There’s an indescribable feeling that happens when you sit back and relax with a classic film. The argument can be made that the stars of the silver screen shine brightest in motion pictures from yesteryear. From the 1920s to the ’80s and beyond, there are so many unforgettable stars who have impacted our lives in our memory’s equivalent of celebrities leaving their handprints in the sidewalk outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. So our latest sale honors the past while introducing amazing films to a new generation. Here are just some of the titles featured in this Legends for Less sale!
Wings (1927)
Thrilling aerial combat scenes highlight director William Wellman’s silent WWI saga, winner of the first Best Picture Academy Award. Richard Arlen and Charles “Buddy” Rogers are small-town best friends, in love with the same girl, who enlist in the Army Air Corps to fight in Europe. Clara Bow is a France-based ambulance driver from back home, and Gary Cooper–in an early role–plays a cocky cadet.
Boots and Saddles (1937)
Gene Autry is foreman of a horse ranch whose new owner turns out to be a spoiled English youngster, Edward (Ronald Sinclair), the young Earl of Granville. Along with teaching the lad about Western life, Gene has to contend with a scheming competitor, a colonel’s feisty daughter, a barn fire, and the well-meaning blunders of sidekick Smiley Burnette. With Judith Allen, Ra Hould.
In Old Missouri (1940)
An Ozarks sharecropping family (vaudeville stars The Weaver Brothers and Elviry) gets a taste of high society when their stressed-out landlord signs over control of his financial empire to them in this song-filled backwoods comedy that predates “The Beverly Hillbillies” by two decades. With Thurston Hall, June Storey, and a young Alan Ladd as Hall’s son.
A Song to Remember (1945)
This classic Hollywood biodrama dramatizes the life and work of 19th-century composer Frédéric Chopin (Cornel Wilde). Forced to escape Poland after insulting the new governor, Chopin accompanies his mentor (Paul Muni) to Paris, where his successes take root. Merle Oberon plays the love of Chopin’s life, writer George Sand; Nina Foch, George Coulouris co-star.
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Ladies and gentlemen…Welcome to Cecil B. DeMille’s Best Picture Oscar-winning look at life under the big top. See lion-tamers and acrobats! Be amazed at death-defying stunts and incredible train wrecks! Charlton Heston stars as the manager of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus who has his hands full dealing with feuding trapeze artists (one of whom is his girlfriend), crooked midway games, a clown with a mysterious past, and more. With Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour.
The Far Horizons (1955)
Bold historical drama chronicles the intrepid 1804-1806 journey of American explorers Lewis and Clark. Following the U.S.’ acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from the French, Meriwether Lewis (Fred MacMurray), William Clark (Charlton Heston), and their Native American guide Sacagawea (Donna Reed) set out to find a waterway that would connect St. Louis and the Pacific Ocean. Barbara Hale co-stars. AKA: “Untamed West.”
Blue Hawaii (1961)
Elvis Presley sings 14 songs and still manages to drive sightseers around the islands in golf carts in this lush musical. Back home in Hawaii after being discharged from the Army, Chad Gates (Presley) is pressured to work with his father in the fruit business. Instead, Chad takes a much more enjoyable gig as a tour guide with his girlfriend’s agency. Angela Lansbury, Joan Blackman, Roland Winters also star. Features the title tune, “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “Rock-a-Hula Baby,” and more.
Truck Turner (1974)
Isaac Hayes stars as two-fisted bounty hunter Turner, tracking down bail jumpers in the inner city. When his latest quarry is murdered, a contract is taken out on his life, and hunter becomes hunted! Explosive urban actioner, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, also stars Yaphet Kotto, Nichelle Nichols; look for cameos by the great Dick Miller and “Our Gang” alumnus Stymie Beard.
The China Syndrome (1979)
Released two weeks before the Three Mile Island accident, this taut thriller is set at a California nuclear plant where an emergency shutdown is caught on film by a TV news crew. As the journalists and a veteran plant engineer uncover unsafe practices stemming from the “minor incident” that could lead to a catastrophic meltdown, they also find their lives are in danger. Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Jack Lemmon, and Wilford Brimley star.
The King’s Speech (2010)
Four Academy Awards─including Best Picture, Director, and Actor─went to this biopic of 1930s Britain’s King George VI. Colin Firth shines as the monarch whose stuttering is seen as a liability in an age when leaders must be appealing on the radio and in newsreels. George (then Prince Albert) turns to Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) for help before ascending to the throne in the wake of his father’s death and his older brother’s unexpected abdication. Helena Bonham Carter also stars.
For a complete overview of titles featured in this sale, click here!