griggs's - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List

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Penniless husband, Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea) looks like he is losing his scatterbrained wife, Gerry (Claudette Colbert) to multi-millionaire John D. Hackensacker (Rudy Vallee) when she walks out on him and heads for fun and sun in Palm Beach, Florida.

They become involved with any number of outrageous characters, played by many of the Sturges regulars in hilarious cameos. The witty, sparkling dialogue, poking merciless fun at, amongst other targets, money and sex, is unforgettable.

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Nervous spinster Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is stunted from growing up under the heel of her puritanical Boston Brahmin mother (Gladys Cooper), and remains convinced of her own unworthiness until a kindly psychiatrist (Claude Rains) gives her the confidence to venture out into the world on a

South American cruise. On board, she finds her footing with the help of an unhappily married man (Paul Henreid). Their thwarted love affair may help Charlotte break free of her mother's grip - but will she find fulfillment as well as independence?

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Casablanca: easy to enter, but much harder to leave, especially if your name is on the Nazis' most-wanted list. A top that list is Czech Resistance leader VIctor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), whose only hope is Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a cynical American who sticks his neck out for no one...

especially Victor's wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), the ex-lover who broke his heart. So when Ilsa offers herself in exchange for Laszlo's safe transport out of the country, the bitter Rick must decide what's more important - his own happiness or the countless lives that hang in the balance.

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Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon), a beautiful and mysterious Serbian-born fashion artist living in New York City, falls in love with and marries average-Joe American Oliver Reed (Kent Smith).

But Irena believes that she suffers from an ancient curse and whenever she is emotionally aroused she will turn into a panther and savage her victims. Oliver thinks that is absurd and sends her to psychiatrist Dr. Judd (Tom Conway) to cure her. But truth is sometimes stranger than fantasy...

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On her way back home, a solitary woman picks up a frail flower, and then, she drops her key - and when she finally enters her home - exhausted, she falls asleep in a deep and comfortable armchair.

However, even in her intimate dreams, an intangible and elusive dark presence blemishes her afternoon nap - she tries to catch it; but, in vain. Now, bizarre but perfect doppelgängers of her physical self materialise in the house, catching a glimpse of a record player playing a never-ending silent tune; a telephone, and a sharp bread knife, as the already confined environment becomes more and more a maze-like purgatory. The knife thirsts for blood; the woman hungers for a way out. Can the undivided mind/matter entity escape consciousness?

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When Uncle Charlie comes to visit his relatives in the sleepy town of Santa Rosa, the foundation is laid for one of his most engaging and suspenseful excursions.

Joseph Cotten stars as the charming Uncle Charlie, a beguiling killer who travels from Philadelphia to California just one step ahead of the law. But soon his unknowing niece and namesake, "Young Charlie" (Teresa Wright), begins to suspect her uncle of being the Merry Widow murderer, and a deadly game of cat-and-mouse begins. As his niece draws closer to the truth, the psychopathic killer has no choice but to plot the death of his favourite relative in one of Hitchcock's most riveting psychological thrillers.

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Set in a small Nevada town where tensions are running high thanks to a spate of cattle rustling, things reach boiling point when cowboy Larry Kinkaid is murdered.

With the sheriff out of town, the residents form a posse and head to Ox-Bow Canyon to find the three men they believe to be guilty - including Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn in early major roles - and enact their own form of justice.

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Widely considered one of Britain's greatest filmmakers, Humphrey Jennings has long been celebrated as one of cinema's true poets.

This, the second of three volumes which brings together his entire directorial output, features five films made between 1941-1943 which show Jennings at the peak of his tragically short but outstanding career. From the rousing call to arms of "The Heart of Britain" and "Words for Battle" to the poetic evocation of daily life in "Listen to Britain", and the powerfully resonating drama of "Fires Were Started" and "The Silent Village", the films included in this set offer a lyrical portrait of the nation at war and a moving celebration of Britishness.

Films Comprise:
- The Heart of Britain (1941)
- Words for Battle (1941)
- Listen to Britain (1941)
- Fires Were Started (1943)
- The Silent Village (1943)

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A restless wife, Giovanna (Clara Calamai), meets Gino (Massimo Girotti), a rough and handsome vagabond. Their passionate affair leads to the murder of Giovanna's boorish husband. Can a strong and sensual affair survive the guilt? Adapted from the James M.

Cain's classic novel 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', 'Ossessione' is a dark and provocative drama of sexual tension. It heralded a new era of Italian cinema, establishing Luchino Visconti as a leading and controversial exponent of 'neo-realism'.

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Roger Livesey brilliantly portrays a British officer, Clive Candy, through the trials and tribulations of three wars, three lovers and a lifelong friendship across enemy lines. During the Boer War, candy is sent to Berlin to trap a German spy.

There he befriends a German officer, Theo (Anton Walbrook), who marries the girl (Deborah Kerr) Candy is in love with. During the First World War, Candy marries a girl who resembles his lost love and helps Theo - now a POW - to get repatriated. Candy comes back in the Second World War as Brigadier General and once again encounters Theo. On joining a Home Guard exercise, Candy is captured, however, and the two are forced to either aid or betray each other.

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A gorgeous debutante, Clarissa Richmond, is under obligation to enter into marriage with the wealthy Marquis of Rohan (James Mason). Rohan is not in love with Clarissa (Phyllis Calvert), but he wants an heir to his title - an ambition which is fulfilled when Clarissa presents him with a son.

On the way to the theatre to see an old friend, Hesther (Margaret Lockwood), Clarissa is waylaid by a highwayman who demands a lift to the theatre she is attending - the highwayman is, in fact, a young actor called Peter Rokeby (Stewart Granger). Hesther comes to live with Clarissa, but she becomes a cuckoo in the nest when Rohan falls for her charms and she tries to oust Clarissa from the household.

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Mary (Kim Hunter) travels to New York to discover the reason for her sister Jacqueline's sudden disappearance. The cosmetics shop that Jacqueline (Jean Brooks) owned has been sold and her rented room is empty, save for a solitary chair and a noose.

Suspecting that her sister is under the influence of Satanists, Mary hires a private detective to stakeout the shop at night, but she then discovers that he has been murdered. Dr. Louis Judd (Tom Conway) contacts Mary to explain that he is a psychiatrist and that Jacqueline is under his care because she is mentally ill. But when Jacqueline vanishes again, it becomes clear to Mary that she in the clutches of a satanic cult whose penalty for revealing anything about themselves is death. Six people have already been murdered... will Jacqueline become the seventh victim?

Lights flicker and dim. Footsteps sound from a sealed-off attic. Mysterious events only vulnerable young Paula (Ingrid Bergman) sees and hears make her fear she's losing her mind - exactly what treacherous spouse Gregory (Charles Boyer) hopes.

Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), naive insurance man. Falls for the seductive charms of his beautiful client Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) Together they plot to get rid of her dull husband and collect on the "double indemnity" life policy.

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Nineteen-year-old Lauren Bacall makes her sizzling screen debut in the first of 4 films she made opposite Humphrey Bogart. he plays a cynical American expatriate swept up in the fighting of the French resistance - and swept off his feet by an alluring young drifter - Bacall.

Set on the island of Martinique in 1940, the film features smouldering performances from the legendary couple.