Derrick De Marney finds himself in a 39 Steps situation when he is wrongly accused of murder. While a fugitive from the law, De Marney is helped by heroine Nova Pilbeam, who three years earlier had played the adolescent kidnap victim in Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. The obligatory “fish out of water” scene, in which the principals are briefly slowed down by a banal everyday event, occurs during a child’s birthday party. The actual villain, whose identity is never in doubt (Hitchcock made thrillers, not mysteries) is played by George Curzon, who suffers from a twitching eye. Curzon’s revelation during an elaborate nightclub sequence is a Hitchcockian tour de force, the sort of virtuoso sequence taken for granted in these days of flexible cameras and computer enhancement, but which in 1937 took a great deal of time, patience and talent to pull off. Released in the US as The Girl Was Young, Young and Innocent was based on a novel by Josephine Tey.
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Struggling actor Wayne Wenders (Eric Mabius) is comically famous for starring in a low-budget commercial for Irritable Bowel Syndrome medication, a reputation he is hoping to change when he finally lands a starring role in a national root beer ad. But when the paycheck for his big break is delayed, Wayne looks for other options to pay his increasingly late rent and ends up interviewing for a gig teaching Shakespeare at the local high school. Principal Brenda Post (Stefanie Powers) hires Wayne for his natural theatrical talent and enthusiasm, but Wayne is soon surprising himself with his love of the job—and for fellow English teacher Amy (Virginia Williams), who is immediately impressed with Wayne’s passion and his idea to teach the students with an exciting film project. As Wayne’s understanding of teaching develops and his relationship with Amy evolves, he must ultimately decide if his dreams of stardom are really worth sacrificing everything for.
In Paris, six people all look for love, despite typically having their romantic aspirations dashed at every turn.
It’s all part of the plan as four friends in southern California decide to rob a music festival. The only problem; someone else already has their eye on the money.
Having just moved back to her hometown without her serviceman husband but with her young son, Gretchen Daniels finds her life in disarray as Christmas approaches. But she discovers new purpose when she helps to deliver a message to her neighbor, Melissa, which makes her an ally in the quest to find the neighbor’s sibling she never knew she had. The women become bonded not only by the search, but by the understanding that being there for each other means they’re no longer alone. This friendship becomes the greatest Christmas gift of their lives. Based on a bestselling novel by Donna VanLiere.
A retired auto manufacturer and his wife take a long-planned European vacation only to find that they want very different things from life.
A father doesn’t want his three daughters to get married. Now, it’s up to three men to try to and convince the father that they’re a good fit for his daughters.
In 1930s Paris, Madeleine, a pretty, young, penniless and talentless actress, is accused of murdering a famous producer. Helped by her best friend Pauline, a young unemployed lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. A new life of fame and success begins, until the truth comes out.
A Trans-Siberian train journey from China to Moscow becomes a thrilling chase of deception and murder when an American couple encounters a mysterious pair of fellow travelers.
Born out of wedlock early in the last century, Violette Leduc meets Simone de Beauvoir in postwar Saint-Germain-des-Près. An intense lifelong relationship develops between the two women authors, based on Violette’s quest for freedom through writing and on Simone’s conviction that she holds in her hands the destiny of an extraordinary writer.
One day, on a whim, Marc decides to shave off the moustache he’s worn all of his adult life. He waits patiently for his wife’s reaction, but neither she nor his friends seem to notice. Stranger still, when he finally tells them, they all insist he never had a moustache. Is Marc going mad? Is he the victim of some elaborate conspiracy? Or has something in the world’s order gone terribly awry?
A neglected wife (Mala Powers) unknowingly places her family in danger when she becomes friends with a psychologically disturbed deliveryman (James Best).
