The Film Detective

Anna Neagel's first Hollywood performance! Featuring a star-making performance from then largely unknown actress Anna Neagel as the eponymous Cavell, Nurse Edith Cavell is a thrilling and...

Anna Neagel's first Hollywood performance! Featuring a star-making performance from then largely unknown actress Anna Neagel as the eponymous Cavell, Nurse Edith Cavell is a thrilling and heartbreaking biography of a woman who made an indelible mark on World War I history. Directed by frequent Neagel collaborator Herbert Wilcox, and with a supporting cast composed of Hollywood legends like Oscar Nominee Edna May Oliver (Little Women) and Oscar Winner George Sanders (All About Eve), this film...

Here's a fun-packed musical show about a struggling college so low on funds, that the only recourse is to contact some famous alumni. Fortunately, bandleader Louis Jordan is an alumni, which...

Here's a fun-packed musical show about a struggling college so low on funds, that the only recourse is to contact some famous alumni. Fortunately, bandleader Louis Jordan is an alumni, which guarantees some swingin' jazz. The film is livened up by nine musical numbers, including 'Good Morning Heartache', 'Don't Worry 'bout That Mule', 'You've Got Have a Beat', and 'Long Legged Lizzie'.

HUMAN SACRIFICES! SAVAGE TORTURE! VOODOO RITES! Blood chilling revelations of the weird cult that practices its black magic in the impenetrable jungles of Central America! Dick Purcell, Joan...

HUMAN SACRIFICES! SAVAGE TORTURE! VOODOO RITES! Blood chilling revelations of the weird cult that practices its black magic in the impenetrable jungles of Central America! Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, and Henry Victor star in this comedy chiller from Monogram, directed by Jean Yarbrough ( House of Horrors, The Brute Man). It's all about a trio of plane crash survivors who take refuge in a mansion, where a sinister doctor is conducting zombie experiments. If you can sit through...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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!

Here's a film, originally known as 'Monstrosity' that has lived on thanks to Mystery Science Theater. It was even made into a musical in 2010. It's quite the ghoulish treat involving a wealthy old...

Here's a film, originally known as 'Monstrosity' that has lived on thanks to Mystery Science Theater. It was even made into a musical in 2010. It's quite the ghoulish treat involving a wealthy old woman who wants to put her own brain into the skull of a younger, beautiful girl. The eternal search for youth has never been so grisly!

This Pre- Code comedy stars Betty Compson as a young woman hired to distract a London playboy from marrying a gold digger. Problems arise when the playboy's father, who hired June (Compson) in the...

This Pre- Code comedy stars Betty Compson as a young woman hired to distract a London playboy from marrying a gold digger. Problems arise when the playboy's father, who hired June (Compson) in the first place, starts to fall for her! Starring John Darrow, Gilbert Emery, and Margaret Livingston, this forgotten jewel from RKO Radio Pictures was directed by George Archainbaud (The Lost Squadron, Murder on the Blackboard) and puts yet another spin on the complexities of love...

Feud of the Trail places the dashing Tom Tylerr, a B-Western star (and the original Captain Marvel) in dual roles; as a man seeking justice against a band of outlaws, and the band's vicious gang...

Feud of the Trail places the dashing Tom Tylerr, a B-Western star (and the original Captain Marvel) in dual roles; as a man seeking justice against a band of outlaws, and the band's vicious gang leader. Capably directed by helmer Robert F. Hill (Flash Gordon, Tarzan the Fearless), and shot at the iconic Lazy A Ranch outside of Los Angeles, the film follows Tom Wade, an honorable man with a face that's nearly identical to nefarious gang leader Jack Granger. Using this to his advantage, Wade...

A John Wayne classic! One of the last pictures legendary American Western star John Wayne made for Lone Star/Monogram Pictures, The Desert Trail is a rare glimpse into The Duke's unexpected penchant...

A John Wayne classic! One of the last pictures legendary American Western star John Wayne made for Lone Star/Monogram Pictures, The Desert Trail is a rare glimpse into The Duke's unexpected penchant for slapstick comedy. As dim-witted rodeo star John Scott, Wayne flexes his comedic muscles, as his character and his gambler friend Kansas Charlie (Eddy Chandler, The Roaring Twenties) flee their town after being wrongfully accused of armed robbery. Hilarity ensues as they assume new identities...

Buster Crabbe swings into action in one of his earliest roles. Tarzan the Fearless was originally a 12 chapter serial from Sol Lesser Productions, a company known for its westerns and jungle titles....

Buster Crabbe swings into action in one of his earliest roles. Tarzan the Fearless was originally a 12 chapter serial from Sol Lesser Productions, a company known for its westerns and jungle titles. Director Robert F. Hill would go on to direct Crabbe in Flash Gordon (1936), but Crabbe's career really kicked off with this jungle adventure. The former Olympic swimming champion had previously auditioned and failed to get the role of Tarzan, but after appearing in a Tarzan knockoff called King of...

Buster Keaton is still trying to get the girl in this classy comedy from 1927. This time he's playing a bookish fellow who takes up sports in order to impress his sweetheart (Anne Cornwall)....

Buster Keaton is still trying to get the girl in this classy comedy from 1927. This time he's playing a bookish fellow who takes up sports in order to impress his sweetheart (Anne Cornwall). Baseball buffs will notice legendary Detroit Tiger outfielder Sam Crawford as a coach in one of the film's funniest scenes. Keaton, a real life baseball fanatic, causes as much mayhem on the ballfield as you can imagine! According to film lore, Buster actually directed this feature, which was filmed...

Tim McCoy, one of the unsung heroes of 1930s western pictures, stars in a dual role. First, he's 'Slim' Braddock, a miner who turns to robbing stagecoaches after being swindled by a banker. When...

Tim McCoy, one of the unsung heroes of 1930s western pictures, stars in a dual role. First, he's 'Slim' Braddock, a miner who turns to robbing stagecoaches after being swindled by a banker. When Slim is murdered, his son Tim, also played by McCoy, seeks vengeance. Directed by B-movie legend Sam Newfield for Excelsior Pictures, this film is a showcase for McCoy, who appeared in more than 90 movies and in 1960 earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and Doc Holliday ride again in Howard Hughes' epic 1943 western, but the character you'll remember most is sultry country vixen Rio McDonald. Hughes' nationwide search...

Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and Doc Holliday ride again in Howard Hughes' epic 1943 western, but the character you'll remember most is sultry country vixen Rio McDonald. Hughes' nationwide search for an actress to play Rio resulted in the film debut of Jane Russell, whose natural assets were allegedly helped by a special bra designed by Hughes. When The Outlaw finally received a nationwide release in 1946, its success vindicated Hughes and made Russell a star. As for Hughes' infamous bra,...

From the invasion of North Africa to the fall of Tunis! This captivating documentary is part of a series containing original archive footage filmed under actual battle conditions by service and...

From the invasion of North Africa to the fall of Tunis! This captivating documentary is part of a series containing original archive footage filmed under actual battle conditions by service and newsreel cameramen attached to American, British, French, Russian and enemy forces. Directors Frank Capra, Hugh Stewart, and John Huston were involved in patching this movie together, utilizing the familiar voices of Burges Meredith, Leo Gann, and Winston Churchill. Also, look for footage of Dwight D....

Written and directed by a 24-year-old Francis Ford Coppola, Dementia 13 centers on the dysfunctional Haloran family, who have converged at Haloran Castle to enact a morbid ritual in remembrance of...

Written and directed by a 24-year-old Francis Ford Coppola, Dementia 13 centers on the dysfunctional Haloran family, who have converged at Haloran Castle to enact a morbid ritual in remembrance of Lady Haloran's (Ethne Dunn) deceased daughter, Kathleen (Barbara Dowling). Secrets shroud Kathleen's demise, and soon there is a mysterious interloper prowling the grounds with a big axe to grind. Genuinely engaging and well-photographed, Dementia 13 is a bone-chilling horror classic sure to thrill...

Based on the story "Triple Cross for Danger" by the widely lauded Western author Walter J. Coburn, Fighting Fury is a thrilling take on the Western revenge drama. Portraying both a father and his...

Based on the story "Triple Cross for Danger" by the widely lauded Western author Walter J. Coburn, Fighting Fury is a thrilling take on the Western revenge drama. Portraying both a father and his son, star of silent and sound cowboy adventure films, Jack Hoxie (Trouble Busters, Law and Lawless) exudes the classic American rustic charm that still defines the genre. The film spins the yarn of Clay Hill Jr. (Hoxie), a Spanish-American boy raised by a Mexican servant who vows bloody vengeance on...

Hard-hitting cowboy star Tim McCoy appears as "Gentleman" Tim Madigan, a legendary card sharp who uses his skills at the gaming table to help a Mexican family keep their ranch. There's plenty of...

Hard-hitting cowboy star Tim McCoy appears as "Gentleman" Tim Madigan, a legendary card sharp who uses his skills at the gaming table to help a Mexican family keep their ranch. There's plenty of action and intrigue in this modestly budgeted western from Puritan Pictures, capably dished out by prolific director Sam Newfield (The Terror of Tiny Town). For those who take their western action straight, you'll be glad to know there's no singing in this one. It's just Gentleman Tim dealing a death...

This "bold, daring and frank" exploitation film features famed conjoined twins, the vaudeville sensations Violet and Daisy Hilton, portraying fictionalized versions of themselves in a narrative that...

This "bold, daring and frank" exploitation film features famed conjoined twins, the vaudeville sensations Violet and Daisy Hilton, portraying fictionalized versions of themselves in a narrative that reflects their tragic and unfortunate lives. Used and mistreated by their craven manager, the Siamese twins find themselves in trouble with the law when one of them murders a duplicitous scamp after he jilts her sister following a devastating sham marriage. Equal parts compelling and heartbreaking,...

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...

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...

Be happy and go wacky! The classic fairy tale gets a comical workover from comedy legends Abbott and Costello! Lou plays Jack, while former heavyweight boxer Buddy Baer plays the giant who lives in...

Be happy and go wacky! The classic fairy tale gets a comical workover from comedy legends Abbott and Costello! Lou plays Jack, while former heavyweight boxer Buddy Baer plays the giant who lives in the sky. Meanwhile, renowned voice artist Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny!) lends his familiar sound to various animals in the story. There's even a talking harp! This is one film that will make you think twice the next time someone offers you some magic beans...