A slick, smart vehicle for Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn, Housesitter offers an acceptably daffy premise and enough inventive business to sustain it through to the, not unexpected, happy ending. Architect Martin builds a dream home for his childhood sweetheart (Dana Delaney) only to be rejected when he proposes marriage. After a one-night stand, Hawn--a daffy waitress with a gift for making up improbable but convincing lies--moves into Martin's house and tells his parents (Donald Moffatt, Julie Harris) and the whole community that she is his surprise new wife. When he sees how this impresses Delaney, Martin goes along with the charade, encouraging wilder and wilder fictions and doing his best to join in so that he can rush through to a divorce and move on to the woman he has always wanted. Hawn has to recruit a couple of winos to pose as her parents and impress Martin's boss into giving him a promotion, but we glimpse her real misery at his eventual intention to toss her out of the make-believe world she has created because her own real background is so grim. Its sit-com hi-jinx are manic enough not to be strangled by an inevitable dip in to sentiment towards the end, and Hawn, who always has to work hard, is better matched against the apparently effortless Martin than in their subsequent pairing in Out-of-Towners. Martin, often wasted in comparatively straight roles, has a few wild and crazy scenes as Hawn prompts him into joining her improvised fantasies. Director Frank Oz, a frequent Martin collaborator (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Little Shop of Horrors, Bowfinger), is the model of a proper, competent, professional craftsman when he sets out to put a comedy together--but the film misses streaks of lunacy or cruelty that might have made it funnier and more affecting. On the DVD: The disc offers a pristine widescreen non-anamorphic transfer, letterboxed to 1.85:1. There are no extra features to speak of, just text-based production notes, cast and director bios, plus a trailer and an assortment of language and subtitle options. --Kim Newman
British screen legend Jean Kent stars in this exuberant comedy-drama about a showgirl who marries a lord. After making her name in the music halls Trottie True (Kent) is recruited to join the legendary Gaiety theatre in London. As a 'Gaiety Girl' she attracts the attention of some very well-bred admirers including love-struck Lord Digby Landon (James Donald) who she marries. But can an aristocrat really be happy with a young lady who comes from the theatre? Their love is soon put to the test... Brilliantly directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and featuring early appearances by Bill Owen Hattie Jacques Christopher Lee and Roger Moore Trottie True is a delightful treat.
A bumper box set of classic films featuring the incomparable Marilyn Monroe! Ladies Of The Chorus (Dir. Phil Karlson 1948): An early Monroe feature with Marilyn starring as Burlesque singer Peggy Martin. Despite her overwhelming attraction to the wealthy Randy Peggy's mother worries that class differences will come between them. Some Like It Hot (Dir. Billy Wilder 1959): Nominated for 6 Academy Awards and winner for costumes Some Like It Hot is the quintessential madcap farce from legendary director Billy Wilder and screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond. With dazzling performances by Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis and a memorably comic turn by Marilyn Monroe Some Like It Hot is not only one of Wilder's funniest satires but is one of the greatest of all film comedies. When Chicago musicians Joe and Jerry accidentally witness a gangland shoting they quickly board a southbound train to Florida disguised as Josephine and Daphne the two newest - and homeliest - members of an all-girl jazz band. their cover is perfect... until a lovelorn singer falls for Josephine an ancient playboy falls for Daphne and a mob boss who refuses to fall for their hoax wants them put on ice for good! Marilyn Monroe At The Movies: A detailed filmography trailers from 15 of her classic movies and fascinating newsreel footage accompanies the vintage 1962 'Legend Of Marilyn Monroe' documentary narrated by John Huston. The Misfits (Dir. John Huston 1961): A down-on-her-luck divorced woman meets and falls for a disenchanted outcast cowboy who earns his living by capturing wild mustangs. When she witnesses this cruel spectacle she teams up with a jaded rodeo performer in an attempt to free the horses. Last screen appearance for both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe who was married to playwright Arthur Miller during the course of the filming. Portrait Of A Legend: Examines Marilyn through an in-depth investigation of her private life. From her turbulent childhood when her mother vanished beyond the dark wall of mental illness through her short stays at various orphanages and foster homes...to her marriage at sixteen to James Dougherty. Relive Marilyn's first exposure during WWII as a calendar girl for the war efforts her first performance in Ladies of the Chorus and acting debut in Asphalt Jungle then into the glamorous Hollywood superstar. Hometown Story (Dir. Arthur Pierson 1951): Jeffery Lynn plays an ex-politician who blames big business for his failure to get re-elected. To expose big business as an evil monster he joins his uncle's newspaper. When his little sister is caught in a cave-in the town's largest company comes to her aid and he must now reconsider.
This box set features the following classic Laurel and Hardy comedies: Maritime adventures Ollie And Matrimony Pack Up Your Troubles Blockheads
Jonathan never realized his wife was such a vision. Jonathan Younger (Sutherland) appears to be a successful businessman. However he owes everything to his wife Penny (Davidovich) and when she dies suddenly Jonathan is lost. Returning from Europe to look after the Younger business son Winston (Fraser) believes that his father is behaving very oddly seeing as he does the 'spirit' of his late wife and seeking to repair the damage of being a poor husband... An oddly quirky comedy!
The FlawDirected by Terence Fisher of Hammer fame this 1955 British production stars John Bentley Donald Houston and Rona Anderson. In this crime drama a sneaky race-car driver Paul Oliveri (John Bentley) plans to murder his wife for the insurance money. Her attorney who is in love with her discovers the plan - a brutal fight culminates in tragedy for one of the two combatants. Great old motor racing sequences and filmed in Shoreham East Sussex. Witness in the DarkThis second feature stars Patrica Dainton as a blind girl who witnesses the thief turned murderer of her upstairs friend and neighbour. Also stars Conrad Phillips and Nigel Green. Directed by Wolf Rilla just before he directed Village of the Damned.
First broadcast in 1967, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was the most grown-up of all Gerry Anderson's SuperMarionation adventures. There are gadgets and toy-friendly machines galore, of course--like the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle, the Angel Aircraft and Cloudbase itself--but, unlike the colourful fantasies of Stingray and Thunderbirds, this series' concern with an implacable, vengeful enemy, conspiracies and double-agents drew its inspiration from James Bond and the Cold War spy dramas of the 1960s. Special effects whiz Derek Meddings imbues the action sequences with a truly Bondian grandeur and, like the sinister Spectre of the Bond films, the Martian Mysterons seem all the more hostile for their unseen presence, their agents infiltrating every organisation dedicated to their destruction just as it seemed the Soviets were doing at the time. The indestructible Captain Scarlet is killed then resurrected every week (though not like South Park's Kenny), and more often than not the unstoppable Mysterons emerge triumphant, and always undefeated. The varied cast of Spectrum agents and their voice characterisations also aim at verisimilitude (Captain Scarlet, voiced by Francis Matt hews, sounds like a grim Cary Grant), while the puppetry is more realistic than ever. Now with newly remastered picture and Dolby 5.1 surround sound, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons still looks and sounds like the epitome of 60s cool. --Mark Walker
Titles Comprise:First Do No HarmDead Before DawnTo Live ForShattering the SilenceBehind the MaskFatal LoveDeath in the ShadowsDeep In My HeartJudgement Day: The Ellie Nesler StoryFalse Arrest
The opera Siegfried.
On assignment to London, American newspaper hack John Desmond, (Larry Parks) meets a mysterious woman (Lisa Daniely) in a nightclub and a brief romance ensues but our mystery lady is part of a counterfeit ring and Desmond is caught up in the whole affair. Desmond along with his English secretary the beautiful (Constance Smith) are kidnapped by the gang who will stop at nothing to retrieve a diary containing vital information. Also stars Alexander Gauge (Friar Tuck) and watch out for farm hand Thora Hird and cleaning lady Margot Bryant (Minnie Caldwell) of Coronation Street fame.
Based on Richard Gordon's best selling novels this hilarious collection of seven classic British comedies stars a wealth of talent and screen legends. Set in St. Swithins hospital it follows the antics and mishaps of a group of medical students and their quest to become doctors.
Over the course of a summer two cousins Jess, age 18 and Moss, age 12 embark on a strange and exhilarating journey exploring deep secrets and the hopes of a future while being confronted with fears of isolation, abandonment and an unknown tomorrow. Through a series of memories and beautifully crafted vignettes, director Clay Jeter, in his acclaimed first feature, produces a lyrical tale of two solitary, young souls and creates a world where mundane elements swell to bursting and demonstrate the power of cinema to capture the sensation of memory, the beautiful and tragic feeling of the fleeting and the preciousness of youth and all of its disasters. Shot entirely on location 'Jess + Moss' captures the evocative and haunting character of the dark fire tobacco fields of rural Western Kentucky.
Curt Taylor is a handsome con manstraight out of prison. He's paid his dues but not his debts. Underworld King Pin Phil Drexler wants back payment for protecting Taylor while he was inside. He makes Taylor an offer he can't refuse - and through a string of coincidences gets him a job as a secretary to the beautiful star Cartier Rand. But it's Iarceny Drexler's after and demands that Taylor steal the key to the security system of the star's mansion and plans a daring plot to heist her jewels. But the tables turn when the unlikely pair eventually fall in love and plan a heist themselves - to steal the jewels back....
Runaway Jury: The stakes are extremely high in an explosive trial when the widow of a gun massacre victim represented by attorney Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) sues the gun's powerful manufacturer. Now with millions of dollars in the balance 12 jurors must decide if the gun maker was negligent. However unscrupulous jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) believes the verdict is too important to be left in the hands of a jury and will spare no expense to ensure the chosen jury remain sympathetic to his client. Tension mounts and tables are turned as it comes to light that the jury is being manipulated by one of its own Nicholas Easter (John Cusack) with the aid of a beautiful woman (Rachel Weisz) on the outside to swing the verdict in the direction of the highest bidder... Class Action: Lawyer Jebediah Ward devoted to defending victims of large corporations and the State is fighting for compensation for the victims of automobile accidents involving defective cars. However it turns out that the manufacturer in his latest case is being defended by none other than Ward's daughter...
Three young people go on an archaeological find in a remote area in Greece despite the warnings of Catholic priest Father Roche (Donald Pleasance), an expert in demonology. Seemingly more interested in sex than uncovering any ancient marvels, they are taken prisoner in a ruined temple by some hooded Satanists who worship a half bull/half human idol, and they are prepped to be blood sacrifices. Father Roche calls upon a private detective friend from New York, and they are later joined by Laurie (Luan Peters) who is search of her missing beau. All this devil worship is linked directly to the most influential man in the village, Baron Corofax (Peter Cushing), who is in exile from the Carpathian Mountains.
A Roman epic adventure, based on the classic novel of the same name, set in the dangerous world of second-century Britain. In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Jamie Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth
Set Comprises: An American Haunting (2005): Based on true events that took place in Tennessee during the 1800s An American Haunting tells the story of the only documented case in U.S. history (validated by the State of Tennessee) in which a spirit caused a person's death. With over 20 books written on the subject and a town that still lives in fear of the spirits' return the story is terrifying. Fragile (2005): As the new night nurse at a soon to be abandoned children's hospital readies the last group of orphans to leave it becomes increasingly clear that these are not normal children. Something living in the hospital something the children call the ""mechanical girl "" has a terrifying hold over them and will stop at nothing to keep them in the hospital with her forever. The Gift (2000): Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) possesses the gift of psychic powers and supports herself and her family by reading the cards to neighbours who want to know what the future may hold. When the wealthy beautiful and sexually promiscuous Jessica King (Katie Holmes) goes missing her bound and ravaged body begins to haunt Annie through her visions. When the murder investigation becomes short on leads the police are forced to turn to Annie's special powers for help. The supernatural becomes terrifyingly real when Annie's gift becomes her only hope to stop the killer before she becomes the next victim.
The John Barrymore Collection (3 Discs)
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