Thornton Edwards Movies

Frank Capra's only MGM film, State of the Union was adapted by Anthony Veiller and Myles Connolly from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. Spencer Tracy plays an aircraft tycoon who is coerced into seeking the Republican Presidential nomination by predatory newspaper mogul Angela Lansbury. Campaign manager Van Johnson suggests that, for appearance's sake, Tracy be reunited with his estranged wife Katharine Hepburn (replacing Claudette Colbert, who'd ankled the project after a pre-production donnybrook with director Capra). Realizing that Tracy and Lansbury are having an affair, Hepburn nonetheless agrees to grow through the devoted-wife charade because she believes that Tracy just might make a good President. Her faith is shattered when Tracy, corrupted by the Washington power brokers, publicly compromises his values in order to get votes. Only in the film's last moments does Tracy prove himself worthy of Hepburn's love and his own self-respect by admitting his dishonesty during a nationwide radio-TV broadcast. Much of the biting wit in the original Broadway production of State of the Union is sacrificed in favor of the director's patented "Capracorn," but the film is no less entertaining because of this. As usual, the supporting cast is impeccable, from featured players Adolphe Menjou (whose off-camera political arguments with Hepburn threatened to shut down production at times) and Margaret Hamilton, to bit actors like Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Tor (Plan 9 From Outer Space) Johnson. Because the television rights to State of the Union belonged to Capra's Liberty Films, the picture was released to TV by MCA rather than MGM's syndication division. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Roland Winters takes over the role of wily oriental sleuth Charlie Chan in the so-so Monogram programmer The Chinese Ring. The film is a remake of 1939's Mr. Wong in Chinatown, right down to dialogue and camera angles. Charlie Chan gets dragged into the story when a beautiful Chinese princess (Jean Wong) drops dead in his living room. Chan's only clue to the murderer and his motives is the letter "K," leading him to such likely suspects as Captains Kelso (Thayer Roberts) and Kong (Philip Ahn). Aiding and abetting Chan at every turn are his erstwhile "assistants," son Tommy (Victor Sen Yung) and chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland), not to mention loud-mouthed police sergeant Davidson (Warren Douglas) and perky gal reporter Peggy Cartwright (Louise Currie). The fact that Roland Winters refuses to take his role seriously greatly enhances the film's enjoyment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The attractive physiques of Tom Neal and Carol Hughes are generously displayed in the PRC comedy The Miracle Kid. Neal is cast as Jimmy, a young boxer who surprisingly wins a bout with the established champ. The loser claims that he was "jinxed" by Jimmy in the ring, whereupon Our Hero is exploited by a group of health faddists adhering to the philosophy of "mind over matter". Jimmy is subsequently pitted against several "bums" so that the health nuts can prove the vercity of their theories, but in the end he proves that the "secret" to his success lies in his fists and not his subconscious. Carol Hughes costars as Jimmy's sweetheart Pat, who shows up at one point in a form-fitting bathing suit for no reason other than to satisfy the red-blooded males in the audience. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this war drama, a commercial pilot joins the air corps of a South Pacific island, and there he finds that he must contend with a dictator. He also falls quietly in love with the leader's girlfriend. Unfortunately, the evil leader is the head of the air corps, and to get rid of the young man who threatens his relationship, he send the hero on a suicide mission. The two rivals end up in a dogfight. Fortunately, the hero wins the fight and gets the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Like 1940's Melody Ranch, the 1941 Gene Autry vehicle Down Mexico Way was designed as a "special", to be promoted separately from Autry's regular B-western series as an A-picture attraction. The story gets under way when a pair of con artists, Gibson (Sidney Blackmer) and Allen (Joe Sawyer), breeze into the town of Sage City claiming to be movie producers. The two scoundrels promise to film a movie in the little burg on the condition that the townsfolk pony up the necessary production fees. When Gene Autry and his sidekick Frog (Smiley Burnette) catch up with Gibson and Allen, the two huckster head across the border into Mexico-a big mistake, since reformed bandit Pancho Grande (Harold Huber) and his amigos don't cotton to being swindled. In addition to the expected musical interludes from Gene Autry, Down Mexico Way includes several Latino numbers, courtesy of the Herrera Sisters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stuntman extraordinaire David Sharpe is the human star of the adventure quickie Silver Stallion. The bulk of the story, however, is carried by the title horse, who is forced to defend himself and his turf against the villainous Black Stallion (played by Black Jack). Silver Stallion's best friend turns out to be a police dog named Captain Boots. Meanwhile, aspiring horse-thief Davey (Sharpe) is dissuaded from his intention to pilfer the Silver Stallion by the love of a good woman named Jan. The ingenue role is filled by radio actress Janet Waldo, who was still active in the 1990s as the voice of cartoon heroine Judy Jetson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The three men of the title in this superior B-Western are Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd), Lucky Jenkins (Russell Hayden), and, making his series debut, grizzled old California Carlson (Andy Clyde). Carlson is the braggart cook of the Gardner outfit, a gang preying on defenseless ranchers, but when apprehended by Texas Ranger Hoppy, the old fool admits to having overstated his famous exploits. The bemused Hoppy takes California along to his namesake state, where Lucky is having a tough time bringing law and order to Santa Carmen, a community terrorized by greedy saloon proprietor Bruce Morgan (Morris Ankrum). Always the hothead, Lucky is determined to show Hoppy that he can handle things himself without any help. A bullet in the shoulder settles the matter once and for all, however, and the three work together to capture Morgan and his gang of cutthroats. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of dirt-poor Dust Bowl migrants by 4-time Oscar-winning director John Ford starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, who opens the movie returning to his Oklahoma home after serving jail time for manslaughter. En route, Tom meets family friend Casey (John Carradine), a former preacher who warns Tom that dust storms, crop failures, and new agricultural methods have financially decimated the once prosperous Oklahoma farmland. Upon returning to his family farm, Tom is greeted by his mother (Oscar-winner Jane Darwell), who tells him that the family is packing up for the "promised land" of California. Warned that they shouldn't expect a warm welcome in California--they've already seen the caravan of dispirited farmers, heading back home after striking out at finding work--the Joads push on all the same. Their first stop is a wretched migrant camp, full of starving children and surrounded by armed guards. Further down the road, the Joads drive into an idyllic government camp, with clean lodging, indoor plumbing, and a self-governing clientele. When Tom ultimately bids goodbye to his mother, who asks him where he'll go, he delivers the film's most famous speech: "I'll be all around...Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat...Whenever there's a cop beating a guy, I'll be there...And when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build. I'll be there too." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lieutenant Danny Ward (William Desmond) has just graduated from West Point and is sent down to the U.S.-Mexican border. He saves Ysobel Ventura (Enid Markey) and her mother (Gertrude Claire) from a group of bandits led by the exceedingly nasty Pedro Lopez (Robert Kortman). The two women return to Mexico and when Ward goes to visit, he proposes to Ysobel and is accepted. But Lopez brings his banditos around and overpowers Ward and the other men. All of them are lined up and shot, and the victorious Lopez forces Ysobel to cook him a meal, after which he intends to have his way with her. But Ward, it turns out, has been saved because the bullet meant to kill him instead hit a religious medal -- a gift from Ysobel. He recovers from the bullet's shock and vanquishes Lopez. Then the young couple head back over the border at sunrise, just as the American flag is being raised -- an effusively patriotic end that did little to save this mediocre picture. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide