Author Archives: rarefilm

Here’s to Romance (1935) Alfred E. Green, Nino Martini, Genevieve Tobin, Anita Louise, Comedy, Musical

Here's to Romance (1935)
International singing sensation Nino Martini made his American film debut in the Jesse L. Lasky production Here’s to Romance. His career bankrolled by the beneficent opera diva Mme. Schumann-Heink (playing herself), singer Nino Donelli (Martini) hits the big time, and as a bonus falls in love with his leading lady Lydia Lubov (Anita Louise). For a while, however, their romance is nearly loused up by wealthy, self-centered art patrons Kathleen and Emery Gerard (Genevieve Tobin and Reginald Denny). Also complicating matters is amorous ballerina Rosa (Maria Gambarelli), but she leaves the scene after turning down both Nino and Emery. Often listed as a 20th Century-Fox release, Here’s to Romance was actually one of the last Fox releases before the merger with 20th Century.
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A Nous les Petites Anglaises (1976) Michel Lang, Rémi Laurent, Stéphane Hillel, Véronique Delbourg, Comedy, Romance

A Nous les Petites Anglaises (1976)
En 1958, deux lycéens, Jean-Pierre et Alain, ont lamentablement raté leur Bac. Leurs parents respectifs décident donc de les envoyer en séjour linguistique en Angleterre, à Ramsgate, pour qu’ils se perfectionnent dans la langue de Shakespeare. Préférant nettement leurs habituelles vacances à Saint-Tropez, les deux amis se disent que le plan n’est pas si mauvais, compte tenu de la réputation peu farouche des jeunes Anglaises. À peine arrivés, Jean-Pierre et Alain partent en chasse. Mais les grandes manœuvres amoureuses ne se révèlent pas aussi faciles que prévues car les demoiselles ne semblent pas immédiatement sensibles au charme des french lovers.
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Murder, My Sweet (1944) Edward Dmytryk, Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

Murder, My Sweet (Edward Dmytryk, 1945)
This adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel ‘Farewell, My Lovely’, renamed for the American market to prevent filmgoers mistaking it for a musical (for which Powell was already famous) has private eye Philip Marlowe hired by Moose Malloy, a petty crook just out of prison after a seven year stretch, to look for his former girlfriend, Velma, who has not been seen for the last six years. The case is tougher than Marlowe expected as his initially promising enquiries lead to a complex web of deceit involving bribery, perjury and theft, and where no one’s motivation is obvious, least of all Marlowe’s.
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Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) Billy Wilder, Dean Martin, Kim Novak, Ray Walston, Comedy, Romance

Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)
Dino, the charming and lecherous Las Vegas singer, stops for gas on his way to Hollywood in Climax, Nevada. The oily gas station attendant is Barney Millsap, a would-be lyricist who writes pop songs with Orville Spooner, the local piano teacher. By disabling Dino’s car, Barney contrives a scheme to have Dino sing one of their songs on an upcoming TV special. To entertain Dino, Barney contacts the village tart, Polly, employing her to pretend to be Orville’s wife, Zelda, for a night. She doesn’t like Dino, but does love being Orville’s surrogate wife. Dino goes to a bar, where he meets the real Zelda, and they spend the night together while Polly spends it with Orville.
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Maniac Cop (1988) William Lustig, Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Action, Crime, Horror

Maniac Cop (1988)
Innocent people are being brutally murdered on the streets of New York City by a uniformed police officer. As the death toll rises and City Hall attempts a cover-up, Frank McCrae heads the investigation. A young cop, Jack Forrest, finds himself under arrest as the chief suspect, having been the victim of a set-up by the real killer and a mysterious woman phone-caller. Forrest, his girlfriend Theresa, and McCrae set out to solve the puzzle before the Maniac Cop can strike again.
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Lady of Burlesque (1943) William A. Wellman, Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O’Shea, J. Edward Bromberg, Comedy, Music, Mystery, Romance

Lady of Burlesque (1943)
Sassy Dixie Daisy is the hot new attraction at a former opera house that’s been turned into a burlesque theater. She’s popular with the customers, although not with Lolita La Verne, a stuck-up diva who was hoping she’d get the top spot. Also complicating matters is the return of the Princess Nirvena, the show’s former star who once had a fling with the boss. When the Princess blackmails her way into the top spot, Dixie is none too pleased. When both Lolita and the Princess are murdered, Dixie becomes a prime suspect. She then sets up a trap to nail the real killer.
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The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) H.C. Potter, Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Drama, Romance

The Farmer's Daughter (1947)
Swedish-American farmer’s daughter Katrin ‘Katie’ Holstrom leaves the farm to study nursing in the big, wicked city. Thanks to a chiseling acquaintance, her tuition and expense money disappears the first day, and she’s forced to get a job…as a domestic for congressman Glenn Morley. Impressed by her political awareness as well as her many charms and capabilities, Glenn is soon infatuated with Katie, and she with him, but their feelings remain unspoken…until Katie speaks up at a party rally and is abruptly thrust into politics herself.
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Jaws 2 (1978) Jeannot Szwarc, Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Adventure, Horror, Thriller

Jaws 2 (1978)
The small island resort town of Amity is trying to bounce back from the financial troubles that suffered after becoming known as the site of shark attacks four years earlier. Mayor Larry Vaughn is welcoming developer Len Peterson and his new resort to Amity. Two scuba divers are exploring the area where the Orca sank after police chief Martin Brody killed a huge shark four years ago. A shark shows up and devoured the two divers, but not before one of the divers takes a close-up picture of the shark’s eye, and sometime later, while a mother is driving a boat that’s pulling her water-skiing teenage daughter, the shark devours the daughter and causes the mother to accidentally blow up the boat, then a killer whale is found on the shore with a huge bites on it. After Brody sees this, he knows there’s another huge great white shark in Amity’s waters, but Vaughn and Peterson explain these attacks away as non-shark accidents, because the thought of another shark in Amity’s waters would drive…
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