Classics - Movies

Yellowstone Kelly (1959)

Classics

Big man, big land, big adventure. Western fans get all three in Yellowstone Kelly, a strife-torn saga of American soldiers and Sioux warriors in the days after Little Big Horn. Clint Walker (Cheyenne) stars as trapper and U.S. military scout Yellowstone Kelly, drawn into the conflict when he saves the life of a beautiful Arapaho girl (Andra Martin) held captive by the Sioux. She runs off, Kelly gives her shelter and all hell-for-leather breaks loose on the plains. Rich Technicolor photography provides the stunning backdrop for brawling, hoof-pounding frontier action reliably delivered by two genre greats, director Gordon Douglas and screenwriter Burt Kennedy.

Paper Moon

Classics

The year is 1936. Orphaned Addie Loggins (Tatum O'Neal, in her film debut) is left in the care of unethical traveling Bible salesman Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal, Tatum's dad), who may or may not be her father. En route to Addie's relatives, Moses learns that the 9-year-old is quite a handful: she smokes, cusses, and is almost as devious and manipulative as he is. They join forces as swindlers, working together so well that Addie is averse to breaking up the team — which is one reason that she sabotages the romance between Moses and good-time gal Trixie Delight (Madeline Kahn). Later, while attempting to square a $200 debt that Addie claims he owes her, Moses runs afoul of of a bootlegger (John Hillerman) and is nearly beaten to death by the criminal's twin-brother sheriff. Painfully pulling himself together, Moses gets Addie to her relatives, whereupon she adamantly refuses to leave his side. Photographed in black-and-white by Laszlo Kovacs, the film was made largely on location in Kansas and Missouri (an experience colorfully recalled by director Peter Bogdanovich in his 1972 book of essays Pieces of Time). 9-year-old Tatum O'Neal won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, beating out costar Kahn. Paper Moon later became a short-lived TV series, starring Ryan O'Neal lookalike Christopher Connelly and future Oscar winner Jodie Foster.

The Geisha Boy

Classics

Jerry Lewis, plays a third-rate USO magician named Gilbert Woolley, working the Far East circuit with his pet rabbit Harry. Nearly fired for accidentally humiliating haughty movie star Marie McDonald, Gilbert's career is salvaged by kindly Japanese aristocrat Sessue Hayakawa; it seems that Gilbert is the only person who is able to make Sessue's lonely, orphaned nephew Robert Hirano laugh. An international incident nearly develops when hero-worshipping Hirano tries to follow Gilbert back to the US, whereupon the poor prestidigitator is accused of being a kidnaper. Like most of the Jerry Lewis/Frank Tashlin collaborations, The Geisha Boy is highlighted by several eye-popping sight-gag sequences. The best bits include a ballpark scene featuring several members of the 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers (notably Gil Hodges) and a sledgehammer-subtle "throwaway" concerning Sessue Hayakawa's previous appearance in Bridge on the River Kwai. Less successful are the maudlin scenes between Jerry Lewis and little Robert Hirano, with both performers ladling on pathos with a trowel. Oh, yes: Geisha Boy served as the film debut of Suzanne Pleshette.

The Killing Floor

Classics

Praised by The Village Voice as the most "clear-eyed account of union organizing on film," The Killing Floor tells the little-known true story of the struggle to build an interracial labor union in the Chicago Stockyards. The screenplay by Obie Award-winner Leslie Lee, based on an original story by producer Elsa Rassbach, traces the racial and class conflicts seething in the city’s giant slaughterhouses, and the brutal efforts of management to divide the workforce along ethnic lines, which eventually boiled over in the Chicago Race Riot of 1919. The first feature film directed by Bill Duke, The Killing Floor premiered on PBS' American Playhouse series in 1984 to rave reviews. In 1985 the film was invited to Cannes and won the Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award. It has been showcased at the Lincoln Center and festivals around the world. New 4K restoration by Made in U.SA. Productions, Inc. Laboratory services by UCLA Film and Television Archive Digital Media Lab; Audio Services by Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Inc.; Digital Color Grading by Planemo (Berlin) and Alpha-Omega digital (Münich). Special thanks to Elsa Rassbach and the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA Film and Television Archive.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Classics

Superstar Barbra Streisand headlines this magical musical directed by Vincente Minnelli, adapted from the Alan Jay Lerner Broadway show. Chain-smoking kooky Daisy consults psychiatrist Chabot to help her stop smoking, only to discover she has amazing ESP powers. While under hypnosis, she reveals her former life as Melinda, an 1840 English coquette. What follows is a comedy/drama/fantasy love triangle unlike any other.

Operation Petticoat

Classics

The U.S.S. Sea Tiger is on it's last legs until the submarine captain and his ingenious (if slightly unethical) supply officer scavenge the parts and supplies needed to get their dry-dock sub back into WWII action. However, a bevy of beautiful nurses comes aboard, causing hijinks in the hot pink sub. The inimitable pairing of Grant and Curtis, as the irascible captain and his sleazy subordinate, make the film a true classic.

Sincerely Yours (1955)

Classics

Fabulous pianist/television superstar Liberace headlines this showbiz romance with songs depicting the life and loves of a concert pianist who brings happiness to many empty lives and eventually finds happiness for himself. Tony Warrin has it all. A popular pianist who plays any style, he has money, great clothes, a penthouse overlooking Central Park, a rich blond fiancée, a loyal brunette secretary secretly in love with him, and a date at Carnegie Hall. But on concert night, disease deafens him. While medical science works on a cure, he must find other ventures. He learns lip reading and, using high-powered binoculars, eavesdrops on conversations in the park. When he finds people in need, he plays God, interceding with help. Meanwhile, his fiancée is falling in love with another man, and his secretary quits. But when his doctors give him new hope, Carnegie Hall and true love may once again be within his reach.

The Pawnbroker

Classics

In an acclaimed, Oscar nominated performance, Rod Steiger portrays Sol, the embittered survivor of a Nazi death camp, now a Harlem pawnbroker. He harshly condemns his clientele as the dregs of society, and ridicules his idealistic assistant, Ortiz. But when Ortiz risks his life for Sol, he finally learns a lesson about hope and humanity. Directed by Sidney Lumet (Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express), and featuring a music score by Quincy Jones.  

Walking Tall

Classics

Based on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser whom almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.

Paris When It Sizzles

Classics

William Holden portrays a screenwriter with a script deadline in three days. When he asks secretary Audrey Hepburn to help concoct ideas, she acts out a potpourri of preposterous plots. Beautifully shot on location in Paris by famed cinematographer Claude Renoir.

On Golden Pond

Classics

The loons are back again on Golden Pond and so are Norman Thayer (Academy Award® winner Henry Fonda), a retired professor, and Ethel (Academy Award® winner Katharine Hepburn) who have had a summer cottage there since early in their marriage. This summer their daughter Chelsea (Academy Award® winner Jane Fonda) -- whom they haven't seen for years -- feels she must be there for Norman's birthday. She and her fiance are on their way to Europe the next day but will be back in a couple of weeks to pick up the fiance's son. When she returns Chelsea is married and her stepson has the relationship with her father that she always wanted. Will father and daughter be able to communicate at last?

The Quiet Earth

Classics

In this sci-fi cult classic, Zac Hobson, a mid-level scientist working on a global energy project, wakes up to a nightmare. After his project malfunctions, Zac discovers that he may be the last man on Earth. As he searches empty cities for other survivors, Zac’s mental state begins to deteriorate, culminating in the film’s iconic and hotly debated ending.

Fear and Desire

Classics

Virtually unseen since its theatrical premiere in 1953, Fear and Desire is the ambitious first feature film by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. An existential war film often compared with the director's Paths of Glory (1957) and Full Metal Jacket (1987), Fear and Desire follows a squad of soldiers who have crash-landed behind enemy lines and must work their way downriver to rejoin their unit.

Pushing Hands

Classics

Having just moved from Beijing, elderly tai chi master Mr. Chu (Sihung Lung) struggles to adjust to life in New York, living with his Americanized son Alex (Ye-tong Wang). Chu immediately butts heads with his put-upon white daughter-in-law, Martha (Deb Snyder), a writer who seems to blame him for her own paralyzing inability to focus. But when Chu begins teaching tai chi at a local school, his desire to make a meaningful connection comes to fruition in the most unexpected of ways. PUSHING HANDS is the debut film from Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, forming the first chapter in his "Father Knows Best" trilogy, which depicts the tensions between the traditional Confucian values of the older generation and the realities of modern life. Co-written by collaborator James Schamus, PUSHING HANDS was selected by the 1992 Berlin International Film Festival and won three Golden Horse Awards, paving the way for Lee's worldwide success with films such as CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Presented in a new restoration.

W.U.S.A.

Classics

W.U.S.A. stars Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in this story of conspiracy. Newman plays Rheinhardt, a drifter from the Deep South who becomes a D.J. for an ultra-right-wing New Orleans radio station. Soon, he discovers the station's true and sinister intentions.

Papa's Delicate Condition

Classics

Jack Griffith, known as "Papa" to all, is a family man in a Texas town, but an irresponsible one. To impress his 6-year-old daughter Corinne, he spends the family's savings to buy his own circus, simply so the little girl can have her own pony. After his squandering leaves the Griffiths in debt, wife Ambolyn packs up Corinne and older sister Augusta and moves to Texarkana, Texas, where her father, Anthony Ghio, is the mayor. Griffith attempts to use his circus to help Ghio's bid for reelection, but accidentally causes Ambolyn to end up with a broken hand. Despondent, he leaves for Louisiana and is little seen or heard from by the family. Talked into an attempt at reconciliation, Papa is reluctant, believing the Griffiths want nothing more to do with him, but he is welcomed back with open arms.

Sailor Beware

Classics

Dean Martin (Al Crowthers) and Jerry Lewis (Melvin Jones) join the Navy in this entertaining comedy that features some of their best routines. Watch closely for a brief appearance by James Dean. Based on the play SAILOR BEWARE by Kenyon Nicholson and Charles Robinson.

The Black Orchid

Classics

Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren star as longtime widower Frank and recently widowed Rose, lonely hearts who discover something special in The Black Orchid, a sensitive comedy romance directed by Martin Ritt (Norma Rae, Murphy's Romance). What they discover is each other - and a love that restores joy in their lives. Yet before they can say "I do," Frank's daughter says "No you don't!" With all the heart and courage they possess, Frank and Rose work to win over his daughter and to rescue Rose's son from a path that has him headed for reform school. Love may be better the second time around... but for Frank and Rose it's also a lot more complicated!

Conflict

Classics

Conflict is a love triangle with murder at its heart, an atmospheric film noir of rainy nights, looming shadows, fatal romance and a trenchcoated killer that walks out of the mist – all directed by Curtis Bernhardt, a filmmaker skilled in the Expressionistic style of his native Germany. The story embraces the perfect noir topic: the almost-perfect crime. Humphrey Bogart portrays Richard Mason, married to nagging Katherine (Rose Hobart)…but in love with her sunny sister (Alexis Smith). Shortly after a fifth-year wedding celebration at the home of a friend (Sydney Greenstreet), Richard decides to remove the obstacle to his happiness. He kills Katherine, carefully leaving no evidence of his guilt. Or at least he thinks he killed her – until mysterious events cause Richard to fear Katherine is very much alive.

Harlow

Classics

Hollywood in 1928 is the land of milk and honey, magic and fantasy. Jean Harlow’s spectacular and controversial career begins with bit parts in the movies. She is living with her mother, Mama Jean Bello, and her opportunistic stepfather, Marino Bello, when Hollywood agent, Arthur Landau, spots her on a film set, gets her a series of comedy roles and soon realizes he has a gold mine in Jean. He introduces her to film star Jack Harrison and then arranges for her to meet producer Richard Manley. She is panned in her first picture but the critics hail her as a sex symbol and, after a personal appearance tour, she returns to Hollywood a sensational success.

Classics Movies