Frank Henry Movies
- 1948
Chronic gambler Ellen Crane (Paulette Goddard) indulges in games of chance to compensate for the loss of her boyfriend during WW2. Heavily in debt to gambling czar Lonnie Burns (Fred Clark), Ellen promises to marry him to clear her financial slate, but in the cold light of day she rethinks her decision and takes it on the lam. The irascible Burns hires detective J. D. Storm (Macdonald Carey) to track Ellen down and bring her back. After a hectic cross-country pursuit, Ellen and Storm come to realize what the audience has predicted all along: they've fallen in love with each other. This very standard assembly-line comedy is redeemed by its character actors, notably squeaky-voiced Percy Helton as a "three time loser" jailbird. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulette Goddard, MacDonald Carey, (more)
- 1947
Saddle Pals hits a new low for Gene Autry's postwar Republic westerns, containing literally no action at all. Autry is drawn into the plot when he's given power of attorney in a property settlement involving his old pal (Sterling Holloway) and a gang of land swindlers. The pal then goes on an extended vacation, leaving Autry to sort things out. Though he doesn't display the business acumen that would eventually transform him into a real-life billionaire, Autry does manage to figure out that the swindlers are up to something dishonest. One of the more curious aspects of the film is the casting of traditional comedy-relief actor Sterling Holloway as the plot catalyst; he looks almost as uncomfortable as Autry. Fortunately, Autry's movie career would take an upswing the following year when he switched his base of operations from Republic to Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynne Roberts, Sterling Holloway, (more)
- 1947
Although Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) agrees to remain at Mesa City for a couple of days so that California (Andy Clyde) and Lucky (Rand Brooks) can partake in various amusements, the stay becomes more of an ordeal than a holiday when the local bank is robbed during a square-dance competition. A case of mistaken trunks puts California in jail and it is up to Hoppy to clear his name and catch the real culprits. The real bank robbers manage to escape in one of those newfangled horse-less carriages, but as horse-less carriages are wont to do, then as now, this one runs out of gas at the most inopportune moment. Co-scripted by character actress Ellen Corby, Hoppy's Holiday was produced by its star, William Boyd. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Victor Jory, (more)
- 1943
- NR
One of Cary Grant's most financially successful 1940s vehicles, Mr. Lucky finds Grant atypically cast as a shifty, out-for-number-one gambler. Having dodged the draft by adopting the identity of a dead man, Grant sets his sights on purchasing a fancy gambling ship. To raise the necessary funds, he pretends to be working hand in glove with the American War Relief society. Once he meets Laraine Day, however, Grant is seized by an uncontrollable bout of honesty. It takes him awhile, but he finally does the right thing. The film is framed in flashback, as old seaman Charles Bickford explains why a tearful Laraine Day waits at the dock each evening for a certain ship to come in. Also in the cast is Paul Stewart as a cold-eyed but nonetheless semi-comic hoodlum, and Kay Johnson and Gladys Cooper as elegant but gullible society women. The best aspect of this breezy comedy-drama is Grant's cockney propensity for "rhyming slang," a running gag better heard than described. Mr. Lucky was later adapted into a TV series in 1959, with John Vivyan in the Cary Grant part and with Blake Edwards at the production controls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Laraine Day, (more)
