Cliff Edwards Movies

The shortest of Disney's major animated features Dumbo involves a baby elephant with unusually large ears. Ostracized from the rest of the circus animals, poor Dumbo is even separated from his mother, who is chained up in a separate cage after trying to defend her child. Only brash-but-lovable Timothy Mouse offers the hand of friendship to Dumbo, encouraging the pouty pachyderm to exploit his "different" qualities for fame and fortune. After trepidatiously indulging in a vat of booze, Dumbo awakens in a tall tree. Goaded by a group of jive-talking crows, Dumbo discovers that his outsized ears have given him the ability to fly. The musical score by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace won Oscars for them both. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Officially a Charles Starrett western, Riders of the Badlands divides its running time fairly evenly between Starrett and second-billed Russell Hayden. The plot concerns a Texas Ranger named Collins (Starrett) and his lookalike, notorious outlaw Langdon (also Starrett). When his wife is killed by Langdon's minions, Barton (Hayden) vows to avenge her death. He mistakenly arrests Collins and sentences the lawman to hang, but our hero manages to escape in time and bring the genuine Langdon to justice. Cliff Edwards costars as a singing dentist (!) who tries but fails to provide an alibi for the hapless Collins. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A remake of Ceiling Zero (1936), International Squadron stars Ronald W. Reagan (in the old James Cagney role) as a hotshot flying who joins the Royal Air Force in England. Reagan refuses to mend his barnstorming ways, and thanks to his recklessness two pilots are killed. The headstrong young flyer redeems himself by going on a suicide bombing mission, from which he never returns. International Squadron costars James Stephenson, a veteran character actor who'd recently achieved prominence thanks to a strong role in the 1940 Bette Davis vehicle The Letter. Unfortunately, Stephenson died shortly afterward, cutting short what might have been a stellar film career. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The title of Millionaires in Prison (which begs for the rejoinder "about time!") pertains to four individuals. Two of the incarcerated millionaires, Bruce Vander (Raymond Walburn) and Harold Kellogg (Thurston Hall) have become the fall guys in a corporate swindle; the other two are brokers James Brent (Morgan Conway) and Sidney Keats (Chester Clute), who scheme to arrange an illicit stock deal in the joint. Prisoner Nick Burton (Lee Tracy) - the unofficial leader of the convicts - runs the prison like a resort, and treats the other inmates like kings. In the central story, Dr. William Collins (Truman Bradley) - a physician locked up for driving recklessly - discovers the cure for Malta fever and uses four infected prisoners as test subjects. Director Ray McCarey obviously didn't put a high priority on credibility when making Millionaires in Prison; of this, Variety wrote, "Some situations are implausible, but good for laughs." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Weaver Brothers hit the road and taste the hobo's life in this, the sixth, entry in the eleven-film "Weaver Brothers and Elviry" comedy-drama series. The singing hayseed family's journey begins when a drought destroys their farm. The young travelers soon hook up with a band of tramps and end up in a small town that has been nearly destroyed by the floods that occasionally roar through it. The Weavers' are moved by the townsfolk's plight and so decide to stay a spell and help out. When not appearing in film, the Weavers were known as the "The Arkansas Travelers" and frequently performed on the Grand Ole Opry. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A tough, bitter fugitive's travels lead him to a grungy rundown oil town. There the transient is taken in by an oil-rigger who gives him a job working a well. They must work double-quick for the well's lease is due to expire. Unfortunately, they become so focused on striking oil quickly, they forget about safety and several men are hurt. Meanwhile the kindly crew boss and the fugitive vie for the affections of a life-hardened woman until tragedy strikes the supervisor. Suddenly the fugitive must take on the responsibility of reaching the oil. In so doing, he makes some important decisions about taking responsibility for his actions as well. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Gone With the Wind boils down to a story about a spoiled Southern girl's hopeless love for a married man. Producer David O. Selznick managed to expand this concept, and Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel, into nearly four hours' worth of screen time, on a then-astronomical 3.7-million-dollar budget, creating what would become one of the most beloved movies of all time. Gone With the Wind opens in April of 1861, at the palatial Southern estate of Tara, where Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) hears that her casual beau Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) plans to marry "mealy mouthed" Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland). Despite warnings from her father (Thomas Mitchell) and her faithful servant Mammy (Hattie McDaniel), Scarlett intends to throw herself at Ashley at an upcoming barbecue at Twelve Oaks. Alone with Ashley, she goes into a fit of histrionics, all of which is witnessed by roguish Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), the black sheep of a wealthy Charleston family, who is instantly fascinated by the feisty, thoroughly self-centered Scarlett: "We're bad lots, both of us." The movie's famous action continues from the burning of Atlanta (actually the destruction of a huge wall left over from King Kong) through the now-classic closing line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Holding its own against stiff competition (many consider 1939 to be the greatest year of the classical Hollywood studios), Gone With the Wind won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Oscar). The film grossed nearly 192 million dollars, assuring that, just as he predicted, Selznick's epitaph would be "The Man Who Made Gone With the Wind." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

British leading man Barry McKay made a respectable if unsuccessful bid at Hollywood stardom in Republic's Stolen Cargo. The plot is motivated by an association of crooked fruit growers who spend most of their time finding ways to cheat their workers out of their rightful pay. McKay is cast as Gerry Clayton, the son of one of the duplicitous growers (Ralph Morgan). Appalled by the plight of the migrant workers, many of whom are illegal aliens (hence the barely relevant title), Gerry champions their cause. The plot thickens when the conscience-stricken elder Clayton decides to pull out of the associations, at which point he is framed for murder (this may be one of the few films in existence in which Ralph Morgan doesn't play the guilty party!) Filmed on location in Southern California, Smuggled Cargo has plenty of energy to make up for its lack of credibility. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

MGM's leading musical team of the 30's, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy are paired once again in this fourth film version of David Belasco's creaky melodrama, featuring music by Sigmund Romberg and Gus Kahn. Jeanette MacDonald is Mary Robbins, the owner of a bawdy, rough-house saloon in a western mining town, who falls in love with the Mexican bandit Ramerez (Nelson Eddy), who has disguised himself as a cavalry officer. But when local sheriff Jack Rance (Walter Pidgeon) tracks down Ramerez and wounds him, Mary discovers Ramerez's ruse and begs Rance for the outlaw's freedom. The only problem is that Nance is also in love with Mary. Girl of the Golden West was originally tinted in a sepia-tone to create a look as burnished as the MGM production design. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The tempestuous love affair between a young surgeon and a pretty but married nurse provides the basis for this melodrama. The nurse would much rather be with the good doctor as she is married to a wretched alcoholic but she cannot bear to leave her husband in his hour of need. Later the surgeon falls in love with a wealthy young woman. Shortly after removing her appendix in emergency surgery, they get married. Unfortunately, the new wife hates her husband's devotion to his career and begins nagging him. He finally gives in and takes her out on the town. Meanwhile the nurse's drunken husband has a medical emergency. Unfortunately, the surgeon is not there to save him. Fortunately, the husband's death frees the would-be lovers to follow their hearts, but not before the surgeon divorces his wife first. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this WW II era drama, a timid, pacifistic clerk is befriended by a gutsy circus barker while they are in the military. Tensions arise between the friends after they fall for the same woman. The circus man is captured by the Germans and shortly thereafter, the clerk marries the girl. In time, the clerk finds courage he never knew he had and becomes a legendary hero. The war ends, but by the time, the clerk is returned to civilian life, he has come to like killing others. Unable to adjust, he becomes a gangster, something he conceals from his wife. Years pass and he runs into his old friend the circus barker, who has become the owner of his own circus. By this time the gangster's wife has learned of his profession and she teams up with the ringmaster to help straighten him out. When all else fails, she turns him into the cops. To earn money while he serves his time, the woman joins the other man's circus. It's all innocent, but the gangster, having just busted out of prison, doesn't realize this. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Social butterfly Rena Allen (Doris Nolan) is bored unto tears by her stuffy fiance Throckton Van Cortland (Gerald Oliver Smith). She runs off to the country, where she falls in love with struggling playwright Ken Durkin (Michael Whalen). He is astonished by her uncanny ability to critique his work and offer advice, but the audience knows that Rena is the niece of prominent Broadway producer Robert Hartley (Nigel Bruce). The audience also knows -- but Rena doesn't -- that Durkin is himself a runaway socialite. Elated when his play is purchased by Hartley, Ken is offended when he discovers that Rena was responsible for this stroke of fortune and storms out of her life (the fact that he'd also been deceiving her doesn't seem to bother him too much). It takes a night together in the small-town jail of rustic sheriff Chic Sale for Rena and Robert to kiss and make up. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi