Mystery

Sidney Lumet directed this film version of Peter Shaffer’s dramatic play, transforming theatrical symbolism into cinematic realism. Richard Burton received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance as Martin Dysert, a psychiatrist determined to unravel the disturbed mind of Alan Strang (Peter Firth), a young stableboy. In a fit of rage, Strang has blinded a stable of six horses. The court then assigns Dysert to probe the young man’s mind in order to understand why he committed such a violent act. But the doctor, who is battling demons of his own, wonders if he can save the boy–and whether saving him at all is the right thing to do. Joan Plowright stands out as Dora Strang, the young boy’s mother.
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The penultimate entry in Universal’s Sherlock Holmes series, Terror by Night takes place almost exclusively on a speeding train, en route from London to Edinburgh. Holmes (Basil Rathbone) is on board to protect a valuable diamond from the clutches of master criminal Colonel Sebastian Moran. The trouble is, Moran is a master of disguise, and could be just about any one of the other passengers. Murder and mayhem plague the train excursion before Holmes can successfully complete his mention. Poor old Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) is a bit denser than usual here, though his ingenuousness is cleverly woven into the script. Alan Mowbray, who played Inspector Lestrade in the 1932 Clive Brook adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, is seen in a pivotal supporting role.
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Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a blue-collar worker, a family man, the most ordinary guy in the world…who is about to be plunged into a shattering encounter with another world. And it doesn’t matter that Tom doesn’t believe in the supernatural. Because something supernatural has started to believe in Tom. After he is hypnotized at a neighborhood party, Tom changes. He sees things he can’t explain and hears voices he can’t ignore. As the horrific visions intensfy, Tom realizes they are pieces of a puzzle, echoes of a crime calling out to be solved. But when his other-worldly nightmares begin coming true, Tom wants out. He desperately tries to rid himself of his eerie, unwanted powers – only to be seized by an irresistible compulsion to dig deeper and deeper into the mystery that is consuming his life. When at last he unearths the truth, it will draw him into the long-buried secret of a ghastly crime, a vengeful spirit… and the lethal price of laying that spirit to rest.
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A fictional account of the real life, eleven day, never explained 1926 disappearance of famed murder mystery writer Agatha Christie is presented. On a cold winter day, her damaged car with her expensive fur coat is found abandoned at the side of a country road. While the authorities initially suspect that she could have committed suicide, her pompous husband, Col. Archibald Christie, who is less than cooperative with the authorities, is adamant that she is still alive. What he doesn’t tell them is that he recently asked her for a divorce so that he could marry his secretary, Miss Nancy Neele. Although the divorce request was not a total surprise since she knew of the extramarital affair, Mrs. Christie still did not want to grant him the request since she still loves him. Concurrently, American newspaper columnist Wally Stanton was scheduled to conduct an interview with Mrs. Christie. Since he can no longer do so with her disappearance, Stanton instead tries to find out himself what …
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While undergoing surgery, a young man (Hayden Christensen) experiences intraoperative awareness. He becomes fully alert – but paralyzed – and therefore cannot tell his doctors that he is not sedated and is enduring the whole process. Meanwhile, his wife (Jessica Alba) wrestles with demons of her own while her husband suffers through his ordeal.
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Maverick American filmmaker Robert Altman takes a witty and absorbing look at the foibles of the British class system in this intelligent murder mystery set in the early ’30s. Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and his wife Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas) are a pair of wealthy British socialites who have invited a variety of friends, relatives, and acquaintances to their mansion in the country for a weekend of hunting and relaxation…
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Emily Gault arrives at the Carrell mansion determined to rekindle an old relationship with Guy Carrell, despite the disapproval of his sister, Kate. Guy overcomes his all-consuming fear of being buried alive long enough to marry Emily but soon becomes obsessed again, building a crypt designed to guarantee that he will not fall prey to his most dreaded nightmare. Trying to prove that he has been cured of his phobia, he opens his father’s tomb and is shocked into a catatonic state. His worst fears are realized as he is lowered into a grave and covered over, apparently never to learn that the treachery of someone very dear to him was directly responsible for his predicament.
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Chicago psychiatrist Judd Stevens (Roger Moore) is suspected of murdering one of his patients when the man turns up stabbed to death in the middle of the city. After repeated attempts to convince cops Rod Steiger and Elliott Gould of his innocence, Dr.Stevens is forced to go after the real villains himself, and he finds himself up against one of the city’s most notorious Mafia kingpins.
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When a fashion model dies during an abortion, a series of murders begins, starting with her doctor. The next victims are connected to the modeling agency where she worked, Albatross, run by a hard edged and jealous bi-sexual, Gisella, married to a Farouk-like dissolute. One suspect is Carlo, a playboy photographer who has a hot temper and refuses to share information with the police. He becomes the lover of Magda, another photographer at the agency, who’s probably in danger. The murderer wears a black motorcycle outfit and helmet. Will anyone discover the murderer’s identity before the entire agency dies?
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Harry Balbo, a nerdy and spineless flange salesman, witness a violent killing by a gorgeous female vampire in a alley. Nobody believes him, neither does the police. Obsessed by the woman, Harry soon contacts a neighbor named Strickland, who is a vampire hunter, because he wants to find her. They begin to track the zone where she hunts to locate her refuge…
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