Helen Ericson Movies

When Darryl F. Zanuck's arrangement to loan Shirley Temple to MGM as star of The Wizard of Oz fell through, Zanuck hastily assembled a lavish Technicolor vehicle for his diminutive star which, he hoped, would match Wizard in popularity and appeal. The result was The Blue Bird, adapted from the allegorical stage play by Maurice Maeterlinck (previously filmed by director Maurice Tourneur in 1918). In emulation of The Wizard of Oz, The Blue Bird was bookended with black-and-white sequences, reserving Technicolor for the fantasy "body" of the film; similarly, Gale Sondergaard, who had been the first choice to play the Wicked Witch of the West in Wizard, was cast as Blue Bird's nominal villainess. Set in mid-Europe sometime in the late 18th century, the story concerns Mytyl (Temple and Tyltyl (John Russell), the children of a woodchopper (Russell Hicks) who has been called to fight in a faraway war. Heartbroken, the kids decide to run away from home in search of the Bluebird of Happiness, which will ostensibly solve all their problems. Falling asleep, Mytyl and Tyltyl dream that the good fairy Berylune (Jessie Berylune) is leading them on that search, accompanied by their household pets Tylo (a dog) and Tylette (a cat), who have assumed human form (and as such are repectively played by Eddie Collins and the aforementioned Gale Sondergaard). Before arriving at the far-from-unexpected realization that the elusive Bluebird of Happiness is no further than their own backyard, the two kiddies undergo a variety of astonishing experiences, including a raging forest fire (a triumph of 20th Century-Fox special-effects master Fred Sersen) and an oddly unsettling visit to "The Land of the Unborn". Rather heavy going for its intended family audience, The Blue Bird proved to be Shirley Temple's biggest flop, and a subsequent 1976 US-Soviet version starring Elizabeth Taylor fared no better at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charlie Chan in Panama was the first entry in the "Chan" series to capitalize on WW2. Sidney Toler stars as the wily oriental sleuth, who on this occasion must weed out an elusive enemy saboteur named Ryner, who plans to destroy the Panama Canal. Any one of the supporting characters might be the never-seen Ryner: Could it be illegal alien Kathi Lenesch (Jean Rogers), overly effusive Englishman Cliveden Compton (Lionel Atwill), straight-arrow Richard Cabot (Kane Richmond), slimy nightclub owner Montero (Jack LaRue), moonfaced middle-easterner Achmed (Frank Puglia), timid schoolmarm Jennie Finch (Mary Nash), or none of the above? Also on hand is Victor Sen Yung as Charlie's Number 2 son Jimmy, who is somewhat stupider than usual (if such a thing is possible). In an early scene, Charlie Chan neatly sums up his relationship with the bumbling Jimmy: "Man without relatives is man without problems." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

20th Century-Fox evidently adored "triangle" comedies like Wife, Husband and Friend; apparently so did Loretta Young, who appeared in most of these films. Young plays the wife of businessman Warner Baxter, while "friend" Cesar Romero is an amorous singing teacher who convinces Young that she has a future in opera. To show up his wife, Baxter takes lessons from diva Binnie Barnes--and as it turns out, he's the one with the ideal operatic voice. The romantic quadrangle is resolved when Baxter makes a disastrous stage debut, whereupon Romero and Barnes exit and Baxter and Young realize the error of their ways. Wife, Husband and Friend was remade in 1949 as Everybody Does It, with Paul Douglas (of all people) as the would-be Caruso. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the "Jones Family" comedy series, the Jones have just arrived from a Hollywood vacation when they receive a telegram informing them that a recently deceased and very wealthy uncle has left them a gold mine near the Grand Canyon. Happily the family packs up and heads for Arizona; there, they contract a guide who takes them high up a mountain to an isolated cabin, which turns out to be a robbers' lair. Mayhem ensues until the children catch the crooks and collect a handsome reward. The film was written by former silent film great Buster Keaton. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A sequel of sorts to 1938's Meet the Girls, Pardon Our Nerve stars as Lynn Bari and June Gale (replacing June Lang) as intrepid chorus girls Terry Wilson and Judy Davis. Unable to find any showbiz work, our heroines take jobs with a dating service. Before getting fired as usual, Terry and Judy overhear a telephone conversation wherein society matron requests the services of a prizefighter for a novelty party. The girls talk a dimwitted waiter named Samson Smith (Guinn Williams) into posing as a pugilist, leading to a successful career in the boxing ring-at least until the authorities find out that they've been flummoxed by Terry and Judy. Chester Clute has a good comedy part as a hapless bill-collector who invests his life savings in Samson's ill-fated career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This saga spans the globe as the three young heroes search for the man who killed their much-admired, beloved father, a cashiered officer who was wrongly dishonorably discharged before he was murdered. Their quest takes them from India to South America, London, Egypt, and the U.S. As the progress, they begin to discover the disturbing truth about the murder of the father they idolized. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cowboy star Johnny Mack Brown made eight westerns for A.W. Hackel's Supreme Pictures during the 1935-36. Courageous Avenger, like most of the Brown Supremes, was directed by Robert N. Bradbury, then concurrently working on Hackel's Bob Steele series (Bradbury was, of course, Steele's father). In this one, Brown borrows Steele's favorite plotline: searching for his father's murderer. He dukes it out with rustler Warner Richmond, then enjoys a fadeout clinch with Helen Erikson. It all transpires in an economical (in every sense of the word) 58 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide