Frisco Jenny (1932)

Frisco Jenny (1932)

[7] Ruth Chatterton is our title character, a bootlegging madam in 1906 San Francisco. The big earthquake claims the lives of her father and fiancée, and she ends up giving birth in a Chinatown basement. When poverty gives her no option, she…
The Glass House (1972)

The Glass House (1972)

[7] In this TV movie co-written by Truman Capote, a prisoner (Alan Alda) and a guard (Clu Gulager) start life in prison on the same day and quickly learn what a dangerous and corrupt environment it is. Both men seek to shed…
Never Take Candy from a Stranger (1960)

Never Take Candy from a Stranger (1960)

[6] After their daughter tells them about 'naked games' she played with an old man, two parents (Patrick Allen and Gwen Watford) take the old man to court. But they find themselves the unlikely target of the town's scorn for trying to…
Dark Passage (1947)

Dark Passage (1947)

[7] Humphrey Bogart escapes from San Quentin to try and prove he's innocent of killing his wife. Lauren Bacall plays the woman who believes him and gives him shelter. He resorts to plastic surgery to hide his identity from the police and…
The Caveman’s Valentine (2001)

The Caveman’s Valentine (2001)

[4] Samuel L. Jackson stars as a homeless man trying to solve the murder of a young gay man who was the muse for a famous New York City photographer. Jackson's character has a hard time getting anyone to take him seriously…
The Criminal Code (1930)

The Criminal Code (1930)

[6] Walter Huston headlines this Howard Hawks prison drama about a district attorney who becomes warden of a facility where he's responsible for half the men's sentences. Co-starring is fresh-faced Phillips Holmes as a twenty-year old who accidentally kills a man during…
King Cobra (2016)

King Cobra (2016)

[7] Christian Slater and James Franco star in this true story about rival gay porn producers fighting over a rising star named Brent Corrigan (Garrett Clayton). Slater gives Corrigan his start, but when Corrigan learns he's being paid peanuts compared to what…
Taken (2008)

Taken (2008)

[6] Liam Neeson stars as an ex-CIA operative who pursues sex traffickers in Paris to rescue his kidnapped daughter. Taken opens with twenty minutes of clunky, expository screenwriting before Neeson is allowed to kick things into high gear. He single-handedly rescues this…
Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

[7] Judi Dench plays a cranky old teacher who befriends a new, younger teacher played by Cate Blanchett. Blanchett quickly confides in the older woman and thinks she's made a new friend. But Dench's aims are more sinister than that. After Dench…
Sex in Chains (1928)

Sex in Chains (1928)

[7] William Dieterle (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Devil and Daniel Webster) directs and stars in this transgressive German silent film about a married couple who endure prolonged, maddening abstinence after the husband (Dieterle) is sentenced to three years in prison.…