They won't forget 1937 - An emotionally gripping piece of American history

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 7,4

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Main Cast: Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Edward Norris, Otto Kruger, Allyn Joslyn, Lana Turner

"This hard-hitting Warner Bros. courtroom drama begins with the usual 'Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental' disclaimer. Filmgoers with long memories, however, recognized Robert Rossen and Aben Kandel's screenplay as a blow-by-blow recreation of the Leo Frank-Mary Phagan case of 1915. Phagan, a 14-year-old employee in a Marietta, GA pencil factory, was found murdered. The bulk of the evidence pointed to a black janitor (who actually confessed to the crime years after the fact), but race-baiting Atlanta newspaper publisher Tom Watson decided to go after Leo Frank, the Northern Jew who owned the factory where Mary worked. 'We can lynch a nigger any time', the politically ambitious Watson is alleged to have said, 'but when do we get a chance to hang a Yankee Jew?' Thanks largely to Watson's 'guilt by headline' campaign, and to Fulton County's cooperative solicitor general, Frank was found guilty and sentenced to death. Georgia Governor John M. Slaton, who all along smelled something fishy in the case, commuted Frank's case to life imprisonment (and was ruined politically as a result). En route to prison, Frank was abducted by a mob and lynched, an incident that boosted the prestige of the Georgia Ku Klux Klan.
Aben Kandel dramatized this appalling miscarriage of justice in his novel Death in the Deep South, which served as the basis for They Won't Forget. In Mervyn LeRoy's film version, Lana Turner (in a star-making turn) plays Mary Clay, a teen-aged typing school student who dresses garishly and flirts with every man she meets. Mary is later found murdered; the last person to see her alive was her teacher, recently arrived Northerner Robert Hale (Edward Norris). Once more, a black janitor (played as a superstitious moron by Clinton Rosemond) is the most likely suspect, but the ambitious district attorney (Claude Rains) seems sincere in his belief that Hale is guilty. Once Hale is sentenced to death, the governor, played by Paul Everton, commutes his sentence, serene in the belief that, once his career is finished, he'll be able to retire peacefully (real-life governor Slaton did not go down so benignly).
Except for the removal of the original case's anti-Semitic elements, They Won't Forget is stark, powerhouse filmmaking, one of the best of Warners' 'social protest' films of the 1930s. 25 years would pass before Hollywood would return to Southern racism with To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962. Viewed outside its historical context, They Won't Forget succeeds as a motion picture due to the passion of its director Mervyn LeRoy, and the fine performances of Claude Rains, Edward Norris, and Lana Turner. The film's socially conscious screenwriters, Robert Rossen and Abel Kandel, were hardly rewarded for their efforts: Rossen was among the first people blacklisted in the 1950s, while Kandel spent much of that era writing low-budget horror films under a pseudonym.
It was remade as the 1987 TV movie The Murder of Mary Phagan starring Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Peter Gallagher, and Charles S. Dutton (as well as as the unsuccessful 1998 Broadway musical Parade)." - www.allmovie.com

DVD links:

King Solomon's mines 1937 - Rousing adventure in searching of the lost treasure

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029081/?ref_=fn_al_tt_6
IMDB rating: 6,5

Director: Robert Stevenson
Main Cast: Cedric Hardwicke, Roland Young, Paul Robeson, Anna Lee, John Loder

"The first of three talkie versions of H. Rider Haggard's adventure novel was produced by British Gaumont. King Solomon's Mines is a grand adventure story boasting one of Paul Robeson's finest performances. Though H. Rider Haggard would probably be surprised to find that his original story had three songs tacked onto it, he'd most likely enjoy Robeson's performance of them. Unlike many other film versions of the classic tale, this interpretation pays particular attention to the African characters. There's a subplot to go along with the main quest, and the tech credits are fine, particularly Robert Stevenson's direction and Alfred Junge's production design." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/king-solomons-mines-v27412/

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Hit the saddle 1937 - The Three Mesquiteers in an enjoyable B-western

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029004/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,0

Director: Mack V. Wright
Main Cast: Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Rita Hayworth

"Aside from the presence of Rita Hayworth (billed under her given name of Cansino), Hit the Saddle is hardly earthshaking, what with a plot told many times before - a wild stallion falsely accused of murder - and a villain, whose identity should be obvious to anyone who has ever seen a Hollywood sagebrush tale. But Republic Pictures' original Mesqueteers - Robert Livingston, Ray 'Crash' Corrigan and Max Terhune - are so engaging and the production so well assembled that a good time should be had by all." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/hit-the-saddle-v22633/

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In old Chicago 1937 - Hollywood's version of the 1871 Chicago fire

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029047/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Henry King
Main Cast: Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Alice Brady, Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, Phyllis Brooks

"In Old Chicago was 20th Century-Fox's spin on MGM's San Francisco - a personal saga played out against the backdrop of a famous 19th Century disaster. We have Tyrone Power and Brian Donlevy here as the primary antagonists who, in this case, battle to the near-death of their city. The movie benefits considerably from opulent production values and a solid supporting performance from Alice Faye as a woman who is convincingly vivacious enough to turn the heads of several key male characters; and Alice Brady adding a memorable turn as the well-intended but ill-fated Mrs. O'Leary, mother of two of the protagonists. Don Ameche also gives a rich, rounded performance as Power's straightarrow brother, and Andy Devine adds some comic grace notes while Rondo Hatton - with some lines of dialogue, no less - is hanging about in the background adding menace to the proceedings. And even several decades later, it seems as though no expense was spared on the climactic fire (a masterwork of special effects courtesy of 20th Century-Fox's Fred Sersen) or the depiction of its aftermath, which is as impressive a screen spectacle as anything seen before Gone With the Wind's burning of Atlanta." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/in-old-chicago-v96405/

DVD links:

Night must fall 1937 - Brilliantly acted, moody psychological drama

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029310/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 7,3

Director: Richard Thorpe
Main Cast: Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Dame May Whitty, Alan Marshal

"Emlyn Williams' theatrical horror piece Night Must Fall was filmed by MGM without the usual studio-imposed happy ending. Night Must Fall is a classic nail-biter that, despite the passage of time, is still enormously effective. Primary credit is due to Robert Montgomery, who sheds his 'light comedy' image with a finely crafted, carefully nuanced performance that grows more impressive with repeated viewings. That Montgomery can provide Danny with charm is no surprise; that he can do so in a manner that is simultaneously convincing to Dame May Whitty and contrived to Rosalind Russell is unexpectedly delightful. His understanding of the character's psychosis is impressive, and many of his choices - the subtle changes in Danny's gait and stance, for example - demonstrate the amount of care he put into this portrayal. Russell's part does not allow her the same range, but her work is polished. She makes the character's repulsion and attraction to Danny credible, which is crucial to the film's success, and her restlessness and discontent are pitched to exactly the right key. Whitty, of course, has a grand time; she and Montgomery are so believable that plot contrivances that might otherwise provoke grunts of disbelief are accepted without batting an eye. Credit director Richard Thorpe with guiding the cast through some difficult terrain; much of the screenplay requires finely tuned reactions and scrupulous attention to subtext to avoid seeming obvious, and Thorpe's careful handling sees that the tone of the scenes never strays into that pit." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/night-must-fall-v103947/

DVD links:

The edge of the world 1937 - Powell's breakthrough movie with stunning visuals

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028818/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
IMDB rating: 7,4

Director: Michael Powell
Main Cast: Niall MacGinnis, Belle Chrystall, John Laurie

"A key film in the career of director Michael Powell, The Edge of the World was his first original idea to be realized onscreen, and its success attracted the attention of producer Alexander Korda. Korda's bankrolling of Powell's next several films catapulted the filmmaker into the first rank of British directors. Powell was attracted to the idea of building a dramatic story around the evacuation of St. Kilda, an island north of Scotland, whose aging population could not sustain life there. Forbidden from filming on St. Kilda, Powell and his crew journeyed farther north to Foula, an island whose sheer cliffs play an important role in the story. Two young men, Robbie Manson (Eric Berry) and James Gray (Niall MacGinnis), disagree on their island's economic future. James loves Robbie's twin sister Ruth (Belle Chrystal). The rivalry between the two men and their strong-willed fathers threatens to tear apart the island community, but an unexpected pregnancy and a rescue in dangerous seas serve to unite the islanders in common purpose. Powell took full advantage of the magnificent locations to tell this simple but affecting story of survival and adaptation to changing times. This is a primeval landscape, reflected in the mythic qualities of the story: two rivals, the woman between them, the feuding parents, the community as a kind of Greek chorus (the film's soundtrack has its own chorus, with the Glasgow Orpheus Choir performing traditional songs). Though not as celebrated as some of Powell's other films (The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, I Know Where I'm Going!), The Edge of the World deserves more attention for its solid storytelling skills and splendid use of one of the most breathtaking locales ever put on film." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-edge-of-the-world-v15310

Download links:

(720 Blu-Ray, mkv, 2,65 GB):

http://d01.megashares.com/dl/VyWu6le/The.Edge.Of.The.World.1937.720p.BluRay.x264-CiNEFiLE.mkv 

The hurricane 1937 - Classic South Sea adventure with terrific special effects

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029030/?ref_=nv_sr_2
IMDB rating: 7,3

Directors: John Ford, Stuart Heisler
Main Cast: Dorothy Lamour, John Hall, Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond Massey

"Though dated and in places a bit silly, The Hurricane still gets high marks and comes out on top. Truth to tell, Hurricane would rate highly if for no other reason than because its climactic title sequence is one of the most stunning put on film. While listed as a John Ford film, this sequence was actually directed by Stuart Heisler (with the undeniable and invaluable help of special effects wizards James Basevi and R.O. Binger). Make no mistake about it: this sequence is a real humdinger. Even many decades later, it packs a real, thrilling punch. Now, things are not always so enthralling leading up to the hurricane; this is a film with definite ups and downs, and the melodramatic story is not always as engaging as you might wish. Too, the male lad, Jon Hall, though physically impressive, doesn't really convince as an island native. But the rest of the cast is solid, filled with notable players such as Thomas Mitchell, C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Astor, Raymond Massey and the eternally-saronged Dorothy Lamour. They keep your interest when the story sags here and there." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-hurricane-v23941/

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Topper 1937 - The film that set the standard for supernatural comedies

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029682/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 7,4

Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Main Cast: Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette, Arthur Lake, Hedda Hopper

"By 1937, producer Hal Roach was hoping to wean himself away from the Laurel & Hardy-Our Gang slapstick on which he had built his studio's reputation by delving into the 'screwball comedy' genre. Roach selected the racy Thorne Smith fantasy novel Topper for adaptation, and the result was one of the most endearingly funny films of the decade, inspiring controversy on its 1937 release. The gentle, whimsical comedy about friendly ghosts was scorned by some for morbidness and for indulging in the supernatural. In fact, Topper was the first feature film about ghosts that succeeded both at the box office and among critics. A husband and wife killed in a car accident return as spirits, visible only to their friend Cosmo Topper. The ghosts are prone to misbehaving but are well-intentioned and helpful. Every Hollywood ghost story that followed owed something to Topper's clever spirit and fanciful imaginings.
Though special effects abound in Topper, most of the humor derives from the embarrassed reactions of Roland Young as he tries to fend off the flirtatious advances of the ghostly Marion and the benignly strongman tactics of the spectral George. Adding to the fun are Eugene Pallette as a flustered house detective and Arthur Lake as a pratfalling bellboy. The musical score by longtime Hal Roach composer Marvin Hatley is perfectly attuned to the zany goings-on (including snatches of background music from Roach's earlier Laurel and Hardy comedies), while Hoagy Carmichael appears briefly on screen to introduce the film's signature tune, 'Old Man Moon'.
Inspired by the Thorne Smith novel The Jovial Ghosts, Topper was a hit that remained popular for more than a generation, inspiring the sequels Topper Takes a Trip and Topper Returns and a 1950s television series. Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, and Roland Young are the three stars, with Young getting an Oscar nomination." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/topper-v50462/

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Der mann, der Sherlock Holmes war (The man who was Sherlock Holmes) 1937 - A mixture of comedy and mystery

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029210/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,1

Director: Karl Hartl
Main Cast: Hans Albers, Heinz Rühmann

"The English-language title of this German musical satire is The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes. That immensely popular German star Hans Albers plays Morris Flint, a slaphappy private detective who enjoys pretending to be Holmes; likewise, Flint's assistant, Macky McPherson (Heinz Rühmann), gets a charge out of posing as Dr. Watson. During the 1936 World Exposition in Paris, 'Holmes' and 'Watson' come to the aid of two young ladies in their efforts to retrieve a valuable stamp. Morris Flint is arrested in the course of his investigation, on a charge of impersonating Sherlock Holmes (evidently a grave offense in Paris, given the solemnity of the subsequent trial). Our hero is saved at the last minute by a mysterious 'Laughing Man' who has been weaving in and out of the picture. The mystery man turns out to be Arthur Conan Doyle, who jovially gives Flint permission to continue impersonating Holmes - so long as he makes it clear that he's an impostor. Interestingly enough, The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes was filmed without any permission of any kind from the Conan Doyle estate." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/der-mann-der-sherlock-holmes-war-v13306

DVD links:

(all region)

The life of Emile Zola 1937 - One of the best Hollywood biopics

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029146/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 7,4

Director: William Dieterle
Main Cast: Paul Muni, Gale Sondergaard, Joseph Schildkraut, Gloria Holden, Donald Crisp, John Litel, Louis Calhern

The first quarter of The Life of Emile Zola is a paint-by-numbers movie biography of the famed writer, condensing his early years into a few scenes while simultaneously providing little insight into Emile Zola the individual or explaining why we should care about him in the first place. It is only later that it becomes clear why these awkward early scenes were included; they may not have been presented in the most original fashion, but they provided necessary information to understand Zola's evolution. Once the film arrives at its true purpose, Zola's role in the historic Alfred Dreyfus affair, the film comes alive dramatically if not cinematically. The story of the Dreyfus affair is inherently compelling, and this is a solid (if not entirely factual) dramatization. From the beginning, the story leaves no doubt as to Dreyfus' innocence, and does not shy away from depicting the ruling officers as more concerned with preserving their power than with serving in the interest of France. The filmmakers do, however, shy away from pointing the finger at anti-Semitism, and that is the film's biggest failing. Still, if the film is not an indictment of anti-Semitism, it is an indictment of mob mentality, as the easily manipulated nature of public opinion is ridiculed time and again. Paul Muni, acting under heavy makeup, is good as Zola, even if one never loses sight of the fact that one is watching a performance, and Joseph Schildkraut won an Oscar for playing Dreyfus. - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-life-of-emile-zola-v29244/

DVD links:

You only live once 1937 - One of Lang's best American films

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029808/?ref_=nv_sr_2
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: Fritz Lang
Main Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Barton MacLane, Jean Dixon, William Gargan

"Like his American debut Fury, Fritz Lang's second American feature traces the fate of a man struggling to clear his name after being accused of a crime he didn't commit. A powerful one-two punch, these films both feature a strong sense of social justice, and suggest that Lang was disturbed by the injustice and intolerance he found in the country he adopted after fleeing Nazi Germany. Eddie Taylor (Henry Fonda) is an ex-con truck driver, a 'three-time loser' whose next crime will send him to jail for life. He is determined to go straight, but finds resistance at every turn. His boss fires him over a minor misunderstanding, and he and his new bride Joan (Sylvia Sidney at her most heart-tugging) are kicked out of a motel on their honeymoon when the proprietor recognizes him from a true crime magazine. Things go from bad to worse when he becomes the chief suspect in an armored car robbery and finds himself back in prison again. After being convicted of the crime, he attempts a jailbreak in a fog-enshrouded scene that is one of Lang's most horrific depictions of the cruel ironies of fate. Throughout the film Lang is careful to withhold from the audience whether or not Eddie actually is guilty, but also makes it absolutely clear where his sympathies lie. Eddie is continually at the mercy not only of the mistakes in his past, but also of an uncaring justice system and a frenzied news media that can't wait to see him convicted. Folded into all of this is the desperate, doomed love he and Joan share. A perfectly constructed thriller with a strong social conscience, You Only Live Once is considered one of Lang's greatest American films." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/you-only-live-once-v55916/

DVD links:

A day at the races 1937 - The last of the great Marx Brothers classics

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028772/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 7,7

Director: Sam Wood
Main Cast: The Marx Brothers, Allan Jones, Maureen O'Sullivan, Margaret Dumont

"The follow-up to A Night at the Opera (arguably the Marx Brothers's best film), A Day at the Races falls a little short of the mark in comparison with Opera, but is still lunatic fun of a high order. The boys are in fine form here, performing difficult routines with such skill that they come across as effortless (and are all the more enjoyable therefore). Several classic routines - including 'tutsi-fruitis', in which Chico keeps conning Groucho into buying racing tip books, a riotous medical exam, and a wallpapering sequence - make the film memorable, as does the extended race finale, which manages to be both terribly funny and moderately tense. Aside from the routines, the strength of the script lies in its cohesiveness and coherence, qualities often lacking in other Marx efforts. As indicated, the brothers are their usual hilarious selves. What's surprising is how animated Margaret Dumont gets to be in this film. Although the score's big ballad is no great shakes, its two production numbers - one of which features an outrageous art deco set incorporating lily pad tables and fountains and an impressive Vivian Fay dance routine - are memorable. The other is simpler, but packs an even greater wallop: Ivie Anderson and the Crinoline Choir performing 'All God's Children Got Rhythm', a number which occasionally veers close to racial insensitivity, but which is saved by Anderson's radiant vocalizing and the gospel wails of the choir, as well as some snappy jitterbugging. Races would be the last of the Marx Brothers' classic films; while follow-ups like Room Service have some wonderful moments, they lack the sparkle found in the boys' best work. - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/a-day-at-the-races-v12602

DVD links:

Dead end 1937 - What chance have they got?

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028773/?ref_=nv_sr_2
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: William Wyler
Main Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie, Claire Trevor, Allen Jenkins, Marjorie Main

"Adapted by Lillian Hellman from Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play, Dead End concerns itself with several denizens of New York's East River district. Here the elite and the slum-dwellers rub shoulders due to the close proximity of the riverfront tenements with the East Side luxury hotels. Slum girl Drina Gordon (Sylvia Sidney) tries to prevent her younger brother Tommy (Billy Halop) from wasting his life as a member of the local street gang. Tommy and the other kids idolize Baby Face Martin (Humphrey Bogart), a onetime East- sider who has hit the 'big time' as a notorious gangster. Dodging the cops, Martin makes a sentimental journey to the neighborhood to visit his mother (Marjorie Main) and his old girlfriend Francie (Clare Trevor). But Martin's mother coldly tells him to get lost, while Francie reveals herself to be a consumptive prostitute. Despite his depressed state, Martin is still admired by the local kids; this displeases sign painter Dave Connell (Joel McCrea), who hopes to escape the slums via his romance with wealthy Kay Burton (Wendy Barrie). Attempting to kidnap a rich boy who'd earlier been beaten up by the street kids, Martin is prevented from making the snatch by Dave, who shoots Martin down. Receiving a large reward, Dave decides to give the money to Drina so that she can afford a lawyer to defend her brother Tommy, who has wrongfully been accused of masterminding the beating of the rich kid. His outlook on life altered by this unselfish act, Dave gives up his mercenary romance with Kay Burton, choosing instead the poverty-stricken Drina. The film introduces the Dead End Kids - Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Gabe Dell, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsley and Bobby Jordan - all of whom were veterans of the Broadway version of Dead End and would be metamorphosed into the East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/dead-end-v12692

Download links:

(avi, 853 MB):

http://filenuke.com/nena8hf857nc

It's love I'm after 1937 - A delightful little gem

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029058/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: Archie Mayo
Main Cast: Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Spring Byington, Bonita Granville

"Unjustly neglected, It's Love I'm After is a delightful romp that provides an excellent showcase for the often equally neglected comedic talents of its trio of stars. While Love falls just shy of true classic status - the screenplay is slightly off the mark in a few places and its dialogue occasionally lacks the effervescent sparkle that is a requirement of the genre - it's still a little gem of a picture with an abundance of laughs. Fleetly directed by Archie Mayo, Love's greatest assets are its players. Bette Davis, looking quite stunning, is the epitome of imperious haughtiness, tossing off insults and slights with wicked delight and a deliciously true aim. Leslie Howard is every bit her match, chewing up every inch of scenery that comes his way and creating a gloriously amusing portrait of the quintessential hammy actor. And Olivia de Havilland is a darling embodiment of a ridiculously moonstruck maiden. If Bonita Granville is slightly grating, she's more than compensated for by Eric Blore, and the rest of the supporting cast is solid throughout. Love is a great pick-me-up and well worth searching out." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/its-love-im-after-v96952/

DVD links:

Ninjo kami fusen (Humanity and paper balloons) 1937 - A pre-war Japanese milestone

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029314/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: Sadao Yamanaka
Main Cast: Chojuro Kawarasaki, Kan'emon Nakamura, Tsuruzo Nakamura

"Humanity and Paper Balloons (based on a Kabuki play known as Shinza the Barber), unlike most other Japanese films of this period, is a historical film with a critical edge. Refusing to glorify samurai, the film instead deflates the myth around them with a gentle humanity. The film opens directly after a penurious ronin samurai has taken his own life. At his funeral his neighbors from his slum mourn his death. Here the film introduces another ronin samurai who lives in equal poverty. Having pawned his sword for food, the samurai searches for work but to no avail. The family's only income comes from the little balloon children's toys made by the wife. Out of desperation, the samurai abets in an attempted kidnapping. After finding out, the wife kills him in his sleep and then takes her own life, closing the film's narrative circle.
Filmed in conjunction with the radical Zenshin-za theatre group, Humanity and Paper Balloons, Sadao Yamanaka's tragi-comic tribute to the poor and working classes in the 18th century during the Edo period is a treasure of world cinema. A contemporary of Ozu, Naruse, and Mizoguchi, Yamanaka made 22 films before his death in Manchuria in 1938 at the age of 29 but sadly only three have survived. Humanity and Paper Balloons is a jidaigeki or historical period film whose power lies not only in the social realist message that depicts the hardships endured by the poor but in its delineation of character, its humor, and the beautiful cinematography that captures the claustrophobic nature of the village in which the story takes place."

Download links:

(DVDrip, mkv, 409 MB, Japanese audio with English subtitle
password: TinyBearDs):

http://www.filefactory.com/file/57hks70fm32p/
http://www.filefactory.com/file/5py4obr20a9/
http://www.filefactory.com/file/547xkj58iarz/

Easy living 1937 - A mixture of two artistic manifestations: the director's and the screenwriter's

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028816/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: Mitchell Leisen
Main Cast: Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur, Ray Milland

"Adapted by Preston Sturges from a play by Vera Caspary, Easy Living's mix of slapstick humor, topical 'in' jokes ('Wallace Whistling' being a great roman-a-clef for gossip columnist Walter Winchell), social realism, and social satire, make it one of the most potent viewing experiences that one can find among 1930s comedies. Elements of its story recall works such as Mark Twain's story The Million Pound Note, as well as early '30s topical comedies such as Zoltan Korda's Cash, while other aspects call to mind such future Sturges works as Christmas in July, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and Hail the Conquering Hero. The plot and the pacing of most of the movie will leave even modern viewers breathless with laughter. The picture's frantic, screwball trajectory and velocity are compromised ever so slightly by just a couple of slow points. Director Mitchell Leisen occasionally lets the action drag in ways that Sturges, once he started directing his own scripts, never would have permitted. Sturges would have treated his script's obligatory romance between the hero and heroine with enough breezy humor to let it flow freely from one section of the satirical body of the work into another. Leisen, by contrast, has it played straight and sincere, with all of the attendant seriousness of purpose entailed therein.
Although not quite in a league with My Man Godfrey, It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby, or His Girl Friday, Easy Living is close enough to merit audiences as big as theirs, and also close enough to Sturges' own movies in content, if not approach, to demand attention from his fans as well. And certainly no movie ever portrayed the interaction of the different classes of New York City during the Great Depression in a zanier fashion." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/easy-living-v90257/

DVD links:

The prisoner of Zenda 1937 - Romance and adventure to thrill you!

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029442/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 7,8

Directors: John Cromwell, George Cukor, W. S. Van Dyke
Main Cast: Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor, David Niven, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

"One of Hollywood's most entertaining adventure stories of any era is a triumph of swashbuckling swordplay, careful direction, and reliably professional acting. Ronald Colman and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. are at their best in this David O. Selznick production of Arthur Hope's classic novel about a British commoner on holiday in Ruritania who poses as his cousin, the king, in order to thwart a plot by rebels against the monarchy. Costuming, photography, and sword-fight choreography are all top-notch under the direction of John Cromwell. Hope's story had been filmed twice before during the silent era, in 1913 and 1922, and there would be two later versions; but critics agree that this is the best rendering." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-prisoner-of-zenda-v39281/

DVD links (with the 1952 version):

Make way for tomorrow 1937 - Old people grow lonesome

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029192/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 8,1

Director: Leo McCarey
Main Cast: Victor Moore, Beulah Bondi, Fay Bainter, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara Read

"While not a box-office success, this drama, directed by Leo McCarey, developed a potent reputation among film critics and movie buffs for its sensitive and perceptive treatment of the problems of the elderly. When McCarey won the Oscar for Best Director the same year for The Awful Truth, he remarked that the Academy gave him the award for the wrong movie. Barkley and Lucy Cooper (Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi) are a couple in their late 60s who have fallen on hard times and have been given the bad news that the bank is foreclosing on their house. Barkley and Lucy turn to their five children for help, but none are willing or able to do much for them; their son George (Thomas Mitchell) says that Lucy can stay with him and his wife Anita (Fay Bainter), while Nellie (Minna Gombell) and her husband Harvey (Porter Hall) can take in Barkley, but neither couple have the space or the means to house them both. Living with their children and their new families proves stressful for everyone involved, and Lucy decides to take up residence in a home for older women. She and Barkley realize that this will probably mean a permanent separation for the two of them, and they try to enjoy one last outing together before they part. Remarkably, Beulah Bondi was only 46 years old when this film was made, making her less then ten years older than several of her on-screen children; make-up wizard Wally Westmore used his bag of tricks to age her the appropriate two decades for the role." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/make-way-for-tomorrow-v101012

DVD links:

Stella Dallas 1937 - The complexity of maternal love

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029608/
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: King Vidor
Main Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Anne Shirley, Barbara O'Neil, Alan Hale, Marjorie Main

"The height of multiple-hankie melodrama, King Vidor's Stella Dallas is also the most affecting screen adaptation of the Olive Higgins Prouty novel. The combined talents of Samuel Goldwyn, director King Vidor and star Barbara Stanwyck lift this property far above the level of mere soap opera. As the ultimate self-abnegating mother, Stanwyck endows her upwardly aspiring Stella with a potent mixture of crass fashion sense, hedonistic energy, self-aware pathos, and maternal love, while Anne Shirley's Laurel is visibly and poignantly torn between embarrassment and daughterly attachment. Stanwyck's dignity gives Stella's sacrifice to the class system the emotional punch that it requires, as she memorably stands outside a bay window in the rain, watching her refined daughter finally get what Stella always wanted for her. Critically praised for its superior performances, Stella Dallas garnered Stanwyck the first of her four Oscar nominations for Best Actress, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Shirley. Previously filmed in 1925, Stella Dallas was remade again in 1990 as the Bette Midler vehicle Stella." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/stella-dallas-v46809

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Nothing sacred 1937 - See the big fight! Lombard vs. March!

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029322/
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: William A. Wellman
Main Cast: Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Charles Winninger, Walter Connolly

"Nothing Sacred is among the best screwball comedies of the 1930s, and one of the few to have been filmed in Technicolor (avoid those two-color reissue prints), allowing modern viewers to see what New York City looked liked back in 1937. Carole Lombard and Fredric March lead a strong, versatile cast, and William Wellman's crisp direction keeps the story brisk and peppy. Screenwriter Ben Hecht gives the story an unusually sardonic edge, with fine dialogue and interesting secondary plot twists. Overall, the film plays well for current-day audiences, and the New York location gives the film a distinctive visual texture. The musical score by Oscar Levant both mocks and celebrates the George Gershwinesque musical style then in vogue. Nothing Sacred was later adapted into a Broadway musical, Hazel Flagg, which in turn was filmed by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as Living It Up (1954), with Lewis in the Carole Lombard role." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/nothing-sacred-v35733/

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