Stuart Walker Movies
Educated at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, Stuart Walker was involved in many roles in the worlds of film and stage.A former stage actor before the 1930s, he began his brief film career in 1930 as a dialogue director for Walter Lang's Brothers (aka Blood Brothers) and Richard Boleslawsky's mystery Last of the Lone Wolf, both released by Columbia Pictures. In 1931, Walker began to direct films for both Paramount and Universal studios. His first film was The Secret Call, soon followed by The False Madonna (aka The False Idol) with its rather implausible story. The quality soon began to get better with Misleading Lady (1932) starring Claudette Colbert, the comedy Evenings for Sale (1932), and the film version of the Noel Coward play Tonight Is Ours (1932), also starring Colbert. The pacifist drama The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) is some of Walker's best work. Several routine assignments followed: White Woman (1933) with Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard; a comedy-romance about a tabloid newspaper-sponsored Cinderella and Prince Charming contest entitled Romance in the Rain (1934); and the Charles Dickens classic Great Expectations (1934) with Henry Hull and Jane Wyatt. The next year saw the shooting of two excellent thrillers: The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935) with Claude Rains, and The Werewolf of London (aka Unholy Hour [1935]) with Henry Hull. Walker's last film as director was the drama Manhattan Moon (aka Sing Me a Love Song [1935]).
In 1937, Walker switched roles again to act as producer for 12 films. The first three marked the beginning of the classic detective Bulldog Drummond series. These quick-paced, often humorous adventures included Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) with Ray Milland, Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937) with John Howard, and Bulldog Drummond's Peril. Following this first series were three films on different subjects: Prison Farm (1938), Sons of the Legion (1938), and director Robert Florey's 1939 crime thriller Disbarred. The Bulldog Drummond series continued in 1939 with Arrest Bulldog Drummond, Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police, and Bulldog Drummond's Bride. Walker's final three films as producer were "death-dealing, thrill-chasing troubleshooters": the drama Emergency Squad (1940), the comedy-mystery Opened by Mistake, and the comedy-drama Seventeen (1940), starring Jackie Cooper, for which Walker also wrote the script based on his own stage play. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Movie Guide
- 1940
This zany comedy-mystery gets under way when wiseguy reporter Jimmie Daniels (Robert Paige) and tipsy sports editor Buzz Nelson (Charlie Ruggles) become joint owners of an oversized truck. Examining the contents, Jimmie and Buzz discover that the trunk contains a dead body. When mystery woman Margaret Nichols (Janice Logan) shows up to claim the trunk for herself, she is immediately suspected of murder. It turns out, however, that Margaret is an insurance investigator, tracking down a fortune in stolen loot. Forced to go on the lam from the cops, Jimmie and Margaret take refuge in the country home of daffy scientist Jarvis Woodruff (Lawrence Grossmith), where the mystery of the troublesome body is finally solved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Janice Logan, (more)
- 1940
Previously filmed in 1916 with Mary Pickford's brother Jack in the lead, Booth Tarkington's irresistable coming-of-age novel Seventeen serves as a tailor-made vehicle for 18-year-old Jackie Cooper. The star is cast as William Slyvanus Baxter, a high school boy who is undergoing the pangs of First Romance. The object of his affections is flirtatious debutante Lola Pratt (Betty Field), an "older woman"-at least a whole year older! Losing his head completely, William spends all of his hard-earned money on the fickle Lola, only to learn a valuable (and very expensive) lesson about loving neither wisely nor too well. Norma Nelson is hilariously hateful as William's tattletale kid sister, while Otto Kruger and Ann Shoemaker are quietly effective as the boy's exasperated but understanding parents. Obviously rushed into production to capitalize on the successful teaming of Jackie Cooper and Betty Field in 1939's What a Life!, Seventeen is an excellent effort in its own right. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Cooper, Betty Field, (more)
- 1940
In this B movie actioner, a plucky female cub reporter is determined to get her boss a front page scoop and so finagles a way to spend a few days with two drivers in the title squad. While with them she finds herself reporting a huge fire at a chemical plant. She gets herself in real danger when she begins looking into a disaster-plagued tunnel construction site and finds that a racketeer is in cahoots with a crooked contractor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Henry, Louise Campbell, (more)
- 1939
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The penultimate entry in Paramount's "Bulldog Drummond" series, Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police once more stars John Howard as the private-detective hero, Heather Angel as Bulldog's eternal fiancee Phyllis Clavering, and H. B. Warner as the good gray Inspector Neilsen of the Yard. This one finds Bulldog and Phyllis ready to be married in an ancient castle, when a murder occurs, and Bulldog decides to investigate. He eventually uncovers both an eons-old treasure and a highly unsavory character who wishes to claim it for himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Heather Angel, (more)
Bulldog Drummond's Bride is the next-to-last entry in Paramount's series of "Drummond" B-pictures. It goes without saying that the oft-postponed wedding of Bulldog Drummond (John Howard) and Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel) is interrupted yet one more time. The reason is a Parisian crime wave, instigated by master crook Eduardo Ciannelli. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Heather Angel, (more)
- 1939
Gail Patrick plays a brilliant but naive country lawyer brought to the city to defend gangster Sidney Toler. She is subsidized by pillar of society Otto Kruger, who is actually the "big boy" behind the city's rackets. Ms. Patrick must prove that Toler didn't own a weapon that he is accused of pointing at a terrified states' witness. She believes in her client's innocence, but honest district attorney Robert Preston steers her to the side of Right. Patrick is exonerated of a complicity charge, and bad guys Toler and Kruger are carted off to prison. Ironically, Gail Patrick was later the executive producer of the TV series Perry Mason. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gail Patrick, Robert Preston, (more)
- 1938
Sons of the Legion is a showcase for Paramount's juvenile-talent pool-specifically, Donald O'Connor, Billy Lee and Billy Cook. The plotline is motivated by the formation of a Boy Scout-like organization, formed by members of the American Legion. Billy (Lee) and Davy (Cook) would like to join the group, but their father Charles (Lynne Overman) won't let them. It turns out that Charles was dishonorably discharged from the army, and hopes to keep this information a secret. Redeeming himself by capturing a dangerous criminal, Charles finally permits his boys to join the Sons of the Legion, secure in the knowledge that his past sins have been forgiven. Top-billed Donald O'Connor does a neat Mickey Rooney turn as soft-hearted tough kid Butch Baker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, Billy Lee, (more)
Though John Barrymore is top-billed in Bulldog Drummond's Peril, the aging matinee idol is consigned to the supporting role of Inspector Nielsen. Drummond is portrayed by John Howard; once more, he is on the verge of marrying the ever-patient Phyllis Clavering (Louise Campbell). And yet again, the ceremony is interrupted by a late-breaking crime. The villains this time are trying to steal synthetic diamonds. Bulldog Drummond's Peril was the 5th in Paramount's B-picture "Drummond" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, John Howard, (more)
Arrest Bulldog Drummond was the last of Paramount's "B" film series based on Sapper's two-fisted soldier of fortune, and also the final appearance by John Howard as Drummond. In this one, Drummond's honeymoon with his beloved Phyllis (Heather Angel) is postponed for the umpteenth time when Drummond is framed for the theft of a new ray-gun device (which looks like a reconditioned movie projector). Though designed for "the good of mankind", the gun will be a deadly force if it falls into "the wrong hands"--which in this case belong to goggle-eyed reprobate George Zucco and his gang. Still a fugitive, Drummond gives chase to the real crooks, with the help of several friends and associates, as well as the unofficial approval of Scotland Yard inspector Nielsen (H.B. Warner). Drummond narrowly escapes being dunked into a slime pit before he brings the crooks to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Heather Angel, (more)
- 1938
Shirley Ross plays an innocent young girl convicted for complicity in a crime committed by her boy friend (Lloyd Nolan). The male crook is sentence to six months on a prison farm populated by both men and women (segregated, of course). Ross is also incarcerated, suffering the cruelties of the sadistic male and female guards (including J. Carroll Naish and future "Ma Kettle" Marjorie Main!) Since this film leaves no cliche unturned, an escape attempt is inevitable, but Ross is ultimately rescued from her plight for the obligatory happy ending. Nowhere near as exploitive as the later Linda Blair films of the same ilk, Prison Farm was considered reasonably realistic in 1938, earning back its modest cost and then some. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Ross, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1935
Manhattan Moon is predicated on the notion that French songstress Yvonne (Dorothy Page) is so busy with her career that she has to hire a look-alike, Toots Malloy (also Dorothy Page) to take her place at social functions. While posing as Yvonne, Toots makes the acquaintance of the singer's boss, raffish but likeable self-made nightclub proprietor Dan Moore (Ricardo Cortez). As expected, Dan can't understand why the real Yvonne is so cool to his advances after the phony Yvonne was so receptive. By the time Dan has figured out who's who, he's fallen in love with Toots for herself rather than who she represents. The Universal Pictures typecasting system all but demanded that Henry Armetta and Luis Alberni appear in all of the studio's nightclub pictures; they do so here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Cortez, Dorothy Page, (more)
- 1935
Charles Dickens' unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, has been a source of speculation and controversy ever since its posthumous publication. Even so, the ending concocted by scenarists John Balderston and Gladys Unger for the 1935 film version of Edwin Drood met with near-unanimous approval from Dickens buffs, who felt that Balderston and Unger had remained faithful to the author's original intention. Claude Rains stars as John Jasper, the seemingly respectable choirmaster of Cloisterham Cathedral. What no one suspects is that Jasper is an opium addict, given to fits of paranoia and jealousy. Pushing him over the edge is the fact that his beautiful ward, Rosa Bud (Heather Angel), has fallen in love with handsome Edwin Drood (David Manners). That Drood is murdered by Jasper is made abundantly clear: it is the mystery of how he was murdered and how Jasper disposed of the body that holds the viewer's interest. The film's relatively short running time required the screenwriters to drop several of Dickens' more colorful supporting characters: of those retained, Francis L. Sullivan is a standout as Mr. Crisparkle. The Mystery of Edwin Drood was transformed into a Broadway musical in 1980s (which offered several alternate endings), then was refilmed in 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery, (more)
- 1935
Originally intended as a vehicle for Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, this Universal production predated The Wolf Man by six years, but failed to whip up audience enthusiasm for the monster popularized by Lon Chaney, Jr. in the studio's later classic. Henry Hull stars as botanist Dr. Glendon, whose foray through Tibet in search of a rare night-blooming "marifasa lupina" ends when he is savagely attacked by man-beast Yogami (Warner Oland). Recovering back in London, Glendon begins to undergo the hideous transformation into a wolf-like monster at the next full moon (courtesy of makeup work by Jack Pierce), and learns that only the bloom of the marifasa can reverse his condition -- a cure which is currently being sought by yet another lycanthropic predator. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Hull, Warner Oland, (more)
- 1934
Twelve years before David Lean's definitive filmization of Dickens' Great Expectations, Hollywood had a go at the novel, with mixed results. The story is the familiar one of young Pip (George Breakstone as a boy, Phillips Holmes as an adult) whose future wealth is assured through the auspices of a mysterious benefactor. It turns out that Pip's "guardian angel" is condemned convict Magwich (Henry Hull), repaying a favor the lad had done for him years earlier. The film is a faithful if rather rushed adaptation of the Dickens original, encompassing within its 100-minute running time such unforgettable characters as the vindictive recluse Miss Havisham, the arrogant Estella, the likeable blacksmith Joe Gargery and Joe's less likeable wife. Henry Hull is overly mannered as Magwich and Florence Reed is distressingly dull as Miss Havisham, but Jane Wyatt and Alan Hale are perfectly cast as Estella and Gargery, respectively. Francis L. Sullivan, playing lawyer Jaggers, repeated the role in the 1946 David Lean film. And if you pay close attention, you'll spot Walter Brennan as one of Magwich's fellow convicts. The 1934 Great Expectations is neat and precise, but nowhere near as inspired as the celebrated remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Hull, Phillips Holmes, (more)
- 1934
Universal's Romance in the Rain is a satire of network radio, a popular target of early-'30s movies. On behalf of dithery magazine publisher J. Franklyn Blank (Victor Moore), press agent Charlie (Roger Pryor) stages a "Cinderella contest" in search of new female talent for the airwaves. The winner turns out to be Cynthia (Heather Angel), a slum girl whom Charlie had previously befriended during a heavy rainstorm. Cynthia is madly in love with Charlie, but he doesn't realize it until his "Cinderella" has nearly been wed to someone else. Meanwhile, Blank has a few romantic travails of his own with his aggressive self-appointed fiancee Gwen (Esther Ralston), who literally drags him to the Justice of the Peace at film's end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Pryor, Heather Angel, (more)
- 1933
In this campy "adult-oriented" drama from the early 1930s, the ruthless manager of a Malaysian rubber plantation marries a singer facing deportation. He offers her a miserable existence of abuse and loneliness. She finds a bright spot with a handsome plantation worker. Unfortunately, her jealous husband sends him into headhunter country. When the man returns unscathed, the bullying supervisor is surprised for he figured the worker for a coward. The natives then revolt and an escaped convict helps the lovers make it to safety. The manager and the fugitive then play poker. The owner has a terrific hand, but never gets to lay it down, because his opponent is gored by a spear and dies. The ruthless overseer soon joins him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1933
Eagle and the Hawk is a "war is hell" saga slightly reminiscent of All Quiet on the Western Front. Fredric March plays a British World War One flying ace suffering from emotional fatigue. March's happy-go-lucky pilot buddy (Cary Grant) tries to help his friend forget his problems by accompanying him on leave in London. March meets a beautiful young lady (Carole Lombard), to whom he pours out his problems and with whom he has an implicit affair (made even more discreet when this film was edited for reissue). Tortured by the memory of the his fallen comrades and by the men he's killed in battle, March finally breaks and commits suicide. To save his friend's reputation, Cary Grant props March's body up in the cockpit of his plane, flies the craft into the air, and makes it appear that March died while shooting it out with a German ace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Cary Grant, (more)
- 1932
Claudette Colbert plays a dizzy socialite who wants to become an actress. She buys her way into an audition for the part of a seductive vamp in an upcoming film. To prove she's worthy of the role, Colbert comes on strong to unsuspecting bachelor Edmund Lowe. He falls like a ton of bricks, but Colbert drops him when she's cast in the film. Lowe is not so easily disposed of; he abducts Colbert from the studio and spirits her away. She eventually realizes that she's loved him all along, while the modern-day feminists in the audience grind their teeth and pull their hair. Misleading Lady was based on a play by Charles W. Goddard and Paul Dickey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Edmund Lowe, (more)
- 1932
A pair of grifters, one of whom is impersonating a doctor, assist a sick woman while riding a train. After the woman dies, the female con-artist assumes her identity so that she can collect a large amount of money. Trouble ensues when the woman begins to bond with the dead lady's blind son. She decides not to take the cash. This arouses her attorney's suspicions. Later, when the lad learns the truth, he has a fatal coronary. The woman and the lawyer get married. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, William "Stage" Boyd, (more)
- 1932
In this romance, an impoverished Viennese aristocrat becomes a gigolo. While on the job, he encounters a Yankee widow who is terribly impressed by titled men. They get involved and she helps him start afresh. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Marshall, Sara Maritza, (more)
- 1931
The Secret Call is adapted from The Woman, a play by William C. DeMille (brother of Cecil B.) Peggy Shannon plays Wanda Kelly, the daughter of a disgraced politician. Reduced to working as a switchboard operator, Wanda is privy to the many secrets and indiscretions of the clients of a big-city hotel. She also finds romance in the form of handsome Tom Blake (Richard Arlen). The huge cast of characters comes in handy for the film's multitude of subplots, none of which ever get their wires crossed. Peggy Shannon acquits herself nicely in her first major role, but by the end of the decade her career was in decline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Peggy Shannon, (more)
