Lois Bridge Movies
Gene Autry enjoyed considerable success with his recording of Stan Jones' haunting "Riders in the Sky". He then parlayed this success into a film, which proved to be one of Autry's best postwar efforts. The basic plot concerns Autry's efforts to clear rancher Ralph Lawson (Steve Darrell) of a trumped-up murder charge. The trumper-upper, Rock McCleary, is played by Robert Livingston, a former cowboy star who turned to character roles late in his career. The heroine is played by Gloria Henry, ten years removed from her TV fame as Alice Mitchell in Dennis the Menace. The title song is imaginatively staged by director John English, with a ghostly Tom London riding hard and fast as a montage of moody images play across the screen. So effective was this vignette that Columbia included it in the coming-attractions trailer for Riders in the Sky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Gloria Henry, (more)
Gene Autry's second 1949 release for Columbia was Riders of the Whistling Pines. As was customary for Autry, the title refers to one of the songs heard in the film, rather than the plotline at hand. The villains busy themselves destroying all the timber in a government forest preserve. When Autry steps in to stop the bad guys, they cook up a frame by accusing him of poisoning cattle. Jimmy Lloyd co-stars as an aviator who figures prominently in the action-packed finale. Autry's leading lady this time out is Patricia White, who later gained prominence on TV as Patricia Barry. At 72 minutes, Riders of the Whistling Pines was one of the longest of Autry's Columbia efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Patricia White, (more)
The longest-running non-musical play in Broadway history, Life With Father was faithfully filmed by Warner Bros. in 1947. William Powell is a tower of comic strength as Clarence Day, the benevolent despot of his 1880s New York City household. Irene Dunne co-stars as Day's wife Vinnie, who outwardly has no more common sense than a butterfly but who is the real head of the household. The anecdotal story, encompassing such details as the eldest Day son's (James Lydon) romance with pretty out-of-towner Mary (Elizabeth Taylor), is tied together by Vinnie's tireless efforts to get her headstrong husband baptized, else he'll never be able to enter the Kingdom of God. Each scene is a little gem of comedy and pathos, as the formidable Mr. Day tries to bring a stern businesslike attitude to everyday household activities, including explaining the facts of life to his impressionable son. Donald Ogden Stewart based his screenplay upon the play by Howard Lindsey (who played Mr. Day in the original production) and Russell Crouse; the play in turn was inspired by a series of articles written by Clarence Day Jr., shortly before his death in 1933. Due to a legal tangle with the Day estate, Life With Father was withdrawn from circulation after its first run; it re-emerged on the Public Domain market in 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Irene Dunne, (more)
- 1943
Country-western star Roy Acuff is top-billed in the Republic musical comedy O, My Darling Clementine. The story concerns a band of ragtag musicians, headed by Acuff, who blow into a hoity-toity town where the "right people" look down on pickin' and grinnin'. The town's social arbiter is Mrs. Uppington, a character that orignated on radio's Fibber McGee and Molly and is here portrayed by the original "Uppy", Isabel Randolph. Manager Frank Albertson struggles manfully to get Acuff's band booked into a classy hotel, and along the way romances the title character, played by Lorna Gray. Also on hand is a decidedly pre-Beverly Hillbillies Irene Ryan, who passes herself off as a middle-eastern princess. As thin as gossamer, O, My Darling Clementine will appeal most to C&W buffs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Acuff, Isabel Randolph, (more)
- 1941
In this children's adventure, 30 children and their ponies decide to help a sour-puss miser of a landlord, after he suffers a terrible car crash. The grateful fellow responds by helping to keep their orphanage open. He does this by giving them enough money to stage a rodeo. There the kids do their amazing tricks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Scott, Lois Bridge, (more)
- 1932
Tom Tyler is Singlehanded Sanders in this economical Monogram oater. Tyler plays a small-town blacksmith, whose reckless younger brother casts his lot with a crooked politician. When brother dear steals $5000 from heroine Margaret Morris, Tyler gallantly confesses to the deed. He eventually clears himself by rallying his fellow frontiersmen to form a united front against the villains (guess he's not so "single-handed" after all). Singlehanded Sanders was directed by Charles A. Post, previously the production manager for the Tom Tyler unit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Robert Manning, (more)
