Eugene Pallette

A trio of classy card sharks targets a socially awkward brewery heir, until one of them falls in love with him. Returning from a year up the Amazon studying snakes, the rich but unsophisticated Charles Pike meets con artist Jean Harrington on a ship. They fall in love, but a misunderstanding causes them to split on bad terms. To get back at him, Jean disguises herself as an English lady, and comes back to tease and torment him. —John Oswalt <jao@jao.com> After one year in Amazon researching snakes, the naive ophidiologist Charles Pike returns to the United States in a transatlantic. Charles is the son of the Connecticut's brewery millionaire Mr. Pike and disputed by gold diggers. The swindlers Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck), her father "Colonel" Harrington and their friend Gerald plan a confidence trick on Charles, but unexpectedly Jean falls in love with Charles and she calls off the scheme. However Charles's bodyguard Muggsy discovers that Jean is a con-artist and the disappointed Charles leaves Jean. Sometime later, in New York, the trio of con-artists meets their friend "Sir" Alfred McGlennan Keith in the horse races and they learn that "Sir" Alfred belonged to the high-society of Connecticut based on the reputation he had built. Jean sees the opportunity to take revenge at Charles, and she travels to the house of her "aunt" pretending to be the British noble Lady Eve. Mr. Pike promotes a party for Lady Eve and she seduces Charles that proposes her. But her intention is to get even with Charles. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Charles Pike, heir to the Pike brewing fortune, is a shy man who would much rather read a book than interact with people. While returning home from a scientific expedition in South America, he meets the lovely Jean Harrington. Unbeknownst to him however is the fact that Jean is part of a trio of cardsharps who travel on ocean liners looking for men just like him to give up his money. As they spend time together they soon fall in love and she is determined to protect him from her colleagues. Charles' bodyguard smells a rat and when he gets proof that Jean is a con artist, Charles breaks off the relationship. Jean now sets her sights on revenge and once back home, poses as the English Lady Eve to confuse and confound the innocent Charles. —garykmcd

A naive idealist fights the corrupt political machine that engineered his appointment to the U.S. Senate.

When Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence in 1190s England, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a resistance movement. Sir Robin of Locksley, defender of downtrodden Saxons, runs afoul of Norman authority and is forced to turn outlaw. With his band of Merry Men, he robs from the rich, gives to the poor and still has time to woo the lovely Maid Marian, and foil the cruel Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and keep the nefarious Prince John off the throne. —Little Pine Weasel <kristinat@cerritos.edu> With King Richard the Lionhearted away fighting wars in the Holy Land, his brother Prince John seizes the Regency. The Normans are hard on the Saxon peasants, and when Prince John learns that Richard is being held for ransom in Vienna, he taxes them beyond all reasonable limits supposedly to pay for his release. Sir Robin of Locksley, a Saxon lord, rebels against the Prince and his principal henchman, Sir Guy of Gisbourne. Declared an outlaw, he takes up residence in Sherwood Forest and begins to surround himself with those who are loyal to King Richard: Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and all the rest. When the Prince and Gisbourne manage to capture him by staging a archery contest, it's the beautiful Maid Marion who arranges his escape. When Robin and his men learn that Richard is in England, they protect him and ensure his evil brother is removed from power. —garykmcd In the late twelfth century, King Richard the Lionhearted of England is fighting in the Holy Crusades, leaving the Regency of the Kingdom to his trusted friend, Longchamps. When Richard is captured by Leopold of Austria, Richard's brother, the treacherous Prince John, with help from his supportive Norman barons and his primary henchman Sir Guy of Gisbourne, seizes control of the Regency. Under the guise of getting money to free Richard, John, in pillaging from the Saxon commoners, uses the money instead to fatten his own coffers in gaining control of the throne. The Saxons turn to one of their own, Sir Robin of Locksley - also known as Robin Hood - who, often recklessly, fights on their behalf against Norman authority in an effort to restore what is rightfully the Saxons until Richard's return, Richard to who Robin is loyal. As such, Robin is viewed as an outlaw by Prince John and Sir Guy. Robin's refuge is Sherwood Forest, where he recruits men to fight for what he believes is right. Generally matching Robin's happy-go-lucky temperament, that band of merry men includes Will Scarlet, John Little (renamed Little John because of his hulking physical size), and Friar Tuck. Also seeing Robin and his men as outlaws is Lady Marian Fitzswalter, a Norman and a royal ward. It isn't until Marian meets Robin and sees first hand what he is doing that she changes her allegiances. Prince John and Sir Guy hope to use what they see as the growing attraction between Robin and Marian to capture Robin and sentence him to death. Robin and Marian, the latter she believes clandestinely, work against Prince John and Sir Guy until King Richard's return, when they hope all will be right with England. But the return of King Richard, if it does happen, does not automatically restore him to the throne, especially if Prince John can crown himself king in Richard's absence. —Huggo In 1191, King Richard joined the Crusades and then he is captured by the Duke of Austria. His ambitious and evil brother Prince John takes over the throne and oppress the Saxons increasing the taxes and hanging those that cannot afford to pay. The Saxon nobleman Robin of Locksley hides in the Sherwood Forest and defends the people against the tyrannic John and his right hand Sir Guy of Gisbourne and is considered outlaw. When he meets Lady Marian, they immediately fall in love with each other. But Robin Hood and his men are hunted down by Sir Guy and the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Philo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clue. Archer Coe has been found dead in his locked bedroom. The cops consider it suicide, but Philo believes otherwise. When the Coroner shows up, he finds that Archer had been hit with a blunt object, stabbed and shot - making suicide unlikely. When the evidence points to his brother, Brisbane is found stabbed to death in the closet. Archer had a number of enemies, any one of which would have been glad to knock him off, but which one did and how did the murder occur in a room looked from the inside. Only one man, the keen, fascinating, debonair detective Philo Vance, would be able to figure out who is the killer. —Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com> Debonair private eye Philo Vance cancels his sea voyage to Europe when he hears that the wealthy Archer Coe was found dead in his home, an apparent suicide. Philo is soon on the scene of the crime and is quite dubious about suicide as the cause, despite the fact that Coe was found in a room that was locked from the inside. He had run into Cole the previous day at the Long Island Kennel Club and Coe was very much looking forward to the next day's competition and the possibility of his dog winning. It takes only a few minutes for Philo to convince Det. Sgt. Heath that it's murder. Finding the murderer isn't as easy however as Archer Coe was ruthless and had many enemies. —garykmcd