Paul Porcasi Movies

A descendant of the notorious Borgias begins to believe that he has inherited their murderous tendencies in this thriller. The trouble begins after he visits his ancestral castle in Italy. After he finds success as a playwright, he begins to suspect that he, too, is a killer. The delusional writer writes a play and casts a seductive actress as the lead. He begins to suspect that she is the incarnation of Lucrezia Borgia. Later, a murder happens; the prime suspects are the playwright, the actress, and the playwright's psychiatrist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

As much a horror film as a murder mystery, Charlie Chan in Egypt is one of the best entries in the "Chan" series. The story is motivated by a King Tut-like curse, which has apparently befallen the members of an archeological expedition. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is brought into the case when a French museum wants to find out how several valuable Egyptian artifacts, originally slated for museum exhibition, have ended up for sale to the highest bidder. Arriving in Egypt, Chan must first figure out the modus operandi for two murders in which neither a weapon nor a wound was found. The solution to the killings involves a certain musical pitch played on a violin (a familiar mystery-movie device of the period). Though the screenwriters do a good job concealing the identity of the villain, Fox Studio's typecasting policy tends to give away that identity somewhat ahead of schedule. Prominent among the supporting players is black comedian Stepin Fetchit, whose stereotyped routines may offend the sensibilities of modern viewers. Originally released at 72 minutes, Charlie Chan in Egypt is currently available only in its choppy, shortened reissue version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this children's movie, a married vaudevillian team learns that talent scouts are looking for the new Shirley Temple. Unfortunately, they have an adorable little boy. This does not prevent them from dressing up like Temple and entering him in a contest, which he, unfortunately for him, wins. He then finds himself bewigged and train-bound for Hollywood. The hapless lad, would rather die than face life as a little girl, and so leaps from the speeding train. He soon encounters a friendly vagabond and a gang of fugitive bank robbers who think the lad may be able to help them with their nefarious schemes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Ray Walker plays Jimmy Case, a combustible young man who loses one job after another because he can't keep his fists to himself. On the verge of losing his girl friend Grace (Dorothy Granger), Walker agrees to hold his temper and try once more. He lands a job as a process server, only to find out that his first assignment is to serve a summons to equally temperamental nightclub singer Eleanor Rogers (Virginia Cherrill, best remembered as the blind flower girl in Chaplin's City Lights). For an early Monogram film, this one is surprisingly high-budgeted, with a particularly impressive cabaret set. Scripted by a very young Dore Schary, He Couldn't Take It was remade three times, most famously as the 1946 "Bowery Boys" series entry Live Wires. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first of two film version of Fannie Hurst's novel, 1934's Imitation of Life chronicles the friendship between two women--one white (Claudette Colbert), one black (Louise Beavers). Colbert is a widow with a baby daughter who hires Beavers, who also has a daughter, as a housekeeper. Colbert is a working girl who yearns to operate her own business, which she does thanks to Beavers' special pancake recipe. A family friend (Ned Sparks) suggests that the ladies form a corporation to merchandise the "Aunt Delilah" pancake mix, and within ten years both women are quite wealthy. Colbert's relationship with her teenaged daughter (Rochelle Hudson) is strained when both ladies vie for the attentions of the same man, but these problems are minor compared to the travails of Beavers, who not only must deal with the De Facto segregation of the 1930s but must also contend with her restless daughter (Fredi Washington), who resents being an African-American and attempts to pass for white. The heartbroken Beavers dies, and at her funeral her now-chastened daughter weeps out her apologies for turning her back on her mother. Imitation of Life was remade in 1959, its story glamorized and updated to accommodate star Lana Turner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Dwight Taylor and Cole Porter's play of the same name, The Gay Divorcee centers on Mimi (Ginger Rogers), a woman seeking a divorce from her husband. Mimi travels to an English seaside resort, pursued by the love-stricken Guy (Fred Astaire), whom she mistakes for the hired correspondent in her divorce case. Among the many musical numbers featured are "Night and Day," the only song from the original Broadway musical included in the film, and "The Continental," which won the first ever Academy Award for Best Song. Directed by Mark Sandrich, the film features supporting performances by Alice Brady and Edward Everett Horton. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Most Tarzan enthusiasts consider 1934's Tarzan and His Mate to be the best of the Johnny Weissmuller-Maureen O'Sullivan Tarzan efforts. Certainly it is the sexiest, with Weissmuller and especially O'Sullivan wearing next to nothing for most of the film's running time. Picking up where 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man left off, the film's plot is set in motion by avaricious ivory hunter Paul Cavanaugh, who arrives in the African jungle in search of the fabled Elephant's Graveyard. Accompanying Cavanaugh is Neil Hamilton the former fiance of Jane Porter (Maureen O'Sullivan), who for the past two years has been living with jungle lord Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) without benefit of clergy (this is strictly a pre-code effort, as evidenced by Jane's bikini-like attire and the now-famous skinny-dipping sequence). Jane briefly entertains notions of returning to civilization, but opts for her blissful outdoor existence with Tarzan. The plot rears its ugly head again when Cavanaugh shoots Tarzan and leaves him for dead, the better to seek out the precious ivory unimpeded. Rescued by his simian friends, Tarzan races towards the elephant's burial site, where Cavanaugh and Hamilton have been eaten by lions and Jane is next on the menu. A convenient elephant stampede--heralded by that classic Tarzan ahh-ee-yahhhh-ee-yahhhh--saves Jane from the lion's fangs in the nick of time. Tarzan and His Mate was the last of MGM's "Tarzan" series to be targeted for a strictly adult audience: the remaining MGM Tarzans, made under stricter censorship guidelines, were geared for the whole family. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama, set backstage at the theater, a fading, but still egotistical Hungarian star and his actress wife who has quietly endured his constant domination for years, move from Budapest to New York where they lead an impoverished life until their luck changes and they are given the leads in a famed young playwright's newest play. The old actor becomes an immediate hit. When he later learns that his wife has a crush on the playwright he is upset. The playwright doesn't mind though and quickly writes another play designed especially for her. It is a major hit, but the actress leaves the show in order to save her marriage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

While Tonart Studios is filming a gangster movie, one of the actors is killed in a shooting accident. After several other incidents occur, police begin to think of sabotage. Their list of suspects includes the studio chief (Alexander Carr), his manager (Bela Lugosi), the director of the film (Edward Van Sloan) and an actress (Adrienne Ames). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

A boozy newspaper reporter is booted out of his job for drinking too much. A few fateful twists later, he becomes partners with a talented advertising executive and opens a business. The former reporter proves to have a killer's instinct and all the morals of a shark. Under his helm, the business thrives, but his personal life falls to ruin when his fiancee kills herself. Returning to the sanctuary of alcohol, he drinks himself blind and jeopardizes the career he worked so hard to build. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

"How would you like to star opposite the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood?" Enticed by these words, brunette leading lady Fay Wray dyed her hair blonde and accepted the role of Ann Darrow in King Kong -- and stayed with the project even after learning that her "leading man" was a 50-foot ape. The film introduces us to flamboyant, foolhardy documentary filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), who sails off to parts unknown to film his latest epic with leading lady Darrow in tow. Disembarking at Skull Island, they stumble on a ceremony in which the native dancers circle around a terrified-looking young girl, chanting, "Kong! Kong!" The chief (Noble Johnson) and witch doctor (Steve Clemente) spot Denham and company and order them to leave. But upon seeing Ann, the chief offers to buy the "golden woman" to serve as the "bride of Kong." Denham refuses, and he and the others beat a hasty retreat to their ship. Late that night, a party of native warriors sneak on board the ship and kidnap Ann. They strap her to a huge sacrificial altar just outside the gate, then summon Kong, who winds up saving Ann instead of devouring her. Kong is eventually taken back to New York, where he breaks loose on the night of his Broadway premiere, thinking that his beloved Ann is being hurt by the reporters' flash bulbs. Now at large in New York, Kong searches high and low for Ann (in another long-censored scene, he plucks a woman from her high-rise apartment, then drops her to her death when he realizes she isn't the girl he's looking for). After proving his devotion by wrecking an elevated train, Kong winds up at the top of the Empire State Building, facing off against a fleet of World War I fighter planes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, the owner of a Chicago meat-packing company falls in love with a beautiful opera singer. Unfortunately, his selfish, social climbing wife refuses to divorce him. He continues the affair on the sly. As his lover's career begins to ascend, so does his business when he becomes the leader of a meat packing trust that sends cured beef to the troops fighting in Cuba. Later, the newly elected president, Theodore Roosevelt indicts him, but then the charges are dropped. By this time, the opera singer has become a star. Her lover too tries to find success, but instead, his business ends up going bankrupt. He then leaves for Greece. When his lover finds out, she too drops everything and follows him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide