Johnny Hines Movies

Director Frank Borzage and star Ginger Rogers both came acropper in the lavish but dull historical biopic Magnificent Doll. The usually ebullient Rogers seems encased in wax as Dolly Madison, first lady of the United States in the early 19th century. The story begins as young Washington socialite Dolly Payne, previously and unhappily wed to one John Todd (Horace McNally), can't make up her mind romantically between idealistic politician James Madison (Burgess Meredith) and firebrand Aaron Burr (David Niven). Burr solves that problem when he flees the country after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, leaving the field clear for Madison. What should have been the film's highlight, Dolly's rescue of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution during the 1812 burning of Washington, is treated as a throwaway. Told in flashback, the film ends just before Madison's ascendancy to the White House, with Dolly chastely charming the current chief executive Thomas Jefferson (Grandon Rhodes). Magnificent Doll is anything but . ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A large urban hospital provides the setting for this drama. The staff there has seen it all and this is reflected in their hard-bitten demeanor, their cynicism, and the cruel jokes they play. One of them, an excellent surgeon gains a new outlook on life after he gets involved with investigating the death of a mobster, fatally shot in his hotel suite during a card game. The police call him to the scene to look at the corpse. There he discovers a lipstick-stained cigarette butt. He begins to search for the woman who smoked it. Later that day, the woman, severely beaten, shows up in the hospital emergency room. The surgeon miraculously saves her, and then falls for her. As she lays healing, she is seen by a mobster who had come to pay his respects to the cop who killed two members of his rival gang. The mobster later sends one of his thugs to make sure that the woman stays eternally quiet. The thug's attempt to kill her is thwarted by a young intern who is wounded in the ensuing scuffle. The gangster then gets himself admitted into the hospital where he plans to kill the woman himself. This proves to be a fatal mistake as the vengeful intern "accidently" injects the gangster with a deadly poison and then claims that the mobster was D.O.A. The woman is now safe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When the actress girlfriend of a rich man is pursued by a producer, the rich man hires bodyguard Lowe to protect her, but Lowe falls in love with her, too. ~ All Movie Guide

The irrepressible Johnny Hines stars as "White Pants" Willie Bascom, an enterprising garage mechanic and erstwhile inventor. Delivering a repaired auto to the home of millionaire Philip Charters (Henry Barrows), Willie falls in love with Charters' lovely daughter Helen (Leila Hyams). Donning a white dinner jacket to match his white overalls, Willie manages to crash a high-society country club to pay Helen a visit. Our hero wins over the "400" by winning a polo match then secures his marriage to Helen by selling his latest invention for a sizeable sum. Featured in the cast as Willie's comedy-relief Chinese buddy Wong Lee is Japanese actor George Kuwa, better known to film buffs as the screen's first Charlie Chan (in the now-lost 1926 serial House Without a Key). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The likable Johnny Hines stars in this comedy-melodrama. Johnny (Hines) is a shoe salesman who can't remember anything. This causes him to get fired from his job, but not before he has met and fallen in love with May Brooks (Edna Murphy). May's father (Henry Barrows) owns a travel agency and Johnny manages to land a job with him as a tour guide. He takes the Brooks' on a junket to the Middle East and winds up in loads of trouble. The desert is populated with amorous sheiks and one of them kidnaps May. In addition, a prince forces Johnny to marry his ample daughter (the hefty Babe London). Nevertheless, Johnny is able to rescue May with the help of a car equipped for the desert (its tires have been replaced with shoes). After a sandstorm and a number of death-defying feats à la Douglas Fairbanks, Johnny gets May and her family safely out of the desert. Since his marriage to the princess isn't legal, he is free to wed May. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Effervescent comic actor Johnny Hines stars as Johnny Rooney, an East Side newspaper vendor who suddenly develops the political itch. Running for the office of assemblyman, Johnny finds himself nose to nose with Boss O'Brien's (Lee Beggs) corrupt party machine, not to mention an insufferably charismatic opponent, Frank Moreland (William Gaxton). The fun really begins when our hero gets mixed up with one Prince Ferdinand Dowitsky (Edmund Breese). When the smoke clears, Johnny is elected, with "first lady" Molly Taylor (Mary Brian) at his side. Stepping Along provides Johnny Hines a rare opportunity to show off his considerable dancing skills. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Because of an injury, "the Great Maranelli" (Johnny Hines) is forced to give up his job as a circus performer. He hits the road with his pal Sawdust Sam (Edmund Breese) and along the way they meet pretty Dorothy Langdon (Mildred Ryan). Her father, Henry Langdon (J. Barney Sherry), runs the power company, and he gives Maranelli a job. Langdon and George Trent, Dorothy's fiancé (Bradley Barker), are putting together an amusement park. Dorothy asks Maranelli for help selling the concessions. Trent is secretly trying to ruin the plans for the amusement park, and he kidnaps Dorothy and destroys the park's dynamo. Maranelli saves the day by hitching the park up to the city circuit and getting it up and running as scheduled. Needless to say, Trent finishes out of the money and Maranelli wins Dorothy. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Race driver "Blue Streak" Billings (Johnny Hines) returns to his home town to find that his sweetheart, Betty West (Faire Binney), is having problems selling her line of cars because of a wealthier rival. To promote the Comet 8 -- one of Betty's line -- he comes up with a scheme in which he races the car through the town, but he makes it appear that there's nobody in the driver's seat. This causes a stir throughout the town, and nobody can catch the "speed spook." Then Billings discovers that Hiram Smith, one of the town's most powerful members (Henry West), has forged a load of ballots for the sheriff's election. The next time Billings takes the car out, he allows himself to be followed -- right to Smith's lair. After Smith is exposed, it is also discovered that he is an agent for the rival car company. After all his help, Betty is more than happy to marry her hero. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Light comedian Johnny Hines specialized in entertaining, action-packed films, and this is one of the snappiest of the bunch. Hines has the support of some of the best comic talent of the era, including Charlie Murray, Polly Moran, and Flora Finch. The story is built on a slippery foundation of improbable gags, the first one being when wealthy Bob Carter (Hines) wins a cross-country marathon because he is pursued by an elephant frightened of a mouse. After the race, he bets his friend Alan Crosby (Edmund Breese) a hundred thousand dollars that he can earn ten thousand dollars in a year. (If the movies of the 1920s are to be believed, the rich spent all their time making up such silly bets.) Eventually, Carter takes a freight train and lands in a Pennsylvania town, where he builds a village with the help of an ambitious lawyer (Harry L. Fraser). His attempt to sell lots comes to an end when an enemy tries to have him charged with fraud. With the year gone and only a couple of hours left to scrounge up the ten thousand dollars, Carter hears from Crosland that his sweetheart, Sylvia Templeton (Violet Mersereau), has gone to see the slimy mine owner, Pollard (Warner P. Richmond). Pollard tries to attack her, but the mine collapses, burying them both. Carter comes to the rescue -- and manages to win the bet, too. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide