Jim Jordan Movies
Jim Jordan and his wife Marian "Driscoll" Jordan are best remembered as the charming "Fibber McGee and Molly" a married couple who were a radio institution for over 20 years. As the riotous McGees, Jordan and Driscoll also appeared in four films. In 1977, Jordan also lent his voice to a Disney animated feature, The Rescuers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1945
Robert Young stars as a WW2 pilot named Hank, who accompanies his pal Jerry (Bill Williams, in his film debut) on a furlough. Jerry introduces his girlfriend Helen (Laraine Day) to Hank, a notorious and unrepentent womanizer. In a twinkling, Hank tries to steal Helen away from Jerry-but succeeds only after proving that he's a nice guy after all. Ann Harding, one of RKO Radio's leading star of the early 1930s, returns to her old studio to play Helen's all-knowing mother. Those Endearing Young Charms is based on a Broadway play by Edward Chodorov, originally purchased for the screen by independent producer Sam Goldwyn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Laraine Day, (more)
Dick Tracy, Detective (originally just Dick Tracy) was the first of four RKO Radio B-pictures based on Chester Gould's classic comic strip. Though Ralph Byrd is most closely associated with the role of Tracy, the title character is played herein by Morgan Conway (Byrd would be seen as Tracy in the last two series entries). The jut-jawed detective takes on a vicious criminal named Splitface (Mike Mazurki), who upon escaping from jail vows to murder the jurors who found him guilty and their alternates. He manages to knock off three before the police force figures out what's happening. Galvanized into action, Dick Tracy and his partner Pat Patton (Lyle Latell) track Splitface to a deserted riverboat (a leftover set from the 1945 RKO feature Man Alive) where the villain is holding Tracy's girlfriend Tess Truehart (Anne Jeffreys) and adopted son Junior (Mickey Kuhn) captive. When asked about Dick Tracy Detective in 1990, Anne Jeffreys flatly denied she'd ever played Tess Trueheart until she caught up with the film on videotape. She'd completely forgotten the whole experience. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, (more)
- 1945
Having Wonderful Crime spotlights Michael J. Malone, the murder-solving attorney created by author Craig Rice. The film is also ostensibly based on a novel by Rice, though precious little of the original actually made it to the screen. The story begins as Malone (Pat O'Brien) brusquely informs his newlywed friends Jake and Helene Justus (George Murphy and Carole Landis) that he's not going to allow them to suck him into another murder mystery. Unfortunately for the attorney, Jake and Helene shortly afterward attend a stage magic show wherein the star magician (George Zucco) disappears for real! Their investigation leads to a resort hotel literally packed with murder suspects. When the newlyweds learn too much for their own good, it's up to Malone to come to the rescue and nab the killer. One of the suspects is played by an actress named Anje Berens, who as "Gloria Holden" previously starred in Dracula's Daughter (1936). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, George Murphy, (more)
- 1945
This WW II drama is the first to deal with the fateful atomic bomb attack on Japan. Originally, the film centered on the acquisition of a new kind of gun, but as it was in production during the time the Bomb was dropped, the producers were quick to change the story to suit the times. It tells the story of a straight-arrow American pilot who was raised in Japan and is asked to return there to get a captured scientist to garner valuable information about the A-bomb. The pilot, Major Ross, realizes that he will not survive the mission, but as he has just lost his lover, he cares little for life. Before he goes, his face is surgically altered so he looks Japanese and he then infiltrates the camp where the scientist is being held. There he finds his girl friend, an army nurse, who has also been captured. Unfortunately, she has fallen in love with a fellow inmate. The determined Major Ross remains focused and completes his mission, but not before encountering considerable danger at the hands of enemy officers. The end of the film features actual newsreel footage of nuclear bombings from Pathe. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Barbara Hale, Richard Loo, (more)
- 1944
Heavenly Days was the last of three RKO Radio film vehicles for the popular radio duo of Fibber McGee and Molly (aka Jim and Marion Jordan). Unlike their first two films, which were cacophonous, plotless musical farces, this one actually has a coherent storyline and not a little "heart appeal." Self-styled expert on everything Fibber McGee takes it upon himself to leave the safe environs of Wistful Vista to go to Washington DC, intending to present himself as the "common man" before the US Congress. Naturally, Fibber's wife Molly goes along for the ride, if only to keep her husband from making a fool of himself. Fibber's actions are given credibility when pollster George Gallup (played by Don Douglas) selects the McGees as Mr. and Mrs. Average Man (or Person). While at large in DC, the McGees also become involved with a group of wide-eyed war orphans. The film's highlight is an impromptu musical interlude with Fibber, Molly, and a group of GIs, played by the King's Men Quartet (regulars on the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show). Perhaps because it took itself a bit too seriously, Heavenly Days failed to match the box-office success of RKO's earlier Fibber-and-Molly efforts, posting a loss of $205,000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, (more)
- 1944
This delightful entry in RKO Radio's "Falcon" series finds amateur Tom Lawrence (Tom Conway), aka The Falcon, tring to solve a series of Tinseltown murders. The killings all seem to be tied in with a "jinxed" movie production, supervised by neurotic studio executive Martin Dwyer (John Abbott). Accompanied by wisecracked lady cabbie Billie (Veda Ann Borg), Lawrence pokes around a studio backlot, gathering clues and grilling suspects all along the way. Could the murderer be pretty starlet Peggy Callahan (Barbara Hale), haughty prima donna Lili D'Alio (Rita Corday) or shady "businessman" Louie (Sheldon Leonard)? Filmed on such locations as the Hollywood Park race track and the Hollywood Bowl, The Falcon in Hollywood spends most of its time within the offices, sound stages, technical departments and walkways of the RKO Radio studio itself. The film was one of the most popular of RKO's "Falcon" efforts, posting a $115,000 profit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Conway, Barbara Hale, (more)
- 1942
Filmed on leftover Magnificent Ambersons sets, Here We Go Again is the most endearingly wacky of RKO Radio's Fibber McGee & Molly vehicles. The story begins as the popular radio duo prepares to leave their home town of Wistful Vista and embark upon a second honeymoon. After discovering that hotel where they originally stayed 20 years earlier is now a rundown fleabag, Fibber (Jim Jordan) and Molly (Marian Jordan) head to fancy-schmansy Silver Tip Lodge, where they run into Molly's former sweetheart Otis Cadwalader (Gale Gordon) and Fibber's "friendly enemy" Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (Harold Peary). Meanwhile, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy pals Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd are trying to enjoy an outdoor camping trip, only to be periodically interrupted by a hungry bear and an irascible Indian tribe. The destinities of the various characters are brought together when Cadwalader tries to convince Fibber to invest in a revolutionary motor-fuel formula, while Bergen romances Gildersleeve's pretty niece Jean (Ginny Simms). Also contributing to this "comedy salad" are Fibber McGee and Molly regulars Bill Thompson as wispy Wallace Wimple and Isabel Randolph as haughty Mrs. Uppington, and Edgar Bergen's radio orchestra leader Ray Noble. Highlights include Fibber's special effects-laden billiard game, Charlie McCarthy's song-and-dance number "This Delicious Delirium" (the dapper little dummy is rather obviously doubled by a midget in the long shots!), and the film's whimsical black-comedy fadeout gag. An enormous box-office hit, Here We Go Again is an absolute must for old-time radio aficionados. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, (more)
- 1941
Several popular radio personalities converge in the RKO Radio "comedy salad" Look Who's Laughing. Taking a vacation from his radio series, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen sets out in his private plane, accompanied by his dummy Charlie McCarthy. Developing engine trouble, Bergen makes a forced landing in the town of Wistful Vista, home of Fibber McGee and Molly (Jim and Marian Jordan). Here he gets mixed up in a municipal dispute between Fibber and Throckmorton Gildersleeve (Harold Peary) over the impending construction of a local aircraft factory. Before the film's multitude of complications can be straightened out, Fibber and Molly find themselves aloft in a runaway plane, while Charlie McCarthy falls in love with a squeaky-voiced little girl (who turns out to be Molly in disguise). Best scene: A disconsolate Charlie getting "wasted" on ice-cream sodas while counterman Sterling Holloway looks on sympathetically. Lucille Ball is largely wasted as Bergen's secretary, while Fibber McGee and Molly's radio announcer Harlow Wilcox shows up in a character bit. A box-office bonanza, Look Who's Laughing spawned an abundance of future screen assignments for Bergen, McCarthy, Fibber, Molly, and "Gildersleeve." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edgar Bergen, Dummy: Charlie McCarthy, (more)
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