Dunn, Ralph

A Place in the Sun

George Stevens won an Oscar for his 1951 adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy, though the film seems a little overwrought today and even self-parodying at times. Still, Montgomery Clift's performance as a poor lad so drawn to a rich, beautiful girl (Elizabeth Taylor) that he contemplates killing his lower-class fiancée (Shelley Winters) is powerful, sympathetic, and mesmerizing. Taylor makes a strong impression, but Winters is awfully good in the less-glamorous role. The tone of the film is oppressive--the film doesn't exactly breathe with possibility--but there are lots of good reasons to give this movie a visit. --Tom Keogh

The Pajama Game

This 1957 version of the Tony-winning Pajama Game is one of the finest film adaptations of a hit Broadway musical. The story is simple enough: Babe Williams, the head of a pajama company's grievance committee, falls for an exec--the new superintendent--Sid Sorokin (John Raitt). Doris Day, as Babe, has never been so efficiently cute. Raitt starred in the Broadway version, as did much of the film's cast (Day replaced original stage star Janis Paige). The Pajama Game is filled with recognizable, classic songs, done so well and danced so athletically that this musical can engage an action-film fan. Bob Fosse's trademark choreography shines.

Check out two numbers danced by the late, underused, and underrated Carol Haney, who performs amazing feats for "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway." Both Day and Raitt deliver lovely renditions of "Hey There." They're also supported by a great cast that includes, in addition to Haney, a slyly coy Reta Shaw and a dynamic Eddie Foy Jr. --N.F. Mendoza

Labor and management at the Sleeptite Pajama Factory aren't getting much sleep lately: a proposed 7-1/2-cent hourly wage increase is the reason and a job action just may be the result. But not to worry: negotiating strategies here involve snappy stars terrific tunes and dynamic dances all part of one of the most infectiously joyful stage/screen musicals ever. Doris Day and a Broadway-seasoned supporting cast play The Pajama Game the lighthearted nimble-footed movie that whips the unlikely musical-comedy subject of a labor/management dispute into a buoyant romantic delight. Day is Babe Williams head of the employees' grievance committee who strikes sparks with shop superintendent Sid Sorokin (John Raitt in his only opportunity to play on of his stage triumph on film). And where there are spark "Steam Heat" results. For the songs by Damn Yankees duo Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and the choreography by Bob Fosse (Cabaret Sweet Charity) are too combustible to pass up all under the direction of two musical masters of stage and screen George Abbott and Stanley Donen. Besides "Steam Heat" (showcasing the quirky brilliance of dancer Carol Haney) catch "Hey There" "I'm Not at All in Love" "Hernando's Hideaway" "Small Talk" "Once-a-Year Day" "There Once Was a Man" and other all-time greats.Running Time: 101 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS UPC: 012569705999

Murder, My Sweet

Dick Powell will forever be known as a 1930s crooner in archetypal musical comedies, but this career-changing role shows Powell at his best and remains perhaps the most faithful cinematic representation of Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled hero, Philip Marlowe, ever put on screen. In this adaptation of Farewell, My Lovely, Powell's cynical, smart-talking private eye is hired by a dim ex-con (pug-nosed Mike Mazurki) to find his girl Velma, and by the prissy stooge of a blackmail victim to babysit him during a handoff. The meeting ends with the stooge's death, and Marlowe is immediately engaged by the owner of some jewels, the wily Mrs. Grayle (Claire Trevor), to recover them. As Marlowe navigates the dark, dangerous world of wartime L.A., splitting his search between high-society haunts and the cheap, smoky bars and flophouses of the inner city, he turns up one too many stones, winds up on the wrong end of a fist, and wakes up to a drug-induced nightmare that director Edward Dmytryk delivers with a mixture of surreal symbolism and sinister expressionism. Powell delivers screenwriter John Paxton's snappy lines and droll asides with hard-boiled cynicism, like someone not quite as tough as he talks; but it's Powell's innate vulnerability that makes this reluctant saint of the city so compelling. Dmytryk's shadowy style creates a visual equivalent to the web of intrigue Marlowe navigates, an almost perpetual world of night. One of the first great films noir and an often-overlooked detective-movie classic. --Sean Axmaker

"Murder My Sweet" based on the Raymond Chandler novel "Farewell My Lovely" featured a then controversial choice of Dick Powell to play the famous Philip Marlowe. Previously Dick Powell was known only for comedies and musicals so his appearance in a Film Noir DVD makes the Murder My Sweet DVD an especially unique choice for your mystery DVD collection and for those who enjoy collecting Raymond Chandler novel-turned-movie DVD's. Quick "Murder My Sweet" DVD Summery: His name is Phillip Marlowe and for the right price this private eye will follow an unfaithful husband find a missing bankroll or spy on a suspicious neighbor. When he's drawn into a complex web of murder blackmail and double-dealingthe result is the quintessential film-noir - the one that set the standard for the Film Noir genre. Complete your Film Noir DVD collection - Buy the "Murder My Sweet" now!Running Time: 95 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS UPC: 053939675429

The Three Stooges DVD Collection (Curly Classics / Spook Louder / All the World's a Stooge)

Includes 3 Classic Stooges DVDs:

Curly Classics : Fun with The Three Stooges in six zany episodes: "A Plumbing We Will Go", "Men In Black", "Micro-Phonies", "Punch Drunks", "Three Little Pigskins" and "Woman Haters."

All the World's a Stooge: Includes these hilarious episodes: "Grips, Grunts and Groans", "All the World's a Stooge," "3 Dumb Clucks," "Three Little Pirates," "Uncivil War Birds," "Back to the Woods" and "Violent is the Word for Curly."

Spook Louder: Digital mayhem ensues in this spooktacular selection of the trio's six funniest fear fests: "Spook Louder", "Mummy's Dummies", "Shivering Sherlocks", "The Ghost Talks", "Hokus Pokus", and "Fright Night."

Till the Clouds Roll By (Remastered Edition)

Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: Showboat.

The Three Stooges - Spook Louder

Spook Louder(1943)Traveling salesmen The Three Stooges meet their toughest customers when an inventor hires them to guard his spooky home while he is away. Things get really grim when three spies disguised as monsters show up.Mummy s Dummies(1948)The Smiling Egyptian is a used-chariot lot run by the Stooges in ancient Egypt. Business is booming until they make the mistake of selling a lemon to the chief of the palace guard which lands them in hot water with the king.Shivering Sherlocks (1947)When an armored car robber strikes the Stooges are rounded up for interrogation. A café owner vouches for them and they are freed but it isn t long before they come face-to-face with the bloodthirsty robber and his hatchet man.The Ghost Talks(1949 Portuguese audio not available)The Stooges have a job to do but it isn t going to be easy. Their job is to remove a suit of armor from the Smorgasbord Castle. The problem? The armor doesn t want to leave until the ghost of Lady Godiva are turns for their rendezvous!Hokus Pokus(1949)A beautiful con artist uses Moe Larry and Shemp as character references in her scheme to defraud an insurance company. But when a famed hypnotist casts a spell on the Stooges no one can insure what happens next.Fright Night(1947)In Shemp s first short as a member of the Stooges the three are trainers at Muscle Manor a macho gym for boxers. When a gangster threatens them they use cream puffs including a live one! to soften their champ up for losing.System Requirements:Starring: Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard and Shemp Howard. Running Time: 104 Min. B&W. This film is presented in "Standard" format. Copyright 2000 Columbia TriStar Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 043396054271 Manufacturer No: 05427

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Before Hollywood had entirely typecast Alfred Hitchcock as the master of suspense, with Mr. & Mrs. Smith he was allowed to fashion an elegant romantic trifle starring Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard. It probably won't replace Rear Window or Psycho in your affections, but the film is more than a curious footnote to the director's career. The two leads play David and Ann Smith, a devoted but endlessly squabbling couple who discover their three-year marriage isn't legal. When he unexpectedly hesitates to arrange a second wedding, she storms out in a huff and soon begins dating his solid, dependable business partner Jeff (Gene Raymond). The rest follows the formula laid down by such previous screwball comedies as The Awful Truth (1937) and Bringing Up Baby (1938): David employs fair means or foul to win back Ann's heart, causes all sorts of complicated mischief, then... well, three guesses what happens in the end.

The intriguing thing about the movie is how Hitchcock takes Norman Krasna's paper-thin script and adds sly undercurrents of menace. Violence seems about to erupt in the recurring scenes where Ann shaves her husband (suggestively holding a razor up to his throat)--and there's a touch of Vertigo in one scary moment when a jammed amusement park ride leaves two characters dangling helplessly high above the ground. Montgomery and Lombard keep the mood acceptably frivolous, while indicating the flawed nature of the marital relationship. From the evidence of this one-off, Hitchcock might have been among the best comedy directors in the business, had he so wished. --Peter Matthews

They're married for bitter or worse - until a technicality renders the union void. But now Mr. misses Mrs. and he's desperate to win her back. A rare and delightful foray into screwball comedy from suspense master Hitchcock. Year: 1941Running Time: 95 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 053939680720

The Pajama Game

This 1957 version of the Tony-winning Pajama Game is one of the finest film adaptations of a hit Broadway musical. The story is simple enough: Babe Williams, the head of a pajama company's grievance committee, falls for an exec--the new superintendent--Sid Sorokin (John Raitt). Doris Day, as Babe, has never been so efficiently cute. Raitt starred in the Broadway version, as did much of the film's cast (Day replaced original stage star Janis Paige). The Pajama Game is filled with recognizable, classic songs, done so well and danced so athletically that this musical can engage an action-film fan. Bob Fosse's trademark choreography shines.

Check out two numbers danced by the late, underused, and underrated Carol Haney, who performs amazing feats for "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway." Both Day and Raitt deliver lovely renditions of "Hey There." They're also supported by a great cast that includes, in addition to Haney, a slyly coy Reta Shaw and a dynamic Eddie Foy Jr. --N.F. Mendoza

PAJAMA GAME THE (DVD MOVIE)

The Pajama Game

This 1957 version of the Tony-winning Pajama Game is one of the finest film adaptations of a hit Broadway musical. The story is simple enough: Babe Williams, the head of a pajama company's grievance committee, falls for an exec--the new superintendent--Sid Sorokin (John Raitt). Doris Day, as Babe, has never been so efficiently cute. Raitt starred in the Broadway version, as did much of the film's cast (Day replaced original stage star Janis Paige). The Pajama Game is filled with recognizable, classic songs, done so well and danced so athletically that this musical can engage an action-film fan. Bob Fosse's trademark choreography shines.

Check out two numbers danced by the late, underused, and underrated Carol Haney, who performs amazing feats for "Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway." Both Day and Raitt deliver lovely renditions of "Hey There." They're also supported by a great cast that includes, in addition to Haney, a slyly coy Reta Shaw and a dynamic Eddie Foy Jr. --N.F. Mendoza

Three Stooges DVD 12-Pack

There are nyuks galore in this Three Stooges giftset featuring 12 classic Curly, Larry, and Moe DVDs. Over 600 minutes of side-splitting laughs.