Alan Marshal Movies
Handsome, sophisticated, mustachioed Australian actor Alan Marshal launched his screen career in 1936, appearing in two films, The Garden of Allah and After the Thin Man. Marshal is frequently cast as witty, daring heroes. Notable film appearances include The Conquest (1937), in which he appeared opposite Greta Garbo, and The White Cliffs of Dover (1943) with Irene Dunne. Before coming to the U.S. in the mid-'30s, Marshal worked on the Australian stage. In Hollywood, he contracted with David O. Selznick and MGM, but frequently was loaned out to appear in other studios' productions. A nervous condition prevented Marshal from appearing in films throughout much of the 1940s. During that period, Marshal returned to stage work. He made his final film appearances in the late '50s. Marshal, who at one time had been compared to Ronald Colman, died on the Chicago stage while working opposite Mae West in Sextet. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Set in an isolated, snow-covered town in the far West, this story has a renegade army officer named Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) and his henchmen riding into the town threatening their worst to the men and women there. Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan) decides to agree to Bruhn's demands for someone knowledgeable to lead them away from the law and the town, to safety. Mortally wounded himself, Bruhn opts to take Starrett up on his offer in one last act of generosity toward the townspeople, sparing them the mayhem threatened by his men. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, (more)
- 1958
George Baxter (Jack Raine), a courier for the South African Diamond Company, arrives at his firm's California office to find the place in a state of disarray, with a strange girl (Joanna Moore) standing the middle of the room. Baxter concludes that the place has been robbed, but before he can say or do anything the girl has ducked into the nearby office of Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), claiming to be a typist for a temp agency. Later on, Baxter is found murdered, and a man named Duane Jefferson (Alan Marshall) is charged. Perry wants to defend Jefferson, but the man refuses to identity the woman who could prove his innocence (and guess who that woman is?) Based on a 1956 novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner, this episode offers a genuinely shocking twist just before the climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
This episode is clearly inspired by the famous "Bridey Murphy" affair of the mid-'50s. During a party, Lucy Pryor (Phyllis Thaxter) allows herself to be hypnotized by Professor Miles Farham (Tom Helmore). While in a trance, she regresses to the year 1853 and assumes the personality of a Quaker woman named Dora Evans -- and then, just as Dora Evans had done over 100 years earlier, Lucy promptly murders her husband. During her subsequent trial, Lucy undergoes hypnosis a second time to prove that she had had no control over herself when committing the murder...and the results are astonishing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A perennial favorite of the "Shock Theatre" TV circuit, House on Haunted Hill stars Vincent Price as sinister gent (you're surprised?) Frederick Loren, who resides in a sinister mansion on a sinister hill, where seven murders have occurred. He makes a proposal to several strangers, offtering $10,000 to anyone who can last the entire night. Loren festively gives each of his guests a tiny coffin containing a loaded handgun, designed to protect them from the spooks that emerge in the house over the course of the night. The picture hinges on its surprise ending, which packs in several by-now-familiar twists. When originally released to theaters, House on Haunted Hill was accompanied by one of those gimmicks so beloved of producer/director William Castle: the gimmick was "Emergo," and it involved a prop skeleton that "emerged" from the side of the screen at a crucial moment to frighten the audience. Like most of Castle's best films, House didn't really need the gimmick, but its presence added to the fun -- especially when second- and third-time viewers responded to "Emergo" by bombarding the skeleton with popcorn and empty soda bottles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, (more)
- 1956
The Opposite Sex is an opulent musical remake of Clare Booth Luce's The Women (1939). June Allyson stars in the old Norma Shearer role, playing the virtuous wife who loses her husband to scheming Joan Collins (as the Joan Crawford character). At first agreeing to a divorce, June decides to win hubby back by utilizing the same crafty feminine wiles that Joan had employed to lead him astray. Doloress Gray plays the counterpart to Rosalind Russell's vitriolic gossip. The original The Women boasted an all-female cast: the remake includes several male characters, played by the likes of MGM contractees Leslie Nielsen and Jeff Richards. Dick Shawn, Jim Backus and Harry James are also on hand, billed as "special guest stars." The satirical bite of The Women has been softened in The Opposite Sex, but musical fans should have a good time. Sammy Cahn, Nicholas Brodszky, Ralph Freed and George Stoll were among the songwriters; Collins, Allyson and Jeff Richards perform musical numbers in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Allyson, Joan Collins, (more)
- 1944
Bride by Mistake is a remake of the 1934 Miriam Hopkins vehicle The Richest Girl in the World, with a wartime angle providing topicality. Tired of being romanced by fortune hunters and being rejected by poor-but-proud suitors, fabulously wealthy Norah (Laraine Day) decides to pose as her own secretary Sylvia (Marsha Hunt), and vice versa. The plot thickens when Norah falls in love with convalescing fighter pilot Tony (Alan Marshall)-while he in turn falls for the very married Sylvia. All sorts of manic complications ensue, with Sylvia's hapless husband (Allyn Joslin) the "odd man out". RKO Radio revived Richest Girl in the World for a third time in 1954 as the Jane Russell musical The French Line. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Marshal, Laraine Day, (more)
- 1944
The White Cliffs of Dover is one of those overlong MGM wartime films that everyone seems to have seen a part of, but no one can remember the film as a sum total. Based on a poem by Alice Duer Miller, the story chronicles the trials and tribulations of one courageous woman through two world wars. Irene Dunne plays an American girl who, in 1914, falls in love with titled Englishman Alan Marshal. At the end of World War 1 in 1918, it is painfully clear that Marshal will not be returning from the battlefields. Remaining loyal to her husband, Irene vows to raise their child in England. Played by Roddy McDowell in his early scenes, Irene's son grows up to be Peter Lawford. At the outbreak of World War 2, Irene despairs at the thought of losing another loved one, but Lawford convinces her that his dad would have wanted him to answer his country's call to the colors. While working as a Red Cross volunteer, Irene finds that she must tend her own mortally wounded son. Unable to save his life, she is grief-stricken, but is gratified with the notion that neither her husband nor her boy have died in vain. Like many films of its ilk and era, White Cliffs of Dover struck a responsive chord with filmgoers, to the tune of a $4 million profit. Watch for a touching scene between Roddy McDowell and 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor; 19 years later, lifelong friends Roddy and Liz would be playing mortal enemies in Cleopatra (1963). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, Alan Marshal, (more)
- 1941
Adapted from a French movie entitled Un Carnet de Bal, this is a story of love unrequited. In one of her best performances, Merle Oberon portrays an elderly woman who has spent her life waiting for a man whom she had a brief liaison with but who never returned for her as he had promised. Casting aside three suitors over a forty year period, she has spent her life in solitude. When a party is arranged and all three of her spurned suitors show up, a surprise fourth is also present--her original true love. Denouement is somewhat of a surprise in this romantic love story. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, Edna May Oliver, (more)
- 1941
- NR
Working girl Ginger Rogers (who dresses like movie star Ginger Rogers, despite her meager salary!) cannot decide which of her three suitors will march her down the aisle. Will it be fast-talking automobile salesman George Murphy, wealthy Alan Marshall, or free-spirited, eternally unemployed Burgess Meredith? She mulls over her choices in a series of hilarious dream sequences (the best involving Meredith, along with three baby Merediths crawling on the floor). If her final decision takes you by surprise, you're in good company: according to one of the cast members, director Garson Kanin and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Paul Jarrico kept the denouement a secret until the last day of shooting. Featured in the cast is Phil Silvers as a delightfully obnoxious ice cream vendor, and, in a microscopic role, Jack Briggs, who would eventually marry Ms. Rogers. A favorite with both audiences and critics, Tom, Dick & Harry was ineffectively remade in 1957 as the Jane Powell musical The Girl Most Likely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, George Murphy, (more)
- 1940
In this drama, set in Paris, a devout communist is slowly seduced into becoming a capitalist by a persuasively pretty young woman. The tale begins as the young man shoots at a banker and then flees the police. He runs into the woman's apartment, and for some reason, she decides to let him stay. She then tells him that she is the banker's ex-wife, and they begin to converse; she is fascinated by communist philosophies and in turn shares her views on capitalism with him. He comes to like them and so abandons his other ideologies for the bourgeois life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
Hollywood films about the Revolutionary War almost invariably lost money at the box office, and The Howards of Virginia was no exception, despite the presence of Cary Grant in the lead. Most of the story takes place in the colonial capital city of Williamsburg, Virginia, where Matt Howard (Cary Grant) dedicates himself to the causes of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Remaining faithfully at Matt's side through his early years as a frontiersman and on into his life among the "landed gentry" is his wife Jane Peyton Howard (Martha Scott), the sister of unregenerate royalist Fleetwood Peyton (Cedric Hardwicke).
Most of the high points of the Revolution are herein recreated, including the Stamp Act riots, the Boston Tea Party, and Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty" speech. Curiously, however, director Frank Lloyd stages these scenes in a flat, near-throwaway fashion; even the inflammatory Henry (Richard Gaines) is hampered by unimaginative camera angles. Other historical personages parading through the film include Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, played respectively by Richard Carlson and George Houston. Though it's rather rough sledding in its feature-length version, The Howards of Virginia plays quite well in the half-hour abridgement prepared by Columbia for schoolroom showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Most of the high points of the Revolution are herein recreated, including the Stamp Act riots, the Boston Tea Party, and Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty" speech. Curiously, however, director Frank Lloyd stages these scenes in a flat, near-throwaway fashion; even the inflammatory Henry (Richard Gaines) is hampered by unimaginative camera angles. Other historical personages parading through the film include Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, played respectively by Richard Carlson and George Houston. Though it's rather rough sledding in its feature-length version, The Howards of Virginia plays quite well in the half-hour abridgement prepared by Columbia for schoolroom showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Martha Scott, (more)
- 1940
In this remake of the 1926 silent hit (which was in turn based on a hit musical from 1919), Anna Neagle stars as Irene O'Dare, an Irish girl of humble beginnings who comes to New York in search of work. She finds a place as a shopgirl at a fashionable and expensive boutique managed by Mr. Smith (Roland Young). Irene does well at her new job and soon finds that two wealthy men are vying for her affections. Don Marshall (Ray Milland), the owner of the store, is much attracted to Irene, but so is socialite Bob Vincent (Alan Marshal), which does not come as a pleasant surprise to Eleanor Worth (Marsha Hunt), Bob's sweetheart. Irene features several (but not all) of the songs from the original stage production, including "Castle of Dreams", "Worthy of You", "You've Got Me out on a Limb", and "There's Something in the Air". The "Alice Blue Gown" number was shot in Technicolor, while the remainder of the film is in black and white. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, (more)
- 1940
Festooned with flashbacks, Married and in Love is a minor domestic drama given Tiffany treatment by director John Farrow. Helen Vinson plays a vain, selfish woman, unhappily married to Patrick Knowles. Impulsively, Helen decides to kick over the traces an elope with college sweetheart Alan Marshal. It so happens that Marshal is also married, to Barbara Read. The events leading up to Helen and Alan's rash behavior are detailed with a complexity that rivals Citizen Kane. All Married and In Love would have needed to move into the A-picture category was a more bankable cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Marshal, Barbara Read, (more)
- 1939
This hospital drama chronicles the exploits of four nursing students enrolled in a three-year training course. One of them decides that she will have a brilliant young doctor, but then she changes her mind and begins pursuing a wealthy playboy. Unfortunately, the playboy loves another nurse. A railroad disaster interrupts the romantic shenanigans. Later the flaky nurse and the doctor get married. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Florence Rice, Una Merkel, (more)
Few will argue with the contention that RKO Radio's 1939 adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame was the best of the many screen versions of the Hugo classic. We say this even allowing for certain liberties taken with the source material-liberties calculated by scenarists Sonya Levien and Bruno Frank to draw parallels between 15th century Paris and 20th century Europe. Thus, Claude Frollo (Cedric Hardwicke), the villain of the piece, is no longer merely a religious hypocrite unable to control his own carnal desires. Instead, Frollo is a bush-league Hitler, warning that the invention of the printing press is dangerous in that it will encourage the rabble to think for themselves, and plotting the persecution and destruction of the "undesirable" gypsies. In the same vein, Gringoire the Poet (Edmond O'Brien in his film debut) has been transformed into an agit-prop "Group Theatre" activist, bent on bringing the unvarnished truth to the ignorant Parisians. Many of Hugo's subplots have been dispensed with, the better to concentrate on the grotesquely deformed Quasimodo (Charles Laughton), bell-ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, and his puppylike loyalty towards imperiled gypsy dancer Esmerelda (Maureen O'Hara, in her first American film appearance). The schism between the haves and have-nots in the walled city of Paris is illustrated in broad, visually dynamic strokes by director William Dieterle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, (more)
Exile Express was the last film produced by Grand National Pictures, and a worthy farewell it was. Anna Sten, former Sam Goldwyn protegee and the wife of Exile Express producer Eugene Frenke, stars as Nadine Nikolas, a young European girl whose chances of becoming an American citizen are scotched when she is implicated in a murder. About to be deported, Nadine is rescued by reporter Steve Reynolds (Alan Marshall), who suspects that the killing was engineered by a gang of international spies. One delightful scene permits the haughty Ms. Sten to "let herself go" by dancing an energetic jitterbug. Directed by Universal contractee Otis Garrett, Exile Express is a satisfying blend of comedy, romance, and edge-of-the-seat suspense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Alan Marshal, (more)
- 1939
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Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce make their second screen appearances as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Ostensibly based on the stage play by William Gillette, the film owes nothing to the play beyond the characters of Holmes, Watson, Billy the page boy and Professor Moriarty. Played with relish (and a bit of pickle) by George Zucco, Moriarty plots to steal the Crown Jewels, and also to confound Holmes by obliging the Great Detective to be in two places at once. Ida Lupino costars as an imperiled young woman who is seemingly plagued by an ancient family curse--a plot development that has been carefully stage-managed by the malevolent Moriarty. Basil Rathbone is excellent not only as Holmes but also in the guise of a cockney music-hall entertainer (if indeed that is Rathbone performing a buck-and-wing in longshot). The second of Twentieth Century-Fox's Holmes films (Hound of the Baskervilles was the first), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was the last in which Rathbone and Bruce were seen in a 19th century setting. In the subsquent Sherlock Holmes series at Universal, the exploits of Holmes and Watson were updated to the World War II years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, (more)
- 1938
In this lively musical western, a cowboy's wife heads for Reno for a quickie divorce. Meanwhile her husband finds himself in competition with a suave Easterner who has fallen in love with her. The cowboy is dismayed and embarrassed when the city-slicker easily out rides him during a bronc-riding exhibition. Fortunately, for the red-faced cowboy, his wife comes back and happiness ensues. Songs include: a snippet from "La Boheme", "I Gave My Heart Away", "Ridin' Home" and "Tonight Is The Night" (Jimmy McHugh, Harold Adamson). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Hope Hampton, (more)
- 1938
Secret agent Jeff Clavering (Alan Marshal) is in the employ of a group of businessmen dedicated to world peace. In order to get the goods on war profiteer Kamarov (C. Henry Gordon), Clavering is ordered to romance Kamarov's wife Stephanie (Mady Correll). Our hero and heroine experience any number of thrill-packed adventures while uncovering the villain's nefarious scheme to plunge the World into war. Gee? if Kamarov had only waited a few months, he could have saved himself the trouble. Some much-needed comedy relief is provided by Herbert Mundin as a bumbling British detective. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Marshal, Tala Birell, (more)
- 1938
An undying love is chronicled in this "women's picture." The sweeping tale begins in a quiet New England village during the late '20s. There an introverted young man and a restless young woman (Henry Fonda and Joan Bennett) are happily in love until a dashing, sophisticated fellow (Alan Marshall) comes to town and sweeps her away to the exotic City of Light. There the two find a charming Parisian loft and live in unwedded bliss with their baby daughter. Unfortunately, the sophisticate turns out to be a lush and dies of alcoholism within ten years. Alone, Bennett returns to her hometown only to find that the townsfolk are still angry with her for breaking Fonda's heart. They are also appalled that she be so wanton as to bear a child out of wedlock. While she was gone, Fonda became a professor of biology and has worked at the local university for many years. Having been once burned, he made a solemn vow to remain forever single so when he sees her again, he pretends he is no longer interested. At the same time, he also tries to discourage the unwanted attentions of a determined young coed from romantically pursuing him. So, will Bennett and Fonda overcome their many obstacles and reunite for a happy ending? Of course, but how they do it will not be revealed here. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1938
Viennese-born Luise Rainer plays a young Parisian girl who attends an exclusive drama school, working nights at a factory to pay the tuition. Despite the jealousies of her fellow students, Luise allows nothing to discourage her from her goal to become as great an actress as her idol (Gale Sondergaard). The girl wins the coveted role of Joan of Arc in an upcoming play, but the victory has a bitter taste when she realizes she's beaten out her idol for the part. At the end, Luise manages to have both a happy career and a successful marriage, even though her friends (and enemies) insist that such a combination is impossible. Dramatic School is a film buff's banquet; virtually every bit player in the cast (Ann Rutherford, Lana Turner, Dick Haymes, Hans Conried, etc.) later graduated to show-biz prominence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luise Rainer, Paulette Goddard, (more)
- 1937
Emlyn Williams' theatrical horror piece Night Must Fall was filmed by MGM without the usual studio-imposed happy ending. Robert Montgomery stars as Danny, a wickedly charming Irish bellhop who wins the confidence of an elderly invalid (Dame May Whitty). The old woman's niece (Rosalind Russell) is not so easily swayed by Danny's blarney, but she finds him strangely attractive, especially when he exhibits a streak of viciousness. Even when the possibility arises that Danny is a wanted murderer, Rosalind is hesitant to call the police. The film's final scene, in which Danny ambles around the house carrying a hatbox that may or may not contain Ms. Whitty's head, is unforgettable. Robert Montgomery fought long and hard with MGM for the right to play the murderous Danny; the studio heads finally gave in, hoping that the actor would fall on his face and cease to bother him. That Night Must Fall was a success is evidenced by the willingness of MGM to remake the property in 1964; the resultant film was a gore-encrusted opus that had not one tenth of the original's quality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, (more)
- 1937
Conquest was released in England as Marie Waleska, the name of the real-life historical personage portrayed by Greta Garbo. The film begins in 1807, when Marie, a Polish countess, is dispatched by her country to meet with Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (Charles Boyer). Marie has been encouraged to press for Polish independence by whatever means possible--and though no one comes out and says as much, it is understood that she will offer herself sexually to the promiscuous Napoleon. She dutifully becomes Bonaparte's mistress, bears his child, and--almost as an afterthought--falls in love with him. Thanks to the political chicanery of Talleyrand (Reginald Owen), Napoleon is obliged to marry Hapsburg princess Marie Louise, and Marie is cast aside, her usefulness at an end. Only after Napoleon has been exiled to Elba in 1815 is he reunited with Marie and their son (Scotty Beckett). Though it stands up pretty well today, Conquest was a flop in 1937, and the beginning of the end of Garbo's screen career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 1937
The true story of one of Ireland's leading political figures of the late 19th Century inspired this biographical drama. Charles Stewart Parnell (Clark Gable) is a politician and activist whose tireless work towards the cause of Irish independence has earned him the nickname "the Uncrowned King of Ireland." After a fund-raising trip to the United States, Parnell is introduced to Katie O'Shea (Myrna Loy), whose husband Willie O'Shea (Alan Marshall) is running for Parliament. In truth, Katie and Willie's marriage is on its last leg; she despises him, but he refuses to give her a divorce, in part because Katie's wealthy Aunt Bea (Edna Mae Oliver) is willing to pay him to keep his distance. Willie hopes that a friendship between Katie and Parnell could be a stepping stone towards an endorsement from Parnell -- which, given his popularity, would make a massive difference in the polls. However, as Parnell continues to rally support for a free Ireland, he finds he's fallen in love with Katie, and she is also strongly attracted to him. When Willie learns of their romance, he makes a devious proposal to Parnell -- with an independent Irish state seemingly imminent, and with Parnell the likely leader, Willie demands a high office within his administration, or otherwise he'll tell the world about Parnell's affair with a married woman, which could end his career and set the cause of Irish freedom to a halt. Parnell was an infamous box-office disappointment in its day, and Gable's significant other Carole Lombard was said to have loved teasing him about the film; it's failure led Gable to pledge he'd never make another costume picture, though he later relented when Gone With The Wind came along. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1936
This second of MGM's Thin Man films reteams William Powell and Myrna Loy as, respectively, bibulous private detective Nick Charles and his socialite wife Nora. The Charleses are sucked into another murder case via Nick's lovely cousin Elissa Landi, whose husband Alan Marshall has vanished. Hubby has been conducting an affair with nightclub thrush Dorothy McNulty (later known as Penny Singleton) and is also blackmailing gangsterish Joseph Calleia. When the corpses begin piling up, Nick and Nora try to piece the clues together, with the earnest assistance of Jimmy Stewart, who carries a torch for Landi. You won't believe who turns out to be the murderer in this one--then again, given the plot's strict adherence to "least likely suspect" formula, you probably will. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Myrna Loy, (more)
