Tuesday 31 March 2009

1941

Man-Made Monster 1941 DVD
While Man-Made Monster is not one of the all-time great horror films like many of its thirties and forties Universal Pictures celluloid brethren, it is not without certain merits; in particular, it can be viewed historically as the proving ground for one of Universal's undisputed classics, The Wolf Man. Both filmed in 1941, Man-Made Monster first teamed many of the people who would later collaborate on The Wolf Man. Star Lon Chaney Jr., and director George Waggner are well known to have gone on to make the furry opus, but many of the other talents that reunited for the Wolf Man included some of Universal's stable of technicians and artists like special effects wizard John P. Fulton (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Ten Commandments), makeup magician Jack Pierce (Frankenstein, The Mummy), musical director Hans Salter (The Mummy's Hand, Ghost of Frankenstein) and costumer Vera West (The Man Who Laughs, Son of Frankenstein).


The Black cat 1941 DVD
Elderly Henrietta Winslow lives in an isolated mansion with her housekeeper and beloved cats. As her health fails, her greedy relatives gather in anticipation of her death.



The Bride came C.O.D. 1941 DVD
The Bride Came C.O.D. is a 1941 Warner Bros. screwball romantic comedy starring James Cagney as a pilot and Bette Davis as a runaway heiress. Although the film was publicized as the first movie pairing of Warner Bros.' two biggest stars, they had actually made Jimmy the Gent together in 1934.
The movie was written by Kenneth Earl, M. M. Musselman, and twins Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, and directed by William Keighley.Pilot Steve Collins (James Cagney) agrees to help bandleader Alan Brice (Jack Carson) and heiress Joan Winfield (Bette Davis) elope. Steve then contacts her father Lucius (Eugene Pallette), offering to prevent the marriage and deliver her to him in return for enough money to get out of debt.



King of the Zombies 1941 DVD
During World War 2, a small plane off the south coast of America is low on fuel and blown off course by a storm. Guided by a faint radio signal, they crashland on an island. The passenger, his manservant and the pilot take refuge in a mansion owned by a doctor. The easily-spooked manservant soon becomes convinced the mansion is haunted by zombies and ghosts. Exploring, the 3 find a voodoo ritual in the cellar, where the doctor is trying to acquire war intelligence by transferring personalities into his zombies. But the interruption causes the zombies to turn on their creator.


Invisible Ghost 1941 DVD
Starring Bela Lugosi. THE PHANTOM KILLER STRIKES! Only a terrified woman knows the secret of this ghostly murderer...who strikes in the night and leaves no clues---but his victims! The town's leading citizen becomes a homocidal maniac after his wife deserts him.



The Wolf Man 1941 DVD
Upon the death of his brother, Larry Talbot returns from America to his ancestral home in Wales. He visits a gypsy camp with village girl Jenny Williams, who is attacked by Bela, a gypsy who has turned into a werewolf. Larry kills the werewolf but is bitten during the fight. Bela's mother tells him that this will cause him to become a werewolf at each full moon. Larry confesses his plight to his unbelieving father, Sir John, who then joins the villagers in a hunt for the wolf. Larry, transformed by the full moon, heads for the forest and a fateful meeting with both Sir John and Gwen.




Hold that Ghost 1941 Laserdisc
Hold That Ghost is a film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. On August 1, 1941, Abbott and Costello performed a live version of the film for radio audiences on Louella Parsons' Hollywood Premiere.
Chuck Murray (Bud Abbott) and Ferdie Jones (Lou Costello) work at a gas station, but long to move up to waiting tables at Chez Glamour, a high-class nightclub.

Opportunity comes their way and they find themselves working there. But on their very first night, they cause a disturbance and are fired, only to wind up working again at the gas station, when a gangster named "Moose" Matson (William Davidson) brings in his car for servicing. Chuck and Ferdie happen to be inside the vehicle when the gangster speeds off to escape police, who are searching for him. During the chase, the gangster is killed by gunfire, and through a strange clause in his will, Chuck and Ferdie inherit his tavern, 'Forrester's Club'.

The lawyer in charge of the will arranges a private bus (actually just a large car) to take them to the rural tavern, where they arrive during a heavy thunderstorm, but the driver abandons them and the other passengers there and takes off with everyone's luggage, a scheme that is known as the "wildcat bus racket". Unbeknownst to everyone, one of the passengers, Charlie Smith (Marc Lawrence) is a member of Moose's gang, and wants to search the tavern for a hidden money stash. (Moose did give one rather cryptic clue as to the money's location, by stating that he always kept his money "in his head").

As the night progresses, strange things begin to happen, they discover a hidden room full of old gambling equipment, and the tavern appears to be haunted. More gangsters arrive to search for the money and unsuccessfully attempt to scare off the guests. In an especially funny scene, Ferdie stammers and shakes as he nervously describes to his disbelieving friends how a lit candle moves back and forth by itself on a table. Ferdie eventually finds the treasure hidden inside the head of a stuffed moose; he and Chuck use the money to transform the tavern into a health resort. They hire Ted Lewis and His Orchestra, along with The Andrews Sisters, to headline.



Keep em Flying 1941 Laserdisc
Jinx Roberts (Dick Foran) is a stunt pilot and his assistants are Blackie (Bud Abbott) and Heathcliffe (Lou Costello). All three are fired from the carnival and air show that they work for after a disagreement. Jinx decides that he should join the Army Air Force, so they go to a nightclub to party one last time. While there Jinx falls for the club's singer, Linda Joyce (Carol Bruce). Coincidentally, she becomes a USO hostess at the same Academy that Jinx and her brother, Jimmy (Charles Lang) are enrolled at. It turns out that Jinx's instructor, Craig Morrison (William Gargan), was his co-pilot on a commercial airplane years earlier, and the two still hold animosity for each other. Meanwhile, Blackie and Heathcliffe join the air corps as ground crewman and fall in love with twin USO hostesses (Martha Raye in a dual role).

Jinx attempts to help Jimmy solo, nearly getting him killed. For his efforts, Jinx is hated by Linda for nearly killing her brother and is dishonorably discharged from the corps, along with his assistants Blackie and Heathcliffe (who were discharged for their own mishaps). As they are leaving, Craig gets his parachute caught on the tail end of the plane that he just jumped out of. Jinx confiscates a plane and comes to his rescue. For his heroic actions, he is allowed back into the corps and got back Linda.

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