Reed Hadley Movies

As she burns at the stake, a 17th century witch, Jennifer (Veronica Lake), places a curse on her accuser (Fredric March), so that from this day forward, all of his descendants (each played by him) will be unhappy in marriage. After several hilarious through-the-years examples (the Civil War-era Fredric March runs off to battle rather than endure his wife's nagging), we are brought up to 1942. Wallace Wooley (March) is a gubernatorial candidate, preparing to wed snooty socialite Estelle Masterson (Susan Hayward) -- the well-to-do daughter of a publisher who is backing him. A bolt of lightning strikes the tree where Jennifer had been executed three centuries earlier, thereby freeing the spirits of Jennifer and her warlock father, Daniel (Cecil Kellaway). Wallace meets Jennifer when she materializes in a burning building, obliging him to save her life. The revivified sorceress does everything in her power to induce Wallace to fall in love with her -- even destroying the ceremony in which the wedding is supposed to take place. The attempts succeed, and the two marry, but on their wedding night, Wallace refuses to believe Jennifer's claims that she is a witch. Frustrated, she attempts to convince him by doctoring the gubernatorial election -- in his favor. Based on the Thorne Smith novel The Passionate Witch, the rollicking I Married a Witch can be considered the forerunner of the TV series Bewitched, but only on a surface level. The film had been scheduled to be directed by Preston Sturges and to be released by its producing studio, Paramount; the end result was helmed by René Clair (his second Hollywood film), and was distributed by United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 20th Century-Fox cheapie stars Carole Landis as a pretty detective and Allyn Joslyn as a fast-talking reporter ever on the verge of losing his job. Landis is entrusted with a large, troublesome Doberman pinscher named Rodney, who is docile only around her. After numerous Disney-like complications with Rodney showing up where it shouldn't, Landis uses the dog to help her track down a gang of racketeers. Joslyn, who mistakenly believes that Landis and Rodney have recently participated in a hold-up, goes along for the ride, rescuing his lady love and getting a swell story in the bargain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Irene Dunne plays a flibbetygibbet socialite who inherits a farm in Arizona. She can't seem to manage either her money or her private life, thus seeks advice from outside sources. Irene falls in love with fledgling Manhattan psychiatrist Patric Knowles, and marries him in the hope that he'll solve all her problems. Lady in a Jam was advertised as one of the most expensive comedies ever made; the studio was banking on the reputations of star Irene Dunne and director Gregory LaCava to draw crowds. But when the film failed (it shifted emotional gears a bit too often for 1942 film fans), both the lady and the gentleman found their careers in "a jam"--from which Dunne recovered but LaCava didn't. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Before his promotion to "A" pictures, Don "Red" Barry was perhaps the feistiest of Republic's cowboy-star stable. In Arizona Terrors, Barry poses as an outlaw, the better to cross six-guns with evil land baron Reed Hadley. Barry's true identity, and the purpose of his mission, is known only to President William McKinley--and when McKinley is slain, our hero is a candidate for the noose. The official cast list of Arizona Terrors doesn't indicate who plays McKinley, but we can tell you that Barry's leading lady is Lynn Merrick. She plays one of several homesteaders being victimized by the smooth-talking Hadley, thus she is demonstrably grateful when Barry comes to the rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Acclaimed French filmmaker Rene Clair made his American debut with this period comedy/drama. Claire Ledeux (Marlene Dietrich) leaves her native France and arrives in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1841, with one goal in mind: marrying a wealthy man. Posing as a pillar of society and a woman of means, Claire sets her sights on Charles Giraud (Roland Young), who is good looking and rich, but she soon discovers that ship captain Robert Latour (Bruce Cabot) is also vying for her hand. However, when Zoltov (Mischa Auer), who knew Claire from the old country, starts dropping heavy hints about her scandalous reputation in Europe, Claire tries to convince everyone that he's really talking about her cousin, even going so far as to disguise herself as the phantom cousin to add weight to her ruse. Three Stooges fans should keep an eye peeled for a brief appearance by Shemp Howard, who plays a waiter; Andy Devine, Franklin Pangborn, and Clarence Muse also appear in the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Celebrity fan-dancer Sally Rand, the undraped sensation of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, was the star of the 1938 Grand National production The Sunset Murder Case. Borrowing a page from the Bob Steele westerns, La Rand is cast as a nightclub dancer who hopes to avenge her father's murderer. She gets a job in the establishment run by the man she holds responsible for the killing, maintaining a harmless front by performing a nightly exotic dance (which by 1990s standards is about as erotic as a plastic shower curtain). In his first leading role, Reed Hadley plays the hero who rescues Sally in the nick of time, while Henry King's orchestra provides the music. In perpetual reissue well into the 1940s and 1950s (this synopsis is based on its 1941 re-release), Sunset Murder Case was sometimes retitled The Sunset Strip Case on the grind-house circuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though based on a stage play by Laurence Gross and Edward Childs Carpenter (previously filmed as an Ernest Truex vehicle in 1933), MGM's Whistling in the Dark was clearly inspired by the success of Paramount's Bob Hope comedy-mystery The Ghost Breakers. In his first film starring role, Red Skelton plays radio actor Wally Benton, better known to his fans as that intrepid crime-solver "The Fox". On the eve of his wedding to perennial fiancee Carol Lambert (Ann Rutherford), Wally is summoned to the mansion of cult leader Joseph Jones (Conrad Veidt). Though he preaches a message of "radiant contentment" to his followers, Jones is actually a racketeer who hopes to get his hands on a $1,000,000 inheritance. The only person standing in the way of Jones' windfall is the sole heir, mild-mannered Mr. Upshaw (Lloyd Corrigan), who is about to take a business trip by plane. Impressed by "The Fox"'s encyclopedic knowledge of crime, Jones wants Wally to plan a "perfect murder", one which will put Upshaw out of the way without detection. Naturally, Wally balks at this, but he is persuaded to go along with Jones when the latter kidnaps both Carol and Fran Post (Virginia Grey), the daughter of Wally's sponsor (Henry O'Neill). Considerately, Jones gives Wally till 11 o'clock to come up with his plan, leaving our hapless hero in the "care" of hulking henchman Sylvester (Rags Ragland). Fully aware that neither his life nor those of Carol and Fran will be worth five cents once Upshaw is murdered, Wally spends most of the evening trying to concoct a way out of his jam. Full of hilarious one-liners and sidesplitting slapstick, Whistling in the Dark is also quite suspenseful--especially in the final reel, wherein the best line is delivered by the pop-eyed potential murder victim. So well received was Whistling in the Dark that MGM rushed out two sequels, also starring Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford and a "reformed" Rags Ragland. ~ Hal Erickson, 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

This 12-chapter Universal serial is one of several that Universal made featuring the Dead End Kids (also known as The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys). In this entry, the Dead End Kids go after a Nazi gang that operates a ship called the "Sea Raider" that has been sinking Allied shipping. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

W.C. Fields plays Egbert Souse, a bibulous denizen of Lompoc who supports his family by winning radio contests. When a fleeing bank robber is knocked cold upon tripping over the park bench where Egbert sits, Souse is hailed as a hero and offered the job of bank guard. The next day, he is approached by one J. Frothingham Waterbury (Russell Hicks), who offers to sell Egbert shares in the Beefsteak Mines. Souse raises the necessary money by convincing bank clerk Og Oggilby (Grady Sutton), the fiance of Egbert's daughter Myrtle (Una Merkel), to "borrow" some funds from the bank; it isn't really embezzling, explains Egbert, because the mine is bound to pay off. Unfortunately, bank examiner J. Pinkerton Snoopington (Franklin Pangborn) comes calling, spelling possible trouble for Souse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Man From Montreal is a lively entry in Universal's Richard Arlen-Andy Devine action series. The stars are cast respectively as fur trapper Clark Manning and constable Bones Blair, who carry on a friendly rivalry in the Canadian Northwest. Our heroes team up in the final reels to put the kibosh on a fur-smuggling racket, permitting Universal to plunge deeply into its stock-footage files. The leading ladies this time out are Anne Gwynne and Kay Sutton, their billing status indicating which one of the two ladies will land Clark Manning in the last scene. Incredibly, the Arlen-Devine series lasted for 14 films, none of them classics but all of them worthwhile Saturday-matinee fare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

MGM had a tendency to overglamorize the sort of rough-hewn film fare that Warner Bros. offered to its public without adornments. Such was the case of Flight Command. Instead of Warners' streetwise James Cagney, the MGM film stars pretty-boy Robert Taylor as the obligatory hotshot cadet who chafes at the authority and discipline of a naval flight squadron. While Warners might have done without a romantic subplot, MGM contrives to have Taylor fall for the wife (Ruth Hussey) of squad commander Walter Pidgeon. And whereas Warners would have told this story compactly in 90 minutes, MGM lolls around for nearly two hours before Taylor's anticipated redemption and "make good" scene. MGM newcomer Red Skelton shows up in Flight Command for comedy relief, which turns out to be neither. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ginger Rogers slipped off her dancing shoes to play one of her best comic roles as Polly Parish, a salesgirl at a large department store. Single and with no steady beau, Polly leads a quiet life until she discovers a baby left at her doorstep. While puzzled by this development, Polly feels for the child and decides to adopt the baby. However, most of her co-workers raise their eyebrows at Polly's new status as a single mother, believing that she's actually the mother. The owner of the store where Polly works, J.B. Merlin (Charles Coburn), is taken aback, and his son David (David Niven), who has a reputation as a ladies' man, is dispatched to lead Polly back to the straight-and-narrow. Bachelor Mother was remade in 1956 as Bundle of Joy, a vehicle for then-married Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide