Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

An examination of "Little Caesar" (1931) by film historians and critics.

Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year-old secret. When one of Edward Wanderley's twin sons dies in a bizarre accident, the group begins to see a pattern of frightening events developing.

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.

British army sergeants Ballantine, Cutter and MacChesney serve in India during the 1880s, along with their native water-bearer, Gunga Din. While completing a dangerous telegraph-repair mission, they unearth evidence of the suppressed Thuggee cult. When Gunga Din tells the sergeants about a secret temple made of gold, the fortune-hunting Cutter is captured by the Thuggees, and it's up to his friends to rescue him.

Wildly optimistic chatterbox Eva Lovelace is a would-be actress trying to crash the New York stage. She attracts the interest of a paternal actor, a philandering producer, and an earnest playwright. Is she destined for stardom, or will she fade like a morning glory after its brief blooming?

A rich man hires a pair of brothers, one to teach him to box and the other to manage him. Meanwhile, the rich man must fend off his brother-in-law, who is after the family inheritance. The film is lost.

A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?

Childhood friends Diana, Neville and David are caught in a love triangle as adults. Diana and Neville have long been smitten with each other, but her father disapproves of the relationship, resulting in her eventual marriage to David. It's not long after their wedding, however, that tragedy strikes, sending Diana on a downward spiral. When Neville reappears in her life, will he be able to save her from her own misery?

Small-time businessman Charles Engle is threatened with exposure for embezzling $3,000 for his free-spending wife. Deciding on suicide, he scribbles a note, stuffs it in his pocket and goes for one last night on the town. He is pulled into a poker game by conman Bill O'Brien and singer Nina Barone, but when they discover the dropped note, they resolve to turn the tables, get Engle his $3,000 and save his life.

Daredevil sailor Sinbad embarks on a voyage across the Seven Seas to find the lost riches of Alexander the Great. His first stop is the port of Basra, where his ship is seized and scheduled for auction. In his attempt to win it back, he befriends beautiful concubine Shireen. But when her master, the nefarious Emir, calls her back to duty, Sinbad must interrupt his adventure to save the "Jewel of Persia."

Cultured Mario and outlaw Lucien, twins separated at birth, join forces to avenge their parents' death at the hands of evil Colonna. Because each feels all the same sensations experienced by the other, swordplay is difficult for them. Worse yet, raised very differently, they struggle to find common ground between their conflicting personalities. But to defeat their enemy, the two will have to overcome the obstacles and work as a team.

Nicole has no job and is several weeks behind with her rent. Her solution to her problems is to try and snare a rich husband. Enlisting the help of her friend Gloria and the maitre'd at a ritzy New York City hotel, the trio plot to have Gloria catch the eye of Bill Duncan, a millionaire staying at the hotel. The plan works and the two quickly become engaged. Nicole's plan may be thwarted by Bill's friend, Jim Trevor, who's met Nicole before and sees through her plot.

A family of confidence tricksters sets their sights on a very rich, very lonely old lady named Miss Fortune.

A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king is kidnapped, his followers try to find him, while the stand-in falls in love with the king's intended bride, the beautiful Princess Flavia.

The woman who will become Catherine the Great marries into the Russian royal family when she weds Grand Duke Peter, the nephew of Empress Elizabeth. Although the couple has moments of contentment, Peter's cruel and erratic behavior causes a rift between him and Catherine. Mere months after Peter succeeds his aunt as the ruler of Russia, a revolt is brewing, and Catherine is poised to ascend to the throne as the country's new empress.

Falling in love with the voice of Broadway chanteuse Margaret Garret, cocksure young tycoon Daniel Brewster decides to rescue the star from her hectic lifestyle of frenzied fans and mooching relatives. When Margaret has her ardent suitor arrested, the judge appoints her as Daniel's probation officer, forcing the duo to spend time together. As Daniel teaches Margaret to let her hair down and enjoy life, she begins to fall for her fun-loving admirer.

Teddy Shaw, a bored New York office girl, goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains for rest and finds Chick Kirkland.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Peter Fonda host an examination of the history of decency standards for movies from the early 1920s onwards.

World War I ace Dick Courtney derides the leadership of his superior officer, but he soon is promoted to squadron commander and learns harsh lessons about sending subordinates to their deaths.

Circa 1861, Angelina, ruling countess of an Italian principality, is at a loss when invaded by a Hungarian army. Her lookalike ancestress Francesca, who saved a similar situation 300 years before, comes to life from a portrait to help her descendant. Complicating factor: the newlywed countess feels strangely drawn to the handsome invader...

Famous actress Norma Shearer's jewels are stolen… (Star-packed promotional short film intended to raise funds for the National Variety Artists Tuberculosis Sanatorium.)

Laconic cowboy Maverick Brander just happens to be a very wealthy rancher, but the money doesn't really mean that much to him. The same can't be said for his social-climbing wife and his man-crazy daughter Bossy. His wife, with the help of some political bosses, helps Maverick get elected to Congress, where he manages to get in all sorts of trouble, including getting blackmailed by opponents of a bill he's trying to get passed.

A successful carnival barker deals with the arrival of his eager son, who he'd hoped would stay far from the carnival world, his son's entanglement with a showgirl, and his own jealous mistress.

A gossip columnist helps a Broadway ingenue who's beholden to a penthouse gangster.

In 17th-century England, Charles II, the rightful heir to the kingdom, is driven from his country by militants working for rogue leader Oliver Cromwell. Charles ends up in the Netherlands, where he falls for local beauty Katie and spends his days happily in the quiet countryside. Unfortunately, Cromwell's associate Col. Ingram and his men track Charles down, and the would-be monarch must resort to swashbuckling his way to freedom.

A group of strangers find themselves aboard an unmanned ship, surrounded by fog and uncertain of their destination. As they attempt to make sense of their situation, the group of passengers discover a commonality that changes their perception of the nature of their journey. The film was later remade, with some changes, as Between Two Worlds (1944).

The story revolves around the theme of giving and the joy of sharing wealth. The plot unfolds as the king discovers the true joy of giving when he decides to share his treasures with the children of his kingdom.

Arguably the quintessential film siren of the silent era, Mary Pickford was known as "America's Sweetheart." This documentary explores Pickford's life beyond the screen, as a writer, producer, director and keen businesswoman who co-founded United Artists. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and featuring clips of Pickford's movies, the film offers insight from historians, film critics (including Leonard Maltin) and silver-screen stars such as Janet Leigh and Roddy McDowall.

In the first entry of this series, the show open with a troupe of dancing chorus girls getting a salute from crossed-eyed Ben Turpin. Then the master of ceremonies, Fredric March, brings on the various acts, starting with a pre-teen Mitzi Green), dressed as an adult and singing "Was That the Human Thing to Do?" , followed by Ginger Rogers and Jack Oakie singing-and-dancing to "The Girl Who Used to be You." Then the Three Brox Sisters do a triple imitation of Marlene Dietrich singing 'Falling in Love Again." 'Jack Duffy' does a drunken hillbilly bit involving a lamp post, the the finale has Eddie Peabody, playing a banjo for some chorus girls on a pedestal.

Young, vivacious Billie uses her charms on influential businessman Glenn Abbott in hopes of getting her secret fiancé Gil a diplomatic appointment. Meanwhile, Gil's affections meander to beautiful ingenue Kentucky, Billie's best friend.

Tony and his dance partner/wife Gaby headline a Paris musical. Tony becomes the unwilling target for the attentions of performer Yvette. She is later murdered with the dagger used by Tony and his wife in their act, and Gaby is accused of the crime.

Among the travelers of varied backgrounds that meet and interact on one night at Union Depot, a metropolitan train station, are Chick and his friend Scrap Iron, both newly released from prison after serving time for vagrancy. Hungry and desperate for a break, Chick fortuitously comes across across a valise abandoned by a drunken traveler. In it he finds a shaving kit and a suit of clothes with a bankroll, which help transform the affable tramp into a dashing gent. After buying himself a meal, Chick seeks some female companionship among the many hustlers who walk the station. He propositions Ruth Collins, a stranded, out-of-work showgirl and takes her to the station's hotel.

Mr. Drake and his wife live a nice, quiet life on their Sussex farm, until one of their ducks lays a radioactive egg made of uranium! When the government finds out about this, the Armed Forces storm onto the farm in a frantic search for the duck responsible.

A grandmother's will leaves her fortune to a few, mostly to her great-niece Ann. Ann will only receive her inheritance once she marries, with the approval of three of her stuffed-shirt relatives, and without scandal. Otherwise, the estate goes to the cat and dog hospital. Ann, not needing the money, rebels by seeking scandal with a gigolo.

While working in England, an American surgeon Dr. John Marlowe is invited to Vosnia (a fictitious East-European country) to receive an award and demonstrate his life-saving surgery. Unwittingly caught in the middle of a dangerous and corrupt series of political events, Marlowe then becomes the object of a shoot-to-kill, vicious pursuit. Fleeing, he seeks help from an English-speaking actress, Lisa Robinson, and the two attempt to escape across the treacherous mountains of Vosnia.

The struggle of a man to build a steam ship to take him across the Atlantic in spite of all setbacks, and his win against a crack sailing boat in the early 19th century.

A bookworm goes to Latin America and saves a politician's daughter from a forced marriage.

A London cat burglar falls for the girlfriend of a stockbroker who used to be his partner.

An Air Force washout and his buddy room with a pretty young lady. Desperate for jobs during the Depression, they finally land employment with the mob.

A group of adventurers head deep into South American jungle in search of an ancient Incan treasure.

During the Russian Revolution, a young nobleman and his peasant maid flee from their homeland to Constantinople where they marry and begin a challenging new life.

Love blossoms after a young man rescues a pretty girl who attempted to drown herself.

While waiting out World War I in a German POW camp, Captain Fred Allison discovers that his oldest and dearest friend Digby has also been captured and put into the same camp with him. Fred longs for news of his wife, Monica, but Digby speaks little of her. Digby knows a secret about Monica, a secret he must keep from his friend, and it wears at his conscience so much that he attempts a reckless escape.

Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.

The naive newspaper cub Clem lands a scoop when he's sent out to cover a murder. In his enthusiasm he writes that the main suspect is Jane. When she confronts Clem, she convinces him to help her prove her innocence.

Two brothers, Jack and Tom, are in love with the same woman, Molly. While the two brothers go off to war and Molly does her part in the effort, Tom believes that Molly is waiting for him, while in fact, she loves Jack and only turned to Tom on the rebound. Jack and Molly meet while he is on leave, and when he returns to battle, he doesn't know how to handle the situation with Tom.

Scotty, an unwilling Navy war hero is cast into the limelight. He wants to get married and be an engineer, but is forced to fulfil the expectations of the public, his employer and his PR agent, which he hates. Although he and his long time girlfriend Janet love each other, they are pressured to marry before they are ready. The strain takes its toll on both of them.

Champion boxer Jimmy Dolan has cultivated a wholesome image for himself, but he's a boozer and womanizer behind the scenes. Intoxicated at a party, he punches a reporter who threatens to expose his hypocrisy, and accidentally kills him. Dolan panics and skips town, winding up on a farm that serves as a home for disabled children run by kindhearted Peggy. As the cynical Dolan falls for Peggy, he begins to change his ways.

Eddie Kane wanders round the studio back-lot, opening various doors to see which stars pop out.

Jay Rountree, a young, rising businessman and a son of a wealthy manufacturer gets caught up in a web involving an escort service or 'party girls' and trapped into an unhappy marriage.

Stephen Steps Out is a 1923 comedy short.

The Randolph family have a tradition of working in the British colonial service. Clive comes home from a mission in the Gold Coast of Africa accompanied by his wife Helen. He discovers his younger brother John, is not keen on following in his footsteps. John is then persuaded to try colonial service by his grandfather. He is accompanied by Clive who has been sent to investigate the source of a series of radio broadcasts that are sewing unrest throughout the world. These may be linked to Hugo Zurof, a man plotting to rule the world.

A young man ruthlessly climbs the corporate ladder only to attempt suicide when the stock market crashes.

A struggling playwright in 1850s Paris and his mate finds love that furnishes him with the inspiration he has long sought.

Millionaire Baron de Courland and his fiancée Linda Stewart employ Jim Logan as a guide for their hunting trip in the jungle. Linda finds unplanned adventure in her sudden love for Jim, ultimately forsaking her future with the Baron for the joys of true love.

An Englishman sought for murder, tries to escape fate to South Seas island.

Until 1932's Grand Hotel, never had there existed an all-star ensemble cast on film. Conceived by MGM's production genius Irving Thalberg, the film boasted names like Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery and John and Lionel Barrymore and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. This short documentary takes a look at the making of the classic film.

Now hear this. The studio that gave the cinema its voice offered 1929 audiences a chance to see and hear multiple silent-screen favorites for the first time in a gaudy, grandiose music-comedy-novelty revue that also included Talkie stars, Broadway luminaries and of course, Rin-Tin-Tin. Frank Fay hosts a jamboree that, among its 70+ stars, features bicyclers, boxing champ Georges Carpentier, chorines in terpsichore kickery, sister acts, Myrna Loy in two-strip Technicolor as an exotic Far East beauty, John Barrymore in a Shakespearean soliloquy (adding an on-screen voice to his legendary profile for the first time) and Winnie Lightner famously warbling the joys of Singing in the Bathtub. Watch, rinse, repeat!

Marty Reid, the star quarterback at Sanford College, is constantly singled out by the opposition for punishment, and he swears to his pal, Honey Smith, and to Coach Wilson that he will quit the game forever. Ed Kirby, who dislikes Reid, calls him yellow, and Wilson gets Patricia Carlyle, the college vamp, to induce Reid to play. At a sorority dance, where only football players can cut in, Kirby persecutes Reid by dancing with Pat, and as a result Reid does apply to play in the game.

In this documentary on the life of Joan Crawford, we learn why she should be remembered as the great actress she was, and not only as "mommie dearest." caricature she has become. Friends, fellow actors, directors, and others reminisce about their association with her, and numerous film clips show off her talent from her start in silents to bad science fiction/horror movies at the end of her career.

Documentary about the early career of Charlie Chaplin.

An eccentric lower class woman struggles to gain respect in high society after marrying a wealthy man, and the problem gets worse when their daughter starts growing up.

A woman gets help from her gangster friends after her foster son takes the blame for a murder he did not commit.

A former boxing champion, now an innkeeper, is accused of stealing a watch from a party of guests at his inn, who happen to be members of English royalty. The old man is arrested and thrown in prison. His son, knowing that his father didn't steal the watch and suspecting a frame-up, follows the royal party to London, where he poses as a wealthy "gentleman" and insinuates himself into the English court in an effort to find out who framed his father and why.

Biographical portrait of one of Broadway's most brilliant songwriters. Told through the use of archival material and interviews with the rich and famous that knew him, this portrait concentrates on his career and his public life events.

A celebrity benefit for The Actors' Fund of America, featuring music, songs, dance and comedy.

Documentary about the battle between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst over Welles' Citizen Kane (1941). Features interviews with Welles' and Hearst's co-workers also acts as a relatively complete biograph of Hearst's career.

A documentary about the film roles of British actor Alec Guinness. Volume 8 in a series produced by Janus Films.

Mr. and Mrs. Warner Bros. Pictures and their precocious offspring, Little Miss Vitaphone, host a dinner in honor of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee, attended by most of the major players and song writers under contract to WB at that time.

Russ Kane obtains work as a pilot in the airmail service with the purpose of robbing the mails. However, during his training period at the Reno field, he becomes imbued with the spirit of the service and dedicates himself to getting the mail through.

A documentary focusing on the production history and legacy of the adventure-comedy phenomenon, Gunga Din.

A swashbuckling Irishman opposes French agents during the Napoleonic wars.

A retrospective of the life and career of actor Cary Grant, including clips from his films and interviews with his friends and co-workers.

A woman who lives in Spain has trouble convincing anybody that a complete stranger has taken her dead brother's identity.

Glamorous and hugely popular Joan Crawford raised herself from brutal poverty to Academy Award-winning stardom by guts, determination and hard work. During her 50-year career, she made over 80 films. But her obsessive perfectionism led to the later caricature of coat-hanger-wielding harridan that even the adoration of fans could not counter. Still, she has endured as one of the most popular icons of the movies, an early role model to a million young women who aspired to her image of stylish magnetic power and unquestioned independence.

Madge Dreyer is a sales girl in a large department store whose street-wise past long ago taught her how to handle any situation. A small adventure with her boss leads to her getting fired. She takes a job as a taxi-dancer in a dime-a-dance joint, and meets and falls in love with a rich playboy, Jeff Sanford, and he with her. Jeff is now faced with convincing his society-parents that he has made a wise choice.

Compilation of 3 episodes of the TV series "Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Presents ...". "The Surgeon", "Take A Number" and "The Scream".

The life and work of Samuel Goldwyn, a Polish-born glove salesman who became one of Hollywood's greatest independent producers, is remembered in this classy documentary created for the PBS American Masters series. Based on A. Scott Berg's acclaimed biography, the film includes new interviews with Goldwyn's surviving family members as well as vintage interviews with such luminaries as Bette Davis, John Huston, Laurence Olivier and others.

A variety of broad-painted and unlikely characters are trapped in an underground café when a Mississippi River levee breaks and causes flood havoc above and below.

TV Movie A woman starts working for a prestigious pharmaceutical company that's developing a new miraculous cure. Soon, she discovers what a devious and cut-throat business pharmaceutical industry can be.

This documentary traces the life and work of the legendary "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford, silent film star, movie pioneer and keen businesswoman. Pickford's life also parallels an even larger story, telling of the birth of the cinema itself.

A flamboyant master criminal and several specialists stage an audacious scheme to capture the Eiffel Tower and hold as hostage one of its visitors, the U.S. President's mother, while the head of a UN security force tries to stop them.

A man is tried and convicted for the murder of a man who flirted with his wife., and sentenced to death However, it turns out that he is innocent of the murder and that the real killer has close ties to a powerful politician.

Toni Le Brun, a beautiful Viennese singer, becomes the ward of the wardrobe mistress of a Monte Carlo nightclub. Her benefactor, however, is actually a baroness incognito. Toni falls in love with the handsome Richard, but as they prepare to marry, she comes to believe he is only after the wealth accompanying her new noble status. But truth, like true love, will not be kept secret long.

A lost film - Mary Gray, whose father manufactures cold cream, is engaged to sappy Horace Niles, the son of Hugo Niles, the elder Gray's most competitive rival in the cosmetics business. Chip Armstrong, a hot-shot public relations man, quits the employ of Hugo Niles and goes to work for Gray, persuading Mary to enter the Miss America contest at Atlantic City, with the intention of using her to endorse her father's cold cream should she win. Mary breaks her engagement with Horace. When it appears that she will win the contest, Hugo lures her home on the pretext that her father is ill, and she misses the contest. Chip and Mary return to Atlantic City, discovering that the new Miss America has told the world that she owes all her success to Gray's cold cream. On this note, Chip and Mary decide to get married.

Desperate for money, a rancher decides to trap and sell wild horses, using barbed wire. The local Navajo tribe tries to persuade him not to do it.

On the day before his second wedding, a man finds out that his bride-to-be has had a baby.

This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeches for films released in 1939 with recipients and presenters including Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Hattie McDaniel, Fay Bainter, Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Sinclair Lewis, and more, with host Bob Hope.

Sir John Hayward, a noted surgeon, decides that his son Wyn, a medical student, needs a vacation as a temporary diversion from his studies. At Como, Wyn meets and falls in love with Rayetta Muir, an unprincipled actress who trifles with him. In London, Rayetta avoids seeing Wyn, ready to forget him. Wyn is crazed when he learns that Rayetta is intimate with both Lord Durhugh, an old roué, and Le Grand, a French boxer; and in a rage he chokes Rayetta and leaves her for dead. He then confesses to his father that he has killed her. Preparing to take the blame, Sir John, accompanied by Wyn, goes to Rayetta's apartment to find that she did not die after all. A lost film.

Musical Special designed to showcase the minimal talents of Raquel Welch. Highlights include: a scene featuring Welch and Mickey Rooney, portraying a cab driver with seemingly magical abilities; a scene featuring Welch in a subway station performing a medley and dance sequence; a scene wherein Welch attempts to sing “Money Makes the World Go Round”; Raquel performing a version of “We Are Family” in a martial arts training class; Rooney and Welch performing “Heaven on Earth”; Welch performing “Don’t Rain on My Parade” while escaping from a straitjacket; Welch performing “A Quiet Thing”; and Welch and Rooney performing “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.”

This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. We see the street leading to the theatre transformed to suggest a garden that might be seen in a French palace. This includes the placement of trees and other foliage, as well as large statues along the route. Grandstands are set up so fans can see their favorite stars as they arrive for the premiere. Finally, the proverbial "galaxy of stars" arrives in their limousines. Fanny Brice and Pete Smith make remarks at the microphone set up on the carpet outside the theatre.

Golf legend Bobby Jones gives his take on trouble shots.

The Toilers (1928)

A young woman can't marry a millionaire because she was born illegitimately.

This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The costume designer must design clothing that is correct for the film historically and geographically, and must be appropriate for the mood of the individual scene. We see famed costume designer Edith Head at work on a production. The Costume Designer was part of The Industry Film Project, a twelve-part series produced by the film studios and the Academy. Each series episode was produced to inform the public on a specific facet of the motion picture industry. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Musical short, filmed for the abandoned portmanteau film Red, White and Zero (1967).

Composed of three shorts – Ride of the Valkyrie, The White Bus, and Red and Blue – from three of Britain’s most-celebrated directors - Lindsay Anderson, Peter Brook, and Tony Richardson. Comic legend Zero Mostel stars as an opera singer (in full costume) navigating the London transport network as he attempts to reach Covent Garden in 'Ride of the Valkyrie'. Scripted by Shelagh Delaney, 'The White Bus' blends realism, drama, and poetry as a despondent young woman travels home to the North of England. And Vanessa Redgrave stars in Tony Richardson’s romantic reverie and musical featurette 'Red and Blue'. Produced in 1967, but ultimately shelved.

"The Awakening" is a 1954 short drama film of Douglas Fairbanks Presents anthology series based on Nikolai Gogol's short story "The Overcoat".

The careers of D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin are chronicled culminating in the formation of United Artists and 1919.

Documentary about the early British films by director Alfred Hitchcock.

A young woman discovers her grandfather owns the true Aladdin's lamp and discovers it's handsome Genie inside as well.

Virginia Perry, a former movie star, leaves her family and returns to Hollywood to make a comeback, but age has taken its toll and she is cast in small character roles. Meanwhile, her daughter, Betty Ann, has won a beauty contest, and heads for Hollywood. They end up in the same, film, with Mom playing her Mom. Marshall tries to take advantage of the naive Betty. Somebody gets shot. Somebody is put on trial.

Biography of the legendary filmmaker directed by his son.

This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special.

A young man fights to overcome a piratical arms smuggler and to win the heart of a rich man's daughter.

Featuring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Diana Vreeland, La Belle Epoque evokes "the beautiful era" of 1890-1914, a time in which the wealthy upper classes of the Western world gave themselves over to a life of elegance and taste-making, their eyes closed to the increasing social and political turmoil fermenting beneath the surface of polite society. The program uses period motion pictures, photographs, and sound recordings, as well as the arts and fashions of the period to supplement the spoken memories of the participating interviewees who actually lived... La Belle Epoque.

A grease monkey discovers a defect in an auto engine being turned out by his employer. But since our hero discovers this only after losing an important race, his boss chalks up the loss to Fairbanks' supposed cowardice.

Cox works by day, and Box by night. Their rascally landlord lets the same room to both of them and doubles his profit. But eventually they discover they are not only involved with the same girl... but are indeed long-lost brothers! Featuring the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus

Set around a classic case of broken vows – the defendant having literally left the claimant at the altar – the trial bubbles over with emotion, humour, and downright chaos, leaving the jury divided.

Captain's daughter Josephine and common sailor Ralph Rackstraw are in love. However, their relationship is complicated by her arranged marriage to the high-ranking Sir Joseph Porter. A secret about the characters' true identities revealed by Little Buttercup, which leads to a farcical resolution.

As a young child, Frederic had been apprenticed to a pirate by mistake when he should have been apprenticed to a pilot. Now, having reached his 21st year, Frederic's indentures are at last over and he happily leaves the service of the pirates. When Frederic meets the beautiful Mabel, one of the many daughters (or wards in Chancery) of Major-General Stanley, they fall in love and decide to marry. However, complications arise when the pirates decide to marry the rest of the Major-General's daughters, themselves - and Frederic's birthdate turns out to be not all it seems.

In a small Japanese town, Ko-Ko is appointed to the unenviable position of executioner. Knowing he must successfully perform before the appearance of the Mikado in a month's time, Ko-Ko finds a suitable victim in Nanki-Poo, who is distraught over his unrequited love for the maiden Yum-Yum. Nanki-Poo agrees to sacrifice his life if he is allowed to spend his remaining days with Yum-Yum, who is betrothed to Ko-Ko.

A couple of happy-go-lucky Venetian gondoliers discover that one of them is heir to the throne of a distant kingdom.

Half-fae-half-mortal shepherd Strephon wants to wed shepherdress Phyllis, but, although she reciprocates his feelings, she has a dilemma — she is so beautiful that all of the House of Lords, as well as her guardian, the Lord Chancellor, are also desirous of marriage.

The life and career of two-time Oscar winner Vivien Leigh, who battled tuberculosis and manic-depression but always remained a star.

Padlocked

The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.

Alain's uncle sends him to France to toughen him with his aviator friend Pierre. He meets Suzanne on the voyage and fights for her love against José in an airplane.

An American ambassador moves his family into a haunted English castle.

American Movie Classics produced this original salute to those celebrities who worked to improve the morale of the soldiers in World War II. Hosted by Tony Randall the one hour presentation included many clips from the news, USO shows, Armed Forces Radio, US Savings Bonds and more.

Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1

A multi-award winning biography covering the life and career of legendary screen and stage actor/director Laurence Olivier.

A look at the life and work of Charlie Chaplin in his own words featuring an in-depth interview he gave to Life magazine in 1966.

Musical version of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. Songs by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen include, "Out in the Open Air", "Prithee Please", "A Happy Happenstance", "Ever So Softly", "Nottingham Fair", and "The Star Beyond the Star".

When Steve Maxwell and flapper Sue Randall wreck her father's automobile during a drunken escapade, her father exploits the mishap and blackmails Steve's father into supporting an illegal contract in city affairs.

In 17th century France, young D'Artagnan wants to join the King's Musketeers, but instead befriends three legendary musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—and together, they become embroiled in the political intrigue surrounding King Louis XIII and his adversaries, particularly the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

Adele Dayton, a famous actress, visits her daughter, Mildred, whom she left with relatives as an infant. Her guardians, Mazie and John, permit the visit provided Adele conceals her relationship from Mildred. While Adele is there, she unintentionally attracts the admiration of Mildred's sweetheart, aspiring playwright David Starke, when she helps him sell one of his plays to a Broadway producer. David goes to New York city to open the play, neglecting Mildred. On opening night Mildred visits Adele and finds her in an embrace with David; she upbraids Adele for stealing David's affection from her and returns to her home in Massachusetts. Realizing she has hurt her own daughter, Adele sacrifices her love for David, snubbing him with a cold shoulder, he soon returns to Mildred and they marry.

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show starring American pop-singer Cher and her husband, Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS in the United States, when it premiered in August 1971. The show was canceled May 1974, due to the couple's divorce, though the duo would reunite in 1976 for the identically-formatted The Sonny & Cher Show, which ran until 1977.

After discovering that his late father has gone through most of the family fortune, Tod Stiles hits the title trans-America highway in his Corvette in search of adventure with friend Buz Murdock, a survivor of New York's mean streets. The two work odd jobs as they meet and interact with colorful characters and find themselves plunged into one situation after another, some of them romantic, some of them very dangerous. Later, Linc Case, a Vietnam war hero trying to find himself, takes over as Tod's travel companion.

The Merv Griffin Show

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

Your Show of Shows was a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC, from February 25, 1950, until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson, The Hamilton Trio and the soprano Marguerite Piazza. José Ferrer made several guest appearances on the series. The series was telecast from the now-demolished International Theatre at 5 Columbus Circle and the Century Theater, now demolished, in New York. During 2002, Your Show of Shows was ranked #30 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

ABC Stage 67 is the umbrella title for a series of 26 weekly shows that included dramas, variety shows, documentaries, and original musicals. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company on September 14, 1966 with Murray Schisgal's The Love Song of Barney Kempinksi, directed by Stanley Prager and starring Alan Arkin as a man enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City in his last remaining hours of bachelorhood. Arkin was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance By An Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama and the program was nominated as Outstanding Dramatic Program. Future programs included appearances by Petula Clark, Bobby Darin, Sir Laurence Olivier, Albert Finney, Peter Sellers, David Frost, and Jack Paar. ABC's effort to bring culture to the masses was a noble but unsuccessful experiment. Scheduled first against I Spy on Wednesdays and then The Dean Martin Show on Thursdays, the show consistently received low ratings. Its last production, an adaptation of Jean Cocteau's one-woman play The Human Voice starring Ingrid Bergman, aired on May 4, 1967. "Stage 67" was not actually a part of the primary ABC facilities in Los Angeles. It was produced at the old Monogram Studios backlot that was later sold to KCET.

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, is a 1950s syndicated anthology series hosted and occasionally starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.. The series offered Buster Keaton in his first dramatic role in the episode entitled "The Awakening". British actor Christopher Lee appeared in varied role in thirteen episodes, including "Destination Milan". The program aired from 7 January 1953 to 11 February 1957 for a total of 117 episodes. Fairbanks himself starred in forty-eight episodes. In Melbourne, Australia the series was aired under the title Chesebrough Ponds Playhouse.

The Steve Allen Show

The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession, deal with the problems of his patients, and win the respect of the senior doctor in his specialty, internal medicine.

The Dame Edna Experience is a British television comedy talk-show hosted by Dame Edna Everage. It ran for twelve regular episodes on ITV, plus two Christmas specials. The first seven aired for the first time in 1987, the next seven in 1989. It was directed by Ian Hamilton and Alasdair MacMillan and produced by London Weekend Television. Regulars on the program, besides Dame Edna, were her "bridesmaid" Madge Allsop and Robin Houston who was the announcer, with orchestra conducted and arranged by Laurie Holloway. Each program featured several celebrity guests, usually three, but some programs included up to eight guests. There would also be other invited "guests" like Kurt Waldheim and Imelda Marcos who once introduced at stage right would fall victim to a trap door or something similar and fail to make it to their chair. The entire series was released on DVD by BBC Video in June 2004, and can now also be purchased as a complete set including the Christmas specials and the three An Audience with Dame Edna specials, plus other material. The series was released for Region 2 by Network DVD in the UK in 2007, as a 4-disc set. For reasons unknown, the Region 2 release does not include the 1989 Christmas special "The Dame Edna Satellite Experience" that ended the second series and featured Ursula Andress, Yehudi Menuhin, and Robert Kilroy-Silk. It does, however, include the one-off 1990 Christmas special A Night On Mount Edna with guests Mel Gibson, Charlton Heston, Gina Lollobrigida and Julio Iglesias.

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

The Compleat Gilbert & Sullivan

The Bob Hope Show hosted by Bob Hope, debuted on April 9, 1950. During the 1952-1953 season, NBC rotated with other variety shows in a Sunday night block known as "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (Sept. 1950 to Dec. 1955). Also known as, "The Chevy Show with Bob Hope." When the first special debuted in October of 1950 it was the most expensive television program made up to that point - costing an astronomical $1,500 a minute to produce. Bob Hope had his own television show and radio show at the same time. For the next three seasons, The Bob Hope Show was broadcast once a month on Tuesday nights, giving Milton Berle a week off. Bob ended his radio show in April, 1956. Bob Hope also had another show by a similar name, "The Bob Hope Show (All Star Revue)". In addition, he performed in "Specials" for many years. It is the longest running variety program in television's history with a record of 45 years of televised entertainment.

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

B.L. Stryker is an American detective drama that aired on ABC from February 13, 1989 to May 5, 1990 as part of the ABC Mystery Movie along with Gideon Oliver, Columbo and Kojak. The series was executive produced by Tom Selleck.

In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a yearly recipient whose talent has fundamentally advanced the film art; whose accomplishments have been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.

The Pearl Bailey Show

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

The Big Party

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.

Cinépanorama

The Ford Show is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961. Beginning in September 1958, the show began to be telecast in color. Ford first gained attention as the host of Hometown Jamboree in Los Angeles. In 1954, he hosted a brief revival of Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge, a quiz show on NBC. His subsequent The Ford Show was frequently among the Top 20 programs.

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

A woman starts working for a prestigious pharmaceutical company that's developing a new miraculous cure. Soon, she discovers what a devious and cut-throat business pharmaceutical industry can be.

A panoramic overview of the events and people that shaped six of the most important years in American history.

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

A 1980 documentary series exploring the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture.

Dinah's show premiered 9 September 1974 and continued through to 4 September 1981. She started out the 70's with Dinah's Place which usually featured one guest and was more of a home oriented show about cooking, crafts and occasionally music. This format lasted until May of 1974. When the show came back in October of 1974 the format had changed drastically to a variety talk show which was called Dinah. and went on until 1981. This show was also known as "Dinah and Friends" during the summer of 1976.

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

Variety Show hosted by Tennessee Ernie Ford

The BBC's flagship cinema review TV program featuring reviews of new releases, news items and interviews. The title of the program changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast.