Robert Stack was an American actor and television host. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the ABC television series The Untouchables (1959–1963), for which he won the 1960 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series, and later hosted/narrated the true-crime series Unsolved Mysteries (1987–2002). He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film Written on the Wind (1956). Later in his career, Stack was known for his deadpan comedy roles that lampooned his dramatic on-screen persona, most notably as Captain Rex Kramer in Airplane! (1980).
Richard Thorpe was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, America's first retaliatory air strike against Japan, four months after the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The raid was planned, led by, and named after United States Army Air Forces Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, who was promoted two ranks, to Brigadier General, the day after the raid.
Bertrand Blanchard Acosta was a record-setting aviator and test pilot. He and Clarence D. Chamberlin set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Spanish Civil War in the Yankee Squadron. He was known as the "bad boy of the air". He received numerous fines and suspensions for flying stunts such as flying under bridges or flying too close to buildings.
Supernova is a 2000 science fiction horror film written by David C. Wilson, William Malone and Daniel Chuba and directed by Walter Hill, credited as "Thomas Lee." "Thomas Lee" was chosen as a directorial pseudonym for release in lieu of Alan Smithee, as the latter had become too well known as a badge of a film being disowned by its makers. It was originally developed in 1988 by Malone as "Dead Star," with paintings by H. R. Giger and a plot that had been called "Hellraiser in outer space." Jack Sholder was hired for substantial uncredited reshoots, and Francis Ford Coppola was brought in for editing purposes. Various sources suggest that little of Hill's work remains in the theatrical cut of the film. The film shares several plot similarities with the film Event Horizon, released in 1997, and Alien Cargo, released in 1999. The cast features James Spader, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Lou Diamond Phillips, Peter Facinelli, Robin Tunney, and Wilson Cruz. The film was shot by cinematographer Lloyd Ahern II and scored by composers David C. Williams and Burkhard Dallwitz.
Fail Safe is a 2000 televised broadcast play, based on Fail-Safe, the Cold War novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. The play, broadcast live in black and white on CBS, starred George Clooney, Richard Dreyfuss, Harvey Keitel, and Noah Wyle, and was one of the few live dramas on American television since its Golden Age in the 1950s and 1960s. The broadcast was introduced by Walter Cronkite : it was directed by veteran British filmmaker Stephen Frears.
Quick Millions is a 1931 pre-Code crime film directed by Rowland Brown and starring Spencer Tracy, Marguerite Churchill, Sally Eilers, and featuring George Raft as the sidekick with a solo eccentric dance performance.
Flying High is a 1931 American pre-Code musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by George White, with lyrics by B. G. DeSylva and Lew Brown, music by Ray Henderson and additional songs by Dorothy Fields (lyrics) and Jimmy McHugh (music). The film originally featured two Technicolor sequences which apparently only survive in black and white. The cast featured Bert Lahr, Charlotte Greenwood, Pat O'Brien, Charles Winninger and Hedda Hopper, with Gus Arnheim and his orchestra.
Among Those Present is a 1921 American "three-reeler" silent comedy film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and starring Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis and Mary Pickford.
Interpol is a 1957 British-American CinemaScope crime film noir directed by John Gilling and starring Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard, Bonar Colleano and Sidney James. The screenplay was by John Paxton, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by A.J. Forrest. The film was produced by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli for Warwick Films.
Exit Smiling is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Sam Taylor and starring New York and London revues star Beatrice Lillie in her first film role and Jack Pickford, the brother of star Mary Pickford. The film was also the debut of actor Franklin Pangborn. This film is available on DVD from the Warner Archives Collection.
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone is a 1950 comedy/murder mystery film set on board a train. It stars Marjorie Main and James Whitmore. It is based on the short story "Once Upon a Train " by Stuart Palmer and Craig Rice.
South of St Louis is a 1949 American Technicolor Western film directed by Ray Enright and starring Joel McCrea, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott and Dorothy Malone. It chronicles the friendship between three ranchers after their ranch is destroyed by raiders led by the infamous Luke Cottrell. The film was originally titled Distant Drums, but was later changed to its current title, which refers to Civil War army deserters.
Night Flight is a 1933 American pre-Code aviation drama film produced by David O. Selznick, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Clarence Brown and starring John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy.
Riders of the Whistling Pines is a 1949 American Western film directed by John English and starring Gene Autry, Patricia Barry, and Jimmy Lloyd. Written by Jack Townley, the film is about a gang of outlaws who are destroying the timberland and who frame a singing cowboy on a cattle-poisoning charge, setting him up for murder.
The Lucky Stiff is a 1949 American comedy crime film directed by Lewis R. Foster, starring Dorothy Lamour, Brian Donlevy, and Claire Trevor. The film is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Craig Rice.
Calamity Jane and Sam Bass is a 1949 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Yvonne De Carlo, Howard Duff and Dorothy Hart.
Torpedo Alley, also known as Down Periscope, is a 1952 American war film directed by Lew Landers and starring Mark Stevens, Dorothy Malone and Charles Winninger. It depicts a US Navy pilot rescued at sea by submarine before applying for submarine duty.
Michael Shayne, Private Detective is a 1940 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver and Joan Valerie. It is based on Brett Halliday's novel The Private Practice of Michael Shayne. It was the first in a series of Michael Shayne films starring Nolan.
"Tip on a Dead Jockey” is a work of short fiction by Irwin Shaw, originally appearing in The New Yorker on March 6, 1954, and first collected in Tip on a Dead Jockey and Other Stories (1957) by Random House.
