Brian Donlevy Movies

Slick gambler/burglar Brian Donlevy breaks into the house of Henry Daniell and his wife Diana Barrymore. Daniell is promptly murdered, and both the intruder and the wife fall under suspicion. Donlevy and Barrymore go on the lam, pursued by the cops--and by the Nazi spies who committed the murder. Nightmare was Brian Donlevy's favorite film, and the character of dishonest-but-decent gambler Daniel Shayne was Donlevy's favorite role; he later utilized the same characterization (under a different name) on the radio and TV series Dangerous Assignment. Nightmare also represented the best screen showing for the benighted Diana Barrymore, though unlike Donlevy she didn't think much of the assignment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The famous outlaw rides again in this fictionalized western that chronicles Billy's turn from criminal to fine upstanding citizen. The film received an Oscar nomination for its color cinematography. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Rather shaky as history, Birth of the Blues delivers the goods in terms of entertainment, thanks to the unbeatable star combination of Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. Set in New Orleans in the 'teens, the film stars Crosby as clarinetist Jeff Lambert, who breaks away from a traditionalist orchestra to form his own jazz band. His partners in this endeavor are songstress Betty Lou Cobb (Martin) and trumpeter Memphis (Brian Donlevy), a character obviously meant to be a white-bread version of Louis Armstrong. Inspired by the rhythms heard amongst the African American population of Louisiana, Jeff, Betty Lou and Memphis rise to fame and fortune, but internal jealousies and external gangster threats seriously compromise their success. An added complication is the presence of cute little orphan girl Phoebe (Carolyn Lee), Betty Lou's aunt, whom Jeff is obliged to hide from the child-welfare behemoths. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson is in his element as Jeff's long-suffering general factotum Louey, whose near-death experience towards the end of the story results in one of film's most powerful musical vignettes. The 14 songs heard in Birth of the Blues range from such classics as "St. Louis Blues" and "St. James Infirmary" to such newly-minted ditties as Johnny Mercer's "The Waiter, the Porter and the Upstairs Maid". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the true story of the leader of the Mormon Church, this film features Dean Jagger in the title role. The members of the Church of Latter Day Saints are subjected to religious persecution by the people of Nauvoo, Illinois, where they've settled; so under the leadership of Brigham Young, the Mormons head west, facing tremendous adversity along the way. However, a gravely ill Young has a prophetic dream in which he sees what he believes is his people's promised land, where they will be allowed to live and worship as they see fit. Soon they discover the land Young saw in his dream -- Salt Lake City, Utah. Young and his followers settle there, but their hardship does not end soon. The first winter in Utah is cruel, and while the spring brings the promises of a bountiful planting season, soon a plague of locusts appears, threatening to devour the crops the settlers have just planted. A huge flock of seagulls arrives to save the day by consuming the insects. Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell play a pair of settlers who fall in love in the course of the journey. Brigham Young downplays the more controversial aspects of the Mormon church (particularly polygamy) in favor of portraying Young as a trail-blazing man of the land; in some markets, the film was shown as Brigham Young, Frontiersman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The moral of Preston Sturges' first directorial effort The Great McGinty seems to be: If you're a crook, stay a crook, because honesty will get ya every time. Brian Donlevy plays Dan McGinty, a Chicago hobo who is hired by local political bosses as a "professional voter", casting ballots under a variety of assumed names in various districts. McGinty chalks up $74 worth of votes, and when local ward heeler William Demarest can't pony up, McGinty takes direct action by trying to beat up The Boss (Akim Tamiroff). Though the two men can't get through an entire day without trying to kill each other, McGinty and the Boss are impressed by each other's raw abilities and become political partners. Through the Boss' patronage, McGinty works his way up to the mayor's office, with his politically expedient bride (Muriel Angelus) at his side. Though he never goes so far as to fall in love with his "arranged" wife, Donlevy is fond of both her and her children by a previous marriage, and for their sake he begins to reform--much to the dismay of the Boss. With the Governor's mansion within his grasp, McGinty makes the fatal error of fessing up to a graft-ridden bridge contract. It is this impulsive moment of honesty, rather than any of his past crimes, that gets McGinty thrown in the slammer, sharing a cell with the blood-in-his-eye Boss. Demarest separates the two combative men long enough to arrange an escape to South America, but not before McGinty has assured the financial security of his wife and family. The story is told in flashback form in a seedy South American dive, where McGinty works as a bartender and the Boss is the manager. The film ends with the two friendly enemies duking it out over a minor infraction, while bouncer Demarest looks on in disgust. Sick to death of watching other directors mangle his screenplays, Preston Sturges sold this rollicking political satire to Paramount only on the condition that he be allowed to direct (for the princely sum of $10). Paramount hedged its bets by giving Sturges a slim budget and inexpensive stars; as a result, the film made back its cost several times over, and Preston Sturges' directorial career was off and running. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Brian Donlevy was well enough established as a film personality in 1939 that he didn't have to accept the leading role in the Columbia "B" Behind Prison Gates. But like many other actors, Donlevy realized that Columbia treated character actors like stars-and boy, did he ever want to be a star. In this no-frills prison drama, Donlevy plays an undercover agent who goes "in stir" to locate the money stolen by a pair of cop-killing bandits. He almost pulls it off, but then someone recognizes him. Jacqueline Wells assumes the "gal on the outside" role generally played by Anne Sheridan over at Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second of three movie versions of P.C. Wren's adventure novel Beau Geste is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the 1927 silent version. We open on the now-famous scenes of a remote, burning desert fort, manned by the dead Foreign Legionnaires, then flash back to the early lives of the Geste brothers. As children, the Gestes swear eternal loyalty to one another and to their family. One of the boys, young Beau (played as a youth by Donald O'Connor), witnesses his beloved aunt (Heather Thatcher) apparently stealing a valuable family jewel in order to finance the Geste home; Beau chooses to remain silent rather than disgrace his aunt. Years later, the grown Beau (Gary Cooper) again protects his aunt by confessing to the theft and running off to join the Foreign Legion. He is joined in uniform by faithful brothers John (Ray Milland) and Digby (Robert Preston), who in turn are pursued by a slimy thief (J. Carroll Naish). The crook is in cahoots with sadistic Legion Sgt. Markov (Brian Donlevy, in one of the most hateful portrayals ever captured on celluloid), who is later put in charge of Fort Zinderneuf, where Beau and John are stationed. When the Arabs attack, Markov proves himself a valiant soldier; it is he who hits upon the idea of convincing the Arabs that the fort is still fully manned by propping up the corpses of the casualties at the guard posts. Beau is seriously wounded, and while the greedy Markov searches for the jewel supposedly hidden on Beau's person, he is held at bay by loyal John. The suddenly enervated Beau kills Markov, then dies himself--but not before entrusting two notes to John, one of which requests that John give Beau the "Viking funeral" he'd always wanted (this is why the fort is in flames at the beginning of the film). After the battle, Digby Geste, a bugler with the relief troops, comes upon Beau's dead body, and appropriates the notes. As it turns out, John Geste is the only one who survives to return to England. He gives his aunt Beau's letter, which explains why Beau had confessed and run off--"a 'beau geste', indeed" comments his tearful aunt. No one missed nominal leading lady Susan Hayward in this essentially all-male entertainment. For years available only in muddily processed or truncated versions, Beau Geste was restored to its pristine glory by the American Film Institute in the late 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Films set during America's colonial era seldom did well at the box office, and Allegheny Uprising was no exception. John Wayne and Claire Trevor, stars of the recent western hit Stagecoach, are reteamed herein as 18th
century adventurer James Smith and his spitfire sweetheart Janie. Taking every opportunity to defy the edicts of the King of England, Smith and his ragtag followers, "The Black Boys," undermine the despotic regime of provincial governor Captain Swanson (George Sanders). To quell Smith's uprising, Swanson arrests nearly half the colonists and holds them without trial or recourse (he doesn't sport a black mustache and shout "Seig Heil", but audiences in 1939 knew exactly who Swanson was supposed to be). In depicting the English in an unsympathetic light, RKO Radio Pictures committed a major political blunder, inasmuch as the British were then engaged in their own struggle against Nazi tyranny. Fearful that the film would offend English viewers, RKO president George J. Schaefer consulted British producer Herbert Wilcox, who suggested a number of judicious cuts and line alterations in the film. Even so, Allegheny Uprising (originally The Last Rebel, also the title of the Neil H. Swanson novel on which it was based) failed to make a dent in the box-offices on either side of the Atlantic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Old Chicago was 20th Century-Fox's spin on MGM's San Francisco--a personal saga played out against the backdrop of a famous 19th Century disaster. Alice Brady plays Mrs. O'Leary, a widow who brings her two young boys to the sleepy village of Chicago. As the city grows in prominence and prestige, so do the boys: One son (Tyrone Power) becomes a rascal who dreams of creating his own entertainment empire, while the other son (Don Ameche) matures into an honest, straight-laced lawyer. Both boys woo a beautiful singer (Alice Faye), who favors the more reckless of the two. As the headstrong son gains control of the more disreputable forms of Chicago entertainment, the serious son becomes the city's Mayor. The requisite rivalry between the two reaches a fever pitch just before their mother's cow knocks over a lantern and sets off the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The O'Leary boys unite in trying to fight the conflagration and rescue the populace; the mayor dies, and the wastrel son vows to mend his ways and help build a "new" Chicago. In Old Chicago is climaxed spectacularly by the famous fire, a masterwork of special effects courtesy of 20th Century-Fox's Fred Sersen. The film, which originally ran 115 minutes, is currently available only in its shorter (and better paced) reissue version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sharpshooters was the initial entry in what was to have been a series of six "Camera Daredevils" adventures. Brian Donlevy and Wally Vernon star as Steve and Waldo, intrepid newsreel cameraman on assignment in the mythical kingdom of Mitovania. It isn't long before our heroes discover that Michael (Martin Joseph Spellman Jr.), the young Mitovanian prince, has been targeted for assassination by usurping Count Maxim (Douglass Dumbrille). Literally punching their way into the palace, Steve and Waldo do their best to rescue Michael and his pretty tutor Diana Woodward (Lynn Bari) from Maxim's evil minions. It's all strictly formula stuff, and darned if it doesn't work beautifully. For reasons unknown, 20th Century-Fox discontinued its "Camera Daredevils" series after the second entry, Chasing Danger (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on fact, this turn-of-the-century crime drama stars Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck (husband and wife at the time). Taylor plays a seemingly disreputable young man who joins a gang of murderous bank robbers, headed by Victor McLaglen. Stanwyck is a beer-hall entertainer, who disapproves of Taylor's activities and tries to reform him. She needn't bother: Taylor is in reality an undercover detective, on a top secret mission for President William McKinley. So anxious is Taylor to bring McLaglen to justice that he allows himself to be convicted of murder. The agent is confident that the president will keep him from hanging--but McKinley is assassinated before he can intervene. Stanwyck rescues Taylor by pleading his case with McKinley's successor, Teddy Roosevelt (Sidney Blackmer). The plot of This is My Affair was impressive enough to inspire at least one imitation: Night Riders, a 1939 Republic western wherein the martyred president who shares the hero's secret is James A. Garfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sometimes it seemed as if Brian Donlevy played nothing but G-men during his years at 20th Century-Fox. In Midnight Taxi, Donlevy is cast as Chick Gardner, a federal agent who poses as a New York cab driver. His plan is to use his cover to expose a gang of counterfeiters, who've been using taxis as their means of distribution. Befriending a cabbie who's in the employ of the crooks, our hero is able to join the gang, though a few of the bad guys remain suspicious of his motives. Before Gardner is able to break the back of the operation, he is forced to extricate his sweetheart Gilda Lee (Frances Drake) from a very perilous predicament. For reasons best known to local television programmers, Midnight Taxi was seen over and over again during the 1950s and 1960s heyday of TV's "Late Late Shows." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blending equal amounts of comedy, romance and thrills, High Tension is a near-perfect 20th Century-Fox "B" effort. Brian Donlevy and Glenda Farrell co-stars as rough-and-ready Steve Reardon and equally feisty Edith McNeal. He's a deep-sea engineer for a telephone cable company; she's a magazine writer specializing in adventure stories. Though Steve is in love with Edith, he balks at the notion of marriage. But after rescuing his best pal Eddie (Norman Foster) during a particularly dangerous job in Hawaii, Steve realizes he needs some stability in his life, and finally pops the question to Edith. Allan Dwan directs this slam-bang actioner with his usual effortless expertise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide