Iris Adrian Movies
Trained as a dancer by Marge Champion's father Ernest Belcher, Iris Adrian began her performing career at age 13 by winning a "beautiful back" contest. Working as a New York chorus girl (she briefly billed herself as "Jimmie Joy"), Iris's big break came with the 1931 edition of The Ziegfeld Follies, which led to featured nightclub and comedy revue work in the U.S. and Europe. In the Kaufman/Hart Broadway play The Fabulous Invalid, Adrian raised the temperatures of the tired businessmen in the audiences by performing a strip-tease--this at a time (the late 1930s) when the standard burlesque houses had been banned from New York by Mayor LaGuardia. Brought to films by George Raft, Adrian made her first screen appearance in Raft's 1934 vehicle Rhumba. This led to dozens of supporting roles in subsequent feature films; Iris' standard characterization at this time was the brassy, gold-digging dame who never spoke below a shout. Often appearing in one-scene bits, Adrian received more sizeable roles in Laurel and Hardy's Our Relations (1936), Bob Hope's The Paleface (1948), Milton Berle's Always Leave Them Laughing (1949) and Jerry Lewis' The Errand Boy (1961). Through the auspices of director William Wellman, who had a fondness for elevating character actors to larger roles, Adrian gave a rollicking performance as Bonnie Parker wannabe Two Gun Gertie in 1942's Roxie Hart. She launched her TV career in 1949 on Buster Keaton's LA-based weekly comedy series. Some of her most memorable work for the small screen was on the various TV programs of Jack Benny, Adrian's favorite comedian and co-worker. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Iris Adrian kept very active in the comedy films of the Walt Disney studio, including That Darn Cat (1965) and The Love Bug (1968); and in 1978, she was superbly cast in the regular role of the sarcastic secretary for a New York escort service on The Ted Knight Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The East Side Kids were betwixt and between their earlier roughneck characterizations and their later Bowery Boys buffoonery when Million Dollar Kid came out early in 1944. Vowing to rid the East Side of hoods and holdup men, Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey) and his gang rescue wealthy John Cortland (Herbert Heyes) from a band of young thugs. When it turns out that one of Cortland's assailants was his own son Roy (Johnny Duncan), Muggs and his pals set about to reform the boy. Roy resists the gang's efforts until he receives word that his older brother has been killed in the war. Intending to confess all to the cops, Roy is abducted by his hoodlum friends, obliging Muggs, Glimpy (Huntz Hall) and the other East Side Kids to come to the rescue. The more serious aspects of Million Dollar Kid are leavened by moments of earthy humor, with some of the gags dating as far back as the Fatty Arbuckle era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
Based on Norman Corwin's satirical radio play My Client Curley, Once Upon a Time is an engaging bit of whimsy, completely dominated by the personality of star Cary Grant. It all begins when fly-by-night Broadway producer Jerry Flynn (Grant) learns of a trained caterpillar (!) that dances to the tune of "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby." In short order, Jerry has promoted Curly the Caterpillar to international stardom-and in the process he alienates both Pinky Thompson (Ted Donaldson), the impressionable 9-year-old who owns Curley, and Pinky's attractive older sister Jeanne (Janet Blair). Eventually, Flynn comes to his senses and regains his essential decency-though it's too late to continue capitalizing on Curley, who has turned into a non-dancing butterfly! Full of delightful contemporary references and "cameo appearances" by such celebrities as producer Walt Disney and radio commentator Gabriel Heatter (both played by uncredited impressionists), Once Upon a Time proved an agreeable diversion for wartime audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Janet Blair, (more)
Directed by Fritz Lang, The Woman in the Window, a sadly tragic film noir, is the story of the doomed love of married psychology-professor Wanley (Edward G. Robinson), who, with murderous results, meets and falls in love with another woman. Wanley first sees the portrait of a beautiful woman, Alice (Joan Bennett), and then meets the woman herself. After committing murder in self-defense, he finds himself blackmailed by Heidt (Dan Duryea). The script, written by Nunnally Johnson, is carefully structured with crisp dialogue and a convincing ending. Lang is at his best, getting excellent performances from Robinson, as the doomed, naive professor, and Bennett both. The Woman in the Window shows that good and evil are present in all, and that circumstances frequently dictate moral choices. Based on J.H. Wallis' novel Once Off Guard, the film gives viewers their money's worth with not one but two logical and satisfying surprise twists at the end. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1944
In this musical, an unemployed swing-band singer cannot hook up with another group and so becomes a switchboard operator at a juke box company. Later she falls in love with a handsome bandleader who hires her to sing. Songs include: "I'll Eat My Hat," "Let's Capture This Moment," "Say It with Love," "Music to My Ears," "Highway Polka," "Got an Invitation" (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Lewis Bellin). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1944
Bluebeard casts the saturnine John Carradine as Gaston, a popular painter in 19th century Paris. Unbeknownst to the authorities, Gaston is also the serial killer of beautiful young women that they have been seeking for several months. Whenever a girl fails to come up to Gaston's standards of perfection, she is summarily strangled and tossed into the streets. Gaston's latest model is the gorgeous Lucille (Jean Parker), who once she learns her employer's horrible secret courageously vows to bring him to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Carradine, Jean Parker, (more)
- 1944
A sleepy hay-seed filled Arkansas town gets spotlight fever when a local sow bears an unprecedented 10 piglets. Suddenly poor Pitchfork is inundated with greedy interlopers anxiously rooting around trying to make silk purses out of the unusual situation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1944
The career girl in this PRC musical is Joan (Frances Langford), a Kansas City gal with showbiz aspirations. She heads to New York, where she sets up residence in a theatrical boarding house straight out of Stage Door. A few setbacks later, Joan lands the lead in a Broadway musical revue, which despite its threadbare production values (a PRC trademark) bids fair to be the hit of the season. Endearingly old-fashioned, Career Girl puts over its clichés with energy and verve. Besides, any picture with wisecracking Iris Adrian in a large role can't be all bad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1943
Dick Foran is back for another seven-reel melange of music and comedy in Universal's He's My Guy. Foran is cast as defense-plant worker Van Moore, who is casting about for ways of boosting morale amongst his fellow workers. Coming to the rescue are a group of veteran vaudevillians, who stage a spectacular show for the plant. Among these beloved performers are Gertrude Niesen, the Mills Brothers, Louis Da Pron, Lorraine Krueger, The Diamond Brothers and the Dorene Sisters. The feminine angle of the storyline is handled by heroine Irene Hervey and comedienne Joan Davis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Foran, Irene Hervey, (more)
- 1943
Deanna Durbin is all grown up in Hers to Hold, the unofficial sequel to her "Three Smart Girls" films of the 1930s. Durbin plays Penelope Craig, the starry-eyed daughter of wealthy Judson and Dorothy Craig (Charles Winninger, Nella Walker). Developing a crush on much-older playboy Bill Morley (Joseph Cotton), Penelope stops at nothing to land the elusive Morley as her husband. Highlights include Durbin's renditions of "Begin the Beguine" and the "Seguidilla" from Carmen, and a captivating sequence that includes highlights from Durbin's earlier films, presented as home movies! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deanna Durbin, Joseph Cotten, (more)
In this wartime drama, an ex-gangster proves himself a decent man when he helps defeat the Nazis while he is hiding out on a tiny island. At first the gangster looks as if he has joined the German soldiers by providing them with a location for refueling their U-boats. Later an American ship is sunk off shore. Among the survivors is a merchant marine who was formerly a New York City cop. The cop instantly recognizes the fugitive mobster and the situation soon becomes tense. In the end the Nazis realize that he has been working for the Allies all along and he is executed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Litel, Alan Baxter, (more)
- 1943
Lupe Velez is "The Mexican Spitfire" in everything but name in the frantic baseball farce Ladies Day. Eddie Albert plays Wacky Waters, star pitcher of the Sox, a league-leading contender for the World Series. Alas, whenever Wacky falls in love, his game suffers-and so do the wives of his teammates, who are counting on that Series bonus money. When Wacky marries vivacious movie star Pepita Zorita (Velez), the wives, led by Hazel Jones (Patsy Kelly), take drastic action, kidnapping Pepita and hiding her out in a hotel room. But Pepita manages to wriggle out of the hotel towels that bind and gag, disguise herself as a bellboy, and head to the ballpark during the Big Game. Fortunately, Pepita turns out to be Wacky's prime motivation for winning the Series, and there's a happy ending for one and all. Pretty lame as far as baseball films go, Ladies Day will be best appreciated by fans of Lupe Velez and Patsy Kelly, who never speak when shouting will do. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lupe Velez, Eddie Albert, (more)
- 1943
Overloaded with unreleased films in 1942 and 1943, Paramount Pictures cleaned house by diverting several pictures to United Artists. One such effort was The Crystal Ball, wherein beauty contest loser Toni Gerard (Paulette Goddard) takes a job as a sideshow fortune teller. Subbing for the ailing head (Gladys George) of a fake medium racket, Toni whimsically advises attorney Brad Cavanaugh (Ray Milland) to purchase some property that is coveted by the government. Cavanaugh follows her advice, nearly ruining himself in the process. All turns out okay in the end, but there's a last-minute entanglement when several of Toni's disgruntled clients converge upon her all at once. Strictly second-rate, The Crystal Ball is salvaged by the work of such surehanded supporting players as William Bendix, Cecil Kellaway, Mary Field, Ernest Truex, Iris Adrian, Nestor Paiva and Mabel Paige (in her film debut). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, (more)
Barbara Stanwyck shines in her second portrayal of a showgirl in less than two years (the first was in Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire in 1941). In Lady of Burlesque -- which, at times, has a Hawksian edge to the dialogue -- she portrays Dixie Daisy, a striptease artist at a Broadway theater in New York at the end of the 1930s. In the course of fending off the unwanted advances of brash comic Biff Brannigan (Michael O'Shea), with whom she is teamed in several numbers, and staying clear of the dressing room feuds of her fellow dancers -- including a very nasty dispute between Dolly Baxter (Gloria Dickson) and Lolita La Verne (Victoria Faust) -- she finds herself up to her neck in trouble when one of the women is found strangled with her own G-string. The police don't know what to make of it, especially as the victim was already dying of a fatal dose of poison, which means that there are two murderers somewhere in the theater; and when a second woman turns up strangled inside a prop that Dixie was supposed to be hiding in onstage, she looks like a good suspect. Between the backstage comedy-drama, and the songs, dances, and on-stage comic routines, with the police breathing down both their necks at different times, Dixie and Biff manage to solve the mystery and find each other in this briskly paced, funny, yet amazingly gritty comedy-thriller. Lady of Burlesque was allowed to fall out of copyright in 1971, and since then it was seen in substandard editions until the May 2001 DVD release from Image Entertainment. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O'Shea, (more)
- 1943
In this frothy musical comedy, Ann Carter (Deanna Durbin) is an aspiring singer from the Midwest who decides to move to New York in hopes of advancing her career. Her half brother, Martin Murphy (Pat O'Brien), is already living in the Big Apple, and has told her that he's doing well as a businessman; however, when she arrives at his door, she discovers that he's actually working as a valet for Charles Gerard (Franchot Tone), a well-known composer. This is good news for Ann, since Charles could doubtlessly do a great deal to give her career a boost, but Martin is hesitant to talk to his boss about Ann. Charles is inundated with pleas from semi-talented would-be musicians all day long, and putting another in his path would earn Martin no favors. However, Martin soon has bigger worries; it seems that Charles has developed an interest in Ann which Martin is convinced has nothing to do with music. As you might expect, Durbin sings several songs, including "In the Spirit of the Moment," "When You're Away," and an aria from Puccini. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deanna Durbin, Pat O'Brien, (more)
- 1943
- NR
Action in the North Atlantic is solid wartime propaganda with a rather endearing inner lining of left-wing politics, courtesy (no doubt) of scenarist John Howard Lawson, who based his screenplay on a novel by maritime specialist Guy Gilpatric. While running war goods to America's Russian allies, a merchant marine ship captained by Raymond Massey is torpedoed. The courage of Massey and his first mate Humphrey Bogart serves as an inspiration to the survivors, who manage to navigate their tiny lifeboat to America, where they are lauded as heroes. After only the briefest of compassionate leaves (Massey is reunited with wife Ruth Gordon, while Bogart strikes up a relationship with Julie Bishop), the crew is assigned a new Liberty Ship. Despite fears of being torpedoed again, Massey, Bogart, and the other men successfully bring their cargo to Russia, shooting down several German planes in the process. As the Americans are cheered on by the smiling, well-fed Russian seamen and peasants, Action in the North Atlantic fades out, with the voice of Franklin D. Roosevelt (actually radio announcer Art Gilmore) heard on the soundtrack encouraging a "United Nations" allegiance against the axis. The supporting cast of Action in the North Atlantic includes a young newcomer by the name of Bernard Zanville, whose billing was changed to "Dane Clark" upon the film's release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey, (more)
- 1943
Though the 45-minute Calaboose was the second of three Hal Roach "streamliners" teaming Jimmy Rogers (son of Will) and Noah Beery Jr., it was the third to be released. Rogers and Beery play a couple of laid-back itinerant cowobys who wander into a small western town. Here they meet sheriff's daughter Doris Lane (Mary Brian), a staunch believer in the rehabilitation of criminals. Smitten by Doris, the boys contrive to get themselves arrested by her dad (William B. Davidson), who, in accordance with Doris' wishes, runs his jail like a luxury hotel. The plot thickens when desperate gangster Sluggsy Baker (Marc Lawrence) shows up in town-and Sluggsy just can't see things Doris' way so far as reforming is concerned. For its 1980s TV release, Calaboose was coupled with another 45-minute Roach streamliner, Dudes are Pretty People. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Rogers, Mary Brian, (more)
- 1943
In this musical comedy, a vaudevillian teams up with a barber and becomes a smash hit. The barber also finds himself falling in love with his talented partner. When he learns that she has a shot at becoming a famous radio singer, he decides to go solo. Eventually, the woman gets herself into a real fix. Fortunately, the barber comes to save her. The lovers are reunited and happiness ensues. Songs include "The Restless Age" (Ed Rose, Abe Olman), "Goodnight Now," "The Lilac Tree," "Tempo of the Trail," "Oh Johnny." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Gilbert, Frank Fay, (more)
- 1942
In this musical, which manages to look back with nostalgia upon prohibition and the depression (no small accomplishment), George Raft plays George, a hoofer looking back on his glory days. His memories are triggered when The Paradise Club, a nightspot where he used to work, is about to be turned into a bowling alley. In the Roaring '20s, George and his partner Billie (Janet Blair) were a star attraction at The Paradise, run by Nick (S.Z. Sakall). George wants his relationship with Billie to be as graceful off-stage as on, but he has several rivals vying for her affections, including gangster Steve (Broderick Crawford) and policeman Dan (Pat O'Brien). Marjorie Rambeau plays Lil, modeled after brassy nightclub owner Texas Guinan. Raft actually worked for Guinan in his early days as a dancer, and he gets a chance to show off his fancy footwork accompanied by a number of classic tunes, including "Alabamy Bound", "Yes Sir, That's My Baby", "Sweet Georgia Brown", and "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Broadway was a loose remake of the 1929 Merna Kennedy vehicle of the same name. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Pat O'Brien, (more)
- 1942
Taxi, Mister (AKA Two Mugs from Brooklyn was the first in a brief series of roughhouse comedies starring William Bendix and Joe Sawyer as a pair of nouveau riche cabdrivers. In this one, Tim McGuerin (Bendix) and Eddie Corbett (Sawyer) recall in flashback how they built up their thriving taxi business. It so happened that Tim was quite a baseball pitcher, and it was this skill that enabled him to collect a huge reward by subduing racketeer Glorio (Sheldon Leonard) with a well-aimed monkey wrench (this particular gag was a favorite of producer Hal Roach, who used variations in such previous films as Max Davidson's Pass the Gravy and Laurel & Hardy's Swiss Miss). Grace Bradley is extremely decorative as the burlesque queen who becomes Mrs. McGuerin. Like most of Hal Roach's "Streamliners", Taxi Mister runs a brisk 45 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Bendix, Grace Bradley, (more)
One of the first big-studio productions to acknowledge America's entry into WW2, 20th Century-Fox's To the Shores of Tripoli was filmed with full the cooperation of the US Marine Corps. John Payne plays Chris Winters, a wealthy, wise-lipped young Marine recruit who learns the true meaning of "Semper Fidelis" the hard way, courtesy of tough-as-nails drill sergeant Dixie Smith (Randolph Scott). Chris also falls in love with Navy nurse Mary Carter (Maureen O'Hara in her first Technicolor appearance), which leaves his poor hometown sweetheart Helene Hunt (Nancy Kelly) in the lurch. By film's end, Chris is one of the Few and the Proud as he and his buddies are shipped off to combat overseas. Portions of To the Shores of Tripoli were filmed in Hawaii just before the Pearl Harbor attack; according to studio publicity, some of the cameramen managed to capture portions of the Japanese raid on film, though none of these scenes seem to have made their way into the final release print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
- 1942
Director Rouben Mamoulian completed a three-picture 20th Century Fox deal with this airy comic romance that attempted to ape the story and style of the previous year's The Lady Eve (1941) but without that film's success. While vacationing in Southern California, accountant John Wheeler (Henry Fonda) intends to purchase a boat, a luxury for which he's saved long and hard on his limited income. Maybelle (Spring Byington) and Warren (Laird Cregar), a pair of grifters on the prowl for a mark, overhear John discussing the upcoming transaction and mistake him for a millionaire. They persuade pretty sales clerk Susan Miller (Gene Tierney) to help them dupe John by pretending to be their daughter and fall in love with him. As the couple spends time together, however, Susan really does fall in love with John. She backs out of her agreement with the con artists, tells John the truth, and learns that he's not a man of means. The truth does nothing to diminish their feelings for each other, and the happy couple marries, but Warren and Maybelle are not quite done with Susan yet, and they embark on a scheme to find her a real millionaire. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, (more)
Thanks to the canny production team of Maurice and Franklin King, I Killed That Man is superior to the general run of Monogram Studio films. Ricardo Cortez stars in this whodunit, set in a prison full of suspects. A confession is made, and that seems to be that--but is it? B-picture stalwarts Joan Woodbury and Iris Adrian add a welcome dash of pulchritude to the otherwise all-male proceedings. Watch for John Hamilton, aka "Perry White" on the TV series Adventures of Superman, as a district attorney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Cortez, Joan Woodbury, (more)
- 1942
Though musical-comedy favorite Jane Frazee was well established at Universal in mid-1942, every so often she'd head to Republic to star in such confections as Moonlight Masquerade. Frazee is cast as Vicki Forester, daughter of oil-company executive Robert Forrester (Jed Prouty). When the girl was born, Forrester entered into an agreement with his partner John Bennett Sr. (Paul Harvey) that Vicki would marry Bennett's son John Jr. (Dennis O'Keefe) upon reaching her 21st birthday. Never having met, Vicki and John imagine the worst about each other, and both try to figure out a way to earn their respective family inheritances without going through with the wedding. It is inevitable, then, that our heroine and hero will assume phony names somewhere along the line, then fall in love without realizing their true identities. Eddie Foy Jr. provides occasional respites from the film's standard mistaken-identity routines with his manic characterization of "Lord Percy Tickleberry". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Jane Frazee, (more)
