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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jian" data-source="post: 9777418" data-attributes="member: 78087">So for the last few days we’ve had no paid streaming at all since we got rid of D+, and we decided to head over and look at Plex, a free streamer available in Canada and the US. I imagine its content is very similar to a whole bunch of similar channels.And boy, are we glad we did. Plex is an absolute treasure trove of old films, some of them among the best I’ve ever seen, honestly. They really knew how to make them in those days, and make them short and sweet, too - most of the films we’ve just watched are about 90 minutes. The ads are slightly long (about 3 minutes and repetitive) but that just reminds us of how TV used to be.First up was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_39_Steps_(1935_film)" target="_blank">The 39 Steps</a>, a classic early Hitchcock which benefits greatly from sharing very little plot with the book. What it does share is the same feeling of paranoid suspense, and Hitchcock is developing so many filmmaking tropes here - the unexplained McGuffin, the fugitives chained together with handcuffs and romantic tension, the ice-cool blonde.Next was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kennel_Murder_Case_(film)" target="_blank">The Kennel Murder Case</a>, one of the best adaptations of a Golden Age murder mystery put to film. William Powell (later of The Thin Man films) is perfectly charming and expository as Philo Vance.Third was an absolute classic, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_and_Miss_Jones" target="_blank">The Devil and Miss Jones</a>, a rare example of a Hollywood film that actually likes unions and explains why they’re a good idea. But despite that, our protagonist is actually the world’s richest man, a cantankerous plutocrat who goes undercover in one of his own department stores and does about as well as you’d expect if Elon Musk had to sell shoes. His conversion is believable and wonderful.Last so far is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_for_a_Day" target="_blank">Lady for a Day</a>, an early Frank Capra about, well, just about the entire city of New York helping one unhappy apple seller pretend to her estranged daughter that she’s actually a society dame. May Robson - the first Australian to be nominated for an Oscar and the oldest nominee (at 75) until Jessica Tandy 55 years later - is amazing as our titular heroine. It’s the best kind of heartwarming. I’d love to run this as a RPG adventure - your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to persuade several noble visitors that this alcoholic panhandler is the most influential aristocrat in town.Other free classic films on Plex we either haven’t watched yet or don’t plan to because we already have include:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It’s a Wonderful Life</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Dark Crystal</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Graduate</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If Beale Street Could Talk</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Death Proof</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Silver Linings Playbook</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Apocalypse Now</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Stranger Than Fiction</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Brothers Grimm</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Pianist</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The King’s Speech</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Conversation</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Whiplash</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Man Who Fell to Earth</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Oldboy</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Equilibrium</li> </ul></blockquote>

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