Michael Gaddis Movies
- 1948
In this courtroom drama, two opposing lawyers lead a double life. In the courtroom they are ruthless toward each other, but once the day is over they become passionate lovers. Unfortunately their newest case may well threaten their relationship as the defense attorney is defending a corrupt district attorney who happens to be her ex-husband. The prosecutor knows nothing of their past relationship; all he knows is he wants to nail the crook and his cronies to the wall. Unfortunately, the truth comes out in court and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Aherne, Iris Adrian, (more)
- 1947
Slave Girl is the sort of fare that the Universal higher-ups used to dismiss as "tits and sand;" nonetheless, this kind of entertainment (along with the equally lowbrow Abbott and Costello and Ma and Pa Kettle pictures) paid the bills for the studio's more ponderous projects. The slave girl of the title is Yvonne DeCarlo, one of many in servitude to a 19th century Tripoli potentate (Albert Dekker). Two-fisted American diplomat George Brent, accompanied by brawling sailors Broderick Crawford and Andy Devine, has been sent by his government to negotiate the release of hostages captured by the potentate. When negotiations break down, DeCarlo agrees to help Brent free the prisoners through more direct means, provided he takes her away with him. If Slave Girl was supposed to have been taken with a straight face, Universal would never have included brief cutaways to a wisecracking camel (!), whose name is "Humpy" and whose voice is provided by Buddy Hackett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne De Carlo, George Brent, (more)
- 1947
Having struck gold with the previous season's Dillinger, the King Brothers returned to Monogram as producers of The Gangster. Adapted by Daniel Fuchs from his own novel Low Company, the film stars Barry Sullivan as flint-faced racketeer Shubunka. Shown to be a product of the slums, Shubunka spends his adulthood in pursuit of power and riches, with no time for friendship or romance. Wounded in a gangland shootout, Shubunka ruminates on his past, present and (unlikely) future, wondering if it's all been worth it. Promoted as a "psychological" drama, The Gangster has plenty of gunplay and bloodshed to satiate action fans, and a surfeit of sex appeal in the form of gangster's moll Nancy (played by Monogram's resident skating star Belita). Prominent in the supporting cast is the ineluctable Sheldon Leonard as Shubunka's chief rival, delivering a subtler variation on his patented tough-guy screen persona. The Gangster was directed by Oscar-winning art director Gordon Wiles, later a mainstay of such TV series as Land of the Lost and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Sullivan, Belita, (more)
- 1941
Meet the Chump is an hour's worth of nonsense ideally suited to the talents of Hugh "Woo Woo" Herbert. The star plays Hugh Mansfield, the bumbling trustee of the estate of his nephew John Mansfield (Lewis Howard), who will come into a fortune when he reaches his 25th birthday. As John's natal day approaches, Hugh begins to panic, as well he should: thanks to his ineptitude, he's managed to fritter away $10 million. Hoping to cover up his financial foolishness, Hugh feigns insanity (it's not much of a stretch) and allows himself to be thrown into the booby hatch. The plot is resolved by the timely arrival of gangsters in the last reel, among them the notorious Stinky Fink (Shemp Howard, who seems right at home in this elongated 2-reel comedy). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Herbert, Lewis Howard, (more)
