Matt McHugh Movies

The Man Who Dared was inspired by the career of Chicago mayor Anton Cermak, here called "Jan Novak" and played by Preston S. Foster. The first portion of the film dwells upon Novak's early years in Chicago's Bohemian community, then follows him on the political trail. In the face of governmental corruption, Novak is scrupulously honest; despite the pressures of big-business barons, Novak tirelessly champions the working man. Elected mayor of Chicago during the Prohibition era, Novak stands his ground against gangsterism. At the end, he is shot down by a sniper who was aiming at President-elect Roosevelt (just as Anton Cermak was shot at the Chicago Century of Progress exhibition in 1933). As Novak dies, he expresses no regrets, declaring his gratitude that Roosevelt was spared. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Whistler, the unseen mystery-story narrator of radio fame, relates another tale that he's gleaned from "walking by night" in Mark of the Whistler. Richard Dix stars as a drifter who poses as the owner of an unclaimed bank account. Dix's new identity brings him nothing but misery as he falls victim to the actual claimant's startling secrets, lost loves and dangerous enemies--including one bent on killing for revenge. The second of Columbia's Whistler series, Mark of the Whistler was an enormous improvement on the first film, with a healthy number of unexpected plot twists within its 60-minute time frame. Mark of the Whistler was based on a story by Cornell Woolrich and directed by future horror specialist William Castle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"It's box office poison," producer Samuel Goldwyn is said to have exclaimed when he heard the idea of filming the life story of fabled first baseman Lou Gehrig. "If people want baseball, they go to the ballpark!" The story begins before World War I, when young Lou Gehrig (played as a boy by Douglas Croft) begins dreaming of becoming a professional ballplayer. Lou's immigrant parents (Elsa Jansen and Ludwig Stossel) insist that the boy attend Columbia University to become an engineer. While in college, Lou (played as a man by Gary Cooper) becomes a star athlete, and, with the help of sports journalist Sam Blake (Walter Brennan), he is signed by the New York Yankees and joins their big-league lineup in 1925; real-life Yanks Babe Ruth, Bill Dickey, Bob Meusel and Mark Koenig play themselves. He also meets and falls in love with Eleanor Twitchell (Teresa Wright) (an event that actually happened in 1933) and earns the nickname "The Iron Man of Baseball" because he never misses a game. In 1939, Lou discovers that he has a fatal neurological disease called amytrophic lateral sclerosis (now known, of course, as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). On July 4, 1939, an emotional Lou Gehrig, a scant two years away from death, bids farewell to 62,000 of his fans and friends at Yankee Stadium. Allowing that he might have been given a bad break, he concludes his speech with "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Deftly weaving basic facts with yards and yards of fancy, screenwriters Jo Swerling and Herman J. Mankiewicz serve up one of the most entertaining and inspiring baseball biopics. A more accurate but less dramatic adaptation of the same story, A Love Affair: The Eleanor & Lou Gehrig Story, was produced for television in 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fabric designer Harry Quincey (George Sanders) has the unhappy task of caring for his tiresome unmarried sisters, Lettie (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and Hester (Moyna MacGill). When Harry falls in love with Deborah Brown (Ella Raines), Hester is delighted, but Lettie smolders with jealousy. Upset at Lettie 's opposition, Harry would like nothing better than to do her in. Does he? And what has really happened here? When originally presented on Broadway, Thomas Job's play Uncle Harry utilized a complex flashback technique in unfolding its story, which was capped by a grimly ironic ending. Stephen Longstreet's screenplay not only takes a more linear approach, but also radically alters the ending to conform with the censorship strictures then in effect. The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry was one of several Universal film noirs of the 1940s produced by longtime Alfred Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a scatter-brained professor nearly starts a riot when he writes a book claiming that women like to be treated roughly. A paper publishes snippets from the book and later the professor, feeling he was misquoted, begins suing for libel. The paper then sends out a female reporter to dredge up some dirt on the sexist academic. Not only does she do her job and prevent the suit, she and the professor end up falling in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy drama, a medicine show con-man pretends to be a wealthy man to impress his long-lost daughter who is slated to inherit a vast fortune. Unfortunately, she turns out to be someone else's daughter. Later he finds his own and discovers that she has less money than he does. They decide to continue the con together and head for New York. There, they stay in a boarding house for theatrical performers. When their ruse is discovered, mayhem ensues. Fortunately, by the end of the film, the two fakers encounter better luck. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

Nancy, a jilted bride-to-be, is played by Janet Gaynor in one of her last starring films. The three loves are novelist Robert Montgomery, publisher Franchot Tone, and gormless nebbish Grady Sutton (Sonny TUFTS??). In New York to find her runaway groom Sutton, Janet runs across Montgomery and Tone. More selective since her unfortunate near-wedding, Gaynor decides to have the two swains demonstrate their worthiness, leading to a brief (and chaste) menage-a-trois in which all three are under the same roof. Three Loves Has Nancy is a sedate screwball comedy, carried completely by the charm of its stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dorothy Lamour and Ray Milland, a popular Paramount screen team specializing in south-sea extravaganzas, don "civilized" garb (at least briefly) for Tropic Holiday. Lamour plays a Mexican senorita, while Milland is a visiting American screenwriter. Since we know where this is going, our attention is deflected every so often by comedy relief Bob "Bazooka" Burns and Martha Raye, who are frankly more watchable than the leads. Also on hand is Mexican musical star Tito Guizar, who was still packing 'em in for his concert tours of the 1980s. Tropic Holiday contrives to remove most of Dorothy Lamour's clothing before the fade-out, just so we remember who's top billed around here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

About to die in the electric chair, John Allen (Edward G. Robinson) uses the last two seconds of his life to recall the events leading up to his present predicament. A $62.50-per-week riveter ("That's more than most college professors make!"), Allen gets drunk at a speakeasy and impulsively marries his steady date Shirley Day (Vivienne Osborne), who almost immediately begins cheating on him with dance-hall proprietor Tony (J. Carroll Naish). When his co-worker pal Bud Clark (Preston S. Foster) tries to warn him of this hanky-panky, Allen angrily takes a punch at Clark, whereupon the other man falls to his death from a skyscraper girder. Told by his "repentant" wife that she's been messing around with Tony so as to borrow money from him, Allen begins playing the horses, earning just enough money to pay off his debts. With money in hand, he heads to Tony's place, only to discover that Shirley has been lying to him all along. In a fit of jealousy, he kills Shirley and subsequently is sentenced to the chair. As the executioner pulls the switch, Allen philosophizes that he's been the victim of the "postman always rings twice" syndrome: He escaped prosecution for Clark's unjustified death, only to be punished for his justifiable murder of Shirley ("It isn't fair to let a rat live and kill a man!") Edward G. Robinson overacts outrageously throughout Two Seconds, but that's part of the charm of this fascinating antique. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Vacation in Reno, RKO contract actress Anne Jeffreys proved herself an accomplished comedienne, a fact verified by her later work on TV's Topper. Jeffreys is cast as Eleanor, the wife of would-be prospector Jack Carroll (Jack Haley). When hubby goes off to find a cache of hidden loot near Reno, Eleanor becomes convinced that he's actually gone to the Nevada city to secure a quickie divorce. She trails him to a dude ranch on the outskirts of Reno, where Jack has somehow gotten mixed up with a gang of thick-witted bank robbers (Morgan Conway, Alan Carney, Iris Adrian). No opportunity for a slapstick setpiece is ignored throughout the film, culminating with the inevitable "wild ride" through the desert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shemp is suffering from a case of bad nerves in this Three Stooges two-reel comedy, and Moe and Larry invite him on a disastrous camping trip. Except for a couple of added scenes, this was simply 1948's Pardon My Clutch under a new title. Matt McHugh and starlets Alyn Lockwood, Doris Revier, and Wanda Perry all appeared courtesy of the stock footage. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide