Connection
Films with the genre "Thriller", sorted by production date
Add to a movie list
Swanee River (1939)
, 1h24Directed by Sidney Lanfield
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Biography, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Political films
Actors Don Ameche, Andrea Leeds, Al Jolson, Felix Bressart, Chick Chandler, Russell Hicks
The family of Stephen Foster (Ameche) insists that he accept a seven-dollar-a-week shipping clerk job in Cincinnati, but he prefers to write songs. Stephen's prospective father-in-law Andrew McDowell has no faith in Stephen, who wants to write "music from the heart of the simple people of the South." The struggling composer is content to sell "Oh! Susanna" for fifteen dollars to minstrel singer E. P. Christy and allows Christy to take credit as its writer.
Directed by Norman Foster
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Crime
Themes Children's films
Actors Sidney Toler, Cesar Romero, Victor Sen Yung, Douglas Fowley, Pauline Moore, Donald MacBride
Charlie and Jimmy Chan are traveling by plane to San Francisco. Jimmy befriends insurance executive Thomas Gregory. Charlie's friend, novelist Paul Essex, dies aboard the aircraft after receiving a radiogram warning him not to ignore "Zodiac". His briefcase mysteriously disappears. Charlie meets with Deputy Police Chief J.J. Kilvaine, and runs into reporter and old friend Peter Lewis. Charlie also meets noted local magician Fred Rhadini, and discusses Essex's death with the three men. Rhadini tells Charlie about Dr. Zodiac, a psychic preying on the rich in San Francisco. Charlie, Rhadini, and Lewis go to Dr. Zodiac's home, where Dr. Zodiac who conducts an eerie séance. Lewis' fiancée, Eve Cairo, has been meeting with Dr. Zodiac, angering Lewis. Later, Kilvaine reveals that Essex was poisoned, but can't rule out suicide. Jimmy spends the afternoon following Thomas Gregory, whom he believes stole Essex's briefcase when leaving the plane. He discovers Essex's manuscript in Gregory's hotel room.
The Human Monster (1939)
, 1h15Directed by Walter Summers
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Thriller, Horror, Crime
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about disabilities, La cécité
Actors Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt, Wilfred Walter, Alexander Field, Edmon Ryan
In London, Dr. Orloff (Bela Lugosi) runs an insurance agency where he loans money in exchange for the assigning of life insurance benefits to himself of many of his customers' policies. A resident of Orloff's (under the name "Dearborn") home for the "Destitute Blind" is Jake, a tall, hideous brute, who murders on Orloff's behalf. Scotland Yard begins finding bodies in the Thames River. One of the dead men has a daughter named Diane (Greta Gynt) for whom Orloff obtains employment at the home for the blind. Suspicions begin to arise surrounding Dearborn and Orloff in relation to the dead bodies. Orloff sends Jake (Wilfred Walter) to kill Diane who has found out too much about them. When Orloff disappears, Diane finds one of her father's cuff links in the home from the blind. Confronted by Diane, Dearborn removes his disguise to show himself as Orloff. Orloff traps Diane with a straight-jacket and calls for Jake to finish the job. Jake refuses as he has found out that Orloff has murdered a blind friend of his. Jake turns on Orloff and throws him out of a window allowing him to sink in the mud below.
Each Dawn I Die (1939)
, 1h32Directed by William Keighley
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Prison films
Actors James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan, George Bancroft, Stanley Ridges, Victor Jory
Frank Ross (Cagney) is a crusading reporter for a big city newspaper on the trail of a crooked district attorney, Jesse Hanley, who is running for election as governor of the state. At the Banton Construction Co., Ross sees Hanley and his accomplice Grayce (Jory) burning books and ledgers to thwart a possible investigation brought about by the paper that Ross works for. His editor Patterson backs Ross in getting Hanley but the D.A. decides to get rid of him, so frames him. Knocked out and covered in whiskey, he is put in a runaway car which collides with another, killing 3 young people and is thrown in prison for one to twenty years on a charge of automotive manslaughter.
Let Us Live (1939)
, 1h8Directed by John Brahm
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Fonda, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Baxter, Stanley Ridges, Henry Kolker
On the eve of his marriage to waitress Mary Roberts (O'Sullivan), taxi driver "Brick" Tennant is questioned as a murder suspect along with 120 other drivers, because a taxi served as the getaway car in a theater robbery in which a man was killed. When one of the witnesses swears that Brick and his friend Joe Linden (Baxter) were the killers, the district attorney (Ridges), eager for a conviction, brings the taxi drivers to trial even though Brick and Mary were in a church when the robbery took place. Although innocent, Brick and Joe are found guilty and sentenced to die on the electric chair. Mary, however, refuses to give up hope, and when she unearths a bullet from another robbery that was shot from the murder weapon, she convinces Police Lieutenant Everett (Bellamy) that the wrong men have been convicted. To prove Brick and Joe's innocence Everett and Mary search for the real culprits . As the time of his execution approaches, Brick is transformed from an idealistic youth into a man whose faith in the system has been shattered. On the day of the execution, Mary and Everett finally find the real culprits. The governor then pardons Brick, but although his life has been spared, his faith can never be repaired.
The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
, 1h4Directed by Nick Grinde, Roy William Neill
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Horror, Crime
Actors Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox, Roger Pryor, Roger Pryor, Don Beddoe
Dr. Savaard is obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. A young medical student offers his services to him, but before he can bring him back to life, Savaard is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to hang. He vows revenge on the judge and the jury before his hanging. His assistant claims his body and revives him by using his technique. The vengeful Savaard goes on a killing spree.
The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939)
, 1h8Directed by William Nigh
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Dorothy Tree, Craig Reynolds, Ivan Lebedeff, Holmes Herbert
The second in the series of Mr. Wong features starring Boris Karloff finds wealthy gem-collector Brandon Edwards gaining possession of the largest star sapphire in the world, the 'Eye of the Daughter of the Moon', after it has been stolen in China. Edwards, at a party in his home, confides to Mr. Wong that his life is in danger. During a game of Charades, Edwards is mysteriously shot dead and the gem disappears. Unknown to Wong, the jewel is in the possession of Edwards' maid, Drina, who intends to return it to China, but she is murdered also, and the gem is taken again. After one more murder—the suspect list is dwindling—Wong exposes the killer, turns him over to Police Inspector Street, and Wong orders his manservant Willy to return the gem to China.
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
, 1h44Directed by Raoul Walsh
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Mob film, Action, Noir, Crime
Themes Gangster films
Actors James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane, Gladys George, Jeffrey Lynn
Three men meet in a foxhole during the waning days of World War I: Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney), George Hally (Humphrey Bogart) and Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn), and experience trials and tribulations from the Armistice through the passage of the 18th Amendment leading to the Prohibition period of the 1920s and the violence which erupted due to it, all the way through the 1929 stock market crash to its conclusion at the end of 1933, only days after the 21st Amendment brought an end to the Prohibition era.
The Spy in Black (1939)
, 1h22Directed by Michael Powell
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Spy
Themes Spy films, Seafaring films, Transport films, Underwater action films, Submarine films, Political films
Actors Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Marius Goring, Sebastian Shaw, June Duprez, Athole Stewart
Captain Hardt (Conrad Veidt), a World War I German U-boat commander, is ordered to lead a mission to attack the British Fleet at Scapa Flow. He sneaks ashore on the Orkney Islands to meet his contact, Frau Tiel (Valerie Hobson). Tiel has taken over the identity of local schoolteacher, Anne Burnett (June Duprez), who had been kidnapped by German agents. Hardt finds himself attracted to her, but Tiel shows no interest. The Germans are aided by a disgraced Royal Navy officer, the former Commander Ashington (Sebastian Shaw) who, according to Tiel, has agreed to aid the Germans after losing his command due to drunkenness, and Tiel implies that she has slept with Ashington to obtain his cooperation.
I Met a Murderer (1939)
Directed by Roy Kellino
Genres Drama, Thriller, Noir
Actors James Mason, Sylvia Coleridge, Pamela Mason, Peter Coke, Esma Cannon
Personal Column (1939)
, 1h51Directed by Robert Siodmak
Origin France
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime, Romance
Themes Serial killer films
Actors Marie Déa, Maurice Chevalier, Erich von Stroheim, Pierre Renoir, Jean Temerson, Jacques Varennes
Onze jeunes filles, danseuses de cabarets ou entraîneuses, disparaissent attirées par les petites annonces d'un tueur en série. Une entraîneuse aide la police dans son enquête. Les suspects forment une galerie de personnages inquiétants et de détraqués.
Sued for Libel (1939)
, 1h6Directed by Leslie Goodwins
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Crime
Actors Kent Taylor, Lilian Bond, Morgan Conway, Richard Lane, Roger Pryor, Thurston Hall
Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939)
, 1h10Directed by Herbert I. Leeds
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors Peter Lorre, Jean Hersholt, Warren Hymer, Amanda Duff, Richard Lane, Leon Ames
Mr Moto arrives in Puerto Rico to investigate the murder of an American agent and uncovers a smuggling ring.
The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939)
, 1h8Directed by William Nigh
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Dorothy Tree, Craig Reynolds, Ivan Lebedeff, Holmes Herbert
Il s'agit du second opus de la série de longs métrages de Mr Wong avec Boris Karloff, dans le rôle du détective chinois. Le richissime collectionneur de pierres précieuses Brandon Edwards confie à Wong avoir pris possession du plus grand saphir étoilé du monde, "l'Œil de la Fille de la Lune", après qu'il eut été volé en Chine, il lui confie par cette occasion que sa vie est en danger. Au cours d'une réception mondaine, Edwards est mystérieusement abattu pendant un jeu de rôle tandis que le saphir disparaît. A l'insu de Wong, le bijou est dérobé par la femme de chambre d'Edwards, Drina, qui a l'intention de le rapatrier en Chine, mais celle-ci ne tarde pas à être assassinée à son tour. La liste des suspects est longue et les mobiles du crime ne manquent pas, d'autant que plusieurs personnages ambigus convoitaient Valérie Edwards en raison de son physique et de sa fortune. Wong aura du mal a confondre le coupable, mais il parviendra après avoir réuni chez lui tous les suspects.
City in Darkness (1939)
Directed by Herbert I. Leeds
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Themes Children's films
Actors Sidney Toler, Lynn Bari, Harold Huber, Pedro de Cordoba, Dorothy Tree, C. Henry Gordon
Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) est en visite à Paris pendant la crise d’annexion de la république tchèque en septembre 1938, mais a du mal à trouver le moyen de retourner aux États-Unis, car des perturbations dans les transports sont provoquées par la menace de guerre et la crise de Munich. Lors de sa visite au bureau du chef de police Romaine (C. Henry Gordon), qui est en voyage d'affaires, on apprend que Petroff (Douglass Dumbrille), un millionnaire bien connu, a été assassiné. L'inspecteur de police Marcel Spivak (Harold Huber), le filleul embêté de Romaine, a été laissé en charge pendant l'absence du chef et est terrifié à l'idée de mener une enquête de meurtre d'une telle envergure. Il demande l'aide de Chan, ce qui est accepté.