Warren Hymer Movies

David O. Selznick's first production since 1940's Rebecca, Since You Went Away, based on Margaret Buell Wilder's bestselling novel, is a long but rewarding paean to the World War 2 "home front". Claudette Colbert plays the wife of a businessman who, though well past draft age, volunteered to serve his country as an officer (though the husband is never seen, he is "played"-via a photograph-by Neil Hamilton). Fighting back her own fears and anxieties, Colbert does her best to maintain a normal, stable household for the sake of her growing daughters Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple. She is offered moral support by cynical-but-kindly boarder Monty Woolley, by maid Hattie McDaniel (who willing foregoes her salary "for the duration") and by Navy man and friend-of-the-family Joseph Cotten, whose relationship with Claudette remains staunchly platonic. The harsh realities of war hit home several times throughout the film, first when it seems as though Colbert's husband is missing in action, and later when Jennifer's young boyfriend, GI Robert Walker, is killed in combat. From the vantage point of the 1990s, it is easy to see why Since You Went Away scored with its wartime audiences. Though the leading characters are slightly more financially secure than most of the moviegoers of 1944, the various vignettes presented throughout-complaints about rationing and priorities, shoulder-to-shoulder sacrifices, the weekly escape to the local movie house, tender partings, joyous reunions, the returning wounded, the dreaded wire from the war department-all had the ring of truth and topicality. Even today, the film's emotional highlights, particularly the much-imitated farewell scene at the railroad station, are sufficient to bring tears to the eyes of the most jaded viewer. Enhancing the film's heartstring tugging tenfold is Max Steiner's Oscar-winning musical score. If you can remain objective while watching Since You Went Away (it isn't easy), see if you can spot Ruth Roman, Guy Madison and John Derek, making their screen debuts in microscopic roles ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One can't deny that Monogram's Spy Train never stops moving; after all, it is set on a speeding train. Richard Travis and Catherine Craig are the not-what-they-seem hero and heroine, who get mixed up with enemy agents, a myserious travel bag, and a time bomb. The Travis-Craig banter is incredibly sexist (he even gets away with gently slapping her face!), which in way is oddly endearing. Naturally, the Nazis are foiled in a spectacular and very final fashion. One question: this being a Monogram picture, why didn't their resident funster Mantan Moreland play the comedy-relief pullman porter, instead of Fred "Snowflake" Toones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Olivia De Havilland hadn't wanted to star in RKO's Government Girl, but was forced to do so by her home studio Warner Bros. Perhaps in retaliation, De Havilland delivers a strident, overbaked performance, which serves only to make this so-so wartime comedy something of an endurance test for modern viewers. The actress plays "Smokey", the Washington DC-based secretary of Detroit automobile expert Browne (Sonny Tufts, who's actually pretty good in this one!) Aware that Browne is a babe in the woods so far as Washington lobbying, politicking and backstabbing are concerned, Smokey takes the poor boy by the hand and shows him the ropes. Despite the derivative nature of Adela Rogers St. John's screenplay-the film seems like a hybrid of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and The More the Merrier--Government Girl was an enormous hit, posting a profit of $700,000. The film represents the film directorial debut of producer-screenwriter Dudley Nichols. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this mystery, a Times Square doctor rescues a chorus girl who, as part of a publicity stunt, was preparing to leap off a building. He later becomes friends with a killer who asks the doctor to take $100,000 to his estranged daughter. Before the doctor can run his errand, mobsters show up and shoot the killer. They then steal the key to the safe deposit box carrying the cash leaving the doctor to be blamed for the murder. Fortunately, he is able to capture the crooks and clear his name. He also manages to again save the chorus girl from a second attempt at jumping off a building. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this "East Side Kids" escapade (the eighth in the series), the gang, led by Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey), help a man load a barrel on a truck. Little do they know that the man is a crook; accused of trying to steal the truck, they are immediately and without due process sent to reform school. Meanwhile, a gang members' brother is framed for murder and sentenced to death (justice is dispensed with remarkable swiftness on the East Side). The imprisoned gang watch a newsreel which features the man whom they'd helped load the truck. The man was filmed picking up a lottery prize for the his boss, a supposedly dead gangster who committed the murder for which the boy mentioned a few sentences back was framed. With the flimsiest of evidence, Muggs and his boys figure that the barrel loaded on the truck contained the murderous gangster. They escape from reform school (almost as easily as they'd gotten in), track down the gangster's henchman, extract a confession and save the condemned boy at the last minute. Insanely illogical, Mr. Wise Guy is lifted ever so slightly from mediocrity by the supporting performance of Billy Gilbert as the gangster's stooge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this murder mystery, a re-working of The Sphinx, a distract attorney is determined to prove that the community's most respected member, a deaf-mute philanthropist, is a cold-blooded killer. When the prominent fellow is acquitted, the disgusted DA quits his job and begins investigating the murder himself. His investigation takes an unexpected turn when he learns the truth about the killing--the suspect is both guilty and not guilty. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, the police endeavor to destroy the oppressive protection racket that has been plaguing their city. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Billed as "The Girl who Stopped a Thousand Shows" and "The Poor Man's Garbo," burlesque dancer Margie Hart made her feature film debut in this ultra low-budget World War II romance. In an attempt to determine whether fifth columnists are persuading the natives to work for the Japanese, American government agents Robert Lowery and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams arrive on the tropical island of Tanukai. Befriending two beautiful island girls (Hart and Gale Storm), our heroes trudge through the jungle hotly pursued by a Nazi saboteur (Ivan Lebedeff) and several downed Japanese pilots (one of whom is played by an actor named Angel Cruz!). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

She's in the Army is a fascinating vehicle for character actress Lucille Gleason (aka Mrs. James Gleason), heretofore usually confined to supporting roles. Gleason is cast as Hannah, a crusty, all-knowing sergeant in the Women's Ambulance and Defense Corps. Brassy nightclub singer Diane (Veda Ann Borg) would rather romance Army captain Steve (Lyle Talbot) than follow Hannah's orders, but eventually she realizes that her first duty is to her country. Likewise, dizzy Marie Wilson "smarts up" enough to prove her value to the Corps. She's in the Army was written by Sidney Sheldon, two decades removed from his success as a best-selling novelist and I Dream of Jeannie mentor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Believe it or not, this bizarre wartime "B"-picture was based on a true story. In the early stages of WWII, a prominent American businessman offered one million dollars to anyone who could nab Adolf Hitler and bring him to justice, dead or alive. This real-life character is herein played by Russell Hicks; accepting his offer, no questions asked, are ex-convicts Ward Bond, Warren Hymer and Paul Fix. Joining the Canadian Air Force, the three heroes-by-default strong-arm their way into Nazi Germany, then gain access to Hitler by posing as musicians. Robert Watson, frequent Hitler impersonator during the war years, co-stars as Der Fuhrer, who turns out to be a craven coward once he's shorn of his postage-stamp mustache (we're not making this up.) The quasi-comic tone of the film turns dead serious at the end, as a wild-eyed Ward Bond makes a long patriotic speech while facing a firing squad (previously shown mowing down little children in their bedclothes!). One of the oddest scenes in the picture finds the three former convicts busting out of the Dachau concentration camp -- and this before the world at large was unaware of the horrors going on behind the walls of this infamous death factory. Only one quibble: Why are there shadows of flames playing against Bond's face in the final scene, when there isn't any fire? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first of director Frank Capra's independent productions (in partnership with Robert Riskin), Meet John Doe begins with the end of reporter Ann Mitchell's (Barbara Stanwyck) job. Fired as part of a downsizing move, she ends her last column with an imaginary letter written by "John Doe." Angered at the ill treatment of America's little people, the fabricated Doe announces that he's going to jump off City Hall on Christmas Eve. When the phony letter goes to press, it causes a public sensation. Seeking to secure her job, Mitchell talks her managing editor (James Gleason) into playing up the John Doe letter for all it's worth; but to ward off accusations from rival papers that the letter was bogus, they decide to hire someone to pose as John Doe: a ballplayer-turned-hobo (Gary Cooper), who'll do anything for three squares and a place to sleep. "John Doe" and his traveling companion The Colonel (Walter Brennan) are ensconced in a luxury hotel while Mitchell continues churning out chunks of John Doe philosophy. When newspaper publisher D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold), a fascistic type with presidential aspirations, decides to use Doe as his ticket to the White House, he puts Doe on the radio to deliver inspirational speeches to the masses -- ghost-written by Mitchell, who, it is implied, has become the publisher's mistress. The central message of the Doe speeches is "Love Thy Neighbor," though, conceived in cynicism, the speeches strike so responsive a chord with the public that John Doe clubs pop up all over the country. Believing he is working for the good of America, Cooper agrees to front the National John Doe Movement -- until he discovers that Norton plans to exploit Doe in order to create a third political party and impose a virtual dictatorship on the country. The last of Capra's "social statement" films, Meet John Doe posted a profit, although Capra and Riskin were forced to dissolve their corporation due to excessive taxes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rather shaky as history, Birth of the Blues delivers the goods in terms of entertainment, thanks to the unbeatable star combination of Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. Set in New Orleans in the 'teens, the film stars Crosby as clarinetist Jeff Lambert, who breaks away from a traditionalist orchestra to form his own jazz band. His partners in this endeavor are songstress Betty Lou Cobb (Martin) and trumpeter Memphis (Brian Donlevy), a character obviously meant to be a white-bread version of Louis Armstrong. Inspired by the rhythms heard amongst the African American population of Louisiana, Jeff, Betty Lou and Memphis rise to fame and fortune, but internal jealousies and external gangster threats seriously compromise their success. An added complication is the presence of cute little orphan girl Phoebe (Carolyn Lee), Betty Lou's aunt, whom Jeff is obliged to hide from the child-welfare behemoths. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson is in his element as Jeff's long-suffering general factotum Louey, whose near-death experience towards the end of the story results in one of film's most powerful musical vignettes. The 14 songs heard in Birth of the Blues range from such classics as "St. Louis Blues" and "St. James Infirmary" to such newly-minted ditties as Johnny Mercer's "The Waiter, the Porter and the Upstairs Maid". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Universal Studios had their "B" musicals down to a science in the 1940s. All that was needed was a cast of talented contractees, four or five modest production numbers, and a title based on a popular song hit. In I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby, Broderick Crawford plays a sentimental gangster who abducts songwriter Johnny Downs and forces him to write a love ballad. It is Crawford's hope that the song will reach out and touch his long-lost childhood sweetheart. I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby was based on James Edward Grant's short story Trouble in B Flat; echoes of the basic premise later resurfaced in the 1957 "A" picture The Girl Can't Help It. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide