SPELLBOUND (1945)
May 25, 2020
Alfred Hitchcock's acclaimed film noir, suspense thriller.
Starring Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman
A psychoanalyst falls in love with her new boss, and it is soon discovered that he has difficulty with remembering things as he is a troubled amnesiac--who may also be a killer. 111 minutes.
"Not to be speechless about it, David O. Selznick has a rare film in Spellbound." -NY Times, December 1945
ABSOLUTON (1978)
May 24, 2020
Two Catholic boarding school students (Dominic Guard and Dai Bradley) embark upon a carefully calculated campaign to drive their hated headmaster (Richard Burton) insane. The boys launch their scheme by cooking up the most bizarre and depraved of imaginary sins, then recite these infractions in the Confessional. This sadistic little game gets wildly out of hand, resulting in murder. It's a toss-up as to who is the most repulsive character; the headmaster or his two charges. One of a long line of 1970s stinkers barely redeemed by the presence of Richard Burton, Absolution was not released until 1988, long after Burton's death. 98 mins.
COLLEGE SWING (1938)
May 17, 2020
It's hard to go wrong with such stars as Bob Hope, Burns & Allen, Martha Raye and Edward Everett Horton, and College Swing doesn't-go wrong, that is. The film begins in 1738, when a pact is drawn up between the Alden family and a highly respected Colonial college: If any female member of the family can pass her college exams within a 200-year period, ownership of the institution will be turned over to her. Comes 1938, and the last of the Alden girls, giddy Gracie Alden (Gracie Allen, of course) hires glib-tongued tutor Bud Brady (Bob Hope) to help her pass her exams. She also tries to win over no-nonsense professor Hubert Dash (Edward Everett Horton), who has no intention of handing his college over to a blithering idiot like Gracie. Once she has inherited the place, however, Gracie turns it into a jumpin'-jivin' joint, complete with jitterbugging students, swing bands and remote radio broadcasts. Though George Burns' role is nearly nonexistent, he does get to indulge in his patented cross-talk with Allen. Others contributing to the fun are Ben Blue, Jerry Colonna, Betty Grable, and Grable's then-husband Jackie Coogan. Highlights include Allen's spirited Irish jig and her endearing song duet with Edward Everett Horton. College Swing is the sort of high-powered, all-star entertainment that is virtually impossible to reproduce today. 83 mins.
THE TAMARIND SEED (1974)
May 16, 2020
Blake Edwards's stylish direction bolsters this Cold War romance starring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif. Andrews plays Judith Farrow, a British civil service functionary who meets dashing Russian agent Feodor Sverdlov (Omar Sharif) under the romantic skies of the Caribbean. The Caribbean breezes work their magic and soon Judith is head-over-heels in love with Feodor. Feodor then tries to enlist Judith to become an agent for the Soviet Union. But after Judith is warned by the British government to stay away from him, Feodor decides that he'd rather have her than the Soviet Union. However, a kink is thrown into their love affair when an undercover Russian secret agent, posing as a British agent, decides to eradicate the two lovers.en, including 17-year-old Billy Macfarlane who's enlisted in order to be with his older brother, Eddie. But Eddie's sent home after being wounded, leaving his innocent brother behind to face the slow, inevitable countdown to the bloodiest massacre in British military history. 130 mins
THE TRENCH (1999)
May 15, 2020
Starring Daniel Craig (James Bond) & Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders)
This dramatization of the 48 hours leading up to the Battle of the Somme in 1916 underscores the bitter loss of innocence of a group of idealistic young men, including 17-year-old Billy Macfarlane who's enlisted in order to be with his older brother, Eddie. But Eddie's sent home after being wounded, leaving his innocent brother behind to face the slow, inevitable countdown to the bloodiest massacre in British military history. 98mins
THEATRE OF BLOOD (1973)
May 08, 2020
High Camp Horror with Vincent Price at his best!
A Shakespearean actor (Price) becomes enraged after losing a prominent acting award and decides to seek revenge on the critics responsible, and he does so using the works of the Bard as a guide, basing his killings on violent scenes from Shakespearean plays. With Diana Rigg, Milo O'Shea. 104 mins. Rated R.
"The magnum opus of Vincent Price's film career, this stylish, witty comedy horror boasts an irresistible premise, an inspired ensemble cast, fabulous music and first-rate production values." -UK's Radio Times
POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1961)
May 02, 2020
A Frank Capra classic.
In this film, Apple Annie is a besotted, rag-clad street vendor. Annie's daughter Louise is under the impression that Annie is a high-society dowager. When Louise proposes a visit, Annie enlists the help of her gangster friend to pass as a woman of means.
136 mins. NR
CARRY ON DOCTOR (1967)
May 02, 2020
Classic British Farce Comedy... A beloved comedy series...
The "Carry On" gang gamely carries on in this spoof of doctors and health-care facilities -- the jokes and situations all seen and done before in their smash hit Carry On Nurse. In this crackbrained emergency ward, with Jim Dale as Dr. Kilmore and Kenneth Williams as the cranky staff supervisor, the patients run the gamut from Sidney James as a bemused patient who doesn't want to leave the hospital, and special guest star Frankie Howerd as a quack doctor who finds himself a patient in this hospital ward of old music hall routines who, along with audience, can't escape. 95 mins. Rated PG
THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT (1953)
May 01, 2020
A classic western. Director John Ford, notoriously difficult to please, regarded The Sun Shines Bright as his favorite film. Laurence Stalllings' screenplay is based on several short stories by Kentucky humorist Irvin S. Cobb, some of which had previously been cinematized in Ford's 1934 Will Rogers vehicle Judge Priest. 92 mins.
Alfred Hitchcock Festival Weekend THE LODGER (1928)
April 25, 2020
While the silent The Lodger was not director Alfred Hitchcock's first film, it was the first to truly deserve the designation "A Hitchcock Picture". British matinee idol Ivor Novello plays Jonathan Drew, a quiet, secretive young man who rents a room in a London boarding house. Drew's arrival coincides with the reign of Terror orchestrated by Jack the Ripper. As the film progresses, circumstantial evidence begins to mount, pointing to Drew as the selfsame Ripper. In addition to Novello's 1932 remake, The Lodger was remade in 1944 with Laird Cregar, then again in 1953 as Man in the Attic, with Jack Palance as Jonathan Drew. (~ Hal Erickson, Rovi)
"Hitchcock's most underrated movie." -The London Times
"Hitchcock at his most 'innovative." -Chicago Reader
91 mins. Not rated.
Alfred Hitchcock Festival Weekend FRENZY (1972)
April 25, 2020
Suspenseful, disturbing, and darkly humorous, Frenzy, one of Hitchcock's best, is the story of a rapist-murderer, whose distinctive murder weapon has led him to be labeled "The Necktie Murderer." The film, typical of many of Hitchcock's works, focuses on a man wrongly accused, who must now find the true killer to prove his innocence. 116 mins. Rated R.
"This is the kind of thriller Hitchcock was making in the 1940s, filled with macabre details, incongruous humor, and the desperation of a man convicted of a crime he didn't commit." ★★★★ -Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Alfred Hitchcock Festival Weekend FAMILY PLOT (1976)
April 24, 2020
Alfred Hitchcock's final film was adapted from Victor Canning's novel The Rainbird Pattern by Ernest Lehman, who previously wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock's North by Northwest. Barbara Harris plays Blanche, a phony psychic, hired by wealthy Julia Rainbird (Cathleen Nesbitt) to trace the whereabouts of her nephew, who'd been given up for adoption years earlier and who is now heir to a fortune. Blanche's cohort is "investigator" Lumley (Bruce Dern), who is fully prepared to milk the last dollar out of Julia before locating the long-lost nephew. Meanwhile, we are introduced to elegant kidnappers Adamson and Fran (William Devane and Karen Black). The fates of the two couples are inextricably intertwined by the search for the missing heir. 121 mins. Rated PG.
SHERLOCK JR. (1924)
April 23, 2020
If you don't know Buster Keaton's work... you should.
Here is a silent gem from 1924 (with score), starring & directed by Keaton. Keaton was 29 years old when the film was made.
A film projectionist longs to be a detective and puts his meager skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch. 45 mins.
★★★★★ "Magical" -Empire Magazine
"...groundbreaking and profound. And it's a laugh riot, too." -Chicago Reader
STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (1933)
April 20, 2020
William Faulkner's novel Sanctuary was a notorious bestseller upon its publication in 1931, and while it was successful enough that Paramount Pictures quickly snapped up the film rights, they were forced to change enough of the story to make it fit for the screen (even in the "pre-code" era) that by the time it reached theaters the title had been changed to The Story of Temple Drake. Temple (Miriam Hopkins) is a free-spirited girl being raised by a well-respected judge (Guy Standing) after the death of her mother. Temple has a wild streak and a taste for liquor and men she can bend to her will, and while principled lawyer Stephen Benbow (William Gargan) wants to marry her, she's not willing to settle down. 70 mins. Restored to 1080p HD.
FELLINI'S AMARCORD (1973)
April 19, 2020
Federico Fellini's warmly nostalgic memory piece examines daily life in the Italian village of Rimini during the reign of Mussolini, and won the 1974 Academy Award as Best Foreign Film. The film's greatest asset is its ability to be sweet without being cloying, due in great part to Danilo Donati's surrealistic art direction and to the frequently bawdy injections of sex and politics by screenwriters Fellini and Tonino Guerra. Fellini clearly has deep affection for the people of this seaside village, warts and all, and communicates it through episodic visual anecdotes which are seen as if through the mists of a favorite dream, playfully scored by Nino Rota and lovingly photographed by Giuseppe Rotunno. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
125 mins. Rated R. In Italian with English subtitles.
WOMAN OF STRAW (1964)
April 17, 2020
In this British melodrama based on a French novel by Catherine Arley, Sean Connery plays Anthony Richmond, a money-hungry young man enraged that his rich, dying uncle doesn't plan to include him in his will. Instead, Charles Richmond (Ralph Richardson) plans to give his fortune to charity. Anthony recruits a young nurse, Maria (Gina Lollobrigida), for a nefarious scheme. Her job is to care for the old man and get him to marry her and change the will so she gets his fortune. Then she will give Anthony a three-million-dollar share. Maria does her job well, but she comes to actually love Charles. 117 minutes
SKYJACKED (1972)
April 16, 2020
Sky Terror is the reissue title for Skyjacked, a 1972 MGM all-star adventure based on a novel by David Harper. Charlton Heston mans the controls of a Los Angeles-bound commercial airliner which is hijacked to Russia by an unknown miscreant. Even when the skyjacker, revealed to be passenger James Brolin, is subsequently subdued, the crew must contend with a hidden time bomb. The film is graced with a who's who of MGM contractees past and present, including Yvette Mimieux, Walter Pidgeon and Mike Henry. 100 mins. Rated PG.
CAPTAIN NEWMAN, M.D. (1963)
April 14, 2020
A great 1960s comedy/drama starring Gregory Peck and Tony Curtis.
Set in a VA psych ward towards the end of WW II, this drama chronicles the attempts of the staff psychiatrist to help three deeply troubled veterans. His task is made more difficult by mountains of red-tape and military guidelines. One of his patients is a guilt-ridden pilot convinced that he is a treacherous coward. Another is a colonel who cannot live with the fact that he is responsible for the deaths of many young men. Finally, there is a man who has been deeply traumatized after spending 12 months hiding out in a basement surrounded by Nazis. 126 mins.
KING OF JAZZ (1930)
April 13, 2020
A big band, singing, dancing and animation extravaganza! An early talkie that they even tinted. Includes some of the biggest tunes of the past century... Gershwin and more
Intended as Universal Pictures' entry in the "all-star musical" cycle of the early talkie era, King of Jazz is certainly the most elaborate of the bunch, though far from the most successful financially. Staged by Broadway impresario John Murray Anderson, the film is held together by the charismatic personality of rotund bandleader Paul Whiteman. The show begins with a Walter Lantz cartoon wherein it is recalled how Whiteman earned the title of the King of Jazz (Lantz's animated star Oswald Rabbit makes a brief appearance). Then Whiteman appears in the flesh (and plenty of it), coaxing his miniaturized orchestra out of a small box.
93 mins.
5 HOUR MR. BEAN MARATHON! (1990s)
April 12, 2020
Park Pix Flix presents...A Mr. Bean 5+ hour marathon for Easter Sunday afternoon...
The classic bumbling British TV comedy character created and played by the incomparable Rowan Atkinson.
We need some good laughs right now. Mr. Bean provides them. And all of the episodes are FREE!
5 hrs 50mins.
BEST OF SUPERMAN CARTOONS (1940s)
April 10, 2020
"Look! Up in the air... it's a bird, it's a plane..."
Incredible animation!
This is the biggest Superman compilation running over 2 hours from the critically-acclaimed Superman series produced by Mac & Dave Fleischer and Paramount's Famous Studios of the early-1940s. All episodes have been digitally remastered & restored.
Fun for all ages!
2 hrs 26 mins.
THE SORCERERS (1967)
April 10, 2020
Starring Boris Karloff
A sinister story of mind control in which an amiable old professor creates a device enabling one person to direct the thoughts of another and experience the sensations they feel. Using a young man as a guinea pig for his experiment, he and his wife live out their twisted fantasies.
1hr 25mins - from Great Britain
MAN OF THE WEST (1958)
April 09, 2020
In this landmark CinemaScope western, Link Jones travels to Fort Worth to hire a new schoolteacher there. On the rails, he crosses paths with Sam Beasley, a grifter who plans to rob Jones blind. Instead, Jones and Beasley fall victim to a band of thieves. Left destitute, they set out for revenge. Starring Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb, and Jack Lord.
Directed by Anthony Mann (Bend of the River, Desperate, Winchester 73, El Cid).
100 mins. Note, the movie comes in 11auto-sequential linked parts on YouTube.)
NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950)
April 07, 2020
Film very noir.
Jules Dassin's Night and the City opens with cheap grifter Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) running for his life through the streets of London. Harry wants to be big-time, and he does not care how he raises cash for his schemes. Like a junkie, he uses and steals from his girlfriend Mary (Gene Tierney), a singer at the Silver Fox, a seedy nightclub owned by the physically grotesque Phil Nosseross Francis L. Sullivan. Harry, who also works for Phil steering unsuspecting customers to the club, comes up with a plan to wrest control of professional wrestling from promoter and underworld kingpin Kristo (Herbert Lom) by manipulating Kristo through his father, retired wrestling great Gregorius (Stanislaus Zbyszko). For financial backing, Harry turns to Phil and Phil's wife Helen Googie Withers, both of whom give him the money, but only to further their own ends. When Gregorius is accidentally killed by his protege's upcoming opponent, Strangler (Mike Mazurki), and Phil realizes that Helen is leaving him for Harry, the scheme quickly unravels. Truly a glimpse of hell, Night and the City's distorted visuals and dark symbolism depicts an underworld from which there is no escape and in which redemption comes at a very high price.
95 mins.
THE QUILLER MEORANDUM (1966)
April 05, 2020
The Cold War was never colder...
A 1966 British-American neo-noir euro spy film filmed in Deluxe Color and Panavision, adapted from the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Elleston Trevor under the name "Adam Hall", screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson, featuring George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow, and Senta Berger. The film was shot on location in West Berlin and in Pinewood Studios, England. It was nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards,[2] while Pinter was nominated for an Edgar Award for the script.
1 hr. 45 mins.
THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
April 05, 2020
One of the finest films ever made. David Lean's epic film won 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture.
The Bridge on the River Kwai opens in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Burma in 1943, where a battle of wills rages between camp commander Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) and newly arrived British colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness). Saito insists that Nicholson order his men to build a bridge over the river Kwai, which will be used to transport Japanese munitions. Nicholson refuses, despite all the various "persuasive" devices at Saito's disposal. Eventually, the British POWs build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors, oblivious of the Allies' plans to destroy it.
2 hrs. 41 mins. Restored to HD 1080p.
THE YOUNG LIONS (1958)
April 02, 2020
American World War II drama film follows the lives of three young men, one German and two Americans, during wartime. Directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin. It was made in black-and-white and CinemaScope by 20th Century Fox. The film is based upon the 1948 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw.
167 mins. Rated G.
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956)
April 01, 2020
The debate still rages as to whether Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much is superior to his own original 1934 version. This two-hour remake (45 minutes longer than the first film) features more stars, a lusher budget, and the plaintive music of Bernard Herrmann (who appears on-camera, typecast as a symphony conductor). Though the locale of the opening scenes shifts from Switzerland to French Morocco in the newer version, the basic plot remains the same. American tourists James Stewart and Doris Day are witness to the street killing of a Frenchman (Daniel Gelin) they've recently befriended. Before breathing his last, the murder victim whispers a secret to Stewart (the Cinemascope lens turns this standard closeup into a truly grotesque vignette). Stewart knows that a political assassination will occur during a concert at London's Albert Hall, but is unable to tell the police: his son (a daughter in the original) has been kidnapped by foreign agents to insure Stewart's silence. The original script for Man Who Knew too Much was expanded and updated by John Michael Hayes and Angus McPhail. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
120 mins.
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (1967)
March 29, 2020
This 1967 version of Thomas Hardy's novel should have done better at the box office than it did, given the star power of Julie Christie and the visual and aural fidelity to its source material. Julie Christie plays Bathsheba Everdene, a country heiress who is loved by three different men: Terence Stamp, Peter Finch and Alan Bates. Convinced that she is the intellectual superior of all three, Bathesheba loses many early opportunities for lasting happiness. Finally shedding herself of her haughty attitude, Bathsheba unconditionally accepts the love of Bates. The euphoric exuberance of Nicolas Roeg's photography is matched by the direction of John Schlesinger and the screenplay by Frederick Raphael. Only the nittiest of nitpickers would complain that some of the medium shots don't match the closeups (watch Terence Stamp's clown makeup in one scene)
165 mins.
SXSW 2020 SHORTS
March 27, 2020
SXSW has long been a champion of independent filmmakers, and premiering a short film at the festival is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for creators to share their vision with the world. When the City of Austin had to cancel this year’s festival, hundreds of filmmakers lost the opportunity for their work to be seen. Together, Mailchimp and Oscilloscope Laboratories have created a digital home for this incredible slate of short films, so you can watch them from wherever you are. While we can’t replace the camaraderie of the SXSW festival, watching these films is a way to support the artists you love and connect to the world around you, during a time when we could all use a little more connection.
Please enjoy the SXSW 2020 Official Short Film Selections.
ENEMY AT THE GATES (2001)
March 26, 2020
Vassili (Jude Law) is a young Russian sharpshooter who becomes a legend when a savvy polical officer (Joseph Fiennes) makes him the hero of his propaganda campaign. Their friendship is threatened when both men fall in love with a beautiful female soldier (Rachel Weisz). As the battle for the city rages, Vassili faces the ultimate challenge when the Nazi command dispatches its most elite marksman (Ed Harris) to hunt down and kill the man who has become the hope of all Russia
2 hours 11 minutes.
THE CIRCUS (1928)
March 25, 2020
Wrongfully accused of criminal acts, a tramp (Charlie Chaplin) unwittingly ducks into a big top, where his bumbling attempts to avoid pursuing police officers earn the laughter and applause of the circus-goers. Impressed, the ringmaster (Allan Garcia) decides to employ the tramp as an entertainer. In between getting trapped in a lion's cage and partaking in clumsy high wire escapades, he falls for a beautiful show rider (Merna Kennedy), who unfortunately has eyes for a daring tightrope acrobat.
1 hour 21 minutes.
LOONEY TUNES CARTOONS COMPILATION
March 26, 2020
LOONEY TUNES CARTOONS COMPILATION
11 of the best classic Looney Tunes Cartoons, some never before seen on YouTube, which streams up to ULTRA HD 4K (2160p) running over 1 and half hours. This features some of the best-known characters from the golden era of the Looney Tunes Collection. All episodes have been digitally remastered & restored in ULTRA HD 4K.
1 hour 32 minutes.
THE 39 STEPS (1935)
March 22, 2020
The 39 Steps is a 1935 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. It is very loosely based on the 1915 adventure novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.
RottenTomatoes 96% Certified Fresh
Running Time: 1hour 26 minutes
BECKET (1964)
March 21, 2020
Becket is a 1964 British-American film about the historic, tumultuous relationship between Henry II of England and his friend-turned-bishop Thomas Becket. It is a dramatic film adaptation of the play Becket or the Honour of God by Jean Anouilh made by Hal Wallis Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Richard Burton as Thomas Becket and Peter O'Toole as King Henry II, with John Gielgud as King Louis VII
Running time: 148 minutes
ROYAL WEDDING (1951)
March 16, 2020
Royal Wedding is a 1951 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. ... Astaire and Powell play siblings in a song and dance duo, echoing the real-life theatrical relationship of Fred and Adele Astaire.
CHARADE (1963)
March 16, 2020