Arthur Houseman Movies

The outwardly respectable middle-aged couple behind Hollywood's most successful escort service finds their lucrative empire unexpectedly threatened when their daughter returns home from a surprise visit in the arms of an undercover investigator from the District Attorney. For the right price, Ruth Ashley and Greg Stone will find any man a suitable companion. Their clandestine prostitution business presided over by stealthy ex-con Breezy Nolan, Ruth and Greg use their wealth to send unsuspecting daughter June away to an expensive boarding school in hopes of protecting her from the ugly truth. When June drops in for a surprise visit with handsome beau Drake Hamilton, however, the seams in the ruse finally begin to show. Unbeknownst to June, Drake is an undercover investigator from the District Attorney's office who's been sent to gather enough evidence to have the business shut down, and her parents prosecuted. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

S.N. Behrman's hit Broadway show about a guy who writes hit Broadway shows comes to the screen in this comedy. Gaylord Esterbrook (James Stewart) is a reporter from Minnesota who writes a play about life in New York City -- a place he's never visited. To his surprise, a Big Apple producer wants to stage Gaylord's show and asks him to come to New York immediately. While Gaylord hardly seems like a Big City sophisticate, his regular-guy charm makes a big impression on leading lady Linda (Rosalind Russell), who is tired of jaded braggarts like her director, Morgan (Allyn Joslyn). Gaylord and Linda get married, and he becomes one of the most successful playwrights in town, but his new popularity goes to his head, and Linda wonders what happened to the man she married. However, Gaylord's career takes a turn for the worse when he meets Amanda (Genevieve Tobin), a snooty high society type who convinces him that he ought to be writing the Great American Tragedy instead of crowd-pleasing comedies. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

They Made Me a Criminal opens in New York, depicting the latest victory in the ring for Johnny Bradfield (John Garfield), a young boxer who seems headed for a championship. When a reporter finds Bradfield drunk and carousing with women, and learns that the squeaky-clean image that he has cultivated is a complete lie, he threatens to blow the lid off the boxer's real life, and is beaten to death by Bradfield's manager. Bradfield, who was in a drunken stupor during the fight, is framed for the killing by his manager, who rolls him for his wallet, watch, and anything else of value, makes a run for it, and is killed in a fiery car accident. As far as the police are concerned, the case is closed, "Bradfield" having been identified in the wreck by the watch he was wearing. But Johnny Bradfield now has to disappear from New York and anyplace else he's ever been seen, in order to stay "dead." He is sent on his way by his crooked attorney with just a few dollars in his pocket, thumbing rides and walking west. Bradfield collapses one day from exhaustion and near starvation outside of a ranch in Arizona. The ranch is run by May Robson as part of a relief effort to help a group of boys from the New York slums -- Tommy (Billy Halop), Spit (Leo Gorcey), Dippy (Huntz Hall), T.B. (Gabriel Dell), Angel (Bobby Jordan), and Milty (Bernard Punsly) -- keep out of trouble. Identifying himself as "Jack Dorney," he first tries to see what he can get in the way of a free ride from the kids and Tommy's sister, Peggy (Gloria Dickson), who doesn't trust Dorney or his influence over the kids. Meanwhile, back in New York, one police detective, Phelan (Claude Rains), is convinced that the body found in the burned wreck of Johnny Bradfield's car wasn't Bradfield. Phelan is an outcast in his department for having once presented "conclusive" evidence in court against a man who was executed for murder, only to discover later that the man was innocent. He sees this as his chance to redeem himself and his career, and he is such a pariah that his chief gives him permission to follow up leads anywhere he needs to. At the ranch, Dorney takes a genuine liking to the kids, and sees Peggy as a kind of woman he's never known, who has no "angles" in her approach to life. The ranch may have to be sold, however, as there is no more money coming from the church in New York to keep it going. In order to save the ranch and set Peggy and the kids up in a roadside business pumping gas -- an idea of Tommy's -- Dorney decides to enter a prize fight for money against a barnstorming boxer. On the eve of the fight, however, Phelan shows up, drawn by a newspaper photo of Dorney, his face obscured but using the same unusual left-handed boxing stance he used as Johnny Bradfield. Dorney goes into the ring, and finds himself up against a brute who has already flattened two opponents in less than one round each, trying to hide his identity by fighting right-handed. He gets savaged, round after round, until Phelan tells him from ringside that he knows who he is. Free to use his left, Dorney saves himself. Phelan confronts him in the dressing room, and Johnny tells him he'll give him no trouble -- they're about to head back east, with Peggy and the kids trying to thank him, and it dawns on Phelan that possibly this is one case that might better be left "solved" officially the way it is already, even though it means the detective going back to his job as a laughing stock. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Inasmuch as diminutive Frankie Darro was Hollywood's foremost portrayer of jockeys, it should come as no surprise that Darro heads the cast of Racing Blood. The story begins when young Frankie Reynolds (Darro) rescues a crippled nag from the glue factory. With faith and perserverance Frankie builds the horse into a champion racer, only to be kidnapped by the villains on the eve of the Big Race. Escaping from his captors, our hero commandeers an ambulance (a bit "borrowed" from Joe E. Brown's Alibi Ike) and makes it to the racetrack in the nick o' time. Darro's frequent costar Kane Richmond plays stable owner Clay Harrison, who in the last reel proves a suitable love interest for Frankie's sister Phyllis (Gladys Blake). Minimal comedy relief is provided by black actor Fred Toones, once again demeaningly billed as "Snowflake". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the better Pinky Tomlin vehicles for low-budget Ambassador films, With Love and Kisses casts the bespectacled crooner as Arkansas farm boy "Spec" Higgins. An acknowledged genius at composing hit tunes, Higgins works under a handicap: he can only write his ditties in the company of his pet cow Minnie. Unwilling to head to the big city, our hero is forced to do so when radio crooner Don Gray (Kane Richmond) claims authorship of one of Higgin's best songs. The irresistibly cute Toby Wing (then Tomlin's off-screen sweetie) is delightful as female vocalist Barbara Holbrook, while inimitable movie drunk Arthur Housman essays one of his largest screen roles as an imbibing radio sponsor with a very selective memory (shades of the inebriated millionaire in Chaplin's City Lights). Among the screenwriters for With Love and Kisses was a young Morey Amsterdam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second film version of the Edna Ferber/Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Show Boat is considered by many film buffs to be the best of the three. Covering nearly four decades (was there ever an Edna Ferber novel that didn't?), the film stars Irene Dunne as Magnolia Hawks, a role she'd previously played on stage, though not in the Broadway version. The daughter of showboat impresario Captain Andy (Charles Winninger, who was in the Broadway original), Magnolia is swept off her feet by dashing gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Allan Jones). Yearning to appear on the showboat stage, Magnolia gets her chance when Captain Andy's leading lady, the tragic Julie (Helen Morgan, likewise a holdover from Broadway), is ordered not to perform by a small-town sheriff because she is Mulatto. Julie's husband Steve (Donald Cook) loyally walks out with his wife, thereby leaving the leading-man position open--but not for long, since Gaylord Ravenal agrees to take over for Steve, the better to stay close to Magnolia. Despite the disapproval of Magnolia's mother Parthy Hawks (Helen Westley), Magnolia and Ravenal are married. Later on, the couple has a baby girl named Kim. At first, the young family is blissfully happy, but as Ravenal's gambling debts begin to mount, things turn sour. Unable to support Magnolia and Kim, Ravenal walks out on them both. Desperately, Magnolia tries to get a job as a singer in Chicago. She auditions at a night spot where, fortuitously, Julie is the featured attraction. Hoping to give Magnolia a break, Julie gets drunk, forcing the manager to hire Magnolia as a replacement. During her New Years' Eve debut, Magnolia "chokes up" in front of the raucous audience--and then, who should emerge from the crowd but lovable Captain Andy, who gives Magnolia the encouragement she needs. Magnolia goes on to become a famous musical comedy star, as does her grown-up daughter Kim (played as an adult by Sunnie O'Dea). On the eve of Magnolia's retirement from the theater, she is reunited with her now-contrite husband Gaylord Ravenal. While the second half of Show Boat departs radically from both the novel (in which Ravenal never returns ) and the Broadway show, the film manages to capture the spirit of its literary and theatrical ancestors. Of the original score, "Cotton Blossom," "Ol' Man River," "Where's the Mate for Me?" "Make Believe," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," You are Love" and "Bill" are retained, while most of the other songs are heard as background accompaniment. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II penned three new tunes for the film version: "Ah Still Suits Me," "Gallavantin' Around" and "I Have the Room Above." As in all stage and screen versions of Show Boat, the Charles K. Harris standard "After the Ball" is heard in the New Year sequence. In addition to the aforementioned Dunne, Jones, Winninger, Westley, Morgan, and O'Dea, the Show Boat cast includes the magnificent Paul Robeson as Joe (his rendition of "Ol' Man River" can still induce goosebumps), Hattie McDaniel as Queenie and Sammy White and Queenie Smith as the engagingly second-rate vaudeville team of Frank and Ellie Schultz. Though James Whale of Frankenstein fame seems an odd choice for director, he brings a vibrant theatricality to the proceedings that is lacking in other versions. Show Boat literally saved the financially strapped Universal Pictures from receivership--but not soon enough to prevent the ousters of Carl Laemmle Sr. and Jr. in favor of a new administration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Screenwriter Preston Sturges never lets the facts get in the way of a good story in this colorful filmed biography of turn-of-the-century millionaire Diamond Jim Brady. The hearty Edward Arnold stars as Brady, who parlays a small-time railroad supply firm into a thriving financial empire. Once he's in the chips, Diamond Jim indulges in his every whim, lavishing his money on wine, women, song and food -- lots and lots of food. Alas, for all his business acumen, he is never able to find true romance, striking out twice with coquettish Emma (Jean Arthur) and her more sedate look-alike Jane (also Jean Arthur). Along, the way, Diamond Jim also has a casual fling with the fabulous Lillian Russell (Binnie Barnes), but theirs is more a friendship than an affair. Having paid no attention to the truth throughout the film, writer Sturges felt no need to accurately portray Brady's ultimate demise, so he borrows a page from the old George Arliss vehicle Old English by having Diamond Jim deliberately eat himself to death. Edward Arnold would repeat his Diamond Jim Brady characterization opposite Alice Faye in 1940's Lillian Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a story by Damon Runyon, Hold 'Em Yale is also more than a little beholden to O. Henry's Ransom of Red Chief. Spoiled-rotten heiress Clarice Van Cleve (Patricia Ellis) is enticed to New York by fortune-hunter Gigolo Georgie (Cesar Romero), who dumps her in the apartment owned by Runyonesque hoodlums Sunshine Joe (William Frawley), Liverlips (Andy Devine), Sam the Goniff (Warren Hymer) and Benny Southstreet (George E. Stone). Plotting to hold Clarice for ransom, the four hooligans figure that this "dame" will be easy to handle. Boy, are they wrong! Like the proverbial babysitter from hell, the temperamental Clarice is soon ruling the roost in the foursome's hideout. The beleaguered crooks offer to ship the girl back to her father, Mr. Van Cleve (George Barbier), only to find out that he won't take her back -- not even for free! In desperation, the four hoods try to marry Clarice off to college football-hero Hector Wilmot (Buster Crabbe), and to that end they try their best (?) to "fix" the annual Yale-Harvard game so that Hector will prove worthy of the hoydenish heroine -- which, as it turns out, was Mr. Van Cleve's plan all along. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kansas City Princess came at the tail end of the "gold-digger" movie cycle. The inevitable Joan Blondell plays Rosie, a saucy-eyed manicurist who takes it on the lam when she loses a diamond entrusted to her by her gangster boyfriend Dynamite (Robert Armstrong). With nary a dime between them, Rosie and her pal Marie (Glenda Farrell) charm their way onto an ocean voyage to Paris. Also on board is daffy millionaire Junior Ashcraft (Hugh Herbert) enroute to the City of Light to check out rumors that his wife has been unfaithful. Unfortunately for Rosie, Ashcraft has hired himself a bodyguard -- none other than old friend Dynamite! Our heroine manages to wriggle out of her mess by saving Ashcraft from a frame-up engineered by his divorce-minded wife and her shifty attorney (Osgood Perkins). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While this was the second short that The Three Stooges shot for Columbia, this one is the first where they use their own names (and, thankfully, they don't have to talk in couplets, like they did in their first, Woman Haters). Stooge Moe Howard plays a down-on-his-luck fight manager. While eating at a restaurant with some cronies, he finds himself a new fighter -- their waiter (Curly Howard). When a hungry violinist (Larry Fine) offers to play for some soup and begins a lively rendition of "Pop Goes the Weasel," Curly goes into a conniption fit that would soon become classic Stooge fare -- slapping his face, dancing around and "Woop-wooping" wildly. Before anyone can move, he's knocked out all of Moe's pals -- and the restaurant's manager. Moe grabs both Curly and Larry and the trio work their way up in the boxing world -- until one bout in which an accident breaks Larry's violin. Curly takes a brutal beating from Killer Kilduff while Larry runs all over town! looking for something -- anything -- that is playing "Pop Goes the Weasel." He finds a politician's campaign truck blaring the tune from its speakers and races it to the arena in time for Curly to win the fight. In fact, the song -- and Curly's fit -- doesn't stop until Moe and Larry also wind up in a heap in the ring. The Stooges would use this same gag -- Curly stimulated into going nuts -- in at least two other films, 1935's Horses' Collars and 1937's Grips, Grunts and Groans. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Frequently and misleadingly advertised as a W.C. Fields vehicle, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch confines the Great Man's appearance to the final two reels. The rest of the picture is a ploddingly paced adaptation of the hoary old Anne Hagan Rice novel about how wonderful it is to be poor. In a rare movie appearance, the great stage star Pauline Lord plays Mrs. Wiggs, the impecunious but ever-optimistic matriarch of a large, fatherless brood. Though creditors constantly hound Mrs. Wiggs, she remains firmly confident that all family problems will be resolved when her long-missing husband (Donald Meek) returns from his unexplained odyssey. It's quite a chore for our heroine to put on a happy face, especially after the death of the sickliest Wiggs child (George Breakstone), but she does -- and miracle of miracles, her faith in the elusive Mr. Wiggs turns out to be well-founded (though not intentionally so). W.C. Fields is cast as touring actor Mr. Stubbins the "mail-order husband" of Mrs Wiggs' spinsterish friend Miss Hazy (ZaSu Pitts). Once Fields shows up on screen, demanding a gourmet meal from poor Miss Hazy (who's never cooked anything in her life!) all the film's shortcomings and maudlin passages can be forgiven. W.C.'s best line: "The theatre was so packed, the audience couldn't applaud this way?" (claps sideways) "?They had to applaud this way." (claps up and down). Previously filmed in 1914 and 1919, Mrs.Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was remade with Fay Bainter in 1942. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide