Minta Durfee Movies

Faded Hollywood star Katharine Packard (Miriam Hopkins) lives a lonely, secluded life in a sprawling mansion, battling the bottle and struggling to hold on to her eroding sanity. After a drunken reverie leads to a broken leg, her doctor advertises for a live-in nurse to help care for the embittered former actress. An intense, sarcastic young man named Vic (John Garfield, Jr.) arrives to claim the assignment, and is hired despite the concerns of Ms. Packard's secretary (Gale Sondergaard). She's right to suspect the worst, for not only is Vic lying about his medical credentials, he's also a psychopathic killer who preys exclusively on older women. He charms his way into Katharine's good graces, seduces the comely young cook (Virginia Wing) and keeps a secret leather kit full of syringes, butcher knives and scalpels hidden in his room. Katharine thinks she's falling in love and soon Vic is in full control of the household, charging expensive outfits for himself and bringing drug dealers and freaks back for midnight parties. When the elderly screen legend realizes that her young gigolo is dangerous, she mysteriously disappears, but Vic tells the household staff that Katharine is simply isolating herself in her room and doesn't want to be disturbed by anyone but him. As the domestic help start to get wise, they are picked off one by one by this remorseless predator. Also known as The Comeback and Hollywood Horror House. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide

Jayne Mansfield recreated her starmaking stage role in this film adaptation of George Axelrod's Broadway comedy. Mansfield plays a Monroe-like movie queen whom adman Tony Randall hopes to sign for a product endorsement. Through a fluke, the press believes that Randall is having an affair with Mansfield; she eagerly pounces on the attendant publicity, much to the dismay of her body-builder beau (Mickey Hargitay, then married to Mansfield). At the behest of his ad agency, Randall is forced to propose to Mansfield on a coast-to-coast TV show, which breaks the heart of his true love (Betsy Drake). Both Randall and Mansfield are saved from a marriage neither one wants by the last-minute arrival of Mansfield's hometown boy friend (Groucho Marx). Director Frank Tashlin uses Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter as an excuse to take satirical potshots at everything from TV commercials to the unwieldiness of CinemaScope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The attractive physiques of Tom Neal and Carol Hughes are generously displayed in the PRC comedy The Miracle Kid. Neal is cast as Jimmy, a young boxer who surprisingly wins a bout with the established champ. The loser claims that he was "jinxed" by Jimmy in the ring, whereupon Our Hero is exploited by a group of health faddists adhering to the philosophy of "mind over matter". Jimmy is subsequently pitted against several "bums" so that the health nuts can prove the vercity of their theories, but in the end he proves that the "secret" to his success lies in his fists and not his subconscious. Carol Hughes costars as Jimmy's sweetheart Pat, who shows up at one point in a form-fitting bathing suit for no reason other than to satisfy the red-blooded males in the audience. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This anthology is comprised of several short chucklers from the King of Slapstick comedy Mack Sennett. These shorts feature Ben Turpin and those crazy Keystone Cops. The titles include: The Eyes Have It, The Cannon Ball, The Desperate Scoundrel and Pride of Pikeville. A second volume follows. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Discovering that his wife has been unfaithful, doctor John Stedman (Harry T. Morey crawls into a bottle an ends up on skid row. Eventually he is forced to use his medical skills to save the life of a wounded gangster. Out of gratitude, the crook's chums help Stedman to re-establish himself as an underworld surgeon, whereupon he cuts out the booze and changes his name to Martin West. Meanwhile, socialite Dorothy Harmon (Grace Darmond) takes up residence in the slums to win a bet. She meets "Dr. West," who assumes that she's broke and helps her get a domestic job at his boarding house. Falling in love with the dedicated doctor, Dorothy uses her connections to get him back into society. In the intervening years, Dorothy and Stedman are separated, but with her help he returns to his former social status. The hero and heroine are unexpectedly reunited when Stedman answers an emergency call at a ritzy mansion and is forced to operate on the ailing Dorothy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Keystone 2-reel comedy was also distributed under its working title, The Lure of Broadway. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who also directed, is cast as a cook in a Broadway cabaret. In addition to his kitchen duties, Fatty is also the establishment's star performer, assisted by bartender Al St. John and waitress Mabel Normand. While Fatty and Al battle over Mabel's attentions, she is lured away by a villainous city slicker (William Jefferson) who deposits the girl in a seedy waterfront dive. Having tried and failed to rescue Mabel from this den of iniquity, Fatty finally succeeds with the aid of a bunch of brawling sailors. At one point in the proceedings, an African American piano player turns white with fear, which should give the reader an idea of the subtle nature of the rest of Bright Lights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This anthology is comprised of several short chucklers from the King of Slapstick comedy Mack Sennett. These shorts feature the hilarious Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. The titles include: Fatty and Mabel Adrift, Mabel, Fatty, and the Law, Fatty's Tin-Type Tangle, and Our Congressman. The latter features Will Rogers making fun of Capitol Hill. This is the second of two volumes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Keystone Comedies is a collection of silent film shorts produced by the legendary Mack Sennett. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Love, Speed and Thrills is about a loving husband and a wife-stealing wolf, both after the same woman. ~ All Movie Guide