Melodrama
Melodramas, technicolor epics and romance, in chronological order
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- DirectorFrancesca BertiniGustavo SerenaStarsFrancesca BertiniGustavo SerenaCarlo BenettiAssunta Spina is a tragedy set in Naples at the beginning of the twentieth century. Assunta and Michele are in love but others come between them and there is much jealousy. They fight and Michele is sent to prison for two years for assault. Nevertheless, because Assunta still loves Michele she is vulnerable when Federigo offers to help Michele but only if Assunta becomes his mistress. Michele is released early from prison, finds Assunta and Federigo together and kills Federigo. When the police arrive, Assunta takes the blame for Michele's crime.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsVictor SjöströmEdith ErastoffJohn EkmanA stranger comes to work at widow Halla's farm.
- DirectorMarshall NeilanStarsMary PickfordIda WatermanHerbert StandingTwo young women - a paraplegic girl sheltered by her wealthy guardians and a more experienced orphan - fall in love with a man separated from his violent wife.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsTula BelleRobin MacdougallEdwin E. ReedWith the aid and guidance of a magical fairy, two peasant children set out in search of the elusive "Blue Bird of Happiness".
- DirectorWilliam WorthingtonStarsSessue HayakawaTsuru AokiEdward Peil Sr.A wild man and genius becomes a master painter's disciple, but loses his divine gift when he finds love.
- DirectorSidney FranklinStarsSylvia BreamerRosemary ThebyConrad NagelAs children, Clyde meets Miriam, and seem to fall in love, but when they get older, a misunderstanding prevents their marrying, and he instead takes Winifred, a social climber, resulting in a loveless union. Miriam has a mysterious second sight and can see the conniving Henry that is pursuing her, has deceived a woman terribly in the past, the woman being Winfred.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsVictor SjöströmHilda BorgströmTore SvennbergOn New Year's Eve, the driver of a ghostly carriage forces a drunken man to reflect on his selfish, wasted life.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsGloria SwansonRudolph ValentinoEdythe ChapmanA young woman marries an older millionaire and then falls in love with a handsome nobleman on her honeymoon.
- DirectorJean EpsteinStarsLéon MathotGina ManèsEdmond Van DaëleMarie wants to escape from her job and also from her lover, Paul, an unemployed drunk. She dreams of going off with Jean, a dockworker. The two men quarrel and fight over Marie on two occasions, but Paul retains a hold over her. Marie has a baby who falls ill and as time goes on Jean and a crippled neighbor try to help the child. Paul nearly causes the death of the child whilst in a drunken stupor and in a final struggle that occurs, the crippled woman seizes Paul's gun and shoots him dead.
- DirectorMauritz StillerStarsLars HansonSven ScholanderEllen Hartman-CederströmA drunkard priest who has been cast out by his community struggles to atone and regain his honour and dignity.
- DirectorJacques de BaroncelliStarsSandra MilovanoffCharles VanelThomy BourdelleFaithfully reproduced observations of Breton fisherfolk in story of the man a local woman really loves who will not at first give himself to her because of his fondness for the sea that takes him away.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsVirginia ValliCarmelita GeraghtyMiles ManderTwo couples' romances are fancifully intertwined.
- DirectorMonta BellStarsRicardo CortezGreta GarboGertrude OlmsteadA young girl and her father are kicked out of their house by a cruel noblewoman, and the girl's heart is broken when her sweetheart, the noblewoman's son, won't go to Paris with them. After becoming an opera star in Paris, the girl returns to her homeland and finds her romance with the nobleman rekindled.
- DirectorFred NibloMauritz StillerStarsGreta GarboAntonio MorenoMarc McDermottAn architect tries suppressing his passion for a seductive woman.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsJanet GaynorCharles FarrellBen BardA street cleaner saves a young woman's life, and the pair slowly fall in love until war intervenes.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCarl BrissonLillian Hall-DavisIan HunterTwo boxers compete for the love of a woman.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsLillian GishLars HansonMontagu LoveA frail young woman from the East moves in with her cousin in the West, where she causes tension within the family and is slowly driven mad.
- DirectorWalter FyrstStarsTryggve LarssenBengt DjurbergJulie LampeThe motherless moose calf acts like a cow, and the strange animal is the start of a lot of stories. Hunter's aren't interesting in hunting him down, except one. He has decided to do it in, the troll-moose.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeRobert J. FlahertyStarsMonte BlueRaquel TorresRobert AndersonAn alcoholic doctor on a Polynesian island, disgusted by white exploitation of the natives, finds himself marooned on a pristinely beautiful island.
- DirectorFred NibloStarsGreta GarboConrad NagelGustav von SeyffertitzAn attractive Russian spy seduces an Austrian officer in order to get some important plans, but when she actually falls in love with him, both of them are placed in a dangerous situation.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsBetty BalfourJean BradinFerdinand von AltenA spoiled heiress defies her father by running off to marry her lover. However, Daddy has a few tricks up his sleeve.
- DirectorFranz OstenStarsHimanshu RaiCharu RoySeeta Devi Jr.A historical romance set in the Mughal Empire. Selima (Enakshi) is a princess-foundling raised by a potter and loved by her brother, Shiraz (Rai). She is abducted and sold as a slave to Prince Khurram, later Emperor Shah Jehan (Roy), who falls for her, to the chagrin of the wily Dalia (Seeta Devi). When Selima is caught with Shiraz, the young man is condemned to be trampled to death by an elephant. A pendant reveals Selima's royal status and she saves her brother, marries the prince and becomes Empress Mumtaz Mahal while Dalia is banned for her machinations against Selima. When Selima dies (1629), the emperor builds her a monument to the design of the now old and blind Shiraz, the Taj Mahal. The film contains a number of passionate kissing scenes.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsGreta GarboJohn GilbertLewis StoneWhen two childhood sweethearts are kept from marrying, misery ensues.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnny OndraCarl BrissonMalcolm KeenA fisherman and a rising young lawyer, who grew up as brothers, fall in love with the same girl.
- DirectorSidney FranklinStarsGreta GarboLewis StoneNils AstherA prince in Java tries to seduce his visitor's wife, but he's discovered.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsRamon NovarroRenée AdoréeDonald CrispA carefree South Seas native falls for the half-caste ward of a religious white man who desires her for himself.
- DirectorGeorge SchnéevoigtStarsMona MårtensonTryggve LarssenHarald SchwenzenA spirited Norwegian Lass is torn between two suitors and two cultures.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsCharles FarrellRose HobartEstelle TaylorLiliom learns his wife is pregnant and robs a bank. During the getaway, he is killed and given a chance to return to Earth. He quickly learns the only way to make his wife and daughter happy is to leave them with cherished memories.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinVirginia CherrillFlorence LeeWith the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsAnne ChevalierMatahiHituOn the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, a young couple's love is threatened when the tribal chief declares the girl a sacred virgin.
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlBéla BalázsStarsLeni RiefenstahlMathias WiemanBeni FührerWhen the moon is full, young men die attempting to reach the mysterious blue light in the mountains.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsDolores Del RíoJoel McCreaJohn HallidayA native girl falls for a visitor to her island, but she's chosen to be sacrificed to the volcano god.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.
- DirectorJean VigoStarsDita ParloJean DastéGilles MargaritisNewly married couple Juliette and a ship captain Jean struggle through marriage as they travel on the L'atalante along with the captain's first mate Le père Jules and a cabin boy.
- DirectorHenri de la FalaiseStarsPoetoe Aloes GoestiBagus Mara GoestiSaplak NjomanIn Bali, a young woman falls in love with a musician, but he may have eyes for her half-sister.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsKatharine HepburnFred MacMurrayFred StoneA working-class girl is thwarted and embarrassed in her attempts to move up socially by her gauche family and unstable father.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsHansi KnoteckEllen FrankFriedrich KayßlerIn this rural film drama, an unwed mother, shunned by her conservative community, goes to court to try to salvage her reputation.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantBrian AherneWhen her father decides to flee to England, young Sylvia Scarlett must become Sylvester Scarlett and protect her father every step of the way, with the questionable help of plenty others.
- DirectorFrank WisbarStarsSybille SchmitzAribert MogCarl de VogtA beautiful young drifter comes to a small village and battles Death itself to save the man she loves.
- DirectorBoris BarnetSamad MardanovStarsYelena KuzminaLev SverdlinNikolay KryuchkovTwo best friends shipwreck on an island in the Caspian Sea and fall in love with the same woman while helping the villagers of their new home.
- DirectorFrank WisbarStarsSybille SchmitzJean GallandIlse AbelThe body of an unknown beautiful woman is fished out of the river and leaves the policemen wondering what drove the girl to such a grisly fate. The film then flashes back to months before, showing the torrid love affair between a young cabaret singer and a rich playboy that ultimately results in tragedy for the girl.
- DirectorWilhelm ThieleStarsDorothy LamourRay MillandAkim TamiroffChristopher Powell is in Malaysia with his fiancée and her father, capturing wild animals. While out hunting, he is attacked by a tiger, and his native guides run away, leaving him for dead. But the tiger is the pet of Ulah, a beautiful young woman who grew up by herself in the jungle. She rescues Chris and takes him back to her cave, where she nurses him to health and falls in love with him. When he eventually returns to camp, she follows. The fiancée is jealous, and the natives don't like Ulah or her pet tiger either, all of which leads to a lot of trouble.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsRonald ColmanJane WyattEdward Everett HortonWhen a revered diplomat's plane is diverted and crashes in the peaks of Tibet, he and the other survivors are guided to an isolated monastery at Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invitation to stay.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsNiall MacGinnisBelle ChrystallJohn LaurieA way of life is dying on an Outer Hebridean island fishing port, but some of the inhabitants resist evacuating to the mainland.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsZarah LeanderWilly BirgelEdwin JürgensenIn 1846 the actress Gloria Vane is performing at the Adelphi Theatre, London. She is in love with the destitute nobleman Albert Finsbury, who is shortly departing to Australia to become an officer in the Queen's regiment. He is supposed to pay his debts before leaving and uses an altered cheque to do so. After Finsbury has left, the forgery is discovered. To protect him, Gloria claims responsibility and is sentenced to 7 years in the notorious Paramatta prison, Sydney. From prison she sends a note to him asking for help, but he does not reply. An Aussie seller falls in love with her and asks her to marry him - she agrees, but only so she can get out of prison. When she finds out Finsbury is planning to marry the Governor's daughter, she is heartbroken. Finsbury finally finds her, but she no longer loves him.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsDorothy LamourJon HallMary AstorA Polynesian sailor unjustly imprisoned after defending himself against a colonial bully is relentlessly persecuted by his island's martinet French governor.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsZarah LeanderJulia SerdaFerdinand MarianTrapped in Puerto Rico, a beautiful young Swede is torn between her passionate, but mildly abusive Caribbean oligarch husband and her longing for her European homeland.
- DirectorWilliam CottrellDavid HandWilfred JacksonStarsAdriana CaselottiHarry StockwellLucille La VerneExiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinMichel SimonMichèle MorganA military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsGeorge RaftHenry FondaDorothy LamourFriends since childhood, two men are on opposite sides in a salmon fishing conflict.
- DirectorTeuvo TulioStarsKaarlo OksanenRakel LinnanheimoMirjami KuosmanenAbout Olavi, a farmer's son who leaves his home after a dispute with his father and leads a life of a womanizing logger.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerMaria OuspenskayaA French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsIngrid BergmanLeslie HowardEdna BestA violinist's piano accompanist retires. He hears his daughter's piano teacher (Ingrid Bergman) play, asks her to play on his next international tour, and they fall in love.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsGreta GarboMelvyn DouglasIna ClaireA stern Soviet woman sent to Paris to supervise the sale of jewels seized from Russian nobles finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
- DirectorTeuvo TulioStarsSirkka SalonenOlga TainioKaarlo OksanenDrama about a young woman in rural Finland in the 1930s. The small village provides a scene for intrigues, fights, love, jealousy, accusations, and revenge.
- DirectorLeopold LindtbergStarsAlfred RasserAnne-Marie BlancPaul HubschmidWhile on a longer business trip, a wannabe poet urges his beautiful but more simple wife to answer his overly swollen love letters. With no idea how to respond she forwards the letters to a new young school teacher to use his answers instead...
- DirectorJohn BaxterStarsDeborah KerrClifford EvansGeorge CarneyDuring the Depression in England, a young lady from Lancashire decides to be a rich bookmaker's mistress, just to help the rest of her unemployed family.
- DirectorErle C. KentonStarsJean HersholtDorothy LovettRobert BaldwinDr. Christian takes time out from his appointed rounds to help clear a bank teller of embezzlement charges.
- DirectorAlfred SantellStarsDorothy LamourJon HallLynne OvermanA young South Seas native boy is sent to the U.S. for his education, but he returns to his island after his father dies to try to stop a revolution.
- DirectorValerien SchmidelyHans TrommerStarsMargrit WinterErwin KohlundEmil GyrA few leagues from Seldwyla, in the Zurich countryside, two children, Sali Mantz and Vreneli Marti, form an inseparable pair of playmates. Unfortunately, their farming parents, who have always been friends, are at odds with each other over the purchase of an adjoining field.Sali and Vreneli don't see each other again until much later and fall in love, but their parents still hate each other fiercely. Despite everything, the young couple will try to live their forbidden love.
- DirectorJean GrémillonStarsJean GabinMadeleine RenaudMichèle MorganThe captain of the tugboat Cyclone, André Laurent, rushes off to save the Mirva. He abandons his sick wife Yvonne and the couple celebrating their marriage. In the early morning, the Cyclone tugs the Mirva ashore with Catherine aboard.
- DirectorMax HauflerStarsAdolf ManzMarion CherbuliezTherese Giehse
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsTyrone PowerJoan FontaineThomas MitchellAlthough she comes from an aristocratic family, beautiful Prudence Cathaway defies convention by joining the WAAFs and becoming romantically involved with an AWOL soldier.
- DirectorAlfred SantellStarsDorothy LamourRichard DenningJack HaleyA circus lion tamer, his girlfriend, a publicist and a professor travel to the Malayan jungle to find proof to the claim that a beautiful woman raised there might be the rightful heiress to an American family's fortune.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsFredric MarchVeronica LakeRobert BenchleyA beautiful 17th-century witch returns to life to plague politician Wallace Wooley, descendant of her persecutor.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
- DirectorLeopold LindtbergHermann HallerFranz SchnyderStarsJosiane HeggGermaine TournierHeinrich GretlerAmidst the Nazi invasion of France in 1942, a young girl is evacuated to Switzerland but is still haunted by the terrors she has witnessed.
- DirectorHans SteinhoffStarsOlga TschechowaSiegfried BreuerAngelika HauffIn the wake of a car accident Nora saves Stefan's life, and they fall in love but lose touch during his convalescence. Stefan searches for her, meets and is infatuated with feisty young Christine who happens to be Nora's daughter.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsArlettyJean-Louis BarraultPierre BrasseurThe theatrical life of a beautiful courtesan in 1830s Paris and the four men who love her.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsWendy HillerRoger LiveseyPamela BrownA young Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. When the weather keeps them separated on different islands, she begins to have second thoughts.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsCelia JohnsonTrevor HowardStanley HollowayMeeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsGene TierneyCornel WildeJeanne CrainA writer falls in love with a young socialite and they're soon married, but her obsessive love for him threatens to be the undoing of them both as well as everyone around them.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?
- DirectorHelmut KäutnerStarsHannelore SchrothCarl RaddatzGustav KnuthTwo barge skippers fall in love with the same woman.
- DirectorJean CocteauRené ClémentStarsJean MaraisJosette DayMila ParélyA beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDavid NivenKim HunterRobert CooteA British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsJohn MillsValerie HobsonTony WagerA humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.
- DirectorGeorges LacombeStarsMarlene DietrichJean GabinJean d'YdThe local building contractor Martin Roumagnac is fascinated by the fashionable Blanche Ferrand. To impress Blanche, Martin presents her with a villa. However, this ruins him financially. Despite Martin's many efforts for the femme fatale Blanche, she is not able to chose between him and the rich consul De Laubry.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsEdward G. RobinsonLon McCallisterJudith AndersonAn old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandoned farmhouse, located deep in the woods.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDeborah KerrDavid FarrarFlora RobsonA group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
- DirectorLewis AllenStarsJohn HodiakLizabeth ScottBurt LancasterThe daughter of a Nevada casino owner gets involved with a racketeer, despite everyone's efforts to separate them.
- DirectorVictor SavilleStarsWalter PidgeonDeborah KerrAngela LansburyLaurie Anderson reflects on her relationship with her beloved terrier Lolabelle.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJoan FontaineLouis JourdanMady ChristiansA pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember, who may hold the key to his downfall.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsRobert NewtonAlec GuinnessKay WalshIn Charles Dickens' classic tale, an orphan wends his way from cruel apprenticeship to den of thieves in search of a true home.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsAnton WalbrookMarius GoringMoira ShearerA young ballet dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.
- DirectorBernard VorhausStarsTurhan BeyLynn BariCathy O'DonnellOn the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf; then meets a tall dark man Alexis, who seems to know all about such things.
- DirectorYves AllégretStarsBernard BlierSimone SignoretMarcello PaglieroDedee is a prostitute who works in Monsieur Rene's nightclub on Antwerp's harbour. The porter is Marco, her pimp. Dedee is not happy until she meets Francesco, an Italian sailor. They fall in love and Dedee starts to dream about escaping her daily dull grind.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsLuchino ViscontiAntonio PietrangeliAntonio ArcidiaconoIn rural Sicily, the fishermen live at the mercy of the greedy wholesalers. One family risks everything to buy their own boat and operate independently.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsLamberto MaggioraniEnzo StaiolaLianella CarellIn post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
- DirectorGiuseppe De SantisStarsVittorio GassmanDoris DowlingSilvana ManganoTwo criminals on the run end up working in a rice field and decide to recruit other workers for their next robbery.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûSetsuko HaraYumeji TsukiokaSeveral people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsOlivia de HavillandMontgomery CliftRalph RichardsonA naive young woman falls for a handsome young man her emotionally abusive father suspects is only a fortune hunter.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsSam WanamakerLea PadovaniKathleen RyanOne of the few (if any at the time this film was made) films shot in England with New York City's 'Little Italy" as the locale. This was Edward Dmytryk's first film after he had refused to tell a Congressional Committee whether or not he was, or had ever been, a member of the Communist Party. This is a 'runaway production' shot in England for political reasons and not for the usual USA tax-break reasons. Geremio, a young Italian immigrant to New York City, works as a bricklayer and is courting an Italian girl, Annunziata, by mail. He lies to her that he owns his own home and, after they are married, has to rent one for their three-day honeymoon. The years pass and they are unable to save enough money to get out of their slum tenement, and the 1929 depression brings even harder times to the family that now includes three children. Geremio, in order to make enough money to care for his family, exploits his "comrades" in dangerous construction work. This practice leads to the accidental death of his best friend, and, in grief, Geremio also becomes unfaithful to his wife. The messages of the film -- life is aimless and no man can judge the true worth of another man -- are pounded on for most of the two-hour running time.
- DirectorClyde GeronimiWilfred JacksonHamilton LuskeStarsIlene WoodsJames MacDonaldEleanor AudleyWhen Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq and from her Fairy Godmother.
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsIngrid BergmanMario VitaleRenzo CesanaKarin, a young woman from the Baltic countries, marries fisherman Antonio to escape from a prison camp. But she cannot get used to the tough life in Antonio's volcano-threatened village, Stromboli.