greatest-ever-made's - Rented List
-
Ghosts and gags galore in this charming double-bill of horror-comedies starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard.
The Cat and the Canary (1939)A decade after the death of an eccentric millionaire, his remaining relatives gather for the reading of the will at his abandoned mansion set deep in the Louisiana bayous. His niece Joyce (Paulette Goddard) is named the sole inheritor, but under the condition that she does not go insane within the next 30 days. The timid Wally (Bob Hope) vows to protect Joyce who must spend the night in the haunted mansion along with her jealous relatives, a creepy maid and a homicidal maniac who has just escaped from a nearby sanitarium.
The Ghost Breakers (1940)
Larry Lawrence (Bob Hope), sought in connection with a murder he did not commit, eludes New York police by hiding in a steamer trunk. Soon the trunk (and Larry) are aboard a ship bound for Cuba, where the trunk's owner, pretty Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard), is sailing to take possession of a recent inheritance: a "haunted" castle. Sensing that Mary is in danger, Larry and his valet precede her to the island, which is inhabited by a ghost, a zombie and perhaps even a flesh-and-blood fiend. There's romance, comedy and chills as Hope and Goddard contend with earthly and un-earthly foes - and try to keep from ending up as ghosts themselves.- Director:
- Elliott Nugent
- Cast:
- Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, John Beal
- Formats:
-
-
Ladies of the Chorus (1948)Orquídea rubia
The legendary Marilyn Monroe stars in her second film as budding burlesque queen Peggy Martin - whose innocent blonde dazzle makes her a star among the Ladies Of The Chorus. Peggy gets her big break and steals the show - and the heart of a wealthy young bachelor in the front row. Suddenly she's being wooed with orchids and promises of a life far away from the demands of the stage. But her mother is not so easily courted. The silvery-but-still-sexy Mae Martin knows first hand how star-crossed romance can end in tears - and put a gal right back in the chorus line. And when the drawing room crowd finally discovers her dance hall past, Peggy thinks that maybe her mother was right - until an unexpected heroine takes the stage to sing a happy-ever-after ending. Monroe's purring performances of "Can't You See I Love You", and "Every Baby Needs A Daddy" highlight the steamy burlesque score and prove once again that Norma Jean was Hollywood's hottest sex kitten. - Director:
- Phil Karlson
- Cast:
- Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe, Rand Brooks
- Formats:
-
-
All that Bill (John Beck) and Jane (Marsha Mason) Templeton wish for is a quiet, peaceful life with their 11-year-old daughter Ivy (Susan Swift). But their dreams turn to nightmares as Ivy is besieged first by terrifying "memories"... and then by a mysterious stranger who stalks her every move, and claims that Ivy was in fact his daughter in another life. - Director:
- Robert Wise
- Cast:
- Anthony Hopkins, Marsha Mason, John Beck
- Formats:
-
-
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)Blood on My Hands / The Unafraid
Bill Saunders (Burt Lancaster), disturbed ex-soldier, kills a man in a postwar London pub brawl. Fleeing, he hides out in the apartment of lonely nurse Jane Wharton (Joan Fontaine). Later, despite misgivings about his violent nature, Jane becomes involved with Bill, who resolves to reform. She gets him a job driving a medical supplies truck. But racketeer Harry Carter (Robert Newton), who witnessed the killing, wants to use Bill's talents for crime. - Director:
- Norman Foster
- Cast:
- Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton
- Formats:
-
-
August 1962: the latest attempt on the life of French President Charles de Gaulle by the far right paramilitary organisation, the OAS, ends in chaos, with its architect-in-chief dead at the hands of a firing squad. Demoralised and on the verge of bankruptcy, the OAS leaders meet in secret to plan their next move. In a last desperate attempt to eliminate de Gaulle, they opt to employ the services of a hired assassin from outside the fold. Enter the Jackal (Edward Fox): charismatic, calculating, cold as ice. As the Jackal closes in on his target, a race against the clock ensues to identify and put a stop to a killer whose identity, whereabouts and modus operandi are completely unknown. - Director:
- Fred Zinnemann
- Cast:
- Edward Fox, Terence Alexander, Michel Auclair
- Formats:
-
-
For as long as crime boss Albert Mendoza (Everett Sloane) has been running a notorious ring of hired hit men, District Attorney, Martin Ferguson (Humphrey Bogart), has been hunting him down. But Ferguson cuts a deal with Mendoza's henchman Joe Rico (Ted de Corsia), and the mob boss is finally arrested. However, Rico dies mysteriously before he can testify against Mendoza, and Ferguson must re-examine years of potential evidence, desperately searching for something to incriminate the gangster with. - Director:
- Bretaigne Windust
- Cast:
- Humphrey Bogart, Zero Mostel, Ted de Corsia
- Formats:
-
-
The Fighting Kentuckian (1949)A Strange Caravan / Eagles in Exile
Marching with his company across Kentucky, soldier John Breen (John Wayne) meets Fleurette (Vera Ralston), the daughter of exiled French general Paul De Marchand (Hugo Haas), who's the leader of a community settled by Napoleon's former soldiers. Fleurette is engaged to Blake Randolph (John Howard), a businessman colluding with George Hayden (Grant Withers) take back the land granted to the French. In love with Fleurette and furious with Blake's scheming, John helps the French fight back. - Director:
- George Waggner
- Cast:
- John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn
- Formats:
-
-
In 1996, a 'Doctor Who' TV movie starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, was envisioned to launch the franchise into an exciting new chapter. But whilst the film found success in the UK, attempts to freshen up established lore resulted in a decidedly frosty reception from transatlantic audiences. Now, a quarter of a century later, screenwriter Matthew Jacobs prepares to venture back into the legendary sci-fi universe, to reassess his relationship with the franchise and the American fandom who vilified him. Featuring original cast of the controversial movie, including Paul McGann (The Three Musketeers, Queen of the Damned), Eric Roberts (Inherent Vice, The Dark Knight, The Expendables), and Daphne Ashbrook (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), this funny and emotionally perilous documentary not only revisits a pivotal moment in 'Doctor Who' history, but highlights the unity and creative freedom within the fandom, as Jacobs ultimately, and unexpectedly, finds himself a kindred part of this close-knit, yet vast, family of fans. - Director:
- Matthew Jacobs
- Cast:
- Daphne Ashbrook, Nicholas Briggs, May Charters
- Formats:
-
-
Best friends Anthony (Luke Wilson), Dignan (Owen Wilson), and Bob (Robert Musgrave) stage a wildly complex, mildly successful robbery of a small bookstore, then go "on the lam". During their adventures, Anthony falls in love with a South American housekeeper, Inez (Lumi Cavazos), and they befriend local thief extraordinaire Mr. Henry (James Caan). 'Bottle Rocket' is a charming, hilarious, affectionate look at the folly of dreamers, shot against radiant southwestern backdrops, and the film that put Anderson and the Wilson brothers on the map. - Director:
- Wes Anderson
- Cast:
- Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd
- Formats:
-
-
Ashley Judd shines as an innocent wife convicted of murdering her husband, only to find out that he staged his death. Tommy Lee Jones is the parole officer hot on her trail after she skips town to find the man who framed her. Full of twists and turns, it delivers more than a double dose of suspense and action. - Director:
- Bruce Beresford
- Cast:
- Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood
- Formats:
-
-
"The Wrong Man" is like and unlike any other Alfred Hitchcock movie. The story packs tension, the images are spellbinding and the dilemma genuinely frightening. But this time the master of suspense dramatizes the harrowing true experiences of a man tried for crimes committed by a lookalike robber. Henry Fonda plays musician Manny Balestrero, a man full of visible but unspoken rage at his wrongful arrest. Vera Miles is his distraught wife Rose, driven to madness by the ordeal. And the right man to bring the unsettling facts of the case to vivid screen life with documentary precision is Hitchcock. He made New York City a star of the film and cast real-life Balestrero case witnesses in small roles. He shot in many actual locations, among them the Stork Club, Manny's jail cell and Rose's sanitarium. - Director:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Cast:
- Henry Fonda, Frances Reid, Vera Miles
- Formats:
-
-
"Rushmore" is the story of a gifted, rebellious teenager named Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a 10th grader at elite Rushmore Academy. Editor of the School Newspaper, Captain or President of innumerable clubs and societies, Max is also one of the worst students in school, and the threat of expulsion hangs permanently over his head. Max's world is rocked when he falls for elegant 1st grade teacher Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), and he plans to erect an aquarium in her honour - then finds himself competing for her affections with his friend, steel tycoon Mr. Blume (Bill Murray), the wealthy father of two of his classmates... - Director:
- Wes Anderson
- Cast:
- Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams
- Formats:
-
-
Le Samouraï (1967)The Godson / The Samurai
In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts. After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him. An elegantly stylized masterpiece of cool by maverick director Jean-Pierre Melville, 'Le Samourai' is a razor-sharp cocktail of 1940's American gangster cinema and 1960's French pop culture - with a liberal dose of Japanese lone-warrior mythology. - Director:
- Jean-Pierre Melville
- Cast:
- Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon
- Formats:
-
-
Veteran 'Time' critic Richard Schickel crafts this extraordinary Charles Chaplin tribute whose world premiere was a highlight of 2003's Cannes Film Festival. Included are classic comedy bits; home movies of Chaplin playing tennis with Groucho Marx or working a routine that became 'The Great Dictator's' famed Globe Dance; plus insightful interviews with Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr., Chaplin family members and more. Enjoy the genius of one of film's enduring icons. Then find any of the Chaplin films and prove for yourself why Chaplin's genius remains the same in modern living rooms as it did years ago in crowded nickelodeons: his movies still delight children and adults alike. - Director:
- Richard Schickel
- Cast:
- Charles Chaplin, Sydney Pollack, Bill Irwin
- Formats:
-
-
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)The Asphalt Jungle (The City Under the City)
You have a lot of time to think when you're locked away seven years. So criminal mastermind Doc (Sam Jaffe) conceives what he believes is the perfect heist. As in 'The Maltese Falcon' and 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre', director John Huston explores the feverish grab for the big score and how it unravels in 'The Asphalt Jungle', a renowned tale of dishonour among thieves whose cast includes Sam Jaffe as Doc and Sterling Hayden as Doc's unflappable gundel. Louis Calhern portrays Emmerich, the shady lawyer for whom "crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavour". And rising star Marilyn Monroe grabs everyone's attention as the doxie who briefly provides Emmerich with the most gorgeous alibi ever to reach the screen. - Director:
- John Huston
- Cast:
- Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen
- Formats:
-