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Boomerang, directed by Elia Kazan, is a chilling film noir, the true story about the murder of a priest, the subsequent arrest and trial of a jobless drifter, and the efforts of young state's attorney Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews) to uncover the truth. Closely based on the actual 1924 murder of Fr. Hubert Dahme in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the film was directed by the young Elia Kazan in a highly effective, semi-documentary style. Kazan shot most of the film on location, using high-contrast cinematography and an extremely mobile camera to create a palpable sense of urgency. The screenplay, expertly crafted by Richard Murphy received an Academy Award nomination.

A once-in-a-lifetime cast of veterans performs David Berry's play about Libby Strong (Bette Davis) and Sarah Webber (Lillian Gish), widowed sisters vacationing on a Philadelphia island for their 60th consecutive summer. Libby is blind and embittered, while Sarah is healthy, supportive, and almost annoyingly chipper. Their neighbor Tisha (Ann Sothern) tries to convince Sarah to put Libby in the care of her daughter, but Sarah hasn't forgotten Libby's moral support when her own husband died, and she won't entertain such notions -- until she is swept off her feet by an aging roué (Vincent Price). When Libby spitefully sabotages this romance, an infuriated Sarah decides that gratitude has its limits. But when it actually comes down to selling their summer house and sending Libby packing, Sarah can't do it. In the film's flashback sequences, Libby is played by Margaret Ladd, Sarah by Mary Steenburgen, and Tisha by Ann Sothern's real-life daughter Tisha Sterling. Another film personality of long standing, Harry Carey Jr., is well cast as the sisters' handyman.

Together with Diabolique, The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur) earned Henri-Georges Clouzot the reputation as a "French Hitchcock." In truth, Clouzot's ability to sustain suspense may have even exceeded Hitchcock's; when originally released, Wages ran 155 tension-filled minutes. Based on the much-imitated novel by Georges Arnaud, the film is set in Central America. The Southern Oil Company, which pretty much rules the roost in the impoverished village of Las Piedras, sends out a call for long-distance truck drivers. Southern Oil's wages of 2,000 dollars per man are, literally, to die for -- the drivers are obliged to transport highly volatile nitroglycerine shipments across some of the most treacherous terrain on earth. Through expository dialogue, tense interactions and flashbacks, we become intimately acquainted with the four drivers who sign up for this death-defying mission: Corsican Yves Montand, Italian Folco Lulli, German Peter Van Eyck, and Frenchman Charles Vanel. The first half of the film slowly, methodically introduces the characters and their motivations. The second half -- the drive itself -- is a relentless, goosebump-inducing assault on the audience's senses. The winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival, The Wages of Fear was remade by William Friedkin as Sorcerer (1977).

Three Caballeros is the first Walt Disney feature to combine animation with live action footage. Originally conceived as World War II propaganda promoting good relations between the United States and Latin America, the film details the adventures of Donald Duck as he meets two Latin birds--Jose Carioca and Panchito,--and the three head down to Rio. The film doesn't have a concrete story, choosing to follow the three animated birds through Latin America, as they sing a number of songs, get into trouble and have a number of very amusing experiences. Filled with achingly funny jokes, good music, and stunning, ground-breaking animation, The Three Caballeros remains extremely entertaining decades after its release. It is one of Disney's unacknowledged classics.

Made by the then 23-year-old director Michael Reeves, who died after making only one more movie, the notable Witchfinder General (1968), this is an unusual horror film concerning an elderly couple who conduct experiments with mind control, hoping to experience the lost excitements of youth through their subject, a young man whom they have persuaded to become a guinea-pig in the name of science. Once the process has begun however, a conflict ensues between the couple, the woman urging their subject to commit crimes in the pursuit of even greater thrills against the wishes of her husband, which in turn results in a horrific comeuppance for both, the price exacted for meddling in things beyond the province of humanity. With the casting of veteran actor, Boris Karloff in this swinging sixties setting, this is a rare example of the merging of two styles of horror movie-making, the old school which Karloff represented almost gone by the late sixties, a new, grittier contemporary genre waiting to succeed it.

Aging actress Irina Arkadina pays summer visits to her brother Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin and her son Konstantin on a country estate. On one occasion, she brings along Boris Trigorin, a successful novelist. Nina, a free and innocent girl on a neighboring estate, falls in love with Trigorin. As he lightly consumes and rejects her, so the actress consumed and rejected her son all his life. The victims are destroyed while the sophisticates continue on their way.

Nicol Williamson stars as a Liverpool/Irish layabout who inherits a business from his father. Even in his executive togs, Williamson remains out of step with society. Already a surly sort, Williamson becomes even less likeable as the film progresses, especially when seeking to avenge a long-ago slight against his father. The film is a belated but still compelling entry in Britain's "Angry Young Man" cinematic cycle, with the "protagonist" remaining on top at the expense of his soul. Reckoning was based on The Harp That Once, a novel by Patrick Hall.

The directorial debut from Highlander screenwriter Gregory Widen stars Christopher Walken as the angel Gabriel, who, fed up with God giving all of his attention to humans, decides to stage a sort of coup. With plans of killing all of the good angels, Gabriel decides to enlist the help of a recently deceased and inhumanly malevolent army general. In order to prevent Gabriel from obtaining the help of the vicious Korean War vet, good angel Simon (Eric Stoltz) stashes the general's soul in an unsuspecting young Native American girl named Mary (Moriah Snyder). As Gabriel gets closer to finding Mary, an ex-seminary-student-turned-cop and a school teacher, played by Elias Koteas and Virginia Madsen, team together to protect her. Meanwhile, Satan (Viggo Mortensen) enters into the mix, concerned over the implications the heavenly war may have on his dominion. Later spawning a series of sequels, The Prophecy was released in the U.K. under the title God's Army.

In his second film for producer Sam Goldwyn, Bob Hope is felicitously teamed with luscious Goldwyn contractee Virginia Mayo. Hope plays Sylvester the Great, a two-bit entertainer "touring" the West Indies in the 18th century. Mayo is Princess Margaret, who is kidnapped by a rough, tough buccaneer known only as The Hook (Victor McLaglen). Through a series of unbelievable circumstances, Sylvester rescues Margaret, and the two of them pose as travelling troubadors in a treacherous Pirate colony, where people are stabbed and dumped in the ocean for nonpayment of rent and other such offenses. Disguising himself as The Hook, Sylvester is befriended by corrupt colonial governor La Roche (Walter Slesak), but only until the real Hook shows up. Things look bleak for Sylvester and Margaret, but salvation is on the way-as well as a surprising romantic denoument, when a "bit player from Paramount" (guess who?) shows up to steal the Princess away from Sylvester ("Boy, this is the last picture I make for Goldwyn!") No fewer than six writers teamed up for this Technicolor extravaganza, which though not as consistently hilarious as other Hope farces still holds up beautifully. The best performance is offered by Walter Brennan as an addled pirate named Featherhead, a character right out of a Tex Avery cartoon!

George Marshall directed this breezy romantic comedy starring Tony Randall and Debbie Reynolds. Randall plays Lorenzo Charlton, a stuffy tax investigator sent to the farm of Pop Larkin (Paul Douglas) and Ma Larkin (Una Merkel) to find out why they haven't been paying taxes. He discovers that the Larkins, instead of money, use a homegrown barter system. Their complex economic network causes Lorenzo to drink one home brew too many. Awakening from a hangover, he sees a vision of loveliness before him -- the Larkin's spunky daughter Mariette (Debbie Reynolds). Enraptured by Mariette, he decides to stick around and help the family out of their onerous tax burden. Further research reveals an ancestral claim dating to the Civil War -- in reality, the government owes the Larkins $14 million.

Steve Martin and Carl Reiner concoct one of Martin's best comic vehicles with Martin playing the world's top brain surgeon, Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr -- he ought to know, he said so himself. Hfuhruhurr pioneered the radical new cranial screw-top technique, but he grieves over the untimely death of his wife Rebecca, carrying around a small plastic likeness of her to get through the long and lonely evenings. Thinking of her while driving home, Hfuhruhurr takes his eyes off the road and runs down the beautiful but deadly Dolores Benedict (Kathleen Turner). Hfuhruhurr performs surgery which saves her life, but as she recovers, Hfuhruhurr doesn't realize Dolores is a gold-digging vixen who has driven her latest husband (George Furth) to death by apoplexy. She is now looking for a new victim and Hfuhruhurr fits the bill. They marry, but Dolores denies her husband sexual favors, which frustrates Hfuhruhurr to distraction. He takes Dolores on a belated honeymoon to Austria, where he meets fellow brain surgeon Dr. Necessiter (David Warner), who keeps a wide assortment of brains in his laboratory. Dolores takes the opportunity to have an extramarital affair, and when Hfuhruhurr finds out he dumps her. But in Necessiter's laboratory, Hfuhruhurr becomes attracted to Brain #21, Ann Uumellmahaye (voice of Sissy Spacek), with whom he communicates telepathically. At last, here is one case where a man loves a woman for her mind rather than her body (which doesn't exist)! But Ann's brain is deteriorating rapidly; Hfuhruhurr needs to find a body and transplant the brain quickly in order to save Ann.

In this WW II-era drama set in a small town, most of the adults are so busy fighting the war or working in the local defense plant that they have little time to supervise their children. A sort of juvenile anarchy ensues with the children and teens doing whatever they please. Soon the town is falling into ruin as a boy is run down by a car thief, a runaway girl begins associating with thugs and other mayhem ensues. Fortunately, a returning soldier decides to open up a youth center to give the kids a place to go. He also helps the boys get some useful job training.

Though Kay Francis' Warner Bros. vehicle had slipped from "A" attractions to B-plus programmers by 1938, she was still worth watching. A typical Francis vehicle of the time was Women are Like That, in which the star is cast as businesswoman Claire King, the daughter of a powerful advertising executive. When Claire marries humble copywriter Bill Landin (Pat O'Brien), she wants to use her influence to help her husband get ahead, but he will have none of it. Claire's persistence and Bill's stubborness almost leads to a parting of the ways, but things are set aright by the end of the picture. Based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Albert H. Z. Carr, Women Are Like That is faintly reminiscent of the 1924 "boss lady"drama Smouldering Fires.

Wind Across the Everglades represents the once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between director Nicholas Ray and screenwriter Budd Schulberg, and a strange little picture it is indeed. In his second film appearance, Christopher Plummer plays bibulous 19th-century Florida game warden Walt Murdock, who declares war on the poachers in his region. This brings him in direct conflict with the legendary Cottonmouth (Burl Ives), the spiritual leader of a group of illegal birdhunters. The highly eccentric supporting cast includes Gypsy Rose Lee as a sensuous farm wife, boxer "Two Ton" Tony Galento as a lout named Beef, circus clown Emmett Kelly as the much-married Bigamy Bob, novelist Mackinlay Kantor as the regional judge, and Peter Falk in his film debut, as an owlish writer. After Wind Across the Everglades, Nick Ray's Johnny Guitar will seem as antiseptic as Heidi.

Where's Charley?, Frank Loesser's hit Broadway musical version of Brandon Thomas' evergreen stage farce Charley's Aunt, was brought to the screen in 1952 with most of its original cast intact -- including, thank heaven, star Ray Bolger. In the original Brandon Thomas version, Oxford undergrad Lord Fancourt Babberly was coerced into disguising himself as "Charley's Aunt, from Brazil, where the nuts come from" so that his roommates Charley Wyckeham and Jack Chesney would have a proper escort for their visiting sweethearts Amy Spettigue and Kitty Verdun. In the musical version, Lord Fancourt is eliminated, and Charley plays his own aunt, making innumerable quickie costume changes throughout the proceedings. Complications ensue when three older characters show up: Jack's father Sir Francis Chesney, Amy and Kitty's irascible guardian Stephen Spettigue, and Charley's real aunt Donna Lucia D'Alvadorez. It goes without saying that Ray Bolger plays both Charley and the faux aunt, brilliantly recreating the sidesplitting comic turns that brought down the house on Broadway. Less successful is his re-creation of the audience-participation song "Once in Love With Amy," simply because it's difficult for a film actor to come "out" of the picture and encourage the audience to sing along. The other Loesser songs -- "Make a Miracle," "My Darling" and "New Ashmoleon Marching Society" are more satisfactorily rendered. For the record, the rest of the cast includes Allyn McLerie and Mary Germaine as Amy and Kitty, Robert Shackleton as Jack, Horace Cooper as Spettigue, Howard Marion Crawford as Chesney, and Margaretta Scott as Donna Lucia.

The Randolph Scott western Colt .45 was retitled for TV so as not to be confused with the TV series of the same name. The new title, Thundercloud, misleads the audience into expecting a Native American epic. Actually the film involves a gun salesman (Randolph Scott) whose sample case of Colt 45's is stolen by an outlaw (Zachary Scott--no relation to Randolph). Accused of being a member of the outlaw gang when they start using the Colts in their holdups, the salesman is obliged to track down the crooks. Thundercloud, or Colt .45, represented the last film of supporting actor Alan Hale Sr.

In this comedy, a carefree carouser creates trouble for his cousin the chaperone as they go 'round the world.

According to RKO Radio's publicity folks, Beauty for the Asking was supposed to have been an expose of the lucrative beauty-parlor "racket". What emerged on screen, however, was a pedestrian romantic triangle involving socialite Denny Williams (Patric Knowles), his wealthy wife Flora (Frieda Inescort), and pretty beautician Jean Russell (Lucille Ball). Spurned by Williams, Jean finds consolation by developing a revolutionary facial cream that makes her a millionairess. Ironically, her financial backer in this endeavor is none other than her romantic rival Flora. Among the screenwriters was Paul Jarrico, later blacklisted for his allegedly Communistic sentiments; the only thing remotely radical in Beauty for the Asking, however, is the notion that 28-year-old Lucille Ball could play a cosmetic tycoon.

This filmization of Neil Simon's first Broadway hit was adapted for the screen by Norman Lear. Once we get past the illogical casting of middle-aged Frank Sinatra and twentysomething Tony Bill as brothers, we're home free. Sinatra, a swinger supreme, uses his New York apartment as a harem of sorts for his legion of lady friends. Bill, wishing to break loose from his protective parents (Lee J. Cobb and Molly Picon), moves in with older brother Sinatra, hoping to emulate his sibling in the sex department. Sinatra teaches Bill the tricks of the trade--to his everlasting regret, since Bill soon wins such prizes as Jill St. John and Barbara Rush away from Sinatra. The third act finds Sinatra behaving more like a parent than his parents, steering Bill on the straight and narrow and finally settling down with Rush. Also appearing in Come Blow Your Horn is singer Phyllis McGuire (an offscreen Sinatra vis-a-vis), Dan Blocker, and, in the uncredited role of a wino, Dean Martin.

The simple story of a Wyoming range war is elevated to near-mythical status in producer/director George Stevens' Western classic Shane. Alan Ladd plays the title character, a mysterious drifter who rides into a tiny homesteading community and accepts the hospitality of a farming family. Patriarch Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) is impressed by the way Shane handles himself when facing down the hostile minions of land baron Emile Meyer, though he has trouble placing his complete trust in the stranger, as his Marion (Jean Arthur) is attracted to Shane in spite of herself, and his son Joey (Brandon De Wilde) flat-out idolizes Shane. When Meyer is unable to drive off the homesteaders by sheer brute strength, he engages the services of black-clad, wholly evil hired gun Jack Wilson (Jack Palance). The moment that Wilson shows he means business by shooting down hotheaded farmer Frank Torrey (Elisha Cook Jr.) is the film's most memorable scene: after years of becoming accustomed to carefully choreographed movie death scenes, the suddenness with which Torrey's life is snuffed out -- and the force with which he falls to the ground -- are startling. Shane knows that a showdown with Wilson is inevitable; he also knows that, unintentionally, he has become a disruptive element in the Starrett family. The manner in which he handles both these problems segues into the now-legendary "Come back, Shane" finale. Cinematographer Loyal Griggs imbues this no-frills tale with the outer trappings of an epic, forever framing the action in relation to the unspoiled land surrounding it. A.B. Guthrie Jr.'s screenplay, adapted from the Jack Schaefer novel, avoids the standard good guy/bad guy clichés: both homesteaders and cattlemen are shown as three-dimensional human beings, flaws and all, and even ostensible villain Emile Meyer comes off reasonable and logical when elucidating his dislike of the "newcomers" who threaten to divest him of his wide open spaces.

Tarzan's Greatest Adventure stars Gordon Scott in his fourth screen appearance as Edgar Rice Burrough's lord of the jungle. Jane is absent from the proceedings, Cheetah the chimp is reduced to a bit part, and Tarzan himself is given a sophisticated vocabulary (in keeping with the Burroughs original). The storyline concerns a murderous diamond hunter (Anthony Quayle), an old enemy of Tarzan's who threatens to despoil the Ape Man's jungle domain. Among the villain's entourage is a young Sean Connery, playing a nasty chap who meets a nastier demise. While perhaps not as great as the title proclaims, Tarzan's Greatest Adventure is one of the most consistently exciting entries in the Tarzan series, and worth a second glance today due to its top-drawer supporting cast.

Henry James based his 1881 novella Washington Square on a real-life incident, wherein a young actor of his acquaintance married an unattractive but very wealthy young woman for the express purpose of living the rest of his life in luxury. Washington Square was turned into a stage play in 1946 by Ruth and Augustus Goetz; this, in turn was adapted for the movies under the title The Heiress. Olivia DeHavilland won an Academy Award (her second) for her portrayal of Catherine Sloper, the plain-Jane daughter of wealthy widower Dr. Austin Sloper (Ralph Richardson). Catherine is not only unattractive, but lacks most of the social graces, thanks in great part to the domineering attitudes of her father. When Catherine falls in love with handsome young Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), she is convinced that her love is reciprocated, else why would Morris be so affectionate towards her? Dr. Sloper sees things differently, correctly perceiving that Morris is a callow fortune hunter. Standing up to her father for the first time in her life, Catherine insists that she will elope with Morris; but when Dr. Sloper threatens to cut off her dowry, Morris disappears. Still, Catherine threatens to run off with the next young man who pays any attention to her; Sloper, belatedly realizing how much he has hurt his only child, arranges to leave her his entire fortune. Years pass: Morris returns, insisting that he'd only left because he didn't want to cause Catherine the "grief" of being disinherited. Seemingly touched by Morris' "sincerity", Catherine agrees to elope with him immediately. But when Morris arrives at the appointed hour, he finds the door locked and bolted. Asked how she can treat Morris so cruelly, Catherine replies coldly "Yes, I can be very cruel. I have been taught by masters." Though The Heiress ends on a downbeat note, the audience is gratified to know that Catherine Sloper has matured from ugly-duckling loser to a tower of strength who will never allow herself to be manipulated by anyone ever again.

A woman stands to inherit a fortune if she can get all her brothers and sisters in one place...which is far more complicated than it might sound. When the Tatlocks, a very wealthy couple, suddenly and unexpectedly die, the executor of the estate informs Nan Tatlock (Wanda Hendrix) that their will stipulates that all members of the immediate family must be present at the reading in order for it to be valid. Nan immediately smells trouble, as the Tatlocks are a notoriously eccentric group of people, and as the sole "normal" member of the family, she's generally the only one who can be counted upon to arrive on schedule. As it turns out, Nan's greatest problem is rounding up her brother Skylar, who is so dizzy that he requires a full-time caregiver, Denno (Barry Fitzgerald). However, Skylar got away from Denno during a trip to Hawaii, and no one is sure where he is -- or even if he's still alive. When Nan learns that she could inherit several million dollars if she can bring her relatives together, and Skylar stubbornly refuses to materialize, the caretaker hires Burke (John Lund), a Hollywood stuntman who bears a striking resemblance to the missing man, to pose as Skylar at the reading of the will. Miss Tatlock's Millions was the first film directed by veteran British comic actor Richard Haydn, who appears in a small role under the pseudonym "Richard Rancyd." Ray Milland and noted director Mitchell Leisen also make cameo appearances.

Based on Lillian Bos Ross' novel The Stranger and adapted by screenwriter Marc Norman 25 years before he would win the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award for 1999's Shakespeare in Love (along with Tom Stoppard), Zandy's Bride is a romantic Western starring (Gene Hackman) as gruff rural rancher Zandy Allan. Looking more for an extra hand around the ranch than a companion, Zandy sends for a mail-order bride from Sweden. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't get what he expected. When his bride, Hannah (Liv Ullmann), arrives she is anything but compliant, bearing a headstrong attitude that rubs Zandy the wrong way. Although he mistreats her at first, Zandy and Hannah fall in love as hardship hits and they must struggle together for their survival. Also starring Eileen Heckart and Harry Dean Stanton, Zandy's Bride was also released under the title For Better, For Worse.

In this comedy, two stepsisters fight for the love of the same man. One of the sisters is good-looking and vivacious. She is also an utter fluffhead. Her sister is pragmatic and plain, but in the end, she gets the man.

In this fast paced mystery, an eager page boy for a radio station tries to convince the owners to let him do a comedy show with his pal, a porter. A hopeful singer and the station receptionist support the lads with the former hoping to make her debut there. Things are looking up for the young folk when suddenly several of the station's star acts are murdered on the air. The page, the porter and the receptionist begin investigating while the young singer fills in for the slain chanteuse. Success ensues all around.

From first frame to last, foxy Charles Coburn thoroughly dominates the proceedings in the bubbly RKO Radio comedy Unexpected Uncle. Living in retirement in Florida, ex-tycoon Seton (Charles Coburn) gets bored with sitting around doing nothing, and decides to extend himself to others for the first time in his life. Deftly pulling strings behind the scenes, Seton manipulates the budding romance between lingerie saleswoman Kathleen (Anne Shirley) and young millionaire Johnny (James Craig). Figuring that Kathleen will be a more desirable bride if Johnny's family thinks that she's rich herself, Seton poses as the girl's uncle, a guise that leads to all sorts of hilarity, including a chucklesome drunk scene. Ernest Truex tries to steal a scene or two as Johnny's manservant, but it's Charles Coburn's show all the way.

Poor Barry Trent (John Morley) has Too Many Wives in this RKO programmer. Actually, Barry starts out with no wife at all, which doesn't rest well with his new boss. To save his job, Barry pretends to have a spouse: now all he has to do is find the girl to fill the role. Thanks to a series of misunderstandings arising from a lost stamp worth $10,000, heiress Winifred Jackson (Anne Shirley), a wisecracking secretary (Barbara Pepper) and several total strangers come forward claiming to be Mrs. Barry Trent. Some critics compared Too Many Wives to a Charley Chase two-reeler; ironically Chase later showed up in His Bridal Fright (1940), a comedy short which also involved a missing stamp and a whole passel of would-be brides.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, three strangers make a pact before a small statue of the Chinese goddess of Destiny. The strangers are Crystal Shackleford (Geraldine Fitzgerald), married to a wealthy philanderer; Jerome Artbutny (Sidney Greenstreet), an outwardly respectable judge; and Johnny West (Peter Lorre), a seedy sneak thief. The threesome agree to purchase a sweepstakes ticket and share whatever winnings might accrue. Alas, the pact brings little more than misfortune for all concerned. Jerome steals funds from a client, then kills Crystal (with the goddess statue!) when she refuses to hand over her sweepstakes winnings. Johnny and his girlfriend Icy (Joan Lorring) decide to abandon their life of crime, but when it is revealed that the ticket is a winner, he sets fire to it to avoid having his name tied to the crime. If it seems strange that Peter Lorre ends up the romantic lead in Three Strangers, remember that the film's director, Jean Negulesco, thought Lorre was the finest actor who ever lived--and as a result, he fought tooth and nail with Warner Bros. to cast Lorre in this film.

Widely regarded as a "model" B-movie thriller, The Window stars Bobby Driscoll as a young boy prone to fibs. Thus, no one believes him when he claims to have seen a murder in a neighboring apartment. No one, that is, except the killers (Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman). Realizing he won't get any help from his parents (Barbara Hale and Arthur Kennedy) or the law, the boy must figure out a way to save himself from being shut up permanently by the murderers. The film's hair-rising and oft-imitated climax, which takes place in a rotting abandoned tenement, has lost none of its edge over the past five decades. A much-needed hit for financially strapped RKO Radio Pictures, The Window was remade in 1960 as The Boy Cried Murder.