James Flavin Movies
American actor James Flavin was groomed as a leading man when he first arrived in Hollywood in 1932, but he balked at the glamour treatment and was demonstrably resistant to being buried under tons of makeup. Though Flavin would occasionally enjoy a leading role--notably in the 1932 serial The Airmail Mystery, co-starring Flavin's wife Lucille Browne--the actor would devote most of his film career to bit parts. If a film featured a cop, process server, Marine sergeant, circus roustabout, deckhand or political stooge, chances are Jimmy Flavin was playing the role. His distinctive sarcastic line delivery and chiselled Irish features made him instantly recognizable, even if he missed being listed in the cast credits. Larger roles came Flavin's way in King Kong (1933) as Second Mate Briggs; Nightmare Alley (1947), as the circus owner who hires Tyrone Power; and Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949), as a long-suffering homicide detective. Since he worked with practically everyone, James Flavin was invaluable in later years as a source of on-set anecdotes for film historians; and because he evidently never stopped working, Flavin and his wife Lucille were able to spend their retirement years in comfort in their lavish, sprawling Hollywood homestead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1932
A star football player in college, Garry King (Richard Arlen) finds post-college life very different; he betrays the trust of his best friend Steve (Preston S. Foster), finally losing his job. Meanwhile, his younger brother Bob (John Darrow), also a football star, is on the same track to ruin; when Garry reforms himself, events give him the opportunity to help Bob as well. Many football players and coaches of the time appear as themselves. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Andy Devine, (more)
- 1932
As indicated by its "catchphrase" title, Okay America is one of several early-1930s films based on the exploits of gossip columnist Walter Winchell. The big surprise here is that the Winchell counterpart is played not by W.W. look-alike Lee Tracy, as was usually the case, but by baby-faced Lew Ayres. Caring little how many lives he's destroyed in his pursuit of sensationalism, columnist Larry Wayne (Lew Ayres) is arguably the most-hated man on Broadway -- and in some circles, the most influential. Wayne sticks his nose in everyone's business, including Caponelike gangster Alsotto (Edward Arnold) and the grief-stricken family of a kidnapped girl (Margaret Lindsay). Motivated by his lust for power and publicity, Wayne offers to rescue the kidnap victim, and in so doing absolves himself of his past misdeeds -- but not soon enough to avoid the terrible vengeance of the unforgiving Alssoto, whom he has double-crossed along the way. Its downbeat ending intact, Okay America was effectively remade as Risky Business in 1939. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan, (more)
- 1932
Filmed in the San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs, CA, this Buck Jones series entry was publicized as the first talkie "of consequence" with a Mountie background. Jones played Tom McKenna, a disgraced Royal Canadian Mountie who turns highway robber to pay off his gambling debt. He joins a gang of outlaws led by Morgan (Niles Welch) and to prove his loyalty is assigned to rob a safe belonging to the father (Ralph Lewis) of his former girlfriend, Shirley (Greta Grandstedt). The safe, however, is empty and Tom is chastised by Shirley. Still on probation with the gang, Tom performs lookout duty while the bandits attack the Limited express train. The gang is ambushed by the Mounties and Tom is revealed to have been working undercover all along. With Morgan and his henchman, Pierre (Mitchell Lewis), safely behind bars, Tom is promoted to inspector and reunited with a relieved Shirley. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Flavin, Walter McGrail, (more)
- 1933
Love turns into an unhealthy obsession in this offbeat drama. Millie (Zasu Pitts) and Peggy (Boots Mallory) are two friends who leave behind the small town where they were raised to try their luck in New York City. Before long, Millie and Peggy meet Jimmy (James Dunn) and Mac (Terrance Ray); Millie is immediately attracted to Jimmy, but much to her displeasure she learns he's more interested in Peggy. Determined to have Jimmy as her own, Millie attempts to sew discord between Jimmy and Peggy by telling each of them foul lies about the other; when this fails, Millie becomes desperate and attempts to kill herself as an attention-getting device. The production history of Hello, Sister! was in many ways more interesting than the film itself. Originally titled Walking Down Broadway, the film was the first sound picture from the legendary Erich von Stroheim; hoping to mend the reputation as an egocentric spendthrift he acquired while directing epic-scale silent films, von Stroheim managed to bring in Walking Down Broadway on time and on budget. However, executives at 20th Century Fox were a bit puzzled by the film, which originally had a sub-plot suggesting a lesbian relationship between Millie and Peggy and other sexual undercurrents which were quite daring for the time. Uncertain about audience reactions to the movie, Fox brought in the less-than-distinguished Alfred Werker to re-shoot and re-edit von Stroheim's urban melodrama, and the resulting picture, entitled Hello, Sister!, was released without an on-screen directorial credit, and died a quick and little noticed death at the box office. No print of von Stroheim's original cut is known to exist. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Boots Mallory, (more)
- 1933
A couple of demoted cops fight over a gangster's moll in this cheap crime drama produced and directed by Harry S. Webb. A major star of the silent era now down on her luck, Madge Bellamy earned top-billing as Lil Daley, the moll assigned to lure handsome detective Bob Larkin (Pat O'Malley) to an apartment where gangster Diamond Jareck (Addison Richards) is lying in wait. Larkin, however, escapes and instead falls in love with Lil, who is being courted by detective McCue (James Flavin). The two officers' rivalry has them demoted to the riot squad, where they continue to fight over Lil. When it appears that Lil is involved in the kidnapping of a judge's daughter (Alene Carroll), Larkin denounces her. Lil is being blackmailed by Diamond, however, and the riot squad eventually frees the kidnap victim and arrests Diamond. Exonerated, Lil is free to marry Larkin. Riot Squad was released to television in the 1950s, as Police Patrol. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Pat O'Malley, (more)
"How would you like to star opposite the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood?" Enticed by these words, brunette leading lady Fay Wray dyed her hair blonde and accepted the role of Ann Darrow in King Kong -- and stayed with the project even after learning that her "leading man" was a 50-foot ape. The film introduces us to flamboyant, foolhardy documentary filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), who sails off to parts unknown to film his latest epic with leading lady Darrow in tow. Disembarking at Skull Island, they stumble on a ceremony in which the native dancers circle around a terrified-looking young girl, chanting, "Kong! Kong!" The chief (Noble Johnson) and witch doctor (Steve Clemente) spot Denham and company and order them to leave. But upon seeing Ann, the chief offers to buy the "golden woman" to serve as the "bride of Kong." Denham refuses, and he and the others beat a hasty retreat to their ship. Late that night, a party of native warriors sneak on board the ship and kidnap Ann. They strap her to a huge sacrificial altar just outside the gate, then summon Kong, who winds up saving Ann instead of devouring her. Kong is eventually taken back to New York, where he breaks loose on the night of his Broadway premiere, thinking that his beloved Ann is being hurt by the reporters' flash bulbs. Now at large in New York, Kong searches high and low for Ann (in another long-censored scene, he plucks a woman from her high-rise apartment, then drops her to her death when he realizes she isn't the girl he's looking for). After proving his devotion by wrecking an elevated train, Kong winds up at the top of the Empire State Building, facing off against a fleet of World War I fighter planes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1933
Ship of Wanted Men stars former MGM leading lady Dorothy Sebastian and burly, all-purpose villain Fred Kohler Sr. A shipful of fugitives from justice pulls up on a Pacific Island where there are no extradition laws. The island is a magnet for the scum of the earth, as well as a few honest guys who were framed. Into this den of iniquity swims socialite Dorothy Sebastian, who jumped off a yacht after apparently murdering her lecherous host. To remain on the Island, Sebastian is told that she must pay $5,000 to head honcho Fred Kohler -- and if she hasn't got the money, it is implied, there are other methods of collection. The heroine is not only saved from a fate worse than you-know-what by the strong, stalwart hero Leon Waycoff (later billed as Leon Ames), but it also turns out that she's not guilty of murder after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Waycoff [Ames], Gertrude Astor, (more)
- 1934
Apparently inspired by Noel Coward's Bitter Sweet, Beloved is a lush, lachrymose musical romance set in Vienna, South Carolina and New York City. John Boles stars as Austrian composer Carl Hausmann, whose musical career is very nearly cut short during the 1848 revolution. Carl is whisked off by his mother (Dorothy Peterson) to the American South, where he establishes a respectable reputation in the years just prior to the Civil War. Forced to relocate to New York with his new bride Lucy (Gloria Stuart), Carl languishes professionally for several years, then gives up composing to support his wife and child as a music teacher. Tragedy strikes once more during the Spanish American War, when the Hausmann's son is killed. Carl and Lucy invest all their love in their grandson Eric (Morgan Farley), a Gershwin type who grows up to become a jazz musician in the post-WWI era. As Eric grows richer and more successful, the Hausmanns continue to live in genteel poverty, with Carl all the while struggling to finish the symphony he began so many years before. After an unpleasant episode in which Eric accuses Carl of "stealing my stuff," our nonagenarian protagonist finally hears his symphony in a radio broadcast arranged by his chastened grandson. Contented at last, Carl peacefully passes on. Ironically, leading lady Gloria Stuart was far more attractive when she really reached her 80s than when she was heavily made up as an old woman in Beloved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Boles, Gloria Stuart, (more)
- 1934
In this musical, a radio-announcer is fired after giving a false interview. For consolation he begins to drink heavily. It is his girlfriend who helps him sober up when she provides him with a major scoop--a missing airplane. He enthusiastically sets out after it and eventually finds it. As a publicity stunt, he skydives to the downed plane while broadcasting live. Songs include: Talking To Myself," "I Ain't Gonna Sin No More," "Gift Of Gab," "Somebody Looks Good," "Don't Let This Waltz Mean Goodbye," "Walkin' On Air," "What A Wonderful Day," "Tomorrow--Who Cares?" and "Blue Sky Avenue." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Gloria Stuart, (more)
- 1934
Although it is included in TV's "Shock Theater" passage, there's nothing overtly frightening about the heavily plotted Universal melodrama The Crosby Case. Even while the opening credits are rolling, the audience is introduced to the five main suspects in the murder of a certain Mr. Crosby. Police inspector Thomas (Alan Dinehart) believes that Lynn Ashton (Wynne Gibson), an ex-lover of the victim, is the most likely suspect, though the audience is encouraged not to discount the elderly, seemingly frail Lubeck (Edward Van Sloan), oafish thief Collins (Warren Hymer), heavily-in-debt gambler Willie (John Wray), or even avuncular nightclub doorman Costello (J. Farrell McDonald). The story is a mosaic of flashbacks and flat cuts, the sort that would be hailed as "new" and "innovational" when Citizen Kane was released seven years later. Like RKO Radio's unrelated Ann Vickers, The Crosby Case has gained latter-day fame (or notoriety) with its subtle allusions to an illegal abortion. And yes, that is Walter Brennan in the ship's-stateroom scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wynne Gibson, Onslow Stevens, (more)
- 1934
Showmen's Productions, a miniscule poverty-row firm, issued its one-and-only release The Big Race in 1934. Heading the cast is Boots Mallory, a lively blonde starlet who later retired to marry James Cagney's producer brother William Cagney. Most of the heavy dramatics are carried not by Mallory but by John Darrow and Phillips Smalley, father-and-son horse trainers who have a serious falling-out just before the big handicap race. Darrow and Smalley are reconciled when both discover that they've been betrayed by a third party. The Big Race really takes off in the action sequences, courtesy of onetime Harold Lloyd director Fred Newmeyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boots Mallory, John Darrow, (more)
An above-average cast makes up for the lack of production values in this, the second of 32 Bob Steele Westerns produced by A.W. Hackel for the States' Rights market. Steele is Rod Kent, a rancher falling in love with his neighbor, Margie Orkin (Lucile Browne), whom he rescues from an irate bull. Margie, however, is soon in a different kind of danger altogether when her father's evil half-brother, Bill (George Hayes), suddenly appears on the property with blackmail on his mind. When Rod intervenes, his father (Charles K. French) is shot by one of Bill's nasty sons, Holt (James Flavin). Bill's attempt to pin the blame on his half-brother, Joe (William Farnum), fails. Assisted by Margie's kid brother, Budd (Mickey Rentschler), and his faithful pooch, Pardner, Rod rounds up the villains, who are hog-tied and delivered to the Sheriff (Jack Rockwell). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Steele, Lucille Browne, (more)
Shirley Temple's first starring vehicle casts her as the button-cute daughter of ex-convict Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) and his wife Kay (Claire Trevor). Ellison and his old cellmate Larry Scott (Ray Walker) manage to land jobs as chauffeurs for a wealthy family. When a valuable string of pearls disappears, both men are fired and Eddie is accused of the crime. Incredibly, it is little Temple who manages to locate the pearls and clear her father's name. Rather slow going for the most part, Baby Take a Bow comes to life in the final reel, as genuine thief Trigger Stone (Ralf Harolde) grabs Temple and uses her as a human shield during his desperate rooftop escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, James Dunn, (more)
In G Men, Warner Bros. "bad boy" James Cagney plays James "Brick" Davis, a young lawyer whose education has been financed by soft-hearted racketeer McKay (William Harrigan). When Cagney's best pal, detective Eddie Buchanan (Regis Toomey), is killed in a gangland shooting, James decides to become a G-Man. Though scrupulously honest, Davis is looked upon with suspicion by his fellow agents because of his association with the crooked McKay. He proves he's a "good guy" when his former girlfriend, Jean Ann Dvorak, now the wife of mobster Brad Collins (Barton MacLane), tips him off to a "Little Bohemia"-style gangster hideaway. Jean later sacrifices her own life to help James rescue his new girl, nurse Kay McCord (Margaret Lindsay), from the vengeful Collins. Based on Gregory Miller's book Public Enemy No. 1, G-Men was reissued in 1949, with an added prologue featuring David Brian as an FBI trainer who advises his students not to laugh at the old-fashioned costumes and slang in the 1935 film; seen today, it is Brian's superfluous opening comments that seem hopelessly dated, while the film itself is as exciting and entertaining as ever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, (more)
- 1935
Dore Schary, several years removed from his tenure as head of MGM, was screenwriter for the modest Universal actioner Chinatown Squad. Lyle Talbot plays Ted Lacey, a disgruntled ex-cop reduced to driving a sightseeing bus in Chinatown. When a man who has been collecting funds for the Chinese communist cause is murdered, Lacey leaps at the opportunity to solve the case in hopes of getting his badge back. The killing is tied in with some stolen airplanes -- and, this being Hollywood's version of Chinatown, there's an abundance of sinister-looking suspects. Eighteen-year-old Valerie Hobson is the pretty if antiseptic heroine. For reasons best known to the folks at Universal, Chinatown Squad was included in TV's "Shock Theatre" package, lumped together with the studio's Frankenstein and Dracula pictures! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, Valerie Hobson, (more)
- 1935
The stringent censorship imposed upon Hollywood of the mid-1930s dictated that gangsters could no longer be the "heroes" in any crime film. Public Hero No. 1 reflects this restriction. G-Man Chester Morris poses as a crook to infiltrate the notorious Purple Gang, a band of hoodlums which preys upon other hoodlums. Orchestrating the jailbreak of the Gang's leader (Joseph Calleia), Morris joins him in a Dillinger-like flight across the country. The bloody denouement, which occurs in a vaudeville theatre, is likewise drawn from the Dillinger saga (that particular gentleman was of course killed in front of a movie house). Also featured in Public Hero No. 1 is Jean Arthur as the heroine (a comic role) and Lionel Barrymore as a drunken gang doctor. The film was remade as The Getaway in 1942. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1935
Devil worshipping and Chinese tongs were the selling points of this ultra low-budget thriller produced at Willow Park, B.C., Canada. Assigned to quell a Chinatown crime wave, private detective Donegal Dawn (Raymond Lawrence) discovers that his best friend, Robert Rand (Nick Stuart), has become infatuated with Zenobia, a beautiful but strange white girl clerking in Chan Tow Ling's curiosity shop. The girl, however, is frightened of something and warns Robert that they can never be together. That night, the lovesick youngster steals into the basement of the shop where he observes Zenobia officiating a weird ceremony. When the worshippers, known as the Order of the Black Robe, discover Robert's snooping, Zenobia either cannot or will not help him and he is led away. Dawn, meanwhile, tracks the cult to a hideout in the mountain. After a furious donnybrook at the top of a cliff, the detective is able to save both Robert and the entranced Zenobia. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
In the wake of The Thin Man, every studio in Hollywood scrambled to churn out sophisticated mystery-comedies wherein murders are solved by a wealthy, attractive, fun-loving young couple. One of the best of these Thin Man derivations was Universal's Remember Last Night, adapted from Adam Hobhouse's novel Hangover Murders. During a wild cocktail party at the Long Island estate of Tony and Carlotta Milburn (Robert Young and Constance Cummings), one of the guests is murdered. It does not help at all that the revellers were too drunk to remember exactly what happened -- nor is it beneficial to the case that Detective Danny Harrison (Edward Arnold) is a personal friend of all the suspects. In addition, no one but Harrison seems willing to take the case seriously, though of course eventually Tony and Carlotta are obliged to do a bit of sleuthing on their own. The light-hearted aspects of the film are offset by moments of genuine terror, notably the scene in which Professor Jones (Gustav von Seyffertitz) attempts to solve the mystery by hypnotizing the suspects, only to become a victim himself when he gets too close to the truth. An unbilled E.E. Clive provides some great black-humor moments as a police photographer who prefers to "artfully" arrange the corpses. As always, director James Whale invests his material with several of his visual trademarks, including his fascination with elaborate set decorations. There are probably more off-angle close-ups of fancy wall clocks in this picture than in any other Hollywood film -- and how about that cocktail bar in the Milburn's living room, designed in the shape of a yacht? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Arnold, Constance Cummings, (more)
- 1935
The creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission would soon render anachronistic such crime melodramas as One Way Ticket. Upon discovering that a prominent banker has absconded with his customers' funds, Jerry (Lloyd Nolan), one of the unlucky depositors, reacts by turning thief. He steals exactly the amount that he'd deposited, whereupon the cops close in and arrest him. Still feeling that he was merely getting back what was due him, Jerry bitterly stews in a jail cell until he's swept up in a prison breakout. The other escapees are killed, but Jerry manages to get away, though from this moment forward he's forced to live the toad-like life of a fugitive. Even his brief marriage to Bonnie (Peggy Conklin), the daughter of kindly prison warden Bourne (Walter Connolly), does little to alleviate Jerry's dilemma, and at the end he realizes that no one can ever truly run away from oneself. There's a great, fleeting moment in One Way Ticket wherein the protagonist calmly and philosophically discovers that his hiding place is surrounded by cops. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Peggy Conklin, (more)
- 1935
This espionage thriller with romantic comedy touches was loosely based on the book American Black Chamber by the real-life head of the U.S. Secret Service during World War I, Herbert O. Yardley. Bill Gordon (William Powell) is a newspaper puzzle editor who becomes a lieutenant in 1917 when he enlists to fight in the First World War. Before shipping out, Bill meets and becomes attracted to Joel Carter (Rosalind Russell), the niece of John Carter (Samuel Hinds), the Assistant Secretary of War. When Joel learns about Bill's former occupation, she arranges for his transfer to the War Department, where he is put to work code breaking for Major Brennan (Lionel Atwill). When Brennan is murdered as the result of a German-Russian spy ring's machinations, Bill investigates the spies and a comely secret agent (Bonnie Barnes), which jeopardizes his newfound romance with Joel. Russell received the role because MGM's first choice, Myrna Loy, was refusing to work for the studio at the time. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Rosalind Russell, (more)
- 1935
- NR
The old Edward Peble play The Littlest Rebel was gussied up in 1935 as a Shirley Temple vehicle. The curly-topped child star plays Virgie Cary, who lives in Southern-Plantation splendor with her dad Herbert (John Boles) and mom (Karen Morley). The family's idyllic existence is shattered when the Civil War breaks out. A captain in the Confederacy, Herbert Cary marches off to the battlefield, leaving his faithful family retainers -- including philosophical old Uncle Billy (Bill "Bojangles" Robinson) -- to watch over Virgie and Mrs. Cary. No one, however, is prepared for the ravages of war, thus Virgie is forced to endure the destruction of her family home and the death of mom after lingering illness. Desperately trying to make his way home for one last reunion with his wife, Herbert is arrested as a Southern spy. Fortunately, Yankee colonel Morrison (Jack Holt) takes a liking to the tenacious Virgie and tries to escort the girl and her father to safety. As a result, Morrison is arrested for desertion, and both he and Herbert are sentenced to be shot. Making her way to Washington in the company of faithful Uncle Billy, Virgie secures a pardon for both her father and Col. Morrison from an avuncular Abraham Lincoln (Frank McGlynn Sr.) The stereotypical treatment of black characters in The Littlest Rebel is more offensive than usual, with "happy darkies" nervously pondering the prospect of being freed from slavery and shivering in their boots when the Yankees arrive. But Bill Robinson manges to cut through the color line with his astonishing terpsichorean talents, especially in his closing "challenge dance" with Shirley Temple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, John Boles, (more)
- 1935
In this romance, a slightly crooked and highly ambitious mayoral candidate convinces a woman to help him blackmail the incumbent by using a little baby as evidence in a paternity suit. The girl goes along with it until she learns that the mayor is innocent. Suddenly she begins working for him. In the end, the crooked candidate changes his ways and romantic bliss ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Roger Pryor, (more)
- 1935
W.C. Fields plays Ambrose Wolfinger, the henpecked husband to end all henpecked husbands. A widower, Ambrose married a second time only to provide a mother for his pretty daughter (Mary Brian). What he got was an overbearing harpy of a wife (Kathleen Howard), a fussy and imperious mother-in-law (Vera Lewis) and a shiftless brother-in-law (Grady Sutton). Ambrose plans to attend a much-awaited wrestling match, but can't get the day off of work. He lies for the first time in his life, telling his boss that his mother-in-law has died. En route to the wrestling meet, Ambrose suffers one mishap after another, from a string of traffic tickets to an encounter with a runaway tire. He gets to the match just in time to miss the whole thing, and ends up bruised and battered on the sidewalk. Meanwhile, his home is being deluged with flowers, offered in sympathy for his "dead" mother-in-law who is very much alive but not amused. When his boss discovers the deception, he fires Ambrose. The poor man returns home to face the cold stares of his wife's family. They goad and harass him until he can stand no more: when brother-in-law insults his daughter, Ambrose punches him out (a scene that always results in audience cheers) and tells everyone else where to go. Soon after, his anxious ex-boss calls up; only Ambrose can decipher the important messages left behind on his cluttered desk, and would Ambrose like to come back to work? His loyal and loving daughter negotiates a hefty salary hike for Ambrose, and the film ends with Our Hero assuming his proper role as head of the household, with his obnoxious in-laws literally left out in the rain. An uproarious "worm turns" farce, Man on the Flying Trapeze was an expanded version of 1932 Mack Sennett two-reeler, Too Many Highballs, and a partial remake of Fields' own silent feature Running Wild (27). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- W.C. Fields, Mary Brian, (more)
- 1935
This musical drama stars Dick Powell as the son of an admiral (Lewis Stone), who'd rather sing than go to sea. Through the genteel pressures of Powell's girlfriend and nightclub partner Ruby Keeler, Powell dons Navy garb and becomes a hero. Busby Berkeley had nothing to do with this one; the direction was in the capable hands of sentimentalist supreme Frank Borzage. The Borzage touch was particularly noticeable in a heartrending--but non-maudlin--scene in which Ross Alexander is "washed out" as an Annapolis cadet. Shipmates Forever proved to be a treasure trove of background music for the Warner Bros. cartoon department. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, (more)
- 1936
A never-completed stage musical was the source for the MGM superproduction Born to Dance. The plot is another three-sailors-on-leave affair, with Ted (James Stewart), Mush (Buddy Ebsen) and Gunny (Sid Silvers, who also co-wrote the script) romancing the eminently romanceable Nora (Eleanor Powell), Peppy (Frances Langford) and Jenny (Una Merkel). Nora aspires to become a dancing star, but her career nearly ends before it begins when she inadvertently comes between Broadway luminary Lucy James (Virginia Bruce) and her producer-lover McKay (Alan Dinehart). If anyone watching back in 1936 really cared about the plot, they probably weren't music lovers. The lovely Cole Porter score (his first written directly for the screen) includes "I've Got You Under My Skin", sung by Virginia Bruce to James Stewart, and "Easy to Love", warbled by Stewart to Eleanor Powell. Highlights include Reginald Gardiner's impersonation of a symphony-conducting traffic cop (a routine he'd previously performed on stage) and Eleanor Powell's climactic tap routine on board an art-deco battleship (a sequence later re-deployed for the climax of 1944's I Dood It). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, (more)
