Russ Columbo Movies
- 1934
Wake Up and Dream was part of a concerted (and successful) effort to turn radio crooner Russ Columbo into a major movie star. The story is the old saw about a trio of vaudevillians, Paul (Columbo), Charley (Roger Pryor) and Toby (June Knight), who have a falling out when both Paul and Charley fall in love with Toby. The girl is indecisive, but she comes to the conclusion that Paul is the man for her. By this time, however, Paul is convinced that Toby is crazy about Charley, and he tries to bring the two of them together. Alas, by the time Wake Up and Dream was released in October of 1934, Russ Columbo was dead, the victim of an accidentally discharged rifle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russ Columbo, Roger Pryor, (more)
- 1933
This drama was written by famed radio announcer Walter Winchell. It chronicles the tragic love between a racketeer and a singer. So smitten is he by the chorus girl's charms that he buys her a nightclub. Unfortunately for him, the club's male crooner/bandleader also loves the girl. Realizing that he cannot compete, the crook bows out. However, during her wedding the racketeer lays down his life in exchange for hers when others attempt to kidnap her. He is shot, but survives. In the hospital he listens to the radio and hears that he is considered a hero and that the would-be kidnappers have been killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Cummings, Russ Columbo, (more)
- 1930
Filmed in 1929 and released early in 1930, Dynamite was Cecil B. DeMille's first all-talking feature. As one observer has noted, this 128-minute opus has enough plots for seven pictures. The basic storyline here involves spoiled heiress Cynthia Crothers (Kay Johnson) who will lose her fortune if she isn't married right away. Her love Roger Towne (Conrad Nagel) isn't interested in marriage, so Crothers decides to wed convicted murderer Hagon Derk (Charles Bickford). Her plan: Derk will die, then she'll be a millionaire, free to chase after Towne without benefit of clergy. Unfortunately for Crothers, Derk is pardoned at the last minute when the real killer (Leslie Fenton) confesses. Crothers tries to drive Derk out of her life by humiliating him at a fancy party, only to discover that the conditions of her inheritance require that she live with her husband for a set period of time. She swallows her pride and heads for Derk's home town, a grimy mining village. Touched by Crother's inept efforts to keep house and cook dinner, Derk eventually falls in love with her--though he makes it clear that he wants no part of her money. Crothers, in turn, falls genuinely in love with her brutish but basically decent husband. It must needs be that fortune-hunting Towne arrives in the mining village, leading to a powerful climax wherein Derk, Crothers and Towne are trapped in a mine cave-in. Though the dialogue is occasionally quite silly (after the killer commits suicide in a crowded restaurant, one of the patrons is heard to complain "It's ruined my dinner!") and the performances overripe at times, Dynamite actually holds up better than you'd expect. DeMilles' utilization of sound is both innovative and imaginative, especially during the noisy climactic sequences. The film was a success, paving the way for DeMilles' camp classic Madame Satan (1930). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, (more)
- 1930
With a title like The Texan and a star like Gary Cooper, one might assume that this 1930 actioner is a western -- and one would be wrong! Set in 1885, the film stars Gary Cooper as Enrique, alias Quico, alias the Llano Kid. Whatever the name, he's a bold and daring bandit, and after shooting a young gambler in self-defense he's got a price on his head. Looking for a safe hideout, the Llano Kid agrees to a scheme hatched by a crooked lawyer named Thacker (Oscar Apfel). Our hero agrees to pose as the long-lost son of Mexican aristocrat Senora Ibarra (Emma Dunn), a role for which he is extensively coached by Thacker, who stands to collect a huge reward when he delivers the "son" to the old woman. Upon learning that the real son was the gambler he killed, the Llano Kid calls off the scheme, whereupon Thacker hires a band of thugs to steal Senora Ibarra's fortune. With the help of his long-time adversary, Bible-quoting sheriff John Brown (James Marcus), the Llano Kid foils Thacker's plan and in the bargain wins the hand of Senora Ibarra's lovely niece Consuelo (Fay Wray). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Fay Wray, (more)
- 1929
If Hollywood gossip columnists can be believed, Gary Cooper and Lupe Velez were lovers -- and very passionate ones -- when they co-starred in Paramount's Wolf Song. Cooper is cast as Sam Lash, a fur trapper with a randy reputation when it comes to women. But when Sam meets tempestuous Mexican damsel Lola Salazar (Velez), he falls deeply in love for the first time in his life. Lola's aristocratic father Don Solomon (Michael Vavitch) disapproves of the romance, forcing Sam to kidnap the girl and high-tail it to the mountains. After a brief period of marital contentment, Sam gets restless and leaves Lola, preferring the company of his trapper pals Gullion (Louis Wolheim) and Rube (Constantin Romanoff). But he relents and returns to his bride -- making short work of his bitter enemy, Indian leader Black Wolf (George Rigas). Completed as a silent film, Wolf Song was released as a part-talkie by virtue of the inclusion of three songs, two performed by Lupe Velez and one by radio crooner Russ Columbo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Lupe Velez, (more)
