Gone with the wind 1939 - One of the greatest achievements in film history

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 8,2

Director: Victor Fleming (George Cukor)
Main Cast: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford

"As epic as the 1,000-plus-page Margaret Mitchell bestseller on which it was based, David O. Selznick's production of Gone With the Wind (1939) went through three directors, a well-publicized search for Scarlett O'Hara, and a then-enormous four-million-dollar budget, resulting in one of the all-time highest-grossing movies. Sparing no expense on sets and costumes, Selznick aimed to produce the ultimate Technicolor blockbuster, faithfully adapting the book's Civil War era travails of Southern belle Scarlett and her roguish match, Rhett Butler. While the film is grand in scale (and length), its cast, especially relative unknown Vivien Leigh as Scarlett and MGM king Clark Gable as Rhett, made the narrative as engrossing as the spectacular recreation of the burning of Atlanta (in which old sets were torched). Premiering first in Atlanta, Gone With the Wind delivered on the promise of the hype, breaking box-office records. Earning an unprecedented 13 Oscar nominations, Gone With the Wind won eight statuettes and two special awards, taking Best Picture in Hollywood's 'miraculous' year, as well as Best Director for Victor Fleming, and Best Actress for Vivien Leigh. Best Supporting Actress Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American actor to win an Oscar.
The film grossed nearly 192 million dollars, assuring that, just as he predicted, Selznick's epitaph would be 'The Man Who Made Gone With the Wind'." - www.allmovie.com

DVD links:

Secrets 1933 - The last film of America's Sweetheart

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 7,7

Director: Frank Borzage
Main Cast: Mary Pickford, Leslie Howard, C. Aubrey Smith, Blanche Friderici, Doris Lloyd, Ned Sparks

"Silent screen legend Mary Pickford makes her final movie appearance in Secrets, adapted from the play by Rudolph Besier and Mary Edgerton. Secrets is a curious misfire, meaning that it doesn't really work as a film but has more than enough interesting things about it to make it worth watching. For one thing, it's Mary Pickford's last film and one of the few talkies that the vibrant silent star made. Pickford never really made the transition from silent to sound, although a number of her talking pictures were popular. She was capable of being a fine talkie actress; the talent was clearly there, but she needed to put a great deal of effort into re-learning how to act in front of a camera with a microphone, and she apparently didn't want to do so. As a result, some of her scenes come across as stilted or disjointed; others, however, are magical and demonstrate what could have been. Indeed, her scene following the death of her child is pure gold. Leslie Howard was more at ease with dialogue, and his performance is a big help to Secrets, but there's also a problem here: Howard is very convincing as the lover, not quite as convincing as a rough Western hero type. Frank Borzage works some magic of his own in his direction; despite some credibility problems in the script, Borzage directs as if he believes in every wild moment, every truth-stretching bit turn of events." - www.allmovie.com

Download links:

The animal kingdom 1932 - Good mistress vs. bad wife

Ann Harding, Leslie Howard & Myrna Loy in The Animal Kingdom (1932)

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 6,6

Director: George Cukor, Edward H. Griffith
Main Cast: Ann Harding, Leslie Howard, Myrna Loy, William Gargan, Neil Hamilton, Ilka Chase

"The first film version of Philip Barry's Broadway play The Animal Kingdom stars Ann Harding, Leslie Howard and Myrna Loy. Howard plays a wealthy publisher who decides to marry the socially prominent Loy, leaving his mistress Harding in the lurch. In comically convoluted fashion, Loy behaves like a callous libertine, while Harding is the soul of love and fidelity. The frustrated Howard declares at the end that he is going back to his 'wife' - meaning, of course, the faithful Harding. Animal Kingdom was long withdrawn from public view due to the 1946 remake One More Tomorrow; a pristine 35-millimeter print was discovered in the Warner Bros. vaults in the mid-1980s.
Philip Barry as a playwright was able to find an audience in two distinct eras of American history, the carefree Roaring Twenties and the poorer socially significant Thirties. He did with a clever mixture of social commentary while writing about the privileged classes enjoying their privileges.
The Animal Kingdom had a 183 performance run on Broadway the previous year and its star Leslie Howard was a movie name already on two continents. So Howard, Bill Gargan, and Ilka Chase repeat their Broadway roles here.
Harding was an interesting leading woman - she was attractive but not beautiful and had a very low, distinctive speaking voice. She came from the Broadway stage, and her heyday in films was through the mid-thirties, though she worked consistently in films and television until the mid-60s. As was the case back then, at 31 years of age, her time as a leading lady was drawing to a close, and soon would be turned over to people like the younger Loy. Her performance in The Animal Kingdom is a very honest one. Loy is absolutely ravishing as she essays the part of the glamorous wife beautifully, reminiscent of Gene Tierney later on with the ultra-feminine facade hiding the steel underneath. Howard is handsome and thoughtful in the lead, and one can see it slowly occurring to him that he made a mistake."

Download links:

A free soul 1931 - Lionel Barrymore gives an Oscar winning acting lesson

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021885/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,7

Director: Clarence Brown
Main Cast: Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore, James Gleason, Clark Gable

"In its day, A Free Soul was powerful stuff, and if the passing of time has diluted its impact, it still carries enough of a punch to make it worth catching today. An example of the kind of adult issues that pre-Code films often explored, Soul is daring for its portrayal of a single woman embroiled in what is clearly a sexual affair with a man; unfortunately, it dresses up this interesting situation in a melodramatic screenplay that never seems to know when to stop. This keeps Soul from being great drama - but it doesn't keep it from being quite entertaining. Clarence Brown provides highly appropriate direction; he embraces (and believes in) the melodrama without letting it get too far out of hand. Brown is blessed with a stellar cast, especially Norma Shearer. The actress is in excellent form and gives a very well modulated performance that allows her to pull out all the stops when appropriate, but also to underplay notably in several key moments. Lionel Barrymore's Oscar-winning performance is slightly more uneven - it's a bit mannered early on and always seems to be channeling Frank Morgan - but it's sensational in the climactic sequences, when it really matters. Clark Gable is a marvelous heel, and Leslie Howard appropriately noble and self-sacrificing. Despite its not inconsiderable flaws, A Free Soul makes for entertaining viewing." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/a-free-soul-v18556/

DVD links:

Intermezzo 1939 - Ingrid Bergman's impressive American debut

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031491/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB rating: 6,8

Director: Gregory Ratoff
Main Cast: Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, Edna Best, John Holliday, Cecil Kellaway, Ann Todd

"The film that introduced Ingrid Bergman to an adoring American public, Intermezzo is pure, old-fashioned melodrama. Were it to be attempted today, the result would be pure schmaltz, but Intermezzo succeeds because its creators seem to believe in its story, and therefore make the audience care about it too. They also know that this kind of story works best if the viewer doesn't have time to think too carefully as he or she is watching it, and so they keep it to an incredibly brief 70 minutes. Director Gregory Ratoff keeps the pacing swift and turns in some of his best work here. He is helped immeasurably, of course, by Bergman. Radiant, exuberant, and totally mesmerizing, Bergman combines stunning beauty and dramatic intelligence with an intuitive sense of 'movie star' acting, to give a performance that is a pleasure to watch. She practically glows in every scene, her joy in simply appearing onscreen coming through in every frame. Leslie Howard has a hard time keeping up with her, and on the whole, his performance is rather perfunctory; however, there is a chemistry between the two stars and that makes up for his otherwise bland portrayal. Bergman's career stalled somewhat after Intermezzo, with several films that didn't capitalize on her unique talents, but it was jump-started again in 1942 with Casablanca." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/intermezzo-v25072/

Download links:

Pygmalion 1938 - A perfect adaptation with a perfect cast

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030637/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 8,0

Director: Anthony Asquith, Leslie Howard
Main Cast: Leslie Howard, Wendy Hiller, Wilfrid Lawson, Marie Lohr, David Tree

"Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller star in Anthony Asquith's and Leslie Howard's classic version of George Bernard Shaw's satiric comedy.  Pygmalion was first filmed in Great Britain in 1938 and became an instant classic. Featuring well-pitched performances from Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller in the lead roles, this Anthony Asquith film has the exquisite timing and tenor of a sophisticated comedy of manners. Barely concealed beneath the story is a devastating satire of British class pretensions. This material was adapted as the musical My Fair Lady in the 1950s and the film of the same name in 1964. It also inspired numerous imitatations, such as Educating Rita." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/pygmalion-v39749/

DVD links:

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:

Romeo and Juliet 1936 - Stars who could overcome their ages

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028203/?ref_=nv_sr_4
IMDB rating: 6,8

Director: George Cukor
Main Cast: Leslie Howard, Norma Shearer, John Barrymore, Edna May Oliver, Basil Rathbone, C. Aubrey Smith

"William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the classic story of two doomed lovers from rival clans, was a favorite subject of filmmakers throughout the 20th century, with more than a dozen different feature versions. One of the best was MGM's big-budget, glossy production of 1936, overseen by George Cukor, one of Hollywood's most respected directors. It was a pet project of producer Irving Thalberg, who cast his wife, Norma Shearer, as Juliet. Shearer, then 32, was too old for the part, as was 43-year-old Leslie Howard as Romeo (just two years later, he would play a crusty middle-aged professor in Pygmalion). Fredric March, Robert Donat, and Robert Montgomery reportedly all turned down the starring role before it was offered to Howard. But Howard and Shearer used mesmerizing acting to try to overcome the age problem, and Shearer was nominated for an Oscar, as was Basil Rathbone as Tybalt. John Barrymore also steals scenes with a riveting performance as Mercutio. Romeo and Juliet was also nominated for an Oscar as Best Picture, losing to The Great Ziegfeld." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/romeo-and-juliet-v42026/

DVD links:

Of human bondage 1934 - A tragic tale of love and rejection

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025586/?ref_=nv_sr_1
IMDB ratings: 7,3

Director: John Cromwell
Main Cast: Bette Davis, Leslie Howard, Frances Dee, Reginald Denny

"Based upon the W. Somerset Maugham's novel of the same name, this is one of the most acclaimed dramas of its period, the RKO-produced film put Bette Davis on the map and also added to Leslie Howard's formidable reputation. When Warner Bros. made its version of the story in 1946, however, the studio is reputed to have ordered the destruction of the original master elements of the RKO version; ironically, neither that remake, nor a later 1964 version came up to the standard achieved by the director or cast in the original, dramatically or cinematically.
As to this version, it flows better dramatically than just about any dramatic film of its era, the director moving us effortlessly into the tormented psyche of Leslie Howard's Philip Carey, a sensitive and highly cerebral medical student who is all-but-destroyed by his obsession with the slutty waitress Mildred (Bette Davis) - the camera conducts us through what amount to internal visual dialogues within Carey, without ever breaking the forward momentum of the plot or the rhythm and intensity of the performances; it does drag a bit in the middle, but overall Cromwell's use of close-ups, dissolves, montage, and sound edits was about as good as movies got in 1934, and it all holds up remarkably well 60 years later - certainly better than either of the later versions. By contrast, Davis' performance now seems mostly rooted in her mannerisms and Cockney accent, though she does undergo a hideous physical transformation in the course of the story, and when viewed in the context of the movie and the era, definitely represented a minor milestone in her career.
The industry buzz in 1934 indicated that Bette Davis was a shoe-in for an Academy Award for her savage portrayal of Mildred, but her home studio Warner Bros. failed to mount an adequate publicity campaign on Davis' behalf, allegedly because she'd made the film on loan-out to RKO and Warners wasn't about to heap praise upon a rival. It is now generally conceded that Davis' Oscar win for 1935's Dangerous was consolation for her losing the statuette in 1934." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/of-human-bondage-v35970

Download links:

The Scarlet Pimpernel 1934 - Who was he? What was his strange power?

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025748/
IMDB rating: 7,6

Director: Harold Young
Main Cast: Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon, Raymond Massey, Nigel Bruce

"This film from director Harold Young is the second big-screen adaptation of Baroness Emmuska Orczy's 1905 novel The Scarlet Pimpernel and is among the screen's most enduring and frequently filmed action/adventure stories, but it is the 1934 version with Leslie Howard in the title role that stands out for most fully re-creating the setting of the French Revolution. Were it not for his role as Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind this would likely be the performance for which Howard is best remembered. He dominates the film, though not so much that there is not space for several of the supporting actors to shine, most notably Merle Oberon and Raymond Massey. Most of the credit for the film should be given to British producer Alexander Korda, who produced low-budget films with a look and feel that approached the best Hollywood efforts of the 1930s. Of particular note is the cinematography of Harold Rosson and the fast-paced editing of William Hornbeck." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-scarlet-pimpernel-v43093

Download links:

Berkeley Square 1933 - One of the first time-travel fantasies ever made

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023794/
IMDB rating: 6,7

Director: Frank Lloyd
Main Cast: Leslie Howard, Heather Angel

"Adapted from John Balderston's successful stage fantasy (itself based on a story by Henry James), Berkeley Square is the story of a modern-day London scientist (Leslie Howard), who is romantically fascinated by the 18th century. A freak accident propels Howard back to 1784, where he assumes the identity of one of his own ancestors. Howard falls in love with his distant cousin Helen (Heather Angel), while his other relatives regard the time-traveller as a 'sorcerer' due to his disturbing knowledge of future events. Gradually, Howard is disillusioned by the squalor and bigotry of the 18th century. He bids farewell to Helen, explaining that he will actually be born years after her death but that they will be reunited 'in God's time'. Returning to the present, Howard discovers that Helen died young without ever marrying. He renounces his own fiancee and determines to live out his life as a bachelor, to be united with his true love in death.
Long considered a lost film, Berkeley Square was rediscovered in the mid 1970s. The film had already been remade in 1951 as the Tyrone Power vehicle I'll Never Forget You." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/berkeley-square-v84811

Download links:

(DVDrip, 700 MB):

http://www.filefactory.com/file/xw6xyj37cw5/

Smilin' through 1932 - A first class romance

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023488/
IMDB rating: 7,0

Director: Sidney Franklin
Main Cast: Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard

"Director Sidney Franklin originally adapted Jane Murfin and Jane Cowl's play Smilin' Through for the silver screen in a 1922 silent film starring Norma Talmadge and (the other) Harrison Ford. Remaking his own film, Franklin directed Norma Shearer in this 1932 talkie. With its message that true love redeems all and that nothing must be allowed to stand in the way of true love, Smilin' is clearly not interested in educating the intellect but in milking the emotions, and it does this beautifully. Yet at the same time, the films avoids being a shameless 'weepie'. Great credit for this is due Sidney Franklin's excellent direction. He clearly is committed to the material and allows the emotions to billow forth freely when appropriate; yet he also knows when to pull the reins in contrast and to create greater impact. Under lesser hands, the far-fetched story might seem ridiculous; in his, it feels just right, even as the viewer knows it's totally artificial. Sidney is also blessed with a superb cast, with a luminous Norma Shearer turning in one of her finest performances and a wonderful Fredric March demonstrating why he was one of the screen's finest actors in the 1930s and 1940s. Leslie Howard is hampered somewhat by some unconvincing 'age' make-up, but overall is quite effective.
Smilin' Through was once again adapted in a 1941 version directed by Frank Borzage and starring Jeanette MacDonald." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/smilin-through-v81978

DVD links: