Thrills! Drama! Mystery! Suspense! Part 2: The 1940's...
Crime! Gangsters! Murder! Noir! Etc.! This could almost be called "the Val Lewton decade"! More thrills and tension for the true connoisseur!...
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- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiStanley RidgesDr. Sovac transplants the brain of a gangster into his professor friend's body to save his life, but there is a side effect that causes a dangerous split personality.
- DirectorNorman LeeStarsLeslie BanksLilli PalmerRomilly LungeA murder is found to be connected to a false heir and a secret underground torture chamber.
- DirectorGeorge KingStarsTod SlaughterSylvia MarriottHilary EavesA madman kills a man who has just inherited a large estate, then impersonates his victim to gain entrance to the estate so he can murder his enemies.
- DirectorAl ChristieStarsHeather AngelJohn 'Dusty' KingConstance CollierAlthough young and beautiful, schoolteacher Anne Gladden fears a dull future. She finally decides to take a walk on the wild side, splurging on some fashionable new clothes and setting off to find adventure. Her new confidence inspires her to flirt with complete strangers. When a gangster pays unwanted attention to her, she ditches him and flees in his car, unaware that there's a corpse in the backseat. Determined to recover his stolen vehicle and its incriminating cargo the thug begins a desperate search. The oblivious Anne, comes to the aid of a handsome young man stranded alongside the road. Romance blooms, but after the shocking discovery of a body in the trunk, the duo decide they have to return the car. The bickering lovebirds head back to the city, trailed by both the angry gangster and the cops, who suspect the young couple of murder.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsBasil RathboneHugh HerbertBroderick CrawfordElderly Henrietta Winslow lives in an isolated mansion with her housekeeper and beloved cats. As her health fails, her greedy relatives gather in anticipation of her death.
- DirectorWallace FoxStarsBela LugosiJohn ArcherWanda McKayKindly soup kitchen operator and professor of criminology Bela Lugosi uses his soup kitchen as a front for a criminal gang who commit a series of daring robberies and murders.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsSidney BlackmerRick VallinByron FoulgerMembers of an opera company are being blackmailed by someone called the Black Panther.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsJohn BealWanda McKayWarren HymerA honeymoon couple in New York for one night of wedded bliss before he's to join the army, become involved with gangsters after they find a cadaver under their bed.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsKim HunterTom ConwayJean BrooksA woman in search of her missing sister uncovers a Satanic cult in New York's Greenwich Village and finds that they could have something to do with her sibling's random disappearance.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsDennis O'KeefeMargoJean BrooksA seemingly-tame leopard used for a publicity stunt escapes and kills a young girl, spreading panic throughout a sleepy New Mexico town.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsRichard DixRussell WadeEdith BarrettThird Officer Tom Merriam accuses Captain Will Stone of being a homicidal maniac, but no one believes him.
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsChester MorrisNancy KellyWilliam HenryPete Ramsey (Morris) is a hard-working coal miner who falls in love with and marries scheming showgirl Victory Kane (Kelly). Victory presses Pete to fight for the position of the mine superintendent, which he earns. Unable to bear her poor surroundings and unsatisfied with being a miner's wife, Victory decides to climb the social ladder and have an affair with the wealthy owner of the mine, Gary Linden (Conway), unbeknownst to her faithful husband. Suddenly, a ferocious tornado forms and hits the town and the mine, putting everyone's life in danger. For its time, the film has impressive visual effects for the tornado sequence.
- DirectorFrank McDonaldStarsJack HaleyJean ParkerBela LugosiAn insurance salesman arrives at a creepy mansion to discover his potential eccentric millionaire client already dead. Instead he gets embroiled in a house full of greedy, murderous relatives competing for the inheritance.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsBoris KarloffSusanna FosterTurhan BeyA demented physician becomes obsessed with a young singer whose voice sounds similar to his late mistress.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsGene TierneyCornel WildeJeanne CrainA writer falls in love with a young socialite and they're soon married, but her obsessive love for him threatens to be the undoing of them both as well as everyone around them.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiHenry DaniellA ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsBoris KarloffEllen DrewMarc CramerOn a Greek island during the 1912 war, several people are trapped by quarantine for the plague. If that isn't enough worry, one of the people, a superstitious old peasant woman, suspects one young girl of being a vampiric kind of demon called a vorvolaka.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJohn LoderAudrey LongEdgar BarrierA remake of Richard Connell's famous short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," about a madman who hunts human prey on his personal island habitat.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsDorothy McGuireGeorge BrentEthel BarrymoreIn 1916, a shadowy serial killer is targeting women with "afflictions"; one night during a thunderstorm, the mute Helen feels menaced.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsBoris KarloffAnna LeeBilly HouseNell Bowen, the protégé of Lord Mortimer, wants to help change the conditions of notorious St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam). Though she tries to reform Bedlam, the cruel Master Sims who runs it has her committed there, but ultimately, it's the lunatics who've taken over the asylum.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonWilliam BeaudineStarsKane RichmondBarbara ReadGeorge ChandlerLamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, has his hands full as the murder of blackmailing reporter Jeff Mann is blamed on him. Not only does the real murderer seem one step ahead of him as Lamont tries to discover his identity, but he is continually hampered from gaining crucial evidence by his jealous, interfering fiancée Margo Lane. Cranston perseveres and is rewarded with the clue he needs at one of Mann's victims' nightclubs.
- DirectorCharles FrankStarsJean SimmonsDerrick De MarneyKatina PaxinouFollowing her father's death, a teenage British heiress goes to live with her guardian uncle--who is broke and schemes to murder her for her inheritance.
- DirectorLew LandersStarsJane WithersRobert LoweryBill EdwardsPat Marvin, a photographer/reporter for a magazine gets some pictures of a gambling place and barely escapes with her life. The publisher decides to sell the publication, and the staff, headed by the editor, Larry Burke, get the money together to buy it. Larry and Pat decide to get some pictures of a never-photographed society deb, Cynthia Van Loan, and, in the process, stumble upon a murder, identify the killer, expose the girl's scheming fiancée, and get their pictures.
- DirectorOscar BurnStarsMara Russell-TavernanRobert EssexKarl Meir1947. Drama. During the war, a British agent travels to the remote Glennye Castle in the wilds of Scotland to investigate a mysterious murder by a masked phantom. Directed by Oscar Burn.
- DirectorGeorge BlairStarsWarren DouglasAudrey LongGrant WithersOn their honeymoon,a young navy officer and his wife are having difficulties in finding a hotel room in Los Angeles until a lady lends them her suite. There, they receive a mysterious telephone call warning them of a murder that is about to be committed. After finding two dead women they hire two private detectives to help them. They learn that the third woman marked for death is the woman who lent them her hotel suite. She is the aerial artist at a circus and the other two women were her friends. The police arrive and arrest the navy officer and his wife, and two clowns who were attempting to kill the aerial performer.
- DirectorSam NewfieldStarsRichard DenningFrances RaffertyLora Lee MichelA young couple struggles to raise their adopted daughter, but a mysterious murder reveals the child's unknown fortune and a greedy lawyer who is out to steal it.
- DirectorPhilip FordStarsLloyd BridgesLorna GrayRay CollinsHannah Kelly and Edie Hanson vie for the attentions of the naive attorney George Browning. Browning wises up in a hurry when he takes on a gang of jewel thieves. This gang is headed by Philip J. Fogerty and his sinister chief henchman Evans.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsBrenda MarshallWilliam GarganHillary BrookeA research scientist conducting experiments on a new anesthetic finds herself being blackmailed by a woman she accidentally knocked down with her car; the woman wasn't hurt, but a scheming attorney has convinced her she can get a lot of money for the "accident". Meanwhile, the scientist's research assistant, who is in love with her boss' boyfriend, arranges for an explosion in the laboratory that disfigures the scientist's face, in order to take the boyfriend away from her. The scientist has plastic surgery to make her look like the woman who tried to blackmail her - who while struggling with the scientist fell out of a window and was killed - and determines to get back her boyfriend and punish her scheming assistant.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsGeorge SandersElla RainesGeraldine FitzgeraldBachelor Harry Quincey, head designer in a small-town cloth factory, lives with his selfish sisters, glamorous hypochondriac Lettie and querulous widow Hester. His developing relationship with new colleague Deborah Brown promises happiness at last...thwarted by passive, then increasingly active opposition from one sister. Will Harry resort to desperate measures?
- DirectorW. Lee WilderStarsAlbert DekkerCatherine CraigCharles DrakeBanker Kenneth Holden (Albert Dekker) steals funds from an estate and decides to marry the heiress, Claire Worthington (Catherine Craig), to safeguard his position. He arranges for her fiancé to be killed but does not state the fiancé's name. Claire, meanwhile, has a change of heart and marries Holden, so he now becomes the target of the killer and attempts to cancel the deal--except he doesn't know who the hired killer is.
- DirectorJohn BrahmJohn CromwellAndré De TothStarsAnne BaxterRalph BellamyAline MacMahonA young manipulative woman moves in with her fiancé's family and turns a happy household against itself.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsJimmy LydonSally EilersWarren WilliamPaul dreams that his father's fatal accident actually was murder. When details of his dream repeat themselves in reality he seeks the help of psychiatrist Dr. Vincent, and they attempt to solve the riddle - with dangerous consequences.
- DirectorLesley SelanderStarsEvelyn AnkersRichard FraserGeorge LeighYoung John Bedford fight with his wealthy old aunt Lady Elizabeth Ferguson, who is sure that he stole her emerald brooch; the next morning, Lady Elizabeth is found murdered. Scotland Yard Inspector William 'Bill' Trent is on the case and he thinks her nephew was behind it. But it turns out that John had been in jail all night because of public drunkenness.
- DirectorRichard WhorfStarsJohn HodiakSylvia SidneyAnn RichardsA newly married woman begins to suspect that her husband is a killer. Even worse, she soon comes to believe that she will be his next victim.
- DirectorWalter ColmesStarsRichard ArlenVeda Ann BorgTom DuganPrivate Eye Simon Lash is hired by an old flame to find her missing husband.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsJames DunnJoan WoodburyPaul McVeyA retired detective, Nick Trayne, is hired to look for a missing banker. During the investigation, the aforementioned banker returns in a zombie-like state. Trayne must track down the madman responsible for the banker's state.
- DirectorBernard VorhausStarsTurhan BeyLynn BariCathy O'DonnellOn the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf; then meets a tall dark man Alexis, who seems to know all about such things.
- DirectorMaxwell ShaneStarsPaul KellyDeForest KelleyKay ScottA man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsEdward G. RobinsonLon McCallisterJudith AndersonAn old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandoned farmhouse, located deep in the woods.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsJohn CarradineJean ParkerNils AstherIn Paris, an artist hires portrait models, and after he finishes their portraits, he strangles them.
- DirectorEdward FinneyStarsRobert LoweryPatricia MorisonJ. Edward BrombergA woman's husband has disappeared on an expedition into the jungle. She hires a guide to take her into the jungle to find him. However, they discover that he has been captured by a savage female tribe.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsEdward NorrisMarlo DwyerEleanor LawsonA man is brought back from death at the same time a vicious criminal dies in the electric chair. However, the man's soul is now taken over by the electrocuted gangster, who embarks on a vengeful crime wave.
- DirectorSam NewfieldStarsRichard FraserMaris WrixonLionel RoyceHunters and scientists venture into the jungle to track down a savage albino gorilla, which they believe could be the missing link between man and ape.
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerStarsVincent PriceLynn BariFrank LatimoreA psychologically distraught woman is committed to a private sanitarium by the man she witnessed commit a murder.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsHarry CareyC. Aubrey SmithCharles WinningerThe ghosts of three elderly industrialists killed in an airplane crash return to Earth to help reunite a young couple they initially brought together.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineCedric HardwickeA shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterAva GardnerEdmond O'BrienHit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBurt LancasterHume CronynCharles BickfordAt a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesEdward G. RobinsonLoretta YoungAn investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.
- DirectorIrving RapperStarsBette DavisPaul HenreidClaude RainsAfter marrying her long-lost love, a musician finds the relationship threatened by a wealthy composer who is besotted with her.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLana TurnerJohn GarfieldCecil KellawayA married woman and a drifter fall in love and then plot to murder her husband.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsClaude RainsJoan CaulfieldAudrey TotterThe secretary of an affably suave radio mystery host mysteriously commits suicide after his wealthy young niece disappears.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsRichard BasehartAudrey TotterCyd CharisseA meek pharmacist creates an alternate identity under which he plans to murder the bullying liquor salesman who has become his wife's lover.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartJohn DallFarley GrangerTwo men try to convince themselves they've committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party after strangling a former classmate to death.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsDick PowellLizabeth ScottJane WyattMarried insurance adjuster John Forbes falls for femme fatale Mona Stevens while her boyfriend is in jail and all suffer serious consequences as a result.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBrian DonlevyElla RainesCharles CoburnA unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsGeorge SandersLucille BallCharles CoburnBritish police are after a serial killer who lures his female victims through newspaper personal ads and sends cryptic poem clues to the cops.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsRobert NewtonSally GrayPhil BrownClive Riordan plans a devilish revenge against his wife's lover.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsSteve BrodieAudrey LongRaymond BurrA young married couple flee both the police and a gangster out for revenge.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsVan HeflinRobert RyanJanet LeighAn embittered, vengeful POW stalks his former commanding officer who betrayed his men's planned escape attempt from a Nazi prison camp.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsPriscilla LaneRobert CummingsOtto KrugerA young man accused of sabotage goes on the run to prove his innocence.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIngrid BergmanGregory PeckMichael ChekhovA psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory.
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsGene TierneyDana AndrewsClifton WebbA police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.