Florence Roberts Movies

This "Jones Family" entry does without the services of Pa Jones, inasmuch as actor Jed Prouty was having contract problems with 20th Century-Fox. When Mr. Jones is hospitalized by a heart attack, the rest of the Jones clan must figure out a way to pay the ever-mounting medical bills. They head to California, where they open up a bungalow court. Hoping to improve their business (which is virtually nonexistent), the Joneses open their doors to families with children and pets. As a result, a rival landlord sues the family for "noise pollution", leading to a raucous courtroom finale. On Their Own was the last screen appearance for Florence Roberts (Grandma Jones), who passed away two days after the film's release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Raymond Massey plays Abe Lincoln in this moving adaptation of Robert Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Expanded a bit for cinematic purposes, the film traces Lincoln's progress from his days of scrambling for a living as a woodsman, to his courtship of the tragic Ann Rutledge (Mary Howard) and then the mercurial Mary Todd (Ruth Gordon), to the formative years of his law practice, to his debates with Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart), and finally to his election as President of the soon-to-be-divided United States in 1860. Latter-day critics have complained about Massey's stolidity in his signature role, but even the most stone-hearted viewer will be moved by such scenes as Lincoln riding through the ruins of what once was the village of Salem; Abe's heated election-eve quarrel with his spiteful wife Mary; and his climactic speech from the observation car of the train that will carry him to Washington...and immortality. Abe Lincoln at Illinois turned out to be a succes d'estime for its producer Max Gordon and its studio (RKO), taking a bath to the tune of $750,000. Its failure moved one Hollywood wise-guy to collar Gordon at a party and say, "I can't understand it, Max. Lincoln was so kind to everybody but you." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Too Busy to Work is not a remake of the 1932 Will Rogers film of the same name-but it is a partial remake of Rogers' 1935 vehicle Doubting Thomas. This standard entry in the "Jones Family" series finds the Jones women trying to convince Pa Jones (Jed Prouty) that he's spending too much time at work and too little time at home. When Pa decides to run for mayor, the girls have had enough and vow to teach him a lesson. They involve themselves in a little-theater group, neglecting their household duties and forcing Pa and the other Jones menfolk to fend for themselves. "Guest star" Joan Davis provides a welcome jolt of fresh comic energy to the usual Jones Family shenanigans. Too Busy to Work was based on two stage plays, George Kelly's The Torch Bearers and Howard Lindsay and Bertrand Robinson's Your Uncle Dudley (previously filmed in 1935 with Edward Everett Horton). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Jones Family is at it again in Everybody's Baby, their first 1939 release (previewed in 1938). This time, the Joneses' lives are turned inside-out by the arrival in town of Dr. Pilicoff (Reginald Denny), a famous child-rearing expert. In attempting to put Pilicoff's theories into practice, the townsfolk begin to quarrel over the proper way to raise their children. The limit comes when Herbert Thompson (Russell Gleason), husband of the eldest Jones daughter Bonnie (Shirley Deane), tries to rescue his own baby from the well-intentioned but idiotic ministrations of Pilicoff's disciples-whereupon poor Herbert is arrested for kidnapping. Everything is straightened out when Pa Jones (Jed Prouty) and his pals discover that Pilicoff is a phony, leading to a most satisfying retribution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Down on the Farm was yet another entry in the seemingly endless saga of the Jones Family. The plot is set in motion when the Joneses' Aunt Ida (Louise Fazenda) invites the family to spend the summer on her farm while their house is undergoing repairs (thanks to an unfortunate encouter with a fire hose). Patriarch John Jones wins a cornhusking contest, whereupon he is invited to run for a local political office. The usual complications ensue, culminating in a ribtickling "drunk" scene and the ultimate exposure of the community's crooked politicians. Many of the biggest laughs are provided by Eddie Collins as Aunt Ida's moon-faced husband. Elements of several earlier Will Rogers vehicles managed to work their way into the screenplay of Down on the Farm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The rivalry between two columnists provides the basis of this drama. The most powerful of the two (patterned after columnist Walter Winchell) is notorious for presenting the most sensational murder trial suspects on his radio broadcasts and in his print columns; the arrogant fellow never hesitates to proclaim the guilt or innocence of the defendants. The other journalist is almost an unknown, and is quietly looking for ways to undermine his credibility. To see if she can dredge up some dirt on him, she begins working as his personal secretary. Together they begin investigating a case involving a socialite accused of killing her adulterous husband. The secretary/journalist lays her other scheme to rest when she and the columnist falling in love and marry. It is their dog that provides the key clue that finds the socialite innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The saga of the Jones Family continues in 1937's Borrowing Trouble. When Pa Jones's drugstore is robbed, the evidence points to orphan kid Tommy Stevens (Marvin Stephens). This comes as quite a disappointment for Pa (Jed Prouty) and Ma (Spring Byington), who'd welcomed poor Tommy into their home, treating him as one of their own children. As it happens, however, Tommy is merely shielding the actual culprit -- his older brother Lester (Gregory Walcott). Thank heaven for Granny Jones (Florence Roberts), who never fails to cut through all the pathos and bathos with her cynical put-downs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not a remake of the classic Laurel and Hardy 2-reel silent of the same name, Big Business was an early entry in 20th Century-Fox's Jones Family series. Mr. Jones (Jed Prouty) invests his life savings in an oil business, at the behest of football star Allan Lane. Neither Jones nor Lane are aware that the oil stock is worthless, and that their money has ended up in the pockets of racketeers. Awareness dawns when the oil wells yield only muddy water. Jones' oldest son (Kenny Howell) comes to the rescue of the hapless investors, while Mrs. Jones (Spring Byington) dispenses the "I told you so"s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second of Paul Muni's biographical films for Warner Bros., the Oscar-winning The Life of Emile Zola is by far the best, even allowing for the dramatic license taken with the material. When first we meet French novelist and essayist Zola, he is starving in a Parisian garret with his painter friend, Paul Cezanne. Each time Zola attempts to write "the truth," he is stymied by governmental censors. Still, he is able to achieve both fame and fortune with the publication of "Nana," an unardorned and best-selling tale of a prostitute (whom we can safely assume was not quite as likeable or attractive as Erin O'Brien-Moore, who plays the novel's "role model"). The lion's share of the film is devoted to Zola's attempts to clear the reputation of Army captain Alfred Dreyfus (Joseph Schildkraut), who has been framed on a charge of treason by his superiors and condemned to Devil's Island. Publishing his famous manifesto "J'accuse," Zola leaves himself wide open for public condemnation and criminal prosecution. Though he delivers a brilliant self-defense in court, Zola is found guilty. Forced to flee to England, he continues railing against the unjust, corrupt military establishment, eventually forcing a retrial and exoneration of Dreyfus. Alas, Zola is killed in a freak accident at home before he can meet the liberated Dreyfus. At his funeral, Emile Zola is eulogized by Anatole France (Morris Carnovsky), who refers to the fallen crusader as "a moment of the conscience of man." For various reasons -- some dramatic, some legal -- the actual facts of "L'affaire Dreyfus" are altered by the Norman Reilly Raine/Heinz Herald/Geza Herczeg screenplay.

The fact that Dreyfus was railroaded because he was Jewish is obscured; in fact, except for a very brief visual reference, the word "Jew" is never mentioned. Only those villains whose names were a matter of public record (Major Dort, Major Esterhazy) are specifically identified. Others are referred to as the Chief of Staff, the Minister of War, etc. to avoid lawsuits from their descendants (remember that the events depicted in the film, most of which take place between 1894 and 1902, were still within living memory in 1937). As for Dreyfus himself, he was not freed and restored to rank in 1902, the year of Zola's death, but in 1906-after being found guilty again in an 1899 retrial (Dreyfus died in 1935, outliving everyone else involved in the case). These historical gaffes can be forgiven in the light of the film's overall message: that a single small, clear voice can fight City Hall. If for nothing else, The Life of Emile Zola deserves classic status due to Paul Muni's towering performance, most notably in the unforgettable summation scene: "By all that I have done for France, by my works -- by all that I have written, I swear to you that Dreyfus is innocent. May all that melt away -- may my name be forgotten, if Dreyfus is not innocent. He is innocent." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three former stalwarts of producer Hal Roach's two-reel comedies, actresses Patsy Kelly and Lyda Roberti and director Gus Meins, combine their talents in the Roach feature film Nobody's Baby. Kelly and Roberti play nurses-in-training Kitty and Lena, who reluctantly come into possession of a cute baby. The kid's mother, nightclub dancer Yvonne (Rosina Lawrence), doesn't want her public to know that she's married to her partner Cortez (Don Alvarado), so she prevails upon our heroines to take care of the baby "temporarily." Naturally, the presence of a squawling infant in the apartment of two bachelor girls results in all sorts of gossip and innuendo -- and this being a Hal Roach picture, situation comedy gives way to farce, gives way to slapstick. Sadly, Nobody's Baby was among the last of Lyda Roberti's screen appearances: she died the following year of an acute heart condition at the age of 29. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The cinematic saga of The Jones Family began modestly in 1936 with Every Saturday Night. Jed Prouty and Spring Byington star as Ma and Pa Jones, with June Lang, Kenneth Howell, George Ernest, June Carlson and William Mahan as the five Jones kids and Florence Roberts as feisty Granny Jones. In this entry, the scattershot storyline concerns Bonnie Jones' (June Lang) efforts to become a movie star, Jack Jones' (Kenneth Howell) attempts to buy a car, and Bobby Jones (William Mahan) sets up his own junior "loan office." When the film was first previewed, the family's name was Evers, but this was changed at the very last minute. Based on a story by Katherine Kavanaugh, Every Saturday Night was successful enough to spawn 16 additional "Jones Family" epics between 1936 and 1940, few of which have ever been shown on television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second entry in the "Jones Family" series finds Pa Jones (Jed Prouty) once again at loggerheads with his oldest son Jack (Kenneth Howell). Sonny boy wants to become a pilot, but dad wants the boy to follow in his own footsteps as a druggist. But when Jones Senior is flown back by Jones Junior from a fishing trip just in time to renew the lease on his drugstore, Pa sees things in a different light. "Guest star" Dixie Dunbar plays Jack's girlfriend, who finds herself along for the ride when the boy solos for the first time (a slapstick highlight). Sharp-eyed filmgoers noticed that the planes seen in the aerial footage weren't always well matched (one was white, the other black), but no one really cared. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide