Claire Trevor Movies

A man on the wrong side of the law has a chance to turn over a new leaf in this crime drama. Edward Carson (Spencer Tracy) is a gangster who made a fortune in bootlegging; however, his lawyer turned on him and set him up on a tax evasion charge that earned him a long stay in prison. While Carson is in stir, prohibition is repealed, and with illegal booze no longer a money-maker, Carson's underlings take up kidnapping as a way to earn a living. When the gang abducts Thomas and Lila Penfield (Howard Lally and Mary Mason) -- the son and daughter of Judge Penfield (Ralph Morgan), who presided at the trial that put Carson behind bars -- Carson is given a chance to redeem himself. He's released on the condition that he help the police track down his former partners in crime before the Judge's children can be harmed. Jane Lee (Claire Trevor), a crusading journalist covering the kidnapping, gets to know Carson, and before long, they develop a close bond both professionally and personally. Keep an eye peeled for Kathleen Burke, who won a substantial cult following for her performance the same year as Lota the Panther Woman in the horror classic The Island of Lost Souls. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This off-beat romantic melodrama contains elements of comedy not usually found in the genre as it tells the story of the love between a show girl fleeing from her husband, a grifter. She heads to a mining company and ends up involved with a dam engineer. When a dam accidentally breaks, the engineer's wife is conveniently swept away. Happiness ensues. The flood footage was lifted from The Johnstown Flood (1926). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on a Zane Grey story, The Last Trail stars virile cowboy hero George O'Brien in a largely anti-heroic role. Escaping from a posse, the "good bad man" (O'Brien) boards an Eastbound train, where he strikes up a friendship with a genial gangster (J. Carroll Naish). Later on, the cowboy returns to the West as a member of the gangster's gang. He poses as the heir to a vast cattle ranch, never dreaming that he really is the heir. When the truth is revealed, the wayward cowboy switches to the side of the Law, while another of the gangster's flunkeys (Claire Trevor) reveals herself to be an honest newspaperwoman -- and thus a suitable candidate for romance. Like all of Fox's Zane Grey programmers, The Last Trail boasts excellent production values and crystal-clear photography. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Black Sheep is professional gambler John Dugan (Edmund Lowe), who gets his kicks out of fleecing wealthy suckers during a Transatlantic ocean voyage. But when Dugan sees innocent young Fred Curtis (Tom Brown) being made the fall guy for a jewel robbery, he decides to help the poor boy out. What Fred doesn't know is that Dugan is his own father, desperate to make amends for his past indiscretions. Never revealing his true identity, Dugan rescues Fred from the clutches of beautiful predator Millicent Bath (Adrienne Ames). The musical score is by Oscar Levant, whose legendary dislike for thick-eared Hollywood executives never prohibited him from picking up his paycheck. Black Sheep represented director Allan Dwan's first effort for the newly former 20th Century-Fox Corporation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A romantic triangle during WW I provides the basis of this drama. The trouble begins when a young wife gets involved with a coffee baron while her husband is off fighting WW I. Her shell-shocked husband finally returns. He is terribly jealous. To help him, the wife takes him to a Western dude ranch. Her lover also goes, and the two men soon become friends. The coffee magnate helps to cure him, but then breaks his heart by telling him that he and the wife are planning to run away. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on a novel by Kathleen Shepard, Human Cargo is a lively, tongue-in-cheek melodrama purporting to expose the alien smuggling racket. Claire Trevor and Brian Donlevy star respectively as dizzy society reporter Bonnie Brewster and dedicated crime journalist Packy Campbell, who join forces long enough foil the villains. Their efforts take them from Los Angeles to Vancouver to L.A. again, with a few thrill-packed stopovers along the way and a particularly exciting climax on board the criminal mastermind's yacht. Highlights include Bonnie's efforts to pass herself off as a Frenchwoman (she manages to convince the bad guys, if not the audience) and some startlingly frank dialogue regarding drug addiction. Rita Cansino, still not yet billed as Rita Hayworth, is quite alluring as a Latina dancer who is killed off early in the proceedings by triggerman Tony Sculla (Ralf Harolde). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Star for a Night is Lady for a Day in reverse. Jane Darwell plays Frau Lind, a blind Austrian woman who comes to the United States to visit her three children Nina (Claire Trevor), Anna (Evelyn Venable) and Fritz (Dean Jagger). The three siblings have written regularly to their mother, claiming that they've all become fabulously successful. The unvarnished truth is that "Broadway musical star" Nina is a minor-league chorus girl; "famed concert pianist" Anna sells sheet music in a department store; and "powerful automobile manufacturer" Fritz drives a taxi. They cook up a scheme so as not to spoil their mother's illusions, but Mom has a big surprise for them! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Admidst a sea of melodramatic and unbelievable courtroom dramas, Career Woman is distinguished by its comparative realism. Law school graduate Carroll Aiken (Claire Trevor) is idealistic; her colleague Barry Conant (Michael Whalen) is cynical and mercenary. Despite their ethical differences, they team up to defend downtrodden Gracie Clay (Isabel Jewell) on a charge of murdering her sadistic father. The grandstanding Conant reprimands the jury for their prejudices against the poor, but this strategy fails miserably. Carroll is forced to apologize to the court, then goes on to win the case through the simple expedient of sticking to the facts. Career Woman well be the best "lady lawyer" film of the 1930s, with characters acting like human beings instead of Hollywood stereotypes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A Kathleen Norris novel was the source for this romantic drama, which begins when widowed navy doctor Quentin Harden (Ralph Bellamy) falls in love with nurse Vicki Blake (Claire Trevor). Despite her awareness that most naval marriages end in divorce, Vicki says "yes" when Harden proposes. Soon she begins to suspect that he still carries a torch for his late wife, but she remains with Harden for the sake of his crippled daughter (Anne Howard). Vicki's loyalty is rewarded when Harden proves once and for all that he is in love with her, and only her. Warren Hymer provides comic relief as a goofy gob who deliberately gets injured so he can enjoy the attentions of a bevy of beautiful nurses. Navy Wife was largely filmed on location at the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Scheduled to marry a man she doesn't love (and for good reason), spoiled heiress Barbara Blanchard (Claire Trevor) runs away from her wedding and hits the road. While hitchhiking, Trevor is given a ride by Bob Reynolds (Michael Whalen), a personable young auto salesman who's been hired to deliver what was then called a "caravan car" but would now be labelled an RV. As luck and the screenwriters would have it, a fugitive jewel thief hides his stolen gems in Bob's vehicle. Our hero is arrested, causing Barbara to cease her incessant put-downs of the poor guy. In trying to spring Bob from jail, Barbara realizes that she's fallen in love with him (why didn't she just ask the audience, who knew it all along?) It's positively awe-inspiring how many runaway-heiress films were spawned by the freak success of It Happened One Night. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This cinematic meringue stars Loretta Young as a young woman whose second husband (Lyle Talbot) is a hard working but dull business exec. She pines for hubby Number One (Tyrone Power), an irresponsible playboy. Young runs into Tyrone again during a Florida vacation, spurning him at first because he hasn't mended his old carefree ways. But that old black magic soon has Young under Tyrone's spell, and boring old Lyle Talbot is left holding the bag. The footloose and fancy-free Second Honeymoon is based on a story by Philip Wylie, an otherwise cantankerous critic of social foibles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted by Lillian Hellman from Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play, Dead End concerns itself with several denizens of New York's East River district. Here the elite and the slum-dwellers rub shoulders due to the close proximity of the riverfront tenements with the East Side luxury hotels. Slum girl Drina Gordon (Sylvia Sidney) tries to prevent her younger brother Tommy (Billy Halop) from wasting his life as a member of the local street gang. Tommy and the other kids idolize Baby Face Martin (Humphrey Bogart), a onetime East- sider who has hit the "big time" as a notorious gangster. Dodging the cops, Martin makes a sentimental journey to the neighborhood to visit his mother (Marjorie Main) and his old girlfriend Francie (Clare Trevor). But Martin's mother coldly tells him to get lost, while Francie reveals herself to be a consumptive prostitute. Despite his depressed state, Martin is still admired by the local kids; this displeases sign painter Dave Connell (Joel McCrea), who hopes to escape the slums via his romance with wealthy Kay Burton (Wendy Barrie). Attempting to kidnap a rich boy who'd earlier been beaten up by the street kids, Martin is prevented from making the snatch by Dave, who shoots Martin down. Receiving a large reward, Dave decides to give the money to Drina so that she can afford a lawyer to defend her brother Tommy, who has wrongfully been accused of masterminding the beating of the rich kid. His outlook on life altered by this unselfish act, Dave gives up his mercenary romance with Kay Burton, choosing instead the poverty-stricken Drina. The film introduces the Dead End Kids--Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Gabe Dell, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsley and Bobby Jordan--all of whom were veterans of the Broadway version of Dead End and would be metamorphosed into the East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi