Charlotte Henry Movies

She's in the Army is a fascinating vehicle for character actress Lucille Gleason (aka Mrs. James Gleason), heretofore usually confined to supporting roles. Gleason is cast as Hannah, a crusty, all-knowing sergeant in the Women's Ambulance and Defense Corps. Brassy nightclub singer Diane (Veda Ann Borg) would rather romance Army captain Steve (Lyle Talbot) than follow Hannah's orders, but eventually she realizes that her first duty is to her country. Likewise, dizzy Marie Wilson "smarts up" enough to prove her value to the Corps. She's in the Army was written by Sidney Sheldon, two decades removed from his success as a best-selling novelist and I Dream of Jeannie mentor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Former Dead End Kid Huntz Hall made his first appearance with the East Side Kids in 1941's Bowery Blitzkrieg. The plotline concentrates on Danny Breslin (Bobby Jordan), a good kid in danger of going bad thanks to the influence of two-bit crook Monk Martin (Bobby Stone). When Danny is disqualified from the upcoming Golden Gloves boxing championship, his pal Mugs (Leo Gorcey) takes his place. Thanks to the chicanery of Monk and his gambling cronies, the public becomes convinced that Mugs intends to throw the fight. Nothing could be further from the truth, but for a while it looks as though both Mugs and Danny will be kayoed permanently by the villains. As "Limpy", Huntz Hall doesn't have much to do except act as Mugs' dimwitted stooge; Hall's unique comic gifts wouldn't fully blossom until the next East Side Kids entry, Spooks Run Wild. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first of four Tom Keene westerns for Monogram release, God's Country and the Man is fine, virile stuff in the old William S. Hart tradition. Keene is cast as wandering cavalier Jim, who finds himself in the Tall Timber territory of Canada. Here he runs afoul of scurrilous gunslinger Gentry (Charles King), the scourge of the Mounties. Not only does Jim neutralize Gentry, but he also helps a poor blacksmith (Billy Bletcher) stake a valuable gold claim. For his initial Monogram outing, Keene is favored with two leading ladies: Charlotte Henry, the onetime star of Alice in Wonderland, and silent-screen favorite Betty Compson, here given an opportunity to display her skill with the violin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There was some novelty value in the fact that an actor whose initials were E.Q. was cast as intellectual sleuth Ellery Queen in Republic's The Mandarin Mystery. That actor was Eddie Quillan, who though a talented and appealing performer was woefully miscast as Queen. The story, based on the Ellery Queen novel The Chinese Orange Mystery, is set in motion by a crook who steals a $50,000 stamp, which results in two murders -- both committed in impenetrably locked rooms. The primary suspect is Jo Temple (Charlotte Henry), the original possessor of the stamp. Falling in love with Jo, Ellery sets about to retrieve the stolen goods and solve the murders. Perhaps realizing that Eddie Quillan could never be taken seriously in the leading role, Republic opted to play The Mandarin Mystery for laughs -- another big mistake. Originally released at 63 minutes, the film is currently available only in its 54-minute TV-reissue form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, set at the turn-of-the-century an ingenious young jockey finds his reputation sullied by criminals. He cleverly outsmarts them and his reputation is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Forbidden Heaven was accurately assessed by "B"-film historian Don Miller as "a weepie unabashed -- and a successful one." Silent-film heartthrob Charles Farrell stars as a British working stiff named Niba, who hopes one day to attain a Parliamentary seat. Niba's life is permanently altered when he rescues forlorn American girl Ann (Charlotte Henry). Though forced to give up his political dreams, Niba contentedly sets up house with Ann, eventually falling in love with her. Then tragedy strikes -- so suddenly that it seems to have been tacked onto the film as an afterthought because the writers couldn't think of anything else. Despite its abrupt mood changes, Forbidden Heaven was a real audience pleaser, allowing everyone to enjoy a good cry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

First-time director Lew Ayres performs miracles on a tiny budget in the Civil War drama Hearts in Bondage. The story offers a romanticized version of the events leading up to the battle between the "ironclads" Monitor and Merrimac. Northern naval officer Kenneth (James Dunn), the nephew of Monitor designer John Ericsson (Fritz Leiber) is dishonorably discharged when he sinks the Merrimac instead of burning it, as ordered. He is restored to duty as a crew member on the Monitor, and in the ensuing sea battle with the recommissioned Merrimac he kills Confederate officer Raymond (David Manners), the brother of Kenneth's fiancee Constance (Mae Clarke). The estranged sweethearts are ultimately reunited with the help of Abe Lincoln himself! Both James Dunn and Mae Clarke are miscast in their roles, but they do their best under the circumstances to make their material "work" -- and often succeed. The real stars of Hearts in Bondage are Republic's special-effects mavens Howard and Theodore Lydecker, whose splendid utilization of scale models in the climactic Monitor-Merrimac confrontation is both exciting and convincing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director George Stevens' fourth feature-film effort was a 1935 adaptation of the oft-filmed Gene Stratton Porter yarn Laddie. Set in rural Indiana, the story revolves around the romance between a local farm boy (John Beal) and English-born girl (Gloria Stuart). The lovers are separated during most of the proceedings by their warring families, headed respectively by the young man's remonstrative parents (Willard Robertson and Dorothy Peterson) and the girl's domineering father (Donald Crisp). Ironically, despite the parents' prattling about decency and propriety, it is a family scandal that ultimately provides a happy ending. Good though the "adult" actors are, the film is stolen by little Virginia Weidler, cast as Beal's wise-beyond-her-years kid sister. Previously filmed in 1926, Laddie was remade in 1940, with Tim Holt and Virginia Gilmore in the leading roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dying New England millionaire Cabot Barr (George Arliss) doesn't trust any of his relatives as they flock to his bedside, and not without justification. Barr realizes that there's a few roses among the thorns, notably his good-hearted granddaughter (Charlotte Henry) and his likeable adopted nephew (Frank Albertson), but the rest of the batch are whining, greedy and manipulative. With the covert aid of his secretary (Ralph Morgan) and his Runyonesque valet (Edward Ellis), Barr decides to teach his family a few lessons by manipulating them to do the opposite of what he pretends he wants them to do. As a result, the granddaughter and the nephew fall in love, while the less-appealing relatives are enmeshed in their own webs of deceit. The best, however, is saved for last. After Barr's death, the family discovers that he's left behind a "living will:" a reel of film in which the old gent jovially announces his bequests -- and with equal joviality settles a few old scores. This climactic "gimmick," later repeated in such films as 1979's Cat and the Canary and 1985's Brewster's Millions, is the highlight of this consistently charming and delightful George Arliss vehicle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Human Side was adapted by Frank Craven and Ernest Pascal from a play by Christine Ames. Long married and the parents of four children, Gregory and Vera Sheldon break up when Gregory begins keeping time with seductive Alma Hastings (played by Betty Lawford, Peter's mom). Despite the subsequent divorce, Gregory can't resist visiting his ex-wife from time to time, which arouses Alma's jealous nature. The story isn't straightened out, however, until the four Sheldon kids -- Lucille (Charlotte Henry), Phil (Dick Winslow), Tom (George Ernest) and Bobbie (Dickie Moore) -- take a hand in the matter. Befitting the title, The Human Side is realistically written and acted, enhancing the audience's empathy with the characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Junior Durkin who burst upon the movie scene as Huck Finn in 1930's Tom Sawyer, is the teenage star of Man Hunt. Durkin plays an aspiring detective (courtesy of a correspondence school) who decides to take on the case of a robbery/murder. He uncovers a cache of stolen diamonds, and is nearly rubbed out by a mysterious baldheaded assailant. Junior's leading lady is Charlotte Henry, who'd previously costarred with the boy in Huckleberry Finn (31) and would have her bid for stardom later in 1933 with Alice in Wonderland. Man Hunt was an independent production (obviously so, given the tattiness of the sets and camerawork), distributed to the Saturday-matinee market by RKO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's hard to separate fact and fancy from the many accounts of what happened on the set when all three of the fabulous Barrymores -- Ethel, John and Lionel -- appeared together for the only time in Rasputin and the Empress. As for the end result, John offers the subtlest (!) performance as Russian Prince Paul Chegodieff; Lionel throws all caution to the four winds in the role of "Mad Monk" Rasputin; and Ethel comes off as rather artificial as Empress Alexandra (Ethel was more appealing in her character roles of the 1940s and 1950s). The plot covers the years 1913 through 1918, during the tumultuous final years of the Romanov regime in Russia. When young Prince Alexis (Tad Alexander), a hemophiliac, hovers near death after an accident, the royal physicians regretfully predict an imminent demise. At the advice of Prince Paul's impressionable sweetheart Natasha (Diana Wynyard), Alexandra and her husband, Czar Nikolai (Ralph Morgan), call in the mysterious Rasputin to look after Alexis. Using hypnosis, Rasputin is able to "cure" the boy-and to slowly gain control over the royal family. Prince Paul, concerned that Rasputin's despotic misuse of his new-found authority will cause the people to revolt, does his best to discredit the oily holy man, but to no avail. When Natasha is raped by Rasputin, Paul attempts to shoot the miscreant down. But Rasputin, who has taken the precaution of wearing a bullet proof vest, is not so easily killed off. In a last, desperate measure, Paul and his cohorts try to poison Rasputin to death-and even this doesn't work. Only a climactic fight to the death puts an end to Rasputin's reign. Alas, the damage has already been done, and the royal family is doomed to be toppled from power...and, ultimately, to be shot down like dogs by the Bolsheviks. Perhaps it's true that the three Barrymores spent more time trying to upstage one another than concentrating on the script at hand, but we wouldn't have it any other way. When seen today, Rasputin and the Empress seems rather choppy in spots, with isolated lines of dialogue and sometimes whole scenes completely missing. This is due to a million-dollar lawsuit brought against MGM by Prince Yusupov, the man who really engineered Rasputin's assassination. The Prince wasn't offended by being depicted as a murderer, but he was distressed when MGM suggested that his wife had been raped by Rasputin. As a result, Rasputin and the Empress was withdrawn from distribution, and all prints were later bowdlerized when released to television. Also as a result, all future Hollywood films were obliged to carry the "Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental" disclaimer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alice in Wonderland is frequently cited as the film that "discovered" winsome 1930s ingenue Charlotte Henry, yet here she is, playing the title character in the backwoods drama Lena Rivers. Based on a popular novel by Mary J. Holmes, the film concentrates on Lena's misadventures when her fisherman grandpa is lost at sea and she is sent to live with her wealthy Kentucky relatives. Shunned by her pretentious aunt (Betty Blythe) and obnoxious cousin (Joyce Compton), Lena enjoys a sudden change of status when it is learned that her real father is the family's aristocratic neighbor (James Kirkwood). As frosting on the cake, our heroine falls in love with Durrie (Morgan Galloway), the neighbor's handsome young ward. A previous version of Lena Rivers was filmed in 1925. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide