Monthly Archives: April 2015

Yûrei yashiki no kyôfu: Chi wo sû ningyô / Fear of the Ghost House: Bloodsucking Doll (1970) Michio Yamamoto, Kayo Matsuo, Akira Nakao, Atsuo Nakamura

Yurei yashiki no kyofu Chi wo su ningyo
Keiko (Kayo Matsuo) and her friend try to find her missing brother after he disappeared on a trip to visit his girlfriend Yuko (Yukiko Kobayashi). They don’t get very far as Yuko’s mother claims the brother ran away after finding out Yuko had been killed in a car wreck the week before his visit. But Keiko finds signs that she might be being lied to.
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The Poll Diaries / Poll (2010) Chris Kraus, Paula Beer, Edgar Selge, Tambet Tuisk

The Poll Diaries (2010)
In the summer of 1914, thirteen-year-old Oda von Siering (Paula Beer) leaves Berlin to join her family and an assortment of German and Russian aristocrats on an estate in Estonia. The von Siering family home is a character in its own right, a hulking, neoclassical manor that hovers on stilts above the sea. Oda arrives there bearing her mother’s coffin and a gift requested by her surgeon father: a jarred, two-headed fetus to add to his laboratory of gruesome curiosities. Ebbo von Siering (Edgar Selge) sees himself in his daughter when she calmly and expertly learns to suture the corpse of a cat. What he fails to recognize – and what Oda luckily understands – is that their interest in science is their only similarity. His dedication to experimentation is linked to an appalling obsession with power and destruction, while Oda is genuinely curious about life. Her quick, quiet intelligence complements her humanity and her lucid understanding of right and wrong. When she strays from a family…
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The Trouble with Angels (1966) Ida Lupino, Rosalind Russell, Hayley Mills, Binnie Barnes

The Trouble with Angels (1966)
Coming of age story for two girls, Mary Clancy and Rachel Devery, who find themselves as students at the St. Francis Academy, a catholic boarding school for girls. The story spans three years and follows the girls and their many pranks including setting off fire alarms, smoking cigars in the basement and putting bubble baths in the nuns’ sugar bowls. As the girls mature, they gain a greater respect for their teachers and the commitment and devotion required to be a nun, leading one of them to make a life changing decision.
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Junai Monogatari / The Story of Pure Love (1957) Tadashi Imai, Shinjirô Ehara, Hitomi Nakahara, Eiji Okada

Jun'ai Monogatari (1957)
Junai Monogatari AKA Story of Pure Love is about two poor youths, Mitsuko and Kando, rebelling against society in various ways, who are desperately trying to be together despite tortuous circumstances. The film depicts their lives as thieves, menial laborers who can get little pay, society outcasts, and of course, lovers. Junai Monogatari depicts, mostly, their struggles within the Japanese reformatory system and Mitsuko’s worsening sickness.
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The Public Defender (1931) J. Walter Ruben, Richard Dix, Shirley Grey, Purnell Pratt

The Public Defender 1931
Rich playboy Pike Winslow dons the mantle of ‘The Reckoner’, a mysterious avenger, when he learns that his lady friend Barbara Gerry’s father has been framed in a bank embezzlement scandal. Using meticulous planning and split-second timing, Pike, along with his associates, the erudite ‘Professor’ and tough-guy scrapper ‘Doc’, attempt to find proof that will clear Gerry and identify the real culprits.
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War Paint (1953) Lesley Selander, Robert Stack, Joan Taylor, Charles McGraw

War Paint (1953)
Lieut. Billings and his army patrol are ordered to deliver a new peace treaty to the Indian Commissioner, who is missing. They have nine days to get the treaty to Chief Gray Cloud or there will be war. Chief’s son Taslik offers to guide them. But as their water runs low and conflicts escalate, they can’t help wondering why Taslik is wearing war paint.
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Run for the Sun (1956) Roy Boulting, Richard Widmark, Trevor Howard, Jane Greer

Run for the Sun (1956)
Mike, a Hemingway-esque adventure novelist, is spending his days in a self-imposed exile somewhere in Central America. A reporter for Sight Magazine, Katie, has tracked him down in the hope of getting the biggest scoop of her career. Mike falls for Katie. On a flight to Mexico City, their plane crashes near a remote hideaway of Nazi war criminals in hiding. The Nazis want to stay hidden and plan to dispose of their new guests.
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Days of Glory (1944) Jacques Tourneur, Gregory Peck, Tamara Toumanova, Alan Reed

Days of Glory (1944)
In late 1941, with the Nazi invasion of Russia still advancing, the Red Army leaves bands of guerillas behind in the forests. One such band is joined by beautiful ballet dancer Nina; initially inept, a series of bitter lessons gradually make her a seasoned soldier. The group still form human attachments, despite the shadow of grim death that makes their greatest hope one of selling their lives dearly…
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