Theodore Reed Movies

The box-office success of Paramount's What a Life (1939), coupled with the popularity of the spinoff Henry Aldrich radio series, inspired the studio to launch an "Aldrich" series of its own. The inagural entry was Life with Henry, with Jackie Cooper repeating his role as befuddled teenager Henry Aldrich. This time around, Henry and his pal Dizzy (Eddie Bracken) conspire to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Alaska. The boys' bumbling efforts have unfortunate long-range repercussions, culminating in the decision by a group of investors not to build a factory in town, as originally planned. How will Henry get himself out of this one? For the record, in all subsequent "Henry Aldrich" endeavors, Henry would be played by Jimmy Lydon, while Dizzy would be enacted by Charles Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

William Holden and Bonita Granville, heavily if not convincingly decked out in "old age" makeup, recall on their 35th wedding anniversary how they first met in 1904. Holden was a brash college freshman, while Bonita was the daughter of a local judge (Vaughn Glaser). Since Holden couldn't stay out of trouble, the judge prohibited him from visiting his daughter, but the boy opposed the edict and ended up being arrested--with Bonita managing to have herself thrown in jail as well. The anecdotal storyline comes to a comically ironic conclusion when the ageing Holden complains that he can't control his own headstrong son. Based on the "Siwash" stories by George Fitch, Those Were the Days gets by on its nostalgic appeal, but cannot be considered one of William Holden's more significant pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, a Missouri mule breeder faces financial ruin after the market collapses. He takes his best mule to a Kansas livestock show where he impresses a representative from the British army. He, his wife, and his best mules then sail to England to sell them. Soon the Missouri couple are living high-on-the-hog amongst the cream of British society. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this lively musical, an eccentric philanthropist's will dictates that four people receive $5,000 with the stipulation that the first one who can double the amount-- without dishonesty-- will win a cool million. Hindering the four are the avaricious relatives of the late millionaire. Songs include: "It's On, It's Off," "Double or Nothing," "Listen My Children," "Smarty," "The Moon Got in My Eyes" and "After You." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Douglas Fairbanks is at his most graceful and charismatic in one of the classic silent films of the 1920s. As the thief of Baghdad, his movements are dance-like -- nothing like the athletics he performed in most of his other films. In this Arabian take, the thief ignores the holy teachings and sneaks into the palace of the Caliph (Brandon Hurst). All thoughts of robbery slip away, however, when he sees the beautiful princess (Julanne Johnston). Princes have come from many faraway lands to win the princess' hand (and it's amusing to watch her face growing ever more alarmed at their arrival, because each one is uglier than the last). The thief disguises himself as a prince and the princess falls in love with him. After having a pang of conscience, the thief confesses all to the Holy Man (Charles Belcher), who sends him to find a magic chest. He braves many obstacles to get it, and when he returns he discovers that the Mongol Prince (Sojin) has taken over the city. Using the chest, the reformed thief creates armies of men out of nothingness and recaptures the city. He then uses the cloak of invisibility to spirit the princess away on a magic carpet. Fairbanks stole some of the special effects for his film from Fritz Lang's Der Müde Tod, which he had purchased for American distribution. The Thief of Baghdad, with its look of unrealistic beauty (courtesy of art director William Cameron Menzies), was not fully appreciated in its day. Because of its huge cost (two million dollars -- a real fortune in those days), it made little money. After that, Fairbanks stuck closer to the swashbuckling persona he felt his audience wanted. Available now on DVD, the remastered film features a new score by Carl Davis. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi