Kay Francis

Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology.

Second installment of deleted scenes, mostly musical or comedic, from Fox films of the 30's - 50's.

Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.

Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.

Young lawyer Tod Jackson arrives in pioneer Kansas to visit his prosperous rancher friends the Daltons, just as the latter are in danger of losing their land to a crooked development company. When Tod tries to help them, a faked murder charge turns the Daltons into outlaws, but more victims than villains in this fictionalized version. Will Tod stay loyal to his friends despite falling in love with Bob Dalton's former fiancée Julie?

A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.

A man is pardoned from prison and returns to Santa Rita, CA to be with his family, but discovers his children have been told he's dead and his wife is in love with another man.

John Evans encounters his lookalike, Malcolm Scott. When Scott is killed in an accident, Evans finds himself mistaken for Scott and decides to do some good in his new role.

Jo March and her husband Professor Bhaer operate the Plumfield School for poor boys. When Dan, a tough street kid, comes to the school, he wins Jo's heart despite his hard edge, and she defends him when he is falsely accused. Dan's foster father, Major Burdle, is a swindler in cahoots with another crook called Willie the Fox. When the Plumfield School becomes in danger of foreclosure, the two con men cook up a scheme to save the home.

An aspiring actress is offered the lead in a major new play, but discovers that her mother, a more seasoned performer, expects the same part. The situation is further complicated when they both become involved with the same man.

Career-slipping movie star Carole Raymond buys in as a real estate partner of Jeff Caldwell. Actually, through his secretary, Nola Reed, Caldwell runs a matrimonial bureau and, with the aid of his associate, Lee Kirby, they defraud and blackmail a large group of lonely people. Carole, unknowingly, is used as bait for one of their victims, Walter Desmond, who "commits suicide." Reporter William Tyler thinks otherwise.

A 20-year-old stage actress takes on her most challenging role when she pretends to be her own mother's 12-year-old daughter.

Unscrupulous women marry servicemen for their pay.

A college professor who believes there's no place for jealousy in modern marriage, John Hathaway (Don Ameche) moves with his wife, Julie (Rosalind Russell), to New York where he plans to publish a book on the subject. Meeting with publisher Elliott Morgan (Van Heflin), who falls head over heels for Julie, John is assigned to his assistant Nellie (Kay Francis), who only has eyes for her boss. Working closely with Nellie, who Julie thinks is after her husband, John continues his high-minded ways while his angry spouse schemes to make him so jealous he'll knock Elliott's block clean off.

A woman who has been married and divorced five times comes back to her small hometown, where she proceeds to complicate, and potentially destroy, the marriage of her childhood boyfriend.

Reenactments of actual USO experiences of its female stars entertaining troops overseas.

Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1947.

A terminally ill woman and a debonair murderer facing execution meet and fall in love on a trans-Pacific crossing, each without knowing the other's secret.

A wealthy man falls for a widow but is locked into a loveless marriage with a woman who has contrived to convince his parents she is the ideal wife.

Harry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and the conductor/singer Tommy are in love with Inez. When Inez finds out that Harry wants to leave Paris and is going to the USA with Liane, she kills him.

Lifelong friends and medical school graduates Mary Stevens and Don Andrews decide to set up office together. While Mary struggles to earn respect because of her gender, Don gets caught up in his ambitions for a bigger life.

Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.

A politician's wife plots for her husband to become the next U.S. President.

Marya gets friendly with General Platoff in order to save her husband Victor from being executed.

An American lawyer's wife is reunited with her child and his father, an English nobleman.

A blackmailer preys on an actress who is trying to protect her daughter from her past.

A nightclub singer is carrying on an affair with a married man. When she is found murdered, her lover is suspected of the crime.

When Georgiana Summers learns that the woman who stole and married her husband is planning a romantic tryst with a new love, she hatches a giddy plot to expose the rendezvous and pay her back.

Baroness Teri von Horhenfels deals with the tedium of her aristocratic Vienna life with a long line of lovers. Her rich husband, Franz, seems oblivious. As she's just about to end her latest affair, the baroness gets a much-needed dose of adrenaline when she becomes the target of a charismatic thief. After staging a daring robbery, he makes off with not only the baroness's ring but also her heart.

Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1936.

In Victorian England, Florence Nightingale's heroic measures slowly change the attitude towards nurses when it was considered a disreputable profession.

Physician Carole Nelson, suspected of having ties to notorious gangster Joe Gurney, must prove her innocence or the Medical Board will revoke her license. When Gurney seeks her out for treatment after being shot, it could be the break Nelson needs. Now she has a chance to use her medical know-how to outwit Gurney and his goons and reestablish her professional reputation.

A bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.

The son of a ruthless meatpacking king goes through a number of changes in ideals and motivations as he reluctantly inherits the mantle and falls in love.

In the days leading up to the Russian Revolution, Stephen Locke, a minor British diplomat in St Petersburg, falls in love with a Russian spy.

A beautiful chorine marries a handsome rich socialite, but her idyllic life ends when she visits a dying old beau and is charged when he commits suicide.

Businesswoman Claire King is the daughter of a powerful advertising executive. When Claire marries humble copywriter Bill Landin, she wants to use her influence to help her husband get ahead, but he will have none of it.

Confirming his principle that no one escapes the news, a tabloid editor prints a scathing story about his wife.

A prominent New York doctor, unable to have a child, discovers her philandering husband has impregnated her best friend.

Abandoned by her lover, a woman becomes the main "hostess" in a decadent nightclub, but tries to put her past behind her on a steamer to Mandalay.

While on leave, British officer Col. John Wister meets Julia Ashton, a widow who steals his heart despite her overwhelming grief. Enamored, Wister begs her to be his bride, assuring her she will someday learn to love again. After she agrees and they've wed, she accompanies him to a hostile desert region. As predicted, she does find love. However, it is not for her husband but for the handsome Capt. Denny Roark.

Vera Kowalska is put on trial for murdering concert pianist Michael Michailow. In court it is revealed that some years earlier Michael ruined Vera's life.

Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1938.

Sarajevo June 28, 1914. Dushan, the Serbian mayor of a Hungarian town, has come to see the parade of Archduke Ferdinand. While there he runs into Geza, an old friend in the Hungarian Army and invites him to come to his house and visit him and his new wife.

Gardoni, a down-on-his-luck vaudeville performer, is taken in by a fellow performer, a clown who has a bicycle riding act. Gardoni shows his appreciation by stealing the clown's act and his girlfriend, whom he marries.

Hardworking magazine editor Lois is married to playboy Fred Ames. Her secretary abruptly quits just as salesman Tom Sheridan happens to arrive to hawk his goods. Desperate for assistance, Lois impulsively hires Tom. While Fred continues his philandering ways, a romance blossoms between Tom and Lois. But Tom's fiancée grows suspicious of his bond with Lois, and he decides to resign. Lois won't give Tom up without a fight, though.

A dynamic duo in silk and ermine entertain hick businessmen looking for a good time while in Manhattan.

A society gigolo goes after a rich mother and her daughter, but tries to find true happiness with his girlfriend, who is neither rich nor in "society."

A district attorney commits the perfect murder when he kills his daughter's womanizing fiancé and then tries framing the fiancé's lover.

Two architects lose their heads over a glamorous actress.

A London barrister's marriage is under strain after his affair with a shopgirl who is out to have him. The story is told in flashback.

A Traveler's Aid worker who delights in solving people's problems gets mixed up with gangsters.

A private eye specializing in divorce cases falls for the woman he's been hired to frame.

This 1930 film, a collection of songs and sketches showcasing Paramount Studios' contract stars, credits 11 directors

Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1935.

A lay-about falls for his best friend's fiancee. The two of them run away from a life of privilege to one of middle-class normalcy. When an influx of money enters their life, their differences come to light.

An impoverished widow fights scandal for the sake of her four children.

'Natural' Davis (William Powell) is a respected gambler who follows a ruthless code of honor with those who cheat against him. His wife, Alma (Kay Francis), wants to divorce him because of his addiction and lifestyle, but they agree on a reconciliation and second honeymoon together and 'Natural' promises to give up gambling. However, his plans change when his brother, 'Babe' (Regis Toomey), arrives in town looking to score big, and 'Natural' has to devise a plan quickly to put him off gambling forever.

During the Florida land boom, the Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land and thwart a jewel robbery.

A newspaperman is drawn away from family life by the needs of his paper until a new woman enters his life.