
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

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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The World’s Greatest Athlete (1973) Robert Scheerer, John Amos, Jan-Michael Vincent, Tim Conway, Comedy, Family, Romance

Stuck with a feeble sports department, college coach Sam Archer (John Amos) faces the ax unless he can reverse the school’s athletic fortunes. An African vacation with his assistant (Tim Conway) answers Archer’s prayers when he spots the athletically gifted Nanu (Jan-Michael Vincent). Sam counts on Nanu’s remarkable abilities to put the team back on the winning track. This upbeat farce boasts an impressive cast of comedians.
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The Awakening (1980) Mike Newell, Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Horror

An American archaeologist is in Egypt with his pregnant wife, searching for the tomb of a long-lost Egyptian queen. At the same moment he discovers the tomb and opens it’s accursed seal, his wife gives birth to his daughter. Years later it transpires that the malevolent spirit of the Egyptian queen left the tomb just as he was entering, and possessed his baby girl. As the truth becomes clear, the archaeologist realizes that he must destroy his daughter in a ceremonial ritual, before she uses her awesome powers to threaten the safety of mankind.
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Tau ban no hoi / Boat People (1982) Ann Hui, George Lam, Cora Miao, Season Ma, Drama

A Japanese reporter arrives in Vietnam hoping to capture the essence the society under the rule of the Communist Party. With the help of a vietnamese girl, he eventually opens his eyes to the painful truth of postwar Vietnam.
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Night People (1954) Nunnally Johnson, Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Anita Björk, Adventure, Crime, Mystery

Post WWII yarn about a young GI abducted by the Soviets in West Berlin and hauled off to the East. His recovery gets complicated as Colonel Steve Van Dyke (Peck) tries to sort out the usefulness of informants, spies, bureaucrats, and the abductee’s influential father (Crawford)!
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Sea Wife (1957) Bob McNaught, Joan Collins, Richard Burton, Basil Sydney, Drama, Thriller, War

In 1942, a cargo ship jammed with British evacuees from Singapore is sunk by a Japanese sub. A small lifeboat carries a beautiful woman, an army officer, a bigoted administrator, and a black seaman. Only the seaman knows the woman is a nun. The men reveal their true selves under the hardships of survival. Told in a too-long flashback frame.
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Yatsuhaka-mura / Village of the Eight Tombs (1996) Kon Ichikawa, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yûko Asano, Yu Ji Chin Ye, Mystery

400 hundred years ago the inhabitants of the village of Yatsuhaka murdered 8 samurai rebels, whom they were actually helping to hide away, afraid of what the Shogunate would do to them. Before dying one the samurai puts a curse on the village. Strange things start to happen so the villagers decided to erect 8 graves for the murdered samurai to appease their anger. Then four hundred years later the head of Tajimi family and head of the village goes mad and starts killing almost everyone in the village. 25 years later his eldest son is poisoned. Kindaichi Yousuke detective is hired by the family’s lawyer as everyone in the village believes is the curse of the samurai again.
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The Teacher (1974) Howard Avedis, Angel Tompkins, Jay North, Anthony James, Drama, Thriller, Erotic

18-year-old Sean’s first summer after completing high school is much spent with 28-year-old teacher Diane, whose husband is too often motorcycle-racing instead of with her. Wacko Ralph also has “the hots” for Diane; and it doesn’t help that Sean was with Ralph’s younger brother, Lou, when Lou died.
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Fudatsuki bakuto / A Wad of Notes (1970) Shigehiro Ozawa, Masahiko Tanimura, Action

A lone gambler tries to keep a yakuza family from taking over a festival in Kitakyushu. After away from his hometown for 13 years, Ryuji comes back and saves the town that is becoming run-down from yakuza’s ill deeds.
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Dasso yugi / Jail Breakers (1976) Kôsaku Yamashita, Shin’ichi Chiba, Haruko Wanibuchi, Eitarô Ozawa, Action, Crime

The film is packed with nice stunts throughout, but the screenplay could be better. After escaping the prison Chiba teams up with a bunch of thugs, who design prison escapes for money. Unfortunately trust and loyalty are unknown concepts to these men who take turns deceiving each other. The endless “who’s-cheating-who” game has been done better in other films, and sometimes the writing is downright sloppy: when a carefully planned escape operation fails, Chiba simply steals a fire engine and drives away without anyone noticing! It also feels that director Kosaku Yamashita, who made his name with yakuza films, was a bit out of his element here. However, even with these weaknesses it’s an entertaining action comedy which compares favourably against some of the later, similar Yasaku Matsuda films like Execution Game (1978) and No Grave for Us (1979). The focus is on stunts and comedy.
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Much Loved (2015) Nabil Ayouch, Loubna Abidar, Asmaa Lazrak, Halima Karaouane, Drama

A social drama about four marginalized prostitutes in Marrakech and their complex relations with their families and society at large.
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Jigoku no okite ni asu wa nai / Glorious Fights (1966) Yasuo Furuhata, Ken Takakura, Rentarô Mikuni, Yukiyo Toake, Action

A young leader of the Yamazaki family of Nagasaki, Takida (Ken Takakura) is an A-bomb survivor. He fiercely battles violent elements in southern Japan without fear of consequences.
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Sister Emanuelle (1977) Giuseppe Vari, Laura Gemser, Mónica Zanchi, Gabriele Tinti, Drama, Erotic

Renouncing her “sinful” past, Emanuelle has entered a convent and has dedicated herself to a life of service. Enter Monika, the free-spirited, free-loving daughter of a wealthy Baron. Emanuelle is charged with keeping Monika in line, but when the young girl’s wild ways bring back memories of her own sensual past, Emanuelle begins questioning her own religious and sexual identity. Advances from an escaped killer who is hiding in the convent serve to complicate matters further.
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Having Wonderful Crime (1945) A. Edward Sutherland, Pat O’Brien, George Murphy, Carole Landis, Comedy, Crime, Mystery

Having Wonderful Crime spotlights Michael J. Malone, the murder-solving attorney created by author Craig Rice. The film is also ostensibly based on a novel by Rice, though precious little of the original actually made it to the screen. The story begins as Malone (Pat O’Brien) brusquely informs his newlywed friends Jake and Helene Justus (George Murphy and Carole Landis) that he’s not going to allow them to suck him into another murder mystery. Unfortunately for the attorney, Jake and Helene shortly afterward attend a stage magic show wherein the star magician (George Zucco) disappears for real! Their investigation leads to a resort hotel literally packed with murder suspects. When the newlyweds learn too much for their own good, it’s up to Malone to come to the rescue and nab the killer. One of the suspects is played by an actress named Anje Berens, who as “Gloria Holden” previously starred in Dracula’s Daughter (1936).
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