Ernie Shields Movies

As she burns at the stake, a 17th century witch, Jennifer (Veronica Lake), places a curse on her accuser (Fredric March), so that from this day forward, all of his descendants (each played by him) will be unhappy in marriage. After several hilarious through-the-years examples (the Civil War-era Fredric March runs off to battle rather than endure his wife's nagging), we are brought up to 1942. Wallace Wooley (March) is a gubernatorial candidate, preparing to wed snooty socialite Estelle Masterson (Susan Hayward) -- the well-to-do daughter of a publisher who is backing him. A bolt of lightning strikes the tree where Jennifer had been executed three centuries earlier, thereby freeing the spirits of Jennifer and her warlock father, Daniel (Cecil Kellaway). Wallace meets Jennifer when she materializes in a burning building, obliging him to save her life. The revivified sorceress does everything in her power to induce Wallace to fall in love with her -- even destroying the ceremony in which the wedding is supposed to take place. The attempts succeed, and the two marry, but on their wedding night, Wallace refuses to believe Jennifer's claims that she is a witch. Frustrated, she attempts to convince him by doctoring the gubernatorial election -- in his favor. Based on the Thorne Smith novel The Passionate Witch, the rollicking I Married a Witch can be considered the forerunner of the TV series Bewitched, but only on a surface level. The film had been scheduled to be directed by Preston Sturges and to be released by its producing studio, Paramount; the end result was helmed by René Clair (his second Hollywood film), and was distributed by United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this newspaper farce, an editor loses his voice and his job after he tires of being tormented by the practical jokes of one of two reporters. The joker ends up the new editor. Soon after taking the job, his personality changes dramatically and soon he has become a pompous and excessively harsh taskmaster. His former partner is so disgusted that she decides to leave and marry a stodgy writer of inspirational books. The new editor loves his partner and tries to get her back. When he fails, he begins drinking heavily and wondering what kind of wedding gift he should get her. Knowing that she likes the excitement of police and fire calls, he insures that her wedding will be unforgettable by having fire engines, police cars, and hearses show up to the nuptials. In the end, the editor drives a wagon from the local loony bin into the ceremony and kidnaps her. Romance ensues and eventually the two are married. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Will Rogers stars as Judge William "Billy" Priest, the common-sense Kentucky jurist created by humorist Irvin S. Cobb. The Judge's easygoing manner bothers many of the self-righteous good citizens of his small 19th-century hometown, imperiling his chances for re-election. The anecdotal plot boils down to a single storyline involving orphaned Anita Louise, reclusive David Landau (secretly Louise's father), and young attorney Tom Brown.The testimony that saves Landau from a murder charge is delivered by Civil War veteran H.B. Walthall, whose stirring loyalty to the Confederacy inspires everyone in town to organize an impromptu parade! Some of the best scenes are highlighted by Will Rogers' affectionate rapport with stereotyped black-actors Stepin Fetchit and Hattie McDaniel, though these scenes are frequently removed from TV showings of Judge Priest due to their undeniably racist overtones. If you haven't guessed by the first frame of the film that John Ford was the director, you'll recognize Ford's personal stamp the moment Will Rogers kneels by his wife's grave and carries on a warm conversation with his long-departed bride. Ford would remake (and improve upon) Judge Priest in 1953 as The Sun Shines Bright, with Charles Winninger as the judge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Russell is appropriately cast as "The Ne'er-do-well" in the 1928 military comedy Woman Wise. Stationed in Persia, Russell is but one of several soldiers vying for the hand of Millie Baxter (June Collyer), secretary to the U.S. Consul (Walter Pidgeon), who likewise has a hankering for the heroine. Sheik Abdul Mustapha (Theodore Kosloff) is so smitten by Millie that he kidnaps her and adds her to his harem. Our hero manages to rescue the girl, only to lose her to the Consul -- who frankly, is the best-looking of the batch. It's highly likely that Woman Wise was inspired by the success of Lewis Milestone's Two Arabian Knights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This tale of Cockney London used the current World War as a backdrop. Although he doesn't make much money, Johnny Roberts (Leo Pierson) marries Mary, a schoolteacher (Ann Kronan). But it doesn't take long for Johnny's habits to get on Mary's nerves and she starts griping at him. To escape his unhappiness at home, he goes to the local pub, the White Horse, where he meets Anne, a barmaid (Irene Hunt). After he and Mary have a particularly vicious fight, Anne takes him in and he remains there until he is drafted to the front. When Anne discovers that Mary -- and the child Johnny has never met -- are starving, she takes them in. They hear a false account that Johnny has been killed in battle. It turns out that he is alive, but has been blinded by gas. When Johnny returns home, Anne realizes that he should be with his family and reunites the couple. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide