T. Roy Barnes Movies

This drama presents a dim view of life in a small town populated by back-stabbing, narrow-minded, hypocritical and maliciously gossipy bigots who meet at the town general store to spread their vicious lies. The current slander centers upon a young man who has an innocent crush on another man's wife. The constant snickers and asides of the husband's neighbors cause him to believe that his wife really is involved with the young man. Enraged he tries to kill the young man. This near-tragedy does nothing to stop the gossip-mongers from choosing a new victim, whom they hope to drive to suicide so they can spice up their dull lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

W.C. Fields is in fine fettle as small-town grocer Harold Bissonette (pronounced Biss-o-NAY). Harold dreams of becoming a California orange farmer, but his gorgon wife (Kathleen Howard) will have none of it. After a grueling day at the store, during which his electric light stock is destroyed by a cane-wielding blind man (Charles Sellon), and his floor is flooded with molasses by the impish Baby LeRoy, Harold announces that he's sold the store and bought an orange grove. Seeking to escape his wife's nagging, Harold tries to sleep on his porch, which proves impossible thanks to innumerable interruptions--not least of which is an insurance salesman (T. Roy Barnes) loudly asking for Karl LaFong ("capital L, small A, capital F, small O, small N, small G!") The next day, Harold packs his family into the car and heads off for California. Once there, the little band of pilgrims drives onto the property of a wealthy man, assuming that it's a public park. They make a shambles of the grounds while trying to have a picnic, whereupon they are chased off the land by the scowling owner (Guy Usher). Finally, Harold arrives at his "vast" orange grove--consisting of a tumbledown shack and one scrawny tree. Harold sits silently ruminating over his bad luck until his new neighbor informs him that a wealthy land developer wishes to buy Harold's property to build a stadium. "Don't let them bluff you," advises the neighbor. "You can get any price." The potential buyer turns out to be the same fellow whose property had been invaded by Bissonette the day before, but business is business. The buyer offers several insulting sums, but Harold, fortified by a flask of gin, holds firm. "You're drunk!" the buyer shouts. "And you're crazy," responds Harold. "But tomorrow I'll be sober, and you'll always be crazy." Harold's stubbornness saves the day, and we fade on the satisfying sight of the Bissonette family living in luxury on the huge orange grove of Harold's dreams. A remake of Fields' silent It's the Old Army Game, It's a Gift was written by J.P. McEvoy and one Charles Bogle--and there isn't a Fields fancier alive who doesn't know who Charles Bogle really is. Downplayed by detractors as being merely three two-reelers strung together, It's a Gift has survived such piddling criticism to emerge as one of W.C. Fields' funniest efforts, as well as a comedy classic by any standards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A few unique touches aside -- notably the opening costume-party scene, in which the revellers are dressed as insects -- Rip Tide is a standard-issue Norma Shearer soap opera. Shearer plays Mary, a footloose and fancy-free American heiress who weds British nobleman Lord Rexford (Herbert Marshall). Five years later, Rexford embarks upon a business trip to New York, while Mary, urged on by her fun-loving aunt, vacations on the Riviera. Here she is reacquainted with her ex-boyfriend Tommie (Robert Montgomery), whose drunken misbehavior causes scandal to befall them both. Refusing to hear Mary's side of the story, Rexford begins divorce proceedings, but a happy ending finally manifests itself after reels and reels of endless high-toned dialogue. Legendary stage star Mrs. Patrick Campbell makes her Hollywood film debut in Rip Tide as Shearer's all-knowing Aunt Hetty, while Walter Brennan and Bruce Bennett show up in microscopic bit roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the South Seas, half-caste Ilanu (Raquel Torres) refuses to marry Kahea (Donald Reed), as she loves Jimmy Bradford (Ben Lyon), heir to an American fortune; her grandfather warns her that her own mother's marriage to a white man was so unhappy that she'd leaped into a volcano. Despite misgivings over her race, and lingering feelings for his previous fiancee Elaine (Marian Douglas), Jimmy does marry Ilanu and takes her to San Francisco with him. His father (Robert Edeson) and sister Winnie (Thelma Todd) are shocked by Ilanu's apparent vulgarity, but Jimmy remains loyal to Ilanu, even though this means they return to her island, penniless. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide

In this sweet comedy, a meek and clumsy employee of a large firm is filled with useful ideas, but is too shy to present them. He gets involved with the boss's straight-forward daughter who helps get his ideas across. Mayhem ensues and the company's superintendent is fired. The employee's ideas are then implemented. As the frosting on his cake, the mild-mannered fellow also gets to marry the boss's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Recreating her famous Broadway role from 1920, former Ziegfeld star Marilyn Miller took to the Warner Bros. soundstages with the energy that had made her a household name. Miller is Sally Bowling Green, an orphan named after a telephone exchange. Slaving away in a New York coffee shop, she dreams of becoming a famous dancer, a dream that keeps interrupting business. After accidentally dumping a plate of food on booking agent Otis Hooper (T. Roy Barnes), Sally finds herself once more in the employment line. She obtains yet another waitress job at the Balkan beer garden owned by amiable "Pops" Schendorff (Ford Sterling) where Connie (Joe E. Brown), the down-on-his-luck former Grand Duke of Czekoslovonia, also works. She also makes the acquaintance of socialite Blair Farquar (Alexander Gray), who has long loved her from afar. With Farquar's help, Sally proves her nimbleness on the dance floor and is hired by Hooper to impersonate Madame Noskorova, a famous Russian dancer who has eloped despite pressing engagements. Arriving at a party given by influential Mrs. Ten Brock (Maude Turner Gordon, Sally keeps up the masquerade until the hostess announces the engagement of her daughter Marcia (Nora Lane) to Blair. Hurt by the latter's duplicity, she leaves with Connie and Hooper, with Hooper arranging for her to star in the Ziegfeld Follies. On her opening night, a hugely successful Sally is reunited with Blair, who has refused to marry Marcia. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this, at times, hilarious silent, romantic comedy, love blossoms after a posterhanger has an highway mishap with a Broadway star. Later the hard-working fellow finds out that someone has stolen the actress' jewels from her New York home. Still smitten, he heads for the Big Apple to get them back and win her affection. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Billie Dove stars as Marcia Kane, whose head is turned by the charming but sinister Grand Duke Sergei (Montague Love). Handsome and virtuous Wally McKenzie (Ben Lyon) is in love with Marcia, but how can he possibly compete with a "title"? Tricked into a marriage with the Grand Duke, Marcia soon finds that life with a nobleman is not all it's cracked up to be, especially since her husband is a cad and a bounder. Eventually, Wally comes to the rescue, cinching a happy ending for our muddle-headed heroine. Lavishly produced, The Tender Hour could have spent a little of its budget on a believable script. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Body and Soul was a remake of the heavy-breathing 1920 melodrama The Branding Iron. Lionel Barrymore is shameless in his portrayal of double-dyed villain Dr. Leyden. After disgracing his profession, Leyden escapes to Switzerland, where he is smitten by inn servant Hilda (Aileen Pringle). Tricking her into marriage, he treats her atrociously, so it's hardly a surprise when Hilda falls in love with handsome young skier Buffo (Norman Kerry). Tricking the boy into an accident, Dr. Leyden threatens to let Buffo die unless Hilda returns to him. She agrees, but to bind the bargain he brands the poor girl with a red-hot iron. This guy is definitely overdue for a horrible demise -- which comes in due time in the form of a deux ex machina avalanche. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

T. Roy Barnes was a comedian whose most memorable appearances were as support to more illustrious comics such as Buster Keaton (in Seven Chances) and W.C. Fields (in It's a Gift). The pictures in which he himself was the star are pretty much forgettable, such as this low-budget light comedy. Barnes plays Gusty Gale, a charming bluffer who can fool everyone but his father-in-law, Mr. Barker (Burr McIntosh). Gale seems to have a new job every other day, even though his bank account doesn't reflect any great source of income. In addition, he likes going out, but his wife, Money (Marjorie Gay), prefers to stay home. Gale goes dancing anyway with a neighbor, Linda Betts (Gertrude Short) -- her wimp of a husband (Arthur Hoyt) doesn't put up a fight. When the couple doesn't return from their night on the town, their spouses go looking for them, only to have their car break down. When they return home, Gale and Linda are already there and accuse them of a romance. Money angrily goes home to her folks, but then her father discovers that Gale owns some swampland that he needs for his own business interests. Gale sells the land to his father-in-law for a hefty sum, and is reconciled with his wife. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

One of Ken Maynard's very best silent westerns, The Unknown Cavalier was filmed on locations in Death Valley, California. Maynard plays Tom Drury, a cowboy whose quick thinking stops a notorious outlaw, "The Hawk," from further misdeeds. The villain, as it turns out, is none other than Henry Suggs (James Mason), heretofore considered a pillar of the community. Based on pulp writer Kenneth Perkin's Ride Him Cowboy, the film was remade under that name in 1932 starring John Wayne. Like most of Wayne's films for producer Leon Schlesinger, Ride Him Cowboy featured obvious footage from the Maynard original. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This ordinary romantic programmer starred Universal regulars Norman Kerry and Virginia Valli. Linnie Randall, a shopgirl (Valli), is bored with her humdrum life. Her complaints are overheard by the wealthy Garry Schuyler (Kerry), who is disguised as a mechanic. He asks her out to dinner and, to her delight, he calls in a limousine. The two of them wind up spending a whirlwind week together and marry at the end of it. Their happiness is ruined, however, when Schuyler's aristocratic mother (Kate Lester, who died before the film's release) returns from Florida and loudly voices her disapproval of her new daughter-in-law. She makes life so miserable for Linnie that she runs away. She is accidentally hit by Garry's car and taken to the hospital. He believes she is dead, and comes down with "brain fever." His mother takes him to Europe, while Linnie recovers and gives birth to his son. Linnie becomes a famous dancer, and when Garry returns and finds her still alive, they are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide