Alpha Video

Thousands of monstrous bats fill the night sky of a terrified village, while residents are murdered in their beds, drained of all their blood. As the killings increase, rumors of a vampire in their midst send the townspeople into a frenzy of panic, as even the most respected scientist of the community seems convinced by the evidence. Only one investigator refuses to believe the superstitious tales and argues that a maniac must be at the root of the killings. A mob gathers to hunt down the...

Join "America's Favorite Family," the Nelsons, as they celebrate Christmas in 8 hilarious episodes of the show that entertained America for 14 seasons.Boy's Christmas Money: Dave and Ricky take jobs in the city in an attempt to raise cash for Christmas presents.Day After Christmas: Dave and Ricky are busy with their girlfriends and Ozzie reminisces about the old days when the family spent the day after Christmas together.Girl In The Emporium: Ricky launches an all-out attempt to date a pretty...

Small town girl Rita Wilson moved to Hollywood with dreams of becoming an actress, but ended up taking orders at a carhop dressed in short shorts and a tight blouse. To make matters worse, her ailing mother is constantly in need of financial support to pay for her medical care. With this in mind, Rita doesn't exactly object when wealthy Jack Thorndyke asks her for a date. She tells him her tale of woe, and Jack suggests Rita pose for famed artist Stuart Bannerman, who needs a model for his...

The name Hal Roach is synonymous with screen comedy. The esteemed producer/director remains one of the true pioneers of cinema, having made some of the most popular shorts and features of all time during the 1920s and '30s.Fresh Paint (1920): Snub Pollard decides to try his hand at painting -- with catastrophic results.Try, Try again (1922): Jimmy Parrott and "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison bring the house down -- literally -- when they try to save a suburban home from repossession.Harvest Hands...

Phones ring without being answered, cigarettes smolder in ashtrays and rays of light clandestinely spill out from underneath locked doors in Open Secret, an excellent independently-produced film noir social issue melodrama from the late 1940s.Paul and Nancy Lester (John Ireland and Jane Randolph) are newlyweds back in the old neighborhood to visit a good friend who has disappeared. Investigation leads them to the enter of a violent hate cult willing to murder any Jewish "outsiders" unfortunate...

Silent comedy legend Hal Roach had a unique method for discovering and nurturing performers. He created a series of shorts called The Hal Roach All-Star Comedies to gauge the popularity of the comedians in his stable. Some of those featured became stars, while others found a lasting place playing sidekicks or villains. These six entries dating from 1924 to 1926 showcase the wide variety of talent that came out of Roach's "Lot of Fun."Short Kilts (1924): Two feuding Scottish clans decide to...

Fading matinee idol Alvin Merle is mysteriously murdered in his dressing room after a performance. It seems that everyone on the Great White Way has a motive for killing the philandering actor. Eager to stop the endless speculation from the press, the NYPD strong-arms its way through the murder investigation, trying to frame Merle's cranky old stage manager. Ace reporter Jim Ryan from "The Chronicle" smells a rat. At his editor's request, Ryan starts poking around and soon realizes that the...

The dead return to speak to the living! At least, that's what vulnerable and gullible mourners are led to believe when they visit the temple of the Great La Gagge, a charlatan psychic who stages rigged seances with his greedy henchman in order to fleece unsuspecting believers out of their hard-earned (or inherited) cash. La Gagge leads his latest potential victims, two wealthy widows utterly smitten by the Master, on a wild ghost chase across the Atlantic to the base of the Sphinx and the...

Walt Underwood is dealt a tremendous double blow when he learns that his wife is dead, killed in an adulterous tryst. In her secret letters, he is shocked to discover that his beloved son Jimmy, is not his own. Stripped of all he once held dear, Walt begins a downward spiral of alcoholism, self-loathing and despair. It will take the desperate intervention of a loving friend, to prevent Walt's rush to self-destruction.Conrad Nagel's long film career began in the silent era (Little Women, 1918),...

The Unknown Ranger (1920, B&W, Silent): Cowboy Buck Manning becomes suspicious of a gang of strangers who suddenly appear in the quiet Devil's River area near the Mexican border. He discovers that they are actually running a dangerous opium smuggling ring and will eliminate anyone who interferes with their nefarious trade. Rex Ray was a perfect star for The Unknown Ranger. Nothing is known about him other than in 1920 he starred in this and another western both made for independent studio...

The Danger Girl (1916, B&W): Madcap lesbian hijinks abound as Gloria dons men's clothes to seduce the beautiful Helen and keep her away from her own boyfriend. A teenage Gloria Swanson shows the beauty, the compelling smile, and the comic genius that would propel her to stardom in the 1920s. Stars Gloria Swanson and Bobbie Vernon; supervised by Mack Sennett; directed by Clarence Badger. Released by Triangle Film Corporation.A Hash House Fraud (1915, B&W): A swindle in a tiny downtown...

In 1517 a Catholic priest, Martin Luther, nailed his incendiary document, a scathing protest against the Vatican, to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany and launched a revolution that would send shockwaves throughout Europe for centuries to come! Outraged by the Church's practice of selling forgiveness for a price and allowing the poor to "purchase" redemption, Luther spoke out in defiance. Refusing to renounce his beliefs at trial, the Catholic Church excommunicated him and...