Author Archives: rarefilm

The Toy (1982) Richard Donner, Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason, Ned Beatty, Comedy

The Toy (1982)
Unemployed journalist Jack Brown (Richard Pryor) is attempting to make ends meet as the night janitor in a ritzy department store owned by Louisiana millionaire U.S. Bates (Jackie Gleason). On his annual visit to his father’s store, Bates’ pampered son, Eric (Scott Schwartz), is told he can choose one item in the toy department. To everyone’s horror, he chooses Jack. Paid handsomely to spend one week with the troublesome kid, Jack soon discovers the roots of Eric’s bad behavior.
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Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova, veneziano / Giacomo Casanova: Childhood and Adolescence (1969) Luigi Comencini, Leonard Whiting, Maria Grazia Buccella, Lionel Stander, Drama, Romance, History

Giacomo Casanova Childhood and Adolescence (1969)
Through the childhood and the adolescence of Giacomo Casanova (from his memoirs), this is a description of how people live in the Venice of the 18th century: customs, habits, medicine, religion and most of all – the omnipresence of hypocrisy.
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Coroana de foc / The Crown of Fire (1990) Sergiu Nicolaescu, George Alexandru, Vladimir Gaitan, Adventure, History, War

Coroana de foc (1990)
In medieval Wallachia,during the Crusades,the King’s brother hires mercenary Crusader armies to help him kill his brother in order to usurp the throne.The usurper brother is disgusted by King’s policy of paying a tribute to the Byzantine Empire.The Crusader army besieges the King’s fortress but the Captain of the guards,Gorun,and his soldiers manage to defend it.The usurper brother sneaks into the fortress and assassinates the King substituting himself for the King,due to their resemblance.When the Queen gives birth to twin boys their usurper uncle orders Captain Gorun to kill one and only save the other to prevent succession wars.However,Captain Gorun saves him and raises him into a strong warrior.Meanwhile,his twin brother is raised by their usurper uncle and becomes a lazy,greedy and cruel Crown Prince.With a new Crusader army making its way toward Wallachia and Byzantium the two twin Princes finally compete against each other for the throne of the realm.
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Man in the Shadow (1957) Jack Arnold, Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, Colleen Miller, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Man in the Shadow (1957)
In effect, modern cow town Spurline is run by Virgil Renchler, owner of the Golden Empire Ranch. One night, two of Virgil’s henchmen go a little too far and beat a “bracero” ranch hand to death. Faced with an obvious cover-up and opposition on every hand, sheriff Ben Sadler is goaded into investigating. His unlikely ally: Renchler’s lovely, self-willed and overprotected daughter. Will Ben survive Renchler’s wrath?
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Welcome Stranger (1947) Elliott Nugent, Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Joan Caulfield, Comedy

Welcome Stranger (1947)
Crusty Dr. McRory of Fallbridge, Maine hires a replacement for his vacation sight unseen. Alas, he and young singing doctor Jim Pearson don’t hit it off; but Pearson is delighted to stay, once he meets teacher Trudy Mason. The locals, taking their cue from McRory, cold-shoulder Pearson, especially Trudy’s stuffy fiancée. But then, guess who needs an emergency appendectomy?
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