Gyles Isham Movies

The oft-filmed story of the WW I espionage agent known as "Fraulein Doktor" was given another go-round in the British Under Secret Orders. Dita Parlo plays Anne-Marie Lesser, a German secret agent who undermines the Allied cause at the expense of her own happiness. Top billing is bestowed upon Erich von Stroheim, as Anne-Marie's superior Colonel Mathiesus, a self-styled master of disguise (though his various makeups don't fool anyone in the audience). Released in the U.S. in 1943, Under Secret Orders was originally distributed in England in 1937 under the title Street of Shadows. A simultaneously-filmed French version, Mademoiselle Docteur, likewise starred Parlo and Von Stroheim. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A "silly ass" saves the day in this adventure set in an old English house. The trouble begins when the ass, a mild-mannered clerk, accidently finds out that his boss is a Spanish revolutionary and leader of a ring of counterfeiters. The clerk soon finds himself abducted by the revolutionaries and taken to Spain. There his boss's daughter helps him to escape. Upon breaking free, he then returns to save the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This second filmization of Leo Tolstoy's novel is widely regarded as the best version. Greta Garbo plays the title character, the sheltered wife of Czarist official Rathbone. Intending to dissuade Rathbone's brother (Reginald Owen) from a life of debauchery, Garbo is sidetracked by her own fascination with dashing military officer Fredric March. This indiscreet liaison ruins Garbo's marriage and position in 19th century Russian society; she is even prohibited from seeing her own son (Freddie Bartholomew). In keeping with the censorial strictures of 1935 Hollywood, Anna Karenina is extremely careful in the staging of its final suicide sequence, allowing the audience to determine for itself whether or not Garbo's desperate act of throwing herself under wheels of a train is intentional. Outside of the expected superb performances of Garbo and March, the film's most fascinating characterization is offered by Basil Rathbone, whose cold cruelty in banishing his wife is shown to be the by-product of his own broken heart (though Rathbone never allows himself to descend into cheap sentiment). The first film version of Anna Karenina was the 1927 silent feature Love, also starring Garbo, which substituted an imbecilic happy ending for Tolstoy's bleak denouement (there would be an acceptable third version in 1948, starring Vivien Leigh. The 1935 Anna Karenina is arguably the finest accomplishment of the felicitous 1930s alliance between star Greta Garbo, director Clarence Brown and cinematographer William Daniels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Anne One Hundred was adapted from Sewell Collins' stage play, which in turn was taken from Rescuing Anne, a novel by Edgar Franklin. Betty Stockfield plays Anne, a girl of modest means who suddenly inherits a soap factory. This gives her a leg-up in her battle with a rival over her boyfriend's attentions. The hero balks at being "kept" by a wealthy woman, but golden-hearted Anne wins out by proving that money really means nothing to her. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi