A middle-aged couple confronts impending parenthood.

Hedy Lamarr (Samson and Delilah) stars as Eva, a young woman who marries an older man and is rejected on their wedding night. Frustrated, she runs away and meets a younger man who responds to her unfulfilled yearnings. Called "the most whispered about picture in the world" at its release, "Ecstasy" shocked moviegoers with its erotic depiction of sex, particularly scenes of a young Lamarr swimming naked and its images of this unknown beauty at the height of passion. The European film propelled Lamarr into Hollywood stardom and became an internationally-known classic hailed for its sophisticated approach to sexuality, maintaining a special place in movie history. It is one of the notorious titles in all cinema history, but-sigh-it looks rather quaint today. In the mid-1930s, Ecstasy was a great conversation piece, for its scandalous acknowledgment of sexual passion in women and its revelation of the naked form of actress Hedy Kiesler, who would become the Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr. Henry Miller even wrote an excited essay about it, sure proof that something libidinous was loose. Czech director Gustav Machatý constructs the movie as an almost wordless shadow play of symbols and signs, mostly sexual (there are many close-ups of heavy-breathing horses and nude statues, cut together for maximum erotic impact). As precious as some of these things seem now, it's still amazing to consider Machatý's nerve in depicting one of the first orgasms to hit the movies. And then there's Hedy, whose expressive eyes matter more than her brief skinny-dip. [+]

Based on George Bernard Shaw's sparkling play, this satire of ancient Rome is a triumph of comic dialogue and acting. The fable of the tailor who removes a thorn from a lion's paw is retold magnificently with Maurice Evans as Caesar, Robert Newton as a hilarious zealot, and the radiant Jean Simmons.

Independent still-life painting made a dramatic appearance at the end of the 16th century, in Golden Age Spain. Filmed on location and featuring original paintings, this program traces the traditions of Spanish still life from its origins through the early 19th-century works of Goya.

Director Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) took home every Oscar in the book (well, okay, all the major ones) for this seminal 1934 comedy starring Clark Gable as a hard-bitten reporter who stays close to a runaway heiress (Claudette Colbert) rather than lose a good story. Funny and sexy, the film is full of memorable scenes often referred to in other films, such as the "walls of Jericho" (a mere bedcover hung on a line down the middle of a room so opposite-sex roommates can get undressed), and Colbert's famous flash of thigh to stop a speeding car in its tracks. Capra's brisk, urbane brand of wit was a perfect complement to his populist faith in the common man (in this case, Gable's character), and that inspired combination makes this film both a spirited entertainment and an uplifting experience. -Tom Keogh.

One of Harold Lloyd's less-familiar features, this is a charming comedy about a small-town doctor who prescribes common sense and good humor for his patients. He takes on the case of the "Sick Little Well Girl," who's been needlessly kept as an invalid by her wealthy family. Dr. Jack revives her spirits with a healthy dose of excitement in the form of an escaped maniac loose in the house at midnight. actually the doctor in disguise. Mildred Davis and "Our Gang's" Mickey Daniels are featured. Included as a bonus is Lloyd's two-reel comedy short, Number, Please? (1920). Both films are presented complete, with original organ scores by Bob Vaughn. [+]