Trilby (1922)
First installment of the Tense Moments with Great Authors series. Presumed lost.
First installment of the Tense Moments with Great Authors series. Presumed lost.
Phyllis Neilson-TerryTrilbyThe plot adheres closely to the original novel, revolves around wealthy Maxim DeWinter, his naïve new wife, and Mrs. Danvers, the manipulative housekeeper of DeWinter's Cornish estate Manderley. Mrs. Danvers resents the new wife's intrusion and persuades the new wife that she is an unworthy replacement for the first Mrs. DeWinter, the glamorous and mysterious Rebecca, who perished in a drowning accident. The new Mrs. DeWinter struggles to find her identity and take control of her life among the shadows left by Rebecca.
The Drakenhjelm family has lived in the Rautakylä manor for over 150 years. The current master of the house, elderly baron Magnus, has been living for a long time in an unregistered relationship with his housekeeper Lisette, with whom he also has a son, Sebastian. After the baron falls gravely ill Lisette starts getting worried about losing everything, so with Sebastian on her side she demands the baron to write a letter to the pastor and ask him to come over to perform a wedding ceremony. Right after Sebastian has left to fetch the pastor, a threesome seeking shelter from the storm comes to the manor and wreaks havoc on the marriage plans.
Armas, a somewhat frivolous painter, arrives in the outer archipelago with his friend and falls in love with Annikki, the fiancée of a young pilot named Eero. A stormy night brings a resolution to the love triangle.

The Marquis de la Chesnaye and his wife host a weekend gala where a variety of complicated romantic and social entanglements between guests and servants lead to tragedy, all against the backdrop of a looming war.

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.
A family's newfound wealth causes problem after problem.
In honor of his return from abroad, Mrs. Worthington invites her cousin, Brian Hartley, to dinner that evening, but forgets to tell him she has moved from her old address. He goes to the old home where he is met at the door by Celia Thayer, a guest of the Holbrooks, who now occupy the residence. None of the family being at home, Ceclia admits him, thinking he has been invited to dinner. When her hostess does not arrive the two have dinner together and become quite infatuated. Later it develops that the house was robbed while Mr. Hartley was there and, of course, he is suspected.

In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.
William Carter, a young Virginian in Paris, becomes enchanted with music hall dancer Fanchon La Fare. After William reluctantly returns to America, Fanchon follows him, and when she is threatened with deportation because of an irregularity in her passport, William marries her. The marriage causes consternation in the upright Carter family, which is compounded when Fanchon performs one of her dances at a church benefit. At the conclusion of her dance, Fanchon sees a stranger in the audience and faints. Later, the same man appears at the Carter residence and demands to see her. Leigh Carter, William's younger brother, becomes angered and shoots the man. At the trial, Fanchon confesses that the stranger was her estranged husband whom she had been forced to marry when she was but a child. The crime thus clarified, Leigh is freed, and Fanchon, who had been expelled earlier from the Carter house, is welcomed back by her husband and his family. (Courtesy TCM)

Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.

A self-assured businessman murders his employer, husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with virtuous doctor Alec Harvey. Their casual friendship soon develops during their weekly visits into something more emotionally fulfilling than either expected, and they must wrestle with the potential havoc their deepening relationship would have on their lives and the lives of those they love.

The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.
A small-town businessman bumbles into blackmail and a real-estate swindle.

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.

Wealthy young Charles Carpenter is pressured by his family to marry Suzanne, even though he is really in love with young "flapper" Valerie. He gives in to his family's pressure, however, and marries Suzanne, after which Valerie leaves town. Years later, after Charles and Suzanne have had a child, Valerie comes back to town and Charles realizes he is still in love with her, and she with him. Complications ensue.