Annie Oakley (1935)

Annie Oakley (1935)

[8] George Stevens (Gunga Din, A Place in the Sun) directs this romanticized tale of an American western legend -- Annie Oakley, the woman sharpshooter who could beat any man at gunplay. While the real Annie Oakley was surely rougher…
The Old Dark House (1932)

The Old Dark House (1932)

[8] Five travelers end up stranded at our title location after a fierce night-time storm makes driving the English hillsides too dangerous. The family that lives there is less than hospitable, with secrets that make the evening increasingly frightening. The…
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

[6] Cary Grant and Myrna Loy play parents of two young daughters in a cramped New York apartment who decide to find a bigger place for themselves in the wide-open countryside. But their initial purchase turns out to be a…
The Changeling (1980)

The Changeling (1980)

[8] George C. Scott stars in this creepy ghost story about a grieving widower who moves into a historic mansion where a young child was murdered over seventy years ago. As the child's spirit communicates with Scott's character, he's able…
Billy Budd (1962)

Billy Budd (1962)

[8] Peter Ustinov directs and co-stars in this adaptation of Herman Melville's unfinished novel of the same name. Ustinov plays the captain of a British ship sailing to battle against France. His master-at-arms, John Claggart (The Wild Bunch's Robert Ryan),…
Too Many Husbands (1940)

Too Many Husbands (1940)

[5] Jean Arthur finds herself with two husbands after her first, presumed dead at sea, turns out to be very much alive. The genders are reversed, but the story is very similar to My Favorite Wife, a better film released…
Ghost Story (1981)

Ghost Story (1981)

[7] Four old men and their families are haunted by the ghost of a woman the men accidentally killed decades ago in this John Irvin film of the Peter Straub story. It could have benefited from a more visionary director,…
Ninotchka (1939)

Ninotchka (1939)

[7]

It’s fun to watch Greta Garbo defrost in Ninotchka.  She plays an oh-so-serious Russian sent to Paris to straighten out the sale of some allegedly stolen jewels. Melvyn Douglas gets in her way. At first, he’s an annoyance, but a curious one. Her no-nonsense attitude toward him makes for a unlikely cinematic romance. The highlight of their courtship is a restaurant scene where Douglas is determined to make Garbo laugh. He tells joke after joke to no affect. Then Douglas leans back too far in his chair and falls on his ass. This results in one of the most joyous reaction shots from the Golden Age of Cinema.