Dino Galvani Movies

W. Lee Wilder, the lesser-known brother of Billy Wilder, directed this unexceptional story based on the actual history of French serial killer Henri Landru. The killer (played by George Sanders) has been changed here from an ordinary, inconsequential man to a suave antique dealer with a passion for Odette (Corinne Calvet), a nightclub singer whose only interest in him is monetary. The plot places Odette's need for money at the basis of Landru's maniacal killing spree but as the duped, female victims are dispatched one after another, the horror of it all never quite coalesces into gripping suspense. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a pair of newlywed workers at an ad agency find themselves unable to honeymoon when she is suddenly assigned to work in the US. While she is gone, her husband begins falling for his sexy secretary, but then realizes he is making a terrible mistake and decides to stay true to his wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this British comedy, based on a popular radio series, the Lyons family goes on a Parisian holiday. The father attempts to buy tickets through a beautiful, enigmatic woman. When the children see them talking, they immediately assume the worst. When they see her again in Paris, merry mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Always a Bride stars Terence Morgan as an officer of the British Treasury who tells himself he's a honest man. Then he falls in love with Peggy Cummins, the daughter of a jovial swindler (Ronald Squire). Using privileged information, Morgan conspires with the father to separate several people from their earnings, then abscond with the swag. Things get sticky when tougher criminals who play for keeps become involved in the scheme. Always a Bride is consistently fun to watch, even when the plot threatens to overwhelm the comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the series, amateur sleuth and aspiring novelist Temple and his wife look for a kidnapped scientist whose formula for a new atomic weapon has been stolen by the enemy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A confirmed bachelor and a reclusive movie star tangle in this lively French comedy. The trouble begins when the bachelor vows to disprove the star's Garboesque claim that she wants to be alone. Saying that all women are alike, he sets out to seduce her. First he poses as a Realtor and offers to let her hide out in his lavish country estate. There he and she gradually get to know each other. Much to his surprise, she is quite sincere on wanting to be alone. When the woman discovers the "Realtor's" ruse she decides to teach him a lesson by promptly marrying him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Sleeping Car to Trieste is a remake of one of the best railroad melodramas of the 1930s, Rome Express. The film's "maguffin" is a diary containing important political information. Stolen from a diplomat in Paris, the diary finds its way on board the Orient Express. Already, the two thieves have double-crossed each other, and among the passengers there are plenty of interested parties-heroes and villains alike-who hope to claim the diary for their own purposes. When one of these parties is murdered, police chief Jolif (Paul Dupuis) takes charge of the case, but there's still many a plot twist to come before the guilty are punished and the innocent rewarded. An inordinate amount of footage is devoted to the wisecrackery of Bonar Colleano, cast as yet another stereotyped American. The climax of Sleeping Car to Trieste is a classic, endlessly imitated by future-and lesser-Orient Express espionagers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This British musical comedy was designed as a vehicle for popular 1930s bandleader Ambrose, here cast as "himself". The plot, which was the handiwork of no fewer than four scenarists, is the old one about the pretty but unappreciated slavey (Evelyn Dall) who is suddenly and spectacularly thrust into high society, much to the discomfort of her evil guardian. In other words, it's Cinderella in modern dress. But never mind all that: the film's real attraction is its unending parade of specialty performers. American jazz singer Harry Richman may be a bit hard to take for contemporary audiences (he wasn't exactly everyone's favorite in 1938!), but celebrity impressionist Florence Desmond is as delightful as ever as the film's nominal villain. Far better produced than most British "revue" pictures of the era, Kicking the Moon Around did excellent business, but Ambrose didn't care much for moviemaking and returned to the nightclub and music-hall circuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this mystery a vengeful, murderous photographer begins investigating the death of his wife who died on the operating table. He is assisted by a newspaper reporter, and together they work undercover. To all outward appearances, the surgeon is to blame for her death, but they cannot find him. The doctor's daughter swears that her father is dead. Fortunately for the physician and his girl, the photographer tips his hand and they are able to avoid the danger he presents. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this action drama, a war correspondent finds a gun-runners agent and ends up falling in love with her. To escape those that pursue him, the ring-leader pretends to suicide. Then to start a war, he sinks a ship. Later he is killed by his agent. Unfortunately, during the scuffle, she is mortally wounded. As the film fades out, she dies in the correspondent's arms. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this English crime drama, an ex-con swipes a cursed jewel from an aristocrat. The evil gem compels him to kill a dancer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

African-American actor/singer Paul Robeson had to travel to England in the 1930s to seek out dignified film roles. In Big Fella, Robeson is a happy wanderer who chances upon a runaway child. The kid so enjoys the company of Robeson and his café-singer friend Elisabeth Welch that he threatens to claim that he's been kidnapped if Robeson tries to return the boy to his parents. Interestingly, Robeson's character name is Joe, just as it had been in the actor's 1936 Hollywood triumph Show Boat. Big Fella was based on a novel by Claude McKay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Like Rick's Café Americain, the Café Colette is a rendezvous for virtually every spy in Europe. Greta Nissen stars as Russian princess Vanda Muroff, whose seductive powers are so overwhelming that one otherwise intelligent secret agent after another is willing to sacrifice all their top secrets to her on a moment's notice. Only Ryan (Paul Cavanaugh), an outwardly dissolute playboy, is able to resist Vanda's charms. It turns out that Ryan is actually a spy himself -- and one of the best in the business, at that! In the true Hitchcock tradition, the "secret papers" in Café Colette aren't nearly as important as the trials and tribulations undergone by the characters to get their hands on them. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide