William Henry Movies
William (Bill) Henry was eight years old when he appeared in his first film, Lord Jim. During his teen years, Henry dabbled with backstage duties as a technician, but continued taking roles in student productions while attending the University of Hawaii. As an adult actor, Henry was prominently billed in such films as Geronimo (1939), Blossoms in the Dust (1941) and Johnny Come Lately (1943); he also briefly starred in Columbia's "Glove Slingers" 2-reel series. In the last stages of his movie career, William Henry was something of a regular in the films of John Ford appearing in such Ford productions as Mister Roberts (1955), The Last Hurrah (1958), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1948
Allan Lane goes in search of his dead friend's brother in this fast-paced Western from Republic Pictures. Instead of finding his brother Tim as he had been promised, Fletcher Roberts (Bruce Edwards) is confronted by Jason Fox (Rory Mallinson), a criminal who needs Fletcher's horses to equip a gang of army deserters. After killing Fletcher, Fox escapes into Cemetery Ridge, an outlaw haven across the border. Claiming to be a fugitive from the law, "Rocky" Lane (Allan Lane), a border patrol officer and Fletcher's friend, crosses over into the Cemetery Ridge where he hooks up with Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller), the lawless town's pharmacist and only law-abiding citizen. Managing to infiltrate the murderer's gang, Rocky locates Fletcher's brother Tim (William Henry), who idolizes Fox. When learning about his brother's death, Tim changes his mind, however, and helps Rocky and Nugget track down not only Fox but also the town's crooked sheriff (George H. Lloyd). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Lane, Eddy Waller, (more)
- 1948
The scene is Shanghai: the time, WW II. An international group of women left stranded during the Japanese invasion are rounded up by the local authorities to act as "comfort girls" for high-ranking Nazi and Japanese officials. Bridling at this degrading treatment, the ladies secretly work on behalf of the Chinese Underground, relaying vital information to the Allies and, at one point, committing murder in the name of Democracy. The plot thickens with the introduction of a Nazi "cosmic ray" device, which OSS operative Van Arnheim (William Henry) hopes to destroy before it can be used in battle. Van Arnheim's courageous wife is played by Virginia Christine, light-years removed from her stint as "Mrs. Olsen" in the Folger's Coffee TV commercials. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tala Birell, William Henry, (more)
- 1948
An honest football player single-handedly takes on a professional gambler and the crooked publisher of a sports magazine to bust up their game-fixing scheme. Unfortunately, his efforts get him killed. This crime drama chronicles the efforts of a different player and an earnest D.A. to bring the killers to justice. Matters are not helped by the fact that the attorney is publisher's stepson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Martin, William Wright, (more)
- 1948
In this western, a cowpoke is trotting towards Wyoming in hopes of buying a ranch when he is arrested for a murder he did not commit, forcing him to prove his innocence before continuing on his journey. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1947
Gene Autry is back near the saddle, trying to help out a crippled jockey. Gene is certain that the jockey can ride in the Big Race if the lad can regain his self-confidence. Meanwhile, Gene and comical sidekick Sterling Holloway have another problem on their hands: A rogue stallion has "kidnapped" Gene's prize mare. Piloting a plane, Autry seeks out and locates the stallion. The jockey and mare enter the race, and win. Director John English keeps Trail to San Antone constantly on the move, resulting in one of the better postwar Gene Autry vehicles for Republic Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Peggy Stewart, (more)
- 1946
Invisible Informer serves as a feature-length vehicle for Republic serial queen Linda Stirling. The story is set in motion by a missing necklace, worth $100,000. The insurance agency covering the necklace suspects that the "theft" is a fraud, and dispatches special operatives Eve Murray (Stirling) and Mike Reagan (William Henry) to get to the truth. In the course of their investigation, Eve and Mike must contend with several murders, perpetrated by the thief with the help of a nasty police dog. Usually seen battling burly bad guys or escaping deadly perils in her other films, Linda Stirling is afforded a few steamy love scenes in this one, which she pulls off with elan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donia Bussey, Tristram Coffin, (more)
- 1946
Republic Pictures certainly didn't believe in obscure or misleading film titles, as G.I. War Brides amply proves. Ann Lee plays Linda Powell, a British lass who desires to enter the United States without dealing with the immigration authorities. To this end, Linda trades places with Joyce Giles (Carol Savage), a war bride whose American husband no longer loves her. Arriving at the home of Joyce's husband Steve (James Ellison), Linda convinces her "husband" and his family to maintain the artifice lest she be sent back to England. Complicating matters is a snoopy reporter (Robert Armstrong) and Linda's real boyfriend Capt. Roger Kirby (William Henry). A few isolated comic-relief scenes aside, GI War Brides is pretty slow going. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Louis Austin, (more)
- 1946
The Mysterious Mr. Valentine is a neat-and-tidy thriller from the Republic B-picture mills. Lovely Linda Stirling is driving down a country road when one of her tires blows out. This seemingly innocuous, everyday occurrence leads Linda into a labyrinth of murder, blackmail and intrigue. William Henry is the hero, Thomas Jackson the "law", and Virginia Christine, Kenne Duncan and Virginia Brissac are among the various antagonists, actual and alleged. The Mysterious Mr. Valentine is in and out in a tight 56 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Barbara Britton is as cute as can be as the title character in Republic's The Fabulous Suzanne. The plot, which bears a faint resemblance to MGM's She Went to the Races, concerns a young hashhouse waitress who picks winning horses by randomly jabbing a pin into her racing form. Accumulating a tidy nest egg, Suzanne offers to buy a fancy new restaurant for her handsome boss Rex (Richard Denning). He refuses this largess, whereupon she huffily heads to New York, intending to use her winning pin-in-the-paper formula on the Stock Market. Along the way, she attracts the attentions of a trio of bachelor stockbrokers, chief among them stuffy Hendrick Courtney Jr. (Rudy Vallee). The film's best moment, and one worthy of inclusion in any anthology on 1940s musicals, finds costar Rudy Vallee reacting with disgust at the adenoidal voice of a nightclub crooner-also played by Rudy Vallee! ("But sir, his singing is very distinctive." "It certainly does!") ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Britton, Rudy Vallee, (more)
- 1944
It took some doing to persuade the staunchly Catholic Bing Crosby to play a happy-go-lucky priest in Going My Way; luckily he acquiesced, winning an Academy Award in the process. Crosby is cast as Father Chuck O'Malley, newly arrived at rundown, heavily in debt St. Dominic's Church. Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald), the cranky, set-in-his-ways curate of St. Dominic's, is none too pleased with O'Malley's breezy, "modernistic" methods. Fitzgibbon is content to adhere to the policies he has followed for nearly 45 years. Without overtly challenging Fitzgibbon's authority (he likes the old buzzard, and the feeling is mutual), O'Malley sets about to win the confidence of the local street toughs, organizing the boys into an angelic church choir. He also forestalls the plans of St. Dominic's mortgage holder Ted Haines (Gene Lockhart) to evict Fitzgibbons by arranging a fundraising choir tour, to be headlined by O'Malley's childhood friend, opera star Genevieve Linden (Rise Stevens). When he's not coming to the rescue of St. Dominic's, O'Malley is smoothing the path of romance for Haines' son (James Brown) and orphaned Carol James (Jean Heather), and arranging for a reunion between Fitzgibbons and his nonagenarian Irish mother. There is sentiment by the bucketful in Going My Way, but director Leo McCarey sagaciously tempers the treacle with moments of genuine hilarity and several delightful (and seemingly spontaneous) musical interludes. In addition to Crosby, Oscars went to Barry Fitzgerald, Leo McCarey, screenwriters Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, and Burke and Van Heusen's song hit "Swingin' On a Star." Bing Crosby repeated his father O'Malley characterization in McCarey's 1945 sequel The Bells of St. Mary's. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Rise Stevens, (more)
- 1944
Lady and the Monster was the first film version of the classic Curt Siodmak sci-fi/horror tale Donovan's Brain. The plot involves the brain of a famous but unscrupulous financier, recently deceased. The brain is kept alive artificially by overenthusiastic scientist Erich Von Stroheim, with the help of lab assistants Vera Hruba Ralston (the "lady" of the title) and Richard Arlen. Gradually, the dead financier's brain takes over the mind of Arlen, turning him into the helpless conduit for the financier's evil machinations. Lady and the Monster was remade in 1954, using the original Siodmak title Donovan's Brain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, (more)
- 1944
At 50 minutes, Call of the South Seas must qualify as the shortest of Republic's non-western B films. Janet Martin plays Tahia, princess of a faraway tropical island. Tahia's people are being victimized by extradition-free crooks led by an unsavory type named Landrau (Roy Barcroft). Disguised as a scruffy beahcomber, FBI agent Kendall Gaige (Allan Lane) infiltrates Landrau's gang, and along the way finds time for romance with Tahia. A climactic motorboat chase during a volcanic eruption, staged by the legendary Lydecker brothers, provided stock footage aplenty for future Republic programmers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Martin, William Henry, (more)
- 1944
Silent Partner stars Jon Henry as cocky crime reporter Jeffrey Swales, who comes into possession of notebook which provides clues concerning the identity of a mysterious criminal chieftan. Swales tracks down the five people listed in the notebook, with explosive results. At one point, Swales interrupts a couple of characters conversing in French to explain that he'd studied the language in high school; he then advises "Now let's finish the rest of the scene in English, so the audience will understand what's going on." Despite lines like this, Silent Partner isn't quite as funny as it thinks it is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Henry, Grant Withers, (more)
- 1944
Dismissed by critics as corny and obvious in 1944, this overlong but sincere biopic looks pretty good when seen today, cliches notwithstanding. Fredric March, 47 at the time, convincingly plays American author Sam Clemens, aka Mark Twain, from his early 20s to his death at 75. In typical movie-biography fashion, every single incident that happens in Twain's life is an INSPIRATION: he hears the depth-indication call "Mark Twain" while working on a riverboat and his face lights up; he engages in a jumping-frog contest against Bret Harte (John Carradine) and comes up with his first popular published story; and so on. Alexis Smith is better than usual in the role of Twain's wife Olivia Langdon, even keeping a straight face while Twain courts her in Fluent Quotation ("Everybody talks about the weather but nobody ever does anything about it", he says during a Hollywood-romance cloudburst). Though the script barely touches upon the dark side of Twain's nature, we are not spared his financial reverses (brought about by bad investments and his struggle to publish Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs. The closing sequence, with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn beckoning the spirit of Mark Twain to heaven as Halley's Comet fills the skies, may seem laughable on paper, but works quite well on film; even director Irving Rapper expressed amazement at the effectiveness of this scene! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Alexis Smith, (more)
- 1943
Republic's False Faces is a choice example of wartime "victory casting", with all the male cast members drawn from the ranks of the undraftable. Rex Williams plays morose saloon patron Craig Harding, who is on hand during a barroom brawl which leads to the death of songstress Joyce Ford (Veda Ann
org). Suspected in the murder are Harding and his pal Don Westcott (Bill Henry). Harding's father, district attorney Stanley Harding (Stanley Ridges), faces a difficult decision: on the basis of circumstantial evidence, he may be forced to send his own son up the river for life. It's giving nothing away to reveal that the Most Likely Suspects didn't do it, but the Least Likely Suspect did. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Ridges, Rex Williams, (more)
- 1943
Paramount's Pine-Thomas unit continued humming profitably along with 1943's Tornado. Chester Morris (who eventually appeared in eight Pine-Thomas efforts) stars as coal miner Pete Ramsey, who falls in love with, and secretly marries, scheming showgirl Victory Kane (Nancy Kelly). Anxious to escape her poverty-stricken surroundings, Victory urges Pete to lobby for the position of mine superintendent. Climbing ever upward on the social and economic ladder, Victory has an affair with wealthy mine operator Gary Linden (Morgan Conway). She finally receives her comeuppance during the tornado of the title-an impressive piece of special effects, though obviously not in the league of Twister. Tornado was scripted by Maxwell Shane and directed by William Berke, two stalwarts of the Pine-Thomas operation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, Nancy Kelly, (more)
- 1943
With a title like I Escaped from the Gestapo, it's a wonder that there's any suspense at all in this Monogram programmer. Dean Jagger stars as Lane, an imprisoned counterfeiter who is sprung from jail by a group of sinister-looking gentlemen. It soon develops that Lane is expected to apply his counterfeiting skills on behalf of the Nazis, who hope to destroy America's economy by flooding the market with phony money. But Lane's patriotism outweighs his mercenary instincts, and he turns the tables on the villains. Particularly well cast, I Escaped from the Gestapo features such reliables as John Carradine, Sidney Blackmer and Ian Keith, as well as Mary Brian in one of her handful of "comeback" films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Jagger, John Carradine, (more)
- 1943
For his first independently-produced starring effort, James Cagney chose the sentimental drama Johnny Come Lately. Cagney plays itinerant newspaperman Tom Richards, who wanders into a small corruption-ridden town. Striking up a friendship with elderly Vinnie McLeod (Grace George in her only movie appearance), the editor of the local newspaper, Tom tries to help Vinnie exposed the community's crooked politicians. He is thwarted in his efforts until Gashouse Mary (Marjorie Main), a wealthy dowager with a shady past, exposes the machinations behind a phony Orphan's Fund. At the insistence of star Cagney, the cast of Johnny Come Lately was filled with familiar character actors (Hattie McDaniel, Edward McNamara, George Cleveland, Margaret Hamilton, Lucien Littlefield) who are herein offered a lot more screen time than was customary. Based on the Louis Bromfield novel McLeod's Folly, Johnny Come Lately was produced by Cagney's brother William; the film garnered an Oscar nomination for Leigh Harline's nostalgic musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Grace George, (more)
Army engineeer Richard Arlen helps blaze the trail for a crucial highway in the Alaskan wastes. His younger brother William Henry works side by side with Arlen, though Henry is hampered by a tendency to down tools and raise fists whenever someone calls him out. Arlen is willing to bail Henry out of trouble, but less willing to share the attentions of pretty Jean Parker. The Pine-Thomas unit at Paramount really had only one plot (two guys and one gal battling the elements), but Alaska Highway, like all of the unit's other 1940s efforts, brought home the bacon at the box-office. And as in most of the other Pine-Thomas escapades, burly Ralph Sanford is around for good-natured comedy relief. Whether by accident or design, many of the production personnel of this 66-minute actioner are alumni of the Hal Roach Studio: coscripter Lewis R. Foster, cinematographer Fred L. Jackman, and editor William Ziegler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Jean Parker, (more)
- 1943
Moving slightly up the poverty-row ladder from PRC to Monogram, Burlesque queen Ann Corio starred in the musical comedy Sarong Girls. Corio is cast as stripteaser Dixie Barlow, who manages to avoid a prison sentence when her attorney Gil Gailord (Damian O'Flynn) claims that she's the sole support of her gray-haired old mother. Problem is, Dixie's mother is long gone, forcing Gil to find a substitute -- which he does in the person of retirement-home resident Mattie (Mary Gordon). Meanwhile, Dixie plans vengeance on Jefferson Baxter (Henry Kolker) the self-styled reformer responsible for her arrest. With the help of the no-nonsense Mattie, Dixie eventually cools down and finds true love with Baxter's son Jeff (Bill Henry). Genuinely funny comedy relief is provided by Monogram regulars Tim & Irene Ryan and Mantan Moreland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Corio, Irene Ryan, (more)
- 1942
A nine-year-old Elizabeth Taylor made her film debut in this lively comedy. She plays the spoiled-brat daughter of a pudding manufacturer who has been entered into the town's mayoral race by some of the local businessmen. They have chosen him because they think he is easy to manipulate. As a sales gimmick, the pudding magnate advertises that his product contains the highly nutritious "Vitamin Z." He suddenly begins selling pudding like crazy and soon his political campaign is well-funded. Unfortunately, there is no "Vitamin Z" and when this is discovered, the town fathers try to dump him and show that he is a fake. Undaunted, the pudding maker retaliates by proving that the businessmen are the real crooks and in spite of the scandal, the man gets elected. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Not quite as exciting as it should be, Stardust on the Sage is still a serviceable Gene Autry vehicle. This time, Gene is teamed up with young Jeff Drew (Bill Henry), who tries to sell mining stock to the local cattlemen. Meanwhile, villain Pearson (Emmet Vogan) plots to steal the mine from Gene and Jeff, using a veritable battalion of muscular hooligans. The finale is a kaleidescope of fistfights, gunfire and dynamite blasts-and none too soon, given the slow-moving passages which preceded it. The female contingent in Stardust on the Sage is handled by former child star Edith Fellows and serial heroine Louise Currie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1942
A collegiate football player becomes the campus laughing-stock when he scores the winning touchdown--for the wrong team. The bungler's life doesn't get much better when a gangster, the only one who is happy about the player's mistake because it earned him a bundle, hires him and hands him a fortune worth over $100,000 to transport from California to Chicago. While at the airport the player gets distracted by a lovely reporter and misses his flight. He then rents a private plane. The fun really begins after he accidentally fumbles the cash and it plummets into the midst of a prison yard. Now he must somehow retrieve every penny lest he lose more than another game. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Henry, Sheila Ryan, (more)
- 1942
Sweater Girl is an okay remake of 1935's College Scandal, and like its predecessor is that rare bird, a "musical mystery". Someone is stalking a midwestern college campus, murdering students left and right. Among the victims is campus radio personality Miles Tucker (Kenneth Howell) and aspiring composer Johnny Arnold (Johnnie Johnston). If this keeps up, there won't be anyone left to stage the annual college musical-and that would be disastrous! Without giving the game away, it can be noted that solution of the mystery is not unlike that of the first Friday the 13th film of the 1980s (minus the blood and gore, of course). Amidst all this merry mayhem, two choice Frank Loesser song hits are spotlighted: the amusingly provocative "I Said No" and the enduring standard "I Don't Want to Walk Without You." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Bracken, June Preisser, (more)
- 1942
The fourth production from the enterprising King Brothers, Rubber Racketeers drew its inspiration from late-breaking headlines. When wartime rationing kicks in, rubber suddenly is at a premium, resulting in a brisk black market in bootlegged rubber tires. Patriotic defense plant worker Bill Barry (Bill Henry) rounds up his fellow workers to help stem the activities of hot-tire racketeer Gilin (Ricardo Cortez). In his American film debut, John Abbott plays a mute secondary hoodlum named Dumbo, who inability to speak neatly hides his cultured British dialect. Partially designed as a warning to "You, the Public" to avoid shady entrepreneurs like Gilin, Rubber Racketeers also succeeds as a purely as a rip-roaring actioner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Cortez, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
