The Black Book | John Alton photographs epic Reign of Terror in Film Noir style - Watch Free Online

Cover of The Black Book

Reign of Terror (also known as The Black Book) is a 1949 drama film set in the French Revolution. Plotters of François Barras seek to bring down Maximilien Robespierre and end his bloodthirsty regime. Although ostensibly an historical thriller, the film also has the characteristics of film noir in style, and numerous elements of chase films.

"For The Black Book, working to the usual modest budget, cine-photographer John Alton contrived a richly atmospheric evocation of Revolutionary France, turbulent and treacherous, largely from shadows and silhouettes." ~ John Alton - Painting With Light

http://www.celtoslavica.de/chiaroscuro/dop/alton.html


Reign of Terror available for free download at the Internet Archive

View Pygmalion the inspiration for My Fair Lady FREE ONLINE

Pygmalion is a 1938 British film based on the George Bernard Shaw play of the same title, and adapted by him for the screen. It stars Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. The film was a financial and critical success, and won an Oscar for best screenplay and three more nominations.

My Fair Lady is a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, of the same name, based on the 1938 film adaptation of the original stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. The ballroom scene and the ending were taken from the previous film adaptation (1938) (Pygmalion), rather than from the original play. The film was directed by; George Cukor and starred Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

The film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture,Best Actor, and Best Director.

Pygmalion available for free download at the Internet Archive

The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Watch Online Free

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The Snows of Kilimanjaro is a 1952 film based on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film version of the short story was directed by Henry King, and starred Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, and Susan HaywardConsidered by Hemingway to be one of his finest stories, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" was first published in Esquire magazine in 1936 and then republished in The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories (1938). The film was nominated for two Academy Awards; for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro available for free download at the Internet Archive or watch here!

D. W. Griffith's The Birth Of A Nation (1915)

Image via WikipediaThe Birth of a Nation (originally called The Clansman) is a 1915 American silent film co-written (with Frank E. Woods), co-produced (with Harry Aitken), and directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. It was originally released on February 8, 1915. The film was originally presented in two parts, separated by an intermission.

The film chronicles the relationship of two families in Civil War and Reconstruction-era America: the pro-Union northern Stonemans and the pro-Confederacy southern Camerons over the course of several years. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth is dramatized.

According to Variety, The Birth of a Nation, which was filmed on a budget of an estimated $110,000, is the highest-grossing film of the silent film era, with earnings of approximately $10 million and has been praised for its technical innovations.

However, the film was, and remains, highly controversial due to its portrayal of African American men (played by white actors in blackface) as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women, and the portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan (whose original founding is dramatized) as a heroic force. There were widespread protests against The Birth of a Nation, and it was banned in several cities. The outcry of racism was so great that D.W. Griffith was inspired to produce Intolerance the following year.

 According to FilmSite.org:


Its pioneering technical work, often the work of Griffith's under-rated cameraman Billy Bitzer, includes many techniques that are now standard features of films, but first used in this film. Griffith brought all of his experience and techniques to this film from his earliest short films at Biograph, including the following:

• the use of ornate title cards
• special use of subtitles graphically verbalizing imagery
• its own original musical score written for an orchestra
• the introduction of night photography (using magnesium flares)
• the use of outdoor natural landscapes as backgrounds
• the definitive usage of the still-shot
• elaborate costuming to achieve historical authenticity and accuracy
• many scenes innovatively filmed from many different and multiple angles
• the technique of the camera "iris" effect (expanding or contracting circular masks to either reveal and open up a scene, or close down and conceal a part of an image)
• the use of parallel action and editing in a sequence (Gus' attempted rape of Flora, and the KKK rescues of Elsie from Lynch and of Ben's sister Margaret)
• extensive use of color tinting for dramatic or psychological effect in sequences
• moving, traveling or "panning" camera tracking shots
• the effective use of total-screen close-ups to reveal intimate expressions
• beautifully crafted, intimate family exchanges
• the use of vignettes seen in "balloons" or "iris-shots" in one portion of a darkened screen
• the use of fade-outs and cameo-profiles (a medium closeup in front of a blurry background)
• the use of lap dissolves to blend or switch from one image to another
• high-angle shots and the abundant use of panoramic long shots
• the dramatization of history in a moving story - an example of an early spectacle or epic film with historical costuming and many historical references (e.g., Mathew Brady's Civil War photographs)
• impressive, splendidly-staged battle scenes with hundreds of extras (made to appear as thousands)
• extensive cross-cutting between two scenes to create a montage-effect and generate excitement and suspense (e.g., the scene of the gathering of the Klan)
• expert story-telling, with the cumulative building of the film to a dramatic climax

The film looks remarkably genuine and authentic, almost of documentary quality (like Brady's Civil War photographs), vividly reconstructing a momentous time period in history - and it was made only 50 years after the end of the Civil War.

Related articles

• TCM to Commemorate 150th Anniversary of the Civil War with Month-Long Programming Spotlight in April (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)

Chained for Life featuring famous "Siamese" Hilton Twins | Watch free

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Chained for Life is a 1951 exploitation film featuring the famous conjoined ("Siamese") Hilton Twins, Daisy and Violet. It features several vaudeville acts, including juggler Whitey Roberts, a man doing bicycle stunts, and a man who plays The William Tell Overture at breakneck speed on an accordion. The movie incorporates aspects of the twins' real life, including their singing act, a futile attempt by one sister to obtain a marriage license, and a publicity-stunt marriage.

The twins' voices are featured in three duets, including "Every Hour of Every Day" and "Love Thief". The movie was directed by Harry L. Fraser.

In 1932, the twins appeared as themselves in the movie Freaks.

Watch William Castle's House on Haunted Hill Free Online

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House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American B movie horror film from Allied Artists. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White, and starring Vincent Price. It  is the tale of five people invited to stay the night in a haunted house by an eccentric millionaire, Fredrick Loren (Vincent Price), who is throwing the "party" for his fourth wife, Annabelle (Carol Ohmart), with the stipulation that the power will be out and all doors will be locked at midnight, allowing no accessible escape. Anyone who stays in the house for the entire night, given that they are still alive, will each receive $10,000. 

The film has since become public domain, available on House On Haunted Hill available for free download at the Internet Archive or watch online compliments of TCManiacs right here:

Nosferatu (1922) | First Authentic Vampire Flick | Watch Free Online

Image via WikipediaImage via WikipediaAn authentic supernatural vampire features in the landmark Nosferatu (1922 Germany, directed by F. W. Murnau) starring Max Schreck as the hideous Count Orlok. This was an unlicensed version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, based so closely on the novel that the estate sued and won, with all copies ordered to be destroyed. The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, has names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel (for instance, "vampire" became "Nosferatu" and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok"). Nosferatu was ranked twenty-first in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010.

It would be painstakingly restored in 1994 by a team of European scholars from the five surviving prints that had escaped destruction. The destruction of the vampire, in the closing sequence of the film, by sunlight rather than the traditional stake through the heart proved very influential on later films and became an accepted part of vampire lore.

Murnau's Nosferatu is in the public domain in the United States but not in Germany, and copies of the movie are widely available on video (usually as poorly transferred, faded, scratched video copies that are often scorned by enthusiasts). However, pristine restored editions of the film have also been made available, and are also readily accessible to the public.

• Nosferatu available for free download at the Internet Archive
• Nosferatu cut-report Comparison between Public Domain Version and Restored Version, at Movie-Censorship.com

The Caretakers stars Robert Stack, Joan Crawford | Watch Online Free

The Caretakers is a 1963 United Artists film starring Joan Crawford and Robert Stack in a story about a mental hospital. The screenplay was adapted by Henry F. Greenberg from a story by Hall Bartlett and Jerry Paris based on the 1959 novel The Caretakers by Dariel Telfer. The film was produced and directed by Bartlett and co-produced by Paris. The Caretakers is reminiscent of the 20th Century Fox mental hospital film The Snake Pit (1948).

Joan Crawford was on the board of directors of Pepsico and Pepsi-Cola product placements include a scene at the hospital picnic, which features a wagon dispensing the soft drink.

You can make a game out of trying to spot the plug for Pepsi.

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Rock, Rock, Rock | Free online

Rock, Rock, Rock is a 1956 black-and-white motion picture featuring performances from a number of early rock 'n' roll stars, such as Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Teddy Randazzo, The Moonglows, The Flamingos, and The Teenagers with Frankie Lymon as lead singer. Future West Side Story cast member David Winters is also featured. Famed disk jockey Alan Freed makes an appearance as himself. The voice of the main character (Dori Graham) was sung by Connie Francis.

The movie has a fairly simple plot: teenage girl Dori Graham (played by then 13-year-old Tuesday Weld) can't convince her dad to buy her a strapless gown and has to get the money together herself in time for the prom.

The soundtrack album, also titled Rock, Rock, Rock, is nowadays widely regarded to be Chuck Berry's first album. Many of the artists featured in the film do not appear on the album, and only four songs on the album ("Over and Over Again," "I Knew From the Stars," "You Can't Catch Me," and "Would I Be Crying") actually appear in the film.
Both Jack Collins and Valerie Harper (who makes a brief appearance as an extra in the crowd at the prom) made their film debut in Rock, Rock, Rock.

 Watch Rock, Rock, Rock (film) free online or download free at the Internet Archive :

Life with Father | Watch Online Free

Life with Father is a 1947 American comedy film. It tells the true story of Clarence Day, a stockbroker who wants to be master of his house, but finds his wife and his children ignoring him, until they start making demands for him to change his own life. In keeping with the autobiography, all the children in the family (all boys) are redheads. It stars William Powell and Irene Dunne as Clarence and his wife, supported by Elizabeth Taylor as a beautiful teenage girl with whom Clarence's oldest son becomes infatuated, along with Edmund Gwenn, ZaSu Pitts, Jimmy Lydon and Martin Milner.

WAtch Online for free. Download from Internet Archive:

The Kennel Murder Case | Free Online Movie

Cover of The Kennel Murder Case

The Kennel Murder Case is a 1933 murder mystery novel written by S. S. Van Dine with fictional detective Philo Vance investigating a complex locked room mystery.
A Warner Bros. film version of The Kennel Murder Case appeared in 1933. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and starred William Powell as Philo Vance, reprising the role after appearing as Vance in three films for Paramount, and Mary Astor as Hilda Lake, the victims' niece. Many film historians (including William K. Everson, who pronounced it a "masterpiece" in the August 1984 issue of Films in Review) consider it one of the greatest screen adaptations of a Golden Age mystery novel, and rank it with the 1946 film Green for Danger.

The Kennel Murder Case was remade by Warner in 1940 as Calling Philo Vance with James Stephenson as Vance and William Clemens directing. World War II-era espionage stood in for the skulduggery of the art world in the remake.

The novel The Kennel Murder Case can be read here, courtesy of Project Gutenberg. Enjoy the film The Kennel Murder Case here or download for free at the Internet Archive.

D.W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln (1930) | Free Online

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Abraham Lincoln, also released under the title D. W. Griffith's 'Abraham Lincoln', is a (1930) is a biographical film about American president Abraham Lincoln directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars Walter Huston as Lincoln and Una Merkel, in her first talking role, as Ann Rutledge. The script was co-written by Stephen Vincent Benét, author of the Civil War prose poem John Brown's Body. This was the first of only two sound films made by Griffith. The film was not a hit at the time, but in recent years it has come to be regarded as one of the definitive films on Lincoln.

The Flag: A Story Inspired By the Tradition of Betsy Ross | 1927 2-strip Technicolor silent short

An Independence Day Treat from TCM, The Flag: A Story Inspired By the Tradition of Betsy Ross (1927) is a rare example of 2-strip Technicolor silent short from MGM. Score added by Vivak Maddala in 2002. Directed by Arthur Maude. This is the romanticized patriotic story of George Washington (Francis X Bushman) trying to talk Betsy Ross (Enid Bennett) into creating a flag for the country. Only 20 minutes long. Unremarkable plot, but stunning to watch. The 2 color process is an aesthetically pleasing medium for Betsy's creamy white complexion against a patriotic palette of rich reds and navy blues.

Frank Capra's World War II ``Why We Fight'' 8-part series Free Online

Why We Fight is a series of seven propaganda films commissioned by the United States government during World War II to demonstrate to American soldiers the reason for U.S. involvement in the war. Later on they were also shown to the general U.S. public to persuade them to support American intervention.

Most of the films were directed by Frank Capra, who was daunted yet also impressed and challenged by Leni Riefenstahl's propaganda film Triumph of the Will and who worked in direct response to it. The series faced a tough challenge: convincing an only recently isolationist nation of the need to become involved in the war and ally with the Soviets, among other things. In many of the films, Capra and other directors spliced in Axis powers propaganda footage – recontextualizing it so it promoted the cause of the Allies instead.

Made from 1942 to 1945, the seven films range from 40 to 76 minutes in length, and all are available on DVD or online.

In 2000 the United States Library of Congress deemed the films "culturally significant" and selected them for preservation in the National Film Registry. Created by the U.S. Army Pictorial Services, the films are in the public domain; all of them are available for download at the Internet Archive.

• Why We Fight (Prelude to War)
• Why We Fight (The Nazis Strike)
• Why We Fight (Divide and Conquer)
• Why We Fight (The Battle of Britain)
• Why We Fight (The Battle of Russia [Part 1])
• Why We Fight (The Battle of Russia [Part 2])
• Why We Fight (The Battle of China)
• Why We Fight (War Comes to America)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Watch Online

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is an American 1939 comedy/drama film starring James Stewart and Jean Arthur, about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra – his last film for Columbia Pictures, the studio where he made his name – and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was controversial when it was released, but also successful at the box office, and made Stewart a major movie star. Aside from Stewart and Arthur, the film features a bevy of well-known supporting actors, among them Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee, Thomas Mitchell and Beulah Bondi. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning for Best Screenplay.

In 1989, the Library of Congress added Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to the United States National Film Registry, for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Three Came Home | Watch Online

Three Came Home (1950) is a wartime film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, based on the memoirs of the same name by writer Agnes Newton Keith. It depicts Keith's life in North Borneo in the period immediately before the Japanese invasion in 1942, and her subsequent internment and suffering, separated from her husband Harry, and with a young son to care for. Keith was initially interned at Berhala Island near Sandakan, but spent most of her captivity at Batu Lintang camp at Kuching, Sarawak.

Adapted and produced by Nunnally Johnson, directed by Jean Negulesco, the film starred Claudette Colbert in the lead role. The New York Times reviewer said, "It will shock you, disturb you, tear your heart out. But it will fill you fully with a great respect for a heroic soul."

The film is now in the public domain and so is available to watch in its entirety online at no charge

King Solomon's Mines | Original Movie

King Solomon's Mines is a 1937 movie, the first film adaptation of the 1885 novel by the same name by Henry Rider Haggard. It starred Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, Anna Lee, John Loder, and Roland Young. The film was produced by Gaumont British Picture Corporation, adapted by Charles Bennett (uncredited), Michael Hogan, Roland Pertwee A.R. Rawlinson (uncredited) and Ralph Spence (uncredited). It was directed by Robert Stevenson.

The 1937 film follows the original novel faithfully, except for some musical interludes deliberately added to give Paul Robeson a chance to sing. The more famous 1950 Technicolor version severely alters the tale to make Allan Quatermain into a romantic hero who falls in love with the heroine, whereas in the original film Cedric Hardwicke played him as a professorial type completely uninterested in romance. -Wikipedia

Free download of 1937 version at the Internet Archive

Beat the Devil | Watch Free

Beat the Devil is a 1953 film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart. It was co-authored by Huston and Truman Capote, and loosely based upon a novel of the same name by British critic Claud Cockburn, writing under the pseudonym James Helvick. It was intended by Huston as a tongue-in-cheek spoof of his earlier masterpiece, The Maltese Falcon, and of films of its genre.

The all-star cast includes Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley, Peter Lorre and Bernard Lee (who was to gain widespread recognition with his appearances as "M" in the James Bond movies).

This Huston opus does not easily fit into the standard set of film categories; it has variously been classified as a "thriller," a "comedy," a "drama," a "crime" and a "romance" movie. It is above all else a parody of the Film Noir style that Huston himself had pioneered and as such has developed cult status in the ensuing years.

Beat the Devil is in the public domain because of unrenewed copyright, and is freely available and distributed over the internet as seen below.

John Huston's Beat the Devil (1953)

The Terror of Tiny Town | Only Western Musical with all-dwarf cast | Free Download

The Terror of Tiny Town is a 1938 film, produced by Jed Buell and directed by Sam Newfield, and starring Billy Curtis. It is the world's only musical Western with an all-dwarf cast. The plot is about a cowboy helping out a beautiful ranch owner menaced by local thugs. Using a conventional Western story with an all dwarf cast, the filmmakers were able to showcase gags such as cowboys entering the local saloon by walking under the swinging doors, and pint-sized cowboys galloping around on Shetland ponies while roping calves. The film presents Jed Buell's Midgets. Many of them were also in the performing troupe, Singer's Midgets, and played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939.

This film is in the public domain. View below:

THE TERROR OF TINY TOWN (1938)

The Big Lift starring Montgomery Clift | Free Movie

The Big Lift is a 1950 film that was shot on location in the city of Berlin, Germany, and tells the story of two Air Force sergeants (played by Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas) who meet and fall in love with two women in Berlin during the 1948/1949 Berlin Air Lift.
The film was directed and written by George Seaton, and was released April 26, 1950, less than one year after the Soviet blockade of Berlin was lifted and the air lift operations ceased. Because the film was shot in Berlin in 1949, it provides a unique glimpse of the post-war state of the city as it struggles to recover from the devastation wrought by World War II. Wikipedia

Filmed on location, The Big Lift is a reenactment of the Berlin airlift of 1948. Flexing their postwar muscles, the Russians blockade the Western sector, refusing to allow the Allies to ship supplies to the starving Berliners. From their headquarters at Templehof Airport, a group of courageous American flyers risk their lives to transport supplies by air. Internet Archives