The Film Detective

An indepth look at the crack epidemic in 1990s New York, Crackdown Big City Blues illustrates the anguish, brutality and violence associated with an addictive drug. Witness rival gangs fight to claim their turf in a war that reverberates across the whole community. In a rare raw, and gritty, look at a population struggling with a drug epidemic, this film examines the devastating effects of citizens caught in addiciton. Pertinent to every era, this hardhitting film addresses contemporary issues...

SEE desperate men fighting to the death over spoils that mean wealth to the victors! George O'Brien and Ray Whitley star in this tale of men involved in a tug of war over a tungsten mine in this RKO feature from director David Howard (Daniel Boone, The Mystery Squadron). Laraine Day (Foreign Correspondent, The High and the Mighty) also stars as a woman who has her own interests in the mine. Also, look for silent screen villain Fred Kohler (The Iron Horse, Hell's Heroes) in another of his...

Loretta Young and David Niven headline the cast of this comic look at the whimsies of love. Young plays Anita, a woman who breaks off her engagement to go on tour as a magician's assistant. Her decision is exciting as first, but she learns that there's more to life than magic. With an excellent cast that includes Zasu Pitts, Eve Arden, C. Aubrey Smith, Billie Burke, and Broderick Crawford, this fun little comedy was directed by Tay Garnett (The Postman Always Rings Twice) and will leave you...

John Huston's moving documentary about returning war veterans was suppressed by the United States government for over thirty years after it was produced. "Every man has his breaking point," says narrator Walter Huston. "These in the fulfillment of their duties as soldiers were forced beyond the limits of human endurance." Filmed at two Long Island locations (Edgewood State Hospital, and Pilgrim State Hospital), this account of ex-soldiers struggling with emotional trauma is unforgettable.

Fred MacMurray and Carole Lombard star in this tale of a swingin' trumpet player and the women who love him. Anthony Quinn, Franklin Pangborn, and Dorothy Lamour also appear in this feature from director Mitchell Leisen (Hold Back the Dawn, The Big Broadcast of 1938). Songs include "Then It Isn't Love" by the Oscar nominated songwriting team of Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger, plus several numbers sung by Lamour, who was just beginning her career but nearly steals the show from the more...

Such narrators as Lloyd Nolan and Burgess Meredith add their voices to this documentary about the attack by Allied forces on various Japanese strong-holds in the South Pacific in 1943 during the Second World War. The piece was produced by Frank Capra, and includes narration by Douglas MacArthur himself!

Night of the Living Dead opens with chaos- the brains of the recently deceased have become mysteriously reanimated, causing the dead to rise and feed on human flesh. While visiting their father's grave, Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and her brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) are attacked by a strange shuffling man. Barbra runs into a farmhouse where she encounters Ben (Duane Jones), and they must find a way to save themselves from the horde of zombies approaching the house. George Romero's Night of the...

The propaganda is hot and heavy in this installment of Frank Capra's classic war series, shot under the auspices of the US War Department. Japanese war atrocities, dead babies, rabid Japanese soldiers at a rally, all add up to an ugly portrayal of Japan during the war years. Featuring narration by John Beal, Howard Duff, Walter Huston, and others, this is perhaps the best of the Capra war documentaries. Listen for the musical score by four time Oscar winner Dimitri Tiomkin (High Noon, The High...

Rudolph Valentino stars in this tale of an engaged woman blackmailed into marrying a count in order to save her father from prison. Other cast members include Vera Sisson, Frank Newburg, and Lillian Leighton, but as Count Roberto di San Fraccini, Valentino steals the show. This was one of Valentino's earliest performances; the film was rereleased years later to take advantage of Valentino's growing stardom.

In Kansas City Confidential, four robbers hold up an armored truck, getting away with over a million dollars in cash. Joe Rolfe (John Payne), a down-on-his-luck delivery driver who is accused of involvement in the heist, sets out to discover who set him up and to exact revenge. He follows a trail that leads him to a web of hired killers and corrupt police in Mexico. Kansas City Confidential was the source of inspiration for QuentinTarantino's "Resevoir Dogs". An imaginative film noir classic,...

When a peaceful European village is suddenly plagued by a string of gruesome murders, the nocturnal attacks are pegged on a mysterious giant bat. But the real culprit is mild-mannered, respectable Paul Kristan, a kindly professor with an enigmatic ailment that transforms him nightly into a bloodthirsty vampire. Directed by horror aficionado Frank R. Strayer and produced independently of the Hollywood studio system, this film bears many of the hallmarks of a Universal prestige picture, and was...

Western icon Roy Rogers, along with his trusty companion Trigger, are back for another adventure. This time, a respected judge is being framed for murder by a crooked saloon owner. Always the valiant champion, Rogers vows to clear the name of the judge and find the truth all while courting a lovely beau. Cellist turned editor turned Republic Pictures workhorse Joseph Kane takes the reins of this rousing, musical adventure, which features a number of original songs performed by Rogers himself,...