Charles Laughton

The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.

German raider, using various disguises, forces British ship to surrender. Story told from German point of view. In 1941, the British Admiralty is worried about the large number of Allied ships being destroyed in the Pacific Ocean by a mysterious enemy vessel. Initially, British Admiral Russell suspects that a German submarine is the culprit. However, the few revealed pieces of the mystery point to a German Navy surface warship.The British don't know it yet but the enemy ship in question is the German raider Atlantis commanded by Captain Rogge.His success in sneaking upon unsuspecting enemy vessels is due in large part on Atlantis' ability to disguise itself in a benign, non-combatant, neutral ship.To achieve this ruse, the Atlantis uses props, camouflage, paint, fake foreign flags and even theatrical costumes for its crew to make itself appear something it's not.When Atlantis is close to its prey, it reveals its true identity and opens fire sinking the duped victim. Finally realizing the truth, Admiral Russell decides to set traps in order to persuade Atlantis to reveal its position to a task-force of British warships laying in ambush.But first, Admiral Russell must gain Atlantis' confidence by pretending he's sending his messages from the German Navy High Command.It won't be easy, since the German Navy uses a Flower Grid Code Map to arrange contacts between its various ships. A game of cat and mouse begins. —nufs68

A few years after War War II, in London, Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), is accused of murdering a rich widow, Emily French (Norma Varden), who has recently changed her will and bequeathed him a substantial sum of money. Sir Wilfred Robarts (Charles Laughton), a skilled lawyer who has Just be released from hospital, is asked to defend Vole. Sir Wilfred's doctor has instructed him to avoid excitement. After his hand-picked replacement barrister expresses doubt over Vole's innocence, Sir Wilfred decides to handle the case himself, despite protests from his nurse (Elsa Lanchester). After a conversation with Mrs. Christine Vole (Marlene Dietrich) and assessing her attitude, Sir Wilfred decides not to call on her to testify in defense of her husband. In the courtroom, Christine Vole surprisingly appears as a Witness for the Prosecution. A parade of circumstantial evidence points to Vole being the likely murderer. Christine's testimony does not provide an alibi for her husband. All seems lost as the defense concludes its case. But a late night phone call reveals new evidence that Christine wrote letters to an anonymous lover named Max about purposely denying her husband an alibi to get her freedom. This evidence changes the jury's opinion and Leonard is acquitted. However, Sir Wilfred suspects something is amiss with this sudden reversal and dramatic convenient evidence. All is revealed in the last dramatic court scene, as Christine admits to deliberately sabotaging her own testimony with the letters, to get her guilty husband freed. But in the penultimate twist, Leonard shows his true stripes and reveals his intention to leave his "wife" for a younger woman. Christine seizes the knife used as evidence of an accidental cut causing Vole's bloody jacket and, in full view of Sir Wilfred, his nurse (Miss Plimsoll), and the other woman, stabs Leonard, killing him. Miss Plimsoll cancels Sir Wilfred's planned trip to Bermuda and announces he will defend Christine Vole in her trial for murder.

Night of the Hunter opens in the stars, where Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish) tells the children (and the audience) a Southern Gothic parable regarding the importance of childhood and the dangers of "wolves in sheep's" clothing. Several children play hide and go seek near a farmhouse. One of the kids finds a prime hiding spot: the cellar. However, when he opens the door, the twisted legs of a young woman appear on the top steps. Miles away, the perpetrator, Reverend. Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) drives a stolen Model-T as he talks to the Lord about his earthly mission. He feels convinced that he is being led to punish some of the most wicked segments of society - "vain women", who use lust to ensnare men. At a peep show, Powell's disdain grows evident as his knuckles clutch his thigh - the words "LOVE and HATE" tattooed on his fingers. His weapon of choice, a switchblade rips through his pocket as the woman performs her striptease. However, the police stop the Preacher for car robbery, and he is charged with a thirty day stay in Moundsville Penitentiary. In another part of town, little John (Billy Chapin) and his young sister Pearl (Sally Jane Bruce) play in their front yard; Pearl dresses her doll, Miss Jenny. Their father, Ben Harper (Peter Graves) rushes to the lawn clutching wads of money: $10,000. He has stolen the money, and is on the run from the police. Harper hides the money in a secure location off camera. He forces John to swear to protect his sister, and to never reveal the location of the money. As the police arrive on the front lawn to arrest his father, John clutches his stomach, "Don't...don't!" He exclaims. Ben Harper is tried, and sentenced to be hanged for murder. Awaiting his execution, he is incarcerated with Harry Powell, who learns of Ben's financial gain. While Ben does not disclose the location of the money, Powell thanks the Lord for giving him the opportunity to find Ben's future widow and supplying him with funds. The town's children taunt John and Pearl by singing a hangman's song. They draw chalk outlines of hangmen. Ever vigilant, John takes Pearl away from the school, stopping to admire a watch at the store, and continuing home past the local ice-cream parlor, Spoons. Despite the temptations of the watch or candy, John resists the urge to spend the money, and makes Pearl swear not to reveal the location. In Spoons, Willa (Shelley Winters) the mother of John and Pearl, talks about how she is not in any rush to marry. A train ominously steams towards the town - bearing the now freed Reverend Powell. That night, John tells Pearl a story about a King, who is captured leaving his son and daughter gold and orders to defend their treasure. As he tells the story, the foreboding silhouette of Reverend Powell almost supernaturally appears in their bedroom. He ominously sings the hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms." The next day, John visits his friend, an outsider living in a house boat named Uncle Birdie. Uncle Birdie had been working on repairing Ben Harpers river skiff. John arrives at Spoons where Reverend Powell tells Icey (the store proprietor), Willa, and Pearl, how he had ministered with Ben Harper in his final moments. He explains the meaning of the tattoos on his fingers. His left hand has the word "HATE", and the right hand, "LOVE." They are in a constant struggle against each other since the fall of man, with "LOVE" winning out over all. Icey invites Reverend. Powell to come to the town picnic. John immediately dislikes the Preacher. At the picnic, Icey attempts to play matchmaker between Willa and the Reverend. He reassures Willa that Ben told him the money was at the bottom of the river. John knows this is a lie. That night John walks home from a visit with Uncle Birdie - the skiff not yet repaired - past the ice cream parlor. He sees his mom and Icey, ebullient over something. When he returns home, Reverend Powell corners him in the cramped hallway. Powell tells John that he is going to become his father and tries to convince him to reveal the location of the money. Pearl wants to tell; she has grown an affinity towards Powell. On the night of the honeymoon, Willa wears a negligee and tries to sleep with the Reverend. Powell humiliates her, forcing her to look into the mirror. Powell emerges from the darkness, illuminates himself for a minute, turning on a naked bulb, and once again floods the room with darkness as he chides her lust. Willa looks into the mirror uttering, "Help me to get clean.'' On the newly repaired skiff, Uncle Birdie and John are fishing. Birdie reassures John that if John is ever in trouble, he can come for help. That night, it is Willa, fanatically leading a revival meeting, testifying how Reverend Powell had saved her. The torches in the foreground illuminate her zealous face. The next night, Pearl is cutting paper dolls out of the money. It is revealed that the money was hidden in her doll, Miss Jenny. John quickly scolds her for playing with the money, but is interrupted as Rev. Powell appears in the doorway. The two children are able to hide the money, and Powell does not notice the paper dolls swirling next to his feet. Willa's trust begins to split as she realizes that Powell has been questioning John. Powell manipulates Pearl into coming to the parlor to tell him the location, Willa hears the exchange outside of the window as Powell gets increasingly violent. She cannot accept this turn of events, and lies in bed helplessly. She deludes herself that they are a happy family. In their bedroom, which looks church like due to the shadows and triangular architecture, Powell slits Willa's throat. John is awakened that night by the sound of a sputtering engine. The next morning at Spoon's, Powell is devastated that his wife Willa had "run away." He claims that Willa had turned him down on their honeymoon night, and was a drunk. He decides to stay for the children. The truth is revealed, as the camera transitions to a beautiful shot of seaweed swirling under water, mingling with Willa's hair. Willa sits serenely underwater in the passenger seat of her car as light streams over the body of both the woman and the car. A fish hook tugs on the frame of the windshield. It is Birdie, who has discovered the remains. An iris shot reveals Powell calling for the children, as he moves into the house. Pearl and John hide in the cellar. Reverend Powell corners them, until Icey arrives with dinner for the trio. When she leaves, Powell deprives them of dinner until they tell him what he wants to know. Uncle Birdie is convinced that if he tells, he will be accused of murder. He begins to drink. When Rev. Powell threatens Pearl with a knife, John lies and says that the money is hid under a stone in the basement. Powell lights a candle and leads the children into finding the money. When he discovers that the floor is made of concrete, he grabs John the hair and threatens to split him open like a pig. Pearl spills the secret, but John knocks a shelf of preserves onto Powell. The kids run out and lock him in the cellar. They run to the drunk Uncle Birdie who is non-responsive. John puts Pearl in the boat, with Rev. Powell hot on their heels. As the little boat gets away, Powell lets out a shriek of anger and frustration. As the boat floats down the river, Pearl sings to Miss Jenny. Many woodland animals appear in the foreground of the camera. Powell has commandeered a horse, making his black preacher's suit look even more menacing contrasted with the white steed. The kids beg door to door, finding refuge in a barn. As the crescent moon rises high in the sky, John spots the Reverend singing his trademark song: "Leaning. Leaning. Leaning on the Everlasting Arm..." The two run back to the boat where they are found by Rachel Cooper, a woman who has adopted many abandoned children at the turn of the depression. The oldest child of Ms. Cooper's clan, Ruby, has a rebellious streak, going off to town to flirt with the boys. When Rev. Powell appears in town to woo her, she is ironically inspired by the preacher, and feels compelled to confess her wrong doings to Rachel. Powell rides to Cooper's ranch where he comes to reclaim Pearl and John. Pearl runs to hug him, but John is able to grab the doll before Powell can get his hands on it. Cooper forces Powell off her property with a shotgun. That night, Powell intimidates the family by singing on Cooper's front porch. The "Leaning" duet between Cooper and Powell symbolizes the standoff. When the light goes out, it becomes clear that Powell is inside the house. When a cat scares him, Cooper wounds him with a shot, cornering him in the barn. When Powell is arrested, John has mixed feelings. As the police tackle Powell to the ground, John once again clutches his stomach, and murmurs "don't!" He then runs towards Powell, beating him with the doll, throwing the money at the arrested clergyman. Icey leads a fiery lynch mob against Reverend Powell, but even in court, John will not point out his mothers murderer - afraid of the consequence. Ruby is still enamored by the mystique Powell had held over her. While the state guards lead him from the back to avoid the mob, the children head home. It is indicated Pearl and John are now safe from Powell and can move on.

After her banishment from Rome, Jewish Princess Salome returns to her Roman-ruled native land of Galilee, where prophet John the Baptist preaches against Salome's parents, King Herod and Queen Herodias. In the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), Galilean prophet John the Baptist (Alan Badel) preaches against King Herod (Charles Laughton) and Queen Herodias (Dame Judith Anderson). Herodias wants John dead, but Herod fears to harm him after a prophecy. Enter beautiful Princess Salome (Rita Hayworth), Herod's long-absent stepdaughter. Herodias sees the King's dawning lust for Salome as her means of bending the King to her will. But Salome and her lover Claudius (Stewart Granger) are (contrary to Scripture) nearing conversion to the new religion, and the famous climactic dance turns out to have unexpected implications. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> As incendiary prophet John the Baptist preaches the coming of Jesus the Messiah in turbulent Galilee, the lascivious King Herod and his plotting wife Queen Herodias welcome back to the kingdom Herod's statuesque stepdaughter, Princess Salome. Freshly banished from Rome for her passionate affair with Caesar's nephew, beautiful Salome finds comfort in the arms of the Roman commander, Claudius, while the seditious Baptist becomes all the more a thorn in Herodias' side. Soon, King Herod will have to decide on life and death, and the exemplary punishment of John the Baptist: a sentence so cruel and dangerous that not even the seductive "Dance of the Seven Veils" will be enough to appease the king. —Nick Riganas

"Oh Lord, we pray Thee, not that wrecks should happen, but that if they do happen, Thou wilt guide them to the coast of Cornwall for the benefit of the poor inhabitants". So ran a prayer in the early XIX Century, before there were formal lighthouses, in Cornwall, a lawless corner of England . . . A ship is off the coast, making its way towards the shore on a stormy night. A man leaves Jamaica Inn on horseback and goes to the bluffs to conceal the warning light and cause the ship to run aground. A band of men wait on the shore for the inevitable shipwreck. As the frigate grinds itself to death on the rocks, the men kill all the surviving sailors and loot the cargo. It is daytime, and a stagecoach is on a road along the coast. The driver says to his companion that "Queer things" go on at Jamaica Inn. Inside the stage coach, a young Irish woman Mary Yellen (Maureen OHara) comments that she intends to stop at Jamaica Inn, whereupon those who hear her seem dumbfounded and horrified. Mary first tells, then yells at the coachman to drop her off there, but he rudely speeds past the place and stops near the mansion of Sir Humphrey, the local squire (Charles Laughton). She gets out to complain, but the coachman throws her trunk to the ground, tells her to ask Sir Humphrey for help, as he has a soft spot for young women, and drives off. Sir Humphrey is having dinner with upper class friends inside, grandly spouting off upper class platitudes. The butler tells him that a young woman has come and asked for him, so he leaves the dinner and goes to meet her. She reveals to him that she needs to go to Jamaica Inn to find her aunt Patience, wife of the innkeeper, and intends to move in with them, as her mother has recently died . Sir Humphrey is much struck by her beauty, offers his support and help anytime she needs anything, and orders a servant to prepare two horses so they can ride to the inn and carry her trunk. At first Mary mistakes the rude man who answers the door to be an underling, when it is actually her uncle Joss Merlyn (Leslie Banks). Reunited with her aunt Patience (Marie Ney), a kindly woman bullied by a husband she loves, she is assigned upstairs room and told to get settled. She finds her aunt is totally under the thumb of the vicious Joss, and also senses that something evil is afoot at the inn. In the rooms below, dirty men are drinking and singing loudly as the uncle joins them in the merriment. The uncle is the leader of this band of thieves. They are complaining that the recent wrecks have yielded very little money, and suspect a skimmer in their midst. Suspicion falls on the newest member of the gang, Jem Trehearne (Robert Newton). He is searched and found to have a large amount of money on him, which in their eyes prove his guilt, so they knock him unconscious and set about to hang him While this is going on, the squire has come back to Jamaica Inn to talk to Joss, as it is the squire who receives the contraband and fences it, keeping an enormous cut for himself. The squire and Joss argue about various things but Joss is no match for the squire in intelligence or education or connections, so he grumblingly caves in to everything the squire wants. Meantime, Mary from her upstairs room hears the lynching plan and spots the unconscious Jem through a hole in the floor. The drunk men fit a rope over a beam and prepare to hang him. They leave the room to look for a suitable plaform, and Mary finds the opportunity to cut the rope and drag Jem out. He recovers consciousness in the nick of time, and flees outside. Meantime the lynching party returns, finds the cut rope, figure out that Mary has helped him, and comes after her. She manages to get to the roof outside, without being seen, and there finds Jem, also hiding. Joining up, they manage to elude all parties searching for them, and get away. The squire, meantime, has been entertaining guests at his house, guests from whom he learns about the next ship that is to approach the coast and might be lured to be wrecked and looted. Joss shows up and must give the unpleasant news to the squire. Jem and Mary have made their escape in a row boat to a cave along the shoreline below the inn, where they slept. Mary wakes first, decides she no longer wants to be with an outlaw, and prepares to row away in the rowboat. Jem wakes, attempts to stop Mary, and, distracted by their arguing, the row boat slips off the shore and floats away leaving both of them stranded in the cave. Unfortunately, their small row boat is spotted by the thieves, who know about the cave and figure out where they are. That cave can be reached from the top of the bluff by a small hole, so the thieves prepare to go down the small hole to reach the pair, and send for a larger boat to come. Slipping into the water, the pair hides behind a rock near the surf zone some distance from the cave as the thieves' boat passes by. They eventually make their way to shore, where Mary suggests they flee to the squire's home for assistance. At the squire's house, Mary is led away to be given dry clothes. When she has gone, Jem reveals to Sir Humphrey that he is actually a lawman, an officer in the Royal Navy, who has been dispatched to uncover the thieves and bring them to justice. He suspects that there is another man behind the capers, someone who is sending the thieves information about what ships to lure and at what time, but he hasn't learned who that is. The squire furnishes Jem with officer's clothes, and offers to help directly, as he is the ranking magistrate in the area. They both grab their pistols and charge off to the Jamaica Inn to arrest Mary's aunt, uncle, and the gang for piracy, after sending a message to a garrison of the squire's knowledge, led by his supposed friend a Captain Boyle, to come help capture the gang. Mary overhears the arrest plan, steals the carriage to go warn her aunt and uncle, so that they may escape the hangman's noose. Jem and the squire arrive at Jamaica Inn before Patience and Joss get away, and they are arrested and held at gunpoint. Mary is upset at having been deceived by Jem, in that he has let her think he was an outlaw, and for insisting that Patience has been in the gang all along. The Squire manages to send Jem away sufficiently long that he is able to communicate to Joss the timing and location of the next ship that is expected, and insists to Joss that the ship must be looted as all the others, despite the inconvenient fact that Jem knows about the gang. He desperately needs more money. The gang arrives and with the Squires connivance, manages to free Joss and tie up the squire and Jem onto chairs. The gang is very keen to go trigger the wreck and get their next load of loot. They leave Patience holding a gun on the two prisoners, and take Mary with them as hostage. After the gang leaves, the squire calmly takes off his ropes, as his ropes had not really tied him down, and leaves, threatening Patience with harm to Joss if she disobeys. Jem works on Patience's conscience, telling her that she is helping to murder a large group of husbands, the officers and sailors on the ship, if she does not release him. Patience relents, Jem is freed, and he goes away to get real help. Mary, meantime, at the shore, manages to slip away from those holding her, reaches the beacon, uncovers the light, pushes one of the thieves off a cliff. The ship is saved. Mary is captured and returned to the gang, Joss, knowing that the squire has a very very special interest in Mary, gets her on a cart and as he escapes the gang's revenge with her, is shot in the back. Joss and Mary make it back to the Inn. Mary wants her aunt and uncle to escape to avoid the gallows, but Joss is too hurt, Patience is too much in love to leave him, so they wait too long. The Squire makes it back to the Inn, shoots Patience, and takes Mary hostage. The Squire has arranged his getaway with her on a ship that is about to sail. But Jem and others track him down after capturing the gang, and Jem rescues Mary from his grip. Mary is reconciled with Jem and it is clear an unlikely love has blossomed. The Squire is trapped on the ship, and goes up the highest mast to get away from those who are about to capture him. Rather than surrender, he jumps off the mast to his death.

An English valet brought to the American west assimilates into the American way of life. While visiting Paris in 1908, upper class Lord Burnstead loses his butler playing poker. Egbert and Effie Floud bring Ruggles back to Red Gap, Washington. Effie wants to take advantage of Ruggles' upper class background to influence Egbert's hick lifestyle. However, Egbert is more interested in partying and he takes Ruggles to the local 'beer bust'. When word gets out that "Colonel Ruggles is staying with his close friends" in the local paper, the butler becomes a town celebrity. After befriending Mrs. Judson, a widow who he impresses with his culinary skills, Ruggles decides to strike out on his own and open a restaurant. His transition from servant to independent man will depend on its success. —Gary Jackson <garyjack5@cogeco.ca> 1908. Married couple Egbert and Effie Floud are among the nouveau riche in the small but booming town of Red Gap, Washington. Egbert is a self-made millionaire in local resources and ranching, while Effie comes about her money through her mother, 'Ma' Pettingill, who struck oil. Egbert is a good old boy who likes to hang out and drink with his equally down home friends - rich or poor - which is much like Ma, while Effie, who wears the pants in the family, wants to be seen as socially and financially important, with all the trappings. The Flouds live in Ma's mansion, with Effie's equally snobbish sister and brother-in-law, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Bellknap-Jackson, who flaunt their wealth and self-importance. While vacationing in Paris, the Flouds meet British Lord, the Earl of Burnstead, and his manservant, Ruggles, who comes from a long line of gentlemen's gentlemen. In a drunken stupor, the Flouds "win" Ruggles in a poker game against the Earl. By the sober light of the next day, Egbert has no intention of collecting on the bet, while Effie has every intention of doing so, seeing the addition of Ruggles to their Red Gap lives, specifically as Egbert's manservant, as elevating their social standing. Egbert sees the addition of Ruggles to their lives solely as another drinking buddy with who to hang out. Beyond Ruggles being a fish out of water in Red Gap, he faces the struggle of whether Egbert or Effie is his ultimate master. Complications ensue when before Effie can make the official social announcement of Ruggles being Egbert's new manservant, the newspaper reports that he is actually the Floud's important house guest, British Colonel Marmaduke Ruggles, this misunderstanding based partly on Egbert referring to him in public colloquially and in friendship as colonel. Regardless, Ruggles may get a different perspective on life residing in the frontier of the proverbial land of the free. —Huggo An English gentleman loses his stuffy manservant, Ruggles, in a poker game with an unmannered cowboy and his wife. Ruggles accompanies his new employers to the tiny, wild town of Red Gap, Washington. Rich, rowdy Egbert Floud introduces Ruggles as "Colonel" Ruggles, and the town ladies are quite taken by the sophisticated servant in disguise as he enamors them with fictitious stories of battles gone by. Ruggles proves his newfound patriotism in one of the best scenes of the film, his recitation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in the Silver Dollar Saloon. The dream of freedom leads him to open his own restaurant, where one of his first customers is the nobleman who has come to reclaim his former servant. —Fiona Kelleghan <fkelleghan@aol.com>