Laurel and Hardy's Laughing '20s (1965), Notorious (1946), Crooks in Clover (1963), You're Telling Me (1934), Night Must Fall (1937), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Block-Heads (1938), Oh, Mr. Porter! (1937) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Vintage Film movies.
Storyline: A grandmother (Dame Edith Evans) seeks a governess for her sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Laurel (Hayley Mills), who manages to drive away everyone so far by exposing her past, with a record of three in one week. When an applicant with a mysterious past manages to get the job, Laurel vows to expose her. Meanwhile, Laurel's mother Olivia (Elizabeth Sellars) tries to get her back.—Nasser <NasKU@aol.com>
Plot Keywords: drama, family, psychological, british, black and white, classic, adaptation ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: The owner of a general store (Harold Bisonette) is hounded by his status-anxious wife ("That's 'Bee-soh-nay'" and "I have no maid you know"). To get some sleep he goes out on the porch where he is tormented by a little boy from the floor above (Baby Dunk) and an insurance salesman down below ("LaFong. Capital L, small a..."). He uses an inheritance to buy an orange ranch through the mail, then drives off with his family for California. The orange grove consists of a withered tree, the ranch house is but a shack, and the car falls to pieces. But a racetrack operator wants the land, so all ends happily.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Plot Keywords: comedy, slapstick, classic, 1930s, american film, black and white, family ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Sandra and Pete elope but their marriage is invalid since she's not yet divorced. Sandra is, however, pregnant by Pete. Pete marries his former fiancée Maggie, then flies to South America where his plane crashes. Maggie pays Sandra to let her adopt Pete's baby. Pete returns "from the dead". Sandra and Maggie contend for Pete and the baby.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Plot Keywords: drama, romance, classic, black and white, hollywood, female lead, marriage ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: The sole dissenting member of a jury that aims to convict a man of murdering an actress, beloved Agatha Christie character Miss Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford) joins a theatrical company to investigate the crime on her own. As she gets closer to H. Driffold Cosgood (Ron Moody) and his fellow performers, yet another actor is found dead. Her digging uncovers evil deeds that date back several years, but Miss Marple finds herself in danger as she closes in on the killer.
Plot Keywords: mystery, crime, murder, detective, courtroom, drama, whodunit ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Famed practical joker Henry Russell leaves 50,000 pounds to each of his four surviving relatives. But his will has one last joke - they each have to undertake a task completely out of character within a month. As each sets out on their objective they find that quite apart from the promised riches, they are unexpectedly getting a lot out of the challenge. All except caddish Simon Russell, that is.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Plot Keywords: comedy, british film, classic film, 1950s, humour, inheritance, prank ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In New England circa 1933, a niece is reported missing and presumed dead and Cabot Barr (George Arliss) summons his relatives to the family estate for a memorial service. Once there, Barr taunts each one, claiming their only interest in him is his money, and sends them away when the report about the niece proves to be false. Only niece Marjorie, who has ridiculed one of his pet eccentricities, seems to be the object of any sentimental affection. Weeks later, Marjorie and her mother, Augusta (Edna May Oliver) and Allan (Frank Albertson), a young man Barr admires, are invited to Barr manor, where Barr fosters a romance between Marjorie and Allan. When his son, Judd (Donald Meek), seeks to have him declared insane, the shock kills the old man. Again, the family is gathered, a curtain is drawn and the old man appears on a film, and he tells each relative what he is leaving them and why, or why not in the case of Judd who is cut off without a cent. Marjorie is left the bulk of the estate as the old man, on film, declares her to be the only one worthy of carrying on the Barr traditions, and Allan is instructed to marry her and take her name as his family's cognomen. The film and the film within ends with Barr announcing that he hopes to have the pleasure of meeting them all again in another world.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
Plot Keywords: comedy, romance, gentleman, 1930s, black and white, classic, american film ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Trotter pollster Pete Marshall is trying to find a missing coworker. In a rural town he stumbles onto the roughian Fleagle family. Bert and Mert would just as soon "splatter" snoopers with their rifles. However, Ma Johnson focuses the family energies on finding cousin Bonnie Fleagle's $70,000 bank job stash, somewhere around the large old rickety house. Claire Matthews, the daughter of a man implicated in Bonnie's bank job, also comes in search of the money to try and clear her father's name. Marshall and Matthews team up to try and decode Grandma Fleagle's strange deathbed clue but with Mr. Johnson attempting to poison people and Bonnie Fleagle showing up herself after a prison escape, it's anybody's guess as to who will find the money first.—Gary Jackson <garyjack5@cogeco.ca>
Plot Keywords: comedy, mystery, crime, black comedy, murder, investigation, rural ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Relations between Dr. 'Brad' Bradford and ex-wife Paula are surprisingly romantic. They divorced because Brad hated being dragged into murder mysteries, to which mystery writer Paula is addicted. But through horse trainer Mike North, Brad is embroiled in the case of a jockey who died of "heart failure" during a race. As they pursue clues, Paula pursues Brad for remarriage, and assorted hoods pursue the Bradfords.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: mystery, comedy, crime, detective, marriage, murder, investigation ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: On board a train en route to Los Angeles, runaway bride Remember Steddon, believing now that she married in haste, abandons her husband, Owen Scudder, not knowing at the time that Scudder had previously married and murdered solely for money. Unprepared to be on her own, Mem, as she is known to her friends, accidentally stumbles across the outdoor set of a Hollywood movie directed by Frank Claymore. Mem is welcomed onto the set by the cast and crew. But as the shooting moves on, Mem decides to pursue other avenues, as she had been taught by her conservative parents that movie acting was a disreputable occupation. But needing work, Mem decides to try her hand at being an actress. This task is easier said than done, until she runs across Claymore again, he who is determined to make her a star. As her movie stardom does indeed rise, so does the admiration of adoration of legions, including her director Claymore, and her leading man Tom Holby. A further consequence of her stardom is that her parents and Scudder find out where she is. The scandal of being married to a known murderer may jeopardize Mem's budding career.—Huggo
Plot Keywords: silent film, hollywood, drama, 1920s, black and white, classic cinema, american film ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Accident-prone Fingers runs a pretty unsuccessful gang. They try and rob wealthy but tricky Billy Gordon - who distrusts banks and fears the Inland Revenue - but he sees Fingers and the boys off. So they decide to kidnap his daughter, only to end up with his wife Lucy. Gordon makes out he couldn't be more pleased, spurring Lucy to take charge of the hopeless bunch of villains.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Plot Keywords: comedy, crime, british film, black and white, 1950s, heist, farce ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Volpone, an elderly Venetian, connives with his money-crazed servant to convince his greedy friends that he is dying, knowing that each will try to curry favor with him in order to be named his heir. He is inundated with valuable gifts, and soon finds himself entangled deeper and deeper in a web of lies.—frankfob2@yahoo.com
Plot Keywords: comedy, satire, classic, black and white, adaptation, theatrical, greed ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Inspired by a performance of his favorite play, "Volpone," twentieth century millionaire Cecil Fox (Sir Rex Harrison) devises an intricate plan to trick three of his former mistresses into believing he is dying. Although the women are wealthy in their own right, all have good reason to covet his fortune. To assist him in his scheme, Fox hires William McFly (Cliff Robertson), a gigolo and sometime actor, to act as his secretary/servant. Fox is soon visited at his "deathbed" by the three former mistresses: Merle McGill (Edie Adams), a fading Hollywood sex symbol; Princess Dominique (Capucine), who once took a cruise on Fox's yacht; and Mrs. Lone Star Crockett Sheridan (Susan Hayward), a Texas hypochondriac who travels with an enigmatic nurse/companion (Dame Maggie Smith). As Fox and McFly act out the charade, things take an unexpected turn from comical farce to full-blown murder mystery.—alfiehitchie
Plot Keywords: comedy, crime, mystery, drama, dark comedy, adaptation, classic ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Mary Herries is a rich woman with a habit of contributing to those less fortunate than her. On her way home from a concert on Christmas Eve she discovers a poor, would-be artist outside her estate. Mary takes pity on this artist, Henry Abbott, and gives him some food and money. After taking him in, she finds herself somewhat attracted to this artist; he is handsome, and quite knowledgeable of fine art, especially the paintings in Mary's extensive collection. However, when she discovers that Henry has both a wife and a small child that he is struggling to support, she gives him some money and hand-me downs, and sends him on his way. A few days later he shows up with some of his own paintings (which are absolutely awful) as well as some items he stole from Mary's house on Christmas Eve. Henry demands a large amount of money for his paintings, which Mary eventually pays. She then discovers that Henry has left his wife and baby outside, in the rain. His wife collapses and Mary, out of pity, lets Henry and his family stay with her until his wife is well. Soon, Mary's servants have all quit, tired of dealing with Henry and his family, who are unreasonable and greedy. Once the servants are gone, Henry's extended family arrives, and Mary discovers to her horror that Henry's "family" is actually a gang of art thieves, planning to imprison her in her own house to gain control of her art collection.—Jonathan Broxton <j.w.broxton@sheffield.ac.uk>
Plot Keywords: drama, thriller, crime, mystery, film noir, psychological thriller, classic ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Sally Morton and Geoffrey Carroll, the latter a struggling artist, get married following the passing of Geoffrey's invalid first wife. Despite quickly falling in love with him, Sally never thought she would marry him when she discovered that he was already married - regardless of his vow to get a divorce - the first Mrs. Carroll's passing which changed the situation. The period of the first Mrs. Carroll's illness arguably resulted in Geoffrey's greatest works, including a portrait of her as the Angel of Death. While Sally brings a house in small town Ashton and a rough-around-the-edges housekeeper named Christine, Geoffrey brings a preteen daughter Bea into the marriage, Bea who openly welcomes Sally into the Carroll family. Their happiness begins to change when Cecily Latham commissions Geoffrey to paint her portrait, Cecily and her mother introduced to the Carrolls by London lawyer, Charles Pennington, Sally's former fiancé, who, while still in love with her, is happy that she is happy in her married life. Their meeting was not solely for the purpose of the commission as Cecily had fallen in love with Geoffrey in previously having seen him in town, he who eventually falls in love with her. In his insanity, Geoffrey starts to plot for Sally to befall the same "true" fate of the first Mrs. Carroll in both wanting to be with another woman and setting up a situation for his artistic genius to come to light.—Huggo
Plot Keywords: film noir, psychological thriller, crime, mystery, romance, drama, murder ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Nancy Drew and Ted Nickerson solve a kidnapping case of a wealthy elderly lady. Ted has to disguise himself as a nurse while Nancy beomse a "widow" in order to locate the lady they are rescuing.—SM <smortens@ix.netcom.com>
Plot Keywords: detective, mystery, crime, adaptation, classic, black and white, 1930s ...
Movie Details Click Here !