Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews, two screen legends with eleven Academy Award nominations between them, grace the screen in Blake Edwards' human comedy "That's Life!"
Lemmon frantically portrays Harvey Fairchild, a wealthy California architect, father of three successful children, husband to a beautiful wife and neurotic as hell. Confronted with his 60th birthday, Harvey is coming down with a severe case of male menopause. Gillian Fairchild (Julie Andrews), the loving, supportive wife of ranting Harvey has her own problems. She's nervously awaiting the results of her hospital tests, one of her daughters is going through a breakup and the other is seven months pregnant...and son Josh has brought home another brainless beauty. In spite of all their problems, this chaotic clan has all gathered to welcome Harvey into old age.
Directed by Blake Edwards Produced by Tony Adams, Jonathan D. Krane Written by Blake Edwards, Milton Wexler Music by Henry Mancini Cinematography, Anthony B. Richmond Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date: September 26, 1986 Running time: 102 minutes
The film was made independently by Edwards using largely his own finances and was distributed by Columbia Pictures. Although Columbia released the film, Artisan Entertainment holds the rights to distribute it on DVD.
That's Life! was shot in Edwards and his wife Andrews' own beachside home in Malibu and features their family in small roles, including two daughters. Lemmon's son Chris Lemmon plays his character's son Josh, while his wife Felicia Farr puts in a brief cameo appearance as a fortune teller.
Because of the film's independent status, many of the cast and crew were paid below union-level wages, resulting in the American Society of Cinematographers picketing the film during production and taking an advertisement in Variety in protest. As a result, the original director of photography, Harry Stradling Jr., as forced to quit the film and was subsequently replaced by Anthony.
Duet for One (1986) Julie Andrews, Alan Bates, Max Von Sydow, Rupert Everet, Liam Neeson
An acclaimed film based on an award-winning British play by Tom Kempinski about a world-famous concert violinist named Stephanie Anderson who is suddenly struck with multiple sclerosis. It is set in London and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. The story is loosely based on the life of cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who was diagnosed with MS, and her husband, conductor Daniel Barenboim.
Julie Andrews : Stephanie Anderson Alan Bates : David Cornwallis Max von Sydow : Dr. Louis Feldman Rupert Everett : Constantine Kassanis Margaret Courtenay : Sonia Randvich Cathryn Harrison : Penny Smallwood Liam Neeson : Totter Paula Figgett : Totter's Daughter
Two (2) No-region DVDs. In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown for each DVD.
La Souriante Madame Beudet (The Smiling Madame Beudet) is a short French silent film made in 1922, directed by famed surrealist director Germaine Dulac. It is considered by many to be one of the first truly "feminist" films. It tells the story of an intelligent woman trapped in a loveless marriage.
Directed by Germaine Dulac Produced by Charles Delac, Marcel Vandal Written by Denys Amiel (play), André Obey Starring Germaine Dermoz, Alexandre Arquillière Cinematography, Maurice Forster, Paul Parguel Release date: 1922 Country: France French-English inter-titles
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
Henny Porten as Anne Boleyn and Emil Jannings as King Henry VIII
The story of the ill-fated second wife of the English king Henry VIII, whose marriage to the Henry led to momentous political and religious turmoil in England.
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch Written by Norbert Falk (as Fred Orbing), Hanns Kräly Cinematography, Theodor Sparkuhl Distributed by UFA Release date: Dec 3, 1920 (Germany); Apr 17, 1921 (U.S.) Running time 118 min Country: Germany German/English inter-titles
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
The Man Who Laughs (1928) is an American silent film directed by the German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni. The film is an adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel of the same name and stars Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine and Mary Philbin as the blind Dea with Olga Baclanova, Josephine Crowell, George Siegmann.
The film is known for the grim carnival freak-like grin on the character Gwynplaine's face, which often leads it to be classified as a horror film. Film critic Roger Ebert stated, "The Man Who Laughs is a melodrama, at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in Expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film."
The Man Who Laughs is a Romantic melodrama, similar to films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). The film was one of the early Universal Pictures productions that made the transition from silent films to sound films, using the Movietone sound system introduced by William Fox. The film was completed in April 1927 but was held for release in April 1928, with sound effects and a music score that included the song, "When Love Comes Stealing," by Walter Hirsch, Lew Pollack, and Erno Rapee.
Directed by Paul Leni Produced by Paul Kohner Written by: (Novel) Victor Hugo, Screenplay: J. Grubb Alexander, Walter Anthony, Mary McLean, Charles E. Whittaker Cinematography, Gilbert Warrenton Editing by, Edward L. Cahn, Maurice Pivar Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date: New York Premiere - April 27, 1928 Running time: 110 min.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
The White Devil (1930) Directed by Alexandre Volkoff. Screenplay by Volkoff, Michel Linsky, based on Hadschi Murat by Leo Tolstoy. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Lil Dagover, Fritz Alberti, Betty Amann, Peter Lorre.
The White Devil is one of the most rousing and action-packed late-era silent films you’ve likely never seen, reuniting the internationally celebrated Russian émigré movie star Ivan Mosjoukine with émigré director Alexandre Volkoff in an UFA adaptation of Hadji Murat, Leo Tolstoy’s posthumously published account of his own experiences as a soldier during the 1851–52 Russian-Caucasian War. (The 2003 edition of To Save and Project featured Volkoff and Mosjoukine’s exhilarating serial La Maison du mystère.)
Caught in a violent struggle between Europeanized Russia and Muslim Chechnya, a valiant and chivalrous Avar warlord rebels against his ruthless leader, Imam Shamil, and then leads a populist revolt against the despotic Czar Nicolai I.
Preserved by the Deutsche Kinemathek, Volkoff’s film features stunning cinematography by Curt Courant (who would later collaborate with Hitchcock, Renoir, Pabst, Ophuls, and Carné), Reimar Kuntze (who shot Berlin: Symphony of a Great City), and Nikolai Toporkoff (who shot Abel Gance’s Napoleon), as well as an ingenious soundtrack of music and effects. Courtesy Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung.
In German; English subtitles. 105 min.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
Stars: Karel Schleichert, Ita Rina and Olaf Fjord Director: Gustav Machatý Writers: Gustav Machatý (story), Gustav Machatý (screenplay), Country: Czechoslovakia Language: Czech (silent) 85 min - Drama - 27 February 1929 (Czechoslovakia) Filming Locations: Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic English & Czech inter-titles
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
Spione (English title: Spies, under which title it was released in the United States) is a German silent espionage thriller written and directed by Fritz Lang in 1928.
Lang's wife, Thea von Harbou, worked as a co-writer. The film was Lang's penultimate silent film, and the first for his own production company; Fritz Lang-film GmbH. As in Lang's Mabuse films, such as Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Rudolf Klein-Rogge plays a master criminal aiming for world domination.
Spione was restored to its original length by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung during 2003 and 2004. No original negatives survive, but a high quality nitrate copy is held at the Národni Filmovy Archiv at Prague.
Starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Willy Fritsch, Georg John Directed by Fritz Lang Produced by Erich Pommer Written by Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou Music by Werner R. Heymann Cinematography, Fritz Arno Wagner Release date: March 22, 1928 Running time: 178 min. (16 frame/s) Country : Germany Language: Silent film German & English inter-titles
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
A trio of legendary killers-Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt) and Haroun-al-Raschid (Emil Jannings)-come to life in three highly stylized segments of director Paul Leni's silent horror omnibus. A writer's imagination runs wild while creating scenarios for a carnival's wax exhibit.
83 min. Silent with music score.
No-region DVD in DVD/CDsleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
The Beggar from the Dome of Cologne (1927) DVD a/k/a Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom
Stars: Henry Stuart, Elza Temary and Carl de Vogt Director: Rolf Randolf Writer: Emanuel Alfieri (play) Country: Germany / Language: German & English inter-titles Also Known As: Le mendiant de la cathédrale de Cologne Production Co: Internationale Film AG (IFA) Runtime: Germany: 101 min (2009 restored version)
REVIEW:
Something stinks in the city of Cologne ( a very embarrassing fact for that German city, certainly… ).
An international gang of thieves and swindlers decide to move their criminal operation to the Teutonic city of Cologne but Herr Tom Wilkens ,( Herr Henry Stuart ) one of the best agents of the international police, is not far behind and leads an investigation to unmask the criminals.
“Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom” ( The Beggar From The Dome Of Cologne ) (1927) is a very remarkable and well-done German detective silent film made by Herr the not well-known- Rolf Randolf.
The detective or police genre was fairly uncommon for the German silent cinema ( Teutonic audiences preferred more interesting metaphysical and depressing subjects for their entertainment… ) although there were important exceptions such as Herr Harry Piel who starred in a lot of detective films full of mysterious adventures during the silent ( and talking ) era. He became the quintessential Teutonic silent hero and his very popular police films appealed to those German audiences who were fond of Amerikan detective movies.
“Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom” is clearly influenced by those obscure Amerikan silent detective films both in terms of aesthetics and film narrative ( this Herr Von saw through his monocle Herr Tod Browning’s spirit in the underworld depicted in the oeuvre ) although Herr Randolf tailored these aspects to German idiosyncrasies in a very successful and remarkable way.
The film is carefully plotted ( although sometimes confusing ) and Cologne is given a mysterious and disturbing atmosphere with a sense of menace being artistically created.
“Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom” has many excellent moments depicting the gang and their activities, whether they are operating in the slums or in elegant circles. Nothing is what it seems to be and every detail enriches the tension. There are different tricks, disguises and gadgets all expertly and elaborately photographed.
The film also has a lot of irony and humour ( German, natürlich! ) some of which comes from the characters of a singular pair of private detectives, Herr Napoleon Bonaparte Schmitz ( Herr Karl Geppert ) and Herr Carolus Caesar Müller ( Herr Hermann Blass ) who will help (maybe not a lot), Herr Wilkens during his police investigations. Their presence lightens the mood.
“Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom” is full of those ingredients that a good detective silent film needs; that is to say, an unscrupulous gang, a brave detective, dangerous fräuleins and a lot of action and adventures through the city of Cologne ( But this is a German film so the rhythm is sometimes slow). This is an unjustly forgotten and very remarkable silent film that thanks to the superb restoration made by the longhaired youngsters at the “Edition Filmmuseum”( which includes a superb new orchestral soundtrack by Herr Pierre Oser, that will be released during the next months), can be enjoyed and discovered by any silent film fan around the world.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must perfume himself with an entire bottle of eau-de-Cologne.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com
No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
Asphalt (1929) is a German silent film. The film was one of the last silent films released in Germany as the world was entering the era of sound film.
In Berlin, a policeman called Holk is summoned to a jeweller's shop, where a beautiful young woman has tried to steal a diamond. En route to the police station, the woman takes Holk back to her apartment on the pretext of collecting some papers and ends up seducing him. Soon he finds himself caught between his duty and the woman he is falling in love with.
ASPHALT was one of the last films of the silent German Expressionist era - like Fritz Lang, director Joe May soon made the move to Hollywood, although failed to find the success there that Lang did. In ASPHALT, May sets a simplistic morality tale against the backdrop of modern, bustling city - there are none of the political overtones of other films of the time, but the picture remains both a technical triumph and a touching story of doomed love.
May opens the film with a bravura display of the cinematic techniques that were being pioneered at the time, capturing the industrial fury of modern Berlin. The director overlays frames of traffic as cars thunder through the city and performs some dramatic crane shots over the crowds and across the streets, all part of a massive set at the renowned UFA studios. Eventually, he comes to focus on just four characters - dedicated, hardworking cop Holk, his loving parents with whom he lives, and Elsie, the sultry would-be jewel thief who steals his heart.
In terms of events, very little actually happens in ASPHALT - in a modern picture, the entire 90 minute running time would probably just be compressed into the first act. So it's a testament to the skill of both the actors and the director that the film is quite as watchable as it is. Betty Amann, playing Elsie, is by turns cunning, sultry and fragile - her ambiguous performance is played largely with her eyes, and we are never sure if we are watching the 'real' Elsie, or just an act. Gustav Frohlich is a more straight-forward, stoic hero, but the haunted, terrified look on his face after he returns home after committing a terrible act towards the end makes for one of the film's most striking moments.
May's direction remains impressive throughout, although the more dramatic technical trickery is largely kept for the opening sequences. Nevertheless, the lighting, editing and camerawork help create an atmosphere charged with a sense of doomed inevitability, and the scenes between Amann and Frohlich carry an undeniable erotic charge. For all its innovation, ASPHALT is obviously a film of its era - the only dialogue is supplied by occasional inter-titles... Within two years, Fritz Lang's groundbreaking masterpiece M would make the likes of ASPHALT seem positively quaint by comparison, but this remains a little known but important part of cinema history. - Daniel Auty, The Spinning Image.
Directed by Joe May Produced by Erich Pommer Written by Hans Szekely Starring Gustav Fröhlich, Else Heller, Albert Steinruck, Betty Amann Cinematography Günther Rittau Distributed by Universum Film AG Release date: Germany~ March 11, 1929 Running time 93 min Country: Germany / Language: Silent film / German-English inter-titles
No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
Fritz Lang: Das wandernde Bild - The Wandering Image (1920) a/k/a The Moving Image and The Wandering Image Mia May as Irmgard Vanderheit Hans Marr as Georg Vanderheit / John Vanderheit Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Georgs Vetter Wil Brand Loni Nest as Irmgards Tochter Directed by Fritz Lang Produced by Joe May (producer) Written by Fritz Lang (writer), Thea von Harbou (writer) Cinematography, Guido Seeber Running time: 66 minutes (German restored version) German / English inter-titles Country: Germany Release Date: 26 September 1921 (Finland) Filming Locations: Königssee, Bavaria, Germany
No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
Merry-Go-Round is a 1923 movie by Erich von Stroheim and his replacement, Rupert Julian, starring Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin with Edith Yorke, Dale Fuller
A nobleman, posing as a necktie salesman, falls in love with the daughter of a circus puppeteer, even though he is already married to the daughter of his country's war minister.
Directed by Erich von Stroheim, Rupert Julian Produced by Universal Pictures Written by Harvey Gates (story), Finis Fox (scen.), Irving Thalberg (scen.), Rupert Julian (scen.), Erich von Stroheim (scen.) Cinematography Charles Kaufman Editing by James MacKay Distributed by Universal Pictures Release Date: 3 September 1923 (USA) Running time: 110 minutes
No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
RARE Jewish silent gem Nathan Der Weise / Nathan the Wise (1922) DVD
Nathan Der Weise / Nathan the Wise (1922) produced in Munich, only one copy has been found. It was found in Gosfilmofond, in Moscow, under the title "Conquest of Jerusalem."
In 1997, the Munich Film Museum obtained a copy. In 2006, following notes from the censors, the title was renamed and corrected. And tints were restored according to the conventions of the 1920s. Nathan the Wise is a German literary adaptation in six acts of Manfred Noa from the year 1922. It is currently the only cinema production of the play Nathan the Wise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing . The TV premiere of the long term as missing current silent film took place on 1 June 2010 on the station arte .
Country: Germany German & English (intertitles) Release Date: 21 September 1923 (Austria) 2 hours, 2 minutes, 51 seconds
"A film for humanity"
The 1922 silent film Nathan the Wise, by the German Jewish director Manfred Noa (1893-1930) is to date the only film of the play. It sticks closely to Lessing's plot and, in a cinematic language which still feels modern, tells a story set in Jerusalem during the third crusade when the city was besieged by crusaders. With their technically impressive film, Noa and his producer Erich Wagowski of the Munich-based company Emelka, made a significant statement within early film history in support of a more political cinema. Director and producer wanted to make a "film for humanity", a plea for the peaceful coexistence of peoples and faiths.
Friday, January 12, 2007 ‘Nathan Der Weise’ by michael fox, correspondent
Much of the appeal of silent movies — or any art from a distant era — lies in the glimpses they provide of the way people used to live and think. But more often than one might expect, 85-year-old films speak directly to our own time.
Such is the case with "Nathan Der Weise" ("Nathan the Wise"), German-Jewish director Manred Noa's 1922 adaptation of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's 1779 play. Set in and around Jerusalem at the time of the crusades, the story throws Christians, Muslims and Jews together in a melodramatic maelstrom of epic proportions.
With battle and crowd scenes that Cecil B. DeMille must have admired, and emotional displays of anarchy, enmity and revenge, "Nathan Der Weise" is packed with pomp and prejudice. In other words, most of the time it's quite a show.
Viewed through the prism of 1922 Germany, the movie is a plaintive post-World War I plea for the end of armed insanity. From a current vantage point, where the differences between West and East are framed by some as a battle between terrorism and civilization, Christianity and Islam, "Nathan Der Weise" presents religious intolerance as an opportunistic tool wielded by mistrustful and powerful men.
The actor Werner Krauss, coming off his star-making role as the maniacal lead in the German Expressionist classic "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," plays Nathan as a model of restraint and suffering. We are introduced to the bearded Jewish elder some minutes into the film as a voice of moderation, counseling nonviolence among his sons as a marauding gang approaches.
Nathan's family appears to have escaped the violence until a child, pursued by the rampaging criminals and desperate for a hiding place, approaches the synagogue. Nathan shields the boy, a just and brave response by any measure. But the mob torches the shul, and Nathan's wife and children are killed in the blaze.
By the sheerest of coincidences, Nathan subsequently is given a baby to hide by a fleeing horseman. We know from the opening scenes of "Nathan Der Weise" that this is a Christian baby from a powerful family, yet Nathan raises the girl as his own.
Later, the Sultan Saladin lays siege to and eventually defeats Jerusalem's Christians. Those soldiers who can't buy their freedom become his slaves, but the kind and good Nathan steps in and ransoms a large number. Yes, a case can be made that Nathan is the most positive Jewish figure in the history of movies, with the obvious exception of Paul Newman's character in "Exodus."
Needless to say, "Nathan Der Weise" and its portrait of a generous, pacifist Jewish hero did not jibe with the venal image of Jews that Heinrich Himmler and the Nazi Party were hawking to a hungry, embittered nation. Once in power, the Nazis banned the film and years later, in a twisted irony that may or may not have been intentional, cast Werner Krauss as a stereotypically rotten Jew in the infamous 1940 propaganda film "Jud Suss."
Fortunately, "Nathan Der Weise" is now back in circulation to partially offset the overriding perception of Jews in German cinema, namely the painful scenes recorded for Nazi newsreels and immortalized in countless Holocaust documentaries.
No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) silent film directed by Stuart Paton. The film's storyline is based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne, along with other elements used from Verne's The Mysterious Island.
This version is notable for its groundbreaking work in underwater photography by the brothers George M. Williamson and J. Ernest Williamson.
Actual underwater cameras were not used, but a system of watertight tubes and mirrors allowed the camera to shoot reflected images of underwater scenes staged in shallow sunlit waters.
The film was made by The Universal Film Manufacturing Company (now Universal Pictures), not then known as a major motion picture studio. Yet in 1916, they financed this film's innovative special effects, location photography, large sets, exotic costumes, sailing ships, and full-size navigable mock-up of the surfaced submarine Nautilus.
Hal Erickson has said that "the cost of this film was so astronomical that it could not possibly post a profit, putting the kibosh on any subsequent Verne adaptations for the next 12 years."
DVD #2
Frankenstein is a 1910 film made by Edison Studios that was written and directed by J. Searle Dawley ...
It was the first motion picture adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The unbilled cast included Augustus Phillips as Dr. Frankenstein, Charles Ogle as the Monster, and Mary Fuller as the doctor's fiancée.
Shot in three days, it was filmed at the Edison Studios in the Bronx, New York City. Although some sources credit Thomas Edison as the producer, he in fact played no direct part in the activities of the motion picture company that bore his name.
Häxan (English title: The Witches or Witchcraft Through The Ages) is a 1922 Swedish/Danish silent film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Based partly on Christensen's study of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th century German guide for inquisitors, Häxan is a study of how superstition and the misunderstanding of diseases and mental illness could lead to the hysteria of the witch-hunts.
The film was made as a documentary but contains dramatized sequences that are comparable to horror films. With Christensen's meticulous recreation of medieval scenes and the lengthy production period, the film was the most expensive Scandinavian silent film ever made, costing nearly two million Swedish krona.
Although it won acclaim in Denmark and Sweden, the film was banned in the United States and heavily censored in other countries for what were considered at that time graphic depictions of torture, nudity, and sexual perversion.
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (translated as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror; also known as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror or simply Nosferatu) is a German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok.
The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel (for instance, "vampire" became "Nosferatu" and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok").
Nosferatu was ranked twenty-first in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010.
DVD #3
Beyond the Door (1974) & Beyond the Door 2 (1977)
Beyond the Door (Italian title: Chi Sei?) is a 1974 Italian horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis (credited as Oliver Hellman) and starring Juliet Mills and Richard Johnson.
Detailing a woman possessed by a demon, Beyond The Door was labeled a rip-off of The Exorcist. Warner Bros. promptly filed a lawsuit, claiming copyright infringement. The lawsuit failed after it was determined Warner Bros. had no rights to key horror scenes depicted in The Exorcist.
The interior shots were filmed on set in Italy at the Incir De Paolis Studios in Rome, while all exteriors were shot on location in San Francisco. Film Ventures International acquired the film for distribution in the United States for $100,000.
This meant Beyond The Door paved the way for several other "Exorcist rip-offs" (many originating in Italy as well) to see successful release in the U.S and elsewhere. Some of these include Abby, The House of Exorcism, L'Anticristo (The Antichrist) and Seytan.
Budget: $350,000.00 - The film became an independent hit, earning an estimated $15 million at the U.S Box Office.
Shock (also known as Schock and Beyond the Door II) is an Italian horror film directed by Italian horror director Mario Bava in 1977. This was Bava's last film before he died of a heart attack in 1980. The film starred Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, and David Colin, Jr.
For its US release, Film Ventures International decided to rename the film Beyond the Door II, under the guise of it being a "sequel" to Ovidio G. Assonitis's 1974 film Chi sei?, renamed Beyond the Door for US release. The reason for the change was the fact that the two films starred child actor David Colin Jr., as a boy possessed.
In spite of this false re-branding of the film through its renaming, Film Ventures International was quite faithful with its English dubbing of Shock. Lamberto Bava's script was adapted quite faithfully and unlike Lisa and the Devil, did not include any reshoots or omission of footage, making it one of the few films by Mario Bavo to appear in the US intact.
Mastered from 16mm theatrical release prints with no digital enhancements. Includes original theatrical and TV trailers.
Complete/un-cut.
DVD #4
The Cat & The Canary - Silent film classic 1927 and 1978 camp-cult classic ... 1 DVD
The Cat and the Canary (1978) Carol Lynley, Honor Blackman With Michael Callan, Edward Fox. Directed by Radley Metzger.
Frank Willard's 1927 stage play The Cat and the Canary was filmed several times before this 1978 version saw the light of day. In the story, Annabelle West (Carol Lynley) is one of several potential heirs to a huge fortune. Brought to his foreboding mansion to learn who will benefit from his death, the anxious heirs must sit still for the deceased's taped recitation of his bequests. The dead man, Cyrus West (Wilfred Hyde-White), takes advantage of the occasion to scold his greedy and unpleasant relatives. He leaves behind several posthumous practical jokes which drive his points home. It's a rainy night, the mansion is full of surprises, most of the heirs are an anxious, unpleasant lot, and at least one of them is not above committing murder to have his way. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
The Cat and the Canary (1927) is an American silent horror film adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black comedy play of the same name. Directed by German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as Charles "Charlie" Wilder, and Creighton Hale as Paul Jones. The plot revolves around the death of Cyrus West, who is Annabelle, Charlie, and Paul's uncle, and the reading of his will 20 years later. Annabelle inherits her uncle's fortune, but when she and her family spend the night in his haunted mansion they are stalked by a mysterious figure. Meanwhile, a lunatic known as "the Cat" escapes from an asylum and hides in the mansion.
The Cat and the Canary is part of a genre of comedy horror films inspired by 1920s Broadway stage plays. Paul Leni's adaptation of Willard's play blended expressionism with humor, a style Leni was notable for and critics recognized as unique. Leni's style of directing made The Cat and the Canary influential in the "old dark house" genre of films popular from the 1930s through the 1950s. The film was one of Universal's early horror productions and is considered "the cornerstone of Universal's school of horror." It has been remade five times.
Original Score by Brian Pinette
DVD #5
The Dick Van Dyke Show (October 3, 1961 until June 1, 1966)
"Spooky" Episodes:
It May Look Like A Walnut (6 - Feb. 1963) The Ghost of A. Chantz (30 - Sept. 1964) Uhny Uftz (29 - Sept. 1965) Long Nights Journey Into Day (11 - May 1966)
DVD #6
Der Golem (German: Der Golem, shown in the USA as The Monster of Fate) is a 1915 silent horror film written and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen. The film is an original work inspired by ancient Jewish legend. It is a long lost film (save for a few fragments). It is the first of three Golem films by Wegener, the others being The Golem and the Dancing Girl (1917) and The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920).
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (German: Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari) is a 1920 silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the most influential of German Expressionist films and is often considered one of the greatest horror movies of the early times. This movie is cited as having introduced the twist ending in cinema. - 1 DVD
DVD #7
The Vampire Bat (1933) starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas & Dwight Frye When the villagers of Kleinschloss start dying of blood loss, the town fathers suspect a resurgence of vampirism. While police inspector Karl remains skeptical, scientist Dr. von Niemann cares for the vampire's victims one by one, and suspicion falls on simple-minded Herman Gleib because of his fondness for bats. A blood-thirsty mob hounds Gleib to his death, but the vampire attacks don't stop.
The Devil Bat (1940) black-and-white comedy-horror movie which was produced by Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) and directed by Jean Yarbrough. The film stars the well known horror actor Béla Lugosi, along with Suzanne Kaaren, Guy Usher, Yolande Mallott, and the comic team of Dave O'Brien and Donald Kerr as the protagonists.
The story involves a small town cosmetic company chemist (Lugosi) who is upset at his wealthy employers, because he feels they have denied him his due share of company success. To get revenge, he breeds giant bats. He then conditions them to kill those wearing a special after-shave lotion he has concocted. He cleverly distributes the lotion to his enemies as a "test" product. Once they have applied the lotion, the chemist then releases his Devil Bats in the night, which kill his two former partners and three members of their families. A hot shot big city reporter gets assigned by his editor to cover and help solve the murders. He (O'Brien) and his bumbling photographer (Kerr) begin to unwind the mystery with some comic sidelights. The mad chemist is, predictably, done in by his own shaving lotion, and by his own creation—the dreaded Devil Bat.
16 film gems on 7 DVDs in DVD/CD sleeves, photo labels and 4x6 glossy promo photos for each DVD. Guaranteed/replaced with same title. Paypal - Buyer/Seller Protection!
NOTE: Individual DVDs from the set are $5.99 FREE SHIP USA and Intl. = $8.99 (including shipping). Contact: damienrecords@gmail.com
The Mascot Pictures Corporation was a minor film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot's serial The King of the Kongo (1929) was the first serial to include sound, beating Universal Studios by several months. Mascot was formed in 1927 by Film producer Nat Levine. In 1935 it merged with other companies to form Republic Pictures.
Mascot was created by Nat Levine, a former personal secretary to Marcus Loew, in 1927 after the success of his independent serial The Silent Flyer (1926). In the beginning the production company operated out of the upstairs offices of a contractor's business on Santa Monica Boulevard. The company rented all of its equipment and facilities. In 1929 the studio made serial history with the production of The King of the Kongo. This was the first serial, from any production company, to be made with sound. Mascot's first All-Talking production was The Phantom of the West (1931).
Sennett Studios
It was from small Mascot Pictures, but Ladies Crave Excitement (1935) still packed "Bursting Action, Deep Drama...And Up To Date Romance" into its 73 minutes. Supervising editor Joseph H. Lewis would soon become a prolific director of B Westerns. His later film noirs, including the independently produced Gun Crazy (1949), would become renowned.
By 1933, Mascot was successful enough to rent, and later buy, Sennett Studios after the original owner, famous producer-director Mack Sennett, went bankrupt because of the Great Depression. This made the company a true film studio.
Mascot was responsible for the popularity of the concept of the "singing cowboy" and the "musical Western". In 1935, the studio produced The Phantom Empire with the then untried Gene Autry as the lead.
Republic Pictures
Mascot's film developer was Consolidated Film Corporation. In 1935, under pressure from that company's owner, Herbert Yates, Mascot merged with Consolidated Film and Monogram Pictures to form the larger Republic Pictures. Mascot became the serial and B-Western elements of the company, along with their studio. Along with other things, Monogram provided their distribution network and technical and financial elements came from Consolidated Film. Two other companies, Liberty Pictures and Majestic Pictures, rejected the offer and soon went out of business. [edit]Legacy
Several careers began at Mascot Pictures - Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, John Wayne
Young and Beautiful (1934) is a romantic comedy film about a press agent who goes to great lengths to make his actress girlfriend a star, only to risk losing her in the process.
Starring William Haines & Judith Allen Directed by Joseph Santley Produced by Nat Levine Written by Milton Crims (story) Joseph Santley (story), Dore Schary, Colbert Clark (add. dialogue), Al Martin (add. dialogue) Studio: Mascot Pictures Release date: September 17, 1934 Running time: 63 or 68 minutes
Ladies Crave Excitement (1935)
Don Phelan, the ace newsreel reporter falls in love with , Wilma Howell, the daughter of the owner of another newsreel company that is a bitter rival of the one Don Works for. The rivalry between the two companies, with cameramen nudging each other out of the way, sabotage acts by one against the other, and reporters fighting to get the 'scoop' does not bode well for the romance.
Starring Norman Foster, Evalyn Knapp, Eric Linden, Esther Ralston, Purnell Prat Directed by Nick Grinde Written by John Rathmell Release Date: 22 June 1935 Studio: Mascot Pictures Runtime: 73 min
2 Mascot Picture gems on 1 no-region DVD. In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
The Kid (1921) The Idle Class (1921) In the Park (1915) A Day's Pleasure (1919)
Harold Lloyd
Are Crooks Dishonest? (1918) Neighbours (1919) Number Please (1920) Get Out and Get Under (1920) Never Weaken (1921) Milky Way (1936) Calendar (4/16/1962)
2 no-region DVDs in DVD/CD Sleeves, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo for each DVD (as shown). Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
