Carmelita Geraghty Movies

A Poverty Row western that has the rare distinction of being shot in color, director Jacques Jaccard's action-packed shoot 'em up tells the tale of a peaceful prairie beset by a mysterious phantom. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The tragic death from peritonitis of leading man Robert Williams marred the production of this oppressive triangle drama set in a French penal colony in Vietnam. Arriving at torrid Lao Bao, Therese Du Flos (Ann Harding) discovers that her fiancé, André Verlaine (Melvyn Douglas, who had replaced Williams) has become an alcoholic due to the pressures of the lonely job of running the prison. Distraught and fighting to regain her inner strength, Therese becomes a target for visiting Captain Remy Baudoin (Adolphe Menjou), a bounder who persuades her to leave the outpost with him. But André's faithful servant Nham (Clarence Muse) kills Baudoin, and when an uprising seems imminent, Therese stoically stands by her man. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Short story writer Thomas attempts to solve a murder involving blackmail, stabbings and mysterious notes. Another interesting aspect is the police department that caters to the rich. ~ Rovi

Yet another variation on the already then-ancient Madame X theme, this early talkie stars Helen Twelvetrees in the title role, a small-town girl marrying a New York City businessman (James Hall). The union produces a daughter, but ends when Millie catches her husband with a mistress (Marie Astaire). Attempting to make a life for herself without turning to gold-digging, like her friends, Angie (Joan Blondell) and Helen (Lilyan Tashman), Millie is once again disappointed by a man when reporter boyfriend Tommy (Robert Ames) is found in another girl's apartment. Years later, a nearly destitute and much hardened Millie discovers that an old admirer, Jimmy Damier (John Halliday), is about to seduce her now 17-year-old daughter, Connie (Anita Louise). Catching the couple almost in the act, Millie shoots and kills Jimmy, but is acquitted when the jury learns the identity of the molested girl. Millie was an independent Charles R. Rogers production sold to RKO when producer Rogers joined that company. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

In this drama, an eager-beaver cub reporter looking for the big scoop that will give him his big break is sent to interview a building contractor. While awaiting his interview, he eavesdrops upon as heated argument between the contractor and his ex-mistress who is about to tell the D.A. about his shady deals. This will destroy his budding political career. The dishonest contractor retaliates by killing the district attorney and having the girl kidnapped. More trouble ensues when the reporter implicates the wrong person in the shenanigans. His mistake is discovered, and he is fired. He then investigates the case on his own to find the real guilty party and free the kidnapped girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Cole Porter's Broadway musical 50 Million Frenchmen was brought to the screen in 1931 with one minor alteration -- all of the music was removed! Set in Paris, the story concerns the exploits of wealthy Jack Forbes (William Gaxton), who bets his friend Michael Cummings (John Halliday) that he can woo and win Looloo Carroll (Claudia Dell) without using any of his money or connections. Cummings hires Simon and Peter (Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson), a pair of erstwhile detectives, to make sure that Forbes doesn't win his bet. Instead, Simon and Peter befriend our hero and decide to help him out. Olsen & Johnson have all the best material, notably an early double-entendre encounter with randy American tourist Helen Broderick and a scene in which Olsen impersonates mind-reading fakir Bela Lugosi (who loses his clothes in the process!) The finale is right out of Harold Lloyd, with the comedians being chased by every law officer in Gay Paree. Evidently, the Cole Porter songs had been filmed for 50 Million Frenchmen, but were cut from the final print just before release: William Gaxton keeps building up to singing You Do Something for Me but never quite gets there (Warner Bros. later utilized the Porter score in Paree! Paree!, a 2-reel remake of Frenchmen starring Bob Hope). Originally released in Technicolor, 50 Million Frenchmen is presently available only in black and white. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mary Philbin, best remembered as the heroine of the 1925 Lon Chaney version of Phantom of the Opera, stars in this murky low-budget melodrama. Philbin plays the daughter of truculent lighthouse keeper Russell Simpson. She goes ga-ga over society rake Edmund Burns, which greatly displeases her father. So put out is dead old dad that he goes after Burns with an axe, whereupon Philbin arms herself with a gun. Since most of After the Fog is set in a lighthouse, it is altogether appropriate that it was put together by Beacon Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Returning to Gunsight, AZ, from World War II, Buck Healy (Buck Jones) finds that his younger brother Tom (Thomas Carr) has fallen in with an outlaw gang lead by Murdock (Harry Woods). The latter frames Buck in the robbery of Francisco Del Rey (Hector Sarno), a Mexican rancher whose son (Donald Reed) Buck had saved on the battlefield. Don Francisco's daughter, Juanita (Carmelita Geraghty), is kidnapped along the way, but Buck heroically affects her release and earns her love. Men Without Law was the third of eight Buck Jones Westerns produced by Sol Lesser for release by Columbia Pictures, who took over all production chores thereafter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This drama is an adaptation of a popular 1927 play and tells the story of a pair of married liberals who are content to remain faithful in spirit only. The ends up having an affair with a musician while her husband heads for Europe. When he returns he tells her about his affair with a French woman. The wife is devastated, for never did she believe her husband would actually sleep with another. In the end, they decide to re-adopt traditional marital morals and remain monogamous. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Adopting a surprisingly effective Southern accent, Vienna-born Joseph Schildkraut plays the title role in Mississippi Gambler. Schildkraut is cast as ruthless but basically decent cardsharp Jack, whose latest sucker is old man Blackburne. To save the honor of Blackburne's lovely daughter Lucy (Joan Bennett), Jack purposely loses the climactic poker game. Many of the sets and background extras in the film had previously been seen in Universal's Show Boat, which also featured Schildkraut. Mississippi Gambler was refashioned as a Tyrone Power vehicle in 1953. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

At 9 reels, The Good-Bye Kiss was comedy producer Mack Sennett's most ambitious feature to date. Eschewing the usual Sennett slapstick, the film is a romantic seriocomedy with a WW I background. Sally Eilers plays a young girl who follows her soldier boyfriend (Johnny Burke) to the front. He is something of a coward, but through his girlfriend's influence he becomes a war hero. One of the few vestiges of the traditional Sennett formula is the presence of reliable character comedian Andy Clyde as the girl's grandfather (Clyde was 34 years old at the time!) The Good-Bye Kiss represented a major break for film editor William Hornbeck, who with this film graduated to features, eventually leading to a long and fruitful career and several industry awards. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The greatest western star of his day, Tom Mix performed several dangerous stunts without the benefit of a double in The Last Trail. One exciting scene had Mix mounting the front wheels of a crashing wagon, riding them like a Roman chariot. Director Lewis Seiler and cameraman Daniel Clark filmed the scene in a way that left no room for doubt as to whether Mix actually performed the dramatic stunt himself. The story, based on a Zane Grey original, has Mix coming to the aid of an old friend (Lee Shumway), the sheriff of Carson City, Nevada, who is having trouble with a gang of stage robbers. Along for the ride is a small child, (Jerry the Giant, who provides the film with added appeal). Jerry the Giant later changed his name to Jerry Madden and played "Slats" Fogarty in Penrod and Sam (1937) and its sequel Penrod and His Twin Brother (1938). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi