Highest-Rated Movies about 'Dire Straits'

The More the Merrier (1943), The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), This Gun for Hire (1942), Man Hunt (1941), My Favorite Blonde (1942), I Wake Up Screaming (1941), The Lodger (1944), The Dark Corner (1946) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Dire Straits movies.

#1. The More the Merrier (1943)

Storyline: It's World War II and there is a severe housing shortage everywhere - especially in Washington, D.C. where Connie Milligan rents an apartment. Believing it to be her patriotic duty, Connie offers to sublet half of her apartment, fully expecting a suitable female tenent. What she gets instead is mischievous, middle-aged Benjamin Dingle. Dingle talks her into subletting to him and then promptly sublets half of his half to young, irreverent Joe Carter - creating a situation tailor-made for comedy and romance.—A.L.Beneteau <albl@inforamp.net>

Plot Keywords: patriotism, apartment, washington d.c., camera shot of feet, female stockinged feet, stockings, taxi driver ...

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#3. This Gun for Hire (1942)

Storyline: Hit man Philip Raven, who's kind to children and cats, kills a blackmailer and is paid off by traitor Willard Gates in "hot" money. Meanwhile, pert entertainer Ellen Graham, girlfriend of police Lieut. Crane (who's after Raven) is enlisted by a Senate committee to help investigate Gates. Raven, seeking Gates for revenge, meets Ellen on the train; their relationship gradually evolves from that of killer and potential victim to an uneasy alliance against a common enemy.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: hitman, magic trick, clothing store, child abuse, captive, blackmail, propaganda ...

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#5. My Favorite Blonde (1942)

Storyline: Larry Haines, a mediocre vaudeville entertainer, boards a train bound for Los Angeles. Is Hollywood waiting for him with open arms? Not really as the one he signed a contract for is Percy, his roller-skating penguin partner! But, as the proverb says, the shadow of glory is better than no glory at all! Anyway, doesn't Larry meet a woman on the train? And a blonde one! And a British agent into the bargain! The delicious creature who is carrying a coded message hidden in a brooch and is being pursued by Nazi agents. She will need Larry (and Percy)'s help to elude her pursuers and to get the secret information to destination. The mission will be accomplished, although in an eventful and hilarious way...—Guy Bellinger

Plot Keywords: humiliation, watermelon, truck driver, theater, taxi driver, show business, ship ...

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#6. I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

Storyline: Promoter Frankie Christopher, being grilled by police in the murder of model Vicky Lynn, recalls in flashback: First meeting her as a waitress, Frankie decides to parlay her beauty into social acceptance and a lucrative career. He succeeds only too well: she's on the eve of deserting him for Hollywood...when someone kills her. Now Frankie gets the feeling that Inspector Ed Cornell is determined to pin the killing on him and only him. He's right. And the only one he can turn to for help is Jill, the victim's sister, who's been cool toward him...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: waitress, based on novel, investigation, murder suspect, sister sister relationship, murder, frame up ...

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#7. The Lodger (1944)

Storyline: In late Victorian London, Jack the Ripper has been killing and maiming actresses in the night. The Burtons are forced to take in a lodger due to financial hardship. He seems like a nice young man, but Mrs. Burton suspects him of being the ripper because of some mysterious and suspicious habits, and fears for her beautiful actress niece who lives with them.—John Oswalt <jao@jao.com>

Plot Keywords: lodger, suspicion, manhunt, suicide, fog, music hall, throat slitting ...

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#8. The Dark Corner (1946)

Storyline: Private investigator Bradford Galt has moved to New York from San Fransisco after serving a jail term on account of his lawyer partner Tony Jardine. When he finds someone is tailing - and possibly trying to kill him, Galt believes Jardine is behind it. As he finds there is rather more to it, he is increasingly glad to have his attractive new secretary Kathleen around, for several reason.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Plot Keywords: actor shares first name with character, white suit, taxi driver, taxi, loyalty, cigarette smoking, nightclub ...

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#9. Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Storyline: Chronic gambler and carouser "Little" Joe Jackson is shot by Domino Johnson at Jim Henry's gambling club over an outstanding gambling debt. Little Joe's wife, the God-fearing Petunia Jackson, prays not only for her husband's mortal life, but also his eternal soul as she's afraid that if he dies now, he, despite not being an evil man, won't make it into heaven. As Little Joe is close to death, he is visited by agents of both the Lord and of Lucifer. They make a deal with him: they will give him six months to atone for the errors of his human life. Once back on Earth, he won't remember the deal but both the Lord and Lucifer will be watching over him, trying to get him to see things their way. As both sides try to get Little Joe's soul, they figure that some of the most powerful tools they have at their disposal are the women in Little Joe's life: Petunia on behalf of the Lord, and Georgia Brown, a gold-digging floozy, on behalf of Lucifer. As hard as both the Lord and Lucifer try to get Little Joe on their side, they don't factor into the equation human judgment, which turns some of their work against them.—Huggo

Plot Keywords: slit skirt, hell, shooting, prayer, church, singer, gambling debt ...

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#10. Battling Butler (1926)

Storyline: Alfred's father wants him to make of a man of himself so sends him off on a hunting and fishing trip. He doesn't catch or shoot anything, but he does fall in love with a mountain girl. When her father and brothers laugh at this they are informed that he is Alfred "Battling" Butler, the championship fighter. From there on the masquerade must be maintained.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Keywords: boxing, cigarette smoking, dire straits, farce, hotel desk clerk, deception, jealousy ...

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#11. Desperate Journey (1942)

Storyline: When Flight Lt Forbes and his crew are shot down after bombing their target, they discover valuable information, about a hidden German aircraft factory, that must get back to England. In their way across Germany, they try and cause as much damage as possible. Then with the chasing Germans about to pounce, they come up with an ingenious plan to escape.—mike.wilson6@btinternet.com

Plot Keywords: nazi, orchestral music score, air raid, train, secret plan, resistance, pigeon ...

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#12. The Black Swan (1942)

Storyline: When notorious pirate Henry Morgan is made governor of Jamaica, he enlists the help of some of his former partners in ridding the Carribean of Buccaneers. When one of them apparently abducts the previous governor's pretty daughter and joins up with the rebels, things are set for a fight.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Plot Keywords: based on novel, kidnapping, bound and gagged, female tied up, gagged, tied up, punching ...

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#13. Blues in the Night (1941)

Storyline: "Jigger' Lane forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powell, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit and to play 'blues' music. The dedication isn't paying off in money and, while riding the rails in a boxcar, they meet and befriend a gangster named Del Davis. He offers them a job at a New Jersey roadhouse, where Powell falls in love with Kay Grant, a former 'real-good friend' of Davis. But when Powell learns that 'Character' is about to have a baby, he returns to her. "Jigger" tries to make Kay the band's singer and, when this fails, runs off with her. She leaves him with nothing to show for him except a nervous breakdown.Back at the roadhouse, after his recovery, Kay shows up, has a quarrel with Davis, shoots and kills him and plans to take back up with "Jigger", who knows better but just can't help himself. While she is waiting in a car for him, along comes cripple Brad Ames, who she put in that condition, and he gets in and drives the car over a cliff, leaving no survivors in the two-passenger crash. The band is back together at the end, still using boxcars as their transportation, but happy playing the blues.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: new jersey, racketeer, racial stereotype, prisoner, police officer, missouri, liquor ...

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#14. Road to Zanzibar (1941)

Storyline: Chuck and his pal Fearless flee a South African carnival when their sideshow causes a fire. After several similar escapades, they've finally saved enough to return to the USA, when Chuck spends it all on a "lost" diamond mine. But that's only the beginning; before long, a pair of attractive con-women have tricked our heroes into financing a comic safari, featuring numerous burlesque jungle adventures...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: motor boat, scam, spear, porter, fairground, hammock, singer ...

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