Carole Lombard Movies
When Carole Lombard died at the age of 34 in a plane crash following a World War II war bond drive, the American film industry lost one of its most talented and intelligent actresses. Starting out in silent films as a Mack Sennett bathing beauty, she later epitomized screwball comedy in Twentieth Century (1934); My Man Godfrey (1936), for which she was Oscar nominated as Irene Bullock, with ex-husband William Powell as Godfrey; and Nothing Sacred (1937), playing the not-so-doomed Hazel Flagg. But Lombard was also a capable dramatic actress whose talents can be seen in her subdued performance as a nurse in one of her final roles, in Vigil in the Night (1940), as well as in The Eagle and the Hawk (1933), In Name Only (1939) and They Knew What They Wanted (1940). Other fine appearances include teaming with Fred MacMurray in several films, the best of which are Hands Across the Table (1935) and The Princess Comes Across (1936), in which Lombard does a humorously accurate Greta Garbo takeoff. Her two final films contain two of her best performances: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1940) and the Ernst Lubitsch war satire, To Be or Not To Be (1942). She was married to William Powell from 1931-33 and to Clark Gable from 1939 til her death. ~ All Movie Guide- 1921
The homely but likable Monte Blue teams up with director Allan Dwan for this pleasing comedy-drama, adapted from a short story that ran in the Saturday Evening Post. Wally Griggs (Blue) is your classic meek, mild bank messenger, destined to a threadbare life of earning 63 dollars a month. At least this is what he seems to be. But when he's not working Griggs is the dashing James Brown, an adventurer and storyteller who is familiar with bank president Halliday (Hardee Kirkland). A publisher, fascinated by Brown's wild tales, offers him a deal. Griggs also uses his alter ego to help Mary Oliver, the girl her loves (Jacqueline Logan). District attorney "Big Bill" Thaine (Stanton Heck) has cheated her out of her fortune and is now trying to force her to marry him. Griggs is given twenty-five thousand dollars' worth of bonds to deliver but he mysteriously disappears. Thaine figures out the Brown-Griggs connection and Wally is arrested. After being given the third degree, Brown sues for false imprisonment, and the mayor forces Thaine to make restitution out of his own pocket. Griggs gives this sum to Mary. Meanwhile, he pretends amnesia and shows up at the bank with the bonds. Because of the proceeds from the book, Griggs is able to quit his low-paying job and wed Mary. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Blue, Jacqueline Logan, (more)
- 1929
A primitive early talkie from Pathé, this crime drama starred relative newcomers Robert Armstrong and Carole Lombard, the latter still spelling her first name Carol. They play husband and wife, she threatening divorce unless he devotes more of his time to their marriage. In reality, Armstrong is an undercover detective busy investigating a dope ring lead by Reno (Sam Hardy), a crook with friends in high places. When Armstrong gets too close to the truth, Reno has him framed in the murder of corrupt newspaper publisher Addison (Charles Sellon). A Dictaphone recording Addison was making when he was murdered ultimately exonerates Banks, who can now return to his forgiving wife. Both Robert Armstrong and Carole Lombard would see their careers soar in the 1930s, he as the nominal star of King Kong (1933), she as one of Hollywood's best light comediennes. In fact, director Gregory La Cava and Lombard would collaborate again on My Man Godfrey (1936), one of the era's best screwball comedies and a far cry from the pedestrian Big News. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1934
Bolero stars George Raft as Raoul de Barre, an arrogant dancer who rises to fame in the years prior to, during, and after WW I. Raoul is helped along the way by his promoter brother Mike (William Frawley) and scores of willing females, matriculating from two-bit gigolo to the greatest ballroom dancer in Paris. Determining that nothing will stand in his way to the top, he regularly fires any female dancing partner who has the misfortune to fall in love with him -- until the last of his partners, the beautiful Helen (Carole Lombard) beats him to the punch by walking out on him. His heart weakened during the war, Raoul aspires to open his own nightclub, despite warnings that if he ever dances again the consequences will be fatal. On opening night of his new establishment, Raoul dances Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" with Helen, now the wife of a British nobleman. Having reached his emotional and professional pinnacle, Raoul collapses and dies in his dressing room -- as the nightclub patrons, oblivious to his fate, loudly demand an encore. Surprisingly, George Raft and Carole Lombard's dancing is doubled by others, but the same cannot be said of the inimitable Sally Rand, whose famous fan dance is tastefully re-created here. Raft and Lombard later reteamed in 1935's Rumba. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1933
A nightclub singer with a strong work ethic marries a freeloading heir in this romantic drama. Trouble ensues when the singer, desiring that her new spouse learn the value of work, convinces his father to cut off his allowance. The ploy does not work, and the young man ends up spending most of his days at the racetrack. In frustration, the singer leaves. As a result, the son changes his life and his name. He begins working at a new, challenging job. The singer's helpful boss at the nightclub intervenes and forces her to meet with her estranged spouse. She is impressed with him. Happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Gene Raymond, (more)
- 1991
This documentary offers a loving tribute to one of Hollywood's most beloved actors, Clark Gable. Burgess Meredith narrates and many of Gable's closest friends and colleagues remember him. Their stories are rounded out with rarely-seen home movies of the great actor and his wife Carole Lombard and many film clips. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 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)
- 1928
A former leading lady for director Cecil B. DeMille, vivacious Vera Reynolds was experiencing somewhat of a career slump when she starred in this romantic melodrama from poverty row producer Trem Carr. She played Lillia, a small town girl who gets involved with the wrong crowd in Paris. Arrested by police prefect Nigel De Brulier, Lillia agrees to seduce a politically important foreign prince Ernest Hilliard in exchange for her freedom. They fall in love, of course, and when the prince is informed of his succession to the throne, he chooses love instead of power and abdicates. A very young Carole Lombard (still spelling her first name "Carol") appeared in a supporting role as one of the heroine's Parisian friends. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Reynolds, Nigel de Brulier, (more)
- 1925
A remake of a 1917 Dustin Farnum Western, Durand of the Bad Lands starred Buck Jones in the title role, a rancher falsely accused of a crime actually committed by Sheriff Clem Allison (Malcolm Waite) and his henchman Pete Garson (Fred De Silva). In his attempt to clear himself, Durand comes across a couple of orphaned children (Buck Black and Seesel Ann Johnson), the survivors of a stagecoach robbery. With the children in tow, Durand seeks shelter at the ranch belonging to Molly Gore (Marian Nixon), who at first spurns him. She changes her mind, however, after Duran saves Banker John Boyd's (George Lessey) daughter (Carole Lombard) from being molested by the evil Allison and his henchman. Lombard (whose first name was still spelled "Carol") had just signed with Fox when she appeared in this film, one of several potboilers that she would make before leaving the studio in favor of comedy king Mack Sennett. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1930
Filmed in 1929 and released early in 1930, Dynamite was Cecil B. DeMille's first all-talking feature. As one observer has noted, this 128-minute opus has enough plots for seven pictures. The basic storyline here involves spoiled heiress Cynthia Crothers (Kay Johnson) who will lose her fortune if she isn't married right away. Her love Roger Towne (Conrad Nagel) isn't interested in marriage, so Crothers decides to wed convicted murderer Hagon Derk (Charles Bickford). Her plan: Derk will die, then she'll be a millionaire, free to chase after Towne without benefit of clergy. Unfortunately for Crothers, Derk is pardoned at the last minute when the real killer (Leslie Fenton) confesses. Crothers tries to drive Derk out of her life by humiliating him at a fancy party, only to discover that the conditions of her inheritance require that she live with her husband for a set period of time. She swallows her pride and heads for Derk's home town, a grimy mining village. Touched by Crother's inept efforts to keep house and cook dinner, Derk eventually falls in love with her--though he makes it clear that he wants no part of her money. Crothers, in turn, falls genuinely in love with her brutish but basically decent husband. It must needs be that fortune-hunting Towne arrives in the mining village, leading to a powerful climax wherein Derk, Crothers and Towne are trapped in a mine cave-in. Though the dialogue is occasionally quite silly (after the killer commits suicide in a crowded restaurant, one of the patrons is heard to complain "It's ruined my dinner!") and the performances overripe at times, Dynamite actually holds up better than you'd expect. DeMilles' utilization of sound is both innovative and imaginative, especially during the noisy climactic sequences. The film was a success, paving the way for DeMilles' camp classic Madame Satan (1930). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, (more)
- 1930
Previously filmed in 1925, Avery Hopwood's stage play The Best People was refashioned by Preston Sturges as the Miriam Hopkins vehicle Fast and Loose in 1930. Hopkins (in her film debut) and Henry Wadsworth are cast as Marion and Bertie Lenox, the footloose, prodigal offspring of wealthy, social-climbing Bronson and Carrie Lenox (Frank Morgan and Winifred Harris). The parents are shocked beyond belief when daughter Marion falls in love with low-born car mechanic Henry Morgan (Charles Starrett), while Bertie becomes enamored of down-to-earth showgirl Alice O'Neil (Carole Lombard). But mom and dad change their minds when it turns out the Henry and Alice have more common sense than either of their grown-up kids. This was the film in which Paramount contract starlet Carol Lombard changed the spelling of her first name to "Carole" -- or, rather, it was changed for her by a careless title-writer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miriam Hopkins, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1938
In her only Warner Bros. starring film, Carole Lombard plays a Hollywood movie actress who makes the park-bench acquaintance of an impoverished French marquis (Fernand Gravet). Hoping to coerce Carole into marriage, the nobleman poses as a butler and enters her household. His plan is to compromise Lombard and force her to make him an "honest man"--with the attendant cash settlement. Ralph Bellamy, as ever, is the poor clod who really loves Lombard but who loses her in the end to the chastened Gravet. Rodgers and Hart were commissioned to write several songs for this film, but found most of their efforts consigned to the cutting room floor. Fools for Scandal was based on Nancy Hamilton's stage play Return Engagement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Fernand Gravey, (more)
- 1933
The world of horse racing provides the backdrop for this episodic drama. Much of the story is set at the Luray Springs Hotel where the characters wait for the running of the Capitol Handicap. The main story focuses upon Colly Tannyer, a pretty young handicapper who must wrangle up $10,000 so she can bet on a special horse. He former lover, Cuff Billings, helps her out under the condition that if the horse loses, she must make love to him. She agrees, and unfortunately, her steed places third. Fortunately, Cuff is more honorable than she though and he ends up romancing her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Jack Oakie, (more)
- 1925
The Fox company, who championed Buck Jones as Western star Tom Mix's possible heir, began cutting back a bit with Gold and the Girl. Jones was popular enough, but by 1925, there was a glut on the market due to scores of cheaply made independent Westerns. This time around, Jones plays Dan Prentiss, a special undercover agent hired by a mining company to look into a series of gold-shipment robberies. On the job, Prentiss falls for lovely Ann Donald (Elinor Fair), whose uncle Sam (Alphonse Ethier) is the partner of outlaw leader Bart Colton (Bruce Gordon). The hero sets a trap for the villains, who, nevertheless, manage to flee into the hills. Sam, however, is wounded and commits suicide rather than face a jail sentence. Colton is apprehended, and Prentiss and Ann can enjoy a rosy future together. According to one reviewer, this substandard Jones Western was "produced economically and with a supporting cast that never supports." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
After nearly a decade of nominal "leading lady" roles, Carole Lombard landed her first genuine starring vehicle with Hands Across the Table. Reasoning that the way to a man's heart is through his cuticles, Regi Allen (Carole Lombard) takes a job as a manicurist at a fancy barbershop, unabashedly admitting that she hopes to use this position to snag a rich husband. Sure enough, Regi's charms prove irresistable to Allen Macklyn (Ralph Bellamy) a wealthy and charming invalid, who knows that the girl is a golddigger but doesn't care. The other man in Regi's life is Theodore "Ted" Drew III (Fred MacMurray), who though born into a wealthy family is stone broke, and on the verge of marrying a rich debutante (Astrid Allwyn) to replenish his lost fortune. Hoping to briefly escape this fate and his other financial problems, Theodore hides out in Regi's apartment. It is, of course, a platonic relationship: Having been burned in the past, Regi doesn't want to get romantically entangled with a pauper, while Ted is already promised to someone else. But, as is often the case in 1930s comedies, things don't quite turn out the way that either Regi or Ted expect. Full of delightful, unexpected touches, Hands Across the Table proved to be a major boost for Carole Lombard's career, and didn't exactly do any harm to up-and-coming Fred MacMurray either. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1925
The Fox company signed young Carole Lombard (billing her "Carol") to a contract after she tested for and won the female lead opposite Edmund Lowe in Marriage in Transit (1925). This average Buck Jones western was her follow-up. Carole plays a young prairie flower whose brother (Freeman Wood) is on a path to a life of crime. Along comes cowboy Jones, who gallantly takes the blame for a killing to save Carole's brother. Lombard suffered a near-fatal car accident shortly after finishing this film, returning to Fox after months of recuperation only to find her contract cancelled. Happily, she was immediately signed up by Mack Sennett, who obviously knew what he was doing. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1929
In one of her first talking pictures, Carole Lombard played a girl crook falling in love with a handsome lineman (William Boyd) while marooned during a snow storm. Crossing the High Sierras in a bus, a group of travelers find themselves stranded in a small village and at the mercy of Bill Dougherty (Boyd), a lineman who apportions them a small amount of food. Despite warnings from detective Dan Egan (Owen Moore), Billie Davis (Lombard), the girl crook, falls in love with Bill, who turns out to be an escaped convict. Briefly planning to flee, Bill and Billie decide to serve their sentences and share a happier future together. High Voltage was produced by Pathé and featured blonde newcomer Diane Ellis as a young girl en route to her wedding. Ironically, Ellis died less than a year later from a rare tropical disease while honeymooning in India. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Rather than a compilation of a series of hilarious bloopers, plus scenes of current stars never-before shown to the public, this collection of film clips focuses on a Hollywood of long ago. Stars from Warner Bros. in the 1930s and '40s are shown in out-takes that mainly illustrate their short tempers (James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart among them), while a variety of clips, including screen tests (Marilyn Monroe) catch famous actors from the 1930s to the '60s in ironic or very youthful and naive moments. The humor, when it occurs, depends on the viewpoint of the beholder: "At Home with Joan Crawford" shows her putting her children to sleep while a voiceover says "Good-night Mommy Dearest." James Dean discusses the dangers of fast driving on the highway in one clip filmed not long before he was killed in a head-on collision, driving 115 mph near Paso Robles. Judy Garland sings Over the Rainbow in a radio show with Bob Hope that was captured on film. Another short made in 1937 shows Constance Bennett demonstrating her beauty secrets; others show Bette Davis promoting war bonds in the 1940s, and Shirley Temple doing a segment for the Red Cross. For anyone interested in Hollywood stars, these film clips are curiosities that reveal more than just the screen persona of actors who were "manufactured in Hollywood." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This documentary highlights the careers and lives of some of the most famous actresses of early cinema. Some of the ladies featured in this video are Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Carole Lombard, and Joan Crawford. These actresses from Hollywood's Golden Age were different in the types of films they were known for, from romantic comedy to high drama, but they were all the queens of the movie industry. You will watch some of their performances, listen to stories from historians and critics about their illustrious careers, and hear to the stars themselves in excerpts from interviews they did on television. There are rare photographs of the stars and outtakes from many of their movies. ~ Cecilia Cygnar, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Based on a Mary Roberts Rinehart novel, I Take This Woman stars Carole Lombard as the spoiled daughter of a wealthy rancher. Lombard impulsively marries cowhand Gary Cooper, a poverty-stricken employee of her father. Cooper insists that they live on his income in a tiny shack; Lombard gives this new life a try, but eventually balks and walks. Cooper joins a travelling rodeo, and is badly hurt during a performance in New York--where Lombard is in the audience. Having eaten several slices of Humble Pie, Lombard rushes to her ex-husband's side, and all is well. I Take This Woman bears no relation to the 1940 Spencer Tracy/Hedy Lamarr soap opera of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1931
A remake of a 1919 silent film based on the stage farce by Roi Cooper Megrue and Walter C. Hackett, the light romantic comedy It Pays to Advertise stars comedienne Carol Lombard in one of her early Paramount talkies. Rodney Martin (Norman Foster) is the son of wealthy soap manufacturer Cyrus Martin (Eugene Pallette). Rodney has to make it on his own, so he starts up a rival soap company with the slogan "Thirteen - Unlucky for Dirt." After he hires advertising manager Ambrose Peale (Richard "Skeets" Gallagher) and loyal secretary Mary Grayson (Carole Lombard), his company takes off and his supply can't keep up with the demand. Dad Cyrus buys him out and he falls in love with trusty secretary Mary. Silent film star Louise Brooks appears in a small role. Paramount also made a French language version of this film with different actors called Criez-Le Sur Les Toits. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Foster, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1931
A Rupert Hughes novel was the source for this soulless but sophisticated comedy-drama. William Powell is a charming roue who lives off the gifts given to him by lonely married women. In exchange, he escorts them around town (among other services) when their husbands aren't looking. The only woman Powell truly cares about is Kay Francis, who is disgusted by her lover's lifestyle. The daughter (Carole Lombard) of one of Powell's married companions falls for the rakish gentleman--which results in tragedy when Lombard's father seeks revenge for the ruination of his family. Ladies' Man is definitely no relation to the 1961 Jerry Lewis comedy of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Kay Francis, (more)
- 1934
Promoted as a follow-up to Frank Capra's 1933 hit Lady for a Day, Lady by Choice resembles the earlier film only in its choice of leading lady. May Robson plays a drunken derelict who'd once been quite a heartbreaker. Her self-respect is restored when she is asked to pose as fan-dancer Carole Lombard's mother. Lombard is part of the deal only to gain publicity for herself, but Robson takes her assignment seriously, ordering Lombard to give up her tacky profession and use her talents for something more dignified. At first against her will, Lombard starts taking formal acting and singing lessons and begins gaining a reputation as a serious artist. Wealthy Roger Pryor, a family friend of Robson's, falls in love with Lombard, but she breaks off the relationship so that Pryor won't be disinherited. Robson takes a hand in things, forcing Pryor and Lombard together in a delightfully devious fashion. Lady By Choice proved that Columbia Pictures (and scriptwriter Jo Swerling) could turn out a perfectly respectable Frank Capra film without Frank Capra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, May Robson, (more)
