Hanley Stafford Movies
- 1951
The unique comic talents of Groucho Marx, William Bendix and Marie Wilson are hardly exploited to their fullest in RKO's A Girl in Every Port. Groucho and Bendix play Benny Linn and Tim Dunnevan, respectively, a couple of scheming sailors who embark upon one get-rich-quick scheme after another. This time around, our heroes use a small inheritance to purchase two horses, one for racing purposes and one to be sold at a tidy profit. After a series of bizarre complications, both horses are pitted against each other in a crucial race which could spell either triumph or ruin for the two goofy gobs. Wilson co-stars as a birdbrained carhop who owns one of the horses coveted by Linn and Dunnevan. No stone is left unturned so far as wheezy comedy routines are concerned: writer-director Chester Erskine even manages to revive the old chestnut wherein the sailors sneak both horses on board their ship. The likeable supporting cast includes Don DeFore as a disgruntled stable owner, Dee Hartford (who later became Groucho Marx's sister-in-law) as DeFore's financially savvy fiancee, Gene Lockhart as a seedy horse dealer, Hanley Stafford ("Daddy" on radio's Baby Snooks) as the two protagonists' flustered commanding officer, and Teddy Hart as a Runyonesque gangster. A box-office disappointment, A Girl in Every Port ended Groucho Marx's efforts to become a solo screen star; fortunately, he still had TV's You Bet Your Life to fall back on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Groucho Marx, Marie Wilson, (more)
- 1953
In this fourth of the "Francis" series, former Army officer Peter Stirling (Donald O'Connor) becomes a reporter for a big city newspaper. His greatest source of news tips is his talking mule Francis (voice by Chill Wills), who has become friendly with all the police horses. When asked how he manages to stay abreast of the news, Peter tries to explain about Francis, and is not unexpectedly labelled a looney-tune. But when Peter is brought to court on a homicide charge, Francis breaks his self-imposed rule of talking only to Peter and testifies on his master's behalf. With Francis' aid, Peter cracks the murder case and is graduated to star reporter. At fadeout time, Francis is seen wooing a female zebra, explaining "Don't let the striped pajamas fool ya." Francis Covers Big Town is harmless fun, bolstered by an expert supporting cast, including the always reliable Gene Lockhart (as Peter's editor) and Gale Gordon (as a flustered D.A.). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, Yvette Dugay, (more)
- 1952
Believe it or not, those boobish Bowery Boys Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and Sach Jones (Huntz Hall) are drafted into the Marine Corps (drafted into the Marine Corps?) Because of his father's sterling war record, simple-minded Sach is promoted to sergeant, and has a high old time lording it over his former "chiefie" Slip. Seemingly born under a lucky star, the more Sach screws up during boot camp, the higher he's promoted. Just when this running gag threatens to wear out its welcome, the scriptwriters bring in a gang of crooked gamblers who've been victimizing the Marine trainees, leading to a maelstrom of fisticuffs between the Bowery Boys and the bad boys in the final reel. Extra laughs are supplied in Here Come the Marines by Donald MacBride as Slip and Sach's dough-faced drill sergeant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1952
Peter Lawford goes through his standard "rich, spoiled young playboy" paces in the MGM comedy Just This Once. In danger of squandering his entire fortune, the wastrelly Mark MacLene (Peter Lawford) is put on a strict allowance by an old family friend, Judge Samuel Coulter (Lewis Stone). To make certain that Mark stays within his weekly budget, Coulter hires pretty lawyer Lucy Duncan (Janet Leigh) to monitor the boy's spending. One of the provisions of Coulter's ruling dictates that Mark and Lucy live under the same roof--platonically, of course. Lucy agrees to this set-up; after all, she couldn't possibly fall in love with anyone as irresponsible as Mark, especially since she's already engaged to the scrupulously frugal Tom Winters (Richard Anderson). Anyone who can't figure out how this winds up should be drummed out of the theater in disgrace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Leigh, Peter Lawford, (more)
- 1941
The box-office success of Paramount's What a Life (1939), coupled with the popularity of the spinoff Henry Aldrich radio series, inspired the studio to launch an "Aldrich" series of its own. The inagural entry was Life with Henry, with Jackie Cooper repeating his role as befuddled teenager Henry Aldrich. This time around, Henry and his pal Dizzy (Eddie Bracken) conspire to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Alaska. The boys' bumbling efforts have unfortunate long-range repercussions, culminating in the decision by a group of investors not to build a factory in town, as originally planned. How will Henry get himself out of this one? For the record, in all subsequent "Henry Aldrich" endeavors, Henry would be played by Jimmy Lydon, while Dizzy would be enacted by Charles Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Cooper, Leila Ernst, (more)
- 1959
Bart (Jack Kelly) is hired to impersonate millionaire Cornelius Van Rensselaer Jr. (Wynn Pearce) at an important business conference in St. Louis. It seems that there are several powerful men who will stop at nothing to prevent Van Renssalaer from attending the meeting, so it's up to Bart to stop these men first...and keep himself alive in the bargain. This episode represents a reunion of sorts for the former stars of the TV western series Judge Roy Bean: Edgar Buchanan (aka "Uncle Joe" on Petticoat Junction) and Jack Beutel (previously "Billy the Kid" in the notorious Jane Russell western The Outlaw). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1941
In this musical comedy, a pregnant disc jockey misses her husband who is fighting overseas. Stressed out by the situation and her job, she decides to take some time off and convinces her twin sister to trade places with her. The switcheroo causes the soldier her husband appointed as her unofficial guardian no end of confusion. Songs include: "Annie Laurie," "Rug Cuttin' Romeo" (sung by Susan Miller), "My Melancholy Baby" (Ernie Burnett, George A. Norton, sung by Frances Langford), "I'm Gonna Swing My Way to Heaven" (Eddie Cherkose, Jacques Press, sung by Langford), "Got Love" (sung by Langford). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Murray, Frances Langford, (more)
- 1953
Though the film may be titled The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, Dobie -- that is, Bobby Van -- takes second billing to Debbie Reynolds. The scene is a Midwestern university, where freshman Dobie Gillis and his pal Charlie Trask (Bob Fosse) court cute coeds Pansy Hammer (Debbie Reynolds) and Lorna Ellingboe (Barbara Ruick). Pansy's wealthy father (Hanley Stafford) can't stand Dobie and does everything in his power to keep them apart. Along the way, Dobie and Pansy manage to blow up the chemistry lab, while Dobie's officious English professor Pomfritt (Hans Conried) is misled to believe that the feckless Gillis is a literary genius. With Bobby Van, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Fosse, and Barbara Ruick in the cast, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis simply has to have a few musical numbers in its repertoire -- and it does. The film was based on the novel by Max Shulman, which subsequently served as the basis for the popular TV series of the late '50s-early '60s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, (more)
- 1963
Rather than come off as old fogies, Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Viv (Vivian Vance) really try to "mix in" while chaperoning a teenage party held by Lucy's daughter Chris (Candy Moore) at Sandy Cove. Anxious to prove that they're as hip and cool as anyone else, our heroines not only perform a spirited (and off-key) rendition of the old rock favorite "Big Girls Don't Cry", but also participate in an athletic Limbo dance. At the end of the day, however, things get a bit out of hand and it is up to the teenagers to show a little maturity! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Grady, Lucie Arnaz, (more)
Warner Bros. made good use of its backlog of Harry Warren/Al Dubin tunes in its 1951 Doris Day musical Lullaby of Broadway. Day plays an American musical comedy star who comes back from a successful London engagement to visit her mother Gladys George. A once-great Broadway star herself, George is now living in drunken poverty, but this fact has been carefully hidden from Day by lovable millionaire S.Z. Sakall, who lives in the mansion once owned by Ms. George. Sakall arranges for George to pretend to still be the lady of the manor and to host a party in Day's honor. During the reception, love blooms between Day and Broadway hoofer Gene Nelson. There are several breakups and reconciliations involving a number of characters before the big-money finale. While the musical highlights in Lullaby of Broadway are consummately produced, the script (based on a story by Earl Baldwin) occasionally falls flat, especially when striving for laughs. The best comic bit is a throwaway: Sakall enjoys a nocturnal bottle of beer, which in closeup is advertised as "The Beer That Made Cincinnati Famous" -- Cincinnati being, of course, Doris Day's home town. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Gene Nelson, (more)
