
Hollywood’s brightest stars and movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
When down-on-his-luck Broadway impresario Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) meets his discovery and former flame, Lily Garland (Carole Lombard), on the glamorous 20th Century Limited train between Chicago and New York, he uses every scheme at his disposal to win the movie star back both professionally and romantically. However, Lily, along with her new beau, George (Ralph Forbes), and Jaffe's rival producer, Max Jacobs (Charles Levison), who hired Lily to star in his latest play, have other plans.
Sweet-natured Alice Sycamore (Jean Arthur) falls for banker's son Tony Kirby (James Stewart). But when she invites her snooty prospective in-laws to dinner to give their blessing to the marriage, Alice's peculiar extended family -- including philosophical grandfather Martin Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore), hapless fledgling ballerina sister Essie (Ann Miller) and fireworks enthusiast father, Paul (Samuel S. Hinds) -- might be too eccentric for the staid Kirbys.
When the highly respected British statesman Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) refuses to pressure the Pope into annulling the marriage of King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw) and his Spanish-born wife, More's clashes with the monarch increase in intensity. A devout Catholic, More stands by his religious principles and moves to leave the royal court. Unfortunately, the King and his loyalists aren't appeased by this, and press forward with grave charges of treason, further testing More's resolve.
When hard-charging New York newspaper editor Walter Burns discovers that his ex-wife, investigative reporter Hildy Johnson, has gotten engaged to milquetoast insurance agent Bruce Baldwin, he unsuccessfully tries to lure her away from tame domestic life with a story about the impending execution of convicted murderer Earl Williams. But when Hildy discovers Williams may be innocent, her reporter instincts take over.
A police officer seems to have committed suicide, but Detective Dave Bannion thinks there's more to the story. After talking to the man's mob-connected mistress, Bannion discovers far-reaching corruption that leads all the way from the police station to kingpin Mike Lagana. But when the policeman's lover is killed, it becomes clear that crossing Lagana is a dangerous thing to do. Soon Bannion finds himself marked for death and his family in mortal danger.
When "Bubber" Reeves (Robert Redford) escapes from prison, it upsets the folks in the nearby town of Tarl, Texas. Sheriff Calder (Marlon Brando) wants to capture Reeves alive, which puts him in opposition to many of the townspeople who have resorted to mob justice. Businessman Val Rogers (E.G. Marshall) wants Calder to apprehend Reeves quickly, through any means, since he fears the criminal will come after Val's son, Jake, who is sleeping with Reeves' wife (Jane Fonda).
Jerry Kingsley (Fredric March) is a wealthy garment manufacturer left lonely in his 60s when his wife dies. Despite the difference in their ages, he strikes up a romance with divorced 24-year-old receptionist Betty (Kim Novak). The relationship is dismissed by his daughter, Lillian (Joan Copeland), discouraged by his sister, Evelyn (Edith Meiser), and denounced by Betty's mother (Glenda Farrell) -- but when Jerry begins to mention marriage, even Betty is forced to confront her ambivalence.
Sleuth Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) helps a wartime convict (Erik Rolf) framed for murder while out on parole.