James Dunn Movies
American actor James Dunn's early career embraced bit parts in silent pictures, vaudeville, and Broadway before he made his talking picture bow in Bad Girl (1931). For the next several years, Dunn appeared in sentimental "lovable scamp" leading roles; he also helped introduce Shirley Temple to feature films by co-starring with the diminutive dynamo in Stand Up and Cheer, Baby Take a Bow, and Bright Eyes, all released in 1934. When Fox merged with 20th Century Pictures in 1935, the type of domestic comedy-dramas and free-wheeling musicals in which Dunn specialized came to an end; by the end of the 1930s Dunn's appearance were confined to "B" pictures and poverty-row quickies. Dunn was given a comeback chance as Peggy Ann Garner's irresponsible alcoholic father in the 1945 drama A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The actor won an Academy Award for his performance. Eight years passed before Dunn would be seen in films again, though he found occasional solace in TV work, including his tenure as the star of a 1955 sitcom, It's a Great Life. Dunn's final movie role, filmed two years before his death, was a minor part as an agent in the all-star "trash classic" The Oscar (1966). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A midwestern girl heads for Hollywood in hopes of becoming a star. She is accompanied by two good buddies and this comedy chronicles their adventures in Tinseltown. It all begins when the new arrivals enroll in a bogus acting school run by two con artists. A wealthy entrepreneur shows up looking to invest his money. One of the greedy grifters persuades him into financing a film starring the new girl from Peoria, but he gives one condition to the businessman: if the film fails, the conman gets to keep the money. To insure failure, the fellow hires a washed up boozer of a director. The director takes the job seriously and wants to prove that he is not a has-been. This doesn't set well with the "producer" who has his partner take the starlet to a remote cabin and leave her stranded after he gets drunk and passes out. By this time, the director has fallen in love with the girl. Meanwhile, her buddies have found that they'd rather go home and resume their old jobs. The director begins looking for the girl so he can save her and his career. Her buddies hear of her predicament and they too rush to her rescue. It is they who return her safe and sound to the studio. The director makes his film and it is a smash hit. The girl becomes a star and the conmen go to jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Alice Faye, (more)
- 1940
The 1940 Warner Bros. quickie A Fugitive From Justice is based on Leonard Neubauer's short story "Million Dollar Fugitive." Roger Pryor plays insurance investigator Don Miller, who endeavors to hide Lee Leslie (Donald Douglas), holder of a million-dollar policy, from both the police and the underworld. Miller's efforts are frequently stymied by Mark Rogers (John Gallaudet), a Winchellesque radio reporter in cahoots with the G-Men. Our hero's allies include his wisecracking assistant Ziggy (Eddie Foy Jr., brother of Bryan Foy, the film's producer) and all-purpose heroine Janet Leslie (Lucille Fairbanks, niece of Douglas Fairbanks Sr.) A Fugitive from Justice sure looks like a remake, but a remake of what remains a mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Pryor, Lucille Fairbanks, (more)
One-time movie song-and-dance man James Dunn won an Academy Award for his "comeback" performance in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Based on the best-selling novel by Betty Smith, the film relates the trials and tribulations of a turn-of-the-century Brooklyn tenement family. The father, Dunn, is a likable but irresponsible alcoholic whose dreams of improving his family's lot are invariably doomed to disappointment. The mother, Dorothy McGuire, is the true head of the household, steadfastly holding the family together no matter what crisis arises. The story is told from the point of view of daughter Peggy Ann Garner, a clear-eyed realist who nonetheless would like to believe in her pie-in-the-sky father, whom she dearly loves. Joan Blondell co-stars as the family's brash, freewheeling aunt, whose means of financial support is a never-ending source of neighborhood gossip. This first film directorial effort of Elia Kazan earned a special Oscar for "Most Promising Juvenile Performer" Peggy Ann Garner. A Tree Grows From Brooklyn was remade for TV in 1974, and also served as the basis of a Broadway musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, (more)
- 1962
The "official" title of this film is Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man; its screenplay is adapted from semi-autobiographical "Nick Adams" stories written by Ernest Hemingway. Played by Richard Beymer (West Side Story), Nick Adams is a young Michigan boy who sets out in the early 1900s to learn about life and to pursue a journalistic career. No sooner is he on his way than he gets his first taste of "real life" by being thrown off a train by a railroad agent. He attempts to secure newspaper work, but is laughed out of the office due to his inexperience. He gains valuable insight on the human condition while serving in the Italian army during World War One, where (in Farewell to Arms fashion) a star-crossed romance develops between Nick and a Red Cross nurse (Susan Strasberg). Nick returns to America determined to pursue his destiny by writing of his now-vast experiences. Long and somewhat poky, Adventures of a Young Man is enlivened by the cameo appearance of Paul Newman as a pathetic, punch drunk boxer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Beymer, Diane Baker, (more)
- 2001
This program offers a record of the events of the occupation of Alcatraz Island by Native American activists from 1969 to 1971. For perhaps the first time, Native Americans from a variety of tribes came together to protest together and draw attention to the mistreatment of their people by the Federal government. In the shadow of the civil rights movement, this action drew much attention both from the media and government authorities. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1933
While travelling through Arizona, carnival huckster Smiley Wells (James Dunn) makes the acquaintance of sweet small-town girl Lynn Martin (Joan Bennett). Upon learning that a gang of slick operators has swindled a huge sum of money from Lynn's mother, Smiley decides that money lost through larceny can be won back the same way. With the help of his fellow conmen Kingfish Miller (Herbert Mundin) and Morris Blitz (Sammy Cohen), our hero devises an elaborate "sting" to out-maneuver the crooks and recover Lynn's mom's dough. But it's essential to their scheme that Lynn can successfully pass herself off as a hard-boiled "street dame." Arizona to Broadway was remade in 1943 as Jitterbugs, with Laurel and Hardy and Vivian Blaine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Joan Bennett, (more)
Shirley Temple's first starring vehicle casts her as the button-cute daughter of ex-convict Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) and his wife Kay (Claire Trevor). Ellison and his old cellmate Larry Scott (Ray Walker) manage to land jobs as chauffeurs for a wealthy family. When a valuable string of pearls disappears, both men are fired and Eddie is accused of the crime. Incredibly, it is little Temple who manages to locate the pearls and clear her father's name. Rather slow going for the most part, Baby Take a Bow comes to life in the final reel, as genuine thief Trigger Stone (Ralf Harolde) grabs Temple and uses her as a human shield during his desperate rooftop escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, James Dunn, (more)
- 1935
Bad Boy Eddie Nolan (James Dunn) spends more time in the poolroom than he does looking for work. Even so, Sally Larkin (Dorothy Wilson) is willing to marry Eddie, certain that he'll hunker down and seek employment once he acclimates himself to the responsibilities of marriage. But this doesn't happen, and soon the impecunious Eddie is shipping Sally back to her parents. Things take an upward turn when our hero manages to corral a gang of crooks, thereby earning himself a fat reward and unlimited job opportunities. Though running only 56 minutes, Bad Boy managed to secure top-of-the-bill bookings thanks to James Dunn's fan following. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Dorothy Wilson, (more)
- 1931
Based on a novel by Vina Delmar, Bad Girl stars Sally Eilers as heroine Dot Haley. The title notwithstanding, Dot isn't bad at all. She enters into a decent marriage with a decent guy, radio store clerk Eddie (James Dunn), and sticks with her man through thick and thin (mostly thin). But Eddie misunderstands Dot's seeming indifference to the new apartment which he has rented and furnished as a first-anniversary surprise. Eddie doesn't know what Dot and the audience do: there's a baby on the way, and that's all that Dot can think about. Once this misunderstanding is cleared up, Eddie takes on all sorts of extra jobs to pay for a pricey obstetrician, even moonlighting as a prizefighter. So impressed is the baby doctor by Eddie's devotion that he refuses to charge a cent when delivering Dot's baby (the bill, by the way, is a daunting $40). Curiously, some synopses of Bad Girl suggest that the hero and heroine never get married, which is hardly the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Eilers, James Dunn, (more)
- 1962
James Dunn guest-stars as Danny Lynch, an elderly Ponderosa ranch hand. Upon learning that his mother Nellie (Cheerio Meredith) has left Ireland to pay him a visit, Danny goes into a panic: For lo these many years, he has been lying to his mother that he is in charge of the Ponderosa. To make the old woman happy, the Cartwrights put on an elaborate charade, wherein Danny is lord and master of their ranch, and they are merely his hired hands. Naturally, this little deception snowballs into a major crisis. Written by Charles Lang, "The Auld Sod" first aired February 4, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1965
Arriving in a small town to pay his respects to the family of Adam Manning, the first man he killed in battle during the Civil War, Jason (Chuck Connors) is astonished when he comes face to face with Adam's exact double. He soon realizes that he has met the man's younger brother Tad (both roles are played by Chad Everett), whose embittered father Sam (James Dunn) has been feeding Tad a steady diet of hate ever since the war ended. Brushing aside Jason's words of regret, Tad plans to kill McCord and thus avenge his family's tattered honor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Despite stiff competition like Poor Little Rich Girl and Heidi, Bright Eyes is arguably the best of Shirley Temple's 1930s vehicles. The little curly-top is cast as Shirley Blake, daughter of Mary Blake (Lois Wilson), the widowed housemaid of snooty J. Wellington and Anita Smythe (Theodore Von Eltz and Dorothy Christy). Though continually terrorized by the Smythe's obnoxious, doll-destroying daughter Joy (Jane Withers), Shirley finds comfort in the fact that she is the darling of the airplane-pilot buddies of her late father. Especially fond of our heroine is flyboy Loop Merritt, who arranges a birthday party for the girl. Alas, even as Shirley sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop" to a gathering of beaming airmen, her mother Mary is run over by a car while shopping for her daughter's birthday cake. It thus becomes Loop's painful duty to tell Shirley that her mother "cracked up," just like her father did (if this scene doesn't move the viewer to tears, the viewer is made of granite). Fortunately, the Smythe's irascible Uncle Ned takes a liking to Shirley, securing her financial future at the expense of his repulsive relatives. But before this happy ending can come about, Shirley must be rescued from an imperiled passenger plane by the resourceful Loop. Though Shirley Temple is inarguably the main drawing card in Bright Eyes, 9-year-old Jane Withers is equally terrific as the pint-sized "villainess"; indeed, some critics felt that Withers stole the show, and it was this as much as anything else that earned Withers her own starring series at 20th Century-Fox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, James Dunn, (more)
- 1934
Four courageous college graduates become heroes when they successfully complete a 15-hour coast-to-coast plane flight. Alas, things don't go so well for the foursome when they return to earth to seek out employment. Chris Thring (Charles Farrell) has a particularly rough time of it, but his sweetheart Catherine Furness (Janet Gaynor) remains faithful through thick and thin. Trouble brews in the form of Chris and Catherine's mutual friends Mack McGowan (James Dunn) and Madge Rountree (Ginger Rogers): Catherine thinks Chris is in love with Madge, while Mack falls in love with Chris? and on and on it goes. Shirley Temple shows up in the early scenes as a plane passenger, while that grand old trouper Gustav von Seyfertitz sheds his usual villainous image as the film's avuncular last-minute problem-solver. Change of Heart is based on a novel by Kathleen Norris. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, (more)
- 1936
Tailor-made for the talents of fast-talking James Dunn, Come Closer, Folks stars Dunn as sidewalk pitchman Jim Keene. Our hero manages to wangle a "legitimate" job as a small-town department-store sales clerk, instantly falling in love with boss's daughter Peggy Woods (Marian Marsh). When the store is threatened with bankruptcy, Jim enlists the aid of his fellow street hucksters to drum up business with their patented hard-sell methods, a strategy that gets him promoted to assistant manager. Eventually he runs afoul of the law, but Jim manages to smooth-talk the jury into letting him off the hook. Come Closer, Folks is another of those Columbia "B"-pictures which showed up incessantly on TV in the 1950s and 1960s then suddenly vanished when audiences demanded "newer" pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Marian Marsh, (more)
- 1932
Professional ballroom dancing provides the framework of this romantic drama. The story begins when two aspiring dancers fatefully meet. They soon agree to work as a team. They begin their career in the smaller dance clubs. They soon begin dancing in a really popular club where they become an instant hit. Unfortunately jealousy tears them asunder when the man believes that a wealthy cad is horning in on his partner. He decides to pursue a solo career and fails miserably. Eventually the partners reunite and fox-trot into the sunset. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Sally Eilers, (more)
- 1941
Three different Universal pictures made between 1922 and 1941 bore the catchall title Don't Get Personal. The 1941 film stars Hugh Herbert as a ditzy pickle manufacturer whose favorite radio program stars Jane Frazee and Robert Paige. The couple plays a bickering husband and wife on the air, and Herbert mistakes their scripted bouts for the real thing. He heads to the radio station to patch up their differences, but succeeds in embroiling the actors in a real battle. Don't Get Personal seems to have been made at the same time as Universal Hellzapoppin' (41), with at least four actors (Hugh Herbert, Robert Paige, Jane Frazee and Mischa Auer) appearing in both films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Herbert, Mischa Auer, (more)
- 1936
In this romantic comedy, two college boys get expelled because they could not pay tuition. They decide to scare up some cash by auctioning off their services in Central Park. A pretty woman makes the highest bid. She hires the boys to drive her and her car to Ohio. The adventure culminates with one of the boys stealing the woman away from her groom on her wedding day. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Eilers, James Dunn, (more)
- 1959
In the fifth episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, gunslinger-turned-lawyer Baca (Robert Loggia) tackles his first big court case. Elfego must defend his old pal, reformed outlaw Fernando Bernal (Edward Colmans), who has been accused of robbing the Santa Fe bank. Former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello appears as Fernando's teenaged daughter. Originally telecast on the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "Attorney at Law" and the sixth Elfego Baca episode "The Griswold Murder" were edited together in 1962 and released as a theatrical feature, Six-Gun Law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In the fourth episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, gunslinger-turned-lawyer Baca (Robert Loggia) has been made a partner in the Sante Fe law firm run by J. Henry Newman (James Dunn). In this capacity, Elfego again comes to the aid of rancher Don Estaban Miranda (Gilbert Roland), whose land is coveted by a railroad company. When Don Estaban's land deed "mysteriously" disappears and his ranch is besieged by hired thugs, Elfego wonders if he will have to forsake his new peaceful ways and resort to gunplay. "Law and Order Inc." originally aired on the Walt Disney Presents anthology series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
In the third episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, former gunslinger Baca (Robert Loggia) is now studying law under Santa Fe attorney J. Henry Newman (James Dunn). During this period, Elfego butts up against a crooked judge named Hargreaves (Carl Benton Reid), who throws our hero in jail on a trumped up charge. Discovering that Hargreaves intends to cheat local rancher Don Esteban Miranda (Gilbert Roland) out of his land, Elfego plans a daring escape. "Lawman or Gunman" originally aired on the Walt Disney Presents anthology series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
This western is a compilation of episodes from Walt Disney Presents. The title hero, is a pugilistic lawyer who fights for justice in Tombstone. There he gets involved with the case of an Englishman falsely accused of murder and with a rancher charged with a bank heist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In the sixth episode of Walt Disney's ten-part miniseries Elfego Baca, the titular hero (Robert Loggia, a gunslinger-turned-lawyer) defends British-born rancher Cecil Cunningham (Patrick Knowles), who has been accused of murdering land baron Drew Griswold. According to witnesses, Griswold had been fooling around with Cyril's wife (Audrey Dalton), thereby firmly establishing a motive. In court, Baca finds that he must go face to face with his former law partner J. Henry Newman (James Dunn), the newly appointed District Attorney. Outside the courtroom, the dead man's relatives begin forming a lynch mob. Originally telecast on the Walt Disney Presents anthology, "The Griswold Murder" and the fifth Elfego Baca episode "Attorney at Law" were edited together in 1962 and released as a theatrical feature, Six-Gun Law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Broadway producer George White, who was the title character of 1934's George White's Scandals, heads for Florida following his latest hit. He makes it to Georgia where he sees an advertisement for a show called White's Scandals. Suspicious, he attends and learns that it is a hodge-podge variety show put on by another fellow named White. The show isn't very good but for the talent of its star, a beautiful singer. He is deeply impressed and hires her to headline his next show in New York. Well, just having only one of the entertainers come just won't do and George ends up taking an entire entourage including the Georgia White and the singer's love-interest. Still it's for the best and the New York production is a tremendous success. Things go well until a seductress shows up and steals the singer's beau. This creates personal friction that reflects in their performances. Things get sticky for awhile and it looks as if the show is going to fall apart until the singer's peach of an aunt shows up and puts it all back together. Eleanor Powell makes her screen debut as the troublesome vamp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George White, Alice Faye, (more)
- 1934
Legendary Broadway impresario George White made his Hollywood debut with this musical, which he wrote, co-directed, and starred in as himself. Reporter Miss Lee (Gertrude Michael) is looking for a story and approaches White as he's assembling the latest edition of his famous revue. As it turns out, she has lots of backstage gossip to choose from; Mona Vale (Alice Faye), White's latest discovery, is making her Broadway debut in the show, and she's fallen in love with the star, Jimmy Martin (Rudy Vallee). Jimmy, however, only has eyes for Barbara Lorainne (Adrienne Ames), a snooty high society type also in the cast. A quarrel between Mona and Barbara leads to a fight, with Jimmy coming to Barbara's rescue; a despondent Mona decides to leave the show if she can't have the man she loves. Meanwhile, comedian Happy Donnelly (Jimmy Durante) finds himself torn between his feelings for Mona and another young dancer in the show, Patsy Day (Dixie Dunbar), who is also thinking about quitting in disappointment. Amidst the romantic turmoil, a wacky salesman (Gregory Ratoff) keeps trying to make a sale with White, and the cast periodically breaks into song, belting out ten numbers, including "Oh You Nasty Man," "My Dog Loves Your Dog," "Every Day Is Father's Day with Baby," "Sweet and Simple," and "The Man on the Flying Trapeze." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George White, Rudy Vallee, (more)
- 1943
Olivia De Havilland hadn't wanted to star in RKO's Government Girl, but was forced to do so by her home studio Warner Bros. Perhaps in retaliation, De Havilland delivers a strident, overbaked performance, which serves only to make this so-so wartime comedy something of an endurance test for modern viewers. The actress plays "Smokey", the Washington DC-based secretary of Detroit automobile expert Browne (Sonny Tufts, who's actually pretty good in this one!) Aware that Browne is a babe in the woods so far as Washington lobbying, politicking and backstabbing are concerned, Smokey takes the poor boy by the hand and shows him the ropes. Despite the derivative nature of Adela Rogers St. John's screenplay-the film seems like a hybrid of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and The More the Merrier--Government Girl was an enormous hit, posting a profit of $700,000. The film represents the film directorial debut of producer-screenwriter Dudley Nichols. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia de Havilland, Sonny Tufts, (more)
