Maude Eburne Movies

This film was made to promote the annual Easter passion play of the Lawton Congregational Church in Lawton, Oklahoma. The first half of the film presents the history of the pageant, which began in 1926. The rest of the film presents the actual pageant which takes place in the Wichita Mountains during Holy Week. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Robert Lowery stars in the 65-minute actioner Arson Inc. Lowery plays a fireman in search of a seemingly random arsonist--or arsonists. Putting two and two together, our hero figures out that culprits are a gang of thieves who've been torching businesses to cover up their robberies. Much of the film has a semidocumentary quality, as director William Berke concentrates on the real-life methods and firefighting equipment of the LA Fire Department. Curiously, the film's co-scripter was Arthur Caesar, one of Hollywood's foremost humorists. Trade-shown in May of 1949, Arson Inc. hit the neighborhood theatre screens in June. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hero Rod Cameron kills Sheriff Sam Borden (George Cleveland) at point-blank range and in front of several witnesses in the opening of this Republic Pictures Western, released in the company's patented Trucolor system. The "killing," however, is merely a ruse set up to allow army agent Johnny Drum (Cameron) to infiltrate a gang of highway robbers. The gang is led by Whit Lacey (Forrest Tucker), and although Johnny is determined to bring Whit and his men to justice, he cannot help befriending the charming rascal. It all comes to a head when the Sioux attack the local fort and both Johnny and Whit prove that they at least have something in common -- bravery and loyalty. Ilona Massey, as Cameron's love interest, performs "Walking Down Broadway," by William H. Lingard and Charles E. Pratt, and "I'll Sing a Love Song," with lyrics by Jack Elliott and Aaron Gonzales. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

James Thurber wasn't too happy with the Sam Goldwyn film adaptation of his 1939 short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but the Technicolor musical comedy proved to be a cash cow at the box office. Danny Kaye stars as Walter, a milquetoast proofreader for a magazine publishing firm. Walter is constitutionally incapable of standing up for himself, which is why his mother (Fay Bainter) has been able to arrange a frightful marriage between her son and the beautiful but overbearing Gertrude Griswold (Ann Rutherford). As he muses over the lurid covers of the magazines put out by his firm, Walter retreats into his fantasy world, where he is heroic, poised, self-assured, and the master of his fate. Glancing at the cover of a western periodical, Walter fancies himself the two-gun "Perth Amboy Kid"; a war magazine prompts Walter to envision himself as a fearless RAF pilot; and so on. Throughout all his imaginary adventures, a gorgeous mystery woman weaves in an out of the proceedings. Imagine Walter's surprise when his dream girl shows up in the flesh in the person of Rosalind van Horn (Virginia Mayo). The girl is being pursued by a gang of jewel thieves headed by Dr. Hugo Hollingshead (Boris Karloff), a clever psychiatrist who manages to convince Walter that he's simply imagining things again, and that Rosalind never existed. At long last, Walter vows to live his life in the "now" rather than in the recesses of his mind: he rescues Rosalind from the gang's clutches, tells his mother and Gertrude where to get off, and fast-talks his way into a better position with the publishing firm. Substituting the usual Danny Kaye zaniness for James Thurber's whimsy, Secret Life of Walter Mitty works best during the production numbers, especially Kaye's signature tune "Anatole of Paris." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, two warring neighbors are aghast when their respective daughter and son fall in love and plan to marry. Despite their parents' objections they begin planning and getting the legal paper work done; it is then they learn they could be brother and sister. Fortunately, the situation is straightened out and the two find out they are related only by marriage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After a two-year layoff, Columbia revived its moneymaking "Blondie" series with 1945's Leave It to Blondie. Older but no wiser, Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead (Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake) enter a songwriting contest. It's all part of a plan to cover charity checks that they've signed separately but can't cover. Along the way, Blondie's blood boils when Dagwood gets innocently mixed up with beautiful music teacher Rita Rogers (Marjorie Weaver). The best scenes involve Dagwood's misguided efforts to cure a cold, leading to several motheaten but still reliable slapstick setpieces. Leave it to Blondie proved that the series hadn't lost its humor as Dagwood is arrested for murder, obliging our heroine to solve the case herself. Former bandleader Kirby Grant registers well as the nominal hero, while Milburn Stone scores as an imitation Walter Winchell (named "Winchester", no less!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic wartime comedy, four female defense plant workers share a house with four male workers. The situation is on the up and up as the men and women work different shifts and they are only making due because there is a housing shortage. Unfortunately, they soon begin to fight about who gets the house during certain hours. Romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama a big-city reporter moves to a tiny town to begin running the newspaper he half-owns. His in-your-face reporting style does not make him very popular; especially when he begins causing trouble for the incumbent mayor's opposition. It is the candidate's pretty niece who teaches the arrogant journalist a valuable lesson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A sleepy hay-seed filled Arkansas town gets spotlight fever when a local sow bears an unprecedented 10 piglets. Suddenly poor Pitchfork is inundated with greedy interlopers anxiously rooting around trying to make silk purses out of the unusual situation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Beverly Ross (nn Miller) is a would-be radio personality, but the closest she gets to being on the air is running the switchboard at a local station. Worse yet, the blustery station owner Mr. Kennedy (Tim Ryan) wants no part of programming "jive" (i.e., swing music) that she loves, preferring the classics. But she manages to con Vernon Lewis (Franlin Pangborn), the host of the station's early morning classical show, into believing that he needs a vacation and slips into his time-slot at 5 am, where she starts running records by Bob Crosby's band, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Frank Sinatra in place of Beethoven and Mendelssohn. The soldiers at the local army base pick up on the new show, and two of them, wealthy candy company magnate Barry Lang (William Wright) and his former chauffeur Andy Adams (Dick Purcell, decide they want to meet this new disc jockey, and as luck would have it her brother (Larry Parks) is in their platoon and invites them to his home. But the two men decide to switch identities, Barry denying his wealth and pretending to be Andy, and Andy presenting himself as the candy heir Barry -- and as if matters aren't complicated enough for Beverly, coping with their antics, she has to fight to keep her radio show. But when the soldiers listening to her start writing in by the thousands, and Barry suggests she call her 5am show "Reveille," she takes it one step further and "Reveille With Beverly," and becomes a smash. But can she sort out the intertwining romantic overtures of the two men in her life? ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

A nine-year-old Elizabeth Taylor made her film debut in this lively comedy. She plays the spoiled-brat daughter of a pudding manufacturer who has been entered into the town's mayoral race by some of the local businessmen. They have chosen him because they think he is easy to manipulate. As a sales gimmick, the pudding magnate advertises that his product contains the highly nutritious "Vitamin Z." He suddenly begins selling pudding like crazy and soon his political campaign is well-funded. Unfortunately, there is no "Vitamin Z" and when this is discovered, the town fathers try to dump him and show that he is a fake. Undaunted, the pudding maker retaliates by proving that the businessmen are the real crooks and in spite of the scandal, the man gets elected. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Lady Bodyguard of the title is pretty but somewhat physically frail A. C. Baker (Anne Shirley). An advertising representative for an insurance company, A. C. gets into trouble when she okays several $1000 life-insurance policies as a publicity stunt. One of the recipients is Terry Moore (Eddie Albert), who, thanks to a typographical error, finds that he's been insured for one million dollars. Desperately, A. C. tries to talk Terry into cancelling the policy, but his avaricious beneficiaries don't want this to happen. There are laughs and thrills aplenty as a sleep-benumbed Terry pilots an airplane carrying A. C. and all of those vultures who'd benefit mightily from his demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Paige pursues the hand of a singer Jane Frazee when he wants to get out of a dreaded engagement. She agrees to the marriage-of-convenience, and they find that after the ceremony they actually are starting to like each other. ~ All Movie Guide