Mary Carr Movies

In this western, a wagonmaster stops a greedy newspaper editor from buying up an entire territory. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The real-life marriage between Dick Powell and Joan Blondell was already on the rocks when they costarred in Model Wife. The story is "Working Girl Plot No. 6": Blondell's employer frowns upon married women working. She's married to Powell. The marriage must remain secret. The boss has a "thing" for Blondell. So does every other man. Powell fumes. Complications. Movie ends happily. And that's Model Wife, the second and last of the Powell/Blondell vehicles of the 1940s (the other film was titled, significantly, I Want a Divorce). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Manhattan Heartbeat is a somewhat toned-down remake of the pre-Production Code melodrama Bad Girl (1931). Newlyweds Johnny (Robert Sterling) and Dottie (Virginia Gilmore) have troubles living within their budget, thanks to Dottie's spendthrift habits. An airplane mechanic, Johnny begins accepting dangerous test-flight jobs to make ends meet. But Dottie doesn't mend her ways until she finds out that she's pregnant, at which point all is forgiven and the young couple hunkers down to the day-by-day responsibilities of married life. Joan Davis does yeoman duty in the film's central comedy-relief role. Like its cinematic predecessor, Manhattan Heartbeat was based on a play by Vina Delmar and Brian Marlow. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally designed for exhibition at the 1939 World's Fair, Land of Liberty is a 137-minute compendium of filmclips from past American historical epics. The project was sponsored by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc. and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille, who also edited the film with the assistance of his crack Paramount production staff. The narration was written by old DeMille hands Jeannie MacPherson and Jesse Lasky Jr. and spoken by a talented team of uncredited announcers (one of whom sounded suspiciously like old C. B. himself). Clips from such Hollywood productions as America (1924), Abraham Lincoln (1930), Alexander Hamilton (1931), Show Boat (1936), Man of Conquest (1939) and DeMille's own The Plainsman (1936), The Buccaneer (1938) and Union Pacific (1939) are woven together into a chronological continuity, tracing American history from the Revolutionary War to the "present," which is largely represented by newsreel footage of President Roosevelt, the TVA project, and other current personalities and events. In later years, Land of Liberty was redistributed on the classroom circuit, with new footage added from historical dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Poor Peggy Shannon goes from bad to worse in this ultra-cheap melodrama from one of Hollywood's few women executives, Fanchon Royer. A lowly but ambitious secretary, Dora (Shannon), marries wealthy Jimmy Hanford (Edward Woods), but Jimmy's society mother (Betty Blythe) quickly ruins the relationship. Dora then takes up with aging libertine "Breck" Breckenridge (Edward Earle), falls in love with handsome George Davis (Jack Mulhall), and goes on a cruise. George asks her to marry him and she agrees despite warnings that she is once again marrying "out of her class." The union, needless to say, fails miserably and George returns to his erstwhile and more suitable fiancée, Sally Newton (Marion Lessing). Jimmy, meanwhile, has fallen on hard times and commits suicide. In his will, Dora is left 50 dollars, "for services rendered," and the resulting scandal forces her to divorce George. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Carole Lombard's only MGM film, The Gay Bride has been cited by some as a precursor to 1988's Married to the Mob -- only without the laughs. Adapted by the usually reliable Samuel and Bella Spewack from Charles Francis Coe's magazine story Repeal, the film charts the misadventures of gold-digging chorine Mary (Lombard), who marries powerful bootlegger Shoots Magis (Nat Pendleton) so that she can live in the lap of luxury -- only to suffer a major disappointment when Prohibition is repealed. After a few amusing episodes with the deadly but basically likeable Magis, he's unexpectedly bumped off by gangster Dingle (Sam Hardy). Mary takes this in stride and moves in on Dingle, whereupon he's killed by mob boss Mickey (Leo Carrillo) -- so guess whom Mary snuggles up to next. Handsome "Office Boy" (Chester Morris), Magis' former chauffeur/bodyguard, continues carrying a torch for Mary throughout the picture, undoubtedly hoping that all of his rivals will eventually kill each other off. Wavering uncertainly between screwball comedy and gangster melodrama, The Gay Bride was met with indifference by the public -- and by its studio, which virtually threw the picture away. In later years, Carole Lombard tagged the film as her worst; it's not that by any means, but it's a far distance from her best. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Some people never know what they have until someone else is about to get it as can be seen in this romance that centers upon a city slicker who returns home to finally marry the woman he's been engaged to for 16 years. When he sees her, he is disappointed to find her a tad matronly looking. His roving eye quickly falls upon a sweet young thing to whom he proposes. He then becomes engaged to every woman he kisses leading the original fiancee to drop him, take her substantial savings, and move into a posh apartment. She later goes home and falls in love with another causing her old fiancee to return and marry her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Inspired by the Titanic tragedy, Whom the Gods Destroy is a tour de force for character actor Walter Connolly. The star is cast as theatrical entrepreneur John Forrester, who finds himself on board an ocean liner crippled in a shipwreck. At first he behaves courageously, but as the ship goes down Forrester panics and dons women's clothes to ensure himself a seat on the lifeboat. Rescued at sea, he hides out in a tiny fishing village for several years, then returns to New York under an assumed name. Upon discovering that he is celebrated as a "dead" hero, Forrester realizes that he can never reveal his true identity lest he be exposed as a craven coward. Standing on the sidelines, he watches as his son Jack (Robert Young) rises to success on the Broadway stage, all the while secretly helping the boy get ahead in his career. Forrester's wife Margaret (Doris Kenyon) finally recognizes her husband, forgives him, and offers to take him back, but by now Forrester himself feels it is too late and retreats into the shadows, never to be seen again. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Just because Police Call was cheaply made doesn't mean it isn't fun to watch. Nick Stuart stars as Danny, a champion boxer who hopes to make enough money to support his lovin' ma and his kid sister. This accomplished, Danny begins working towards saving for his college education. These plans are scotched by a racketeer known as "The Chief" (Warner Richmond), who insists that Danny accept a job as a mob bodyguard. When one of the Chief's minions tries to have his way with Danny's sister, our hero knocks the crumb down a flight of stairs. Certain that he's killed the man, Danny runs off to Guatemala -- where the film suddenly and unexpectedly becomes a jungle melodrama, thereby justifying its re-issue title Broadway to the Jungles! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An average Buck Jones oater from Columbia Pictures, Forbidden Trail featured a girl newspaper publisher, Mary Middleton (Barbara Weeks), forced into writing sympathetic editorials about corrupt political boss "Cash" Karger (Wallis Clark). A former ranch foreman, Tom Devlin (Jones) rescues the girl and her mother (Mary Carr) from a fire set by Karger but is then framed in the murder of a rustler (Albert J. Smith). Aided by his horse, Silver, Tom breaks out of jail and collects enough evidence to bring Karger and his gang to justice. Studio records list Forbidden Trail as a 1932 release but the film was not widely distributed until 1933 and didn't open in New York until November of 1936. By then, Jones had left Columbia in favor of Universal. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Drafted into the army during World War I, those muddled misfits Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy make a shambles of Training Camp before being shipped to France. When their best pal Eddie (Donald Dillaway) is killed in battle, Stan and Ollie vow to locate the grandparents of Eddie's orphaned little daughter (Jacquie Lyn). Unfortunately, the grandparents are named Smith--and they live in New York City. With only a city directory and phone book as their guide, Stan and Ollie undergo several chucklesome misadventures as they scour the canyons of Manhattan to find Mr. and Mrs. Smith. With the orphanage officials hot on their heels, the boys take drastic action to raise enough money to get out of town with the little girl. All turns out well when Eddie's grandfather makes an appearance under the least likely circumstances. But before Laurel & Hardy can enjoy their own happy ending, they cross the path of an old enemy from their army days: a knife-wielding chef with blood in his eye. The second of Laurel & Hardy's feature-length films, Pack Up Your Troubles is, so far as we're concerned (and here we part company with most Laurel & Hardy buffs), infinitely more amusing than their first feature effort, 1931's Pardon Us. Best bit: An overtired Laurel, attempting to tell a bedtime story to the little girl, ends up snoozing away as the kid finishes the story. The powerhouse supporting cast includes such Laurel & Hardy regulars as James Finlayson, Billy Gilbert, Rychard Cramer, Charles Middleton and Charlie Hall. George Marshall, the film's director, proves a mirthsome menace in the small role of the vengeful chef. For years available only in its 62-minute reissue form, Pack Up Your Troubles was restored to its full 68-minute glory in the mid-1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi