Roger Daniel
- 1943
This patriotic WW II-era bit of anti-Japanese propaganda centers on a white Texas college student who becomes such good friends with Japanese students on campus that he goes to their country after he is wrongfully accused of being a traitor. All this happened before the U.S. declared war on Japan. After the war begins, the fellow willingly makes pro-Japanese radio broadcasts. Fortunately, the fellow turns out to be a red-blooded American boy through and through and thanks to him, the Japanese are rendered helpless by the end of the film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Quine, Noah Beery, Jr., (more)
- 1941
Number ten in MGM's heart-warming (and immensely profitable) "Andy Hardy" series was the 1941 entry Life Begins for Andy Hardy. Upon his graduation from high school, Andy (Mickey Rooney) decides to seek his fortune in New York City without benefit of a college education, much to the consternation of his father Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone). Moving to the Big Apple, Andy lands a job in a stockbroker's office, where he falls in love (at least he thinks it's love) with fickle telephone operator Jennitt Hicks (Patricia Dane). Alas, Andy is unable to cope with life in the fast lane, but it takes the combined efforts of his father and his hometown sweetie Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) to convince him of this fact. For reasons that defy logic, each of Judy Garland's four songs in Life Begins for Andy Hardy were cut from the final release print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, (more)
- 1940
In this musical comedy, two rival sisters, one plain-but-good-hearted, and one a gorgeous manipulator, compete for the love of a handsome man. They are assisted by their pretty cousin who is involved in a tempestuous engagement. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1939
A remake of Racetrack, King of the Turf stars Adolphe Menjou as a seedy, alcoholic bookie with a long-dormant streak of decency. Roger Daniel is a young stable boy whom Menjou befriends and offers advice. The bookie and the stable boy purchase a racehorse, with Daniel training to be a top jockey in order to ride the horse to victory. When Menjou's ex-wife (Dolores Costello) arrives on the scene, she reveals that Daniel is in fact Menjou's son, who'd run away from home to pursue a racetrack career. She begs Menjou not to allow the boy to throw away his life--and not to reveal the truth behind their relationship. The next day, Menjou gets good and drunk and orders Daniel to throw a crucial race. The disillusioned boy does so, is disqualified for life, and turns his back on Menjou. Never realizing the true identity of his fallen idol, Daniel returns to his mother, while Menjou, having done the "right thing," disappears into the crowd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Roger Daniel, (more)
- 1938
Boy Slaves is an effective indictment of the exploitation of reform school labor. Several troublesome boys are offered an opportunity to work on a turpentine farm run by the seemingly benign Charles Lane, with the promise that their good behavior will ensure their early release from the reformatory. But the kids soon learn that they're little more than slaves, toiling at a dangerous job for free while Lane grows rich on their labors. After numerous tragedies, the boys are finally able to relay the facts to the outside world, and Lane is brought to justice. Based on several true accounts of Southern work farms, Boy Slaves managed to overcome the lurid nature of its title with the sincerity of its storytelling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Shirley, Roger Daniel, (more)
