Bradley King Movies

A man's addiction to gambling almost destroys his life in this racetrack adventure. Joe Grange is nearly broke when he buys an ailing colt and brings it back to health. He then turns the horse into a promising champion. During the big race, Joe places a large amount of money upon the horse. It wins him a fortune, but his wife is still unhappy because he has neglected her in favor of his obsession. She takes off and his lucky streak ends. Soon he has nothing left but his retired horse. Desperate for cash, he brings the horse back to the track, wagers one final bet, and hopes for the best. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Charles Dickens' unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, has been a source of speculation and controversy ever since its posthumous publication. Even so, the ending concocted by scenarists John Balderston and Gladys Unger for the 1935 film version of Edwin Drood met with near-unanimous approval from Dickens buffs, who felt that Balderston and Unger had remained faithful to the author's original intention. Claude Rains stars as John Jasper, the seemingly respectable choirmaster of Cloisterham Cathedral. What no one suspects is that Jasper is an opium addict, given to fits of paranoia and jealousy. Pushing him over the edge is the fact that his beautiful ward, Rosa Bud (Heather Angel), has fallen in love with handsome Edwin Drood (David Manners). That Drood is murdered by Jasper is made abundantly clear: it is the mystery of how he was murdered and how Jasper disposed of the body that holds the viewer's interest. The film's relatively short running time required the screenwriters to drop several of Dickens' more colorful supporting characters: of those retained, Francis L. Sullivan is a standout as Mr. Crisparkle. The Mystery of Edwin Drood was transformed into a Broadway musical in 1980s (which offered several alternate endings), then was refilmed in 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having struck gold in 1934 with Grace Moore's One Night of Love, Columbia Pictures hoped to do the same with international favorite Lillian Harvey in Let's Live Tonight. The story concentrates on a romantic triangle, with millionaire Nick Kerry (Tulio Carminati) and his brother Brian (Hugh Williams) both in love with gorgeous Kay Routledge (Harvey). One glance at the billing order should tip off which of the two brothers wins the heroine in the final reel. Oddly, the loser is the most sympathetic character in the film -- even more so than Kay, who comes across as charmingly cold-blooded. Director Victor Schertzinger, who'd previously helmed One Night of Love (in which Carminati also co-starred), also wrote the songs for Let's Live Tonight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama a Lower East Side doctor struggles to earn enough money to pay for his son's tuition in a prestigious European medical school. The doctor, who raised the boy alone following his wife's death, dreams that the boy will join his humble practice and help the poor receive proper treatment. Unfortunately, his son has other plan and as soon as he returns with his new degree tells his father that he plans to work on Park Avenue where the real money is so he can impress his high-bred girl friend. Later, the boy gets caught aiding a wounded gangster. To protect his son, the father takes the blame and ends up losing his practice. After the disgraced doc dies of shame, his son feels intense guilt and remorse. This spurs him to leave his girl friend and the high life to resume his father's practice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A starry-eyed girl marries an impoverished but talented young writer. Though easily frustrated and given to temperamental outbursts, the wife's presence soothes him and their marriage is happy. Then she gives birth to their daughter. The child grows up to be a mischief maker and this causes the break up of the marriage. Following the divorce, the woman marries a wealthy man. Many years pass before the former lovers meet again. With both in more stable circumstances, it doesn't take long for their old love to reemerge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Even before the Fox Studios merged with 20th Century Productions in 1935, the company was dedicated to the proposition that three leading ladies were better than one. The "Three Girls Lost" of the title are played by Loretta Young, Joyce Compton and Joan Marsh. Lovely Loretta and wisecracking Joyce do all right by themselves when they leave their home town for wicked old Chicago. Alas, Joan falls in with thieves and sharpsters, forcing the other two girls to help her out. Of particular interest is the presence in the cast of 24-year-old John Wayne, amusingly miscast as a well-groomed socialite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama is set during Prohibition and follows the exploits of a spoiled brat with overly permissive parents. He soaks them for as much money has he can get and then squanders the money in an illicit speak-easy where he has fallen for the lovely singer. Unfortunately, she is a gangster's moll. The gangster befriends the smitten youth with the ulterior motive of using him as the pigeon in a murder he just committed. When his mother learns about the mess, she turns her own son over to the cops. Fortunately, the youth goes before a stern, but kind-hearted judge who suspends the sentence, but not before delivering a serious message. The chastened youth vows to put his hard-drinking, rebellious days behind him and goes on to lead a productive life. Keep a sharp eye out for Bela Lugosi in a small part. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a story by Rex Beach, Son of the Gods stars Richard Barthelmess as Sam Lee, a young Chinese-American, anxious to distance himself from his oriental heredity. While travelling throughout the world, Sam falls in love with wealthy white girl Allana (Constance Bennett). He chooses not to tell her about his Chinese ancestors -- a wise decision, as it turns out, since she mercilessly lambastes him with a stream of hateful racist epithets when she does learn the truth. Only after she walks out on him does Sam discover that he hasn't a drop of Chinese blood after all. Even so, he now despises the entire white race and vows revenge against the woman who so viciously spurned him. But when Allana finds out that he's a racially "acceptable" sweetheart, the two fall in love all over again! Modern-day viewers who may find the denouement of Son of the Gods both offensive and unbelievable can take comfort in the fact that reviewers in 1930 experienced a similar reaction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A love triangle between two twin brothers and a lovely young woman provides the framework for this drama (it was the first talkie to feature an actor in a dual role). One of the brothers is a policeman; the other belongs to a band of robbers working the garment district. The cop has orders to shoot the robbers on sight. He warns his evil twin to stay away from the garment district. The twin tells him to stay out of there too. They ignore each other's advice. More trouble ensues when the bad brother abducts the other, steals his uniform, and then gets himself killed. He does this to save his other brother who gets the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, an elevator operator in a big hotel gets in big trouble after he and a chambermaid are found in a guest's suite. Though they had good reason to be in there, they are charged with breaking and entering. The story has an unexpected twist at the end. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this actioner, a sea captain saves a Shanghai whore who is being tossed out of town. He puts her on board and heads out to sea; unfortunately, the ship sinks and the two are trapped on a lifeboat until they are found by a ship filled with tough mutineers whom the hero quickly fights, thereby saving the other ship's captain and daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Even as his parent studio MGM was gearing up for talkies, popular western star Tim McCoy ground out four silent vehicles during 1929. The second of the four was Morgan's Last Raid, in which McCoy's romantic vis-a-vis was busy MGM contractee Dorothy Sebastian. Conscripted into the Union army during the Civil War, Tennessee-born Capt. Clairbourne (Tim McCoy) is branded a coward when he refuses to fight opposite his friends and neighbors. This puts Clairbourne on the outs with his Yankee sweetheart Judith Rogers (Sebastian). But when Clairbourne joins a Confederate guerilla group called Morgan's Raiders and saves Judith's life, she sings a different tune. Allan Garcia, best remembered as the snooty butler in Chaplin's City Lights, plays Morgan, while another City Lights supporting player, Hank Mann, provides comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

German actress Lena Malena starred in this lavishly budgeted and potentially intriguing melodrama about the influence of a valuable gem on its owners. In South Africa, a miner (Charles Stevens) loses his life after stealing a valuable diamond. Before he expires, he gives the stone to Musa (Malena), a girl from the village. Now known as the Shah Diamond, the gem turns up in New York City, where it is admired by Cecile (Gwen Lee), a socialite. When Cecile's lover Jerry (John Roche) buys her the stone, her husband John (Conrad Nagel) leaves in a fit of jealousy. Cecile, however, mistakes the gem for a valueless glass trinket and gives it to her maid, Musa. Next, the diamond turns up in a speakeasy, where it is admired by Tillie (Eleanor Boardman), the owner's girlfriend who is suffering from tuberculosis. An admirer, Larry (Lawrence Gray), secretly gives the girl money for treatment, but she instead buys the diamond. There is a police raid and Musa, now a dancing girl, is shot attempting to retrieve the diamond. Diamond Handcuffs was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions, an organization founded by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide