Astrid Allwyn Movies

Change of Heart is the reissue title of the Republic musical Hit Parade of 1943. The studio had been turning out these annual Hit Parade extravaganzas since 1941, but only the 1943 edition truly hit the bullseye. The plot, wherein fading songwriter John Carroll steals a tune from aspiring composer Susan Hayward, was used in several other Republic efforts between 1937 and 1947 (right down to the closing verbal exchange about "the elephants in the lobby"). No matter: the film positively sparkles during its musical numbers, featuring such talent as Freddy Martin and his Orchestra, Count Basie, The Harlem Sandmen and Dorothy Dandridge. The film's theme song, Harold Adamson and Jule Styne's "A Change of Heart," won Republic its first-ever Oscar nomination. As a bonus, Eve Arden is on hand for her evergreen wisecrackery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this cornball musical comedy, a hillbilly gal and her uncle struggle to keep sly city slickers from getting their land. It is an uphill battle as their farm is located on Fifth Avenue, New York City. The slickers then resort to trickery by offering the girl a phony singing gig on the radio. Unfortunately for them, something goes wrong and the girl's heartfelt singing is heard all over the town. Of course she is a big hit. Songs include: "Hey Junior", "You're Telling I", "Manhattan Holiday", and "Puddin' Head" (all by Eddie Cherkose, Sol Meyer, Jule Styne). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

No relation to the Cracked Nuts he directed in 1931, this hokey sci-fi-comedy from director Edward F. Cline stars Stuart Erwin as Lawrence Trent, a country rube who wins a refrigerator-slogan contest and gets some money for his efforts. Meanwhile, mad scientist Boris Kabikoff (Mischa Auer) builds a silly-looking robot in his own image and hooks up with a New York patent attorney (William Frawley from I Love Lucy) to bilk Trent out of his prize money. Shemp Howard plays the robot as a lusty creature with a penchant for skirt-chasing and is used by black servant Chloe (Hattie Noel) to do housechores and frighten her husband Burgess (Mantan Moreland), who has a gambling problem. Una Merkel co-stars with Astrid Allwyn and Pierre Watkin. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

For some reason or other, Melody for Three seems to be the most frequently revived of RKO Radio's "Dr. Christian." As ever, Jean Hersholt stars as Christian, kindly general practitioner of the town of River's End. In this one, Dr. Christian takes an avuncular interest in young Billy Stanley (Schuyler Standish), a violin prodigy. Soon thereafter, he dedicates himself to reuniting Billy's divorced parents, music teacher Mary Stanley (a standout performance by Fay Wray) and famed orchestra conductor Antoine Pirelle (Walter Woolf King). One can only wish that Real Life were as simple and clear-cut as the adventures of Dr. Christian. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the long-running series, the reformed master jewel thief rushes to help a lovely heiress whose pearl necklace has been stolen by other thieves. Using his consummate skill, the Wolf pulls a deft switcheroo and substitutes the real ones for fakes. He then brings the real necklace back to the socialite. The crooks are soon arrested by the cops. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Higgins family gets in another comical bind when Ernest loses the fortune in bonds he was hired to deliver. In order to recoup the lost $5,000, Papa Higgins decides to try and marry Grandpa to the wealthiest old widow in town by sending her a steamy love letter and signing his own father's name to it. Meanwhile, Papa also goes to the bank and much to his surprise, is granted a loan. Unfortunately for Grandpa Higgins, the widow has received the letter and joyfully accepted his proposal. When he tries to back out, she promptly sues him leaving the family in a real pickle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Leo McCarey's classic tale of romance stars Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer as two strangers who fall in love on an ocean voyage. Charles Boyer is Michel Marnet, engaged to be married to Lois Clarke (Astrid Allwyn). Irene Dunne is Terry McKay, also engaged to be married, in this case to Kenneth Bradley (Lee Bowman). But when Michel and Terry meet aboard a ship, they fall instantly in love. In order to prove to themselves their love affair is not just a shipboard romance, they agree to meet six months hence on the top of the Empire State Building. If they still feel the same way about each other, they will bid adieu to their fiancees and start their affair anew. Six months later, they are still thinking about each other and proceed to their meeting at the Empire State Building. Michel awaits Terry's arrival, but Terry, on the way to their meeting, is involved in a terrible car accident, leaving her a cripple. Later, by a twist of fate, they are reunited and Michel vows to stay with Terry to help her walk again. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Merlini the Magician, Clayton Rawson's crime-solving illusionist, has been singularly ill-used by Hollywood, having appeared in a mere two films, "starring" in only one. Miracles for Sale compounds the oversight by rechristening Merlini as "Michael Morgan", in the person of Robert Young. The picture starts well, with a grisly political execution revealed to be an elaborate bit of stage magic perpetrated by the personable Morgan. The story then goes into a fraud and murder scheme perpetrated by Dave Duvallo (Henry Hull), whose consummate skill with makeup and Houdinilike escape devices comes in handy for phony spiritualist Madame Rapport (Gloria Holden). The film's highlight finds Morgan exposing several tricks utilized by magicians and fortune-tellers to gull the public, a sequence which incurred the wrath of the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians, who took a dim view at having the secrets of their trade revealed for the cost of a movie ticket. Of historical interest is the fact that Miracles for Sale was the final directorial effort of Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks etc.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Dunn stars as Buzz Martin, a hot-air balloon ascensionist who's plenty full of hot air himself. Hired by the owners of the bank and movie theater in a tiny Pennsylvania town, Buzz stages an aerial stunt to draw customers, succeeding primarily in making a mess of things. Undaunted, our hero heads to New York, where through an unbelievable set of circumstance he establishes himself as a merchandising genius. The "venus" who "makes trouble" for Buzz along the way is pretty Kay Horner (Patricia Ellis). By 1937, James Dunn could have done this sort of picture in his sleep -- and one suspects he did. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An earnest, honest newspaper sports editor single-handedly launches a campaign to clean up the shadowy, crooked world of professional prizefighting in this drama. He focuses most of his energy on one shady promoter and proves his point by easily punching out the lights of the promoter's "champ." The fallen fighter's daughter is terribly upset with the ethical editor until she finds herself falling in love with earnest fellow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

The Westland Case was the opening volley in Universal's "Crime Club" series. The film was based on Headed for a Hearse, a novel by Jonathan Latimer which had to be toned down considerably for the filmgoers' consumption. Latimer's cynical private-eye team of Bill Crane and Doc Williams are here played by Preston S. Foster and Frank Jenks, who'd repeat these roles in subsequent entries. This time out, Bill and Doc try to clear a wrongly condemned man before his date with the electric chair. This they do on behalf of the poor fellow's desperate fiancee Emily Lou (Carol Hughes) -- who, like most of the other characters in the film, knows a lot more than she's telling. If The Westland Case doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it certainly can't be faulted for a lack of energy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This lesser Astaire/Rogers vehicle is one of several screen versions of the venerable Hubert Osborne stage play Shore Leave. For reasons unknown, Fred and Ginger are virtually supporting players here, spending most of their time trying to patch up the romance between Fred's fellow sailor Randolph Scott and Ginger's sister Harriet Hilliard (better known as Harriet Nelson, of Ozzie and Harriet fame). One of the sillier aspects of the plot hinges on raising enough money to renovate a broken-down old ship; to do this, Fred and Ginger stage a lengthy musical number that must have cost five times as much money as they raised! But that number, a languorous dance rendition of Irving Berlin's "Let's Face the Music and Dance", compensates for all the nonsense that has gone before. One fringe benefit of Follow the Fleet is spotting two fresh-faced starlets named Betty Grable and Lucille Ball. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide