The Honeymoon Killers (movie 1970) review: Leonard Kastle’s crime tale rivals better-known fare partly thanks to Shirley Stoler and Tony Lo Bianco’s charismatic performances.
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Rain (movie 1932) review: South Seas sex worker Joan Crawford proves herself a fine dramatic actress and destroyer of pious missionaries in this vastly underrated drama.
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The Damned Don’t Cry (movie 1950) review: Based on the Bugsy Siegel and Virginia Hill affair, Vincent Sherman’ skillful crime drama is Joan Crawford’s second best Warners vehicle.
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Way Out West (movie 1930) review: Starring gay MGM contract actor William Haines, this Pre-Code comedy Western features gay innuendoes just about everywhere you look.
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Shadows (movie 1922) review: In Tom Forman’s Victorian but engrossing melodrama , Lon Chaney brings dignity to his Chinese victim and savior stranded in racist England.
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The Kid (movie 1921) review: Charles Chaplin’s homage to unconventional families mixed with social commentary, this feature remains just as touching 9 decades after its release.
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The Great Gabbo (movie 1929) review: Silent era veterans Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson deliver quality performances in James Cruze’s engrossing psychological drama.
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The Penalty (movie 1920) review: Man of a Thousand Faces Lon Chaney delivers another phenomenally creepy portrayal in Wallace Worsley’s top-notch revenge thriller.
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Sparrows (movie 1926) review: Silent era icon Mary Pickford meets Jesus while fighting the evils of child trafficking in William Beaudine’s memorable sentimental melodrama.
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The Naked Kiss (movie 1964) review: Samuel Fuller crime drama is an underrated gem that teaches audiences a couple of valuable lessons re: good citizenship and telephones.
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Forgetting Sarah Marshall (movie 2008) review: One man’s chaotic romantic heartbreak is great comedy fodder in Nicholas Stoller”s comedy. Jason Segel and Kristen Bell star.
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Night of the Quarter Moon (movie 1959) review: Featuring an unusual cast, Hugo Haas’ anti-bigotry melodrama succeeds as a tabloid version of more serious-minded ‘race dramas.’
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Screaming Mimi (movie 1958) review: When describing this Anita Ekberg cult noir, the word ‘lurid’ would be quite an understatement. Philip Carey and Gypsy Rose Lee costar.
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Downstairs (movie 1932) review: Former silent era icon John Gilbert is flawless in Monta Bell’s racy pre-Code social drama. Paul Lukas and Virginia Bruce costar.
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Lady in a Cage (movie 1964) review: Olivia de Havilland delivers a tour de force in Walter Grauman’s horror cult classic with a side of scathing social commentary. James Caan costars.
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Blonde Venus (movie 1932) review: Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich Pre-Code melodrama is their best joint effort and the acme of their respective careers. Cary Grant costars.
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The Godless Girl (movie 1928) review: Cecil B. DeMille directed a thoughtful theological drama that will convert the most hardened of cynics. Lina Basquette and Tom Keene star.
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Berserk (movie 1967) review: Joan Crawford shows that she could still command the action, seduce hunks half her age and look fabulous while parading around in fishnet leggings.
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Applause (movie 1929) review: Early Rouben Mamoulian musical shows what the newfangled talking pictures could achieve. Legendary torch singer Helen Morgan stars.
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The Volga Boatman (movie 1926) review: Cecil B. DeMille’s Russian Revolution epic lets viewers decide on whose – cruel, despicable – side they’re on. Piercing-eyed William Boyd stars.
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Stella Maris (movie 1918) review: Had the Oscars been around a decade earlier, Mary Pickford would’ve been a winner for her dual performance in this Marshall Neilan melodrama.
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Rififi (movie 1955) review: American political refugee Jules Dassin’s heist thriller remains one of the greatest films noirs made away from Hollywood. Jean Servais an Carl Möhner star.
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Woyzeck (movie 1979) review: Werner Herzog’s ‘minor’ period psychological drama is superior to most acclaimed Hollywood fare. Klaus Kinski and Eva Mattes star.
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9 (mostly) hard-to-find movies worth digging include titles starring Jean Harlow, Douglas Fairbanks and Clint Eastwood precursor William S. Hart.
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Il Grido (movie 1957) review: Michelangelo Antonioni’s acclaimed neorealist drama stars an outstanding Steve Cochran. Also in the cast: Alida Valli and Betsy Blair.
Mr. Wu (movie 1927) review: The genius of Lon Chaney and the best production values that MGM could buy make William Nigh’s ‘exotic’ movie adaptation a must-see.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (movie 1925) review: MGM star Ramon Novarro delivers a charismatic performance in Fred Niblo’s still impressive silent era mega-blockbuster.
Sing and Like It (movie 1934) review: A capable ensemble of below-the-title names is put to good use in this Damon Runyon-esque B comedy. ZaSu Pitts and Pert Kelton star.
The Passion of Joan of Arc (movie 1928) review: Carl Theodor Dreyer’s masterwork will leave viewers as anguished as its magnificent French martyr. Maria Falconetti stars.
The Idiots (movie 1998) review: Controversial due to its central premise and explicit orgy sequence, Lars von Trier’s effort is indeed disturbing but for some very different reasons.
Sisters of the Gion (movie 1936) review: Set (and filmed) in pre-World War II Japan, Kenji Mizoguchi’s female-centered melodrama weaves a fine ‘feminist’ tale. Isuzu Yamada stars.
The Single Standard (movie 1929) review: A sexually liberated Greta Garbo is great in the thoroughly enjoyable silent melodrama. Nils Asther and Johnny Mack Brown costar.