Earl Eby Movies
- 1941
PRC Pictures' final 1941 release, Law of the Timber was based on a story by North Woods specialist James Oliver Curwood. Given that leading man Hal Brazeal has about as much charisma as a spoonful of potato salad, leading lady Marjorie Reynolds offers the most interesting characterization in this tale of the logging business. When her father is killed, Reynolds takes over his logging concern, working day and night to fill a government order on time. Someone is sabotaging her efforts, as witness the scene in which a train is dynamited (the special effects are a bit shaky; this action highlight looks more like a Lionel commercial). Veterans Monte Blue and J. Farrel McDonald also appear in this so-so programmer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1936
Love Before Breakfast was the scintillating title Universal chose over Spinster Dinner, the Faith Baldwin novel upon which this airy comedy is based. Carole Lombard is a Park Avenue beauty squired by Preston S. Foster and Cesar Romero. Since neither gentleman is a prize catch, Lombard is fey and fickle throughout the film. That's all there is to Love Before Breakfast, which might have been completely forgotten had it not been for a famous 1930s-era painting in which a detailed poster for the film is the focus of attention. There's one iconoclastic alteration in the painting: Carole Lombard has been given a black eye. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Preston S. Foster, (more)
In this western, Gene Autry plays a cowboy with a heart as big as Texas who heads for the city to try to raise money so that a crippled little girl can get the operation she needs to walk again. First he talks a coffee company into being his sponsor. They opt to broadcast their performance on television, which had only recently been invented. Just as the performance is aired, there is trouble back at the ranch and the little girl finds herself trapped in a runaway wagon. Fortunately, the ranch hands rally to her rescue. Back in the city, the performance is a success and the girl is healed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1935
This espionage thriller with romantic comedy touches was loosely based on the book American Black Chamber by the real-life head of the U.S. Secret Service during World War I, Herbert O. Yardley. Bill Gordon (William Powell) is a newspaper puzzle editor who becomes a lieutenant in 1917 when he enlists to fight in the First World War. Before shipping out, Bill meets and becomes attracted to Joel Carter (Rosalind Russell), the niece of John Carter (Samuel Hinds), the Assistant Secretary of War. When Joel learns about Bill's former occupation, she arranges for his transfer to the War Department, where he is put to work code breaking for Major Brennan (Lionel Atwill). When Brennan is murdered as the result of a German-Russian spy ring's machinations, Bill investigates the spies and a comely secret agent (Bonnie Barnes), which jeopardizes his newfound romance with Joel. Russell received the role because MGM's first choice, Myrna Loy, was refusing to work for the studio at the time. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Powell, Rosalind Russell, (more)
- 1935
An innocent but admittedly none-too-bright victim of circumstance, Mary Burns (played by perennial movie victim Sylvia Sidney) is inexorably sucked into the vortex of organized crime. She tries to escape her murderer husband Babe Wilson (Alan Baxter), but it's a losing proposition, especially since the newspapers have already branded her a gun moll. Making matters worse, she is thrown into prison for crimes committed by her husband (understandably, since her behavior at her trial was self-defeating to say the least). Though believing her guilty, detective Harper (Wallace Ford) allows Mary to escape from jail, hoping in this way to track down Wilson. Nominal hero Alec MacDonald (Melvyn Douglas) isn't much help; not introduced until the film's halfway point, he spends most of his time in a hospital bed, recuperating from an injury. In fact, the story is wrapped up only after MacDonald is rescued by the heroine! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvia Sidney, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
