Selmar Jackson Movies

Cited by film historian William K. Everson as one of the fastest-moving crime melodramas of the 1930s (if not the fastest) Fog Over Frisco still manages to leave viewers breathless. Top-billed Bette Davis plays giddy heiress Arlene Bradford, whose perverse fascination with gangsters gets her mixed up in a stolen-securities scheme. Arlene's more sensible sister Val (Margaret Lindsay) tries to keep her out of trouble, but this proves impossible. Entering into the fray are hotshot society reporter Tony (Donald Woods) and goofy photojournalist Izzy (Hugh Herbert), who like Val get in over their heads when they stumble upon the body of the murdered Arlene. The identity of the killer remains a well-concealed secret until Izzy, of all people, stumbles across a vital clue. Things really begin to accelerate when Val is kidnapped by Arlene's gangster cohorts (who, interestingly enough, are very reluctant to take her prisoner and do so only when there's no other option!), leading to a mile-a-minute rescue and hasty plot wrap-up. Among the many good guys, bad guys and red herrings are Alan Hale as an Irish cop, Robert H. Barrat as a butler who isn't a butler, and Henry O'Neill as a gosh-knows-what who may be the murderer. Though physical action is at a minimum, Fog Over Frisco is kept constantly on the move by director William Dieterle, using every cinematic trick and optical effect (wipe dissolves, iris-outs, swish-pans etc.) at his disposal. The film was less effectively remade as Spy Ship in 1942. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No relation to the 1955 Cold War melodrama of the same title, the confusing 1933 melange Hell and High Water takes place in a tawdry waterfront community. Misogynistic garbage-scow skipper Captain Jericho (Richard Arlen) is none too happy when would-be suicide Sally Driggs (Judith Allen) ends up in his net. Sally's long-buried maternal instincts resurface when she sets eyes upon little Barney (Robert Knittles), a cute baby who was left in Jericho's care by its wayfaring mother (Esther Muir). When the mother returns to reclaim the kid, Sally buys her off by using Jericho's hidden bankroll. Meanwhile, Jericho, off on a tuna-fishing jaunt, ends up being rescued at sea by an admiral (SirGuy Standing) whose life had previously been saved by our hero. Somehow these various and sundry unrelated plot strands result in a happy ending for Jericho and Sally. The direction of Hell and High Water is credited to a pair of prolific screenwriters of the period, Grover Jones and William Slavens McNutt, who would have been better off sticking to their typewriters and leaving the directing to someone who knew how. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An admirably tough B-picture enlivened by an energetic James Cagney performance, Picture Snatcher stars Cagney as Danny Kean, a former gangster who has decided to go straight after a stretch in the big house. Danny has fallen for Patricia (Patricia Ellis), the daughter of the cop who put him away (Robert Emmett O'Connor). Dad isn't convinced that Danny has left his life of crime behind him, and he isn't too impressed with his new career taking pictures for a sleazy tabloid newspaper. Between getting a lurid photo of a fireman in front of a burning building (where his wife and her lover met their fate) and a daring shot of a woman being executed (based an actual incident when a New York Daily News photographer got a photo of Ruth Snyder in the electric chair), Danny's work is selling papers but hardly making Officer O'Connor think his daughter is in good hands (especially since he was in charge of press security for the execution). Short, sweet and sassy, Picture Snatcher is the sort of gutsy fare Warner Bros. did best in the 1930's; Ralph Bellamy turns in a great supporting performance as Danny's boozy editor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, an assistant DA must scramble to save the life of an innocent man he mistakenly sent to the chair. Unfortunately, he is too late and turns to alcoholism to soothe his throbbing conscience. It is only down from there and soon the attorney begins working for the mob until he falls in love. Some of the story was based on the life of William J. Fallon, a New York City attorney. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on the play New York Town by Ward Morehouse, Mervyn LeRoy directs the black-and-white 1932 comedy drama Big City Blues. A small-town innocent from Indiana, Bud Reeves (Eric Linden) inherits money and goes to New York to get in all sorts of trouble. He meets up with his cousin Gibby (Walter Catlett), who introduces him to chorus girl Vida Fleet (Joan Blondell). Bud and Gibby then throw a drunken hotel party with bootleg liquor that gets out of hand and a young woman (Josephine Dunn) is hit on the head and accidentally killed. Bud and Vida go gambling and drinking to escape the cops, but they are caught and arrested with everyone else from the party. Eventually, the police find the real killer and release everyone. Bud leaves for Indiana, but plans to go back, get his dog, and marry Vida. Humphrey Bogart appears in a brief uncredited role as Shep Adkins, a guy who gets into a fight with Lyle Talbot during the party. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The butt of many a practical joke at the office where he works as a clerk, Joe Holt (Joe E. Brown) is nonetheless determined to prove himself a brilliant inventor. His latest creation is an unsinkable swim suit, which works quite well in theory. In practice, however, it is another matter; Joe can't test out the suit because he can't swim. As the result of a series of dizzying circumstances, Joe is mistaken for a swimming champ (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) also named Joe Holt, and as such he makes the acquaintance of wealthy debutante Alice Brandon (Ginger Rogers). Through the auspices of Alice's father, "our" Joe is entered in the annual swimming marathon from Catalina Island to the California coastline. After taking a few "dry" swimming lessons from a youngster named Sam (Allan "Farina" Hoskins), the nervous Joe dives into the Catalina surf and starts the 22-mile swim. His unsinkable suit is a success, but there's many a slapstick obstacle placed in Joe's path before he can resurface at the finish line, thanks largely to the machinations of rival swimmer Edward Dover (Preston S. Foster). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a play by Eva Kay Flint and Martha Madison, Subway Express takes place entirely on a single subway car. When a murder is committed, the passengers are ordered to stay put while police inspector Killian (Jack Holt) investigates. From all appearances, it would seem that the victim was shot, but the coroner declares that the wound was administered after the man was dead. Piecing the clues together, Killian concludes that the killer used an electrical shock to dispatch the victim -- and after administering a psychological third degree, he extracts a confession from the guilty party. The supporting cast is comprised of the usual stereotypes, including the inevitable dumb flatfoot played by the inevitable Fred Kelsey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Columbia spent the 1920s and 1930s dusting off its reliable "two guys/one girl" military plotline and dressing it up in a variety of uniforms. Dirigible was the 1931 edition of this old chestnut, with navy pilots Jack Holt and Ralph Graves battling over the affections of Fay Wray. The film picks up tremendously during an experimental dirigible flight over the Antarctic, which crashes upon a remote iceberg. The in-flight footage during this scene and the subsequent rescue is remarkable, making up for the banality of the romantic subplot. Much of Dirigible was filmed at Lakehurst, New Jersey, where the era of passenger airships would come to a fiery end six years later with the Hindenberg. Reportedly, Boris Karloff shows up unbilled as one of the Navy crewmen in the crash scene; try to find him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this 1929 comedy, two white minstrel comedians, Moran and Mack, in black-face, re-create their most beloved routines in this comedy. Their acts are loosely framed by a story involving a con woman after one of the comedian's money. Despite her efforts the "Crows" end up winning in the end. Among the routines are "Head Man," "Let's Not Talk about That," and the popular "Early Bird Gets the Worm." Some viewers may find the abounding racist attitudes in the film offensive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide