cheated, and I wanna get even.”

Synopsis:
A country-western songwriter (Willie Nelson) tries to get out of a corrupt contract with his agent (Richard C. Sarafian) by having an aspiring singer (Lesley Ann Warren) put her name on his songs.

Genres:

Alan Rudolph Films
Composers
Musicians
Revenge

Review:
Alan Rudolph was called in at the last minute to direct this amiable, [...]

Experiment Perilous (1944)

“I’ve been living that diary tonight — living the strange, distorted lives of Nick and his sister.”

Synopsis:
A psychiatrist (George Brent) falls in love with a woman (Hedy Lamarr) whose husband (Paul Lukas) is possessively jealous of her.

Genres:

Gaslighting
Jacques Tourneur Films
Jealousy

Review:
Released the same year as Alfred Hitchcock’s Gaslight (1944), this Victorian-era melodrama by Jacques Tourneur (his [...]

Murder by Death (1976)

“If you ask me, anybody that offers a million bucks to solve a crime that ain’t been committed yet has lost a lot more upstairs than his hair.”
[Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.]

Synopsis:
An eccentric millionaire (Truman Capote) invites a group of renowned detectives — including Sam Diamond [...]

Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978)

“I am precisely what I am because I have eaten my way to the top.”

Synopsis:
A renowned pastry chef (Jacqueline Bisset) invited to France by a portly food connoisseur (Robert Morley) fears for her life when the greatest chefs in Europe are mysteriously murdered, one by one; meanwhile, her insistent ex-husband (George Segal) pursues her [...]

Countdown (1968)

“You have to wear that capsule like you wear your own skin.”

Synopsis:
When a scientist (James Caan) is chosen over his more experienced military friend (Robert Duvall) to be the first man sent to the moon, rivalries ensue.

Genres:

Astronauts
Cold War
Robert Altman Films
Space Exploration

Review:
After making two feature-length films in 1957 (The Delinquents and The James Dean Story), [...]

Captive Wild Woman (1943)

“What will you have? A human form with animal instincts!”

Synopsis:
A mad scientist (John Carradine) transforms an ape (Ray Corrigan) into a beautiful but mute woman (Acquanetta) with a strange power over wild animals. She provides invaluable assistance to a circus performer (Milburn Stone) working with lions and tigers, but seeks jealous revenge when she realizes [...]

Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)

“We cannot always do what we wish without harming others.”

Synopsis:
An opium-addicted choirmaster (Claude Rains) is jealous of his nephew’s (David Manners) betrothal to a beautiful young girl (Heather Angel). When a stranger (Douglass Montgomery) comes to town and falls in love with Rosa (Angel), further rivalries ensue, and Edwin Drood (Manners) suddenly disappears.

Genres:

Literature Adaptation
Love Triangle
Mysterious [...]