Bryant Washburn Movies

No relation to the later Shelley Fabares song hit of the same name, RKO Radio's Johnny Angel was adapted by Steve Fisher and Frank Gruber from a short story by Charles Gordon Booth. In one of his better performances, George Raft plays sea captain Johnny Angel, who doggedly pursues the no-good rats who murdered his father and swiped a shipment of gold bullion. Along the way, Johnny crosses paths (and words) with Lilah (Claire Trevor), the faithless wife of his boss, and French stowaway Paulette (Signe Hasso), apparently the only witness to the murder-hijacking. Aiding and abetting Johnny is philosophical cab driver Celestial O'Brien, engagingly played by songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. Considered a second-echelon effort by RKO, Johnny Angel proved to be a surprise hit, toting up a box-office take of $1,192,000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having worked as a duo in the first three entries of Monogram's low-budget "Trail Blazers" series, veteran Western stars Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson were joined by Bob Steele in the fourth, Death Valley Rangers -- reportedly much to Maynard's dismay. Although not much younger than his august partners, Steele was still nimble enough to take care of the more strenuous fisticuffs and he was even somewhat believable in romantic clinches -- as opposed to his co-stars, whose ever expanding waistlines did not allow for tender scenes. This time, "The Trail Blazers," government agents, investigate a series of gold shipment thefts in Death Valley committed by a gang headed by Jim Kirk (Weldon Heyburn, whose name was misspelled "Hayburn" in the on-screen credits!). Kirk has hired a crooked scientist, Doc Thorne (Karl Hackett), who has discovered a method to pour the stolen gold back into the rock, where it will be indistinguishable from virgin ore. Steele infiltrates the gang and with the help of his partners, Death Valley is soon safe from Kirk and his gang. Like most of the "Trail Blazers" Westerns, Death Valley Rangers was filmed at Corriganville, actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan's movie ranch in Simi Valley, California. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The East Side Kids are back in Follow the Leader, one of their most consistently funny outings. While on leave from the Army, Muggs (Leo Gorcey) and Glimpy (Huntz Hall) learn that their pal Danny (Bobby Jordan) has been thrown in jail on a robbery charge. Refusing to believe that Danny is guilty, the boys go after the most likely suspect, a new East Sider named Spider O'Brien (Billy Benedict). Sure enough, Spider is a flunkey for a gang of crooks, but before he can confess to the cops, he's killed by his cohorts. Hoping to trap the villains, Leo goes to work for them, while his sister Millie (Joan Marsh) starts vamping head crook Larry (Jack LaRue). Highlights include a jungle-movie spoof (it's all a dream!), and a musical interlude by onetime recording idol Gene Austin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this adventure the young lively daughter of wealthy Virginia parents bridles under the stern tutelage of her new English nanny who insists she forego her tomboy ways and act like a perfectly lady. This nanny runs the household with an iron hand and the little girl is terribly unhappy until she finds a lost German shepherd. While following the wanderer, the girl tumbles into a well. The dog gets help. The girl names him "Wolf" and is delighted to have a new best friend. Naturally, the nanny is terribly upset because the dog is terribly disruptive. One day, the nanny finds out that Wolf is an AWOL Army dog and sees that he is returned. Brokenhearted, the girl runs away to Washington, DC to have a private audience with the secretary of war. Tearfully she tells how her parents neglect her and how lonely she is without wolf. The secretary is moved but explains that Wolf has a more patriotic role to play. The girl understands and returns home filled with pride for Wolf. Things get better at home when her relieved parents fire the hated nanny and start spending more time with her. As an added bonus, the secretary sends the girl a brand new puppy that looks just like wolf. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Jim Lacy (Robert Mitchum), Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin), and Dusty (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) are three cowpokes working what was then known -- in the 1850's -- as the western Utah Territory. They know cattle, not mining, and they can't help but feel like they're missing out on something amid the influx of prospectors trying to work the Comstock Lode. But then they see most of these claims come to nothing, as the surface gold always seems to run out and leave owners with nothing but useless blue waste -- and the three are prone to count their blessings. But the machinations of a crooked mining company head Cash Burridge (Craig Reynolds) and a shoot-out at a crooked casino leave the trio on the run, and Lacy -- taking the alias "Nevada" -- headed into mining country with both the law and outlaws on his trail. And that's how he crosses paths with the Ides, a prospecting family, and their pretty daughter Hattie (ancy Gates), and also with saloon singer Julie Dexter (Anne Jeffreys), who's close to Burridge but starts to like Nevada's honesty and sincerity. Burridge knows the truth about that "useless" blue slag -- it's some of the richest silver ore ever assayed in the United States -- and plans to swindle his neighbors to get control of the Comstock Lode; and Julie cares enough about Burridge that she's ready to go along, up to the point where it involves murder, especially when Burridge's cover-up of his crime may end up with Nevada at the end of a rope. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The second entry in Monogram's low-budget "Trail Blazers" B-Western series, The Law Rides Again marked the final directorial effort of Alan J. Neitz (alias Alan James), a veteran genre specialist whose career dated back to 1916. Aging lawmen Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson are this time assigned to determine why an Indian tribe is breaking their treaty with the United States government. Aligning themselves with a notorious criminal (Jack LaRue), Ken and Hoot discover that the tribe is being cheated out of their government sanctioned cattle by a crooked Indian agent (Kenneth Harlan) and his Indian co-cohort (Chief Many Treatise. Filmed on the cheap at Corriganville, actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan's movie ranch in Simi Valley, California, The Law Rides Again's only novelty was stunt-rider Betty Miles) playing a female stage driver. Chief Thundercloud, here playing the Indian chief, would later replace the increasingly difficult Ken Maynard in the final two "Trail Blazers" entries, Outlaw Trail and Sonora Stagecoach (both 1944). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The world of boxing provides the framework for this romantic musical that tells the story of Baby and his manager who is also his sister. Baby is slated to fight Jerry O'Leary, but his sister won't let him because she is in love with the opponent. To ensure that the two do not fight, O'Leary's manager hires a seductress to keep Baby's mind off fighting during training. Fortunately the boxing commission learns of the scam and intervenes in the nick of time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Strange but true: Norma Shearer turned down the title role in Mrs. Miniver to star instead in the insignificant trifle We Were Dancing. Loosely based on two Noel Coward playlets originally presented as part of the omnibus production Tonight at 8:30, the story concerns the romance between socialite Vicki Wilomirsky (Norma Shearer) and Nicki Prax (Melvyn Douglas), an impoverished baron who supports himself as a "professional guest." Nicki steals Vicki away from her stuffy attorney fiance Hubert Tyler (Lee Bowman), but their subsequent marriage comes to an end when Vicki spots Nicki in the arms of his ex-lover Linda Wayne (Gail Patrick). Returning to Tyler, Vicki is on the verge of a second marriage, when Nicki once again waltzes into her life?.and on and on it goes, where it will stop, nobody knows. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The combination of Ann Sothern and Red Skelton pays off in giggles, chortles and guffaws in Maisie Gets Her Man. Broke and stranded once more, showgirl Maisie Revere briefly works as the wrong end of a knife-throwing act, then dedicates herself to helping would-be comedian Hap Hixby (Skelton) overcome his debilitating stage fright. The plot then goes off on an entirely new tangent, as the hapless Hap gets mixed up with cherubic con artist Denningham (Lloyd Corrigan). Things end happily for both Maisie and Hap, but not quite in the way that either one of them would have predicted. It's a tribute to the comedy genius of Red Skelton that he can raise laughs while playing a character who can't raise laughs! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this patriotic film, a good-hearted boy donates his best friend to the Dogs for Defense, an government organization that trained household dogs for the military during WW II. Following training, the canine recruit is assigned to keep a defense plant safe from saboteurs. Coincidentally, the boy's boozy father also works at the plant. The father redeems himself, and the dog becomes a hero when they team up to stop the enemy from blowing up the factory. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide