Herbert Corthell Movies

Freely adapted from a successful Broadway musical by Moss Hart, this story stars Ginger Rogers as Liza Elliott, the editor of a popular fashion magazine. Despite her beauty, wealth, and success in business, Liza is unhappy and out of sorts. And while three men are vying for her affections -- advertising director Charley Johnson (Ray Milland), newly single Kendall Nesbitt (Warner Baxter), and youthful and handsome Randy Curtis (Jon Hall) -- Liza has been unlucky in love, and she feels that she's come to the end of her emotional rope. She begins seeing Dr. Brooks (Barry Sullivan) in hopes of resolving her emotional crises and finding happiness, and her self-searching explorations of her past take the form of a handful of musical numbers. While the stage version of Lady in the Dark featured songs written by the estimable team of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, several of them were replaced for this screen adaptation; "The Saga of Jenny", "One Life to Love", and "Girl of the Moment" were the most notable among the Weill/Gershwin tunes that survived the editing process. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a plucky young woman launches a successful campaign and becomes mayor of her tiny hometown. Now she must also rid her town of rampant corruption and get it back on track. Songs include: "If You Are There," "You're the Fondest Thing I Am Of," "I'm Not Myself Anymore" (Ned Washington, Phil Ohman), "Sleepy Lagoon" (Jack Lawrence, Eric Coates), "I'm On My Way," "I Do" (Buddy Pepper, Inez James), "Take It And Git" (James T. Marshall, Johnny Green). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Orson Welles first feature film -- which he directed, produced, and co-wrote, as well as playing the title role -- proved to be his most important and influential work, a ground-breaking drama loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst which is frequently cited as the finest American film ever made. Aging newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) dies in his sprawling Florida estate after uttering a single, enigmatic final word -- "Rosebud" -- and newsreel producer Rawlston (Phil Van Zandt) sends reporter Jerry Thompson (William Alland) out with the assignment of uncovering the meaning behind the great man's dying thought. As Thompson interviews Kane's friends, family, and associates, we learn the facts of Kane's eventful and ultimately tragic life: his abandonment by his parents (Agnes Moorehead and Harry Shannon) after he becomes the heir to a silver mine; his angry conflicts with his guardian, master financier Walter Parks Thatcher (George Coulouris); his impulsive decision that "it would be fun to run a newspaper" with the help of school chum Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten) and loyal assistant Mr. Bernstein (Everett Sloane); his rise from scandal sheet publisher to the owner of America's largest and most influential newspaper chain; his marriage to socially prominent Emily Norton (Ruth Warrick), whose uncle is the President of the United States; Kane's ambitious bid for public office, which is dashed along with his marriage when his opponent, corrupt political boss Jim Gettys (Ray Collins), reveals that Kane is having an affair with aspiring vocalist Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore); Kane's vain attempts to promote second wife Alexander as an opera star; and his final, self-imposed exile to a massive and never-completed pleasure palace called Xanadu. While Citizen Kane was a film full of distinguished debuts -- along with Welles, it was the first feature for Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, and Ruth Warrick -- the only Academy Award it received was for Best Original Screenplay, for which Welles shared credit with veteran screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this mildly entertaining Tex Ritter music Western, a crooked attorney, Watkins (Harry Harvey), attempts to drive the ranchers off their land by depriving them of water. Rancher Lawson (Herbert Corthell) takes matters into his own hands and aligns himself with Tex. In retaliation, Watkins' patsies Haines (Charles King) and Sheriff Slim (Hank Worden) accuse Tex of murder but he manages to get away with the assistance of Betty Lawson (Dorothy Fay). The villains quickly seize Lawson, who is also accused of a non-existent crime. About to be lynched, Lawson is rescued in the nick of time by Tex and his sidekick, Missouri (Horace Murphy), who force Watkins to confess his misdeeds. Rollin' Westward was the third of four Westerns teaming Ritter with his future wife, Dorothy Fay. A former radio crooner, Ritter sang Westward, by Ted Choate and Bert Pellis; Back in '67, by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter, and Out in the Golden West, by Rudy Sooter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Robert Wilcox stars in Man in Blue as Frankie, a gangster's son. Frankie has been raised since childhood by Officer Martin Dunne (Edward Ellis), the cop who killed his father. About to join the force himself, Frankie is enticed into a life of crime by his con-artist uncle Willie Loomis (Richard Carle). After paying his debt to society in prison, our hero is redeemed by the love of heroine June Hanson (Nan Grey). Billy Burrud, a busy if not familiar juvenile actor, does a nice turn as the younger Frankie. Fairly conventional for the most part, Man in Blue is elevated by a powerhouse finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An uneven mix of '30s crook melodrama and Rose Marie-inspired mountie romance, Renfrew of the Royal Mounted of radio fame came to the screen in 1937, courtesy of the founder of Grand National, Edward L. Alperson. Chosen to play the strapping title role was James Newill, a Nelson Eddy wannabe whose introduction number, "Mounted Men," was almost a carbon copy of "Stout Hearted Men." Newill's Renfrew is assigned to look into a counterfeiting ring operating on the Canadian border with the United States. The ring is headed by lodge owner George Poulis (William Royle), who is coercing convicted engraver James Bronson (Herbert Corthell) into working for him. When Bronson's daughter, Virginia (Carol Hughes), discovers the truth, she convinces the engraver to flee. Renfrew, who has been chasing the crooks on horseback and by airplane, eventually saves the Bronsons from perishing in a meat locker. Filmed in Grand National's studios on Santa Monica Boulevard and at Big Bear Lake, CA, Renfrew of the Royal Mounted proved popular enough to warrant a series. Grand National collapsed two years later but the series was picked up by Monogram and a total of eight Renfrew movies were ultimately released. A former singer on the Burns & Allen radio program, James Newill later went on to co-star in PRC's "trio" series Texas Rangers, where he was reunited with Dave "Tex" O'Brien, who had played one of the crooks in Renfrew of the Royal Mounted. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

"Every time Paul Muni parts his beard and looks through a microscope, we lose a million dollars." Producer Jack Warner's lament concerning Muni's historical dramas is cute enough, but hardly backed up by facts; the economically produced The Story of Louis Pasteur proved to be a surprise hit for the Brothers Warner. The Sheridan Gibney-Pierre Collings screenplay concentrates on Pasteur's tireless efforts to find a cure for anthrax and hydrophobia. The famed French scientist is continually challenged and thwarted by his principal rival, hidebound bacteriologist Dr. Charbonnet (Fritz Leiber). The film's climax, involving a desperate Pasteur, the immovable Charbonnet, Pasteur's ailing daughter (Anita Louise), and a hydrophobia-infected youngster (Dickie Moore), is straight out of the Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight school of melodrama. Within the film's context, however, this contrivance works magnificently. Virtually thrown away by Warners upon its first release, The Story of Louis Pasteur was finally awarded class-A treatment when the picture proved to be favorite with audiences and critics alike; Paul Muni's Academy Award win was the mere icing on the cake. The film's success led to Warners' decision to go ahead with 1937's The Life of Emile Zola, also starring Muni. This time, the studio copped its first Best Picture Oscar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama a young boxer joins the police department so he can use their high-quality gymnasium. In time, he comes to like law enforcement. He also falls in love. During the film's climax he breaks up a neighborhood mob, saves two cops in a hostage situation, and wins his girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted by director Paul Sloan from the novel by Will James, Lone Cowboy is an "outdoors" epic tailored to the talents of young Jackie Cooper. Actually the title character is not played by Cooper but by character actor Addison Richards, cast as a grizzled old rodeo rider named Dobe Jones. Placed in charge of Eastern lad Scooter O'Neal (Cooper), Dobe forms a strong friendship with the kid, but this does not dissuade him from his main purpose in life -- to track down his runaway wife Eleanor (Lila Lee) and her lover Jim Weston (Gavin Gordon). Finally catching up to the errant couple, Dobe shoots and kills Weston, a violent outburst that also seriously wounds Scooter. Evidently a more sombre ending was planned for Lone Cowboy than the hastily tacked-on happy denouement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Female executive Doris (Genevieve Tobin) is hardly "uncertain" in the business world, but she's not so secure in her home life. In fact, it looks as though Doris will lose her husband Bruce (Paul Cavanaugh) to the scheming Myra. To avoid this, she hires Elliot (Edward Everett Horton) as a "cardboard lover" to arouse Bruce's dormant passions. Things don't quite work out as planned, but Myra doesn't exactly win out either. The flawless comic acting of Edward Everett Horton helps take the audience's mind off the cliches inherent in this by-the-numbers marital farce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Young football hero Jim Fowler (Robert Young) isn't in it for the love of the game. The hardworking young man is simply using the sport as a means to help him pay for school, and doesn't consider it any different from the laundry service he runs in his spare time. Rather than stroking his ego, the constant onslaught of football fanatics and sports reporters disgust Jim (Young) to the extent that his football coach (Joe Sawyer) tells old football chums--Jim's father Ezra (Grant Mitchell) and the father of Jim's girlfriend--about the star player's erratic behavior. The men, being passionate football fans themselves, are saddened by Jim's lackluster attitude towards the game. Convinced that people only respect him because of his skills on the field, Jim distances himself from Joan (Leila Hyams), his girlfriend, and seeks out a woman he believes knows nothing about football or his role in it. To his surprise, however, she not only knows of his career, but blackmails him to throw the game. When he refuses, her husband breaks Jim's hand. Suddenly inspired, Jim refuses to let the coach know about his condition and heroically takes to the field with a new perspective. Regardless of whether the big game is one or lost, Jim realizes that his teammates, being true friends after all, would rather lose with him than win without him. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Distantly related to Frederick Lewis Allen's non-fiction book of the same name, Only Yesterday uses fictional characters to trace the years between 1917 and 1929. Wealthy New Yorker John Boles recalls a long-ago affair with southern belle Margaret Sullavan. She gave birth to his child without ever naming the father, then moved to New York herself and set up a dress shop. As the stock-market crash of 1929 wipes out his life savings, Boles becomes remorseful over how he's forgotten Sullavan, who is now dying. He acknowledges that he is the father of her child, and promises to make a good life for the boy despite his dire financial situation. Only Yesterday opens with a remarkable montage sequence showing the devastating effects of the Depression; after that, it never quite gains momentum despite the superb performance of Margaret Sullavan (in her film debut). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stage actor Alfred Lunt makes one of his rare screen appearances in this light comedy, based on the novel by Allen Updegraff. Rowland Farwell Francis (Lunt) is a retiring silk salesman at a department store. His reticent demeanor doesn't stop his widowed landlady, Mrs. Benson (Jobyna Howland) and his stenographer from considering him to be husband material. These women don't get Francis' attention, however -- and he falls for the wealthy Anne Winton (Mimi Palmeri), who he meets over the silk counter. Of course, he's too shy to do anything about it, and hat's the way it would probably have stayed if Anne's brother-in-law hadn't dared her to invite a man out to supper. She takes the dare and shows Francis such a good time that he becomes an aggressive and virile lover who wins her heart. He also lands a promotion to assistant buyer. Although the other ladies lose their chance with Francis, they still manage to win mates of their own. Lunt's wife and stage partner, Lynn Fontanne, appears in a bit role. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide