Directed by Preston Sturges • 1941 • United States
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn
Barbara Stanwyck sizzles, Henry Fonda bumbles, and Preston Sturges runs riot in one of the all-time great screwballs, a pitch-perfect blend of comic zing and swoonworthy romance. Aboard a cruise liner sailing up the coast of South America, Stanwyck’s conniving card sharp sets her sights on Fonda’s nerdy snake researcher, who happens to be the heir to a brewery fortune. But when the con artist falls for her mark, her grift becomes a game of hearts—and she is determined to win it all. One in a string of matchless comedic marvels that Sturges wrote and directed as part of a dazzling 1940s run, this gender-flipped battle-of-wits farce is perhaps his most emotionally satisfying work, tempering its sparkling humor with a streak of tender poignancy supplied by the sensational Stanwyck at her peak.
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The Sting
Directed by George Roy Hill • 1973 • United States
Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert ShawThis phenomenal smash hit starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford is a flawlessly crafted caper about two Depression-era grifters who join forces to pull an elaborate con on a powerful crime boss...
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House of Games
Directed by David Mamet • 1987 • United States
Starring Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike NussbaumThe Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and screenwriter David Mamet sat in the director’s chair for the first time for this sly, merciless thriller. Lindsay Crouse stars as a best-selling author an...
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Chameleon Street
Directed by Wendell B. Harris Jr. • 1989 • United States
Starring Wendell B. Harris Jr., Angela Leslie, Amina FakirWinner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival—yet criminally underseen for over three decades—CHAMELEON STREET recounts the improbable but true story of Michiga...
