Daily Archives: September 13, 2016

House on Haunted Hill / La Nuit de tous les Mystères (1959) William Castle, Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Thriller, Horror

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Eccentric millionaire Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) invites five people to a “party” he is throwing for his fourth wife, Annabelle (Carol Ohmart), in an allegedly haunted house he has rented, promising to give them each $10,000 with the stipulation that they must stay the entire night in the house after the doors are locked at midnight. The five guests are test pilot Lance Schroeder (Richard Long); newspaper columnist Ruth Bridges (Julie Mitchum); psychiatrist Dr. David Trent (Alan Marshal), who specializes in hysteria; Nora Manning (Carolyn Craig), who works for one of Loren’s companies; and the house’s owner Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook). Pritchard disapproves of Loren’s use of the house for his “party,” making it unclear how Loren acquired access to the house in the first place…
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Pretty Baby (1978) [Uncut 109min] Louis Malle, Brooke Shields, Keith Carradine, Susan Sarandon, Drama

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In 1917, in the red light district Storyville, New Orleans, the prostitute Hattie lives with her twelve year-old daughter Violet in the fancy brothel of Madame Nell, where she works. Photographer Ernest J. Bellocq has an attraction to Hallie and Violet and he is an habitué of the whorehouse. One day, Madame Nell auctions Violet’s virginity and the winner pays the fortune of US$ 400 to spend the night with the girl. Then Hattie marries a wealthy client and moves to Saint Louis, leaving Violet in the brothel alone. Violet decides to marry Bellocq and she moves to his house. Until the day that Hattie, who has overcome her past, comes to Bellocq’s house with the intention to take Violet with her.
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The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) George Stevens, Millie Perkins, Shelley Winters, Joseph Schildkraut, Biography, Drama, Family

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Based on Anne Frank’s diary, and the stage play that was adapted from it: In Nazi-occupied Holland, Otto Frank and his family have decided to go into hiding, because of the increasing persecutions against Jews. The businessman Kraler and his assistant Miep prepare a hiding place in the rooms above their place of business, and arrange for the Franks and another family, the Van Daans, to stay there. Later on, they are joined by the dentist Dussel. Together, they try to avoid detection while hoping for Holland to be liberated by the Allies, but even meeting basic needs can become a challenge, and even minor incidents could present a grave risk.
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Der letzte Ritt nach Santa Cruz / The Last Ride to Santa Cruz (1964) Rolf Olsen, Edmund Purdom, Mario Adorf, Marianne Koch, Western

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Pedro Ortiz (Mario Adorf) is released from prison and returns soon to free a young man called Carlos (Thomas Fritsch). Together with Jose (Klaus Kinski) and Fernando (Sieghardt Rupp), they start a new gang for bank robbery and the usual things bandits do. They take Ortiz’ friend Juanita (Marisa Mell) and the servile piano player Woody (Walter Giller) with them. When former sheriff Kelly (Edmund Purdom) follows them, they take his wife Liz (Marianne Koch) and his young son for hostages.
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Deadline at Dawn (1946) Harold Clurman, Susan Hayward, Bill Williams, Paul Lukas, Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance

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Alex, a sailor on leave, recovers from a drink-induced blackout with a large sum of money belonging to Edna Bartelli, a b-girl who invited him home to “fix her radio.” He tries to return it with the reluctant aid of June Goth, a sweet but oh-so-tired dance hall girl; they find Edna murdered. Not quite sure he didn’t do it himself, Alex and June have four hours in the dead of night to find the real killer before his leave ends. Their quest brings them into contact with a sleazy kaleidoscope of minor characters; clues get more and more tangled…
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