Friday, March 11 - Pay or Die!

Pay or Die! (1960)

In the early 1900s, New York City mobsters intimidate local businesses in Little Italy, pressing their owners to pay protection fees or else risk injury to themselves and their property. Police Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino (Ernest Borgnine), an honest detective, heads the police Italian Squad, a team devoted to bringing these thugs to justice. Hoping to trace their roots to the notorious Sicilian Mafia, Petrosino nobly pursues the American mob -- whatever the consequences.

Thursday, March 10 - The Clouded Yellow

The Clouded Yellow (1950)

After Secret Service agent David Somers is fired, he takes a quiet job with the Fentons at their country estate - cataloging butterflies, hence the title insect. David grows fond of Jess Fenton's niece, a fragile, fey young woman named Sophie. Because he hates traps of any kind, he reacts quickly after Sophie is framed for the murder of Hick, the nasty handyman. He helps her escape London by using his agent's skills and a network of old friends. The pair lead the police and David's ex-employers an exciting chase, from Newcastle to the Lake District to Liverpool. As the fugitives try to catch a ship for France, everyone, including the murderer, join in the finale.

Wednesday, March 9 - The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye (1973)

In the middle of the night, private eye Philip Marlowe drives his friend Terry Lennox to the Mexican border. When Marlowe returns home police are waiting for him and he learns that Terry's wife Sylvia has been killed. He's arrested as an accessory but released after a few days and is told the case is closed since Terry Lennox has seemingly committed suicide in Mexico.

Marlowe is visited by mobster Marty Augustine who wants to know what happened to the $350,000 Lennox was supposed to deliver for him. Meanwhile, Marlowe is hired by Eileen Wade to find her husband Roger who has a habit of disappearing when he wants to dry out but she can't find him in any any of his usual haunts. He finds him at Dr. Veringer's clinic and brings him. It soon becomes obvious to Marlowe that Terry's death, the Wades and Augustine are all somehow interconnected. Figuring out just what those connections are however will be anything but easy.

Tuesday, March 8 - Wings of Danger

Dead on Course Original title: Wings of Danger (1952)

When Richard Van Ness tries to ground dashing pilot Nick Talbot, his girlfriend's brother, from flying an unimportant cargo run in foul weather, he is blackmailed into allowing it because Nick threatens to tell airline boss Boyd Spencer about Van's intermittent blackouts. When Nick's plane apparently crashes near the Channel Islands, there are many nagging questions about the circumstances. Although he is innocent himself of wrongdoing, Van Ness is pressured by the police to aid them in uncovering some of the criminal activities associated with the operation, including blackmail, smuggling gold, and counterfeiting. In order to obtain the information he needs, Van Ness is forced into romancing Boyd's grasping girlfriend, who finds herself very attracted to the flier.

Monday, March 7 - The Ghost Train

The Ghost Train (1941)

Mismatched travellers are stranded overnight at a lonely rural railway station. They soon learn of local superstition about a phantom train which is said to travel these parts at dead of night, carrying ghosts from a long-ago train wreck in the area. The travelers eventually get to the bottom of the things that go bump in the night. In between the scary bits, comedian Arthur Askey plays the gags with his music-hall style humor, to the constant irritation of his fellow passengers.

Sunday, March 6 - The Crimson Kimono

The Crimson Kimono (1959)

Two Los Angeles detectives, inseparable friends since their time in Korea, are assigned to investigate the murder of a burlesque stripper. Circumstance conspires to test their friendship to the full when they both fall in love with a beautiful woman whom they meet in the course of their work.

Saturday, March 5 - The Small World of Sammy Lee

The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963)

A striptease-show compere is hunted across the seedy London underworld of Soho by debt collectors.

Sammy Lee has five hours to pay off a gambling debt.

Friday, March 4 - The Wanderers

The Wanderers (1979)

The Wanderers are an Italian-American gang vying for respect on the streets of the Bronx in 1963. Between rumbles with rivals such as the Ducky Boys and the Fordham Baldies, the group of toughs learn some difficult lessons about life -- and love. Leader Richie Gennaro (Ken Wahl) finds himself entangled with Despie Galasso (Toni Kalem), the daughter of a mobster, while the artistically inclined Joey (John Friedrich) falls hard for Nina (Karen Allen).

...well, something like that...

Thursday, March 3 - The Bribe

The Bribe (1949)

In pursuit of stolen aircraft engines on Carlotta, a Central American island, federal agent Rigby meets chief suspect Hintten and his wife Elizabeth, a sultry cafe singer. He is watched by Bealer, a "pie-shaped man" with sore feet. Rigby knows he's on the right track when Bealer offers him money to leave Carlotta. When Rigby and Elizabeth are drawn to each other, the gang realizes there's more than one kind of bribe.

Wednesday, March 2 - Twilight Women

Twilight Women - Original title: Women of Twilight (1952)

When a nightclub singer is arrested for murder, his pregnant girlfriend moves into a boarding house for women, but the mother-to-be soon discovers that her new lodgings harbors a horrific secret or three.

Tuesday, March 1 - Split Second

Split Second (1953)

Two escaped killers take hostages and hide in a Nevada mining ghost town knowing that an atom bomb is scheduled to be tested there the next morning.

Monday, February 28 - Passport to Pimlico

Passport to Pimlico (1949)

The accidental explosion of an undetonated German bomb left over from World War II unearths a long-buried cellar containing both fabulous riches and a previously unknown royal charter from King Edward IV that cedes the surrounding land to the last Duke of Burgundy. Since the charter has never been rescinded, the London district of Pimlico is now legally the long-lost Duchy of Burgundy, and therefore no longer subject to British law, including postwar rationing and pub closure hours.

As things proceed, one wacky development after another follows...