Charlotte Treadway Movies

Judging by such films as Shadows of Suspicion, it's too bad that leading man Peter Cookson eventually elected to leave the movies in favor of the Broadway stage. Cookson is cast as Jimmy, an enterprising private detective who hits upon a most unusual method of solving a jewel robbery. With the help of his partner Northrup (Tim Ryan), Jimmy frames himself as the primary suspect, so that he can operate undetected to expose the genuine thief. Needless to say, the plan backfires by mid-film. But with pretty Marjorie Weaver as the unwitting courier of the stolen jewels, it's a safe bet that the truth will out before the film's 68 minutes have expended themselves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The box-office success of Paramount's What a Life (1939), coupled with the popularity of the spinoff Henry Aldrich radio series, inspired the studio to launch an "Aldrich" series of its own. The inagural entry was Life with Henry, with Jackie Cooper repeating his role as befuddled teenager Henry Aldrich. This time around, Henry and his pal Dizzy (Eddie Bracken) conspire to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Alaska. The boys' bumbling efforts have unfortunate long-range repercussions, culminating in the decision by a group of investors not to build a factory in town, as originally planned. How will Henry get himself out of this one? For the record, in all subsequent "Henry Aldrich" endeavors, Henry would be played by Jimmy Lydon, while Dizzy would be enacted by Charles Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fiercely independent authoress June Cameron (Loretta Young) has no time for men in her life. Chauvinistic medical college professor Timothy Sterling (Ray Milland) has no use for women. So guess who is mistaken for June's husband, and guess who is forced by circumstances to pretend that she's married? The Doctor Takes a Wife maintains its exhausting comic pace until about five minutes before the end, when the scriptwriters are forced to take a breather to tie up all the loose plot ends. The "fantasy" closing gag went over so well that Columbia Pictures utilized variations of it in several subsequent screwball comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Louis Armstrong steals the show as the groom to Jeepers Creepers, a skittish racehorse that can only settle down and run when Armstrong croons him the horse's namesake song. The main story concerns a plucky, ingenious salesman, who needing business, poses as a steeplechase jockey and endears himself to a prominent stable owner and his lovely niece. Romantic sparks fly between the girl and the sly fellow and his ruse works well until he is assigned to ride Jeepers Creepers, in the big race. The trouble is, the salesman doesn't know how to ride. On the day of the big race, the horse is extra nervous until Armstrong and a full band ride up beside him and begin performing. The horse then runs like the champ he is, insuring that the salesman gets his girl. Sure, it's a lot of horsefeathers, but who watches these old musicals for the plot? The story was filmed twice before as Hottentot and Polo Joe. Look for Ronald Reagan in a minor role as the stable owner's playboy son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Lillian Hellman from Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play, Dead End concerns itself with several denizens of New York's East River district. Here the elite and the slum-dwellers rub shoulders due to the close proximity of the riverfront tenements with the East Side luxury hotels. Slum girl Drina Gordon (Sylvia Sidney) tries to prevent her younger brother Tommy (Billy Halop) from wasting his life as a member of the local street gang. Tommy and the other kids idolize Baby Face Martin (Humphrey Bogart), a onetime East- sider who has hit the "big time" as a notorious gangster. Dodging the cops, Martin makes a sentimental journey to the neighborhood to visit his mother (Marjorie Main) and his old girlfriend Francie (Clare Trevor). But Martin's mother coldly tells him to get lost, while Francie reveals herself to be a consumptive prostitute. Despite his depressed state, Martin is still admired by the local kids; this displeases sign painter Dave Connell (Joel McCrea), who hopes to escape the slums via his romance with wealthy Kay Burton (Wendy Barrie). Attempting to kidnap a rich boy who'd earlier been beaten up by the street kids, Martin is prevented from making the snatch by Dave, who shoots Martin down. Receiving a large reward, Dave decides to give the money to Drina so that she can afford a lawyer to defend her brother Tommy, who has wrongfully been accused of masterminding the beating of the rich kid. His outlook on life altered by this unselfish act, Dave gives up his mercenary romance with Kay Burton, choosing instead the poverty-stricken Drina. The film introduces the Dead End Kids--Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Gabe Dell, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsley and Bobby Jordan--all of whom were veterans of the Broadway version of Dead End and would be metamorphosed into the East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide