
Earning his keep at a photography studio where he also sleeps, an orphan aspires to be closer to the object of his affection, an older girl from a higher social class.
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Author Archives: rarefilm
The Meanest Man in the World (1943) Sidney Lanfield, Jack Benny, Priscilla Lane, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson

Compassionate small-town lawyer Richard Clarke moves to New York City to seek his fortune, but is unsuccessful until he takes a friend’s advice and tries to convince the world he’s a ruthless heel. Suddenly he’s the most popular lawyer in town — but he could lose his fiancée.
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Yûrei yashiki no kyôfu: Chi wo sû ningyô / Fear of the Ghost House: Bloodsucking Doll (1970) Michio Yamamoto, Kayo Matsuo, Akira Nakao, Atsuo Nakamura

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 Trouble with Angels (1966) Ida Lupino, Rosalind Russell, Hayley Mills, Binnie Barnes

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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War Paint (1953) Lesley Selander, Robert Stack, Joan Taylor, Charles McGraw

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)

Mike, a Hemingway-esque adventure novelist, is spending his days in a self-imposed exile somewhere in Central America. Read More »
L’assedio / Besieged (1998) Thandie Newton, David Thewlis, Claudio Santamaria, Bernardo Bertolucci

When an African dictator jails her husband, Shandurai goes into exile in Italy, studying medicine and keeping house for Mr. Kinsky, an eccentric English pianist and composer. She lives in one room of his Roman palazzo. He besieges her with flowers, gifts, and music, declaring passionately that he loves her, would go to Africa with her, would do anything for her. “What do you know of Africa?,” she asks, then, in anguish, shouts, “Get my husband out of jail!” The rest of the film plays out the implications of this scene and leaves Shandurai with a choice.
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Born Romantic (2000) David Kane, Craig Ferguson, Ian Hart, Jane Horrocks

Centered around a salsa club, three men pursue three women across London. Fergus is trying to find his ex-girlfriend, the elderly charmer Frankie the beautiful Eleanor and the robber Eddie is trying to find one of his victims, cemetery worker Jocelyn.
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Árido Movie (2005) Lírio Ferreira, Guilherme Weber, Giulia Gam, José Dumont

Weatherman from a TV network goes back to his hometown, Vale da Rocha, a place in Northeast Brazil, devastated by the drought. He is forced to face the geographic elements and his own memories.
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Lo svitato (1956) Carlo Lizzani, Dario Fo, Franca Rame, Giorgia Moll

Achille is the errand boy in a newspaper of Milan, who wants to become a famous journalist.
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