CineFocus Vintage Movies

After being run out of town after town for trying to sell worthless stock, two con artists breeze into the small town of Chesterville, where they find themselves accused of kidnapping a young boy to whom they offered a ride. Director Ralph Staub Writers Joseph Hoffman(screenplay)Gertrude Orr(screenplay)Milton Raison(original story) Stars Ole OlsenChic JohnsonJoyce Compton

Court Of Last Resort - Frank Clark Case

The ghosts of three elderly industrialists killed in an airplane crash return to Earth to help reunite a young couple they initially brought together. Director A. Edward Sutherland Writers Adele Comandini(screen play)Mildred Cram(original story) Stars Harry CareyC. Aubrey SmithCharles Winninger

Court Of Last Resort - The Jacob Loveless Case. Jacob Loveless, an "ignorant hillbilly", was convicted of the murder of two teenagers on a road abutting the property of the father of his girlfriend, Carrie Walker, who originally provided an alibi for him but then withdrew it. She had made one statement that provided Loveless with an alibi, claiming she was with him to one o'clock in the wee small hours of the morning, when the murders were determined to have taken place at 11 PM. She had then withdrawn the original statement, issuing a second statement saying she had been with her father at the time of the murders.

A beautiful female doctor visits her small hometown on her way back to Chicago. Her overworked uncle, who is the town's doctor, wants her to stay and help him, and he and a macho test pilot who's fallen for her come up with a plan that involves the pilot faking an illness and being treated by her, with her uncle's "help". Director Andrew L. Stone Writers Malcolm Stuart BoylanRobert Carson(story)Frederick J. Jackson Stars John CarrollRuth HusseyCharles Ruggles

Peter has to be married by midnight or else his inheritance goes to his uncle... Who happens to live in a "haunted house". Director Frank R. Strayer Writer Scott Darling Stars Rex LeaseVera ReynoldsPaul Hurst

Also called 'The Window' A live telecast of Tales of Tomorrow (1951) keeps being broken into by a phantom broadcast of a cheating couple preparing to launch her soused husband out a window. The Tales of Tomorrow (1951) crew scramble to investigate if the caper's real and if so, how can they interrupt the murder already in progress? Director: Don Medford Writer: Frank De Felitta Stars: Rod Steiger, Frank Maxwell, Virginia Vincent

A Bride For Henry 1937 A stood-up bride uses her lawyer as a stand-in groom for her absent and unreliable fiancé, hoping to get a quick divorce after the media interest dies down. In time, she realizes she may have wed the right man, but it might be too late. Director: William Nigh Writers: Josephine Bentham (story "A Bride for Henry"), Marion Orth (adaptation) Stars: Anne Nagel, Warren Hull, Henry Mollison Trivia This film was first telecast on New York City's pioneer television station W2XBS, on November 22, 1940. Post-WWII television audiences got their first showing on March 21, 1950, on WPIX (Channel 11). Alternate versions There are two slightly different edits of the film, one clocking in at 56 minutes, the other at 58 minutes. The 56-minute version does not feature the Monogram train logo and has upbeat jazz music playing over the opening credits. The 58-minute version does have the Monogram train and uses Mendelssohn's Wedding March as the opening music. Connections References Paradise Isle (1937)

The Grain That Built A Hemisphere (1943) This animated documentary outlines the history and importance of corn in North America. Directors: Jack Cutting (earlier cartoon clips), David Hand (earlier cartoon clips), Bill Justice (uncredited) 1943 film about corn; produced for Walt Disney studios for the Canadian government under the "auspices of the Office of the Coordinator for Inter-American Affairs." This animated short was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Documentary" in 1943.

Heading For Heaven 1947 Stuart Erwin plays a small-town real estate agent who owns much property which, for several generations, has failed to sell even while the town has grown. It becomes known, except to Erwin, that the property is being considered for the new airport and the owner will make a small fortune. He is swarmed upon by an unscrupulous swami (Russ Vincent)and his equally-crooked... Read all Director Lewis D. Collins Writers Daniel Brown(play "For the Sake of the Family")Lewis D. Collins(screenplay)Oscar Mugge(screenplay) Stars Stuart ErwinGlenda FarrellRuss Vincent

A Christmas Carol 1997 Misanthropic miser Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley's ghost is followed by three more spirits from Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Each has a lesson Scrooge must learn. Director: Stan Phillips Writers: Charles Dickens (short story "A Christmas Carol"), Jymn Magon (adaptation) Stars: Tim Curry (voice), Whoopi Goldberg (voice), Michael York (voice) Trivia It is the first movie adaptation to have a female Ghost of Christmas Present. Connections Referenced in State of the Union: Prison Thoughts (2022)

The Little Lamb - A Christmas Story (1955) The Little Lamb (1955) is a nine-minute black-and-white live-action film sharing the story of the Nativity. It focuses on a little lamb who, by wandering off into the wilderness, leads two shepherds to receive a message from an angel. The angel tells them to visit Bethlehem where a savior has been born. They set out with their third companion shepherd taking the little lamb with them. Stars: Morris Ankrum (uncredited), Maureen O'Sullivan(uncredited)

A Christmas Carol 1982 On Christmas Eve, an old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his former partner, Jacob Marley. The deceased partner was in his lifetime as mean and miserly as Scrooge is now and he warns him to change his ways or face the consequences in the afterlife. Scrooge dismisses the apparition but the first of the three ghosts, the Ghost of Christmas Past,... Writers: Alexander Buzo (adaptation), Charles Dickens (novel) Stars: Ron Haddrick (voice), Robin Stewart (voice), Barbara Frawley (voice) Trivia This would be second voice portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge by actor Ron Haddrick. He had previously voiced the character in Air Programs International's shorter adaptation A Christmas Carol (1969) thirteen years earlier. Connections Version of Scrooge; or Marley's Ghost (1901)

Snezhnaya koroleva 1957 | Lev Atamanov | Russian Version When the Snow Queen, a lonely and powerful fairy, kidnaps the human boy Kay, his best friend Gerda must overcome many obstacles on her journey to rescue him. Director: Lev Atamanov Writers: Hans Christian Andersen (story), Lev Atamanov (screenplay), Nikolay Erdman (screenplay) Trivia Hayao Miyazaki has stated that this film is one of his inspirations to work in animation. When he started his career, Miyazaki had a rough start and was thinking of leaving animation. But when he saw The Snow Queen, he admired it and continued working in anime. Quotes Granny: Look, the snow is falling again, and every snowflake is like a little white bee. Gerda: Grandmother, tell us, where do these white bee snowflakes come from? Granny: From the north. They fly here over cold seas, in icy winds, through blizzards and fogs. They are loyal servants of the Snow Queen. Alternate versions Original version runs only 63 minutes and has two songs in Russian. US version runs 70 minutes, with a 5-minute live-action prologue and a 2-minute montage added. It has three new songs in English, one in the montage and two replacing the russian songs. Connections Edited into Retro Christmas Classics (2007) Soundtracks The Snow Queen (english version) Words and Music by Diane Lampert and Richard Loring

Christmas Comes But once A Year (1936) At an orphanage, the children are sad because they received broken toys as gifts. Professor Grampy sees the children while passing by in his sled and has an idea on how to give them a merry Christmas. Directors: Dave Fleischer (direction), Seymour Kneitel (animation director) Stars Jack Mercer (voice), Mae Questel (voice) Trivia This cartoon used a process called the Stereoptical Camera or Setback created in 1934 as a variation on the multiplane camera. Three-dimensional sets were created so that animation cels could be placed in a realistic background allowing the characters to move about an actual miniature stage. The scenes were shot with a horizontal camera and the set was rotated on a turntable for background motion. The opening shot of the orphanage and the final shot of the umbrella tree were completed using this process. Connections Edited into Santa's Magic Book (1996) Soundtracks The First Noël (uncredited) Traditional [Sung at the beginning]

Family Theatre - A Star Shall Rise (1952) Story of the Three Magi's search for the Christ child following their discovery of a new star foretold in Jewish scripture and Zoroastrian religious texts. Director: John Brahm Writer: John T. Kelley (screenplay) Stars: Raymond Burr, Richard Hale, John Crawford

Crossroads - Our First Christmas Tree | 1956| Tv Series The experience a clergyman, Reverend Henry Schwan (Don Taylor) had while planning to introducing America's first Christmas tree into an American service during Christmas Eve of 1851. Schwan’s reason to do this is to make this time a happy and fun holiday, especially for the kids. However many of the adults, mainly the parents’ of the children, misinterpret his attentions. After this many other events occur that puts the Reverend in bad positions because the parents misinterpret the situations every time.