English Movies

First Top Five Winner-Actor-Actress-Writer-Director-Picture-AcademyAward It Happened One Night (1934)(IMDB 8.1)(ClarkGable-ClaudetteColbert)(FirstTopFiveWinner-AcademyAward) Spoiled heiress Ellen "Ellie" Andrews has eloped with pilot and fortune-hunter King Westley against the wishes of her extremely wealthy father, Alexander Andrews, who wants to have the marriage annulled because he knows that Westley is really interested only in Ellie's money. Jumping ship in Florida, Ellie runs away and boards a Greyhound bus to New York City to reunite with her husband. She meets fellow passenger Peter Warne, a newspaper reporter who recently lost his job. Soon, Peter recognizes her and gives her a choice. If she gives him an exclusive on her story, he will help her reunite with Westley. If not, he will tell her father where she is. Ellie agrees to the first option. Directed by - Frank Capra

Les Miserables (1935)(IMDB 7.6)(FredricMarch-CharlesLaughton)(Dir-RichardBoleslawski) In early 19th century France, an ex-convict who failed to report for parole is relentlessly pursued over a 20-year period by an obsessive police inspector. Director-Richard Boleslawski Writers-Victor Hugo-W.P. Lipscomb Stars-Fredric March-Charles Laughton-Cedric Hardwicke

A Tale of Two Cities (1935)(IMDB 7.8)(RonaldColman-EdnaMayOliver)(Dickens)(Dir-JackConway) A pair of lookalikes, one a former French aristocrat and the other an alcoholic English lawyer, fall in love with the same woman amidst the turmoil of the French Revolution. Directors-Jack Conway-Robert Z. Leonard Writers-Charles Dickens-W.P. Lipscomb-S.N. Behrman Stars-Ronald Colman-Elizabeth Allan-Edna May Oliver

Moontide (1942)(IMDB 6.8)(IdaLupino-JeanGabin-ThomasMitchell)(Dirs-FritzLang-ArchieMayo) Moontide (1942) Directors: Fritz Lang & Archie Mayo, Featuring Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino In California, Bobo and his mooching pal Tiny are doing odd jobs and getting drunk and they hide a secret about the unsolved murder of sailor Pop Kelly but suicidal waitress Anna, saved by Bobo, unravels the mystery. Moontide is a 1942 American Film Noir directed by Archie Mayo, who took over production after initial director Fritz Lang left the project early in the shooting schedule. The screenplay was written by John O'Hara and Nunnally Johnson, based on the novel written by Willard Robertson, Moon Tide (1940). The production features French star Jean Gabin, as well as Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell and Claude Rains. Charles G. Clarke was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Black & White. Despite charismatic performances by its leads, the film didn't make a big impact upon release, though now it's been critically lauded as a precursor to film noir.

Scarlet Street Scarlet Street (1945)(IMDB 7.7)(EdwardGRobinson-JoanBennett-DanDuryea)(Dir-Fritz Lang) A man in mid-life crisis befriends a young woman, though her fiancé persuades her to con him out of the fortune they mistakenly assume he possesses. Director - Fritz Lang Writers - Georges de La Fouchardière - André Mouëzy-Éon - Dudley Nichols Stars - Edward G. Robinson - Joan Bennett - Dan Duryea

The Blue Gardenia (1953)(IMDB 6.9)(AnneBaxter-RaymondBurr)(Dir-FritzLang) Anne Baxter and Raymond Burr in The Blue Gardenia (1953) A telephone operator ends up drunk and at the mercy of a cad in his apartment. The next morning she wakes up with a hangover and the terrible fear she may have committed murder. Director-Fritz Lang Writers-Charles Hoffman-Vera Caspary Stars-Anne Baxter-Richard Conte-Ann Sothern

Human Desire (1954)(IMDB 7.1)(GlennFord-BroderickCrawford-GloriaGrahame)(Dir-FritzLang) Based on a story written by Émile Zola A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in an affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train where they meet. Director-Fritz Lang Writers-Alfred Hayes - Émile Zola Stars-Glenn Ford - Gloria Grahame - Broderick Crawford Title Picture: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

The Woman In The Window (1944)(IMDB 7.6)(EdwardGRobinson-JoanBennett-RaymondMassey)(Dir-FritzLang) Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett in The Woman in the Window (1944) A reserved professor meets a model and gets mixed up in murder. Director-Fritz Lang Writers-Nunnally Johnson-J.H. Wallis Stars-Edward G. Robinson-Joan Bennett-Raymond Massey

Love Affair (1939)(IMDB 7.3)(CharlesBoyer-IreneDunne)(Dir-LeoMcCarey) Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne in Love Affair (1939) One of the greatest romance movies from the golden age of Hollywood. Charles Boyer stars as French playboy Michel who falls in love with an American woman (Irene Dunn) while travelling aboard a ship. They agree to meet again in 6 months time but will a series of accidents stop them from making their planned rendez-vous. Directed by Leo McCarey, this 1939 romantic classic is the first and best version of the old warhorse of a fateful shipboard romance between an aimless playboy and a nightclub singer, both engaged but appearing to be destined to reunite on the top floor of the Empire State Building. The elaborate, shot-for-shot 1957 remake again directed by McCarey with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr is much better known, and Warren Beatty even saw fit to remake it yet again with his wife Annette Bening for a 1994 update featuring an 87-year old Katharine Hepburn in her last film role. Dir-Leo McCarey Writers-Delmer Daves-Donald Ogden Stewart-Mildred Cram Stars-Irene Dunne - Charles Boyer - Maria Ouspenskaya Usage Public Domain Creative Commons License public domain black & white Run time 1:26:53 Topics Comedy, Drama, Romance, Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer Publisher RKO Radio Pictures

The Night of the Hunter (1955)(IMDB 8.0)(RobertMitchum-ShelleyWinters-LillianGish)(Dir-CharlesLaughton) Drama, Crime, Classics, Mystery, Thriller, B/W The Night of the Hunter is a 1955 American thriller film with many film nolr undertones, directed by Charles Laughton, and starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, and Lillian Gish. The screenplay by James Agee was based on the 1953 novel of the same title by Davis Grubb. The plot focuses on a corrupt minister-turned-serial killer who attempts to charm an unsuspecting widow and steal $10,000 hidden by her executed husband. The novel and film draw on the true story of Harry Powers who was hanged in 1932 for the murder of two widows and three children in Clarksburg, West Virginia. In 1992, The Night of the Hunter was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The influential film magazine Cahiers du cinéma selected The Night of the Hunter in 2008 as the second-best film of all time, behind Citizen Kane.