Ernie S. Adams Movies

This ambitious filmed biography of writer-adventurer Jack London is somewhat compromised by its too-tight budget. Michael O'Shea is well cast as London, whose rugged adventures range from the high seas to the Klondike. London's insatiable wanderlust causes friction in his marriage to the lovely Charmian (Susan Hayward), but she stands nobly by his side in good times and bad (it should be noted that the script is based on Mrs. London's memoirs). In the interests of topicality, the film contrives to have London endeavor to warn America of Japanese military expansion some four decades before Pearl Harbor. It is this story element that makes Jack London a bit difficult to watch today, despite the strong performances of O'Shea, Hayward and a superb supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Deanna Durbin is all grown up in Hers to Hold, the unofficial sequel to her "Three Smart Girls" films of the 1930s. Durbin plays Penelope Craig, the starry-eyed daughter of wealthy Judson and Dorothy Craig (Charles Winninger, Nella Walker). Developing a crush on much-older playboy Bill Morley (Joseph Cotton), Penelope stops at nothing to land the elusive Morley as her husband. Highlights include Durbin's renditions of "Begin the Beguine" and the "Seguidilla" from Carmen, and a captivating sequence that includes highlights from Durbin's earlier films, presented as home movies! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Keep 'Em Slugging was the last of Universal's "Little Tough Guys" series-which, like Monogram's "East Side Kids", was an offshoot of Warner Bros.' "Dead End Kids" films. This time around, the kids decide to mend their troublemaking ways and get real jobs. Tommy (Bobby Jordan) is hired by the department store where his sister Sheila (Evelyn Ankers) is already employed. Frank (Frank Albertson), Tommy's supervisor, is mixed up with a gang of hijackers. When Tommy refuses to join the crooks, Frank frames the kid on a robbery rap. With the help of fellow Little Tough Guys Pig (Huntz Hall), String (Gabriel Dell) and Ape (Norman Abbott, nephew of comedian Bud Abbott), Tommy not only proves his innocence, but gives the criminals a real soaking. By the time Keep 'Em Slugging was released, Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell were already repeating their antics in Monogram's "East Side Kids" flicks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beyond the Last Frontier was the first entry in Republic's "John Paul Revere" western series. Journeyman actor Eddie Dew stars as Revere, a Texas Ranger who goes undercover to smash an outlaw gang. Meanwhile, the villains install an informer amongst the Rangers, meaning that Revere will have to take care of this guy before he can complete his assignment. While Eddie Dew was OK in the lead, his thunder was stolen by the young actor cast as "Trigger Dolan"-future superstar Robert Mitchum. The plot was a bit too complicated for a film of this nature, thus future John Paul Revere installments were a bit easier to follow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joan Crawford is the kissable bride of the title--but when the film opens, matrimony is the farthest thing from her mind. Crawford becomes a big-time executive upon inheriting her father's trucking business, which leaves her no time for such trivialities as romance. To enhance her business, Crawford arranges a marriage of convenience for her younger sister (Helen Parrish). At the wedding, Crawford meets reporter Melvyn Douglas, who is out to discredit Crawford....and you know what's coming next. They All Kissed the Bride was one of several 1942 productions originally slated for Carole Lombard, whose sudden death in a plane crash required all the major studios to reshuffle their production schedules to come up with last-minute Lombard replacements. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"It's box office poison," producer Samuel Goldwyn is said to have exclaimed when he heard the idea of filming the life story of fabled first baseman Lou Gehrig. "If people want baseball, they go to the ballpark!" The story begins before World War I, when young Lou Gehrig (played as a boy by Douglas Croft) begins dreaming of becoming a professional ballplayer. Lou's immigrant parents (Elsa Jansen and Ludwig Stossel) insist that the boy attend Columbia University to become an engineer. While in college, Lou (played as a man by Gary Cooper) becomes a star athlete, and, with the help of sports journalist Sam Blake (Walter Brennan), he is signed by the New York Yankees and joins their big-league lineup in 1925; real-life Yanks Babe Ruth, Bill Dickey, Bob Meusel and Mark Koenig play themselves. He also meets and falls in love with Eleanor Twitchell (Teresa Wright) (an event that actually happened in 1933) and earns the nickname "The Iron Man of Baseball" because he never misses a game. In 1939, Lou discovers that he has a fatal neurological disease called amytrophic lateral sclerosis (now known, of course, as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). On July 4, 1939, an emotional Lou Gehrig, a scant two years away from death, bids farewell to 62,000 of his fans and friends at Yankee Stadium. Allowing that he might have been given a bad break, he concludes his speech with "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Deftly weaving basic facts with yards and yards of fancy, screenwriters Jo Swerling and Herman J. Mankiewicz serve up one of the most entertaining and inspiring baseball biopics. A more accurate but less dramatic adaptation of the same story, A Love Affair: The Eleanor & Lou Gehrig Story, was produced for television in 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

By Monogram standards, the cast of Isle of Missing Men was Academy Award calibre. John Howard and Gilbert Roland head a group of prisoners who try to escape from an island prison colony. Leading lady Helen Gilbert is willing to wait for her beloved Howard, but looks askance when he participates in the breakout. As was customary in such films, several of the more contentious prisoners are redeemed by sacrificing their lives for the sake of others. Alan Mobray, Bradley Page and George Chandler co-star in this adaptation of Gina Kaus and Ladislas Fodor's White Lady, while the direction is in the hands of German pioneer filmmaker Richard Oswald. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mitchell Leisen directed this romantic comedy with melodramatic overtones, starring Marlene Dietrich in a sympathetic role as famed stage star Elizabeth Madden. Elizabeth longs for motherhood but has no husband. Her desire appears to be fulfilled when she finds an abandoned baby, but she doesn't have a clue on how to raise it. She finds divorced pediatrician, Dr. Corey McBain (Fred MacMurray), to help her with the child. Elizabeth names the child after him and makes Corey an offer. Since she's single, she cannot adopt the child. But if Corey would marry her in name only, she could be the adopted mother and Corey could stay in a section of her apartment where she would support his research. Corey agrees to the deal, but it's not too long before Corey and Elizabeth fall in love. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the "Boston Blackie" series, the suave ex-thief returns to prison to see a Christmas show. There he is impressed by the talent of the inmates. One particularly talented fellow uses his magic act to break out of prison. Now Blackie must find him. Meanwhile the fugitive searches for his look-alike, the man who really committed the crime. Clever Blackie manages to catch them both and then insures that the real crook goes to jail while the innocent man goes free. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A courageous cowboy dons the guise of a Texas Ranger to keep murderous cattle rustlers from harming a beautiful young woman, the daughter of the dead lawman whose clothes he wears. This western follows his adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A pregnant Alice Faye was forced to bow out of this colorful Fox musical, which instead went to Rita Hayworth, whom the studio borrowed from Columbia. Hayworth plays the highly fictitious Sally Elliott of the title, a musical star teaming up with Indiana boy Paul Dresser (Victor Mature), a runaway who after a brief stopover in a tank town medicine show arrives in Gay Nineties New York full of verve and vigor. There he composes the title tune for the fair lady and becomes the toast of Tin Pan Alley. There are the obligatory bumps on the road along the way, of course, but everything ends, as any Fox musical should, with a grand and glorious finale. Although Fox publicity claimed that My Gal Sal was based on a My Brother Paul, a biography by the composer's brother, Theodore Dreiser, it was actually concocted from an unpublished manuscript by Dreiser and his wife Helen Richardson. The film earned Oscars™ for art and set decoration and included such Dresser songs as "On the Banks of the Wabash", "I'se Your Honey, If You Wants Me, Liza", "Come Tell Me What's Your Answer (Yes or No)" and "Mr. Volunteer. House songwriters Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger contributed "Me and My Fella" and "On the Great White Way. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A mystery man works behind the scenes in this tuneful Roy Rogers western in which the local theatre owner attempts to ruin the honest businessmen of Deadwood. Even the sheriff, Jordan (Monte Blue), answers to nasty Jake Marvel (Ralf Harolde), whose reign of terror forces the decent people to become outlaws themselves. Enter Bill Brady, aka Brett Starr (Rogers), a sharpshooter with Professor Mortimer "Gabby" Blackstone's (George "Gabby" Hayes) traveling medicine show. Although a fugitive from justice, Bill comes to the aid of the beleaguered citizens, discovering along the way that a trusted friend isn't quite who he claims to be. Roy sings his own and Fred Rose's "Sundown on the Rangeland", Rose and Ray Whitley's "The call of the Dusty Trail" and Jule Styne and Sol Meyer's "Joe O'Grady". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Not quite a B western but certainly no "A", Road Agent is kept alive by the boisterous byplay of stars Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo and Andy Devine. Summarily accused of murder, drifters Duke (Foran), Pancho (Carrillo) and Andy (Devine) are tossed into the hoosegow, only to be released when their alibi checks out. Far from offended by his ill treatment, Duke agrees to take the job of sheriff, retaining Pancho and Andy as his deputies. The gruesome threesome then sets about to solve a series of mysterious Wells Fargo robberies-which turns out to have been their secret mission all along! Dick Foran not only gets to sing from time to time, but also romances no fewer than two bright-eyed leading ladies, Annes Gwynne and Nagel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide