Inspired by the dark short story "The Rival Dummy" by Ben Hecht, this uncanny 1928 drama stars Erich Von Stroheim (Hollywood's "The Man You Love To Hate") as the cruel egotistical ventriloquist, The Great Gabbo. Mary (Betty Compson), Gabbo's beautiful assistant, loves Gabbo and sees goodness within him, despite the torrent of abuse that he heaps upon her. Incapable of expressing any human warmth except through Otto, his wooden dummy, Gabbo drives Mary away. Gabbo's career surges upward...
An insanely, egocentric ventriloquist, even though he is possessed by his wooden dummy, is in love with a dancer who is in love with another. The dummy gives advice to the ventriloquist.
Erich Von Stroheim, the man you love to hate, stars in perhaps the first film where a wooden dummy torments a ventriloquist. And if you needed proof that they don't make 'em like they used to, this psychological thriller from 1929 is livened up by a few musical numbers! Even Otto the dummy sings a couple of tunes, including 'Icky' (The Lollipop Song). It's hard to resist a dummy who not only drives his owner crazy, but sings! The cinematography, by the way, was by Ira H. Morgan, who shot...
One of the very first spin-off sensations, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve graduated from thorn in Fibber McGee's side ("You're a HARRRRD MAN, McGee!") to his own hit radio sit-com and a series of feature films starring Harold Peary as the befuddled blowhard. As an added treat, viewers can take a gander at the Great Gildersleeve's guest-starring gig alongside an all-star radio role call in the Lucille Ball/Victor Mature romantic romp Seven Days' Leave. 2-Disc, 5-Feature Collection.
Explore the great enigma of life after death across cultures by unraveling paranormal mysteries in this thought-provoking documentary.
For millions of years our ancestors withstood droughts and ice ages to become the dominant species. Could we do it again? Archaeologist Bill Schindler and survival expert Cat Bigney set out to live as our primitive ancestors did. Following in the footsteps of early humans, they journey across the globe facing the same obstacles and limitations as our ancestors, and must evolve in order to survive.
Tony Curtis stars in the incredible but true story of the world's greatest big-time masquerader, Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Jr. in The Great Impostor. First shown as a school teacher placed under arrest by state troopers, the story recounts how the untrained, uneducated yet brilliant young man assumes the identity of a college professor, Trappist monk, prison warden and surgeon in the Canadian Navy. The unbelievable hide-and-seek story mixes suspense with humor, as Demara attempts to outwit and...
A puffing steam train climbs into the Himalayas, a rolling rumble echoes over the holy waters of the Ganges, an astonishing five million commuters rush daily through the Bombay Victoria Terminus join National Geographic as we journey on one of the world's largest railways. Since 1853, India's railway has been a unifying force. Not only did it physically link distant regions, it also connected the myriad of castes, languages, and religions that comprise India. It's a rich history, riding the...
An adventure reporter, Jack Gordon (McHale) writes for the magazine Outdoor Limits. The magazine's founder, Roland, decides to publish as web-only and assigns Jack to their headquaters in Chicago to supervise the millennials who make up their online team.
John Barrymore delivers the vote and a terrific performance in this whimsical gem, directed by Garson Kanin (Bachelor Mother). A widower with two small children (Peter Holden and Virginia Weidler), former scholar Gregory Vance (Barrymore) has given up his books for booze. Fired from his job as night watchman and with his inlaws threatening to take the youngsters away, Vance's luck finally changes when it's discovered he holds the vote that will decide a major election. Offered the position of...
Screen legend Barbara Stanwyck stars as a 109-year-old woman who recounts the story of her eventful life in The Great Man's Lady. After Hoyt City dedicates a statue to its founder Ethan Hoyt (Joel McCrea), the woman who inspired his achievement, Hanna Sampler (Stanwyck), tells their story to a young biographer. She begins with their elopement in 1848 when she was a headstrong girl of 16 and Ethan was an idealist yearning to build a city in the West. Their future was fraught with difficulties,...
Preston Sturges's Academy Award-winning screenplay provides the spark for The Great McGinity, a satirical comedy that also marked his directorial debut. Depression-era bum Dan McGinty (Brian Donlevy), intrigued by the offer of quick cash for ballot stuffing, makes himself a fortune while securing a reputation among local politicians as an adept scam man. Encouraging his talents, a crooked political boss (Akim Tamiroff) grooms McGinty from a lowly bill collector to State Governor. Taken with...
Newspaper boy Jimmy Dolan has high hopes for his horse, Mike - to race him and win enough money to build a new Boys Club. Now that Colonel Whitley, an owner of racing thoroughbreds, has moved into the area, it looks as though his dreams have a chance to come true. A gang of crooks have other plans for Mike, and soon Jimmy receives the devastating news that his uncle has gone broke and must sell the horse. Evil gangsters, courage and plain old good luck collide as The Great Mike races to a...
In The Great Moment, writer/director Preston Sturges turns to a more serious subject matter focusing on one of the great medical discoveries in modern history. Inspired by the true life story of Dr. William Morton, a dedicated dentist (Joel McCrea) discovers ether, otherwise known as anesthesia, in 1846. The doctor's great contribution to humanity, the tribulations he later faced sharing his knowledge, and his reluctance to capitalize on his discovery, are meticulously laced with typical...
Stop the presses! The crime of the century has occurred, and investigative reporters Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo are out to crack the case in this song-filled, star-studded extravaganza directed by the legendary Jim Henson. Our heroes arrive in London to interview Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg), a high-fashion designer whose priceless diamond necklace has just been stolen. But when Kermit mistakes lovely receptionist/would-be model Miss Piggy for her aristocratic employer, it's love at first sight....
A collection of everyday New Yorkers struggles to carry on with their increasingly stressful lives a year after the city was forever changed by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Brooklynite Danny Leiner's ensemble-cast slice of life. Dr. Trabulous (Tony Shalhoub) is a gifted psychologist with a special knack for truly understanding his patients. When an ordinary businessman (Jim Gaffigan), who has witnessed a terrible office tragedy, seeks to gain the insight of the seasoned professional, Dr....
An award-winning sweet-natured tale of redemption following a washed up 90's porn star 'Nick D', now a Venice Beach nobody, who gets a second chance to restart his mainstream acting career in order to win back the Oscar nominated actress girlfriend from his past.
Theodore Brasmer, a 2nd generation Truck Driver takes us through his world of long-haul truck driving. The film follows Theodore throughout the journey of one assignment where he is dispatched to pick up and drop off a cross country load.
This delightful family favorite is the story of two struggling families who end up getting some unexpected charity from Rupert, their resident (animated) squirrel! After discovering a pile of cash in the house, the police suspect Louie (Jimmy Durante) of theft, but it turns out the friendly squirrel has been gradually shifting a stash of bills that their miserly neighbor was hiding in his wall! The stop-motion animation of Rupert was so convincing at the time that its creator was asked where...
Down on their luck, a Vaudeville family moves into a dreary ground floor apartment where Rupert the squirrel lives up in the rafters. On Christmas eve, Mama Amendola (Queenie Smith) prays for a miracle. With help from clever Rupert, she gets one - crisp new greenbacks rain down from the heavens, changing the Amendola's lives forever.Complications arise when Papa Amendola (Jimmy Durante) starts a wild spending spree with his new-found riches. Rumors also fly about daughter Rosalinda (Terry...
Rosalinda Amendola (Terry Moore) is the poor but happy daughter of former acrobat, Louie Amendola (Jimmy Durante). She is in love with aspiring composer Pete Dingle (Tom Drake), who lives next door. Pete?s parents are wealthy, but his miserly father Frank Dingle (Frank Orth), hides his money in a wall of their family home. When vaudeville performer Joe Mahoney (Jimmy Conlin) falls on hard times, he must leave his friend and companion, Rupert a dancing squirrel to fend for himself with other...
Bill Meechum (Robert Duvall) is one of nature's hard cases, an ace marine fighter pilot so adept at his lethal trade that they call him The Great Santini. But now it's peacetime 1962. And more at home playing "top gun" in the cockpit than playing father in his own living room, he's become that most useless of all figures: a warrior without a war. Based on Pat Conroy's best-selling autobiographical novel, The Great Santini's battleground is the family home, with Meechum's objective to mold his...