The 39 Steps (1935)
[7] A London man gives refuge to a female spy, but after she's knifed in the back he's accused of her murder. The only way to clear his name is to piece together the clues she left behind and prevent…
Dark Waters (2019)
[5] Mark Ruffalo must really have it out for the DuPont company. First he co-starred in 2014's Foxcatcher, an examination of the scandal behind John du Pont's hosting of Olympic wrestlers that ended in tragedy. And now he plays lawyer…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…