Conrad Veidt

[8] In this seminal silent classic, a doctor showcases a fortune-telling sleepwalker to a crowd of spectators. One man asks, “When will I die?” The sleepwalker says, “By dawn tomorrow.” And then the doctor sets out to fulfill the premonition by ordering his catatonic slave to murder the man that night. This isn’t just how The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari begins — it’s also how …

[7] In this potpourri of Middle-Eastern folklore, a banished king (John Justin) and a street boy (Sabu) team up to stop an evil magician (Conrad Veidt) from marrying a beautiful princess (June Duprez). The Thief of Bagdad tries to combine everything you can imagine from “Arabian Nights”, including the Genie and the magic carpet. Disney certainly used this classic as a springboard for their own …

[7] Fred MacMurray and Joan Crawford star as newlyweds who get roped into spying for British intelligence in Nazi Germany. The tone here is light-hearted. Despite the prospect of serious danger, Crawford and MacMurray’s characters actually enjoy trying their hand at espionage. It’s fun to watch them follow the bread crumbs and put clues together. A Franz Liszt concerto is incorporated into the mystery, as …

[9] Everybody comes to Rick’s, and everyone loves Casablanca. What’s not to like? Humphrey Bogart turns in a commanding performance as Rick, the reluctant American exile who runs a popular nightclub in North Africa during early World War II. He says he sticks his neck out for no one, but he’s really just a softy who had his heart broken by Ingrid Bergman several years …