Alan Hale Movies
The son of a patent medicine manufacturer, American actor Alan Hale chose a theatrical career at a time when, according to his son Alan Hale Jr., boarding houses would post signs reading "No Dogs or Actors Allowed." Undaunted, Hale spent several years on stage after graduating from Philadelphia University, entering films as a slapstick comedian for Philly's Lubin Co. in 1911. Bolstering his acting income with odd jobs as a newspaperman and itinerant inventor (at one point he considered becoming an osteopath!), Hale finally enjoyed a measure of security as a much-in-demand character actor in the 1920s, usually as hard-hearted villains. One of his more benign roles was as Little John in Douglas Fairbanks' Robin Hood (1922), a role he would repeat opposite Errol Flynn in 1938 and John Derek in 1950. Talkies made Hale more popular than ever, especially in his many roles as Irishmen, blusterers and "best pals" for Warner Bros. Throughout his career, Hale never lost his love for inventing things, and reportedly patented or financed items as commonplace as auto brakes and as esoteric as greaseless potato chips. Alan Hale contracted pneumonia and died while working on the Warner Bros. western Montana (1950), which starred Hale's perennial screen cohort Errol Flynn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1922
Henrik Ibsen's play had already been filmed twice before, in 1917 starring Dorothy Phillips, and in 1918 with lsie Ferguson. But this time around the star was dramatic actress Alla Nazimova, who had played Nora Helmer on stage in New York twice -- once in 1907 and again in 1918. The biggest problem with A Doll's House, circa 1922, however, was that the emancipation of a young housewife was no longer a big deal -- women had won the right to vote a couple years earlier and millions of flappers were further flaunting their independence. On top of that, the 42-year-old Nazimova tried a bit too hard to act like a woman more than ten years her junior and it showed, in her performance if not necessarily in the nicely done photography. For those who aren't familiar with the play, here's a recap of the plot: When Torvald Helmer (Alan Hale) needs to travel south to save his life, his young wife, Nora, gets a loan from ex-convict Nils Krogstad (Wedgewood Nowell) by forgi ng the name of her dead father. Years later Nora, now a mother, is still playing the capricious young girl for her husband, who has become an executive at a bank. He wants to fire Krogstad, but Nora begs him not to. When Torvald discovers the reason why, he cruelly upbraids her and casts aspersions on her character. Finally, Nora can no longer take her selfish, self-centered spouse and she walks out on him and her family. Charles Bryant (Nazimova's partner and lover) received credit as director, but it's likely that his creative involvement was practically nil. Nazimova also financed the film herself, which was unfortunate, since it lost money at the box office. This drama, like most of Nazimova's films, is lost. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Hale, Alla Nazimova, (more)
- 1936
The real "message to Garcia" was delivered by an American lieutenant to Cuban rebel General Garcia, asking for the General's help in the Spanish-American war. The fact that the lieutenant made his way to Garcia in absolute safety was ignored in 20th Century-Fox's Message to Garcia--which is just as well, since otherwise the movie would have been eight minutes long. In the film version, lieutenant John Boles is guided through the treacherous Cuban jungle by Barbara Stanwyck, doing her best to convince us that she's an Hispanic senorita. Also along for the trip is renegade marine Wallace Beery, who may not be as friendly as he seems. Fighting off Spaniards and spies at every turn, Boles successfully completes his mission. As history, Message to Garcia is about as reliable as the Hearst newspaper dispatches which triggered the Spanish-American war in the first place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery, Barbara Stanwyck, (more)
- 1921
This confusing melodrama finds Jean Jacques Barbille (James Kirkwood) as the wealthy young man from a small town in Quebec. Returning from a tour of Europe, he meets Carmen Delores (Alice Hollister), the daughter of a Spanish adventurer. The two are married, much to the dismay of the other women who coveted the towns most eligible bachelor. The two have a baby girl, but Carmen is driven into the arms of George Masson (Alan Hale) when Jean fails to give her the required attention. Jean discovers the illicit affair but spares George's life after he realizes he has only himself to blame for the break-up. Carmen and the daughter leave for Montreal, and she places the child in a convent when she gets a job as a chorus girl. Jean is left penniless when his mill burns down and his unscrupulous father-in-law steals his money. When Jean refuses to allow his other daughter to marry, she elopes with her lover. Jean is left to wander as a homeless vagabond, but he meets his daughter in Montreal by a simple twist of fate. After father and daughter are reunited, his other daughter returns with her prosperous husband and vows to care for their indigent father. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Kirkwood, Alice Hollister, (more)
This Hollywood remake of the French Pepe le Moko adheres so slavishly to its source that it utilizes stock footage from the original film, and even picked its actors on the basis of their resemblance to the French cast. Contrary to legend, star Charles Boyer never says "Come wizz me to zee Casbah"; as master criminal Pepe le Moko, he's already in the Casbah, a crook-controlled safe harbor which protects Pepe from the French authorities. Pepe's friendly enemy, police inspector Joseph Calleia, treats his pursuit of Pepe like a chess game, patiently waiting for his opponent to make that one wrong move. The ever-careful Pepe has the misfortune to fall hopelessly in love with tourist Hedy Lamarr (in her first American film). A combination of events, including the betrayal of Pepe by his castaway lover Sigrid Gurie and Hedy's tearful return to her ship when she is misinformed that Pepe is killed, lures the hero/villain into the open. Arrested by Calleia, Pepe begs for one last glance at his departing sweetheart. At this point in the French version, Pepe cheated the hangman by killing himself; this would never do in Production Code-dominated Hollywood, so Algiers contrives to have Pepe shot while trying to escape. Algiers was remade in 1948 as a musical, Casbah, starring Tony Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Boyer, Hedy Lamarr, (more)
- 1931
In the South Seas, half-caste Ilanu (Raquel Torres) refuses to marry Kahea (Donald Reed), as she loves Jimmy Bradford (Ben Lyon), heir to an American fortune; her grandfather warns her that her own mother's marriage to a white man was so unhappy that she'd leaped into a volcano. Despite misgivings over her race, and lingering feelings for his previous fiancee Elaine (Marian Douglas), Jimmy does marry Ilanu and takes her to San Francisco with him. His father (Robert Edeson) and sister Winnie (Thelma Todd) are shocked by Ilanu's apparent vulgarity, but Jimmy remains loyal to Ilanu, even though this means they return to her island, penniless. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, Raquel Torres, (more)
- 1949
Milton Berle was enjoying the first flush of his television success when his musical-comedy movie vehicle Always Leave Them Laughing hit the screens. Though his character name is Kip Cooper, Uncle Miltie more or less plays himself: an ambitious comedian who rises to fame by stealing other performers' material. Surprisingly, Berle seems to delight in painting himself in as unsympathetic a light as possible, though the audience can be assured that he will find redemption before fadeout time. In contrast, Bert Lahr turns in a warm-hearted performance as an ageing burlesque comic who teaches Berle the ropes--whereupon our "hero" repays the favor by wooing Lahr's avaricious young bride Virginia Mayo. Ultimately, it is nice girl Ruth Roman who wins Berle's heart, though she certainly has her work cut out for her. Featured in the cast are such veteran troupers as Grace Hayes(the mother of Peter Lynd Hayes), Julius Tannen and Wally Vernon. But it's Berle's show all the way, and he makes a feast of it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Milton Berle, Virginia Mayo, (more)
- 1935
Charming but ruthless fugitive gangster Dutra (Brian Donlevy) demands that a doctor (Oscar Apfel) perform plastic surgery upon him. Emerging from the bandages with a new face, Dutra murders the doctor, changes his name to Dawson, and heads to California, secure in the belief that no one who can identify him is still living. Unfortunately for him, the sole link to Dawson's past, nurse Molly Lamont, is now working in Hollywood -- where Dawson is enjoying a whole new career as a movie star! Things move along comically until Dawson tips his hand by taking his leading lady Sheila (Phyllis Brooks) hostage. Salvation comes in the unlikely form of obnoxious studio-press-agent Joe Haynes (Wallace Ford). Also released as It Happened in Hollywood, Another Face is a very uneven blend of comedy and melodrama, making up in energy what it lacks in coherence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Ford, Brian Donlevy, (more)
- 1934
Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis' satirical novel of the American "middle class" was first filmed as a silent in 1924, then as a talkie ten years later. In this second version, Guy Kibbee portrays George Babbitt, a small town businessman whose sense of self-importance has turned him into a pompous ass. Only Babbitt's loving wife (Aline MacMahon) sees the decent man behind the fatuous facade. Babbitt's ego gets the better of him when he is inveigled by a lovely but duplicitous young lady (Claire Dodd) into promoting a shady land deal. On the verge of ruin, Babbitt is rescued by his wife, though there's every indication that he hasn't completely learned his lesson. While the sting of Sinclair Lewis' original novel has been blunted, One couldn't ask for a better George Babbitt than Guy Kibbee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee, (more)
- 1921
In all likelihood the only surviving film starring early silent screen leading man Monroe Salisbury, this very old fashioned but enjoyable Northwoods melodrama begged the question of who were the real "barbarians" -- the "uncivilized" but proud trapper or the greedy capitalists out to use him? Better known today as a distinguished MGM character actor, director Donald Crisp had been taught by the best in the business: D. W. Griffith. And there is something Griffithlike about this moralistic melodrama of a young trapper, a veritable child of nature, discovering that the woman he desires is the daughter of an unscrupulous smelting tycoon out to destroy the land. Although Salisbury is about twenty years too old for his role (he produced the film himself) and the existing print badly is decomposed in places, The Barbarians still benefits from Crisp's fine compositions and must have been a beautiful experience when first released. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monroe Salisbury, George Berrell, (more)
- 1924
When Madame Zatianny appears, seemingly from nowhere on the social scene, everyone is taken by her beauty. The older ones say she is the mirror image of Mary Ogden, who they had known 30 years before. Lee Clavering, a budding playwright (Conway Tearle), manages to meet Madame Zatianny and they fall very much in love. He proposes, and she confesses to be the same Mary Ogden of 30 years prior, her youth restored through a gland operation. But Prince Hohenhauer, an old admirer (Alan Hale), convinces her to leave Clavering by pointing out that she prefers power over love. So she returns to Europe to continue her relief work, while Clavering consoles himself with Janet Oglethorpe, a pretty young flapper (Clara Bow). Future superstar Bow really stood out in this supporting role -- she received great notices all around -- and not long after the film's release she would become a WAMPAS Baby Star, which helped promote her fledgling career. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corinne Griffith
Just after completing It Happened One Night, director Frank Capra churned out a bread-and-butter picture titled Broadway Bill. Warner Baxter plays the carefree scion of a wealthy, highly-respected family. Baxter's cold but socially correct wife Helen Vinson forces her husband into the family business, but Baxter would rather spend his time at the racetrack. He buys a nag named Broadway Bill and tries to build the horse into a winner--if he doesn't bankrupt himself first. Only Baxter's sister-in-law Myrna Loy and black stable hand Clarence Muse have faith in Broadway Bill. The horse wins a crucial race, but dies suddenly at the finish line. Baxter is comforted and given encouragement by Loy, who is now his sweetheart, Vinson having long since washed her hands of her "irresponsible" husband. Broadway Bill was remade by Capra as Riding High (1950), utilizing generous portions of stock footage and even going so far as to rehire several of the original film's cast members (Douglass Dumbrille, Clarence Muse, Charles Lane, Raymond Walburn, Margaret Hamilton, Frankie Darro) to recreate their roles and match up their scenes from the earlier production. Long withheld from distribution due to Riding High, Broadway Bill was made available for videocassette in the mid-1980s. Keep an eye out for Lucille Ball as a blonde telephone operator and Alan Hale Sr. as a racetrack announcer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1923
The director formerly known as Sean O'Feeney is billed as John Ford for the first time here, and he helps make this one of John Gilbert's best pre-MGM features. Cameo Kirby (John Gilbert), once a man of high social standing, has become a professional gambler and works the Mississippi riverboats of the 1800's. An old man (William E. Lawrence) is being cheated in a crooked card game, and Kirby gets involved in the play, with the intention of giving the man his money back. Unaware of Kirby's plans, the old man commits suicide. It turns out that Kirby's sweetheart (Gertrude Olmstead) is the man's daughter. But in spite of the tragedy, she comes to understand Kirby's altruistic motives. Based on a story by Booth Tarkington, the melodrama is offset by solid performances and an exciting paddle-wheeler river race (a bit of action that one would expect from John Ford). An 18-year-old Jean Arthur made her movie debut in this film as a bit player. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
James Cagney made his first Technicolor appearance in the morale-boosting aviation flick Captains of the Clouds. Cagney plays Brian MacLean, a hotshot Canadian bush pilot who delights in stealing jobs-and women-away from his competitors. Brian is forced to shape up in a hurry when he's assigned to train other pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force. At the ending of the training period, he is given his first real RCAF assignment: The seemingly unimportant task of shepherding American bomber planes across the Atlantic to England. With startling suddenness, Brian comes to realize the true importance of his job when he is forced into a deadly confrontation with a fleet of Nazi raider planes. Real-life Canadian WW1 flying ace Billy Bishop plays a small but pivotal role in Captains of the Clouds, while the leading-lady duties were handled by Warner Bros. stock actress Brenda Marshall (aka Mrs. William Holden). Cinematographer Sol Polito earned an Oscar nomination for his vivid color photography, though aerial photographers Elmer Dyer, Charles Marshall and Winston Hoch were certainly just as deserving. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, (more)
- 1947
A mysterious crook by the name of "The Poet" is robbing Wells Fargo stages and creating havoc in the Old West. The sheriff is having no luck discovering the desperado's identity; when he comes across James Wylie (Dennis Morgan), a gambler who is running from the law in Carson City, he blackmails him into going undercover and tracking the outlaw down. Wylie takes the next coach out, joined by two tantalizing women, Ann (Jane Wyman) and Emily (Janis Paige). Emily is just a saloon singer (which affords her the chance to croon "I'm So in Love" and "Going Back to Old Cheyenne"), but it turns out that Ann is more unusual -- she's the wife of The Poet. The two team up to track him down (encountering The Sundance Kid and his gang along the way) -- and discover that they make a pretty good team. A popular TV series of the same name was loosely based upon the movie; starring Clint Walker, it ran for 7 years starting in 1955. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Alvin, Bruce Bennett, (more)
- 1924
More a romantic melodrama set on a western ranch than an out-and-out sagebrush tale, this Vitagraph silent features a couple of also-ran stars of the era, Alice Calhoun and John Bowers. She is the visitor from the East, he the handsome ranch foreman with whom she falls in love. There's a jealous fiancee (Alan Hale) and an equally resentful mountain girl (Charlotte Merriam), but in the end true love conquers all. One of Vitagraph's final stars, Alice Calhoun was noted for playing Lady Babbie in The Little Minister (1922). John Bowers, however, is remembered more for his spectacular suicide from drowning (he is said to have been the inspiration for the character of "Norman Maine" in A Star is Born) than for any of his many silent programmers. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Bowers, Alan Hale, (more)
- 1950
The Randolph Scott western Colt .45 was retitled for TV so as not to be confused with the TV series of the same name. The new title, Thundercloud, misleads the audience into expecting a Native American epic. Actually the film involves a gun salesman (Randolph Scott) whose sample case of Colt 45's is stolen by an outlaw (Zachary Scott--no relation to Randolph). Accused of being a member of the outlaw gang when they start using the Colts in their holdups, the salesman is obliged to track down the crooks. Thundercloud, or Colt .45, represented the last film of supporting actor Alan Hale Sr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, (more)
- 1928
Future "Hopalong Cassidy" William Boyd essays the title role in Pathe's The Cop. It all begins when likeable police sergeant Alan Hale Sr. is bumped off by surly scar-faced underground chieftain Robert Armstrong. Unfortunately, the authorities aren't able to pin the crime on Armstrong, so patrolman Boyd takes it upon himself to trap the killer. He is aided in this endeavor by "mystery woman" Jacqueline Logan, who may or may not be working both sides of the fence. Coincidentally, Quality Productions' The Lookout Girl, featuring Jacqueline Logan in a similar role, premiered two weeks before The Cop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Alan Hale, (more)
- 1933
This film offers melodrama on the high-seas as it follows the miraculous salvation of a becalmed ship filled with bootleg liquor. To make matters worse, they are out of fresh water, the captain and mate drowned during a storm, and the boat is sinking. The bo'sun has taken charge, and the crew is growing mutinous. Things couldn't get any worse when a mysterious stowaway suddenly crawls out from the hold. He tells the crew that the casks really contain fresh water, not liquor. He then uses a strange power to save the ship. He next uses the power to straighten out the crew. He then disappears. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1933
The exploits of 18th-century British highwayman Dick Turpin have been immortalized in scores of poems, ballads, novels, plays and films. This particular version was adapted from Rockwood, a novel by Harrison Ainsworth. Victor McLaglen stars as Turpin, and while he might be a bit thick of beam for the role, there's no denying that he delivers the goods in terms of action and virility. Naturally, the film's highlight is Dick Turpin's legendary ride to York, which is filmed with reasonable excitement and accuracy (save for a few quick glimpses of contemporary telephone poles). Featured in the cast of Dick Turpin is Scotch comedian James Finlayson, the perennial foil of Laurel and Hardy, who appeared in several British productions between 1933 and 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Jane Carr, (more)
- 1925
Cowboy ace Tom Mix allowed himself a change of pace with this costume adventure produced by Fox. Mix plays the legendary British highwayman, who after robbing nasty Lord Churlton (Philo McCullough) learns that the nobleman is to be married to innocent Lady Alice Brookfield (Kathleen Myers), a gun-shot wedding, so to speak, as the lady considers Churlton loathsome. With the assistance of Lady Alice's maid Sally (Lucille Hutton), our gallant hero concocts a plan to smuggle the fair maiden to York dressed as a boy. The scheme backfires, though, and Dick Turpin is chased all over creation by the authorities. He arrives in York just in time to save the fair maiden from a fate worse than death and together they find a safe haven in France. A very young Carole Lombard saw most of her footage left on the cutting-room floor but the future star can still be spotted in a crowd scene. And according to at least one report, fellow Fox cowboy Buck Jones joined the ranks of extras in a successful effort to surprise Mix. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Kathleen Myers, (more)
This landmark western -- which, along with Stagecoach, has often been credited with revitalizing what had become a stagnant genre -- stars Errol Flynn as Wade Hatton, a cattle man who arrives in the frontier community of Dodge City, which is overrun by footloose cowboys and outlaws. When Hatton helps Dodge City lawmen capture a gang of cattle rustlers led by Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot), he's asked to help guide a wagon train into town with his friends Rusty Hart (Alan Hale, Sr.) and Tex Baird (Guinn Williams). En route, an impulsive young cowpoke named Lee Irving (William Lundigan) needlessly fires off his pistol, sparking a cattle stampede that leads to his death. When Hatton and his men arrive in Dodge, they discover Surrett is once again at large, and his gang has taken over the city. Appointed the city's new sheriff, Hatton is determined to clean up the town and put the outlaws out of business. In his rare moments off duty, Hatton tries to win the affections of Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland), but she believes that Hatton is responsible for the death of her brother Lee; Hatton's habit of flirting with dance hall girl Ruby Gilman (Ann Sheridan) does nothing to improve her opinion of him. A solid box office hit, Dodge City was the first of a series of westerns for swashbuckling star Flynn; his next oater, Virginia City, followed in 1940. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1939
John Garfield once more plays a social outcast who's had nothing but lousy breaks. Released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, Garfield is promptly arrested as a vagrant and sent to a work farm. He falls in love with Priscilla Lane, stepdaughter of the farm's no-good foreman. Garfield marries Priscilla, but his happiness is short-lived when the foreman drunkenly goads him into a fight. Arrested again for killing the foreman, Garfield is defended by a compassionate attorney (Moroni Olsen), whose summation to the jury places the blame for Garfield's plight squarely on the shoulders of Society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Garfield, Priscilla Lane, (more)
- 1945
Escape in the Desert is a thinly disguised remake of The Petrified Forest (1936), updated with a WW II angle. Cynical Dutch pilot Philip Artveld (Philip Dorn) pays a visit to the American desert before being shipped off to the Front. He wanders into a lonely inn, where he befriends starry-eyed watiress Jane (Jean Sullivan). Before long, Philip, Jane, and several other innocent bystanders find themselves being held captive by a group of escaped German POWS, led by Captain Becker (Helmut Dantine). The existentialist philosophy of the original Robert E. Sherwood play is replaced with a great deal of Nazified prattle and All-American flagwaving, with misplaced moments of comedy relief from Alan Hale and Irene Manning. While Petrified Forest is regarded as a classic, Escape in the Desert is generally dismissed as a contrived propaganda piece. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Sullivan, Philip Dorn, (more)
- 1925
The popular husband-wife team of John Bowers and Marguerite de la Motte starred in Flattery. Bowers plays civil engineer Reginald Mallory, who having been reared in the lap of luxury has turned into an insufferable wastrel. Extremely susceptible to flattery (hence the film's title), Reggie is sweet-talked into purchasing substandard material for his latest building project. Before disaster can strike, however, Reggie is redeemed by the love of a good woman (De La Motte). John Bowers' later fall from popularity and his suicide by drowning is said to be the inspiration for the 1937 and 1954 versions of A Star is Born. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Bowers, Louis Morrison, (more)
