Irving Bacon

Supreme Court Justice John Josephus Grant (Frank Morgan) slips away for a quiet duck-hunting trip and lands in a small town ruled by a corrupt mayor and a bought judge. Incognito, he watches local politicians railroad an innocent young man and decides to put the system on trial himself. A warm, Capra-flavored civics comedy built around the Wizard of Oz himself, with Richard Carlson and Jean Rogers as the young couple caught in the machine. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Drama · Romance

Bedridden and convinced he's dying, George Jones (Barry Sullivan) becomes certain his wife Ellen (Loretta Young) and his doctor are planning to murder him — so he writes the district attorney a letter accusing them. Then he drops dead, and the letter is already in the mail. Ellen's desperate afternoon chasing a single envelope through a sunlit suburb makes for one of the tightest domestic noirs of the early 50s. Tay Garnett directed for MGM. The film is in the public domain.

Thriller · Drama · Crime

Cowboy Dan Somers and oilman Jim "Hunk" Gardner square off over drilling rights on Indian land in Oklahoma — and over schoolteacher Catherine Allen — in a feud that escalates from fists to sabotage to a race against a burning oil field. John Wayne stars opposite Martha Scott and Albert Dekker, with Gabby Hayes, Marjorie Rambeau, and Dale Evans. One of Republic's biggest pictures of 1943, later reissued as War of the Wildcats. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Western · Romance · Drama

The Bashful Bachelor is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Malcolm St. Clair, produced by Jack Wm. Votion Productions and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The second film in the "Lum and Abner" series adapted from the hit radio program, it stars Chester Lauck and Norris Goff as Pine Ridge storekeepers Lum Edwards and Abner Peabody. Lum is finally set to marry his patient sweetheart Geraldine (ZaSu Pitts), but a staged rescue that makes him a reluctant hero — and the attentions of a grateful society girl — drives Geraldine into the arms of rival Cedric Weehunt, forcing Lum and Abner to win her back at the county horse race. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Comedy · Romance

The Big Cat is a 1949 outdoor adventure directed by Phil Karlson and set in the Utah canyon country during the Great Depression. A young man (Lon McCallister) returns to his mother's birthplace in the high country and finds the community terrorized by a marauding mountain lion and by a bitter feud between two families. Preston Foster and Forrest Tucker play the older men at odds, and Peggy Ann Garner is the girl between them. Karlson, later known for his tough 1950s noir, brings real tension to the wilderness scenes and the climactic hunt. The film was released by United Artists and is in the public domain.

Adventure · Drama

Two Weeks to Live is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Malcolm St. Clair, produced by Jack Wm. Votion Productions and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The third film in the "Lum and Abner" series, it stars radio comedians Chester Lauck and Norris Goff as their fictional characters Lum Edwards and Abner Peabody. When Abner is mistakenly diagnosed as having only two weeks to live, Lum gets the idea that they can make a fortune by having Abner perform dangerous stunts. The film is in the public domain through non-renewal.

Comedy · Adventure