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Legendary actress Joan Crawford (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?) stars in this 1941 melodrama directed by George Cukor (A Star Is Born, Adam's Rib) as a scheming con woman and blackmailer, a bitter woman shut off from society because of a disfiguring scar. The opportunity to undergo an operation--by plastic surgeon Melvyn Douglas--to remove the offending scar presents her with a choice: open herself up to a whole new life or return to her old ways and the only life she's ever known. Eventually, Crawford is drawn back into her old ways by her lover, Conrad Veidt (Casablanca), as he enlists her aid in a kidnapping and murder plot. Soon she finds herself trapped between her hopes for a new beginning and the malevolent double-crossing lover who seeks to exploit her for the woman she used to be, rather than who she can be. Crawford is oddly touching as a woman who undergoes a spiritual rebirth, yet cannot shake the pull of her past. A Woman's Face is one of those classic dramas, deliciously wicked and immensely enjoyable. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Let's Not Forget Lighting and Photography
Yes, under Cukor's direction Joan Crawford and the other players give performances of their lives but what keeps me coming back to this film is also its stunning black and white cinematography.

Crawford's Finest
Anyone who doubts Joan Crawford's acting ability should watch the first half of this wonderful George Cukor film (second half dissolves into standard MGM melodrama fare). She is heartbreaking and constantly compelling. One wonders what could have happened to her career if she had been used more for her talent than her looks. Conrad Veidt is her spine tingling costar. A dynamic and dastardly duo!

Joan Crawford - what a face!
To the point: Joan once said her performance in A Woman's Face has led her in winning an Oscar for Mildred Pierce. Directed by George Cukor A Woman's Face was indeed a film that shows that Joan was not only a star but an dramatic actress.

from an audience point of view.
...

CRAWFORD ACTS.
This film contains a superior Joan Crawford performance, and one in which her fans should appreciate. It took courage for Crawford, who was, in 1941, the glamour girl of 49 movies and the idol of autograph hounds to be the face in A WOMAN'S FACE. When you come to know her as Anna Holm on the screen, she is a sullen slattern, the brain trust of a ring of sniveling criminals, a sort of female "Sea Wolf" who beats, bullies and blackmails her victims. The reason for this behaviour you discover in a series of flashbacks from a Swedish courtroom, where, heavily veiled, Anna stands trial for murder. From the testimony you learn that when she was 5, her brilliant, drunken father had set fire to her room. From then on she has been disfigured by a ghastly scar that criss-crosses her right cheek from mouth to eye and is only rarely revealed by M-G-M. Shunned by a horrified society, she has sought refuge in music, painting, poetry and alcohol only to find final solace and revenge in a life of crime. All this changes when she meets Conrad Veidt...........M-G-M's remake of the 1937 Swedish film - which starred Ingrid Bergman - unfortunately loses its brisk forward-moving psychological narrative and dissolves into an overexposure of melodramatic sweetness and light. But, in 1941, most critics were impressed by Crawford's savage, snarling performance & gave her a four star rating, calling A WOMAN'S FACE her fortune!

One of Cukor's best.
Cukor matches Joan Crawford's moral, social and, er, facial transformation with his own generic transformation. The film, despite its underworld milieu and courtroom framework, begins as ripe melodrama; it closes as a finger-disfiguringly tense thriller. Crawford plays one of the most remarkable female characters in Hollywood's history - how many female ganglords, blackmailers, thieves and women of easy virtue get not only to morally redeem themselves, but get the man too? Behind it all, Cukor shapes a fierce, ironic social critique, and pulls off some of his most remarkable shots, my favourite being the hall of mirrors Joan admires herself in after the operation. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The Crimson Ghost Fades To Condensed and Colorized Pink
While not necessarily the greatest of serials, the original and very influential Crimson Ghost has much to offer fans of the genre--particularly in the form of a charming leading lady who actively participates in the action instead of standing helplessly when chaos erupts. But this is a case of Buyer Beware: with chapter credits edited away, cliff-hangers deleted, and moody black and white colorized into garish tones, most of the fun involved is deleted, and the "feature-length" version plays like a "B" picture with wooden performances throughout. I was greatly disappointed by it--and wasted little time in searching out and purchasing the full length, double video, in which the menacing evil of the Crimson Ghost flowers yet again!

memory lane
As a child growing up in New York in the 50"s we were amazingly fortunate to receive a slew of TV channels. One of those channels.. 13.. I believe, had serials on everyday. What a wonderful treat watching after American Bandstand on ABC. Of course 40 years later, it isn't quite the same, but I watched it with my children whoose ages are 10 and 8. We had a grand time watching it together. But watching the episodes, one after the other, the patterns became quite repetitive. Every episode had the same fight albeit different places, and endings where a car either explodes or goes off a cliff. But who was the Crimson Ghost? In a nutshell, if you were into serials as a kid its worth seeing, especially a young Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore), and especially if you could share your memories with your children or someone else special

the crimson ghost a fine serial.
i own this video and it is one of my favorite republic serials especially the cast, linda stirling is one of my favorite republic actresses an d charles quigley is a top performer, stanford jolley is a first rate villian. i wish i could meet these people as corny as it sounds. because if i was a film director, i would indeed make them first rate stars. sincerely, james cassell

Color isn't always an improvement
A colorized serial condensed to feature movie length isn't a bad way for viewers unfamiliar with classic cliffhangers to get a taste of what they were like. This one boasts Charles Quigley (from "Daredevils of the Red Circle") as the hero criminologist, lovely Linda Stirling (from "Tiger Woman," "Zorro's Black Whip" and other first-class serials), and Clayton Moore (TV's Lone Ranger as the BAD guy, chief henchman to the title character). It has a fight between Quigley and Moore (actually, their stunt doubles) in which the hero seems to run up a wall before leaping back into the fray. This isn't exactly what the original serial was like but, until that comes along, this will do nicely. And, while I wouldn't make a habit of it, it is kind of interesting to see one of these in garish color.

If you're too impatient to watch all the chapters....
...this is a nifty version, well-edited, for a condensed serial. The color is very good, tending toward nice pastel rather than gaudy technicolor. Color suits the mood. Made in the genre's waning days, the fight scenes still were chorographed and filmed at slow speed that, when run at the normal rate of the rest of the film, lends the furniture-smashing battlers a gymnastics skill. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

What is Charlie Chan's Secret?
The movie opens up with Charlie on a boat at see searching for Allen Colby's body. Allen is the recent heir to a fortune. Because he could not be found the family has been using his money.
In a last resort effort to contact Allen they hold a séance in a spooky old structure. Will Allen show?

This is one of Warner Oland's best.

Keye Luke Is Sorely Missed
CHARLIE CHAN's SECRET is the first Chan film produced by 20th Century-Fox. Charlie is in San Francisco trying to find a missing heir who unfortunately is murdered after he reappears. The movie is hurt by the absence of Keye Luke leaving Warner Oland to solve the case without the usual blundering antics of his number one son.

CHARLIE CHAN TO THE RESCUE...
This is an entertaining Charlie Chan mystery with Warren Oland in the lead role. It seems that seven years ago, Alan Colby, the heir to an immense fortune, disappeared while at sea. His body was never found. He suddenly reappears with a plausible explanation for his seeming disappearance, ready to claim his inheritance. No sooner does he return, however, he is murdered.

It appears that members of the Lowell family have been living off his inheritance for the past seven years, thinking Alan Colby dead. They have been using his fortune to fund psychic research. It is they who stand to lose the most from his return. They stand only to gain by his death. Or is the murderer the crooked family lawyer? Could it be the creepy family caretaker? Who killed Alan Colby? Watch the film and find out. If you are not a fan of Charlie Chan, deduct one star from my rating.

Underrated Chan Mystery
This is one of the Chans that is somehow overlooked by critics as one of the best entries in the series. The mystery is incredibly complex, and Chan's solution to the mystery is both surprising and logical. This film also marks the last film where a Chan offspring was not featured. It is also a very spooky, including scenes with a seance taking place, similar to "Meeting At Midnight". Of course, Warner Oland is very good as usual. A noteworthy entry in the series.

Old-fashioned but atmospheric
This episode of the Charlie Chan series from the thirties starring Warner Oland as Chan has a very atmospheric mood. And it is old-fashioned in a charming way. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The Crimson Ghost Fades To Condensed and Colorized Pink
While not necessarily the greatest of serials, the original and very influential Crimson Ghost has much to offer fans of the genre--particularly in the form of a charming leading lady who actively participates in the action instead of standing helplessly when chaos erupts. But this is a case of Buyer Beware: with chapter credits edited away, cliff-hangers deleted, and moody black and white colorized into garish tones, most of the fun involved is deleted, and the "feature-length" version plays like a "B" picture with wooden performances throughout. I was greatly disappointed by it--and wasted little time in searching out and purchasing the full length, double video, in which the menacing evil of the Crimson Ghost flowers yet again!

memory lane
As a child growing up in New York in the 50"s we were amazingly fortunate to receive a slew of TV channels. One of those channels.. 13.. I believe, had serials on everyday. What a wonderful treat watching after American Bandstand on ABC. Of course 40 years later, it isn't quite the same, but I watched it with my children whoose ages are 10 and 8. We had a grand time watching it together. But watching the episodes, one after the other, the patterns became quite repetitive. Every episode had the same fight albeit different places, and endings where a car either explodes or goes off a cliff. But who was the Crimson Ghost? In a nutshell, if you were into serials as a kid its worth seeing, especially a young Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore), and especially if you could share your memories with your children or someone else special

the crimson ghost a fine serial.
i own this video and it is one of my favorite republic serials especially the cast, linda stirling is one of my favorite republic actresses an d charles quigley is a top performer, stanford jolley is a first rate villian. i wish i could meet these people as corny as it sounds. because if i was a film director, i would indeed make them first rate stars. sincerely, james cassell

Color isn't always an improvement
A colorized serial condensed to feature movie length isn't a bad way for viewers unfamiliar with classic cliffhangers to get a taste of what they were like. This one boasts Charles Quigley (from "Daredevils of the Red Circle") as the hero criminologist, lovely Linda Stirling (from "Tiger Woman," "Zorro's Black Whip" and other first-class serials), and Clayton Moore (TV's Lone Ranger as the BAD guy, chief henchman to the title character). It has a fight between Quigley and Moore (actually, their stunt doubles) in which the hero seems to run up a wall before leaping back into the fray. This isn't exactly what the original serial was like but, until that comes along, this will do nicely. And, while I wouldn't make a habit of it, it is kind of interesting to see one of these in garish color.

If you're too impatient to watch all the chapters....
...this is a nifty version, well-edited, for a condensed serial. The color is very good, tending toward nice pastel rather than gaudy technicolor. Color suits the mood. Made in the genre's waning days, the fight scenes still were chorographed and filmed at slow speed that, when run at the normal rate of the rest of the film, lends the furniture-smashing battlers a gymnastics skill. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

THE FIRST LIVE-ACTION SUPERMAN
THIS 1948 15-CHAPTER SERIAL FEATURES SUPERMAN [PLAYED HERE BY THE LATE KIRK ALYN] GOING UP AGAINST A GANG OF CROOKS. THIS IS A HELL OF A LOT BETTER THAN THE 1950S TV SHOW THAT FEATURED GEORGE REEVES! AT LEAST THIS SERIAL WAS FUN TO WATCH AND AT LEAST YOU CAN GET INTO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS MOVIE. YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FIND THIS SERIAL IN STORES TODAY, BUT, IF, BY SOME CHANCE, YOU COME ACROSS THIS VIDEO, GET IT!!!!!

First live-action Superman has good opening, but bogs down
The best parts of SUPERMAN (1948), a 15-chapter serial produced by Columbia Pictures, are found in the first three or so chapters when we see a lot of Superman lore adapted to film, including the destruction of Krypton, young Clark growing up on a farm with the Kents, and Clark coming to Metropolis and joining the staff of the Daily Planet. We also get to see Superman do lots of superheroic deeds such as rescuing people from disasters. Afterwards, however, it settles into a standard cliffhanger formula with Superman battling the Spider Lady (Carol Forman), a conventional serial villainess and criminal gang leader who sends her standard-issue thugs and henchmen (middle-aged guys in suits, ties and fedoras) out to kidnap Lois and knock out Jimmy Olsen with growing monotony in every episode.

On the plus side, the Superman flying effects are carried out through cartoon animation. This enables Superman to be seen flying through a variety of locales. (If Republic Pictures had shot this, they would have repeated the same shot over and over of a stuntman in costume flying on a wire strung from one rock in the San Fernando Valley to another.) Also, Noel Neill's Lois is as spunky here as the character ever got. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, the ever-smiling Lois plunges into the action wholeheartedly time and time again, frequently making Superman look weak and overly cautious in comparison. Neill played the part again in the sequel, ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN, and later in all but the first season of the TV series.

A word about the sequel: ATOM MAN is far superior to this one, with a stronger, more comic book-appropriate villain in Lex Luthor, many more clever and imaginative sci-fi twists, and a more carefully devised script and structure. Superman also gets to do many more heroic feats of strength and the animated effects are more plentiful too.

IN DVD
Please..some body can tell me why WARNER STUDIO dont launch the original serie in DVD???? Why??? thanks any information.

One of the greatest things I have ever seen!
A week ago I bout the 1948 Superman serial here from Amazon and I loved it! It is powerfully charming and fun to watch! There is a total of 15 chapters on the tapes and they are each 20 minutes long and end with a very suspenseful cliff hanger! I have showed it to my friends and there families my family and everyone loves it! I think you should buy it today! No one should have to live and not watch this! It is a must have! Now I'm going to give you a summary of the first three chapters:
Chapter 1 - Superman Comes To Earth: Galaxies far from ours there is the blue planet Krypton. Krypton is a world of advanced science and mystery. One day Jor-EL a member of Krypton's council board and one of the brilliant scientist on Krypton, makes a startling discovering! He learns that the mighty Krypton is coming upon its last hours, Krypton is being drawn into its red sun and will explode! He tells the rest of Krypton's council leaders this and tells them that all of Krypton's population must flee to the planet Earth, in spacecraft! The council leaders laugh at his discovery and vote to stay on Krypton; Jor-EL calls them fools and leaves! At Jor-EL's home he tells his wife what just happened, they both agree to send their baby boy Kal-EL on Jor-EL's experimental rocket and send it to Earth. After Kal-El is put into the rocket and lunched into space, the planet Krypton explodes, killing all of its people except Kal-EL! On Earth in a small town a farmer and his wife witness some sort of spacecraft come out of the sky and land on the ground! The farmer opens the spacecraft and finds a baby boy raped in fireproof blankets, the farmer and his wife adopted the boy that came out of the sky and name him Clark Kent. It's not long after Clark starts to grow, he learns he is no ordinary boy and can perform impossible deeds! When Clark grows up he vow's to his foster parents that he will use his powers for truth justice and the American way! His foster mother give's him a suit that she made from the blankets Clark was raped in when he first came to Earth. He tells them he will wear it only when he is SUPERMAN!
Chapter 2 - Depths Of The Earth: There is a mine disaster and reporters from the Daily Planet in Metropolis are sent on a train to cover the story. But a track is broken and the engineer of the train is not warned in time and is going to crash! Before a train goes over the broken track, a man in a cape and a giant "S" symbol on his shirt, comes out of the bushes and fixes the track with his bare hands. The train is safe but the queer man who help has run off. In Metropolis Clark Kent is in a cab and asks to go to the Daily Planet, on the way Clark sees a building on fire and asks the cabby to pull over! Clark gets out and use's his x-ray vision and sees a women inside the building, Clark say's to himself, "This looks like a job for Superman!" and changes into a suit with a cape and a giant "S" symbol on it. In an instant flies into the building grabs the women flies back out with her in his arms, next he drops her off safely and runs off. At the Daily Planet Clark asks Perry White the chief editor at the Daily Planet, if he can have a job. Perry is about to say no but gets a phone call instead. On the phone are Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen they were sent to do a story on the mine disaster but the police won't let them in. Clark say's to Perry that if he could get in and get the story, if he could have a job, Perry agrees. At the mine disaster Lois finds a way into the mine but gets caved in and now is left to die by dangerous fumes!
Chapter 3 - The Reducer Ray: Superman comes to the rescue and brakes through the mine and saves Lois and the miners and then runs off again! When Lois and Jimmy get back to the Daily Planet they are mocked because someone else got the story and Lois is really mad! Next her and Jimmy meet the newest member at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent! In a secret hideout the Spider Lady ruler of the underworld of crime want's to steal a very powerful weapon called the Reducer Ray, it can blow up any thing with a blast bigger then a the atomic bomb. Her first plot to steal it is unsuccessful for Superman stops her. That night a meteor crashes near Metropolis. At the Metropolis Museum Professor Leeds wants show reporter Clark Kent the meteor. It is in a lead box, Leeds tells Clark that it is very strange and thinks that it comes from the planet Krypton that exploded many years ago! When Leeds takes off the lid the meteor glows green and Clark falls down dead!

THANK YOU FOR THE TRIBUTE TO FLEISHER SUPERMAN CARTOONS
The Superman serials from Columbia had cartoons in tribute to the Fleisher cartoons of a few year before. It was very creative and thinking out of the box. ~*~ Carol Forman is great in her continuing quest to take over the world. This serial is a hoot. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Consistent excitement!
"Daredevils of the Red Circle" is exciting from start to finish. The action and general entertainment never flag. People often mention the cliffhanger at the end of chapter one, when Gene is desperately trying to outrace the surging water, but there are many other moments in the movie which are equally good: try, for instance, the ending where Gene is chasing some crook up a very tall ladder at the side of a factory building, and the crook, having reached the top, pushes the ladder away from the wall. The ladder, with Gene on it, swings out into space, and your heart (and stomach) go with it! But it's not just the action: one of the main reasons this serial is so entertaining is that the three "daredevils", Gene, Tiny and Burt (Charles Quigley, Herman Brix and David Sharpe) are so incredibly nice and likable. You really care what happens to them. I just can't understand why Republic didn't make a sequel to this (I wish they had done!). All in all, five-star entertainment!

MANHUNT IN THE AFRICAN JUNGLE aka S.S. IN DARK. AFRICA
I ENJOYED THIS SERIAL BECAUSE IT HAD ABOUT 15 OR 20 FIGHTS. IT WAS ACTION ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I LIKE ROD CAMERON. STUNTMEN LIKE TOM STEEL, DALE VAN SICKLE(ALL AMERICAN FOOTBALL/UN. FLA 1939) DUKE GREEN MADE MANY SERIALS FUN TO WATCH. I ALSO LIKED THE MASKED MARVEL/THE TIGER WOMAN/MANHUNT OF MYSTERY ISLAND. SPENCER BENNETT, DIR. WAS GREAT

David Sharpe's Stunt Work
Everyone here has been raving about David Sharpe's Stunt work in this Serial. Well I have some bad news for people. Most (if not all) of the stunts/fights for Burt Knowles (his movie role) were done by another Stunt Man (I forget who). The producers were worried that he might get hurt so they "doubled" him for those scenes. This is one of the biggest letdowns since he would have been even better than his double (who DID do a great job).

"Acrobatic Hi Jinks" Stuntman David Sharpe at his best!
Daredevils of the Red Circle is an early example of the greatness of directors William Witney and John English who co-directed 17 serials from "Zorro Rides Again" in 1937 to "Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc." in 1941. Three acrobats at a carnival barely escape a fire set by a gang of criminals led by an escaped convict who goes by the name of 39013, his prison uniform number. During the fire Sammy, young brother to Gene, one of the acrobats is killed. Gene and his partners Tiny and Burt decide to find the men who set the fire. They are hired by Dixon, a detective who works for Horace Granville, a millionaire philantropist. Unbeknown to all, Granville has been kidnapped and is held captive in the cellar of the mansion. 39013 has made a mask of Granville's face which he uses to impersonate Granville. Aiding the 3 acrobats is a mysterious stranger who leaves notes on cards emblazoned with a Red Circle. The highlight of the serial is the Chapter I ending. Gene is inspecting a newly built tunnel when the walls begin to leak caused by drilling by 39013's men. Gene is seen riding his motorcycle through the tunnel as water comes gushing behind him. A really great action serial. Just watching the acrobats of stuntman David Sharpe (Burt) is worth the price of the video.

A Rip-Roaring Classic!
This has to be one of the greatest of all serials. Made in l939, its energetic young dare devils--Charles Quigley, Herman Brix (who also played Tarzan) and the legendary stuntman, David Sharpe whose spectacular stunts can be seen in numerous Republic serials--can barely keep still before tackling their next death-defying adventures. The very first episode, where Charles Quigley races his motorbike from a terrifying ocean of racing water in a tunnel has become a classic. Carole Landis--later to be the poor man's Betty Grable at Twentieth Century Fox--is an attractive asset as is the rest of the cast: Miles Mander and his nemesis (can't remember his name) who masquerades as the millionaire scientist. If you've got this in your video collection--along with Spy Smasher, King of the Texas Rangers, Manhunt in the African Jungles--you can't go wrong. Another goodie is "G-Men Meet the Black Dragon" with a fantastic young Rod Cameron and a gorgoeus sidekick, feisty Constance Moore. Just watch this cool, voluptuous blonde handle that machine gun! ... Read more

Description

The Saint finds a corpse on his doorstep and becomes involved in a mystery that takes him to the mines of South Africa. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Rare Postage Stamps And Gold
THE SAINT IN PALM SPRINGS is a 1941 movie about the attempted theft of three rare postage stamps. George Sanders returns in the role of Simon Templar. The cast includes Wendy Barrie, Paul Guifoyle and Jonathan Hale.

In THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER Simon Templar chased after some violent gold smugglers. The film was bought by Republic Pictures from RKO RADIO PICTURES and released in 1943. Hugh Sinclair had the role of Simon Templar. Also included in the cast were Jean Gillie and Gordon McLeod. ... Read more