Alan Dinehart Movies
Brawny, round-faced character actor Alan Dinehart liked to bill himself as Hollywood's most versatile villain. He was certainly justified to think of himself in such hyperbolic terms: from 1931 to 1944, Dinehart appeared in dozens of bad guy (or, at the very least, "suspicious guy") roles, most often in the "B" product of 20th Century-Fox. He was most often seen as a shifty businessman or respectability-seeking racketeer, and showed up with equal frequency as either the much-hated victim or "surprise" killer in murder mysteries. Alan Dinehart's namesake son and grandson were also actors; both were especially active as voiceover artists with the Hanna-Barbera cartoon operation of the 1970s and 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1944
The Whistler was the first of eight Columbia "B" thrillers based on the popular radio series of the same name. The Whistler, a shadowy (and unbilled) figure, introduced each film as he'd done on radio: "I am the Whistler...and I know many things, for I walk by night." This time the Whistler tells the strange story of despondent Richard Dix, who, believing his wife dead, hires professional killer J. Carroll Naish to put him out of his misery. Then the wife suddenly shows up...and Dix can't locate his would-be assassin. An old story with plenty of fresh new twists (for example, Naish talks of his profession as though it were a fine art like painting and sculpture), The Whistler bode well for the seven films that followed. Richard Dix starred in all but one film in the series, alternating between hero and heavy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, J. Carrol Naish, (more)
- 1944
In this musical romance, a young couple is still in love, but find themselves facing insurmountable turmoil in their relationship. They separate and head for Vegas for a quickie divorce. The wife is counseled by another that to save the union, she must make her husband jealous. She does, romantic mayhem ensues, and in the end, they reunite to form a rock-solid, happy marriage. Songs include: "A Dream Ago," "Moon over Las Vegas," "Faithful Flo," "So Goodnight," "A Touch of Texas," "You Marvelous You," "Oklahoma's One with Me," and "My Blue Heaven." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Gwynne, David Bruce, (more)
- 1944
Ostensibly a vehicle for RKO Radio's new comedy duo Wally Brown and Alan Carney, Seven Days Ashore actually casts Brown & Carney in subordinate roles. The plotline is carried by furloughed sailor Dan Arland (Gordon Oliver), who while docked in San Francisco gets mixed up with three amorous females. Hoping to avoid breach-of-promise suits from two of the girls, Arland palms them off to his pals Monty (Brown) and Orville (Carney), while he devotes his time to debutante Annabelle (played by future news journalist Elaine Shepard). One of the "castaway" girls is portrayed by Virginia Mayo, on the verge of stardom. Musical relief is provided by Dooley Wilson ("Sam" in Casablanca), Freddie Slack and His Orchestra, and the zany "corn aggregation" led by Freddie "Schnickelfritz" Fisher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wally Brown, Alan Carney, (more)
- 1944
Unusually elaborate for a PRC film, Minstrel Man is a lively musical drama built around the talents of veteran vaudevillian Benny Fields. The star is cast as Dixie Boy Johnson, who rises from the ranks of minstrel shows to become a top Broadway attraction. On the opening night of his greatest stage triumph, Dixie Boy's wife dies in childbirth. Profoundly shaken, he walks out of the show, leaving the baby to be raised by his showbiz pals Mae and Lasses White (Gladys George, Roscoe Karns). The kid grows up to be an attractive young woman named Caroline (Judy Clark), who follows in her dad's footsteps by billing herself as-that's right-Dixie Girl Johnson. This leads to a tearful reunion between Caroline and the father she'd long assumed to be dead. If Minstrel Man seems at times to be a dress rehearsal for Columbia's The Jolson Story (1946), it shouldn't surprising: the PRC film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, who went on to helm Jolson Story's musical highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benny Fields, Gladys George, (more)
- 1944
The sparkling screwball comedy And So They Were Married was originally released as Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More. French-Canadian girl Simone Simon leases a Washington DC apartment from Marine William Terry. Since the Nation's Capital is overcrowded (wartime, don't you know), Simon must put up with a steady parade of Terry's old cronies and girlfriends, all of whom have keys to the apartment. She also becomes the romantic bone of contention between Terry and his sailor pal James Ellison. The last half of the film is dominated by Robert Mitchum as a Chief Petty Officer, who wants to rent the apartment for himself and his wife. A whimsical touch is added by the presence of midget Jerry Maren as a Cupid-like gremlin, who takes great delight in complicating Simon's life. Blessed with a great cast, an above-average production values (especially for a Monogram release), this King Bros. production proved to be the last directorial effort of German expatriate Joe May. Watch for fleeting appearances by horror-film perennial Rondo Hatton as a well-dressed gentleman entering Simon's cab, and Our Gang's Mickey "Froggy" Laughlin as a ratchet-voiced kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simone Simon, James Ellison, (more)
- 1944
Released by Monogram, A WAVE, a WAC and a Marine was packaged by Biltmore Productions, a partnership consisting of Abbott and Costello's agent Eddie Sherman and Lou Costello's father Sebastian Cristillo. Though Elyse Knox, Sally Eilers and Ann Gillis head the cast, the film is a showcase for nightclub comedian Henny Youngman, here cast as a Hollywood agent named (what else?) Henny. Sent out by his studio to sign up a pair of gorgeous Broadway stars (Ramsay Ames and Marjorie Woodworth) Henny signs the stars' understudies (Knox and Gillis) by mistake. Fortunately, the "substitutes" are every bit as talented as the real stars, and as a result are contracted to appear in a big-budget film, cast as the aforementioned WAVE and WAC (who's the Marine)? Henny Youngman's delivery was as sharp then as it is now, but he was undermined by substandard sound recording. More impressive was the first-time direction of former Universal production assistant Philip Karlstein, who went on to auteur fame as Phil Karlson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elyse Knox, Ramsay Ames, (more)
- 1944
Edmund Lowe was old enough to know better when he starred in the anachronistic Monogram crime comedy Oh, What a Night! Lowe plays Rand, a suave gentleman jewel thief who plans to divest clueless dowager Lil Vanderhoven (Marjorie Rambeau) of her diamonds. Complicating matters is the appearance of Rand's young niece Valerie (Jean Parker), who has no idea what her uncle is up to. Rand's efforts to hide his profession from Valerie, and to successfully pull off the heist, makes for a hectic seven reels. Oh, What a Night! tries hard, but, after all, Monogram wasn't MGM, and Edmund Lowe wasn't William Powell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Marjorie Rambeau, (more)
- 1943
After an absence of three years, Mae West returned to the screen in the musical comedy The Heat's On. La West is cast as Fay Lawrence, a famous Broadway actress who is loved intensely by her producer Tony Ferris (William Gaxton). Rival producer Forrest Stanton (Alan Dinehart) steals Fay away from Ferris by convincing her that she's been blacklisted from Broadway by blue-nosed moralist Hannah Bainbridge (Almira Sessions). Meanwhile, Hannah's puckish brother Hubert (Victor Moore) syphons money from his sister's "clean up show business" committee to produce a musical show for his actress niece Janey (Mary Roche). Somehow, all these characters converge for a spectacular closing production number spotlighting the formidable Fay. Part of the reason for the failure of The Heat's On is the fact that Mae West didn't write her own dialogue, as was usually her custom. The film performed so poorly that it would be 27 years before West would again appear on the Big Screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mae West, Victor Moore, (more)
- 1943
In this lively romantic farce, a Broadway producer's Girl Friday must make sure that her recent marriage is kept secret. If it gets out, she will lose her job. Unfortunately, her new hubby is tired of hiding the truth and creates all kinds of problems when he decides to spill the beans. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1943
In this semi-remake of Love is News (37), Betty Grable stars as a Gay-Nineties Bowery saloon singer. Ever seeking an opportunity for advancement, Grable heads to London, becomes a highbrow musical comedy "artiste", and concocts a scheme to land a wealth duke (Reginald Gardiner). Her plan is foiled by a snoopy reporter (Robert Young) from the Police Gazette who has long been a thorn in Grable's side. Young's motive has nothing to do with dishing out gossip; he's in love with Betty and wants her for his own. Tuneful frolics like Sweet Rosie O'Grady seem to be the collective reason that Technicolor was invented. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, Robert Young, (more)
- 1943
In his book on "screwball" comedies, the late William K. Everson described What a Woman as "indistinguishable from a dozen other big-business comedies, but a pleasant and zany time-killer." Once again, Rosalind Russell is cast as a high-pressure female executive, in this instance liteary agent Carol Ainsley. Having landed the motion picture rights for a best-selling novel, Carol begins looking for an appropriately handsome leading man for the film version. She decides that the novelist himself-an unassuming fellow named Michael Cobb (Willard Parker in his starring film debut) would be the ideal star for the film. Unfortunately, Cobb has never performed any of the heroice deeds of his fictional protagonist, so it's up to Carol to reshape him in the image of his literary alter ego. Meanwhile, magazine writer Henry Pepper (Brian Aherne), who has fallen in love with Carol while interviewing her, looks askance at her efforts to "build up" the unprepossessing Cobb. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne, (more)
- 1943
When the profits of their various film series began slumping in the mid-1940s, Columbia Pictures tried to broaden the appeal of these films by disguing the fact that they were indeed series entries. Thus it was that Columbia's 12th "Blondie" picture was shipped out as It's a Great Life. The comic confusion begins when Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake), intending to buy a house, buys a horse instead. Before the film's 75 minutes have run their course, Dagwood gets mixed up in a fox hunt. But Blondie (Penny Singleton) saves the day as usual, with the help of eccentric millionaire Timothy Brewster (Hugh Herbert). After It's a Great Life and Footlight Glamour, Columbia restored the name "Blondie" to the titles of all subesequent installments in this long-running comedy series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, (more)
- 1942
In this comedy, set in WW II, a Venezuelan rubber planter's son must travel to New York to try and secure a loan for the expansion of the family business. There he encounters an impoverished American girl whose fortune lies frozen in England until the war ends. To make ends meet, she rents her apartment to the Venezuelan and becomes his personal maid. Mayhem ensues as the two get involved in merry mix-ups, fall in love, fall out of love, and fall in love again. Eventually, she helps him get the loan he needs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, (more)
The successful producer-director combination of Walter Wanger and Tay Garnett served up another winner with Slightly Honorable. Adapted from F. G. Presnell's novel Send Another Coffin, the story concerns the efforts made by corrupt politician Cushing (Edward Arnold) to frame honest attorney John Webb (Pat O'Brien) for the murder of Alma Brehmer (Claire Dodd). In concert with his diligent and apparently slow-witted assistant Rus Sampson (Broderick Crawford), Webb hopes to squelch Cushing's plan by locating the real murderer-who turns out to be a lot closer to Webb than he'd ever imagined. Ruth Terry has one of her best screen roles as a birdbrained nightclub hoofer who helps Webb clear himself. Like many Walter Wanger productions of the period, Slightly Honorable is currently available on the public-domain video market. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Edward Arnold, (more)
- 1939
A remake of Paul Leni's The Last Warning (1929), this "Crime Club" series entry once again presents the spectacle of an actor murdered in mid-performance and in front of a sellout crowd. This time the unfortunate thespian is John Wofford (Don Douglas), whose body subsequently disappears. To solve the mystery, police detective Arthur McHugh (William Gargan) goes undercover as a producer wishing to reassemble the original cast for a staging of the seemingly hexed play "Dangerous Currents." During rehearsal, the actor playing Wofford's old role, Carleton (Walter Woolf King), is found murdered and a series of threatening notes purportedly written by the dead actor continue to frighten the surviving cast and crew. Wofford's voice, heard over a disconnected telephone, adds to the terror, as does the actor's very dead body, which reappears behind a crumbling wall. But is the theater really haunted? And, if not, who is behind the strange goings-on and why? To learn the answers to these troubling questions, McHugh and his equally undercover wife, Gloria De Vere (Dorothy Arnold), must discover exactly how the original murder was committed. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gargan, Irene Hervey, (more)
- 1939
In this romance, a young woman journeys from Syracuse to New York to see her sweetheart, a prominent architect. She is bitterly disappointed to discover that he has lost interest in her. The residents of the women's hotel at which she stays offer the heartbroken lass words of encouragement. They tell her to take a stand and to show him what he is missing. She takes their advice and becomes a renowned fashion model. Naturally this piques the designer's interest and he wishes to court her anew. Of course, she by then has many suitors, so he must really work to win her back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell, (more)
- 1939
Fast and Loose was the second of MGM's brief "B" series based on Harry Kurnitz' husband-wife team of bookdealing sleuths, Joel and Garda Sloane. In Fast Company, the first of the series, Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice played the Sloanes; in this second entry, the characters are portrayed by Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell. The murder victim this time is a celebrated rare book collector, and the motive is a missing first edition of Paradise Lost. The supporting cast included several likely suspects, including old reliable Ralph "Anything I Can Do to Help?" Morgan. Fast and Loose might have been faster and looser had it been shorter than 80 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, (more)
- 1939
Sonja Henie, the Norwegian skating star, reportedly played second fiddle to no one at Fox in the late '30s, and this backstage musical extravaganza is all Henie. Taking a leaf from producer David O. Selznick, Consolidated Pictures send public relation expert Tyrone Power in search of an unknown to star in the studio's upcoming production of Girl of the North. Power returns to Hollywood with Minnesota schoolmarm (and figure skating expert) Trudy Hovland in tow, and then manufactures a romance between the girl and stolid leading man Roger Maxwell (Rudy Vallee). The ensuing complications are quickly solved and the new star is able to perform a flashy finale to Irving Berlin's "The Song of the Metronome." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Rudy Vallee, (more)
- 1939
Jackie Cooper and Freddie Bartholomew, both recent graduates of the MGM production factory, are reteamed in Universal's Two Bright Boys. While drilling for oil on his Texas ranch, young Rory O'Donnell (Cooper) must fend off the efforts of all-around villain Hallitt (Alan Dinehart) to claim Rory's property for himself. Meanwhile, expatriate Englishman Hilary Harrington (Melville Cooper) and his son David (Freddie Bartholomew) wander the countryside in search of a dishonest dollar. At first hired by Dinehart to help force Rory off his land, the two Britishers instead befriend the young rancher and try to help him bring in a gusher. Hardly Universal's most important 1939 release, Two Bright Boys was still entertaining enough to pay its way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Cooper, Freddie Bartholomew, (more)
- 1939
20th Century Fox's Christmas gift to moviegoers in 1939, this fanciful comedy-drama features the studio's darling of the ice, Sonja Henie. She plays the daughter of a Nobel Peace Prize-winner feared murdered by the German Gestapo. A couple of rival American newspaper reporters, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings, discover that the legendary Professor Norden (Maurice Moscovich) is still very much alive and living under an assumed name in Switzerland. The heroes, however, completely forget their critical assignment after spotting the professor's lovely daughter, Louise (Henie), and their preoccupation with the girl nearly leads to disaster. Fox borrowed Ray Milland from Paramount for this Henie vehicle, which was partially filmed at Sun Valley, ID. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sonja Henie, Ray Milland, (more)
- 1939
A remake of Racetrack, King of the Turf stars Adolphe Menjou as a seedy, alcoholic bookie with a long-dormant streak of decency. Roger Daniel is a young stable boy whom Menjou befriends and offers advice. The bookie and the stable boy purchase a racehorse, with Daniel training to be a top jockey in order to ride the horse to victory. When Menjou's ex-wife (Dolores Costello) arrives on the scene, she reveals that Daniel is in fact Menjou's son, who'd run away from home to pursue a racetrack career. She begs Menjou not to allow the boy to throw away his life--and not to reveal the truth behind their relationship. The next day, Menjou gets good and drunk and orders Daniel to throw a crucial race. The disillusioned boy does so, is disqualified for life, and turns his back on Menjou. Never realizing the true identity of his fallen idol, Daniel returns to his mother, while Menjou, having done the "right thing," disappears into the crowd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Roger Daniel, (more)
- 1938
Two imprisoned con men become ace football players on the prison team in this comedy. They get into real trouble when the duo decides to bust out to keep the mother of a fellow inmate from getting conned by a gang of crooks. When the warden finds out, he is steaming mad because he has bet his entire fortune on an upcoming game and without his two stars, the team will surely lose. Fortunately for him, the two hustle back to prison and get there just in time to win the Big Game. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Tony Martin, (more)
- 1938
20th Century-Fox's first "Jones Family" series entry for 1938 was the six-reel Love on a Budget. Back in their usual screen roles are Jed Prouty (Pa Jones), Spring Byington (Ma Jones) and Florence Roberts (Granny Jones), together with Shirley Deane as the Jones' eldest daughter Bonnie, and Deane's real-life husband Russell Gleason as Bonnie's screen hubby Herbert. This time, the Joneses are suckered in by the get-rich-quick schemes of ne'er-do-well Uncle Charlie (Alan Dinehart). Meanwhile, newlyweds Bonnie and Herbert try to make do on Herbert's parsimonious salary. Nearly ruined by Uncle Charlie's latest "brilliant" investment, Bonnie and Herbert are saved by one of those last-minute financial turnarounds so common to the Jones Family saga. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jed Prouty, Shirley Deane, (more)
- 1938
Fifteen thousand dollars may have been a fortune back in 1938, but to high-powered literary agent Lynn Conway (Virginia Bruce), it's next to nothing. Unfortunately, Lynn is married to chauvinistic Massachusetts shipbuilder David Conway (Robert Montgomery), who stubbornly insists that she quit her job and live on his measly 15-thou-per-year income alone. David also demands that Lynn move from her posh New York apartment to a tiny cottage in provincial New Bedford. Lynn's ex-partner Harry Borden (Warren William), who's always carried a torch for her, tries to convince her to leave David and return to Manhattan. But love conquers all, and Lynn ultimately realizes that a woman's place is in the home -- especially when there's a baby on the way. One suspects that Patricia Ireland and Gloria Steinem will not be entertained by The First Hundred Years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Virginia Bruce, (more)
Previously filmed in 1917 and 1932, Kate Douglas Wiggins' bucolic novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is herein refashioned--and completely, totally, utterly rewritten--as a vehicle for 10-year-old Shirley Temple. Unable to land a radio contract for himself and his niece Rebecca Winstead (Temple), fly-by-night vaudevillian Henry Kipper (William Demarest) leaves the girl in the care of her aunt, Miranda Wilkins (Helen Westley), who runs a little farm with the help of hired hands Homer (Slim Summerville) and Aloysius (Bill Robinson). Miranda has an intense dislike for "show folks", but her next-door neighbor Anthony Kent (Randolph Scott), a talent scout for a major radio network, sees great possibilities in the talented Rebecca and secretly arranges an audition. In short order, Rebecca becomes the biggest sensation on the airwaves, whereupon the mercenary Kipper returns out of nowhere and demands that Miranda return the girl to his care. By now, Rebecca and Miranda have grown to love one another dearly, and the girl doesn't want to leave the farm, but she does what she is told--only to foil the conniving Kipper with a convenient last-minute "illness" (a scene that provides a showcase role for Franklin Pangborn) as a nervous standby organist). Future Titanic costar Gloria Stuart appears as Gwen Warren, obligatory love interest for Anthony Kent. Musical highlights include a medley of hit tunes from Shirley Temple's previous films (including, inevitably, "On the Good Ship Lollipop"), and a climactic tap duet spotlighting Temple and the inimitable Bill Robinson, danced to the tune of Raymond Scott's "Toy Trumpet". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott, (more)
