Jim Farley Movies
- 1921
When the brutal Captain Briggs (a miscast Dustin Farnum) destroys a Malay idol, a native witch (Evelyn Selbie) puts a curse on him. From there on in, death follows him. He marries, but his wife dies when their son is born. The son reaches adulthood and weds, but the couple catch a fever and die, leaving Briggs with an orphaned grandson. The boy, Hal (Bernard J. Durning, also the film's director), grows up to be as violent and mean-tempered as his grandfather. He gets into a brawl and is stabbed by a poison dagger. Briggs, who had once had his own encounter with a poison dagger, has both the poison and the antidote -- unfortunately, he doesn't recall which is which. But he risks his life by tasting one of the powders. It turns out to be the antidote, and he gives it to Hal, who recovers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Farnum, Virginia Valli, (more)
Buster Keaton plays Johnny Gray, a Southern railroad engineer who loves his train engine, The General, almost as much as he loves Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack). When the opening shots of the Civil War are fired at Fort Sumter, Johnny tries to enlist -- and he is deemed too useful as an engineer to be a soldier. All Johnny knows is that he's been rejected, and Annabelle, thinking him a coward, turns her back on him. When Northern spies steal the General (and, unwittingly, Annabelle), the story switches from drama and romance to adventure mixed with Keaton's trademark deadpan humor as he uses every means possible to catch up to the General, thwart the Yankees, and rescue his darling Annabelle -- for starters. As always, Keaton performs his own stunts, combining his prodigious dexterity, impeccable comic timing, and expressive body language to convey more emotion than the stars of any of the talkies that were soon to dominate cinema. ~ Emru Townsend, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, (more)
- 1928
The "original" Harrison Ford and former Chaplin leading lady Georgia Hale are co-starred in Tiffany-Stahl's Woman Against the World. When a chorus girl is found murdered, girl reporter Carol Hill (Hale) takes it upon herself to solve the case. The police have arrested wealthy Schuyler Van Loan (Ford) and charged him with the murder, but Carol suspects that someone else was responsible. However, she can't prove it, and soon everyone in town -- including Van Loan's fiancee Bernice Claire (Gertrude Olmstead) -- has turned against the boy. As the date of Van Loan's execution approaches, Carol desperately tries to dredge up enough evidence to prove his innocence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Georgia Hale, (more)
The MGM historical "spectacular" San Francisco was allegedly based on a three-sentence synopsis, submitted verbally to producer B.F. Zeidman by studio troubleshooter Bob Hopkins. The story begins on the Barbary Coast on New Year's Eve, 1906, as rakish but likeable political boss Blackie Norton (Clark Gable) hires demure young singer Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald) to perform at his rowdy Paradise gambling house. Local priest Father Mullin (Spencer Tracy), Blackie's best friend, disapproves of the exploitation of the lovely Mary, feeling that she's suited for classier surroundings. Jack Hurley (Jack Holt), Nob Hill socialite and Blackie's political rival, agrees with Father Mullin and offers the girl the opportunity to sing with the San Francisco Opera. Blackie, who's fallen in love with Mary but won't admit it to himself, jealously holds on to her contract, forcing Mary to walk out on him. For the rest of the film, Mary is torn between the "respectable" lifestyle offered her by Hurley and the baser creature comforts provided by Blackie. It looks for a while that Hurley has won out, but fate takes a hand in the form of the devastating San Francisco Earthquake of April 18, 1906 (a special effects tour de force for art directors Arnold Gillespie and his uncredited associate James Basevi). Hurley is killed in the holocaust, while Blackie, desperately searching for Mary in the rubble, at long last finds religion and prays to God for his sweetheart's salvation. At the end, an unidentified bit player shouts defiantly "We'll build a new San Francisco!" -- and by golly, they do! The Hollywood censors were not so much bothered by the sexual subtext of San Francisco or its harrowing earthquake finale as they were by a scene in which Father Mullin is knocked down by an unrepentant Blackie. To "purify" this potentially blasphemous sequence, screenwriter Anita Loos quickly added an earlier scene in which Mullin and Blackie, both dressed in turtleneck sweaters, genially duke it out at an exercise gym, whereupon the priest cold-cocks Blackie with the greatest of ease. By establishing that Mullin could have punched out Blackie, but chooses not to in the controversial later scene, not only allows that scene to pass, but also strengthened the priest's character. San Francisco proved to be one of MGM's biggest hits, remaining in almost constant reissue for the next three decades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, (more)
In this adventure, the final entry in the "Renfrew of the Mounties" series, the intrepid RCMP officer and his girl friend head for the Yukon to look for stolen planes carrying gold shipments. There they find themselves faced with a death ray that has been invented by a scientist who has been convinced by the criminals behind the thefts that he is working for the government. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1941
In this version of the oft-filmed stage play by James Montgomery, Nothing But the Truth stars Bob Hope as an up and coming young stockbroker working in Florida. He makes a bet with his coworkers that he can tell nothing but the absolute truth for 24 hours, and the other bettors are determined to keep tabs on him to make sure he doesn't falter. The rest of the action takes place aboard a yacht, where Hope's undiplomatic truthfulness gets him into hot water with a wealthy client, several other influential people, and his girl friend (Paulette Goddard). Hope's coworkers contrive to trick Hope into losing his wager, but African-American valet Willie Best foils their scheme. The picture ends with Hope having to explain his curious behavior for the past 24 hours without offending anyone (P.S.: he pulls it off). Nothing But the Truth was Paramount's third Bob Hope/Paulette Goddard costarring effort, all three based on past stage successes. The film lay unseen for years after its 1941 release due to legal tangles, but was finally made available again through the auspices of film historian Leonard Maltin in the early 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, (more)
Gene Tierney portrays a beautiful but unstable woman who marries successful novelist Cornel Wilde. Tierney wants to spend all her time with her new husband, but finds it impossible to do so thanks to his work and the frequent visits of family and friends. When Wilde's crippled younger brother (Darryl Hickman) comes to the couple's summer house to stay, Ms. Tierney indirectly causes the boy to drown. Later, upon discovering that she's pregnant, Tierney deliberately falls down the stairs, choosing to miscarry rather than share her husband's affections with an infant. When it becomes clear that family friend Jeanne Crain is attracted to her husband, Ms. Tierney commits suicide, making her death appear to be murder and framing Crain for the "crime." In court, Ms. Crain is mercilessly grilled by prosecuting attorney Vincent Price, who happens to be Tierney's ex-lover! Filmed in lush Technicolor, Leave Her to Heaven is based on the best-selling novel by Ben Ames Williams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, (more)
- 1966
Perry Mason's one-and-only color episode is a loose adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. The "Fagin" character is slimy art collector Benjamin Huggins (Victor Buono), who with the assistance of henchman Bill Sikes (Scott Graham) masterminds a teenage car-stripping gang. Murder rears its ugly head when 18-year-old gang member Lennie Beale (Kevin O'Neal) is charged with killing Sikes, apparently as retaliation for Sikes' shooting of Lennie's girlfriend Robin Spring (Lisa Seagram). Even though he had previously been robbed by Lennie, Perry (Raymond Burr), in true "Mr. Brownlow" fashion, agrees to defend the boy in court. One of the seventy-six Perry Mason episodes removed from the series' original 1966 syndication package, "The Case of the Twice-Told Twist" was finally rebroadcast on cable TV in the early 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
