George Irving Movies

Notorious as the movie that gangster John Dillinger attended on the night he was killed, Manhattan Melodrama has weathered the years as one of MGM's finest examples of pure storytelling. The pageant-like story begins in 1904, when the excursion steamer "General Slocum" blows up and burns in the East River. Two young boys are orphaned by the disaster. They are adopted by a kindly Jewish businessman (Harry Green) who has lost his own children. Years later, when he is killed during a anarchist rally, the boys are separated once more. They grow up to be straight-arrow attorney Jim Wade (William Powell) and big-time gambler Blackie Gallagher (Clark Gable). Though the two men still like and respect one another, they are now on opposite sides of the legal fence. The professional rivalry becomes personal when Jim marries Blackie's ex-mistress Eleanor (Myrna Loy). The typically stellar MGM supporting cast includes Nat Pendleton as Blackie's faithful stooge, Isabel Jewell as his addled girlfriend, Mickey Rooney as the younger Blackie (a marvelous piece of mimicry here), and blonde singer Shirley Ross, here appearing in blackface in a Harlem nightclub sequence, singing a new Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart tune that would later gain popularity (with different lyrics) as "Blue Moon." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although venereal disease was considered as delicate a subject then as it is now, this was nonetheless the third filmed version of Eugène Brieux' 1901 play Les Avariés, known in English-speaking lands as Damaged Lives. Don is a shallow, naïve former ship's officer trying to make the transition to an executive position in the shipping company. He breaks a dinner engagement with his longtime fiancée Joan in order to make a night on the town with one of his company's clients. The client ends up drunk, and at the end of the long night Don ends up with Elise, a woman of dubious reputation who nevertheless lives in an impressive, Art Deco-styled apartment. Although he feels guilty about the affair, Don swiftly marries his sweetheart, only to get the phone call from "the other woman" saying she must see him immediately. Elise confronts Don discreetly that she has given him the gift that keeps on giving, which he refuses to believe. Elise then promptly kills herself, but later Don gets another call from a VD clinic which is treating his wife. After a harrowing visit to a series of "too-far-gone" patients, Don sees the light and agrees to get treatment. But the psychological effect on Joan has different results, and Don must rise to the occasion to save them both. Damaged Lives was initially released in Canada and a few cities in the United States but was stopped by censors in most American towns. In 1937 it was re-released as The Shocking Truth with a 29-minute lecture on VD added onto the end of the film to satisfy censors. Most current video releases do not include this extra material. A week after it opened, a competing domestic version of Damaged Lives also appeared, and with its similar storyline it is often confused with this Canadian film. There is no comparison stylistically, as Edgar G. Ulmer put far more into Damaged Lives than the property and its 18,000-dollar budget deserved. ~ David Lewis, All Movie Guide

Joe E. Brown is a sailor who hopes to match the accomplishments of his seaman father. Unfortunately, Joe is perhaps the clumsiest gob ever to sail the seven seas. Nor can he steer clear of trouble: Through a series of wholly unbelievable circumstances, Joe finds himself alone on deck of a ship that's about to be shelled for target practice. He redeems himself for this and all past misdeeds when he inadvertently breaks up an espionage ring. Son of a Sailor is typical Joe E. Brown fare, but it's the sort of surefire material the public craved; indeed, at least one theatre manager insisted that Warner Bros. (Brown's home studio) send him more of the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a recently convicted criminal boards a train bound for the prison where he will be hanged. His wife rides with him and en route tells a reporter how her husband had accidentally killed a man while protecting her. The reporter, who is dying of tuberculosis, is touched by the story and decides to help them by knocking out a guard, helping the man to escape and jumping off the train to his death. When authorities find the corpse, the assume it belongs to the young convict, and the real killer and his wife are free to start a new life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This first film version of H.G. Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau stars Charles Laughton as Dr.Moreau, a dedicated but sadly misguided scientist who rules the roost on a remote island. Shipwrecked sailor Edward Parker Richard Arlen finds himself on Moreau's island, agreeing to stick around until another boat can come along and take him home. But that's not quite what Moreau has in mind: he'd rather Parker stay on the island and marry the exotic Lota (Kathleen Burke), who curiously possesses the characteristics of the panther. In fact, all the island's natives seem more animal than human, especially the hirsute Bela Lugosi. And why not? They are animals who've been transformed by Moreau into humanlike creatures via surgery. Moreau's plans to mate Parker and Lota are complicated by the arrival of Parker's fiancee Leila Hyams, who has been brought to the island by ship's captain Stanley Fields, one of Moreau's flunkies. When Moreau kills Fields for this insubordination, he makes the mistake of breaking one of the rules he himself has imposed on the island: That no creature shall kill another. Island of Lost Souls does its job of inducing goosebumps so well that one can forgive the cherubic excesses of Charles Laughton in his portrayal of Dr. Moreau. The film would be remade under Wells' original title in 1978, with Burt Lancaster in the Laughton role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This droll, sophisticated comedy stars Constance Bennett as Venice Muir, a shy young lady with no "past" of any kind -- and very little romance in her life. Hoping to overcome her bashfulness during a trip to Europe, she invents a lurid history for herself, then engages the services of paid escort Guy Bryson (Ben Lyon) to accompany her to all the continent's hot spots. Through word of mouth, Venice gains the reputation of being a sexual adventuress (though she's still nothing of the kind), and soon she is headline fodder for all the Parisian newspapers. Her fabricated randy reputation catches the eye of wealthy Donnie Wainright (David Manners), but it is Guy Bryson who ultimately makes an "honest woman" out of her. Lady With a Past was adapted from the equally delightful novel by Harriet Henry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In one of his first westerns, Johnny Mack Brown plays Kirby Tornell, who does the "Robin Hood" bit on the wide open spaces. When not flummoxing the Cavalry, Kirby relaxes by playing the piano and rendering a song or two. Despite Kirby's notorious reputation, Carol Winfield (Evalyn Knapp), the daughter of the hero's perennial foe General Winfield (George Irving), can't help falling in love with him. And in the end, Carol surrenders totally to Kirby, riding off with him into the sunset. A strong cast of silent-film veterans (ZaSu Pitts, J. Farrell McDonald, Raymond Hatton) helps lift Vanishing Frontier well above the norm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Star Witness starts out as a homey family comedy and develops into a rather gutsy thriller. Chic Sale plays a cantankerous Civil War veteran who, while visiting his family, witnesses a gangland shooting. The rest of the family also gets a good look at the gang boss (Ralph Ince) and everyone agrees to testify in court. But the criminals terrorize the father (Grant Mitchell), after failing to bribe him. To insure pa's silence, his son (Dickie Moore) is kidnaped But Grandpa is not easily cowed, and it is he who goes before the jury to expose the crooks. He also engineers the rescue of his grandson (a surprisingly credible sequence). Star Witness was remade as I Am Not Afraid in 1939, with updated dialogue equating American gangsters with Hitler and Mussolini. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Academy Award-winning film, Stephen Ashe (Lionel Barrymore) is a hotshot Californian lawyer from a well-to-do family, whose main failing is his indulgence in alcohol. After winning a case for mobster Ace Wilfong (Clark Gable), Stephen brings his client along to a party at his parents' house for a little celebrating. However, when they arrive at their destination, Ace manages to steal the heart of Stephen's wild daughter, Jan (Norma Shearer), and the two run off together, much to the family's dismay. Stephen struggles to win his foolhardy daughter back from the clutches of her lowlife boyfriend, as she defies her father at every turn. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In this gridiron drama, a college football coach and ex-All American will stop at nothing to have a winning team. The trouble begins as Dastardly Dan Curtis sends an injured player into a big game. The ploy works and the team wins; unfortunately, the player ends up hospitalized. Later he changes his ways and proves it during an important game by refusing to send a player with a massive head injury into the game. They lose the game, but he regains the respect and affection of those around him. The film includes clips of several football legends including Jim Thorpe, Roy Riegels, Howard Jones and Russ Saunders. The story is based on a novel by Francis Wallace, a former member of Knute Rockne's coaching staff. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a story by Fannie Hurst, Five and Ten stars Marion Davies as Jennifer, the spoiled daughter of department-store magnate John Rarick (Richard Bennett). Because Rarick neglects his family, they all manage to get themselves into hot water. Jennifer's mother, Jenny (Irene Rich), nearly runs off with a gigolo, while her alcoholic brother, Avery (Kent Douglass), nearly dies in a reckless aviation escapade. As for our heroine, she messes up her entrée into high society, but at least finds happiness in the arms of architect Berry (Leslie Howard). Rarick finally awakens to his family responsibilities, and in a last-reel flurry of activity, he pulls all their coals out of the fire. Five and Ten was released in Great Britain as Daughter of Luxury. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Contemporary viewers who go into Dishonored expecting a musty, dated espionage melodrama will be in for a surprise. Marlene Dietrich delivers a subtle and witty performance as a Viennese prostitute who offers her services as a spy during WWI. As "Agent X-27" our heroine proves invaluable to her superiors, seducing and betraying enemy officers with the greatest of ease. But when she falls in love with Russian spy Lt. Kranau (Victor McLaglen), she permits him to escape her clutches, and as a consequence is sentenced to be executed. Ever the mistress of her own fate, "X-27" stands proud and tall before the firing squad, even comforting the officer in charge (Barry Norton) who can't bring himself to shoot a woman. The scenes between Dietrich and bemedalled general Warner Oland are in themselves worthy of the admission price; equally as entertaining is the brief sequence in which the jaded heroine disguises herself as a zaftig peasant girl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide