Fern Emmett Movies

Sons of the Pioneers is a showcase for?the Sons of the Pioneers, who are reteamed with ex-"Son" Roy Rogers in this budget western. The plot is contingent upon a deposit of rare minerals, vital to the American war effort. The villains want to get their hands on these minerals, and to do so organize themselves into a gang of masked terrorists, bent on chasing everyone else out of the territory. Unable to handle the villains alone, sheriff Gabby Whittaker (Gabby Hayes) sends for Roy Rogers, whose father was a legendary guns-slingin' peacekeeper. Alas, Roy is a shy entymologist who's never handled a gun in his life-but he soon learns how, thereby routing the heavies and striking a blow for Democracy. Pat Brady, a member in good standing of the Sons of the Pioneers, makes the first of many screen appearances as Roy Rogers' comical sidekick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cinderella Swings It was the last in a series of RKO programmers based on the popular radio series Scattergood Baines (its original title, Scattergood Swings It, was changed in the light of the poor reception afforded the earlier series entries). Guy Kibbee stars as small-town busybody Baines, who in this outing tries to make a big star out of local songstress Betty Palmer (Gloria Warren). One of his strategies is to spotlight the girl in a USO benefit show, which takes up most of the film's 70-minute running time. The supporting cast include juvenile actors Butch and Buddy (Bill Lenhart and Kenneth Brown), who'd previously bedevilled W. C. Fields and Abbott &Costello over at Universal, and future 3 Stooges straight woman Christine McIntyre. Cinderella Swings It was packaged by Pyramid Productions, the same concern responsible for RKO's radio-inspired "Lum and Abner" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Regarded by many aficionados as the best of the "Henry Aldrich" series, Henry Aldrich, Editor is a master blend of laughs and suspense. Appointed editor of his high school newspaper, hapless Henry (James Lydon) becomes intrigued by a series of mysterious fires. A mild, timid little fellow named Nero Smith (Francis Pierlot) shows up to tip off Henry as to the time and place of the next conflagration. Never suspecting that Nero is the pyromaniac who's been setting the blazes (the man's first name should have given it away from the get-go), Henry prints the story-and is immediately accused of being the firebug himself! The climax finds our hero trapped with his pal Dizzy (Charles Smith), his girl friend Martha (Rita Quigley) and the ubiquitous Nero Smith in the middle of a burning building-and it sure looks like he's not going to be able to extricate himself from his dilemma this time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1939's Days of Jesse James, the title character was played by Don "Red" Barry, with official star Roy Rogers carrying the brunt of the plotline. Two years later, Rogers was cast as ol' Jesse himself in Republic's Jesse James at Bay. Since Jesse is herein depicted as a "good guy", whose train-robbery rampage is motivated by the chicanery of a crooked railroad executive, someone else would have to handle the film's villainy. That someone was also Roy Rogers, cast as Jesse's lookalike, a local outlaw named Clint Burns. Typical of the anachronisms festooning the script of Jesse James at Bay is the presence of not one but two female newspaper reporters, played by Gale Storm and Sally Payne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Welcome to Midville, an appropriately named small town that has carried moderation to extremes. Run for over a generation by a bluenose civic league, the town doesn't allow driving faster than 12 mph -- and drivers can get a summons for not having a running-board, a part of a car that went out of style after the 1920s; no movies start after dark, and there are no late nights allowed at the soda shop or in the park. It's so bad that the soldiers from the nearby army base shoot right through the town for parts far away when they go on leave, and there hasn't been a wedding in the town in two years, because it's impossible for anyone under the age of 60 to start a romance, much less consummate one. One young couple (Richard Clayton, Elyse Knox) who would like to marry are thinking of leaving town, and that's the last straw from Miss Pandora Polly (ZaSu Pitts), who likes both of them -- she's as prim and proper a small-town spinster as you'll ever see, but that doesn't mean she wants everyone to be that way. And with unintended help from an intoxicating beverage brewed up by her comically inept gardener (Slim Summerville), she loses enough of her inhibitions to finally take a stand. At the next meeting of the civic league, she shows up ready to throw a few stones back at the bluenoses sitting in judgment of the town, and turn over a few rocks littering their pasts. Pitts and Summerville, who'd previously worked together in the Hal Roach-produced comedy Niagara Falls, prove just as effective here as a comedic elderly couple, and Pitts is at her most charming and beguiling in this gentle satire of small-town living, made on the eve of America's entry into World War II and all the more nostalgia-laden because of it. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the long-running (1937-1949) radio series of the same name, Scattergood Baines came to the screen in 1941, with Guy Kibbee replacing the radio version's Jess Pugh in the title role. In his first movie outing, storekeeper Scattergood Baines, resident philosopher of the town of Coldriver, tries to prevent a group of shifty financiers from taking control of a local railroad line which he manages. For a while, Baines loses the confidence and support of his friends and neighbors, but in the end he prevails as usual. Carried over from the radio series is Francis "Dink" Trout as eccentric train conductor Pliny Pickett. Like its radio role model, Scattergood Baines is based on characters created by Clarence Buddington Kelland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Harold Bell Wright's bestselling novel The Shepherd of the Hills had been previously filmed in 1919 and 1928 before Paramount offered the first talkie version in 1941. In one of his least typical roles, John Wayne plays a young Ozark backwoodsman forsworn to kill his father, who years earlier abandoned his mother. Against this personal crisis is played the larger drama of outsiders who threaten to push Wayne's friends and family off their land. Fate plays a hand when a mysterious stranger wanders into the community. Not at all the action picture one would expect from star John Wayne and director Henry Hathaway, Shepherd of the Hills takes its own sweet time, unfolding its story in a leisurely pace befitting its slow-moving characters. The film's rich Technicolor photography adds to the restfully rustic ambience of this unusual entertainment.. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The girl is stenographer Dot Duncan (Lucille Ball); the guy is her boss, stuffy young shipping magnate Stephen Herrick (Edmond O'Brien); and the gob is a brash sailor known as Coffee Cup (George Murphy). Not surprisingly, the plot involves the efforts by the self-effacing Stephen and the self-confident Coffee Cup to woo and win the lovely Dot. And that's about all the "story" there is; the rest of the picture is jam-packed with round-robin comic misunderstandings and wild slapstick setpieces. A Girl, a Guy and a Gob was one of two RKO Radio films produced by silent-screen great Harold Lloyd, who reportedly dropped in on the set from time to time to offer a bit of sage comedy advice (note the "handkerchief" bit utlized by Edmond O'Brien; it had previously done service in Lloyd's own Welcome Danger). Not as big a moneymaker as Harold's starring features of the 1920s, the RKO film nonetheless turned a tidy profit for the studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Scattergood Pulls the Strings was the second in a series of B pictures based on the long-running radio series Scattergood Baines. Guy Kibbee returns as Baines, the philosophy-dispensing proprietor of the general store in the village of Coldriver. Living up to the film's title, Scattergood manages to solve practically everyone's problems in the course of the film's brief running time. He is especially effective in helping a pair of young lovers (Susan Peters and James Corner) achieve their life's ambition, and in reuniting a 10-year-old boy (Bobs Watson) with his long-missing father (silent screen veteran Monte Blue). If this film were any more heartwarming, it would catch fire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A serious journalist is sent to France and forced to write fashion fluff pieces. Tiring of this, she decides to sneak off to find an elusive notorious rebel and write a hard-new first-hand-account of the Spanish Civil War. This lively romantic comedy chronicles her adventures after she finds him and saves him from prison by pretending he is her husband. After the break-out, they fly to France in a stolen plane. At first she only cares about her story and resists the advances of the amorous renegade. As soon as her tale hits the front page, she accepts an assignment in Berlin. She boards a train and takes off. She meets her "hubby" once again when the train accidentally runs into his car. At this point she realizes that she loves him. The two decide to hole up for a few days in a nearby French inn. While they tryst, WW II begins and she misses the scoop. That's okay, because all she and he care about now is each other. Their attitudes change dramatically when their New York-bound ship is torpedoed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

17-year-old Linda Darnell received her first big break in the appropriately titled 20th Century-Fox production Star Dust. Discovered by talent scout Thomas Brooke (Roland Young), teenager Carolyn Sayre (Darnell) is brought to Hollywood, where she is turned down for a contract because she is considered too young. Down but not out, Carolyn falls in love with studio contractee Bud Borden (John Payne), who promises to help her achieve her career goals. Teaming up with Brooke, Borden succeeds in winning a screen test for Carolyn, and the rest is gravy. As can be seen, Star Dust draws most of its inspiration from Linda Darnell's real-life rise to fame, which gives the cliched screenplay a bit of added depth and humanity. It's also amusing to watch William Gargan, cast as studio executive Dane Wharton, perform a devastating (albeit affectionate) take-off of 20th Century-Fox head man Darryl F. Zanuck, right down to DFZ's habit of swinging a polo mallet during story conferences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

South of Suez is where diamond-mine foreman John Gamble (George Brent) plies his trade. When his boss is murdered, Gamble is held for murder, forcing him to take it on the lam. With the reluctant aid of heroine Katherine Sheffield (Brenda Marshall), Gamble endeavors to prove his innocence. He is finally cleared not because of any exceptional detective work, but through the bungling of the actual killer (no, his name will not be revealed here). Strictly B-grade material, South of Suez is a virtual compendium of stock shots from earlier Warner Bros. films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Little Orvie (Johnny Sheffield) is a small boy whose stern father (Ernest Truex) and by-the-book mother (Dorothy Tree) refuse to buy a dog. Orvie befriends a stray mutt, which of course follows him home and just won't leave. Failing to keep the dog's presence a secret, Orvie is ordered to give up the canine. Orvie's dad finally weakens his resolve and reveals himself to be a sentimentalist. Based on a story by Booth Tarkington, Little Orvie provided an unusually "normal" assignment for young Johnny Sheffield, best remembered for his appearances as Boy in the Tarzan pictures and his later starring stint in Monogram's "Bomba the Jungle Boy" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide