Donald Woods Movies
Handsome Hollywood "second lead" Donald Woods came from the stage to films in 1934. He played a few unremarkable roles before rising to prominence as Charles Darnay in the 1935 version of A Tale of Two Cities. He spent the 1940s and 1950s heading the cast of B-productions and serials and essaying supporting roles in top-of-the-bill features. On television, Woods played the title role in the 1952 syndicated series Craig Kennedy, Criminologist, hosted the 1955 anthology The Damon Runyon Theatre, and played a dignified recurring role on the 1965 sitcom Tammy; he also acted as "goodwill ambassador" for the latter program, making personal appearances and taping local promos. Throughout his career, Donald Woods supplemented his acting income as a real estate broker -- which indeed would have been an excellent film role for the businesslike Woods. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Gimmick-loving producer William Castle strikes again with this fun haunted-house thriller which invited audiences to find the hidden ghosts roaming about a haunted house through a special process called "Illusion-O" by which patrons could employ a special pair of red-and-blue-colored glasses to detect ghosts on the screen during the film's color-tinted sequences. The story is set in the mansion of the deceased occult scientist Dr. Zorba, whose nephew Cyrus and his family occupy the creepy estate and discover that they are not the only tenants. It seems the Doctor has been harboring 12 elusive specters on the premises, the appearance of which can only be detected through his final invention: a special pair of ghost-viewing goggles. To further complicate matters, it is learned that Zorba has stashed a small fortune somewhere in the house, and someone -- or something -- is determined to stop Cyrus and family from finding it. This film's original release featured an introduction from Castle, describing the "Illusion-O" process and demonstrating the proper use of the tinted glasses; he also appears in an epilogue stating that the glasses can be used to detect ghosts outside the theater! ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, (more)
- 1936
This crime drama is set in the fictional San Francisco eatery, Mary Grady's Chowder House which is presided over by the crusty Mary, a tough broad with a marshmallow heart. One of her regulars is a newspaper reporter who decides to write about the widow Grady's long lost son who disappeared 15-years-ago. The trouble begins when a vagabond fugitive, who got in trouble after trying to prevent a murder, learns of the reporter's search and decides to pretend to be the prodigal son. At first the gruff Mary and her adopted daughter are skeptical. But later when the detective who pursues the killer closes in, they end up defending the young man. When the fugitive sees a picture of Mary's late husband, he realizes that the real killer is Mary's estranged son. Soon the widow and the reporter begin putting things together and find themselves closer to finding her real son. They do not know what he has done so the good-hearted fugitive tries to thwart them at every turn. This puts him in grave danger, but this doesn't sway him. Unfortunately, he fails and Mary finds her long-lost offspring, and just after he admits that he is her son, he is killed in a police shoot out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Boland, Julie Haydon, (more)
It is a tale known well, filmed many times over the years, but never better than this early black and white version from the MGM Studios, David O. Selznick producing. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"-- Charles Dickens juxtaposes England and France, George and Louis, tradition and revolution. One of the most beloved of Dickens' stories, finding not only countries and conditions compared, but also two individuals thrown up in stark contrast to one another: -- the dissolute barrister Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman) and the young, somewhat callow aristocrat Charles Darnay (Donald Woods), both in love with Lucie (Elizabeth Allan), daughter of a victim of the French Regime. Their lives intertwine until the violent revolution that overtook an entire nation engulfs them all as well.
Dickens' story has stood the test of time; remade frequently since the release of this1935 version. It is this version by director Jack Conway's that is best remembered and to which all others are compared. The settings, cinematography, and direction are all right on the mark, recreating the streets of London and of Paris with great skill and realism. The supporting cast, filled with faces we have grown to cherish-- Reginald Owen, Edna May Oliver, Claude Gillingwater, Walter Catlett, H. B. Warner, Basil Rathbone, and E. E. Clive-comes through with crystalline performances which add substance to the inexorable stream of events. Blanche Yurka's bravura turn as Therese de Farge delights us even as we shudder at her intensity. Second unit directors Jacques Tourneur and Val Lewton, who would both go on to memorable careers as leading directors in their own right, staged the storming of the Bastille and other "revolutionary" scenes brilliantly, managing to combine fervor with panache. It is, however, Colman's portrayal of the lonely man redeemed by love and sacrifice which stands at the center of the story.
Sydney Carton first saves Charles Darnay from a charge of treason, thereby meeting those who care for him: the beautiful Lucie Manette, her father, Doctor Manette (Henry B. Walthall), released from the Bastille after many years of unjust incarceration; Lucie's servant Miss Pross, (Oliver) and Mister Lorry (Claude Gillingwater), an functionary of Tellson's Bank. His relationship with this circle of kind friends grows rocky when Darnay marries Lucie, whom Carton has loved from afar, but even this turn of events cannot change his feelings for them all and he grows to love them even more when daughter Lucie comes along. He reforms, leaving old ways behind and enjoying a familial warmth he has never known. This happy life is shattered when Darnay returns to France during the first revolutionary struggles, intent on saving his old tutor from the guillotine. He soon finds himself behind bars and facing the blade instead. The Revolution does not forget an aristocrat, even one who has recanted and lived life abroad as a commoner. The whole family makes the channel crossing to come to the young man's aid and Carton seeks a way to save him, discovering only one path to free Darnay and return everyone to safety. It is a sacrifice easily promised and quickly made.
Ronald Colman had long wanted to make a film of this story and, when he finally got his chance, he happily shaved off his signature mustache in an appropriate gesture to historical realism. Reviews of his work indicate his portrayal of Sydney Carton surpassed all his previous endeavors; he had been accused of walking through light parts, once he started making "talkies," and not putting his many talents to good use. "A Tale of Two Cities" put rest to those complaints. He dominates completely the scenes he which he does appear, and his skill gives substance to a literary achievement, a melancholy man of intelligence and wit, given to drink and despair, whose life seems to attain meaning only when it is given up for someone else. It is one of the portrayals for which Ronald Colman has come to be remembered.
There are various remake versions of A Tale of Two Cities. Dirk Bogarde played Carton in 1958 and Chris Sarandon starred in a television remake in 1980. While these and other versions have all been good films, none has achieved the stature of the 1935 version and its excellent combination of star power, technical brilliance and great storytelling. ~ All Movie Guide
Dickens' story has stood the test of time; remade frequently since the release of this1935 version. It is this version by director Jack Conway's that is best remembered and to which all others are compared. The settings, cinematography, and direction are all right on the mark, recreating the streets of London and of Paris with great skill and realism. The supporting cast, filled with faces we have grown to cherish-- Reginald Owen, Edna May Oliver, Claude Gillingwater, Walter Catlett, H. B. Warner, Basil Rathbone, and E. E. Clive-comes through with crystalline performances which add substance to the inexorable stream of events. Blanche Yurka's bravura turn as Therese de Farge delights us even as we shudder at her intensity. Second unit directors Jacques Tourneur and Val Lewton, who would both go on to memorable careers as leading directors in their own right, staged the storming of the Bastille and other "revolutionary" scenes brilliantly, managing to combine fervor with panache. It is, however, Colman's portrayal of the lonely man redeemed by love and sacrifice which stands at the center of the story.
Sydney Carton first saves Charles Darnay from a charge of treason, thereby meeting those who care for him: the beautiful Lucie Manette, her father, Doctor Manette (Henry B. Walthall), released from the Bastille after many years of unjust incarceration; Lucie's servant Miss Pross, (Oliver) and Mister Lorry (Claude Gillingwater), an functionary of Tellson's Bank. His relationship with this circle of kind friends grows rocky when Darnay marries Lucie, whom Carton has loved from afar, but even this turn of events cannot change his feelings for them all and he grows to love them even more when daughter Lucie comes along. He reforms, leaving old ways behind and enjoying a familial warmth he has never known. This happy life is shattered when Darnay returns to France during the first revolutionary struggles, intent on saving his old tutor from the guillotine. He soon finds himself behind bars and facing the blade instead. The Revolution does not forget an aristocrat, even one who has recanted and lived life abroad as a commoner. The whole family makes the channel crossing to come to the young man's aid and Carton seeks a way to save him, discovering only one path to free Darnay and return everyone to safety. It is a sacrifice easily promised and quickly made.
Ronald Colman had long wanted to make a film of this story and, when he finally got his chance, he happily shaved off his signature mustache in an appropriate gesture to historical realism. Reviews of his work indicate his portrayal of Sydney Carton surpassed all his previous endeavors; he had been accused of walking through light parts, once he started making "talkies," and not putting his many talents to good use. "A Tale of Two Cities" put rest to those complaints. He dominates completely the scenes he which he does appear, and his skill gives substance to a literary achievement, a melancholy man of intelligence and wit, given to drink and despair, whose life seems to attain meaning only when it is given up for someone else. It is one of the portrayals for which Ronald Colman has come to be remembered.
There are various remake versions of A Tale of Two Cities. Dirk Bogarde played Carton in 1958 and Chris Sarandon starred in a television remake in 1980. While these and other versions have all been good films, none has achieved the stature of the 1935 version and its excellent combination of star power, technical brilliance and great storytelling. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, (more)
- 1968
This musical chronicles the rise to fame of C&W singer Grady Dodd (Hank Williams Jr.). The tale begins as the talented young man defies the uncle who raised him and tries to break into the music business. As a result of the conflict, the boy learns that his mother, whom he doesn't remember, was a singer who died after she ran away with another musician. Songs include: The Humming Bird, It's All Over But the Crying, Rock in My Shoe (Hank Williams, Jr.), A Man Is On His Own (John Scoggins, Williams, Jr.), Money Can't Buy Happiness, Old Before My Time (Steve Karliski), Next Time I Say Goodbye, I'm Leaving (Larry Kusik, Eddie Snyder), and A Time to Sing (Scoggins). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hank Williams, Jr., Shelley Fabares, (more)
- 1936
When David O. Selznick produced the film version of the 1000-plus page novel Gone with the Wind, he declared he could not make a film running any less than 222 minutes. When Warner Bros. adapted the even longer Hervey Allen best-seller Anthony Adverse, the studio managed to pack everything--except the most censorable passages, which had made Allen's novel a best-seller in the first place--into 139 minutes. Surprisingly, the film version of Anthony Adverse moves rather smoothly, though it is nowhere near as involving (or as much fun) as Gone with the Wind. Fredric March stars as Anthony Adverse, the illegitimate offspring of Anita Louise, the wife of Spanish nobleman Claude Rains. When Adverse comes of age, he inherits the prosperous business run by his kindly foster father Edmund Gwenn, which he abandons for an aimless trip around the world after his heart is broken by childhood sweetheart Olivia De Havilland. Sinking deeper into the morass of alcohol and degeneracy in the West Indies, Adverse is regenerated when he is reunited with De Havilland, now the mistress of Napoleon Bonaparte. Suddenly enervated, Adverse battles the efforts of Claude Rains and Gwenn's duplicitous former assistant Gale Sondergaard to take over Gwenn's business. Along the way, he learns that Gwenn was actually his grandfather and that De Havilland has born him a son (Scotty Beckett). Instead of dying, as he does in the novel, Anthony Adverse takes his son to America to start life anew. Whew! Though no award winner itself, Anthony Adverse enabled Gale Sondergaard to win the first-ever "best supporting actress" Oscar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1934
Based on the best-selling Gladys Hasty Carroll novel of the same name, As the Earth Turns covers four seasons in the life of a Maine farming family. Jean Muir stars as Jen Shaw, daughter of dirt-poor farmers Mark and Min Shaw (David Landau, Dorothy Appleby). Jen's parents have an abiding distrust for their new neighbors, the Jankowskis -- not only because they're first-generation Poles, but also because they used to live in faraway Boston. Despite Mark and Min's opposition, Jen falls in love with Stan Jankowski (Donald Woods), but trouble looms in the form of Jen's stepsister Doris (Dorothy Appleby), who also has designs on Stan. New Warners contractee Jean Muir acquitted herself well in her first major role, which may be why As the Earth Turns did slightly better than expected at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Muir, Donald Woods, (more)
- 1941
Universal's "Baby Sandy" series officially ended with Sandy Gets Her Man, but the infant star still had one picture left on her contract, so that's why Bachelor Daddy was born. Edward Everett Horton, Donald Woods, and Raymond Walburn carry the burden of the plot as the Smith Brothers, Joseph, Edward and George. Confirmed bachelors, the Smiths are forced to play nursemaid when a baby is accidentally abandoned at their doorstep. The laughs arise from the brothers' bumbling efforts at parenthood, culminating in a slapsticky finale wherein the runaway Baby Sandy takes charge of a hand-operated elevator. Ironically, one of the minor players in Bachelor Daddy is teenager Juanita Quigley, who once enjoyed brief stardom at Universal as "Baby Jane". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Baby Sandy, Edward Everett Horton, (more)
- 1949
Quickie king Sam Katzman was responsible for the 64-minute swashbuckler Barbary Pirate. Set mostly in the bay of Tripoli in the early 19th century, the film stars Donald Woods as American army officer Tom Blake. Hoping to trap the titular pirates, Blake gains the confidence of Yussef, the ruler of Tripoli (Stefan Schnabel). After much swordplay and miles of stock footage, the good guys emerge triumphant. One of actor Donald Woods' fringe benefits in agreeing to star in Barbary Pirate was the presence of two lovely leading ladies. Trudy Marshall (the mother of actress Deborah Raffin) is the traditional damsel in distress, while Lenore Aubert is the dusky native girl who doesn't survive to the last reel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Woods, Trudy Marshall, (more)
- 1939
According to RKO Radio's publicity folks, Beauty for the Asking was supposed to have been an expose of the lucrative beauty-parlor "racket". What emerged on screen, however, was a pedestrian romantic triangle involving socialite Denny Williams (Patric Knowles), his wealthy wife Flora (Frieda Inescort), and pretty beautician Jean Russell (Lucille Ball). Spurned by Williams, Jean finds consolation by developing a revolutionary facial cream that makes her a millionairess. Ironically, her financial backer in this endeavor is none other than her romantic rival Flora. Among the screenwriters was Paul Jarrico, later blacklisted for his allegedly Communistic sentiments; the only thing remotely radical in Beauty for the Asking, however, is the notion that 28-year-old Lucille Ball could play a cosmetic tycoon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, Patric Knowles, (more)
Bells of San Fernando was advertised as a romantic adventure, but it plays more like a Western. Donald Woods plays an Irish immigrant who teams with Mexican gal Gloria Warren to combat land baron Anthony Warde. Whenever the plot lags, Warren sings. Catch the name of "Renault Duncan" in the screenplay credits of Bells of San Fernando. It's really actor Duncan Renaldo, aka "The Cisco Kid" -- which may explain why the film looks like a thinly disguised "Cisco" episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Woods, Gloria Warren, (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)
- 1967
In this sequel to the previous season's "The Big Shadow of the Land", Jack Kruschen returns as Giorgio Rossi, the bombastic patriach of a family of Italian winegrowers. Hoping to improve the Rossis' financial situation, Ben Cartwright grants Giorgio eighty acres of Ponderosa property, which the effusive immigrant immediately converts into a lush vineyard. A crisis develops when Ben's nasty neighbor Gurney (Donald Woods shuts off Rossi's water supply. Also making return appearances are Penny Santon and Brioni Farrell) as Giorgio's wife Maria and daughter Regina. Written by William F. Leicester as the pilot episode for a projected TV series, "The Deed and the Dilemma" first aired March 26, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1953
William "One Take" Beaudine sat in the director's chair for the independently produced Born to the Saddle. Chuck Courtney plays a young horse trainer who goes to work for the truculent Donald Woods. Courtney believes that Woods was responsible for the death of the boy's father, and hopes to exact revenge if his suspicions are confirmed. Instead, the older and younger man become close friends thanks to their mutual love of horses. Featured in the cast is actress Karen Morley, in one of her few screen appearances after being officially blacklisted for her allegedly leftist political beliefs. Adele Buffington adapted the screenplay of Born to the Saddle from a short story by Gordon Young. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1937
- G
In New York to attend a police testimonial in his honor, Honolulu detective Charlie Chan runs smack dab into another murder. The victim is a blackmailing nightclub singer who had listed the names of all known criminals in Manhattan in her diary. The diary disappears, and Charlie joins a glib newspaper reporter (Donald Woods) and a photojournalist (Joan Marsh) in hunting down the killer. Several false leads and red herrings later, Charlie puts the pieces together and fingers the killer--who true to form is the least likely suspect (especially for a "typical" New York murder case). Charlie Chan on Broadway represented the 15th appearance by Warner Oland as the aphorism-spouting Oriental sleuth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Keye Luke, (more)
- 1934
Warner Oland made his fifth appearance as wily Honolulu-based detective Charlie Chan in Fox's Charlie Chan's Courage. Hired to deliver a valuable necklace, Chan shows up at a ranch estate, posing as a servant. His task is complicated when Victor Jordan (Jack Carter), the man who engaged his services, is murdered the moment he shows up at the ranch. Maintaining his servant guise, Charlie monitors the movements of the many suspects, eventually unmasking the hidden killer. Among the supporting players are several Chan-movie "regulars," some of whom turned out to be murderers in other series entries. Charlie Chan's Courage is a remake of the 1928 silent film The Chinese Parrot, in which Chan was played by Japanese actor Sojin; alas, neither film is available for viewing today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Drue Leyton, (more)
- 1940
Former Latin Lover Ricardo Cortez directed this farfetched but fast-paced gambling melodrama in which girl reporter Julie Reynolds (Lynn Bari) attempts to infiltrate a crooked gaming establishment by pretending to be a naïve girl from Texas. Julie's plans go awry, however, when one of the owners, Steve Walker (Donald Woods), recognizes her as his childhood sweetheart. Although Steve's mentor, The Judge (C. Aubrey Smith), warns him of the consequences, the young man insists on resuming his relationship with Julie, a decision that almost costs him his life when rival gangster Marty Connors (Richard Lane) decides to move in on the operation. But Steve and Julie pull a fast one on Marty and The Judge skips the City of Chance on a floating casino. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Bari, C. Aubrey Smith, (more)
Outdistancing all competing studios, tiny PRC managed to register the title Corregidor for copyright within hours after the surrender of the Allied forces at the real-life Corregidor. PRC even ponied up the money to commission a poem specially written for the film by the great Alfred Noyes. The film finds female Red Cross doctor Royce Lee (Elissa Landi) in love with a colleague named Michael (Donald Woods). Royce in turn is loved by Dr. Jan Stockman (Otto Kruger). But when the Japanese lay siege upon Corregidor, the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans. Actual combat stock footage (not from Corregidor) is intermingled with staged scenes of hand-to-hand combat between the Allies and the Japanese. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Kruger, Elissa Landi, (more)
- 1938
This murder mystery is set behind-the-scenes of a radio station. the trouble begins when a hated cad of a sponsor is found murdered during the climax of a live radio show. The sponsor had a reputation for using women. A clever radio engineer solves the mystery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Woods, Nan Grey, (more)
- 1949
Martha Vickers was given a rare leading-role opportunity in Daughter of the West. Vickers plays Lolita Moreno, a part-Native American girl who falls in love with college-educated Navajo Navo (Philip Reed). The film's Indian characters are depicted in a dignified, respectful manner: not so the white villains, headed by crooked Indian agent Ralph Connors (Donald Wood). When Connors and his flunkies try to cheat the Navajos out of their land, Navo gets wise to their scheme and nips it in the bud. The film's highlight is an authentically staged Indian harvest sequence, lensed in Cinecolor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martha Vickers, Phillip Reed, (more)
- 1966
In this sci-fi spy thriller, a secret agent for Espionage, Inc., is assigned to stop the Dragon, a Chinese communist organization, from detonating a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Though the filmmakers claimed they were writing a biography of Nazi minister Dr. Joseph Goebbels, this film is actually highly fictionalized and filled with patriotic propaganda. The story attempts to explain Goebbels' madness, blaming it on a love affair gone awry when he was a young aspiring playwright. The love in question was a young actress who spurns him. Goebbels cannot bear the rejection and swears that he will spend his life getting revenge upon her and those around her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Drake, Paul Andor, (more)
- 1961
Johnny Cabot (Johnny Cash) is a bloodthirsty New Jersey gangster who is forced to hide out in a small California suburb after killing a cop during a job gone wrong. He's given a chance to get back in the game by Fred Dorella (Vic Tayback), a crook with a novel plan for a foolproof bank heist. Dorella has been studying the daily habits of the Harper Federal Trust vice president Ken Wilson (Donald Woods). He learns that Wilson and his wife Nancy (Cay Forester) are on a strict schedule every morning and Dorella plans to use their dull routine against them. After Wilson goes to work, Johnny tricks his way into the house with Nancy by pretending to be a door-to-door guitar salesman, and then holds her hostage. At the same time, Dorella visits Wilson at the bank and demands 70,000 dollars in cash. If he doesn't get the loot and contact Johnny by phone at a specified time, Nancy will be killed. What Dorella hasn't counted on is that the Wilson home is not a happy one, and Ken is planning on running away with his mistress that very evening. Meanwhile, the leering, sadistic Johnny taunts Nancy about being "the perfect wife." He does all he can to humiliate her, forcing her to put on makeup and a flimsy negligee, slapping her around and singing menacing songs. When the Wilsons' son Bobby (Ron Howard) comes home from school for lunch, a terrifying showdown with the police leads to tragedy. Guitar legend Merle Travis has a small role as a cowardly bowling alley owner in this crime drama, which was re-released in 1966 under the title Door-to-Door Maniac. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Cash, Donald Woods, (more)
