Big Five Glories

The Kid - 1921

BigFiveGlories — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:17:17 +0000

Synopsis: “A comedy with a smile, and perhaps a tear”. As she leaves the charity hospital and passes a church wedding, Edna deposits her new baby with a pleading note in a limousine and goes off to commit suicide. The limo is stolen by thieves who dump the baby by a garbage can. Charlie the Tramp finds the baby and makes a home for him. Five years later Edna has become an opera star but does charity work for slum youngsters in hope of finding her boy. A doctor called by Edna discovers the note with the truth about the Kid and reports it to the authorities who come to take him away from Charlie. Before he arrives at the Orphan Asylum Charlie steals him back and takes him to a flophouse. The proprietor reads of a reward for the Kid and takes him to Edna. Charlie is later awakened by a kind policeman who reunites him with the Kid at Edna’s mansion…

Hell’s House - 1932

BigFiveGlories — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:47:30 +0000

Synopsis: Jimmy Mason idolizes bootlegger Matt Kelly who is dating Peggy. Unwilling to squeal on his idol, Jimmy winds up in a cruel reformatory where a new- found friend is dying from abuse. Jimmy escapes to report the abuse. Matt and Peggy help him once he has escaped…

The Trail Beyond - 1934

BigFiveGlories — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 11:40:05 +0000

Synopsis: Rod Drew has been sent to find a missing miner and his daughter. He is joined by old friend Wabi whom he has to rescue from card cheats that framed him for murder. Later they find a skeleton and a map to a mine. When they put the map into a safe, a LaRocque henchman sees them. LaRocque wants the map and captures the Mountie sent to get Wabi. His man then dressed as the Mountie captures Rod and Wabi…

The Saint in Palm Springs - 1941

BigFiveGlories — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:39:46 +0000

Synopsis: Fernack tries to get Simon arrested as he returns home from a Transatlantic European vacation in order to help old friend and World War I hero Peter Johnson travel safely to Palm Springs in order to deliver $200,000, which has been converted into three rare stamps, to his daughter. While Simon is protecting him in New York, Johnson is murdered in his own apartment, but the killer is unable to get the stamps. The Saint brings them himself to the resort but is assaulted by a gang of foreign agents who steal the stamps. Johnson’s beautiful daughter Elna doesn’t believe Simon’s story but gives him 24 hours to get them back before reporting him to the California authorities. Along with old friend Pearly Gates, a reformed pickpocket turned hotel house detective, they sift through many red herrings to uncover the stamps and the murderer…

The Big Bluff - 1955

BigFiveGlories — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 15:23:57 +0000

Synopsis: When scheming fortune hunter and erstwhile Latin lover Ricardo De Villa learns that a wealthy but sickly widow has terminal heart disease, he seduces and marries the vulnerable millionairess. Playing the part of a faithful and doting husband, he carries on a torrid affair with sexy exotic dancer Fritzi Darvel while avoiding the suspicious eyes of her jealous bongo-playing husband. When his wife’s condition seems to go into remission, the impatient De Villa decides on action that will hasten her seemingly inevitable death.

White Zombie - 1932

BigFiveGlories — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:57:55 +0000

Synopsis: Young couple Madeleine and Neil are coaxed by acquaintance Monsieur Beaumont to get married on his Haitian plantation. Beaumont’s motives are purely selfish as he makes every attempt to convince the beautiful young girl to run away with him. For help Beaumont turns to the devious Legendre, a man who runs his mill by mind controlling people he has turned into zombies. After Beaumont uses Legendre’s zombie potion on Madeleine, he is dissatisfied with her emotionless being and wants her to be changed back. Legendre has no intention of doing this and he drugs Beaumont as well to add to his zombie collection. Meanwhile, grieving ‘widower’ Neil is convinced by a local priest that Madeleine may still be alive and he seeks her out.

Great expectations - 1946

BigFiveGlories — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:49:27 +0000

Synopsis: Pip, a good-natured, gullible young orphan, lives with kind blacksmith Joe Gargery and his bossy, abusive wife ‘Mrs. Joe’. When the boy finds two hidden escaped galley convicts, he obeys under -probably unnecessary- threat of a horrible death to bring the criminals food he must steal at peril of more caning from the battle-ax. Just when Pip fears to get it really good while they have guests, a soldier comes for Joe who takes Pip along as assistant to work on the chains of escaped galley-convicts, who are soon caught. The better-natured one takes the blame for the stolen food. Later Pip is invited to became the playmate of Estelle, the equally arrogant adoptive daughter of gloomy, filthy rich Miss Havisham at her estate, who actually has ‘permission’ to break the kind kid’s heart; being the only pretty girl he ever saw, she wins his heart forever, even after a mysterious benefactor pays trough a lawyer for his education and a rich allowance…

The Black Raven - 1943

BigFiveGlories — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 19:02:42 +0000

Synopsis: A group of strangers are brought together in an old, dark house and must contend with two murders and $50,000 in stolen money…

The Big Combo - 1955

BigFiveGlories — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:36:53 +0000

Synopsis: Police Lt. Diamond is told to close his surveillance of suspected mob boss Mr. Brown because it’s costing the department too much money with no results. Diamond makes one last attempt to uncover evidence against Brown by going to Brown’s girlfriend, Susan Lowell..

Impact - 1949

BigFiveGlories — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:05:14 +0000

Synopsis: In San Francisco, the successful self-made businessman Walter Williams has just bought three factories in Denver with the approval of the board of directors. His beloved wife Irene tells him that she is not feeling well to travel with him, and asks Walter to give a lift to her cousin Jim Torrance. On the highway, Jim, who is actually Irene’s lover, tries to kill Walter hitting his head and throwing him in a cliff, and has a fatal accident while escaping driving Walters’s car. Walter is considered dead and later his wife is sent to jail accused of plotting his murder. Meanwhile, the wounded Walter sleeps in a moving van and awakes in Larkspur, a small town in Idaho. He is hired as a mechanic in a gas station by the owner, Marsha Peters. For three months, Walter reads the news, expecting revenge with Irene sentenced to death, and he and Marsha fall in love for each other. When Walter discloses the truth to Marsha…

Affairs of Cappy Ricks - 1938

BigFiveGlories — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:17:52 +0000

Synopsis: Cappy Ricks, a crusty old sea captain, returns home from a long voyage to discover that his family and his business are in chaos–his daughter is set to marry a nitwit that he can’t stand, and his future mother-in-law has taken over everything and is set to merge his business with that of a rival company. Worst of all, though, is that she–in the interests of “progress”–has completely automated his beloved ship, “Electra”!. He sets out to put an end to all this foolishness and comes up with what he thinks is a foolproof plan…

The Lady Vanishes - 1938

BigFiveGlories — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:00:18 +0000

Synopsis: Travellers on a trans-European train are delayed for a night due to bad weather in a small fictional country called Mandrika. The passengers cram into the small village hotel where socialite Iris Henderson meets an old governess called Miss Froy. Shortly after the journey restarts, Miss Froy disappears…

Jigsaw - 1949

BigFiveGlories — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:20:27 +0000

Synopsis: When the owner of a printing shop is found dead, the District Attorney assumes that it was a suicide. But the Assistant D.A., Howard Malloy, suspects that there is a connection with an extremist political group called the ‘Crusaders’. When a journalist whose articles had attacked the Crusaders is also killed, Malloy is convinced. With help from the widow of a prominent judge, he conducts an investigation. As he does so, he meets a peculiar political boss and also an attractive night club singer, each of whom could become either a source of help or a source of danger…

Winds of the Wasteland - 1936

BigFiveGlories — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:02:56 +0000

Synopsis: The arrival of the telegraph put Pony Express riders like John Blair and his pal Smoky out of work. A race will decide whether they or stageline owner Drake get the government mail contract…

The Farmer’s Wife - 1928

BigFiveGlories — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:24:38 +0000

Synopsis: Farmer Sweetland is a lonely old widower. He is determined to marry again and he enlists the help of his housekeeper Minta to pick a wife from the local single women…

The Contender - 1944

BigFiveGlories — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:27:35 +0000

Synopsis: Widower Gary Farrell can’t afford, on his $45-weekly salary as a truck driver, to send his young son, Mickey, to a high-priced military school and decides to enter heavyweight-boxing tournament in an effort to win the $500 prize money. He wins and turns to boxing as a career and, in a short while, and under the guidance of “Pop” Turner, becomes a Contender for the Heavyweight title. Newspaper reporter Linda Martin is attracted to Farrell but he is paying more attention to the flashy Rita Langdon, who introduces him to night clubs, late hours, drinking, roistering and other attractions and distractions. Ignoring the warnings posted by Linda, Pop, Mickey and Biff Benham, his old cab-partner in the truck-driving business, Farrell continues to abuse all the training rules but still wins bout after bout…

La souriante Madame Beudet - 1923

BigFiveGlories — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:04:54 +0000

Synopsis: One of the first feminist movies, The Smiling Madame Beudet is the story of an intelligent woman trapped in a loveless marriage. Her husband is used to playing a stupid practical joke in which he puts an empty revolver to his head and threatens to shoot himself. One day, while the husband is away, she puts bullets in the revolver. However, she is stricken with remorse and tries to retrieve the bullets the next morning. Her husband gets to the revolver first only this time he points the revolver at her…

Steamboat Bill, Jr. - 1928

BigFiveGlories — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:46:05 +0000

Synopsis: Willie is the effete son of riverboat captain “Steamboat Bill” coming to see his dad after years of separation. Bill tries to turn his son into a man. When his father is arrested, Willie decides to get him out of jail…

The Green Glove - 1952

BigFiveGlories — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:32:05 +0000

Synopsis: In World War II France, American soldier Michael Blake captures, then loses Nazi-collaborator art thief Paul Rona, who leaves behind a gem studded gauntlet (a stolen religious relic). Years later, financial reverses lead Mike to return in search of the object. In Paris, he must dodge mysterious followers and a corpse that’s hard to explain; so he and attractive tour guide Christine decamp on a cross-country pursuit that becomes love on the run… then takes yet another turn…

The Last Mile - 1932

BigFiveGlories — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 08:45:59 +0000

Synopsis: Richard Walters is condemned to death for a murder he claims not to have committed. He arrives on death row just before a brutal inmate leads the other convicts in a violent uprising. Walters gets caught up in the riot, while on the outside his friends are trying to find evidence of his innocence…