Eugene Jackson Movies

Imagining himself to be a master detective, Our Gang member Mickey Daniels -- also known as "Sherlock Hawkshaw" -- tries to solve the kidnapping of wealthy youngster Adelbert Wallingford (Jackie Condon). With the help of his friends, Mickey captures a likely suspect, who turns out to be one of the police detectives assigned to the case. The gang finally manages to round up the kidnappers and rescue Adelbert through the flukiest of flukes: Another crook pays them a dollar to deliver the ransom note. The hilarious slapstick climax finds little Mickey at the controls of a runaway airplane, with Joe Cobb and Allen "Farina" Hoskins nervously clinging to the wings. The silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy The Mysterious Mystery! was originally released on December 14, 1924. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Determined to get out of school to attend the circus, the Our Gang kids fake an epidemic by splotching their faces with ersatz measles. The doctor quickly figures out what the kids are up to and orders the young tricksters to remain in bed, even after it is announced that everyone else in their classroom has been given free circus tickets. A few clever gags notwithstanding, Circus Fever, originally released on February 8, 1925, does not hold up that well. Far better are the later Our Gang films that borrowed the basic plot elements of Circus Fever, notably Teacher's Pet, Fish Hooky, Spooky Hooky, and Three Smart Boys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy was first released on May 3, 1925. Shootin' Injuns finds the Our Gang kids collectively deciding to run away from home and strike out for the Wild West. The youngsters get no further than a nearby house, which has been outfitted with magnetic gimmicks for the benefit of an amusement park impresario. After spending a hair-raising night in what seems to be a haunted house, the kids are more than happy to return to their parents -- that is, if they can catch up with their parents, who have likewise been frightened away by the spooky house. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Our Gang kids argue amongst themselves over which of their dogs is the cleverest and best trained. This brouhaha is forgotten when Gang member Mickey Daniels rescues rich girl Mary Kornman after her pony runs away. As a reward, Mary invites Mickey and his pals to her parents' ritzy mansion for a high-society party, which of course the youngsters quickly reduce to their low-society level. The story concludes when one of the dogs proves beyond question that she can do something none of the male dogs will ever be able to accomplish. Originally released on March 8, 1925, the silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy Dog Days is available only in the abbreviated, stretch-framed print prepared for home viewing by Walton Films in the early '50s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Together with MGM's Hallelujah, Fox's Hearts in Dixie is historically significant as one of the first all-talkie, big-studio productions to boast a predominately African-American cast. The ineluctable Clarence Muse, all of forty years old, stars as elderly Grandpap Nappus, a former slave whose beloved daughter Chloe (Bernice Pilot) marries the shiftless Gummy (comedian Stepin Fetchit, in his only "straight" role). After Chloe's death, Grandpap determines that his grandson Chinaquapin (Eugene Jackson) will not follow in Gummy's footsteps. He intends to send the boy North for a proper education, a move that is strongly opposed by the no-good Gummy. Essentially a white man's view of the Black South, Hearts in Dixie may strike modern viewers as stereotypical and demeaning, but its intentions were honorable, and the end result was quite pleasing to both black and white audiences in 1929. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cimarron was the first Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture--and, until Dances with Wolves in 1990, the only one. The film begins on April 22, 1889, the opening day of the great Oklahoma Land Rush on the Cherokee Strip. Boisterous Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his land claim by the devious Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Instead of becoming a homesteader, Cravat establishes a muckraking newspaper, and with pistols in hand he becomes a widely respected (and widely feared) peacekeeper. He also displays a compassionate streak by coming to the defense of Dixie Lee, who is about to be arrested for prostitution. Cravat's insistence on sticking his nose into everyone's affairs drives a wedge between him and his young wife Sabra (Irene Dunne), but she stands by him--until he deserts her and her children, ever in pursuit of new adventures. Sabra takes over the newspaper herself, and with the moral support of her best friend, Mrs. Wyatt (Edna May Oliver), she creates a powerful publishing empire. Cimarron makes the mistake of placing most of the action early in the film, so that everything that follows the spectacular opening land-rush sequence may feel anti-climactic. While it's always enjoyable to watch Irene Dunne persevering through the years, it's rather wearing to sit through the overblown performance of Richard Dix, who seems to think that he can't make a point unless it's at the top of his lungs. Cimarron creaks badly when seen today, but it still outclasses the plodding 1960 remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clark Gable went from supporting actor to star in the space of one year with Sporting Blood, adapted from a novel by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan. Gable is top-billed as a gambling house proprietor named Rid Riddell. When the owner of a prize thoroughbred loses heavily in Riddell's establishment, he is forced to give up the horse to the gambler as security. Rid enters the horse in several honest races, then pulls the animal during a crucial race in order to collect big money on the losses; then he plans to dope up the horse to assure future wins. But when the horse loses, the gambler, deeply in debt to mobsters, transfers ownership to one of his female dealers (Madge Evans), and then drops out of the plotline. Clark Gable isn't really the lead in Sporting Blood--actually he's something of a rat--but he's the one whom everybody in the audience remembers long after the final fadeout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gene Autry's first starring Western, Tumbling Tumbleweeds sets the pace for the 98 or so Autry oaters to come. As he would for the remainder of his screen career with only one exception, Gene plays Gene Autry, cowboy troubadour, who, upon his return west with musical friends Smiley (Smiley Burnette) and Eightball (Eugene Jackson), not only learns that his father has been murdered but that his childhood friend, Harry Brooks (Cornelius Keefe), is the most likely suspect. Naturally, Harry proves innocent while the real culprit is once again to be found among the town's more notable citizens. Gene, Burnette, and the Sons of the Pioneers (one of whom is the screen debuting Leonard Slye, soon to become Roy Rogers) perform Bob Nolan's title tune, along with "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," by Gene Autry and Jimmy Long; "Ridin' Down the Canyon," by Autry and Smiley Burnette; and "Corn Fed and Rusty," by Burnette. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Singing cowboy Gene Autry stars in this formula western as Gene Autry (so far, so good), who teams up with his buddy Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) to investigate a series of accidents which have stopped construction of a dam being constructed by Sam Flint (George Baxter) and claimed the lives of much of the work crew. The progress of the damn is also thwarted when Bull Dural (George Cheseboro) and his gang attempt to steal the payroll; Gene and Frog suspect Bull may also be behind the deadly dirty tricks campaign before discovering he's just a pawn in a bigger game. Autry finds time to sing five tunes during the proceedings, inclusing the classic title song. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

First-time director Lew Ayres performs miracles on a tiny budget in the Civil War drama Hearts in Bondage. The story offers a romanticized version of the events leading up to the battle between the "ironclads" Monitor and Merrimac. Northern naval officer Kenneth (James Dunn), the nephew of Monitor designer John Ericsson (Fritz Leiber) is dishonorably discharged when he sinks the Merrimac instead of burning it, as ordered. He is restored to duty as a crew member on the Monitor, and in the ensuing sea battle with the recommissioned Merrimac he kills Confederate officer Raymond (David Manners), the brother of Kenneth's fiancee Constance (Mae Clarke). The estranged sweethearts are ultimately reunited with the help of Abe Lincoln himself! Both James Dunn and Mae Clarke are miscast in their roles, but they do their best under the circumstances to make their material "work" -- and often succeed. The real stars of Hearts in Bondage are Republic's special-effects mavens Howard and Theodore Lydecker, whose splendid utilization of scale models in the climactic Monitor-Merrimac confrontation is both exciting and convincing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

In this espionage drama, an inventor creates a way to send television broadcasts across the country and finds himself pursued by international spies. Eventually the enemy succeeds in stealing the plans. But in the end, he gets it back and even falls in love with his former partner's daughter, with whom, thanks to his new television, he has a long-distance romance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide