Jonathan Hale Movies

Set upon the mighty Mississippi, this comedy chronicles the travails of a showboat captain trying to keep his operation financially afloat. He barely has enough money to do so and with no license, operates illegally. He finds more trouble when he moors at a posh hotel, pretends that he is a fine Southern colonel and gets himself embroiled in a huge feud. Things get worse when the town sheriff enters the mix. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This Technicolor musical remake of the 1936 comedy classic Libeled Lady isn't quite up to the standards of the original, but on its own terms is quite entertaining. Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball and Keenan Wynn expertly assume the roles originally played by William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy. Faced with a libel suit from socialite Connie Allenbury (Williams), newspaper editor Warren Haggerty (Wynn) cooks up a plan to beat Connie at her own game. To do this, he must rely upon the romantic chicanery of ex-employee Bill Stevens Chandler (Johnson), with Haggerty's fiancee Gladys Benton (Ball) caught in the middle. The comedy high point of the original Libeled Lady, in which William Powell is forced to demonstrate his (non-existent) prowess as a fisherman, is ably repeated in Easy to Wed when Van Johnson must prove his skills at duck-hunting. The songs aren't anything special, but Lucille Ball's superb comic performance is worth the admission price in itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a fading movie star plays a similar character in her farewell film, a B crime-drama about a lonely-hearts club that masks a racketeering operation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Columbia mystery melodrama The Walls Came Tumbling Down is regarded in many circles as star Lee Bowman's finest hour-and-a-half. Bowman is cast as Winchellesque Broadway columnist Gilbert Archer, who insists upon investigating the death of an old friend, a priest. The police insist that the priest hanged himself, but Archer believes otherwise, and together with Boston socialite Patricia Foster (Marguerite Chapman) he begins to play detective -- though "play" is hardly the word. Key ingredients to the mystery are two rare Bibles and a painting of the fall of Jericho. The principal villainy comes at the grubby hands of Columbia contractees George Macready and Edgar Buchanan, while J. Edward Bromberg has a few amusing moments as a kooky art dealer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blondie's Lucky Day, indeed! Not only must Blondie Bumstead (Penny Singleton) put on a brave face when her husband Dagwood (Arthur Lake) is fired for the umpteenth time by Mr. Dithers (Jonathan Hale), but she must also tolerate the attentions paid to Dagwood by pretty WAC Mary Jane McDermott (Angelyn Orr). A whizz in business matters, Mary Jane sets up Dag in his own business, which replenishes the Bumstead coffers but which drives Blondie into a jealous frenzy. The film's highlight occurs early on, when Dagwood assumes Dithers' responsiblities for a single day--and makes a proper mess of things within five minutes. Blondie's Lucky Day was the 17th entry in the long-running film series based on the comic strip by Chic Young. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marital entanglements provide the basis for this drama. The trouble begins as a woman prepares to marry her fifth husband, and former high school sweetie. Unfortunately he is already married. His wife begins divorce proceedings and sues for custody of the children. The newly freed man and the serial divorcee travel to Chicago where she begins arrange a shady property deal. The man figures out her game and leaves her in favor of his former wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After a two-year layoff, Columbia revived its moneymaking "Blondie" series with 1945's Leave It to Blondie. Older but no wiser, Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead (Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake) enter a songwriting contest. It's all part of a plan to cover charity checks that they've signed separately but can't cover. Along the way, Blondie's blood boils when Dagwood gets innocently mixed up with beautiful music teacher Rita Rogers (Marjorie Weaver). The best scenes involve Dagwood's misguided efforts to cure a cold, leading to several motheaten but still reliable slapstick setpieces. Leave it to Blondie proved that the series hadn't lost its humor as Dagwood is arrested for murder, obliging our heroine to solve the case herself. Former bandleader Kirby Grant registers well as the nominal hero, while Milburn Stone scores as an imitation Walter Winchell (named "Winchester", no less!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Universal nearly out of the "B"-grade horror film business by 1945, it was up to Monogram to take up the slack with projects like The Strange Mr. Gregory. The title character, played by Edmund Lowe, is a famous magician who fakes his own death -- then reappears as his nonexistent twin brother. It's all part of Gregory's master scheme to pin his "murder" on innocent John Randall (Don Douglas), the husband of Ellen (Jean Rogers), the woman Gregory loves. Only the magician's faithful assistant Riker (Frank Reicher) knows the whole story, meaning that his days are numbered. By the time Ellen herself figures out what Gregory is up to, it may be??gasp?..tooo late!!! As Monogram films go, The Strange Mr. Gregory isn't bad; it might have been even better with just a bit more adrenalin in Phil Rosen's direction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

According to Hollywood lore, both John Wayne and director Frank Borzage refused to work with Vera Hruba Ralston, the Czech-born inamorata (and future wife) of Republic Pictures owner Herbert I. Yates. Yates somehow managed to convince Wayne to change his mind, but Borzage was replaced by contract director Joseph Kane. The result was Dakota, the company's major release of 1945, a potentially sprawling empire-building Western. Wayne and Ralston play newlyweds heading for Fargo, North Dakota, where they plan to buy land in anticipation of the coming of the railroad. They are opposed by saloon owner Jim Bender (Ward Bond), who also knows about the expansion and is coercing the homesteaders into selling their land to him and his chief lieutenant, Collins (Mike Mazurki). The latter has been elected president of the Wheat Growers Association, and soon the farmers find themselves indebted to Bender. But Wayne, with his wife's help, beats Bender and his henchman at their own game, making certain that the farmers are well compensated for selling their land to the railroad company owned by Ralston's father (Hugo Haas). Contrary to popular belief, Vera Hruba Ralston was not Dakota's chief liability. For some reason, Republic Pictures, normally a leader in action-oriented melodrama, chose to employ an inordinate amount of rear projection footage this time around, making for rather dull viewing. The Western only leaves the confines of the studio back lot for the climactic prairie fire scenes, filmed by a second unit under the direction of stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Apparently a better figure skater than an actress, Ralston actually shows a bit of spirit in some of her scenes but is rather obviously upstaged by the veteran Ona Munson as a kind-hearted saloon entertainer. Munson was borrowed from Warner Bros. and her singing of "Coax Me" by Andrew B. Sterling and Harry Von Tilzer remains one of Dakota's main pleasures despite editor Fred Allen's endless cross-cutting to Ralston's reactions. The latter was reportedly a very pleasant person devoid of a prima donna ego and would be cast opposite John Wayne again in The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). Republic serial heroines Linda Stirling and Adrian Booth can be spotted among Munson's dancing girls. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a soldier falls in love with a very young woman who in turn has a crush on an older, more sophisticated man. When the older gent goes to New York, she follows as does her younger suitor. While in the Big Apple, the soldier encounters the older man's ex-wife who is still in love with him. The soldier helps bring the couple back together and is rewarded by being united with his true love. The story was adapted from a Sinclair Lewis play. Songs include: "Gremlin Walk," "It's the Girl," "Yippee-I-Vot," "With a Song in My Heart," "All or Nothing at All," "You're a Lollapalooza," "At Sundown," and "L'Amour Toujours L'Amour." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The third installment in Universal's low-budget "Inner Sanctum" mysteries, Dead Man's Eyes promises a great deal more than screenwriter Dwight W. Babcock can deliver. Lon Chaney Jr. stars as Dave Stuart, a struggling artist promising his fiancée Heather Hayden (Jean Peters) that he will marry her as soon as he finishes a portrait of beautiful Tanya Czoraki (Acquanetta). The jealous Tanya causes Dave to have an accident that blinds him. According to eye specialist Dr. Sam Welles (Jonathan Hale), Dave's sight can only be restored by a cornea transplant and Heather's father, "Dad" Hayden (Edward Fielding), promptly wills the unfortunate young man his own eyes. When Dad is found killed, Dave becomes the obvious suspect but Welles nevertheless goes ahead with the operation. Tanya, meanwhile, has her suspicions about the identity of the killer, but before she can reveal the name to Heather, she, too, is killed. Although the operation seems at first to have been a failure, Dave regains his sight just in time to unmask the killer, who is made to confess. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

David O. Selznick's first production since 1940's Rebecca, Since You Went Away, based on Margaret Buell Wilder's bestselling novel, is a long but rewarding paean to the World War 2 "home front". Claudette Colbert plays the wife of a businessman who, though well past draft age, volunteered to serve his country as an officer (though the husband is never seen, he is "played"-via a photograph-by Neil Hamilton). Fighting back her own fears and anxieties, Colbert does her best to maintain a normal, stable household for the sake of her growing daughters Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple. She is offered moral support by cynical-but-kindly boarder Monty Woolley, by maid Hattie McDaniel (who willing foregoes her salary "for the duration") and by Navy man and friend-of-the-family Joseph Cotten, whose relationship with Claudette remains staunchly platonic. The harsh realities of war hit home several times throughout the film, first when it seems as though Colbert's husband is missing in action, and later when Jennifer's young boyfriend, GI Robert Walker, is killed in combat. From the vantage point of the 1990s, it is easy to see why Since You Went Away scored with its wartime audiences. Though the leading characters are slightly more financially secure than most of the moviegoers of 1944, the various vignettes presented throughout-complaints about rationing and priorities, shoulder-to-shoulder sacrifices, the weekly escape to the local movie house, tender partings, joyous reunions, the returning wounded, the dreaded wire from the war department-all had the ring of truth and topicality. Even today, the film's emotional highlights, particularly the much-imitated farewell scene at the railroad station, are sufficient to bring tears to the eyes of the most jaded viewer. Enhancing the film's heartstring tugging tenfold is Max Steiner's Oscar-winning musical score. If you can remain objective while watching Since You Went Away (it isn't easy), see if you can spot Ruth Roman, Guy Madison and John Derek, making their screen debuts in microscopic roles ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide