Mel Welles
Biography: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mel Welles (February 17, 1924 - August 18, 2005) was an American film actor. His best-remembered role may be that of hapless flower shop owner Gravis Mushnik in the 1960 low-budget Roger Corman dark comedy, The Little Shop of Horrors (which featured Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient). Not much is known of Welles' early life, except that he was born Ira Meltcher in New York City. He graduated from Mt. Carmel High School, in 1940. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from Penn State University, a Master of Arts degree from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University. Welles held a number of jobs during his lifetime; at one time or another he worked as a clinical psychologist, radio DJ, television actor, writer and film director. He did some stage work before traveling to Hollywood, where in 1953 he appeared in his first film, Appointment in Honduras. His favorite role (The Little Shop of Horrors) was also his last in the U.S. for many years. In the early 1960s, he left the United States to act, produce and direct primarily in European film productions including the cult horror films Maneater of Hydra (1967) and Lady Frankenstein (1971). His fluency in five languages proved to be most helpful. He also served as a film consultant. Later he returned to the U.S., appearing in a number of films, doing voice work, and teaching voice acting. Probably his most widely seen work in the late 1970's was his English adaptation of the Japanese television show, "Spectreman" which was seen on UHF and cable across the United States. While he shares writing credit with two other people, it's clear that most of the English voice work, and the offbeat humor, is his. In 1998, Welles took to the stage in a community theater production of Little Shop of Horrors (musical) as Mushnik, the role he created in the original Roger Corman film. Welles had never performed in the musical and was happy to be asked to do the role, which he described as a "mitzvah" for Scotts Valley Performing Arts. Jonathan Haze, who played Seymour in the original film, attended the opening, and Welles also received a visit from Martin P. Robinson, the designer of the Audrey II plant puppets used in the off-Broadway production (Robinson is also famous for his puppetry on Sesame Street). Welles was working on a horror screenplay, tentatively titled House of a Hundred Horrors, at the time of his death. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mel Welles, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: February 17, 1924
Deathday: August 19, 2005
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Known For
Homework
1982-08-27
Homework
Overview: Good-looking but virginal "rockstar" teen Tommy (Michael Morgan) tries to score with some of the local high school girls. But a classmate's mom (Dame Joan Collins) decides to make a man out of him.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-08-27
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Spy Chasers
1955-07-31
Spy Chasers
Overview: Slip and the gang (Bowery Boys) foil foes of the exiled, incognito king of Truania (Sig Ruman).
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-07-31
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Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II
1989-03-01
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II
Overview: Three kingdoms have been overtaken by three evil lords and only Tyor, a teenage boy with magical powers, can restore peace to the land with the help of a bumbling elder, wizard and a hero in each kingdom. Tyor fights alongside them and eventually becomes a powerful wizard in his own right.
Genres: Action Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-03-01
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The Little Shop of Horrors
1960-08-05
The Little Shop of Horrors
Overview: Seymour works in a skid row florist shop and is in love with his beautiful co-worker, Audrey. He creates a new plant that not only talks but cannot survive without human flesh and blood.
Genres: Horror Comedy Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1960-08-05
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Code of Silence
1960-05-29
Code of Silence
Overview: An ex-mafioso moves to Mexico to become a writer, revealing mob secrets in his books which are met with understandable displeasure. He is soon pursued by hit-men as well as the FBI, who need his testimony in a court case.
Genres: Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1960-05-29
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Attack of the Crab Monsters
1957-02-10
Attack of the Crab Monsters
Overview: A group of scientists travel to a remote island to study the effects of nuclear weapons tests, only to get stranded when their airplane mysteriously explodes. The team soon discovers that the tests have given rise to crabs mutated into intelligent, impervious, telepathic giants intent on increasing their numbers by breeding, then travelling to populated areas to feed, and which do not intend to be stopped by their discoverers.
Genres: Science Fiction Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-02-10
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Chopping Mall
1986-03-21
Chopping Mall
Overview: A group of teenagers that work at the mall all get together for a late night party in one of the stores. When the mall goes on lock down before they can get out, the robot security system activates after a malfunction and goes on a killing spree. One by one the three bots try to rid the mall of the “intruders.” The only weapons the kids can use are the supplies in other stores, or if they can make it till morning when the mall opens back up.
Genres: Horror Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-03-21
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The Undead
1957-03-01
The Undead
Overview: Two psychics place a prostitute under hypnosis in order to learn about her past-life experiences. When they unwittingly send her back in time, she finds herself in the Middle Ages, suspected of being a witch and on the verge of being executed.
Genres: Horror Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-03-01
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The Fighting Chance
1955-12-15
The Fighting Chance
Overview: A horse trainer and his friend, a jockey, fall in love with the same girl. Complications ensue.
Genres: Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-12-15
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The Brothers Karamazov
1958-02-20
The Brothers Karamazov
Overview: Ryevsk, Russia, 1870. Tensions abound in the Karamazov family. Fyodor is a wealthy libertine who holds his purse strings tightly. His four grown sons include Dmitri, the eldest, an elegant officer, always broke and at odds with his father, betrothed to Katya, herself lovely and rich. The other brothers include a sterile aesthete, a factotum who is a bastard, and a monk. Family tensions erupt when Dmitri falls in love with one of his father's mistresses, the coquette Grushenka. Two brothers see Dmitri's jealousy of their father as an opportunity to inherit sooner. Acts of violence lead to the story's conclusion: trials of honor, conscience, forgiveness, and redemption.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1958-02-20
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Duel on the Mississippi
1955-09-16
Duel on the Mississippi
Overview: In bustling era of 19th-century Louisiana, sugar is as valuable as gold, and pirates like Lili Scarlet (Patricia Medina, Mr. Arkadin) will do anything to get it. After robbing Jules Tulane’s (John Dehner, The Boys from Brazil) estate of his crop, Scarlet takes over Tulane’s land debt and forces him to pay or go to prison. In exchange for postponing his debt, Scarlet allows Tulane’s son, André (Lex Barker, Robin Hood and the Pirates), to work as her servant. When André and Scarlet fall in love, it leads to jealous rage from Scarlet’s former paramour, expert swordsman Hugo (Warren Stevens, Forbidden Planet) — and when Hugo looks to raid the Tulane estate again, it is up to André and Scarlet to take him down and save the estate.
Genres: Drama Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-09-16
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Piecing Together Lady Frankenstein
2018-08-18
Piecing Together Lady Frankenstein
Overview: Documentary about the making of "Lady Frankenstein" and the directing career of Mel Welles.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-08-18
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Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype
1980-10-01
Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype
Overview: An ugly, misshapen podiatrist ingests a formula made by a colleague and turns into a handsome, devil-may-care (but violent) ladies' man.
Genres: Fantasy Comedy Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-10-01
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The Racers
1955-02-04
The Racers
Overview: An Italian daredevil turns Grand Prix driver and works his way up to Le Mans with his ballerina lover.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-02-04
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The 27th Day
1957-01-07
The 27th Day
Overview: Five individuals from five nations, including the USA, USSR, and China, suddenly find themselves on an alien saucer, where an alien gives each a container holding three capsules. The alien explains that no power on earth can open a given container except a mental command from the person to whom it is given, then anyone may take a capsule and, by speaking a latitude and longitude at it, cause instant death to all within a given radius: thus each of the five has been provided with the power of life and death. Then, they are given 27 days to decide whether to use the capsules, and returned to the places from which each one came...
Genres: Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-01-07
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The She Beast
1966-05-02
The She Beast
Overview: A young woman is driving alongside a lake. She has an accident and the car plunges into the water. Her body is then possessed by the spirit of an 18th-century witch who was killed by local villagers, and is bent on avenging herself on them.
Genres: Thriller Horror Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-05-02
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The Silver Chalice
1954-12-20
The Silver Chalice
Overview: A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples and Jesus himself. He travels to Jerusalem and eventually to Rome to complete the task. Meanwhile, a nefarious interloper is trying to convince the crowds that he is the new Messiah by using nothing more than cheap parlor tricks.
Genres: Drama Romance History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-12-20
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Calling Homicide
1956-09-30
Calling Homicide
Overview: Cop Andy Doyle investigates a car-bombing murder and the killing of a sleazy modeling agency owner. Are they connected?
Genres: Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-09-30
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Outside the Law
1956-06-01
Outside the Law
Overview: A government agent's son wins respect and love when he challenges counterfeiters.
Genres: Crime Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-06-01
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Jesse James vs. the Daltons
1954-04-02
Jesse James vs. the Daltons
Overview: Joe Branch, reputed to be the son of Jesse James, comes riding into Coffeyville Kansas, looking for proof one way or the other regarding the question of who his father was.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-04-02
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Flight to Hong Kong
1956-10-08
Flight to Hong Kong
Overview: On an airliner bound for Hong Kong, Tony, a career crook who deals in stolen diamonds, agonizes over whether he should stick with his girlfriend or pursue Pamela, an intriguing novelist with whom he's instantly infatuated. Viewing Tony's dastardly deeds as great material for her new book, Pamela gladly encourages him to continue his criminal behavior.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-10-08
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Howard
2018-04-22
Howard
Overview: Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-04-22
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Massacre Canyon
1954-05-01
Massacre Canyon
Overview: A band of renegade Apaches attempts to steal a shipment of rifles being transported to Fort Collins.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-05-01
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Hold Back Tomorrow
1955-11-01
Hold Back Tomorrow
Overview: A condemned murderer, scheduled to hang in the morning, asks for the company of a woman in his final hours.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-11-01
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The Shadow on the Window
1957-03-06
The Shadow on the Window
Overview: Three delinquents murder a prosperous farmer at an isolated farm house. One witness to the crime - the dead man's secretary - is then taken hostage. The other witness - her young son - is thrown into state of shock. Can he recover soon enough to help the police - and his father - rescue his mother before it's too late?
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-03-06
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The Day the Hot Line Got Hot
1968-01-01
The Day the Hot Line Got Hot
Overview: The most ultra-secret telephone number of all is that of the "Hot'Line' that links the heads of state of the United States and Moscow. A conniving double agent manages to steal the top secret phone number and then begins to implement chaos by phoning Washington and Moscow, telling the two powers that their respective spy chiefs are traitors. It's spy versus spy, agent versus double agent, counter spy against counter-counter spy in a rapidly increasing international crisis that finds its solution on the stage of Chinese theater in Barcelona, Spain as the spy leaders, the traitorous agent, a beautiful girl, three old ladies, a young man caught up in the chain of events and a troupe of acrobats collide head on in battle.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1968-01-01
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Medium Rare
1987-03-04
Medium Rare
Overview: Death of his wife's pet poodle and a threatening movie producer create a world of trouble for a middle-aged B-movie mogul. He hires two psychopathic goons to take care of it, which only creates more trouble and attracts the cops.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-03-04
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Commando Squad
1987-06-01
Commando Squad
Overview: An American narcotics agent takes her squad to Mexico, where she must break up a drug-smuggling gang that has also kidnapped her boyfriend.
Genres: Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-06-01
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The Red Sheik
1962-08-18
The Red Sheik
Overview: For decades Sultan Hassan has been suppressing the desert tribes with violence and terror. In an oasis, the tribal prince Ajbar has been hiding with his own from Hassan's soldiers.
Genres: Adventure
Original Language: it
Release Date: 1962-08-18
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Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here
1988-08-22
Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here
Overview: Insect-like aliens invade a small town. The local teenagers have been watching a sci-fi marathon in the local theater, and from those films they get ideas on how to fight the creatures.
Genres: Comedy Science Fiction Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-08-22
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Wyoming Renegades
1954-03-27
Wyoming Renegades
Overview: Brady Sutton returns from three years in prison and tries to go straight. One a member of the Butch Cassidy gang, he is still suspected of being cahoots with them. When Cassidy and his men rob the bank, he is blamed. Escaping from the townspeople, he once again joins up with Cassidy to wait for a chance to help bring him in.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-03-27
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Rock All Night
1957-04-01
Rock All Night
Overview: Cloud Nine, the local teen hangout, has been taken over by a pair of escaped killers, who hold the local teens hostage. The bartender realizes it's up to him to save the kids.
Genres: Crime Music Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-04-01
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The Keeler Affair
1963-11-09
The Keeler Affair
Overview: A teenage prostitute in England gets involved with high-level politicians and becomes enmeshed in a sex-and-spy scandal.
Genres: Drama Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1963-11-09
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The Reluctant Saint
1962-11-02
The Reluctant Saint
Overview: Cupertino, Italy, 1623: A simple-minded and clumsy young man joins a Franciscan order as a hired hand, overcoming his intellectual and social challenges with a pure heart and a simple faith. God performs a miracle through him, quite literally raising him to sainthood.
Genres: Drama History Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1962-11-02
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Hell on Devil's Island
1957-08-04
Hell on Devil's Island
Overview: An ex-con from Devil's Island enlists the support of the governor's daughter in exposing a prison mining operation.
Genres: Adventure Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-08-04
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The Truth About Lady Frankenstein
2007-08-04
The Truth About Lady Frankenstein
Overview: This documentary covers the making of the notorious movie "Lady Frankenstein" in 1971. The TV-version of "The Truth About Lady Frankenstein" runs 42 minutes, the DVD-version runs 72 minutes.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-08-04
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The Big Knife
1955-10-25
The Big Knife
Overview: Movie star Charlie Castle draws the ire of Hollywood producer Stanley Hoff when he refuses to sign a new seven-year contract. Castle is sick of the low quality of the studio's films and wants to start a new life. While his estranged wife supports him in the decision, Castle's talent agent urges him to reconsider. When Castle continues to be uncooperative, Hoff resorts to blackmail in order to get his way.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-10-25
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Rented Lips
1987-10-28
Rented Lips
Overview: A documentary filmmaker, who has spent the last 15 years making films like "Aluminum: Our Shiny Friend," is finally given the chance to make the documentary on Indian farming he has always wanted to. The catch? He must simultaneously direct a porn film. But as he tries to make the porn film, which he turns into a musical called "Halloween in the Barracks," he must deal with a temperamental actor, a fundamentalist preacher, and other obstacles.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-10-28
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Wolfen
1981-07-24
Wolfen
Overview: A New York City cop and an expert criminologist trying to solve a series of grisly deaths in which the victims have seemingly been maimed by feral animals discover a sinister connection between the crimes and an old legend.
Genres: Horror Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-07-24
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High School Confidential!
1958-05-30
High School Confidential!
Overview: A tough kid comes to a new high school and begins muscling his way into the drug scene. This is a typical morality play of the era, filled with a naive view of drugs, nihilistic beat poetry, and some incredible '50s slang.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1958-05-30
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Appointment in Honduras
1953-10-16
Appointment in Honduras
Overview: On a tramp steamer off Central America are Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard, five prisoners en route to a Nicaraguan prison, and Corbett, an American carrying money for a Honduran counter-revolution. Denied permission to land in Honduras, Corbett releases the prisoners and with their aid hijacks the ship. They land, taking the wealthy Sheppards as hostages, and start the arduous trip upriver to Corbett's rendezvous, meeting jungle hazards
Genres: Adventure Thriller Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-10-16
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Soldier of Fortune
1955-05-24
Soldier of Fortune
Overview: An American woman arrives in Hong Kong to unravel the mystery of her missing photographer husband. After getting nowhere with the authorities, she is led by some underground characters to an American soldier of fortune working in the area against the Communists. He promises to help find her husband.
Genres: Action Romance Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-05-24
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Smokey Bites the Dust
1981-10-01
Smokey Bites the Dust
Overview: Follows the rivalry between a small-town Southern sheriff and a small-town delinquent who steals cars and then destroys them with the sheriff’s daughter by his side.
Genres: Action Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-10-01
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Joyride to Nowhere
1977-06-01
Joyride to Nowhere
Overview: Teenage friends Cindy and Leah have decided to leave their abusive homelives behind, stealing Cindy's father's car and setting out on the road to freedom. On the way, they meet up with a sleazy guy named Tank who invites them up to his place. As Tank showers, the two girls decide to take off, stealing Tank's wallet and his car. His car, however, happens to contain $2 million from a bank job he just pulled off, and Tank is now rather intent on tracking the pair down and reclaiming what's his.
Genres: Action Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-06-01
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Cut-Throats Nine
1972-07-10
Cut-Throats Nine
Overview: A wagon load of convicts on their way to prison is being escorted through the mountains by a cavalry troop. They are attacked by a bandit gang, and only a sergeant, his beautiful young daughter and an assortment of seven sadistic, murderous prisoners survive, and they are left without horses or a wagon. The sergeant must find a way to get his prisoners to their destination while protecting his daughter, watching out for the still pursuing bandits and trying to determine which one of the prisoners was the man who raped and murdered his wife.
Genres: Crime Thriller Western Horror
Original Language: es
Release Date: 1972-07-10
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Pushover
1954-07-14
Pushover
Overview: A police detective falls for the bank robber's girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
Genres: Crime Thriller Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-07-14
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Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
1955-06-23
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
Overview: Stranded in Egypt, Bud and Lou find themselves in the buried tomb of a living mummy.
Genres: Comedy Horror Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-06-23
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Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
1962-07-25
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
Overview: Young and restless Nick Adams, the only son of a domineering mother and a weak but noble doctor father, leaves his rural Michigan home to embark on an eventful cross-country journey. He is touched and affected by his encounters with a punch-drunk ex-boxer, a sympathetic telegrapher, and an alcoholic advanceman for a burlesque show. After failing to get a job as reporter in New York, he enlists in the Italian army during World War I as an ambulance driver. His camaraderie with fellow soldiers and a romance with a nurse he meets after being wounded propel him to manhood.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1962-07-25
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Body and Soul
1981-10-09
Body and Soul
Overview: A young man struggles to become a boxing champ, but success blinds him. It is only through the love of his girlfriend that he is brought back to reality.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-10-09
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Kismet
1955-10-08
Kismet
Overview: A silver-tongued poet and self-proclaimed "King of the Beggars" searches old Baghdad for a rich bachelor to marry his dreamy daughter, Marsinah. Along the way, he poses as the renowned sorcerer Hajj and gets in and out of scrapes with an elderly thief, a dim-witted wazir, and his wife. Meanwhile, his daughter develops feelings for a handsome caliph.
Genres: Music Romance Adventure Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-10-08
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