WETA Cinema Classics (2024)

When his beloved train ‘The General’ is captured by Union spies, a Confederate engineer will do whatever he can to get his train back. Buster Keaton directs and stars in this silent comedy classic.

Set in 1930’s Alabama, a young girl nicknamed Scout recounts how her widowed father (Gregory Peck) defended a black man charged with raping a poor white woman in this classic adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison and Paul Henreid are entangled in an espionage thriller when both the British and Germans are after a Czech scientist in the early days of World War II.

Cinema legends Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn star in this classic cat-and-mouse, romantic thriller that features a murdered husband, missing money and three different henchman are in pursuit!

Charlton Heston portrays a Mexican narcotics officer on his honeymoon with his American wife (Janet Leigh) across the border. When a man is murdered, he is drawn into the mystery in this film noir directed by and co-starring Orson Welles.

Howard Hawks’ comedy classic pits ace reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) trying to move on from the newspaper business and her marriage to her editor (Cary Grant). The fast-talking duo wages a war of words in this fast-paced battle of the sexes that also stars Ralph Bellamy.

Ten people are invited for a weekend island getaway by a mysterious host. At dinner a record is played, accusing them each of murder and the threat of justice. Soon a guest is found dead. How long before no one will remain in this film adaptation starring Barry Fitzgerald of the iconic Agatha Christie novel?

A young woman (Margaret Lockwood) traveling across Europe by train stumbles on a mystery when an elderly fellow traveler goes missing, in one of the best-loved of Alfred Hitchco*ck’s British-made thrillers.

A vacationing Canadian in London (Robert Donat) stumbles upon a conspiracy that has him running from spies and murderers alongside blonde beauty Madeleine Carroll in this film directed by Alfred Hitchco*ck.

When a free spirit couple (Cary Grant and Constance Bennett) dies in a car accident, they return as ghosts, determined to shake up the stuffy lifestyle of banker Cosmo Topper (Roland Young).

Humphrey Bogart stars as one of five disreputable adventurers who are trying to get a vast fortune of uranium out of East Africa. Gina Lollobrigida and Peter Lorre co-star in this film directed by Bogart’s long-time friend John Huston.

Ten people are invited for a weekend island getaway by a mysterious host. At dinner a record is played, accusing them each of murder and the threat of justice. Soon a guest is found dead. How long before no one will remain in this film adaptation starring Barry Fitzgerald of the iconic Agatha Christie novel?

Suave and dashing jewel thief (Charles Boyer) meets beautiful girl (Hedy Lamarr) and gets caught in a love triangle in the mysterious Casbah in the native quarter of Algiers.

When her fiancé’s car accident brings together a woman (Annabella) and a stranger (David Niven), sparks fly. When her wealthy father is murdered, the daughter looks for those who might have plotted against him in this Romance - Mystery.

Cinema legends Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn star in this classic cat-and-mouse, romantic thriller that features a murdered husband, missing money and three different henchman are in pursuit!

William Powell stars as ace detective Philo Vance, who is put to the test when he tackles a murder in a locked room during a Long Island dog show. Michael Curtiz directs this adaptation of the S. S. Van Dine novel that also stars Mary Astor.

(1946) Holmes is asked by Watson to investigate the theft of an inexpensive music box at the home of a friend, who is later murdered. Three unsuspecting victims obtain the boxes at an auction and Holmes, with his faithful partner, Watson, follows their trail of death to the killer.

(1942) Sherlock Holmes rescues the inventor of a bomb-sight which the Allies want to keep from the Nazis. Holmes wears various disguises as he attempts to thwart Moriarty's efforts to deliver vital information to the Gestapo.

(1946) Sherlock Holmes is hired to protect a woman on a train returning to London with the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond. When the rare jewel is stolen and the son of its owner murdered, Holmes, with his trusted Watson by his side, must discover which of his suspicious fellow passengers is responsible.

Set is World War I, a soldier (John Gielgud) is sent to Switzerland on a secret mission to identify and kill a German agent, in this Alfred Hitchco*ck film that also stars Peter Lorre and Madeleine Carroll.

A young woman (Margaret Lockwood) traveling across Europe by train stumbles on a mystery when an elderly fellow traveler goes missing, in one of the best-loved of Alfred Hitchco*ck’s British-made thrillers.

A vacationing Canadian in London (Robert Donat) stumbles upon a conspiracy that has him running from spies and murderers alongside blonde beauty Madeleine Carroll in this film directed by Alfred Hitchco*ck.

Cynical pulp novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives in shadowy Vienna and is soon investigating the mysterious death of his old friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Martins soon learns that everything he thought about his friend was a lie, and thus begins an ever-thickening web of deception and murder.

A police detective (Cornell Wilde) is determined to smash the mob’s racket by finding the evidence to catch a gang boss (Richard Conte) with the help of the mobster’s old flame.

Postal inspector (Alan Ladd) works with nun to investigate the murder of a fellow officer. The inspector follows the trail and must soon thwart the biggest mail heist in history, in this film noir that also stars Jack Webb and Harry Morgan.

A hitchhiker’s (Tom Neal) luck goes from bad to worse when the man who gave him a ride suddenly dies. Worried that he might be accused of murder, he hides the body and takes on the man’s identity.

After a night on the town in San Francisco, small-town accountant (Edmond O’Brien) wakes up with more than a hangover as doctors tell him he's been poisoned and has a week to live. Not knowing who did it or why, the doomed man goes on a desperate search to find his own murderer in this classic film noir.

Based on a real-life event, two friends on a fishing trip (Edmond O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy) pick up a stranded motorist who turns out to be an escaped convict. The madman sad*stically threatens the two friends and perversely delights in telling them that he has them both marked for death sometime before the end of the trip. Directed by Ida Lupino.

After a casino heist goes wrong, a thief (Paul Henreid) goes on the run and assumes a new identity, which leads to new problems. Joan Bennett co-stars in this film noir that also features the film debut of Jack Webb.

Industrial whiz Walter Williams's two-timing wife tells her husband that she is not feeling well enough to travel, and asks Walter (Brian Donlevy) to give a lift to her cousin, Jim. On the highway, Jim tries to kill Walter but Walter survives and must move on with his life now that everyone thinks he’s dead.

Dick Powell is a married insurance adjuster living in post-War Los Angeles. Stuck in a routine, he becomes involved with a woman (Lizabeth Scott) who has been lavished with gifts from an embezzling boyfriend, and becomes caught in a dangerous affair.

A mild-mannered, middle-aged cashier and wannabe painter (Edward G. Robinson) saves a pretty, young woman of the streets (Joan Bennett) from her threatening boyfriend. The cashier soon becomes embroiled into the two’s life of crime and a cycle of destruction that he can’t escape.

John Ford directs this classic western about a group of strangers on their way through dangerous Apache territory, including an alcoholic doctor, a prostitute run out of town and a captured fugitive, played by John Wayne in his breakthrough role.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, the film tells the story of Jeb Stuart (Errol Flynn), his romance with Kit Carson Holliday (Olivia de Havilland), and friendship with George Armstrong Custer (future U.S. President Ronald Reagan) in the days leading up to the start of the Civil War.

Marlon Brando directs and stars as Rio, a bank robber on the run after being double-crossed by his partner in Mexico. Five years later, he tracks down his old partner (Karl Malden), now a sheriff in California.

A cattle baron takes in an orphan boy, against the wishes of the baron’s own son. Now men, the resentment turns into hatred as the two battle for the cattle baron’s empire. Burt Lancaster stars as the adopted son.

Two brothers find a dead body hidden on their Texas ranch and report it to the authorities. Soon after, the dark sheep of the family returns, in the form of Kid Wichita, their outlaw brother. Robert Preston stars as Kid Wichita, a man who may or may not be as he seems.

Jane Russell stirs up trouble as the center of attention of Sheriff Pat Garrett, his gunslinger friend Doc Holliday and outlaw Billy the Kid in this Western directed by Howard Hughes.

A fearless lawman (Randolph Scott) stands between unruly cattlemen and a group of determined homesteaders as the two factions vie for control of the government land bordering the town.

Businessman Jim Fallon (Kirk Douglas) plans to take advantage of a new law and make millions off California redwood. A nearby Quaker colony is very protective of the giant sequoias, and the greedy timber man soon realizes that this won’t be an easy task.

Loosely based on Shakespeare’s 'The Taming of the Shrew', John Wayne stars as a cattle baron whose daughter is due home from college. Unfortunately, his equally stubborn estranged wife (Maureeen O’Hara) returns as well.

Based on true events, special agent from Chicago (Randolph Scott) is sent to infiltrate the notorious Reno Brothers gang as they terrorize Indiana in 1866. Complications develop in the form of conflicted feelings that the agent has with the Reno sister.

Roy Rogers is a border agent investigating silver smuggling over the Mexican border, alongside Dale Evans and Andy Devine in this singing cowboy picture that features the Sons of the Pioneers.

When a free spirit couple (Cary Grant and Constance Bennett) dies in a car accident, they return as ghosts, determined to shake up the stuffy lifestyle of banker Cosmo Topper (Roland Young).

When Oliver Hardy is dumped by his true love, he and friend Stan Laurel sign up for the French Foreign Legion. Misadventures and shenanigans ensue as one of cinema’s funniest duos blunder their way through one of their funniest movies.

Before his music shop goes under, James Stewart moves to the big city to work at his uncle‘s factory. He gets caught in the middle of a feud between his uncle and a neighboring musical family, and catches the eye of the singing daughter (Paulette Goddard).

When ghost Constance Bennett inadvertently causes a rift in her friend Cosmo Topper’s marriage, she works to reunite the couple and gain entry into heaven.

Stuffy banker turned ghost whisperer Cosmo Topper (Roland Young) is tormented by another mischievous spirit. This time it's a beautiful girl, accidentally murdered while vacationing at the home of her wealthy friend, the intended victim. With Topper's help, the pretty ghost sets out to find her killer with hilarious results.

A romantic comedy of manners finds fogbound divorce-lawyer Everard Logan (Laurence Olivier in one of his early roles) sharing his hotel suite with the beguiling Leslie (Merle Oberon), and the fall out the next day.

When his beloved train ‘The General’ is captured by Union spies, a Confederate engineer will do whatever he can to get his train back. Buster Keaton directs and stars in this silent comedy classic.

Bing Crosby stars as Father O'Malley, who is transferred to a soon-to-be-condemned school run by Sister Benedict (Ingrid Bergman), where they have different ideas for turning the place around.

Fred Astaire and Burgess Meredith are aging undergrads and rival trumpeters, each with their sights set on getting the other one fired, and winning the affection of the band manager (Paulette Goddard).

Newspaperman (Pat O'Brien) is quitting the business and getting married. Conniving editor (Adolphe Menjou) will do anything to make sure his star reporter works on one last story about a possible innocent man who is about to be hanged.

A doting father (Spencer Tracy) faces a series of comic trials when his newlywed daughter (Elizabeth Taylor) announces she is expecting her first child. The family comedy also stars Joan Bennett and Don Taylor.

George Murphy and Ronald Reagan star in a tale of a father and son who put on a musical stage show before the son marches off to war. Featuring music by Irving Berlin, numerous stars and over 350 real-life GIs, the film raised nearly $2 million towards the Army Emergency Relief effort.

Danny Kaye stars in this musical farce as a simple man in a traveling medicine show who is mistaken by the corrupt town officials as a passing Inspector General. Worried that he will uncover their scheme, they make several bungled attempts to kill the hapless fool.

Howard Hawks’ comedy classic pits ace reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) trying to move on from the newspaper business and her marriage to her editor (Cary Grant). The fast-talking duo wages a war of words in this fast-paced battle of the sexes that also stars Ralph Bellamy.

Cyrano (Jose Ferrer in an Oscar-winning performance) is admired by his men for his courage, swordsmanship and mighty wit but he is hopelessly lost in love and unable to profess his feelings to the beautiful Roxane out of fear he will be rejected because of his appearance.

Michel (Charles Boyer) and Terry (Irene Dunne) meet on a ship and fall in love. Unfortunately, they are both engaged to be married to someone else. They agree to meet six months later, at the top of the Empire State Building, if neither of them has married.

Suave and dashing jewel thief (Charles Boyer) meets beautiful girl (Hedy Lamarr) and gets caught in a love triangle in the mysterious Casbah in the native quarter of Algiers.

When her fiancé’s car accident brings together a woman (Annabella) and a stranger (David Niven), sparks fly. When her wealthy father is murdered, the daughter looks for those who might have plotted against him in this Romance - Mystery.

Harry Graham (Edmond O'Brien) and his wife (Joan Fontaine) are trying to adopt a baby. When the adoption agency director (Edmund Gwenn) starts to investigate Harry’s background, he soon uncovers more than he expected. Lupino also stars.