Gerald Hamer Movies
Welsh-born actor Gerald Hamer was one of a legion of British actors working in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. A character player who could melt into any part he portrayed, he might be totally forgotten today except that he has the distinction of playing one of the most sinister roles in any of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies, the part of Potts/Tanner/Ramsden in The Scarlet Claw. A true psychopath, with none of the suave villainy of, say, George Zucco or Henry Daniell in their portrayals of Holmes' antagonists, Potts is memorably crafty and savage in a series that usually prided itself on glib-tongued villainy. It's also a tribute to Hamer's skills as an actor that the producers saw no reason not to use him in roles in four other films in the series, as John Grayson/Alfred Pettibone in Sherlock Holmes in Washington, Kingston in Pursuit to Algiers, Major Langford in Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, and Mr. Shallcross in Terror By Night, the latter two after The Scarlet Claw. A British stage veteran from 1916, whose theatrical credits included King Henry VIII, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Admirable Chrichton, Hamer worked in Hollywood from the mid-'30s until 1951, his other thrillers include Bulldog Drummond's Bride and The Lodger, but he also slipped into more benign settings, such as the cast-of-hundreds war relief effort Forever and a Day and George Stevens' Swing Time, equally well. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1964
Using the name "Douglas Beckett", Kimble (David Janssen) is hired as a chauffeur by the wealthy Glenn family. Rebellious Joanne Glenn (Katherine Crawford) is in love with impoverished pool boy Dan Holt (Mark Goddard), a romance her imperious mother Madge (Joan Tompkins) does everything in her power to break up. Discovering Kimble's true identity, Dan blackmails the fugitive into helping him woo Joanne without arousing the family's suspicions. Watch for a young Peter Duel (Alias Smith and Jones) as a handsome socialite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1957
A strangler is plaguing fog-bound London, and each time the culprit strikes, two men are the first to arrive at the murder scene. One of them is Ottermole (Theodore Bikel), the police sergeant investigating the murders; the other is an obnoxious newspaper reporter (Charles Davis). Trouble is, the reporter always manages to beat the detective to the crime scene -- a fact that will result in tragedy for at least one of the two protagonists. Generally regarded as one of the best mystery stories ever written, Charles Davis' The Hands of Mr. Ottermole had previously been dramatized on both the radio and TV versions of Suspense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Domineering Hermione Carpenter (Isobel Elsom) wants to take a trip to America and then return home to home to England for Christmas, but her henpecked husband Herbert (John Williams) has other ideas. Murdering Hermione, Herbert buries her in the cellar and heads to America on his own. He is smugly certain that, by the time he's back in England, the cement covering Hermione will have hardened and he'll be in the clear. Unfortunately, it turns out that the late Hermione has planned a little homecoming surprise for Herbert. Based on a story by John Collier, "Back for Christmas" had previously been adapted several times on the radio anthology Suspense, most memorably with Peter Lorre in the leading role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Lorna Doone is based on the oft-filmed novel by Richard D. Blackmore. Set in 17th century Scotland during the reign of Britain's Charles II, the story concerns young Lorna (Barbara Hale), a member of a much-hated landowning family. Lorna falls in love with a humble villager (Richard Greene), who like the rest of community has suffered under the rule of the despotic Doones. The villagers revolt against their oppressors, but when it is revealed that Lorna is not a genuine Doone, she is able to marry her low-born swain. Star Barbara Hale was pregnant throughout the filming of Lorna Doone; thus it can be said that the film "co-starred" her son, future actor William Katt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Hale, Richard Greene, (more)
- 1948
Susan Peters, a fine actress of the 1940s whose career was curtailed by an accident which left her wheelchair-bound, utilizes her handicap to her advantage in Sign of the Ram. Peters plays an invalid wife and mother who exercises dictatorial control over all around her. Peters' loved ones are willing to forgive her nastiness due to her condition--a fact that she realizes fully and exploits to the utmost. Eventually her atrocious behavior leaves Peters alone and friendless, but even in her darkest moments she insists upon being a "control freak" and engineers her own spectacular death. Far more tasteful than it sounds, Sign of the Ram was a worthwhile valedictory vehicle for Susan Peters, who died a few years after the film's release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Peters, Alexander Knox, (more)
- 1947
In this period drama, Joan Fontaine stars as Ivy Lexton, a woman with an unusual hunger for men. Though she already has a husband, Jervis (Richard Ney), and is having an affair with Roger Gretorex (Patric Knowles), Ivy becomes obsessed with Miles Rushworth (Herbert Marshall), and is determined to have him. However, Miles has no interest in married women and rejects Ivy's advances. Angered, Ivy plans to get her revenge by poisoning Miles and pinning the blame on Roger. Cedric Hardwicke plays the inspector assigned to look into Miles' mysterious death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Fontaine, Sara Allgood, (more)
The penultimate entry in Universal's Sherlock Holmes series, Terror by Night takes place almost exclusively on a speeding train, en route from London to Edinburgh. Holmes (Basil Rathbone) is on board to protect a valuable diamond from the clutches of master criminal Colonel Sebastian Moran. The trouble is, Moran is a master of disguise, and could be just about any one of the other passengers. Murder and mayhem plague the train excursion before Holmes can successfully complete his mention. Poor old Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) is a bit denser than usual here, though his ingenuousness is cleverly woven into the script. Alan Mowbray, who played Inspector Lestrade in the 1932 Clive Brook adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, is seen in a pivotal supporting role. One of three Holmes entries currently in the public domain, Terror by Night is also available in a computer-colorized version (but stick with the original black-and-white). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, (more)
Taking place almost exclusively on a transatlantic ocean liner, this easygoing Sherlock Holmes entry finds Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) escorting Far Eastern regent Nikolas (Leslie Vincent) on a diplomatic mission. A group of assassins have targeted Nikolas for extermination, and they're not averse to knocking off Holmes and Watson to achieve their goals. In the end, it seems as though the villains have gained the upper hand -- but that's before the cagey Holmes reveals the film's biggest surprise (which, for a change, really is a surprise). Throughout Pursuit to Algiers, it's fun to watch bad guys Martin Kosleck and Rex Evans making like a road-company version of Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. The film's only disappointment is Watson's recital of the case of the Giant Rat of Sumatra, which we never get to hear in its entirety! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Rathbone
- 1944
The Lodger was the third film version of Mrs. Marie Belloc-Lowndes' classic "Jack the Ripper" novel, and in many eyes it was the best (even allowing for the excellence of the 1925 Alfred Hitchcock adaptation). Laird Cregar stars as the title character, a mysterious, secretive young man who rents a flat in the heart of London's Whitechapel district. The Lodger's arrival coincides with a series of brutal murders, in which the victims are all female stage performers. None of this fazes Kitty (Merle Oberon), the daughter of a "good family" who insists upon pursuing a singing and dancing career. Scotland Yard inspector John Warwick (George Sanders), in love with Kitty, worries about her safety and works day and night to solve the murders. All the while, Kitty draws inexorably closer to The Lodger, who seems to have some sort of vendetta on his mind?..Some slight anachronisms aside (for example, the villain falls off a bridge that hadn't yet been built at the time of the story), The Lodger is pulse-pounding entertainment, with a disturbingly brilliant performance by the late, great Laird Cregar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, George Sanders, (more)
- 1944
In this crime programer, Arsene Lupin (Charles Korvin) is an expert jewel thief from France who, while aboard a train, notices that Stacie (Ella Raines), a beautiful woman from England, is travelling with a large and valuable emerald. Lupin steals the gem, but he becomes so infatuated with Stacie that he reroutes himself to Great Britain in order to return it to her. However, while in the process of doing so, he discovers that her cousin Bessie (Gale Sondergaard) is planning to murder Stacie in order to claim her inheritance. Lupin is determined to intervene to save Stacie's life, but doing so puts him at risk of being captured by Ganimard (J. Carrol Naish). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Korvin, Ella Raines, (more)
- 1944
Part of the series of Universal B-musicals teaming Martha O'Driscoll and Noah Beery Jr., this film is also a remake of the 1937 comedy Love in a Bungalow. Patty Callahan (O'Driscoll) offers residence in a model home to soldier Jeff (Beery) and soon falls in love with him. Although the pair are unmarried, they enter a marital contest intended to celebrate the "Happiest G.I. Couple." Winning the contest brings on all sorts of farcical troubles until the couple are able to be united for real. Songs include "Don't Sweetheart Me" and "Best of All." ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martha O'Driscoll, Hattie McDaniel, (more)
Though it is not based on any Conan Doyle story, The Scarlet Claw is regarded by Baker Street aficionados as the best of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) journey to Canada to investigate a series of mysterious murders. All the victims have been found with their throats ripped out (yecch!). Halfway through the film, Holmes deduces that the culprit is a demented actor, wreaking vengeance on those who've wronged him in some way or other. The actor is a master of disguise, and could be anyone in the village -- from the constable to the postman to the reclusive, violence-prone innkeeper (Arthur Hohl). Alas, the publicity photos sent out with The Scarlet Claw gave away the identity of the killer -- something we have no intention of doing here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, (more)
- 1943
The 80-star cast of Forever and a Day would certainly not have been feasible had not most of the actors and production people turned over their salaries to British war relief -- a point driven home during the lengthy opening credits by an unseen narrator. The true star of the film is a stately old manor house in London, built in 1804 by a British admiral (C. Aubrey Smith) and blitzed in 1940 by one Adolf Hitler. Through the portals of this house pass a vast array of Britons, from high-born to low. The earliest scenes involve gay blade Lt. William Trimble (Ray Milland), wronged country-girl Susan (Anna Neagle), and wicked landowner Ambrose Pomfret (Claude Rains). We move on to a comic interlude involving dotty Mr. Simpson (Reginald Owen), eternally drunken butler Bellamy (Charles Laughton), and cockney plumbers Mr. Dabb (Cedric Hardwicke) and Wilkins (Buster Keaton). Maidservant Jenny (Ida Lupino) takes over the plot during the Boer War era, while the World War I sequence finds the house converted into a way-station for soldiers (including Robert Cummings) and anxious families (including Roland Young and Gladys Cooper). Finally we arrive in 1940, with American Gates Pomfret (Kent Smith) and lady-of-the-house Lesley Trimble (Ruth Warrick) surveying the bombed-out manor, and exulting over the fact that the portrait of the home's founder, Adm. Eustace Trimble (Smith), has remained intact -- symbolic proof of England's durability in its darkest hours. The huge cast includes Dame May Whitty, Edward Everett Horton, Wendy Barrie, Merle Oberon, Nigel Bruce, Richard Haydn, Donald Crisp, and a host of others -- some appearing in sizeable roles, others (like Arthur Treacher and Patric Knowles) willingly accepting one-scene bits, simply to participate in the undertaking. Seven directors and 21 writers were also swept up in the project. Forever and a Day was supposed to have been withdrawn from circulation after the war and its prints destroyed so that no one could profit from what was supposed to have been an act of industry charity. Happily for future generations, prints have survived and are now safely preserved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, (more)
One of the silliest and most unbelievable of the Universal Sherlock Holmes series, Sherlock Holmes in Washington is also undeniably one of the most enjoyable. The story gets under way when an Allied spy (an unbilled Gerald Hamer, one of this series' "regulars") smuggles a valuable piece of microfilm into the U.S. The film is hidden in a matchbook cover that passes through several hands, ultimately ending up in the possession of Washington, D.C., socialite Nancy Partridge (Marjorie Lord). Brought to Washington from London to help locate the missing film, Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) do their best to rescue Nancy from the clutches of the Axis villains -- nearly losing their own lives in the process. And when the case is finally solved, Holmes reveals that there's still another twist to the proceedings -- a few minutes before he delivers his obligatory patriotic quote from Winston Churchill. One of the delights of Sherlock Holmes in Washington is the casting of George Zucco and Henry Daniell as the bad guys; both actors also played Holmes' archenemy Moriarty in other series entries. It's also fun to see poor old Watson tangle with American slang and a wad of bubble gum, and to watch as Holmes and Watson driven past a series of famous D.C. monuments -- covering several miles in a matter of seconds! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, (more)
There are those who consider Sherlock Holmes Faces Death to be the best of Universal's Holmes series, though others hold out for 1944's The Scarlet Claw. Based loosely on Conan Doyle's The Musgrave Ritual, the plot finds Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) being summoned to the Musgrave estate when several mysterious murders occur. By the time the mystery is solved, Sally Musgrave (Hillary Brooke), young mistress of the estate, has decided to donate her property to "the people" as part of the war effort, cuing another of Holmes' patriotic curtain speeches. The best moment occurs when Holmes suddenly realizes that the floor of Musgrave castle resembles a huge chess board -- a clue vital to the ultimate solution of the case. Peter Lawford shows up unbilled as an inebriated sailor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, (more)
Bulldog Drummond's Bride is the next-to-last entry in Paramount's series of "Drummond" B-pictures. It goes without saying that the oft-postponed wedding of Bulldog Drummond (John Howard) and Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel) is interrupted yet one more time. The reason is a Parisian crime wave, instigated by master crook Eduardo Ciannelli. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Heather Angel, (more)
- 1938
Contrary to popular belief, the Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald Technicolor confection Sweethearts is not based on the 1913 Victor Herbert operetta of the same name (though most of Herbert's songs remain intact), but a Dorothy Parker-Alan Campbell brainstorm about a popular Broadway singing duo, starring in a long-running production of Sweethearts. The early portions of the film take place during a purported presentation of the Herbert piece, with Eddy and MacDonald singing their hearts out and Ray Bolger providing comic relief. We then segue into a long sequence wherein producer Frank Morgan, celebrating Sweethearts's six-year run, insists that Eddy and MacDonald attend a lavish party, where the weary performers are called upon to continue singing throughout the evening. Hoping for a few moments alone after escaping the party, Eddy and MacDonald are besieged at their apartment by friends, co-workers, hangers-on and sponging relatives. Seeking peace and quiet, the couple agrees to leave Sweethearts for the comparative calm of Hollywood. But their entourage, fearing that they'll lose their meal ticket if Eddy and MacDonald leave New York, arrange to inaugurate two profitable road companies of Sweethearts by contriving to split up the loving couple. Cleverly sidestepping the sugary sweet sentimentality that one might expect from an MGM musical of the era, the delightful Sweethearts is hampered only by its overlength. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, (more)
- 1938
In this romantic comedy a millionaire must somehow dissuade his daughter from marrying a money-grubbing social-climber. In desperation he offers to back the show of a beautiful starlet--provided she break his daughter's heart. Things don't go exactly as planned, but a lot of fun is had along the way. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1937
Generally considered one of director Ernst Lubitsch's lesser works, Angel stars Marlene Dietrich as Maria, the neglected wife of Sir Frederick Barker (Herbert Marshall), a British diplomat who travels often and seems little concerned with his spouse. Maria has nearly reached her breaking point when she travels to Paris to visit her old friend Anna Dmitrivena (Laura Hope Crews), a Grand Duchess who also operates an exclusive bordello. While in Paris, Maria meets Anthony Halton (Melvyn Douglas), a visitor from America who seems quite taken with her. While Maria enjoys Anthony's attentions, she backs off and retreats to England. Shortly after her return, Maria and Frederick attend the races and she spots Anthony in the crowd. Maria is tempted to continue her romance with Anthony (who now realizes that she's married), while Frederick begins to wonder if his wife might be growing restless. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, (more)
The sixth of RKO's Fred Astaire -Ginger Rogers pairings of the 1930s, Swing Time starts off with bandleader Astaire getting cold feet on his wedding day. Astaire's bride-to-be Betty Furness will give him a second chance, providing he proves himself responsible enough to earn $25,000. Astaire naturally tries to avoid earning that amount once he falls in love with dance instructor Ginger Rogers. Numerous complications ensue, leading to the "second time's the charm" climax, with Ginger escaping her own wedding to wealthy Georges Metaxa in order to be reunited with Astaire. The film's most indelible image is that of Fred Astaire, immaculately attired in top hat and tails, hopping a freight car--a perfect encapsulation of the film's Depression-era cheekiness. The Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields score includes such standards-to-be as "Pick Yourself Up," "A Fine Romance," "The Way You Look Tonight," "Never Gonna Dance" and "Bojangles of Harlem." The peerless supporting cast of Swing Time includes Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Eric Blore, and Landers Stevens, the actor-father of the film's director, George Stevens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, (more)
