June Clyde Movies

Story of Esther Costello is the cinematic equivalent of eating a whole box of potato chips; you may hate yourself, but you'll relish every bite in the meantime. Joan Crawford plays a well-meaning woman who throws herself whole-hog into every charitable cause that comes down the pike. She is married to Rossano Brazzi, who is as greedy as Crawford is generous. Crawford rescues blind deaf-mute Heather Sears from her squalid surroundings, leading to her creation of a charity campaign on behalf of handicapped children, with Sears as "poster child." Brazzi, in league with crooked promoter Ron Randell, seizes upon this as a means to line his own pocket--and one night, he decides to assert his manhood with the helpless Sears. The shock of this assault causes the girl to instantly regain her sight and hearing! Crawford reacts to her husband's outrage by driving her car into a tree, snuffing out Brazzi's life as well as her own. Sears--or Esther Costello, for she is indeed the title character--finds happiness with an honest young reporter (Lee Patterson). Set in America and released by an American company (Columbia), Story of Esther Costello was nonetheless filmed in its entirety in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled 24 Hours in a Woman's Life, the British Affair in Monte Carlo stars Merle Oberon and Richard Todd. A compulsive gambler, Todd is on the verge of disgrace and ruin. Ms. Oberon makes it her mission in life to save Todd from himself. The story is told from the point of view of worldly writer Leo Genn, who is obviously intended as the alter ego of Stefan Zweig, author of the original novel 24 Hours in a Woman's Life. Whenever the drama bogs down, the viewer is encouraged to revel in the authentic Riviera locations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This comedy is set in an Irish mansion and centers on its enigmatic owner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Crooked newspaper columnist Jeff Mann (James Cardwell), who apparently was blackmailing half the criminal gangs in the city, is murdered in his own office, and a police officer is killed the same night in the alley outside the newspaper's building -- and the prime suspect is the Shadow, the mysterious masked adventurer with the ability to cloud men's minds so they can't see him. The Shadow is, in reality, millionaire playboy and dilettante criminologist Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond), who is about to get married to Margo Lane (Barbara Read); he's vowed to give up being the Shadow, but now he has to investigate this case to clear himself, much to Margo's dismay. Police Inspector Cardona (Joseph Crehan) wants to prove the Shadow committed the murders, and Mann's editor Brad Thomas (Robert Shayne) is calling for the Shadow's blood in his newspaper's editorial pages. This leaves Cranston with his hands full, especially after Margo -- anxious to get him to the altar -- tries to solve the case herself, at one point even masquerading as the Shadow. Between keeping her out of his way and staying ahead of the real culprit, the police, and the gangs that Mann was blackmailing, Cranston and his valet Shrevie (George Chandler) just about get themselves killed a couple of times, amid a string of comedic and mysterious twists that lead right back to the murder scene for the identity of the killer. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Affable comic actor Chick Chandler hadn't had a film starring role in years when Seven Doors to Death was produced in 1944, but the wartime leading-man shortage enabled him to secure top billing in this leisurely comedy/mystery. Chandler plays architect Jimmy McMillan, who designs an exclusive shopping center/apartment building with seven entrances. When a burglary-murder occurs in the building, practically every occupant is suspect, since every one had a convenient avenue of entrance. To find the genuine killer-and incidentally, to clear himself of suspicion-Jimmy plays detective, wandering through the building and mentally reconstructing the crime. Other veteran perfomers parading before the cameras include June Clyde, George Meeker, Gregory Gay, and motorcyle-cop-turned-actor Edgar Dearing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Hollywood "establishment" had been waiting a long time for maverick director Gregory La Cava to fall from grace, and when his Unfinished Business failed to live up to its expectations, La Cava's enemies swooped down like vultures. Seen today, the film is hardly one of the director's best efforts, but neither is it his worst. Irene Dunne stars as aspiring singer Nancy Andrews, who falls desperately in love with playboy Steve Duncan (Preston Foster). When it becomes clear that Steve isn't about to take their casual relationship seriously, Nancy marries his brother Tommy (Robert Montgomery) on the rebound. After a fun-filled honeymoon, the couple can't seem to adjust to the "normalcy" of married life; as a result of this and Nancy's ongoing fascination with older brother Steve, the disillusioned Tommy walks out on her and joins the army. Only when Nancy deals with the "unfinished business" of her unrequited love for Steve can she and Tommy find true happiness. There are many deft LaCava-esque directorial touches in Unfinished Business, but for the most part the film could have been made by any Hollywood director; still, the film does not deserve its current tarnished reputation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There's something very odd about Romano (John Litel), a notorious gangster serving time in the federal pen. For one thing, Romano doesn't sound much like himself. For another, he always seems to be hiding something. Detective Lee (William Gargan) suspects that something's amiss, and he's right: the man calling himself Romano is actually a hired double, placed behind bars so that the real Romano can go about his business undetected. A pedestrian effort, Sealed Lips is distinguished by the excellent cinematography of Stanley Cortez (still one year away from Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons) and the spirited peformance of musical-comedy favorite June Clyde as an inquiring girl reporter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this farce, a loosely moraled chorine gets involved with a married man and the fiancé of the man's daughter. The real mayhem ensues when the girl is hired to entertain at the bachelor party and discovers that most of the men there have been close, personal friends of hers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an actor bets a publisher that he can completely disappear for an entire week. While on vacation at a resort, he meets his exact double, who is a handyman, and the two exchange places. It is all quite successful until the real actor lets a cub-reporter spill the beans so the lad can get the reward and marry his true love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Silent-film leading man (and third husband of Mary Pickford) Charles "Buddy" Rogers was a popular band leader at the time he appeared in the British Let's Make a Night of It. Here's the deal: Buddy owns a nightclub; his wife June Clyde runs a rival night spot. That's about it for the plot. The main attraction of Let's Make a Night of It is its cornucopia of guest stars, including impressionist Afrique, legendary Yiddish stage star Molly Picon, and band leaders Jack Jackson, Jack Harris, Sydney Lipton, Joe Loss, Eddie Carroll, Harry Acres and Rudy Starita (all major names on the British entertainment scene of 1937). Let's Make a Night of It was inspired by Henrik N. Ege's radio play The Silver Spoon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The enigmatic Charles Frank, who wrote and directed several fascinating British productions before seemingly falling off the face of the earth, was responsible for this Jean Cocteau adaptation (the Cocteau original was previously filmed in France). Stripped down to essentials, the plot centers around George (Harold Warrender), who while married to Yvonne (Marian Spencer), keeps Madeleine (Marian Spencer) as a mistress. George's young son Michael (Russell Enoch), already in the formative stages of an Oedipus complex, falls in love with Madeleine. Yvonne is torn between keeping her son from going astray and preventing his unnatural mother fixation from getting out of hand. The fifth character is the exposition-spouting aunt Leonie (Ruth Dunning) who tries to smooth over her family's problems--and to overcome her own carnal desires. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

British orchestra leader Jack Hylton, whose popularity in his own country eclipsed that of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller in America, stars in She Shall Have Music. The unusually serious plotline finds Hylton mixed up in corporate intrigue on board a luxury liner. A millionaire hires the bandleader for a nightly broadcast emanating from the ship, but this project is sabotaged by the millionaire's rival. All eventually turns out for the best, while Jack Hylton appears to be having fun sharing the screen with an endless parade of guest performers. The leading lady in She Shall Have Music is June Clyde, an American musical-comedy favorite who spent most of her film career in England. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide