Virginia Howell Movies
- 1939
In this newspaper drama, a young man's father, a prominent newspaper publisher is violently murdered by famous gangsters. The young man uses the power of his newly inherited press to get revenge upon the killers by exposing them. Unfortunately, the young man's schemes go awry when he learns the identity of the trigger man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Hull, Marsha Hunt, (more)
- 1939
Dorothy Lamour had been playing "sarong girls" long enough to parody her screen character in 1939's Best of the Blues. Tired of portraying jungle princesses, a temperamental Broadway star (Lamour) runs out on her manager (Jerome Cowan) and joins a Mississippi showboat under a phony name. Incredibly, none of the showboat audiences recognize this supposedly world-famous star, and she becomes the toast of the South--as well as the object of boat owner Lloyd Nolan's affections. When the truth comes out, Nolan spurns Lamour, but they're back together for the musical finale. Best of the Blues is the television title for St. Louis Blues; the change was made to avoid confusion with the 1958 biopic of W.C. Handy, also titled St. Louis Blues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Lamour, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
Based on the Clare Booth Luce play of the same name, this MGM comedy is justly famous for its all-female cast and deft direction by George Cukor. The plot centers on a group of gossipy high-society women who spend their days at the beauty salon and haunting fashion shows. The sweet, happily wedded Mary Haines (Norma Shearer) finds her marriage in trouble when shopgirl Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford) gets her hooks into Mary's man. Naturally, this situation becomes the hot talk amongst Mary's catty friends, especially the scandalmonger Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell), who has little room to talk -- she finds herself on a train to Reno and headed for divorce right after Mary. But with a bit of guts and daring, Mary snatches her man right back from Crystal's clutches. Snappy, witty dialogue, much of it courtesy of veteran screenwriter Anita Loos, helps send this film's humor over the top. So do the characterizations -- Crawford is as venomous as they come, and this was Russell's first chance to show what she could do as a comedienne. And don't discount Shearer -- her portrayal of good-girl Mary is never overpowered by these two far-flashier roles. The only part of The Women that misses is the fashion-show sequence. It was shot in color -- an innovative idea in its day -- but now both the concept and clothes are dreary and archaic. Do keep an eye on the supporting players, though, especially Mary Boland as the Countess DeLage. The role was based on a cafe society dame of that era, the Countess DiFrasso, who had a wild affair with Gary Cooper; that romance is satirized here. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, (more)
- 1938
In this comedy, wealthy girls attend boarding school to learn proper etiquette. The well-mannered character of the class is disrupted when one of the proper young women plans to elope with a handsome young simpleton. Unfortunately she is outfoxed by a young teacher who elopes with the boy before she can. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Shirley, Nan Grey, (more)
- 1938
Goddbye Broadway is wrapped up by two stage & screen veterans, Alice Brady and Charles Winninger. The stars play vaudevillians Molly and Pat Malloy, who are suckered into investing $4000 in a ramschackle New England hotel. After a variety of predictable but amusing complications, the Malloys turn the tables on the sharpsters (Jed Prouty and Frank Jenks) who unloaded the property on them. Radio fans will enjoy seeing comedian Tommy Riggs, whose squeaky-voiced "Betty Lou" alter ego was a major airwaves attraction throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Directed by Leo McCarey's brother Raymond, Goodbye Broadway is based on James Gleason's 1927 stage comedy The Shannons of Broadway, previously filmed in 1929. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Brady, Charles Winninger, (more)
- 1938
MGM's leading musical team of the 30's, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy are paired once again in this fourth film version of David Belasco's creaky melodrama, featuring music by Sigmund Romberg and Gus Kahn. Jeanette MacDonald is Mary Robbins, the owner of a bawdy, rough-house saloon in a western mining town, who falls in love with the Mexican bandit Ramerez (Nelson Eddy), who has disguised himself as a cavalry officer. But when local sheriff Jack Rance (Walter Pidgeon) tracks down Ramerez and wounds him, Mary discovers Ramerez's ruse and begs Rance for the outlaw's freedom. The only problem is that Nance is also in love with Mary. Girl of the Golden West was originally tinted in a sepia-tone to create a look as burnished as the MGM production design. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, (more)
- 1938
There were those who considered child star Edith Fellows to be far more talented than her "rival" Shirley Temple; still, while Temple was starring in A pictures at Fox, Fellows had to be content with such Columbia B's as The Little Adventuress. In this one, Fellows plays juvenile equestrian Pinky Horton, whose vaudevillian parents are killed in an on-stage accident. Pinky and her beloved trick horse are bundled off to relatives in California, where she befriends her "black sheep" cousin, chronic gambler Dick Horton (Richard Fiske). With the help of trainer Handy (Cliff Edwards), Pinky transforms her horse into a racing champ, saving the family's honor (and bank account) in the obligatory Big Race. Part of the fun in Little Adventuress is watching perennial Three Stooges foil Richard Fiske play a romantic lead opposite the ubiquitious Jacqueline Wells (aka Julie Bishop). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edith Fellows, Richard Fiske, (more)
- 1936
In this melodrama a chorine endeavors to become a star, but it isn't easy. Her wealthy boyfriend wants to marry her until his snooty family rejects her. At her job, her boss is cruel to her. Still the woman persists and even gets jobs waiting tables and modeling. Luckily for her, a good friend stands behind her regardless of her luck and by the story's end, she comes to appreciate this and romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marian Nixon, Chick Chandler, (more)
- 1935
In this rather black comedy, a nervous office worker goes to a local quack for a check up and learns that he has only three months left to live. The mild-mannered man decides that if he is going to go, he is going to go with gusto. When he finds someone has robbed his boss's safe, he decides to take off after the thieves. His new boldness attracts the attention of another office introvert. Her attentions inspire him to perform even more dangerous feats of daring do. His courage pays off and the badguys are caught. He then wins the girl, and learns that he is in perfect health. The happy couple enjoy a long life together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Everett Horton, Irene Hervey, (more)
Katharine Hepburn stars as Booth Tarkington's would-be society belle Alice Adams. The product of a family of modest means, Alice nonetheless dreams of being accepted by the "better people." Luck of luck, she meets well-to-do young Fred MacMurray at a social gathering; he is charmed by her pathetic attempts at putting on airs and accepts her invitation to dine at the Adams home. The meal is a disaster: Alice's parents (Fred Stone and Anne Shoemaker) are obviously way out of MacMurray's league, while the servant (Hattie McDaniel) that the family hired for the occasion shows up drunk and very surly. Alice Adams was the first major directorial assignment for George Stevens, as well as one of the few Katharine Hepburn vehicles of the 1930s to score a hit with the public. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1934
Inspired by the eccentric, reclusive Wendel Family of New York's Fifth Avenue, Elizabeth MacFadden's stage melodrama Double Door was adapted for the screen in 1934. Set in 1910 Manhattan, the film stars Mary Morris and Anne Revere, repeating their stage roles as domineering, calculating Victoria Van Brett and her weakling sister Caroline. The title refers to the door guarding the Van Brett's secret vault, wherein are stored the family jewels. Years earlier, Victoria, the only member of the family who knows the vault's combination, locked Caroline in the dark, airless chamber, literally frightening her into madness. At present, the misleadingly sweet-natured Victoria has embarked upon a campaign to destroy Ann Darrow (Elizabeth Allan), the new bride of her half-brother Rip Van Brett (Kent Taylor). When her efforts to accuse the girl of having an affair with doctor John Lucas (Colin Tapley) fail, Victoria does her utmost to lure Ann into the vault, intending to lock her in and drive her insane. Perhaps it goes without saying that the heroine will survive, and that Victoria herself will be forever entombed behind that double door. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Morris, Evelyn Venable, (more)
Previously filmed with Lillian Gish in 1926, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter was given a remarkably faithful treatment by low-budget Majestic Pictures in 1934. In her last film appearance, Colleen Moore stars as 17th-century Salem resident Hester Prynne, who when she delivers a child out of wedlock is forced by the prudish townspeople to wear the scarlet "A" for adultery. The father of the baby is none other than Reverend Dimmesdale (Hardie Albright), who wants to confess to his indiscretion but is prohibited from doing so by the pious Hester. Things come to a sorry pass when Hester's long-missing husband Roger Chillingworth (Henry B. Walthall, repeating his role from the 1926 version) returns to Salem and demands a few immediate answers. The film's colonial-era milieu is not always realized, due to inconsistent period costumes and phraseology; also, the direction and acting ranges from adequate to stilted. Still, this Scarlet Letter is a lot more worthwhile than Demi Moore's vanity remake of 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colleen Moore, Hardie Albright, (more)
- 1934
When asked in 1970 to recall his participation in RKO Radio's Spitfire, Ralph Bellamy prefaced his comments with a terse "Why don't we just forget about it?" Based on a play by Lula Vollmer, the film stars Katharine Hepburn, phony Ozark accent and all, as Trigger Hicks, an illiterate hillbilly faith healer. A very curious young lady, Trigger prays for the souls of all those around her, but this doesn't stop her from flinging rocks at them when she's upset (which is often!). Romance unexpectedly enters Trigger's life in the form of engineer Stafford (Robert Young) and construction boss Fleetwood (Ralph Bellamy), both of whom are instrumental in saving her from a superstitious lynch mob after she kidnaps an ailing baby "for its own good." Outside of Sylvia Scarlett, Spitfire is Katharine Hepburn's strangest film -- and, sad to say, one of her worst. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Robert Young, (more)
- 1933
An espionage drama set in the early 20th century, Ever in My Heart stars Barbara Stanwyck as a New England naif who marries a German citizen (Otto Kruger). In 1915, Stanwyck and her husband suffer a brace of blows: The death of their son, and the sinking of the Lusitania, the latter incident sparking a wave of anti-German sentiment. Hounded out of their small town by the angered citizens, Stanwyck and Kruger move to Europe, where the husband voluntarily leaves his wife to join the Kaiser's army. In 1917, Stanwyck, working as a canteen volunteer in France, discovers that her once pro-American husband is now a German spy. To save him from a firing squad, she poisons his wine, then kills herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Otto Kruger, (more)
- 1933
In this comedy a maid and a butler work for a very rich man. The trouble begins when their employer dies and leaves his estate to them. Once he is gone, they are free to finally marry. Unfortunately, they do not enjoy being wealthy, and they must lose everything and break up before they get back together and have a happy life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Slim" Summerville, ZaSu Pitts, (more)
- 1933
Our Betters is adapted from Somerset Maugham's play about the shallowness and hypocrisy of the idle rich. American heiress Constance Bennett snares a titled British husband (Alan Mobray), but when she discovers that he is merely marrying her for her money, she decides to carry on a few affairs of her own. Going from wide-eyed innocent to bitter cynic, Bennett tries to maneuver her own sister (Anita Louise) into a titled marriage so that the "gravy train" of privileges and sexual liaisons will never end. Bennett ultimately ends up alone and miserable, though she retains her wealth and puts up a good front right to the final fade-out. Maugham's original play was intended to satirize wealthy Americans who buy their way into European society, but the film version of Our Betters is far rougher on the Continental Set than it is on Constance Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Bennett, Gilbert Roland, (more)
Tomorrow at Seven is one of those "you will die at the appointed hour" murder mysteries which flooded the market in the early 1930s. An unknown killer considerately informs his victims-to-be of their imminent demises by mailing them the Ace of Spades-hence his nom-de-murder, "Mr. Ace." Novelist Chester Morris and bumbling detectives Allen Jenkins and Frank McHugh team up to ascertain the true identity of Mr. Ace before he can claim leading lady Vivienne Osborne as his next victim. Tomorrow at Seven was concocted by Ralph Spence, who during the 1920s became famous as the king of the subtitle writers. The film was produced independently by Jefferson Pictures, and distributed by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, Vivienne Osborne, (more)
- 1932
As indicated by its "catchphrase" title, Okay America is one of several early-1930s films based on the exploits of gossip columnist Walter Winchell. The big surprise here is that the Winchell counterpart is played not by W.W. look-alike Lee Tracy, as was usually the case, but by baby-faced Lew Ayres. Caring little how many lives he's destroyed in his pursuit of sensationalism, columnist Larry Wayne (Lew Ayres) is arguably the most-hated man on Broadway -- and in some circles, the most influential. Wayne sticks his nose in everyone's business, including Caponelike gangster Alsotto (Edward Arnold) and the grief-stricken family of a kidnapped girl (Margaret Lindsay). Motivated by his lust for power and publicity, Wayne offers to rescue the kidnap victim, and in so doing absolves himself of his past misdeeds -- but not soon enough to avoid the terrible vengeance of the unforgiving Alssoto, whom he has double-crossed along the way. Its downbeat ending intact, Okay America was effectively remade as Risky Business in 1939. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan, (more)
