Alfred L. Werker Movies
In films from 1917, director Alfred L. Werker was either a competent craftsman or talented hack, depending on which of his colleagues you consulted. After paying his dues in a series of secondary production jobs, Werker began directing Fred Thompson westerns in 1925. He began his long association with Fox Studios (later 20th Century-Fox) with 1928's Chasing Through Europe. When Erich Von Stroheim was pulled off his 1932 directorial effort Walking Down Broadway, Werker took over, finishing the film (released as Hello Sister) minus screen credit. The Werker and Stroheim sequences were as different as night and day, fueling the rumor that Werker was, at base, a second-rater. How, then, does one explain such excellent Werker productions as House of Rothschild (1934) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), the latter regarded by many as the all-time best of the Rathbone/Bruce "Holmes" pictures. During the early 1940s, Werker was assigned several comedies, notably Disney's The Reluctant Dragon (1941; live-action sequences only), Laurel & Hardy's A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) and Milton Berle's Whispering Ghost (1943); none were particularly distinguished. Briefly associated with the young-and-hungry Eagle Lion studios in the late 1940s, Werker turned out some of his best work, including the intriguing murder melodrama Repeat Performance (1947). Outwardly, his finest achievement during this period was He Walked By Night (1948), though much of this film was the handiwork of an uncredited Anthony Mann. Werker retired in 1957. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1925
The first western produced by the newly established Fred Thomson unit at FBO, Ridin' the Wind was severely panned by critics, one of whom found the film to be "as connected as a jackrabbit's tail after being blown to pieces by a shotgun." The story was the old one about the honest rancher whose kid brother joins a gang of outlaws. Thomson's Jim Harkness goes after the masked bandits, capturing only brother Dick (Lewis Sargent), whom he admonishes to go straight. The stubborn kid refuses of course and doesn't repent until the gang captures brother Jim and his girlfriend May (Jacqueline Gadsdon). Thomson had earlier starred in a series of westerns produced by Monogram for release by FBO. Despite the lukewarm reception of this film, the star's first under a new contract with the company, Thomson managed to almost rival the king of the genre, Tom Mix, before his untimely death in 1928.The original story for this film was penned by one "Frank M. Clifton," the nom-de-plume of Thomson's wife, screenwriter Frances Marion. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Thomson, Lewis Sargent, (more)
- 1927
Silent cowboy star Fred Thomson raised quite a bit of controversy by portraying the famous outlaw in a sympathetic vein -- there were still a few oldsters around in those days who remembered the furor raised by the James gang. This role was a surprising turn for Thomson, whose films were generally known for their non-violent, clean-living heroes. Here, he polishes up Jesse James' character, gives him a love interest (Nora Lane), then uses the better part of the film to do what Thomson always did best -- perform elaborate tricks with his horse Silver King. The only difference from his prior films was a higher production value -- this was his first film for Paramount. While Hollywood features, for the most part, have dispensed with history in favor of drama (or the star's or director's whims), Thomson's take on Jesse James was not taken lightly, and this disapproval was quite a turnaround from the widespread esteem the actor was used to receiving. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nora Lane, Montagu Love, (more)
- 1928
Fred Thomson, arguably Tom Mix's closest rival in the late 1920s, was one of the few series-western leads to portray historical heroes. Thomson was Jesse James in a 1927 whitewash of that legendary bandit before starring in the title-role of Kit Carson. The famed frontiersman saves Indian girl Sings-In-the Clouds (Dorothy Janis) from being attacked by a huge bear. She, in turn, saves him when he is captured by an Indian war party and later stows away on an expedition. Again and again, Carson must save the stupid girl -- mainly from the lecherous advances of gargantuan trapper Shuman (Raoul Paoli) -- but in spite of her love for him, the frontiersman, in accordance with the miscegenation laws of the time, chooses white-girl Josefa (Nora Lane). This major Thomson effort was filmed on grandiose locations at Lake Mary, Arizona where nearly 500 local Indians, mostly Navajos, were used as extras. Despite all that, the film was not a huge success, and a planned epic depicting the life of Davy Crockett was shelved. As it turned out Kit Carson proved Thomson's final film. He died of pneumonia on Christmas Eve, 1928. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1928
Fred Thomson plays a dual role (sort of) in The Sunset Legion. Thomson is cast as a Texas ranger who poses as a cowardly firearms salesman in order to infiltrate a lawless town. By night, our hero assumes the guise of "The Black-Robed Stranger" to bedevil the villains. Heroine Edna Murphy is mad about The Black-Robed Stranger but has no time for the firearms peddler, never realizing that the two men are one in the same. The Zorro-like plot line wends its way toward an exciting conclusion, as Thomson takes on saloon owner (and outlaw leader) Harry Woods. At this point, he reveals his true identity to the wide-eyed Murphy, leading to mucho hugs 'n' kisses for the finale. The Sunset Legion was directed by Lloyd Ingraham, who helmed most of Fred Thomson's Paramount vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Courtwright, Edna Murphy, (more)
- 1928
Silent western star Fred Thomson's second film for Paramount, The Pioneer Scout benefited from glorious locations in California's Mojave Desert. The story of a wagon train braving dangers on its trek to California was as old as the desert sand, however. Thomson plays the scout of the title, who romances a pretty lass along the way when not entering a race in the town of Last Chance or battling an evil saloon keeper (Tom Wilson) suspected of a series of fake Indian attacks. Thomson's horse, Silver King, plays a large role in the film, not only winning the Big Race for Thomson but also saving his master from Wilson's henchmen. Like many times before, the screenplay to this Thomson oater was provided by one Frank M. Clifton. Hiding behind the pen-name was none other than Thomson's wife, screenwriter Frances Marion. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred C. Thompson
- 1929
Chasing Through Europe was an entertaining sequel to David Butler's 1928 directorial effort The News Parade. Nick Stuart returns in the role of a brash newsreel cameraman who trods the globe in search of a "hot scoop." In the course of his travels, Stuart meets Sue Carol, engaged to marry a man she doesn't love. With our hero's help, Carol wriggles out of her nuptial commitment, only to be menaced by her guardian, a criminal mastermind who hopes to make a bundle of money by holding the girl for ransom. The story takes Stuart and Carol all through London and Paris, culminating in a cliff-hanging denouement at the Eiffel Tower, and winding up in Rome, with the bad guys in custody and the boy and girl in each other's arms. The film is enjoyably padded with newsreel snippets of the Prince of Wales, Mussolini, Venice and Mt. Vesuvius (many of these clips had previously shown up in the Our Gang comedy Seeing the World). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gavin Gordon, E. Alyn Warren, (more)
- 1929
Better known for her work in talkie "weepers," Helen Twelvetrees made a few preliminary appearances in such late silent films as Fox's Blue Skies. The audience was expected to believe that the twentysomething Twelvetrees and Frank Albertson are teenagers living together platonically in an orphan asylum. A wealthy old man comes calling to adopt Albertson -- who, feeling sorry for Twelvetrees, trades places with the girl. Thus it is that the heroine is carted off to a luxurious mansion, while Albertson remains behind. One year later, the old man discovers Albertson's deception, whereupon he invites the boy to live with him as well. By this time, Twelvetrees and Albertson are of marriageable age, thus the film ends with a wedding in the offing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, Frank Albertson, (more)
- 1930
In this western based on a novel by Zane Grey, Buck Duane (George O'Brien) is a cowboy who is forced to kill a man in an act of self-defense; the same man also took the life of Buck's father. However, the law isn't so sure Buck's motivations were pure, and Buck is forced to leave town one step ahead of the peace officers. Buck gets a chance to prove his good intentions when he helps protect a rancher who is being harassed by a gang of thugs, and also rescues his lady love, Ruth (Lucille Brown), from the same outlaws. However, Buck's brave actions do not come without retaliation -- and they also attract the attention of Lola (Myrna Loy), one of the hombre's molls. The Last Of The Duanes was filmed before in 1924 (with Tom Mix in the lead), and the story would hit the screen again in 1941, starring George Montgomery. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1930
In this crime drama a reformed safecracker is pressured by his ex-cellmate to pull off one last job. The cellmate gives the safecracker a chance for peace and happiness on an isolated farm. There he meets a pretty woman and her grandmother. He falls in love with the young woman. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that they are part of his cellmate's gang. Eventually the two lovers are reunited and truly reformed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ames, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1931
This drama, set in Vienna during WW I, a soldier endures ostracism from his commanding officers after he travels over enemy lines to see his girl and tell her that he is deeply sorry to have killed her brother during an aerial dogfight. At first she kicks him out, but then invites him back in. After all, he did risk it all to see her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Farrell, Madge Evans, (more)
- 1931
In this screwball comedy, Annabelle Leigh (Jeanette MacDonald) happily spends the $5,000 sent her each month by her husband, whom she hasn't seen since eleven hours after they were married. She explains to friends that while in Montana, she was injured and cared for by a burly, bearded miner, Hefty Jack (Victor McLaglen), who later married her for the sake of appearances. Less than a day later, Annabelle fled back to New York; Hefty Jack struck it rich, and has been sending her money ever since. Now Annabelle finds herself in financial hot water and desperately turns for help to John Rawson, a newcomer to the city; Annabelle is unaware that he is the now-beardless Hefty Jack. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Jeanette MacDonald, (more)
- 1931
This George O'Brien western is based on a novel by Max Brand, previously filmed as the 1920 Tom Mix vehicle The Untamed. Cast as devil-may-car Whistlin' Dan Barry, our hero rides into a passel of trouble in a wide-open town. Warned to leave the premises or else, Whistlin' Dan refuses to do so, sticking around long enough to whomp villain Jim Silent (Mitchell Lewis) and romance heroine Kate Cumberland (Louise Huntington). Fourth-billed George Brent would soon leave westerns in favor for the rarefied world of Warner Bros. soap operas. The 1937 20th Century-Fox programmer Fair Warning is not a remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Huntington, Mitchell Harris, (more)
- 1932
In this western, an eastern football star inherits the cattle ranch that paid his way through college. Unfortunately, he discovers that much of the fortune has been squandered by an avaricious cattle baron attempting to build an empire of his own. He is stopped by the masked outlaw, El Coyote, who is actually Don Bob in disguise. He and the footballer join forces to defeat the greedy cattle baron. More trouble ensues after the football player falls in love with the villain's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Conchita Montenegro, (more)
- 1932
Bachelor Andrew Hoyt (Adolphe Menjou), beginning to feel his age, convinces himself that he can become rejuvenated if he takes a young wife. Unfortunately, he chooses dimwitted Eva Mills (Joan Marsh), who lives to party, party, party! Unable to keep up the pace, Andrew finally gives up Eva to the true love of her life, Oliver Denton (Arthur Pierson). This is good news for Andrew's longtime lady friend Jane (Irene Purcell), a sensible lass who has loved him all along. All Bachelor's Affairs lacks is a strong comedy director at the helm: Alfred Werker also seemed more comfortable with such melodramatic fare as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Minna Gombell, (more)
- 1932
College football is satirized in this comedy that begins as racketeer "Knucks" McGoin buys Canarsie College and fills it with hoods and professional wrestlers posing as students. When football season comes, these "students" beat the tar out of their rivals during the games. Naturally the stands are SRO during home games; naturally, the racketeer keeps all the money. Things are going well until his rival gang figures out his scam and does the same thing. In the end, the two teams meet during the championship and all heck breaks loose when the gridiron heros are found to be packing iron of their own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Greta Nissen, (more)
- 1933
In this musical science fiction adventure a handsome Brazilian playboy finds himself in the enviable position of being the last man on Earth after a pandemic disease destroys the rest of his gender. The playboy is spared because he was marooned upon a lonely island when the rest of the world's men came down with the dreaded "masculitis." After living alone for five years, female sailors find him and bring him back to civilization where a gangster secretly conspires to auction him off. Fortunately, the police arrive before any damage is done and the playboy is taken before the leader of the international congress. She decides that he should be required to service every remaining woman in the world. Unfortunately, the playboy is still in love with his fiancee, the woman he had fought with and was in the process of leaving when his plane suddenly crashed upon the lonely isle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raul Roulien, Gloria Stuart, (more)
- 1933
Based very loosely on Nathaniel West's Miss Lonelyhearts, Advice to the Lovelorn is a comedy-drama about a hotshot reporter (Lee Tracy) who is forced to become an advice columnist. Hiding behind a female nom de plume, the cynical Tracy dispenses fatuous advice and becomes quite popular. Ever seeking an extra buck, Tracy agrees to promote a shady line of pharmaceutical products in his column--a move that has tragic consequences when Tracy's mother (Jean Adair) dies thanks to bad medicinal drugs. With the aid of his girlfriend (Sally Blane) and his bucolic "leg man" (Sterling Holloway), a chastened Tracy brings the crooked drug dealers to justice. Beaten to a pulp by the criminals, Tracy nonetheless survives to get married (wrapped in surgical bandages!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Tracy, Sally Blane, (more)
- 1934
Paramount's You Belong to Me is a showcase for juvenile performer David Jack Holt, youngest son of action star Jack Holt. The boy is cast as Jimmy Faxon, the son of recently widowed vaudeville performer Florette Faxon (Helen Mack). When Florette marries acrobat Hap Stanley (Arthur Pierson), Jimmy takes an instant dislike to his new stepfather, preferring the company of happy-go-lucky vaudeville comic Bud Hannigan (Lee Tracy). Though Bud tries to encourage Jimmy to give Hap a chance, it turns out that the kid's instincts are correct: Hap is a philandering heel, who walks out on Florette at the earliest opportunity. The upshot of all this is that poor Jimmy is left an orphan, with old reliable Bud providing the boy with a shoulder to cry on at the fadeout. Helen Morgan adds to the overall gloominess with one of her patented torch songs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Tracy, Helen Mack, (more)
- 1934
George Arliss plays Nathan Rothschild, the head of a family of celebrated 19th century Jewish bankers. Despite the anti-semitic efforts of a powerful politico (Boris Karloff), Rothschild moves in the best European social circles. He is ultimately knighted for his services to the English crown, which include the financing of the Duke of Wellington's battle against Napoleon at Waterloo. This being a Hollywood picture, the political and financial intrigues have to be offset by romance--in this case the love affair between Rothschild's daughter (Loretta Young) and a handsome military officer (Robert Young). The final scene was photographed in the newly perfected three-strip Technicolor process, though for many years the TV distributors either removed this sequence or reprinted it in black and white. Designed in part as an attack against the burgeoning anti-semitism movement in Hitler's Germany, House of Rothschild was ironically exploited by Nazi functionary Joseph Goebbels, who redubbed and re-edited the film to serve as anti-Jewish propaganda! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Arliss, Boris Karloff, (more)
- 1935
In this bouncy musical, a sax-playing ex-convict joins a swing band and embarks upon a cross-country tour. He does really well until an old friend tries to tempt him into becoming a criminal again. The convict refuses the offer so the "friend" retaliates by doing the job anyway and leaving the con to take the rap. Then the band is kidnapped by a powerful person desiring a private concert. The ex-con saves the band by informing on the crook. He is then allowed to play with them again and musical happiness ensues. Songs include: "Would There Be Love," "Let's Spill the Beans," "I Never Had a Man to Cry Over," and "Fagin Youse is a Viper" (Mack Gordon, Harry Revel). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Ben Bernie, (more)
- 1936
When a king suddenly abdicates, his subjects are lead to believe that it is for the love of a foreigner in this romance. In reality, he is stepping down so avaricious businessmen can crown their own man king. The deposed monarch spends his exile on the Riviera, while the woman, filled with guilt because he stepped down for her, lives in Holland. Interestingly enough, Edward VIII the King of England abdicated for the love of American woman Wallis Simpson a few weeks after this British film was released. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Brook, Helen Vinson, (more)
- 1937
Wild and Woolly stars young Jane Withers as a hoydenish resident of a modern frontier town. Revelling in the town's 50th anniversary celebration, Jane is brought down to earth by the long-standing feud between her ex-desperado grandfather (Walter Brennan) and a pompous politician (Berton Churchill). The two oldsters challenge one another to a shootout, but at the last moment grandpa Brennan decides not to show up. Branded a coward, Brennan redeems himself by foiling a bank robbery scheme which has been overheard by Jane. If for nothing else, Wild and Woolly is memorable for teaming Jane Withers with Our Gang stalwart Carl Switzer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Withers, Walter Brennan, (more)
- 1937
Previously teamed in six early-1930s films, James Dunn and Sally Eilers bring the total up to seven with their last co-starring vehicle We Have Our Moments. A trio of American crooks board a ship bound for Europe, intending to get rid of $100,000 in stolen dough. With detective John Wade (James Dunn) breathing down their necks, the crooks stash the loot in the trunk belonging to vacationing schoolmarm Mary Smith (Sally Eilers). As the voyage progresses, Wade falls in love with Mary, never dreaming that she's in possession of a hundred grand; in fact, she doesn't know it yet, either. Things get hectic as the villains tip their hand to recover the loot, but heroes and heroines never get killed in a romantic comedy, so rest easy. We Have Our Moments might never have been reshown after its initial 1937 release were it not for the presence in the cast of a young David Niven, billed third despite the slimness of his role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Eilers, James Dunn, (more)
- 1937
It Could Happen to You is one of those captivating "little" pictures whose reputation is built up via word of mouth. Alan Baxter and Owen Davis Jr. star as Bob and Fred, the sons of immigrant Pa Barrett (Al Shean). Fred is a dutiful offspring, but Bob, an adoptee, is a no-good, stealing money from the old man to further his ambitions. When Pa Barrett confronts Bob with this discovery, the young man accidentally kills his stepfather. As fate would have it, Fred has become a lawyer, and it is he who takes on the job of defending Bob in court. Fred wins an acquittal, but Bob learns to his chagrin that he will never be able to escape the "judge and jury" of his own conscience. The script for It Could Happen to You was co-written by Nathaniel West, later the author of the trenchant anti-Hollywood novel Day of the Locust. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Baxter, Andrea Leeds, (more)
- 1937
Big Town Girl is 20th-Century Fox's spin on Paramount's Carole Lombard vehicle The Princess Comes Across. Whereas Lombard played a Brooklyn girl posing as a Swedish princess, Big Town Girl's Claire Trevor plays a department store song plugger who becomes a radio singing sensation by posing as the mysterious "Masked Countess." This publicity ploy serves a double purpose: Trevor is the estranged wife of gangster Alan Baxter, and she doesn't want Baxter to know her whereabouts. Reporter Donald Woods tumbles to Trevor's deception, but he falls in love with her and determines to keep her secret. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claire Trevor, Donald Woods, (more)
