David Holt Movies

Brothers Henry and Wayne Cooper (Grant Withers and William Haade) have a mission to help their younger, shyer sister, Geraldine Jane Withers, who has just received a large inheritance from their mother. It was their dying mother's request that the brother's find a suitable suitor for their younger sister. Geraldine, however, rejects all the men they bring courting, including her current beau Willy Briggs Jimmy Lydon. They must chase her as she flies to London, trying to keep her out of harm's way as she lives up her new-found freedom to the hilt. ~ All Movie Guide

This second of three movie versions of P.C. Wren's adventure novel Beau Geste is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the 1927 silent version. We open on the now-famous scenes of a remote, burning desert fort, manned by the dead Foreign Legionnaires, then flash back to the early lives of the Geste brothers. As children, the Gestes swear eternal loyalty to one another and to their family. One of the boys, young Beau (played as a youth by Donald O'Connor), witnesses his beloved aunt (Heather Thatcher) apparently stealing a valuable family jewel in order to finance the Geste home; Beau chooses to remain silent rather than disgrace his aunt. Years later, the grown Beau (Gary Cooper) again protects his aunt by confessing to the theft and running off to join the Foreign Legion. He is joined in uniform by faithful brothers John (Ray Milland) and Digby (Robert Preston), who in turn are pursued by a slimy thief (J. Carroll Naish). The crook is in cahoots with sadistic Legion Sgt. Markov (Brian Donlevy, in one of the most hateful portrayals ever captured on celluloid), who is later put in charge of Fort Zinderneuf, where Beau and John are stationed. When the Arabs attack, Markov proves himself a valiant soldier; it is he who hits upon the idea of convincing the Arabs that the fort is still fully manned by propping up the corpses of the casualties at the guard posts. Beau is seriously wounded, and while the greedy Markov searches for the jewel supposedly hidden on Beau's person, he is held at bay by loyal John. The suddenly enervated Beau kills Markov, then dies himself--but not before entrusting two notes to John, one of which requests that John give Beau the "Viking funeral" he'd always wanted (this is why the fort is in flames at the beginning of the film). After the battle, Digby Geste, a bugler with the relief troops, comes upon Beau's dead body, and appropriates the notes. As it turns out, John Geste is the only one who survives to return to England. He gives his aunt Beau's letter, which explains why Beau had confessed and run off--"a 'beau geste', indeed" comments his tearful aunt. No one missed nominal leading lady Susan Hayward in this essentially all-male entertainment. For years available only in muddily processed or truncated versions, Beau Geste was restored to its pristine glory by the American Film Institute in the late 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the one where Lassie plays a war veteran with amnesia. Actually Lassie isn't even Lassie, but a male collie named Bill (at least he isn't asked to appear "in drag" like all the other cinematic Lassies). Raised from a pup by adolescent Elizabeth Taylor, the doggy hero becomes a sheep collie on rancher Frank Morgan's spread. Lassie--er, Bill--loses his memory when hit by a car. Later on, the dog finds himself in the K-9 corps, where he is trained to kill Japs (Lassie a racist? No, no, not that!) The dog returns home shell-shocked and ready to tear apart anyone who crosses his path. But the love of Elizabeth Taylor conquers all in the lachrymose Technicolor finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) are on the trail of a supermarket bandit. The first big break in the case comes unexpectedly when a watch owned by one of the suspects turns up in a repair shop. Featured in the cast is character actor Henry Corden, best remembered by cartoon fans of the 1970s and 1980s as the voice of Fred Flintstone. This episode is a remake of the Dragnet radio broadcast of May 25, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This ecology-themed horror movie took its inspiration from the success of Jaws and moved that film's man-versus-nature conflict from the seaside to the forest. The plot of Grizzly focuses on Mike Kelly (Christopher George), a forest ranger whose peaceful tenure over a forest housing a busy nature lodge is interrupted by the arrival of a very deadly and hungry 15-foot grizzly bear. As the bear starts killing rangers and campers, Park Supervisor Charley Kittridge (Joe Dorsey) tries to cover up the problem and tries to keep Kelly from acting in a way that will cause public suspicion. Finally, Kelly decides to do what is right and teams up with macho pilot Don Stober (Andrew Prine) and eccentric naturalist Arthur Scott (Richard Jaeckel) to hunt the grizzly down on its own turf. Grizzly was roundly panned by critics for its slavish, blow-by-blow imitation of its more sophisticated model, Jaws, but its gruesome shock power made it a major hit with audiences around the world. Director William Girdler followed this success up with another ecology-themed shocker in Day of the Animals, and the film's producers made a still-unreleased sequel, Grizzly II, which provided early roles for Charlie Sheen and George Clooney. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide

The Hero for a Day is elderly night watchman Frank Higgins (Charley Grapewin), still basking in the memories of his long-age college football triumphs. To stir up publicity for a crucial post-season game, his alma mater plucks Higgins out of obscurity and once more showers him in glory. The old man's triumph turns to tragedy when he drops dead during the Big Game, but at least he goes out secure in the knowledge that his protégé Brainy (Dick Foran) has scored the winning touchdown. Critics in 1939 were amused by the inconsistencies during the gridiron sequences (the scenes appeared to have been shot at several different stadiums, then haphazardly patched together in the cutting room) and by the lavish wardrobe sported by "humble" stenographer Sylvia Higgins (Anita Louise). Featured in the cast of Hero for a Day is Richard Lane, who seems to have been in every sports movie ever produced between 1935 and 1945. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's a Great Life served as a vehicle for once-popular radio singer Joe Morrison (who can also be seen in W.C. Fields' It's the Old Fashioned Way). Morrison plays a young unemployed fellow who joins the Civilian Conservation Corps. Enjoying the twin euphoria of steady work and fresh air, Morrison and his new pal, hobo Paul Kelly, burst into song at the slightest provocation. A rift comes between Morrison and Kelly when Morrison's girl Rosalind Keith falls in love with the tramp, but all differences are swept away during a climactic bursting-dam sequence. It's a Great Life was co-written by future "Dagwood Bumstead" Arthur Lake, who in 1943 would star in a Blondie entry titled...It's a Great Life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title refers to those special government agents who go undercover to flush out criminal gangs. In his second starring role, Fred MacMurray plays a government man who travels incognito as he trails a team of crooks from Brooklyn to Kansas. Lynne Overman is MacMurray's easygoing partner, who (naturally) is rubbed out by the hoods. MacMurray inveigles his way into the gang and brings them to justice--the ones who survive, that is. Released at the very beginning of Hollywood's G-Man cycle, Men without Names was instrumental in securing more prestigious acting assignments for Fred MacMurray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Reckless Age is a by-the-numbers Universal musical, elevated by the presence of perky songstress Gloria Jean. The star plays Linda Wadsworth, the granddaughter of fabulously wealthy department-store magnate J. H. Wadsworth (Henry Stephenson). Rebelling against Wadsworth's close-minded tyranny, Linda assumes an alias and takes a job at one of his stores. She also moves into a boarding house for Wadsworth employees, overseen by stern-but-kindly Mrs. Connors (Jane Darwell). Oddly, there is no romantic subplot to speak of; like Deanna Durbin before her, Gloria Jean plays a sexless "Little Miss Fixit" who saves the day when all looks bleak. The film is noteworthy only as the screen debut of that matchless comic actor Jack Gilford, then starring in the Broadway revue Meet the People, whose budding film and TV career was egregiously cut short by the Hollywood Blacklist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hugh Beaumont and Ruth Warrick star in this drama about a bank president and his wife, and their earnest attempt to find out just where their marriage went wrong during a time of deep personal crisis. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Set virtually in its entirety in an airborne TWA Constellation (evidently the company agreed to the use of its name in exchange for free advertising), Sky Liner stars Richard Travis as FBI agent Steve Blair. At the beginning of the film, a government courier is murdered by a foreign spy during a transcontinental flight. Blair manages to collar the spy, who is then promptly murdered himself. Now Blair is forced to play detective, sifting out the guilty party (or parties) from the passenger list. Pamela Blake and Rochelle Hudson play the standard "good" and "bad" girls, while the rest of the cast is a film-buff's dream: Steven Geray, Bess Flowers, Jack Mulhall, George Meeker et. al. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musical is a remake of a 1933 film. Like the first, it is set on campus and chronicles the romantic travails of the school rowing champion who has recently come back from a military stint abroad. A young coed is mighty pleased to see him, but he keeps avoiding her. A subplot concerns a group of crooks who are trying to fix a boat race. Songs include: "Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" (F. Dudleigh Vernon, Byron D. Stokes), "Penthouse Serenade" (Will Jason, Val Burton, sung by Phil Regan), "It's Not I'm Such a Wolf, It's Just You're Such a Lamb" (Merle Maddern, Lanier Darwin, sung by Phil Brito), "And Then It's Heaven" (Edward Seiler, Sol Marcus, Al Kaufman, sung by Brito), "Cement Mixer" (Slim Gaillard, Lee Ricks, sung by Gaillard), "Yeproc-Heresi" (Gaillard, sung by Gaillard), "Bach Meets Carle" (a Bach pastiche by Frankie Carle), and "Five Minutes More" (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn, sung by Brito). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The third film of Paramount's "Big Broadcast" series follows the pattern of the first two titles: negligible plot with plenty of memorable music and guest stars. Jack Carson (Jack Benny) owns the radio station this time out; he doesn't get along with the sponsors, and many are threatening to pull their advertising off the air. Jack's solution? Put on a big show, of course, with a handful of the biggest stars of the day. George Burns and Gracie Allen appear once again, this time as the hosts of a golfing program; musical guests include Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Gene Krupa, Larry Adler, and Leopold Stokowski. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide