Frances Lee Movies
Vivacious silent-screen comedian Frances Lee was discovered on the vaudeville stage by comedy producer Al Christie, who signed both Frances and her partner, Billy Dooley, a comic known as "The Misfit Sailor." Christie apparently saw Lee as a replacement for his best known star, Dorothy Devore, who had just defected to Warner Bros. Although never in a league with Devore, Lee proved a fine foil for also-ran comics like Bobby Vernon and Neal Burns. Voted a 1927 WAMPAS Baby Star by the Hollywood publicists, Frances bore a striking resemblance to Paramount newcomer Nancy Carroll, a fact used to advantage in Chicken a la King (1928), but otherwise more of a hindrance. Carroll became a major star at the changeover to sound, whereas Lee continued in Christie two-reelers such as Confessions of a Chorus Girl. With apparently little future in mainstream talkies, Frances Lee left the screen in 1935 to marry Alexander Bennett, the brother of silent-screen stars Alma and Marjorie Bennett. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1935
In this comedy, a toothpaste magnate's mischievous daughter, tired of her father's traditional ways of conducting business, joins forces with her father's rival and a crazy inventor. Together they create "Cocktail Toothpaste." The new concoction tastes like whiskey in the morning, a martini at suppertime, and champagne at night. The stuff is a big success thanks to radio advertising. This teaches her stodgy old dad a good lesson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, (more)
- 1934
These 30 Years is an entertaining 62-minute slice of propaganda on behalf of the Ford Motor Company. Conceived by the McCann-Erickson advertising agency, the film traces the "rise of the automobile industry" -- or, more specifically, the rise of Henry Ford, here playing "himself." Getting off to a melodramatic start (an ailing farmer dies because he's forced to rely on a horse-drawn wagon instead of a horseless carriage), the storyline recalls how Ford started with next-to-nothing in the town of Dearborn, Michigan, then through grit and tenacity built up a multi-million-dollar operation -- not to mention one of the first large-scale assembly lines in American industrial history. The film closes with a sappy romantic subplot involving a Ford-dealer's son, whose problems are solved when Ford Motors comes out with its newest model. Not unexpectedly, These 30 Years reflects many of Henry Ford's deep-set convictions and prejudices, though fortunately his well-publicized anti-Semitism is nowhere to be found. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Strange
- 1934
Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler reunite once again for this musical salute to the West Point Military Academy, including many scenes shot at West Point with "the full cooperation of the United States Army." Powell is Canary Dorcey, a private at a Hawaiian army post where he meets the perky Kitt Fits (Ruby Keeler), and she proceeds to flirt with him. Unable to handle the love games, Canary escapes Hawaii by getting an appointment at West Point, where he diligently pursues his studies and tries to forget about dames. But four years later, Kit shows up at West Point with her father, General Jack Fitts (Henry O'Neill), who has accepted the position of the new West Point commander. After some sparring and hedging, a visit to the Kissing Rock along the Flirtation Walk turns the two little lovebirds around, and soon enough they are appearing in the annual West Point musical revue, all forgiven. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, (more)
- 1933
Her Splendid Folly is an old-fashioned comedy/drama from the misleadingly named firm of Progressive Pictures. Lillian Bond plays a dual role, a famous film star and her look-alike, a humble stenographer. The plot requires the stenog to pose as the movie queen, and in so doing she falls in love with Theodor von Eltz, the star's boyfriend. Her 15 minutes of fame brings Bond together with her long-lost mother Beryl Mercer, who has taken a job as a studio scrubwoman to be nearer to her daughter. Jewish-dialect comedian Alexander Carr is featured as the obligatory English-fracturing studio boss. Her Splendid Folly seems to have been filmed through the facilities of General Service Studios, then the home of Educational Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Bond, Beryl Mercer, (more)
Rivalry between two towns for the honor of becoming county seat turns violent in this interesting Ken Maynard Western from low-budget Sono Art-World Wide. Although a notorious troublemaker, the Thunderbolt Kid (alias Ken Peters (Maynard)), is convinced to work on behalf of Coyote Gulch, a small community hoping to land the railroad franchise that will make it the county seat. Rival town Spotted Horse hires the notorious Matthews gang and soon it is all-out war between the communities. Ken, meanwhile, is conned by Matthews henchman One Shot Mallory (Bob Kortman) into attacking a stage supposedly carrying reinforcement. Unfortunately, the passenger, whom Ken publicly humiliates, is railroad president Charles Eaton (Wilfred Lucas). Much to the disgust of Red Matthews (William Gould) and his gang, Eaton awards the franchise to Coyote Gulch. After a climactic encounter between Red and Ken, Eaton persuades the latter to remain and witness the town prosper. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Frances Lee, (more)
- 1929
It's a case of mistaken identity in this convoluted comedy that centers around a country bumpkin mistaken for a Chicago hitman. The story begins in Chatham, Illinois as an honest district attorney is about to be elected. This worries the town mob-boss because the new D.A. is sworn to get all the bad apples out of town. To rectify the situation, the kingpin requests the services of the Carnation Kid, Chicago's preeminent hitman. His nickname stems from the white carnation always pinned to his lapel. The hired gun is enroute to Chatham, by train, when he is recognized. When the Kid runs into a passenger who vaguely resembles him, he makes them switch clothes and escapes. The bumpkin, a typewriter salesman, has no idea that he is going to be mistaken for a crook by everyone he meets. He does make it to Chatham though. The D.A. wins the election and is true to his word. The kingpin is cast out of town. The salesman falls for the daughter of the District Attorney. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas MacLean, William B. Davidson, (more)
- 1928
Chicken a la King was based on Mr. Romeo, a play by Harry Wagstaff Gribble. When his brother-in-law Oscar Barrows (Arthur Stone) announces his plans to marry chorus girl Maisie DeVoe (Nancy Carroll), priggish Horace Trundle (Ford Sterling) is aghast. How can Oscar throw his life away on a girl who is obviously nothing more than a golddigger? Heading backstage to reprimand Maisie, Horace suddenly discovers that he enjoys being surrounded by pulchritudinous females. This inspires Horace's long-suffering wife Effie (Carol Holloway) to land a chorus-girl job herself, just to teach her wandering hubby a lesson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nancy Carroll, George Meeker, (more)
- 1928
May McAvoy plays the nose-in-the-air title character in Warner Bros' The Little Snob. The daughter of Coney Island concessionaire Alec B. Francis, McAvoy is shipped off to a posh finishing school. Upon her return, she turns her back on her blue-collar family and begins hobnobbing with the New York Upper Crust. McAvoy recovers her basic values just in time to find true happiness in the arms of her sideshow-barker sweetheart Robert Frazer. The Little Snob was May McAvoy's final silent effort; thereafter, she would appear only in talkies or part-talkies, billed by her studio as "The Vitaphone Girl." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert W. Fraser, Alec B. Francis, (more)
- 1927
Based on "The Owner of the Aztec", a 1926 magazine story by Murray Leinster, this typical silent Buck Jones Western presented Jones as Buck Brady, the son of a prospector whose valuable claim was stolen when Buck was a child. Brady grows up with revenge on his mind and retaliates by holding up the mine's payroll messengers. Until, that is, he falls in love with Janet Laurier (Frances Lee), the new owner. Forgetting all about revenge, Buck helps the girl defeat Tilford (Carl Miller), the mine's crooked foreman. The final battle is fought on a moving car that eventually careens over the inevitable cliff. Leading lady Frances Lee was a red-headed WAMPAS Baby Star of 1927 who resembled Fox star Nancy Carroll, a fact that shortened her career considerably. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Frances Lee, (more)
