Douglas Dumbrille Movies
Silver-tongued actor Douglas Dumbrille played just about every type in his long screen career, but it was as a dignified villain that he is best remembered. Born in Canada, Dumbrille did most of his stage work in the United States, breaking into films with His Woman in 1931. He bounced between supporting parts and unbilled bits in the early 1930s, usually at Warner Bros., where his sleek brand of skullduggery fit right in with the gangsters, shysters and political phonies popping up in most of the studio's 1930s product. Superb in modern dress roles, Dumbrille also excelled at costume villainy: it is claimed that, in Lives of the Bengal Lancers (1935), he was the first bad guy to growl, "We have ways of making you talk." The actor's pompous demeanor made him an ideal foil for such comedians as the Marx Brothers, with whom he appeared twice, and Abbott and Costello, who matched wits with Dumbrille in four different films. Sometimes, Dumbrille's reputation as a no-good was used to lead the audience astray; he was frequently cast as red-herring suspects in such murder mysteries as Castle in the Desert (1942), while in the Johnny Mack Brown western Flame of the West (1945), Dumbrille piqued the viewer's interest by playing a thoroughly honest, decent sheriff (surely he'd turn bad by the end, thought the audience -- but he didn't). In real life a gentle man whose diabolical features were softened by a pair of spectacles, Dumbrille mellowed his image as he grew older, often playing bemused officials and judges who couldn't make head nor tails of Gracie Allen's thought patterns on TV's The Burns and Allen Show. Late in life, a widowed Douglas Dumbrille married Patricia Mobray, daughter of his close friend -- and fellow screen villain -- Alan Mowbray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1938
Fast Company was another attempt by MGM to match the success of its "Thin Man" films. Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice star as Joel and Garda Sloane, the funloving rare-book dealers created by Harry Kurnitz. Try as they might, the Sloanes can't help getting involved in crime and murder. This time around, the couple searches for a con artist who has been ripping off the insurance companies by staging robberies of phony first editions. When murder rears its ugly head, Joel and Garda have four suspects to choose from, at least three of whom look incredibly guilty. Without providing any clues as to the outcome, it can be noted that the supporting cast includes such past masters of skullduggery as Louis Calhern, Douglass Dumbrille, George Zucco and Dwight Frye. Fast Company was the first of three "Joel and Garda Sloane" efforts, each one starring different actors in the leading roles. To avoid confusion with a later MGM film with the same title, Fast Company was rechristened Rare Book Murder for television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melvyn Douglas, Florence Rice, (more)
- 1938
Cecil B. DeMille's The Buccaneer stars Fredric March, complete with curly hair, pencil moustache and florid "Sacre Bleu!" French accent, as 18th century pirate Jean Lafitte. Operating out of a "buccaneer's haven" of the coast of New Orleans, Lafitte plunders all passing ships for their wealth, but refuses to attack any vessel flying the American flag. During one seafaring skirmish, he rescues Dutch maiden Gretchen (Franziska Gaal) from a sunken ship. Gretchen falls madly in love with the dashing Lafitte, but he has eyes only for aristocratic Louisana belle Annette (Margot Grahame). During the War of 1812, Lafitte is offered a pardon by Andrew Jackson (Hugh Sothern) if he and his pirates will fight on the American side. As good as his word, Lafitte stands shoulder to shoulder with Jackson as they ward off the British at the Battle of New Orleans. During a Victory Ball in his honor, Lafitte is confronted with evidence that he unknowingly caused the death of Annette's younger sister Marie (Louise Campbell) during a previous act of piracy. The assembled guests are all for hanging Lafitte on the spot, but General Jackson offers the pirate an hour's head start out of New Orleans, provided he never set foot on American soil again. This naturally costs Lafitte the love of Annette; fortunately, Gretchen is awaiting him on board his ship with open arms. From the opening scene in which Dolly Madison (Spring Byington) rescues the Declaration of Independence during the burning of Washington to the closing clinch between Lafitte and Gretchen, The Buccaneer is one of DeMille's most exhilarating films. It was remade less successfully in 1958 under the direction of Cecil B's son-in-law Anthony Quinn, who played the supporting role of Beluche in the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Franziska Gaal, (more)
- 1938
Sharpshooters was the initial entry in what was to have been a series of six "Camera Daredevils" adventures. Brian Donlevy and Wally Vernon star as Steve and Waldo, intrepid newsreel cameraman on assignment in the mythical kingdom of Mitovania. It isn't long before our heroes discover that Michael (Martin Joseph Spellman Jr.), the young Mitovanian prince, has been targeted for assassination by usurping Count Maxim (Douglass Dumbrille). Literally punching their way into the palace, Steve and Waldo do their best to rescue Michael and his pretty tutor Diana Woodward (Lynn Bari) from Maxim's evil minions. It's all strictly formula stuff, and darned if it doesn't work beautifully. For reasons unknown, 20th Century-Fox discontinued its "Camera Daredevils" series after the second entry, Chasing Danger (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Donlevy, Lynn Bari, (more)
- 1938
The blue grass of Kentucky was seen in three-strip Technicolor for the first time in this rambling racetrack drama. Sally Goodwin (Loretta Young) falls in love with Jack Dillon (Richard Greene), but the arrangement is complicated by a decades-old feud. Sally's uncle Peter (Walter Brennan, who won his second Academy Award for this appearance) has hated Jack's family ever since sides were chosen up in the Civil War. Jack secretly trains Peter's horse for the Kentucky Derby, causing the old man to nearly withdraw from the event out of pique. All is forgiven when the horse wins, but Brennan dies of the excitement, and his eulogy is read by a member of the family with whom he'd been feuding for nearly 70 years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Richard Greene, (more)
A Day at the Races was the Marx Brothers' follow-up to their incomparable A Night at the Opera. Groucho Marx is cast as Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a veterinarian who passes himself off as a human doctor when summoned by wealthy hypochondriac Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) to take over the financially strapped Standish Sanitarium. Chico Marx plays the sanitarium's general factotum, who works without pay because he has a soft spot for its owner, lovely Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan). Harpo Marx portrays a jockey at the local racetrack, constantly bullied by the evil Morgan (Douglass Dumbrille), who will take over the sanitarium if Judy can't pay its debts. After several side-splitting routines--Chico selling Groucho tips on the races, Chico and Harpo rescuing Groucho from the clutches of femme fatale Esther Muir, all three Marxes conducting a lunatic "examination" of Margaret Dumont--the fate of the sanitarium rests on a Big Race involving Hi-Hat, a horse belonging to the film's nominal hero, Allan Jones. Virtually everything that worked in "Opera" is trotted out again for "Races", including a hectic slapstick finale wherein the Marxes lay waste to a public event. What is missing here is inspiration; perhaps this is due to the fact that MGM producer Irving Thalberg, whose input was so essential to the success of "Opera", died during the filming of "Races". Even so, Day at the Races made more money than any other previous Marx Brothers film--the result being that MGM, in the spirit of "they loved it once", would continue recycling Races' best bits for the studio's next three Marx vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, (more)
- 1937
Baroness Orczy, author of The Scarlet Pimpernel, came up with the story upon which The Emperor's Candlesticks was based. As in Pimpernel, the theme is international intrigue, but this time the setting is pre-World War One Europe and Russia rather than Revolutionary France. William Powell and Luise Rainer are spies working for opposing empires (Russian and Austrian) who travel undetected amidst the Nobility while plotting their plots. As they waltz about various ballrooms dressed to the nines, they fall in love--resulting in wavering loyalties for both. Emperor's Candlesticks is stronger on decor than on plot, with the talented Luise Rainer once more ill-used by Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Luise Rainer, (more)
- 1937
In this romantic crime drama, a newspaper reporter and his female rival learn that a priceless Rembrandt, believed to have been destroyed years before, is still around. The mayhem begins as they compete to retrieve it from the thieves who swiped it from the elderly spinster who owns it. Fortunately, the spinster marked the back of the canvas with some distinctive indecipherable markings and the crooks are unable to fence the masterpiece. Angered, they decide to kill her. The female reporter, who moved in with the woman to save her, is also endangered when the crooks torch the old woman's house. Fortunately, the other reporter gets there in time to save the ladies and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- May Robson, Irene Hervey, (more)
- 1937
In this adaptation of the operetta by Rudolf Friml, secret agent Nina Maria Azara (Jeannette MacDonald) is working undercover for the King of Spain as a singer known as the "Mosca del Fuego" or "Firefly." Her mission is to uncover Napoleon's plot to invade Spain before it is too late. This film features a variety of songs including "Donkey Serenade," "Love Is Like a Firefly," " and "When a Maid Comes Knocking At Your Heart." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, Allan Jones, (more)
- 1937
Autograph hound Al Babson (Eddie Cantor) accidentally disrupts the filming of a movie about Ali Baba, and is injured in the process. The filmmakers try to buy him off, but nurse Dinah (Virginia Field) suggests he be hired as an extra. He takes an overdose of painkillers, and his Arabian Nights dreams combine with the plot of the movie. His name leads the populace to think he's the son of Ali Baba, and he's taken to the palace of Sultan Abdullah (Roland Young), who's so impressed by Al that he makes him prime minister. Princess Miriam (June Lang) is in love with Yusuf (Tony Martin), the leader of the peasants, while Al has fallen for Deenah (also Virginia Field), whose father Omar (Maurice Cass) is trying to make a carpet fly. Meanwhile, the evil Prince Musah (Douglas Dumbrille) is conspiring with Sultana (Louise Hovick), one of Abdullah's many wives, to capture the princess, take over Bagdad, and kill Abdullah and Al as well. Miriam and Yusuf are unhappy because royalty and commoners cannot marry, so Al comes up with a plan to help his friends, but the plan spectacularly backfires, and Abdullah orders him to be boiled in oil. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Cantor, Tony Martin, (more)
- 1937
Joan Perry plays the title role in Columbia's Counterfeit Lady. She is cast as Phyllis, a country lass with a rare talent for larceny. Managing to steal a $37,000 diamond from a swank New York jewelry shop, Phyllis is pursued by private detective Johnny (Ralph Bellamy), and by a gang of professional thieves who play for keeps. Johnny rescues the heroine from the villains, whereupon she instantly reforms in order to permit a climactic romantic clinch. So well does Joan Perry pull off the leading role in Counterfeit Lady that it seems a shame she retired from acting after becoming the wife of Columbia prexy Harry Cohn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Bellamy, Joan Perry, (more)
- 1936
With her RKO Radio contract nearing an end, Ann Harding had little choice but accept such trifles as The Witness Chair. Engaged to widower Trent (Walter Abel), Paula (Harding) discovers to her horror that Trent's daughter Connie (Frances Sage) intends to elope with no-good embezzler Whittaker (Douglass Dumbrille). Unable to talk Whittaker out of ruining Connie's life, Paula murders the cad then does her best to destroy all the evidence. Alas, she succeeds only in convincing the authorities that Trent is the guilty party! The courtroom finale, which should have been the film's highlight, is not, due to funereal pacing and unimaginative camera angles. The Witness Chair convinced Ann Harding that she was through in Hollywood, whereupon she packed her bags and headed to London, briefly retiring from films the following year upon her marriage to symphony conductor Werner Janssen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Harding, Walter Abel, (more)
- 1936
Loosely based on a story by frontier writer Bret Harte, this romantic western drama tells the story of an innocent, carefree mountain-raised girl who causes quite a stir every time she comes to town to bring her boozy father home from the bar. One day, the flirtatious gal is kissed by the town schoolmaster. Utterly confused as to the gesture's significance, she goes to the town brothel for professional advice. The film was made twice before in 1918 and 1922. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Shirley, John Beal, (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)
- 1936
Harry Richman was a major stage and radio star of the 1930s, but his overbearing personality never clicked in films. After bombing out in 1930's Puttin' on the Ritz, he tried again six years later in The Music Goes 'Round, with marginally better results. Richman plays Harry Wallace, headliner of a Broadway revue which is just about to open. Tired of the rehearsal grind, he runs off to the South, where he happens upon a third-rate showboat troupe. Susanna Courtney (Rochelle Hudson), daughter of showboat manager Hector Courtney (Walter Connolly), mistakes Harry for an unemployed actor and hires him as a dollar-a-day bit player. Amused by the troupe's ineptitude in presenting a "serious" Civil War drama, Harry arranges for Susanna and her fellow thespians to appear in his Broadway revue as a comedy act. But when Susanna finds out she and her father are being made to look like fools in front of the sophisticated New York audience, she upbraids the roaring crowd, punches Harry in the mouth, and storms offstage. All works out okay in the end when Harry contritely begs Susanna's forgiveness. A remake of the 1928 Frank Capra film The Matinee Idol, The Music Goes 'Round is memorable today only for its catchy title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Richman, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
- 1936
The Lone Wolf Returns stars Melvyn Douglas as Louis Joseph Vance's reformed criminal Michael Lanyard, a.k.a. The Lone Wolf. Lanyard lapses back into his old ways when he attempts to steal an emerald pendant belonging to Gail Patrick, but he falls in love with the girl and remains on the straight and narrow. A pair of less sentimental crooks frame Lanyard and force him to participate in a high-stakes heist. The Lone Wolf turns the tables on the crooks and wins his lady love. Previously filmed in 1926, The Lone Wolf Returns was the first of Columbia's "B" series featuring the gentleman thief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melvyn Douglas, Gail Patrick, (more)
- 1936
Gangster boss Beau Gardner (Douglass Dumbrille) isn't happy about the things being said about him on the radio station owned by J. J. Held (Berton Churchill). Using his influence, Gardner is able to shut down Held's operation, but he can't wipe out an entire radio network. Thus, he uses hot-shot broadcast engineer Neil Bennett (Lloyd Nolan) as an innocent dupe in a scheme to jam all radio transmissions within shouting distance. Bennett finally manages to enlist the aid of the U.S. Navy to strike a blow for freedom of the airwaves. And how does Ann Sothern fit into all this? Simple: she plays Bennett's sweetheart Fay Stevens, who happens to be a singer at Garner's nightclub. You May Be Next was also released as Panic on the Air, Calling All G-Men and Trapped by Wireless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1936
The Calling of Dan Matthews is a modernized and sanitized version of Harold Bell Wright's muckraking novel. Minister Dan Matthews (Richard Arlen) wants to rid his community of its seamy "Old Town" district, a breeding ground for prostitution and other crimes. Most of the property in question is owned by leading citizen J. B. Strong (Frederick Burton), who is ignorant (or chooses to be) of the appalling conditions in his tenements. Mathews convinces Strong that changes must be made, but is still compelled to whale the tar out of Hardy (Douglass Dumbrille), the evil vice lord of Old Town. The good reverend also wins the hand of Strong's daughter Hope (Charlotte Wynters). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Charlotte Wynters, (more)
- 1936
In this western, a Spanish-American war veteran cannot find gainful employment. In desperation, he becomes a cattle rustler until he can get back on his feet. Just as he is ready to go straight, his girlfriend's younger brother is shot. The veteran kills the murderer, but is then arrested by the sheriff, who is also his best friend. Unfortunately for the veteran, justice prevails and he must hang. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Holt, Louise Henry, (more)
When a car crash ends the life of a fabulously wealthy patron of the arts, the decedent's $20,000,000 fortune is inherited by one Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) of Mandrake Falls, Vermont. Already a reasonably successful local businessman, Deeds doesn't really feel the need for anything extra in his life: he just wants enough time to practice his tuba and compose greeting-card doggerel. When Deeds is convinced to move to New York, hard-boiled newspaper reporter Babe Bennett (Jean Arthur) is dispatched to get the inside scoop on "The Cinderella Man." Babe's stories of Deeds' eccentricities and no-nonsense dealings with phonies and poseurs provide excellent headline fodder; but she begins to regret her actions, having fallen in love with the big lug. Deeds ultimately sets up a foundation to dispense his fortune to the country's neediest souls, on the proviso that the recipients do their best to get back on their feet, a turn of events that leads his lawyer John Cedar (Douglas Dumbrille) to try to have him declared insane. By the end of the sanity hearing, the judge (H. B. Walker) declares: "Not only are you sane, but you're the sanest man who ever walked in this courtroom!" A joyously unadulterated hunk of Frank Capra-corn, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was adapted by Robert Riskin from Clarence Buddington Kelland's short story "Opera Hat." In addition to the pleasure of watching the country bumpkin outwit city slickers, the movie is a film buff's dream, boasting one of the best character-actor casts ever assembled for a single film. Nominated for four Academy Awards, the film won Frank Capra his second Oscar (out of three) as Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1935
Gary Cooper stars in this rousing adventure saga of three British officers of the 41st Regiment of Bengal Lancers of India. The story begins as Lt. McGregor (Gary Cooper) accepts two new officers to his company -- the brash Lt. Fortesque (Franchot Tone) and Lt. Stone (Richard Cromwell), the son of the garrison's commander, Col. Stone (Guy Standing). In an effort not to show favoritism, Stone's father barely acknowledges his son during a parade of the new officers. Lt. Stone resents this treatment by his father and becomes embittered at both his dad and the British army. McGregor is ordered to search for a British spy, Lt. Barrett (Colin Tapley), who has infiltrated the army of crazed chieftain Mohammed Khan (Douglas Dumbrille). The three officers find Barrett, who tells them Khan is planning an uprising against the British, utilizing the mountain tribes for a massive assault. Lt. Stone finds himself captured by the rebels and is taken to Mohammed Khan's mountain fortress to be tortured. Stone's father refuses to send in the lancers to save his son, reasoning that his son was captured to lure the British forces to their doom. Disguising themselves as Indian peddlers, McGregror and Fortesque go off to rescue Stone. But they are soon discovered and taken to Mohammed Khan's lair to be tortured, with Khan telling McGregor, "We have ways of making men talk." Mohammed wants the soldiers to tell him where a shipment of ammunition will be delivered. McGregor and Fortesque withstand the torture without divulging the location, but Lt. Stone cracks and tells Khan what he wants to know. The three officers see the ammunition delivered to Khan's fortress, but then they hear Col. Stone and 300 lancers have arrived outside of Khan's gates. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone, (more)
- 1935
The story goes that Peter Lorre wanted to star in a film version of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, but was certain that Columbia Pictures chieftain Harry Cohn would turn the project down flat. So Lorre hired a secretary to type up a synopsis of the story in words of one syllable then submitted this simplified resume to Cohn. Enthusiastic over the project, Cohn gave Lorre the go-ahead -- but first he asked "Tell me -- has this book got a publisher?" Apocryphal story or no, the fact is that Lorre did star in Columbia's Crime and Punishment and in the bargain was directed by the ultra-stylish Josef Von Sternberg. As the arrogant sociopath Raskolnikov, who is convinced that he can get away with the murder of a nasty pawnbroker because he is "above" such intangibles as a conscience, Lorre is excellent, especially when his bravado is slowly eroded by the gentle but determined Inspector Porfiri (Edward Arnold). Like the aforementioned typed-up synopsis, the film oversimplifies the Dostoyevsky original, concentrating only on the crime, the pangs of guilt, the confession and the arrest: the punishment and its aftermath, so essential to the novel's overall impact, are dispensed with entirely. To make the film even more accessible to a mass audience, the story is subtly updated, though any distinctly "contemporary" touches such as automobiles, telephones and current slang are studiously avoided. The supporting cast is wildly inconsistent: Mrs. Patrick Campbell is fine in her brief scenes as the vitriolic pawnbroker, but Marian Marsh is all wrong as the streetwalker heroine Sonya. The principal strength of this Crime and Punishment is the film-long game of cat-and-mouse between the reckless Raskolnikov and the quietly methodical Porfiri. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Arnold, Peter Lorre, (more)
- 1935
The Unknown Woman is Helen Griffith (Marian Marsh), who unbeknownst to everyone but the audience is a Federal agent. Young attorney Larry Condon (Richard Cromwell) falls for Helen, but keeps his distance because he thinks she's in allegiance with a gang of bond thieves. When Larry and Helen fall into the clutches of the villains, salvation comes from an unexpected source: fish peddler Joe Scalise (Henry Armetta), who up to this point has been the film's comedy relief. Douglass Dumbrille is so obviously the villain of the piece that one wonders why he isn't wearing a handlebar mustache and top hat. Unknown Woman was written by W. Scott Darling, whose apparent fascination with gangsters would later permit his Laurel & Hardy screenplays at 20th Century-Fox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Cromwell, Marian Marsh, (more)
- 1935
The Secret Bride is Ruth Vincent (Barbara Stanwyck), the daughter of Governor Vincent (Arthur Byron). Attorney general Robert Sheldon (Warren William) falls in love with Ruth and they marry, but Sheldon insists that their marriage be kept secret. It seems that the Governor has been accused of accepting $10,000 in bribes, and Sheldon doesn't want to be accused of complicity while he investigates the matter. In the course of events, two murders occur, and it's up to Ruth to straighten the mess out. But how will she be able to manage this without involving herself or her secret husband in the scandal? It's funny how the various TV cable services tend to trot out The Secret Bride whenever a real-life political scandal bursts onto the scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Warren William, (more)
- 1935
In this lively comedy, a cocky reporter follows a gangster aboard an ocean liner. While on board, the overconfident fellow mentions his purpose to a ship's manicurist with whom he's fallen in love. Later they get married and the reporter loses his job causing a fight between the newlyweds. He then decides to divorce her. Unwillingly to let the marriage die so easily, the manicurist gives a manicure to a gangster who is supposed to be dead. Her husband then reports the news, but more mix-ups occur and he is fired again. Blaming it all on his wife, he continues with his divorce proceedings until she is able to prove once and for all the illusive gangster is very much alive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Arthur, George Murphy, (more)
- 1935
The first of MGM's phenomenally profitable Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy musicals, Naughty Marietta takes several beneficial liberties with the libretto of the original Victor Herbert operetta. MacDonald plays an 18th-century French princess who escapes an arranged marriage by posing as a "cake girl," a mail-order bride sent to the New World to marry a colonist. En route, MacDonald and the other brides are captured by pirates, but are rescued by mercenary Eddy and his roistering companions. To avoid marrying some lowly farmer or frontiersman, simon-pure MacDonald intimates that she is a woman with a "history," which makes her attractive to the glitterati of old New Orleans. Only Eddy sees through MacDonald's feigned "naughtiness," and in the end claims her for his own. The most memorable of the Herbert songs retained for the film version of Naughty Marietta was "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life", which remained one of Jeanette MacDonald's signature tunes ever afterward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, (more)
