When a conservative middle-aged professor engages in a minor dalliance with a femme fatale, he is plunged into a nightmarish quicksand of blackmail and murder.
After her husband is killed by Hagen (Hans von Schlettow), Kriemhild (Margarethe Schon) develops an intricate revenge plot. But Kriemhild also has to overcome her brothers, who long ago swore allegiance to Hagen. She flees to Burgundy to marry Etzel (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), king of the Huns. When she bears a child, she invites her brothers for a party, which soon turns deadly as the Huns attack Kriemhild's brothers and Hagen. War is declared, and Kriemhild loses more than she bargained for.
A new crime wave grips the city and all clues seem to lead to the nefarious Dr. Mabuse, even though he has been imprisoned in a mental asylum for nearly a decade.
This silent film, based on the pulp novel by Norbert Jacques, follows the devious schemes of criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge). Using disguises and hypnosis, as well as an assortment of henchmen, Mabuse begins to amass a fortune, with gambling and murder factoring heavily into his plans. Though the villain is careful to cover his tracks, a resourceful police inspector (Bernhard Goetzke) remains determined to put Mabuse behind bars.
Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March (Joan Bennett). Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny (Dan Duryea), a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Dan find out that art dealers are interested in Chris' work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.
After Siegfried (Paul Richter), a nearly invulnerable warrior prince, hears of the beauty of Princess Kriemhild (Margarethe Schon), he travels to Burgundy to meet her. To impress her brother, King Gunther (Theodor Loos), Siegfried ventures to Iceland with him, where he helps Gunther win over Brunhild (Hanna Ralph). The appreciative Gunther approves of Siegfried's marriage to Kriemhild. However, hungry for more power, Brunhild spreads lies about Siegfried, leading to a fateful clash.
Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) is an innocent man wrongly accused of a horrible crime while on his way to meet his fiancée, Katherine Grant (Sylvia Sidney). Held at a local jail, Joe is confronted by a frenzied mob and presumed dead after a massive fire. When his attackers aren't brought to justice, Joe, who narrowly escaped the blaze, resurfaces, intent on revenge. Katherine tries to dissuade him from carrying out his vengeful plan, but Joe's anger isn't easily dampened.
A police officer seems to have committed suicide, but Detective Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) 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 (Alexander Scourby). 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.
This influential German science-fiction film presents a highly stylized futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia exists above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. When the privileged youth Freder (Gustav Fröhlich) discovers the grim scene under the city, he becomes intent on helping the workers. He befriends the rebellious teacher Maria (Brigitte Helm), but this puts him at odds with his authoritative father, leading to greater conflict.
In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre), a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.
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