Mary Gordon Movies

Famed WW1 aviator Eddie Rickenbacker once more entered the public's consciousness during WW2 when, while serving as an Air Force officer, he and several other pilots crashed into the Pacific. While the world anxiously awaited news of his fate, Rickenbacker and a handful of survivors floated for 19 days in a tiny rubber raft. Captain Eddie recreates this incident, using it as a framework for a series of flashbacks in which Rickenbacker (Fred MacMurray) reminisces on the high points of his life. He is seen experimenting with aviation in his backyard, working in an auto factory to finance his earliest flights, and wooing and winning the lovely Adelaide (Lynn Bari). When America enters WW1, Rickenbacker immediately signs up, eventually shooting down more enemy planes than any other American aviator. Back in "the present", Rickenbacker and his comrades (including Lloyd Nolan and Richard Conte as Lt. Whittaker and Private Bartek) struggle to stay alive while awaiting rescue. Darryl Hickman plays Rickenbacker as a boy, while Charles Bickford portrays his father William. The huge supporting cast includes amusing unbilled contributions by Grady Sutton ("The schottische is my fav-or-ite dance!") and George Chandler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this suspense story (released as part of Universal's "Inner Sanctum" series, named for the popular radio series of the day), Jeff Carter is a scientist who is working on a medicine which would cure the flu. Carter's duplicitous boss Roger Graham (J. Carrol Naish) sends him on a business trip to South America, and uses his absence to steal Carter's uncompleted formula, as well as the affections of his wife Mary (Brenda Joyce). When Carter returns home and discovers what Graham has done, he plots a grisly revenge. Strange Confession was a remake of the 1934 Claude Rains vehicle The Man Who Reclaimed His Head. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bearing little relation to the hit Broadway play on which it was based, See My Lawyer was the last and least of Olsen and Johnson's starring vehicles for Universal. The zany Hellzapoppin stars play a couple of nightclub entertainers who want to break their contract with proprietor R. J. Wagenhorn (Franklin Pangborn), but business is so good that Wagenhorn refuses. As a means to force Wagenhorn to let them out, and to simultaneously drum up business for a trio of struggling lawyers (Noah Beery Jr., Alan Curtis and Richard Benedict), O & J go on a comic rampage, insulting and humiliating nightclub customers left and right. As a result, Wagenhorn is slapped with 39 lawsuits, which he gleefully signs over to Olsen and Johnson as part of his contract-breaking deal. The boys manage to settle 38 of the lawsuits with a minimum of muss and fuss, but the last claimant, Otis Fillmore (Edward S. Brophy), intends to take the comedians for every penny they have. After a riotous courtroom trial, the judge moves the defendants, plaintiffs and jurors to the nightclub itself, vowing to render his decision as soon as he's seen the nightly floor show. This silly plot device is merely an excuse to showcase an unending stream of specialty acts, including the King Cole Trio (dressed as cooks!) Outside of a few good gags (Olsen & Johnson driving their car into a hotel lobby, Otis Fillmore swaying the jury by having his gray-haired mother provide testimony while accompanied by a violinist), See My Lawyer is a disappointment, affording Olsen & Johnson precious little screen time to perform their own special brand of comic lunacy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Empty House, this "Sherlock Holmes" entry finds Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) trying to solve the case of the "Finger Murders". Several beautiful women have been found slain, all with their right forefingers severed from their hands. The police are prepared to write off the killings as the work of a madman, but Holmes deduces that there's a sane motive behind it all. Sure enough, the trail of evidence leads to Holmes' perennial nemesis Professor Moriarity (Henry Daniell), who is in league with lissome female criminal Lydia (Hillary Brooke). Though it isn't sporting to reveal Moriarity's nefarious scheme here, it can be noted that The Woman in Green comes to a nailbiting conclusion as a hypnotized Holmes wanders precariously along the ledge of a penthouse! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The exciting world of the cosmetic industry provides the basis of this lively low-budget musical comedy that centers on the attempts of a young inventor to market a new kind of nonstaining lipstick at the American Beauty Association Show. When a make-up magnate learns of the revolutionary invention, he does all he can to keep the young man out of the show. Fortunately, for the young man, his lady friend wins a contest and is able to help him scare up the necessary funds so he can participate in the show. Songs include: "Wedding of the Samba and the Boogie", "Rosebud, I Love You" and "Do I Need You?" ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Last Ride was also the last production to emanate from Warner Bros.' B-picture division. The plot involves the illicit wartime market in stolen tires (rubber was, of course, a priority), with Richard Travis and Charles Lang as Pat and Mike Harrigan, brothers on the opposite sides of the law. Borrowing a few elements from the 1936 Warners film Bullets or Ballots, police detective Pat Harrigan is dishonorably discharged from the force, but it's merely a ploy to bring the black-market tire thieves out in the open. The plan hinges on whether or not Pat can convince Mike to turn honest before the final reel. Eleanor Parker plays Kitty Kelly, whose primary function in the film is to get kidnapped during the climactic showdown. The Last Ride was directed by D. Ross Lederman, whose legendary ability to match new footage with old stock shots is given quite a workout here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The East Side Kids were betwixt and between their earlier roughneck characterizations and their later Bowery Boys buffoonery when Million Dollar Kid came out early in 1944. Vowing to rid the East Side of hoods and holdup men, Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey) and his gang rescue wealthy John Cortland (Herbert Heyes) from a band of young thugs. When it turns out that one of Cortland's assailants was his own son Roy (Johnny Duncan), Muggs and his pals set about to reform the boy. Roy resists the gang's efforts until he receives word that his older brother has been killed in the war. Intending to confess all to the cops, Roy is abducted by his hoodlum friends, obliging Muggs, Glimpy (Huntz Hall) and the other East Side Kids to come to the rescue. The more serious aspects of Million Dollar Kid are leavened by moments of earthy humor, with some of the gags dating as far back as the Fatty Arbuckle era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a vaudevillian father, wanting a better life for his son, fires the youth from their act. The deeply angry young man's devoted and creative gal, a hat-check girl, helps him land a job with a big band. But despite his resulting success, he remains estranged from his heart-broken father, until the girl friend uses her creative writing skills to effect a reunion. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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

Secrets of Scotland Yard is Republic's spin on a plotline first elucidated in the old E. Phillips Oppenheim novel The Great Impersonation. After losing WW I, the German high command, with remarkable foresight, prepares for the next war by planting a spy in the British Admiralty. Edgar Barrier plays the dual role of the German spy and his British twin brother. When one twin is killed, the other assumes his identity. The question: is the surviving brother the "good" one or the bad? It is up to C. Aubrey Smith, cast as Scotland Yard inspector Sir Christopher Belt, to sort out the mystery. Though it owes a great deal to the aforementioned Oppenheim yarn, Secrets of Scotland Yard is actually based on a novel by Denison Clift, who also wrote the screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Quality was seldom a consideration in the low-budget films of PRC Studios; still, the company was a welcome harbor for character actors who aspired to occasional leading roles. In Boss of Big Town, veteran supporting player John Litel is top-billed as crusading city market official Michael Lynn. When a criminal gang muscles in on the local food distribution markets, Lynn vows to throw the rascals out. First, however, he pretends to join the villains as a paid government stooge, the better to find out the identity of the "Mister Big" behind the distribution racket. The exposure of the "mystery villain" will come as a shock to fans of the 1927 Cecil B. DeMille epic The King of Kings--but not to dyed-in-the-wool movie buffs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kelly (Eddie Quillan) is a tough little wiseacre who can't keep his fists to himself. As a result, he loses one job after another, much to the chagrin of his faithful girlfriend (Joan Woodbury) and loving mother (Mary Gordon). Finally, Kelly lands a job as a process server, leading to quite a series of comic and not-so-comic adventures. Based on a story by no less than Dore Schary (here billed as "Jeb Schary"), Here Comes Kelly is a remake of the 1933 Ray Walker vehicle He Couldn't Take It. The above the border. The film's title, incidentally, translates roughly as Jack Called Three Times, so it can be assumed that Sandrini's character name was Jack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this semi-remake of Love is News (37), Betty Grable stars as a Gay-Nineties Bowery saloon singer. Ever seeking an opportunity for advancement, Grable heads to London, becomes a highbrow musical comedy "artiste", and concocts a scheme to land a wealth duke (Reginald Gardiner). Her plan is foiled by a snoopy reporter (Robert Young) from the Police Gazette who has long been a thorn in Grable's side. Young's motive has nothing to do with dishing out gossip; he's in love with Betty and wants her for his own. Tuneful frolics like Sweet Rosie O'Grady seem to be the collective reason that Technicolor was invented. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide