Byron Foulger Movies

This Pine-Thomas actioner stars Robert Lowery as two-fisted forest ranger Don Bradley. Promoted to supervisor, Bradley finds his success hollow when his childhood sweetheart Kay (Ellen Drew) marries big-time gangster Steve Downey (Regis Toomey). In soon develops that Kay has wedded Downey against her will, and is being held prisoner in a remote mountain cabin. Bradley then dashes to the rescue, which culminates in a perilous car chase through dangerous mountain passages. Eddie Quillan provides comic relief as Bradley's pal Willie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Female musicians Sally Richards (Jane Frazee) and Sue Ford (Judy Clark) are Beautiful but Broke in this frantic Columbia musical comedy. Sally and Sue's violinist pal Dottie Duncan (Joan Davis) is equally broke, though not quite as beautiful. The three girls try pass themselves off as an all-girl orchestra, with the help of fast-buck theatrical agent Waldo Main (John Eldredge). Vamping for time until they can gather up a few more musicians, the girls don several disguises to fool a potential client, nightclub owner Putnam (John Dilson). Once this crisis is passed, the orchestra finds itself stranded in the middle of nowhere. The finale borrows a page from Buster Keaton when Sally, Sue and Dottie take refuge in a deserted house slated for Army target practice. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this eighth film in MGM's "Maisie" series, Ann Sothern is back as ever-stranded chorus girl Maisie Revier. As the story opens, Maisie has a steady non-showbiz job as a defense plant riveter (it's wartime, of course); still, she utilizes a two-week vacation to take a singing job in a Reno night spot. This small Nevada town being the Divorce Capital of America, Maisie finds herself involved in the crumbling marriage between a GI (Tom Drake) and his wealthy wife (Ava Gardner). Meanwhile, Maisie's own well-being is threatened by a conniving businessman who has her committed to an asylum when she threatens to squeal about his crooked business practices. Like most "Maisie" pictures, Maisie Goes to Reno suffers from a surfeit of plotting, but is redeemed by the insouciant Ann Sothern. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Robert Z. Leonard, who must have taken room and board at MGM, was the directorial hand behind this slight domestic drama. Lana Turner is the bride, John Hodiak the groom. James Craig is the odd man out, who pursues Turner when Hodiak is off fighting the war. Bored by domesticity, Turner welcomes Craig's attentions, but impending motherhood straightens out her priorities. Nearly two hours of celluloid are expended on a story that any other studio would have zipped out in seven reels. Marriage Is a Private Affair was based on a slightly steamier novel by Judith Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

David O. Selznick's first production since 1940's Rebecca, Since You Went Away, based on Margaret Buell Wilder's bestselling novel, is a long but rewarding paean to the World War 2 "home front". Claudette Colbert plays the wife of a businessman who, though well past draft age, volunteered to serve his country as an officer (though the husband is never seen, he is "played"-via a photograph-by Neil Hamilton). Fighting back her own fears and anxieties, Colbert does her best to maintain a normal, stable household for the sake of her growing daughters Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple. She is offered moral support by cynical-but-kindly boarder Monty Woolley, by maid Hattie McDaniel (who willing foregoes her salary "for the duration") and by Navy man and friend-of-the-family Joseph Cotten, whose relationship with Claudette remains staunchly platonic. The harsh realities of war hit home several times throughout the film, first when it seems as though Colbert's husband is missing in action, and later when Jennifer's young boyfriend, GI Robert Walker, is killed in combat. From the vantage point of the 1990s, it is easy to see why Since You Went Away scored with its wartime audiences. Though the leading characters are slightly more financially secure than most of the moviegoers of 1944, the various vignettes presented throughout-complaints about rationing and priorities, shoulder-to-shoulder sacrifices, the weekly escape to the local movie house, tender partings, joyous reunions, the returning wounded, the dreaded wire from the war department-all had the ring of truth and topicality. Even today, the film's emotional highlights, particularly the much-imitated farewell scene at the railroad station, are sufficient to bring tears to the eyes of the most jaded viewer. Enhancing the film's heartstring tugging tenfold is Max Steiner's Oscar-winning musical score. If you can remain objective while watching Since You Went Away (it isn't easy), see if you can spot Ruth Roman, Guy Madison and John Derek, making their screen debuts in microscopic roles ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

MGM's popular Dr. Kildare series spanned 1938-47. Lew Ayres played the title character, but parted in 1942. Though crusty and craggly Lionel Barrymore, portrayed Dr. Gillespie (one of Kildare's contemporaries at Blair General Hospital) from the beginning of the series, he initially came second billed, and only received first billing in the six films that followed Ayres's departure, thus becoming the central character. 1944's Three Men and White marks the fourth such instance. As in prior entries, the premise of Three Men revolves around Gillespie solving medical mysteries and fixing romantic problems. Here, Gillespie is forced to decide between Keye Luke (as Dr. Lee Wong How) and Van Johnson (as Dr. Randall Adams) as his new assistant. To make the call, he assigns a medical case to each. Wong How must help a child overcome his allergy to sugar; Johnson must work a female patient through 'insurmountable' arthritis. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Also known as Ladies in Washington, this 61-minute quickie utilizes the services of several 20th Century-Fox contractees. Set in the nation's capital, the film delves into the living and working conditions of the girls employed in wartime government jobs. Jerry (Sheila Ryan), a Washington secretary, is in the doldrums because of an unhappy affair with her married employer. Michael (Anthony Quinn), a secret agent for the enemy, uses Jerry to get information on her boss. All of this has an adverse effect on Jerry's roommates, especially her best friend Carol. The whole mess ends in a bloody gun battle, exacting a heavy toll on both the innocent and the guilty. Halfway down the cast list of Ladies of Washington is former Miss America Jo-Carroll Dennison, who later became the wife of comedian Phil Silvers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A machine able to extract gold from the ocean floor is desired by both Axis powers and the FBI in this 13 chapter Universal serial directed by the team of Ray Taylor and Lewis D. Collins. Milburn Stone -- later "Doc Adams" on television's Gunsmoke -- starred as G-Man Tom Brant, with blond Jan Wiley, as a girl reporter, and Dennis Moore, as an intrepid detective, all three stymied by the mysterious "Master Key," a villain who always seem one step ahead. Five screenwriters worked on the script. Future B-Western star Al "Lash" LaRue made his screen debut in this serial, billed as Alfred LaRue and playing one of the villain's henchmen. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Paramount's "Henry Aldrich" series came to a quiet conclusion with 1944's Henry Aldrich's Little Secret. The titular secret is a baby, the son of woebegone Helen Martin (Ann Doran). Because her husband is in jail, Helen has been adjudged an unfit mother by the local welfare board, headed by the father of our hero Henry Aldrich (Jimmy Lydon). Taking pity on Helen, Henry hides the baby in his own home while Helen leaves town to prove her husband's innocence. The finale finds Henry lampooning Mr. Smith Goes to Washington with a comic-pathetic filibuster on behalf of poor Helen. Way at the bottom of the cast list is Noel Neill, TV's future Lois Lane. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After producing, writing and directing one hit film after another, Preston Sturges finally misfired with the biopic The Great Moment. Sturges was always fascinated with the saga of W.T.G. Morton, the 19th century Boston dentist who, after inventing the first truly effective anesthesia, was forced to give up his proprietary interest in the invention and ended up dying in poverty and obscurity. Joel McCrea stars as Morton, a young oral surgeon determined to find a painless method for exracting teeth-which he does, virtually by accident. Betty Field costars as Morton's faithful spouse Elizabeth, while Sturges regular William Demarest offers a gem of a performance as Morton's best friend-guinea pig Eben Frost (his persistence upon recalling his first meeting with Morton -- "I was in excru-ci-ating pain"-is one of the film's highlights). Completed in 1942, The Great Moment was taken out of Sturges' hands and heavily re-edited and re-arranged by the Paramount executives: as a result, the story is confusing and downright incomprehensible at times (the film's present ending, for example, originally occured in the middle of the film). The result was varying runtimes for the film of 80, 83, 87, and 90 minutes. An enormous box-office flop in 1944, the film proved to be the beginning of the end for Sturges, who was never able to completely recover from its failure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lois Andrews, best known in 1943 as the ex-wife of comedian Georgie Jessel, plays the title character in this cinemadaptation of Joseph P. McEvoy's popular comic strip Dixie Dugan. Swept up in the war effort, Dixie gets a job as secretary to government official Roger Hudson (James Ellison). Though Roger pursues her romantically, Dixie remains faithful to her defense-plant-worker fiancee Matt Hogan (Eddie Foy Jr.) Both Roger and Matt believe that a woman's place is in the home, but Dixie proves that their chauvinism is out of place during the National Emergency. Lois Andrews' inexperience is modified somewhat by the assured performances of Charlotte Greenwood and Charlie Ruggles as Dixie's parents. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With Dorothy Arzner in the director's chair, it's no wonder that First Comes Courage has a more feminist slant than most WWII "underground" films. Merle Oberon plays Nicole Larsen, a member of the Norwegian resistance. To obtain important war information, Nicole romances Nazi major Paul Dichter Carl Esmond, enduring the slings and arrows of those villagers unaware of her motives. Her mission is further complicated when she is reunited with British commando Allan Lowell Brian Aherne, with whom she'd had a prewar affair. Forced to choose between love and duty, Nicole makes the only decision possible under the circumstances. First Comes Courage was based on The Commados, a novel by Elliot Arnold. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi