greatest-ever-made's - Rented List

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Written by Academy Award winners Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, 'Midnight' has been hailed as 'just about the best comedy ever caught by the camera from the Golden Age of Hollywood!' Academy Award winners Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and John Barrymore simply light up the screen.

The fun begins when a penniless showgirl (Colbert) impersonates a Hungarian Countess and, with the help of an aristocrat (Barrymore), quickly adapts herself to her new lifestyle. But can she stop herself from falling in love with yet another poor man (Ameche)?

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Louis Mazzini's mother belongs to the aristocratic family D'Ascoyne, but she ran away with an opera singer. Therefore, she and Louis (Dennis Price) were rejected by the D'Ascoynes. Once adult, Louis decides to avenges his mother and him, by becoming the next Duke (Alec Guinness) of the family.

Murdering every potential successor is clearly the safest way to achieve his goal.

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The speakeasy era never roared louder than in this gangland chronicle that packs a wallop under action master Raoul Walsh's direction.

Against a backdrop of newsreel-like montages and narration, it follows the life of jobless war vetran Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) who turns bootlegger, dealing in 'bottles instead of battles'. Battles await eddie within and without his growing empire. Outside are territorial feuds and gangland bloodlettings. Inside is the treachery of double-dealing associate (Humphrey Bogart). It would be 10 years before Cagney played another gangster (in White Heat), a time in which gangster movies themselves became rare. 'He used to be a big shot'. Panama Smith (Gladys Goerge) says at the finale, marking Bartlett's demise...and signalling the end of Hollywood's focus on the gangster era.

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"The Public Enemy" showcases James Cagney's powerful 1931 breakthrough performance as streetwise tough guy Tom Powers, but only because production chief Darryl F. Zanuck made a late casting change.

When shooting began, Cagney had a secondary role but Zanuck soon spotted Cagney's screen dominance and gave him the star part. From that moment, an indelible genre classic and an enduring star career were both born. Bristling with '20s style, dialogue and desperation under the masterful directorial eye of William A. Wellman, this is a virtual time capsule of the Prohibition era: taut, gritty and hard-hitting - even at breakfast when grapefruit is served.

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When Father Brown (Alec Guinness) hears that Flambeau (Peter Finch), an international art thief, is planning to steal a priceless cross once owned by Saint Augustine during its transportation to Rome, he is delighted at the opportunity to match wits with a criminal of such repute.

However, Flambeau outwits Father Brown on their first encounter deep in the catacombs of Paris and vanishes with the relic. Now, the amateur sleuth must somehow lure the master criminal out of hiding, recover the cross - and save Flambeau's immortal soul into the bargain...

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As a psychotic thug devoted to his hard-boiled ma, James Cagney - older, scarier and just as electrifying - gives a performance to match his work in 'The Public Enemy' as 'White Heat's's' cold-blooded Cody Jarrett.

Bracingly directed by Raoul Walsh, this fast-paced thriller tracing Jarrett's violent life in and out of jail is also a harrowing character study. Jarrett is a psychological time bomb ruled by impulse. He murders a wounded accomplice and revels in the act. He neglects his sultry wife (Virginia Mayo) and adores his doting mother. It is among the most vivid screen performances of Cagney's career, and the excitement it generates will put you on top of the world!

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In 1890's Brighton the young son of a puritanical chemist longs to escape the repressive environment of his family life and the overbearing restraints of his cruel, pious father.

Eventually finding refuge in a local tavern he is immediately attracted to the sordid glamour of the drinking classes and the gritty world that they inhabit. He also finds himself becoming infatuated with the tavern's landlady, which will inadvertently lead to him being drawn into a plot to kill her abusive husband.

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The film tells the tale of shady pickpocket Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) who steals a wallet belonging to Candy (Jean Peters) who, unbeknownst to her, is carrying microfilm containing government secrets.

Anxious to recover the film, Joey, Candy's ex-lover and the man using her as courier, convinces her to find the thief.

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John Mills stars as Davidson, an embittered convict who has been released from prison after serving a sentence for a murder he did not commit. Ill at ease in the company of others, he takes refuge on a barge, which is constantly under surveillance by police.

He determines to ruin his enemies one-by-one and tracks them down only to find himself drawn into a new crime, which will bring him face to face with the true murderer.

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A suspenseful, true-life spy thriller based on the memoirs of L. C. Moyzisch, 5 Fingers features an enigmatic performance from James Mason as a charming, amoral enemy spy posing as the valet to a British ambassador during World War II.

Working for the highest bidder with no personal political bent, Cicero secures British war files detailing the planned D-Day attacks and passes on the documents to the Nazi's who regard the information as too far-fetched to be treated seriously. Intelligently scripted by Michael Wilson just before he fell victim to the McCarthy-era blacklists and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and witty 5 Fingers audaciously popularised the notion of the anti-hero protagonist and intelligently emphasised a cynical view of government hypocrisy. A film that's some way ahead of its time, it also features a stirring score by music maestro Bernard Herrmann.

Rex Harrison is the orchestra conductor who believes his wife has been having an affair. While conducting, he plans various forms of revenge, each played out with the greatest of precision and skill. When it comes to putting his plans into action things run a little less smoothly.

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Glenn Ford plays the dedicated F.B.I. agent, John Ripley, who fights to protect Kelly Sherwood (Lee Remick) from a ruthless killer.

Unless his plans to rob the bank succeed, the unseen assailant (Ross Martin) - identifiable only by his asthmatic breathing - threatens to murder Kelly and her teenage sister, Toby (Stefanie Powers). To save the two terrorized sisters, the F.B.I. sets up an elaborate trap using Kelly as a decoy, but the killer gets away. Nerve-racking suspense builds as Kelly, now panic-stricken, continues to act as bait long enough to let the Feds trap the killer. Unless they act quickly, the woman in distress will become the casualty of a deadly Experiment in Terror!

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The three Beebe brothers are talented singers looking to make their way in the world.

Responsible Dave (Fred MacMurray) wants to work in his garage and marry Martha; but his reckless older brother Joe (Bing Crosby) thinks the only way to success is through gambling, much to his loving mother's despair. Young Mike, in the meantime, idolizes Joe and wants to grow up to be just like him. Joe moves to California to seek his fortune, promising to send for the family when he makes good. He pins all his hopes on the racehorse he's acquired. But it's a bigger gamble than his family realizes...

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Bob Randall (Richard Greene) is a war correspondent trapped in Northern France. He manages to escape from Dunkirk and return to his job as a journalist with The Gazette in London. Randall soon becomes aware of the 'People for Peace Society' which advocates making peace with Germany.

Randall however believes the organisation objectives are more sinister and attends a meeting with fellow Gazette journalist Carol Bennett (Valerie Hobson). As Randall investigates further his attempts to have his findings published are censored. As the sinister plot escalates the journalists end up fighting for the truth as well as their lives.

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September 1939, the Germans are invading Poland, and as Britain declares war a leading national newspaper posts its journalists to the European countries that have yet to fall under Nazi rule.

Colin Metcalf (Hugh Williams) is sent to Norway but his ship comes under attack from a German U Boat and he soon learns of the Nazi plot to invade. Having escaped from the Nazis, Metcalf returns to his newspaper in England and writes a series of articles on his Norwegian experiences. These soon attract the attention of Naval Intelligence in London where he is recruited for a dangerous mission. Metcalf must return to Norway, link up with the resistance, and assist with the destruction of the German U Boat base that is responsible for the sinking of the North Atlantic convoys. The outcome of his perilous assignment could change the course of the Battle of the Atlantic!