Joseph Allen, Jr. Movies

The son of veteran stage actor Joseph Allen, Joseph Allen Jr. appeared with the South Shore Players of Long Island, NY, prior to entering films in 1937 under the name of Allen Brook. He was Joseph Allen Jr. from 1939 on, usually playing "the Other Man." Allen later appeared regularly on television. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
1954  
 
Though Cannibal Attack is officially an entry in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" B-movie series, star Johnny Weissmuller is cast as "himself", rather than his usual Jungle Jim role. The plot finds Weissmuller investigating a series of cargo and cobalt thefts. The villains are a group of sinister foreign spies with Slavic accents, who are being aided and abetted by Luora (Judy Walsh), daughter of a cannibal princess. To expedite the bad guys' dirty work, tribal leader Rovak (Bruce Cowling) has his men disguise themselves as crocodiles. That's right, crocodiles. The rest of the picture is on an equal level of credibility. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Johnny WeissmullerJudy Walsh, (more)
1953  
 
Valley of the Headhunters was number eleven in Columbia's "Jungle Jim" series. Johnny Weissmuller returns as Jim, while his leading lady on this safari is Christine Larson. Things get under way when Jim is assigned to help a government representative attain the mineral rights to a tribal valley. Meanwhile, a gang of diamond smugglers discovers that the coveted land is rich with oil. The crooks persuade the villagers to pose as headhunters, thereby scaring off Jim and the other white men. Only slightly less believable than the plotline of Valley of the Headhunters are the antics of Jungle Jim's faithful chimp Tamba, who at one point gets "drunk" on a bottle of ether (the slow-motion gags which ensue are straight out of the "Little Rascals" lexicon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Christine LarsonRobert Foulk, (more)
1948  
 
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After turning down several other Hollywood producers, playwright William Saroyan sold the film rights of his whimsical Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Time of Your Life to James and William Cagney. The scene is a rundown San Francisco waterfront bar, populated by a group of lovable eccentrics. Joe (James Cagney), a philosophical souse, encourages all around him to indulge in their wildest dreams. Joe's pal Tom (Wayne Morris), a born patsy, runs errands for Joe, the only person who has ever shown him kindness. Kitty (Jeanne Cagney), a streetwalker, willingly allows Joe to sponge drinks off her in exchange for a few nice words. Harry (Paul Draper), an enthusiastic but hopelessly untalented dancer-comedian, is hired by bartender Nick (William Bendix) at Joe's urging. And Kit Carson (James Barton), an addled old man who lives in a dream world, is prodded by Joe into weaving his unlikely reminiscences of the Wild West. It is Kit Carson (James Barton) who solves everyone's problems by eliminating a particularly scabrous detective named Blick (Tom Powers). Time of Your Life was originally filmed with Saroyan's bizarrely humorous ending intact, but the preview audiences reacted negatively, forcing the Cagney brothers to shoot $300,000 worth of retakes. Though many historians have written off The Time of Your Life as a brave failure, the film was actually a hit, grossing $1.5 million. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Marlene AmmesJames Cagney, (more)
1947  
 
This was the second entry in Pine-Thomas' film series based on the popular radio show Big Town. Philip Reed and Hillary Brooke return respectively as Steve Kilgore, crusading editor of the Illustrated Daily Press, and Steve's plucky Gal Friday Lorelei Kilbourne. In this one, Steve suspects that hard-luck Harry Hilton (Frank Wilcox) has been framed on a murder rap. Investigating on his own, our hero uncovers a conspiracy to bring financial ruin to a construction firm. He also discovers that the person behind it all is the actual murderer. A few scattered laughs are provided when Lorelei faces male chauvinism upon taking over the responsibilities of the Daily Press' police-beat reporter. To avoid confusion with the television version of Big Town, I Cover Big Town was retitled I Cover the Underworld for TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Phillip ReedHillary Brooke, (more)
1946  
 
In this episode of the popular detective series, Chan, along with Number Two Son, are aboard a ship bound for Pago Pago. On route a federal agent is murdered. The two sleuths investigate. The film is also titled "Charlie Chan in Dangerous Money." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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1943  
 
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My Son, the Hero was a rare comedy from the PRC studio mills-and rarer still, it was directed by melodrama specialist Edgar G. Ulmer. Roscoe Karns plays a third-rate fight manager misleadingly known as Big Time. Justifiably proud of his war-correspondent son Michael (Joseph Allen Jr.), Big Time tries to measure up to his son's accomplishments by writing letters to the boy, claiming to be a wealthy businessman. When Michael comes home on furlough, Big Time panics, worrying that he'll be exposed as a fraud. But he hasn't taken into consideration his golden-hearted ex-wife Gerty (Patsy Kelly) and punchdrunk prizefighter Kid Slug (Maxie Rosenbloom), who help Big Time come off as a hero in the eyes of his son. My Son, the Hero represented Patsy Kelly's last film appearance until her comeback role in Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Patsy KellyRoscoe Karns, (more)
1943  
 
A retired septuagenarian writes books on criminology based on his experiences as a Scotland Yard officer. On his seventieth birthday, the DA's office pays homage to him by requesting his assistance on a puzzling case. Though the police are sure they have solved the case, it is the old man using his old fashioned methods who proves them terribly wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Henry StephensonLloyd Corrigan, (more)
1942  
 
It Happened in Flatbush is a likable baseball comedy inspired by the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers' pennant win. Lloyd Nolan portrays an ace ballplayer who was disgraced while still in college and is only able to secure work as a team manager. He takes charge of an unnamed Brooklyn team and whips in into a World Series contender. The players resent Nolan's drill-sergeant tactics, and when Nolan falls in love with the pretty owner of the team (Carole Landis), the players use this as an excuse to circulate a petition demanding Nolan's ouster. The manager pays no attention to the petition and leads his team to a league pennant, finding time along the way to help out a trouble-prone young ballplayer (George Holmes) on the verge of throwing away his career. Bolstered by film clips of actual Dodgers games (including one in which an anxious fan jumps out of the stands and attacks the umpire), It Happened in Flatbush is an enjoyable second-feature effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lloyd NolanCarole Landis, (more)
1942  
 
In this cornball comedy, the Weavers start a Victory garden to help out with the war. The encounter resistance from the local upper-class school. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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1942  
 
Hope Schuyler is a notorious but never-seen astrologer, inextricably linked with blackmail, political graft and murder. Special prosecutor Tom Mason (Joseph Allen Jr.) hopes to ascertain the true identity of Hope Schuyler and to put an end to her (or his) crime spree. Despite the obstacles thrown in his path by vindictive DA Anthony Pierce (Ricardo Cortez), Mason pursues his investigation with the not inconsiderable assistance of his girl friend Diane Rossiter (Mary Howard) and fearless girl reporter Lee Dale (Sheila Ryan). The trail of clues lead to a remote mountain lodge, where the story's pulse-pounding conclusion plays itself out. Who is Hope Schuyler? was based on a novel by Stephen Ransome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Joseph Allen, Jr.Mary Howard, (more)
1942  
 
The Night Before the Divorce is when Lynn Thorndike (Lynn Bari) seeks out her ex-husband George (Joseph Allen Jr.), begging for help. Lynn claims she is in trouble with cops, a contingency tied in with the murder of bandleader Victor Roselle (Nils Asther), whom she has been dating. George immediately drops his current girl friend Lola May (Mary Beth Hughes) like a hot potato to come to his former wife's rescue. It turns out, however, that Lynn isn't in any trouble at all; she's just been playing dumb and helpless to win back her husband, who'd always been jealous of her superior intellect. Wonder what the chances are for a screening of The Night Before the Divorce at the next N.O.W. meeting? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lynn BariMary Beth Hughes, (more)
1942  
 
In this romance, a spoiled, self-centered rich boy John T. Bromley III, is simultaneously disinherited by his wealthy aunt and kicked out by his social climbing girl friend. The fellow is naturally depressed and while slumping in a bar drinking heavily he meets a former pug who ends up knocking him flat in a brawl. Now the fellow is humiliated as well; and he demands a rematch, but before he goes through with it, he enrolls in a training camp for fighters. There he meets and falls for the trainer's daughter. Unfortunately her foster brother doesn't like her new beau and begins giving him a hard time. By the picture's end, the fellow has learned the proper etiquette for eating humble pie. Fortunately, his dream girl is there to eat it with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Brenda JoyceJoseph Allen, Jr., (more)
1939  
 
A big city lawyer returns to his tiny home town to enter the firm of his late father. His father's partner is happy to have him, but the partner's lovely daughter is even happier.. Every one is happy until the young attorney decides to represent the local villain, a ruthless factory owner who cares more for money than his employees. When the abused workers go on strike, the partner drops the factory owner's account, but the young slicker stays with the magnate. This upsets the partner's daughter. Tragedy and chaos follow when gangsters get involved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Susan HaywardJoseph Allen, Jr., (more)
1939  
 
A champion Great Dane is the murder victim in this mystery. Investigating the case is the youthful assistant of a travelling salesman and telepathist. Unfortunately, the young man's attempts to find the show dog's killer fail. He winds up getting both himself and his boss in trouble. Now it is up to the young man's mentor to solve the case. The prime suspect is a friend of the dog owner's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lynne OvermanVirginia Dale, (more)
1939  
 
All Women Have Secrets affords a rare film starring role for James Cagney's talented sister Jeanne Cagney. Set on a college campus, the story concerns the trials and tribulations of married student John (Joseph Allen) and his pregnant wife Kay (Cagney). In addition to their existing financial woes, Kay faces dismissal from her nightclub singing job as her waistline expands. The "secret" refers to the fact that Kay has been withholding the fact that John is about to become a father , lest he offer to quit school to support them both. Some much-needed laughs are provided by Peter Lynd Hayes as the typical campus cutup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Joseph Allen, Jr.Virginia Dale, (more)
1937  
 
Movie trends always come in cycles: in 1937, motorboat melodramas were briefly the rage. In Columbia's Motor Madness, small-time boat manufacturer Cap McNeil (J. M. Kerrigan) enters an international cup race to raise enough money to keep his business afloat. Much to the delight of Cap's pretty daughter Peggy (Rosalind Keith), handsome mechanic Joe Dunn (Allan Brooks) is chosen to steer McNeil's motorboat to (hopefully) victory. Complicating matters is a cute orphan lad (George Ernest) whom Joe adopts and a gambling boat which serves as a safe haven for wanted criminals. While leading players Allan Brooks and Rosalind Keith didn't go very far in Hollywood, the supporting cast of Motor Madness is full of reassuringly familiar Columbia faces, including the ubiquitous Marc Lawrence and Joe Sawyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Rosalind KeithAllen Brook, (more)

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