"Actor: Carleton Young"

• 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £5.85   |  Saving you £9.14 (156.24%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The swashbuckler genre bumped into science fiction in 1954 for one of Hollywood's great entertainments, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The Jules Verne story of adventure under the sea was Walt Disney's magnificent debut into live-action films. A professor (Paul Lukas) seeks the truth about a legendary sea monster in the years just after the Civil War. When his ship is sunk, he, his aide (Peter Lorre), and a harpoon master (Kirk Douglas) survive to discover that the monster is actually a metal submarine run by Captain Nemo (James Mason). Along with the rollicking adventure, it's fun to see the future technology that Verne dreamed up in his novel, including diving equipment and sea farming. The film's physical prowess is anchored by the Nautilus, an impressive full-scale gothic submarine complete with red carpet and pipe organ. In the era of big sets, 20,000 Leagues set a precedent for films shot on the water and deservedly won Oscars for art direction and special effects. Lost in the inventiveness of the film and great set pieces including a giant squid attack are two great performances. Mason is the perfect Nemo, taut and private, clothed in dark fabric that counters the Technicolor dreamboat that is the beaming red-and-white-stripe-shirted Kirk Douglas as the heroic Ned Land. The film works as peerless family adventure nearly half a century later. --Doug Thomas

• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £5.97   |  Saving you £7.02 (117.59%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a late film from the long career of director John Ford that tells of the civilising of an Old West town, Shinbone, through the sad memories of settlers looking back. Ford's nostalgia for the past is tempered by his stark approach, unusual for the visual poet of Stagecoach and The Searchers. The two heavyweights, John Wayne and James Stewart, are good together, with Wayne the embodiment of rugged individualism and Stewart the idealistic prophet of the civilisation that will eventually tame the Wild West. This may be the saddest Western ever made, closer to an elegy than an action movie, and as cleanly beautiful as its central symbol, the cactus rose. --Robert Horton

• Kansas City Confidential | DVD | (15/09/2003) from £9.35   |  Saving you £0.64 (6.84%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A tough action drama in the classic film noir vein. Released from jail for a crime he did not commit John Payne portrays a disgruntled ex-con who scours the underworld for the real theives behind a sophisticated armored car heist.

• Thunderhead: Son of Flicka | DVD | (09/04/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In this sequel to the heartwarming classic My Friend Flicka, Ken McLaughlin (Roddy McDowall) sets out to raise the rebellious offspring of the famous mare. Although the young albino colt presents many challenges, Thunderhead also proves very helpful. And when it becomes apparent that the beautiful Thunderhead can race, Ken enters him into competition. But after an injury and an unexpected confrontation, Ken realises that the majestic animal is destined for a life of freedom amidst the stunning landscape.

• Reefer Madness | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-10.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A U.S. governement funded propaganda docu-drama film from 1938 designed to inform the public of the perils of smoking marijuana but ironically now worth seeing for its laughable historical and scientific innaccuracy...