Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Tuesday, July 30 - Foyle's War: Killing Time

Foyle's War (2002–2015): Killing Time (Season 6 | Episode 2 - Episode aired 9 May 2010)

Sam moves in with Adam Wainwright to help run his guest house though, due to his shyness, they are not a couple. One of the tenants, Mandy Dean, is having a tough time, raising a baby fathered by black G.I. Gabe Kelly. Her old boyfriend Tommy Duggan is devastated when he returns and makes the discovery. To Foyle's dismay segregation is enforced in Hastings to prevent inter-racial fights and Gabe is beaten up for dancing with Mandy in public. They plan to move to New York but she is murdered on the night a robbery takes place at Gabe's barracks. Two pleasant boarders at the guest house are not what they seem but, with Mandy's killer behind bars, Gabe has an unusual offer of help to mind his child until he can return from New York for her.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Monday, July 29 - I Walk Alone

I Walk Alone (1947)

Frankie Madison returns to New York after 14 years in prison. Noll Turner, Frankie's former partner in bootlegging, is now a wealthy nightclub manager, and Frankie is expecting him to honor a verbal '50:50' agreement they made when he was caught and Noll got away.

Noll stalls, sending him to dinner with his singer girlfriend Kay Lawrence (Lizabeth Scott). Noll instructs Kay to find out what Frankie is after. He learns that Frankie expects him to honor their old bargain. He tells his old partner that the deal only applied to their old nightclub, which shut down years ago. Dave (Wendell Corey), the only member of the old gang Frankie trusted, had him sign legal papers to that effect some time ago. Frankie's share by Noll's reckoning is less than $3000. Furious, Frankie slugs Noll and leaves to recruit men to take what he figures he is owed. However, Noll had Dave tie up ownership of the nightclub between several corporations, with bylaws that make it impossible for him to hand over anything. Furthermore, the men supposedly backing Frankie actually work for Noll. Frankie is beaten up and left in the alley.

Meanwhile, Noll informs Kay that he intends to marry wealthy socialite Alexis Richardson (Kristine Miller), explaining that he is doing so to ensure the success of the nightclub with which he has become increasingly obsessed. He sees no reason they cannot continue their relationship. Repulsed by the idea and strongly attracted to Frankie, Kay quits and, overcoming Frankie's suspicions, joins his side.

Dave, aghast at how Frankie has been treated, tells him that he is willing to pass along what he knows, which is enough to bring Noll down. However, he foolishly tells Noll what he intends to do, and is killed by Noll's henchman. The murder is pinned on Frankie.

Evading a police manhunt, Frankie and Kay go to Noll's mansion. Though Noll is waiting with a loaded gun, Frankie manages to take it away from him. The three drive to the nightclub. By threatening Noll, Frankie extracts a written confession from him, which he gives to the police when they show up. Noll is taken away, but gets free and goes gunning for Frankie. He is shot dead by a policeman.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Sunday, July 28 - Monster on the Campus

Monster on the Campus (1958)

A college professor acquires a newly discovered specimen of a prehistoric fish. While examining the find he is accidentally exposed to it's blood, turning him into a murderous Neanderthal.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Saturday, July 27 - Escape

Escape (1940)

After discovering that his mother, a renowned German actress (Nazimova), is being held in a Nazi concentration camp, her American son, Mark Preysing (Robert Taylor), heads to Germany (he's already there when the movie starts) to track her down. While Mark initially finds little help, he is eventually aided by the empathetic American expatriate Countess Ruby von Treck (Norma Shearer) and a German doctor (Philip Dorn), and a bold plan evolves to smuggle his mother out of the camp and to the United States.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Friday, July 26 - The Farmer's Daughter

The Farmer's Daughter (1947)

Young Swedish-American Katrin "Katie" Holstrom (Loretta Young) leaves her family farm in Minnesota, headed for nursing school. After her tuition money runs out, she is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Congressman Glenn Morley (Joseph Cotten). Holstrom endears herself to the genteel Morley, and begins to show a surprising aptitude for politics herself. She launches a campaign for Congress, and, as right-wing reactionaries plot against her, a romance develops.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Thursday, July 25 - Come Fly with Me

Come Fly with Me (1963)

Jet-setting stewardesses Donna Stuart (Dolores Hart), Carol Brewster (Pamela Tiffin) and Hilda "Bergie" Bergstrom (Lois Nettleton) travel in search of love during the glamorous age of 1960s globetrotting. Baron Elzingen (Karl Boehm) sweeps Donna off her feet, but his secrets may divide them. Mid-30s Bergie meets Walter Lucas (Karl Malden) and discovers there is more to him than Texas charm. Young Carol is mad for co-pilot Ray Winsley (Hugh O'Brian), but must deal with his womanizing ways.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Wednesday, July 24 - And Baby Makes Three

And Baby Makes Three (1949)

Jackie Walsh, divorced from Vernon Walsh, faints just before her marriage to Herbert Fletcher and learns she is pregnant, and ex-husband Vernon is the father-to-be. To win their legal battle over the custody of the baby-to-be, Vernon decides to marry ex-girl friend Wanda York (only she's not his ex-girl friend, you idiot). Jackie is regretting the divorce and decides to discourage Wanda by telling her she is going to have triplets.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Tuesday, July 23 - Don't Look Now

Don't Look Now (1973)

Still grieving over the accidental death of their daughter, Christine (Sharon Williams), John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) are in Venice, Italy, where John's been commissioned to restore a church. There Laura meets two sisters (Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania) who claim to be in touch with the spirit of the Baxters' daughter. Laura takes them seriously, but John scoffs until he himself catches a glimpse of what looks like Christine running through the streets of Venice.

John and Laura Baxter are in Venice when they meet a pair of elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic. She insists that she sees the spirit of the Baxters' daughter, who recently drowned. Laura is intrigued, but John resists the idea. He, however, seems to have his own psychic flashes, seeing their daughter walk the streets in her red cloak, as well as Laura and the sisters on a funeral gondola.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Monday, July 22 - Lady of the Tropics

Lady of the Tropics (1939)

A party of yachting jet-setters visit French Saigon, where they meet lovely Manon deVargnes, a second-class citizen not allowed to leave the country due to her part-Oriental ancestry. When the others leave, playboy Bill Carey stays behind to woo Manon; but all his efforts to get her out of the country with him run into a brick wall. And Pierre Delaroch, her wealthy former admirer, waits for him to give up.

It's the story of a half-caste named Manon who, as a second class citizen, can't get a passport to leave Saigon. Taylor is a playboy who falls for her; the two marry, incurring the wrath of Manon's sometime boyfriend Delaroch (Joseph Schildkraut).

Monday, July 22, 2019

Sunday, July 21 - Boardwalk

Boardwalk (1979)

David and Becky Rosen are an elderly Jewish couple on the verge of celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary who reside in a crumbling Coney Island neighborhood that's fallen prey to a street gang led by the vicious Strut. Moreover, Becky is having issues with her health.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Saturday, July 20 - Blue Denim

Blue Denim (1959)

The story is set in Dearborn, Michigan, during the 1950s, and revolves around fourteen-year-old Arthur Bartley (Brandon deWilde) and his schoolmates, fifteen-year-old Janet Willard (Carol Lynley) and Ernie (Warren Berlinger). While widower's-daughter Janet laughs at Arthur and Ernie's forays into smoking, drinking, and playing cards, she's always been interested in Arthur, and as Arthur's parents try to shelter him from negative things in life (like the euthanasia of the family dog, done while he's at school), he turns to Janet for comfort.

The relationship between Janet and Arthur results in her becoming pregnant. Unable to ask their parents (who misinterpret their pleas as "ordinary" teenage curiosity about sex and adulthood) for help, they turn to Ernie, who'd boasted earlier about "helping a sailor who got his girl in trouble" by directing him to an abortionist – only to discover Ernie made it all up, based on secondhand stories. The three seek together to arrange an abortion and raise the funds, only to be discovered by their parents at the last moment. In the meantime, Arthur and Janet find out how much they do not yet know about life – and how much they truly care about each other.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Friday, July 19 - The High Cost of Loving

The High Cost of Loving (1958)

Middle-aged middle-manager Jim Fry, with the same company for fifteen years, is in a comfortable rut. But life becomes less predictable when he doesn't receive an invitation to an important luncheon being held by the new company president. Convinced that he's about to lose his job, Jim begins to mull over his limited prospects when his wife confirms that she's pregnant.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Thursday, July 18 - Come and Get It

Come and Get It (1936)

Ruthless lumberjack foreman Barney Glasgow (Edward Arnold) will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, to someday become the head of the logging industry in 19th century Wisconsin. His determination to succeed leads him to end his relationship with saloon singer Lotta Morgan (Frances Farmer) and marry Emma Louise Hewitt (Mary Nash), the daughter of his boss Jed Hewett (Charles Halton), in order to secure a partnership in his business.

Over two decades later, a wealthy and successful Barney and Emma Louise's son Richard (Joel McCrea) strongly objects to his father's practice of destroying forests without planting new trees. Barney visits his old friend Swan Bostrom (Walter Brennan), who married Lotta when Barney rejected her. Swan is now a widower raising a daughter, also named Lotta (also played by Frances Farmer), who bears a striking resemblance to her mother. Barney finds himself attracted to the girl and, foolishly hoping to recapture the love he abandoned as a young man, offers to finance her education. Complications arise when Richard meets Lotta and takes a strong interest in her, which is reciprocated, much to Barney's displeasure and jealousy.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Wednesday, July 17 - What a Way to Go!

What a Way to Go! (1964)

After attempting to donate $200 million to the Internal Revenue Service, Louisa (Shirley MacLaine) finds herself in the care of a psychiatrist, Dr. Stephanson (Bob Cummings). She relates the improbable story behind her strange gift. It includes a pair of penniless husbands (Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman), who build large fortunes before suffering early -- and unusual -- deaths. To break the curse, Louisa weds a millionaire (Robert Mitchum), then a clown (Gene Kelly), without much improvement.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Tuesday, July 16 - Mansfield 66/67

Mansfield 66/67 (2017)

MANSFIELD 66/67 is about the last two years of movie goddess Jayne Mansfield's life and the rumors swirling around her untimely death being caused by a curse after her alleged romantic dalliance with Anton LaVey, head of the Church of Satan.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Monday, July 15 - Dog Eat Dog

When Strangers Meet (1964) Einer frisst den anderen (original title)

Three robbers, Lylle Corbett (Mitchell), Dolph Kostis (Salter), and Darlene (Mansfield), steal one-million dollars from a shipment on its way to the United States. But, instead of sharing the dough with Lylle, Dolph, decides to kill him, without Darlene (who likes them both), knowing it. When returning to Darlene (his wife), at the Hotel Americano's, Dolph, informs her that Lylle is out of the picture and that she should forget about him. Before Dolph had returned, Darlene, had been visited by the hotel's manager Livio Morelli (Braun), who was there to request her to turn down the volume on her radio. Livio sees a one-thousand dollar bill under the edge of the bed, and quickly knows that they are the robbers; that he had recently heard about on the radio; and that they call themselves "Mr. and Mrs. Smithopolis".

As a break away, to not getting caught, Dolph and Darlene, make a get-a-way on a rental boat. However, they unaware that the owner of the hotel's inoccent-looking sister, Sandra (Heath), is in the back of the boat and has planted a bomb, to kill the pair, and take off with the million for she and her brother...Lylle, who is supposed to be dead, is also in the boat; who later holds them hostage. Arriving on an "deserted" island, Lylle, ensures everyone that he is in charge. However, Lady Xenia (Flickenschildt) and her butler Jannis (Peters), are on the island, so Lady Xenia can die in peace. Also arriving on the island is hotel owner, Livio, who has left his "girlfriend", Madame Benoit (Miranda), at the hotel to take care of the police detective (Robert Gardett), who has been asking questions about the robbers. But what Dolph, Lylle, and Darlene, don't know is; everyone else there on the island knows they're the robbers of the one-million dollars, and that they want the money.

After a while on the island, people are starting to be killed, with the killer being unknown. Lylle, suspects the killer to be the holder of the one-million dollars or a person looking for it. After Dolph dies, with Livio and Jannis following after, Lylle goes insane searching for the million. In the end, Lylle, finds out that Sandra, the so innocent-looking girl is the killer and the holder of the dough. Before the films ending, Lylle and Sandra, fall over a cliff, as a result of fighting for the money, and die. Darlene, now the last woman standing, drowns herself in the water, while the police are arriving on the island.

Monday, July 15, 2019

Sunday, July 14 - Tales of Tomorrow: The Crystal Egg

Tales of Tomorrow (1951–1953): The Crystal Egg (Season 1 | Episode 9 - aired 12 October 1951)

A strange story from H.G. Wells. It seems that a certain curio shop has a crystal egg in the window and a customer is REALLY interested in buying it--so interested that the owners assume this cheap trinket is really quite valuable. So, instead of selling it, they stall the guy and have the professor (Thomas Mitchell) examine it.

A crystal egg reveals live tableaux of the planet Mars. A 19th Century scientist is obsessed with investigating the crystal, but the antique shop owner who came across the seemingly worthless glass hopes to sell it ASAP to a tall, insistent stranger, for whom no price is too dear. The delay while the scientist experiments on the egg makes the buyer even more desperate.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Wednesday, July 10 - That Hagen Girl

That Hagen Girl (1947)

In a small town, Minta (Dorothy Peterson) and Jim Hagen (Charles Kemper) bring home an adopted baby; at the same time, a mysteriously ill socialite returns home from an unnamed location. Town gossips believe the Hagens' child is that of the socialite and her old boyfriend, Tom Bates (Ronald Reagan). Tom's guardian sends him away, but years later Tom returns when the child, Mary (Shirley Temple), enters college, and he learns that she has been harassed all her life for her shadowy background.

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Monday, July 8 - The Name of the Game Is Kill!

The Name of the Game Is Kill! (1968)

The handsome Hungarian stranger Sim passes through a remote little US town and gets invited to the home of the uncanny Terry family. Mother Terry lives with her three daughters and a bizarre collection of poisonous snakes and tarantulas. The second oldest daughter Mickey is adorable, but the other women in the house behave somewhat odd and hostile. Sim nearly dies the next morning and ends up in the hospital were a dodgy Sheriff advises him not to go back there. Naturally he doesn't listen and returns to the house, only to encounter some of the freakiest family rituals and traditions imaginable.

Wayward Hungarian drifter and refugee Symcha Lipa (an excellent performance by Jack Lord) finds himself stranded on a deserted highway in rural Arizona. Lipa accepts a lift from the lovely and helpful Mickey Terry (a winningly perky and bewitching portrayal by the gorgeous Susan Strasberg), who takes him to an old gas station run by Mickey, her brusque sister Diz (Collin Wilcox Paxton, nicely abrasive), more flirty and flighty younger sibling Nan (Tisha Sterling, deliciously naughty), and their flaky mother Mrs. Terry (well played to the loopy hilt by T.C. Jones). Lipa soon finds himself under the dangerously seductive spell of these four odd and unbalanced women.

Monday, July 8, 2019

Sunday, July 7 - The Cool Ones

The Cool Ones (1967)

Hallie Rogers is a pent-up go-go dancer itching for her big break. She's up for a spot on the network rock'n'roll show "Whizbam," a detailed send-up of both "Shindig" and "Hullaballo," but the studio bosses keep giving her the shaft. So Hallie wigs out, escapes from her go-go cage, and steals the mike from Glen Campbell, who's singing onstage at the time. While Glen does all he can to stop this crazy girl on live TV, Hallie shakes and shimmies her way out of impending handcuffs. The audience goes wild, imitating her moves, and when a misdirected camera sends a message out to the nation, a new dance craze is born - the Tantrum! Tony Krum, a teen tycoon begins to manage her booming career. Hallie gets fired from "Whizbam," but her go-go dancing pals take her to Palm Springs, where they see the Leaves perform. She soon meets out-of-step teen idol Cliff Donner, with whom she forms a duo.

Sunday, July 7, 2019

Saturday, July 6 - Kansas City Princess

Kansas City Princess (1934)

Rosie and Marie are wisecracking Kansas City manicurists. Marie is an unabashed golddigger but Rosie would like to marry her gangster boyfriend Dynamite, who's given her an expensive ring. When she loses the ring, both friends have to flee Dynamite's wrath; their adventures include masquerading as girl scouts and taking an ocean voyage to Paris.

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Friday, July 5 - The Wild Affair (1965)

The Wild Affair (1965)

Nancy Kwan is to be married in a few days, whereupon she will become a housewife. She's a good girl in the early phases of the Swinging Sixties, and she wonders what she is missing.

She stares into her mirror and sees an inner alter ego who speaks to her, encouraging her to put on a sexy dress and boots for the office Christmas party, which also happens to be her last day at work.

At the party, every man she encounters comes on to her, some creepier than others, and Kwan is tempted, goaded on by her alter ego. Things get a little crazy in the office when she spends her bonus on large amounts of booze, and co-workers are soon making out and dancing around wildly.

Friday, July 5, 2019

Thursday, July 4 - Syncopation

Syncopation (1942)

George Latimer (Adolphe Menjou) and his daughter Kit (Bonita Granville) live in New Orleans, the city of jazz. Unfortunately, the family business is not doing well and has to relocate to Chicago. Kit is heartbroken, but she agrees to the move with the promise that they will return someday. As she gets older, she never loses her love of jazz and plays it whenever she gets a chance. One night, she goes for a walk and comes across Johnny Schumacher (Jackie Cooper), a down and out musician. He takes her to a party where they play a new variation on New Orleans jazz and she brings down the house with her piano-playing. Her confidence gives Johnny a new outlook on his love for music, although money is always a temptation.

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Wednesday, July 3 - The Arsenal Stadium Mystery

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939)

Vintage British thriller in which a Scotland Yard inspector investigates the murder of amateur footballer John Doyce during a charity soccer match against Arsenal at Highbury. Much of the film was shot at Highbury itself, with appearances from Arsenal manager George Allison and members of the team.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Tuesday, July 2 - S.O.S. Tidal Wave

S.O.S. Tidal Wave (1939)

Newsman Jeff Shannon wants to expose political corruption in his city, but backs off when his wife and son are threatened. On election day politicians try to prevent voting by broadcasting footage from the disaster film Deluge (1933) to keep everyone watching the developing (fake) story that NYC is hit by a massive tidal wave. But Shannon realizes the story is a trick.

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Monday, July 1 - Tarantula

Tarantula (1955)

In the Arizona desert, Professor Gerald Deemer is experimenting with growth hormones in the hopes of finding a way to increase the world's food supply. His partner in the project was recently found dead in the desert, suffering from a disease that normally takes years to advance but, in his case, seems to have afflicted him in only a few days. The local doctor, Matt Hastings, is puzzled by the strange case and, with Deemer's recently arrived (and very pretty) assistant, Stephanie Clayton, tries to figure out what is going on. When cattle remains are found in the countryside, evidence points to a giant tarantula as the culprit.

Monday, July 1, 2019

Sunday, June 30 - The Girl Most Likely to...

The Girl Most Likely to... (1973)

College co-ed Miriam Knight, portrayed by Stockard Channing is smart, witty, and well-meaning, but endures endless bullying because of how she looks and how much she weighs. But due to a freak car accident, she has plastic surgery, with results beyond anyone's imagination. Now ravishing and beautiful, she looks nothing like she used to, but the abuse she suffered while ugly still hurts. Now, Miriam is on a mission for deadly revenge from former tormentors.