greatest-ever-made's - Rented List

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Korda's first contribution to the War Effort of 1939 - 1945 was 'The Lion Has Wings '. It appeared just a few months after the outbreak of the Second World War and was unashamedly a propaganda weapon.

By skilful use of documentary footage, Korda builds up a heart-rending picture of the situation at the outbreak of the war. He shows a Germany of steel, armed and united in a wave of hysteria created by the spell of a fanatical madman, and contrasts this with the peaceful, golden villages of England. It portrays the everyday lives of the British people who are prepared to sacrifice everything for the greater good. Korda uses some of his best known and loved stars: Ralph Richardson stars as a Squadron Leader of the Royal Air Force, representing the courage of the men whose duty was to fight; Merle Oberon as his wife and June Duprez as her friend, representing the women who uncomplainingly work, wait and hope that their men will return safely; Brian Worth is the young Canadian airman representing the allies without whom Britain would have been in trouble.

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Soon after the huge success of 'Magnificent Obsession', Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson again teamed up with director Douglas Sirk for this heartwarming story of an attractive, wealthy New England widow who defies social constraints when she falls in love for a much younger man.

When Cary Scott (Jane Wyman) falls in love with her sexy gardener, Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), she becomes the target of small town gossip, while at the time incurring the wrath of her own children Kay (Gloria Talbott) and Ned (William Reynolds). The children and the town want Cary to lead a more conventional lifestyle than that offered by Ron. They would prefer that she spend the rest of her life in front of her new TV set, wed to Harvey (Conrad Nagel), a highly respected, wealthy - and boring - bachelor. Will she choose love or "respectability"?

A middle-aged cop is assigned to tail a gangster's moll with his two partners, hoping she'll lead them to some $200,000 worth of stolen loot, but when the cop falls under the spell of the moll, falling in love with her, his honest ways become twisted and soon he plots with her to kill the gangster and take off with the money.

Rock Hudson stars as journalist Burke Devlin, fascinated by the sordid lives of a trio eking out a living in carnival circuit daredevil airshows - Roger Shumann (Robert Stack), former WWI fighter pilot, forced into races and parachute routines with the help of his wife LaVerne (Dorothy Malone), and faithful mechanic Jiggs (Jack Carson).

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Claude (Vince Edwards) is a young man with a regular job, no history of trouble with the law and no chance of making any real money. He also has the brains and emotional detachment to make the big bucks as a hit man, and that becomes his new job title.

A string of successful hits gets him sent to Los Angeles for his latest job. There he is accompanied by two goons: one who is perpetually nervous and the other who quickly worships the young man as a hero. The cold, ruthless hit man finally becomes unglued when he finds out that his latest target is a woman. She's a witness, set to testify against his boss, and guarded day and night by the police. It's her femininity that worries Claude: women are unpredictable, they don't do what you expect. Claude eventually proves that he is the unpredictable one and his own worst enemy.

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Charles Chaplin's Limelight is a glimmering homage to what was, a proud look at a bygone entertainment era and a bittersweet tale of an artist passing the torch to a new generation.

Chaplin portrays Calvero (the "tramp comedian" per an old theatrical poster in his room), who rescues a distraught ballerina from suicide and mentors her to success. Among the film's comedy highlights is a musical routine that's anything but routine in the hands of legend Chaplin and stoney-faced Buster Keaton. The extraordinary score by Chaplin, Raymond Rasch and Larry Russell earned the screen legend his only competitive Oscar.

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Helen Capel (Dorothy McGuire) is a beautiful young girl who has not uttered a word since childhood. She works as a servant for old, ailing Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore) in the Warren family mansion.

When a sinister spate of murders involving 'women with afflictions' hits the neighbourhood, Helen believes she's the next victim. One night, a storm breaks and Helen realises the killer is in the house with her. Unable to scream for help, what can she do to save herself? And just who is the psychotic killer?

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A Jewish barber returns home after twenty-years within hospital walls to find his old shop not only dilapidated but marked with hateful graffiti. The source of this hatred is the regime of a tyrannical dictator which is persecuting the barber along with the rest of the Jewish community.

In one of his most ingenious strokes of artistry ever, Chaplin subverted the fears of the time with a visionary and undeniably moving satire of fascism and discrimination.

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Renowned filmmaker Douglas Sirk directed this internationally acclaimed story of the very, very rich whose lack of morality and character leads to ruin and death.

The stunningly photographed films stars Robert Stack as Kyle Hadley, the never-do-well son of Texas magnate Robert Keith whose dynasty begins to crumble due to the activities of his pleasure-seeking brood. Along for the downhill ride is an all-star cast that includes Lauren Bacall as Stack's unfortunate wife, Rock Hudson as his best friend and Dorothy Malone who picked up a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Kyle's nymphomaniac sister.

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Get Nick! Big shot Steve Case knows only one man can shape up his troubled banana-republic plantation - fireball foreman Nick Butler. But Nick may be a little distracted. He's just met stranded American Lee Donley, a chanteuse who can hold her own at a card table. Especially if she's dealing.

Off-screen pals James Cagney and Pat O'Brien team for the eighth time in this snappy action comedy. In a role widely cited as putting her on the movie fan's map, Hollywood's "Oomph Girl" Ann Sheridan portrays wisecracking Lee. Now add superb support, zippy repartee, plus 950 banana trees planted over 5 backlot acres and the heat is on. "You and your 14-carat oomph", Cagney says in the film's final clinch.

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In this hysterical satire of Reagan-era values, written and directed by Albert Brooks, a successful Los Angeles advertising executive (Brooks) and his wife (Julie Hagerty) decide to quit their jobs, buy a Winnebago, and follow their Easy Rider fantasies of freedom and the open road.

When a stop in Las Vegas nearly derails their plans, they're forced to come to terms with their own limitations and those of the American dream. Brooks's barbed wit and confident direction drive 'Lost in America', an iconic example of his restless comedies about insecure characters searching for satisfaction in the modern world that established his unique comic voice and transformed the art of observational humor.

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When five college pals partying in Reno devise the perfect casino heist, they decide to go through with their plan and then return the cash, just to prove they can get away with the high-stakes prank.

But when distraught Brick (Brian Keith) betrays them and plots to keep the money for himself, he imperils them all.

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A telephone repairman in Los Angeles uses his knowledge of electronics to help a bookie set up a betting operation. When the bookie is murdered, the greedy technician takes over his business.

He ruthlessly climbs his way to the top of the local crime syndicate, but then gangsters from a big East Coast mob show up wanting a piece of his action.

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Is there love after death? Acerbic everyman Albert Brooks finds a perfect balance between satirical bite and romantic comedy charm as the writer, director, and star of this wonderfully warm and imaginative existential fantasy.

After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller (Brooks) finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia (Meryl Streep) offers him a chance to finally feel alive. Buoyed by a pitch-perfect supporting cast that includes Rip Torn, Lee Grant, and Buck Henry, 'Defending Your Life' is a rare feat of personal, philosophical filmmaking that happens to also be divinely entertaining.

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The marriage of Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) and Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the Queen's (Stella Gonet)'s Sandringham Estate.

There's eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. But this year, things will be profoundly different. 'Spencer' is an imagining of what might have happened during those few fateful days.