Robert Emmett O'Connor
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protegee Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.
Flavia's been told that her Aunt Susan's fiancé, Steve, has been on a trip around the world, but in truth he's finished his prison term. Steve wonders how he can make some money and is approached by his old associates. When Flavia discovers the truth about Steve, she loses all faith in her family and in God, and it will take a miracle to restore Flavia's belief and Steve out of trouble.
A mysterious Civil War veteran courts a Missouri farmer's daughter amid postwar unrest.
A World War II veteran wants to return to advertising on his own terms, but finds it difficult to be successful and maintain his integrity.
In 1915, Kansas theatre usher Merton Gill is a rabid silent-movie fan. When he brings Mammoth Studios free publicity by imitating star Lawrence Rupert's heroics, they bring him to Hollywood to generate another headline; he thinks he'll get a movie contract. Disillusioned, he haunts the casting offices, where he meets and is consoled by Phyllis Montague, bit player and stunt-woman. When Merton finally gets his "break," though, it's not quite what he envisioned.
After a rapid engagement, a dowdy daughter of a chemist weds an industrialist, knowing little of his family or past. He transforms her into an elegant society wife, but becomes enraged whenever she asks about Michael, his mysterious long-lost brother.
A former reporter comes back home after serving in the army during World War I and finds that it's much more difficult to find work than he expected. Desperate, one day he crashes a wedding attended by many of the city's rich and powerful, meets a beautiful girl named Kay who turns out to be his ticket to meeting those rich and powerful people, and he soon manages to land a job on a newspaper. He gets caught up in the "make money at all costs" game, but receives a rude awakening when the stock market crashes in 1929.
Vittles, songs and dance are amply ladeled out when Judy Garland headlines The Harvey Girls, a joyous musical slice of Americana celebrating the restaurants that brought extra helpings of civilization to Old West rail passengers.
A juvenile delinquent is sent to a rehabilitation ranch, but he immediately proves to be a troublemaker.
Bill's separated from his litter, making friends with the wild creatures until he's found and adopted by young Kathie. An accident separates him from her, and he's drafted into K-9 duty in the trenches until battle fatigue takes its toll and he turns vicious. And even though he finds his way back home, he may be condemned as a killer.
Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'.
This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short takes a look at the typical American barbershop throughout the years.
Shortly after Pearl Harbor, a squadron of PT-boat crews in the Philippines must battle the Navy brass between skirmishes with the Japanese. The title says it all about the Navy's attitude towards the PT-boats and their crews.
Two sailors, Joe and Clarence have four days shore leave in spend their shore leave trying to get a girl for Clarence. Clarence has his eye on a girl with musical aspirations, and before Joe can stop him, promises to get her an audition with José Iturbi. But the trouble really starts when Joe realizes he's falling for his buddy's girl.
When two bumbling barbers act as agents for a talented but unknown singer, they stage a phony murder in order to get him a plum role.
In this MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short, a young man graduates from the police academy at the top of his class. He then teams up with some local thieves and uses his knowledge of police procedures to pursue a career of undetected crime.
The Goss family live on a farm they call the dust bowl where the wind blows during the day and the coyotes howl at night. When the train is robbed, everyone thinks that Cotton and Violet were the ones that did the job, but no one has any proof. US Marshal Lloyd Richland comes into town in disguise to find the truth and he finds that the sheriff is corrupt and that the Goss family is gosh darn nice. They take in Richland and a stranded woman named Mary without any questions. Cotton believes that Sheriff Tatum shot their pa in the back, and the sheriff is now trying to plug the boys. Richland is looking for the train robbers, and at the same time is keeping an eye on Tatum and the lovely young Mary.
In the year before the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York.
Honest Plush Brannon is a con-man thrown out of the Barbary Coast in San Francisco in the 1880s and headed for the gold rush region of Nevada. He discovers a real mine which lead to several complications.
In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short, a man recovers his lost memories when he is forced to relive events in his dreams.
Small-town soda-jerk Peggy Evans quits her dead-end job and moves to New York where she invents a new identity.
Homer Macauley remains in a small town looking after his widowed mother and younger brother. Homer's older brother is fighting the war in Europe.
A murder has occurred at Gruesome Gables, and the dog detective trying to find the killer has to deal with some suspicious suspects and a haunted house.
Bud Hooper, a cadet at Winsocki Military Academy, sends an invitation to movie star Lucille Ball to come to Winsocki's big dance. Ball's publicity-hungry agent convinces her to go in order to boost her career. Complications arise when Bud's girlfriend Helen Schlesinger unexpectedly shows up, too.
In this 13th entry to the Dr. Kildare series, the medical staff of Blair General hospital are challenged with further dilemmas, not the least of which includes a prison inmate who Dr. Gillespie believes belongs instead in an insane asylum.
Radio crime show host "The Fox" finds himself on the trail of a serial killer while a suspect himself.
Two bumblers, failures as businessmen and air raid wardens, stumble across a nest of Nazi saboteurs bent on blowing up the local magnesium plant.
A teenaged shoeshine boy urgently tries to raise the remaining amount of money he needs to purchase a secondhand bugle before 6p.m.
Medieval French monks find a freezing, ill juggler and take him in. Upon recovering, the impoverished man wishes to illustrate his tremendous gratitude. He eventually finds a way to.
An unknowing orphan idolizes the horse thief/mail robber who has shot his father.
Director William Keighley's 1940 film adaptation of S. N. Behrman's stage hit, about an aspiring playwright who finds himself an overnight Broadway success, stars James Stewart, Rosalind Russell, Genevieve Tobin, Louise Beavers, Charles Ruggles and Allyn Joslyn.
Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in a dance troupe. Also in the company is Bubbles, a brash mantrap who leaves the struggling troupe for a career in burlesque. When the company disbands, Bubbles gives Judy a thankless job as her stooge. The two eventually clash when both fall for the same man.
Leslie is being chased by the gangsters, the police and the insurance investigators. He is on the run. Falsely accused of a murder, he embarks upon a life-and-death journey to save his family.
Delia Jordan's father is murdered and some very valuable jewelry stolen. She hires The Lone Wolf.
The trials and tribulations of a group of newly sworn-in police officers.
A man's ex-wife is found murdered, and he finds himself to be the prime suspect.
Jimmy, an idealistic and hard-working young man, has just arrived in New York City with dreams of making his fortune. Along the way he faces numerous obstacles, opportunities and temptations, but through it all, he considers the actions of his hero, Abraham Lincoln, for guidance. Will Jimmy see his dreams come true, or will he be another of the countless hopefuls chewed up and spit out by New York's mean streets?
A dedicated police officer is torn between family and duty when his son turns to a life of crime.
Joe and Ethel Turp are up in arms when their faithful old mailman is fired. Unable to get satisfaction on a municipal level, Joe and Ethel plead their mailman's case to the President himself.
Egyptologist, Dean Lambert, accused of car-theft, skips bail and begins a cross-country trek to join a group in New York headed for Egypt. With the police close on his trail he gets in and out of scrapes along the way.
Granite-jawed Jack Holt performs a dual role in Columbia's Trapped by G-Men.
A movie actor playing a detective gets carried away with his role and starts trying to solve real-life crimes.
Cocky young street kid worships his father, a sleazy political operative.
A crooked producer makes money from Broadway flops by selling more than 100% interest to multiple parties. He only fails if it makes a profit.
Millioniare Curran, thinking his son too intellectual, sends him west to learn logging at one of his lumber camps. Unknown to his father, Grant Curan is a professional wrestler and easily able to handle the thugs that attack him at the lumber camp. This enables him to stay on the job and he soon undercovers how his father is being cheated by the local boss.
Esther Blodgett is just another starry-eyed farm kid trying to break into the movies. Waitressing at a Hollywood party, she catches the eye of her idol Norman Maine, is sent for a screen test, and before long attains stardom as newly minted Vicki Lester. She and Norman marry, though his career soon dwindles to nothing due to his chronic alcoholism.
Three playwrights (Lew Ayres, Eugene Pallette, Benny Baker) develop a plot around a drunk who gets killed in their apartment.
Tony Marvin is a laid back but incredibly successful promoter and fair-haired boy for J. P. Todhunter's pineapple company located in beautiful Hawaii. He gets the company to sponsor a contest in which the winner gets a Hawaiian vacation and is obligated to write articles on the islands which, when published, will constitute a publicity coup for the company. Unfortunately, Georgia Smith, the winner, feels lonely and isolated in the Islands and wants to return to the States. With help from buddy Shad Buggle Tony tries to romantically divert Georgia without letting her know his true motivation.
John Thompson is kidnapped by mobsters after quitting his job. Then he is arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for murders they committed. A suspicious detective thinks he is innocent and works to save his life.
In the 1840s, Ramsey MacKay, the driver for the struggling Wells Fargo mail and freight company, will secure an important contract if he delivers fresh oysters to Buffalo from New York City. When he rescues Justine Pryor and her mother, who are stranded in a broken wagon on his route, he doesn't let them slow him down and gives the ladies an exhilirating ride into Buffalo. He arrives in time to obtain the contract and is then sent by company president Henry Wells to St. Louis to establish a branch office.
An American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the irritable and unsentimental aristocrat, his grandfather.
A young lawyer is determined to identify the killer who is murdering members of a wealthy New York publishing family. Director Erroll Taggert's 1936 mystery stars Bruce Cabot, Magaret Lindsay, George Zucco, Joseph Calleia, Charley Grapewin, Stanley Ridges, Vivienne Osborne, Edward Pawley, Theodore von Eltz, George Lynn, Eadie Adams, Raymond Hatton, Jonathan Hale and, in the small role of a newspaper reporter, Dorothy Kilgallen.
Patsy's working at Rumplemeyer's Donut Shop in Brooklyn. By accident she catches Mr. Rumplemeyer's trousers in the donut machine as he's leaving to pick his niece who's arriving from the old country, so he gives Patsy cab fare and sends her. She forgets her purse, so when she arrives at the immigration office, she can't pay the cabbie, who tells her he'll wait while the meter runs. Inside, Patsy finally finds the high-spirited Lyda, but by then, Patsy has sneaked into the holding area and may need a passport to get out. She hides in Lyda's trunk, but with the cabbie, a suspicious immigration officer, and a traffic cop buzzing around will uncle and niece ever connect?
Band leader Jack Conrad is impressed by prison inmate Ray Ferrera on saxophone. Conrad hires Ray to join his band and tour upon his release. Ray hooks up with Jean, a dancer in the show, and the two become a successful dance act. However, when an ex-inmate buddy of Ray's robs the tour bus, Ray is suspected of wrongdoing by Jack and the others in the group. After a gang of thugs hijacks the tour bus, Ray tries to use his street smarts to redeem his reputation.
When a dancer disappears from a theater, Clay Dalzell is asked to investigate, leading him on a trail of murder and deception.
Once a jewel thief always a jewel thief? Yes and no. Yes if you consider the fact that Michael Lanyard also known as the Lone Wolf once retired from the "trade" but relapses back into his old habits when he is tempted by the emerald pendant of beautiful socialite Marcia Stewart. The trouble (?) is that he falls for the belle and he soon gets more interested in getting the girl than the jewels that adorn her. What he wants now is to return the pendant but a rival gang interfere and force him to take part in a big-time caper.
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
When a young man is befriended by a gambling ship operator and made a partner in the business, he becomes involved in a police manhunt after he covers up a murder committed by his new partner.
Promoter Smoothe King helps a pair of phonies con their way into a movie company. As Wanda heads toward stardom, she turns more and more from King toward the matinée idol. King must decide between his plans and her happiness.
Former bootlegger Dutch Barnes pressures neighborhood druggist Jimmy Morrell into making cut-rate knockoff toiletry, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products.
A woman and her children escape severe poverty and abuse. She successfully betters her family's condition while living with the secret that she killed her abusive husband in order to protect her children from him.
Bela Lugosi stars as Mr. Wong, a "harmless" Chinatown shopkeeper by day and relentless blood-thirsty pursuer of the Twelve Coins of Confucius by night. With possession of the coins, Mr. Wong will be supreme ruler of the Chinese province of Keelat, and his evil destiny will be fulfilled. A killing spree follows in dark and dangerous Chinatown as Wong gets control of 11 of the 12 coins. Reporter Jason Barton Wallace Ford and his girl Peg are hot on his trail, but soon find themselves in serious trouble when they stumble onto Wong's headquarters.
Gertie Waxted knows how a notorious gangster Jim Crelliman runs his rackets, because she’s long been under the hoodlum’s thumb. She’s secretly helping lawyer Jackson Durant in a snoop job aimed at pinning a murder on the thug. Her life will be in peril when that secret gets out.
Sculptor Ivan Igor struggles in vain to prevent his partner from burning his wax museum, and his "children". Years later, Igor starts a new museum in New York, but his maimed hands confine him to directing lesser artists. People begin disappearing; Igor takes a sinister interest in Charlotte, fiancée of his assistant Ralph, but arouses the suspicions of roommate, wisecracking reporter Florence.
Never-wed, poor, rough around the edges Apple Annie has always written to her daughter, Louise, in Spain that she is married and a member of New York's high society. Upon receiving unexpected word from Louise (who hasn't seen Annie since infancy) that she is en route to America with her new fiancé and his father, a count, so the three of them can meet her, Annie panics, despairing that her beloved daughter will be destroyed by the deception.
A young woman is on trial for murder. In flashback, we learn of her struggles to overcome poverty as a teenager -- a mistaken arrest and prison term for shoplifting and lack of employment lead to involvement with gangsters. In a brothel, she meets a young lawyer, scion of a wealthy and prestigious family, who falls for her and helps her turn around her life. But her past catches up with her, and she must face the music rather than cause him scandal.
A political hack becomes President during the height of the Depression and undergoes a metamorphosis into an incorruptible statesman after a near-fatal accident.
A girl from the wrong side of the tracks is torn between true love and a life of sin.
A plumber wins big at the racetrack but then his luck runs out and almost ruins his business. His manicurist girlfriend stands by him and helps him readjust to life as a plumber.
The Progressive Party convention is deadlocked for governor, so both sides nominate the dark horse Zachary Hicks. Kay Russell suggests they hire Hal Blake as campaign manager; but first they have to get him out of jail for not paying alimony. Blake organizes the office and coaches Hicks to answer every question by pausing and then saying, "Well yes, but then again no." Blake will sell Hicks as dumb but honest. Russell refuses to marry Blake, while Joe keeps people away from Blake's office. Blake teaches Hicks a speech by Lincoln. At the debate when the conservative candidate Underwood recites the same speech, Blake exposes him as a plagiarist. Hicks is presented for photo opportunities and gives his yes-and-no answer to any question, including whether he expects to win.
The daughter of a senator from South Dakota visits Manhattan for the first time, eager to see the sights of the big city. While there, she finds herself caught up in an affair with a married man, whose wife soon commits suicide. Complications ensue.
"Happy" MacDonald and his unfaithful wife own a Prohibition era night club. On this eventful night, he is threatened by bootleggers, and the club's star dancer falls in love with a young socialite who drinks to forget a personal tragedy, among other incidents.
A New York gossip columnist feuds with a singer and enjoys the power of the press.
Eddie and his Mexican friend Ricardo are expelled from college after Ricardo put Eddie in the girl's dormitory when he was drunk. Per chance Eddie gets mixed up in a bank robbery and is forced to drive the robbers to safety. To get rid of him they force him to leave the USA for Mexico, but a cop is following him. Eddie meets Ricardo there, Ricardo helps him avoid being arrested by the cop when he introduces Eddie as the great Spanish bullfighter Don Sebastian II. The problem is, the cop is still curious and has tickets for the bullfight. Eddie's situation becomes more critical, when he tries to help Ricardo to win the girl he loves, but she's engaged to a "real" Mexican, who is, unknown to her father, involved in illegal business. While trying to avoid all this trouble, Eddie himself falls in love with his friend's girl friend's sister Rosalie, who also want to see the great Don Sebastian II to kill the bull in the arena.
American chemist Ned Faraday marries a German entertainer and starts a family. However, he becomes poisoned with Radium and needs an expensive treatment in Germany to have any chance at being cured. Wife Helen returns to night club work to attempt to raise the money and becomes popular as the Blonde Venus. In an effort to get enough money sooner, she prostitutes herself to millionaire Nick Townsend.
Frisco Jenny was orphaned by the 1906 earthquake and fire and has become the madame of prosperous bawdy house. She puts her son up for adoption and he rises to prominence as district attorney dedicated to closing down such houses. When her underling Dutton proposes killing the DA, she kills the underling and must face execution.
A reporter and a detective team up to solve the murder of a nightclub singer who had been involved in a divorce scandal.
In this comedy, a hard-working husband loses his job and his wife becomes the bread winner. The husband feels demeaned by his new role and takes a mistress to regain his lost manhood. The chastened wife eventually returns to the daily drudgery of home so her hubby can feel important and manly again. Marital bliss ensues.
Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick is after gangster Sam Belmonte. He uses his corrupt brother Ed to watch over Daisy who was associated with Belmonte.
Loud-mouth hamburger flipper, Cooky, thinks he can box. His big chance comes when everyone else quits the gym when it is inherited by a dame.
American Madness is a film from director Frank Capra from 1932. Set during the depression the film depicts a bank trustee involved in a robbery scandal.
A mysterious phantom who calls himself The Reckoner vows to expose the crooked bankers who embezzled their company's funds.
Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.
A lady-bootlegger does her 90 days in jail, gets released and becomes the secretary for a prominent millionaire. The magnate falls madly in love with his new secretary and they marry. Unfortunately, she has not revealed her shady past to him, and when friends from her smuggling days suddenly show up as employees, mayhem ensues.
Daily life at men and women's prison units where baseball and the marching band are serious business. Two prisoners escape in order to help paroled Steve from being blackmailed by his girlfriend's ex-partner-in-crime.
Three department store girls--Connie, Franky, and Jerry--share an apartment on West 91st Street in New York City. Each earns little more than 20 dollars per week. Jerry is the sensible one, but the others throw themselves at amoral rich men in an attempt to hook one and better themselves. They end up being hurt and disappointed despite Jerry's attempts to warn them.
Based on the David Belasco stage production of the Max Marcin play in which heavyweight-champion Jack Dempsey played the role of the fighter, Tiger: This "behind-the-scenes look of a heavyweight-championship fight" looks much like all of the other boxing films in which the Champ gets involved in a frame-up and is asked to take a dive.
A safecracker poses as a French maid in order to gain access to wealthy homes. In the midst of a nocturnal search for a cache of valuables, she is interrupted by another safecracker. Narrowly escaping arrest, they decide to pool their talents, but she gets the urge to reform and encourages him to do the same.
Convicted of manslaughter for a drunken driving accident, Kent Marlowe is sent to prison, where he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions.
Mike (Phillips Holmes) is a popular college track star, but with a terrible secret. His father John (Grant Mitchell) is in prison for murdering the person who murdered his brother. The story leaks out, Mike loses a class election and he withdraws from school and heads home in shame. The town's old timers admire Mike and his father, while younger ones think Mike is probably no good. Before long, John is pardoned and heads back home. Can they all live in peace?
A gangster is put in prison, but finds salvation through music while serving his time. Again on the outside, he finds success elusive and temptations abound.
When a newspaper owner is murdered, his son takes over his crusade against a corrupt politician with criminal associations.
A mob boss' gang gets suspicious about their boss' new girlfriend, a beautiful young girl who doesn't seem to be the type who'd hang out with gangsters. They're not quite certain if she's actually a police agent or just a "groupie".
After years of hopeful struggle, Al Stone (Jolson) is on his way. "I'm Sittin' on Top of the World", he sings to an appreciative speakeasy crowd. But, as Al discovers, getting there is one thing. Staying there is another. Singing waiter Stone gets his huge break on a magical night when his song wows a big-time producer and a gold-digging showgirl he fancies. Broadway success and marriage follow, but sure enough, hard times are on the way. Al's fickle wife abandons him, taking the beloved son he calls Sonny Boy with her. Heartbroken, Al becomes a devastated loner until friends from the speakeasy that launched his career rescue him from a life on the streets. Soon, Al is back in lights. But another crisis awaits: Sonny Boy is in the hospital and dying....
After completing his prison sentence for killing a rival gang leader in self-defence, Benny Horowitz decides to go straight.
A young adventurer trades places with a European prince and falls in love above his station.
