Sunset Boulevard was written and directed by Billy Wilder and goes down as being one of his best movies. It stars William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson and Fred Clark in a classic comedy about how Hollywood treats its stars when they are no longer desired.

The movie features William Holden who plays an unsuccessful screen writer who has very little money. Whilst trying to get away from two repo men who want money, he turns off Sunset Boulevard into a mansion owned by Norma Desmond, who is played by Gloria Swanson. She was the star of movies in the past but has always dreamed of making a comeback. She lives completely in the past and has a butler called Max who takes care of her and her home. William’s character and Norma get acquainted and help each other out. Continue Reading

Funny Face was released in 1957 and has Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn as the leading characters. It is a very entertaining and classic musical that was directed by Stanley Donen. Many people believe it to be one of Fred Astaire’s best movies in the latter stages of his acting career.

The movie begins in New York at a major fashion magazines offices called “Quality”. The president of the magazine, played by Kay Thompson, is desperately searching for new ways to promote her magazine. She has a sudden inspiration that everything should be pink and comes up with the aptly named slogan “Think Pink”. Continue Reading

Battleship Potemkin is a silent movie from 1925. The movie is based on the uprising which happened in 1905 on the battleship. The crew totally rebelled against their commanding officers and tried to take control of the ship. They did this together with the people from Odessa which was the port they were docked at. But by doing so they opened themselves up to a huge onslaught from the Russians, who didn’t hold back in making sure they didn’t let the matter get out of hand. Continue Reading

This is one of Charlie Chaplin’s greatest ever movies. It was released even though there were many “talkies” readily available but he knew he had a great film in the making. So he decided to continue with the movie that was silent except for sound effects and music. This was quite a gamble but it really paid off when the film was released and had people flocking to see it.

Actually it wasn’t until the movie The Great Dictator in the 1940’s when he first made his first full speaking role. His silent movies were so successful, he didn’t want to steer away from them. Continue Reading

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection – American Musicals contains 4 of the greatest American musicals of all time. They are contained on 2 double sided DVD discs and have many bonus features too. This set gives you the chance to own some of the best musicals that won’t take up lots of room on your shelf. The musicals are The Band Wagon, Meet Me in St. Louis, Singin’ in the Rain and Easter Parade.

The Band Wagon stars Fred Astaire in what many people consider to be his best musical appearance. He plays a song and dance man who is lined up to star in a new show on Broadway that is being created by his friends. But things start going wrong and they are unsure whether it will ever be ready. Continue Reading

This 2 disc double sided DVD collection features 4 of the greatest Broadway musicals ever made; Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, Kiss Me Kate and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Show Boat was made in 1951 and stars Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel and Marge and Gower Champion. It features some of the classic songs including “Ol’ Man River”. Comes with a special bonus trailer.

Annie Get Your Gun was released in 1950 and stars Bettie Hutton and Howard Keel. This also has some of the greatest musical songs like “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “Anything You Can Do” and “Doin’ What Comes Naturally. It also has a bonus of some audio session tracks. Continue Reading

Stalag 17 is thought of by many people as being the best POW movie ever made. It stars William Holden as the central character and directed by Billy Wilder, both of whom were nominated for Oscars for the movie and Holden won the Best Actor Oscar for his role. The movie was based on the successful stage play and the supporting cast were very strong too including Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck.

Released in 1953, the movie focuses on a German POW camp named “Stalag 17”. It has American prisoners of war inside who make a plan to escape. They spend time getting every single detail right but when they put the plan into action, they get caught and several of them are killed. So they come to the conclusion that someone must have tipped off the Germans about the plan and blame J.J. Sefton, who is played by William Holden. Continue Reading

Sabrina is a classic tale of romance and love, featuring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. It was released in 1954 and has since been remade in 1995 with Harrison Ford as the role played by Bogart. Although looking at most reviews, it does not compare with this classic version.

The movie features a girl called Sabrina, played by Audrey Hepburn, who is the daughter of a chauffeur. She falls madly in love with the son of the household that her father works for. He is a rich playboy and doesn’t notice her admiration for him. She gets sent away to Paris where she enrols in a cooking school. But whilst she is there she meets a baron who teaches her how to be more sophisticated and turns her into a cultural woman. Continue Reading

Alfred Hitchcock has directed some fantastic movies over the years and To Catch a Thief is no exception. It brings together Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in a romantic storyline but with the trademark Hitchcock suspense thrown in too.

It was released in 1955 and follows the story of an American named John Robie (played by Cary Grant) who is living on the French Riviera. He used to be involved in a lot of burglaries and known as one of the most notorious thieves in the whole of France. But he gave it up a long time ago and settled down in a beautiful villa. Continue Reading

This 2 disc DVD collection features 4 classic murder mysteries; The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Dial M for Murder and The Postman Always Rings Twice.

The first movie, The Maltese Falcon, features Humphrey Bogart who stars as a detective with a really tough nature. His partner in his private eye firm is killed whilst following another man and Humphrey is hounded by police to find out why. The story comes down to a tale of deceit and involves the potential of having a gold encrusted statue of a Maltese falcon, hence the name of the film. It’s a great movie that helped to launch Bogart’s career. Continue Reading