Paul Hurst Movies
When American actor Paul Hurst became the comedy sidekick in the Monte Hale western series at Republic in the early '50s, he came by the work naturally; he had been born and bred on California's Miller and Lux Ranch. While in his teens, Hurst attained his first theatre job as a scenery painter in San Francisco, making his on-stage debut at age 19. In 1911, Hurst ventured into western films, wearing three hats as a writer, director and actor. He worked ceaselessly in character roles throughout the '20s, '30s and '40s, most often in comedy parts as dim-witted police officers and muscle-headed athletes. He also showed up in leading roles in 2-reelers, notably as a punchdrunk trainer in Columbia's Glove Slingers series. On at least two memorable occasions, Hurst eschewed comedy for villainy: in 1943's The Ox-Bow Incident, he's the lynch-mob member who ghoulishly reminds the victims what's in store for them by grabbing his collar and making choking sounds. And in Gone with the Wind, Hurst is Hell personified as the Yankee deserter and would-be rapist whom Scarlet O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) shoots in the face at point blank range. Paul Hurst kept busy into the early '50s; at the age of 65, he ended his career and his life in suicide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1942
A solid Jonathan Latimer screenplay is one of the "plusses" of the medium-budget mystery A Night in New Orleans. Preston S. Foster plays police lieutenant Steve Abbott, at present engrossed in a baffling murder case. As he pieces the clues together, Abbott comes to the sobering conclusion that his own wife Ethel (Patricia Morrison) may be intimately involved in the murder. It gets worse: soon Abbott himself is accused of the crime. The film is full of clever little touches, notably a scene in which the heroine is seen reading a book written by none other than Jonathan Latimer! Featured in the cast of A Night in New Orleans is Ginger Rogers' former stand-in Jean Phillips, whom Paramount briefly groomed for stardom in the early 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Patricia Morison, (more)
His Aunt Sophie (Helen Westley) and his teacher Professor Heinrich (Jean Hersholt) are sure that Roger Grant (Tyrone Power) will be a famous classical violinist, but Roger's more interested in popular music. He and his friend, pianist Charlie (Don Ameche), audition at a saloon in San Francisco's Barbary Coast, using sheet music left by singer Stella Kirby (Alice Faye), which had been sent to her by a friend in New York, Irving Berlin. The number, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," proves to be a sensation, and Stella goes along with Charlie's plea to sing with the band, which soon becomes famous for its ragtime numbers. Charlie has fallen in love with Stella by the time they open at the Cliff House, but he soon realizes that she and Roger are in love. Stella is invited to New York by a famous producer, but Roger's against this, and angrily fires her, so Charlie quits, too. When Roger returns from World War I, he meets Stella, only to learn she and Charlie have been married for a year. Another year passes, and Charlie and Davey have formed a new band with Jerry Allen (Ethel Merman) as their lead singer. Charlie knows Stella still loves Roger, so he divorces her, but Roger sails for Europe with the new band. Back in New York, Roger is set for a major concert in swing at Carnegie Hall. Charlie tells Roger about the divorce, and that Stella still loves him. Unable to get a ticket, Stella listens to the concert in a cab. Explaining that he is playing it for one particular person, Roger and his band perform "Alexander's Ragtime Band" as their encore, bringing Stella into the theater, where she's reconciled with Roger. He brings her onstage to perform the number with his band. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, (more)
- 1937
Autograph hound Al Babson (Eddie Cantor) accidentally disrupts the filming of a movie about Ali Baba, and is injured in the process. The filmmakers try to buy him off, but nurse Dinah (Virginia Field) suggests he be hired as an extra. He takes an overdose of painkillers, and his Arabian Nights dreams combine with the plot of the movie. His name leads the populace to think he's the son of Ali Baba, and he's taken to the palace of Sultan Abdullah (Roland Young), who's so impressed by Al that he makes him prime minister. Princess Miriam (June Lang) is in love with Yusuf (Tony Martin), the leader of the peasants, while Al has fallen for Deenah (also Virginia Field), whose father Omar (Maurice Cass) is trying to make a carpet fly. Meanwhile, the evil Prince Musah (Douglas Dumbrille) is conspiring with Sultana (Louise Hovick), one of Abdullah's many wives, to capture the princess, take over Bagdad, and kill Abdullah and Al as well. Miriam and Yusuf are unhappy because royalty and commoners cannot marry, so Al comes up with a plan to help his friends, but the plan spectacularly backfires, and Abdullah orders him to be boiled in oil. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Cantor, Tony Martin, (more)
- 1934
In this drama, an old woman gets disgusted by her relatives and runs away from home. She then begins working as a cook in the home of a prominent antique dealer who works as a jewel thief on the side. As the chef, she gradually meets all of his gang members and takes a special liking to one young man and his girl friend, whom she encourages to reform. Eventually, the crook decides to heed her advice, but before he can safely leave, he must pull off a final caper. Worried, the cook follows him. When the boy is caught, she gets the jewels from him and tries to take the fall. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ivan Simpson, Ben Taggart, (more)
One of John Wayne's most mystical films, Angel and the Badman is also the first production that Wayne personally produced. The star plays a wounded outlaw who is sheltered by a Quaker family. Attracted to the family's angelic daughter Gail Russell, the hard-bitten Wayne undergoes a slow and subtle character transformation; still, he is obsessed with killing the man (Bruce Cabot) who murdered his foster father. The storyline traces not only the regeneration of Wayne, but of the single-minded sheriff (Harry Carey) who'd previously been determined to bring Wayne to justice. Not a big hit in 1947, Angel and the Badman has since become the most frequently telecast of John Wayne's Republic films, thanks to its lapse into Public Domain status in 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Joan Barton, (more)
- 1937
Lively June (Jane Withers), teen-aged daughter of mystery writer Waldo Everett (Jon Qualen), who calls her "Angel," becomes involved in intrigue centering on movie star Pauline Kaye (Sally Blane) and her companion Stivers (Joan Davis). Reporter Nick Moore (Robert Kent), once sweet on Pauline, is convinced that her sudden disappearance is a publicity stunt, which is true -- until gangster Bat Regan (Harold Huber) decides to get involved. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Withers, Robert Kent, (more)
- 1931
Writer/director Tay Garnett reunited the stars of his fabulously successful Her Man (1930) for the 1931 RKO crime drama Bad Company. Ricardo Cortez plays a ruthless, near-psychotic gangster who withal follows his own code of honor. Helen Twelvetrees co-stars as a trusting young woman who marries mob lawyer John Garrick, never dreaming that both her husband and her brother Frank Conroy are involved in the rackets. When she does learn the horrible truth, it is she who determines to "cleanse" her family of the tinge of crime by dealing directly with Cortez-and we mean directly. Drawing most of its incidents from actual events, the screenplay even serves up a fascinating variation on the St. Valentine's Day massacre (it's staged in a hotel room rather than a garage, and it's the best scene in the film). Bad Company was adapted by Garnett and Thomas Buckingham from Put on the Spot, a novel by New York "expose" journalist Jack Lait. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1939
Bad Lands is a remake of John Ford's The Lost Patrol, with the locale changed from the Mesopotamian to the Arizona desert. The year is 1875: A posse headed by sheriff Robert Barrat is held at bay by Apache warriors. Following the pattern established by the Ford film, the posse members are decimated one by one, until only Barrat is left. Not content with merely changing the location and time-frame, scriptwriter Clarence Upson Young added a subplot involving a much-coveted vein of silver ore. This contrivance aside, Bad Lands is a worthy revision of the original Lost Patrol, though not quite as good as such later WW2 variations as Bataan and Sahara. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert H. Barrat, Noah Beery, Jr., (more)
- 1944
A con artist heads for the gold fields of Nevada during the 1880s after he is tossed off of San Francisco's Barbary Coast. Once in the state, he poses as an important banker. When he actually does find a gold mine, he is forcibly compelled to divvy up the take with the townsfolk. He doesn't mind going straight until his former buddies (still crooks) show up and try to steal the town payroll. To save the town and the mine, the phony financier becomes a crook himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Binnie Barnes, John Carradine, (more)
- 1924
Bunyan (Wesley Barry, who was too old for former child roles, but too young to be a credible adult) works as a garage mechanic and his sweetheart, Molly Coshgan (Molly Malone), also works there. When Johnny Prentiss, the lightweight champion (Johnny Relasco), comes into the garage and starts flirting with Molly, Bunyan wants to fight him. This gives Prentiss' manager, Jim Canby (Frank Campeau) an idea -- he offers to pay Bunyan to stage comic fights to amuse the audience. Bunyan agrees since he is saving up to buy a partnership in the garage. When Prentiss comes back to town for another fight, Canby offers Bunyan 200 dollars for every round that he can stay in the ring with the champ. Bunyan is thrilled because a thousand dollars is what he needs for the partnership. He only manages to stay for four rounds, but he's still a hero to Molly, who goes to see him. She's stopped, however, by Prentiss, who makes a grab for her. Bunyan immediately springs into action and knocks his opponent cold. Canby lets him have the full thousand, and Bunyan is able to buy the partnership and wed Molly. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Barry
Of all the "kill the commies" cold war films of the 1950s, John Wayne's Big Jim McLain may well be the worst. Certainly it's the hardest one to sit through today. The Duke and his partner Jim Arness (Wayne's real-life protege) head to Hawaii to investigate a subversive pro-Red organization. Feigning love for suspect Nancy Olson, Wayne ferrets out the name of the Big Cheese, played by Gayne Whitman. After a long wild-goose chase, peopled by such oddball types as Hans Conried and Alan Napier, Wayne catches up with his quarry, who has--egad!--already murdered Arness. Wayne exacts vengeance, paving the way for a final clinch with Nancy Olson, who turns out to be true-blue and not red after all. To quote Spike Jones: "Peeeeee.....yewwwww." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Nancy Olson, (more)
- 1921
Based on a 1921 short story, Baa, Baa Black Sheep, by the prolific Wilbur C. Tuttle, this independently produced silent Western starred Neal Hart, a distant cousin of William S. Hart, as Rex Carson, a young rancher who turns highwayman in an attempt to protect the sheep farmers from the ubiquitous cattlemen's association. The plot was one of the most enduring clichés in Westerns of the 1920s. Black Sheep was produced by Louis Chaudet and Paul Hurst (who also directed) and released on the states rights market by Pinnacle Pictures. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1936
Amateur detective Peter Cornish (William Gargan) and dimwitted police inspector Killian (Paul Hurst) combine forces to track down a blackmailer. Cornish's interest in the case is more than professional: among those being blackmailed is pretty heiress Joan Rankin (Florence Rice). The case takes on a whole new coloring when the extortionist is murdered, and Joan falls under suspicion. On the other hand, the guilty party could be Nelson the butler (Wyrley Birch), who was being indirectly victimized by the dead man. For the most part, Blackmailer is played for laughs, presumably to keep the Hays Office from complaining that the picture was too morbid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gargan, Florence Rice, (more)
- 1930
Intending to get value for money out of their house leading man Rex Lease, Tiffany Studios cast the personable actor in everything from westerns to sports dramas to domestic comedies like Borrowed Wives. Lease plays Peter Foley, who stands to inherit a fortune from his late uncle. The problem: To increase his allowance from his wealthy relative, Peter pretended to have a wife. Naturally, the will stipulates that Peter still be married, lest he lose his $800,000 legacy. The rest of the plotline is implicit in the film's title, with everyone concerned running around at top speed to convince the audience that something funny is going on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Lease, Vera Reynolds, (more)
- 1940
Unrelated to Monogram's series of "Bowery Boys" B pictures, Republic's Bowery Boy stars Dennis O'Keefe as a crusading slum doctor. Actually, O'Keefe doesn't play the title character: that honor goes to Jimmy Lydon, a tough street kid who tries to block the plans made by O'Keefe and nurse Louise Campbell to build a health clinic. But when mobster Roger Pryor sells tainted meat that results in an outbreak of botulism, Lydon becomes O'Keefe's biggest booster. Also in the cast is Jimmy Lydon's younger brother Ormund, who plays...Jimmy Lydon's younger brother. Bowery Boy served as the directorial debut of former film editor William Morgan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Louise Campbell, (more)
- 1924
Falsely accused of murdering a prospector and on the lam from the law, rancher Jess Dean (Yakima Canutt) not only tracks down the real culprit (shifty-eyed Wilbur McGaugh) but earns the love and respect of his enemy's daughter (Aly Murrell). Directed by prolific western performer Paul Hurst, this independently produced silent western was one of the earliest starring vehicles for legendary stunt-coordinator Yakima Canutt. Cannutt's career as a leading man didn't survive the changeover to sound, but his stunt work made a lasting impression on the film industry and earned him a special Academy Award in 1966 "for creating the profession of stunt man as it exists today." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yakima Canutt, Judge Hamilton, (more)
- 1939
Jeanette MacDonald and Lew Ayres make strange bedfellows in the overproduced MGM musical Broadway Serenade. She plays aspiring singer Mary Hale, and he plays her husband, struggling songwriter James Geoffrey Seymour. The couple's vaudeville act breaks up when Mary is hired for a big-time Broadway revue. As she rises to the top of the show-business heap, Seymour hits the skids, having lost his inspiration. On the verge of divorcing Seymour to marry a wealthy producer, Mary finally realizes that her life will be incomplete without her husband by her side. Saving the film from drowning in a sea of cliches are Jeanette MacDonald's musical renditions, not to mention the comedy relief of Frank Morgan and veteran vaudevillian Al Shean. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, Lew Ayres, (more)
- 1927
Buttons was another mild entry in the ever-fading career of juvenile star Jackie Coogan. This is the story of a London slum boy who manages to land a job as a page on a luxury ocean liner. Performing above and beyond the call of duty, "Buttons" prevents leading lady Gertrude Olmstead from entering into a disastrous marriage with fortune-hunting Roy D'Arcy. Inevitably, the ship hits an iceberg, but while the passengers and the rest of the crew head for the lifeboats, "Buttons" loyally returns -- to go down with the ship with his best friend, the captain; fortunately, both are saved just before they sink beneath the waves. After completing Buttons, 13-year-old Jackie Coogan temporarily retired from films to enter military school; he would not be seen on screen again until 1930's Tom Sawyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gertrude Olmstead, Jackie Coogan, (more)
- 1939
Paramount's Café Society applies a glossy new coat of paint to a wheezy old plotline. Madeleine Carroll plays a debutante named Christopher, who after a whirlwind courtship marries newspaper photographer Crick O'Banion (Fred MacMurray). But when Crick finds out that he's been rushed to the altar so that Christoper can win a bet with society columnist Sonny DeWitt (Allyn Joslyn) he vows to teach her a good lesson. With the sub rosa help of Christopher's wealthy uncle (Claude Gillingwater Sr.), Crick contrives a latter-day "Taming of the Shrew" scenario. It's all been done before and would all be done again, but the stars are attractive and the production values top-rank. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Carroll, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1943
Though the 45-minute Calaboose was the second of three Hal Roach "streamliners" teaming Jimmy Rogers (son of Will) and Noah Beery Jr., it was the third to be released. Rogers and Beery play a couple of laid-back itinerant cowobys who wander into a small western town. Here they meet sheriff's daughter Doris Lane (Mary Brian), a staunch believer in the rehabilitation of criminals. Smitten by Doris, the boys contrive to get themselves arrested by her dad (William B. Davidson), who, in accordance with Doris' wishes, runs his jail like a luxury hotel. The plot thickens when desperate gangster Sluggsy Baker (Marc Lawrence) shows up in town-and Sluggsy just can't see things Doris' way so far as reforming is concerned. For its 1980s TV release, Calaboose was coupled with another 45-minute Roach streamliner, Dudes are Pretty People. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Rogers, Mary Brian, (more)
- 1948
The tragic death from a heart attack of veteran supporting player LeRoy Mason marred the filming of this, Monte Hale's first music western of 1948. Returning to the town of Gunnison to investigate the murder of his uncle, Hale is mistaken for a notorious outlaw (Daniel M. Sheridan) and hired as the town's new sheriff by crooked mayor Douglas Evans. Assigned to run the local gold miners off their claims, Hale and sidekick Paul Hurst instead work to trap the real culprits, nasty Tristram Coffin and his gang of cutthroats. Coffin, who also appears disguised as a dimwitted Indian, was in many ways LeRoy Mason's replacement as Republic Pictures' resident Mustachioed Boss Villain. Filmed in the studio's low-budget color system, Trucolor, California Firebrand once again teamed Hale with the singing group Foy Willing & the Riders of the Purple Sage, this time featuring girl singer Alice Tyrrell. According to an unsubstantiated claim, Forrest Tucker dubbed the voice of supporting actor Daniel M. Sheridan. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Hale, Adrian Booth, (more)
- 1929
Set during the Civil War, this rousing silent Western starred Ken Maynard in top form as a federal agent tracking down a gang of outlaws who are holding up vital shipments of gold from California. To get close to gang leader Butch McGraw (hulking Captain C.E. Anderson), Maynard pretends to be an outlaw himself, a ruse that always seems to work in Westerns such as this. After an exciting chase that features no less than three stagecoach lines, Maynard saves the girl (Dorothy Dwan), rounds up the gang, and wins the day for the Union forces. The chase footage from this film found its way into the later Maynard serial Mystery Mountain as well as the 1937 remake starring Dick Foran. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Dorothy Dwan, (more)
- 1935
Calm Yourself starts off as ace advertising man Pat (Robert Young) is fired from his job when he offends the highly offendable -- and none too likeable -- Mary Elizabeth (Betty Furness). This segues into a phony kidnapping scheme that thrusts Pat and Mary together, furthering their mutual animosity. Fortunately for Pat, heroine Rosalind (Madge Evans) is an agreeable sort, and it is she with whom he ends up at fadeout time. Nat Pendleton goes through his usual paces as comic-opera gangster Knuckles Benedict. Director George B. Seitz, who ground out four films for MGM in 1935, allows the cast of Calm Yourself to mug and glower to their heart's content: some of it is funny, some of it isn't. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Madge Evans, (more)
- 1941
Bob Hope plays a famous movie star who does his best to avoid the pre-war draft, but ends up in uniform all the same. Hope marries Dorothy Lamour, the daughter of Army colonel Clarence Kolb, in hopes that this union will help him sidestep military service. Stuck in boot camp, Hope is a class-A screw-up until redeeming himself during a sham battle--though his "heroic" commandeering of a tank began as yet another boo-boo. Still not entirely certain that Hope could carry a film by himself, Paramount teamed him with Eddie Bracken and Lynne Overman--a sort of Abbott and Costello plus One. Despite the efforts to make Bob Hope part of an ensemble, it is clear from the first frame to the last who is truly the star of Caught in the Draft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, (more)
- 1943
Everything clicks in this tuneful, colorful and profitable Betty Grable musical. The star plays Katie Farley, a gyrating saloon entertainer in turn-of-the-century New York. Convinced that Katie is destined for Bigger Things, Coney Island impresario Eddie Johnson (George Montgomery) tries to turn the raucous song-and-dance girl into a refined entertainer, at one point handcuffing her wrists and ankles so she'll be forced to rely on her voice rather than her undulations. Sure enough, Katie becomes a high-class Broadway star under the aegis of showman Willie Hammerstein (Matt Briggs) -- and equally sure enough, she and Eddie grow apart. After a desultory romance with Eddie's rival, slick saloon owner Joe Rocco (Cesar Romero), Katie eventually returns to the arms of the man she truly loves, as comedy relief Frankie (Phil Silvers) looks on in myopic glee. Among the musical highlights of Coney Island is Betty's delightful rendition of the old chestnut "Cuddle Up a Little Closer". The film was remade, again with Grable, as Wabash Avenue (1950). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, George Montgomery, (more)
