Shelley Winters

A has-been Broadway performer gives tap lessons to a group of misfits who, through their dance classes, bond and realize what they can achieve. This is a musical-comedy movie produced and directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Liza Minnelli, written by Richard Harris, and based on a play also written by Harris. Minnelli plays the role of a has-been Broadway performer who gives tap lesson to a group of misfits who, through their dance classes, bond and realize what they can achieve.

The lawyer Stephen Blume, who specializes in divorces, is living a paradoxical situation where, having broken up his marriage, is still in love with his ex-girlfriend. Lawyer Stephen Blume, specialized in divorces, lives a paradoxical situation when, having his own marriage break up, is still in love with his ex-wife. —Victor Munoz <vmunoz@macul.ciencias.uchile.cl>

Forced to trade his valuable furs for a well-educated escaped slave, a rugged trapper vows to recover the pelts from the Indians and later the renegades that killed them. Trapper Joe is on his way to the town with all of his gain of hides of the last winter. However a group of Indians stops him and takes all of his hides, leaving him the escaped slave Joseph instead. But Joe has no use for Joseph and is determined to get his property back and follows them. Before he can do anything, the Indians are raided themselves by a group of scalphunters under the greedy Howie. Not only the hides, but also Joseph falls into their hands. Now Joe follows them alone and tries to trick the numerical superior group out of his hides. —Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de> Robbed of his precious, hard-earned cargo of hides, the rugged fur trapper, Joe Bass, finds himself with his back to the wall, and an unwanted companion, the well-educated runaway slave, Joseph Lee, after a fateful encounter with a marauding group of Kiowa Indians. Then, something equally unexpected happens, as Jim Howie's crew of scalp-hunters ambush the very same team of pelt-stealing Indians, and snatch the furs. Now, the reluctant duo is hot on their trail, with Bass hell-bent on retrieving his property; however, this is easier said than done. Will Joe ever take back what's his? —Nick Riganas

Unrepentant ladies' man Alfie Elkins gradually begins to understand the consequences of his lifestyle in 1960s London. For Alfie, the only real life is sex life. Only then, can he kid himself he is living. Sex is not used as the working-class boy's way to "the top". Executive status has no appeal for Alfie. Nor has class mobility. He is quite content to stay where he is, as long as the "birds" are in "beautiful condition", as he assures us they are in one of the candid, over-the-shoulder asides to the camera which this movie carries over from Tom Jones (1963). This movie shows how much of the "swinging 60s" quality of London life was a male creation, and through the dominance of the fashion photographers, a male prerogative. —alfiehitchie Alfie is a young man from the working classes of London. He is confident, charming, totally self-centered and very successful with the ladies; using them for his immediate pleasure without emotional involvement and leaving a trail of emotional devastation. His callousness toward these women contrasts with the delusion that he causes no harm; he is just teaching life's lessons. —Joe Jurca Showing total disregard for the consequences of his actions, stylish chauffeur Alfie Elkins, a handsome Cockney Lothario and incorrigible skirt-chaser, thinks he is God's gift to women. And in his endless pursuit of happiness, Alfie is used to charming his way out of trouble in hedonistic 1960s London, carving a path of sexual promiscuity and heartbreak along the way. However, as women of all shapes and sizes fall prey to his casual cheekiness, sooner or later, egotistic Alfie will have to face the music and pay the price for his insatiable sexual appetite. But has it ever occurred to Alfie that women have feelings too? —Nick Riganas

The film begins in a quarrell between two men at a remote mansion. Humbert Humbert (James Mason) a 40-something British professor of French literature, arrives at the masion which is ramsacked from an apparently wild party the night before and finds the insane and debauched Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers), whom is not only suffering from some kind of severe dementia, but is also clearly drunk, as he babbles on incoherently and does not seem to remember Humbert from a time ago. Quilty goes mad when Humbert points a gun at him. After a mutually exhausting struggle for it, Quilty, now insane with fear, merely responds politely as Humbert repeatedly shoots him. He finally dies with a comical lack of interest, expressing his slight concern in an affected English accent. Humbert is left exhausted and disoriented. The film then turns to events four years earlier and goes forward as Humbert travels to Ramsdale, New Hampshire, a small town where he will spend the summer before his professorship begins at Beardsley College, Ohio. He searches across the town for room to let, being tempted by widowed, sexually famished mother, Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters) to stay at her house. He declines until seeing her beautiful 14-year-old daughter, Dolores Haze (Sue Lyon), affectionately called Lolita (hence the title). Lolita is a soda-pop drinking, gum-chewing, overtly flirtatious teenager, with whom Humbert falls hopelessly in love. In order to become close to Lolita, Humbert accepts Charlotte's offer and becomes a lodger in the Haze household. Soon, however, Charlotte announces that she will be sending Lolita to an all-girl sleep-away camp for the summer. On the morning of departure, Humbert receives a love confession note from Charlotte, asking Humbert to leave at once. The note says that if Humbert is still in the house when Charlotte returns from driving Lolita to camp, then he must join Charlotte in marriage. Humbert willingly marries Charlotte days later. After the wedding and honeymoon, Charlotte discovers Humberts diary entries describing his passion for Lolita, and has an emotional outburst. She threatens to leave forever, taking Lolita far away from Humbert. While Humbert hurriedly fixes martinis in the kitchen to smooth over the situation, Charlotte runs outside, gets hit by a speeding car, and dies. Humbert drives to Camp Climax to pick up Lolita, who doesn't yet know her mother is dead. That night at a hotel, a pushy, abrasive stranger (Quilty) insinuates himself upon Humbert and keeps steering the conversation to his "beautiful little daughter," who is asleep upstairs. Humbert escapes the man's advances, and Humbert and Lolita enter into a sexual relationship. The two commence an odyssey across the United States, traveling from hotel to motel. In public, they act as father and daughter. After several days, Humbert tells Lolita that her mother is not sick in a hospital, as he had previously told her, but dead. Grief-stricken, she stays with Humbert. In the fall, Humbert reports to his position at Beardsley College in Ohio, and enrolls Lolita in high school there. Before long, people begin to wonder about the relationship between father and his over-protected daughter. Humbert worries about her involvement with the school play and with male classmates. One night Humbert returns home to find Dr. Zempf, a pushy, abrasive stranger, sitting in his darkened living room. Zemph, speaking with a thick German accent, claims to be a psychologist from Lolita's school and wants to discuss her knowledge of "the facts of life." Humbert is frightened and decides to take Lolita on the road again. During the long drive across country, Humbert soon realizes they are being followed by a mysterious car that never drops away but never quite catches up. When they get a flat tire, Humbert sees the black car stoping beside the road not far from them. Lolita does not seem to be concerned about Humbert's suspicions that the man in the black car is following them, but when he offers to get out to talk to the driver, Lolita suddenly becomes nervous and tells Humbert not to engage the unseen driver in any conversation. Before he can make a decision at what to do, the black car turns around and drives away. When Lolita becomes sick, Humbert takes her to a hospital in a small Arizona town. However that night, Humbert receives a phone call in his motel room from an unknown man about Lolita. Worried, Humbert returns to the hospital to pick her up, and she is gone. The nurse at the front desk tells him she left earlier with another man claiming to be her uncle and Humbert, devastated, is left without a single clue as to her disappearance or whereabouts. Some years later, Humbert receives a letter from 'Mrs. Richard T. Schiller', Lolita's married name. She writes that she is now married to a nearly-deaf Korean War veteran named Dick, and that she is pregnant and in desperate need of money. Humbert travels to their home, where Lolita waits. Humbert finds that she is now 17-going-on-18, a roundly pregnant woman wearing eyeglasses leading a pleasant, humdrum life. Humbert demands that she tell him who kidnapped her three years earlier. She tells him it was Clare Quilty, the man that was following them, who is a famous playwright and with whom her mother had a fling in Ramsdale days. She states Quilty is also the one who disguised himself as Dr. Zempf, as well as the pushy stranger who kept crossing their path. Lolita claims that she herself carried on an affair with him and left with him when he promised her glamor. However, he then demanded she join his depraved lifestyle, including acting in his "art" films. Humbert begs Lolita to leave her husband and come away with him, but she declines. Humbert gives Lolita $13,000, explaining that it's her share of the money from the sale of her mother's house. Leaving Lolita forever, Humbert surprises Quilty at his mansion where he kills him for abusing Lolita, thus bringing the film full circle. A disclaimer in the final shot reveals that Humbert died in prison of a heart attack while awaiting trial for Quilty's 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 hitchhiking from Chicago, young George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) arrives at the Eastman bathing suit factory and arranges to visit his uncle Charles (Herbert Hayes), the company's president, at his home that evening. Charles, a tycoon who recently met his nephew for the first time, introduces George to his wife Louise (Kathryn Givney), daughter Marsha (Lois Chartland) and son Earl. The Eastmans gingerly question George about his widowed mother Hannah, a religious mission worker in Chicago, and George, keenly aware of his lowly social position, responds with vague politeness. After Charles insists that Earl, who has a management position at the factory, find a job for his cousin, debutante Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor) enters the room, mesmerizing George with her beauty. The next day at the factory, the condescending Earl assigns George to the assembly area, where the bathing suits are put into boxes, and advises him about the strict rules against dating fellow employees. George works tirelessly and at night in his modest apartment, composes a list of suggestions for improving productivity on the assembly benches. Yearning to succeed, George drives to the Eastmans' during one of their lavish parties and sees Angela arriving, but cannot bring himself to go inside. Instead, he goes to a movie and ends up sitting next to co-worker Alice Tripp (Shelly Winters). After the movie, George and Alice walk together, and she comments that George will always be different because he is an Eastman. The uneducated George maintains that he is not special and becomes momentarily lost in thought when he notices a boy singing in a sidewalk mission group. George then asks Alice about her life, and she reveals that she came from a poor family and, ironically, never learned how to swim. Outside Alice's furnished room, George and Alice kiss and agree to see each other again. Later, at the end of another date, the couple wind up in Alice's room and spend the night together. The next morning at the factory, Charles comes through the assembly area and, seeing George, offers to promote him and invites him to another party. When Alice learns that the party coincides with George's birthday, she reminds him that she had already planned a party for him and insists that he leave the Eastmans' early. At the Eastmans', George feels out of place and seeks refuge in the deserted billiard room. While playing pool by himself, George is noticed by Angela, and the two strike up a friendly conversation. Just then, Charles bursts in and insists that George call his mother about his promotion. Though embarrassed, George complies, while Angela hangs on his arm, teasing him. George and Angela spend a few romantic hours dancing, and when George finally shows up at Alice's, she is angry and informs him that she is pregnant. Though stunned, George reassures her, but later accepts Angela's invitation to a party at her parents' house. There, George and Angela confess their love, and George frets that Angela will be leaving soon to spend the summer at her parents' lakeside home. After Angela assures him that they can still see each other, they kiss with deep passion. Later, Alice goes to see Dr. Wyeland about her pregnancy, but he insists that he will help her only if she intends to have the baby. Although Alice tells George that he must now marry her, George protests and asks for time. Alice agrees to wait until the first week in September, when George will be taking his vacation. Sometime later, Angela drops by George's apartment to tell him that her parents have invited him to visit at the lake during his vacation. George calls Alice and begs for another week, stating that he will be with his uncle at the lake and might get a bonus. Reluctantly Alice complies, and George begins a carefree holiday with Angela. At secluded Loon Lake, Angela brings up the subject of marriage and piques George's interest when she tells him about a couple who drowned there the summer before. Alice, meanwhile, waits for mail from George, but instead sees a newspaper photograph of him with Angela. Back at the lake, during a Hawaiian-themed dinner, George receives a phone call from Alice, demanding that he come for her at the bus station. George lies to Angela that his mother is ill, and at the station, Alice threatens to expose George unless he marries her immediately. George gives in, and the next day, he and Alice go to the county courthouse to wed, but discover that it is closed because it is Labor Day. Seeing an opportunity, George suggests that they picnic at Loon Lake and spend the night at the lodge. Before reaching the lodge, George then pretends to have run out of gas and rents a boat under an assumed name. George rows Alice to the far side of the lake and, after night falls, listens with growing agitation as she chatters about how happy they are going to be. Sensing George's displeasure, Alice abruptly asks him if he wished she were dead, and George fights to maintain his composure. When Alice suddenly rises to come to him, causing the boat to sway, George tries to stop her, but the boat capsizes. George and Alice both fall into the water, but only George makes it to the shore while Alice drowns. Stumbling in the dark, George walks into a Boy Scout camp before locating his car and driving off. The next day, George returns to the Vickers', while at the courthouse, District Attorney R. Frank Marlowe (Raymond Burr) is notified about Alice's death. After questioning the boat keeper and the Boy Scout who saw George, Marlowe concludes that only Alice drowned. Detectives then interrogate Alice's landlady, who repeats gossip that Alice was involved with George. George, meanwhile, has a frank conversation about his background with Angela's father Anthony and impresses him with his honesty. Although Angela is unaware of the murder investigation, George senses the police will soon be closing in on him and asks Angela to believe in him, no matter what she may hear. After she swears her undying love, George says goodbye and is arrested by the police. Determined to keep his daughter's name out of the trial, Anthony puts up the money for George's defense. Angela follows the proceedings while in school, but remains dazed by the desperate turn of events. During the trial, several witnesses implicate George as well as the circumstances that he premeditated murdering Alice to free himself from a loveless relationship. At the climax of the trial, George takes the witness stand himself where he describes all about his relationship with Alice and Angela as well as the details from that day that Alice drowned by accident and he fled from the scene out of fear of loosing everything including a romance with Angela. But when Marlowe harshly cross-examines him, he brings up the various circumstances (George renting the canoe under a false name, not reporting the accident, etc.) and openly accuses George of bashing in Alice's head before throwing her overboard. George admits that he had thought about killing Alice, but changed his mind before the boat accidentally capsized. Despite his candid testimony, George is convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to die. In prison a few weeks later, George is counseled by both his mother and a minister to look into his heart to determine whether he did everything he could to save Alice. Haunted by a vision of Angela, George confesses that he is unsure. Just before his execution, Angela visits George and quietly declares she still loves him. Accepting his fate, George then is led out of his cell to his execution.

In 1876, cowboy Lin McAdam and his good friend, Frankie "High Spade" Wilson, travel to Dodge City, Kansas to participate in the Centennial Rifle Shoot, which is being held on the Fourth of July. Lin knows that his sharpshooting brother, Dutch Henry Brown, whom he suspects murdered their father, will also be in the contest, as first prize is a rare Winchester '73 rifle. Soon after their mutual arrivals in Dodge City, Lin and Dutch Henry are stopped from killing each other by the town's famous marshal, Wyatt Earp. Later, Lin narrowly defeats his brother in the rifle contest, but Dutch Henry and his friends ambush Lin and steal the Winchester. Two days later, a penniless Dutch Henry loses the rifle in a poker game to Joe Lamont, an Indian trader. Lamont is later killed by Young Bull, an Indian chief whom Lamont had hoped to cheat with defective guns and rifles. Meanwhile, Lin learns from Jack Riker, a saloon keeper, that Dutch Henry is headed for Tascosa to meet up with Waco Johnny Dean, an outlaw. That night on the trail, Lin and High Spade run into a U.S. Cavalry unit, led by Sgt. Wilkes, which has been surrounded by Young Bull's warriors. The Indians attack the next morning, but they are repelled when Lin shoots and kills Young Bull. After Lin and High Spade leave, Wilkes discovers the rare Winchester by the dead Indian chief and gives it to Steve Miller, the cowardly fiance of Lola Manners, a dance hall girl. Steve and Lola then travel to Tascosa, where they accept the hospitality of the Jameson family. Waco Johnny and his men soon arrive at the Jameson home, with a posse in hot pursuit, and the outlaw uses Lola as a hostage when Steve refuses to give him the Winchester. Waco Johnny kills Steve in a gunfight, then escapes from the farmhouse with Lola and the rifle and heads for Dutch Henry's hideout in the nearby mountains. Dutch Henry quickly recognizes the Winchester and demands it back. The outlaws then plan a bank robbery, only to have Lin and High Spade arrive in Tascosa that same day. Lin kills Waco Johnny just as Dutch Henry and his men are leaving the bank, and Lola is shot and wounded in the ensuing gunfight. Lin takes off alone after his brother, who heads back toward his mountain hideout. Though he is trapped below Dutch Henry, Lin torments his brother by calling him by his given name, Matthew McAdam, then manages to sneak behind him as he reloads the Winchester. Lin then shoots and kills Dutch Henry, finally avenging their father's death. Later, Lin returns to Tascosa with the Winchester, where his return is welcomed with open arms by both Lola and High Spade.