Movies (Various)

Reign of Terror (reissued as The Black Book) is a 1949 American historical thriller film directed by Anthony Mann from a screenplay by Aeneas MacKenzie and Philip Yordan, and starring Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart and Arlene Dahl. Click on CC for optional English subtitles. Set during the French Revolution, the film follows a plot to bring down Maximilien Robespierre and end his bloodthirsty Reign of Terror. Producer Walter Wanger, director Anthony Mann, cinematographer John Alton, and production designer William Cameron Menzies used their combined talents to make a low budget "epic" using Broadway stars and shooting on sets only costing $40,000. It was the first collaboration between Mann and Philip Yordan. Yordan said the original script by Aeneas MacKenzie was "nothing but speeches, Robespierre and all this." He told Mann "you can't follow the script unless you're a student of the French Revolution" so he suggested the story be simplified to be about Cummings tracking down a book containing the names of anti-Revolutionaries before Robespierre could get it. Mann said it was only through William Menzies' "ability that we were able to achieve any style, feeling or period" under the limited budget. When it played New York later that year it was released as The Black Book, its original working title. Cast & Characters: Robert Cummings as Charles D'Aubigny Richard Basehart as Maximilien Robespierre Richard Hart as François Barras Arlene Dahl as Madelon Arnold Moss as Fouché Norman Lloyd as Tallien Charles McGraw as Sergeant Beulah Bondi as Grandma Blanchard Jess Barker as Louis Antoine de Saint-Just Wade Crosby as Danton Russ Tamblyn as Pierre's oldest son

A 1962 Greek film based on the play Electra, written by Euripides. Audio in Greek (Modern) with subtitles in, English, French, Spanish and Russian (click on CC for subtitles). It was directed by Michael Cacoyannis, as the first installment of his "Greek tragedy" trilogy, followed by The Trojan Women in 1971 and Iphigenia in 1977. It starred Irene Papas in the lead role as Electra, and Giannis Fertis as Orestis. The film was entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival where it won the award of Best Cinematic Transposition. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film won three awards in Thessaloniki Film Festival, for best film and best director (Michalis Cacoyannis) and best actress (Irene Papas). Cast & Characters: Irene Papas as Elektra Giannis Fertis as Orestes Aleka Katselli as Klytaemnistra Manos Katrakis as the tutor Notis Peryalis as Elektra's husband Fivos Razi as Aegisthus Takis Emmanuel as Pylades Theano Ioannidou as chorus leader Theodoros Dimitriou (Theodore Demetriou) as Agamemnon Elsie Pittas as young Elektra Petros Ampelas as young Orestes

The Cassandra Crossing is a 1976 disaster thriller film directed by George Pan Cosmatos, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Katz. Click on CC for optional English subtitles. The film is about a viral outbreak aboard a cross-European train, as it heads to a derelict arch bridge which is liable to collapse. It stars an ensemble cast, featuring Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Ava Gardner, Martin Sheen, Burt Lancaster, Lee Strasberg, O. J. Simpson, Ingrid Thulin, Lionel Stander, Ann Turkel, John Phillip Law, and Alida Valli. The Cinecittà studios in Rome were chosen for interiors, with French and Swiss locales providing most of the location footage. The steel arch bridge depicted in the film is actually the Garabit Viaduct in southern France, built from 1880 to 1884 by Gustave Eiffel, who later constructed the Eiffel Tower. At the beginning of the film passengers arrive at Geneva railway station to embark on the train. The scenes were shot at Basel SBB railway station. Where Dr Chamberlain enters the station, the green coloured BVB trams and Basel's Central Station Square can be seen in the background. Cast & Characters: Sophia Loren as Jennifer Rispoli Chamberlain Richard Harris as Jonathan Chamberlain Burt Lancaster as Col. Stephen MacKenzie Martin Sheen as Robby Navarro Lee Strasberg as Herman Kaplan Ava Gardner as Nicole Dressler Ingrid Thulin as Elena Stradner O. J. Simpson as Haley Lionel Stander as Max the Conductor Ann Turkel as Susan John Phillip Law as Major Stack Alida Valli as Nanny Lou Castel as Eklund Ray Lovelock as Tom John P. Dulaney as Bobby Thomas Hunter as Captain Scott Stefano Patrizi as Lars Fausta Avelli as Caterina Carlo De Mejo as Alvin Renzo Palmer as Alberti

A 1980 TV adaptation by London Weekend Television of the Agatha Christie novel, directed by John Davies and Tony Wharmby. This intriguing story is set in the 1930s at a country house, where two amateur sleuths, Bobby Jones and Lady Frankie Derwent, try to unravel the mystery behind a tale of murder, suspense and false identities. And the only clues the two have to go on are the puzzling last words of a dying man. The original intention was that the 180-minute teleplay would be transmitted as a three-part "mini-serial", but ITV then decided to show it as a three-hour special with maximum publicity, especially for Francesca Annis in the role of Frankie. Much of the film was taped on location in Cuddington and Long Crendon in Buckinghamshire. Hall Barn, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire doubled as the Bassington-ffrench residence and Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire was used as Lady Derwent's home. Principal cast & Characters: Francesca Annis as Lady Frances (Frankie) Derwent Leigh Lawson as Roger Bassington-ffrench James Warwick as Bobby Jones Connie Booth as Sylvia Bassington-ffrench John Gielgud as Reverend Jones Bernard Miles as Dr Thomas Eric Porter as Dr Nicholson Madeline Smith as Moira Nicholson Doris Hare as Rose Pratt Joan Hickson as Mrs Rivington Roy Boyd as Alan Carstairs James Cossins as Henry Bassington-ffrench Robert Longden as Badger Beadon

Il cavaliere della croce (El capitán de Loyola) è un film del 1949 diretto da José Díaz Morales. Audio in Italiano. Il film, di genere biografico, ripercorre la vita di Ignazio di Loyola. Il film è stato girato negli stessi luoghi in cui è vissuto Sant'Ignazio. Personaggi e Interpreti: Rafael Durán: Íñigo / Ignazio di Loyola Maruchi Fresno: Regina Giovanna Manuel Luna: Beltrán Asunción Sancho: Marcelilla José María Lado: armatore Ricardo Acero: Francesco Saverio Alicia Palacios: José Emilio Álvarez: José Emilio Álvarez: María Rosa Salgado: infanta Catalina Francisco Pierrá: Manuel Dicenta: Pedro Fabro Carlos Díaz de Mendoza: Manuel Kayser: Eduardo Fajardo: Arturo Marín: alcalde di Pamplona Manuel Arbó:

Monsieur Beaucaire is a 1946 American historical comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Bob Hope, Joan Caulfield and Patric Knowles. Hope portrays the title character, the barber of King Louis XV. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington. It is a remake of the 1924 Rudolph Valentino silent film of the same name Monsieur Beaucaire. Cast & Characters: Bob Hope as Monsieur Beaucaire Joan Caulfield as Mimi Patric Knowles as Duc le Chandre Marjorie Reynolds as Princess Maria of Spain Cecil Kellaway as Count D'Armand Joseph Schildkraut as Don Francisco Reginald Owen as King Louis XV Constance Collier as Marie Leszczyńska, The Queen of France Hillary Brooke as Madame de Pompadour Fortunio Bonanova as Don Carlos Douglass Dumbrille as George Washington Mary Nash as The Duenna Leonid Kinskey as Rene Howard Freeman as King Philip V Lewis Russell as Chief Justice Brandon Hurst as Marquis (uncredited)

Sultan Muhammad Fetih 1453 (transl. The Conquest 1453) is a 2012 Turkish epic action film directed by Faruk Aksoy. Audio in Turkish with subtitles in English and German (click on CC for subtitles). Starring Devrim Evin, İbrahim Çelikkol and Dilek Serbest, the film is based on events surrounding the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II. The size of the full cast was extensive; the film reportedly required the use of 16,000 extras. - Historical accuracy - The film only depicts the ethnically Turkish element of the Ottoman army. In reality, the Ottoman army was very diverse, including many Balkan converts to Islam as well as Christian levies and the armies of the Sultan's Christian and Muslim vassals. The Ottoman Empire also engaged in a series of conquests in the previous decade, subjugating the Serbian Despotate and defeating Hungary at the Battle of Varna. The Eastern Roman Empire by 1450 was a shadow of its former self, having shrunk to a few square kilometers outside of Constantinople itself. The city was impoverished and depopulated, and by 1453 consisted of a series of walled villages separated by vast fields surrounded by the 1000 year old Theodosian walls. Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine XI rejected Ottoman overtures to surrender, fearing a massacre by Turkish forces. The final capture of the city also omits the day of pillaging that Mehmed allowed his soldiers, with Mehmed simply sparing the inhabitants instead.

The Blue Dahlia is a 1946 American crime film and film noir with an original screenplay by Raymond Chandler directed by George Marshall and starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and William Bendix. It was Chandler's first original screenplay. Click on CC for optional English subtitles. Cast & Characters: Alan Ladd as Johnny Morrison Veronica Lake as Joyce Harwood William Bendix as Buzz Wanchek Howard da Silva as Eddie Harwood Doris Dowling as Helen Morrison Hugh Beaumont as George Copeland Tom Powers as Captain Hendrickson Howard Freeman as Corelli Don Costello as Leo Will Wright as "Dad" Newell Frank Faylen as man recommending motel Walter Sande as Heath Uncredited performances include Mae Busch as Jenny the maid, Anthony Caruso as a corporal playing a jukebox, and Noel Neill as Nolie the hatcheck girl.

Cavalcade is a 1933 American epic pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Lloyd. The screenplay by Reginald Berkeley and Sonya Levien is based on the 1931 play of the same title by Noël Coward. The film stars Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook. Audio in English with subtitles in English and Spanish (click on CC for subtitles). The story presents a view of English life during the first third of the 20th century from New Year's Eve 1899 to New Year's Day 1933, from the point of view of well-to-do London residents Jane and Robert Marryot, their children, their close friends, and their servants. Several historical events affect the lives of the characters or serve as background for the film, including the Second Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and World War I. Throughout the film, the passage of years is indicated by dates on title cards, with a Medieval cavalcade marching in the background. The film won three Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director). Cast & Characters: Diana Wynyard as Jane Marryot Clive Brook as Robert Marryot Una O'Connor as Ellen Bridges Herbert Mundin as Alfred Bridges Beryl Mercer as Cook Irene Browne as Margaret Harris Tempe Pigott as Mrs. Snapper Merle Tottenham as Annie Frank Lawton as Joe Marryot Ursula Jeans as Fanny Bridges Margaret Lindsay as Edith Harris John Warburton as Edward Marryot Billy Bevan as George Grainger Ronnie James as Desmond Roberts Dick Henderson, Jr. as Young Master Edward Douglas Scott as Young Master Joey Sheila MacGill as Young Edith Bonita Granville as Young Fanny Claude King as Speaker Brandon Hurst as Actor (uncredited) Will Stanton as Tommy Jolly (uncredited)

Dreams of Love – Liszt (Hungarian: Szerelmi álmok – Liszt, also known in English as The Loves of Liszt) is a Hungarian-Soviet epic musical/drama produced and directed by Márton Keleti, based on the biography of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt. Audio in Hungarian with subtitles in English and Italian (click on CC for subtitles). Romantic film about the great music composer Franz Liszt. Long journeys, great successes, passionate loves and, of course, lots of music in this lavish Soviet-Hungarian co-production with a Hungarian all-star cast. While the movie was criticized for some of its historical inaccuracies, its epic scope and intense scenes of virtuoso musical performances won wide praise and has been credited with affecting the cultural landscape of the 1970s Eastern Europe. The film is a joint Hungarian-Soviet production of MAFILM Studio 3 and Lenfilm Studio. Filmed in the Soviet Union, East Germany and Hungary. Liszt's historic performance in Russia was filmed at St. Petersburg Bolshoi Philharmonic Hall. Sviatoslav Richter plays piano for the character of Liszt, including études and the famous "Liebestraum". This is the Hungarian version with a runtime pf 174 minutes. The Soviet version is reduced down to 150 minutes, with some scenes deleted. The American version is reduced to 130 minutes, with many scenes deleted. Cast & Characters: Imre Sinkovits as Franz Liszt Ariadna Shengelaya as Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Sándor Pécsi as Gaetano Belloni, Liszt's secretary Klara Luchko as Marie d'Agoult Igor Dmitriev as prince Nikolay Petrovich Wittgenstein Larisa Trembovelskaya as Lola Montez Tamás Major as Pope Pius IX Klári Tolnay as Cosima, Liszt's daughter Lajos Básti as Ágoston Trefort Ferenc Bessenyei as Mihály Vörösmarty Ádám Szirtes as Miska, Liszt's servant Petr Shelokhonov as Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer Sándor Suka as Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer Natalya Baytalskaya as Vera Timanova Gennady Bednostin Irina Gubanova as Olga Yanina Tibor Bitskey as Liszt's friend Kornél Gelley as priest Peter Huszti as Franz Joseph I of Austria Sergei Ivanov as Nicholas I of Russia György Kálmán as police officer Sergei Karnovich-Valua as Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Zsolt Kocsy as Franz Liszt in his childhood Ivan Kolejev Valentin Kulik as Sigismond Thalberg Vasili Leonov as Alexander Borodin Gábor Mádi Szabó as Liszt's father Vera Szemere as Liszt's mother László Márkus as Miklós Esterházy Sergei Polezhayev as courtier Emmanuil Schwarzberg Anatoli Shvedersky as Gustav Adolf, Cardinal Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillinsgfürst Bertalan Solti Géza Tordy as Carl Czerny Marina Yurasova as Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia Éva Ruttkai (voice dubbing for the character of Carolyne in the Hungarian version) Ildikó Pécsi (voice dubbing for the character of Lola Montez in the Hungarian version) Zsuzsa Bánki (voice dubbing for the character of Marie d’Agoult in the Hungarian version) Zoltán Latinovits (voice dubbing for the character of Nikolay Petrovich Wittgenstein in the Hungarian version) Katalin Gyöngyössy (voice dubbing for the character of Olga Janina in the Hungarian version) József Simándy – singer of Hungarian Coronation Mass Svjatoslav Richter – (player of piano pieces of Chopin, Beethoven, Czerny; archive recordings) György Cziffra – (player of piano pieces of Liszt; studio recordings)