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- 1949
The story of the outlaw Younger Brothers is duly Hollywoodized in this Technicolor western. Wayne Morris, Bruce Bennett, Robert Hutton and James Brown star as Cole, Jim, Johnny and Bob Younger, who as the film begins have just been released from jail. They try hard to follow the straight and narrow path, but when ex-Pinkerton man Ryckman (Fred Clark) launches a campaign of vengeance against the boys, out come the six-guns. One of Ryckman's schemes is to use female bandit Kate (Janis Paige) to lure the Youngers back into a life of crime. The villain very nearly succeeds, but the boys are saved by the beneficence of the screenwriters. Prominent in the cast of The Younger Brothers is Alan Hale, who showed up in practically every Warner Bros. western made between 1939 and 1950. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wayne Morris, Janis Paige, (more)
- 1934
In this melodrama, a devoted father begins feeling unappreciated at home and so embarks upon a clandestine friendship with a former employee. The children see them together and assume it's an affair. They beg him to end the relationship. Later the woman herself talks to the kids, assuring them that the friendship is platonic and chiding them gently on their thoughtless behavior towards their dad. In the end, the family reconciles and the woman goes on with her life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Morgan, Binnie Barnes, (more)
They just don't make 'em like They Drive By Night anymore. This slam-bang Warner Bros. attraction stars George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as Joe and Paul Fabrini, owners of a small but scrappy trucking firm. The film deftly combines comedy with thrills for the first half-hour or so, as the Fabrini boys battle crooked distributors and unscrupulous rivals while establishing their transport company. Things take a potentially tragic turn when the overworked Paul Fabrini falls asleep at the wheel and cracks up, losing an arm in the accident. He's pretty bitter for a while, but, with the help of his loving wife, Pearl (Gale Page), Paul eventually snaps out of his self-pity and goes to work as a dispatcher for the Fabrinis' company. Meanwhile, Joe's on-and-off romance with wisecracking waitress Cassie Hartley (Ann Sheridan) is threatened by the presence of seductive Lana Carlsen (Ida Lupino), the wife of glad-handing trucking executive Ed Carlsen (Alan Hale). At this point, the film metamorphoses into a remake of the 1935 Paul Muni-Bette Davis vehicle Bordertown. Desperately in love with Joe, Lana murders her husband, making it look like an accident, then offers Joe half-interest in Carlsen's organization. Joe accepts the offer, but spurns Lana's romantic overtures, whereupon the scheming vixen accuses Joe of plotting Carlsen's murder. Thus, the stage is set for a spectacular courtroom finale, completely dominated by a demented Lana, whose "mad scene" rivals those of Ophelia and Lucia di Lammermoor. In addition to the full-blooded performances by the stars and the virile direction by Raoul Walsh, They Drive By Night benefits immeasurably from the nonstop brilliant dialogue by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay -- especially in an early lunch-counter scene between Ann Sheridan and George Raft, generously seasoned with hilarious double- and single-entendres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Ann Sheridan, (more)
- 1941
In this comedy, a grandmother decides to help her naive grandson get the money he needs to marry his girl by allowing him to get his inheritance, a mattress factory, before she dies. She suggests that he use it as collateral on a loan, but instead the young man sells the business to a crook who ends up charging another interested buyer an exorbitant interest rate for it. The angry buyer then tries to force the lad's father to buy back the factory. That doesn't work, so he ends up kidnapping the grandmother. This is not a wise move as the grandmother is far more clever than her captor and quickly turns the situation around to her advantage. Soon the kidnapper hands the factory back and gets nothing in return. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Albert, Joan Leslie, (more)
- 1937
Norwegian skating star Sonja Henie reached an early pinnacle with this romantic comedy co-starring Tyrone Power as a Ruritanian prince impersonating an American reporter. They fall in love, of course, and the whirlwind romance threatens to interrupt an important treaty between three rival principalities. In between Henie's skating extravaganzas -- which reportedly involved more that 100 skaters and a rink 100 by 145 feet in length -- vocalist Leah Ray and the company perform "My Secret Love Affair," "Over Night," and "My Swiss Hilly Billy," all by Lew Pollack and Sidney D. Mitchell, while comedienne Joan Davis takes care of "I'm Olga From the Volga" by Mack Gordon and Harry Revel. Both Thin Ice and Paramount's simultaneous (and better) Easy Living were partially based on a 1922 Hungarian play, Der Komet, leading Fox to briefly entertain the idea of suing the rival company. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, (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)
- 1940
Stereotypes abound in this drama that follows the attempts of a Scottish lad to marry a pretty Irish lassie and join the police force. The girl's father, a New York policeman who was forcibly retired, is not happy that his daughter desires to marry a highlander. Still, amidst the turmoil, the heavy consumption of alcohol and Gaelic witticisms, romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Priscilla Lane, Thomas Mitchell, (more)
- 1924
Mildred Patterson (Mildred June) is planning to wed Robert Wallace (Robert Agnew) when a crook known only as the Baron (Alan Hale) enters their lives. He is on the run from the police and posing as an architect who is overseeing a house being renovated by Mildred's father (Bruce Covington). The Baron finds out that Mildred is upset with her fiancé after catching him kissing a vamp, and they scheme to test his love. The Baron kidnaps Mildred and puts her in all sorts of dangerous situations, and Wallace rises to the occasion. To fulfill her end of the bargain, Mildred gets thrown off of cliffs, tied to a railroad track, and faces certain death in a sawmill. Plus she has to deal with the Baron, who apparently can't decide whether he's trying to bring the couple back together or keep Mildred for himself. Finally everything gets straightened out and Mildred and Wallace end the film together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Agnew, Alan Hale, (more)
- 1940
Tugboat Annie Sails Again stars Marjorie Rambeau as the rambunctious female skipper created by Norman Reilly Raine. In this one, Tugboat Annie is threatened with the loss of her job as cap'n of the tacky tugboat Narcissus, much to the delight of Bullwinkle (Alan Hale), skipper of the rival Salamander. In order to raise $25000 in a hurry, Annie agrees to tow a drydock to Alaska, but this plan is scuttled when another, sleeker tug lands the contract. Annie saves the day-and her job-when the other tug gets into trouble on the high seas. The romantic subplot is handled by Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan, both of whom are as cute as can be. Incidentally, outtake footage exists of Tugboat Annie Sails Again wherein pert Ms. Wyman cusses like a sailor while splashing around in a studio tank. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjorie Rambeau, Alan Hale, (more)
- 1936
Wandering around in the darkness, an amnesiac (Walter Abel) can't shake the feeling that he's murdered someone. When it develops that a prominent (if somewhat shifty) theatrical producer has been killed, our hero thinks that he's guilty. But unemployed actress Marie Smith (Margot Grahame) isn't completely convinced, so she helps him reconstruct the clues and -- hopefully -- track down the real killer. Walter Abel and Margot Grahame are more felicitously teamed here than they'd been as D'Artagnan and Milady de Winter in the previous season's Three Musketeers. Based on a novel by Gelett Burgess, Two in the Dark was remade in 1945 as Two O'Clock Courage (the book's original title). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Abel, Margot Grahame, (more)
- 1916
Desperately tired of playing man-eating "vamps," Theda Bara begged to play Ouida's 1901 Foreign Legion heroine, "Cigarette," in the fourth screen version of this enduring drama. The Legion's mascot, Cigarette falls for an Englishman, Bertie Cecil (Herbert Heyes), and when he is sentenced to a firing squad, she heroically takes the bullet herself. Directed by Bara regular J. Gordon Edwards (the step-grandfather of Blake Edwards), Under Two Flags was a major critical and popular success despite obvious Long Island locations standing in for the North African desert. Making his screen debut in this film, handsome but somewhat stodgy Herbert Heyes embarked on a long career than lasted until the late '50s; he is perhaps best remembered for playing Montgomery Clift's millionaire uncle in A Place in the Sun (1951). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
A Grand Hotel derivation set in a major metropolitan train terminal, Union Depot features most of the reliable Warner Bros. stock company. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. stars as a slick thief; Joan Blondell costars as a stranded chorus girl; Alan Hale Sr. is featured as a phony baron absconding with company funds; and Frank McHugh does his drunk act. Other arrivals and departures include Guy Kibbee, David Landau, and George Rosener (as a sexual deviate stalking Ms. Blondell!) The huge depot set built for this film may seem like an unnecessary expenditure, but the set would come in handy for future, less costly Warners endeavors. The British title for Union Depot was Gentleman for a Day, reflecting the crooked Fairbanks' good-guy turnaround at the end of the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joan Blondell, (more)
- 1938
This third film version of Peter B. Kyne's Valley of the Giants benefits from the breahtaking Technicolor location photography of Sol Polito. Hero Bill Cardigan (Wayne Morris) is a lifetime resident of California's Tall Timber country. When evil land-despoiler Howard Fallon (Charles Bickford) arrives with a team of lumberjacks to strip the territory of its trees, Cardigan tries to stop them, only to discover that Fallon has the law on his side. Eventually, Cardigan finds an unexpected ally in the form of golden-hearted saloon girl Lee Roberts (Claire Trevor), who enables the forces of Good to triumph in the final reel. Stock footage from Valley of the Giants would be seen for years afterward in Warner Bros.' lesser outdoor dramas and two-reelers. The film was remade in 1952 as The Big Trees, with the emphasis shifted so that the Charles Bickford character, now played by Kirk Douglas, ultimately emerges as the hero! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wayne Morris, Claire Trevor, (more)
- 1927
Although Vanity was one of Leatrice Joy's most successful films, it can hardly be considered one of her best. Joy is cast as spoiled society girl Barbara Fiske, who, out of boredom, begins romancing roughneck tramp-steamer skipper Dan Morgan (Alan Hale). She offers to spend the night with Morgan on his vessel, which does not sit well with Barbara's wealthy fiance Lloyd Van Courtland (Charles Ray). During her nocturnal voyage, Barbara is nearly raped by the brutish ship's cook (Noble Johnson). Scurrying to the rescue, Morgan is killed by the cook, who in turn is shot dead by the terrified Barbara. Having had her fill of sea life, Barbara gladly returns to Van Courtland's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leatrice Joy, Charles Ray, (more)
- 1940
- NR
Promoted as a follow-up to the popular 1939 western Dodge City (which, indeed, was left wide open for a sequel in its closing scenes), Virginia City bears only surface resemblance to the earlier film. Indeed, the only discerning links between the two pictures are the western setting and the presence in the cast of Errol Flynn, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. After escaping from a Confederate prison during the Civil War, Union officer Flynn vows to stop a $5,000,000 gold shipment from reaching the South. He is challenged by Southern sympathizer Randolph Scott, whose interest in the gold is patriotic, and by outlaw Humphrey Bogart (complete with a Mexican accent that wouldn't convince a cow), whose interests are purely mercenary. Adding spice to the proceedings is Miriam Hopkins as a dance hall chanteusse-cum-Confederate spy. Better in individual components than sum total, Virginia City pleased the crowds in 1940, assuring that the Tasmanian-born Errol Flynn would continue appearing in westerns in the future. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, (more)
- 1921
When Blanche Warren (Irene Rich) finds out that her sister, Adele (Ora Carew), is about to marry the notorious Hugh Sainsbury (Alan Hale), she and Adele's sweetheart, Chester Thomas (William Scott), rush to the sanitarium where Sainsbury works. Blanche arrives first and the next morning Sainsbury is found murdered. A deaf patient claims that she saw Blanche commit the crime, and she is arrested. A blind patient arrives who heard the murder being committed and when he hears Blanche's voice, he says she is not the killer. When a nurse comes in and speaks, the blind man points her out as the guilty party. The nurse confesses that Sainsbury had betrayed her, and that is why she murdered him. Adele apologizes to Thomas and they are reunited. Blanche is freed and she is able to be with her own sweetheart, Harland Day (Ramsey Wallace). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this drama, a beautiful woman boards a ship with a brutish fellow who kidnaps her and forces her to stow away. Later he proposes to her and tells her she will lead a luxurious life in a tropical chateau. She accepts and a "wedding" is performed on board. When they arrive to their equatorial home, she is shocked to find it nothing but a leaky, ramshackle shack. She then discovers that her "husband" is nothing but a pearl trader with a penchant for abusing the natives. He makes the girl his slave until a handsome young man arrives. Just before the cad leaves her, he jeeringly tells her that they were never really married. The woman blows a gasket and beats him with a leather thong and blinds him. She then tells all to her new lover. He accepts this and they leave the island on their way towards sunnier climes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Burgess, Alan Hale, (more)
- 1937
Directed by Raoul Walsh, When Thief Meets Thief chronicles the story of two ex-partners in crime who have fallen in love with the same woman. When cat-burglar Ricky Morgan (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) gets emotionally involved with one of his victims, Glory Fane (Valerie Hobson), he doesn't realize that she's engaged to his adversary, Jim Dial (Alan Hale). Claiming to have reformed, Dial (Hale) masquerades as a successful businessman. When Jim winds up dead, however, Glory (Hobson) is blamed for his murder. Though innocent himself, Ricky (Fairbanks) tries to take the rap for her. Once the police figure out that Jim committed suicide after his stocks crashed, Glory and Ricky are both set free and allowed to continue their newfound romance. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Valerie Hobson, (more)
- 1948
In this drama, a California artist abandons his work to become a New York prizefighter after he falls in love with a married nightclub singer. Her husband was a fighter, but suffered a crippling accident in the ring and was unable to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming the world champion. The husband decides to live out his dream through the artist and begins tutoring him. Things go well until the hubby discovers that the artist has been sleeping with his wife. He then begins giving the artist bad advice so he will get creamed in the ring. Fortunately for the artist, he wins the Big Fight. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Clark, Alexis Smith, (more)
- 1918
The Whirlpool was based on the novel of the same name by Victoria Morton. Alice Brady stars as Belle Cavello, the mercenary sweetheart of moonstruck Arthur Hallam (William B. Davidson). In order to keep Belle in the manner to which she is accustomed, Arthur resorts to robbery and as a result is accused of a murder he didn't commit. Sobered by this turn of events, the covetous Belle decides to henceforth live a virtuous life, and to that end she marries the highly respectable Judge Reverton (H.E. Herbert). Inevitably, however, Belle's past catches up with her, and her bad traits resurface. The heroine's multitude of personal problems are straightened out -- if such a thing is possible -- by a prominent "brain specialist" (W.E. Williams), who tries to purge the heroine of her inbred wickedness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
This drama based on the Clyde Fitch stage play offers a fine performance by Marie Chambers, who comes close to eclipsing its star, Pauline Frederick. While studying in Paris, Julian Rolfe (Alan Hale Sr.) becomes engaged to Claire Foster. When he discovers that she is an adventuress of low moral character, he breaks up with her and returns to America heartbroken. But soon he begins a new relationship with an old acquaintance, Margaret Hughes (Frederick), who he eventually weds. Meanwhile, Rolfe's friend Philip Long becomes ensnared by Claire. Before Rolfe can tell him of Claire's true nature, the pair are married, and when Long discovers the truth about his wife, he kills himself in despair. Claire, who blames Rolfe, accuses him of murdering Long, and Rolfe is held on circumstantial evidence until Margaret tricks Claire into telling the truth by pretending to be of a similarly wanton character. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Wreck of the Hesperus was "suggested" by the poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It will be recalled that the bulk of the Longfellow original was devoted to an impassioned dialogue between the captain of the ill-fated Hesperus and his daughter, whom he has lashed to a post to keep her from being washed overboard during an outsized storm at sea. The principal roles of Captain Slocum and his daughter Gale are enacted herein by Sam de Grasse and Virginia Bradford. To pad out the plotline to feature length, a romance has been added, with Gale falling in love with John Hazzard Jr. (Frank Marion), handsome and courageous son of the shipbuilder (Francis Ford) whose negligence causes the wreck. The property was remade by Columbia in 1948, again with a tacked-on love story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam de Grasse, Virginia Bradford, (more)
- 1936
The real-life Yellowstone National Park provides a colorful backdrop to this melodramatic actioner. Henry Hunter stars as park ranger Dick Sherwood, who gets mixed up in a series of murders. The killings are tied in with $90,000 in stolen money, which the four villains had hidden in a Yellowstone cave 17 years earlier. Upon their release from prison, each of the criminals makes a dash for the dough; only three survive. While trying to figure out the murderer's modus operandi, ranger Sherwood takes time out to romance Ruth Foster (Judith Barrett), daughter of one of the crooks. Some of the violence in Yellowstone is quite startling, especially when the body of murder victim James Foster (Ralph Morgan) comes shooting out of "Old Faithful"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Hunter, Judith Barrett, (more)
