Saturday, July 11 - God's Bankers

The Bankers of God: The Calvi Affair (2002) "I banchieri di Dio" (original title)

This movie attempts to reconstruct the bankruptcy of the Banco Ambrosiano bank and its liaisons with the Vatican and the Masonry through the story of its president Roberto Calvi, notoriously found dead under the Blackfriars Bridge in London in June 1982.

Friday, July 10 - To Beat the Band

To Beat the Band (1935)

Hugh Herbert wants to inherit fifty-nine million dollars, but to collect he needs to marry a widow, and he wants to marry his unwidowed fiancée. Fortunately, Roger Pryor wants to kill himself and offers himself as a very temporary husband.

Thursday, July 9 - The Squeaker

Murder on Diamond Row (1937) "The Squeaker" (original title)

London's jewel thieves are under the thumb of a mysterious fence, who ruthlessly exposes any thief who crosses him. Desperate, Scotland Yard re-hires ex-Inspector Barrabal who, as a known drunkard, is ideally suited to go undercover with a faked criminal record (which may spoil his chances with lovely Carol Stedman). Interested parties: Larry Graeme, cat burglar; his girl, sexy dancer Tamara; Collie, sardonic reporter. Then murder makes apprehension of the Squeaker urgent.

Wednesday, July 8 - Roadhouse Nights

Roadhouse Nights (1930)

Helen Morgan plays a nitery chanteuse whose gangster bosses head a murderous bootleg operation. Charlie Ruggles portrays an ineveterate drinker who frequents Morgan's club; actually, Ruggles is a news reporter whose phony drunkenness is a cover for his investigation of the bootleg ring.

Tuesday, July 7 - The Big Tip Off

The Big Tip Off (1955)

Richard Conte plays two-bit newspaper columnist Johnny Denton, who gains notoreity by printing tips on upcoming gangland activities. Denton heightens his fame by refusing to reveal the source of his information; the audience knows, however, that Denton's tip-off man is crime kingpin Bob Gilmore (Bruce Bennett), who is in the process of staging a phony telethon to scam the public.

Monday, July 6 - Whispering Footsteps

Whispering Footsteps (1943)

A bank clerk in a small town returns home from a vacation in Indianapolis, and hears a story on the radio about a girl found murdered there. The description of the killer fits him exactly, and when two girls are murdered in his town, suspicion falls on him - especially when he can't provide an alibi for the time the girls were killed.

Sunday, July 5 - The Strip & Millionaires in Prison

The Strip (1951)

Drummer Stanley Maxton moves to Los Angeles with dreams of opening his own club, but falls in with a gangster and a nightclub dancer and ends up accused of murder.

Millionaires in Prison (1940)

A crop of millionaire inmates struggle to get accustomed to prison life, while inmate Nick Burton watches out for everyone's interests on the inside.

Saturday, July 4 - The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: Deck the Halls

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: Season 1, Episode 12 Deck the Halls (22 Dec. 1959)

Herbert T. Gillis finds himself in jail on Christmas Eve after being stripped of his holiday spirit and driven to desperation by his family and customers.

Friday, July 3 - Edge of Hell

Edge of Hell (1956)

In this heart-warming drama, a beggar and his performing dog, Flip, struggle to eke out a living upon the cruel streets. He is hired to perform at a rich kid's birthday party. There, the beggar is offered $500 for his beloved dog. He refuses and again hits the streets. Soon he becomes so impoverished that he can no longer provide food for his four-legged friend. He returns to the family and sells the dog for $37. The beggar is then beaten and robbed. Later he learns that Flip died. The man soon follows the dog to heaven where they begin performing for God. I don't make this stuff up.

Thursday, July 2 - Mannix: Beyond the Shadow of a Dream

Mannix: Season 1, Episode 8 Beyond the Shadow of a Dream (4 Nov. 1967)

A 26-year-old woman, worth $10 million, hires Intertect to do a background check on her boyfriend. It turns out the woman has spent 10 years in a mental hospital and seems on the verge of cracking up. Mannix suspects something more sinister. The woman is surrounded by shady characters. The detective concludes one of them seeks to drive her back to the mental hospital.

Wednesday, July 1 - Nine Lives Are Not Enough

Nine Lives Are Not Enough (1941)

Boy crusader Matt works for the Daily News and always breaks the big story. The only trouble is that he usually has the wrong information and the paper must print a retraction. But this time he thinks that he is on the right track. On patrol with his cop friends, they find the body of millionaire Edward Abbott in a cheap boarding house. It could be suicide or murder and Matt goes with murder, but the inquest goes with suicide. So Matt is out of a job, but in love with Jane and goes with his hunches - which put him in the middle of more killings.

Tuesday, June 30 - Wildcat Bus

Wildcat Bus (1940)

A small bus company run by a father/daughter team comes under attack by a group of "wildcatters" who want to put the company out of business so they can take over the profitable Los Angeles-to-San Francisco route.