Edward J. Le Saint Movies

Whenever a Charles Starrett western flashed on the screen in the late 1930s, audiences could rest assured that the supporting cast would include Iris Meredith (heroine), Edward LeSaint (heroine's father), Dick Curtis (blackhearted villain) and Edmund Cobb, Art Mix and George Cheseboro (general hangers-on). All of these performers were in attendance in Starrett's 1938 vehicle Law of the Plains. Plot 24-B was trotted out on this occasion, wherein Starrett protects ranch-owner Meredith from a crooked cattle dealers. LeSaint comes into the story rather late, upon discovering that Meredith is (of course) his long-lost daughter. The film's biggest surprise is that the usually saintly LeSaint is the head of the villains, though he redeems himself by the fadeout. Musical interludes are provided by Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rising star Rita Hayworth puts in a little box-office duty in the Columbia "B" Juvenile Court. The star of the proceedings is Paul Kelly as crusading public defender Gary Franklin, who hopes to establish a Police Athletic League to give street kids a new chance in life. His toughest charge is Stubby (Frankie Darro), a born leader with potential for either the White House or the Electric Chair. Once he's won over Stubby, Franklin is able to get the rest of the neighborhood kids to attend his new athletic outfit. The far- reaching influence of Franklin's pet project is proven when a group of young punks change their minds about committing a robbery. As Franklin's girl friend Marcia Kelly, Rita Hayworth has virtually nothing to do but stand around and look pretty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sonja Henie is the "lucky star" in this enjoyable 20th Century-Fox musical. Henie plays Kristina Nelson a humble department store sales clerk who is spotted while skating by George Cabot Jr. (Cesar Romero_, son of the store's owner. George is so taken by Kristina that he gets her an athletic scholarship in a major university. It is hoped that our heroine will serve as a living advertisement for the store by strolling around in an expensive sports wardrobe; instead, she incurs the jealousy of her fellow students, causing a slump in sales. George also loses out romantically when Kristina falls in love with handsome teacher Larry Taylor (Richard Greene). Expelled from college, Kristina recovers from the blow when she's hired by a popular ice capades-style extavaganza. The film's highlight is Sonja Henie's "Alice in Wonderland" ice ballet, originally released in Sepiatone. Those not interesting in skating will be compensated by the lunatic comedy of supporting actress Joan Davis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Allegedly based on two factual works, Bouck White's The Book of Daniel Drew and Matthew Josephson's The Robber Barons, RKO's The Toast of New York is a largely fanciful account of the career of 1870s financier "Jubilee Jim" Fisk. As played by Edward Arnold in his usual "tycoon" mode, Fisk was a likable scoundrel who finagled his way into the upper rungs of Wall Street as much for fun as for profit. The film conveniently ignores Fisk's involvement with the infamous Tweed Ring, and skims over his complicity in 1869's "Black Friday," one of the most disastrous events in American economic history. We are also offered a sanitized version of Fisk's notorious mistress Josie Mansfield, who as played by Frances Farmer is an apple-cheeked lass who regards Fisk only as a loyal friend. Cary Grant is along for the ride as "Nick Boyd," a thinly disguised version of Fisk's actual partner in crime Ned Stokes. Too costly to post a profit, Toast of New York is nonetheless fine non-think entertainment, kept alive by a superb supporting cast ranging from Donald Meek as Daniel Drew and Clarence Kolb as Cornelius Vanderbilt to such bit players as Laurel & Hardy perennial James Finlayson, who plays the inventor of a self-tipping hat! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this black comedy, a twitchy hypochondriac ends up conned into giving up his $500,000 inheritance in exchange for $50,000 cash. He does this because he is sure that he will die before he can get the money. The fellow's nurse loves her healthy charge and inspires him to live again. Together they conspire to regain their money by having him threaten suicide. If he does so, he would nullify their contract. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this screwball comedy, Valentine Ransome (Barbara Stanwyck) is an heiress who falls for Jonathan Blair (Herbert Marshall), a carefree playboy who owns part of a large steamship line. However, Valentine doesn't especially like Jonathan's brassy fiancé, Carol Wallace (Glenda Farrell), and thinks he needs to start taking a more serious attitude about his money and his investments. To teach Jonathan a lesson (and get closer to him in the process), Valentine arranges to buy enough stock in the shipping company that she's the majority owner, and begins giving him orders about how things should be done. Jonathan isn't about to stand for that, and set off for a cruise on one of his ships, with Carol in tow and every intention of having the ship's captain marry them. But Jonathan's sidekick Butch (Eric Blore) doesn't like Carol any more than Valentine, and seizes every available opportunity to throw a spanner into the works. The same year that the versatile Barbara Stanwyck starred in this comic trifle, she received an Oscar nomination for her dramatic work in the movie Stella Dallas. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed by Edwin L. Marin, Married Before Breakfast follows the hectic life of young inventor Tom Wakefield (Robert Young). After a leading razor company pays Wakefield (Young) $250,000 in order for him not to publicize his latest invention, a hair-removing shaving cream that rendors razors useless, he takes his socialite fiance June Baylin (June Clayworth) on a glamorous world cruise. June (Clayworth) hopes Tom's (Young) newfound wealth will encourage him to settle down, but Tom is determined to improve the lives those around him, including steamship employee Kitty Brent's (Florence Rice) romantic relationship. Informing Kitty (Rice) she'll be married by noon the next morning, Tom throws himself into a heap of trouble, loses June in the process, and nearly ends up in jail. Somewhere within the fiasco, Tom and Kitty realize it's each other they love. Kitty is married by noon the next morning--to Tom. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

No relation to the radio program of the same name, The Shadow is a lightning-paced murder mystery with a Big Top background. Rita Hayworth plays Mary Gillespie, the young owner of a travelling circus in danger of losing financial control of her show to hissable bareback rider Peter Martinet (Donald Kirke). Since Martinet has made it known that he intends to fire everybody in the troupe, he has no shortage of dangerous enemies -- few more dangerous than knife-thrower Carlos (Dick Curtis) or hunchbacked horse-wrangler Vindecco (Dwight Frye). On cue, Martinet is murdered during a performance in front of hundreds of witnesses -- but how, and by whom? Road manager Jim Quinn (Charles Quigley) hopes to find out before the cops close the show down or lovely Mary is herself murdered, or both. The ending is a beaut, even if it does fly in the face of logic. Fans of Columbia's "Three Stooges" two-reelers will enjoy seeing such Stooge supporting players as Dick Curtis, Vernon Dent, John Tyrrell and Bess Flowers in important roles, while devotees of Universal's "Ma and Pa Kettle" features will get a kick out of Marjorie Main's interpretation of "the world's only female ringmaster." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tala Birell, one of the more talented of the Garbo wannabes of the 1930s, stars in the Universal quickie She's Dangerous. The star is cast as Stephanie, a glamorous private detective who's been hired to track down a gang of bond thieves. She charms her way into the confidence of gang leader Nick Shelton (Cesar Romero), knowing full well that the outwardly gracious Shelton won't hesitate to kill her if she's found out. Eventually, Stephanie proves too smart for her own good, and it's up to sidelines hero Dr. Logan (Walter Pidgeon) to bail her out. She's Dangerous bears a marked resemblance to 20th Century-Fox's 15 Maiden Lane, which also featured Cesar Romero as a charming-but-deadly crook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Warner Bros' Road Gang is a retread of themes first explored (and stock footage first seen) in the studio's earlier I Am Fugitive From a Chain Gang. The story takes place in an unnamed Southern state, where prisoners are forced to work on chain gangs under appallingly brutal conditions. The local newspapermen try to expose this shameful situation to the world, but are prevented from doing so by fat-cat corrupt politicians who are benefitting financially from the enforced-labor policy. It takes the intervention of a crusading Chicago journalist (Henry O'Neill) to start the wheels of justice in motion. Most of the story is told through the eyes of hapless prison laborers Jim Larrabee (Donald Woods) and Bob Gordon (Carlyle Moore Jr.), only one of whom survives until the fade-out. Road Gang was scripted by future blacklistee Dalton Trumbo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first of 20th Century-Fox's college musicals, Pigskin Parade is also close to the best of them in musical terms -- though they were all at least pretty good on that level -- principally thanks to the presence of 13-year-old Judy Garland, playing an Arkansas farm girl with surprising sincerity and success (in addition to belting out a couple of numbers with the depth and sincerity of a performer at least twice that age). The plot starts rolling when the Yale University football team, looking for a credible but not too tough opponent for a charity game, accidentally invites the team from tiny Tesax State University (enrollment 700) instead of the University of Texas (enrollment 7500). Texas State has also just gotten a new football coach, Slug Winters (Jack Haley), who's had a lot of success coaching high school back in Flushing, New York but still has to prove himself with college players -- he arrives with his brassy, outspoken wife (Patsy Kelly) just ahead of the invitation from Yale, which nearly sends them running back to New York. Through sheer luck and Mrs. Winters' brainstorm, however, they figure out a way they can meet the Yale team on the field and not get steamrollered -- they come up with a fast, highly mobile brand of football that makes them contenders, but then they lose their star-player. Mrs. Winters manages to stumble onto Amos Dodd (Stuart Erwin), an Arkansas farm boy who developed his arm by tossing watermelons around, and brings him and his sister (Judy Garland) to the college. But now they have to make Amos -- who never finished high school -- eligible, and keep him interested enough in the team and the college to get him to the game. It's all a lot of fun, with lots of comic antics and a song spicing up the pace every few minutes, and Haley and Kelly are a delight to watch together. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Fritz Lang's first American film is a vigorous and perceptive indictment of mob law, starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney. Katherine (Sidney) leaves her boyfriend, Joe Wilson (Tracy), behind in their Midwestern hometown when she takes a job in another city. Joe is a decent, hard-working soul, who wants to save up to buy a gas station and looks forward to the future when he and Katherine can get married. A year later, Joe is traveling to meet Katherine so that they can be married. Driving through a small town, Joe is stopped by a deputy sheriff waving a shotgun. Apparently there has been a kidnapping, and the fact that Joe has peanuts in his pocket circumstantially incriminates him in the crime. Joe is arrested and jailed. As Joe sits in his jail cell, the local townspeople begin to talk and whisper and spread rumors. Finally, a lynch mob forms and heads toward the jail. The mob tries to storm the jail and frustrated over their inability to penetrate the prison walls, they set the jail on fire. Joe barely manages to escape ("I could smell myself burning"), but the mob thinks that Joe has been burned to death. Behind the scenes, and with the help of his brothers, Joe tries to rig the verdict in the impending trial of the 22 vigilantes. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide