Arthur Wanzer Movies

One of the landmark "screwball" comedies of the 1930s, My Man Godfrey offers the radiant Carole Lombard in her definitive performance as flighty young heiress Irene Bullock, who on a society scavenger hunt stumbles on Godfrey (William Powell), an erudite hobo residing in the city dump. Godfrey becomes the family's butler, much to the dismay of Irene's father Alexander (Eugene Pallette), who thinks his household is crazy enough without another apparent lunatic under his roof. Halfway through the film, we discover that Godfrey isn't a penniless bum at all, but the scion of a wealthy Boston family. Having been burned by an unhappy romance, Godfrey dropped out of life, taking up residence in the dump. Here his faith in humanity was restored by his fellow indigents, who managed to survive and remain optimistic despite the worst deprivations. Meanwhile, however, he wants to straighten out the Bullock family, who he feels are a basically decent bunch beneath all their pretensions and eccentricities -- and along the way, of course, Irene determines that Godfrey will be her husband. While Godfrey's ultimate "solution" to the exigencies of the Depression seems more of a placebo, My Man Godfrey is all in all a totally satisfying jolt of 1930s-style wish fulfillment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, set at the turn-of-the-century an ingenious young jockey finds his reputation sullied by criminals. He cleverly outsmarts them and his reputation is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

"She" is secretary Claudette Colbert and "Her Boss" is Melvyn Douglas. Once married, Colbert discovers that Douglas expects her to work as usual. She must also contend with his wealthy, snooty family, whose most hateful member is his spoiled brat of a daughter (Edith Fellows) by a previous marriage. Rebelling against her repressive existence, Colbert eventually puts her in-laws in their place and arouses the ardor of the "strictly business" Douglas. While consistently amusing throughout, the highlight of She Married Her Boss is a first-reel bit of pantomimic whimsy involving Claudette Colbert and a roomful of department store mannequins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Heralded as the "most daring, sensational drama ever filmed," this exploitation-melodrama is actually a rather confused argument both for and against forced sterilization. Their children either in jail, physically handicapped, or "feeble-minded," Mr. and Mrs. Mason (Arthur Wanzer and Sarah Padden) are told by a welfare worker that the entire family must either accept sterilization or forfeit welfare checks. Included in the order of sterilization is eldest daughter Alice (Diane Sinclair), a seemingly healthy young girl who is engaged to Jim (Carlyle Moore Jr.). Instead of complying, Alice flees into the night, but is soon apprehended by the police. Alice's boyfriend pleads her case to sympathetic physician Dr. Brooks (Don Douglas), who agrees to testify on the girl's behalf in court. The judge, however, remains unmoved and Alice is taken away to be sterilized. Dr. Brooks, who agrees with some forced sterilizations, vehemently refuses to perform the operation on Alice. Meanwhile, Father O'Brien (Crane Wilbur) is pleading with Mrs. Mason to retract her consent on religious grounds. The drunken woman refuses, but does admit that Alice is not her natural daughter. With that startling bit of news, Dr. Brooks rushes to the hospital, arriving just in time to prevent Alice from going under the knife. Perhaps because the filmmakers never quite made it clear where they stood regarding forced sterilization, Tomorrow's Children was banned outright in many areas by the Catholic Legion of Decency, which was opposed to any kind of sterilization. Directed and co-written by Crane Wilbur, a silent screen leading man who had starred opposite Pearl White in the historic serial The Perils of Pauline (1914), Tomorrow's Children was produced and released on the States' Rights market by Bryan Foy. Leading lady Diane Sinclair, reportedly a mulatto hailing from Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana (Suriname), delivered a fine performance despite the film's obvious lack of budget and technical expertise. She would later star in Edgar Ulmer's warning against venereal disease, Damaged Lives (1937), and, later still, appear as a regular on bandleader Kay Kyser's television show. Rather incongruously, hayseed comedian Sterling Holloway provided comedy relief to the grim proceedings as a sleepy intern. All but forgotten, Tomorrow's Children was picked up by exploitation filmmaker David Friedman and re-released on videotape in 1994. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Much of this exciting crime drama is set aboard an airplane in which a brave hero does battle with a gang of smugglers. Meanwhile, the hero's girl friend joins the gang, but later quits before they are arrested and imprisoned. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The title Virtue should be a good tip-off that the central character is a step below virtuous. Carole Lombard, still not established as a comedienne in 1932, plays a streetwalker seeking an escape from her sordid existence. She meets Pat O'Brien, one of the few men who doesn't expect a quick fix of satisfaction. Redeemed by his love, Lombard marries O'Brien and tries her best to bury her past. Fortunately Virtue was made before the 1934 production code, thus Carole Lombard is not subject to the censor-approved Torments of the Damned which were visited upon post-1934 movie prostitutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide