Great Old Movies (pre-1960) You May Not Know About
In chronological order, great movies which are not as widely known as they deserve ...
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- DirectorClarence BrownStarsJoan CrawfordClark GableWallace FordAn ambitious factory girl meets a handsome, wealthy lawyer, but he's interested in her as a mistress, not a wife.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsBarbara StanwyckBen LyonJoan BlondellA nurse enlists the help of a petty criminal to foil a sinister plot to murder two children.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsWilliam PowellKay FrancisFrank McHughA terminally ill woman and a debonair murderer facing execution meet and fall in love on a trans-Pacific crossing, each without knowing the other's secret.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsMarlene DietrichCary GrantHerbert MarshallA cabaret singer takes up with a millionaire to pay for her gravely-ill husband's operation.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'SullivanRay MillandA man poisons his nephew out of desperation for money.
- DirectorWilliam K. HowardStarsSpencer TracyColleen MooreRalph MorganThe tragic life story of a power-hungry industrialist is recounted in the aftermath of his death.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsEdward G. RobinsonJean ArthurArthur HohlA meek milquetoast clerk is mistaken for public enemy N° 1, and the notorious killer takes advantage of the situation.
- DirectorCharles BrabinStarsWalter HustonJean HarlowWallace FordPolice Chief Jim Fitzpatrick ruthlessly goes after organized crime and is prepared to use brutal and violent methods to fight it.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMiriam HopkinsMerle OberonJoel McCreaTwo schoolteachers and the man they both love face ruin when a malicious student cooks up a lie.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsMargaret SullavanJames StewartWalter PidgeonShortly after the United States enters World War I in 1917, a Broadway actress agrees to let a naive soldier court her in order to impress his friends, but a real romance soon begins.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsConstance BennettBrian AherneAlan MowbrayDizzy society matron Emily Kilbourne has a habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants. Her latest find is a handsome "tramp" who shows up at her doorstep and soon ends up in a chauffeur's uniform. He also catches the eye of her pretty Geraldine.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartPriscilla LaneThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsCary GrantCarole LombardKay FrancisAfter a wealthy man finds out his wife is a gold digger, he meets and falls for a widowed mother, and complications ensue.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCarole LombardAnne ShirleyBrian AherneA nurse loses her job after selflessly taking the blame for a fatal mistake her sister and co-worker made. She is subsequently employed at a poorly-equipped hospital, where she finds romance and tragedy.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsDick PowellEllen DrewRaymond WalburnAfter the co-workers of an ambitious clerk trick him into thinking he has won $25,000 in a slogan contest, he begins to use the money to fulfill his dreams. What will happen when the ruse is discovered?
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyFrank McHughBoring businessman Larry Wilson recovers from amnesia and discovers he's really a con man...and loves his soon-to-be-ex wife.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsSpencer TracyKatharine HepburnRichard WhorfJournalist Steve O'Malley (Spencer Tracy) wants to write a biography of a national hero who died when his car ran off a bridge. Steve receives conflicting reports and tales that make him question what the truth about the hero is.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsFranchot ToneElla RainesAlan CurtisA devoted secretary risks her life to try to find the elusive woman who may prove her boss didn't murder his selfish wife.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsKatharine HepburnRobert TaylorRobert MitchumMiddle-aged bride Ann Hamilton soon begins to suspect that her charming husband is really a psychotic who plans to murder her.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsJohn HodiakNancy GuildLloyd NolanGeorge Taylor returns from WWII with amnesia. Back home in Los Angeles, while trying to track down his old identity, he stumbles onto a 3-year old murder case and a hunt for a missing $2 million.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBurt LancasterHume CronynCharles BickfordAt a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsRobert TaylorAudrey TotterHerbert MarshallAfter a brain-damaged man confesses to murder and is committed, Dr. Ann Lorrison tries to prove his innocence.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJames StewartRichard ConteLee J. CobbChicago reporter P.J. McNeal re-opens a decade-old murder case.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsBarbara StanwyckBurt LancasterAnn RichardsWhile on the telephone, an invalid woman overhears what she thinks is a murder plot and attempts to prevent it.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterYvonne De CarloDan DuryeaAn armored truck driver and his ex-wife conspire with a gang to have his own truck robbed on the route.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBrian DonlevyElla RainesCharles CoburnA unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJames MasonBarbara Bel GeddesRobert RyanAn ambitious young LA department store model gets her wish of marrying a millionaire but she eventually discovers that rich life isn't always a happy one.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsBarbara StanwyckJohn LundJane CowlA pregnant woman adopts the identity of a railroad-crash victim and starts a new life with the woman's wealthy in-laws, but is soon blackmailed by her devious ex.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBarbara StanwyckWendell CoreyPaul KellyAssistant district attorney Cleve Marshall falls for the mysterious Thelma Jordon when she seeks help solving robberies of her aunt's estate.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsDana AndrewsGene TierneyGary MerrillDet. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. Will Dixon's vicious nature get the better of him?
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsJames StewartMarlene DietrichGlynis JohnsAn aeronautical engineer predicts that a new model of plane will fail catastrophically and in a novel manner after a specific number flying hours.
- DirectorRichard FleischerWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsCharles McGrawMarie WindsorJacqueline WhiteA woman planning to testify against the mob must be protected against potential assassins on the train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.
- DirectorAnthony KimminsStarsJohn MillsPhyllis CalvertEileen MooreA British aircraft engineer accidentally kills his daughter's nasty foreign boyfriend, then tries to cover up his deed.
- DirectorDick PowellStarsStephen McNallyAlexis SmithJan SterlingTwo escaped killers take hostages and hide in a Nevada mining ghost town, knowing that an atom bomb is scheduled to be tested there the next morning.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsJohn MillsJohn McCallumElizabeth SellarsReleased from prison after twelve years, a wrongfully convicted British man seeks revenge on the witnesses who lied at his trial.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsDana AndrewsJoan FontaineSidney BlackmerA novelist aided by his future father-in-law conspires to frame himself for the murder of a burlesque dancer as part of an effort to ban capital punishment.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsDana AndrewsRhonda FlemingGeorge SandersA serial killer has been killing beautiful women in New York and the new owner of a media company offers a high ranking job to the first of his senior executives who can get the earliest scoops on the case.
- DirectorGerald ThomasStarsJohn MillsDerek FarrNoelle MiddletonWhen Dr. Howard Latimer finds the German actress that he had just met at London Airport murdered in his flat. It leads him into the world of murder, blackmail, and a fake passport scam.