Roscoe Karns Movies

A couple of down-and-out British aristocrats buy an American roadhouse in this uproarious farce from Paramount. Naming the establishment after their estate in the old country, Twicket-on-Topping, Lady Beulah (Alison Skipworth) and her brother Sir Reginald (Roland Young) run afoul of American gangsters and when an attempt to sell the place to unsuspecting capitalist Mr. Stephens (DeWitt Jennings) comes to naught, Lady Beulah turns the roadhouse into an upscale café, the Boots and Saddles. The stout Englishwoman, however, staunchly refuses to provide liquor from bootlegger Nutty Bolton (Warren Hymer) and the latter attempts to ruin the establishment's recent goodwill by spiking the drinks. In the end, Lady Beulah is rescued by her niece Cecily (Sari Maritza), whose American boyfriend finally cons Stephens into buying the place right before it is raided by the police. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

World War I veteran Frank Mayo wasn't Afraid to Fight in the battlefields of France. But when he becomes a professional boxer, it's a different story. Hoping to raise enough money to pay for his sister's medical bills, Mayo isn't a likely prospect for pugilistic greatness. Only when it is absolutely crucial for him to win does he fully demonstrate his fighting skills. Universal used to churn out programmers like Afraid to Fight by the bushel basket, so we can only assume that the public craved such films and wanted more. Both star Frank Mayo and director William Worthington would remain active into the talkie era as bit players; Mayo's sister is played by child actress Peggy Cartwright, then one of the Our Gang kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This star-laden version of Lewis Carroll's novel combines elements of both the title novel and Carroll's sequel, Through the Looking Glass. In England of the 19th century, young Alice finds that the mirror over the library fireplace opens into a strange world. She has odd adventures and changes size several times both before and after she follows a time-obsessed White Rabbit (Skeets Gallagher). Soaked after nearly drowning in a pool of tears, Alice is helped to dry off by a Dodo (Polly Moran), and encounters a caterpillar (Ned Sparks), whose mushroom also changes Alice's size. In a noisy home where the Cook (Lillian Harmer) and the Duchess (Alison Skipworth) are always fighting, Alice takes care of the Duchess' baby, but it turns into a pig and runs away. Asking directions of the Cheshire Cat (Richard Arlen) is no help, and a tea party with the Mad Hatter (Edward Everett Horton), the March Hare (Charlie Ruggles) and the Dormouse (Jackie Searl) is confusing and annoying.

Alice meets the Queen of Hearts (May Robson), and encounters the Duchess again; while strolling with her, Alice meets the Gryphon (William Austin) and the Mock Turtle (Cary Grant). The twins Tweedledum (Jack Oakie) and Tweedledee (Roscoe Karns) recite a poem about a Walrus and a Carpenter (seen as an animated cartoon), but when they decide to go to battle, they're chased off by a crow. Humpty Dumpty (W.C. Fields) relates the poem "Jabberwocky" to Alice, then falls off a wall and breaks. The mournful White Knight (Gary Cooper), unable to put Humpty Dumpty together again, escorts Alice for a while, but she tumbles down a hill and finds she's become a queen. At a party in Alice's honor, the Red Queen (Edna Mae Oliver) becomes furious at Alice, who then wakes up to find herself in the library, with her kitten Dinah in her lap. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide

This silent romantic adventure is set in the Sahara desert, and purports to be a sequel to the successful Beau Geste. Like the first, it is based on a story by Christopher Wren and features members from the original cast. The story begins as three Legionnaires do not return promptly from furlough and end up in the poky. There, the hero duels with a traitor and wins, causing him to gain the designation "Beau Sabreur." Later he is sent into the desert to learn the ways of the Arabs and to help forge a peace treaty. There he encounters a lovely American journalist. Meanwhile the defeated traitor tries to stop the treaty from going through. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Agnes Ayres, who'd once been topbilled over Rudolph Valentino, was beginning the slow downward slide when she starred in Bluff. Ayres plays a young woman who must raise a great deal of money in a hurry to afford medical treatment for her brother. Thus she poses as a world-reknowned fashion designer, and in this guise is able to accrue the necessary funds. Her plan backfires when she is arrested for crimes committed by the designer. Attorney Antonio Moreno saves the day. Bluff was directed by Sam Wood, whose more famous endeavors included A Night at the Opera, Goodbye Mr. Chips and The Pride of the Yankees. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously (and uncomfortably) co-starred in Polly at the Circus, Marion Davies and Clark Gable were reteamed in Cain and Mabel, reportedly on the demand of Davies' "sponsor" William Randolph Hearst. The story concerns a hash slinger-turned-Broadway-star named Mabel O'Dare (Davies, endearingly miscast) whose career is in the hands of hotshot publicist Reilly (Roscoe Karns). To stir up interest in Mabel's latest musical show, Karns cooks up a phony romance between his client and boxing champ Larry Cain (Gable) -- even though Mabel and Cain have already developed a healthy dislike for one another. Unfortunately, Karns' brainstorm turns out to be a drizzle: Mabel's show is a flop, and Cain begins losing in the ring. By the time Cain and Mabel have fallen in love for real, both parties have had to virtually abandon their careers as proof that it is for real. Most of the comedy setpieces in the film fall flat, save for a terrific bit near the end: Told that "The show must go on!," a disconsolate Mabel asks "Why?" -- and no one can come up with a good answer! This is the film in which a studio stagehand allegedly pops up during one of the production numbers, but don't kill yourself looking for him. PS: The handsome actor billed as David Carlyle later enjoyed a substantial screen career as Robert Paige. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy a professor is thought to be a member of a very strange family. They take him right in. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This is not one of the better collaborations between director King Vidor and his then-wife, Florence Vidor. She stars as Judith Stafford, who comes from a moneyed family. A recent trip to Europe has turned her into a snobby and pretentious young woman. She returns engaged to a count of no-accounts and refuses to even consider the young man her father wants her to marry, the cowboy son of an old friend (David Butler). To solve this dilemma, Stafford arranges it so that Judith and the young man are marooned on a South Sea island together. It takes the better part of the three months they are there for Judith to realize that, according to filmland tradition, she is supposed to fall madly in love with the rugged Westerner. Finally she does, and when the count comes to fetch her, she dumps him flat in favor of the cowboy. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a gangster finds the woman of his dreams, but before he can have her he must frame her fiance. Meanwhile the Asian lover he dumped plots her revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Throughout most of the running time of Universal's Double Alibi, it looks as though ostensible hero Stephen Wayne (Wayne Morris) really is guilty of three murders. Even so, girl reporter Sue Carey (Margaret Lindsay) falls in love with Wayne, despite the fact that she also thinks he's guilty. This causes no end of discomfort for city editor Walter Gifford (William Gargan), who is in love with Sue himself, and police captain Orr (James Burke), who has a vested interest in seeing Wayne delivered to the executioner. By film's end, of course, Sue has helped to prove Wayne's innocence, through the simple expedient of stumbling upon the identity of the real killer. With so much going on, it's surprising that Double Alibi could squeeze in the traditional comedy relief of Roscoe Karns, cast once more as a wisecacking photojournalist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having made a mint with his Bobby Breen films, producer Sol Lesser decide to groom another talented youngster for stardom. Everything's on Ice was specifically designed to suit the talents of six-year-old skating sensation Irene Dare, who'd previously played as supporting role in Breen's Everything on Ice. Little Ms. Dare plays an ice-skating whiz who is passed off as an heiress by her wheeler-dealer uncle (Roscoe Karns). Starring in an oversized ice show at a Florida resort, the pint-sized heroine also stage-manages a romance between her 19-year old sister (Lynne Roberts) and a handsome young sprout (Eric Linden), while uncle tries to land a wealthy husband for Sis, never realizing that her sweetheart is himself a millionaire. Billed last in Everything's on Ice is Paul Winchell, a young ventriloquist who'd rise to fame and fortune on television in the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Footsteps in the Dark is a comedy/mystery, starring Errol Flynn as a wealthy investment counselor who secretly doubles as a dilettante detective, the better to write mystery novels. Brenda Marshall plays his wife, who can't understand why he is never home and begins to suspect hanky-panky. In fact, Flynn is investigating the murders of a jewelry smuggler and an exotic dancer. The trail of evidence leads to the Least Likely Suspect -- portrayed, as is often the case, by an actor who's always the one who "did it" in murder mysteries. Not nearly as funny a film as the producers seem to think it is, Footsteps in the Dark is an obvious attempt by Warner Bros. to create a "Nick and Nora Charles" team, in emulation of MGM's popular Thin Man series. Footsteps ends with wife Marshall vowing to join hubby Flynn in his next murder mystery, leaving the door wide open for a sequel...which was never filmed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a hardworking man struggles to save enough money to buy his own barber shop. This film features a number of ice-skating sequences starring Irene Dare. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide