Taylor Holmes

Christmas abounds with traditions, from neighborhood carolers to lovingly decorated trees, but from where did all these rituals emerge? This enlightening program looks at the origins of the Western world's most popular Christmas traditions -- from the significance of December 25th and its relationship to winter solstice to the enchanting legend of Santa Claus and Prince Albert's 1841 unveiling of the Christmas tree.

Cursed to die by the evil fairy Maleficent when she was a baby, Princess Aurora is sent into hiding under protection from three good fairies. As she grows up far away, Maleficent becomes increasingly determined to seal the princess's fate.

Lorelei Lee is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond, much to the disapproval of Gus' rich father, Esmond Sr., who thinks that Lorelei is just after his money. When Lorelei goes on a cruise accompanied only by her best friend, Dorothy Shaw, Esmond Sr. hires Ernie Malone, a private detective, to follow her and report any questionable behavior that would disqualify her from the marriage.

Young auto mechanic Dan Brady takes $20 from a cash register at work to go on a date with blonde femme fatale Vera Novak. Brady intends to put the money back before it is missed, but the garage's bookkeeper shows up earlier than scheduled. As Brady scrambles to cover evidence of his petty theft, he fast finds himself drawn into an ever worsening "quicksand" of crime.

Proud father Stanley Banks remembers the day his daughter, Kay, got married. Starting when she announces her engagement through to the wedding itself, we learn of all the surprises and disasters along the way.

Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet he names Rhubarb. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. When the team protests, publicist Eric Yeager convinces them Rhubarb is good luck. But Eric's fiancée Polly seems to be allergic to cats, and the team's success may mean new hazards for Rhubarb.

After Celia's father dies, a war erupts over control of his land.

Torch singer Helen Morgan rises from sordid beginnings to fame and fortune only to lose it all to alcohol and poor personal choices.

A single mistake puts a 19-year old girl behind bars, where she experiences the terrors and torments of women in prison.

A psychopath on the run takes a job as a handyman at the house of a lonely widow.

To avoid the life-threatening dangers of manned space exploration, Professor Nordstrom creates highly advanced form of artificial intelligence capable of piloting a starship to other worlds. In order to transmit alien data, the extraordinary robot is infused with a powerful telepathic device that enables it to instantly read and even feel emotions. Danger strikes when a sinister band of covert agents kidnaps Gadge, the professor's 10-year-old grandson. But Gadge has a powerful ally. For he has developed a psychic, emotional bond with his grandfather's robot. And now Gadge's captors must suffer the wrath of his protective friend. They must face a mechanical monstrosity bent on a killing rampage of revenge and destruction.

A group of copper miners, Southern veterans, are terrorized by local rebel-haters, led by deputy Lane Travis. The miners ask stage sharpshooter Johnny Carter to help them, under the impression that he is the legendary Colonel Desmond. It seems they're wrong; but Johnny's show comes to Coppertown and Johnny romances lovely gambler Lisa Roselle, whom the miners believe is at the center of their troubles.

It's a deadly play for power when a Mafia chieftain's top gun goes straight and threatens to testify against the big boss and his cruel, nationwide network of crime. The picture, which was shot in a semi-documentary style, was inspired by the Kefauver investigations of 1950-51.

In 1890 Minnesota Christine Powell is the scheming head of the Powell dynasty, the richest mining empire of the era. But the Powell mine deposits are diminishing. The Mesabi range represents a whole new productive area but the rights to mine there are held by a young geological engineer, Kyle Ramlo. The latter reaches an impasse when he needs money to continue his experimentation with open-pit mining and goes to Miss Powell for financing. She displays great interest in both his inventive mining method and in him personally but secretly plots to destroy him and take over his Masabi rights. The gullible Ramlo falls into clutches while the girl he really loves, Cathy Norlund, tries desperately to open his eyes to Christine's scheme.

Thanks to the chicanery of his crooked uncle Major Cosgrave, Jet has been cheated out of his father's property and branded a pariah. He spends the rest of the film trying to regain his birthright and clear his name. The two women in Jet's life are Judy Polsen, who chases him for so long that he finally catches her, and Alice Austin, Major Cosgrave's fianee.

Two old friends find themselves on opposite sides during the Civil War in a desperate battle atop an impregnable mountain.

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, mill heiress Deborah Chandler Clark is dead, killed in a freak auto accident. But Deborah is alive, if not too well. Having discovered a horrible truth about her new husband, Deborah is now a “woman in hiding,” living in mortal fear that someday her husband will catch up with her again. When a returning GI recognizes Deborah, however, she must decide whether or not she can trust him.

Two tobacco growers battle for control of the cigarette market.

Kit Banion, a Virginia-born beauty and product of post-Civil War chaos, has settled in Wyoming and prospered; acquiring a fortune and a hotel, which, like the owner bears the name of "The Maverick Queen."---a title picked up by Kit in her earlier days in Wyoming when she took every unbranded steer and put her own brand on it. Love and trouble enter her life in the person of a Pinkerton detective posing as Jeff Younger, nephew of the infamous Younger brothers. He is dedicated to catching Butch Cassidy and the members of The Wild Bunch

A former gunfighter who went to prison but then took up religion arrives in a western town as the new preacher. There he finds a feud between the ranchers and the farmers. The Railroad Agent is after the ranchers land and has his men causing all the trouble. The new preacher sets out to bring the two sides together and he says he will not need a gun.

An oil engineer surrounded by foul play helps an heiress bring in a well.

A returning Korean War vet becomes embroiled in a fight over possession of a tungsten mine.

A Catholic priest fights against his colleagues' immediate acceptance of an ambiguous “miracle”.

A chemist in a perfume factory seems to have killed his wife, cut her up, and stuck her remains in the freezer.

The Book of Acts is a 10-part series of short Bible films dramatizing the 28 chapters that comprise the Acts of the Apostles. The series was produced in 1957 by Family Films on behalf of Broadman Films, based in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Bowery Boys are enrolled in a fancy college by a pair of rich snobs who think they can turn the Boys into classy guys. Sach becomes a football star, and is kidnapped by gangsters to keep him out of the big game.

A horse trainer and his friend, a jockey, fall in love with the same girl. Complications ensue.

Judy is the daughter of a famous opera singer who once bankrolled prospector Andrew "Cactus" Clayton. Now Clayton hopes to repay the favor, but first he must reclaim his stash of gold from the crooked Williams. Judy helps the old coot by taking on not only Williams, but duplicitous private detectives Walter Martin and Eddie Taylor, not to mention gangsters Spider Mike and Louie.

An ex-con trying to go straight must face a crazed criminal out for revenge.

A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.

Hero Rod Cameron kills Sheriff Sam Borden at point-blank range and in front of several witnesses in the opening of this Republic Pictures Western, released in the company's patented Trucolor system. The "killing," however, is merely a ruse set up to allow army agent Johnny Drum to infiltrate a gang of highway robbers.

A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank has a shameful secret that comes back to haunt him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson emerges, intent on making Frank pay for his past deeds.

When an heiress finds out that the friendly young man she's met at Sun Valley is really an investigative reporter, she ruins his career by falsely claiming they're married.

When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.

In the 15th Century, France is a defeated and ruined nation after the One Hundred Years War against England. The fourteen-year-old farm girl Joan of Arc claims to hear voices from Heaven asking her to lead God's Army against Orleans and crowning the weak Dauphin Charles VII as King of France. Joan gathers the people with her faith, forms an army, and conquers Orleans.

A middle-aged genius goes to college for the first time.

A Christmas Carol was a 1949 syndicated, black and white television special narrated by Vincent Price.

An actor is recalled to active duty with the Army's C.I.D. to find the thief who stole historical jewels in occupied Germany and the trail leads to the boyfriend of a young debutante from Bel Air.

The brother of a nuclear scientist dies but is reincarnated as a dog so he can return to Earth to protect his brother.

Gangsters frame Joe on a drunk charge and a murder rap so they can put their own fighter into a big event. Joe investigates in an attempt to prove his innocence.

A compulsive gambler bets her freedom against a $16,000 debt to a crime boss…and loses. But before he can collect, she skips town, with a private detective hot on her trail.

A crusading DA falls for a defense attorney with a criminal past.

This is 1947 biography movie about how Alexander Graham Bell and his partner Thomas Augustus Watson invented the first discernible speech, transmitted over a telephone.

A night of love, intrigue, death and blackmail leaves stage-star Elise Manning's fate at stake in a conflict with the unscrupulous Doctor Gruell. A rejected lover dies in Miss Manning's apartment, and Gurell implies that the death was murder and attempts to blackmail the actress. The climax brings the actress, her fiancé and the dead-man's wife face-to-face in an emotional denouement.

An imaginative teenager decides to play matchmaker for her widowed father. Director David Burton's 1936 comedy stars Herbert Marshall, Anne Shirley, Gertrude Michael, Margot Grahame, Clara Blandick, Frank Coghlan Jr., Willie Best and Maxine Jennings.

Ex-wife Lena Malena wants her alimony, but Taylor Holmes pleads poverty. So she moves in on him and current wife Natalie Moorhead.

Directed by MJ Weisfeldt and starring Ranny Weeks and Eva Lorraine is a remake of the lost 1915 Theda Bara film "Two Orphans".

Carol Kingsley and Jimmy Mason, who are both employed in a fashion emporium run by Pierre Ronsard, fall in love and are married. Victor Ronsard, the son of the owner, falls in love with Carol and designs to break up the Mason marriage. He falsely informs Carol that Jimmy, who is the Ronsard bookkeeper, is short in his accounts and that, if she will have dinner with him, he will give her the incriminating papers.

Jerry McKay (Jacqueline Logan), a spoiled and willful society girl, on the eve of a flighty engagement, decides to accompany her father to inspect some property he owns, managed by a handsome young engineer, James Warren (Robert Frazer). Jerry demonstrates her prowess as a marksman, though Warren has forbidden the use of firearms; and Tom Webb (Henry Sedley), an unscrupulous rancher, accuses Warren of inciting his men against him. Warren's stern rebuking infuriates Jerry, and she bets her friends that she can get him to propose within a week. She succeeds in winning his approval and then falls in love with him, but they are temporarily parted when he learns of the wager. She returns, however, to seek his forgiveness.

John Reeves, steel magnate, wagers with his son Chester that he can earn twenty dollars a week and live on it. He procures work in the office of William Hart's steel plant. Against her brother's wish, Hart's sister Muriel adopts a little boy. Hart evens up by adopting John Reeves as his father. Reeves foils James Pettison's plot to ruin Hart. Chester also makes good as a workman and wins the affection of Hart's sister. The father reveals his identity and takes Hart as a partner.

George Cross, a junior partner in the advertising agency of Nigh and Cross, goes to his office one evening to get a plate for a newspaper and surprises Allan Nigh, his partner's son, who has been distributing a leaflet exposing the lies of the advertising firm. Rosie, a member of the "Truth Society" to which Allan belongs, is hiding in the next room. George sends Allan to the newspaper office and then discovers Rosie. Shortly thereafter, Nigh and his daughter Ann, who is also Allan's sweetheart, arrive and George lies his way out of a compromising situation. Soon after, a detective arrives to investigate a front-page exposé on the circulars that Allan has written. When the advertisers realize that the exposé is actually the best campaign ever conceived, the supposed detective offers Allan a tremendous salary to write ads for him, Rosie reveals herself as a reporter from the Journal and Allan and Ann reconcile.

Gilbert and Edith Goodhue lack nothing in life except a child, which they desperately desire. Edith's brother Alan, who is interested in eugenics, suggests that they pay their chauffeur Joe and maid Nora to have a baby for them. While awaiting the proper time to elapse, Edith and Gilbert travel to Palm Beach for an extended vacation, where Gilbert, attempting to obtain a child for his wife, vamps a dancer with a baby.

Robert Bennett, an idle socialite, wagers $30,000 with his three friends that he can tell nothing but the truth for a period of one week. His troubles begin at a party where his friends' wives question Robert about their husbands' outside activities. Forced to tell the truth, Robert's veracity results in domestic disharmony. Consequently, his vengeful trio of friends pursue Robert for the next five days, intent upon silencing him until the week is over. They finally resort to committing Robert to an insane asylum where he escapes with the aid of Dolly, who is in love with him because she believes that Robert is a society thief.

Lord Dawlish is made the heir of an eccentric English millionaire, who cuts off a nephew and niece, living in America. Dawlish is engaged to Claire Edmont, an actress. Dawlish offers half his inheritance to the niece, and when she refuses to accept he goes to America to persuade her.

T. Boggs Johns and George Nettleton run a pill manufacturing company together. Both men bicker constantly and each claims full credit for making their business successful. Their lawyer proposes a poker game to settle who is in charge. The loser of the poker match is forced to disguise himself and serve the winner as a household butler for one year, leading to chaotic comedic situations.

When Juliet Pim, bored with her husband Archibald's habitual ardent attentions, goes to a Swami, his advice that her "individualism" is being crushed leads her to request that Pim furnish her with a "reason" for a divorce suit.

Coaxed by sharpers, who seek to profit by his rustic innocence, the boy from the small town goes to the city with them and become, innocently enough, a successful swindler, but he learns of the deception and returns home, too ashamed to seek his old sweetheart. The crooks return to try a blackmail game, but Ernie's eyes are opened now. He cleans up in whirlwind fashion.

As an entomologist and all-around wimp, Orlando Winthrop gets little respect from his wealthy parents. But when business needs to be taken care at the Winthrop sheep ranches out West, Orlando is raring to go. Upon his arrival, the ranchers see Orlando as an easy mark, but it turns out they're wrong. They try to take Orlando's money in a poker game -- and wind up broke themselves.

Harry Leon Wilson has written nothing more diverting than this story of the irreproachable English valet who is lost in a poker game to a rough-and-ready westerner and taken to Red Gap ultimately to become its social mentor and chief caterer, and there is sheer delight in the story of how the Earl, brought over to save his younger brother from the vampirish clutches of Klondike Kate, makes the lady his Countess and once more stands Red Gap upon its somewhat dizzy head.

Four wealthy young men, Larry Van Cortlandt, Castleton, "Fatty" Harriman and Payne, become intoxicated in a cabaret where munitions maker Stanhope Shelton is giving a party for his daughter Natalie. Larry is attracted to Natalie, but he is ejected with his friends before he can secure an introduction. Plainclothes detective Hogan vows to capture Larry, who seeks asylum on his yacht with his friends. After the crew quits, Larry and his friends handle the boat. The next morning Castleton and Payne place a "for hire" sign on the boat and the Sheltons engage it. Larry teaches Natalie to steer and runs into several boats in the process. Four people in the Shelton party turn out to be burglars and rob the other guests. Meanwhile two other crooks rob the Shelton mansion. Larry manages to capture all the crooks at the Shelton home, and he wins over both Natalie and her father.