Noah Beery

A pre-Code musical comedy directed by Michael Curtiz, originally released as Bright Lights and later retitled Adventures in Africa. Dorothy Mackaill plays Louanne, a Broadway star retiring to marry a wealthy aristocrat, whose past as a carnival performer and hula dancer in sleazy African dives threatens her new social standing. Frank Fay co-stars as her loyal stage partner Wally, and Noah Beery plays a diamond smuggler seeking revenge. The film was originally photographed entirely in Technicolor, but only a black- and-white print survives. It features the screen debut of John Carradine in a small, uncredited role.

Musical · Comedy

One of the Zane Grey westerns Henry Hathaway directed for Paramount in the early 1930s, back when Randolph Scott was still playing B-leads in buckskin. Scott is Dale, a mountain man who overhears saloonkeeper Beasley's scheme to grab a rancher's land and kidnap his daughter — so Dale kidnaps her first, dragging the enraged but safe heiress (Verna Hillie) into the hills while he untangles the plot. Harry Carey steals scenes as a philosophical crook. Handsomely shot around Big Bear and considerably better made than the poverty-row oaters of the same year. The film entered the public domain after its copyright was not renewed.

Western · Action

The East Side Kids — Muggs (Leo Gorcey), Glimpy (Huntz Hall), and the gang — rescue millionaire John Cortland from a mugging, and his gratitude lands them in a world of swank they were never built for. The good turn sours when the boys discover a friend has been recruited by the crooks behind a string of robberies, and Muggs has to choose between loyalty and doing right. One of the tighter entries in Monogram's long-running East Side Kids series, with the usual mix of slapstick, Bowery slang, and last-reel fisticuffs under series regular Wallace Fox. Sam Katzman produced, as he did for most of the gang's pictures. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal of copyright.

Comedy · Crime

A 1934 American Pre-Code mystery film directed by William Nigh and based on an Edgar Wallace story. Captain Holling (Noah Beery) is relieved of command of his ship after suffering a nervous breakdown. His replacement takes over the liner just as it is about to be used for an experiment in remote control. Professor Grimson has devised a system for controlling the ship from a land-based laboratory, but as Grimson demonstrates the system, a rival group is listening in, hoping to use the device for its own purposes. The film was entered as a feature attraction at the 1934 International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art in Venice, the forerunner of the Venice Film Festival. The film is in the public domain.

Mystery · Crime · Thriller

The first screen appearance of Zorro, and the film that turned Douglas Fairbanks from a modern comedian into the swashbuckler who defined an era. Based on Johnston McCulley's 1919 story "The Curse of Capistrano," it follows Don Diego Vega, a foppish aristocrat newly returned to old California, who dons a mask and cape at night to fight the corrupt oppressors of the common people and court the lovely Lolita Pulido. Fairbanks's athleticism is the engine of the picture: he leaps over rooftops, fences with whip-crack speed, and carves his signature "Z" into the scenery. The masked-avenger template it set would echo through every costumed hero to follow. Produced by Fairbanks's own company, it was the first picture released through United Artists. Published in 1920, it is in the public domain in the United States.

Romance · Adventure · Silent

Zorro Rides Again is a 1937 Republic Pictures serial in twelve chapters, directed by William Witney and John English in their first collaboration. John Carroll stars as James Vega, a modern descendant of the original Zorro, who dons the mask to protect a new railroad from the villain El Lobo and his band of raiders. The serial mixes 1930s modern elements with classic Western adventure, and features stunt work by Yakima Canutt that is still impressive today. It was the first of five Zorro serials produced by Republic and is in the public domain.

Western · Action · Serial