An American Tragedy 1931  N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Cast: Phillips Holmes, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee, Irving Pichel, Claire McDowell, Frederick Burton, Wallace Middleton, Emmett Corrigan, Lucille La Verne, Charles Middleton
Based on Theodore Dreiser's novel, this is a drama about Roberta Alden's murder. Her story is told through flashbacks during the ensuing trial. The story was remade in 1951 as "A Place in the Sun." The remake is the better of the two versions.
|  | |
 Beetle Juice 1988  PG, 92 min.
Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / Musical
aka: Beetlejuice
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix, Jeffrey Jones, Sylvia Sidney, Robert Goulet, Annie McEnroe, Maurice Page, Hugo Stanger, Rachel Mittelman, Patrice Martinez, Cindy Daly
This is Tim Burton's wacky film about a dead couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) haunting their own house and trying to rid it of the new owners and their tasteless post-modern renovations. After their own attempts fail, they hire Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a deranged lunatic of a ghost with an overactive libido. Lots of good special effects and some hilarious scenes.
| | |
Blood on the Sun 1945 N/R, 98 min.
Genre: Drama / Action / Thriller / Romance
Director: Frank Lloyd
Cast: James Cagney, Sylvia Sidney, Wallace Ford, Rosemary DeCamp, Robert Armstrong, John Emery, Frank Puglia, Philip Ahn, Marvin Miller, Rhys Williams, Porter Hall, John Halloran, Leonard Strong, James Bell, Hugh Beaumont
This film involves the activities of American newspaper reporter Nick Condon (James Cagney) in Tokyo between World War I and World War II. Condon tries to uncover the "Tanaka Plan"–a grand scheme for Japanese world domination. The Japanese police are on Condon's trail, but he gets help from Chinese-American spy Iris (Sylvia Sidney) who sees this as her chance to settle a score with the Japanese High Command.
| | |
Damien: Omen II 1978 R, 107 min.
Genre: Horror / Drama / Thriller
aka: Omen II: Damien
Director: Don Taylor
Cast: William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Robert Foxworth, Nicholas Pryor, Lew Ayres, Sylvia Sidney, Lance Henriksen, Meshach Taylor, Allan Arbus, Elizabeth Shepherd, Lucas Donat, Fritz Ford, John J. Newcombe, John Charles Burns
It's seven years later (although only two years since the original "Omen"), and Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) has moved in with his rich Aunt Ann and Uncle Richard (Lee Grant and William Holden) after getting rid of his parents in the prior movie. Those who cross Damien are quickly, and grossly, done away with as he plots to inherit his uncle's wealth. The special effects are great. Followed by "The Final Conflict" and "The Awakening."
| | |
 Dead End 1937 N/R, 93 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William Wyler
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Wendy Barrie, Claire Trevor, Marjorie Main, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan
New York's lower East Side is the setting for this insightful film about the escape from poverty through crime. This was the film debut of the Dead End Kids, which evolved into the East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys.
| | |
Death at Love House 1976 TV, 74 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: E.W. Swackhamer
Cast: Robert Wagner, Kate Jackson, Sylvia Sidney, Joan Blondell, Dorothy Lamour, John Carradine, Bill Macy, Marianna Hill, Joseph Bernard, Robert Gibbons
Long dead Lorna Love (Marianna Hill) was a movie queen. Her life is being researched by Joel (Robert Wagner)–whose father had an affair with Lorna–and Joel's wife, Donna (Kate Jackson). It turns out that Lorna used many techniques to gain stardom, including witchcraft. Now, Joel's obsession with Lorna results in her return from the dead. Originally made for TV.
| | |
An Early Frost 1985 TV, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Erman
Cast: Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Sylvia Sidney, D.W. Moffett, John Glover, Terry O'Quinn, Bill Paxton, Sydney Walsh, Cheryl Anderson, Don Hood, Scott Jaeck
After learning that he has AIDS, Michael Pierson (Aidan Quinn) must deal with his homosexuality and disease. As a successful lawyer, he returns home to face his mother (Gena Rowlands) and father (Ben Gazzara). This film was made for TV in 1985, and it was the first of its kind to deal with the subject of AIDS.
| | |
Fury 1936 N/R, 94 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Sylvia Sidney, Walter Abel, Edward Ellis, Walter Brennan, Frank Albertson, Bruce Cabot, Raymond Hatton, Ward Bond, George Chandler
In a case of mistaken identity, Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) is arrested for kidnapping and falls into the hands of a lynch mob. Narrowly escaping with his life, Joe plans to bring the perpetrators to trial. Still a winner.
| | |
God Told Me To 1976  R, 88 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
aka: Demon
Director: Larry Cohen
Cast: Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Sidney, Sam Levene, Robert Drivas, Mike Kellin, Richard Lynch, Sammy Williams, Jo Flores Chase, Andy Kaufman
The perpetrators of murders without motives freely admit their guilt with the statement that "God told me to." Detective Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) investigates, and the answers appear to lie with a Christ-like figure and aliens.
| | |
Good Dame 1934  N/R, 73 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Marion Gering
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Fredric March, Jack La Rue, Noel Francis, Russell Hopton, Walter Brennan, Guy Usher, William Farnum, Edward Gargan, Jill Bennett
Two out-of-luck people, a carnival thief and a chorus girl, join up for a life of crime. In the process, they fall in love. The excellent stars deserve better than this weak story.
| | |
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden 1977 R, 96 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Anthony Page
Cast: Bibi Andersson, Kathleen Quinlan, Ben Piazza, Susan Tyrrell, Signe Hasso, Sylvia Sidney, Dennis Quaid, Diane Varsi, Lorraine Gary, Reni Santoni
Set in a mental hospital, this is the story of a young woman's (Kathleen Quinlan) fight to regain her sanity through the compassionate aid of her psychiatrist (Bibi Andersson).
| | |
 Les Miserables 1952 N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Lewis Milestone
Cast: Michael Rennie, Debra Paget, Robert Newton, Edmund Gwenn, Sylvia Sidney, Cameron Mitchell, Elsa Lanchester, James Robertson Justice, Joseph Wiseman, Rhys Williams
The often-filmed Victor Hugo classic story is adequately presented in this adaptation, though much is cut (as evidenced by the length). Michael Rennie is cast as Jean Valjean, and Richard Newton plays his pursuer Javert. Three episodes are told: Valjean's arrest for stealing a loaf of bread and his imprisonment, Valjean's hounding by Javert after becoming mayor and adopting a girl (Debra Paget), and Javert's cessation of the pursuit of Valjean.
| | |
Love from a Stranger 1947 N/R, 81 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Richard Whorf
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, John Howard, John Hodiak, Isobel Elsom, Ernest Cossart, Ann Richards, Frederick Worlock, Philip Tonge, Anita Sharp-Bolster, Billy Bevan
This remake of the 1937 Roland V. Lee film casts Sylvia Sidney in the role of the woman who suspects that her new husband (John Hodiak) plans to kill her.
| | |
Madame Butterfly 1932 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Marion Gering
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles, Sandor Kallay, Irving Pichel, Helen Jerome Eddy, Edmund Breese, Wallis Clark, Sheila Terry, Berton Churchill
In this film, Puccini's opera is the basis for the story, but there is no music. The movie follows the traditional storyline of Lieutenant Pinkerton's (Cary Grant) tragic love affair with Cho-Cho-San (Sylvia Sidney).
| | |
Merrily We Go to Hell 1932  N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Dorothy Arzner
Cast: Fredric March, Sylvia Sidney, Adrienne Allen, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Kent Taylor, Cary Grant, George Irving, Esther Howard, Florence Britton, Charles Coleman, Harry Cording, Edwin Maxwell, Dennis O'Keefe, Harry Strang, Theresa Harris
A young heiress, Joan Prentice (Sylvia Sidney), marries dashing reporter Jerry Corbett (Fredric March) and–too late–discovers his problem with alcohol. Adding to the problem is Claire (Adrienne Allen) who has her eyes set on Jerry and works to get him away from Joan. Joan gets fed up, leaves Jerry, and returns to her father's (George Irving) home. Now, Joan learns that she is pregnant, and Jerry, meanwhile, dumps Claire when he realizes that he really loves Joan. Love does conquer all of the problems, and Jerry swears off alcohol in order to build a life together with Joan.
| | |
Mr. Ace 1946 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Edwin L. Marin
Cast: George Raft, Sylvia Sidney, Stanley Ridges, Sara Haden, Jerome Cowan, Sid Silvers, Alan Edwards, Roman Bohnen, Joyce Bryant, Joe Gray
Eddie (George Raft) heads a dirty political machine, and Margaret (Sylvia Sidney) is running for governor. Margaret needs Eddie's support, but, being a male chauvinist, he is reluctant to come to her aid. Eddie even sides with her opponent and tries to ruin Margaret's name. Eddie eventually sees the light and backs her. Now he's in trouble with the law for election fraud while Margaret falls for him. Got the picture? Not one of Raft's best, but Sidney is pretty good.
| | |
Pals 1987 PG, 95 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Lou Antonio
Cast: George C. Scott, Don Ameche, Sylvia Sidney, Susan Rinell, James Greene, Lenka Peterson, Richard Hamilton, Jean Hale, Kenneth French, Georgia Allen, Bruce Taylor
Long-time pals Jack and Art (George C. Scott and Don Ameche) live out their retirement in a trailer park with Jack's mother (Sylvia Sidney). Fortune (or misfortune) arrives when they find a suitcase containing millions of dollars in an abandoned car. Before long, the hit man who stashed the money AND government agents are on their trail as they bicker about the money. Made for TV.
| | |
Raid on Entebbe 1977 TV, 150 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Irvin Kershner
Cast: Peter Finch, Charles Bronson, Horst Buchholz, Martin Balsam, John Saxon, Jack Warden, Yaphet Kotto, Dinah Manoff, James Woods, Sylvia Sidney
This film is about the Israeli raid on July 4, 1976, to free Jewish hostages being held in Uganda.
| | |
Sabotage 1936 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
aka: A Woman Alone
I Married a Murderer
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, Desmond Tester, John Loder, Joyce Barbour, Matthew Boulton, Peter Bull, Sara Allgood, Martita Hunt, Austin Trevor, S.J. Warmington, William Dewhurst, Aubrey Mather, Clare Greet, Torin Thatcher
When a secret group hires people to place bombs in London, movie theater cashier Sylvia Verloc (Sylvia Sidney) suspects that her husband Karl (Oskar Homolka) may be involved. Unbeknownst to Sylvia, Karl has led a secret life as a terrorist, and now government agent Ted Spencer (John Loder) has moved in next door. He befriends Sylvia and her young brother Stevie (Desmond Tester), and Sylvia discusses her doubts about Karl with Ted. Karl begins to suspect that his arrest is in the near future, and he sends unsuspecting Stevie on a mission to carry a bag containing a time bomb to the metro. On the way, Stevie is delayed, and now the question is: Will Stevie deliver the bomb and get safely away before it detonates? Alfred Hitchcock–all the way.
| | |
Snowbeast 1977 TV, 95 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Herb Wallerstein
Cast: Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux, Robert Logan, Clint Walker, Sylvia Sidney, Thomas Babson, Jacquie Botts, Kathy Christopher, Annie McEnroe, Victor Raider-Wexler
In this made-for-TV thriller, a creature is killing people staying at Colorado's Rill Lodge and Ski Resort. The beast has eaten some of its victims, and the evidence and threat of future danger convince four skiers (Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux, Robert Logan, and Clint Walker) to hunt down the monster.
| | |
Street Scene 1931 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: King Vidor
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, William Collier Jr., David Landau, Estelle Taylor, Beulah Bondi, Matt McHugh, Russell Hopton, John Qualen, Dick Powell, George Humbert
This insightful film studies immigrant inhabitants of a New York City tenement who endure tragedies and strive to escape from their bleak environment.
| | |
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams 1973 PG, 87 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Gilbert Cates
Cast: Joanne Woodward, Martin Balsam, Sylvia Sidney, Dori Brenner, Win Forman, Tresa Hughes, Ron Richards, Peter Marklin, Nancy Andrews, Minerva Pious
Rita is a depressed Manhattan housewife who cannot get over her Mother's death. She and her husband Harry (Martin Balsam) travel to Europe, where she begins to come out of her depression. Woodward and Sidney received Academy Award nominations for Actress and Supporting Actress.
| | |
Thirty Day Princess 1934 N/R, 74 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Marion Gering
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Cary Grant, Edward Arnold, Henry Stephenson, Vince Barnett, Edgar Norton, Ray Walker, Lucien Littlefield, Robert McWade, George Baxter
When a princess becomes ill and cannot go on her scheduled tour, an actress (Sylvia Sidney) fills in for her, and she falls in love with a reporter (Cary Grant) she meets while performing her duties.
| | |
Trail of the Lonesome Pine 1936 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Henry Hathaway
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Fred MacMurray, Fred Stone, Nigel Bruce, Beulah Bondi, Robert Barrat, Samuel S. Hinds, Henry Brandon, Fuzzy Knight, George "Spanky" McFarland, Otto Fries, Alan Baxter, Margaret Armstong, Fern Emmett
Jack Hale (Fred MacMurray) arrives in the Appalachian Mountains to buy land from the Tolliver family so that he can run his railroad through the mountains. Jack falls in love with June Tolliver (Sylvia Sidney), and that causes a love triangle because Jane's cousin Dave (Henry Fonda) also loves June. Meanwhile, the elder Tollivers–Melissa and Judd (Beulah Bondi and Fred Stone)–continue their long-standing feud with Buck Falin (Robert Barrat) and his family. The feud escalates, and young Buddy Tolliver (George "Spanky" McFarland) is killed, which is the tragedy that finally brings everyone to their senses.
| | |
Used People 1992 PG-13, 116 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Beeban Kidron
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Marcello Mastroianni, Kathy Bates, Marcia Gay Harden, Jessica Tandy, Sylvia Sidney, Bob Dishy, Asia Vieira, Louis Guss, Irving Metzman, David Gow
Pearl (Shirley MacLaine) is a Jewish woman grieving for her newly deceased husband. An Italian rogue (Marcello Mastroianni) invites her for a cup of coffee, moves into her life, and brings happiness to her entire family.
| | |
Violent Saturday 1955 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Richard Fleischer
Cast: Victor Mature, Richard Egan, Stephen McNally, Virginia Leith, Margaret Hayes, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, Sylvia Sidney, Billy Chapin
In this tension-filled drama, bank robbers plan to rob a small-town bank but run into problems from neighboring Amish farmers.
| | |
 The Wagons Roll at Night 1941 N/R, 83 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Ray Enright
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sidney, Eddie Albert, Joan Leslie, Sig Ruman, Cliff Clark, Frank Wilcox, John Ridgely, Clara Blandick, Garry Owen, Charley Foy, Aldrich Bowker, Jack Mower, Frank Mayo, Al Herman
Grocery clerk Matt Varney (Eddie Albert) captures an escaped lion and returns it to Nick Coster's (Humphrey Bogart) carnival. Nick is impressed with Matt and offers him a job as lion tamer. Matt accepts the job and replaces Hoffman the Great (Sig Ruman), but trouble lies ahead when he falls for Mary Coster (Joan Leslie), who is Nick's sister. Nick disapproves of their relationship and sends Matt into the den of a ferocious lion. Matt survives but now must fight a gun-toting Hoffman the Great who is seeking revenge. Will Matt have met his match, or will his courage ensure winning the heart of Mary? Remake of "Kid Galahad" with a change in scenery.
| | |
You Only Live Once 1937 N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Barton MacLane, Jean Dixon, William Gargan, Warren Hymer, Charles "Chic" Sale, Margaret Hamilton, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Jerome Cowan
Just when ex-con Eddie Taylor (Henry Fonda) and his fiancee Joan Graham (Sylvia Sidney) were on the verge of finding happiness, Eddie is arrested for a robbery in which he had no part. Months later, Eddie kills the prison chaplain and breaks out of prison; he and Joan are forced to run from the police.
| | |
| 1. Accent on Youth (1935)
2. An American Tragedy (1931)
3. Beetle Juice (1988)
aka: Beetlejuice
4. Blood on the Sun (1945)
5. City Streets (1931)
6. Damien: Omen II (1978)
aka: Omen II: Damien
7. Dead End (1937)
8. Death at Love House (1976)
9. An Early Frost (1985)
10. Fury (1936)
11. God Told Me To (1976)
aka: Demon
12. Good Dame (1934)
13. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
14. Les Miserables (1952)
15. Love from a Stranger (1947)
16. Madame Butterfly (1932)
17. Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
18. Mr. Ace (1946)
19. Pals (1987)
20. Raid on Entebbe (1977)
21. Sabotage (1936)
aka: A Woman Alone
aka: I Married a Murderer
22. Snowbeast (1977)
23. Street Scene (1931)
24. Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973)
25. Thirty Day Princess (1934)
26. Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936)
27. Used People (1992)
28. Violent Saturday (1955)
29. The Wagons Roll at Night (1941)
30. You Only Live Once (1937)
In The News
|
