greatest-ever-made's - Rented List
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America is a hostile and savage land being torn apart in a territorial war between the British and French, each side assisted by rival Native Indian tribes. Also fighting for the British are the men of Major Rogers corps, known to history as Rogers' Rangers, a perfect blend of soldier and survival expert. Trained to fight in all conditions, the Rangers must cross the vast mountains and rivers to reach St Francis undetected but it will prove a bloody and costly mission. - Director:
- King Vidor
- Cast:
- Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan
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In pre-war Britain, newsreel Chief Will Ferguson (Will Fyffe) and his son Steve (Anthony Hulme) plan to make a documentary celebrating human achievement - but the events in Europe sour their plans. Hitler's Third Reich is on the march and has just invaded Czechoslovakia. Europe is in flames and instead they make a documentary fiercely condemning the rise of Fascism. Steve leaves for South America - but as World War Two erupts in all its fury he soon finds that the war has followed him. The Giant German battleship Graf Spee has fled into Montevideo Harbour after a punishing encounter with the British warships Exeter and Ajax. As events unfold in a very unexpected way, Steve is there with his newsreel camera to capture the dramatic end to the encounter. Made in 1940 and starring Will Fyffe, this stirringly patriotic film boosted morale in the nation's cinemas, cleverly combining new scenes with genuine newsreel footage to show one of Britain's great naval triumphs in the early months of the war. - Director:
- Maurice Elvey
- Cast:
- Will Fyffe, Anthony Hulme, E.V.H. Emmett
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The Great Buster: A Celebration (2018)The Great Buster
"The Great Buster: A Celebration" celebrates the life and career of one of America's most influential and celebrated filmmakers and comedians, Buster Keaton, whose singular style and fertile output during the silent era created his legacy as a true cinematic visionary. Filled with stunningly restored archival Keaton films from the Cohen Film Collection library, 'The Great Buster: A Celebration' is directed by Peter Bogdanovich, a filmmaker and cinema historian whose landmark writings and films on such renowned directors as John Ford and Orson Welles have become the standard by which all other studies are measured. - Director:
- Peter Bogdanovich
- Cast:
- Peter Bogdanovich, Dick Cavett, Frank Capra
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Death at Broadcasting House (1934)Death at a Broadcast
When an actor is murdered during the recording of a radio play, Detective Inspector Gregory (Ian Hunter) quickly discovers that the victim had many enemies enemies amongst his fellow players. When his deductions lead him nowhere he decides to reconstruct the crime with the full help of Broadcasting House, hoping that this tried and tested strategy will lead him to the killer. - Director:
- Reginald Denham
- Cast:
- Ian Hunter, Austin Trevor, Lilian Oldland
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Ring of Spies (1964)Shadow of Treason
An antiquarian bookseller and his wife; a disgruntled, hard-drinking naval clerk and the lonely secretary he recruits; a polished Soviet agent who assumes the identity of a dead Canadian citizen... the players in a familiar Cold War story of hidden cameras, microdots and a long-range radio calling Moscow Central. 'Ring of Spies' charts a duel between Soviet intelligence and British counter-espionage, and a trade in deadly secrets directed from a bungalow in suburban Ruislip, hidden for years from unsuspecting neighbours and British spycatchers... - Director:
- Robert Tronson
- Cast:
- Bernard Lee, William Sylvester, Margaret Tyzack
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By 1917, Harold Lloyd had grown tired of his Chaplinesque figure Lonesome Luke and, along with his producer Hal Roach, developed the "Glasses Character" with whom he would achieve worldwide fame. This 'Harold' was a more mature comedy character with greater potential for sympathy and emotional depth; an eager young all-American, willing to risk anything to achieve his goals - invariably a girl, played by Bebe Daniels or Mildred Davis. Featured here is the "Glasses Character" in many of his popular shorts, films that perfectly illustrate his trademark comedy style - athletic, enthusiastic, and quick-paced. Harold Lloyd had found a truly unique character, one who would seal his place in the pantheon of silent comedy greats. - Director:
- Various Directors
- Cast:
- Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels, Mildred Davis
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In Harm's Way (1965)Primera victoria
Producer-Director Otto Preminger's epic treatment of the bombing of Pearl Harbor details the devastating attack on the Hawaiian naval base as well as the explosive, behind-the-scenes stories. An awesome cast including John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Henry Fonda, Carroll O'Connor, Burgess Meredith, Paula Prentiss, Dana Andrews and a host of other notables is interwoven into this account of the attack itself, as well as into the triumphs and tragedies of disobeyed orders, the American counter-offensive, father-son reunions, battles at sea, and layers of romantic entanglements. It's a story that's been told and re-told, but perhaps never so completely. - Director:
- Otto Preminger
- Cast:
- John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal
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Phantom Lady (1944)Condemned to Hang
Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis) is drowning his sorrows after yet another fight with his wife. At a local bar, he meets a woman and they strike up a conversation. Sensing the woman is also feeling down and not wishing to be alone, he invites her to the theatre. She agrees under one condition; she does not wish to divulge her name, preferring to remain anonymous. When Henderson returns home he finds police officers waiting for him. His wife has been murdered, strangled with one of his neckties, and he is the main suspect. Maintaining his innocence he suggests they go back and speak with someone who might provide an alibi. But no one seems to remember the mysterious lady. Charged with the murder of his wife, it seems Scott Henderson will face the electric chair if he cannot prove his innocence. His only hope just might be his loyal secretary Carol "Kansas" Richman (Ella Raines). Can she find the phantom lady before it's too late? - Director:
- Robert Siodmak
- Cast:
- Franchot Tone, Samuel S. Hinds, Ella Raines
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After his release from the asylum, to celebrate his return to the real world, Neale (Ray Milland) visits a local carnival, only to accidentally receive the "prize" of a cake which was meant for a Nazi agent. When he discovers the error, he turns for help to a detective, whose investigations only serve to make the situation more complicated. Neale soon winds up on the run from both the Nazis and the police, who mistakenly believe him guilty of murder. He is led to Scotland Yard, where his fate entwines further with a Nazi front organization, and an unlikely love affair. - Director:
- Fritz Lang
- Cast:
- Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond
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"Speedy" was the last silent feature to star Harold Lloyd - and one of his very best. The slapstick legend reprises his "Glasses Character', this time as a good-natured but scatterbrained New Yorker who can't keep a job. He finally finds his true calling when he becomes determined to help save the city's last horse-drawn streetcar, which is operated by his sweetheart's crusty grandfather. From its joyous visit to Coney Island to its incredible Babe Ruth cameo to its hair-raising climactic stunts on the city's streets, Speedy is an out-of-control love letter to New York that will have you grinning from ear to ear. - Director:
- Ted Wilde
- Cast:
- Harold Lloyd, Ann Christy, Bert Woodruff
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Dana Andrews stars as Mark Dixon, a corrupt cop, in this gritty noir thriller shot on the rain-slicked streets of New York. Already in trouble for his brutal methods, alienated from his colleagues, he pursues a gang leader with vindictive zeal and accidentally kills a possible murder suspect. His guilt deepens when he falls in love with the dead man's wife and her father, an innocent cab driver, finds himself accused of the murder. Dixon finds the ultimate redemption - at a price. Otto Preminger brings a welcome sympathy and complexity to every character on-screen, from the nervous police informer through to the cocky mobster, the exasperated police chief, and Dixon himself, burdened with self-hatred as the son of a thief. Joseph LaShelle's photography lends a seedy glamour to the run-down lodging houses, cheap cafe's and night-time exteriors. - Director:
- Otto Preminger
- Cast:
- Dana Andrews, Charles Tannen, Gene Tierney
- Formats:
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A Place in the Sun (1951)Ambiciones que matan
Clift stars as George Eastman, a poor young man determined to win a place in respectable society and the heart of a beautiful socialite (Elizabeth Taylor). Shelley Winters plays the factory girl whose dark secret threatens Eastman's professional and romantic prospects; consumed with fear and desire, Eastman is ultimately driven to a desperate act of passion that unravels his world forever... - Director:
- George Stevens
- Cast:
- Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters
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The comic genius of silent star Harold Lloyd is eternal. Chaplin is the sweet innocent, Keaton the stoic outsider, but Lloyd - the modern guy striving for success - is us. And with its torrent of perfectly executed gags and astonishing stunts, Safety Last! is the perfect introduction to him. Lloyd plays a small-town bumpkin / trying to make it in the big city, who finds employment as a lowly department-store clerk. He comes up with a wild publicity stunt to draw attention to the store, resulting in an incredible feat of derring-do on his part that gets him started on the climb to success. Laugh-out-loud funny and jaw-dropping in equal measure, Safety Last! is a movie experience par excellence, anchored by a genuine legend. - Director:
- Fred C. Newmeyer
- Cast:
- Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother
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"All That Jazz" is actually a semi-autobiographical account of the life of its celebrated writer/director/choreographer, Bob Fosse. The multi-talented performer was an Oscar, Tony and Emmy Award winner who brought home a combined total of eight trophies. Part tragic, part comic, this outrageous look at life in the fast lane is the Academy Award - winning musical about Bob Fosse's excessive life in show business, played by Roy Schneider. Dazzlingly presented, this electrifying story about the perils of pushing yourself too hard is filled with Fosse's legendary song-and-dance choreography. - Director:
- Bob Fosse
- Cast:
- Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer
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Red River (1948)Río Rojo
After the Civil War, ranch owner Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) leads a drive of ten thousand cattle out of an impoverished Texas to the richer markets of Missouri, alongside his adopted son Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift) and a team of ranch hands. As the conditions worsen, and Dunson's control over his cattlemen gets ever more merciless, a rebellion begins to grow within the travelling party. - Director:
- Howard Hawks
- Cast:
- John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru
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