Franklyn Ardell Movies

In this wartime drama, a young woman nearly comes unhinged when her husband, a Navy pilot, is transferred to Pearl Harbor on their wedding day. She goes with him. Once in Hawaii she is surprised to see her ex-boyfriend sailing about in an expensive yacht. Her husband becomes totally engrossed in his work and begins neglecting her so it seems natural that she would go for a little sail with her ex-flame. When her husband learns about her philandering, he gets jealous and ends up crashing his plane in the harbor. As a result, he is court-martialed. His wife, sorry for her actions, defends him, gets him acquitted and never strays again. Marital bliss ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In MGM's three-hour-plus The Great Ziegfeld, William Powell stars as the titular theatrical impresario, whose show business empire begins when he stage-manages a tour for legendary strongman Sandow (Nat Pendleton). With nary a penny in the bank, he charms European stage star Anna Held (Luise Rainer) to headline his "Follies", and later marries the luscious Ms. Held. From 1907 onward, Ziegfeld stages annual editions of Broadway's most fabulous revue, dedicated to "Glorifying the American Girl" but also giving ample time to develop the comic talents of Fanny Brice (played by herself), Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor and many others. Eventually, Ziegfeld abandons Ms. Held in favor of other beauties, setting the stage for the "telephone scene" which won Luise Rainer the first of her Oscars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Metropolitan was the first release from the newly merged 20th Century-Fox corporation. Famed operatic baritone Lawrence Tibbett stars as Thomas Renwick, the new leading man for temperamental diva Ghita Galin (Alice Brady). After storming out of the Metropolitan Opera, Ghita organizes her own troupe, full of young, untried singers. On the eve of the company's first performance, Ghita walks out again, and it's up to Renwick to pull himself and his cohorts together to put on their own show. In other words, it's Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland with better music. Lawrence Tibbett's splendid singing voice was, alas, not enough to transform him into a satisfying screen personality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nils Asther stars as Dr. Callendar, a modern-day Svengali who hypnotizes women to do his eeeevil bidding. Callendar is particularly fond of preying upon married or engaged women, taking fiendish delight in stealing them away from their husbands and sweethearts. Dr. Norman Ware (Paul Kelly) begins to suspect something when his intended Alice Trask (Gloria Stuart) starts walking around in a trance, but he can prove nothing. Ultimately, however, Callendar is undone when he makes the tactical error of hypnotizing two ladies at once. This leads to a spectacular climax, in which vengeful lawyer Roger Loft (Alan Dinehart) tricks Callendar into putting him under a spell, thereby giving Loft a perfect "couldn't help himself" alibi when he shoots the caddish mesmerist in full view of an astonished theater audience. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joe Graham (Spencer Tracy), a troubleshooter for the telephone company, suspects that his beloved Ethel (Constance Cummings) is working for a crook. Joe and his partner Casey (Jack Oakie) investigate her boss, Dan Sutter (Morgan Conway), but they're caught by Sutter's goons and left to die in a fire. Joe however is able to set off the alarm, saving their lives. When Sutter turns up dead, Ethel is suspected of his murder, but Joe and Casey are able to track down the real killer: Pearl La Tour (Judith Wood), Sutter's former girlfriend, who gives them a confession that exonerates Ethel. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide

Wallace Beery plays P.T. Barnum in this comic biography of the renowned showman. As the story opens, Phineas Taylor Barnum is operating a dry goods store in New York City with his friend Bailey Walsh (Adolphe Menjou), and he is looking for a way to boost business. He strikes upon the idea of adding a sideshow of human oddities and curious individuals, much to the annoyance of his wife Nancy (Janet Beecher). But the sideshow brings in a large audience, and soon it begins to overtake the retail store; however, Barnum's venture comes to a halt when it is revealed that Zorro The Bearded Lady (May Boley) has fake facial hair,and that Joyce Heth (Lucille LaVerne) wasn't really George Washington's nursemaid, as she claims. Despite this setback, Barnum has developed a taste for show business, and he brings noted English singer Jenny Lind (Virginia Bruce) to the U.S. for a concert tour, where she becomes the toast of New York. Barnum soon becomes infatuated with Lind, and while his attempts to woo her are often fumblingly inept, they're effective enough to alienate Nancy, who leaves him and New York City for good. Between his attempts to romance Lind and his shameless ballyhoo for performing midget General Tom Thumb (George Brasno), Barnum finds himself on Walsh's bad side, who has taken to drinking to ease his anger. After his budding romance with Lind fails, Barnum suffers an even greater indignity when his museum, featuring his sideshow freaks and other wonders and oddities, is burned to the ground by angry rivals. However, Barnum's performers show their loyalty by offering their savings to Barnum to help him rebuild, and Nancy returns to Barnum's side in his moment of need. Walsh also appears, ready to bury the hatchet and show off his latest acquisition -- an elephant named Jumbo who could be used in a traveling act, or perhaps even a circus.... The Mighty Barnum was based on the play by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, who also wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide