Directed by Dorothy Davenport • 1934 • United States
Starring Claudia Dell, Lola Lane, Richard Hemingway
When a radio star (Lola Lane) is murdered, a mysterious young woman (Claudia Dell) is accused of the crime. Can a wisecracking reporter (Richard Hemingway), who finds himself captivated by the beautiful suspect, prove her innocence? This atmospherically tawdry, twist-filled procedural was the last film helmed by pioneering actor turned filmmaker Dorothy Davenport, one of the very few women to work as a director during the 1930s. She combines the mechanics of a straightforward thriller with the dizzying absurdity and sensationalism of early exploitation and B-movie genre films for a singular work of compellingly strange, almost surreal power.
Directed by Alice Guy Blaché • 1902 • France
Typical of Gaumont’s output at the time and an example of cinema’s early presentational style, this humorous “demonstration” film showcases a vaudeville act featuring a Miss Dundee and her trained performing dogs.
Directed by Alice Guy Blaché • 1906 • France
In this pun-titled Gaumont comedy, a man rests in a barrel that gets pushed down a hill. The ensuing short is an advanced study on cinematic space and captures the continuity of motion as the rolling barrel moves from location to location, violently h...
Directed by Alice Guy Blaché • 1907 • France
This historical drama, which depicts a young boy caught by accident in revolutionary conflict, is notable for its unceremonious depiction of a firing squad in action. Remarkable for its confident use of the full frame, it anticipates director Alice Gu...
