greatest-ever-made's - Rented List
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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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O. Henry's Full House (1952)Full House / Baghdad on the Subway / The Cop and the Anthem / The Clarion Call / The Last Leaf / The Ransom of Red Chief / The Gift of the Magi
Hollywood's top stars and directors were assembled for this stunning 1952 adaptation of O.Henry's finest short stories, each with a delicious twist in the tail!
The Cop and the AnthemA tramp (Charles Laughton) decides to spend winter in a nice warm jail cell - only to find it impossible to get arrested!
The Clarion Call
A cop (Dale Robertson) discovers an old friend (Richard Widmark) is a murderer - an old friend to whom he owes a big debt...
The Last Leaf
An artist (Gregory Ratoff) must find a way to help a young girl dying of a broken heart and her desperate sister (Anne Baxter and Jean Peters)...
The Ransom of Red Chief
Two city slickers (Fred Allen and Oscar Levant) decide to kidnap a country boy for ransom. After all, kids are easier to control...aren't they?
The Gift of the Magi
On Christmas Eve, an impoverished young couple (Farley Granger and Jeanne Crain) decide to buy each other Christmas presents they can't possibly afford...- Director:
- Henry Hathaway
- Cast:
- Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Jeanne Crain
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When discharged navy officer Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) comes home from war to his old stomping ground in the Hollywood Hills, he is shocked to discover his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) having an affair with the proprietor of the glamorous Blue Dahlia nightclub. But when Helen is murdered and Johnny is fingered as the prime suspect, he is forced to prove his innocence, aided by a woman harbouring a dark secret, the beautiful and enigmatic Joyce (Veronica Lake). - Director:
- George Marshall
- Cast:
- Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix
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Twentieth Century (1934)20th Century
The story of a maniacal Broadway director Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) who transforms shop girl (Carole Lombard) from a talented amateur to a smashing Great White Way success adored by public and press.- Director:
- Howard Hawks
- Cast:
- John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, Walter Connolly
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Anna Neagle - one of Britain's very biggest stars - was poached by Hollywood to make this glorious Cinderella story: Irene is the feisty Irish lass who catches the eye of millionaire Don Marshall (Ray Milland). He helps her become a model for the fabulous fashion boutique 'Madame Lucy' and she makes quite an impression at a high-society ball (filmed in gorgeous Technicolor); soon Irene is the talk of the town. But will success stop her finding her prince charming? - Director:
- Herbert Wilcox
- Cast:
- Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, Roland Young
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