Made during the Production Code era, the amusing 1936 Mae West comedy Go West Young Man features a few surprisingly risqué situations.
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In the memorable Sparrows, silent era icon Mary Pickford meets Jesus while fighting the evils of child trafficking. They don’t make them like they used to.
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Gimmick master William Castle’s Psycho-ish 1964 horror cult classic Strait-Jacket works as a larger-than-life Joan Crawford showcase.
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Samuel Fuller’s B crime drama The Naked Kiss is an underrated gem that teaches audiences a couple of valuable lessons re: Good Citizens and phones.
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The nonsensical 1933 musical Hello, Everybody! provided stout radio and stage singer Kate Smith with a rare big-screen role. Randolph Scott costars.
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Featuring an unusual cast, the anti-bigotry melodrama Night of the Quarter Moon succeeds as a tabloid version of more serious-minded ‘race dramas.’
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‘Lurid’ is an understatement when describing Screaming Mimi, Anita Ekberg’s 1958 foray into the realm of American B noir. Philip Carey and Gypsy Rose Lee costar.
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Outlandish situations can be found everywhere in The Story of Esther Costello, starring a stylish Joan Crawford. Rossano Brazzi costars.
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Silent era icon John Gilbert is flawless in the pre-Coder Downstairs, which is evidence that they don’t make racy social dramas like they used to. Paul Lukas costars.
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Hollywood Horror House / Savage Intruder proves that Miriam Hopkins’ star charisma remained undiminished after more than four decades in the business.
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Veteran Olivia de Havilland delivers a tour de force in the horror cult classic Lady in a Cage, which offers a side of scathing social commentary. James Caan costars.
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The Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich Pre-Code melodrama Blonde Venus is their best joint effort and the high point of their respective careers.
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Made with schlocker fanatics in mind, the 1966 psychobabbling thriller Picture Mommy Dead is notable for its cast (Don Ameche, Zsa Zsa Gabor, etc.).
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The tale of a transgender woman out to castrate our male-dominated planet, Myra Breckinridge is an all-out mess. Raquel Welch and Mae West star.
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Cecil B. DeMille’s The Godless Girl is a thoughtful theological drama that will convert even the most hardened of cynics. Lina Basquette stars.
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Who Killed Teddy Bear? movie review: Exuding charisma and sensuality, Sal Mineo is the best thing about Joseph Cates’ uneven yet intriguingly perverse psychological drama.
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Rouben Mamoulian’s early musical Applause showed what the newfangled talking pictures could achieve. Legendary torch singer Helen Morgan stars.
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Cecil B. DeMille’s Russian Revolution epic The Volga Boatman lets viewers decide on whose – cruel, despicable – side they’re on. Piercing-eyed William Boyd stars.
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Had the Oscars been around a decade earlier, silent era superstar Mary Pickford would’ve been an early winner for her dual performance in Stella Maris.
A capable ensemble of below-the-title names is put to good use in the Damon Runyon-esque B comedy Sing and Like It. ZaSu Pitts, Pert Kelton and Edward Everett Horton star.
Carl Theodor Dreyer’s masterwork The Passion of Joan of Arc will leave viewers as anguished as its magnificent martyr. Maria Falconetti stars.
Africa-set operetta Golden Dawn has something to offend, amuse and/or bore everyone. Sweating his black makeup away, Noah Beery is standout.
A Fool There Was (1915) movie review: Starring Theda Bara, Frank Powell’s creaky early silent also happens to be a cinematic landmark thanks to its portrayal of the power of female sexuality.
Joan Crawford shows in Berserk that she could still command the action, seduce hunks half her age and look fabulous while parading around in fishnet leggings.
A sexually liberated Greta Garbo is great in the thoroughly enjoyable silent melodrama The Single Standard. Nils Asther and Johnny Mack Brown costar.