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.
- DirectorJohn FordRobert MontgomeryStarsRobert MontgomeryJohn WayneDonna ReedA Navy commander fights to prove the battle-worthiness of the PT boat at the start of World War II.
- DirectorWolfgang StaudteStarsHildegard KnefElly BurgmerErna SellmerAfter returning from a concentration camp, Susanne finds an ex-soldier living in her apartment. Together the two try to move past their experiences during World War II.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsGeorge SandersSigne HassoCarole LandisBorn in a French prison in 1775, François Eugène Vidocq becomes a professional thief and is later appointed chief of Parisian police.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsSteven GerayMicheline CheirelEugene BordenParis police detective Cassin has a well needed vacation at a rural inn, where the owners' adult daughter shows interest in him but she has a jealous boyfriend. Will Cassin need his skills?
- DirectorFrank WisbarStarsRosemary La PlancheRobert BarratBlake EdwardsA number of swamp land men have died by strangulation and the inhabitants believe that an innocent man they hanged is seeking revenge on all of the male descendants of those responsible for his death. Maria, granddaughter of the guilty ferryman, decides to operate the ferry service. Chris Sanders, a son of one of the men who did the hanging, and Maria fall in love. The "strangler" seizes Chris and Maria offers her life if Chris is spared.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsClaire TrevorLawrence TierneyWalter SlezakA calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsGregory PeckJoan BennettRobert PrestonIn British East Africa, a fatal triangle develops involving a frustrated wife, a weak and coward husband, and an English big-game hunter who comes between the couple.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsJoel McCreaVeronica LakeDon DeForeViolent feud between Connie Dickason, the owner of the Circle 66 ranch and rancher Frank Ivey, the self-proclaimed boss of an otherwise public grazing land.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsDana AndrewsSusan HaywardKent SmithAfter being visited by an old friend, a woman recalls her true love, the man she met and lost years ago.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsRichard WidmarkGene TierneyGoogie WithersA small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsJoel McCreaEllen DrewDean StockwellIn 1865, the small Southern town of Walsburg has become so dangerous that Parson Josiah Doziah Gray gives his sermons while holding a gun.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsFrank LovejoyKathleen RyanRichard CarlsonA man who is down on his luck falls in with a criminal.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsBen JohnsonJoanne DruHarry Carey Jr.Two young drifters guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter cutthroats, Indians, geography, and moral challenges on the journey.
- DirectorCharles Marquis WarrenStarsLloyd BridgesJohn IrelandMarie WindsorA small band of cavalry attempt to warn Custer of an impending massacre. Friction develops when commander of the patrol suspects his subordinate of having an affair with his wife.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsDana AndrewsDorothy McGuireFarley GrangerIn 1950, small-town Americans try to deal with military conscription.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsRobert TaylorDenise DarcelHope EmersonA trail guide escorts a group of women from Chicago to California to marry men that have recently begun settling there.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsPiper LaurieRock HudsonCharles CoburnAn aging heir-less millionaire wants to leave his fortune to the unsuspecting family of his first love but not before testing his prospective heirs by living with them under the guise of a poor boarder.
- DirectorLouis KingStarsSteve CochranWildfire the HorseRay TealIn this B-Feature western, a cowboy who snared a wild stallion and sells it to a cruel rodeo owner attempts to buy the horse back.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsJean PetersDavid WayneHugh MarloweAt the fiftieth anniversary of his town's founding, the town's first barber recalls his long-dead, spirited bride and the flaw in his own character that helped bring about her loss and others.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsRichard CarlsonVeronica HurstKatherine EmeryA Scotsman abruptly breaks off his engagement to pretty Kitty and moves to his uncle's castle in the Scottish highlands. Kitty and her aunt follow Gerald a few weeks later, and discover he has suddenly aged. Some mysterious things happen in a maze made from the hedges adjoining the castle.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsGuy MadisonJoan WeldonJames WhitmoreAn army doctor, with no combat experience, is forced to take command of a cavalry troop escorting a wagon train through hostile Indian country when the unit's commanding officer dies.
- DirectorLewis AllenStarsFrank SinatraSterling HaydenJames GleasonIn the city of Suddenly, three gangsters trap the Benson family in their own house, on the top of a hill nearby the railroad station, with the intention of killing the president of the USA.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsJane WymanRock HudsonAgnes MooreheadAn upper-class widow falls in love with a much younger, down-to-earth nurseryman, much to the disapproval of her children and criticism of her country club peers.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsSterling HaydenAnna Maria AlberghettiRichard CarlsonModerate Jim Bowie leads rebellious Texicans--and Davy Crockett--in a last-ditch stand against his old friend, Santa Ana.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsRobert WagnerTerry MooreBroderick CrawfordThe spoiled rich son of a wealthy Southerner is changed by his experiences in the Pacific during World War II.
- DirectorGerd OswaldStarsRobert WagnerJeffrey HunterVirginia LeithA ruthless college student resorts to murder in an attempt to marry an heiress.
- DirectorHerbert WilcoxStarsAnna NeagleSylvia SymsNorman WoolandPoor Valerie just can't seem to straighten out her delinquent teenage daughter Janet, whose sleazy boyfriend is leading her down a rebellious path of crime and moral turpitude that could end in death--or could she have a chance for redemption?
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsLana TurnerLee PhilipsLloyd NolanA peaceful New England town hides secrets and scandals.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsVirginia McKennaBill TraversMargaret RutherfordA young couple inherits a debt-ridden old movie theater, appropriately nicknamed "The Flea Pit", and the three eccentric senior citizens who work there.
- DirectorVictor VicasStarsJoan CollinsJayne MansfieldDan DaileyThree strangers - a stripper, an alcoholic wife and a travelling salesman - embark on a life-changing journey. As the road presents challenges, each character faces his or her own shortcomings, not knowing where life will lead next.
- DirectorWilliam WitneyStarsScott MarloweRichard BakalyanGigi PerreauHigh school thug is front man for a local marijuana ring.
- DirectorRay KelloggStarsJames BestIngrid GoudeKen CurtisOn an isolated island, a small group of people are terrorized by giant voracious shrews in the midst of a hurricane.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsMontgomery CliftLee RemickJo Van FleetA TVA bureaucrat comes to the river to do what none of his predecessors have been able to do - evict a stubborn octogenarian from her island before the rising waters engulf her.
- DirectorPaul WendkosHubert CornfieldStarsGeorge HamiltonMercedes McCambridgeJoan BlondellIn his film debut, Burt Reynolds vies with George Hamilton for the love of one heavenly woman. In the American South, evangelist Paul Strand (Hamilton) meets a beautiful, young mute named Jenny, affectionately known as Angel Baby. When Paul prays for her, Jenny's voice miraculously returns ... and the two fall in love, sparking jealousy in Paul's older wife and Jenny's predatory lover (Reynolds). With Paul and Sarah quarreling furiously, Jenny leaves as a traveling evangelist and starts to believe that she possesses divine healing powers. But does she...?
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsMaureen O'HaraBrian KeithSteve CochranAn ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son and tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.
- DirectorPhilip DunneStarsElvis PresleyHope LangeTuesday WeldA troubled young man discovers that he has a knack for writing when a counselor encourages him to pursue a literary career.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsKerwin MathewsJudi MeredithTorin ThatcherA farmboy-turned-knight must protect a princess from the schemes of an evil wizard.
- DirectorSidney HayersStarsPeter WyngardeJanet BlairMargaret JohnstonA woman who may be a witch defends her husband from forces attempting to harm him.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsWilliam ShatnerFrank MaxwellBeverly LunsfordA charismatic "social reformer" rallies the white populace of a Southern town to oppose school integration, but he soon finds himself in a situation that he cannot control.
- DirectorDenis SandersStarsJohn SaxonCharles AidmanSydney PollackDispatched to the front lines during the Korean War, an idealistic American soldier discovers the horrors of combat and comes at odds with a psychopathic member of his platoon.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczRouben MamoulianStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonRex HarrisonQueen Cleopatra VII of Egypt experiences both triumph and tragedy as she attempts to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome.
- DirectorBoris SagalStarsBarBara LunaRoger MobleyRafael LópezFive Mexican street urchins steal a dime from the church's collection box and bet it on a race-horse.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsNatalie WoodSteve McQueenEdie AdamsA salesclerk at Macy's department store finds herself pregnant after a one-night stand with a musician who does not even remember her.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsIan HendryJanette ScottRonald FraserOn a seaside holiday, pretty Bristol typist Shirley meets Dan Mackenzie from her local paper. He persuades her that she has what it takes in the world of beauty contests, and so it proves. Ditching her predictable fiancé and having to leave home, Shirley moves to London to continuing success. Increasingly smitten by her, Dan reckons he should be more than just her manager, but this is not at all the way Shirley sees things.
- DirectorAnton LeaderStarsIan HendryAlan BadelBarbara FerrisSix impossibly intelligent children from all over the world with dangerous psychic powers hide in a church in England after the military tries to experiment on them. Besieged, they warn the military to back off before carnage ensues.
- DirectorLindsay ShonteffStarsBryant HalidayWilliam SylvesterYvonne RomainAn evil hyponotist/ventriloquist plots to gain an heiress' millions.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsAnn-MargretJohn ForsythePeter BrownA rising political star faces scandal and blackmail when the young woman he tries to help turns out to be a juvenile delinquent.
- DirectorMichael RoemerStarsIvan DixonAbbey LincolnJulius HarrisA black man and his school-teacher wife face discriminatory challenges in 1960s America.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsJames GarnerEva Marie SaintRod TaylorGermans kidnap an American Major and try to convince him that World War II is over so they can get details about the Allied invasion of Europe out of him.
- DirectorGene NelsonStarsGeorge HamiltonSusan OliverRed ButtonsThe story of the country and western singer Hank Williams.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsLee RemickSteve McQueenDon MurrayIn Texas, a woman and her young daughter head down to another town where the girl's irresponsible, hotheaded and immature father has just been released from prison on parole.
- DirectorJohn GillingStarsJohn SaxonMaurice DenhamPatricia HainesMutant humanoids from outer space kidnap young Earth females in order to interbreed and save their species from extinction.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerStuart WhitmanSusannah YorkAfter a small aircraft crashes in the Kalahari Desert, one of the seven passengers decides that his survival chances would increase if he eliminates the other men in the group.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsSean ConneryJoanne WoodwardJean SebergSamson Shillitoe, mad genius of a poet irresistible to women, but plagued by writer's block, agrees to see a psychiatrist, and his beautiful wife.
- DirectorJohn KortyStarsPeter BonerzSandra ArcherCarole AndroskyAn improvisational comedian, working with The Committee improv group in San Francisco, struggles to be taken seriously.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsEli WallachAnne JacksonBob DishyA mailman looks for a woman to kidnap as a personal act of insurrection.
- DirectorTom GriesStarsCharlton HestonJoan HackettDonald PleasenceAging cowboy Will Penny gets a line camp job on a large cattle spread and finds his isolated cabin is already occupied by an abandoned woman traveler and her young son.
- DirectorFerde Grofé Jr.StarsGeorge MontgomeryTom DrakeConrad ParhamAt the end of World War Two, a reporter follows a Colonel and his men searching for small groups of Japanese soldiers hiding in the jungle.
- DirectorAlessio de PaolaStarsCherBarbara LondonSteve WhittakerAfter bumming across the Southwest, a tough, young woman steals a car and runs off to Mexico, where she visits a bordello and is indoctrinated by a lesbian.
- DirectorDavid MillerStarsArthur KennedyTeresa WrightMichael DouglasA disillusioned man can't decide whether to join the army or to become a hippie.
- DirectorPeter TewksburyStarsElvis PresleyMarlyn MasonNicole JaffeChautauqua manager Walter Hale and his loyal business manager struggle to keep their traveling troupe together in small-town America.
- DirectorCy HowardStarsGig YoungBea ArthurBonnie BedeliaMike and Susan's wedding is overshadowed by family drama, including Mike's brother's divorce, Susan's father's affair, her sister's marital troubles, and Mike's friend pursuing the maid of honor.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsGeorge SegalEva Marie SaintSterling HaydenIn this romantic comedy/drama, George Segal stars as a freelance artist who's attempting to revitalize his career just as his marriage to Eva Marie Saint begins to fall apart. Co-starring David Doyle, Sterling Hayden and Kennan Wynn.
- DirectorAlan CookeStarsTerence StampRobert VaughnNigel DavenportA man who has been in a coma since infancy is awakened.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsSean ConneryRichard HarrisSamantha EggarIn 1876 Pennsylvania, a group of Irish immigrant coal miners begin to retaliate against the cruelty of their work environment.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsRobert StephensChristopher LeeColin BlakelyWhen a bored Holmes eagerly takes the case of Gabrielle Valladon after an attempt on her life, the search for her missing husband leads to Loch Ness and the legendary monster.
- DirectorHarry HurwitzStarsChuck McCannIna BalinRodney DangerfieldA projectionist bored with his everyday life begins fantasizing about his being one of the superheroes he sees in the movies he shows.
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsFaye DunawayBarry PrimusViveca LindforsLou Andreas Sand, a once famous model, recalls her past as she tries to make success in the modeling world of New York, her stressful workdays, her affair with Mark, an advertising executive, her friendship with photographer Aaron, and her downward spiral into ruin.
- DirectorPaul WilliamsStarsJon VoightSeymour CasselRobert DuvallA radical student feels that he has been betrayed by the college association to which he belongs, and thinks more violent actions must be taken in order to alter the existing system.
- DirectorRobert KaylorStarsCharlie O'ConnellMick SnellChristina SnellDerby is a fascinating look at the world of 1970s professional Roller Derby. Features lots of on-track action, as well as an off-track behind the scenes look at the lives of the Roller Derby pros featured in the film.
- DirectorIvan PasserStarsGeorge SegalPaula PrentissKaren BlackA smart-mouthed junkie and loser known as J.J. (George Segal) spends his days looking for just "one more fix".
- DirectorFrank D. GilroyStarsShirley MacLaineKenneth MarsSada ThompsonMarriage of a midlife, middle-class, childless couple is in a rut. Sophie has become depressed, frigid and slightly paranoid and Otto is stuck in optimistic denial. Things escalate at their summer cottage, but no one dares call it quits.
- DirectorJames ClavellStarsMichael CaineOmar SharifFlorinda BolkanDuring the Thirty Years' War of 1600s, a band of Protestant mercenaries peacefully coexist with German Catholic villagers in a hidden idyllic mountain valley untouched by war.
- DirectorJohn D. HancockStarsZohra LampertBarton HeymanKevin O'ConnorA recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsMichael SarrazinBarbara HersheyArthur HillA young college student is sent to prison as much for killing a pedestrian with his car as for not paying his parking tickets. When the opportunity presents itself he escapes and is subsequently on the run with his girlfriend. But how long can this situation last?