Robert Siodmak was a German film director who also worked in the United States. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for a series of stylish, unpretentious Hollywood films noirs he made in the 1940s, such as The Killers (1946).
The Spiral Staircase is a 1946 American psychological horror film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, and Ethel Barrymore. Adapted from Ethel Lina White's British novel Some Must Watch (1933) by screenwriter Mel Dinelli, the film follows a mute young woman in an early-20th century Vermont town being terrorized by a serial killer who targets disabled women.
Valentine is a 2001 slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks and starring Denise Richards, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton, Jessica Capshaw, and Katherine Heigl. Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Tom Savage, the film follows a group of women in San Francisco who are stalked by a killer wearing a Cupid mask.
Son of Dracula is a 1943 American horror film directed by Robert Siodmak with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt Siodmak. The film stars Lon Chaney, Jr., Louise Allbritton, Robert Paige, Evelyn Ankers, and Frank Craven. The film is set in the United States, where Count Alucard has just taken up residence. Katherine Caldwell (Allbritton), a student of the occult, becomes fascinated by Alucard and eventually marries him. Katherine begins to look and act strangely, leading her former romantic partner Frank Stanley (Paige) to suspect that something has happened to her. He gets help from Dr. Brewster (Craven) and psychologist Laszlo who come to the conclusion that Alucard is a vampire.
Night After Night is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film starring George Raft, Constance Cummings, and Mae West in her first movie role. Others in the cast include Wynne Gibson, Alison Skipworth, Roscoe Karns, Louis Calhern, and Bradley Page. Directed by Archie Mayo, it was adapted for the screen by Vincent Lawrence and Kathryn Scola, based on the Cosmopolitan magazine story Single Night by Louis Bromfield, with West allowed to contribute to her lines of dialogue.
Cain and Mabel is a 1936 romantic comedy film designed as a vehicle for Marion Davies in which she co-stars with Clark Gable. The story had been filmed before, in 1924, by William Randolph Hearst's production company, Cosmopolitan, as a silent called The Great White Way, starring Anita Stewart and Oscar Shaw. In this version, Robert Paige introduced the song "I'll Sing You a Thousand Love Songs", with music by Harry Warren and words by Al Dubin, who also wrote "Coney Island", "Here Comes Chiquita", and other songs.
Dorothy Emily Stevenson was a best-selling Scottish author. She published more than 40 "light romantic novels" over a span of more than 40 years.
Dorothy Karolyn Granger was an American actress best known for her roles in short subject comedies in Hollywood.
Georgie Glen is a Scottish actress, known for her film and television work in both dramatic and comedic roles. Among her most popular performances are the running characters of Miss Higgins in the BBC One period drama series Call The Midwife from 2018 onwards, and of history teacher Audrey McFall in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road from 2012 to 2015.
Charles Dingle was an American stage and film actor.
Mandy is a 1952 British black and white film about a family's struggle to give their deaf daughter a better life. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and is based on the novel The Day Is Ours by Hilda Lewis. It stars Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins and Terence Morgan, and features the first film appearance by Jane Asher. In the US the film was released as The Story of Mandy, and later was sold to television as Crash of Silence.
Trouble in Store is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom as a department store clerk in his cinema debut. The film also featured Moira Lister, Margaret Rutherford, Jerry Desmonde and Lana Morris. For his performance, Wisdom won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Although it was shown at a West End venue, the film broke box office records at 51 out of the 67 London cinemas in which it played. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky. It was released by Rank's General Film Distributors and was later released in America by Republic Pictures. The film's success led to Wisdom appearing in a string of films for Rank beginning with One Good Turn.
Ruth Donnelly was an American film and stage actress.
Bergetta "Dorothy" Peterson was an American actress. She began her acting career on Broadway before appearing in more than eighty Hollywood films.
Harry Shannon was an American character actor. He often appeared in Western films.
Dorothy Ruth Morris was an American film and television actress known for her "girl next door" persona.
The Star Maker is a 1939 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, written by Frank Butler, Don Hartman and Arthur Caesar, and starring Bing Crosby, Louise Campbell, Linda Ware, Ned Sparks, Laura Hope Crews, Janet Waldo and Walter Damrosch. Filming started in Hollywood on April 17, 1939 and was finished in June. The film was released on August 25, 1939, by Paramount Pictures, and had its New York premiere on August 30, 1939. It was the only film in which Crosby played a happily married man.
If You Knew Susie is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Gordon Douglas and written by Warren Wilson, Oscar Brodney, Bud Pearson and Lester A. White. The film was produced by, and starred, Eddie Cantor in his final starring role in a feature film. The film also stars Joan Davis, Allyn Joslyn, Charles Dingle and Bobby Driscoll. The film was released on February 7, 1948, by RKO Pictures.
Happy Go Lucky is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and written by Walter DeLeon, Melvin Frank, John Jacoby and Norman Panama. The film stars Mary Martin, Dick Powell, Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Rudy Vallée, Mabel Paige and Eric Blore. The film was released on January 4, 1943, by Paramount Pictures. It might be best remembered now for Betty Hutton's energetic performance of the song "Murder, He Says," written by Frank Loesser and Jimmy McHugh.
The Good Fellows is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Jo Graham and written by Hugh Wedlock Jr. and Howard Snyder. The film stars Cecil Kellaway, Helen Walker, Mabel Paige, James Brown, Patti Hale and Kathleen Lockhart. The film was released on August 11, 1943, by Paramount Pictures.
