Esther Howard Movies

Henry Fonda made his screen debut in this filmization of his Broadway success The Farmer Takes a Wife. The story is set along the Erie Canal in the 1850s. Fonda plays a farmer who takes a river job to make ends meet. He falls in love with Janet Gaynor, daughter of a canal-boat cook, who thinks very little of farmers. Nonetheless, Fonda and Gaynor marry, much to the displeasure of canal skipper Charles Bickford, who'd assumed that Janet was his girl. When Fonda avoids a fight with Bickford, Janet believes that he's yellow, but he eventually proves otherwise. It is said that during his first day on the set, movie novice Henry Fonda, noting the camera direction "dolly with Dan and Molly" in the script, asked director Victor Fleming who Dolly was. Adapted from the play by Frank B. Elser and Marc Connelly, The Farmer Takes a Wife was remade with Betty Grable and Dale Robertson in 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this fluffy romance, a young woman fights against the narrow-minded residents of her small town. The trouble begins when a young woman flees her boarding school to stay with her retired aunt, a former actress, who try as she might, has never been welcomed into the snobbish community in which she resides. The young woman too, is shunned and ends up being victimized in witchcraft trial and ducked into a pool of water. A handsome newspaper editor arrives to check out the story, and he and the girl fall in love. In the end, she moves to New York; when he gets a good job at a New York paper, he moves there too, and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a bright young mill worker is left in charge of his late employer's estate. This causes many hard feelings from the surviving family. He forces the boss's son and daughter to work in the factory. They do not want to. For revenge they begin divulging trade secrets to a competitor. They only stop after the daughter falls in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This was the next-to-last entry of the Cohens and Kellys series, which were becoming increasingly more tiresome with each picture. Once again, Charlie Murray and George Sidney reprise their roles as Kelly and Cohen, respectively, but instead of Kate Price and Vera Gordon as their wives, they have Esther Howard and Emma Dunn. The story centers around the Cohen and Kelly kids, Melville Cohen (Norman Foster) and Kitty Kelly (June Clyde). Melville enters Kitty's picture in a movie contest and she wins a Hollywood contract. The Kellys dump their diner and move from the little town of Hillsboro to the glamour of Tinsletown. Kitty's subsequent success goes to the Kelly's heads (in fact, Clyde puts on airs not unlike the Marion Davies character in Show People). When the earthy (and proud of it) Cohens come to visit, it creates an embarrassing situation for everyone all around. Then talkies come in, Kitty's acting career fails, and Melville's songwriting takes off. Eventually Melville's career also goes belly-up and both the Cohens and Kellys head back for the safer confines of Hillsboro, friends once again. The one really bright note in this film is its cameos -- most of them take place in a scene at the Cocoanut Grove, back then Hollywood's place to be seen. That's where you can see Boris Karloff, Tom Mix, Lew Ayres, and Gloria Stuart, among others. One additional surprise is former silent star Eileen Percy, who plays a writer interviewing Kitty Kelly -- in real life, Percy was in the midst of giving up her acting career in favor of writing a newspaper society column. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

If only Merrily We Go To Hell was as interesting as its title! To escape an arranged marriage, heiress Joan Prentice (Sylvia Sidney) elopes with reporter Jerry Corbett (Fredric March). Unfortunately, Corbett is not only irresponsible, but also an abusive drunkard. To make matters worse, predatory Claire Hempstead (Adrienne Ames) has set her mind on stealing Corbett away from the hapless Joan. Finally fed up with her besotted mate, Joan walks out on him, only to discover that she's pregnant. The prospect of impending fatherhood causes Corbett to shape up and "dry out" in a hurry, but one still has doubts whether he'll be able to keep his promise never to touch another drop of liquor. Cary Grant has a tiny role as a stage actor in this unsettling blend of romance, drinking jokes, and Victorian melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

College football is satirized in this comedy that begins as racketeer "Knucks" McGoin buys Canarsie College and fills it with hoods and professional wrestlers posing as students. When football season comes, these "students" beat the tar out of their rivals during the games. Naturally the stands are SRO during home games; naturally, the racketeer keeps all the money. Things are going well until his rival gang figures out his scam and does the same thing. In the end, the two teams meet during the championship and all heck breaks loose when the gridiron heros are found to be packing iron of their own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, an ambassador must become a police snitch for a corrupt vice squad and it nearly destroys his career. He survives the incident with reputation intact. But then the cops come 'round again. He is uncooperative until they begin threatening the woman he loves. In the end, the man gets revenge by testifying in a court case that questions the dubious practice of using informers to gather evidence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide