John Rogers Movies

A woman trying to solve the mystery of a friend's murder finds that she may be the next victim in this suspense story set in turn-of-the-century London. Belle Adair (Peggy Cummins) is a struggling showgirl willing to use her charms to snare an eligible bachelor. When her roommate is murdered, Belle's suspicions turn to Michael Drego (Victor Mature), the wealthy but mysterious gentlemen whom the late woman had been dating. Belle pulls some strings and gets an invitation to dine at the estate that Michael shares with his mother, Lady Sterling (Ethel Barrymore); she learns that Michael has a new fiancée, Audrey (Patricia Medina). When Audrey later dies under suspicious circumstances, Inspector Clinner (Vincent Price) from Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate, and he finds himself protecting Belle when the murderer begins following her trail. Keep an eye peeled for horror movie great George Zucco, who plays Craxton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Peter Lorre makes his fifth appearance as J. P. Marquand's polite but deadly Japanese sleuth Mr. Moto. This time Moto is called in by Scotland Yard to thwart a vicious gang of international assassins. To infiltrate the gang, Moto poses as a Devil's Island inmate and escapes with one of the killers. The climax takes place at the British Museum, where the mysterious leader of the assassins (the least likely suspect, of course) overplays his hand. The gimmick of having Mr. Moto make his first appearance as an apparent villain works only when the "Moto" films aren't seen as a group. On its own merits, however, Mysterious Mr. Moto is one of the best of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pleasing time-fillers at best, Columbia's "Five Little Peppers" films were otherwise undistinguished spinoffs of the best-selling literary series by Margaret Sidney. In the case of Out West With the Peppers, the title and plotline are virtually interchangeable. Once again in dire financial straits, the Pepper family is forced to pull up stakes and head westward. Upon arrival in the Wide Frontiers, the Pepper kids get into mischief in a lumber camp. As usual, the plot is resolved by Edith Fellows as eldest Pepper child Polly, who manages to stumble upon a financial windfall which proves benefical not only to her family but practically everyone else in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third in a succession of film adaptations of author E.W. Hornung's novel Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman, this version was the first to also be produced in sound. Ronald Colman stars as A.J. Raffles, an utterly unflappable British gentleman cricket player who by night is secretly a thief known in the press as The Amateur Cracksman and causing apoplectic fits at Scotland Yard. Raffles has fallen in love with society girl Gwen Manders (Kay Francis) and intends to give up his criminal pursuits, but first he must help an indebted pal, Bunny (Bramwell Fletcher) by stealing a valuable necklace owned by Lady Melrose (Alison Skipworth) at a weekend soiree. Suspecting that Raffles and the Cracksman are one and the same, Inspector McKenzie (David Torrence) is a guest at the same party, with a keen eye peeled at Raffles. In the meantime, rival crook Crawshaw (John Rogers) also has designs on the necklace, setting himself as an unfortunately perfect scapegoat. Although George Fitzmaurice was credited as the sole director of Raffles (1930), he was actually the replacement for Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, who was fired during production. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Someone in London has driven several prominent men to madness and suicide. Normally, Scotland Yard would call in Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) to help solve the case, but Holmes has recently perished in an accident. Or has he? Officially declared dead, Holmes is able to move about undetected as he tries to find out who's behind the rash of suicides -- and why. The culprit turns out to be the bewitching, deadly Andrea Spedding (Gale Sondergaard), and for once, Holmes seems to have met his match. The now-famous climax finds a bound-and-gagged Holmes hidden behind a shooting-gallery target, while his faithful assistant, Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce), unwittingly prepares to blast away at the target with live ammunition (in wartime, yet). Filled to overflowing with amusing dialogue and devilishly clever plot twists (one of them involving an autistic pygmy!), Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman is among the best of the Universal Holmes series. Best bit: told to "act inconspicuous," Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey) ceremoniously rolls his eyes upward and begins whistling loudly -- whereupon Dr. Watson chides him with "Inconspicuous, Lestrade, not half-witted." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cecil B. DeMille's The Buccaneer stars Fredric March, complete with curly hair, pencil moustache and florid "Sacre Bleu!" French accent, as 18th century pirate Jean Lafitte. Operating out of a "buccaneer's haven" of the coast of New Orleans, Lafitte plunders all passing ships for their wealth, but refuses to attack any vessel flying the American flag. During one seafaring skirmish, he rescues Dutch maiden Gretchen (Franziska Gaal) from a sunken ship. Gretchen falls madly in love with the dashing Lafitte, but he has eyes only for aristocratic Louisana belle Annette (Margot Grahame). During the War of 1812, Lafitte is offered a pardon by Andrew Jackson (Hugh Sothern) if he and his pirates will fight on the American side. As good as his word, Lafitte stands shoulder to shoulder with Jackson as they ward off the British at the Battle of New Orleans. During a Victory Ball in his honor, Lafitte is confronted with evidence that he unknowingly caused the death of Annette's younger sister Marie (Louise Campbell) during a previous act of piracy. The assembled guests are all for hanging Lafitte on the spot, but General Jackson offers the pirate an hour's head start out of New Orleans, provided he never set foot on American soil again. This naturally costs Lafitte the love of Annette; fortunately, Gretchen is awaiting him on board his ship with open arms. From the opening scene in which Dolly Madison (Spring Byington) rescues the Declaration of Independence during the burning of Washington to the closing clinch between Lafitte and Gretchen, The Buccaneer is one of DeMille's most exhilarating films. It was remade less successfully in 1958 under the direction of Cecil B's son-in-law Anthony Quinn, who played the supporting role of Beluche in the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite his precarious health, silent film idol Milton Sills insisted upon tackling one of the most challenging roles of his career in the 1930 talkie The Sea Wolf. Based on the novel by Jack London, the film stars Sills as the psychotic Wolf Larsen, captain of the bad ship Ghost. In the original novel, Larsen rules his tiny vessel like a banana-republic despot, adhering to Satan's credo "Better to Reign in Hell Than Serve in Heaven," as set down in Milton's Paradise Lost. Evidently worried that so villainous a portrayal would hurt Sills' image, the producers split the Larsen role in two: Wolf Larsen is still a fanatic, but far less dangerous than his co-skipper brother Death Larsen (Mitchell Lewis). Another deviation from the novel is the inclusion of a heroine (Jane Keith), a plot device later repeated in the 1940 Edward G. Robinson remake. Still, the 1930 film utilizes London's original ending, with Wolf Larson hiding the fact that he's blind for fear that his scurvy crew will stage a bloody mutiny. Though no one knew it at the time, The Sea Wolf would stand as Milton Sills's valedictory film: the actor died of heart failure on September 15, 1930. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from an earlier European film, Wharf Angel stars Dorothy Dell as Toy, a golden-hearted prostitute stranded in San Francisco. Toy finds hope for redemption when she falls in love with Como (Preston S. Foster), a sailor on the lam from a murder charge. In Madame Butterfly fashion, the heroine promises to wait for Como until he is able to clear himself. The fly in the ointment is Como's buddy Turk (Victor McLaglen), who has known Toy (in the Biblical sense) for several years. An inexpensive but fairly credible reconstruction of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (courtesy of legendary art director William Cameron Menzies) caps this intriguing little romantic melodrama. Alas, leading lady Dorothy Dell was killed in a car crash after appearing in only three films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Typhoon was Paramount's answer to Samuel Goldwyn's The Hurricane, even utilizing the same leading lady, Dorothy Lamour. The film is set in a small island off Dutch Guinea. Two sailors (Robert Preston and Lynne Overman) make the acquaintance of a young white girl (Lamour) who has been living on the island since childhood, the victim of a shipwreck. The Technicolor cameras are given a thorough workout recording not only Lamour's sarong-clad frame and the climactic typhoon, but also an added-attraction forest fire. Incidentally, the working title for Typhoon was The Big Haircut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide