George Murphy Movies
A Yankee Doodle dandy born on the fourth of July, actor George Murphy was the son of an Olympic track coach. He tried the Navy at age 15, but soon returned home to complete his high school and college education. He never finished college, choosing instead to pursue a dancing career. In 1927, Murphy and his partner-wife Julie Johnson made it to Broadway; by the early 1930s Mrs. Murphy had retired and George had become a star solo dancer. He made his screen bow in support of Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman, and Ann Sothern in Kid Millions (1934). Never a major star, Murphy was an agreeable presence in several big-budget musicals of the 1930s and 1940s, and later essayed straight dramatic parts in such films as Border Incident (1949) and Battleground (1949). He also crossed paths with two of his future fellow Republican politicos, dancing with Shirley Temple in Little Miss Broadway (1938) and playing the father of Ronald Reagan (nine years Murphy's junior!) in This Is the Army (1943). Like Reagan, Murphy was a Democrat until becoming involved in intra-Hollywood politics. Changing to Republicanism in 1939, Murphy worked to cement relationships between local government and the movie industry, and in 1945 he served the first of two terms as President of the Screen Actors Guild (Reagan was, of course, one of his successors). After his last film, an odd MGM second feature about mob mentality titled Talk About a Stranger (1952), Murphy retired from show business to devote his full time to political and business activities. He was instrumental in getting Desilu Studios, the TV factory created by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, off the ground in the late 1950s, serving for several years on its board of directors. Murphy became one of the first actors to throw his hat into the political arena in 1964 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Despite throat surgery which prevented him from speaking above a hoarse whisper, Murphy remained active in Republican circles into the 1970s, helping smooth the path to several elections of increasing importance for his old pal Ronald Reagan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1952
Young Robert Fontaine, Jr. (Billy Gray) lives with his hard-working father (George Murphy) and mother (Nancy Davis), who is soon to give birth to a second child, on their northern California citrus farm. He's lonely on the farm and has been saving to buy a dog. One day, a mysterious stranger (Kurt Kasznar), who gives his name as Matlock, moves into the empty house adjacent to the farm -- he's not only highly strung but downright hostile to any friendly overtures that Robert Sr. or anyone else makes. Meanwhile, young Robert finds a stray dog that he adopts, and his whole life seems to blossom with his new companion -- but one day he finds the dog dead. He becomes fixated on the notion that Matlock poisoned the dog, and insists that his father do something -- but when Matlock angrily denies knowing about it, the boy's frustrations start to build. He tries to report to the poisoning to the police; when they won't help, he tries to get Mr. Wardlaw (Lewis Stone), the owner of the newspaper that he delivers, to run a news story about it, and when Wardlaw tries to reason with the boy, his rage finally boils over and he goes out-of-control. The boy decides to try and gather evidence against Matlock and follows a trail that takes him across the state hitchhiking, to the home of the former owner of the house Matlock is living in, and there he confronts a rumor that the other man was murdered. Stories and whispers begin to spread through the town about Matlock that make him seem even more sinister. The populace are getting stirred up, and Robert Jr., in his rage, commits an act of vandalism that threatens the entire community. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Murphy, Nancy Davis, (more)
- 1952
Louis de Rochemont, former March of Time producer whose "docudrama" films proved so popular in the 1940s, offers more of the same in Walk East on Beacon. Based on an article written (or ghostwritten) by J. Edgar Hoover, the film concerns the efforts by the FBI to plug up a dangerous security leak. Federal agent Belden (George Murphy) is assigned to locate the communist mastermind behind the leak, and to trace all avenues of informational access utilized by the Bad Guys. Finlay Currie co-stars as an Einstein-like scientist who is being blackmailed by the Reds into cooperating with them, while Karel Stepanek is slime personified as the top Eastern-Bloc spy. Largely filmed on location in New York, Walk East on Beacon makes good use of several Manhattan-based actors, few of whom were seen in films either before or since. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Murphy, Finlay Currie, (more)
- 1951
Barry Sullivan plays an eager young lawyer who is willing to sacrifice any and all scruples on the upward climb. He is put on retainer by a gangster, and soon is ankle-deep in an insurance racket. When he wants to pull out, Sullivan is framed for a gangland murder. No Questions Asked was in line with the harsher, less frothy fare produced by MGM during the Dore Schary regime. The screenplay was by former radio gagman Sidney Sheldon, who would later carve a literary niche for himself in the best-seller market of the 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, (more)
- 1950
Comprised of eight unrelated episodes of inconsistent quality, this anthology piece of American propaganda features some of MGM Studios' best directors, screenwriters and actors; it is narrated by Louis Calhern. Stories are framed by the lecture of a university professor. In one tale a Boston resident becomes angry when the census forgets to record her presence. Another sketch chronicles the achievements of African Americans while still another pays tongue-in-cheek tribute to Texas. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethel Barrymore, Gary Cooper, (more)
- 1949
- NR
As far removed from a "typical" MGM picture as it was possible to get back in 1949, Border Incident is a gritty, realistic crime melodrama. The story concerns the efforts by both the Mexican and American governments to stop the smuggling of Mexican migrant workers across the border. Representing Mexico is special agent Pablo Rodriguez (Ricardo Montalban), while Jack Bearnes (George Murphy) works on behalf of the US. Screenwriter John C. Higgins and producer/director Anthony Mann refuse to pull any punches, as witness the surprising mid-film murder of one of the major characters. Highlights include a harrowing episode involving a plowing machine and a climactic shootout in a quicksand swamp. The uniformly well-chosen supporting cast includes Howard da Silva, Arnold Moss, Alfonso Bedoya and Charles McGraw, "film noir" veterans all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, (more)
Incoming MGM production head Dore Schary ramrodded Battleground into the studio's schedule over the virulent protests of MGM boss Louis Mayer. The result was an award-winning box-office hit, as well as the beginning of the end of Mayer's power. This dramatization of the battles of Bastogne and the Bulge in the waning days of World War II concentrates on a single infantry unit. Van Johnson and John Hodiak are the ostensible stars, but the film is stolen by James Whitmore as the cigar-chomping, battle-stained sergeant. Also appearing is Ian MacDonald as General McAuliffe, whose legendary response to the Nazi's suggestion that the Americans surrender consisted of a single four-letter expletive: "Nuts". Whitmore's final scenes of near-delirium before the relief troops arrive are unforgettable. Battleground tries within MGM limits to be wholly realistic, though it is slightly compromised by the scripters' inability to use Army profanity, and by pointless subplot involving actress Denise Darcel. The film doesn't hold up as well as such wartime efforts as The Story of GI Joe or Walk in the Sun, but in 1949 Battleground was regarded as an important milestone in the field of truthful, de-glamorized combat flicks. Please avoid the colorized version: this is a black-and-white subject if ever there was one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, John Hodiak, (more)
- 1948
Filmed in 1946, Tenth Avenue Angel is yet another treacly vehicle for little Margaret O'Brien. The juvenile star is cast as Flavia Mills, an 8-year-old tenement dweller who insinuates herself into the lives of several down-and-outers, among them ex-convict Steve Abbott (George Murphy). Flavia's well-intentioned efforts to help Steve go straight, and to promote the blossoming romance between Steve and Susan Bratten (Angela Lansbury), are destined to hit several emotional roadblocks before the "End" title. Disillusioned by the contradictory behavior of her adult friends, Flavia eventually learns not to give up on the human race just because of a few setbacks. The Harry Ruskin/Eleanor Griffin screenplay was based on a story by Angna Enders, which in turn was based on a vaudeville sketch by veteran mystery writer Craig Rice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret O'Brien, George Murphy, (more)
- 1948
MGM's all-purpose title The Big City was deployed once more for this treacly 1948 drama. To prevent orphaned Midge (Margaret O'Brien) from being sent to an institution, Protestant minister Andrews (Robert Preston), Jewish cantor Feldman (Danny Thomas) and Catholic cop Patrick O'Donnell (George Murphy) jointly "adopt" the girl. Midge grows up in Feldman's home, and all is rosy until O'Donnell, on the verge of marrying funloving "Shoe-Shoe" Bailey (Betty Garrett in her film debut), announces that he wants to take full custody of the child. It's up to Midge herself, with the help of kindly Judge Abercrombie (Edward Arnold), to sort things out. Meanwhile, the Reverend Andrews finds romance in the shapely form of Florence Bartlett (Karin Booth). Though it's hard to forget that Danny Thomas was one of show business' most prominent Catholics, he delivers a convincing performance as the tune-happy Cantor Feldman, at one point foregoing his usual Kol Nidres in favor of a rousing cowboy song! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret O'Brien, Robert Preston, (more)
- 1947
On the whole, the films of producer-writer-director Arch Oboler seldom came up to the lofty standards of his radio work, but each of his movie projects had a few meritorious moments. One of the better Oboler film efforts was The Arnelo Affair, produced by MGM in 1946. Frances Gifford delivers what may be her best performance as Anne Parkson, the loving but neglected wife of busy Chicago attorney Ted Parkson (George Murphy). Upon meeting one of Ted's clients, shady nightclub owner Tony Arnelo (John Hodiak), Anne finds herself inexorably drawn to the charismatic Arnelo. He in turn is equally fascinated by Anne, but his fascination deepens into love. Upon realizing that Arnelo is essentially a cold-blooded thug, Anne tries to break off their relationship. But Arnelo has murdered his cast-off mistress Claire Lorrison (Joan Woodbury), and has arranged the evidence so as to implicate Anne in the killing. To Arnelo's way of thinking, if he can't have Ann, no one can-certainly not her scrupulously honest husband, who has gone on record insisting that he'd prosecute any criminal to the fullest extent of the law, even if that criminal was a friend or relative. Told in Arch Oboler's traditional stream-of-consciousness manner, the story comes to a violent but logical conclusion when Arnelo exhumes his own long-suppressed sense of decency. Despite competition from the three stars, and from such reliable supporting players as Eve Arden and Dean Stockwell, The Arnelo Affair is stolen by Warner Anderson as a soft-spoken, philosophical Chicago detective. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hodiak, George Murphy, (more)
- 1947
Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Taylor receives her first screen kiss in the innocuous MGM confection Cynthia. Taylor plays the title character, a sickly, sheltered young lady who is never permitted the companionship of other teenagers. Frustrated though Cynthia may be, she has nothing on her parents, Larry and Louise Bishop (George Murphy and Mary Astor), who feel they could have gotten a lot further in life had they remained childless Only by discovering that she has a gorgeous (albeit dubbed) singing voice is Cynthia able to break out of her shell and join the high school choir, under the benevolent leadership of cuddly Professor Rosencrantz (S. Z. Sakall). Along the way, the girl's parents overcome their resentment and learn to appreciate their daughter for the prize that she is. As a bonus, Cynthia also falls in love with Ricky Latham (James Lydon), who bestows that historic first kiss on her blushing cheek (Elizabeth Taylor and James Lydon would later be reteamed in Warner Bros.' Life with Father). Based on a play by Vina Delmar, Cynthia is a "programmer" by MGM standards, but an "A"-picture by any other studio's standards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Morris Ankrum, (more)
- 1946
MGM's first "Maisie" entry in two years, Up Goes Maisie once more stars Ann Sothern as eternally stranded showgirl Maisie Revere. Our heroine manages to secure a job as secretary to inventor Joseph Morton (George Murphy), who has developed a revolutionary new helicopter. A rival aircraft manufacturer tries to discredit and/or steal Morton's invention, but Maisie comes to the rescue. The entire film seems to be building up to the inevitable moment wherein Maisie herself takes over the copter controls and embarks on a wild ride high over Manhattan. The process work in this climactic sequences is unusually good for an MGM production, providing an exciting wrap-up to an otherwise pedestrian project. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, George Murphy, (more)
- 1945
Having Wonderful Crime spotlights Michael J. Malone, the murder-solving attorney created by author Craig Rice. The film is also ostensibly based on a novel by Rice, though precious little of the original actually made it to the screen. The story begins as Malone (Pat O'Brien) brusquely informs his newlywed friends Jake and Helene Justus (George Murphy and Carole Landis) that he's not going to allow them to suck him into another murder mystery. Unfortunately for the attorney, Jake and Helene shortly afterward attend a stage magic show wherein the star magician (George Zucco) disappears for real! Their investigation leads to a resort hotel literally packed with murder suspects. When the newlyweds learn too much for their own good, it's up to Malone to come to the rescue and nab the killer. One of the suspects is played by an actress named Anje Berens, who as "Gloria Holden" previously starred in Dracula's Daughter (1936). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, George Murphy, (more)
Previously filmed as a so-so Marx Brothers vehicle in 1938, the John Murray-Alan Boretz Broadway hit Room Service was effectively musicalized in 1944 as Step Lively. The plot remains intact: Fly-by-night theatrical producer Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx in the 1938 film, George Murphy in the remake) struggles to keep his production and cast together, despite severe deficiencies in the money department. Hotel-chain supervisor Wagner (Adolphe Menjou) threatens to throw Miller and his actors off the premises, an eventuality Miller hopes to forestall until he can obtain $50,000 from a wealthy backer. Meanwhile, Glen Davis (Frank Sinatra), the author of Miller's play, shows up to see how things are going. Before long, Glen is swept up in a desperate plot hatched by Miller and his underlings Binion (Wally Brown) and Harry (Alan Carney) to stay in the hotel despite Wagner's efforts to oust them. Caught in the middle are hapless hotel manager Gribble (Walter Slezak), potential backer Jenkins (Eugene Pallette), Glen's sweetheart Miss Abboli (Anne Jeffreys) and Miller's leading lady Christine (Gloria DeHaven). This being a musical, the outcome hinges on Glen's hitherto untapped singing ability, which might save the day if he overcomes a bout of psychosomatic laryngitis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, George Murphy, (more)
- 1944
After a year's absence, entertainer Eddie Cantor returned to the screen in the self-produced Show Business. The plot is loosely based on Cantor's own rise to fame, from vaudeville to Broadway. Covering the years 1914 to 1929, the film reflects the changing tastes in entertainment, though Cantor (as in real life) steadfastly remains the same. Co-stars George Murphy and Joan Davis likewise borrow from their own showbiz experience in playing their characters, while Constance Moore, who was still in her playpen when Cantor was at the height of his Ziegfeld Follies fame, provides the standard love interest. Highlights include such Cantor standards as "Curse of an Aching Heart," "Whoopee," and "Dinah," the latter performed in blackface. The best ensemble number is a devastating satire of Grand Opera, with Joan Davis particularly amusing as a Wagnerian soprano. A few excerpts from Show Business were reused as "flashbacks" in the subsequent Cantor-Davis starrer If You Knew Susie (1948). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Cantor, George Murphy, (more)
- 1944
The plot of the overinflated MGM musical Broadway Rhythm can be summed up briefly: Musical comedy producer Jonnie Demming (George Murphy) dismisses his vaudevillian dad Sam Demming (Charles Winninger) as old-fashioned. Jonnie signs Hollywood star Helen Hoyt (Ginny Simms) to a Broadway show, but she turns it down. Sam saves the day by dredging up an old script he'd done in summer stock-which, of course, Helen agrees to play. All of this can be forgotten, and in fact will be forgotten, once the film's parade of "guest stars" gets under way. Such stage and screen luminaries as Lena Horne, Ben Blue, Nancy Walker, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Hazel Scott and Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra make up for the narrative banalities with such musical numbers as Gershwin's "Somebody Loves Me" and Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Murphy, Ginny Simms, (more)
In 1942, Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and the United States Office of War Information collaborated on Bataan with the official goal to increase public understanding of World War II. The first war film to take place entirely on the battlefield -- with no scenes of the soldiers on leave, depictions of the home front, or flashbacks to pre-war civilian life -- Bataan prepared its wartime audience for American casualties. Its Alamo-esque storyline emphasized the value of such sacrifice and its diverse group of soldiers --compiled of all ranks, races, classes, ages, and creeds -- portrayed this effort as the duty of all men. It is a depiction of altruism and national unity that both inspired public support of the War and served as the template for World War II films throughout the forties and into the present. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, George Murphy, (more)
The splashy, star-studded This is the Army is based on the Irving Berlin Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was a reworking of Berlin's WW1 "barracks musical" Yip Yip Yaphank. In both instances, the cast was largely comprised of genuine servicemen, many of them either recently returned from fighting or on the verge of heading off to war. The Hollywood-imposed storyline concerns Jerry Jones (George Murphy), a member of the original 1918 Yip Yip Yaphank cast. His showbiz career curtailed by a leg injury, Jerry becomes a producer during the postwar era. When the US enters WW2, Jerry gathers together several other cast members from the 1918 Berlin musical to help him stage a new all-serviceman show, titled (what else?) This is the Army. The show-within-a-show framework is able to accommodate a romantic subplot, involving Jerry's son Johnny (Ronald Reagan, later a political comrade-in-arms of George Murphy) and Eileen Dibble (Joan Leslie), the daughter of Yip Yip Yaphank alumnus Eddie Dibble (Charles Butterworth). Some of the best moments in This is the Army are from the Broadway production itself, though the lengthy Alfred Lunt-Lynn Fontanne imitation and incessant "gay" jokes may have been too smart for the room in 1943. Guest stars include boxer Joe Louis, Kate Smith (singing "God Bless America", naturally) and Irving Berlin himself, who steals the show with his plaintive rendition of "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning". All profits for the stage and film version of This is the Army went to the Army Emergency Relief Fund, which also controlled the rights to the film. Long withheld from TV distribution, the film finally hit the small screen when it lapsed into Public Domain in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Murphy, Joan Leslie, (more)
- 1942
A combat picture was virtually a license to print money in 1942, and RKO Radio's The Navy Comes Through was no exception (net profit: $542,000). Most of the film takes place on the ramshackle old merchant-marine freighter, skippered by Captain McCall (Ray Collins). The captain and his stalwart crew-the most stalwart of which are Mallory (Pat O'Brien), Sands (George Murphy), Babe (Jackie Cooper), Tarriba (Desi Arnaz) and Berringer (Max Baer Sr.)-keep busy by blowing Nazi bombers and U-boats to smithereens. The crewmen cap their accomplishments by capturing a Nazi supply ship and using it against its own navy. The easily forgettable romantic subplot concerns Sands' on-and-off relationship with Myra (Jane Wyatt). The Navy Comes Through was inspired by Borden Chase's serialized Saturday Evening Post story "Pay to Learn". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, George Murphy, (more)
For Me and My Gal, a leisurely period musical, represents the first on-screen dancing of MGM's new star Gene Kelly. Judy Garland plays a member of a vaudeville troupe consisting of herself, George Murphy, Ben Blue and Lucille Norman. She leaves the act to join up with Kelly, who promises to propel her to the big time. Two unsuccessful years later, Garland and Kelly are still struggling in the small time, while Murphy and his bunch are headliners. Kelly nearly throws Garland over for singer Marta Eggerth, but Judy remains loyal--at least until Kelly deliberately breaks his hand to avoid serving in World War I. Having lost her brother Richard Quine to the war, Garland denounces Kelly as a coward and walks out. Kelly redeems himself by joining an overseas entertainment troupe, saving several lives when he finds himself under attack on the front. Judy and Gene are at last reunited in Paris. A major break for both Gene Kelly and Judy Garland (who proved once and for all in this film that she was no longer just a "juvenile"), For Me and My Gal was based on a story by Howard Emmett Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Garland, George Murphy, (more)
- 1942
In this drama, an ex-vaudevillian dancer opens up a dance band agency and help street kids at the same time by hiring them to help out. Unfortunately, the local gang of hood's leader resists his attempts. More trouble ensues when the dancer helps a convict gain parole by hiring him. It later turns out that the ex-con is only interested in trying to use the agency as a front for extortion. Songs include the Oscar nominated "When There's a Breeze on Lake Louise," "Your Face Looks Familiar," "Heavenly, Isn't He?" "Let's Forget It," "You're Bad For Me," and "A Million Miles From Manhattan." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Murphy, Anne Shirley, (more)
- 1942
For the benefit of those who came in late, the John Robert Powers modelling agency was at one time the most famous and powerful enterprise of its kind in New York City. Acknowledging this prominence is the 1942 musical comedy The Powers Girl, with Anne Shirley and Carole Landis starring as sisters Ellen and Kay Evans, who aspire to become high-profile models. Photographer Jimmy Hendricks (George Murphy) takes a fancy to the girls, making a top model out of Kay (Landis) -- but falling deeply and truly in love with Ellen (Shirley). At base, the film is an excuse to show off as many lovely, undraped "Powers Girls" as possible (including future Republic serial heroine Linda Stirling) and to showcase such musical talent as Dennis Day and Benny Goodman's Orchestra. And from time to time, John Robert Powers himself shows up in the person of Alan Mowbray. The Powers Girl was released in Great Britain as Hello Beautiful. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Murphy, Anne Shirley, (more)
- 1941
- NR
Working girl Ginger Rogers (who dresses like movie star Ginger Rogers, despite her meager salary!) cannot decide which of her three suitors will march her down the aisle. Will it be fast-talking automobile salesman George Murphy, wealthy Alan Marshall, or free-spirited, eternally unemployed Burgess Meredith? She mulls over her choices in a series of hilarious dream sequences (the best involving Meredith, along with three baby Merediths crawling on the floor). If her final decision takes you by surprise, you're in good company: according to one of the cast members, director Garson Kanin and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Paul Jarrico kept the denouement a secret until the last day of shooting. Featured in the cast is Phil Silvers as a delightfully obnoxious ice cream vendor, and, in a microscopic role, Jack Briggs, who would eventually marry Ms. Rogers. A favorite with both audiences and critics, Tom, Dick & Harry was ineffectively remade in 1957 as the Jane Powell musical The Girl Most Likely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, George Murphy, (more)
- 1941
Jack Oakie is near the top of his form as Boley Bolenciecwcz, the best college football player to come down the pike in a generation. But Boley has two problems -- he likes to sleep a lot when he's not training, and he isn't terribly bright, and might just fail his examinations and become inelligible to play. So the president of his college, under the gun to produce a winning team, comes up with a solution -- he sends Boley to live with Professor Murray (onald Meek), an eccentric member of the faculty (who practices magic tricks when he isn't teaching economics), whose daughter Louise (Linda Darnell) is head of the pep-squad and will tutor Boley. Enter Jimmy M'Gonnigle (George Murphy), a dancer and ex-college player himself, who's sent to the college by the hood (Sheldon Leonard) who owns the club where he was working, to keep an eye on Boley and make sure his playing is what it's written up to be. Jimmy falls in love with Louise, and manages to romance her in between her playing nursemaid to Boley -- meanwhile, a pair of grifters (Raymond Walburn, Ruth Donnelly) sent to back Jimmy up get mixed up with Louise's grandfather (Walter Brennan), a Civil War veteran who isn't always sure what year it is. And then secondary hood "Sea Biscuit" (Milton Berle) arrives to put the boss's plan into operation, kidnapping Boley so he can't play. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, George Murphy, (more)
- 1941
The girl is stenographer Dot Duncan (Lucille Ball); the guy is her boss, stuffy young shipping magnate Stephen Herrick (Edmond O'Brien); and the gob is a brash sailor known as Coffee Cup (George Murphy). Not surprisingly, the plot involves the efforts by the self-effacing Stephen and the self-confident Coffee Cup to woo and win the lovely Dot. And that's about all the "story" there is; the rest of the picture is jam-packed with round-robin comic misunderstandings and wild slapstick setpieces. A Girl, a Guy and a Gob was one of two RKO Radio films produced by silent-screen great Harold Lloyd, who reportedly dropped in on the set from time to time to offer a bit of sage comedy advice (note the "handkerchief" bit utlized by Edmond O'Brien; it had previously done service in Lloyd's own Welcome Danger). Not as big a moneymaker as Harold's starring features of the 1920s, the RKO film nonetheless turned a tidy profit for the studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Murphy, Edmond O'Brien, (more)
