Lester Dorr Movies

Columbia's Criminals of the Air is another entry in the "alien-smuggling" movie cycle -- and as such includes the obligatory scene in which the airborne smugglers escape detection by pulling a lever and disposing of their human cargo. Hoping to collar the crooks, detective Mark Owens (Charles Quigley) poses as a down-and-out pilot looking for work. He is hired by the "Honeymoon Express," ostensibly designed to transport newlyweds across the Mexican border and back again, but actually a front for smuggling activities. Fearless girl reporter Nancy Rawlings (Rosalind Keith) covertly covers Owens' activities, ultimately landing in a heap o' trouble when the crooks catch on. In one of her last "B"-picture assignments, Rita Hayworth plays a voluptuous Latina dancer in a Mexican cabaret sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Movie cowboy Jeffrey Carson (George O'Brien) tries hard to live up to his image in this "backstage western." On location in Wyoming for a picture, Carson -- travelling incognito -- finds himself in the middle of a real-life range war, stirred up by eastern racketeers. When the advice of his screenwriter "Great" Gadsby Holmes (Joe Caits) fails him, our hero tackles the villains on his own, performing far more gallantly than ever he did on screen. As a reward, Carson wins the hand of pretty ranch owner Joyce Butler (Cecilia Parker), with the begrudging blessing of Joyce's Aunt Violet (Maude Eburne). Hollywood Cowboy was produced independently by George A. Hirliman, the same man previously responsible for O'Brien's more serious actioner Daniel Boone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In her third Three Stooges short, pretty Harley Wood (aka Harlene Wood) played a young girl living with her crippled kid brother (Sonny Bupp) in a junkyard shack. The two unfortunates are saved by the Stooges, who have come into possession of what they believe to be a treasure map. The treasure, alas, proves to be a federal treasury vault and the boys are promptly arrested. Their fate is brought to the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who not only pardons the three inept treasure hunters, but also pays for an operation for Sonny. Clyde Bruckman and Elwood Ullman's screenplay was reworked by Andy Clyde, twice, as A Miner Affair (1945) and Two April Fools (1954). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Prospectors Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy head to the western town of Brushwood Gulch, two men on a top-secret mission. The boys have been entrusted by their recently deceased partner Cy Roberts with a deed to a valuable gold mine, to be delivered in person to Roberts' daughter Mary (Rosina Lawrence). Stan inadvertently spills the beans to crooked saloon owner Mickey Finn (James Finlayson), who proceeds to pass off his own wife, saloon chanteuse Lola Marcel (Sharon Lynne), as Mary Roberts. The ever-trusting Stan and Ollie fall for the subterfuge hook, line and sinker, handing the deed over to Lola. Upon running into the real Mary, who slaves away in Mickey Finn's kitchen, Our Heroes vow to retrieve the deed. A battle royale ensues, with Stan, Ollie, Mickey and Lola passing the deed around like a football. Ultimately, Lola manages to wrest the deed away from Stan by tickling him into helpless submission. Chased out of town by the sheriff (Stanley Fields), who harbors a grudge against the boys from a previous misunderstanding, Stan and Ollie sneak back to Brushwood Gulch in the dead of night, hoping to break into Finn's saloon, steal back the deed, and place it firmly in the hands of Mary Roberts. Upon this foundation is built Way Out West, arguably Laurel & Hardy's best feature film (many aficionados prefer Sons of the Desert). Highlights include the aformentioned tickling and burglary scenes, Stan literally eating his hat after losing a bet, Ollie's perennial plunges into a pothole, and the boys' charming singing-and-dancing interludes. Also take note of Marvin Hatley's Oscar-nominated musical score, and the presence of a young, thin Chill Wills as one of "The Avalon Boys". Even if you're not a fan of The Thin One and The Fat One, you'll be limp with laughter at the end of Way Out West. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Love Before Breakfast was the scintillating title Universal chose over Spinster Dinner, the Faith Baldwin novel upon which this airy comedy is based. Carole Lombard is a Park Avenue beauty squired by Preston S. Foster and Cesar Romero. Since neither gentleman is a prize catch, Lombard is fey and fickle throughout the film. That's all there is to Love Before Breakfast, which might have been completely forgotten had it not been for a famous 1930s-era painting in which a detailed poster for the film is the focus of attention. There's one iconoclastic alteration in the painting: Carole Lombard has been given a black eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Spendthrift gives the modern viewer a pretty good idea how Hollywood planned to "mold" the image of new star Henry Fonda. The Lanky One is cast as a profligate, polo-playing playboy, married to a beautiful but superficial heiress (Mary Brian). They divorce, and the wife gets all the money. But the humbled (and impoverished) Fonda finds true love in the arms of Pat Paterson, who cares nothing for material things. So obscure is this screwball comedy that, when Henry Fonda passed away in 1982 and newspapers printed the list of his films, some people thought that Spendthrift was the working title for a more famous film--or that it had never really been filmed at all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to win a 50-dollar prize, the Our Gang kids enter a radio talent contest. Despite the scene-stealing efforts of Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, leader George "Spanky" McFarland selects four-year-old vocalist Darla Hood to represent the gang with her stirring rendition of "I'm in the Mood for Love." But come the day of the broadcast, Darla is nowhere to be found. While Spanky searches for the missing singer, a nervous Alfalfa walks up to the microphone in her place, and it is his squeaky, interminable rendition of "I'm in the Mood for Love" that miraculously saves the day. A genial spoof of the radio series Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour, The Pinch Singer was originally released on January 4, 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lovable old Gus (Gus Leonard) is forced to move his tiny lemonade stand when sidewalk-diner owner William Wagner and his bratty son Leonard Kibrick complain that Gus represents "unfair competition." As Gus relocates near a barber shop at the invitation of friendly boot black Joe Mathey, the Our Gang kids decide to drum up business for their favorite merchant by staging a makeshift parade and musical show. Wagner and his son finally get their comeuppance when a scalp-massaging device becomes lodged in Wagner's trousers, forcing the villain into a brief but colorful "dancing" career. Highlights include Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer's deathless rendition of "Little Brown Jug" and a lengthy comedy set piece involving soap-spiked lemonade. Though filmed for Our Gang's 1934-1935 season, The Lucky Corner was inexplicably withheld from release until March 14, 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anti-Communist politics and screwball romance make strange bedfellows in this comic tale that plays like a cross between the previous year's It Happened One Night (1934) and a less-sober version of a later generation's The Way We Were (1973). Barbara Stanwyck stars as Drue Van Allen, a college student whose father (Purnell Pratt) is a general in the U.S. Army. Dad is less than enthused with Drue's new beau Arner (Hardie Albright) because the lad is a propaganda-spouting Communist. The general would rather see Drue with Jeff (Robert Young), a handsome, all-American soldier who, despite the senior officer's endorsement, has chronic run-ins with authority and is about to go AWOL. When Drue and Jeff end up in a stolen trailer bound for Mexico, they get to know each other better, and General Van Allen sees a prime opportunity to get his daughter away from the red menace for keeps. Red Salute (1935) has also been exhibited under the titles Runaway Daughter and Her Enlisted Man. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Front Page Woman was one of those bread-and-butter vehicles that forced Bette Davis to go on strike against Warner Bros., demanding more worthwhile scripts. On its own terms, the film is a briskly entertaining newspaper yarn about two warring reporters (Davis and George Brent). In their efforts to out-scoop each other, Bette and George frequently land in hot water, especially after phoning in contradictory information concerning a murder trial. In the climax, Davis and Brent are both sent to cover a spectacular fire. While competing over interviews and evidence, the two newshounds discover that they're in love with each other. Front Page Woman was remade nearly scene-for-scene as the "Torchy Blaine" B picture Blondes at Work (37). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a waitress at a local lunch counter inadvertently foils a bank robbery and finds herself turned into a national heroine by an eager-beaver reporter. Unfortunately, her sudden notoriety causes gangsters to abduct her. The plucky waitress not only manages to talk them into returning her, she also convinces them to go straight. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cited by film historian William K. Everson as one of the fastest-moving crime melodramas of the 1930s (if not the fastest) Fog Over Frisco still manages to leave viewers breathless. Top-billed Bette Davis plays giddy heiress Arlene Bradford, whose perverse fascination with gangsters gets her mixed up in a stolen-securities scheme. Arlene's more sensible sister Val (Margaret Lindsay) tries to keep her out of trouble, but this proves impossible. Entering into the fray are hotshot society reporter Tony (Donald Woods) and goofy photojournalist Izzy (Hugh Herbert), who like Val get in over their heads when they stumble upon the body of the murdered Arlene. The identity of the killer remains a well-concealed secret until Izzy, of all people, stumbles across a vital clue. Things really begin to accelerate when Val is kidnapped by Arlene's gangster cohorts (who, interestingly enough, are very reluctant to take her prisoner and do so only when there's no other option!), leading to a mile-a-minute rescue and hasty plot wrap-up. Among the many good guys, bad guys and red herrings are Alan Hale as an Irish cop, Robert H. Barrat as a butler who isn't a butler, and Henry O'Neill as a gosh-knows-what who may be the murderer. Though physical action is at a minimum, Fog Over Frisco is kept constantly on the move by director William Dieterle, using every cinematic trick and optical effect (wipe dissolves, iris-outs, swish-pans etc.) at his disposal. The film was less effectively remade as Spy Ship in 1942. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written by the prolific Ben Hecht, Upper World is a clash-of-class melodrama set in New York City. Railroad tycoon Alexander Stream (Warren William) is neglected by his social-climbing wife Mary Astor. Quite unintentionally, through a chance encounter, he strikes up a reasonably chaste friendship with good-hearted showgirl Lilly Linder (Ginger Rogers). Lilly's ex-boyfriend Lou Colima (J. Carroll Naish) sees an opportunity to blackmail Stream; Lilly tries to block him from doing so, and is murdered for her troubles. Stream shoots Colima in self-defense and manages to cover up his involvement so that the crime scene looks like a murder-suicide, protecting his good name and marriage in the process. But a vitriolic cop (Sidney Toler), whom Stream had earlier gotten demoted over a traffic stop -- and who was on patrol in the vicinity of the crime -- involves himself in the case and gathers enough evidence to point the detectives and the press toward the wary tycoon. Though he must stand trial for Colima's death, Stream is supported in his ordeal by his suddenly attentive and affectionate wife.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide