Cullen Johnson Movies
Based on the novel by Vincente Blasco Ibanez, Blood and Sand is the beautifully rendered story of the rise and fall of a young, cocksure Spanish bullfighter, played by Tyrone Power. Working his way slowly up the ladder to success, Power achieves fame when he is praised to skies by fatuous, fickle critic Laird Cregar. A country boy at heart, Power finds himself way over his head with sophisticates, and is soon torn between his pious and faithful wife Linda Darnell and sexy, mercenary Rita Hayworth. It is Darnell, however, who comforts Power after his final, fatal goring in the bull ring. The film's best scenes depict the curious combination of horror and fascination with which bullfighting aficionados treat this most barbaric of "sports." Blood and Sand was previously filmed in 1922 with Rudolph Valentino; a Valentino contemporary, Alla Nazimova, plays Power's mother in the remakes. Portions of this film turned up as stock footage in the 1945 Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bullfighters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, (more)
- 1937
Even allowing for the fact that it's only a one-reeler, the "Our Gang" comedy "The Pigskin Palooka" goes by so rapidly that the viewer will be gasping for breath! Having written of his football heroics in military school, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer returns home to a hero's welcome. No sooner has he stepped off the train than his old pal Spanky McFarland, manager of the gang's football team, informs Alfalfa that he's been slated to be star player in an upcoming gridiron battle --- which is to be staged within the next few hours. Only one problem: Alfalfa has been exagerrating his athletic prowess, and in fact has never played football in his life. Will Alfie survive this dilemma, or will he be blitzed into the next county? "The Pigskin Palooka" was released just in time for football season on October 23, 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Spanky" McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, (more)
- 1934
German actress Dorothea Wieck, who achieved international fame in Maedchen in Uniform, was given a brief shot at Hollywood stardom in 1933 and 1934. Miss Fane's Baby is Stolen stars Ms. Wieck as an actress whose child (Baby LeRoy) is kidnapped. As Wieck takes to the radio to beg for her boy's safe return, the abductors cover their trail by disguising the kid with black hair dye. Farm wife Alice Brady, who gives the impression of being a little light in the belfry, saves the day when she tumbles to the kidnappers' deception. Based on the recent Lindbergh kidnapping, Miss Fane's Baby is Stolen did absolutely nothing to advance the reputation of Dorothea Wieck. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothea Wieck, Alice Brady, (more)
- 1934
Expansively planning a camping trip "for a week, maybe two weeks," the older Our Gang kids refuse to allow little Spanky McFarland and Scotty Beckett tag along. But when the kids reach their predetermined campsite, they find that Spanky and Scotty have already arrived. Even more embarrassing, the two younger kids seem to be a lot more prepared for the camping expedition --- and a lot less scared of the dark. A winning combination of character-driven humor, slapstick, thrills, and a sturdy plotline, the "Our Gang" comedy The First Round-Up was originally released on May 5, 1934. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wally Albright, George "Spanky" McFarland, (more)
Previously filmed in 1923, Zane Grey's To the Last Man manages to pack plenty of A-level production values into what was essentially a B-picture budget. In the years following the Civil War, Kentucky man Lynn Hayden (Randolph Scott) moves his family to Nevada, partly to start life anew, but mostly to leave behind the bloody family feud between the Haydens and the Colbys. This, alas, is not to be: once in Nevada, Hayden lands in the middle of a war between cattlemen and sheepherders -- a war involving the same two families. The film's title is grimly accurate: virtually no one is left standing at the end of the film. The superb supporting cast includes Esther Ralston as heroine Ellen Colby (seen to excellent advantage in a semi-nude swimming sequence!), Jack LaRue and Noah Beery Sr. as the slimy villains, and Shirley Temple in a small part. In addition to its many other plusses, To the Last Man introduces a novel method of billing the actors: each player is introduced by name as he or she appears on-screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Esther Ralston, (more)
- 1933
Frequently cited as the precursor to Citizen Kane, Power and the Glory is the first major Hollywood film to extensively utilize narrated flashbacks to tell its story. At the funeral of a powerful railroad executive (Spencer Tracy), the exec's best friend (Ralph Morgan) recalls the dead man's colorful but tragic life. We see Tracy's early years as a trackwalker and his marriage to Colleen Moore, who helps him rise to the top. At first, Tracy is a kindly man, a fair minded employer and a devoted husband and father, but his ever-increasing power corrupts him. He leaves Moore for an adventuress (Helen Vinson), whereupon his wife commits suicide. Tracy later kills himself as well when he learns that his second wife has been unfaithful with his grown son. The "narrative" technique used to relate the plotline of Power and the Glory is interesting, though the film itself is a bit too cut-and-dried (suicide seems to be a logical solution rather than a last desperate move) and far too short (76 minutes) to do justice to its central character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Colleen Moore, (more)
