Sunday, December 11 - The Hard Way

The Hard Way (1943)

Ambitious Helen Chernin (Ida Lupino) pushes her talented younger sister Katherine (Joan Leslie) into marriage with broken down song-and-dance man Albert Runkel (Jack Carson) so that the two women can leave the dirty steel town where they live. Runkel's partner Paul Collins (Dennis Morgan), however, sees through Helen's plan.

Helen continues driving her sister's career and eventually Katherine becomes a star on Broadway, while Runkel and Collins' act flounders. Success soon goes to Katherine's head and she becomes a fast-living party girl.

Time passes and Helen and Katherine run into Paul, now a successful band leader. He and Katherine soon fall in love. The two sisters eventually have a showdown on opening night of Katherine's latest show when Katherine discovers that Helen is also in love with Paul.

Saturday, December 10 - Villain

Villain (1971)

Of East London, Vic Dakin dotes on his aged and largely bedridden mother. He is also the leader of a criminal gang whose proceeds are largely from the regular collection of "protection money" from their victims. Vic often uses brutal violence against enemies as well as "friends" to prove a point, the violence in and of itself which he seems to relish.

While not a regular means to money, Vic decides that his gang will work on a tip to rob a factory payroll, which, somewhat against his wants, will entail working with fellow criminal Frank Fletcher, who understands such a job better than Vic or anyone on his team.

Making the job more complex at this time are: the police being after Vic for the vicious attack on one of Vic's associates who acted as a police snitch; and Vic's association with Wolfie Lissner, who procures sexual services for a number of people, including some fairly high profile ones, and who often acts as Vic's "on demand" sexual partner.

Friday, December 9 - Who Killed Teddy Bear

Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965)

Sal Mineo, wearing tight pants, a tight shirt and a tight jacket, is a busboy obsessed with record spinner Juliet Prowse. He makes dirty phone calls to her and follows her around NYC. Prowse suspects cop Jan Murray of being the perp and her lesbian boss Elaine Stritch thinks she's just plain crazy.

Thursday, December 8 - Horror of Dracula

Horror of Dracula Original title: Dracula (1958)

On a search for his missing friend Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen), vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is led to Count Dracula's (Christopher Lee) castle. Upon arriving, Van Helsing finds an undead Harker in Dracula's crypt and discovers that the count's next target is Harker's ailing fiancée, Lucy Holmwood (Carol Marsh). With the help of her brother, Arthur (Michael Gough), Van Helsing struggles to protect Lucy and put an end to Count Dracula's parasitic reign of terror.

Wednesday, December 7 - Crosstrap

Crosstrap (1962)

Geoff and his wife have rented an isolated countryside bungalow to enable Geoff to finish his latest book without any distractions. Upon their arrival, they see a dead man in the bathtub and before they can report the discovery they are confronted by a gangland boss, and his henchmen who have been using the empty property as a hide-out.

Meanwhile another gang is trying to horn in on the action. Mayhem results.

Tuesday, December 6 - Let No Man Write My Epitaph

Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960)

In this sequel to "Knock On Any Door", the residents of a Chicago tenement building band together to insure that the son of Nick Romano does not follow in his father's footsteps...to the electric chair.

Monday, December 5 - Johnny Staccato: Solomon & Space Is the Place

Johnny Staccato: Solomon (Season 1 Episode 22 - aired Feb 11, 1960)

High-profile attorney Solomon Bradshaw is desperate for a defense of his wealthy client Jessica Winthrop who is charged with murdering her husband. Bradshaw is utterly convinced of her innocence, yet Mrs. Winthrop refuses to answer any questions in her own defense, maintaining that it would violate her self-avowed pacifist ideals. Bradshaw intends to hire private detective Johnny Staccato to commit perjury in court and provide an alibi for Mrs. Winthrop. Johnny agrees on the condition that he is given the opportunity to meet Mrs. Winthrop first. In her holding cell, Johnny interrogates her and many shocking revelations are exposed.

Space Is the Place (1974)

Sun Ra--space-age prophet, pharoanic jester, shaman-philosopher and avant-jazz keyboardist/bandleader--lands his spaceship in Oakland, having been presumed lost in space for a few years. With Black Power on the rise, Ra disembarks and proclaims himself "the alter-destiny." He holds a myth-vs.-reality rap session with black inner-city youth at a rec center, threatening "to chain you up and take you with me, like they did you in Africa," if they resist his plea to go to outer space. He duels at cards with The Overseer, a satanic overlord, with the fate of the black race at stake. Ra wins the right to a world concert, which features great performance footage of the Arkestra. Agents (white) sent by the Overseer attempt to assassinate Ra, but he vanishes, rescues his people, and departs in his spaceship from the exploding planet Earth.

Sunday, December 4 - The Fiction-Makers

The Fiction-Makers (1968)

Simon Templar is hired by a friend in the book publishing trade to protect one of his authors, a secretive recluse called Amos Klein who writes a popular series of spy novels.

When he arrives at Klein's house in the country, he hears a woman's screams and several gunshots. Rushing to the rescue, he finds a woman tied up and gripping a revolver behind her back. He discovers that she is "Amos Klein", a woman who adopted a male pen name to increase sales of her novels. She explains that she has to be able to do everything her character in the novels does and that she was just doing some research. The pair are soon kidnapped by a group of people who claim to be members of S.W.O.R.D., the evil organization from Amos Klein's novels. Their leader, "Warlock", the mastermind of the group, mistakenly assumes that Simon Templar is Amos Klein and that the woman is his secretary. The kidnappers want Amos Klein to plot a grandiose heist.

Saturday, December 3 - Thieves' Highway

Thieves' Highway (1949)

A war-veteran-turned-truck driver Nico "Nick" Garcos arrives at home to find that his foreign-born father, a California fruit farmer, has lost his legs and was forced to sell his truck. He learns that his father was crippled at the hands of an unscrupulous produce dealer in San Francisco, Mike Figlia. Garcos vows revenge.

Garcos goes into business with Ed Kinney, who bought the Garcos truck, and drives a truckload of apples to San Francisco, where he runs into Figlia when his truck is immobilized with a suspiciously cut tire, blocking Figlia's busy wholesale stand, and cannot be towed.

Figlia hires a streetwalker, Rica, to seduce and preoccupy Nick in her room while his men unload the apples without Nick's permission. Figlia later pays Nick for his fruit, but that night his goons waylay and rob Nick of the cash.

Meanwhile, Kinney is killed when his own truck mechanically fails, veers off the road, and burns after speeding out of control down a long hill. Polly, Nick's hometown sweetheart, then arrives in the city ready to marry him, but leaves disillusioned after she finds him recovering from his beating in Rica's apartment and with no money. Nick and a friend finally confront the cowed bully Figlia at a tavern, and have him arrested, restoring Nick's family honor. Nick and Rica happily drive off and plan to get married.

Friday, December 2 - Gumshoe

Gumshoe (1971)

Ginley (Albert Finney) is a nightclub bingo caller eager for a career change. On his thirty-first birthday, he advertises himself as a private eye in the newspaper. He dons a trench coat, and begins engaging others in rapid-fire dialogue as if he were Humphrey Bogart, or some Dashiell Hammett creation.

Soon after, Ginley is phoned by a fat man, who gives him a package containing a gun, a photograph, and a large sum of money. Eventually Ginley is investigating a case involving smuggling of weapons as well as drugs. Ginley also finds himself at odds with his unsupportive brother, who offers Ginley payment to break off his investigations.

Eventually Ginley learns of his brother-in-law's involvement in the crimes at hand. Ginley faces a series of daunting tasks: solving the crimes, bringing justice to the smugglers (and a murderer), as well as maintaining his safety and sanity in the process.

Thursday, December 1 - Diary of a High School Bride

The Diary of a High School Bride (1959)

A 17-year-old high-school senior must justify her wedding to a 24-year-old law student to both her parents and her unbalanced ex-boyfriend.

Wednesday, November 30 - Robbery

Robbery (1967)

Based on the infamous "Great Train Robbery," this film follows Paul Clifton (Stanley Baker) as he forms a team to carry out an ambitious heist of cash from a government mail train traveling from Scotland to London. Clifton feels it necessary to add incarcerated money expert Robinson (Frank Finlay) to the group, so he organizes a jailbreak to free him as well. Although the theft succeeds, the criminals are still hounded by Scotland Yard detective Langdon (James Booth).