Frederick Kerr Movies

In this romance, two people who have never met will inherit a million dollars if they marry each other. Neither is thrilled with the prospect, and the woman, to meet him, impersonates his new maid. Soon they fall in love for real. A lawyer mediates. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Always Goodbye was credited to two directors: Kenneth MacKenna told the actors where to move and when to speak, while William Cameron Menzies concerned himself with the overall production design. Elissa Landi plays Lila, who has been jilted by practically every man she has ever met. Middle-aged diamond dealer Lewis Stone falls in love with Landi, but she spurns him until convinced that he intends to extend the relationship to the altar. While wearing a few of Stone's diamonds just for a lark, Landi is mistaken for an heiress by callow John Darrow and crooked Paul Cavanaugh. Darrow pursues Landi for her looks, while Cavanaugh goes after her for her gems. 20th Century-Fox's 1938 programmer Alway Goodbye is not a remake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When economy expert Kerr works to cut the costs of the fleet in Malta, his lovely daughter, Matthews, is courted by the crew members on board. ~ Rovi

The old bromide about joining the Foreign Legion to "forget," so often parodied by such comedians as Laurel and Hardy, was played straight in 1931's Friends and Lovers. A very young Laurence Olivier plays Lt. Nichols, who has retreated to the desert to get over his affair with Alva Sangrito (Lily Damita). Nichols is befriended by another of Alva's victims, Captain Roberts (Adolphe Menjou). Once back in England, however, the two castaway lovers find themselves rivals once more, leading to a potentially deadly payoff. Erich von Stroheim is delightful in a depraved sort of way as Lily Damita's cynical husband. Based on the novel The Sphinx Has Spoken by Maurice de Kobra, Friends and Lovers represented one of Laurence Olivier's last early-talkie Hollywood films before he returned to England to hone his acting skills. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Still regarded as the definitive film version of Mary Shelley's classic tale of tragedy and horror, Frankenstein made unknown character actor Boris Karloff a star and created a new icon of terror. Along with the highly successful Dracula, released earlier the same year, it launched Universal Studio's golden age of 1930s horror movies. The film's greatness stems less from its script than from the stark but moody atmosphere created by director James Whale; Herman Rosse's memorable set designs, particularly the fantastic watchtower laboratory, featuring electrical equipment designed by Kenneth Strickfaden; the creature's trademark look from makeup artist Jack Pierce, who required Karloff to don pounds of makeup and heavy asphalt shoes to create the monster's unique lurching gait; and Karloff's nuanced performance as the tormented and bewildered creature. Frankenstein was greeted with screams, moans, and fainting spells upon its initial release, obliging Universal to add a disclaimer in which Edward Van Sloan advises the faint of heart to leave the theater immediately. If they don't: "Well...we've warned you." Director James Whale was memorably embodied by Ian McKellen in the Oscar-winning 1998 biopic Gods and Monsters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this swashbuckling melodrama, set in Budapest, a seductive gold-digger becomes the mistress of a wealthy old man. She, with the assistance of her lover, a swordsman, soon comes to rule his house and keeps her elderly husband's family in line by intimidating them. Her ploys work well until the old man's nephew comes back from the Foreign Legion and boots her out of the house. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The third in a succession of film adaptations of author E.W. Hornung's novel Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman, this version was the first to also be produced in sound. Ronald Colman stars as A.J. Raffles, an utterly unflappable British gentleman cricket player who by night is secretly a thief known in the press as The Amateur Cracksman and causing apoplectic fits at Scotland Yard. Raffles has fallen in love with society girl Gwen Manders (Kay Francis) and intends to give up his criminal pursuits, but first he must help an indebted pal, Bunny (Bramwell Fletcher) by stealing a valuable necklace owned by Lady Melrose (Alison Skipworth) at a weekend soiree. Suspecting that Raffles and the Cracksman are one and the same, Inspector McKenzie (David Torrence) is a guest at the same party, with a keen eye peeled at Raffles. In the meantime, rival crook Crawshaw (John Rogers) also has designs on the necklace, setting himself as an unfortunately perfect scapegoat. Although George Fitzmaurice was credited as the sole director of Raffles (1930), he was actually the replacement for Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, who was fired during production. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi