Mary Beth Hughes Movies

I Accuse My Parents was one of PRC's entries in the "wartime juvenile delinquent drama" sweepstakes, as exemplified by such earlier films as RKO's Youth Runs Wild and Monogram's Where are Your Children? This time around, it's high schooler James Wilson (Robert Lowell) who suffers from lack of parental supervision. As James' parents (John Miljan, Vivienne Osborne) blithely pursue their social life, the boy gets mixed up with the standard bad crowd, who smoke, drink, gamble, and drive fast cars. Inevitably hauled into juvenile court, James blames his parents for his present sorry state-whereupon the Judge (Edward Earle), anticipating the "victim of environment" mindset of the 1980s and 1990s, likewise reprimands Mr. and Mrs. Wilson for their neglect. Billed first, Mary Beth Hughes has little to do in her brief scenes as a good-time girl. I Accuse My Parents was recently given a well-deserved going-over by TV's Mystery Science Theater 3000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title The Lady Confesses is slightly misleading, since it's the hero of the film is accused of murder. On the eve of his marriage to Vicki McGuire (Mary Beth Hughes), Larry Craig (Hugh Beaumont) discovers that his first wife Norma (Barbara Slater), long missing and presumed dead, is very much alive. Shortly thereafter, Norma is killed, and Larry is the number one suspect. To save her sweetie, Vicki becomes an amateur detective, hoping to expose the genuine murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Timber Queen is another of Pine-Thomas' rugged low-budget adventure films of the 1940s, most of which (like this one) starred Richard Arlen. It all begins when Russ (Arlen), a former Army pilot, comes home after a physical discharge. He befriends Elaine (Mary Beth Hughes), the widow of an Army buddy, who has inherited a financially-strapped timber camp. Elaine's financial future hinges on a huge timber shipment, which must arrive at its destination On Time-and that's where Russ and his little airplane come in. Sheldon Leonard is his usual surly self as Smacksie, a reformed racketeer who helps Russ complete his mission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This now-classic indictment of mob rule was a pet project of both star Henry Fonda and director William Wellman, both of whom agreed to work on lesser 20th Century-Fox projects in exchange for this film. After a hard winter on the range, cowboys Gil Carter (Fonda) and Art Croft (Harry Morgan) ride into a fleabitten small town for a drink. Within minutes, they get mixed up in a barroom brawl, which earns them the animosity of the locals. By and by, word reaches town that a local rancher has been killed by rustlers. With the sheriff out of town, a lynch mob is formed under the leadership of Major Tetley (Frank Conroy), a former Confederate officer who hopes to recapture past glories. Worried that they'll be strung up, Carter and Croft reluctantly join the mob and head out of town. In the dark of night, the group comes across three sleeping transients: a farmer named Martin (Dana Andrews), a Mexican (Anthony Quinn), and a senile old man (Francis Ford). The fact that Martin carries no bill of sale written by the so-called murder victim is evidence enough for Tetley to demand that the three men be hanged on the spot. Carter knows that this is a gross miscarriage of justice, but he's helpless to intervene. Resolving himself to his fate, Martin gives Carter a letter to deliver to his wife. The three unfortunates die at the end of the rope, and the mob rides off, only to discover that there never was a murder of any kind. Based on a novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, The Ox-Bow Incident is not so much a western as a gothic melodrama, with deep, looming shadows and atmospheric underlighting worthy of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Though the film lost a fortune at the box office (a fact that Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck never tired of pointing out to Fonda and Wellman), it gains in stature with each passing year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In their last starring film, The Ritz Brothers play the Three Funny Bunnies, a trio of nightclub comedians. The plot contrives to have our heroes pose as tough Chicago gangsters, which gets them mixed up with genuine hoodlums Tony (George Zucco) and Joey (Jack LaRue), a sexy pickpocket named Flo (Mary Beth Hughes), and a fortune in stolen jewels. With all this going on, who cares about nominal romantic leads Julie Russell (Frances Langford) and Dick Manning (Stuart Crawford)? There are some cute bits during the film's 60 minutes, and a clever closing gag, but all in all Never a Dull Moment seldom lives up to its title. Even so, the film received better reviews than some of the Ritzes' earlier efforts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The seemingly ageless Eddie Quillan heads the cast of the Monogram musical Melody Parade. Eddie plays Jimmy Tracy, a nightclub busboy who hopes to become a big-time producer. Mary Beth Hughes costars as Anne O'Rourke, a hatcheck girl with singing aspirations. The arrival of supposed heriess Gloria Brewster (Irene Ryan) would seem to bode well for Jimmy and Anne's showbiz future-but alas, Gloria turns out to be a phony. Never mind: no matter how many complications and setbacks, it's a sure bet that Melody Parade will end with an elaborate, all-smiles production number. Providing extra chuckles are Irene Ryan's husband/vaudeville partner Tim Ryan, and the ineluctable Mantan Moreland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

If MGM's Red Skelton could make the mystery/comedy Whistling in the Dark, 20th Century-Fox's Milton Berle could show up in the mystery/comedy Over My Dead Body (Berle's reputation for lifting gags from other comics now extended to lifting plot material). Berle plays a mystery writer who forever writes himself into corners and is never able to finish a story. While visiting his wife (Mary Beth Hughes) at the office where she works, Berle overhears several men discussing the suicide of a coworker. Struck with a brilliant notion, Berle decides to confess to the murder of the dead man, certain that he'll be able to wriggle out of the situation and thereby have plenty of material for a story. Alas, it turns out that the deceased gentleman was murdered, and Berle is nearly sent to the chair. In emulation of the Bob Hope/Willie Best combination in The Ghost Breakers Milton Berle is teamed with a "scared" black elevator operator, played by a superb African-American radio and vaudeville comedian named Wonderful Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This back-stage romantic comedy pokes fun at Hollywood cowboys as it tells the story of a champion rodeo rider who is contracted to work in a series of low-budget westerns. He has rootin' tootin' fun until he meets a spoiled, volatile actress. He decides to personally take responsibility for "gentling" this tempestuous mare and that is when all the fun begins. Unfortunately, she is not easily broken, he gets fed up and returns to being a real cowboy. Fortunately, by that time, the gal has developed a few feelings for him and decides to go with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Charlie Chan in Rio is a remake of 1931's Black Camel, one of the few pre-1934 "Charlie Chan" entries still in existence. While the original film was set in Hawaii, the remake takes place in Brazil, but the basic intrigues remain the same. While vacation in Rio de Janeiro with his son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung), Honolulu detective Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is asked by the local constabulary to help solve a double homicide. The motivation behind the two murders is apparently tied in with sinister psychologist Alfredo Marana (Victor Jory), who utilizes hypnotism as an adjunct to a clever blackmailing scheme. Cobina Wright Jr. shows up early on as one of the murder victims, alongside Jory, Mary Beth Hughes and the ubiquitous Harold Huber, cast as a foreign police official. Hamilton Macfadden, who directed the original Black Camel, shows up as one of the suspects in Charlie Chan in Rio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rosalind Russell stars as a no-nonsense judge who dabbles in sculpting in her spare time. Walter Pidgeon costars as a reporter assigned to discredit Rosalind after she rules against his boss (Edward Arnold) in a divorce case. Pidgeon plans to frame the judge in a compromising situation, then blackmail her into reducing the alimony. He succeeds in humiliating Rosalind, but regrets his actions when he realizes he's fallen in love with her. All ends happily in this glossy derivative of MGM's earlier Libelled Lady (36). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of commercial radio, 20th Century-Fox cooked up the pageantlike entertainment The Great American Broadcast. Opening with clips of such airwaves favorites as Dick Powell and Fred Allen (courtesy of earlier Fox films like Thanks a Million), the picture gets under way in 1918, as ambitious army buddies Bix Martin (John Payne) and Chuck Hadley (Jack Oakie) try and fail to establish themselves in the business world. At long last, our heroes enter the new field of radio broadcasting, where after several technical and tactical mishaps they achieve success. But Bix and Chuck are strictly small-timers, and soon they're left behind by the big-city stations. The partners break up, while Bix's songstress wife Vicki Adams (Alice Faye) seeks out a loan to get her husband back on his financial feet. When she approaches her wealthy ex-boyfriend Bruce Chadwick (Cesar Romero), Bix burns up and walks out on her. But old pal Chuck comes to the rescue, staging a reunion between Bix and Vicki during the first-ever coast to coast network broadcast. Rather shaky as history, The Great American Broadcast works best on a nostalgia level, offering guest appearances by such specialty performers as The Ink Spots, The Nicholas Brothers, and The Wiere Brothers (of Road to Rio fame). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite the title, the Cisco Kid (Cesar Romero) doesn't feel too lucky at the beginning of this film. It seems that someone else has been committing crimes while passing himself off as Cisco. The scheme was cooked up by a corrupt judge (Willard Robertson), who hopes to drive the settlers off the land and buy it up himself, all the while placing the blame for the reign of terror on the Kid's shoulders. But with the help of his paunchy pal Gordito (Chris-Pin Martin), our hero puts an end to the skullduggery. As a bonus, he finds time for romance in the arms of gorgeous widow Mrs. Lawrence (Evelyn Venable). Mary Beth Hughes has one of her better earlier roles as a brassy dance-hall doxie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This remake of John Ford's classic WW1 drama Four Sons has been updated to the Europe of the late 1930s. At the time of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, four sons of German-Czech parentage go off in separate ideological directions. Chris (Don Ameche) remains loyal to the concept of a free Czechoslovakia; Karl (Alan Curtis) embraces the Nazi cause; Joseph (Robert Lowery) heads to America; and the youngest, Fritz (George Ernest), is drafted in the German army and is killed during the Polish campaign. The impact of the original film is somewhat muted here, since the political ramifications of WW2 were far more complex than those of WW1, and also because Archie Mayo isn't as good a director as John Ford. By far the best performance of the film is delivered by the great Russian stage actress Eugene Leontovich, making a rare screen performance as the long-suffering mother of the Four Sons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide