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Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O'Sullivan was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, on May 17, 1911. The future mother of Mia Farrow was a schooldays classmate of Vivien Leigh at the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Roehampton in London. Even as a schoolgirl, Maureen desired an acting career; she studied hard and read widely. When the opportunity to be an actress came along, it almost dropped in her lap. The director Frank Borzage was in Dublin filming “Song o’ My Heart” (1930) when Maureen, then 18, met him. Borzage suggested a screen test, which she took. The results were more than favorable, as she won the part of Eileen O’Brien. The part was a substantial one, so much so that Maureen went on to Hollywood to complete the filming. Once in sunny California, Maureen wasted no time landing roles in other films such as “Just Imagine” (1930), “Princess and the Plumber” (1930), and “So This Is London” (1930). Maureen was on a roll that her contemporaries could only have wished for when they were coming up through the ranks. In 1932, Maureen was teamed up with Olympic medal winner Johnny Weissmuller for the first time in “Tarzan the Ape Man” (1932). Five other Tarzan films followed, the last being “Tarzan’s New York Adventure” (1942). The Tarzan epics rank as one of the most memorable series ever made. Most people agree that those movies would not have been successful had it not been for the fine acting talents, not to mention beauty, of Maureen O’Sullivan. But she was more than Jane Parker in the Tarzan films; she had great roles and played beautifully in films such as “The Flame Within” (1935), “David Copperfield” (1935), and “Anna Karenina” (1935). She turned in yet another fine performance in “Pride and Prejudice” (1940). After the 1940s, Maureen made far fewer films, not because she lost popularity but by choice. It isn’t always easy to walk away from a lucrative career, but she did because she wanted to devote more time to her husband, John Farrow, an Australian writer, and their seven children. The couple were married from 1936 until his death in 1963. She did not, however, retire completely; Maureen still found time to make an occasional appearance in films or TV or on the stage. Later movie-goers remember her as Elizabeth Alvorg in the hit film “Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986). Her final silver screen appearance was in “The River Pirates” (1988). Some TV movies followed, but only until 1996. She maintained homes in New Hampshire and Arizona, and it was in Scottsdale that Maureen died on June 23, 1998, of a heart attack. She was 87 years old.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 4.155 |
Birthday | 1911-05-17 |
Place of Birth | Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland |
Also Known As | Maureen Paula O'Sullivan, Морин О’Салливан, Maureen O’Sullivan, |
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1986
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Peggy Sue Got Married
6.138/573
Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.
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Peggy Sue Got Married
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1934
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The Thin Man
7.5/469
A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
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The Thin Man
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1950
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Where Danger Lives
6.3/48
A young doctor falls in love with a disturbed young woman and apparently becomes involved in the death of her husband. They head for Mexico trying to...
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Where Danger Lives
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1986
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Hannah and Her Sisters
7.504/1060
Between two Thanksgivings, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her...
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Hannah and Her Sisters
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1972
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The Crooked Hearts
7.8/4
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-an...
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The Crooked Hearts
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1937
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A Day at the Races
7.1/205
Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's farm by winning a big race with her horse. There are a few problems. Hackenbush runs a hi...
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A Day at the Races
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1932
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Tarzan the Ape Man
6.7/207
James Parker and Harry Holt are on an expedition in Africa in search of the elephant burial grounds that will provide enough ivory to make them rich....
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Tarzan the Ape Man
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1939
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Tarzan Finds a Son!
6.1/97
A young couple die in a plane crash in the jungle. Their son is found by Tarzan and Jane who name him Boy and raise him as their own. Five years later...
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Tarzan Finds a Son!
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1942
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Tarzan's New York Adventure
6.3/92
Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and Jane...
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Tarzan's New York Adventure

1941
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Tarzan's Secret Treasure
5.7/74
A scientific expedition happens to discover that gold exists on Tarzan's escarpment. The villainous Medford and Vandermeer kidnap Jane and Boy to exto...
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Tarzan's Secret Treasure
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1932
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Payment Deferred
5.9/15
Bank clerk William Marble is desperate for money to pay his family's bills. When his wealthy nephew visits, Marble asks him for a loan, but the young...
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Payment Deferred
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1936
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The Devil-Doll
6.8/113
Wrongfully convicted of a robbery and murder, Paul Lavond breaks out of prison with a genius scientist who has devised a way to shrink humans. When th...
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The Devil-Doll
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1957
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The Tall T
6.967/135
An independent former ranch foreman and an heiress are kidnapped by a trio of ruthless outlaws.
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The Tall T

1940
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Pride and Prejudice
6.9/140
Mrs. Bennet wishes to wed her five unmarried daughters and is overjoyed when a wealthy bachelor begins living nearby, but misunderstandings make happi...
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Pride and Prejudice

1934
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The Barretts of Wimpole Street
6/19
Remarkable poet Elizabeth Barrett is slowly recovering from a crippling illness with the help of her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henriet...
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The Barretts of Wimpole Street
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1935
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David Copperfield
6.638/69
Charles Dickens' timeless tale of an ordinary young man who lives an extraordinary life, filled with people who help and hinder him.
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David Copperfield
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1970
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The Phynx
3.5/8
A rock band is invented by the government as a cover to find hostages in a remote castle in Albania held by communist enemies of the USA.
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The Phynx
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1953
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All I Desire
7/40
In 1910, a stage actress re-visits her husband and children she deserted ten years ago.
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All I Desire
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1934
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Hide-Out
7.1/8
Wounded criminal Lucky Wilson takes refuge in a small Connecticut farm. He falls in love with the farmer's daughter who at first is unaware of his cr...
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Hide-Out
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1936
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Tarzan Escapes
6.3/98
White hunter Captain Fry tries to take Tarzan back to civilization, caged for public display. He arrives in the jungle with Jane's cousins, Eric and R...
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Tarzan Escapes
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1939
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Let Us Live
6.75/12
When a confused eyewitness identifies New York City cabbie Brick Tennant as a killer, he is sentenced to death for a murder that he wasn't involved in...
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Let Us Live
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1934
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Tarzan and His Mate
6.6/135
Harry Holt returns to Africa with his friend Martin Arlington to head up a large ivory expedition.
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Tarzan and His Mate
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1948
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The Big Clock
7.3/163
Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again, when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned b...
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The Big Clock
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1932
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Okay, America!
5/2
A gossip columnist's rise to fame. Based closely on the real life of Walter Winchell.
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Okay, America!

1935
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Anna Karenina
6.6/86
In 19th century Russia a woman in a respectable marriage to a senior statesman must grapple with her love for a dashing soldier.
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Anna Karenina
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1937
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The Emperor's Candlesticks
5.2/7
Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-revolutionary Russia.
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The Emperor's Candlesticks
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1930
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Just Imagine
5.5/20
New York, 1980: airplanes have replaced cars, numbers have replaced names, pills have replaced food, government-arranged marriages have replaced love,...
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Just Imagine
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1932
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Skyscraper Souls
5.6/11
After bank president David Dwight makes a vast loan to himself to build a remarkable skyscraper, his board questions the propriety of the loan. Despit...
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Skyscraper Souls
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1984
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Too Scared to Scream
5.4/19
A killer is brutally attacking several tenants that live in a high rise apartment building in New York City.
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Too Scared to Scream

1933
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Tugboat Annie
7/7
Tugboat, the Narcissus, is owned and captained by Annie Brennan, and among her crew are her alcoholic but good-natured husband, Terry, and her conscie...
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Tugboat Annie
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1987
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Stranded
5.3/7
A young woman and her grandmother living in an isolated farmhouse are kidnapped by aliens.
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Stranded

1952
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Bonzo Goes to College
5/1
When Bonzo turns out to be the answer to the football teams troubles, the only solution is to enroll him college.
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Bonzo Goes to College
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1972
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory
6/2
A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension th...
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory
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1935
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West Point of the Air
6/3
An army sergeant inspires his son to become an ace flyer.
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West Point of the Air
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1931
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A Connecticut Yankee
6/7
Making a delivery to a mysterious mansion in a rainstorm, radio salesman Hank Martin is knocked out when a suit of armor topples on him. Upon awakenin...
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A Connecticut Yankee
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1988
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Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood
6/1
A timeless story of a boy's adventures growing up in a small Southern town, Yazoo City, in the 1940s during World War II, roaming with his friends, pl...
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Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood
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1954
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The Steel Cage
0/0
Drama set in San Quentin prison.
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The Steel Cage

1938
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A Yank at Oxford
6.7/10
A brash young American aristocrat attending Oxford University gets a chance to prove himself and win the heart of his antagonist's sister.
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A Yank at Oxford
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1941
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Maisie Was a Lady
6.8/4
Showgirl Maisie Ravier finds herself once again out of work. She meets a wealthy playboy who hires her to be his family's new maid. Maisie soon finds...
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Maisie Was a Lady
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1932
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Strange Interlude
5.727/11
After Nina Leeds finds out that insanity runs in her husband's family, she has a love child with a handsome doctor and lets her husband believes the c...
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Strange Interlude

1938
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Port of Seven Seas
0/0
In the French port of Marseille, a young woman named Madelon is in love with a young sailor, Marius. Discovering she is pregnant after Marius sets out...
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Port of Seven Seas
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1937
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My Dear Miss Aldrich
6.1/5
A young woman inherits a newspaper whose editor refuses to hire lady reporters.
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My Dear Miss Aldrich

1936
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The Voice of Bugle Ann
5.8/4
A Missouri farmer's (Lionel Barrymore) son (Eric Linden) loves the daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan) of a neighbor who has killed the farmer's foxhound.
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The Voice of Bugle Ann
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1930
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Song o' My Heart
4.4/4
Broken hearts in Ireland. Sean is a great tenor, in semi-retirement, living in a village close to Mary, the woman he’s always loved. Mary’s aunt convi...
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Song o' My Heart

1954
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Duffy of San Quentin
6/3
San Quentin's new warden crusades for reform and for a framed inmate who loves a nurse.
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Duffy of San Quentin
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1933
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Stage Mother
5/2
Kitty Lorraine has one purpose in life: turning her daughter Shirley into a star. Kitty controls every aspect of the girl's nascent career -- even bla...
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Stage Mother
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1965
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Never Too Late
5/5
A 60-year-old lumber supply businessman is dismayed to learn his 50-year-old wife is pregnant. A film adaptation of the hit Broadway comedy, with Paul...
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Never Too Late
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1931
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The Big Shot
0/0
A young man runs into trouble when he buys an auto court, only to find out that its located next to a swamp that drives away all potential customers.
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The Big Shot

1937
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Between Two Women
5.5/4
Allen Meighan, an intern, assures himself residency at 'General Hospital', when he saves the life of a man trapped in an explosion. Allen is in love w...
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Between Two Women
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1978
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Mandy's Grandmother
4.5/4
A young tomboy and her prim grandmother quickly forget the disappointment of their first meeting and become friends.
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Mandy's Grandmother

1958
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Wild Heritage
4.5/2
Travails of a family heading West in a covered wagon.
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Wild Heritage

1938
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Hold That Kiss
6.5/2
Two young people meet at a wedding and begin dating, each thinking the other is extremely wealthy. Comedy.
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Hold That Kiss

1935
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Woman Wanted
6.3/7
Just after a jury finds Ann Grey guilty of murder, the car carrying her to prison crashes into another car. Ann escapes and ends up in lawyer Tony Bax...
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Woman Wanted

1938
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Spring Madness
3.9/5
Harvard senior Sam Thatcher and his best friend and roommate, known as "The Lippencott", plan to go to Russia after graduation, a decision Sam has kep...
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Spring Madness

1994
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Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is
6.2/10
When a mentor and friend of Jennifer's dies, she and Jonathan return to the sleepy town where Jennifer once lived and worked as a reporter. Nearly imm...
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Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is
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1935
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The Flame Within
5.2/5
Psychiatrist finds herself falling for her patient.
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The Flame Within

1938
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The Crowd Roars
6.5/6
A young boxer gets caught between a no-good father and a crime boss when he starts dating the boss's daughter, although she doesn't know what daddy do...
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The Crowd Roars

1935
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Cardinal Richelieu
7.4/5
The cunning Cardinal Richelieu must save King Louis XIII from treachery within his inner circle.
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Cardinal Richelieu

1955
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The Little Lamb: A Christmas Story
2/1
A lamb that had wandered off plays a significant part in the Nativity.
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The Little Lamb: A Christmas Story

1940
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Sporting Blood
4.3/3
Myles Vanders feuds with hardnosed stable owner Davis Lockwood. Myles takes revenge by romancing and marrying Lockwood's daughter Linda. But as the bi...
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Sporting Blood

1998

In Search of Tarzan with Jonathan Ross
0/0
A look at Tarzan on the big and small screen with interviews with some of those who have played him.
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In Search of Tarzan with Jonathan Ross
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1953
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Mission Over Korea
3/1
A rookie pilot in the Korean War wants to avenge his brother's death.
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Mission Over Korea

1935
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The Bishop Misbehaves
4/1
On a walking tour of English cathedrals, Donald Meadows meets Hester Granthem in church. Hearing he is from that hot-bed of crime, Chicago, Hester ask...
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The Bishop Misbehaves

1937
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The Romance of Celluloid
7/2
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...
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The Romance of Celluloid
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1936
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Hollywood - The Second Step
8/2
This short follows the early career of actress Jane Barnes. She starts by doing extra work. After several months she is offered a studio contract (the...
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Hollywood - The Second Step

2017
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Tarzan Revisited
6.5/2
Tarzan: the super hero who never goes out of fashion. The son of British Royalty, he is raised by apes in the African jungle and finds his true love,...
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Tarzan Revisited

1931
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Skyline
0/0
Skyline is a 1931 drama film directed by Sam Taylor and starring silent film veteran Thomas Meighan. It is based on a novel, East Side, West Side by F...
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Skyline

1940

Hollywood: Style Center of the World
5.5/2
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...
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Hollywood: Style Center of the World

1932
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Robbers' Roost
5.5/2
Running from the law, Jim Hall joins Hays’ gang. Hays is foreman on the Herrick ranch and plans to rustle Herrick’s cattle. Attracted to Herrick’s sis...
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Robbers' Roost

1932
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Fast Companions
6/1
A crooked jockey tries to reform.
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Fast Companions

2003
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Complicated Women
6.7/11
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered fi...
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Complicated Women

1976
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That's Entertainment, Part II
6.8/36
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical num...
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That's Entertainment, Part II

1932
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The Silver Lining
0/0
A women in prison tale. One's rich, one's poor. Can they prosper after prison?
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The Silver Lining

1957

The Edge of Innocence
0/0
An unscrupulous criminal lawyer falls in love with a wealthy widow and becomes involved with her brother's disappearance and murder.
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The Edge of Innocence

1930

So This Is London
7/1
Hiram Draper is an all-American self-made man with a profound distaste for everything British. Yet he must travel to London with his family. When Juni...
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So This Is London

1930

The Princess and the Plumber
0/0
A derogated prince hopes to restore his wealth and power by marrying off his daughter to royalty. Unfortunately, she has fallen in love with a young m...
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The Princess and the Plumber

1976
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It's Showtime
7/1
A collection of film clips profiling animal actors.
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It's Showtime

1952
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Ellis in Freedomland
0/0
Westinghouse claims its electric appliances "freed women from the drudgery of housework." The first half involves a dream salesman at work; the second...
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Ellis in Freedomland

1992
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With Murder in Mind
4.7/3
A real estate agent is shot while trying to sell a rural farm and tries to bring the shooter to justice.
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With Murder in Mind

1934
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Screen Snapshots No. 11
0/0
Long before the release of the cult film Dracula vs. Frankenstein, the original stars of Dracula and Frankenstein met face to face--for a game of ches...
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Screen Snapshots No. 11

2004

Checking Out: Grand Hotel
7/2
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 bo...
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Checking Out: Grand Hotel

1992

The Habitation of Dragons
0/0
Two brothers of totally different natures live in a small town in Texas. Since the death of their father they confront one another all the time for al...
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The Habitation of Dragons
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1976
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The Great Houdinis
6/10
A biography of the renowned escape artist Harry Houdini, examining his fascination with the occult and his promise to his wife on her deathbed that he...
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The Great Houdinis
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1982
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Morning's at Seven
0/0
In a small Midwestern town in the 1920s, four sisters' lives are turned upside down when one sister's son brings his fiancée home to meet his eccentri...
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Morning's at Seven
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1956
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The Blessed Midnight
5/1
When a boy steals a cake for his beloved aunt on Christmas Eve, his young friend tries to set things straight.
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The Blessed Midnight
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1950
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Screen Actors
6/2
This short film takes a look at the off-screen personas of screen actors. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
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Screen Actors
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2007
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Where Danger Lives: White Rose for Julie
0/0
Documentary about the film Where Danger Lives (1950)
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Where Danger Lives: White Rose for Julie
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1951
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No Resting Place
0/0
The brilliant British documentary filmmaker Paul Rotha made his feature-film debut with 1950's No Resting Place. Filmed on location in Ireland, the fi...
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No Resting Place
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1933
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The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble
0/0
Kelly's daughter falls for a revenue agent, and his divorced wife is after alimony.
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