Leon Errol Movies

The talented and beautiful Marion Davies is practically lost under the opulence of this expensive, overdone historical romance. Her producer (and lover), newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, was attempting to recreate the success of one of Davies' prior epic vehicles, When Knighthood Was in Flower. Once again he based the picture on a novel by Charles Major and brought in set designer Joseph Urban to work his magic. But this Major story wasn't as good as Knighthood and Urban did his work too well; the sets are both gorgeous and overwhelming. Ultimately, the production cost too much for Hearst to make a profit, even though the film performed well at the box office. The backdrop is fifteenth century France, and Charles, Duke of Burgundy (Lyn Harding) has promised his daughter, Princess Mary (Davies), that she can marry the man she loves, Prince Maximilian of Styria (Ralph Graves). But when the Swiss threaten war, the duke is compelled to take back his word and he arranges for Mary to wed the half-witted dauphin (Johnny Dooley) of France's King Louis XI (Holbrook Blinn). Mary, however, runs away and disguises herself as Yolanda, a commoner. At a silk fair she meets and falls in love with a strange knight, only to discover that it's Maximilian in disguise. Although she is found and turned over to be married to the dauphin, Maximilian rescues her. When the Duke of Burgundy is killed, Mary shows up with Maximilian by her side to rule over her people. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

After his impressive screen debut in Sally, stage comedian Leon Errol became a full-fledged film star with this picture, set in New England's colonial days. Tidd (Errol) is a henpecked tailor who secretly dreams of being a pirate. In fact, he even makes himself a pirate costume, which unnerves his wife, Betsy (Dorothy Gish). He winds up hiding in a small boat, where he is found by a rough crew and mistaken for notorious pirate chief Dixie Bull. He is taken on board where he gets to live out his dreams. Betsy and Tidd's niece, Nancy Downs (Edna Murphy), board the Frolic in their search for Tidd, and their vessel gets in a battle with the pirate ship. Tidd wins and demands that the women be handed over -- of course, they are Betsy, Nancy, and a vamp, Madame LaTour (Nita Naldi). Tidd finally comes face-to-face with the real Dixie Bull (Walter Law) and he agrees to a duel. When Bull trips and falls, Tidd leaps on him and declares himself the victor. The truth is he is more than happy to go back to his normal, bland life, with one change -- now he can order his wife around. Dorothy Gish's then-husband, James Rennie, has a supporting role as Nancy's sweetheart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Considered the best of the all-star "studio" musicals of 1929 and 1930, Paramount on Parade utilized the talents of practically everyone on the Paramount Pictures payroll. Under the supervision of British musical-comedy favorite Elsie Janis, 11 top directors contributed to the project: Dorothy Arzner, Otto Brower, Edmund Goulding, Victor Heerman, Edwin H. Knopf, Rowland V. Lee, Ernst Lubitsch, Lothar Mendes, Victor Schertzinger, Edward Sutherland and Frank Tuttle. Introduced by masters of ceremonies Jack Oakie, Skeets Gallegher and Leon Errol, the film is a vaudeville-like maelstrom of musical duets, comedy sketches, occasional dramatic interludes, and spectacular production numbers. To mention all the highlights would take a book in itself but among them are Nancy Carroll's rendition of "Dancing to Save Your Sole" (performed inside a giant shoe!); Maurice Chevalier (and chorus) soaring heavenward in "Sweeping the Clouds Away" ; child actress Mitzi Green's dead-on impersonations of Chevalier, George Arliss, Moran & Mack and Helen "Boop-a-doop" Kane; Ernst Lubitsch's witty staging of an Apache dance in the style of a polite boudoir farce, with Chevalier (again) and Evelyn Brent; Clara Bow's saucy "I'm True to the Navy Now" ; the wish-fulfillment sketch "Impulses," in which George Bancroft and Kay Francis delightedly upset a dinner party by saying what's really on their minds; and best of all, "Murder Will Out," a murder-mystery parody wherein Fu Manchu (Warner Oland) bumps off Sherlock Holmes (Clive Brook) and Philo Vance (William Powell) when they refuse to give him proper credit for his killing of Jack Oakie. Only the dramatic sketch with Frederic March and Ruth Chatterton truly creaks when seen today. Originally released at 102 minutes, Paramount on Parade is presently available only in an 80-minute version, with all its Technicolor sequences missing: casualties include the elaborate "Drink to the Girl of My Dreams" number, directed by Edmund Goulding and featuring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur and Fay Wray, and Harry Green's dialect song "Isadore the Toreodor". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, Fred Von Wellingen (Ben Lyon), the scion of a wealthy German family, has fallen in love with Lia Toerrek (Marilyn Miller), a poor but beautiful girl who has gladly agreed to marry him. However, when Fred's father Otmar (Ford Sterling) decides to hold a banquet to celebrate his son's imminent marriage, he's thoroughly appalled by Bela Toerrek (W.C. Fields), Lia's father and a man with a severe lack of good breeding. When Bela announces that he earns a living as a barber and that Lia is a barmaid, the assembled bluebloods are less than amused, and their ire turns to disgust when Bela grabs some of the dinnerware and uses it to demonstrate his juggling techniques. Otmar wants to call the wedding off and offers his son a high-paying job in the family business if he leaves Lia for good. Fred breaks off the engagement, and Lia meets another wealthy man, Baron von Schwarzdorf (Leon Errol), who offers to marry her. However, both Lia and Fred are miserable without each other, and when he learns that she is to wed, he leaps into action to win her back. Field's juggling routine provides the high point of this film, which marked his first appearance in a sound feature. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Samuel Goldwyn attempted to turn British operetta star Evelyn Laye into another Jeanette MacDonald with this cardboard romance that proved a disaster at the operetta-weary box office. Laye plays Lilli, a demure flower girl at a Budapest theater who worships the show's star, the temperamental and highly flirtatious Fritzi Yajos (Lilyan Tashman), despite the admonitions of her friend Otto (Leon Errol). Fritzi, however, commits one indiscretion too many and the local prefect of police (Henry Kolker) orders her to take a six months "vacation" in the country, but the highly combustible chanteuse is loath to leave her many lovers and convinces Lilli to go in her stead. When the attractive girl arrives in the provincial town of Zuppa, she becomes the target of handsome but shallow Count Mirko Tibor (John Boles), who is merely out to make yet another conquest. Needless to say, the count has fallen head over heels in love with the surprisingly decorous "star," and she with him, when the real Fritzi makes her belated appearance. Miss Laye sings Bruno Granichstaedten, Edward Eliscu, and Clifford Grey's lilting "Along the Road of Dreams"; Nacio Herb Brown's "Heavenly Night (When Evening Is Near)" with John Boles; and "Goodnight Serenade." Lilyan Tashman performs Granichstaedten's "I Belong to Everybody." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Leon Errol is the star of this early three-strip Technicolor two-reeler from Warner Bros. The story is as wacky as any short from the era -- Walter Webb (Errol) owns a run-down service station...until he gets a middle-of-the-night call informing him it has burned to the ground. Luckily, the business has been insured, so Webb visits the claims adjuster the next day and describes what he has lost. Somehow, in Webb's explanation, the place changes from merely a dusty old shack to "Walter Webb's Gassery," which employs dozens upon dozens of beautiful dancers wearing white slacks and purple satin shirts. They can do repairs as well as they can hoof it, and there's a golf course, with more dancers, located next to the Gassery. (Clearly, Warner Bros. did all they could to make vibrant use of the Technicolor process!) The adjuster insists on going over to the Gassery's former location and when he and Webb get there, the station is still standing, undamaged and as shabby as ever. Standing out front and laughing are a couple of Webb's pals, informing him it's April Fool's Day. Silly stuff, but an amazingly good-looking production, especially for a two-reel short. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

It's Grand Hotel on the high seas, with a remarkable cast -- particularly for the usually parsimonious Columbia Pictures. As irascible captain Helquist (Walter Connolly) pilots his boat along the Atlantic, an assortment of subplots involving a vast array of characters play themselves out. Among the passengers are bond-thief Checkett (Fred Keating) and his girlfriend Janet Grayson (Helen Vinson), private detective Schulte (Victor McLaglen), "fallen woman" Mrs. Jeddock (Wynne Gibson), and her unforgiving husband (Wynne Gibson). In his final film appearance, former silent-screen idol John Gilbert gives an outstanding performance as pugnacious hard-drinking reporter Steve Bramley, forever putting the lie to the legend that he failed in talkies because his voice was inadequate. The Three Stooges also show up as musicians -- but only Larry has any lines (spoken in a Yiddish accent!). The story goes that Lewis Milestone filmed the picture on a real ocean liner to prevent John Gilbert and the other imbibers in the cast from having easy access to liquor -- a plan doomed to failure when someone smuggled several cases of booze on board. As the production went way past its budget and schedule, Columbia's business manager sent an urgent wire to Milestone: HURRY UP--THE COST IS STAGGERING. Milestone's answer: SO IS THE CAST. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This obscure Damon Runyon adaptation stars Jean Parker as Princess O'Hara, the spirited granddaughter of Central Park horse-carriage driver King O'Hara (Ralph M. Remley). When King's beloved horse dies, Princess tries to purchase a new nag, and that's how she inadvertently gets her hands on a "stolen" race horse. Our heroine nearly ends up with a lengthy prison term before the story is resolved during the climactic Big Race. Leon Errol garners most of the film's laughs as minor-league sharpster named Louie. Princess O'Hara was remade in 1943 as the Abbott & Costello vehicle It Ain't Hay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Comic Leon Errol stars in these 3 comedy shorts entitled "Gem Jams," "Double Honeymoon" and "Ring Madness." ~ All Movie Guide

Canary-voiced boy wonder Bobby Breen once more croons his way into our hearts in Make a Wish. While vacationing at a boys' camp, the rambunctious Breen befriends famed composer Basil Rathbone. Stuck for an inspiration for his latest operetta, Rathbone at last finds it when he meets Breen's gorgeous mother Marion Claire, a popular singer. Alas, her stiff-necked fiance Ralph Forbes refuses to allow her to return to the stage, whereupon Rathbone spirals into a depression -- and even worse, a profound case of writers' block. But Little-Mister-Fixit Breen manages to patch up everything just in time for Claire to debut in Rathbone's latest masterpiece. Offering much-needed comedy relief are Henry Armetta, Leon Errol and Donald Meek as a trio of parasitic would-be songwriters. Make a Wish was based on a story by Gertrude Berg, of "Molly Goldberg" fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The titular girl is Lupe Velez, a tempestuous cabaret entertainer. Donald Woods plays a staid American ad man who hires her for a New York nightclub. Woods is engaged to be married, but secretly harbors affection for Velez. The volatile Ms. Velez is less subtle, and actively campaigns for the affections of Woods, with the help of Donald's lovably larcenous Uncle Matt (Leon Errol). Though not intended as such, Girl From Mexico was the first of RKO's eight-film "Mexican Spitfire" series. The role of the Spitfire's husband was played by several different actors, but Lupe Velez and Leon Errol remained with the series throughout its four-year run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lana Turner (a mere 19 years old at the time) stars in this lighthearted musical comedy as Patty Marlow, a dancer fighting her way up the show business ladder. Famous hoofer Freddie Tobin (Lee Bowman) is about to start work on a new movie when his dance partner becomes pregnant and drops out of the project. Press agent Joe Drews (Roscoe Karns) dreams up a publicity stunt to find Freddie's new co-star: he'll stage a contest on college campuses to find a dancer among the student body. However, the contest is merely a ruse, and, when Joe and his cronies spot Patty, they realize she is the perfect girl for the job. Now, they have to pass Patty off as a studious co-ed for the sake of the "contest," which has begun to attract the suspicious attention of student journalist Pug Braddock (Richard Carlson). Artie Shaw and his band perform several numbers (Shaw and Turner would marry two years later), and keep an eye peeled for Veronica Lake in a bit part (she was still known as Constance Keane at the time). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Set in a tiny midwestern town, this sentimental drama centers on the rivalry between two life-long acquaintances whose early friendship falls apart when they woo the same woman. She makes her choice and marries the one who eventually takes over the town bank. Meanwhile the other man becomes a shopkeeper and marries another. One couple has a daughter and the other a son. The offspring grow up and of course they fall in love. In the midst of the romance, the banker gets accused of double-dealing his customers and a panic ensues. To make it worse, the young couple break up because the man would rather go to medical school than get married. The storekeeper causes the ultimate ruination of the bank when he withdraws $33,000. It doesn't get better from there. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide