Cinemateca

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:01:54 +0000

Early adaptation of the novel by Victor Hugo starring Lon Chaney. In fifteenth century Paris, Jehan, the evil brother of the archdeacon, plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt, which eventually leads to the peasants storming the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Jehan’s slave, a freakish hunchback named Quasimodo, falls in love with the young gypsy queen, Esmeralda, who in turn is in love with Phoebus, a gentleman soldier and a rogue with the ladies. Phoebus’s gallant side is awakened by the beautiful peasant girl, and he soon returns her love. Unknown to him, his love is dangerous, because Jehan lusts for Esmeralda and is willing to kill the handsome soldier to possess her. But the hunchback will tolerate no harm coming to her, not even if it comes from his own master.

Drama | History

Lon Chaney	…	Quasimodo
Patsy Ruth Miller	…	Esmeralda
Norman Kerry	…	Phoebus de Chateaupers
Kate Lester	…	Madame de Condelaurier
Winifred Bryson	…	Fleur de Lys
Nigel De Brulier	…	Don Claudio (as Nigel de Brulier)
Brandon Hurst	…	Jehan
Ernest Torrence	…	Clopin
Tully Marshall	…	El Rey Luis XI
Harry von Meter	…	Mons. Neufchatel (as Harry Van Meter)
Raymond Hatton	…	Gringoire
Nick De Ruiz	…	Mons. Le Torteru (as Nick de Ruiz)
Eulalie Jensen	…	Marie
Roy Laidlaw	…	Charmolu
Ray Myers	…	Charmolu’s Assistant (as W. Ray Meyers)

Adventures of Don Quixote (1933)

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:01:49 +0000

In Spain, in the sixteenth century, an elderly gentleman named Don Quixote has gone mad from reading too many books on chivalry. Proclaiming himself a knight, he sets out with his squire, Sancho Panza, to reform the world and revive the age of chivalry, choosing a slut to be his noble lady Dulcinea. He mistakes inns for castles, a play about chivalry for the real thing, flocks of sheep for armies, convicts for wronged prisoners, and windmills for giants. While he and Sancho are off on their adventures, his niece, her fiancee, and the local priest think up a strategy to get him back home. Written

Adventure | Musical | Comedy | Drama

Feodor Chaliapin Sr.	…	Don Quixote
George Robey	…	Sancho Panza
René Donnio	…	Carrasco (as Donnio)
Renée Valliers	…	Dulcinea
Emily Fitzroy	…	Sancho Panza’s wife
Sidney Fox	…	Maria the niece
Miles Mander	…	Duke of Fallanga
Wally Patch	…	Gypsy King
Oscar Asche	…	Police Captain
Lydia Sherwood	…	Duchess of Fallanga
Frank Stanmore	…	Priest

His Royal Highness (1932)

admin2 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:01:01 +0000

Australia’s first musical comedy featuring vaudevillian comic George Wallace the most popular Australian comedian or the era.

Musical | Comedy

George Wallace	…	Tommy Dodds / King of Betonia
Byrl Walkley	…	Yoiben
Frank Tarrant	…	Hozzan
Donalda Warne	…	Barbette
Lou Vernon	…	Torano
Marshall Crosby	…	Alfam
John Fernside	…	Giuseppe
John Dobbie	…	Jim
Nell Taylor	…	Molly

Niemandsland — Hell on Earth (1931)

admin2 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:01:50 +0000

No Mans Land

The film takes place in a WWI trench, where five diverse individuals have been unwillingly thrust together.
Despising one another at first, the five protagonists come to realize that they must learn to get along if they hope to survive. The pacifistic sentiments (not to mention the ethnic mix) of Niemansland would be verboten by the Nazi regime within a few years after its original 1931 release; indeed, all copies of this film were ordered to be destroyed by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

War

Ernst Busch	…	Ernst Kohler
Vladimir Sokoloff	…	Lewin (as Waldemar Sokoloff)
Renée Stobrawa	…	Frau Kohler
Elisabeth Lennartz	…	Lewin’s Bride
Hugh Douglas	…	Charles Brown (as Hugh Stephens Douglas)
Louis Douglas	…	Joe Smile
Zoe Frank	…	Mrs. Brown
Georges Péclet	…	Charles Durand (as George Piclet)
Rose-Mai	…	Frenchman’s Sweetheart

Jungle Book (1942)

admin2 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:06:18 +0000

Teenaged Mowgli, who was raised by wolves, appears in a village in India and is adopted by Messua. Mowgli learns human language and some human ways quickly, though keeping jungle ideas.
Influential Merchant Buldeo is bigoted against ‘beasts’ including Mowgli; not so Buldeo’s pretty daughter, whom Mowgli takes on a jungle tour where they find a treasure, setting the evil of human greed in motion.

Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Sabu	…	Mowgli
Joseph Calleia	…	Buldeo
John Qualen	…	The barber
Frank Puglia	…	The pundit
Rosemary DeCamp	…	Messua (as Rosemary De Camp)
Patricia O’Rourke	…	Mahala
Ralph Byrd	…	Durga
John Mather	…	Rao
Faith Brook	…	English girl
Noble Johnson	…	Sikh

Little Princess, The (1939)

admin2 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:06:08 +0000

When her father, Captain Crewe, goes off to fight in the Boer War, young Sara Crewe is placed into the care of Amanda Minchin, the head of an exclusive private school for girls. Sara lives a wonderful life of a privileged child and is quite happy in her surroundings. When her father is listed as missing in action however, her life goes from one of plenty to that of a poor house maid. Mrs. Minchin agrees to keep her on at the school, but in the absence of her tuition payments, she has to work for her keep. She is soon cleaning out the fireplace and scrubbing floors and is dubbed the little princess by her former schoolmates. She also refuses to accept that her father is dead and prowls the hospitals in the hope of locating him. Luck – and Royal intervention – assist her in her quest.

Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical

Shirley Temple	…	Sara Crewe
Richard Greene	…	Geoffrey Hamilton
Anita Louise	…	Rose
Ian Hunter	…	Captain Crewe
Cesar Romero	…	Ram Dass
Arthur Treacher	…	Bertie Minchin
Mary Nash	…	Amanda Minchin
Sybil Jason	…	Becky
Miles Mander	…	Lord Wickham
Marcia Mae Jones	…	Lavinia
Beryl Mercer	…	Queen Victoria
Deidre Gale	…	Jessie
Ira Stevens	…	Ermengarde
E.E. Clive	…	Mr. Barrows
Eily Malyon	…	Cook

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 1 – Golden God (1939)

admin2 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:01:24 +0000

It’a 1824 and Don Del Oro, a man completely hidden in a suit of armor, plans to become emperor of Mexico. Don Diego arrives and as the masked Zorro takes up the fight. He organizes the Legionnaires to fight Del Oro’s henchmen and the Yaqui Indians. CHAP. 1, GOLDEN GOD: An explosion sends a landslide down on Zorro. CHAP. 2, FLAMING Z: Zorro is trapped in a building as it explodes. CHAP. 3, DESCENDING DOOM: Zorro is trapped in an elevator shaft with the car plummeting down at him. CHAP. 4, BRIDGE OF PERIL: Zorro is on a narrow suspension bridge when the suport ropes are cut. CHAP. 5, DECOY: Zorro is on a wagon that explodes. CHAP. 6, ZORRO TO THE RESCUE: Zorro is locked in a dungeon cell with a moving wall that is about to crush him. CHAP. 7, FUGITIVE: Zorro falls beneath a runaway stagecoach. CHAP. 8, FLOWING DEATH: Zorro is in a mine shaft when an avalanche of water is released. CHAP 9, GOLDEN ARROW: A man at close range shoots an arrow at the unsuspecting Don Diego. CHAP. 10, MYSTERY WAGON: Zorro is trapped in a runaway wagon that goes over a cliff. CHAP 11, FACE TO FACE: Zorro is trapped in Del Oro’s cave by the Yaqui Indians. CHAP. 12, UNMASKED: Del Oro’s identity is revealed.

Western

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 1 – Golden God (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 2 – Flaming Z (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 3 – Descending Doom (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 4 – Bridge of Peril (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 5 – Decoy (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 6 – Zorro to the Rescue (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 7 – Fugitive (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 8 – Flowing Death (1943)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 9 – Golden Arrow (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 10 – Mystery Wagon (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 11 – Face to Face (1939)

Zorro’s Fighting Legion: Chapter 12 – Unmasked (1939)

Reed Hadley	…	Don Diego Vega / Zorro
Sheila Darcy	…	Volita
William Corson	…	Ramon
Leander De Cordova	…	Governor Felipe
Edmund Cobb	…	Manuel Gonzalez
John Merton	…	Commandante Manuel [Ch. 1-9]
C. Montague Shaw	…	Chief Justice Pablo
Budd Buster	…	Juan
Carleton Young	…	Benito Juarez [ch 1-2, 12]
Guy D’Ennery	…	Don Francisco [Ch. 1]
Paul Marion	…	Kala [Ch. 10-12] (as Paul Marian)
Joe Molina	…	Tarmac (Yaqui chief)
James Pierce	…	Henchnam Moreno (as Jim Pierce)
Helen Mitchel	…	Doña Maria
Curley Dresden	…	Henchman Tomás

Waltzes from Vienna (1934)

admin2 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:01:14 +0000

Schani, Johan Strauss Jr., is forced by his father to forget music and to work in a bakery. Here he falls in love with Resi. The girl gets very jealous when a rich and beautiful contessa asks Schani to write a waltz for her. Schani writes and plays it, but he is always loyal to his girlfriend.

Biography | Music | Romance

Esmond Knight	…	Johann Strauss, the Younger
Jessie Matthews	…	Rasi
Edmund Gwenn	…	Johann Strauss, the Elder
Fay Compton	…	Countess Helga von Stahl
Frank Vosper	…	Prince Gustav
Robert Hale	…	Ebezeder
Marcus Barron	…	Drexter
Charles Heslop	…	Valet
Betty Huntley-Wright	…	Lady’s Maid
Hindle Edgar	…	Leopold (as Hindle Marriott Edgar)
Sybil Grove	…	Mme. Fouchett
Billy Shine Jr.	…	Carl (as Bill Shine)
Bertram Dench	…	Engine driver
B.M. Lewis	…	Domeyer
Cyril Smith	…	Secretary

Zorro’s Black Whip: Chapter 1 – The Masked Avenger (1944)

admin2 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:01:02 +0000

Hammond, owner of the town’s stagecoach line and a leading citizen, is opposed to Idaho becoming a state, and kills Randolph Meredith, owner of the town’s newspaper, for endorsing it. Meredith’s sister Barbara, expert with a bullwhip and pistol, dons a black costume and mask and becomes “The Black Whip”, dealing a blow to Hammond and his gang each time they perform some heinous act in their efforts to keep the town, and their power over it, unchanged. Aided by government agent Vic Gordon, Barbara confronts Hammond in a final showdown just as the town votes on whether or not to accept statehood.

Western

George J. Lewis	…	Vic Gordon
Linda Stirling	…	Barbara Meredith (The Black Whip)
Lucien Littlefield	…	‘Tenpoint’ Jackson
Francis McDonald	…	Dan Hammond
Hal Taliaferro	…	Henchman Baxter
John Merton	…	Henchman Ed Harris
John Hamilton	…	Mr. Walsh (Banker) [Chs.1-3,10-12]
Tom Chatterton	…	Crescent City Councilman
Tom London	…	Commissioner James Bradley [Ch.1]
Jack Kirk	…	Marshal Wetherby
Jay Kirby	…	Randolph Meredith [Ch.1]
Si Jenks	…	Zeke Hayden [Chs. 6-7]
Stanley Price	…	Hedges, Hammond’s Clerk-Henchman
Tom Steele	…	Henchman Ed [Chs. 1, 9, 12] / Rancher [Ch. 7]
Duke Green	…	Trail Heavy Evans [Chs. 1-2, 8] / Ranchhouse Heavy Brown [Ch. 9]

Trouble in Texas (1937)

admin2 — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:19:48 +0000

It was re-issued by ScreenCraft Pictures with Rita Hayworth’s name above the title. An inside joke has Yakima Canutt playing a henchman named “Squint Palmer”, a name often used by player Tex “Squint” Palmer, who plays Henchman Duke in this film, is billed 5th in the cast and has exactly no lines. The film cast billing in this one gets stranger as Milburn Morante, playing a townsman with no name and exactly one line, is 8th billed as Milt Morndi; Fred Parker, as the 1st Sheriff with one scene and no lines is 7th billed, while Glenn Strange as the Middleton Sheriff with much footage and many lines is uncredited; and Buffalo Bill look-alike Tex Cooper is the Rodeo Announcer but billed as Tom Cooper. And the Bob Crosby in this film, in spite of some source that incorrectly thinks otherwise, is a well-known rodeo performer of the time from New Mexico named Bob Crosby and is not Bing’s brother Bob Crosby (I). The Bob Crosby in this film has a stretch of highway between Roswell and Clovis,NM named for him… and Bing’s brother doesn’t. The plot has Tex Martin following the rodeo circuit trying to find the gang responsible for his brother’s death, while Carmen Serano is an undercover agent (working with the gang) seeking evidence against a band of crooked promoters rigging the results of rodeo contests.

Western

Tex Ritter	…	Tex Masters
White Flash	…	Tex’s horse
Rita Hayworth	…	Carmen Serano (as Rita Cansino)
Yakima Canutt	…	Henchman Squint Palmer
Charles King	…	Henchman Pinto
Horace Murphy	…	Sidekick Lucky
Earl Dwire	…	Barker
Tex Cooper	…	Rodeo Announcer (as Tom Cooper)
Hal Price	…	Federal Officer
Glenn Strange	…	Middleton Sheriff
Jack C. Smith	…	Banker Bix (as Jack Smith)
The Texas Tornadoes	…	Musicians (as Tex Ritter’s Tornadoes)