Bess Stafford Movies
- 1936
The second screen version of Anna Katherine Green's 1878 whodunit stars Donald Cook as Dr. Truman Hartnell, a dedicated physician who after declaring old Silas Leavenworth (Frank Sheridan) fit for fight is appalled to learn that the wealthy broker is found dead, an apparent suicide. But Silas, who had bandied about the idea of leaving his ill-gotten gains to charity, had plenty of enemies within his own household. And sure enough, as Detective Bob Gryce (Norman Foster) soon learns, the mean old geezer was murdered by a person or persons unknown. Among the suspects: Henry Clavering (Gavin Gordon), Silas' disgruntled business partner; Eleanor (Jean Rouverol), Leavenworth's pretty niece; and Phoebe (Maude Eburne), the victim's cranky old-maid of a sister. A pet monkey also figures prominently in the plot but the original denouement was too gruesome for the British censors and Republic filmed a copout ending for foreign release versions. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Cook, Jean Rouverol, (more)
- 1936
The 1936 comedy-mystery The Princess Comes Across might well have been inspired by a real-life incident during the silent-movie era, in which a crafty San Francisco stenographer hoodwinked the Hollywood elite into believing that she was a Spanish princess. Carole Lombard stars as an alluring Swedish beauty who travels under the name of Princess Olga. Everyone whom she meets en route to America on the steamship Mammoth bows and scrapes to the Princess, while Hollywood anxiously awaits her arrival to star her in a big-budget film. Only the ship's bandleader, King Mantell (Fred MacMurray), refuses to defer to Olga, sensing that she may not be all she claims. Mantell's instincts are right on target: the "Princess" is a brass-nickel phony, a Brooklyn girl named Wanda Nash who has cooked up her royal guise with drama coach Gertrude (Alison Skipworth) as a publicity stunt to crash into movies. Unfortunately, a weaselly blackmailer Darcy (Porter Hall) gloms onto Wanda's true identity and offers to keep quiet in exchange for a huge cash settlment. At the same time, Darcy is attempting to shake down several other passengers on the Mammoth, including King Mantell. Inevitably, Darcy is found murdered in the "Princess"'s stateroom, and Wanda finds herself one of several likely suspects, among them Mantell. A quintet of international detectives, travelling to a convention in America, sets out to solve the mystery, which becomes even more mysterious when one of the detectives also turns up dead. Taking matters in his own hands, Mantell vows to clear Wanda's name, and in the course of things he realizes that he's madly in love with her--but will Wanda give up her hoax, and her future showbiz career, for Mantell's sake? Among the many highlights in this engagingly daffy film is Fred MacMurray's rendition of the enchantingly forgettable song "My Concertina." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1935
A famous movie actress takes a trip to New York City. While there, she gets involved with a wisecracking cab driver who is in need of $200. Recognizing her, he devises a plan to get the money he needs from her. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, Gertrude Michael, (more)
- 1934
An above-average Monogram programmer, Red Head stars the gorgeous Grace Bradley as a good-hearted photographer's model. After she is involved in a scandal, Bradley is persona non grata until she meets sympathetic playboy Bruce Cabot. Cabot marries Bradley, hoping that his wealthy father (Berton Churchill) will try to buy Bradley off and thus allow her to get back on her feet financially. Instead, the father offers Bradley a great deal of money if she will force the lazy Cabot to take a job. Cabot comes to like his new blue-collar existence until he discovers the deal Bradley has made with his father. All is forgiven when Bradley reveals that she never accepted the money and that she truly loves the now-industrious Cabot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Cabot, Grace Bradley, (more)
- 1933
In this grim drama, a conniving young man is brought up on charges of reckless driving. To "prove" his innocence and good character, he goes to a nursing home and adopts an old woman whom he presents as his loving mother. Unfortunately for him, she really gets into her role and when he falls in love with a seductive, shady lady, the old lady does all she can to protect him from her; this includes getting him tossed in jail and shooting the young trollop. Afterward, the old lady must stand trial. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evelyn Knapp, Margaret Seddon, (more)
