Ripley, Arthur

Thunder Road

The preeminent moonshine movie, the 1958 Thunder Road stars Robert Mitchum as a backwoods bootlegger in Tennessee, getting squeezed by both the federal government and organized crime. Mitchum had a big hand in creating this cult favorite (which reportedly played in drive-ins around America for years), writing the script, producing the movie, and even composing and singing the movie's theme song, which became a radio hit. Directed by longtime cinematographer Arthur Ripley, the film is strong on characters and action, the latter fulfilled by a memorable chase scene at the end. Mitchum was at an artistic peak at this point in his career, and this is really an indispensable movie for his fans. --Tom Keogh

Transporting illegal alcohol over dark two-lane mountain highways Lucas Doolin (Robert Mitchum) races wildly through the night crashing road blocks and outrunning ambushes defying anyone who tries to stop him. A man has a right to do anything he says including making whiskey as long as he makes it on his own land. But when ruthless racketeers muscle in on Doolin s territory and kill one of his men in the process the Kentucky bootlegger declares war fiercely determined to maintain his hard-won business and independence...even if it costs him his life. Boasting breathtaking auto chase scenes (The Film Daily) and a superb performance from Robert Mitchum Thunder Road is breathtaking excitement the most exhilarating road thriller of them all.System Requirements:Running Time: 120 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG UPC: 027616810120 Manufacturer No: 908101

W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films (Criterion Collection Spine #78)

Ten years elapsed between W.C. Fields's debut in the 1915 short "The Pool Sharks" and his role in D.W. Griffith's Sally of the Sawdust, but it didn't take long for Fields to become one of the all-time great screen comedians. This essential collection--the silent "The Pool Sharks" plus the five "two-reeler" sound shorts that established Fields's acerbic style--provides a comprehensive document of the comedian's work in progress. "The Pool Sharks" develops a routine that Fields created in vaudeville and later perfected on film, with stop-motion animation used here to realize the comedian's wacky luck at billiards. It's a clever appetizer, but Fields was a verbal comic, so the two-reelers are the full-course meal.

Like the Marx brothers' The Cocoanuts a year earlier, 1930's "The Golf Specialist" mines humor from high jinks in sunny Florida, where Fields is nearly upstaged by a stone-faced golf caddy. The classic "The Dentist," despite the later addition of strident musical cues, is presented in its entirety, including an oft-censored bit in which Fields tugs a molar from a woman who's wrapped around him in a highly suggestive position. "The Pharmacist" and "The Barbershop" are variations on the theme, allowing Fields to toss off bons mots and scathing sarcasm, but it's the anomalous "The Fatal Glass of Beer"--a hilarious send-up of Yukon gold-rush adventures--that proves an unlikely highlight. It's typically sour-pussed in its agenda, with a running gag (involving the line "It ain't a fit night out for man nor beast") that just grows funnier with each repetition. Fields's comedy wasn't fully developed here--he became masterful in later features--but 6 Short Films is crucial in demonstrating his rapid refinement of the vintage Fields persona. --Jeff Shannon

W. C. Fields' prolific career placed him at the forefront of slapstick comedy. Gathered here are six gems that feature the comic genius at his peak: The Golf Specialist, Pool Sharks (silent), The Pharmacist, The Fatal Glass of Beer, The Barber Shop, and, of course, the notorious The Dentist. This unique collection will delight new generations of viewers with Fields' hilariously sardonic routines.

Film Noir Double Feature, Vol. 2: The Chase/Bury Me Dead

Volume two in our series of Film Noir double-bills features three stars better known for their TV personas - Robert Cummings (Love That Bob), June Lockhart (the mom on Lassie) and Hugh Beaumont (the 'Beave's' dad on Leave it to Beaver) - but whose hard-boiled performances here are nothing like those TV characters. The Chase (1946) has Robert Cummings playing an ex-GI who by chance is hired to be the chauffeur for a ruthless gangster. He is soon drawn into a twisted nightmarish plot involving the gangster's unfaithful wife and a charge for a murder he did not commit. The second feature, Bury Me Dead (1947), starts off with a bang when a woman (June Lockhart) shows up as a mourner at her own funeral! With the help of her family lawyer (Hugh Beaumont) the woman begins an investigation to uncover who's really buried in her place and who wanted her dead in the first place. Features cinematography by John Alton. Two film noir gems for the price of one! Bonus Features: Commentaries by Jay Fenton, Film Restoration Consultant| Scene Selection| Bios & Filmographies| Film Noir Movie Poster Gallery| Film Noir Trailers| Bonus: 'Noirish' Superman Cartoon "Showdown" (1942) - the man of steel takes on gangsters! Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 153 minutes; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1946, 1947; SRP - $9.99.

The Chase

Golden Age Theater, Volume 4

Four (more) star-packed episodes from the award winning General Electric Theater.

W.C. Fields, Vol. 1 & 2

W.C. Fields, Vol. 2 - Pharmacist/The Barbershop/Pool Shark

W.C. Fields