Claire Dodd Movies
Blonde leading lady Claire Dodd came to Hollywood by way of Broadway's Ziegfeld Follies. In films since 1930, Claire was for several years an employee of Warner Bros., where she played many a scheming seductress. She projected a more likeable, down-to-earth image as Della Street in a brace of Warners' "Perry Mason" movies, The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) and The Case of the Lucky Legs (1936)--actually marrying lawyer Mason (Warren William) in the latter film. Claire Dodd's last Hollywood years were spent at Universal Pictures in the early 1940s, where she played pleasant but colorless heroines; in one such assignment, Abbott and Costello's In the Navy (1941), Claire was reunited with her old Warners colleague Dick Powell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1942
Considering the fact that it was the only Universal horror film directed by cult favorite Joseph H. Lewis, it's a shame that Mad Doctor of Market Street isn't better than it is. Lionel Atwill dominates the proceedings as Dr. Benson, an addlepated medico obsessed with the notion of restoring the dead to life. After his experiment on the unfortunate William Saunders (Hardie Albright) goes awry, Benson escapes from the authorities by boarding a passenger ship. When the vessel sinks during a storm at sea, Benson and several survivors manage to pull ashore on a remote tropical island. Here the mad doctor wows the natives with his scientific knowhow, and before long he is appointed king of the tribe. In this capacity, he hopes to marry helpless heroine Patricia (Claire Dodd) and to use the rest of the shipwreck survivors as guinea pigs for his experiments. The main problem with Mad Doctor of Market Street is the inclusion of youthful Una Merkel as the heroine's aunt, a role obviously intended for an older, less prominent actress. Obliged to radically alter and "beef up" Merkel's part, the screenwriters were forced to shortchange the rest of the picture, and as a result Mad Doctor of Market Street is nowhere near as frightening or atmospheric as it should have been. Still, the film is worth the price of admission for its chilling closing sequence alone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Una Merkel, Lionel Atwill, (more)
- 1942
Universal's standing Show Boat sets get another workout in the 60-minute B-picture Mississippi Gambler. On the trail of mob hitman Mathews (Douglas Fowley), reporter Johnny Forbes (Kent Taylor) journeys from New York to Mississippi. Here he finds big-time gangster boss Carvel (John Litel), long thought dead but actually living pseudonymously as a respectable plantation owner. Despite his civilized veneer, Carvel continues mastermining his criminal empire, including a chain of gambling emporiums. With the help of leading ladies Beth (Frances Langford) and La Verne (Claire Dodd), Forbes manages to trap Carvel in his own den. Shemp Howard shows up as a zany taxi driver, doing a lot more for the film than it does for him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kent Taylor, Frances Langford, (more)
- 1942
- Add Don Winslow of the Navy [Serial] to QueueAdd Don Winslow of the Navy [Serial] to top of Queue
Lt. Com. Frank V. Martinek's widely circulated comic strip Don Winslow of the Navy was brought to the screen in this action-packed, 12-chapter Universal serial. The villain of the piece is The Scorpion (Kurt Katch), who has been sabotaging American military forces in the Pacific. Assigned to put an end to the Scorpion's activities, Navy intelligence operative Don Winslow heads to the remote island of Tongita. Here he must deal with a gang of clever Fifth Columnists, led by Menlin (John Litel), who are in cahoots with the head bad guy. Fortunately, Winslow is able to rely upon the courage and loyalty of his sidekick Red Pennington (Walter Sande) and nurses Misty (Anne Nagel) and Mercedes (Claire Dodd). Though the miniature work in Don Winslow of the Navy is laughably inept, the film itself is one of Universal's most satisfying chapter plays. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Terry
- 1942
In this war comedy, an army reject becomes a war hero by rounding up a ring of Nazi spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1941
The third of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's starring films, In the Navy was released second; Universal had just made a bundle off Abbott and Costello's Buck Privates, and the studio wanted another "service" comedy put into circulation in a hurry. Abbott and Costello share over-the-title billing with Dick Powell, who plays a popular radio singer. Eager to avoid his screaming fans, Powell enlists in the Navy under an assumed name, hoping to serve his country incognito. Girl reporter Claire Dodd chases after Powell, hoping to secure a photo of the fugitive "idol of millions." So much for the "straight" plot; what are Abbott and Costello up to? Well, Costello plays a ship's cook who wants to impress Patty Andrews of The Andrews Sisters. With his pal Abbott's help, Costello poses as an admiral -- and in so doing nearly destroys the entire American fleet. This climactic sequence ran into trouble when the U.S. Navy decided that it didn't want to be held up to ridicule by showing the bumbling Costello ordering its ships around. To save the climax -- the most expensive portion of the film -- the scriptwriters wrote a new coda, passing off Costello's "admiralty" as a dream sequence. The best Abbott and Costello routines have little if anything to do with the plot: our favorite (indeed, everyone's favorite) is Costello proving to Abbott that 7 X 13 = 28. Those viewers who prefer music to comedy will be thoroughly satisfied by the vocal contributions of Dick Powell and The Andrews Sisters, as well as a lively dance number offered by the Condos Brothers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, (more)
- 1941
1941's The Black Cat is neither a remake of the 1934 Karloff-Lugosi film of the same name, nor does it bear the slightest relation to the same-named Edgar Allan Poe story (as if the 1934 picture did!) The fact that the heroes are played by Hugh Herbert and Broderick Crawford is indication enough that the 1941 film wasn't meant to be taken entirely seriously. It all begins when elderly cat fancier Henrietta Winslow (played by legendary vaudeville impressionist Cecilia Loftus) is murdered by a scheming relative. At the reading of the will, Henrietta's heirs discover that the old dear has left her entire fortune to her pet felines. No one will get a penny until all the cats join their ancestors in Tabby Heaven. Several more murders occur, as suspicion is cast on such shady types as Mr. Hartley (Basil Rathbone), Abigail Doone (Gale Sondergaard) and family butler Eduardo (Bela Lugosi in yet another red-herring role). By the time that bumbling Mr. Penny (Herbert) and Hubert Smith (Crawford) figure out who the real killer is, heroine Elaine Winslow (Anne Gwynne) is on the verge of meeting her doom as well. Billed last, Alan Ladd has practically nothing to do as one of the heirs. Hardly one of the classic Universal horror efforts, The Black Cat at least has the advantage of some spook camerawork, courtesy of Stanley Cortez (Magnificent Ambersons). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, (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)
- 1940
In this musical drama, a construction worker becomes the guardian of a 12-year old girl after one of his buddies is killed. She and he head to New York to look for her uncle, a vaudevillian. With the help of a good pal, they soon find the uncle. The three searchers encounter trouble when the pal uses all their money to buy a ramshackle restaurant. Fortunately, the construction worker saves them by turning the dump into a red hot night spot. Songs include: "I Haven't The Time To Be A Millionaire", "Meet The Sun Halfway", "April Played The Fiddle", "The Pessimistic Character (With The Crab Apple Face)", "If I Had My Way", "Ida, Sweet As Apple Cider", and "Rings On My Fingers". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Gloria Jean, (more)
- 1939
In this cautionary tale from the late 1930s, a woman surgeon must rush to the hospital on her wedding anniversary to save a life. Her husband is quite upset and goes off to a party hosted by a seductive woman. He finds himself attracted to her and as his wife becomes increasingly involved in her career he succumbs to temptation. He then files for divorce. Not wanting to lose her family, the doctor abandons her career and begins working to reassemble her family. Their renewed bond is cemented when her daughter falls off a horse and is critically injured. While her husband flies their plane to a hospital, the doctor performs surgery upon her daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frieda Inescort, Henry Wilcoxon, (more)
- 1938
Fast Company was another attempt by MGM to match the success of its "Thin Man" films. Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice star as Joel and Garda Sloane, the funloving rare-book dealers created by Harry Kurnitz. Try as they might, the Sloanes can't help getting involved in crime and murder. This time around, the couple searches for a con artist who has been ripping off the insurance companies by staging robberies of phony first editions. When murder rears its ugly head, Joel and Garda have four suspects to choose from, at least three of whom look incredibly guilty. Without providing any clues as to the outcome, it can be noted that the supporting cast includes such past masters of skullduggery as Louis Calhern, Douglass Dumbrille, George Zucco and Dwight Frye. Fast Company was the first of three "Joel and Garda Sloane" efforts, each one starring different actors in the leading roles. To avoid confusion with a later MGM film with the same title, Fast Company was rechristened Rare Book Murder for television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melvyn Douglas, Florence Rice, (more)
- 1938
Sidney Toler made his first appearance as aphorism-spouting oriental sleuth Charlie Chan in 1938's Charlie Chan in Honolulu, while Victor Sen Yung likewise makes his series debut as Charlie's Number Two Son Jimmy. While awaiting the birth of his first grandchild, Chan endeavors to solve a shipboard murder on a Hawaiian freighter. Hint: the most likely suspect is played by George Zucco, so it's safe bet that he's not the guilty party. Hampering Chan's investigation is the well-meaning assistance of overeager Charlie Chan Jr. (Layne Tom), as well as the dangerous menagerie of animal trainer Al Hogan (Eddie Collins). Audiences immediately warmed to Sidney Toler as the new Charlie Chan, encouraging 20th Century-Fox to keep the series going as long as possible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Toler, Phyllis Brooks, (more)
- 1938
Herman Bahr's German play The Yellow Nightingale from 1907 became Paramount's 1938 entry in the then-popular operetta cycle. Gladys Swarthout, formerly of the Met, stars as Ilona Boros, a peasant girl with a magnificent voice who becomes a pawn in the rivalry between opera tenor Tony Kovach (John Boles) and his business manager Zoltan Jason (John Barrymore). Both men are infatuated with the beautiful, but cold, Countess Foldessy (Claire Dodd), and Tony plans to make Ilona a star so that Jason will be attracted to her instead. The scheme backfires, of course, and soon both men are fighting over Ilona, the outraged countess left to instead pursue Jason's butler, Von Hemisch (Curt Bois). In between the comedy, Swarthout, Boles, and company perform such well-known selections as "Because," from the opera Jocelyn; "Habanera," from Carmen; "La Ci Darem la Nano," from Don Giovanni; and Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin's "Tonight We Love." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gladys Swarthout, John Boles, (more)
- 1938
Nancy, a jilted bride-to-be, is played by Janet Gaynor in one of her last starring films. The three loves are novelist Robert Montgomery, publisher Franchot Tone, and gormless nebbish Grady Sutton (Sonny TUFTS??). In New York to find her runaway groom Sutton, Janet runs across Montgomery and Tone. More selective since her unfortunate near-wedding, Gaynor decides to have the two swains demonstrate their worthiness, leading to a brief (and chaste) menage-a-trois in which all three are under the same roof. Three Loves Has Nancy is a sedate screwball comedy, carried completely by the charm of its stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Gaynor, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1937
In this comedy drama, a newspaper report discovers that a popular religious cult is really a scam. Unbeknownst to him, his wife is messing around with his managing editor. When he finds out, he leaves them and begins his own affair with the female reporter he has secretly loved all along. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Murphy, Josephine Hutchinson, (more)
- 1936
Perry Mason (Warren William) actually marries his secretary, the redoubtable Della Street (Claire Dodd) in this, the fourth installment of Warner Bros.' popular series based on the novels by Erle Stanley Garner. The honeymoon, alas, is rudely interrupted when Perry is kidnapped by Eve Belter (Winifred Shaw), who demands that he help her fight a scandal sheet, Spicy Bits, which has threatened to expose an affair involving the lady herself and politician Peter Milnor (Kenneth Harlan). Visiting the newspaper office, the intrepid defense attorney learns that the publisher is none other than Mrs. Belter's millionaire husband (Joseph King), who wished to punish his wife for her infidelity. But when Belter is found murdered, Eve becomes the natural suspect and Mason agrees to defend her much to Della's irritation. Eve's innocence is of course a given -- what with being Mason's client and all -- but Perry must not only catch the real culprit, but also Della before she has their marriage annulled. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren William, Claire Dodd, (more)
- 1936
Nurse Sarah Keate, the middle-aged crime-solver created by mystery novelist Mignon Eberhardt, was reshaped as a much younger and prettier woman in Murder by an Aristocrat. Marguerite Churchill is the white-clad heroine, here rechristened Sarah Keating, while Lyle Talbot is her doctor boyfriend Allen Carick. The murder of the title takes place in a Old Dark House where Sarah is presently employed. The victim is nasty Bayard Thatcher (William B. Davidson), who supplements his income by blackmailing the various members of his family. Naturally, all of the other Thatchers are suspected of the crime, but the list narrows as they themselves are bumped off one by one. With nary a cop in sight, Sarah takes it upon herself to solve the mystery before she ends up on a morgue slab. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, Marguerite Churchill, (more)
- 1936
Strictly for Al Jolson's most fervent fans, The Singing Kid casts Jolie as neurotic Broadway star Al Jackson. Facing professional ruin when he loses his voice, Al heads to the country to regain his vocal timbre and to get his head back together. While recuperating, he falls in love with farm girl Ruth Haines (Beverly Roberts), the pretty aunt of precocious little Sybil Haines (Sybil Jason). The kid bids fair to steal the picture, but Big Al isn't about to let that happen! Much as it must have pained him, Jolson shares the spotlight with such specialty performers as Wini Shaw, Cab Calloway, the Yacht Club Boys and the knockabout comedy team of Mitchell and Durant. The E.Y. Harburg-Harold Arlen score includes "I Want to Sing a Mammy Song" and "I Love to Singa," which later served as the basis of an amusing Merrie Melodies cartoon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Jolson, Allen Jenkins, (more)
- 1936
This drama is set at a struggling radio station. To drum up more listeners, the station owner dredges up an old mystery and tells her announcer to make it into a serial. He and his secretary are against the idea because the story is true. The broadcasts create problems for the woman originally acquitted of the charge. Over the last two decades, she has married and raised a daughter who is getting ready to marry the son of a prominent industrialist. The airing of her mother's old dirty laundry threatens to destroy her upcoming nuptials. The mother and her husband are so distraught that they kill themselves. The bereaved daughter, blaming the radio station for her parents' demise, goes there to kill the announcer. Her fiancé follows and mayhem ensues. The story is also called One Fatal Hour. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Beverly Roberts, (more)
- 1936
A naval officer gets more than he bargained for when he adopts a recently orphaned young boy, the son of his late best friends. Despite the resistance of the lad's surviving relatives, who worry that growing in the Navy will be hard on the boy, the officer loves and takes good care of the boy. At least he does until the child is abducted by a gangster who has mistaken him for his long-lost boy. Fortunately for the young fellow, the officer rallies the entire Navy and comes to the rescue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gargan, Claire Dodd, (more)
- 1935
Adapted from one of Dashiell Hammett's best novels, The Glass Key is a lively and straightforward melodrama of political corruption and urban intrigue. George Raft plays Ed Beaumont, the right-hand man to genial ward heeler Paul Madvig (Edward Arnold), who wants to clean up his political act. On the eve of a major election, Madvig is implicated in a murder, and it's up to Beaumont to help him out. Intimately involved in the case is Janet Henry (Claire Dodd), the sister of the murdered man and the daughter of "above reproach" Senator Henry (Charles Richman). Though no babe-in-the-woods, Beaumont is in for quite a few disillusionments as he pursues his investigation, though he does rather better romantically than the redoubtable Madvig. The Glass Key was remade (and improved) in 1942, with Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Brian Donlevy; neither version, however, has as much bite and vitriol as the Hammett original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Edward Arnold, (more)
- 1935
In this bedroom farce, an ex-wife overhears her former hubby's new wife and her lover planning a tryst for the weekend while the husband is away on a business trip. Hoping that the husband will catch them in the act, the ex creates an elaborate scheme whereby the lovers' plans are foiled and they must spend the weekend at her house. She then arranges for her former husband to drop by so he can see for himself the kind of hussy he married. Unfortunately the whole plot goes terribly awry when two fugitive jewel thieves wind up stranded at the ex-wife's house too. Things get really mixed up when the ex-wife discovers that she is in love with the second-wife's lover. Meanwhile second wifey recovers the jewels from the thieves just as her hubby returns. He gets there just as his ex-wife and the lover are married. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, George Brent, (more)
- 1935
Errol Flynn makes his Hollywood screen debut as a corpse in this funny, fast-paced whodunit, the third of six Perry Mason vehicles produced by Warner Bros. from 1934 to 1937. Flynn's murder victim is one Gregory Moxley, the estranged and long-thought dead husband of Perry's client, Rhoda Montaine (Margaret Lindsey), who, in the meantime, has married a millionaire (Donald Woods) and is ripe for blackmail. Perry agrees to meet with Moxley, but finds him very much dead and this time for good. Rhoda naturally becomes the prime suspect, but, with the able assistance of his wisecracking secretary Della Street (Claire Dodd), Perry is able to reveal the identity of the real culprit, not in the courtroom this time, but at an elegant cocktail party. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, (more)
- 1935
The hero of The Pay-Off is somewhat denser than usual, making his ultimate victory all the more amazing. James Dunn plays newspaper columnist Joe McCoy, who is inveigled by his no-good wife Maxine (Claire Dodd) to become the dupe of crooked sports promoter Marty Bleuler (Alan Dinehart). So devoted is Joe to Maxine that he's willing to overlook the fact that she's committed murder to achieve her own goals. But the guilty must be punished eventually, and Maxine comes to an ignoble end, leaving Joe free to marry his co-worker Connie (Patricia Ellis), who's loved him all along. This 1936 The Pay-Off is not a remake of the 1930 film of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Claire Dodd, (more)
- 1935
High-rolling gambler "Odds" Owen (Warren William) establishes an American insurance agency created along the lines of Lloyd's of London. Owen insures Kentucky colonel Jefferson Davis Youngblood (Guy Kibbee) against the possibility that Youngblood's actress daughter Marilyn (Claire Dodd) might get married, thereby cutting off the Colonel's allowance. After scaring away several prospective suitors, Owen messes things up by falling in love with Marilyn himself. Odds are that the 60-minute Don't Bet on Blondes would be completely forgotten were it not for the presence of new Warner Bros. contractee Errol Flynn, who appears in two brief scenes as one of Marilyn's boyfriends. It was Flynn's first speaking role at Warners, and he carried it off with class if not distinction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren William, Claire Dodd, (more)
