Sleepers
Films that were initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper may have little promotion or lack a successful launch, but then gain a fan following that garners it media attention, which in turn increases its public exposure and public interest in the product. [Wikipedia]
This list is from Guide for the Film Fanatic (1986) by Danny Peary.
This list is from Guide for the Film Fanatic (1986) by Danny Peary.
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- DirectorEdward SlomanStarsMary PhilbinIvan MozzhukhinOtto MatiesonA young Jewish woman is forced to either give herself to a Russian officer or watch her village burn.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveIan MaclarenDavid MannersIn France, 1917, an alcoholic captain is afraid that his new replacement, his sweetheart's brother, will betray his downfall.
- DirectorT. Hayes HunterStarsBoris KarloffCedric HardwickeErnest ThesigerAn Egyptologist returns from the dead to take revenge on those who have violated his tomb.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsCharles RugglesLionel AtwillGail PatrickA monomaniacal zoologist is pathologically jealous of his beautiful but unfaithful wife Evelyn and will not stop short of murder to keep her.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsFrankie DarroRochelle HudsonEdwin PhillipsIn the depths of the Depression, two teenage boys strike out on their own in order to help their struggling parents and find life on the road tougher than expected.
- DirectorRowland V. LeeStarsLoretta YoungGene RaymondO.P. HeggieAn orphan girl escapes her caregivers to be with a young man raised at the zoo whose only previous friends are the animals.
- DirectorGeorge Nicholls Jr.Wanda TuchockStarsFrances DeeBillie BurkeGinger RogersThe trials and tribulations in a private, snobbish girls school.
- DirectorEdward LudwigStarsClaude RainsJoan BennettLionel AtwillA brilliant but impoverished writer, who is a pacifist, goes to work for a publisher and writes anti-war editorials. When he discovers that the publisher has betrayed him and is in league with munitions manufacturers to make money off of war, he goes insane.
- DirectorAlan CroslandStarsRichard BarthelmessAnn DvorakDudley DiggesJoe Thunderhorse, a Sioux Indian who has become the wealthy star of a Wild West show, returns home to his reservation after years away and finds that his father is dying and his people are being abused by corrupt white officials.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsJohn LoderAnna LeeFrancis L. SullivanA young woman finds herself as the intended victim of a murder plot on a transatlantic flight from London to New York.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsEdward G. RobinsonHumphrey BogartClaire TrevorA brilliant Park Avenue doctor becomes a criminal in order to do research into the criminal mind.
- DirectorTim WhelanStarsCharles LaughtonVivien LeighRex HarrisonPickpocket Libby gets support from street performer Charles, and her dancing leads to her invitation to theater patron Harley's party which in turn launches Libby's stage career while Charles keeps on struggling in the streets.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsLouis HaywardJoan BennettWarren WilliamDespotic King Louis XIV discovers he has a twin brother who has grown up under the tutelage of his foster father, the patriotic musketeer D'Artagnan.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakJean NegulescoStarsJames CagneyAnn SheridanArthur KennedyDanny is a content truck driver, but his girl Peggy shows potential as a dancer and hopes he too can show ambition. Danny acquiesces and pursues boxing to please her, but the two begin to spend more time working than time together.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneThomas MitchellIan HunterA merchant ship's crew tries to survive the loneliness of the sea and the coming of war.
- DirectorBoris IngsterStarsPeter LorreJohn McGuireMargaret TallichetAn aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a café owner's throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsPeter LorreEvelyn KeyesDon BeddoeA disfigured watch-maker with a grudge against society embarks on a life of crime.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsMonty WoolleyRoddy McDowallAnne BaxterWhile traveling in France during the Nazi invasion of 1940, an Englishman is entrusted with the care of a group of refugee children.
- DirectorLothar MendesStarsRosalind RussellFred MacMurrayHerbert MarshallThe life of air pioneer Amelia Earhart is here given a fictionalized treatment, with a speculative conclusion.
- DirectorNorman FosterOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDolores Del RíoAn American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by German agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers that his pursuers are also on board.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsSimone SimonJohn EmeryKurt KreugerIn occupied France during the Franco-Prussian War, a young French laundress shares a coach ride with several of her condescending social superiors. But when a Prussian officer holds the coach over, social standings are leveled and integrity and spirit are put to the test.
- DirectorArthur RipleyStarsFrancis LedererSigrid GurieJ. Edward BrombergA concert pianist has lost his memory, the result of his being arrested and tortured by the Germans during the war for playing a banned song. He journeys to the island of Guadelupe to try to regain his memory and his health.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsBonita GranvilleKent SmithJean BrooksThe teens of a defense-plant town hop on the road to juvenile delinquency while their parents are busy with the war.
- DirectorMax NosseckStarsLawrence TierneyEdmund LoweAnne JeffreysJohn Dillinger begins his life of crime as a petty thief, meets his future gang in prison and eventually masterminds a series of daring robberies.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsFred MacMurrayHelen WalkerMarjorie MainProfessional pollster Pete Marshall gets more than he bargained for when he heads deep into the Ozarks to investigate the disappearances of several of his colleagues.