Tom Barry Movies

In this suspenseful WW II thriller, the hard-bitten commander of a British battleship stationed in Alexandria Harbor early in the war must force two captured Italian frogmen to tell him whether or not they planted time-bombs upon the ship's hull. The captives are uncooperative and the captain has them wait with the crew for the ship to explode. The minutes tick by and the increasingly nervous British sailors begin questioning their leader's judgment. Eventually, one of the hostages cracks and tells them that there is one mine, but he refuses to divulge its location or the time of detonation. The captain evacuates the ship and leaves the prisoners behind. He remains aboard and surreptitiously eavesdrops upon them. When he learns the mine's location, he attempts to have the bomb removed. Unfortunately he is too late and the ship is badly damaged. Desiring to fool the Italian reconnaissance planes he knows will come, the captain puts most of his crew on deck to make the Italian fliers think their mission failed. Meanwhile other crewmen frantically try to repair the ruined hull below deck. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

James Whale's Wives Under Suspicion is remake of Whale's own 1933 production A Kiss Before the Mirror, with a few noticeable concessions for the more militant censors of 1938. District attorney Jim Stowell (Warren William) is convinced that every murder should be sentenced to the electric chair, regardless of motive or circumstances. He remains steadfast in this belief as he prosecutes an elderly professor (Ralph Morgan) for murdering his wife in a fit of jealous rage. But while relaxing at home one evening in the company of his lovely but somewhat neglected young wife Lucy (Gail Patrick), Stowell's own jealousy is aroused by Lucy's response to the innocent attentions of young family friend Phil (William Lundigan). As the days pass, Stowell cannot suppress his own urge to kill his wife and her supposed lover. An eleventh-hour plot twist prevents him from making the same mistake as the old professor-and also gives him a new perspective on the quality of mercy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whenever a vaudeville comic of the 1920s wanted to get a quick laugh, he'd announce to his audience "Next Week: East Lynne." To many playgoers, this hoary stage adaptation of Mrs. Henry Wood's 1861 novel represented the height of Victorian nonesuch. Still, there were several silent film versions of East Lynne, all of which made money. 1931 yielded no fewer than two adaptations, one set in modern times and retitled Ex-Flame. Fox Studios' version restored the original title and the 1860s setting, but couldn't do much with that creaky plot. Ann Harding portrays Lady Isabel Carlisle, who nearly a decade of family hardships learns that her son has fallen ill. Despite being nearly blind as the result of a bomb explosion, Lady Carlisle returns home to see her son one last time--just before dying herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Belle Bennett, the star of the 1925 version of Stella Dallas, once again goes the "long-suffering" route in Warner Bros.' Courage. Bennett plays Mary Colbrook, the widowed mother of a large and rambunctious brood. All but one of her seven kids have inherited her late husband's nasty, selfish traits: the seventh is her loyal and loving youngest son Bill (Leon Janney). As it turns out, Bill saves the Colbrooks from financial ruin when the family's reclusive next-door neighbor, who didn't have a friend in town except Bill, wills him her entire fortune. Now free from her debts, Mary is able at long last to head westward, into the arms of her childhood sweetheart -- the man whom, some have whispered, is Bill's real father. Courage was remade in 1938 as the Kay Francis weeper My Bill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A murder trial provides the setting of this drama that presents, via flashback, three very different versions and motives of the killing. According to the prosecution, the deceased's sexy (and very much married) mistress is behind the murder. The defense asserts that the woman's lover killed himself because she would not give into his demands. Unfortunately, neither side is correct. Fortunately, the real culprit confesses in court at the very last minute. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Forty-five-year-old Irish tenor John McCormack made his screen debut in Song o' My Heart. Fans of McCormack would have been satisfied if their idol had simply sung his way through the film's 85 minutes, but Fox Studios insisted on a plotline. The star plays Sean O'Callaghan, a world-renowned singer who gives up his career when his sweetheart Mary O'Brien (Alice Joyce) is forced to marry another. Years later, Mary is deserted by her husband and eventually dies of grief. Still carrying a torch for his lost love, Sean assumes the task of looking after Mary's two children. The kids are played by 11-year-old Tommy Clifford and 19-year-old Maureen O'Sullivan, the latter also making her first film appearance. Lensed partly on location in Ireland, the film provides plenty of opportunity for good old-fashioned blarney, as well as moments of honest sentiment, as when McCormick sings his signature tune "Little Boy Blue" (one of eleven musical highlights). It's hardly a coincidence that Song o' My Heart was released just before St. Patrick's Day, 1930. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide