greatest-ever-made's - Rented List
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During the Allied push to Paris, General Patton's tanks have outrun their supply lines in a dramatic dash into German-held territory. Lieut. Campbell (Jeff Chandler) is assigned to throw together a racially mixed 'red ball' unit of supply trucks and get them through to the front. Campbell's sergeant is Kallek (Alex Nicol), a bitter young man who despises Campbell, believing him to be responsible for the death of his brother before World War II began. The two men remain at odds during the dangerous mission, and find themselves in a perilous situation where their prejudices are exposed and their commitment to the cause tested. - Director:
- Budd Boetticher
- Cast:
- Jeff Chandler, Alex Nicol, Charles Drake
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Mata Hari: the name breathes mystery, intrigue and sexual allure. Who better to play the notorious World War I spy than Greta Garbo, the enigmatic, exquisite screen icon called The Swedish Sphinx? Garbo is mesmerizing as the dancer-turned-German secret agent in a wartime Paris seething with secrets and betrayal. The notable supporting cast includes Lionel Barrymore as a Russian general besotted with her, Lewis Stone as an icy master spy, and Ramon Novarro as a handsome aviator who wins the heart Mata Hari did not know she possessed. With the world at war, love was her weapon. And the only men she couldn't seduce were the 12 in the firing squad that ended her tragic and tumultuous life. - Director:
- George Fitzmaurice
- Cast:
- Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore
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Woman of the Year (1942)La mujer del año
He's earthy, she's erudite. He's lumpy, she's angular. He's Tracy, she's Hepburn. Together, they're spectacular. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn show what chemistry is all about in this Academy Award' winner* about the grand, bumpy romance between a meat-and-potatoes sportswriter and a world-renowned political pundit. This is the first of the duo's nine film collaborations, and legend says the pairing had a portentous start. "I'm afraid I'm a little too tall for you;' the willowy actress observed. "Don't worry, I'll cut you down to my size;' Tracy replied. George Stevens directs, ending this alternately dramatic and comic delight with a standout of a slap-stick breakfast scene that helps make Woman of the Year a movie for every year - Director:
- George Stevens
- Cast:
- Spencer Tracy, Gerald Mohr, Katharine Hepburn
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The Cop (1972)Un Flic / Dirty Money
Parisian police commissioner Coleman (Alain Delon) is not a happy man, but he does what he can to get through each day. Coleman finds solace in his affair with Cathy (Catherine Deneuve), who also happens to be the girlfriend of Coleman's friend Simon, the head of a gang of daring criminals. As the commissioner's pursuit of the gang intensifies, so does the rivalry between the two men. - Director:
- Jean-Pierre Melville
- Cast:
- Alain Delon, Richard Crenna, Catherine Deneuve
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Early Summer (1951)Bakushû / Shukujo wa nani o wasureta ka
Regarded by many as the world's finest director, and renowned for his exact, formalist style, Yasujiro Ozu made his first film in 1927 and went on to direct 55 films before his death in 1963. It was only during his final years, however, that his genius as a film-maker was recognised in the West alongside such contemporaries as Bunuel, Bergman and fellow countryman Kurosawa. Early Summer (1951) further explores Noriko's relationship with her family, and examines her role as a modern woman in a traditional society. - Director:
- Yasujirô Ozu
- Cast:
- Seiji Miyaguchi, Kuniko Miyake, Chikage Awashima
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The Jessie Matthews Revue: Vol.1 (1935)The Jessie Matthews Revue: Friday the Thirteenth / First a Girl
Throughout the 1930's Jessie Matthews was Britain's best-loved musical film star, her dynamism and gamine charm captivating audiences on both sides of the Atlantic in a string of box-office hits. Showcasing her unique talent and captivating charm, it is easy to see how she became so popular - and why she remains so to this day. 'Showcasing' some the era's finest cinema talent including director Victor Saville, writer Sidney Gilliat, and comedy star (and Matthews' husband) Sonnie Hale - the two films on this volume are presented...
Friday the Thirteenth (1933)
Six very different people are involved in a fatal omnibus accident; which two were killed on this unluckiest of days is eventually revealed in a compelling blend of humour and pathos.
First a Girl (1935)
A messenger girl and would-be entertainer whose big break arrives when she stands in for a drag artiste stricken with laryngitis...and finds life can get very complicated for a girl impersonating a boy impersonating a girl!- Director:
- Victor Saville
- Cast:
- Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Muriel Aked
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Scarface (1932)Scarface: The Shame of the Nation
Generally regarded to be the best of the classic gangster films, 'Scarface' tells the exciting story of organised crime's brutal control over Chicago during the Prohibition era. Paul Muni gives an electrifying performance as Tony Carmonte, an ambitious criminal with a ruthless drive to be the city's top crime boss. Directed by the legendary Howard Hawks, 'Scarface' was a groundbreaking film which established both Paul Muni and George Raft as major Hollywood stars, while influencing all gangland films to follow. - Director:
- Howard Hawks
- Cast:
- Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley
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Les Girls (1957)Cole Porter's Les Girls
"Les Girls" is the Rashomon of MGM musicals. The film is told in flashback, as Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg, two-thirds of a popular cabaret trio, attempt to legally block the third, Kay Kendall, from writing her memoirs. Each of 'Les Girls' has her own interpretation of the group's previous professional and amorous escapades. To make sense of these wildly diverse recollections, the court must rely upon a fourth party to straighten things out. Enter Gene Kelly, the dancing star who organized 'Les Girls' in the first place. But can Kelly be believed? The 'truth' of the many reminiscences in Les Girls is secondary to the dazzling beauty of its female stars, and to the delightful musical numbers, the best of which is an extended Marlon Brando parody titled 'Why Am I So Gone About That Gal?' This was Gene Kelly's last musical effort for MGM, the studio he joined way back in 1943; the film was the inspiration for the short-lived 1963 TV series Harry's Girls, which starred Larry Blyden, Susan Silo, Dawn Nickerson and Diahn Williams. - Director:
- George Cukor
- Cast:
- Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall
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Daisy Miller (1974)Una señorita rebelde
Cybill Shepherd is sensational as "Daisy Miller", a woman who did as she pleased, bat seldom pleased anyone except herself. "Daisy Miller" is adapted from Henry James classic novella about an expatriate American living abroad in Europe with her daffy mother and bratty kid brother. Daisy is very liberated and very much ahead of her time as her behavior scandalizes the Victorian high society of 1878. - Director:
- Peter Bogdanovich
- Cast:
- Cybill Shepherd, Barry Brown, Cloris Leachman
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Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953)Les Vacances De Monsieur Hulot / Monsieur Hulot's Holiday
The film that brought Jacques Tati international acclaim also launched his on-screen alter ego: the courteous, well-meaning, eternally accident-prone Monsieur Hulot with whom Tati would from now on be inseparably associated. As with Jour de fete, Vacances is set in a sleepy French coastal resort which is seasonally disrupted by holidaymakers in energetic pursuit of fun. At the centre of the chaos is the eccentric Hulot, struggling at all times to maintain appearances, but somehow entirely divorced from his immediate surroundings. There is little plot in Tati's beautifully orchestrated 'ballet' of comic action: it's a series of incidents, a seamless succession of gently studies of human absurdity. - Director:
- Jacques Tati
- Cast:
- Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Louis Perrault
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Kitty Foyle (1940)Espejismo de amor
Kitty Foyle (Ginger Rogers) is infatuated by well-to-do Wyn Stafford (Dennis Morgan). But, scared of losing his place in respectable society, Wyn is reluctant to marry Kitty, who lacks the pedigree his family expects. Distraught, Kitty moves to New York and begins a new romance with decent Dr Mark Eisen (James Craig). But she still yearns for Wyn; when he follows her to the city, she is forced to make a choice that will affect her entire life... - Director:
- Sam Wood
- Cast:
- Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig
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Late Spring (1949)Banshun
Yasujiro Ozu's hugely influential award-winning masterpiece, 'Late Spring', is a tender meditation on family politics, sacrifice and the status quo. Noriko (Setsuko Hara) and her father, Professor Somiya (Chishu Ryu), live together in perfect harmony but old certainties are put at risk when an interfering aunt raises the question of marriage. Introducing Ozu's popular Noriko character, 'Late Spring' poignantly examines the gradual compromise between modernity and tradition. - Director:
- Yasujirô Ozu
- Cast:
- Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) / Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
One man is a paragon of virtue. The other is a murderous creature of the London night. They are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And they are the same person. Best Actor Academy Award winner Fredric March plays the man/monster in the exoressionistic, pre-Code 1932 version (Side A), morphing before your eyes into a fiend that impacted the look of Creature Features to come. Spencer Tracy headlines the 1941 film of Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of mind and madness (Side B). It's a glossy, star-powered work whose Freudian undercurrents include a dreamscape in which carriage horses whipped by Hyde transform into the women in his life (Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner). Two of the very beast from horror's archives. Two ways to watch and appease your inner monster! - Director:
- Victor Fleming
- Cast:
- Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner
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In the story of 'Gilda', Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) goes to work for Ballin Mundson (George MacReady), the proprietor of an illegal gambling casino in a South American city, and quickly rises to become Mundson's "main man". All is well until Mundson returns from a trip with his new bride, Gilda (Rita Hayworth) - a woman from Johnny's past. Mundson, unaware of the previous love affair, assigns Farrell the job of ensuring that Gilda is a faithful wife. Fraught with hatred, Gilda does her best to antagonize, intimidate, and instill jealousy in Farrell - until circumstances allow him to get even. - Director:
- Charles Vidor
- Cast:
- Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, George Macready
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For Me and My Gal (1942)The Big Time / Me and My Gal
After a late-night cup of coffee, vaudevillians Jo Hayden and Harry Palmer sit at a piano and work a song. Moments later, Jo realizes she's found exactly what she wasn't looking for: a partner. And with Judy Garland as Jo and Gene Kelly as Harry, the partnership isn't just ideal. It's a film fan's dream come true. Kelly debuts and Garland dazzles in this Busby Berkeley-directed tale of a song-and-dance pair who take on tank towns, tough times and World War I while struggling for show-biz success. A hit parade of era tunes paces the film, including the wowser "Ballin' the Jack" and the sweetly harmonized title tune. Bursting with vitality and old-fashioned charm, "For Me and My Gal" is for the ages. - Director:
- Busby Berkeley
- Cast:
- Judy Garland, George Murphy, Gene Kelly
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