Arletta Duncan Movies
The winner of a Hollywood screen test competition, brunette Arletta Duncan was awarded a contract with Universal and made her screen debut as Mae Clarke's bridesmaid in Frankenstein (1931). Like most Hollywood starlets, Duncan went on to play supporting roles in Grade-A pictures (Back Street [1932]) while enjoying leading assignments in such poverty row productions as The Fighting Champ (1932) and The Gallant Fool (1933), both starring Bob Steele. She later played a socialite in the sound version of the old syphilis melodrama Damaged Goods (aka Marriage Forbidden [1937]). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1937
Marriage Forbidden is the film version of Eugene Briaux' once-notorious 1912 stage drama Damaged Goods. This pioneering study of the consequences of venereal disease had been praised by none other than George Bernard Shaw; the film version likewise boasted a "famous name", muckraking novelist Upton Sinclair, who is credited with the adaptation. George (Douglas Walton), a young man from a good family, makes the mistake of going "all the way" with Margie (Phyllis Barry), a girl with a bad reputation. Feeling guilty, George tries to wriggle out of his upcoming marriage to Henrietta (Arletta Duncan), the daughter of a congressman. The wedding proceeds as planned, however, with the expected long-range tragic results for Henrietta and her child. Acting as the "voice of reason" is Pedro de Cordoba as kindly Dr. Walker. Produced in 1936 by Phil Goldstone (who directed under the name of Phil Stone), the film was first released as Damaged Goods in 1937, then under its Marriage Forbidden cognomen the following year. Neither version was able to earn a production code seal, and both ran into heavy censorship problems when distributed nationally. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pedro de Cordoba, Phyllis Barry, (more)
- 1937
This poverty-row epic stars William Bakewell as Bob, inventor of a futuristic motorboat engine. Bob's new device may be the salvation for the failing shipping business run by Drexel (Wilfred Lucas), the father of Bob's sweetheart Wynne (Arletta Duncan). But villainous Count Ribalto (Duncan Renaldo) enters the picture, cheating Drexel out of his savings and very nearly ruining his business. Putting his new engine into operation, Bob manages to save the day and send Ribalto packing. It's worth noting that the script for Crime Afloat was written by the film's villain, Duncan Renaldo, long before his career turnaround as TV's Cisco Kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Bakewell, Arletta Duncan, (more)
- 1937
Roaring Speedboats is the TV title for the inexpensive 1937 indie Mile a Minute Love. William Bakewell stars as an inventor who develops a high-powered boat engine. Bakewell, of course, created this wonder machine to benefit mankind-and, incidentally, to win an upcoming motorboat race. But a group of crooks don't see things his way, thus they sabotage his invention. Peeking through the miles of speedboat stock footage are such reliable actors as Duncan Renaldo, Vivien Oakland and Wilfred Lucas. PS: Future "Cisco Kid" Renaldo also penned the original story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1935
On the last day of school, the Our Gang kids learn that their beloved teacher Miss Jones (Arletta Duncan) is going to be married; thus, come September, the kids will have a "new" teacher, Mrs. Wilson. Miss Jones' fiancee Ralph (Edward Norris) playfully paints a frightening picture of Mrs. Wilson as "a dried-up mean old woman" ---neglecting to inform the kids that his last name is Wilson, and that Miss Jones will continue to be their teacher under her new married name. Thanks to Ralph's ill-timed joshing, the youngsters convince themselves that the only way to retain their favorite teacher is to break up the wedding --- starting with the pre-nuptual reception, where the kids surreptitiously "spike" the food with tabasco sauce, horseradish and garlic peppers. Originally released on April 27, 1935, "Teacher's Beau" marks the final "Our Gang" appearance of series stalwart Mathew "Stymie" Beard. Note: the version included in the "Little Rascals" TV package has been severely edited, rendering the film's punchline incomprehensible (a complete and uncut version is available on home video). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Spanky" McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, (more)
- 1934
Not to be confused with Universal's 1932 The Menace, Paramount's 1934 Menace does however included a "revenge" motif similar to the plotline of the earlier film. A mental patient, who has sworn vengeance on the wealthy British family he holds responsible for his brother's death, escapes on a dark and stormy night. His intended victims are holding a party at the time of the escape. No one knows what the mental patient looks like, so each of the male guests falls under suspicion. For a while, it looks as though the butler (Halliwell Hobbes) is the murderer, but we can write him off under the category of "obvious red herring." The menace of Menace reveals himself in a finale rich with thunderclaps, lightning strokes, and hideous maniacal laughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gertrude Michael, Paul Cavanagh, (more)
- 1934
This well-mounted Majestic Pictures effort was inspired by Collusion, a novel by Theodore D. Irwin. Edward Arnold is in his element as Frank Rodie, an honest lawyer who turns dishonest to pay off his wife's stock-market losses. Still desperate for money, Rodie offers to serve as a co-respondent in a divorce case. His far-from-grateful wife (Helen Jerome Eddy) uses this as an excuse to divorce him and desert him for her paramour. Rodie spends the rest of the picture proving that his wife was a fool for deceiving and underestimating him. The "blonde" of the title is played by Dorothy Revier, actually one of the more sympathetic characters in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Jerome Eddy, Edward Arnold, (more)
A good idea never really gets off the ground in this circus melodrama/western starring Bob Steele. The bantamweight cowboy plays Kit Denton, whose father, Charles (George Hayes), the owner of a traveling circus, is forced to admit that he is unwanted in the western town of Big Ben. As Charles explains, he has been on the run for 18 years after being falsely accused of a murder he didn't commit. To elude the law in general and Big Ben politico Chris McDonald (John Elliott) in particular, Charles must wear his clown makeup at all times. McDonald, however, takes umbrage to any circus visiting his town, especially since his wife, Martha (Vane Calvert), ran off to join one 18 years earlier. Is Kit actually Martha's son and will the Flying Dantons get through their act without interference from McDonald and his lackeys? Like most of Bob Steele's early talkie western melodramas, The Gallant Fool was directed by his real-life father, Robert North Bradbury. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1933
B-Western perennial Bob Steele made attempts at diversifying in 1933 by playing a circus acrobat in The Gallant Fool and a would-be boxer in The Fighting Champ, although, truth be told, never veering too far from the range in either. In The Fighting Champ, Steele plays Brick Loring, an itinerant cowboy who shows some promise as a prize-fighter. Crooked fight promoter Nifty Harmon (George Chesebro) attempts to bribe both Brick and his opponent Jock Malone (Charles King) to throw the match and although Brick only pretends to be interested, his backer, rancher Fred Mullins (Frank Ball), publicly accuses him of cheating. Mullins daughter Jean (Arletta Duncan), meanwhile, believes the young cowboy to be innocent and sets a trap for both Harmon and Malone. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Arletta Duncan, (more)
- 1932
Based on a best-selling novel by Fannie Hurst, Back Street concerns an ill-starred couple, Rae (Irene Dunne) and Walter (John Boles). Rae meets Walter and falls hopelessly in love with him; Walter is also drawn to Rae, but he has already pledged to marry another woman and can't find a way out. They part, and for a while Rae takes up with someone else; Walter needs to leave the country and impulsively tries to arrange a marriage with Rae, but she is unable, due to her new beau, and he sails away without her. When Rae next encounters Walter, he has married a woman from a wealthy family. Even though he's wedded to another, a passion still burns between Walter and Rae, and they enter into an illicit affair. Over the course of nearly 30 years, Rae turns down opportunities to marry other men to live a shadowy life as Walter's mistress, until she accepts a proposal of marriage when she's convinced that Walter is finally through with her. This was the first of three film versions of Hurst's story; remakes were released in 1941 and 1961. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, John Boles, (more)
- 1932
Night World is an astonishingly compact 57-minute extravaganza, all of which takes place at the upscale (but somewhat less-than-swank) nightclub owned by good-natured racketeer Happy MacDonald (Boris Karloff) (complete with a winning, grinning smile). In a story arc of no more than a couple of hours, MacDonald is betrayed by his faithless wife (Doris Revier), who has been cavorting with the club's stage producer (Russell Hopton), and who sets her husband up to be killed by a rival; the gentle, articulate African-American doorman (Clarence Muse) learns the fate of his beloved wife, whose stay in the hospital has been a source of worry for him all night; despondent socialite Michael Rand (Lew Ayres), the son of an acquitted murderess, meets chorus girl Ruth Taylor (Mae Clarke), who turns out to have a heart-of-gold; and gets to confront his mother (Hedda Hopper), a viciously self-centered and venal woman. But Michael and Ruth soon find themselves caught in the midst of the mob's attempt on Happy's life, and facing a pair of assassins who would just as soon kill them as look at them. All of these story threads are interspersed between a good deal of backstage banter -- including a tense pair of vignette with tough-guy Ed Powell (George Raft, about as scary as he ever looked on screen) -- and a Busby Berkeley-choreographed dance number that, despite the low-budget and obviously fast shooting schedule of this picture, manages to work in the latter's celebrated overhead camera angles and other requisite visual touches. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, (more)
- 1931
Still regarded as the definitive film version of Mary Shelley's classic tale of tragedy and horror, Frankenstein made unknown character actor Boris Karloff a star and created a new icon of terror. Along with the highly successful Dracula, released earlier the same year, it launched Universal Studio's golden age of 1930s horror movies. The film's greatness stems less from its script than from the stark but moody atmosphere created by director James Whale; Herman Rosse's memorable set designs, particularly the fantastic watchtower laboratory, featuring electrical equipment designed by Kenneth Strickfaden; the creature's trademark look from makeup artist Jack Pierce, who required Karloff to don pounds of makeup and heavy asphalt shoes to create the monster's unique lurching gait; and Karloff's nuanced performance as the tormented and bewildered creature. Frankenstein was greeted with screams, moans, and fainting spells upon its initial release, obliging Universal to add a disclaimer in which Edward Van Sloan advises the faint of heart to leave the theater immediately. If they don't: "Well...we've warned you." Director James Whale was memorably embodied by Ian McKellen in the Oscar-winning 1998 biopic Gods and Monsters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, (more)
