Jimmy Fox Movies
- 1998
The Horndogs have reorganized, with Drew (Drew Carey) as the leader and Ed Walsh, Jimmy Fox and Dale Peters of The James Gang joining main performers Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader). Unfortunately, the two last-named Horndogs are exiled from the group following a misguided attempt by self-appointed groupie Darcy (Pauley Perrette) to freshen the Horndogs' image by dyeing their hair blonde and getting them to grow goatees (Drew despairs that the band now looks like "Hanson In 30 Years". Back at Winfred-Louder, Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson) orders Drew to collect urine samples from his fellow workers when cocaine is found in the men's room--and never mind that the coke is from Wick's own stash; and the relationship between Mimi (Kathy Kinney) and her married boyfriend Ron (Gregory Jbarra) comes to a miserable end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
With Mr. Wick in drug rehab, Drew (Drew Carey) is offered an opportunity to manage Winfred-Louder, but would rather spend time with his rock band, the Horndogs. As a result, Mrs. Louder gives the job to her "boy toy" Larry (Ian Gomez), who immediately cuts the employee health coverage to the bone. In the ensuing chaos, the employees beg Drew to come back to work, but he resists until discovering that he has an inborn talent for dull and repetitious budget management. Thus, the Horndogs are forced to find a quickie replacement for Drew--and we aren't about to reveal who that is (take a look at the supporting cast if you really want to know). Songs: "Think" and "Cleveland, Ohio". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
- NR
Bette Davis goes the "kitchen sink drama" route in The Catered Affair. As the frowsy wife of Bronx cabdriver Ernest Borgnine, Davis insists that her daughter Debbie Reynolds have a high-class wedding--caterers and all. Reynolds and future hubby Rod Taylor want a simple ceremony, but Davis' mind is made up. The wedding snowballs into an unwieldy affair as Davis and Borgnine find that they must invite everyone they know or risk incurring the wrath of their neighborhood. When the cost of the affair exceeds the family's bank account, Davis rails at Borgnine for failing to be a good provider. It takes her till the very end of the film to realize what a fool she's been. Gore Vidal, of all people, adapted The Catered Affair from a TV drama written by Paddy Chayefsky; the original telecast had starred Thelma Ritter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1952
Washington Story stars Van Johnson as mildly liberal congressman Joseph T. Gresham. For reasons that he can't fathom, Gresham has been targeted for abuse by powerful columnist Gilbert Nunnaly (Philip Ober). Working in cahoots with Nunnaly is journalist Alice Kingsley (Patricia Neal), who pretends to be working on a favorable magazine article about Gresham, but who is actually digging up dirt for Nunnaly's benefit. Ultimately, Alice falls in love with the honest Gresham, standing by him during a moment of profound political crisis. The major selling card of Washington Story was producer Dore Schary's decision to lens the film on location in Washington, offering viewers glimpses of the real-life Congress and Senate in action. Remarkably, the film offers a slightly left-of-center hero at a time when McCarthyism was at its height. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Van Johnson, Patricia Neal, (more)
Not quite as exciting as it should be, Stardust on the Sage is still a serviceable Gene Autry vehicle. This time, Gene is teamed up with young Jeff Drew (Bill Henry), who tries to sell mining stock to the local cattlemen. Meanwhile, villain Pearson (Emmet Vogan) plots to steal the mine from Gene and Jeff, using a veritable battalion of muscular hooligans. The finale is a kaleidescope of fistfights, gunfire and dynamite blasts-and none too soon, given the slow-moving passages which preceded it. The female contingent in Stardust on the Sage is handled by former child star Edith Fellows and serial heroine Louise Currie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
In this action film, an officer is thrown off the force by his father the chief of police. The bitter ex-cop then joins a racketeering operation. The ring leader assigns him to drive a truck-load of armed hoods to ambush his father. Unbeknownst to the crooks, the ex-cop is still active on the force. The whole affair was a ruse to capture them. The brave cop succeeds in warning his peers of the ambush and the bad-guys die in a hail of bullets. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane Richmond, Pauline Moore, (more)
- 1941
In the 1930s and 1940s, Warner Bros. developed a positive genius for remaking earlier films in new, disguised fashion, retaining the plotlines but altering the circumstances and character names. Wagons Roll at Night was a 1941 reworking of the prizefight drama Kid Galahad, filmed only four years earlier. The original film was about a naive boxer who falls in love with the sister of his semi-crooked manager. The remake stars Eddie Albert as a bucolic lion tamer, Humphrey Bogart (who'd been the villain in Kid Galahad) as the circus manager, and Joan Leslie as the girl. The earlier film also included Bette Davis as the manager's put-upon mistress; her counterpart in Wagons Roll at Night is Sylvia Sidney as a worldly circus star. It's amazing how well the prizefight milieu adapts itself to the lion cage, and for this alone Wagons Roll at Night is memorable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sidney, (more)
- 1938
Former silent screen cowboy Tom Tyler and newcomer Lon Chaney, Jr. (still billed, modestly, as Creighton Chaney) square off in this inexpensive oater produced by infamous poverty row regular Sam Katzman. Believed by the sheriff (Charles "Slim" Whitaker) to be the notorious bandit Cheyenne Tommy, Tom Wade (Tyler) is in reality an investigator for the Cattlemen's Protective Association looking into a series of cattle rustlings. Along with his dopey sidekick, Dopey (Jimmy Fox), Wade robs the rustlers of their ill-gotten gains until he is recognized by one of the gang, Girard (Chaney). After a great deal of ridin' and shootin', Tom is assisted in bringing down the gang by lovely Sally Lane (Lucile Browne), another operative working undercover as secretary to the leader of the rustlers (Theodore Lorch). The Katzman stamp of poverty is all over this Victory Pictures production, but it is fun to watch Tyler and Chaney, both of whom would later star as the mummy, Kharis, for Universal in the '40s. Director Robert F. Hill makes his usual Hitchcock-like appearance, this time as a townsman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Lucille Browne, (more)
- 1938
Dick Powell stars as a Brooklynite who becomes a cowboy in spite of himself. Drifting into a small western town, Powell takes the only job available as a ranch hand. He likes to sing in his spare time, which attracts the attention of talent scout Pat O'Brien. Before you can say Gene Autry, Powell is promoted into America's favorite singing cowboy--though he's hard pressed to prove his western skills when the plot situations demand it. Rather condescending in its attitude towards western stars (as non-western movies tended to be in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s), Cowboy From Brooklyn was another step backward in the (temporarily) fading career of Dick Powell. The only good thing to come out of the film was the song "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride", which became the leitmotif of many a Warner Bros. cartoon short. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, (more)
- 1938
Ronald Reagan is his usual sprightly self as ambitious insurance claims adjuster Eric Gregg. While diligently investigating a phony insurance racket, Gregg remains blissfully unaware that his own wife Nona (Sheila Bromley) has become deeply indebted to the crooks. Once this fact surfaces, Gregg loses both Nona and his job. Picking up the pieces is friendly cigar-stand clerk Patricia Carmody (Gloria Blondell), who ends up helping Gregg round up the villains. At the time Accidents Will Happen was released in 1938, the newspapers were jam-packed with stories about big-money insurance frauds; though the film lacks this timeliness when seen today, it remains an enjoyable trifle thanks to the always-dependable Reagan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Gloria Blondell, (more)
- 1936
When Buster Keaton goes to work as an assistant to a carnival magician, the results turn out to be less than magical. Enthralled with the lovely assistant (Marlyn Stuart) of The Great Spumoni (Eddie Lambert), Buster takes a job as an off-stage helper to the prestidigitator. Alas, his inept efforts turn the magician's show into a shambles: Buster levitates the illusionist instead of the girl, tosses ducks on-stage at the wrong place, and lowers down inappropriate backdrops during their performance. But when he rescues the girl from the clutches of a disgruntled former helper, Buster earns the respect of all. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buster Keaton
- 1935
"Mountain-film" specialist Luis Trenker plies his trade with his usual expertise in the Austrian Velorene Sohn (Prodigal Son). Trenker himself plays the leading role of Tonia Feuersinger, a Tyrolean mountaineer bound and determined to scale the American Rockies. He also wants to journey to the States to court pretty American tourist Lillian Williams (played by pretty American actress Marian Marsh). Leaving his broken-hearted local girlfriend (Maria Andergast) behind, Tonio treks to New York, but never quite makes it to the Rockies; instead, he gets a welding job on a skyscraper, then achieves success as a prizefighter. In the end, however, he realizes that his heart is still in the Tyrol and thus returns to the arms of his hometown sweetheart. Though aimed at the German-speaking clientele, Verlorene Sohn was financed in Hollywood by Universal Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Trenker, Maria Andergast, (more)
