Norman Lee Movies

The mysterious and unexpected death of an iconic Hollywood star may be just the tip of an iceberg of scandal in this show biz drama based on a true story. George Reeves (played by Ben Affleck) was a journeyman actor who had played a small role in Gone With The Wind and appeared on screen with the likes of James Cagney, Rita Hayworth and Marlene Dietrich, but his career was not exactly booming when he was cast as comic book hero Superman in a 1951 B-movie, Superman and the Mole Men. A year later, the producers of the movie launched a syndicated Superman television series with Reeves returning as the Man of Steel. The show became a major hit, and Reeves was a star at last. However, on June 16, 1959, to the shock of many, Reeves was found dead of a gunshot wound. Police soon declared Reeves' death a suicide and closed the case, but his mother (Lois Smith) refused to believe her son took his own life, and hired Louis Simo (Adrian Brody), a private detective, to find out the truth about her son's passing. Simo found many Hollywood insiders did not care to cooperate as he researched the Reeves case, but his digging uncovered plenty of evidence suggesting the actor did not take his own life, and he also revealed one of Reeves's deepest secrets -- while he was engaged to marry a pretty young starlet, Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney), Reeves was also carrying on an affair with the beautiful Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the wife of Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), a powerful and ill-tempered executive at MGM. While the producers of Hollywoodland based their story on factual accounts of the investigation into the death of George Reeves, they were denied permission to use the Superman logo and the familiar introduction to the Adventures of Superman television show by the respective copyright holders. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) returns to the screen for another round of supernatural adventures on the high seas in this spirited sequel to the 2003 Disney hit, which re-teams original director Gore Verbinski with original screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. As Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) prepare to exchange vows at the altar, their wedding plans hit rough waters with the arrival of sea-bound scallywag Jack Sparrow. It seems that Sparrow owes a substantial blood debt to half-octopus sea captain Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), and that the only way for the flamboyant sea rover to elude the wrath of his otherworldly pursuer is to seek the aid of mysterious and powerful voodoo priestess Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris), whose ability to resurrect the dead and gaze into the future may provide just the advantage needed to avoid a waterlogged fate in the locker of his legendary nemesis. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Fran Drescher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tony Danza are the most notable aspects of this forgettable teen drama that features a gang of youths in a car club who decide to battle it out with the establishment in Beverly Hills. It seems their favorite haunt, the last drive-in restaurant in the neighborhood, has been forced to close. Their rebellion is marked by tactics that might be embarrassing to any serious rebels: they turn a high school banner into an X-rated statement, sabotage a police car, ruin a manicured garden, and urinate in a punch bowl. These shenanigans take place on Halloween in 1965, a time when practical jokes are usually in the hands of elementary school kids -- and that level of maturity is maintained here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this tragedy, a troubled young woman with a tragic childhood is befriended by a hobo who brings her the first happiness she has ever known. Unfortunately the girl suffers a bout of amnesia and forgets who he is. The patient tramp helps her retrieve her memory. To thank him, the ungrateful girl tosses him out of her life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Idol of Paris is based on Paiva, Queen of Love, a novel by Alfred Schirokauer. Set in the mid-19th century, the film traces the rags-to-riches story of a girl named Theresa (Beryl Baxter). Sleeping her way to the top, she becomes a highly sought-after Parisian courtesan, one worthy of the attentions of the Emperor Napoleon (Kenneth Kent). But Theresa has no time for the Emperor, not with such virile lovers as Hertz (Michael Rennie) around and about. Despite inherent censorship problems, The Idol of Paris was picked up for American distribution by Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, an aspiring actor from London lets a room in a hotel filled with theatrical personalities. No sooner does he arrive, than the man in the adjoining room, an Australian acrobat, is found murdered. Being the newest tenant, the Londoner is immediately blamed. But then the killer attempts to murder him while he wanders through a Hall of Mirrors. The Londoner lives and catches the real killer thereby clearing his name. He then gets an acting job. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy of mistaken identity, an amiable fellow decides to help out his singing South American look-a-like who must fulfill a few obligations for his opera company. Mayhem ensues when the bogus singer finds himself pursued by paid assassins. Fortunately, the whole mess is straightened out in the end and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Eden Philpotts' "provincial" comic novel and play The Farmer's Wife was first filmed in the silent era by Alfred Hitchcock. The 1940 talkie version was directed by Leslie Arliss, son of stage star George Arliss. The story remained the same: A middle-aged widower attempts to select a wife from his rural district's eligible females (Basil Sydney). Three unsuccessful dalliances later, the farmer settles for his housekeeper, whom the audience has been rooting for all along. The Farmer's Wife is a prime example of the sort of fare that struck a proper chord with British filmgoers, but whose appeal would be lost to any other nationality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this old-joke-filled farce, a married couple has to put up with an obnoxious mother-in-law whose husband gets caught necking with a young actress, a traveling salesman, and a piano being mistaken in a conversation for an illegitimate child. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide

This historical documentary makes use of both archive footage and dramatic re-enactments to show the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

North Sea Patrol is a remake of the 1927 film of the same name; both were adapted from Luck of the Navy, a stage play by Mrs. Clifford Mills. Using a few clips of actual battleships for versimilitude, the film concerns a covert plan by an unnamed enemy nation to invade the sacred shores of England. The spies disguise themselves as the household servants of an admiral, so it can be said with some assurance that this is one picture in which the butler did it. Coming to the rescue is the admiral's daughter (Judy Kelly) and her dashing young navy officer beau (Geoffrey Toone). Made just before the outbreak of WW2, North Sea Patrol was promoted as "up to date" entertainment, even though its source material was nearly twenty years old. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1938 remake of the 1930 British farce Almost a Honeymoon makes a few slight alterations in the text. Originally, a wandering vagrant accidentally found himself sharing a bed with an amorous old crone. In the remake, the hero (popular cockney comedian Tommy Trinder, here making his screen debut) is a man of wealth. His inadvertent bed-mate is an attractive young girl (Linden Travers), who is occupying the hero's sleeping quarters when he stumbles in after a night on the town. Nothing really happens (this is a 1938 film), but you can't censor the gleam in the supporting characters' eyes. Like the first Almost a Honeymoon, the second film is based on a stage play by Walter Ellis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The popular 1934 West End musical comedy Yes, Madam was brought to the screen intact in 1938, with five of the original stars coming along for the ride. Bobby Hoyes heads the cast as Bill Quilton, a cheeky young man who will inherit a fortune on the condition that he work as a servant for a month without getting fired. Likewise in line for the inheritance, under the same conditions, is wisecracking Sally Gault (Dinah Churchill, replacing the stage version's Binnie Hale). If they fail to keep their jobs, they'll lose their legacy to scheming Tony Tolliver (Billy Milton) -- who not surprisingly does everything he can to undermine Bill and Sally. Both the play and film versions of Yes, Madam were based on a novel by K. R. G. Browne, previously filmed without music in 1933. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide