The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Told mostly in flashback, the story centers on the evil Dr. Caligari. He travels the countryside wowing people with the predictions of his psychic somnambulist. During one of his shows at a local fair, a man asks the somnambulist when he’ll die. The psychic predicts by dawn of the next day, and by golly, he’s dead the next morning. The town is paralyzed in fear of the unknown murderer, but the dead man’s friends suspect Dr. Caligari is involved. The investigation of the doctor leads to a mental institution which may or may not be run by Caligari.

Dripping with German Expressionism, the movie is a sight to behold. The stark use of light and shadow, much of which was painted onto the floors and backgrounds, and the skewed camera angles and backgrounds give the movie an uneasy, even deranged, feeling that not only makes the movie stylish but also enhances the story to the point that the style becomes part of the story.

Head on over to the Internet Archive to download a copy.

Nearly everything about the movie is bad. Odd story, bad acting, worse costumes, absent production values, and uncomfortable scenes between Santa and the kids. The only thing that could draw any compliments would be the inclusion of some stock footage. It doesn’t make the movie any better, but it doesn’t make it worse, either.

The children of Mars are looking for something to relieve the boredom of Martian life, where all the knowledge they’ll ever need is fed into their heads and they have no individuality. But parents notice the kids love watching Earth TV, where they are exposed to Santa Claus. To inject a little fun into Martian children’s lives, the adults decide they need a Santa of their own, so they go to Earth to kidnap him. The movie goes on to hit all the Christmas high points- joy, marry-making, and terrorist plots.

If you’re going to see one Martian Christmas movie this year, why not make it this one?

Grab yourself up a copy at the Internet Archive before they’re all gone!

Charles Laughton plays the eponymous pirate who manages to trick the King into giving him a ship and a crew full of condemned pirates. Kidd is expected to complete his charge and the crew expects a pardon for faithful service, but Kidd has other plans. He hopes to have others blamed for his acts of piracy while he reclaims his treasure and kills the crew, and gain a Lordship in the process.

While Laughton is not the prototypical swashbuckler, he’s still a great actor. His Captain Kidd percolates with a mania fueled by greed and blood lust. He might not look the part of a pirate that swings around the deck and nimbly dances during sword fights, but he’s utterly believable as a cutthroat leading a crew of cutthroats.

It’s not the greatest pirate movie, but it’s one of the most interesting. The solid cast, including Randolph Scott and John Carradine, and great sets raise the movie above the pack and make this one worth watching.

Do yourself a favor and download a copy from the Internet Archive.

My Man Godfrey was able to earn Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, but somehow failed to get a Best Picture nomination. The movie frequently (and deservedly) lands on “funniest movies of all time” lists.

Pick yourself up a nice copy at the Internet Archive.

Welles plays Franz Kindler, a Nazi war criminal hiding out in a small Connecticut town. Rather than just lie low and keep to himself, Kindler works as a history teacher and is about to marry the daughter of a Supreme Court judge. UN war crimes investigator Mr. Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) scours the globe in search of Kindler, until finally releasing and following one of Kindler’s associates. An intense game of cat-and-mouse ensues as Kindler does all he can to conceal his identity.

Although a studio-produced film, and later disowned by Welles, the director’s fingerprints are all over the movie. Long takes, intricate camera work, interesting angles, and tight writing. It may not be the best movie of Welles’ career, but it’s still better than most.

Grab yourself a copy from the Internet Archive.

There are some decent race scenes featuring (what are now) classic cars- Jaguars, Porsches, Ferraris, Aston Martins. Every once in a while the script perks up just enough to keep you somewhat interested, but it’s a low-budget, amateurish affair. Per imdb, this was the third of 385 projects Roger Corman produced. While 2001′s The Fast and the Furious took the name and not the plot (instead taking that from Point Break), the Charlie Sheen-Kristy Swanson movie The Chase ripped off the plot and gave it a new name.

If you feel so inclined, pick up a copy of your own at The Internet Archive.

Night of the Living Dead has spawned numerous copycats, sequels, and remakes, with another remake set for filming next year. Everyone wants to take a crack at making a zombie movie, but no one has been able to top the original.

You can snag a decent copy from The Internet Archive.

The ‘Kid’ was played by Jackie Coogan, whose affecting performance made him one of cinema’s first child stars and most heavily marketed actors. Despite earning millions of dollars, Coogan saw very little of the money, which was spent by his parents. His lawsuit against his parents eventually led to the Coogan Bill, which requires a portion of the earnings of child actors be placed in a trust. Coogan eventually faded into movie obscurity, but regained fame as Uncle Fester on The Addams Family.

The Kid is a wonderful movie and Chaplin’s deft filmmaking makes it easy to watch for those with an aversion to silent movies. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll wish you too could live on the streets and have exciting hobo adventures.

You can pick up a copy at the Internet Archive.

There’s a pretty decent version available for download at the Internet Archive.

Freaks was made in 1932 and instantly became one of the most controversial movies of the time. The story of a trapeze artist trying to steal the inheritance of one of the sideshow “freaks” is pedestrian at best, but the casting of real “freaks” caused a lot of people to decry the movie on it’s face, as well as avert their eyes upon seeing it. The movie was banned in parts of the United States and in the United Kingdom for 31 years, before being released with an X rating. Seeing the physically deformed actors up close can be a little unsettling, but when they chase you down chanting “One of us! One of us!”, they can be downright terrifying.

You can pick up a pretty bad copy at the Internet Archive.

F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu features, as far as I’m concerned, the scariest monster ever put on film- Count Orlok. I’m not sure if it’s his face or claws or that it’s a silent movie, but that guy freaks me out. Nosferatu gets the distinction of being the first vampire movie. The thinly veiled adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” was supposed to have all prints destroyed after a successful lawsuit by Stoker’s widow, but thankfully some survived.

There’s a pretty decent copy of this one at the Internet Archive.