Author Archive: Retro

Italian version of the opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo about a clown who falls in love with a beautiful girl, and is betrayed by his best friend. English subtitles. Cinematography by Mario Bava. Dir. Mario Costa

The one and only “Great Stone Face” gets shanghaied to fly a spaceship to the moon. English dubbed. Dir. Jaime Salvador.

The comedy team go to D.C. to meet with some politians who’ve agreed to lend support to the boys’ wacky invention to help the war effort.

The Water sisters uncover the plot of a pair of jewel thieves.

Two canine contestants are disqualified from a competition for fighting, but when one of the dogs is involved in a plane crash, he must prove his worth by going for help. Based on a story by Jack London. Dir. Fritz Lang.

Texas cattle baron Stiles killed John Clayborn’s parents ten years earlier. Now a lawyer, Clayborn tries legally to break up Stiles’ water monopoly and rustling operation. When that fails he must use force.

Per its title, Faustina is a distaff variation on the Faust legend. In this case, Mexican film favorite Maria Felix plays a woman who sells her soul to the Devil in exchange for beauty and wisdom. Actually, she bargains with the Devil’s assistant (Fernando Gomez), who happens to be one of the woman’s former lovers. The would-be demon spends the rest of the film trying to thwart the poor woman’s happiness, but eventually declares that he’s still in love with her. Not to be taken seriously, Faustina was an enjoyable digression from the usual portentous fare at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Martin is a troubled young man. With a mother who insists on treating him like a child, a stepfather who can’t wait to see the back of him, and a brother with Down’s Syndrome shut away in an institution, is it any wonder he retreats into an alternate personality – that of six-year-old Georgie? It is Georgie who befriends Susan Harper, but friendship soon turns into obsession. When Susan begins to distance herself, something inside Georgie snaps and he embarks on a killing spree, with Susan as the next target.