Sony Pictures Choice Collection
Here’s the latest batch of titles releasing under the Sony Pictures Choice Collection manufacture-on-demand program:
Vanity Street (1932)
Detective Brian Murphy (Charles Bickford, “A Star Is Born,” 1954) goes soft for down-on-her-luck Jeanie Gregg (Helen Chandler, “Dracula,” 1931), and helps her get back on her feet by getting her a job as a showgirl with the local Follies. But when Jeanie is falsely accused of murder, it’s up to Brian to find the real killer.
Run Wild, Run Free (1969)
Philip (Mark Lester, “Oliver!”) is a young autistic boy living in the countryside of Northern England. With no explanation for his condition, Philip’s parents search for answers without any success. When Philip encounters a rare white pony with blue eyes, he ends up meeting The Moorman (John Mills, “Ryan’s Daughter”), a retired colonel who is sympathetic to his condition, and, shortly thereafter, Diana (Fiona Fullerton, “A View to a Kill”), a young girl his age. With the newfound friendships in his life, Philip begins to open up, but will it last for long?
Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966)
A poor-but-proud man, Jonas Trapp (Chuck Connors, “Soylent Green”) insists his rich, new bride Jessie (Kathryn Hays, TV’s “As the World Turns”) leave her pampered life in Cold Iron and join him in Kansas, where he’ll work as a buffalo hunter. Rebuffed, Jonas goes alone. And now, 11 years later, he’s back to reclaim his wife with the $17,000 he’s earned. When Jonas is savagely attacked on the outskirts of town, he stops at nothing to avenge himself upon the men who beat, branded and robbed him: sadistic dandy Johnsy Boy Hood (Bill Bixby, TV’s “The Incredible Hulk”), babbling drunk Elwood Coates (Claude Akins, “Rio Bravo”) and crooked banker Brooks Durham (Michael Rennie, “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” 1951), who is courting Jessie, now an embittered woman who believes Jonas is dead.
Pennies From Heaven (1936)
Legendary crooner Bing Crosby sings and dances his way through this charming and delightful story of a wanderer who drifts into the lives and hearts of the residents of the small town of Middletown, New Jersey. Featuring music and lyrics by Johnny Burke and Arthur Johnston – including the classics “So Do I,” “Pennies from Heaven” (1936 Academy Award-nominee for Best Music — Song), “Skeleton in the Closet” and “Let’s Call a Heart a Heart” – and with supporting performances by the amazing Louis Armstrong, the beautiful Madge Evans (“Army Girl”) and the talented Edith Fellows “(Music In My Heart”), “Pennies From Heaven” is one of the crown jewels from the golden age of Hollywood, when real stars weren’t found only in heaven … and a fistful of pennies still went a long way.
“QB VII” (1974)
Adapted from the worldwide best-seller by Leon Uris, “QB VII” tells the compelling story of the gripping court battle between a Polish-born doctor and the American author who accuses him of having performed atrocious experiments on concentration camp prisoners during World War II. Starring an international cast including Ben Gazzara, Anthony Hopkins, Leslie Caron, Juliet Mills, Dan O’Herlihy and Lee Remick, “QB VII” is superlative drama and epic entertainment.
“Brainscan” (1994)
When a lonely teenager (Edward Furlong, “American History X”) orders the latest interactive video game, the high-tech wizardry penetrates his subconscious, where his darkest impulses lead him through a deadly maze of murder, deception and desire. Pursued by a homicide detective (Frank Langella) and prodded by The Trickster (T. Ryder Smith, “Birth”), he is torn between the worlds of good and evil, reality and fantasy, and — ultimately — life and death.
“Screamers” (1996)
The year is 2078. The man is rebel Alliance Commander Col. Joseph Hendricksson (Peter Weller, “RoboCop,” 1987), assigned to protect the Sirius 6B outpost from ravage and plunder at the hands of the New Economic Bloc. His state-of-the-art weaponry is known as Screamers: man-made killing devices programmed to eliminate all enemy life forms. Screamers travel underground, their intent to kill announced by ear-piercing shrieks. They dissect their victims with precision, then eradicate all traces of the carnage. They are lethal. Effective. Tidy. And, somehow, they are mutating and self-replicating into human form and slaughtering every beating heart on the planet.
“Best Man Wins” (1948)
Based on a story by Mark Twain, “Best Man Wins” stars Edgar Buchanan (TV’s “Petticoat Junction”) as Jim Smiley, a man who has never seen a bet that he didn’t like. His latest gambit involves Daniel Webster, a bullfrog who could jump higher than any other — and on command. But Jim’s wagering ways may cost him the love of his wife (Anna Lee, “How Green Was My Valley”), who may leave him for another man.
“Girl in the Case” (1944)
William Warner (Edmund Lowe, “Dillinger”) is a lawyer who is famous for his skill at opening any kind of lock, making him a valuable commodity. William is unknowingly enlisted by German spies who want him to open a chest containing a secret formula. This leads to a madcap adventure involving spies, the police and lots of picked locks! Also starring Janis Carter (“Flying Leathernecks”), “Girl in the Case” is an entertaining comedy-adventure
