Cult Films / After Dark
Cult Films generally have limited but very special appeal. They are usually strange, quirky, offbeat, eccentric, oddball, or surreal. They may have outrageous, weird, cartoony characters or plots, and garish sets. They are often considered controversial because they step outside standard narrative and technical conventions. Cult films cut across many film genres (science fiction, horror, melodrama, etc.), and though they can be very stylized, they are often flawed or unusual in some striking way. To make a little sense of this unique genre, scroll the motherlode below, or take a side road by clicking a blue sub-heading to yer left...
Visiting "Television Shows" and the "Cult Television" sub-feature may be worth checking out, also the "Animation" feature and the "Cult Animation" or "JapAnime" sub-feature will help with the bigger picture..
Right: Henry (Jack Nance) is "Eraserhead".
The Adventures Of Captain Marvel (1941)
Director: John English, William Witney
Starring: Tom Tyler, Frank Coghlan Jr, William Benedict
Billy Batson is granted the power to become Captain Marvel, the world's mightiest mortal, in order to stop the sinister Scorpion from completing a wea... Read more
Citizen Kane (1941)
8.4/10
Director: Orson Welles
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane
Generally regarded as the greatest and most influential films of all time; Orson Welles directorial debut (he was only 25!) is the story of newspaper... Read more
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
8.1/10
Director: John Huston
Starring: Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, Humphrey Bogart
Even if you've seen this film so often that you know all the dialogue, it never ceases to amaze. Great actors Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet a... Read more
That Hamilton Woman (1941)
7.3/10
Director: Alexander Korda
Starring: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Alan Mowbray
AKA 'Lady Hamilton'. An excellent film about Nelson's lifelong relationship with Emma Hamilton that is somewhat glamorised and stiff but generally ex... Read more
Fantasia (1940)
7.8/10
Director: Hamilton Luske, James Algar, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Bill Roberts, Ford Beebe
Starring: Mickey Mouse
Walt Disney's eight-part marriage of music and animated images remains an amazing achievement. 'Fantasia' was first conceived as a feature-length vehi... Read more
The Thief of Bagdad (Sabu) (1940)
7.6/10
Director: Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan
Starring: Sabu, John Justin, June Duprez, Conrad Veidt
This multiple Oscar-winning film is a magical, atmospheric, epic - its sumptuous art direction and beguiling special effects making this the definitiv... Read more
His Girl Friday (1940)
8/10
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Rosalind Russell
This must-see film has Cary Grant as a conniving editor and Rosalind Russell as a star reporter (and his ex-wife), with Ralph Bellamy as the mama's bo... Read more
The Wizard of Oz ( Blu-ray ) (1939)
8/10
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Frank Morgan, Jack Haley, Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamil...
Follow Dorothy over the rainbow and down the Yellow Brick Road, along with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, Cowardly Lion and Toto, too, for fun and adven... Read more
Buck Rogers: The Serial (1939)
7.3/10
Starring: Larry 'Buster' Crabbe
A classic action packed sci-fi serial in 12 chapters. Emerging from a state of hibernation after 500 years, Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe) and young Budd... Read more
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
8/10
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Ray Bolger, Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Frank Morgan, Mar...
Follow Dorothy over the rainbow and down the Yellow Brick Road, along with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, Cowardly Lion and Toto, too, for fun and adven... Read more