Dalton Trumbo Movies

In 1929, Bette Davis made her Broadway debut in the now-forgotten stage play Broken Dishes. But Davis did not appear in the 1931 film version Too Young to Marry, nor was she in the 1935 remake Love Begins at 20, even though it was filmed by her home studio of Warner Bros. Patricia Ellis essays the ingenue role of Lois Gillingwater, the daughter of henpecked husband Horatio Gillingwater (Hugh Herbert) and his domineering wife Evalina (Dorothy Vaughan). Hoping to escape her untenable home life, Lola makes plans to marry Jerry Wayne (Warren Hull), whom her mother despises. Horatio isn't much help in this matter, since he's become innocently enmeshed in a stolen-bond scheme. Ultimately, the worm turns when Horatio, his inhibitions shed by a few stiff drinks of gin, tells off his wife, recovers the bonds, and enables Lola and Jerry to march happily down the aisle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A remake of 1933's One Man's Journey, A Man to Remember was the auspicious film directorial debut of Garson Kanin. Told in flashback from the vantage point of a funeral, the film details the life of small-town general practioner Doctor Abbott (Edward Ellis). Arriving in the town of Westport during WW1, Abbott continues to practice without fanfare--and with precious little appreciation from his patients--for the next two decades. Working behind the scenes, Abbott endeavors to prevent a budget-cutting move fomented by crooked politicians; and during a deadly polio epidemic, the ever-selfless Abbott performs far above and beyond the call of duty. At last recognized for the true humanitarian that he is, the doctor has little time to bask in this latter-day glory: shortly after the polio crisis, he dies of a sudden heart attack. Written by Dalton Trumbo, A Man to Remember was lensed in 15 days for a budget of less than $120,000. No matter: despite its humble "B" origins, the film was lauded by critics and moviegoers alike as one of RKO Radio's best 1938 efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It matters not at all that the famed "wrong way" flight of aviator Douglas Corrigan, who in 1938 tried to fly from New York to California by way of Ireland, was probably a carefully calculated publicity stunt. The end result was that Corrigan became a household name, and as such was an ideal candidate for film stardom. RKO Radio shelled out a considerable amount of money to purchase "Wrong Way" Corrigan's life story, enhancing the publicity value of the resultant The Flying Irishman by casting Corrigan himself in the leading role. It's too bad that the same amount of effort wasn't lavished on the film itself, which is a ponderous, perfunctory tale of a barnstorming flyer who, unable to get a legitmate pilot's job because he never went to college, resorts to a variety of colorful methods to make a living. Like many other non-showbiz celebrities, Corrigan was constitutionally unable to play himself convincingly, so it's up to such supporting actors as Eddie Quillan, Paul Kelly, Robert Armstrong, Donald MacBride and Joyce Compton to take up the slack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sorority House is based on Mary Coyle Chase's short story Chi House. Anne Shirley plays a middle-class college student who is pledged to a snooty sorority. As Shirley struggles to qualify for membership, she becomes disillusioned by the prospect when she realizes the shallowness of her wealthy future sorority sisters. She finally declines the invitation, but since she's fallen for campus jock James Ellison, her social life won't be too bleak. A loose reworking of RKO's earlier Finishing School (34), Sorority House was scripted by Dalton Trumbo, who'd later get into hot water with the HUAC for another screenplay about a group of ladies living together, Tender Comrade (43). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in a tiny midwestern town, this sentimental drama centers on the rivalry between two life-long acquaintances whose early friendship falls apart when they woo the same woman. She makes her choice and marries the one who eventually takes over the town bank. Meanwhile the other man becomes a shopkeeper and marries another. One couple has a daughter and the other a son. The offspring grow up and of course they fall in love. In the midst of the romance, the banker gets accused of double-dealing his customers and a panic ensues. To make it worse, the young couple break up because the man would rather go to medical school than get married. The storekeeper causes the ultimate ruination of the bank when he withdraws $33,000. It doesn't get better from there. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A young, naive schoolteacher gets in over her head when the advances of a suitor grow too ardent. To escape his unwanted attentions she steals a rich man's car and takes off. In her haste she does not check the car. If she had, she would have seen the murdered corpse of a gangster stuffed into the back seat. Fortunately for her, the wealthy man, wants to help her. To do so, he pretends to be a gangster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This upbeat domestic drama chronicles the struggles of a newlywed couple as they try to keep their marital status secret from their boss (company police forbids marriages between co-workers), cope with money issues and the wife's pregnancy. Real woes begins when the boss finds out about their union and fires the woman. Unable to pay their bills, the couple lose their furniture. Desperate for money, the husband gets involved with loan sharks. When his boss finds out about that, he fires him too. Despite their terrible troubles, the young couple remain steadfast in their love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A Broadway producer and a director conspire to destroy the career of an aging star so they can tear up her contract and use fresher talent in this comedy drama. First they must choose an appropriately horrible script. They find one, "The End of Everything," written by a lovely female playwright. Unfortunately, the old diva adores the script and somehow turns the play into the hit of the season. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A daffy romantic comedy released in Great Britain under the title Good Morning Doctor, this film reunites the two stars of The Lady Eve. Henry Fonda plays Peter Kirk, a wealthy but bored playboy who has a skiing accident while admiring a beautiful woman. The woman turns out to be a doctor, Helen Hunt (Barbara Stanwyck), who treats the injuries to his rear end. The two fall in love and marry. But Peter, who has too much time on his hands, becomes jealous of his wife's time with her male patients. Helen makes him look for a job to keep him from stewing. Because he has no experience, the only position that Peter can get is as a department store clerk. The other workers there discover that he's a millionaire and force him to leave, causing him to rethink how he is going to spend his free time. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

As she burns at the stake, a 17th century witch, Jennifer (Veronica Lake), places a curse on her accuser (Fredric March), so that from this day forward, all of his descendants (each played by him) will be unhappy in marriage. After several hilarious through-the-years examples (the Civil War-era Fredric March runs off to battle rather than endure his wife's nagging), we are brought up to 1942. Wallace Wooley (March) is a gubernatorial candidate, preparing to wed snooty socialite Estelle Masterson (Susan Hayward) -- the well-to-do daughter of a publisher who is backing him. A bolt of lightning strikes the tree where Jennifer had been executed three centuries earlier, thereby freeing the spirits of Jennifer and her warlock father, Daniel (Cecil Kellaway). Wallace meets Jennifer when she materializes in a burning building, obliging him to save her life. The revivified sorceress does everything in her power to induce Wallace to fall in love with her -- even destroying the ceremony in which the wedding is supposed to take place. The attempts succeed, and the two marry, but on their wedding night, Wallace refuses to believe Jennifer's claims that she is a witch. Frustrated, she attempts to convince him by doctoring the gubernatorial election -- in his favor. Based on the Thorne Smith novel The Passionate Witch, the rollicking I Married a Witch can be considered the forerunner of the TV series Bewitched, but only on a surface level. The film had been scheduled to be directed by Preston Sturges and to be released by its producing studio, Paramount; the end result was helmed by René Clair (his second Hollywood film), and was distributed by United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Opening in England during the middle of World War II, A Guy Named Joe tells the story of Pete Sandidge (Spencer Tracy), a tough, devil-may-care bomber pilot who's amassed an enviable record in combat, mostly by taking chances that give his C.O. (James Gleason) the shakes, much as he and the top brass appreciate the results. Pete lives to fly, but he also appreciates the fairer sex, which for the last couple of years means Dorinda Durston (Irene Dunne), herself a hot-shot air-ferry pilot. She's also worried about the chances he takes, even after Pete and his best friend, Al Yackey (Ward Bond), are transferred to Scotland and switched to flying reconnaissance missions. Pete finally agrees to take a training position back in the States, but he must fly one last mission, to locate a German force threatening an Allied convoy. He and Al do the job and have turned for home when the German fighter cover attacks; Pete's plane is damaged and he's wounded, and after his crew bails out he takes the burning ship down and drops his bomb-load on the main German attack ship (a carrier, which is totally inaccurate) at zero altitude. His plane is caught in the blast and destroyed, and that's where the main body of the movie begins.

Pete arrives in a hereafter that's a pilot's version of heaven, including a five-star general (Lionel Barrymore). He doesn't even appreciate what's happened to him until he meets Dick Rumney (Barry Nelson), a friend and fellow pilot who was previously killed in action. It seems that the powers of the hereafter are contributing to the war effort, sending departed pilots like Pete and Dick to Earth to help guide and help young pilots; Pete himself discovers that he benefited from these efforts in peacetime. Pete ends up at Luke Field near Phoenix, AZ, where he takes on helping Ted Randall (Van Johnson), a young pilot who lacks confidence. By the time he's done, riding along while Ted "solos," Ted is a natural in the air and ends up as the star of his squadron when he become operational in New Guinea -- in a group under the command of Al Yackey -- and ends up taking over command when their own leader is shot down. Pete's like a proud teacher, and also enjoys his unheard ribbing of Al and his ex-C.O. to Rumney, over their promotions, but then Dorinda shows up, and suddenly Pete finds all of his unresolved feelings about her recalled, even as he sees that she's never gotten over losing him. And when, with Al's help, she and Ted meet and seem to fall for each other, Pete's jealousy gets the better of him. It's only when he is made to realize just how important life was to him, and how important the future is for those still living, that he begins to understand that he has to let go of his feelings, and let Dorinda and Ted get on with their lives. But first he has to help Dorinda survive a suicide mission that she's taken over from Ted, attacking a huge and heavily defended Japanese ammo dump. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide