The Letter (Dir. William Wyler 1940): While her husband inspects his rubber planatation Leslie Crosbie murders Geoffrey Hammond. His widow has a letter written by Leslie asking him to meet her as her lover the night of the murder. Leslie can buy the letter but must come for it herself. Learning that he is broke from paying for the letter Leslie's husband next learns its contents. He forgives her. Leslie walks into the garden where the widow appears with a dagger. Now V
The very epitome of a cult SF classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still is more often referenced than seen, which is a pity since it remains even now one of the most thought-provoking examples of the genre. The title is a misnomer, a mere tease to entice 1950s audiences into the cinema in the expectation of seeing another sensationalist B-movie about murderous aliens (i.e. Communists). In fact, Robert Wise's film of Edmund North's screenplay is a thoughtful Cold War allegory about a Christ-like visitor (Michael Rennie) who comes to Earth preaching a message of salvation for mankind, only to be spurned, killed then finally resurrected (significantly, Rennie's character Klaatu adopts the pseudonym "Mr Carpenter" while on the run from the authorities). Aside from its philosophical message, the film also boasts memorable imagery--notably the giant robot Gort--a much-quoted catchphrase in "Klaatu barada nikto", and one of composer Bernard Herrmann's most admired scores, featuring the theremin and other electronic instruments that must have sounded very otherworldly back in 1951. The result is a bona fide landmark in cinema SF with a central message about "weapons of mass destruction" that's still uncannily relevant today. On the DVD: The Day the Earth Stood Still has been splendidly restored for its DVD incarnation from the original 35 mm print, and the results are demonstrated in the "Restoration Comparison" feature. Also included is a fascinating 1951 newsreel showing Klaatu receiving a certificate of merit amid stories of Communist threats, the Korean war and beauty pageants ("Pomp and pulchritude on parade in Atlantic City"). Best of all is an absorbing commentary track with director Robert Wise in conversation with Nicholas Meyer (both men have Star Trek movies on their CV). --Mark Walker
James Bond (Roger Moore) and the beautiful Soviet Agent Anya Amasova codenamed Triple X (Barbara Bach) team up to investigate missing Allied and Russian atomic submarines following a deadly trail that leads to billionaire shipping magnate Karl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens). Soon Bond and Anya are the world's only hope as they discover a nightmarish scheme of global nuclear Armageddon!
Bring home this essential collection of 8 Paramount Pictures classics starring the one and only King Of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley. Including Blue Hawaii; King Creole; Roustabout; G.i. Blues; Girls! Girls! Girls!; Paradise, Hawaiian Style; Fun In Acapulco; Easy Come, Easy Go. Blue Hawaii The year was 1961. Fallout shelters dot suburban backyards. Ken joins Barbie. Roger Maris slugs 61 home runs. And Elvis Presley is in paradise, playing an ex-G.I. who comes home to Blue Hawaii. His mother (Angela Lansbury) expects him to climb the corporate ladder. But Elvis would rather wear an aloha shirt than a white collar, so he goes to work as a tour guide. Lucky Elvis: his first customers are a careful of cuties. Elvis, lovely scenery, lovelier girls and rock-a-hula songs - now that's paradise! Fun in Acapulco The year was 1963. The hot line links the White House and the Kremlin. The first major pop art exhibition stirs up a major buzz. The Whisky-A-Go-Go opens. And in Fun In Acapulco, Elvis heads south of the border, where he's fired as a boat hand, hired as a lifeguard and singer, admired by local beauties (including Ursula Andress) and inspired to jump off a 136-foot cliff. Put another way: he overcomes a fear of heights in spectacular fashion. Spectacular, too, are the scenic vistas and Latin-beat tunes. Dive in! King Creole The year was 1958. Everybody's datin' at the drive-in. America launches its first satellite. The novel Lolita stirs up controversy. And Elvis Presley gives Bourbon Street a new beat in King Creole. He plays a troubled youth whose singing sets the French Quarter rockin'. With a sweet girl to love him and nightclubbers cheering, it looks like Elvis will shake off his past and head for the top. But will a mobster (Walter Matthau) and his man-trap moll (Carolyn Jones) snare him in a life of crime? Roustabout The year was 1964. The miniskirt is in. If you can't Watusi, you can't dance. Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali) claims the heavyweight crown. And Elvis is a karatechopping biker who's hired as a carnival Roustabout. At first he just provides muscle and a diversion for the beautiful carny girls. Then he picks up a guitar and gets the midway rockin'. Looks like this talented tough guy may be what the good-hearted owner (Barbara Stanwyck) needs to save her travelling show from bankruptcy. Easy Come, Easy Go The year was 1967. It's Packers vs. Chiefs in the first Super Bowl. Twiggy is a supermodel sensation. America's 100,000,000th telephone is installed. And Elvis dives for dollars in Easy Come, Easy Go. On his last day in the Navy, frogman Elvis discovers a sunken treasure ship. On his first day as a civilian, Elvis starts his new job-self-employed treasure hunter! Fans will dig these treasures, too: Rockin' tunes, romance with a go-go dancer, underwater action, and The King twisted like a human pretzel at a groovy 60's yogafest Costarring Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein). GI Blues The year was 1960. A payola scandal shocks the music world. Movie fans are introduced to glorious Smell-O-Vision. The 50-star flag is adopted. And in G.I. Blues, Elvis adopts an on-screen persona he knows well in real life-a singin' G.I. in West Germany. Eager to open a stateside nightclub after his hitch in khakis, he takes part in a wager to raise the dough he needs. The bet: he can melt the iceberg heart of a willowy dancer (Juliet Prowse). But all bets may be off when real love intervenes Girls! Girls! Girls! The year was 1962. Teens twist at the Peppermint Lounge. John Glenn orbits Earth. Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a single game. And Elvis digs the possibilities of Girls! Girls! Girls! This time he's a charter-boat skipper who helps tourists land the big ones. Of course, plenty of beautiful girls (including Stella Stevens) want to land Elvis. But there's something Elvis likes almost as much as romance-a boat! He yearns for a sleek sailboat with a $10,000 price tag. Let's see, that makes him about $9,999 short. Paradise, Hawaiian Style The year was 1966. A little-known series called Star Trek⢠beams up. Valley of the Dolls is the hot book. Half of all TVs sold are color sets. And in Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Elvis takes to the skies over the island paradise of Kauai. He's a partner in a helicopter charter service. Romance, naturally, is in the air for the King but his business may be grounded. A threatened suspension of his pilot's license means he may have to kiss his assets goodbye.
Edward Petherbridge stars as Lord Peter Wimsey. Harriet Vane decides it is time to take a break and heads to North Devon. On a walking tour the peace is shattered when she finds the body of a man on the beach with his throat slit.
Though he gets solo above-the-title billing, Will Hay was no more a solo comedian than Groucho Marx. Teamed with sidekicks Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt the trio formed one of British cinema's greatest comedy gangs. Oh, Mr Porter!, one of their finest vehicles, finds Hay as congenial William Porter, an inept railway worker who is shunted off to the dead-end job of stationmaster in Buggleskelly, Northern Ireland. The delight of the film is in the interplay between Hay and Marriott, the single-toothed dotty old-timer, and Moffatt, the chubby smart kid, as they fail the most basic requirements of their jobs but come up trumps when investigating the ghost of One-Eyed Joe and his haunted mill. --Kim Newman One of Will Hay's brisker comic efforts, 1936's Convict 99 sees Dr Benjamin Twist, Hay's clueless schoolmaster, caught in a case of mistaken identity and invited to head up a prison for especially hard-boiled criminals. It's a typical outtake from Hay's bizarrely lawless universe in which, for all his harrumphing and bluster, he's unable to exercise any sort of discipline whatsoever over the men in his charge. Hay plays exactly the same character from film to film, one so ill-equipped for any situation he's equally suited for all. Whereas Twist is an incompetent who somehow muddles through, Hay the comic actor is a master of timing and double-takes who knows precisely how to create the air of a shambles. --David Stubbs
Will Hay - Convict 99
Four vacationing women back-packing in the Sierra Mountains unwittingly stumble upon a hide-out and are terrorized by a ruthless group of Neo-Nazis in a dealy game of cat and mouse. Surrounded and out-armed the women must fight for their lives.
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