A Paris banker framed for embezzlement and murder escapes Devil’s Island after serving 17 years, intent on exacting revenge on the 3 men responsible. Just how he does the latter involves mad science, and it has to be seen to be believed! Helmed by Tod Browning, and featuring the great Lionel Barrymore in drag—what’s not to love? Better than expected. This also reunited 2 of Barrymore’s fellow David Copperfield cast , Lawton and O’Sullivan. (Maureen O’Sullivan, Jane to Weismuller’s Tarzan in a number of pictures, was also the mother of Mia Farrow.)

Stylish psychiatric sudser from Vincente Minelli and a cast of Hollywood veterans amounts to little more than ridiculous, overheated melodrama about drapery. This decidedly odd picture lost MGM more than 1 million dollars in 1955 and probably set back the mental health industry by 10 years.

Allied commandos and Greek partisans team to destroy a massive gun emplacement on the Greek isle of Navarone, clearing the way for a naval evacuation of 2,000 isolated troops. This first-rate production is one of the better entries among the spate of big-budget WWII actioners from the late 1950s and early ’60s (besides being a critical success, it was the top-grossing film of 1961). Memorable performances from Peck, Niven, and Quinn make this well worth the price of ission; best is the charged scene (and aftermath) in which demolitions expert Niven, discovering sabotage, delivers a powerful monologue. Followed dubiously in 1978 by Force 10 from Navarone.