Richard Gaines Movies
Broadway actor Richard Gaines made his initial film appearance as Patrick Henry in The Howards of Virginia (1940). Gaines is best-known to modern audiences as Jean Arthur's stuffy suitor C. J. Pendergast in George Stevens' The More the Merrier (1942). Less pompous but no less dignified were his performances as George Washington in DeMille's Unconquered (1947) and Professor Jackson in Flight to Mars (1953). Either by accident or design, Richard Gaines made most of his last screen appearances at MGM, playing DAs, doctors and other briskly professional types. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1944
This breezy Pine-Thomas actioner is all about a team of ace news photographers. Chester Morris plays Larry Burke, editor for a weekly photo magazine. Impressed by the work of photojournalist Pat Marvin, Burke hires Marvin sight unseen, only to discover that "he" is a "she" (Nancy Kelly). Having evidently never heard of Margaret Bourke-White, Burke insists that the shutterbug racket is no job for a dame, but Pat intends to prove him wrong. In the process, she becomes the prime suspect in a murder case, forcing Burke to come out from behind his desk and solve the mystery himself (Chalk up another victory for male chauvinism!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, Nancy Kelly, (more)
To fully appreciate The More the Merrier, it is important to know that, during WW2, there was an acute housing shortage in Washington DC. This is why elderly Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn) is obliged to share a tiny DC apartment with pretty Connie Milligan (Jean Arthur) and handsome Joe Carter (Joel McCrea). After nearly two reels of misunderstandings, the trio becomes accustomed to their curious living arrangement. Joe takes a platonic liking to Connie, but she's engaged to stuffy bureaucrat Charles J. Pendergast (Richard Gaines). Sizing up the situation, foxy Benjamin contrives to bring Connie and Joe together, in spite of themselves. Things get dicey when Joe endeavors to complete a top-secret mission for the Air Force, which leads to all sorts of comic complications and misguided remonstrations. Throughout the film, director George Stevens and the four-man screenwriting staff deliberately tweak the noses of the Hays Office, getting by with any number of censorable offenses by deftly and tastefully sidestepping the obvious. Especially potent is the scene in which Joe tries to seduce Connie by talking about everything except seduction: it's also fun to watch Dingle robustly repeat the word "Damn" over and over, getting away with this breach of censorship because he's quoting Admiral "Damn the Torpedoes" Farragut. An Academy Award went to Charles Coburn, while nominations were bestowed upon Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, George Stevens, the screenwriters, and the film itself. The More the Merrier was remade in 1966 as Walk Don't Run, with Cary Grant, Jim Hutton and Samantha Eggar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, (more)
- 1943
A bit treacly at times, Tender Comrade is nonetheless a fascinating distillation of the American mindset during WW2. Ginger Rogers is at her noblest and most self-sacrificial as Jo, whose husband Chris (Robert Ryan) is off fighting the war. Though pregnant, Jo finds a job at Douglas Aircraft, saving her money by living in a group home with several of her female co-workers. Delivering lines like "Share and share alike, that's democracy", Jo and her friends pool their salaries and divvy up responsibilities, as wait for news from the Front about their husbands and sweethearts. When news arrives that Chris has been killed, Jo delivers an impassioned cheer-up speech to her infant son, which will either leave the viewer in tears or in giggles, depending upon one's frame of mind. The "collectivism" implicit in Tender Comrade (not to mention its politically chancy title!) would later cause a lot of trouble for screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and director Edward Dmytrk during the HUAC "Communist witchhunt" era. In 1943, however, audiences didn't worry about such things, and the film posted a huge profit for RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Robert Ryan, (more)
- 1942
Brian Aherne stars as a successful murder-mystery novelist; his wife, Loretta Young, wishes Aherne would switch to writing love stories (Young doesn't have a very realistic grasp on the literary marketplace, but we'll let that pass). Young sweet-talks Aherne into vacating their apartment and moving into a Greenwich village basement, thereby hoping that he'll be inspired to pen words of romance. Unfortunately for Young (but not the audience), their new flat is a hotbed of murderous intrigue, sparked by the discovery of a corpse. The police are completely baffled, so Aherne sets about to solve the mystery himself-while Young, in spite of herself, starts behaving like The Thin Man's Nora Charles. Columbia Pictures had an absolute genius in the early 1940s for churning out fast-moving, star-studded programmers that delivered all the popular elements and left the public panting for more; A Night to Remember was no exception to this winning formula. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Brian Aherne, (more)
Hollywood films about the Revolutionary War almost invariably lost money at the box office, and The Howards of Virginia was no exception, despite the presence of Cary Grant in the lead. Most of the story takes place in the colonial capital city of Williamsburg, Virginia, where Matt Howard (Cary Grant) dedicates himself to the causes of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Remaining faithfully at Matt's side through his early years as a frontiersman and on into his life among the "landed gentry" is his wife Jane Peyton Howard (Martha Scott), the sister of unregenerate royalist Fleetwood Peyton (Cedric Hardwicke).
Most of the high points of the Revolution are herein recreated, including the Stamp Act riots, the Boston Tea Party, and Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty" speech. Curiously, however, director Frank Lloyd stages these scenes in a flat, near-throwaway fashion; even the inflammatory Henry (Richard Gaines) is hampered by unimaginative camera angles. Other historical personages parading through the film include Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, played respectively by Richard Carlson and George Houston. Though it's rather rough sledding in its feature-length version, The Howards of Virginia plays quite well in the half-hour abridgement prepared by Columbia for schoolroom showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Most of the high points of the Revolution are herein recreated, including the Stamp Act riots, the Boston Tea Party, and Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty" speech. Curiously, however, director Frank Lloyd stages these scenes in a flat, near-throwaway fashion; even the inflammatory Henry (Richard Gaines) is hampered by unimaginative camera angles. Other historical personages parading through the film include Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, played respectively by Richard Carlson and George Houston. Though it's rather rough sledding in its feature-length version, The Howards of Virginia plays quite well in the half-hour abridgement prepared by Columbia for schoolroom showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Martha Scott, (more)
