Sam Garrett Movies
Writer-director Eric Chaikin's feature-length documentary A Lawyer Walks Into A Bar. . . offers a witty, seriocomic look at myriad aspects of the American legal process and judicial system. It hones in on six individuals, all prospective attorneys at the time of the film's production, and follows them through trials and travails as they approach and take the formidable bar. Chaikin then uses the subjects' stories as springboards to broader digressions on U.S. litigation. The film features a myriad of celebrity guest appearances, from both well-respected attorneys and entertainers. Participants include: attorneys Alan Dershowitz, Mark Lanier and Joe Jamail; comics Eddie Griffin and Michael Ian Black; TV commentators John Stossel and Nancy Grace, and many others. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
The Dolly Sisters is the heavily Hollywoodized biopic of Jennie and Rosie Dolly, Hungarian-born entertainers who took Broadway by storm in the early 1900s. Betty Grable plays Jennie and June Haver plays Rosie; their uncle is the inevitable "funny foreigner" S.Z. Sakall, who manages their career from childhood. Passing an important audition for Oscar Hammerstein, the Dolly girls become international stage headliners, but in so doing they find that their private life is strained. Jennie in particular is perplexed by the dilemma of devoting herself to a career while still finding time to romance handsome composer John Payne. The Dolly girls are separated permanently when Rosie is fatally injured in an auto accident, but Jennie finds lasting happiness with her composer. Despite the pre-World War I ambience of the film, both Grable and Haver show off a lot more skin than would have been permissible in earlier times. But Dolly Sisters producer George Jessel knew what he was doing, and the Technicolor film was a major hit in 1945. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, John Payne, (more)
- 1936
Yet another Zorro imitation, this adventure serial starred Robert Livingston as Don Loring, whose father and brother are killed by the evil General Burr (Fred Kohler). Seeking revenge, Loring dons a black cape and mask, calls himself "The Eagle," and goes about bringing Burr and his men to justice. As a daytime cover, the hero assumes the role of a kind, simple-minded church organist, a disguise that manages to fool Burr and his collaborator, the nasty Russian Count Raspinoff (Robert Warwick), for the serial's 12 installments. Guinn "Big Boy" Williams co-starred as Salvation, the leader of a motley gang of outlaws who assist Loring in his quest, while brunette Kay Hughes added much needed feminine touch to the proceedings. Produced for Republic Pictures by genre specialist Nat Levine, the serial was co-directed by former actor Mack V. Wright and Ray Taylor. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1931
Filmed simultaneously with So This Is Arizona and Riders of the Cactus (both 1931), this ultra low-budget Western features Wally Wales and lariat champion Sam Garrett as brothers entering a country rodeo. Also joining are young Buzz Murphy (Buzz Barton) and Bonnie Starr (Bonnie Jean Gray), the latter to help her father out of some financial troubles. There is a villain, of course, nasty Tex Johnson (Frederick Church), who is attempting to rig the contest in his own favor. Standing in for his shy sibling, Wally proposes to Bonnie, but she misunderstands and considers herself engaged to him. When Johnson's scheming girlfriend, Kate Weston (Tete Brady), fakes an accident in order to spy on the brothers, Wally uses the opportunity to make Bonnie jealous and reject him. The ploy fails, however, when Bonnie instead interrupts Kate with Sam. Johnson has bet 200 dollars on Wally, but as Sam seems to be winning at lariat roping, Kate is ordered to do a bit of sabotage. But young Buzz overhears some of the plotting and informs the sheriff (Gus Anderson), who deputizes both brothers. After beating Kate in the cowgirls' race, Bonnie joins the chase and arrives just in time to see Sam lasso the unfortunate Johnson. After Wally clears up the misunderstanding, Bonnie finally accepts Sam's offer of marriage. Written and directed by silent veteran David Kirkland, Flying Lariats was produced far away from Hollywood by Robert Connell and R.B. Hooper, the latter also doubling as cameraman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
