Saturday, January 30 - The Mechanic

The Mechanic (1972)

An aging hitman befriends a young man who wants to be a professional killer. Eventually it becomes clear that someone has betrayed them.

Friday, January 29 - Indiscretion of an American Wife

Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953) Stazione Termini (original title)

A married American woman has gotten involved with another man while visiting relatives in Rome. She decides that the time has come to break off the relationship, and she makes plans to return home to her husband. But she soon realizes that she is not at all sure about what she wants to do, and she continues to agonize over her decision.

Thursday, January 28 - Frankenstein's Daughter

Frankenstein's Daughter (1958)

A descendant of the late Victor Frankenstein, his son Oliver to be exact, is hiding his identity and working as a lab assistant for a kindly scientist. The scientist is working on something beneficial to mankind, whilst his assistant secretly works his own experiments on his benefactor's niece. These experiments hideously disfigure her face and cause her to walk the streets scaring people at night. But soon we see that all this is really secondary to Oliver's real plans of recreating life...keeping the family tradition alive so to speak. With the aid of a disgruntled gardener related to Igor(or someone like that), Ollie and friend end up killing people and fusing dead body parts with the end result being the creation of a barely woman-like played by man being. Ollie is not just worried about creating life, however. He is a randy sort of chap who has the hots for the delectable niece and then her also delicious friend, played by playmate Sally Todd.

Wednesday, January 27 - The Blue Bird

The Blue Bird (1940)

Mytyl and her brother Tyltyl, a woodchopper's children, are led by the Fairy Berylune on a magical trip through the past, present, and future to locate the Blue Bird of Happiness. (The Fairy actually ditches the tykes early on, leaving them to their own devices.)

Tuesday, January 26 - The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)

A young boy who detests taking piano lessons, Bart Collins (Tommy Rettig) has developed a deep suspicion of his strict instructor, Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried). Raised by his single mother, Heloise (Mary Healy), Bart looks up to the local plumber August Zabladowski (Peter Lind Hayes). When Bart ends up in a Seussian dreamworld, he must join with Zabladowski to rescue his mom from Dr. T's clutches and stop his plan to force 500 boys to play a massive piano in perpetuity.

Monday, January 25 - Mandingo

 

Mandingo (1975)

It's the mid-nineteenth century Louisiana. Falconhurst, a run down plantation, is owned by Warren Maxwell, and largely run by his son, Hammond Maxwell, who walks with a limp due to a childhood accident. Hammond is under pressure to get married and produce a male heir to continue the Maxwell legacy before Warren dies. With no experience courting a potential bride - his sexual experiences confined to slaves and whores - Hammond ultimately chooses his cousin Blanche for his wife in what would not be considered a courtship in its true sense. In turn, Blanche agrees to the marriage largely to escape the realm of her sadistic brother, Charles. As his father tells him is custom, Hammond, while on his and Blanche's honeymoon in New Orleans, also obtains a slave as a go to sexual partner, he buying Ellen, who he met when she was given to him in hospitality when visiting who was then her master. Concurrently, Hammond also purchases Mede, a Mandingo, as a slave, something Warren had always wanted because of their physical strength. The plan with Mede is to breed him with their female slaves to produce further Mandingos who they can sell for a higher price than other black slaves. However, Hammond, out of circumstance, uses Mede in the potentially lucrative sport of no holds barred slave fighting, often to the death. Hammond and Blanche end up having an unsatisfying marriage largely due to something Hammond discovers on their wedding night, he turning to Ellen instead as the preferred woman in his life. Blanche, in return, takes her anger out on Hammond in the only way she knows how. In the process, it is their slaves who pay the price for their problems.

Sunday, January 24 - Rebecca

Rebecca (1940)

Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter (Laurence Olivier). She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.

Saturday, January 23 - Night Moves

Night Moves (1975)

Private detective and former football player Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case, as a former Hollywood actress whose only major roles came thanks to being married to a studio mogul wants Moseby to find and return her daughter. Harry travels to Florida to find her, but he begins to see a connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.

Friday, January 22 - The Stone Killer

The Stone Killer (1973)

The film involves a plot by a present-day (1973) Mafia don (Martin Balsam) to avenge the killings of a group of Mafia dons back in 1931 ("The Night of Sicilian Vespers") with a bold nationwide counter-strike against most of the current Italian and Jewish syndicate heads using teams of Vietnam vets instead of Mafia hit men. ("Stone killer" means a Mafia hit man who is not himself a member of the Mafia.)

Bronson plays a gritty, independent detective who stumbles across the plot when a washed-up former hit man is killed under circumstances that make it clear that it was an inside job and that Mafia were involved. He then slowly uncovers the clues that point to a seemingly impossible plot.

Thursday, January 21 - Blood of Dracula

Blood of Dracula (1957)

In a girl's boarding school, science teacher, Miss Branding, tests her theory that there is power within the human potential that is beyond that of the atom. Using hypnosis and a special amulet, a new and troubled student, Nancy Perkins, becomes the subject of her experiments which result in a series of full-moon murders.

Wednesday, January 20 - Cold Sweat

Cold Sweat (1970) De la part des copains (original title)

Joe Martin, a quiet American, lives a quiet life in the South of France renting boats to tourists. He is happily married to Fabienne and has a twelve-year-old daughter named Michèle. But the quiet man has a past: ten years before, Joe (then Moran) had escaped with four other convicts, among whom the sadistic ex-mercenary Katanga. Seeing the latter brutally kill an M. P., Joe had abandoned his accomplices and left with the car. One night, Captain Ross, Katanga, Whitey and Fausto re-appear...

Tuesday, January 19 - The Green Archer

Der grüne Bogenschütze (1961)

During a guided tour of Garre Castle, a man is killed by an arrow after sneaking away from the rest of the group.

And then I fell asleep...

Monday, January 18 - The Brain Machine

The Brain Machine (1955)

Using an ECG a couple of doctors are able to diagnose a person's mental health. On one occasion they bring in a deranged killer to get a reading. Then later, they have an accident victim who they scan for brain damage. upon checking his scan they see he has some alarming similarities with the killer. Before they can question him he leaves the hospital.

Maxwell Reed is the violent criminal with a brain tumour who kidnaps icy doctor Elizabeth Allan (who needs to be rescued by her estranged husband (who should have left the job up to the police in the first place!)) while trying to flee the country.

Sunday, January 17 - The Beast with a Million Eyes

The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955)

The isolated Kelley family struggle to survive on their small date ranch, located in a bleak desert landscape well away from civilization. After a mysterious object crashes nearby, both wild and domesticated animals, and finally the farm's handyman, turn on the family, attacking them. It is finally revealed that a space alien (the "beast" of the title) has taken total control of the area's lesser animals and is working its way up to humans, all part of its master plan to conquer the Earth. In the end the family bond together, fighting against the alien menace, finally thwarting its plan of conquest.

Saturday, January 16 - Two Girls and a Sailor

Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)

Two sisters, Jean and Patsy Deyo, are born into a vaudeville family, and when they grow up, start an act themselves. One night, they invite a bunch of servicemen to their apartment. They are both attracted to a sailor named Johnny. Jean points out to Johnny an unused nearby warehouse they wish they could make into a canteen to entertain the troops.

An anonymous benefactor they call "Somebody" starts fulfilling that goal. First, a Mr. Nizby shows up and hands them the keys to the warehouse, announcing they now own it. As the two sisters explore the dusty building, they discover that Billy Kipp, an old vaudeville performer they knew as kids, has been squatting there ever since his wife left him and took their infant son many years ago. A horde of cleaners tidies up, and the place is made into an inviting canteen, all courtesy of "Somebody". Famous entertainers perform, as do Jean and Patsy.

Johnny starts dating Jean, unaware that Patsy is also in love with him. Meanwhile, Patsy tries to discover who "Somebody" is. Finally, she learns that he is none other than Johnny. Also, Johnny turns out to be in love with Patsy, and Jean with Sergeant Frank Miller, but both did not want to hurt the other. Everything gets straightened out in the end. To top it off, Billy spots a sailor who looks just like a younger version of himself, down to his nose. His son and he are joyfully reunited.

Friday, January 15 - Circus World

Circus World (1964)

When circus proprietor Matt Masters decides to take his show on a European tour, it is beset by problems, while he searches for Lili, the mother of his adopted daughter, who disappeared years before.

" All you gotta have in a John Wayne picture is a hoity-toity dame with big tits that Duke can throw over his knees and spank, and a collection of jerks he can smash in the face every five minutes. In between, you fill in with gags, flags and chases. That's all you need, his fans eat it up."

Thursday, January 14 - Lolly-Madonna XXX

Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)

In the early 1970s, a young woman passing through rural Tennessee unintentionally gets caught in a feud between two local neighboring clans, the Feathers and the Gutshalls.

Wednesday, January 13 - Farewell, Friend

Farewell, Friend (1968) Adieu l'ami (original title)

Two men returning to France on the same boat from the war in Algeria in the late '60s just happen to meet each other at the dock. Dino Barran (Delon) is an army doctor who is wrestling with some tragedy but we’re not sure what. Franz Propp (Bronson) is an American fighting with the Legionnaires. The two men hang out with each other for a few hours. Propp eventually tries to recruit Barran to help him on some sort of scheme. He’s planning on doing something illegal and needs a doctor to go along. Barran declines. He’s got another job he has to take care of first. Barran feels obligated to help the lover of his best friend, Isabelle (Olga Georges-Picot). She wants him to break into her firm and put something back inside a safe.

Propp, who now works auctions of hot women to the highest bidder, is still intrigued by Barran. He decides to follow him and see what he’s up getting into. On a long New Year’s weekend, Propp follows Barran into Isabelle’s work. While Barran still wants to put something back into the safe, Propp wants to steal it for himself. The two end up getting locked inside the safe without any provisions and without a way out. These two polar opposites will have to work together to make it out alive.

Tuesday, January 12 - The Brides of Fu Manchu

The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966)

Fu Manchu and his army of henchmen are kidnapping the daughters of prominent scientists and taking them to his remote island headquarters. Instead of asking for ransom, Fu demands that the fathers help him to build a death ray (actually, his plan is to send explosive energy via sound waves to small receivers placed in various cities throughout the world), which he intends to use to take over the world. But Fu's archenemy, Sir Denis Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard, is determined not to let that happen.

Monday, January 11 - The Face of Fu Manchu

The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)

Grisly strangulations in London alert Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard to the possibility of the fiendish Fu Manchu may not be dead after all, even though Smith witnessed his execution. A killer spray made from Tibetan berries seems to be involved and clues keep leading back to the Thames.

Sunday, January 10 - Dear Heart

Dear Heart (1964)

Single and alone, Evie Jackson (Geraldine Page) arrives in New York City for the annual Postmasters' convention. Staying at her hotel is a womanizing salesman newly promoted to his marketing department and trying to adjust to having become engaged. When his path crosses Evie's, she wonders if this is finally the man for her, while her ways just seem to annoy him. At least to start with...

Saturday, January 9 - Enter Laughing

Enter Laughing (1967)

David Kolowitz, a nice young man living with his parents in New York City in 1938, works at a machine repair shop. His parents want David to study to become a pharmacist. But what he really wants is to be an actor like his idol, Ronald Colman. One day, at his friend Marvin's suggestion, David tries out for a part in a play, and gets it, despite his obvious lack of acting experience (not to mention ability). True, it's a rather small part in a low-rent production. Leading the troupe is a washed-up, alcoholic actor who hires David at the urging of his actress-daughter, who finds David "cute." To play his part, David must come up with his own costume - a tuxedo - and pay the house five dollars a week, ostensibly for tuition. But it is David's first acting job, one which calls for him to "enter laughing." And if it doesn't work out - well, there's always pharmacy school.

Friday, January 8 - Attack of the Puppet People

Attack of the Puppet People (1958)

The secretary Sally Reynolds is hired by the owner of the Dolls, Inc., the former puppet master Mr. Franz. Soon she meets the salesman Bob Westley and they fall in love with each other. When Bob proposes to marry Sally, he decides to inform Franz, but mysteriously vanishes. Sally notices that Mr. Franz has a new doll in his private collection that looks like her fiance and goes to the police telling that somehow Mr. Franz is shrinking people. But Sgt. Paterson, who is assigned to the investigation, goes to the factory with Sally but is skeptical.

And?.. And?...

Thursday, January 7 - The Defector

The Defector (1966) L'espion (original title)

American physicist Professor Bower is effectively blackmailed by a shady CIA agent named Adams to help the CIA obtain secret microfilm from a defecting Russian scientist. The reluctant Bower travels to East Germany undercover as an antiques collector, where he encounters Heinzmann, an East German fellow physicist who is also a secret agent. Heinzmann is aware of Bower's meeting with Adams and of his intention to steal the microfilm, but their mutual respect for one another's tactics complicate the proceedings.

Wednesday, January 6 - End Play

End Play (1976)

Hitchhiker Janine Talbort is picked up and murdered by an unseen assailant. Mark Gifford, a merchant sailor on leave, then disposes of the body, attracting the suspicion of his wheelchair bound brother Robert. The police become suspicious of both brothers, who are rivals over their half-cousin, Margaret.

Tuesday, January 5 - The Red Circle

The Red Circle (1960) Der rote Kreis (original title)

After narrowly avoiding the guillotine a master criminal returns to London and wreaks havoc. Blackmail and murder are the trademarks of the Crimson Circle. 25 people will die in his (or her) spree.

A private investigator is called in to help Scotland Yard after 18 people fall prey to the Crimson Circle. Inspector Parr is deemed to be too old and behind the times to apprehend the murderer. Parr asks for and is granted special authority to carry out his plan. However it seemingly backfires in his face and 7 more people meet their grisly fate.

Involved is a neer do well, a young lady of villainous ways, suspicious police officials and a shady Frenchmen.

Monday, January 4 - The Landlord

The Landlord (1970)

Elgar Enders, who lives off an allowance from his wealthy parents, buys an inner-city tenement in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which is undergoing gentrification, planning to evict the occupants and construct a luxury home for himself. However, once he ventures into the tenement, he grows fond of the low-income black residents. Enders decides to remain as the landlord, and help fix the building. He rebels against his WASP upbringing, and to his parents' dismay, romances two black women.

The first is Lanie, a mixed-race dancer at a local black club. Lanie has light skin and features due to a mother of Irish descent, and a father of African descent, and has experienced colorism. Their relationship is strained, as Elgar has an affair with one of his tenants, Fanny, and gets her pregnant. Her boyfriend Copee, a black activist with an identity crisis, is enraged when he finds out about the pregnancy, and tries to kill Elgar with an axe but ultimately stops.

The Enders family is shaken by their son's behavior, but reluctantly accepts him. Ultimately, Fanny gives the child up for adoption to start a new life. The story ends with Elgar’s taking custody of the child, mending his relationship with Lanie, and moving in with her.

Sunday, January 3 - The Wheeler Dealers

The Wheeler Dealers (1963)

A big-time Texas wheeler-dealer (who's actually Ivy league-educated, but plays dumb) runs out of money, and goes to New York City to raise $1.5 million.

Henry J. Tyroone leaves Texas where his oil wells are drying up and arrives in New York with a lot of oil money to play with in the stock market. He meets stock analyst Molly Thatcher, who he falls in love with. Molly tries to ignore the attention he lavishes on, and keep the relationship strictly professional.

Saturday, January 2 - The Killing of Angel Street

The Killing of Angel Street (1981)

Jessica Simmonds returns from overseas to find her retired professor father in a bitter public fight to save the historic Sydney waterfront houses on Angel Street. After her father's mysterious death, she joins forces with local residents and a union leader against corrupt forces. Based on the real life mysterious disappearance of Juanita Nielsen.

Friday, January 1 - Bye Bye Braverman

Bye Bye Braverman (1968)

One day, Morroe Rieff (George Segal) learns that his friend and fellow writer, Leslie Braverman, has died. After meeting Leslie's widow, Inez (Jessica Walter), who is more flirtatious than grieving, Morroe joins up with three other writer friends -- Barnet (Jack Warden), Felix (Joseph Wiseman) and Holly (Sorrell Booke) -- to attend funeral services. However, the quartet faces numerous obstacles, including poor directions and a car accident, that could keep them from paying their respects.

Thursday, December 31 - Spellbound

Spellbound (1945)

When Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck) arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson (Ingrid Bergman), a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.