Self (archive footage)
In this 25-minute video essay, film scholar David Bordwell, co-author of "Film Art: An Introduction", conducts an analysis of Howard Hawks's "His Girl Friday" (1940), which he believes to be the apotheosis of classical Hollywood storytelling. Bordwell discusses the film's history and the status of Howard Hawks as an auteur before delving into a detailed analysis of various aspects of the film's narrative, dialogue, use of props, editing, and staging.
Self (archive footage)
In this documentary short, film historian David Thomson and critic Molly Haskell analyze the themes of Howard Hawks's 1940 film "His Girl Friday."
(archive footage)
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
Hildy Johnson (archive footage) (uncredited)
James Earl Jones hosts this film based on two stories by the late Rod Serling, who wrote the stories of the original 'The Twilight Zone' (1959) series. In "The Theater," a young woman attends a movie theater only to find that her life story is being revealed on the screen. In "Where the Dead Are," a Boston surgeon in 1868 searches for a scientist who may have the answer to a medical mystery.
Self (archive footage)
Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.
Laurita Dorsey
A charming but somewhat larcenous widow attempts to snare a rich bachelor through a lonely hearts club, but her scheme boomerangs into a deadly cat-and-mouse game. This marked the TV-movie debut of both Rosalind Russell and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and was sadly also Russell's last film role.
Mrs. Pollifax
Mrs. Emily Pollifax of New Jersey goes to the CIA to volunteer for spy duty, being in her own opinion, expendable now that the children are grown and she's widowed. And being just what the department needed (someone who looks and acts completely unlike a spy), she's assigned to simple courier duty to pick up a book in Mexico City. But when the pickup doesn't go as planned, Mrs. Pollifax finds herself handcuffed to a handsome stranger on a plane bound for an Albanian prison. And it's up to her to get them out.
Screenplay
Mrs. Emily Pollifax of New Jersey goes to the CIA to volunteer for spy duty, being in her own opinion, expendable now that the children are grown and she's widowed. And being just what the department needed (someone who looks and acts completely unlike a spy), she's assigned to simple courier duty to pick up a book in Mexico City. But when the pickup doesn't go as planned, Mrs. Pollifax finds herself handcuffed to a handsome stranger on a plane bound for an Albanian prison. And it's up to her to get them out.
Mother Simplicia
Mother Superior of St. Francis Academy is challenged by a modern young nun when they take the girls on a bus trip across the country.
Rosie Lord
An eccentric Los Angeles dowager decides to fight back when her two greedy daughters attempt to have her declared legally insane.
Madame Rosepettle
A woman brings her son and husband to a tropical vacation spot for a little rest and relaxation. The only problem is that the husband has been dead for quite some time, and his wife had him stuffed and carries him everywhere with her. Complications ensue.
Mother Superior
Две юные резвые студентки Академии Святого Франциска для девочек противостоят авторитетной матери-настоятельнице и её свите озадаченных сестер.
Rose Hovick
Бродвей вас развлечет! К тому времени как Джипси Роуз Ли стала знаменитостью 30-х годов прошлого века, она прошла долгий путь от водевиля и из тени своей младшей сестры. Но одной силой природы она никак не могла избежать – амбиции ее матери, женщины, вытолкнувшей ее под софиты. Мюзикл «Цыганка» – история о ней.
Louise Harington
The arrival of a young tutor triggers emotional crises for a wealthy family.
Mrs. Bertha Jacoby
A gentle love story about a Japanese businessman and widower, and a Brooklyn widow. But before a happy ending can ensue, they must learn again the lessons of tolerance, kindness and forgiveness.
Mame Dennis
Эксцентричная, яркая Мэйм Деннис усыновляет мальчика-сироту, обрушивая на него все манеры и стиль экстравагантных и чудаковатых персонажей 20-х и 30-х годов... Очень необычная и забавная работа художников и костюмеров 50-х годов. Голливуду пришлось признать, что актерский ансамбль Бродвея улучшить невозможно: то, как Расселл говорит, ее ритмика, акценты и паузы не могут быть другими, настолько все это безупречно.
Ruth Sherwood
Ruth Sherwood and her sister, Eileen, have moved to 1935 Greenwich Village. They're surrounded by colorful Village characters (including an out-of-work football player known as the Wreck, and Mr. Appopolous, a modern painter and their landlord) and embark on various New York adventures. Ruth, who's trying to make it as a writer, meets up with a sleazy newspaper writer named Chick and a kindly editor named Bob, both of whom take an interest in both her career and her.
Story
A high-school music teacher is the victim of a student who writes indecent notes and assaults women.
Rosemary - The School Teacher
Легкомысленный бродяга Хэл Картер, красивый и мускулистый парень, заезжает в маленький городок проведать своего приятеля Алана Бенсона, сына главного богача города. Случай сводит его с Мадж Оуэне, местной королевой красоты и подружкой Алана, а также с ее сестрой Милли…
Kim Halliday
When her compulsive-gambler father dies, leaving her with an inheritance that amounts to zip, single gal Kim Halliday jumps at a caller's claim that she's part-owner of a Las Vegas "hotel." But hilarity ensues when she flies to Sin City to see it. While a wealthy casino owner eyes her dilapidated property, she takes a chance and tries to sell it to an hotelier's wealthy son.
Josephine "Jo" McBain
A divorced socialite decides to join the Army because she hopes it will enable her to see more of her boyfriend, a Colonel. She soon encounters many difficulties with the Army lifestyle. Moreover, her ex-husband is working as a consultant with the Army, and he uses his position to disrupt her romantic plans by making her join a group of WACs who are testing new equipment.
Susan Middlecott
Ice-cold college dean Susan Middlecott feels there's no room in her life for romance. Enter Prof. Alec Stevenson, British lecturer on astronomy, touring North America and in possession of a keepsake of Susan's he wants to return. Desperate for publicity, lecture bureau press agent Teddy Evans magnifies this into a great romance. The efforts of both dignified principals to quash the story have the opposite effect; matters get more and more involved.
Marsha Meredith
Marsha Meredith, an attorney-at-law, is nominated for a federal judgeship, but her nomination is opposed by a 'Good-Government' group that thinks her divorce makes her unfit for the job. This evolves into situations, happening in Florida, New England, Washington D.C., and the Adirondacks, such as the misunderstood husband trying to win back his wife, and the misunderstood wife trying to make her husband jealous, and one case of mistaken identity after another, after another.
Valerie Stanton
After accidentally killing her lecherous producer, a famous actress tries to hide her guilt.
Lavinia Mannon
Действие происходит в Америке, сразу после гражданской войны. Измученный войной Эзра Мэннон возвращается домой к своей жене Кристине и детям Лавинии и Орину. К этому времени отвергнутый жених Лавинии Адам Брант становится любовником её матери. Кристина и Адам решают отравить Эзру. Когда им это удаётся, Лавиния готовит план мести и уговаривает брата Орина стать её пособником в осуществлении своего плана.
Janet Ames
A hard-drinking reporter tries to help the embittered widow of the soldier who had saved his life during the war.
Self
Warner Brothers bloopers of 1947
Elizabeth Kenny
Сестра милосердия Элизабет Кенни во время пребывания в австралийском буше обнаруживает революционный способ лечения полиомелита. Девушка пытается добиться признания этого метода в научном сообществе, но никак не может получить официальное признание своей теории. Более трех десятков лет сестра Кенни борется за правду. Она упорно отказывает своему жениху в свадьбе и лишает себя нормальной жизни. Медсестра не имеет возможности лечить острые случаи полиомелита с помощью своего метода, а научное общество высмеивает ее. Все же главная цель Элизабет Кенни - спасти как можно больше человеческих жизней.
Dr. Susan A. Lane
Susan Lane is a gifted psychiatrist, grounded in self-control. Before returning by train to her practice in Chicago, she spends time back East with war veterans, building their self-esteem, but frowning on the impulsive, as represented by a favorite comic strip called "The Nixie." She bumps into Michael Kent, an officer and the comic strip's author. He likes her instantly and she dislikes him. He's headed to the Pacific, sees her on the train, gets off in Chicago, and with her father's help, pursues her and hatches a plan to marry her. Meanwhile, she has her own plan to get rid of him with the help of a blond patient. Will the Nixie get into her psyche?
Self
A look back at 25 years of Columbia's series of newsreels chronicling the film industry and the lives of Hollywood stars. Clips from earlier films in the series are featured, along with a montage of film greats who have passed away in the intervening years.
Louise Randall Pierson
In the 1920s, enterprising Louise Randall is determined to succeed in a man's world. Despite numerous setbacks, she always picks herself back up and moves forward again.
Self
The Warner Bros. annual blooper reel for 1944.
Carol Ainsley
An author and a literary agent become involved after selling film rights to his racy book.
Tonie Carter
A fictionalized biopic about aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. A female pilot breaks the Los Angeles to New York record and attracts the interest of the U.S. Navy, who want to send her on a spy mission.
Ruth Sherwood
Сестры Рут и Эйлин переезжают из Огайо в Нью-Йорк в надежде построить собственную карьеру. Рут грезит о работе писателем, а Эйлин надеется добиться успеха на сцене. Но живут они в мрачной подвальной квартире в Гринвич-Виллидж, где никогда нет тишины и покоя. Им посчастливится встретиться с редактором журнала Бобом Бейкером, который лично заинтересован помочь им с карьерными планами.
A.M. MacGregor
A struggling painter takes a job as a secretary to a female advertising executive. While working to obtain an account from a tobacco company, they end up falling in love.
Self
The edition of Screen Snapshots celebrates 25 years of production. It looks at the content of edition #1, then a tribute to movie people who have died in those 25 years. Finally there are tributes to the Screen Snapshots series by Cecil De Mille, Walt Disney, Louella Parsons and Rosalind Russell.
Judge Cornelia C. Porter
A newsman (Walter Pidgeon) falls in love on Cape Cod with the judge (Rosalind Russell) his angry boss (Edward Arnold) expects him to discredit.
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Blooper out-takes from Torrid Zone, Four Mothers, The Wagons Roll at Night, The Sea Wolf, No Time for Comedy, The Bride Came C.O.D., and Affectionately Yours, among other Warner Brother productions of 1940 and 1941.
Julie Hathaway
A college professor who believes there's no place for jealousy in modern marriage, John Hathaway (Don Ameche) moves with his wife, Julie (Rosalind Russell), to New York where he plans to publish a book on the subject. Meeting with publisher Elliott Morgan (Van Heflin), who falls head over heels for Julie, John is assigned to his assistant Nellie (Kay Francis), who only has eyes for her boss. Working closely with Nellie, who Julie thinks is after her husband, John continues his high-minded ways while his angry spouse schemes to make him so jealous he'll knock Elliott's block clean off.
Anya Von Duren
A jewel thief and a con artist are rivals in the theft of a valuable diamond and gem necklace in Bombay and as the Japanese Army invades China.
Ann Winters
Two professional people marry, but the wife insists that they be celibate for the first three months to make sure they are truly compatible.
Self
This short documentary, presented and directed by MGM sound engineer Douglas Shearer, goes behind the scenes to look at how the sound portion of a talking picture is created.
Linda Paige Esterbrook
Director William Keighley's 1940 film adaptation of S. N. Behrman's stage hit, about an aspiring playwright who finds himself an overnight Broadway success, stars James Stewart, Rosalind Russell, Genevieve Tobin, Louise Beavers, Charles Ruggles and Allyn Joslyn.
Kendal Browning
Ad man Stephen Dexter asks his secretary Kendall to marry him as a loophole in order to protect his finances during an important business deal. Once the deal is completed, he asks Kendall for a divorce and is dismayed when she refuses.
Self
This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them. It starts with a vignette in rural America. A mother and daughter go to town to buy a new dress. In the dress shop window is a designer dress worn by Joan Crawford in a recent movie. We then go to Hollywood and visit Adrian, MGM's chief of costume design, and see how multiple copies of a single clothing pattern are produced. The film ends with short segments of several MGM features.
Hildy Johnson
Уолтер Берне — главный редактор газеты, Хильди Джонсон — его бывшая жена и лучший репортер. Она приходит сообщить Уолтеру, что выходит замуж и покидает газету. Прожженный циник, тот все еще любит Хильди, да и лучшего сотрудника терять не хочет, поэтому он дает ей последнее задание — взять интервью у приговоренного к смерти Мерфи. Это будет ее лучший репортаж, вершина карьеры.
Sylvia Fowler
Богачка Мэри Хейнс не подозревает, что у её мужа роман с продавщицей Кристал Аллен. Сильвия Фаулер, подруга Мэри, узнаёт об интрижке от своей маникюрши и сообщает Эдит Поттер, другой своей подруге. Они пускают сплетню, однако не могут сообщить обо всём самой Мэри, которая узнаёт о неверности мужа после посещения того же салона красоты. Миссис Хейнс оказывается перед дилеммой — потребовать от мужа объяснений или выждать время, пока интерес мужа к новой пассии не затухнет сам собой. Под давлением Сильвии Мэри идёт по первому пути, и вскоре они с мужем решают развестись
Self
An MGM short showing how materials are shipped by boat 'From the Ends of the Earth' to Hollywood. Featuring footage from the MGM films being made at the time. Such as The Women, Thunder Afloat, Siren of the Tropics, Ninotchka, Northwest Passage, and At the Circus.
Garda Sloane
The Sloanes tie murder to the theft of a Shakespeare manuscript.
Christine Manson
Молодой доктор Эндрю Мэнсон работал в маленьком шахтерском городке, но понял, что не может справиться с истинными причинами тяжелых болезней, которыми страдали бедные рабочие люди. Он переехал в Лондон, где приятель подсказал Мэнсону, как можно "раскручивать" богатых клиентов...
Jean Christy
A publicist falls for his most difficult client's daughter.
Rosalind (archive footage) (uncredited)
This was one of the annual "blooper" reels screened by the Warners Club, an organization of Warners actors, crew and executives. It was meant to poke fun at the flubs and bloopers that occurred ont the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1938.
Elizabeth Kent
A newspaper illustrator tries to remain best friends with the man she secretly loves, even though he recently married another woman.
Julie Stoddard
A starving, uncompromising artist and an heiress fall in love on first sight and immediately get married. She loves his outrageous behaviour, his strange room-mate and the best apartment poverty can buy.
Self
Several behind the scenes aspects of the movie-making business, which results in the enjoyment the movie going public has in going to the theater, are presented. They include: the production of celluloid aka film stock, the materials used in the production of which include cotton and silver; construction crews who build sets including those to look like cities, towns and villages around the world; a visit with Jack Dawn who demonstrates the process of creating a makeup design; the screen testing process, where many an acting hopeful gets his/her start; the work of the candid camera man, the prying eyes behind the movie camera; a visit with Adrian, who designs the clothes worn by many of the stars on screen; and a visit with Herbert Stothart as he conducts his musical score for Conquest (1937). These behind the scenes looks provide the opportunity to get acquainted with the cavalcade of MGM stars and their productions that will grace the silver screen in the 1937/38 movie season.
Olivia Grayne
Wealthy widow Mrs. Bramson notices that her maid is distracted, and when she learns the girl's fiancé, Danny, is the reason, she summons him in. Mrs. Bramson's niece Olivia takes a liking to Danny, and comes to believe that he may have been involved in the disappearance of a local woman.
Harriet Craig
Harriet, Walter Craig's wife, is an upper-class woman obsessed with control, material possessions and social status whose behavior makes difficult her relationship with domestic service and family members.
Self
Viewers are provided a visit to Ken Maynard's private circus; Bette Davis poses for her portrait; Frank McHugh plays with his children; a visit to the West Side Tennis Club affords glimpses of many stars.
Miss Vandeleur
A decadent prince unhappy over an impending arranged marriage, looking for a good time in London discovers the existence of a secret society called The Suicide Club, and so he seeks to become a member.
Lady Venetia Cunningham
Sergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's crime. Cigarette falls in love with him though Major Doyle is in love with her. Doyle sends Victor on dangerous assignments to be rid of him. He falls in love with Lady Venetia Cunningham, a visitor to the garrison
Beatrice Newnes
A poor boy rises to power in politics.
Joel Carter
Вашингтон, 1917 год. Лейтенант Уильям Гордон полон решимости отправиться на фронт во Францию, где вовсю грохочет Первая мировая война, но былое увлечение кодами и случайное знакомство с эмансипированной племянницей военного чиновника резко меняют судьбу офицера, и он оказывается в центре вражеской шпионской сети.
Sybil Barclay
Captain Alan Gaskell sails the perilous waters between Hong Kong and Singapore with a secret cargo: a fortune in British gold. That's not the only risky cargo he carries; both his fiery mistress and his refined fiancee are aboard!
Josephine 'Jo' Mercer
A theatrical star, born on the wrong side of the tracks, marries a drunken blue-blood millionaire.
Dare Marshall
An army sergeant inspires his son to become an ace flyer.
Doris
When Philo Vance receives a note that harm will befall Lynn at the casino that night, he takes the threat seriously while the DA dismisses it. At the casino owned by Uncle Kinkaid, Lynn is indeed poisoned under the watchful eye of Philo. However, he recovers, but the same cannot be said for Lynn's wife Virginia, who is at the family home. Only a family member could have poisoned Lynn and Virginia and everyone has their dark motives. Philo will follow the clues and find the perpetrator.
Countess Zarika Rafay
Young Austrian Archduke Paul "Gustl" Gustave is in an arranged engagement but his uncle, the emperor, decides to let Gustl carry on a fling with ballet dancer Lisl Gluck.
Eleanor
A socialite only realises that her friend is in love with her when she falls for the wrong man.
Sally Voorman
Президент внезапно пропал, причём в самый неподходящий для страны момент, накануне надвигающейся войны и возможного импичмента.
Mrs. Nancy Harrison
В жизни Эвелин Прентис все просто замечательно, любящий и любимый муж Джон — успешный и известный адвокат, очаровательная дочка, близкая подруга Эми. И вдруг все меняется: подозрения на измену мужа, навязчивый поклонник и ко всему еще, криминальная история…
