Murray Kinnell Movies

In 1882, Mark Twain published a delightful fairy tale "for young people of all ages"; 45 years later, Warner Bros., inspired by the real-life coronation of Edward VII, created a lavish screen version starring radio favorites Billy and Bobby Mauch in the title roles and Errol Flynn as their dashing savior. As Jane Seymour (Helen Valkis), consort of King Henry VIII (Montagu Love), gives birth to the heir to the throne, the later Edward VI (Bobby Mauch), Tom Canty (Billy Mauch) is born in the nearby slums. Years later, as King Henry is near death, providence brings the two together and they discover that they share a striking resemblance. Having changed clothes with Tom during play, Edward Tudor is mistaken for a pauper by the Captain of the Guard (Alan Hale) and evicted from the palace. In contrast, Tom is believed to be the Prince of Wales by all of sundry and, when protesting, is treated as mentally unsound. Only the Earl of Hertford (Claude Rains), the king's scheming advisor, realizes the truth but keeps quiet to further his own career. With a price on his head, the real Edward lives the life of a pauper among the thieves and beggars of London, befriended only by Miles Hendon (Flynn), whom he, to Miles' great amusement, creates an earl. But despite his skepticism, Miles is right there to rescue Edward from the murderous Captain of the Guard and return him to the palace just as Tom is about to be crowned king. Proving his true identity by locating the missing Seal of England, Edward is restored to the throne and Hertford is banished from the realm. Miles is recognized for his bravery and Tom is made a ward of the king for life. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

A boy learns life-changing lessons about the importance of friendship and the dignity of labor in this adventure saga based on a story by Rudyard Kipling. Young Harvey Cheyne (Freddie Bartholomew) is the working definition of a spoiled brat; the only child of a wealthy widowed businessman, Harvey has everything he needs, but never stops asking for more, convinced he can get anything if he yells, pouts, or throws the right tantrum. Even other boys his age are disgusted with his antics, and when he accompanies his father on an ocean cruise, he finds he has no friends to play with. After wolfing down six ice-cream sodas, Harvey gets sick to his stomach and while vomiting over the side of the ship, he falls into the drink. He is rescued by Manuel (Spencer Tracy), a Portuguese old salt who drags him on board a Gloucester fishing boat where he's a deck hand and doryman. Harvey shows no gratitude to Manuel for saving his life and demands to be taken home immediately; Manuel and the crew, not the least bit sympathetic, inform him that once they've filled the ship's hold with fresh catch, they'll return to shore, and not a moment sooner. Over the next few weeks, Harvey grows from a self-centered pantywaist into a young man who appreciates the value of a hard day's work, and in Manuel he finds the strength, guidance, and good sense that he never got from his father. Spencer Tracy earned an Academy Award for his performance in Captains Courageous and even sings a bit; the story was parodied years later (with a few rather drastic changes) in the Chris Elliott vehicle Cabin Boy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

With her RKO Radio contract nearing an end, Ann Harding had little choice but accept such trifles as The Witness Chair. Engaged to widower Trent (Walter Abel), Paula (Harding) discovers to her horror that Trent's daughter Connie (Frances Sage) intends to elope with no-good embezzler Whittaker (Douglass Dumbrille). Unable to talk Whittaker out of ruining Connie's life, Paula murders the cad then does her best to destroy all the evidence. Alas, she succeeds only in convincing the authorities that Trent is the guilty party! The courtroom finale, which should have been the film's highlight, is not, due to funereal pacing and unimaginative camera angles. The Witness Chair convinced Ann Harding that she was through in Hollywood, whereupon she packed her bags and headed to London, briefly retiring from films the following year upon her marriage to symphony conductor Werner Janssen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Future best-selling novelist Irwin Shaw made his screenwriting bow with the modest RKO Radio sports drama The Big Game. The story revolves around the efforts by a group of crooked gamblers to fix the outcomes of college football games. When star quarterback Clark (Philip Huston) refuses to be bribed, the villains kidnap him on the eve of the titular Big Game. Clark is rescued by his burly teammates just in the nick of time, but the film's not over yet: there's a riot on the football field during the final scenes, reportedly inspired by a real-life incident during a 1935 NYU-Fordham game. Adding to the enjoyment of The Big Game is the presence of several genuine members of the 1936 All-American football squad: The University of Chicago's Jay Berwanger, Notre Dame's William Shakespeare, Southern Methodist's Bobby Wilson, NYU's Irwin "King Kong" Klein, Ohio State's Gomer Jones, and Stanford's Robert "Bones" Hamilton, Monk Moscrip and Frank Alustiza. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Anne Shirley is the teenaged "lady" in this filmization of Elizabeth Jordan's novel My Daddy and I. Shirley plays the daughter of widowed Herbert Marshall, who suffers in silence as his daughter tries to "match" him with every eligible woman in sight. Misinterpreting a delicate situation, Shirley attempts to link up Marshall with a woman (Margot Grahame) he actively dislikes. The highlight of the film is a ramshackle staging of "Romeo and Juliet" at Anne's high school, with the unflappable young girl contending with an adenoidal Romeo (Frank Coghlan Jr.) whose tights keep slipping as he struggles through his Shakespearian dialogue. The protagonist of Make Way for Lady was one of several teen ingenues played by former child actress Dawn O'Day under her new screen name of Anne Shirley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Lloyds of London traces the rise to prominence of the venerable British insurance company, as seen through the eyes of fictional 19th-century Londoner Jonathan Blake (Tyrone Power, in his first starring role). A lifelong friend of naval hero Lord Nelson, Blake puts his job (and the future existence of Lloyds) on the line when he announces Nelson's victory at Trafalgar -- before it takes place. For those not interested in policies and premiums, the script serves up a romance between Blake and the lovely Lady Elizabeth (Madeleine Carroll), the unhappily married spouse of snotty aristocrat Lord Everett Stacy (George Sanders). Among the few real-life historical personages depicted in the film is Lloyds founder John Julius Angerstein, played by Sir Guy Standing. A box-office bonanza, Lloyds of London proved that 23-year-old Tyrone Power could carry a picture -- and that the recently-formed 20th Century-Fox was truly a major Hollywood studio. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When British actor Robert Donat dropped out of Warner Bros. Captain Blood, the studio took a chance on its new contractee, Tasmania-born Errol Flynn. Adapted from the novel by Rafael Sabatini, the film is set during the oppressive reign of King James II. Irish physician Peter Blood (Errol Flynn), arrested for treating a wounded anti-crown rebel, is condemned to slavery in Jamaica. Here he earns several privileges after treating the governor (George Hassell) for gout; this does not rest well with Lionel Atwill, the wicked owner of the plantation on which Blood is forced to work. Nor is Atwill pleased with the growing relationship between his niece Arabella (Olivia DeHavilland) and the imprisoned doctor. An attack on Jamaica by Spanish pirates gives Blood and his fellow slaves the opportunity to become buccaneers themselves. After several months of fighting and plunder, Blood's men capture a merchant ship bearing Arabella. Blood fights a duel with a French pirate (Basil Rathbone) over the girl; having "won" her, Blood intends to have his way with her, but his more decent instincts prevail. When King James is overthrown by William of Orange, Blood is given a commission and lauded as a hero as a reward for his bravery against the Spanish galleons. He is appointed governor of Jamaica, wins the hand of the lovely Arabella, and genially forces Atwill to eat crow. This seemingly outsized swashbuckler was actually a very economical production, using stock footage from several silent films. Captain Blood transformed the 26-year-old Errol Flynn into a star; he's a little clumsy in the dialogue department at times, but cuts a dashing figure in the action scenes. The film also represented the cinematic debut of composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who wasn't completely happy with his hastily written score and asked that his on-screen credit be diminished to "musical director". Long available only in its 99 minute re-issue version, Captain Blood has been restored to its full, glorious 119 minute length. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though habitually unlucky in love, wealthy London recluse Mary Herries (Aline MacMahon) succumbs to the charms of handsome artist Henry Abbott (Basil Rathbone). She is persuaded to invite Abbott into her home, only to discover that he has a sinister ulterior motive. With the help of his disreputable associates, he intends to steal all of Mary's valuable art treasures, then do away with the poor woman when the job is done. Held prisoner in her own home, Mary is unable to summon the authorities, who've been persuaded by a crooked doctor that the old woman is insane. How long will it be before she can get word to the outside world? Kind Lady is adapted from Edward Chodorov's theatrical version of the Hugh Walpole novel Silver Mask, with Walpole's original bleak ending bypassed in favor of Chodorov's more optimistic denouement. To avoid confusion with MGM's 1951 remake, the 1936 version of Kind Lady was retitled House of Menace for television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This espionage thriller with romantic comedy touches was loosely based on the book American Black Chamber by the real-life head of the U.S. Secret Service during World War I, Herbert O. Yardley. Bill Gordon (William Powell) is a newspaper puzzle editor who becomes a lieutenant in 1917 when he enlists to fight in the First World War. Before shipping out, Bill meets and becomes attracted to Joel Carter (Rosalind Russell), the niece of John Carter (Samuel Hinds), the Assistant Secretary of War. When Joel learns about Bill's former occupation, she arranges for his transfer to the War Department, where he is put to work code breaking for Major Brennan (Lionel Atwill). When Brennan is murdered as the result of a German-Russian spy ring's machinations, Bill investigates the spies and a comely secret agent (Bonnie Barnes), which jeopardizes his newfound romance with Joel. Russell received the role because MGM's first choice, Myrna Loy, was refusing to work for the studio at the time. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

The mysterious death of a notoriously candid author provides the basis of this mystery. Investigators do not believe the suicide note found with his corpse. It seems the author had written a scandalous autobiography detailing his many affairs, with no regard to the feelings of the women involved. The police begin investigating these women and the story is told in flashback. It all began during a publisher's party for the author. Several of his ex-girl friends show up, and he entertains them. Afterward he returns to his study, but not before telling his butler that he plans to kill himself because life is simply too much to bear. It is the valet who suggests he leave a suicide note to protect the innocent. The distraught author does so and then fires the gun. Unfortunately, he only wounds himself. The butler runs in, sees an opportunity to at long last get revenge and finishes the job. He feels secure that he has committed the perfect crime. Unfortunately, he forgot about the second bullet embedded in the floor. Fortunately, the police find it and the butler gets his just desserts. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

International musical-comedy favorite Lillian Harvey is as delightful as ever in the bizarre romantic tunefest I Am Suzanne. In a plotline curiously similar to the much-later Lili, Harvey is cast as Suzanne, a crippled dancer in love with young, self-involved puppeteer Tony (Gene Raymond), who finds it easier to talk to his wooden-headed creations than to human beings. Growing jealous of her puppet "rivals," Suzanne actually shoots a puppet designed in her image -- which leads to a bizarre dream sequence, in which the heroine is put on trial by the King and Queen of Puppet Land (played by Podrecca's Piccoli Marionettes). In time, Suzanne recovers from her lameness and enjoys a happily-after-ever denouement with Tony, no thanks to her Svengali-like manager Baron (Leslie Banks). Rowland V. Lee's direction of I Am Suzanne is almost as Germanically symbolic as his later handling of Universal's Tower of London and Son of Frankenstein. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Beyond the fact that both films shared a "railroad" background, RKO Radio's 1935 actioner The Silver Streak bore no relation to the 1976 Gene Wilder vehicle of the same name. The earlier film stars Charles Starrett as Tom Caldwell, the dynamic young designer of a streamlined, high-speed passenger train. During a polio epidemic, our hero endeavors to prove the efficiency of his train by making a breakneck 2,000-mile trip to deliver iron lungs to the Boulder Dam region. The well-chosen supporting cast includes William Farnum as old-time railroad man B.J. Dexter, who in the film's most moving scene ruminates over the brief but colorful history of his chosen profession. The real-life Burlington Zephyr "plays" the titular train in The Silver Streak, which earned a much-needed profit of 107,000 dollars for RKO. (One a side note, some of the music heard during the final two reels was lifted from Max Steiner's score for King Kong.) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Former child actress Dawn O'Day changed her professional name for Anne of Green Gables, assuming the moniker of her character in the film, Anne Shirley. This first of three RKO films based on the novels of L. M. Montgomery finds young, orphaned, hoydenish Anne arriving at a Canadian household. Though it's an uphill climb, Anne eventually melts the hearts of her truculent foster parents O.P. Heggie and Helen Westley. Despite the unwarranted scrutiny of local gossip Sara Haden, Anne finds true love with stalwart Tom Brown. Anne of Green Gables proved successful enough to warrant a sequel, produced six years later and also starring Anne Shirley: 1940's Anne of Windy Poplars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi