Laura La Plante Movies

After several years' absence from the screen, the vivacious Betty Hutton made a somewhat tepid comeback in Spring Reunion. The scene is a medium-sized Midwestern town, where Maggie Brewster (Hutton) is reacquainted with her high-school flame Fred Davis (Dana Andrews) during a class reunion. The first time around, Maggie turned down Fred at the behest of her wealthy, domineering father (Robert Simon). When Fred proposes a second time, history threatens to repeat itself -- at least until the lachrymose finale. Silent screen star Laura La Plante also makes a return to the screen as Maggie's understanding mother. Rumor has it that the barely saleable Spring Reunion was deliberately designed as a tax write-off by the accountants for Kirk Douglas' Bryna Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a Navy officer is court-martialed after he saves the survivors of a German submarine attack instead of pursuing the fleeing U-boat. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A church mouse may be quiet, but not in this zippy British comedy from Warner Bros.' Teddington Studios. Hollywood's Laura LaPlante plays a meek, drab secretary in the employ of handsome banker Ian Hunter. She takes off her glasses, and--gosh!--she's gorgeous. Old silent-comedy hands W. Scott Darling and Tom Geraghty fashioned their screenplay from a play by Ladislas Fodor and Paul Frank (previously filmed as a silent). The Church Mouse was directed by slapstick comedian Monty Banks, who essays a small role as Harry Blump. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Girl in Possession was one of the best of a cluster of entertaining "quota quickies" produced in the early 1930s by Warner Bros.' British arm, Teddington Studios. Hollywood's Laura La Plante plays Eve Chandler, a young girl who falls heir to a vast estate -- or so she thinks. Our heroine is forced to contend with a gang of musical-comedy crooks before she can find happiness in the arms of nominal hero Sir Mortimer (Henry Kendall), who, like everyone else in the picture, isn't exactly what he seems to be. The top-heavy cast of supporting players includes Charlotte Parry as the heroine's wisecracking pal, Claude Hulbert as a silly-ass nobleman, Bernard Nedell as a society criminal, and Monty Banks (the director) in a comedy bit. Also showing up unbilled in The Girl in Possession is perennial Laurel & Hardy foil James Finlayson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Five characters find themselves playing a lively game of musical beds in this saucy pre-Code comedy. Richard (Edward Everett Horton) is a well-known lawyer who has a rather surprising reputation as a ladykiller. Felix (also played by Horton) is a nightclub impressionist who wants Richard's permission to spoof him in his stage act. Richard tells Felix he'll grant his approval only if he can convince Mrs. Mantel (Maude Eburne) that's he's actually Richard. As Felix sets out to pull the wool over Mrs. Mantel's eyes, Richard is advising Diane (Laura La Plante), one of his clients with whom he's infatuated, that she should file divorce papers against her husband, unaware that said spouse is actually Felix. Meanwhile, while Felix is trying to fool Mrs. Mantel, Richard's wife, Madeline (Esther Ralston), shows up, and she has no trouble at all believing that Felix is her husband -- so much so that Felix ends up in bed with Madeline. Lonely Wives also stars Patsy Ruth Miller and Georgette Rhodes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

God's Gift to Women demonstrated conclusively that Warner Bros. would never make a movie star out of Broadway comedian Frank Fay. Portraying a most unlikely Frenchman, Fay pitches woo at every beautiful woman in sight, but falls in love with none of them. When Cupid genuinely strikes him for the first time, Fay is compelled by the girl's father to prove that he's honestly in love with her and not just with her millions. Fay does just that, but it takes ever so long. God's Gift to Women is injured beyond repair by the obnoxious, mannered performance of Frank Fay, and by the fact that Fay and director Michael Curtiz detested each other at first sight. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When Lt. Bob Denton (John Wayne) tells his girlfriend Evelyn (Laura La Plante) that he has no intention of marrying her, she takes her revenge by romancing Denton's protege and father figure Colonel Bonham (Forrest Stanley). Unbeknownst to Evelyn (La Plante), Denton (Wayne) begins to court Evelyn's younger sister Bonita (June Clyde). It doesn't take long for Denton to fall in love with Bonita (Clyde), and the former ladies man decides to commit to their relationship. Though a reformed Denton secretly marries Bonita, Evelyn finds a way to convince the Colonel that Denton had made illicit advances at her. Feeling angry and betrayed, Colonal Bonham asks for Denton's resignation. Men Are Like That was directed by George B. Seitz and also features actress (Susan Fleming). ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Intended as Universal Pictures' entry in the "all-star musical" cycle of the early talkie era, King of Jazz is certainly the most elaborate of the bunch, though far from the most successful financially. Staged by Broadway impresario John Murray Anderson, the film is held together by the charismatic personality of rotund bandleader Paul Whiteman. The show begins with a Walter Lantz cartoon wherein it is recalled how Whiteman earned the title of the King of Jazz (Lantz's animated star Oswald Rabbit makes a brief appearance). Then Whiteman appears in the flesh (and plenty of it), coaxing his miniaturized orchestra out of a small box. The film then assumes the traditional revue format, with brief comedy sketches featuring such Universal contractees as Laura LaPlante and Slim Summerville interspersed with some of the most spectacular production numbers ever captured on film. The musical talent includes John Boles, the Rhythm Boys (with Bing Crosby), and "swing" violinist Joe Venuti. Highlights include a full-length "picturization" of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" (with Gershwin look-alike Roy Bargy at the piano), the surrealistic "Happy Feet", the splendiferous "Bridal Veil", and the gargantuan "Melting Pot" finale. The current Technicolor negative of King of Jazz, lovingly assembled from pristine original prints and battered dupes, runs 93 minutes -- some 12 minutes short of the film's original length. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Laura La Plante starred in this early sound comedy-drama about a girl who leaves her lawyer husband to study painting in Paris. Meanwhile the husband (Scott Kolk) is persuaded by femme fatale Mildred Van Dorn to file for divorce. But in Paris, Kolk discovers that he still loves Laura. After a few misunderstandings are ironed out, Van Dorn is discredited, and husband and wife embark on a second honeymoon. Universal's top comedian in the late 1920s, Laura La Plante made close to 20 talking pictures between 1929 and 1931. Something indefinable was lost in the transition, however, and today she is considered a victim of sound. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Show Boat was a part-silent, part-talkie adaptation of the book by Edna Ferber. The film traces the life of Magnolia Hawkes (Laura La Plante), daughter of Captain Andy of the Cotton Blossom, a 19th century show boat. Magnolia's head is turned by handsome gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Joseph Schildkraut), who woos and weds her. He turns out to be a poor husband and provider, eventually deserting Magnolia and her daughter. But Magnolia, harking upon her performing experiences while on her father's show boat, becomes a successful stage star and raises her daughter all by herself. Though filmed just two years after the Broadway debut of the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein Jr. musical Show Boat, this film is more closely based on the source novel than the stage play. While the immortal "Ol' Man River" was retained, the rest of the Broadway version's songs were jettisoned in favor of several forgettable tunes written by entrepreneur Billy Rose, who convinced the movie's producers that the public had grown tired of hearing the Kern-Hammerstein score! Show Boat would be remade twice, with most of the original songs intact and without Rose's "improvements," in 1936 and 1951. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"Thanks for the Buggy Ride" is the name of a tune penned by would-be songwriter Joe Hall (Glenn Tryon). On the verge of selling his song to an important music publisher, Joe loses his opportunity when the publisher is inadvertently insulted by the hero's sweetheart, nightclub chanteuse Jenny (Laura La Plante). Hoping to make up for her blunder, Jenny dons a disguise and attends a fancy party for vaudeville headliners. She manages to gain access to popular entertainer Trixie Friganza (playing herself), who loves Hall's song and agrees to plug it in her act. Good-hearted Friganza also arranges a tender reunion between the estranged hero and heroine. Thanks for the Buggy Ride was directed by William A. Seiter, then the husband of star Laura La Plante. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A pleasant but unremarkable comedy from Universal, Home James featured the studio's premiere light comedian Laura La Plante as Laura Elliott, a department store clerk who mistakes her youthful boss, James Lacey Jr. (Charles Delaney), for a chauffeur. Amused by the situation and wishing to impress Laura's visiting relatives, James plays along, pretending that the Lacey mansion belongs to Laura. When Lacey Sr. (George Pearce) arrives unexpectedly, the dignified elder is mistaken for an intruder and arrested. Everything is cleared up in the end of course, with James and Laura announcing their engagement ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Universal star Laura LaPlante struggles to fill out a very scanty story in this lightweight farce comedy. Molly and Sam Thornhill (LaPlante and John Harron) are a young couple who have been married less than a year. Although they dearly love each other, they argue constantly over every little thing. But when Molly discovers a pair of silk stockings in Sam's pocket, it's a very big deal. Even though Sam is completely innocent -- one of the girls at work took them off during her lunch hour and hid them as a joke -- Molly is determined to get a divorce. She lies to the judge, claiming that her meek, retiring husband is a gambler, a womanizer, and a wife beater. She manages to get her decree, but both she and Sam regret it almost immediately. Before the final decree goes through, Molly discovers that if Sam compromises her, the divorce will be void. She heads for his room in order to make that happen but wanders into the wrong room -- and the fun is on. Needless to say, the couple are embracing once again by the final frame. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi