William Gillespie Movies

There's slightly more fancy than fact in this lavish film biography of legendary American composer George Gershwin, but oh! That music! Director Irving Rapper had wanted Tyrone Power to play Gershwin, but Power was still serving in the Marines, so Rapper had to settle for Robert Alda--who isn't bad at all, just a trifle over-enthusiastic. The film traces Gershwin's rise from a "song plugger" for a Manhattan music publishing company to the heights of international fame and fortune. Gershwin's first big hit is "Swanee," introduced on Broadway by Al Jolson (who plays himself, making his first film appearance in six years). In collaboration with his lyricist brother Ira (well played by Herbert Rudley), George pens hit after hit in show after show. Impresario Charles Coburn is happy with this, but George's kindly old music teacher Albert Basserman wants his prize pupil to aspire to something more artistic. Gershwin responds with "Rhapsody in Blue", which debuts at Aeolian Hall in 1924 under the baton of bandleader Paul Whiteman (also playing himself). As his fame and workload grows, George finds he has no time at all for romance; the two (fictional) ladies in his life, both of whom eventually realize that they'll always have to play second fiddle to Gershwin's muse, are musical comedy star Joan Leslie and socialite Alexis Smith. Gershwin continues to compose such masterpieces as "An American in Paris", "Cuban Overture", "Concerto in F" and the 1935 folk opera Porgy and Bess. He will not allow himself to rest on his laurels, ruthlessly pushing himself to top all his previous accomplishments. Finally, the strain proves too great: George Gershwin dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1937, at the age of 39. Featured in the cast as themselves (in addition to those already mentioned) are Gershwin's lifelong friend Oscar Levant, producer George White, and Broadway performers Tom Patricola and Hazel Scott. Morris Carnovsky and Rosemary DeCamp play George's parents, while Julie Bishop is cast as Ira's wife Lee, who is saddled with the film's silliest line: "Ira, promise me that you'll never become a genius." Alternately hokey and inspired, Rhapsody in Blue has weathered the years as one of Hollywood's most solid biopics. And, as a bonus, we are treated to a virtually complete performance (running a full reel) of the title composition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lodge members Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy take a solemn oath to attend the 80th-annual Sons of the Desert Convention (read: annual binge) in Chicago. That is, Ollie takes the oath, but Stanley balks. When asked why, Stanley answers that he's afraid his wife won't let him go. Ollie is appalled: "Every man must be king in his own castle." But when Ollie meekly brings up the subject of the convention with his wife Lollie (Mae Busch), she soon dethrones the "king." Lollie wants to take a vacation in the mountains, and is dead-set against her husband going around "with a pack of hooligans." But Ollie is determined to attend the convention, and to that end cooks up a scheme with Stanley. Ollie will pretend to be deathly ill; Stan will fix it so the doctor will prescribe a trip to Honolulu. Knowing that his wife can't stand going on sea voyages, Ollie will request that Stan accompany him to Hawaii--then, both men will sneak off to Chicago. A few hitches notwithstanding (Stan hires a veterinarian instead of a doctor, explaining that he didn't think the man's religion would make any difference), the boys go to the convention, where they cut up royally with practical joker Charley Chase. Alas, the Honolulu-bound boat on which Stan and Ollie are supposed to be travelling is sunk in a typhoon. While the grief-stricken wives are at the steamship company attempting to find out if their husbands survived the sea disaster, Stan and Ollie arrive home, wearing leis and carrying pineapples as "evidence" of their Honolulu vacation. When the boys find out about the shipwreck, they desperately try to escape to a hotel, but the wives arrive home prematurely, forcing Stan and Ollie to camp out in the attic. It looks as though the boys might just get away with their new plan of coming home at the same time that the rescue boats arrive....until Lollie Hardy and Betty Laurel (Dorothy Christie), attending a picture show, are treated to the spectacle of their husbands cavorting merrily before the newsreel cameras covering the Sons of the Desert conclave in Chicago. The film's final ten minutes are priceless--especially that bit about "ship-hiking." Considered the best of Laurel and Hardy's feature films, One of the top ten moneymaking pictures of 1934, it was released in Europe as Fraternally Yours and Sons of the Legion, and is also available in a crudely edited 20-minute TV version, Fun on the Run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Veteran character actress Margaret Mann makes the first of two memorable Our Gang appearances in Helping Grandma. The owner of a tiny general store, "Grandma" (Mann), loves to have the kids around, even if they pay for their penny candy with expired subway tokens and buttons. Local skinflint Mr. Pennypacker (Oscar Apfel) tries to purchase Grandma's store for a ridiculously low sum, while a pair of representatives from a chain store make a more generous offer. Thanks to the gang's well-meaning "assistance," the chain store men are very nearly scared away, while mean Mr. Pennypacker almost persuades Grandma to give up her store. Truth and decency prevail in the end, again largely thanks to the youngsters. A lengthy comedy segment, in which little Stymie Beard tries to purchase ten cents worth of "It," is often cut from TV prints due to its allegedly offensive content (which is offensive mainly to those who find offense in everything). Enhanced by a marvelous musical score by Marvin Hatley, Helping Grandma was originally released on January 3, 1931. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A hotel is gearing up to welcome its prestigious new guest, a European Prince (Captain John Peters). But before he appears, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy walk in. After much confusion, it is discovered that the two are not the Prince and his Prime Minister, but are the hotel's new doorman and footman. The real Prince grows ever more furious as he falls into the elevator shaft numerous times, always because of either Stan or Ollie. Finally the boys take their positions outside the hotel, where they irritate a taxi driver (Charlie Hall) and a policeman (Tiny Sanford). Stan, Ollie, and the cabbie proceed to destroy each other's uniforms, until the cabbie accidentally grabs the policeman's jacket. The cabbie takes off, and another taxi appears. A sexy blonde (Jean Harlow) emerges and is personally escorted by Ollie. What he doesn't know is that Stan shut the cab's door on her dress and it has ripped right off. Finally, he sees what has happened, and, horrified, he removes Stan's coat to cover up the young lady. The boys start bickering, and soon the whole lobby is in an uproar. The Prince comes in and gets in the way of a flying cake. Nearly rabid with anger, he swears to report this indignity to the King and Queen -- then falls into the elevator shaft once again.
This two-reel silent is best remembered for the scene in which Jean Harlow's dress is caught in the taxi cab door. Harlow doesn't appear in a later Laurel and Hardy film, Beau Hunks, but a still photo of her from Double Whoopie does, and she's identified there as "Jeannie-Weenie," Ollie's faithless girlfriend. And if the Prince in Double Whoopie looks quite a bit like Erich von Stroheim, he should -- the actor who played the part was von Stroheim's stand-in. Double Whoopee was re-released in 1969 in a "talkie" version dubbed by new actors. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Our Gang member Joe Cobb has to do some quick thinking when his playful but undeniably destructive pet dog Pansy is slated to be shot by Joe's frustrated dad. Training Pansy to play dead, Joe does his job so well that the pooch is hired as a "stunt dog" by a local movie studio. As expected, Joe and the rest of the Our Gang kids tag along when Pansy makes his debut before the cameras, culminating in an outsized pie fight on the set of a slapstick comedy. By the time Playin' Hookey was released by Pathe on January 1, 1928, producer Hal Roach was releasing his newest Our Gang comedies through his new distributor MGM. Long available only in a fragmentary version, a complete print of this film was discovered in a French vault in the 1980s.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Our Gang member Allen "Farina" Hoskins decides to run away from home on the same day that an oversized, trained chimpanzee mischievously escapes its captors. Befriending the monkey, Farina invites his new pal to join the rest of the gang. The kids decide to capitalize on the simian's talents by staging their own tent show. Alas, the chimp manages to down a bottle of bootleg booze, then goes on a drunken rampage, terrorizing everyone in town. When the cops arrive, the big ape commandeers their patrol wagon, and what happens next could only happen in an Our Gang comedy. Making up in energy what it lacks in coherence, Monkey Business was originally released on March 21, 1926. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mr. and Mrs. Weedle (William Gillespie and Charlotte Mineau) are in a jam: For years, they've been receiving substantial amounts of money from their rich uncle (William A. Orlamond), who has been led to believe that the Weedles have two children to support. Now Uncle is coming to town, and the duplicitous couple must come up with a pair of babies in a hurry. Naturally, the Our Gang kids hope to get the job, but they're given a run for their money by a mischievous 27-year-old midget (Harry Earles). Meanwhile, Gang member Joe Cobb tries to curb his fighting blood, with less than successful results. Making good use of Hal Roach Studios' standing hotel sets, the silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy Baby Clothes was originally released on April 25, 1926 (an abbreviated TV version, retitled The Rich Uncle, is best avoided; without the original subtitles, the story makes virtually no sense). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Producer Hal Roach often claimed that Your Own Back Yard was his favorite of all the Our Gang silent comedies produced by his studio. The focus is on black youngster Allen "Farina" Hoskins, whose efforts to leave his own back yard and participate in the gang's activities are constantly rebuffed. Eventually, Farina not only gets his wish, but an unexpected financial windfall. Meanwhile, the other kids decide to become dentists, with the expected disastrous results when they spread dental cream on the mouths of their pet dogs. Originally released on September 27, 1925, Your Own Back Yard was long regarded as a lost film; only in the late 1970s did the film's second reel resurface, revealing that one of the supporting players was none other than Fay Wray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the Our Gang kids make the acquaintance of Billy Lord, a wealthy youngster who owns his own home-movie camera, the youngsters decide to go into the motion-picture business. With movie-struck teenager Martha Sleeper as their leading lady, the kids put together a rip-roaring cliffhanger adventure, with thrills and spills aplenty. Alas, the film's premiere is disrupted by shouts of "Phooey!" from Jackie Condon, who is angered at having been left out of the proceedings. A few well-aimed eggs and tomatoes hurled by another outcast, Jay R. Smith, all but guarantees that the film's first screening will be its last. Combining clever and inventive gags with surprisingly slipshod material, the silent, two-reel Better Movies made its own theatrical debut on November 1, 1925. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy was first released on May 3, 1925. Shootin' Injuns finds the Our Gang kids collectively deciding to run away from home and strike out for the Wild West. The youngsters get no further than a nearby house, which has been outfitted with magnetic gimmicks for the benefit of an amusement park impresario. After spending a hair-raising night in what seems to be a haunted house, the kids are more than happy to return to their parents -- that is, if they can catch up with their parents, who have likewise been frightened away by the spooky house. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Our Gang kids argue amongst themselves over which of their dogs is the cleverest and best trained. This brouhaha is forgotten when Gang member Mickey Daniels rescues rich girl Mary Kornman after her pony runs away. As a reward, Mary invites Mickey and his pals to her parents' ritzy mansion for a high-society party, which of course the youngsters quickly reduce to their low-society level. The story concludes when one of the dogs proves beyond question that she can do something none of the male dogs will ever be able to accomplish. Originally released on March 8, 1925, the silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy Dog Days is available only in the abbreviated, stretch-framed print prepared for home viewing by Walton Films in the early '50s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stuck with babysitting their younger siblings, the Our Gang kids decide to profit from their obligations by entering the infants in a local "beautiful baby contest." But when it comes time to award the prize for fattest baby, it is seven-year-old Joe Cobb who dons the bonnet and the Dr. Dentons. Meanwhile, the gang's mothers angrily search for their missing babies, blaming a band of gypsies for "kidnapping" the kids. Before this mess can be straightened out, the film fragments into a series of unrelated gags, including a lengthy slow-motion sequence involving a broken bottle of pungent ammonia. Originally released on June 1, 1924, the silent, two-reel Cradle Robbers would be memorable if only for its clever opening gag, which was repeated nine years later in the Our Gang talkie Forgotten Babies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide