Phyllis Clare Movies
- 1938
Hoping to build up contract players Charles Quigley and Rita Hayworth into a viable screen team, Columbia Pictures rushed the actors from one "B" production to another. Convicted tells the story of a diligent detective named Burns (Quigley) who is forced to arrest Chick Wheeler (Edgar Edwards), brother of Burns' sweetheart Jerry Wheeler (Hayworth), for murder. The more he thinks about it, the more Burns is convinced that Chick is innocent. With Jerry's help, Burns tracks down the genuine miscreant in the nightclub where the heroine works. Supporting player Edgar Edwards also adapted the screenplay of Convicted from a story by suspense master Cornell Woolrich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Quigley, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1936
In this polished soap opera from MGM, Robert Taylor plays Chris Claybourne, a dedicated scientist researching a possible cure for spotted fever. However, Chris has a dark side; he has a weakness for gambling and has fallen into debt with a gangster named Fish Eye (Joseph Calleia). While visiting a casino, Chris meets Rita Wilson (Barbara Stanwyck), a gambler's shill who does some modeling on the side. Chris and Rita quickly fall in love, and when Chris is due to leave for South America on a research expedition, Rita begs him to stay with her. However, Fish Eye has been leaning on Chris for his money, and when he asks his brother Tom (John Eldridge) for a loan to pay off the debt, he agrees under one condition -- that Chris leave for South America right away, and without Rita. When Chris ships out, Rita believes that he left her behind because he didn't care for her, and to hurt him, she marries Tom and takes Chris's IOU. However, by the time Chris returns, Rita's marriage with Tom is in tatters and she's desperate to win back Chris's affection. In real life, Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck were an item while shooting His Brother's Wife, and they married three years later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, (more)
- 1936
In this drama, a British journalist is invited to be a guest journalist with a Chicago paper. He is en route to the Windy City aboard a ship when he mistakenly identifies some passengers as dangerous criminals. The addled reporter then mistakes an heiress for a cabaret singer resulting in the abduction of the real singer by the real crooks. Fortunately, the journalist saves the girl, but ends up missing a big scoop. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Ronald Colman plays Robert Clive, a true-life 18th century Britisher who works up the ranks to become leader of Britain's military forces in India. Though produced on a superficially lavish scale, the film inexpensively sidesteps several of Clive's more famous battles with Indian insurrectionists, relegating them to offscreen events described by subtitles. The notorious Sepoy Mutiny "Black Hole of Calcutta" incident, hardly a costly event to recreate, is faithfully presented. In real life, Clive was ruined by a trial in the House of Commons, after which he suffered a nervous breakdown and committed suicide. The film tactfully closes on the trial and Clive's reunion with his faithful wife (Loretta Young). Typically jingoistic in its "White Man's Burden" approach to East Indian affairs, Clive of India is best viewed in context of the time it was filmed (1935), when the sun still hadn't set on the British Empire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1935
In this comedy, a railroad stoker and his best buddy, the train's conductor make friends with a young apprentice. the son of the railway chairman. It is they who save the rambunctious lad from the clutches of a greedy gold digger. The film was later retitled Shovel up a Bit More Coal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1934
Originally titled Aunt Sally, Along Came Sally is one of many cheerful musical vehicles for the delightful British film fave Cicely Courtneidge. Courtneidge plays a dual role here: an aspiring nightclub singer and a famous French stage star. In the latter guise, she foils a gang of American racketeers who intend to take over the cabaret where she works. Director Tim Whelan cowrote the script for Along Came Sally with, among others, noted stage lyricist/librettist Guy Bolton. The film was released in Great Britain in 1933, then was unleashed in America one year later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dame Cicely Courtneidge, Sam Hardy, (more)
- 1934
In this British crime drama, a nightclub chorine jilts her old boyfriend, a musician, in favor of a new fiancé. Not long after, her new love is murdered. Although the prime suspect is the musician, he is not the guilty party. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this drama a shy music teacher attempts to become more outgoing by taking a "How to Succeed" course. Later his girlfriend's father puts him in charge of his hotel. Trouble ensues when the establishment's books do not add up and the quiet fellow is accused of embezzling. The shy guy proves his innocence when he catches his accountant doing the dirty deed himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1933
The perfect poisoning is the basis of this crime drama. So pleased is the killer by his own brilliant scheme, that he explains the whole thing to his victim who points out the one big flaw in the plan. The would-be killer is so distraught that the victim convinces him to take the poison himself. He does so and dies. Meanwhile, the victim takes an antidote and goes on to live a long, happy life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
An eager cub reporter visits a roadhouse, stumbles across a corpse and decides to drum up a little notoriety for himself by pretending to make it look as if he were the killer. He then plans to write a series of articles chronicling his experiences with the courts. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, he made the evidence look too real and he is sent to prison until the real crook is apprehended. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Linden, Bruce Cabot, (more)
