Joan Leslie
Also Known As: Joan Brodel, Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel
Biography: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Joan Leslie (born Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel; January 26, 1925 – October 12, 2015) was an American actress, dancer, and vaudevillian who, during the Hollywood Golden Age, appeared in such films as High Sierra, Sergeant York, and Yankee Doodle Dandy. Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel was born on January 26, 1925, in Highland Park, Michigan, the youngest child of John and Agnes Brodel. At 15, Leslie had her first significant role as the crippled girl in High Sierra (1941), starring Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino. The same year she played in Sergeant York as York's fiancée. Leslie had a supporting role in The Male Animal (1942) as Olivia de Havilland's younger sister. In Yankee Doodle Dandy (also 1942) she portrayed George M. Cohan's girlfriend/wife. By now, Leslie had become a star whose on-screen image was described as "sweet innocence without seeming too sugary." Leslie was in four motion pictures released during 1943: The Hard Way, starring Ida Lupino and Dennis Morgan; The Sky's the Limit (1943), starring with Fred Astaire; the wartime film This Is the Army (1943) with Ronald Reagan; and finally Thank Your Lucky Stars. During World War II, she was a regular volunteer at the Hollywood Canteen, where she danced with servicemen and signed hundreds of autographs. She was featured with Robert Hutton, among many others, in the Warner Bros. film Hollywood Canteen (1944). In 1946 Leslie's career took a dive when she took Warner Brothers to court in order to get released from her contract based on moral and religious grounds because of the parts they kept giving her. She wanted more serious and mature roles. In 1947, the Catholic Theatre Guild gave Leslie an award because of her "consistent refusal to use her talents and art in film productions of objectionable character." As a result of this, Jack Warner used his influence to blacklist her from other major Hollywood studios. From this point on Leslie had a more irregular film career. In 1947, she signed a two-picture contract with the poverty row studio Eagle-Lion Films. The first one was Repeat Performance (1947), a film noir. The other was Northwest Stampede (1948) in which she performed with James Craig. In 1952, she signed a short-term deal with Republic Pictures. One of the films she made for Republic was Flight Nurse (1953). Her last film was The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956). However, she continued making sporadic appearances in television shows while her children were at school. She retired from acting in 1991, after appearing in the TV film Fire in the Dark. Leslie died on October 12, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. She was 90. Her survivors include her two children and one sister, Betty. On October 8, 1960, Joan Leslie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street. In 1999, she was one of the 250 actresses nominated for the American Film Institute's selection of the 25 greatest female screen legends to have debuted before 1950. On August 12, 2006, she received a Golden Boot Award for her contributions to Western television shows and movies.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan, USA
Birthday: January 26, 1925
Deathday: October 12, 2015
Adult: No
Gender: Female
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Known For:
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Overview: A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.
Genres: Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-05-29
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Curtains for Roy Earle
Overview: A featurette exploring the gangster films made at Warner Bros., actor Humphrey Bogart's career and the making of HIGH SIERRA (1941).
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-11-03
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High Sierra
Overview: Given a pardon from jail, Roy Earle gets back into the swing of things as he robs a swanky resort.
Genres: Crime Drama Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-01-23
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Repeat Performance
Overview: On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive 1946 and avoid the mistakes that she made throughout the year. Her wish comes true but cheating fate proves more difficult than she anticipated.
Genres: Crime Drama Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-05-22
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The Hard Way
Overview: Helen Chernen pushes her younger sister Katherine into show business in order to escape their small town poverty.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-01-13
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Hollywood Gangster
Overview: Documentary about American gangster movies.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: de
Release Date: 2008-12-27
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Man in the Saddle
Overview: A small rancher is being harassed by his mighty and powerful neighbor. When the neighbor even hires gunmen to intimidate him he has to defend himself and his property by means of violence.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-12-02
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Born to Be Bad
Overview: Christabel Caine has the face of angel and the heart of a swamp rat. She'll step on anyone to get what she wants, including her own family. A master of manipulation, she covertly breaks off the engagement of her trusting cousin, Donna, to her fabulously wealthy beau, Curtis Carey. Once married to Curtis herself, Christabel continues her affair with novelist Nick Bradley, who knows she's evil, but loves her anyway.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1950-09-28
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Rhapsody in Blue
Overview: Fictionalized biography of George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.
Genres: Music Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-06-27
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Thank Your Lucky Stars
Overview: An Eddie Cantor look-alike organizes an all-star show to help the war effort.
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-09-25
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The Sky's the Limit
Overview: Flying Tiger Fred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron's personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days of leave. He quickly falls for photographer Joan Manion, pursuing her in the guise of a carefree drifter.
Genres: Comedy Romance Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-07-13
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This Is the Army
Overview: In WW I dancer Jerry Jones stages an all-soldier show on Broadway, called Yip Yip Yaphank. Wounded in the War, he becomes a producer. In WW II his son Johnny Jones, who was before his fathers assistant, gets the order to stage a knew all-soldier show, called THIS IS THE ARMY. But in his pesonal life he has problems, because he refuses to marry his fiancée until the war is over.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-08-14
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Sergeant York
Overview: Alvin York a hillbilly sharpshooter transforms himself from ruffian to religious pacifist. He is then called to serve his country and despite deep religious and moral objections to fighting becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI.
Genres: War Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-09-27
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Hollywood Canteen
Overview: Two soldiers on leave spend three nights at a club offering free of charge food, dancing, and entertainment for servicemen on their way overseas. Club founders Bette Davis and John Garfield give talks on the history of the place.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-12-15
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Showbiz Goes to War
Overview: While a few Hollywood celebrities such as James Stewart and Clark Gable saw combat during World War II, the majority used their talents to rally the American public through bond sales, morale-boosting USO tours, patriotic war dramas and escapist film fare. Comedian David Steinberg plays host for this star-studded, 90-minute documentary, which looks at the way Tinseltown helped the United States' war effort.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-12-31
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The Male Animal
Overview: The trustees of Midwestern University have forced three teachers out of their jobs for being suspected communists. Trustee Ed Keller has also threatened mild mannered English Professor Tommy Turner, because he plans to read a controversial piece of prose in class. Tommy is upset that his wife Ellen also suggested he not read the passage. Meanwhile, Ellen's old boyfriend, the football player Joe Ferguson, comes to visit for the homecoming weekend. He takes Ellen out dancing after the football rally, causing Tommy to worry that he will lose her to Joe.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-03-12
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The Wagons Roll at Night
Overview: An escaped circus lion provides the impetus for the meeting of carnival owner Nick Coster and Matt Varney, a small-town man who suddenly becomes a lion tamer when he manages to subdue the big cat. While acclimating to carnival life, Matt begins a romance with Nick's sister, Mary, causing tension between Matt and Nick. The latter must also juggle his stormy relationship with glamorous circus star Flo Lorraine.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-04-25
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The Revolt of Mamie Stover
Overview: In the early ’40s, a San Francisco prostitute is run out of town just as World War II has begun to intensify. She settles down in Hawaii, hoping to start a new life.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-05-11
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Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film
Overview: Produced for Turner Classic Movies, this documentary looks at the early days of the gangster film.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-10-21
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Woman They Almost Lynched
Overview: Laying on the Missouri-Arkansas border, the neutral Border City, its female mayor and city council, take no side in the ongoing Civil War and they're prepared to hang any troublemaker, Yankee or Confederate, who stirs the townsfolk up.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-03-20
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The Great Mr. Nobody
Overview: A publicity man promotes his newspaper, but finds his boss always steals the credit.
Genres: Romance Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-02-15
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Jubilee Trail
Overview: A wild-west trader and his New York wife head out for the California by wagon train. The trader is killed enroute, and his wife finds herself with child. She continues on hoping to find a man and a home.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-05-15
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Hellgate
Overview: A man is framed and sent to the toughest prison in the territory.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1952-09-04
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Toughest Man in Arizona
Overview: Marshal Landry captures outlaw Girard and bringing him in finds a woman and two children, the only survivors of an Indian attack. Later, transferring the prisoner his brothers free him. Then a stage is robbed of a silver shipment by Girard and his brothers. Examining telegrams gets Landry a confession from Girard's girlfriend. The telegraph line has been tapped and the telegrapher is the supposedly dead husband of the woman he brough in. Now knowing Girard's location he sets out after him.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1952-10-10
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Janie Gets Married
Overview: Newlywed Janie's (Joan Leslie) World War II-veteran husband (Robert Hutton) goes to work at her father's (Edward Arnold) newspaper.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-06-22
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Thieves Fall Out
Overview: Eddie Barnes, tired of being a nobody and living with his parents, decides to cash in his mother's legacy and use the money to buy a business. Unfortunately, Eddie's mother has to die before the broker can collect the full value of the policy and the broker's gangster partner doesn't want to wait for nature to take its course.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-05-03
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Men with Wings
Overview: Reporter Nicholas Ranson is jubilant when, on 17 Dec 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright take their first airplane flight. Back home in Underwood, Maryland, however, his uncle Hiram F. Jenkins, owner and editor of the local newspaper, refuses to print the story. Nicholas quits and continues to work on his own airplane, with the devoted help of his little daughter Peggy. Peggy is actually the first in her family to fly when her friends, Patrick Falconer and Scott Barnes, induce her to get inside a large kite they have made, and run with it in a field until she is airborne. The kite is caught in a tree, however, and Peggy gets a black eye. Later, Nicholas dies when his experimental airplane crashes, leaving his wife and children alone. By Peggy's adulthood, planes are capable of flying at an altitude of 11,000 feet, and speeds of nearly 100 m.p.h. Peggy continues her father's obsession with flight by helping Scott and Pat to build a plane.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-07-16
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High School
Overview: A teenager who's been raised and home-schooled at her father's Texas ranch must adjust to her new surroundings and being with other students when she's sent to a San Antonio high-school.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-01-26
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Two Guys from Milwaukee
Overview: Balkan Prince Henry has two wishes, to meet Lauren Bacall and see the "real" America. He befriends cabbie Buzz Williams and, without knowing the microphone is live, the two stage a debate on democracy versus monarchy broadcast back to the Prince's homeland. A plebiscite there puts Henry out of a job. Flying to Milwaukee to become a beer salesman, he meets Bacall on the seat next to his, but a tap on his shoulder means he must give up his seat (and dream) to Bogie.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-07-26
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Flight Nurse
Overview: In this war drama, set during the Korean War, an Air Force nurse gets involved in a love triangle on the front lines.
Genres: War Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-11-15
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Cinderella Jones
Overview: Judy Jones can claim inheritance only if she marries a genius.
Genres: Music Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-03-09
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Nine Lives Are Not Enough
Overview: A reporter is constantly in trouble for jumping to conclusions.
Genres: Drama Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-09-20
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Alice in Movieland
Overview: In a U.S. town that could be anywhere, 18-year-old Alice Purdee wins a free trip to Hollywood. With the assistance of a cheerful porter, she takes the night train and dreams about her arrival. Instead of instant success, she meets disappointment after disappointment, and she needs the unexpected encouragement of her grandmother and an aging, former star whom she meets at a talent night. Finally, she gets a call to be an extra, and she's so hopeful that the regulars decide to make a fool of her. Is this the end of Alice's dream? Not if the porter has anything to say about it.
Genres: Music Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-03-03
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Laddie
Overview: Handsome Laddie Stanton courts neighbor Pamela Pryor, meeting opposition from her stern military father, recently immigrated from England.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-01-18
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Northwest Stampede
Overview: In this romantic western, the real stars are a mustang and a police dog. The human aspect of the story centers on a rodeo rider whose late father bequeathed him a ranch in Calgary, Canada. The rider really tries to settle down to ranching, but finds himself pining for the rodeo. His forewoman, also a former rodeo performer, thinks her employer is shirking his duties and needs to forget about broncos, and bull-riding and settle down. Meanwhile, the fellow also longs to catch the white stallion running wild. The dog helps out.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-07-28
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The Keegans
Overview: A professional football player is accused of murdering the man who attacked his sister. His brother, an investigate reporter, sets out to prove his brother's innocence.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-05-03
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Two Thoroughbreds
Overview: A farm boy trains a wild colt on his own.
Genres: Family Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-12-08
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Susan and God
Overview: A flighty socialite neglects her family to promote a new religious group.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-06-07
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Star Dust
Overview: When Hollywood film studios reject her because she's too young, an Arkansas woman sets out to build a career as an actress on her own.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-04-06
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Nancy Drew... Reporter
Overview: While participating in a contest at a local newspaper in which school children are asked to submit a news story, local attorney Carson Drew's daughter Nancy intercepts a real story assignment. She "covers" the inquest of the death of a woman who was poisoned. Nancy doesn't think the young woman accused of the crime is guilty and corrals her neighbor Ted into searching for a vital piece of evidence and stumbles onto the identity of the real killer.
Genres: Comedy Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-02-18
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Love Affair
Overview: A French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship. They arrange to reunite six months later, if neither has changed their mind.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-04-07
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The Skipper Surprised His Wife
Overview: A captain tries to keep home as tight as his ship.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1950-06-29
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James Cagney: Top of the World
Overview: Documentary on the life and career of James Cagney
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-07-05
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Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration
Overview: The story of the Crucifixion, set within the context of the Korean War.
Genres: Family Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-03-25
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Too Young to Know
Overview: A returning GI searches for the wife who left him and gave away their son.
Genres: Romance Drama War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-12-01
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Hell's Outpost
Overview: A returning Korean War vet becomes embroiled in a fight over possession of a tungsten mine.
Genres: Action Adventure Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-12-15
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Foreign Correspondent
Overview: American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s daughter and an urbane English journalist to uncover the truth.
Genres: Thriller Mystery Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-08-16
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Winter Carnival
Overview: A divorced glamour girl keeps warm with a professor amid sports and romance at Dartmouth College's Winter Carnival.
Genres: Romance Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-07-28
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Camille
Overview: Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure. One such woman is Marguerite Gautier, who begins a sumptuous romance with Armand Duval.
Genres: Drama Romance History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-12-26
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Charley Hannah
Overview: A Fort Lauderdale, Florida Police Captain (Robert Conrad) accidentally kills a youth when he is pursuing some cop killers. The investigation into the murders and into a cocaine connection then hinges on the Captain's capabilities to get the slain teen's homeless buddy (Robert's son Shane Conrad) to trust him and provide information. Robert's son, Christian Conrad also co-stars as another police officer.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-04-05
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Sergeant York: Of God and Country
Overview: Behind the scenes documentary on the making of Sergeant York.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-11-07
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I Am an American
Overview: The history of a Polish family and its contributions to the war effort throughout American history.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-12-23
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Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
Overview: The history of Hollywood musical movies, from the very beginning until the 21st century, hosted by Shirley Jones.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2008-10-14
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Turn Back the Clock
Overview: After a woman fervently wishes for another chance after a terrible tragedy, she is mysteriously granted one year of her life to be lived over.
Genres: Drama Crime TV Movie Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-11-20
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Young as You Feel
Overview: Father sells his drugstore and the Jones family heads for New York to enjoy sophisticated city life. They lose all their money before deciding to go back home.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-02-16
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Fire in the Dark
Overview: A 75-year old widow with battles herself as she struggles with being a burden to those she loves. Though determined not to rely on her children, she is forced to move in with her daughter after a serious fall, and the family learns to face the future with dignity and hope.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-07-01
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So You Want to Be in Pictures
Overview: Aspiring actor Joe McDoakes blows his first part at Warner Bros. and has to settle for being a stand-in.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-06-07
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The Voice That Thrilled the World
Overview: This short traces the history of sound in the movies, beginning with French scientist Leon Scott's experiments in 1857. Featured are snippets from early sound pictures.
Genres: History Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-10-16
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Stars on Horseback
Overview: A profile of blacksmith George Garfield, among whose Hollywood clients were the horses of Joel McCrea and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-04-23
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Parade of Aquatic Champions
Overview: Johnny Weismuller, Esther Williams and other aquatic champions present an exhibition of swimming and diving.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-07-22
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Where Do We Go from Here?
Overview: Bill wants to join the Army, but he's 4F so he asks a wizard to help him, but the wizard has slight problems with his history knowlege, so he sends Bill everywhere in history, but not to WWII.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-05-23
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Inside the Dream Factory
Overview: Faye Dunaway hosts a behind-the-scenes look at the Hollywood star-making machine.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-11-01
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Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
Overview: Known for his personification of the Western Hero, it was Montana-born Gary Cooper's horse-riding skills that first brought him bit parts in movies. And he never lost his love of the great American outdoors. Though he rarely played a villain and was an adept comedian, Cooper is best remembered for his strong, silent heroes. With his lanky country boy looks and shy hesitancy he created a unique screen presence, though his real life was one of sophisticated elegance.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-03-17
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Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Overview: A two-hour in-depth exploration into the Hollywood musicals of the 1930s.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-01-01
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