
Filmed entirely in a desolate field, Violent Virgin opens with two cars travelling along a dusty road. Three men and three women, apparently members of a gang, have a couple bound and blindfolded. After they reach their demonstration, they drag the man and woman, whose names we soon learn are Hoshi and Hanako, out of the cars and dump them on the ground. It seems that Hanako was the boss’s girl, but she eloped with Hoshi. Captured, it seems that they are going to be murdered, but not before they are humiliated by the other gang members.
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Author Archives: rarefilm
Terror in Beverly Hills (1989) John Myhers, Joe Davis, Lysa Hayland Heslov, Muneer Katchi, Action

The president’s daughter is held for ransom in Beverly Hills by a group of middle eastern terrorists. Retired special forces agent and karate master, Hack Stone, is sent on a risky operation to get her back.
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Space Girls in Beverly Hills (2009) Tim Colceri, Donna Spangler, Allie Moss, Brittan Taylor, Sci-Fi

Three vibrantly retro space girls from the planet Vanisia must try to fit in as normal Beverly Hills women when they suddenly make a crash landing in the backyard of wealthy infamous playboy Baron Von Benson. Baron and his women chasing buddy Steve, soon realize that it takes something out of this galaxy to tame their cheap bad boy ways.
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From Beijing With Love / Gwok chaan Ling Ling Chat (1994) Stephen Chow, Anita Yuen, Pauline Chan, Action, Comedy, Thriller

After a giant dinosaur skull is stolen, the head of the Chinese secret police decides to assign the case to the force’s most incompetent reject: a rural butcher who stands around all day drinking martinis (shaken, not stirred). With a trunkload of insanely useless gadgets and a contact who constantly tries to kill him, the young agent must locate the skull and find out just what is going on here.
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Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s (2012) Mike Malloy, Franco Nero, John Saxon, Henry Silva, Documentary, Action, Crime

A documentary concerning the violent Italian ‘poliziotteschi’ cinematic movement of the 1970s which, at first glance, seem to be rip-offs of American crime films like DIRTY HARRY or THE GODFATHER, but which really address Italian issues like the Sicilian Mafia and red terrorism. Perhaps even more interesting than the films themselves were the rushed methods of production (stars performing their own stunts, stealing shots, no live sound) and the bleed-over between real-life crime and movie crime.
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Tobacco Road (1941) John Ford, Charley Grapewin, Gene Tierney, Marjorie Rambeau, Comedy, Drama

Shiftless Jeeter Lester and his family of hillbilly stereotypes live in a rural backwater where their ancestors were once wealthy planters. Their slapstick existence is threatened by a bank’s plans to take over the land for more profitable farming; subplots involve the affairs and marriages of son Dude and daughter Ellie May.
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L’invitation / The Invitation (1973) Claude Goretta, Jean-Luc Bideau, François Simon, Jean Champion, Comedy

After the death of his mother, middle-aged insurance employee inherits her small cottage surrounded by a garden. Selling the cottage which is situated on unexploited ground near the center of a big city makes him a rich man and he buys a big house in the countryside. He takes some time off and decides to throw a big garden party at the house and invite all his colleagues from the office. Aided by alcohol, the guests gradually lose all their inhibitions and reveal personality traits and frustrations that they normally keep hidden.
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Lady, Let’s Dance (1944) Frank Woodruff, Belita, James Ellison, Walter Catlett, Musical, Romance, War

Lady, Let’s Dance was a 1944 black and white film directed by Frank Woodruff that was nominated for two Oscars. Produced by Monogram Studios, the film is unique as an ice skating musical. Lady, Let’s Dance starred ice skaters Belita, James Ellison, Werner Groebli and Hans Mauch (more commonly known as ‘Frick & Frack’) and Walter Catlett.
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Body Fever (1969) Ray Dennis Steckler, Carolyn Brandt, Bernard Fein, Gary Kent, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Down and out private detective is hired to catch a woman who dresses like Catwoman while committing robberies.
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The Racketeer (1929) Howard Higgin, Robert Armstrong, Carole Lombard, Roland Drew, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Tough mobster Mahlon Keane practically runs crime in New York City. He meets broke ex-society girl Rhoda Philbrooke at a society fundraiser and helps her cheat her way to some winnings in poker. Rhoda needs the money to help nurse broken alcoholic concert violinist Tony Vaughan back to health.
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