Paul Kelly Movies
Paul Kelly was one of the few actors who not only played killers, but also had first-hand experience in this capacity! On stage from age 7, "Master" Paul Kelly entered films at 8, performing on the sunlight stages of Flatbush's Vitagraph Studios. His first important theatrical role was in Booth Tarkington's Seventeen; he later appeared in Tarkington's Penrod, opposite a young Helen Hayes. Star billing was Kelly's from 1922's Up the Ladder onwards. In films from 1926, Kelly alternated between stage and screen until his talkie debut in 1932's Broadway Through A Keyhole. The actor's career momentum was briefly halted with a two-year forced hiatus. On May 31, 1927, Kelly was found guilty of manslaughter, after killing actor Ray Raymond in a fistfight. The motivating factor of the fatal contretemps was Raymond's wife, Dorothy MacKaye, who married Kelly in 1931, after he'd served prison time for Raymond's death (MacKaye herself died in an automobile accident in 1940). This unfortunate incident had little adverse effect on Kelly's acting career, which continued up until his death in 1956. Returning to Broadway in 1947, Paul Kelly won the Donaldson and Tony awards for his performance in Command Decision; three years later, he starred in the original stage production of Clifford Odets' The Country Girl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1940
In this drama, six street-wise tough girls try to imitate the older sister of one who became a gangster's wife and lives a comfortable life. Unfortunately, because she married a crook, the young woman is sent to prison along with her man. When she is finally released, she gets hooked up with an ex-lover who sets her on the straight and narrow. The newly redeemed big sister attempts to help her little sister and her pals, but does not succeed until one of the gals is killed during a petty robbery at as department store. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Cabot, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
- 1921
Comedy was not the forte of great character actor Lionel Barrymore, and this picture, based on the novel by Arnold Bennett, suffers as a result. When his valet, Henry Leek (Thomas Braidon) dies, famed English artist Priam Farll (Barrymore) takes on his identity to escape the grasping romantic clutches of Lady Sophia Entwistle (Octavia Broske). He attends his own funeral but escapes before the tearful Lady Sophia can see him. Later Farll, as Leek, meets widow Alice Challice (Doris Rankin, Barrymore's real-life wife), who had answered a matrimonial ad of the valet's. They fall in love and marry, but to Farll's dismay, he is forced to return to painting to make money. Even though he is recognized through his work he is loathe to admit his real identity until it develops that Leek already had a wife and two children. Finally he proves that he is Farll, but only if he is allowed to officially remain dead so that Lady Sophia will stay away. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Diana Manners, (more)
- 1945
The old bromide about a group of avaricious heirs waiting for an old millionaire to die is trotted out in Grissly's Millions. A coterie of disreputable-looking heirs are gathered in the home of the wealthy man (Robert H. Barrat). A murder is committed, and all present fall under suspicion, including stars Paul Kelly and Virginia Grey (both of whom had been "hidden killers" in previous mystery movies, so the audience is kept guessing). Directed by western specialist John English, Grissly's Millions goes through its familiar paces at a fast clip, with a few unexpected twists along the way. The biggest "mystery," however, is why Republic Pictures would choose that unappealing title! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Virginia Grey, (more)
Made in the same atmosphere and paranoia that spawned the infamous Joseph McCarthy, this is an anti-communist propaganda movie looking more at the dark side of communism than at its subject matter--the life and times of Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary. Mindszenty was imprisoned as an enemy of the State for his outspokenness and, during his trial, it was revealed that his confession was obtained by the use of torture, hypnosis and drugs. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bickford, Paul Kelly, (more)
- 1953
No relation to the TV and radio series of the same name, Universal-International's Gunsmoke is a Technicolor vehicle for action star (and war hero) Audie Murphy. Murphy plays a wandering hired gun who is commissioned to kill a rancher (Paul Kelly). The film's conflict arises when the gunslinger befriends his would-be victim and comes to reject the attitudes of those who hired him. The fact that the gunman has fallen in love with the rancher's daughter (Susan Cabot) may have something to do with his change of heart. Audie Murphy mends his ways by the time Gunsmoke comes to a close, as if there was any doubt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audie Murphy, Susan Cabot, (more)
- 1936
In this crime comedy, an ocean liner engineer messes up and ends up relegated to shoveling coal. Later he accepts a lovely cigarette lighter from a beautiful woman. He has no idea that it is chock full of purloined jewels and that she gave them to him to keep rival crooks from stealing them from her. Now the poor engineer finds himself pursued at every turn. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Arline Judge, (more)
- 1941
The title I'll Wait for You effectively gives away the ending of this MGM second feature. Robert Sterling plays a gangster on the lam who heads for the safety of the country. He accepts the hospitality of a farm family, who has no knowledge of his true identity. Reformed by the family's daughter Marsha Hunt, Sterling begins entertaining notions of going straight, but he'll have to deal with his old mob first. I'll Wait for You is a slimmed-down remake of the 1934 MGM feature Hide-out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Sterling, Marsha Hunt, (more)
- 1940
Invisible Stripes is a cookie-cutter Warners prison drama which rounds up the usual suspects. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart are top-billed, and as is often the case in such a circumstance, it is Raft who is given the larger (albeit less interesting) role. Raft plays Cliff Taylor, an ex-convict who finds that his "invisible stripes" prevent him from getting a decent job. Cliff's younger brother (William Holden) shows unfortunate signs of following his older sibling's footsteps when he is pressured into crime to support himself and his girl friend (Jane Bryan). To save his brother, Cliff joins Humphrey Bogart's gang and earns enough dishonest money to set his brother up in business. But movie censorship prevails, and all of the miscreants in Invisible Stripes--even those motivated by good intentions--must pay the penalty. Side note: The prankish Humphrey Bogart spent so much time needling newcomer William Holden that Holden nearly came to blows with the older actor; the animosity persisted into the Bogart-Holden costarring feature Sabrina, made fourteen years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Jane Bryan, (more)
- 1938
In this drama, a woman is betrothed to a district attorney. When a man is falsely convicted of murder and condemned to death, the woman postpones her wedding to prove him innocent. She enlists the help of a former gangster and eventually succeeds in saving the innocent man's life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, (more)
- 1937
The very urban Paul Kelly is the unlikely hero of It Happened Out West. Sent to Arizona to persuade ranch owner Anne Martin (Judith Allen) to sell her property, banker Dick Howe (Kelly) begins to wonder if this transaction is a good idea. His doubts are fueled by the behavior of Anne's foreman Burt Travis (Leroy Mason), whose eagerness to sell the girl's ranch is downright sinister. Sure enough, Travis and Dick's boss Middleton (Reginald Barlow) are in cahoots to get their hands on the ranch's hidden silver deposits. Our hero foils the villains, enabling Anne to keep her land -- an excellent wedding present, as it turns out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Judith Allen, (more)
- 1936
It's a Great Life served as a vehicle for once-popular radio singer Joe Morrison (who can also be seen in W.C. Fields' It's the Old Fashioned Way). Morrison plays a young unemployed fellow who joins the Civilian Conservation Corps. Enjoying the twin euphoria of steady work and fresh air, Morrison and his new pal, hobo Paul Kelly, burst into song at the slightest provocation. A rift comes between Morrison and Kelly when Morrison's girl Rosalind Keith falls in love with the tramp, but all differences are swept away during a climactic bursting-dam sequence. It's a Great Life was co-written by future "Dagwood Bumstead" Arthur Lake, who in 1943 would star in a Blondie entry titled...It's a Great Life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Morrison, Paul Kelly, (more)
- 1954
Tony Curtis stars as Johnny Dark, a moody automobile designer. Rejected by a major auto firm because of his "radical" notions, Johnny sets out to prove the efficiency of his cars on the racetrack. He is aided and abetted by pretty Piper Laurie and less pretty Paul Kelly, while motor mogul Sidney Blackmer fumes and fusses until he realizes that Johnny's designs will save his company. Most of the film is devoted to a marathon race, pitting Johnny against his friendly enemy Don Taylor. Johnny Dark is a must for racing buffs, as well as a prime example of Tony Curtis in his beefcake period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1937
This service comedy from the Republic Studio mills was perhaps the most aggressively titled of the "Marine Corps" film cycle of the mid-1930s (Come on Leathernecks, Pride of the Marines et. al.) Paul Kelly plays Phil Donlan, a pugnacious ex-cop and ex-Olympic athlete who is run out of New York in disgrace after falsely being accused of drunkenness. The innocent cause of Donlan's woes is pretty Paula Denbrough (June Travis), daughter of a Marine colonel (Purnell Pratt). To ingratiate himself with Paula -- and incidentally, to restore his reputation -- Donlan joins the Corps, where after a grueling training period he earns a commission. Offered a chance to return to the New York police force, Donlan gives it up to re-enlist, and Paula couldn't be happier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, June Travis, (more)
- 1938
Rising star Rita Hayworth puts in a little box-office duty in the Columbia "B" Juvenile Court. The star of the proceedings is Paul Kelly as crusading public defender Gary Franklin, who hopes to establish a Police Athletic League to give street kids a new chance in life. His toughest charge is Stubby (Frankie Darro), a born leader with potential for either the White House or the Electric Chair. Once he's won over Stubby, Franklin is able to get the rest of the neighborhood kids to attend his new athletic outfit. The far- reaching influence of Franklin's pet project is proven when a group of young punks change their minds about committing a robbery. As Franklin's girl friend Marcia Kelly, Rita Hayworth has virtually nothing to do but stand around and look pretty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1941
"Mr. and Mrs. North" started as a series of comic articles about a Park Avenue married couple, written by Richard and Frances Lockridge. One of these articles was "The Norths Solve a Murder", which was adapted as a stage play by Owen Davis Sr. and was later spun off into a popular radio and TV comedy-mystery series. The Davis play made it to the screen in 1941 as Mr. and Mrs. North, with Gracie Allen (in a rare appearance without George Burns) as dizzy socialite Pamela North and William Post Jr. as her long-suffering husband Jerry. Upon returning home from a vacation, Pam North opens her closet door--and out pops a dead body. As it turns out, all the suspects are close friends of the Norths, a fact that encourages Pam to gently interfere in the ongoing murder investigation conducted by Lt. Weygand (Paul Kelly). A second murder serves only to send Pam off on another flight of convoluted logic, but somehow or other the case is solved and justice is served. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gracie Allen, William Post, Jr., (more)
- 1936
Gail Patrick plays a young woman framed for murder. Luckily the newsman on the courtroom beat is ace photographer Lew Ayres. He senses Patrick is innocent (the fact that she's a knockout has something to do with this) and vows to track down the guilty party. The Least Likely Suspect spills the beans just as Ayres clicks his shutter. Paramount Pictures used to dash off two or three B mysteries like Murder with Pictures before breakfast, but they were never less than supremely entertaining. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Gail Patrick, (more)
- 1936
In this crime drama, a girl whose father was murdered by gangsters wants to marry into a rich family. Her fiance's mother hates the idea, but consents to the marriage so that she can break it up later. However, she changes her mind about the whole thing when it is revealed that her other son was involved with the murder. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claire Trevor, Kent Taylor, (more)
- 1941
Mystery Ship was one of the last of Columbia's pre-Pearl Harbor "preparedness" melodramas. Paul Kelly and Larry Parks are cast as G-men Allan Harper and Tommy Baker, assigned to maintain control on a most unusual prison ship. The "passengers" are crooks and saboteurs who've been designated as undesirables and shipped off for deportation to an unnamed foreign country. While on the high seas, the human "cargo" mutinies, which could spell curtains for Harper and actually does precipitate the death of Baker. Making matters worse is the presence of newspaper reporter Patricia Marshall (Lola Lane), who stowed away in the first reel and may not survive to the last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Lola Lane, (more)
- 1937
MGM's Navy Blue and Gold prettily dresses up some of the oldest cliches in the "military cadet" movie genre. The film charts the progress of three Annapolis "plebes," all played by actors in the age range of 24 to 30. Wisecracking Roger Ash (Robert Young) is a cynic, wide-eyed Richard Gates Jr. (Tom Brown) is overeager), and reclusive Truck Cross (James Stewart) harbors a dark secret. When not going about their appointed duties, Ash and Cross battle over the attentions of heroine Patricia (Florence Rice), Gates' sister. All the while, Captain Skinny Dawes (Lionel Barrymore), the traditional crusty old seafarin' man with a heart of gold, tries to instill the love of Honor, Duty and Country in all three heroes. The plot is resolved in a climactic football game, with everyone showing his true colors (blue and gold, of course!) Many of the plot devices and stereotypical characters in Navy Blue and Gold would continue to resurface in similar films for the next five decades -- even in the R-rated Officer and a Gentleman (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, James Stewart, (more)
- 1938
In this crime drama, a woman is told that a cop killed her brother in cold-blood during a shoot-out. The woman believes the crook, but this does not prevent her from falling in love with the injured policeman. When he finds out her relationship to the deceased he begins looking for the real killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Larry Blake, (more)
- 1941
In this patriotic war drama, a unit of Army recruits train for a parachute corps. One is an arrogant football star who finds jumping a kick. Another is a coward who eventually finds his courage. Finally there is a chronic bumbler. The coward and jock find themselves competing for the affections of an indecisive young woman. The filmmakers of this movie paid careful attention to detail and was made with the cooperation of the 501st Parachute Battalion at Fort Benning, Georgia using actual paratroopers. The viewer is taken through every stage of a jump including folding the chute at the beginning. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Preston, Edmond O'Brien, (more)
- 1937
This standard crime meller from the Columbia assembly line stars Paul Kelly as police lieutenant Tony Roberts. Hoping to smash a gang of racketeers who profit by "fixing" a crooked state parole board, Tony poses as a down-and-outer and gets himself arrested. While in prison, he gains the confidence of a mob contact, bribes his way to a parole, and joins the gang on the outside, working his way up to head of the racket. He does so well on the wrong side of the law, in fact, that one wonders why he retains his police badge! Ironically, star Paul Kelly actually did spend time behind bars in the 1920s on a manslaughter rap. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Rosalind Keith, (more)
- 1935
The stringent censorship imposed upon Hollywood of the mid-1930s dictated that gangsters could no longer be the "heroes" in any crime film. Public Hero No. 1 reflects this restriction. G-Man Chester Morris poses as a crook to infiltrate the notorious Purple Gang, a band of hoodlums which preys upon other hoodlums. Orchestrating the jailbreak of the Gang's leader (Joseph Calleia), Morris joins him in a Dillinger-like flight across the country. The bloody denouement, which occurs in a vaudeville theatre, is likewise drawn from the Dillinger saga (that particular gentleman was of course killed in front of a movie house). Also featured in Public Hero No. 1 is Jean Arthur as the heroine (a comic role) and Lionel Barrymore as a drunken gang doctor. The film was remade as The Getaway in 1942. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1940
Though the title character is loosely based on that of the notorious killer/robber Ma Barker, she has been sanitized and prettified to meet the perceived conservative values of Hollywood movie audiences. Unlike Barker, who was bad to the bone, Ma Webster is simply a matriarch who would do anything for her three crazy sons, even assisting them with thieving and kidnapping. Their exploits land the nefarious family on the FBI's "most wanted" list and cause the agency to send out their very best man to find them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Bellamy, Blanche Yurka, (more)
