Shirley Deane Movies

In this crime drama, the trouble begins when Arabs kidnap a young wife and hold her hostage for a pair of rare books. Mayhem ensues as her husband and another book smuggler team up to get her back without having to sacrifice the rare tomes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Amid the political chaos sweeping across the world in 1939, a new terror arises -- the Purple Death -- and people around the world succumb at random by the hundreds, then thousands, with the identifying symptom being a purple spot on the victim. The authorities are baffled as to the cause or the treatment, and panic is spreading. Dr. Alexis Zarkov (Frank Shannon) determines that the Purple Death is linked to extraterrestrial events. Along with Flash Gordon (Larry "Buster" Crabbe) and Dale Arden (Carolyn Hughes), Zarkov finds an alien spaceship, which they recognize as being from the planet Mongo, home of their old enemy, Ming the Merciless, spreading some sort of dust in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Flash, Dale, and Zarkov head for Mongo, where they discover that Emperor Ming (Charles B. Middleton), whom they believed had been killed at the end of their battle with him on Mars (told in Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars), is still alive. He is threatening not only to conquer all of Mongo, but is attacking Earth again, using a "Death Dust" spread by his spaceships that will eventually destroy everyone on Earth.

Flash, Dale, and Zarkov form an alliance with their old friend, Prince Barin (Roland Drew), the rightful ruler of Mongo, who with his wife, Princess Aura (Shirley Deane) -- Ming's own daughter -- rules the peaceful kingdom of Arboria, resisting Ming's military might with their small fleet of ships, the aid of neighboring free kingdoms, and the help of a tiny handful of officers within Ming's own palace who remain loyal to the prince. Their first task is to secure a neutralizing agent for the Death Dust, which exists in the frozen northern kingdom of Frigia, but before they can do that, they have to free the imprisoned Frigian military leader General Lupi (Ben Taggart), who has been captured by Ming. Flash rescues the general, who is about to be used as the subject of a scientific experiment, and secures the aid and gratitude of the Frigians. This barely slows Ming in his plans for conquest, however, and over the next 11 chapters, Flash Gordon and his friends and allies -- including Ronal (Donald Curtis), Roka (Lee Powell), and Captain Suden (William Royle) -- take their battle for the safety of the Earth and the freedom of Mongo to the far reaches of the planet. Battling Ming and his villainous henchmen -- including Captain Torch (Don Rowan) and Lady Sonja (Anne Gwynne) -- from Mongo's frozen northern wastes to its uncharted deserts, Flash and his allies outmaneuver and generally outfight and outwit Ming's larger, better equipped army and spaceship fleet, but they are nearly undone by the spies that Ming has placed in Barin's own household. The bravery of the Earth hero and his friends, and the patriotism and sacrifices of Mongo's people ultimately prove too much for the evil emperor, who finally faces impending destruction from one of his own fiendish inventions. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Taking a break from Republic's "Higgins Family" series, Russell Gleason plays the title character in Monogram's Undercover Agent. A humble railroad postal clerk, young Bill Trent (Gleason) aspires to be an inspector. To this end, he carries a gun "just for emergencies", a fact that eventually gets him into trouble with his authorities. Hoping to redeem himself, Bill offers to help the Feds round up a gang of sweepstakes-ticket counterfeiters. Those grand old barnstormers J. M. Kerrigan and Maude Eburne steal the show as, respectively, a boozy ham actor and a neighborhood harridan. Shirley Deane, then Mrs. Russell Gleason, fulfills the film's leading-lady responsibilities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Jones Family heads to Gay Paree in celebration of the 25th wedding anniversary of Pa (Jed Prouty) and Ma (Spring Byington). It doesn't take long for the Joneses to be victimized by clever Parisian con artists. Nor do Jones kids Jack (Ken Howell) and Lucy (June Carlson) have time to unpack before they're both pursued by amorous predators. Somehow or other, everyone gets involved in an espionage plot, much to the dismay of apoplectic hotel detective Emile (Leonid Kinskey). All things considered, the Joneses' married daughter Bonnie (Shirley Deane) is probably grateful that she elected to stay home with her husband Herb (Russell Gleason). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the Jones Family series of domestic comedies, the trouble begins when con artists attempt to convince Mayor Jones that the local swamp is chock full of valuable minerals. Mayhem ensues, and just as the crooks think they will be able to pull off their scam, some of Jones' children fall into the muck and the truth is revealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The saga of the Jones Family continues in 1937's Borrowing Trouble. When Pa Jones's drugstore is robbed, the evidence points to orphan kid Tommy Stevens (Marvin Stephens). This comes as quite a disappointment for Pa (Jed Prouty) and Ma (Spring Byington), who'd welcomed poor Tommy into their home, treating him as one of their own children. As it happens, however, Tommy is merely shielding the actual culprit -- his older brother Lester (Gregory Walcott). Thank heaven for Granny Jones (Florence Roberts), who never fails to cut through all the pathos and bathos with her cynical put-downs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not a remake of the classic Laurel and Hardy 2-reel silent of the same name, Big Business was an early entry in 20th Century-Fox's Jones Family series. Mr. Jones (Jed Prouty) invests his life savings in an oil business, at the behest of football star Allan Lane. Neither Jones nor Lane are aware that the oil stock is worthless, and that their money has ended up in the pockets of racketeers. Awareness dawns when the oil wells yield only muddy water. Jones' oldest son (Kenny Howell) comes to the rescue of the hapless investors, while Mrs. Jones (Spring Byington) dispenses the "I told you so"s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nancy Steele was the baby daughter of a munitions tycoon who was kidnapped by an antiwar activist who did it to protest the magnate's support of WW I. This drama provides a sympathetic portrait of the kidnapper who leaves the baby with two close friend who assume it's his and raise her. The activist later gets arrested during a fight and sentenced to two years in prison that become a life sentence after he is framed during a failed escape. One night, he sleeps in his cell when his cellmate overhears the sleeping protestor talking about the notorious kidnapping. When the protestor if finally released, he immediately visits the girl, whom he regards as his daughter. She thinks he is her father too. Together, the two go to New York, where he gets a job working as a gardener for her real father. Trouble comes in the form of his blackmailing cellmate and in the end, the protestor must make a difficult decision involving the fate of his daughter and himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide