greatest-ever-made's - Rented List
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Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)Walter Wanger's Invasion of the Body Snatchers
When multiple residents of a small Californian town begin to suffer from identical frenzied delusions, Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) suspects the community is in the grip of a new kind of epidemic. But his investigations soon reveal the terrifying truth - uncovering not a medical emergency, but a hidden extraterrestrial invasion that threatens mankind's very existence. - Director:
- Don Siegel
- Cast:
- Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates
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Eddie Rico (Richard Conte), a former accountant for crime-boss Sid Kubik (Larry Gates), has gone straight, with the blessings of Kubik who owed his life to Rico's mother (Argentina Brunetti) when she stopped a bullet meant for him. Eddie and his wife, Alice (Dianne Foster), are looking to adopt a baby when Eddie learns that the syndicate is looking for his brother, so they can get him out of the country before the police can find and question him. Eddie finds him, but the mobsters double-cross him and kill his brother just as they had killed another brother of Eddie's. Eddie decides to go to the police but Kubik puts out the word to get him also. - Director:
- Phil Karlson
- Cast:
- Richard Conte, Dianne Foster, Kathryn Grant
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A range war is coming to the valley. Ambitious land baron Lew Wilkison (Edward G. Robinson) and his hired guns from the Anchor Ranch have been driving other farmers off their land. Now they've gunned down the local sheriff and are looking to own the entire valley. Civil War veteran Captain John Parrish (Glenn Ford) doesn't want any trouble. He'd be happy to sell out to Wilkison and return back east. But when Wilkison's men kill one of his ranch hands, Parrish realises he has to stand his ground - and look to his guns. - Director:
- Rudolph Maté
- Cast:
- Glenn Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
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Don Siegel (Madigan) directs 'The Lineup', a brutal film noir loosely based on the radio and television series of the same name. Beginning as a straightforward police procedural, the film shifts into much darker territory as Julian and Dancer, two sociopathic gangsters played by Robert Keith (The Wild One) and Eli Wallach (The People Next Door), must retrieve a parcel of heroin that has ended up in the possession of unwitting tourists. With a screenplay by Stirling Silliphant (Murphy's War), The Lineup's influence stretches from Bob Dylan, who quoted its dialogue in Absolutely Sweet Marie', to Quentin Tarantino, whose erudite gangsters bear a close resemblance to Julian and Dancer. - Director:
- Don Siegel
- Cast:
- Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Richard Jaeckel
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Jim Brecan (Robert Ryan) may have killed his partner, a local prince in British Burma. The bereaved father wants Brecan's head, but until the murder can be solved, Brecan finds refuge on the teak plantation of wealthy colonial elephant trainer Gwen Moore (Barbara Stanwyck), where mutual attraction occurs. - Director:
- Allan Dwan
- Cast:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, David Farrar
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Forty Guns (1957)Samuel Fuller's Forty Guns
Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck) is a despotic landowner who, with a posse of hired guns, has made herself the law of Cochise County, Arizona. However, Griff Bonnell (Barry Sullivan), a one-time gunslinger turned United States Marshall arrives to restore democratic law and order and soon all roads lead to a violent stand off. Exploring the sexual attraction between Drummond and Bonnell, Fuller (Shock Corridor) takes a characteristically singular approach to the genre, giving it a thrillingly personal and uncompromising vision. Handsomely shot and with knockout performances from Stanwck and Sullivan, this is an essential viewing experience ripe for rediscovery. - Director:
- Samuel Fuller
- Cast:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger
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Feeble George (George Formby), a newspaper compositor with delusions of being a detective, wins big at the races - but when the winnings are changed from three tenners to more manageable fivers they're replaced with counterfeit notes. Suitably annoyed, George puts his sleuthing skills to the test and goes undercover! - Director:
- Anthony Kimmins
- Cast:
- George Formby, Googie Withers, Gus McNaughton
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Dr. Luther Brooks (Sidney Poitier) is assigned to treat two prisoners, the Biddle brothers, who were shot during an attempted robbery. Ray Biddle (Richard Widmark) refuses to be treated by the black doctor, and when his brother John dies under Luther's care, Ray becomes consumed with vengeance. His anger and hatred ignites racial tensions within the community, and events quickly spiral out of control. - Director:
- Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Cast:
- Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally
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Based on the best-selling novel by Daphne du Maurier (author of the peerless Rebecca), My Cousin Rachel (1952) weaves an eerie tale of Gothic romance, set against the backdrop of the wild, rock-ribbed Cornish coast. Richard Burton, in his first American film role, stars as an anguished young Englishman, torn between dark suspicion of and an uncontrollable passion for his guardian's widow, the alluring and mysterious Rachel (Olivia de Havilland). With atmospheric direction by Henry Koster (The Robe) and a darkly romantic score by Franz Waxman (Sunset Boulevard), 'My Cousin Rachel' is a seductive entry in the annals of cinematic ambiguity. - Director:
- Henry Koster
- Cast:
- Olivia De Havilland, Richard Burton, Audrey Dalton
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Bette Davis dons the crown as Queen Elizabeth I in this swashbuckling historical drama that recreates one of England's most fascinating eras and heartbreaking love stories. Featuring. Joan Collins in an early screen appearance, "The Virgin Queen" is the story of an ageing Elizabeth's attraction to the handsome Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) and her bitter clash with a scheming, younger rival played by Collins. Rich historical detail, lavish costumes, decor and thrilling swordplay compliment Davis's dynamic performance. - Director:
- Henry Koster
- Cast:
- Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins
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After a successful day at the races, Major Arthur Hill (Basil Radford) and Harold Temple (Hugh Griffith) decide to raise a £300 syndicate to buy a certain racehorse. With excited help from their friends (Janette Scott, Jimmy Hanley, Rene Ray, Joyce Grenfell, A. E. Matthews) they get the money, but things don't go so smoothly from here. First, they accidently buy the wrong horse which proves to have more of an affinity for jumping than racing. They then decide to train it themselves as a jumper under the new name "The Galloping Major". However, on the night before the Grand National, the horse mysteriously disappears... - Director:
- Henry Cornelius
- Cast:
- Basil Radford, Jimmy Hanley, Janette Scott
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Hatari! (1962)¡Hatari!
Director Howard Hawks re-teams with John Wayne, who heads a group of highly skilled professional game hunters in Africa. Only they don't use bullets - they capture the ferocious big game with strong ropes and cameras for zoos and circus attractions. It is an exciting, death-defying business that pits man against beast. "Hatari!" means "danger!" in Swahili. - Director:
- Howard Hawks
- Cast:
- John Wayne, Cathy Lewis, Elsa Martinelli
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Lake is nightclub chanteuse Ellen (Veronica Lake), and her police detective boyfriend Michael (Robert Preston) is on the hunt for assassin-for-hire Philip Raven (Alan Ladd), after Raven performed a hit on a chemist with a secret formula and a taste for blackmail. When Raven's employer Gates (Laird Cregar) double crosses him after the job is done, Raven seeks revenge, and his path crosses with Ellen after she is hired to perform at Gates' club. Raven learns that the stolen formula is for a poison gas that is to be sold to the Japanese, and his pangs of conscience - and revelations of his tortured past - turn Ellen's fear into compassion, just as dangerous forces close in on Raven. But Ellen is still unsure if Raven can be trusted... - Director:
- Frank Tuttle
- Cast:
- Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar
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Petty crook Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) is arrested at the scene of a robbery and takes the rap without squealing. When he learns that his accomplice has betrayed him, he decides to go against the criminal code and become an informant. But when his testimony against psychopathic killer Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) puts his family in danger, Nick is forced to take matters into his own hands. - Director:
- Henry Hathaway
- Cast:
- Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray
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A double bill of films by the popular 1930s comedian...
You're Telling Me! (1934)Sam Bisbee (W.C. Fields) unwittingly ruins the romance between his daughter and a local society boy. When disaster befalls the demonstration of his new puncture-proof tyre, Sam takes the train home and meets the visiting Princess Lescaboura (Adrienne Ames). She calls at his home town and announces hem as a hero. Bisbee is transformed into a leading citizen.
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
Ambrose Wolfinger (W.C. Fields) lives with his wife, stepson, mother-in-low and the daughter from his first, happier marriage. He takes his first afternoon off work in twenty-five years to attend a wrestling match, on the bogus pretext that his mother-in-law has died. Floral tributes arrive at the horse and Ambrose is falsely accused of a drunken spree with his secretary. He is fired but reinstated - on more favourable terms - when his memory for clients' details is recognized.- Director:
- Erle C. Kenton
- Cast:
- W.C. Fields, Joan Marsh, Buster Crabbe
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