Scotty Groves Movies
- 1958
In this frothy romantic comedy, a hard-working female Army shrink (Janet Leigh) devises the "perfect furlough" for battle weary men and convinces the brass to let her try it on selected men stationed at her base. According to her plan, selected men would be given three weeks, tailor made to fit their deepest desires. Her first test-case is a handsome ladies' man (Tony Curtis) who chooses to go to Paris with his favorite movie star. Naturally the psychologist chaperones. Romantic mayhem ensues and eventually the furloughed soldier and the shrink fall in love. The story is also titled Strictly for Pleasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, (more)
- 1950
Never mind the top-billed Ronald W. Reagan; the real stars of Louisa are sprightly seniors Charles Coburn, Spring Byington and Edmund Gwenn. Spring plays Reagan's widowed mother, who is outwardly satisfied with her lot but inwardly lonely. Enter Coburn and Gwenn, who vie for Spring's attentions. Uptight Ronnie disapproves of his mother's dalliances, and has additional problems with his spunky daughter (Piper Laurie), who has just begun dating. Spring Byington and Charles Coburn worked so well together in Louisa that plans were made to star them in a weekly TV series. The project never sold, but Spring would star in a similar sitcom, December Bride, from 1954 through 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spring Byington, Ronald Reagan, (more)
- 1941
Having joined the army in Buck Privates and the navy in In the Navy, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello signed up with Air Force in Keep 'Em Flying. Abbott and Costello play Blackie and Heathcliff, carnival workers who are fired from their jobs along with their pal, reckless stunt pilot Jinx Roberts (Dick Foran). When Jinx joins the Army Air Corps-the better to be nearer pretty USO singer Linda Joyce (Carol Bruce)-Blackie and Heathcliff loyally join up as well, obtaining low-echelon ground crew jobs. While Jinx tries to cure Linda's brother Jim (Charles Lang) of his fear of flying, Heathcliff pursues a romance with wisecracking waitress Gloria Phelps (Martha Raye), never quite catching on that Gloria has an identitical-twin sister (also Martha Raye). A bit too plot-heavy for its own good, Keep 'Em Flying is at its best when concentrating on Abbott & Costello, who in addition to performing their patented cross-talk routines participate in a zany runaway-torpedo chase and a gratuitous but amusing episode in a spooky carnival funhouse. As a bonus, Costello gets to do a bit of "straight" acting, and he's quite good at it. Deleted scenes include a comedy magic act (later restaged in Abbott & Costello's Lost in a Harem) and a wild episode at a skating rink (reworked two years later in Hit the Ice). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, (more)
- 1938
Hunted Men is part of Paramount's unofficial B-picture series based on the J. Edgar Hoover book Persons in Hiding. Lynne Overman stars as a middle-class family man whose even-keel lifestyle is shattered when he brings home an affable stranger (Lloyd Nolan) to dinner. The stranger turns out to be an escaped killer, who repays Overman's hospitality by holding his family prisoner. Both criminal and hostages tensely count the hours as the rest of Nolan's gang (including J. Carroll Naish and Patricia Morrison) formulates an escape plan. Hunted Men has earned a latter-day reputation for its accurate portrayal of a suburban household of the 1930s, and for its surprisingly sympathetic portrayal (without overtly pleading for sympathy) of head crook Lloyd Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Carlisle, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
