Harry Davenport Movies

Although this brutal story of the sea was not written by Jack London, it clearly was inspired by the author's books. Captain John Waverlie (Harry T. Morey) tries to save his sister Minnie (Edith Storey), who has been badly used and become a drug addict. In spite of his care, however, she dies. The ship owner's daughter, Irene, falls in love with Waverlie, but since he's too much of a gentleman to acknowledge her attention, she turns to Sargent, a lawyer (Harry Northrup), instead. Waverlie recognizes him as the man who ruined his sister, and undergoes an operation to change his appearance. He takes command of a ship and mans with a rough pair of mates. Among the men he has shanghaied for the crew are his two enemies, Glasgow Mike and Sargent. Waverlie makes sure these two are treated as cruelly as possible, and Mike blames Sargent for their predicament. Sargent kills Mike in a fight and is put in irons. One of the mates fatally wounds Sargent and this is when Waverlie takes the opportunity to reveal his true identity and denounce him for ruining Minnie. He then leaves the lawyer to die with photos of Minnie, Irene and himself nearby. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

After his wife has run off with another man, New Yorker Bide Bennington (Lionel Barrymore) decides to stay in Europe. After hearing of his wife's death years later, he returns home but finds it lonely there and heads West. While he is gone his house is robbed, and the leader of the crooks, Richard Glendon (Harry S. Northrup), leaves Bennington's coat and identification on an East River pier. The newspapers pick up on this and announce Bennington's "suicide." Since he is now officially deceased, Bennington decides to start life all over again -- but first he must foil a scheme by a gang of con artists, who have forced pretty Constance Brent (Evelyn Brent) to pose as Bennington's widow so that they can lay claim to his estate. After routing the crooks, Bennington falls in love with the phony widow -- who turns out to be a "nice kid" withal -- and with his marriage to the girl he returns triumphantly to the Land of the Living. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Friends William Ramsdell (Robert Warwick) and DeWitt Clinton (Earl Schenck) both love the same girl, Virginia Farrell (Gail Kane). The rich and spoiled Clinton has a valet, Byron (Louis Edgard), who does his bidding. At his command, he dopes Ramsdell to disgrace him in front of Virginia's family -- proving that Clinton isn't such a great friend after all. The plot works and the heart-broken Virginia agrees to marry Clinton. Ramsdell, meanwhile, goes to work in a lumber camp and works his way up to foreman. Clinton and Virginia come there for the summer, and a fight ensues between the two men. It's ended when the valet, fed up with Clinton's evil ways, shoots him and then kills himself. Virginia, who now knows the truth, is free to be with Ramsdell. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Alice Brady plays a farm girl who marries the son of her next-door neighbor. Her dreams of a gay social whirl are shattered when her husband takes a job as a railway station agent in a lonely prairie outpost. Desperate for companionship, she begins an affair with the railroad president's son, unaware at first that her lover is likewise married. Leaving her husband, Brady heads to Chicago, hoping that her new sweetheart will find her a job. He does, but only so he can keep her "in reserve" whenever his wife is out of town. Upon discovering that her protector is a philanderer, Brady tries to escape his clutches, but he refuses to let her go. The heroine is rescued by the unexpected appearance of her own husband, who thoroughly trounces the lover and forgives his wife all past indiscretions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Elisha Cook Jr. made his screen debut in this early exploitation talkie from De Forest Phonofilm. Cook and Pauline Drake appear as innocent lovers who can only stand by and watch while their friend Dorothy Kennedy (Adele Ronson) becomes pregnant by careless Jack Conover (Paul Clare). When Jack refuses to marry her, Dorothy seeks an abortion from the kindhearted Dr. Remington (Harry Davenport), who instead notifies her mother (Frances Underwood). Meanwhile, Jack learns that his domineering aunt (Doris Rankin), is actually his mother and has a complete change of heart, proposing to Dorothy. Produced in New York City, Her Unborn Child also marked the screen debut of venerable Broadway actor Harry Davenport. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a remake of Sal of Singapore(1929), the captain of a freighter becomes an instant father when his crew rescues a drifting Navy boat that contains a baby. The captain decides that he will keep the baby and take it back to the U.S. instead of turning it in to the authorities. He begins advertising for a "mother" for the baby to help him while he runs the ship. His call is answered by a woman with a dubious, secret past. During the interview she lies about her character and qualifications and gets the job and a free cruise to the States. It is smooth sailing until one of the sailors recognizes her and attempts to blackmail her into sleeping with him. Fortunately, the captain rescues her and tosses the loutish seaman into the sea. The woman immediately falls for the good captain who has also fallen for her. They encounter more rough seas when, upon docking in New York, the captain is arrested for attempted murder. The woman becomes his witness, but when he learns the truth about her, he loses his respect and they go their separate ways. She again becomes a loose woman, and he begins to drink heavily. When the baby gets deathly ill, the two are reunited--this time it is for good, and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This modern "Flying Dutchman" story stars actor/playwright Noel Coward as a class-A heel. Coward uses his position as a powerful publisher to break as many hearts as is humanly possible. When Coward does his usual hatchet job on poet Julie Haydon, she plants a curse on his head, praying that he'll die and that no one will mourn him. Within the week, Coward is killed in a plane crash. Slated for Purgatory, Coward is given a second chance; if he can find someone who will weep for him, his soul will be saved. As expected, the sole mourner turns out to be Haydon, whose fiance's life is saved by the repentant Coward. As with most of the Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur film productions of 1930s, The Scoundrel is hard to warm up to because the characters are so unappealing. Still, it's fascinating to see Noel Coward playing a villain, and to spot legendary critic/curmudgeon Alexander Woollcott in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

King of Hockey was one of three low-budget hockey films released during the 1936-37 season, each one produced by a different studio. Dick Purcell stars as swell-headed hockey champ Gabby Dugan, whose career is abruptly terminated when he's accused of shaving points during a crucial game. Even worse, a blow on the skull induces temporary blindness, causing Gabby to wonder if he'll ever get to play again. Not only does he stage a spectacular comeback, but he also wins back the love of his estranged sweetheart Kathleen O'Rourke (Anne Nagel). A goodly portion of the film is given over to juvenile performer Ann Gillis, whom Warner Bros. evidently hoped would develop into the "new Shirley Temple" (even though there was still plenty of mileage left in the "old" Shirley Temple). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Warner Bros.' "Perry Mason" series quietly slipped from the "A" to the "B" category with this adaptation of Erle Stanley Gardner's The Case of the Caretaker's Cat. Ricardo Cortez and June Travis take over from Warren William and Claire Dodd as criminal attorney Perry Mason and his faithful secretary Della Street. Though the characters had been married in Case of the Velvet Claws, they're unattached again here, though Della is still hoping. This time there are three murders, all connected with a hectic treasure hunt and a screeching feline (grey, not black!) Throwing an added spanner into the works is the fact that one of the murders is a phony, designed to permit a millionaire from escaping his responsibilities. Case of the Black Cat was later redone as an hour-long episode of the Perry Mason TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this satire, an electrician from a tiny town impresses a New York radio sponsor with his booming baritone singing voice. He immediately contracts the worker to come to the Big Apple. Unfortunately, he suffers from bronchitis that changes him into a tenor. He still goes on the air, but everyone calls him a fake. Fortunately, the audience loved him. His manager then forbids him to appear publicly so he spends his spare time inventing a gadget that restores old radio sets. When it looks as though his clever invention will be stolen a beautiful woman gets it patented and then marries him. Songs include: The Oscar nominated "Remember Me," "Am I in Love?" "If I Were a Little Pond Lilly," "The Girl You Used to Be," and "Here Comes the Sandman." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, a rookie reporter works for his uncle's newspaper and gets assigned to write a story about an elderly archduke. While interviewing him, the young journalist falls in love with the crown princess. He then exposes a conspiracy to kill her and her father. Mayhem ensues as he successfully thwarts the killers, and marries the girl who soon becomes queen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The second of Paul Muni's biographical films for Warner Bros., the Oscar-winning The Life of Emile Zola is by far the best, even allowing for the dramatic license taken with the material. When first we meet French novelist and essayist Zola, he is starving in a Parisian garret with his painter friend, Paul Cezanne. Each time Zola attempts to write "the truth," he is stymied by governmental censors. Still, he is able to achieve both fame and fortune with the publication of "Nana," an unardorned and best-selling tale of a prostitute (whom we can safely assume was not quite as likeable or attractive as Erin O'Brien-Moore, who plays the novel's "role model"). The lion's share of the film is devoted to Zola's attempts to clear the reputation of Army captain Alfred Dreyfus (Joseph Schildkraut), who has been framed on a charge of treason by his superiors and condemned to Devil's Island. Publishing his famous manifesto "J'accuse," Zola leaves himself wide open for public condemnation and criminal prosecution. Though he delivers a brilliant self-defense in court, Zola is found guilty. Forced to flee to England, he continues railing against the unjust, corrupt military establishment, eventually forcing a retrial and exoneration of Dreyfus. Alas, Zola is killed in a freak accident at home before he can meet the liberated Dreyfus. At his funeral, Emile Zola is eulogized by Anatole France (Morris Carnovsky), who refers to the fallen crusader as "a moment of the conscience of man." For various reasons -- some dramatic, some legal -- the actual facts of "L'affaire Dreyfus" are altered by the Norman Reilly Raine/Heinz Herald/Geza Herczeg screenplay.

The fact that Dreyfus was railroaded because he was Jewish is obscured; in fact, except for a very brief visual reference, the word "Jew" is never mentioned. Only those villains whose names were a matter of public record (Major Dort, Major Esterhazy) are specifically identified. Others are referred to as the Chief of Staff, the Minister of War, etc. to avoid lawsuits from their descendants (remember that the events depicted in the film, most of which take place between 1894 and 1902, were still within living memory in 1937). As for Dreyfus himself, he was not freed and restored to rank in 1902, the year of Zola's death, but in 1906-after being found guilty again in an 1899 retrial (Dreyfus died in 1935, outliving everyone else involved in the case). These historical gaffes can be forgiven in the light of the film's overall message: that a single small, clear voice can fight City Hall. If for nothing else, The Life of Emile Zola deserves classic status due to Paul Muni's towering performance, most notably in the unforgettable summation scene: "By all that I have done for France, by my works -- by all that I have written, I swear to you that Dreyfus is innocent. May all that melt away -- may my name be forgotten, if Dreyfus is not innocent. He is innocent." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the second entry in the Torch Blane reporter series. In this episode, ace reporter Torchy, wanting to impress her beau the police lieutenant, begins looking into a notorious murder. She gets a hot tip, boards a plane and sets off to follow up. She is accompanied by two rival journalists. En route, it is discovered that one of them is the murderer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide