Jane Weeks Movies
- 1948
An Innocent Affair was the original release title for the tame marital comedy Don't Trust Your Husband. Making her first film appearance in six years, Madeleine Carroll plays Paula Doane, the wife of ad executive Vincent Doane (Fred MacMurray). For business reasons, Vincent is obliged to entertain lovely widow Margot Fraser (Louise Allbritton). Misunderstanding the situation, Paula vows to "get even" with Vincent by dallying with wealthy tobacco magnate Claude Kimball (Charles "Buddy" Rogers, who like Carroll was returning to films after a six-year absence). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens next. At the very least, it was nice to see Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll working together on-screen for the fifth (and as turned out, the last) time. Much of An Innocent Affair is a thinly disguised advertisement for "Prince" Michael Romanoff's Hollywood eatery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Madeleine Carroll, (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)
- 1947
For You I Die was one of several atmospheric melodramas released by the short-lived firm of Film Classics. Escaping from the law, convict Johnny Coulter (Paul Langton) seeks refuge in a remote tourist camp. Here he falls in love with Hope Novak (Cathy Downs), who is instrumental in his ultimate decision to turn honest. In "Grand Hotel" fashion, the main story is fleshed out by a stunning variety of supporting characters, including the misanthropic Alec Shaw (Mischa Auer), the trashy Georgie (Jane Weeks) and the philosophical Smitty (Roman Bohnen). Though stereotypes abound in For You I Die, the film is strangely compelling nonetheless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Downs, Paul Langton, (more)
- 1943
A retired septuagenarian writes books on criminology based on his experiences as a Scotland Yard officer. On his seventieth birthday, the DA's office pays homage to him by requesting his assistance on a puzzling case. Though the police are sure they have solved the case, it is the old man using his old fashioned methods who proves them terribly wrong. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Stephenson, Lloyd Corrigan, (more)
