Jack George Movies

Fred Astaire's first RKO musical without his longtime partner Ginger Rogers is one of his best from any period -- even though it's obvious that leading lady Joan Fontaine can't dance a step. Written by P. G. Wodehouse, Damsel in Distress casts Astaire as Jerry, an American entertainer appearing in London. Poor Jerry gets sucked into a wager conducted among servants of country squire Lord Mashmorton (Montague Love) He is "elected" to rescue his Lordship's daughter Lady Alyce (Joan Fontaine) from an arranged marriage with orchestra leader Reggie (Ray Noble), a likeable chap who steadfastly refuses to play the villain of the piece. Weaving in and out of all this are Jerry's business manager George (George Burns) and his daffy secretary Gracie (Gracie Allen). In addition to including such Gershwin standards as "A Foggy Day" and "Nice Work if You Can Get It," not to mention Fred Astaire's untoppable "drum dance," A Damsel in Distress affords George Burns and Gracie Allen their best-ever screen roles; the team is permitted to join Astaire in the elaborate "round-and-round" production number "Things are Looking Up," as well as a delightful whisk-broom dance (which, it is said, George and Gracie taught to Fred, rather than the other way around). As Lady Alyce's duplicitous butler, Reginald Gardiner enjoys his own comic highlight with an interesting variation on his "musical cop" routine in Born to Dance. As for 19-year-old Joan Fontaine, she's quite lovely and charming, and Astaire does his very best to camouflage her utter lack of terpsichorean ability. Amazingly, A Damsel in Distress lost money at the box office, compelling RKO Radio to play safe by quickly reteaming Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Carefree. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tala Birell, one of the more talented of the Garbo wannabes of the 1930s, stars in the Universal quickie She's Dangerous. The star is cast as Stephanie, a glamorous private detective who's been hired to track down a gang of bond thieves. She charms her way into the confidence of gang leader Nick Shelton (Cesar Romero), knowing full well that the outwardly gracious Shelton won't hesitate to kill her if she's found out. Eventually, Stephanie proves too smart for her own good, and it's up to sidelines hero Dr. Logan (Walter Pidgeon) to bail her out. She's Dangerous bears a marked resemblance to 20th Century-Fox's 15 Maiden Lane, which also featured Cesar Romero as a charming-but-deadly crook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

M.G.M.'s opulent costume drama Marie Antoinette marked a return to the screen after a two-year absence for reigning Queen of M.G.M. Norma Shearer. Shearer plays the title role of an Austrian princess who is married off to Louis Auguste (Robert Morley), the Dauphin of France. Marie, by becoming the Dauphine, finds herself plopped smack in the middle of French palace intrigue between Louis's father King Louis XV (John Barrymore) and his scheming cousin, the Duke of Orleans (Joseph Schildkraut). With Louis unable to consummate his marriage to Marie, she takes to holding elaborate parties and gambling her fortune away. In a casino, she meets the handsome Count Axel de Fersen (Tyrone Power) and they have an affair. But when Louis XV dies and Louis becomes King Louis XVI, Fersen takes his leave, telling her that he could carry on an affair with a dauphine but not the Queen of France. Marie vows to be a great queen and remain loyal to her king. But the Duke of Orleans is plotting against Louis XVI, financing the revolutionary radicals. When the monarchy is overthrown, Louis and Marie are thrown into prison, awaiting execution. But when word gets back to Fersen, he travels back to France in an attempt to rescue Marie. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Contrary to popular belief, the Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald Technicolor confection Sweethearts is not based on the 1913 Victor Herbert operetta of the same name (though most of Herbert's songs remain intact), but a Dorothy Parker-Alan Campbell brainstorm about a popular Broadway singing duo, starring in a long-running production of Sweethearts. The early portions of the film take place during a purported presentation of the Herbert piece, with Eddy and MacDonald singing their hearts out and Ray Bolger providing comic relief. We then segue into a long sequence wherein producer Frank Morgan, celebrating Sweethearts's six-year run, insists that Eddy and MacDonald attend a lavish party, where the weary performers are called upon to continue singing throughout the evening. Hoping for a few moments alone after escaping the party, Eddy and MacDonald are besieged at their apartment by friends, co-workers, hangers-on and sponging relatives. Seeking peace and quiet, the couple agrees to leave Sweethearts for the comparative calm of Hollywood. But their entourage, fearing that they'll lose their meal ticket if Eddy and MacDonald leave New York, arrange to inaugurate two profitable road companies of Sweethearts by contriving to split up the loving couple. Cleverly sidestepping the sugary sweet sentimentality that one might expect from an MGM musical of the era, the delightful Sweethearts is hampered only by its overlength. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Several popular radio personalities converge in the RKO Radio "comedy salad" Look Who's Laughing. Taking a vacation from his radio series, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen sets out in his private plane, accompanied by his dummy Charlie McCarthy. Developing engine trouble, Bergen makes a forced landing in the town of Wistful Vista, home of Fibber McGee and Molly (Jim and Marian Jordan). Here he gets mixed up in a municipal dispute between Fibber and Throckmorton Gildersleeve (Harold Peary) over the impending construction of a local aircraft factory. Before the film's multitude of complications can be straightened out, Fibber and Molly find themselves aloft in a runaway plane, while Charlie McCarthy falls in love with a squeaky-voiced little girl (who turns out to be Molly in disguise). Best scene: A disconsolate Charlie getting "wasted" on ice-cream sodas while counterman Sterling Holloway looks on sympathetically. Lucille Ball is largely wasted as Bergen's secretary, while Fibber McGee and Molly's radio announcer Harlow Wilcox shows up in a character bit. A box-office bonanza, Look Who's Laughing spawned an abundance of future screen assignments for Bergen, McCarthy, Fibber, Molly, and "Gildersleeve." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Leonard Maltin once observed that Storm Over Lisbon is what Casablanca would have looked like had it been produced by Republic instead of Warner Bros. This wartime meller reunites the cast and director of the successful Republic melodrama Lady and the Monster, with less than successful results. Skating star Vera Hruba Ralston plays Maritza, a woman of mystery operating in neutral Lisbon. Maritza is somehow connected with sinister café owner Deresco (Erich Von Stroheim), who seems to have a more than a cozy relationship with the Nazis. Deresco tries to prevent American journalist John Craig (Richard Arlen) from leaving Lisbon with a cache of top-secret microfilm (what, no Letters of Transit?) With the whole world crumbling, Vera Ralston manages to work in an ice-ballet number. Few have ever had the urge to shout "Play it again" after watching Storm Over Lisbon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this swashbuckler, a princess is raised by gypsies and becomes their queen. The trouble really begins when a count is murdered and the evil, ambitious baron who really did it blames the crime on the gypsies. The baron's messenger knows the truth and tries to prove it. When he notices that the gypsy queen is wearing a pendant bearing the slain count's crest, he reveals her true identity--the count's estranged sister and heir to the throne. The messenger then accuses the baron of the death. The baron has him thrown into the same dungeon as the gypsies and together they team up and escape. Meanwhile the gypsy girl, who has finally promised to marry the wicked baron in exchange for her clan's freedom, is kidnapped by the baron. The gallant messenger rescues her, kills the baron, and gets to marry the young queen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this musical, a chorus of convicts conspires to get a paroled crooner chucked back in the clink. Songs include: "Time Will Tell," "Now And Always," "Round The Bend," and "How Lovely." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Frank Borzage and star Ginger Rogers both came acropper in the lavish but dull historical biopic Magnificent Doll. The usually ebullient Rogers seems encased in wax as Dolly Madison, first lady of the United States in the early 19th century. The story begins as young Washington socialite Dolly Payne, previously and unhappily wed to one John Todd (Horace McNally), can't make up her mind romantically between idealistic politician James Madison (Burgess Meredith) and firebrand Aaron Burr (David Niven). Burr solves that problem when he flees the country after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, leaving the field clear for Madison. What should have been the film's highlight, Dolly's rescue of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution during the 1812 burning of Washington, is treated as a throwaway. Told in flashback, the film ends just before Madison's ascendancy to the White House, with Dolly chastely charming the current chief executive Thomas Jefferson (Grandon Rhodes). Magnificent Doll is anything but . ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, an orphan is under the false impression that her newly found relatives are filthy rich. Lacking the heart to tell her the truth, the relatives move into an abandoned mansion to entertain her and her fiance. Songs include: "That's Good Enough for Me", "A Man Is a Brother to a Mule", "Judy and Dick", and "Cheer for the Team". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Victor Fleming's final film features Ingrid Bergman as a vivid and luminous Joan of Arc, the 15th-century French peasant girl who led the French in battle against the invading English, becoming a national hero. When she was captured, tortured, and ultimately executed by the English, she was made a Catholic saint. Bergman's Joan is a strong and spiritual figure who proves her devotion to the Dauphin (Jose Ferrer), later to become the King of France. Joan is compelling as she wins an alliance with the Governor of Vaucouleurs and the courtiers at Chinon, leads her army in the Battle of Orleans, is betrayed by the Burgundians, and edicts that "our strength is in our faith." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

That Lady in Ermine tells two parallel stories, both taking place in the small Mittel-European duchy of Bergamo, but one set in the 19th century and the other in the 16th. In 1861, the Countess Angelina (Betty Grable) and her newlywed husband, Baron Mario, have just entered the bridal chamber when a Hungarian army regiment under the command of Colonel Teglash (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) invades. Mario flees the castle, leaving Angelina to face the invaders, just as her 16th --century ancestor Francesca (also Betty Grable) was forced to protect her turf under similar circumstances. Colonel Teglash is struck by a portrait of Francesca (the lady in ermine of the title), and the resemblance between her and Angelina makes it difficult for him to rule with his customary iron fist. Meanwhile, Francesca haunts the dreams of both Angelina and Teglash. She appears to advise Angelina to pretend interest in the colonel and then kill him, much as she herself did so many years ago. At the same time, Teglash dreams that Francesca/Angelina overcomes the desire to kill him and falls in love with him. The 19th-century couple play out their story against the backdrop of Francesca's own tale, but with the twist that Angelina really does find herself caring for Teglash. Although the direction is credited to Ernst Lubitsch, he died after 8 days of filming; the film was completed by Otto Preminger. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide