Lucien Littlefield Movies
Versatile character actor Lucien Littlefield attended a military academy before making his first stage appearance at the age of 17, and his first film in 1913. Short and balding even in his teens, Littlefield began impersonating old men before he was of voting age. In 1925, he played the grizzled comedy relief sidekick of William S. Hart (27 years Littlefield's senior!) in Tumbleweeds; three years later he portrayed the sore-footed father of Mary Pickford (born two years before Littlefield) in My Best Girl. His most memorable silent role was as the menacing red-herring doctor in the "old dark house" mystery The Cat and the Canary (1927).When talkies came in, Littlefield was able to provide a fresh new voice for each characterization. He starred in his own Vitaphone short subjects series, The Potters, and played roles both large and small in any number of feature films. He was veterinarian Horace Meddick in Laurel and Hardy's Sons of the Desert (1934), a prissy office manager in W.C. Fields' The Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), the snobbish Belknap-Jackson in Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), and an ancient rustic sheriff in Whistling in Brooklyn (1942). In Paramount's Henry Aldrich "B"-picture series of the 1940s, Littlefield played the recurring role of ill-tempered schoolteacher Mr. Crosley. He also wrote several screenplays, most notably the Charlie Ruggles/Mary Boland vehicle Early to Bed (1936). Reversing the usual process, Lucien Littlefield's characters became younger as he grew older, as witness his spirited performances on such TV series as Superman and The Abbott and Costello Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
The little-known British melodrama Wink of an Eye was given a brief American distribution by United Artists. Jonathan Kidd plays Atterbury, the apparently mild-mannered owner of a small perfume laboratory. No one suspects that Atterbury plans to murder his harridan of a wife (Jaclynne Greene) and run off to South America with his lovely lab assistant Myrna Duchane (Doris Dowling). Though the audience sees nothing, it is implied that Mrs. Atterbury has been chopped up in little peaces and stored in her husband's freezer. After leading us up the garden path for seven reels, Wink of an Eye offers an amusing twist just before the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Kidd, Doris Dowling, (more)
- 1958
After a string of such serious projects as The Shrike and I Accuse, director-star Jose Ferrer lightens up a bit with the frothy comedy The High Cost of Loving. Ferrer plays purchasing executive Jim Fry, who has doubts about his financial future when his company is taken over by a conglomerate. Adding to the dilemma is the fact that Fry's wife Virginia (Gena Rowlands, in her film debut) is expecting her first child. Surrounded by ulcerated status-seekers and "grey flannel suits", Jim and Virginia wonder if they've lost the fundamental values that attracted them to one another in the first place. The film's satirical barbs seem a bit muted today, but that's the price one pays when putting together a "topical" comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer, Gena Rowlands, (more)
- 1957
Also known as Bop Girl, this diverting musical time capsule features several of the best Calypso performers of the late 1950s. Real-life jazz musician Bobby Troup stars as a college music student, writing a graduate thesis on rock 'n' roll. For research purposes, Troup persuades nightclub singer Judy Tyler to perform one of her numbers to a calypso beat. Before you can say "Harry Belafonte", a brand-new musical craze is born. The veteran supporting cast includes Lucien Littlefield as Bobby Troup's professor mentor, former 20th Century-Fox starlet Margo Woode as a eugenics expert, and George "Joe McDoakes" O'Hanlon as comedy relief. Among the musical acts are the Mary Kaye Trio, The Goofers, the Lord Flea Calypsonians, Nino Tempo, The Titans and The Cubanos. Bop Girl Goes Calypso was the final film appearance of up-and-coming actress Judy Tyler, who was killed in a particularly nasty car accident shortly after filming wrapped. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Tyler, Bobby Troup, (more)
- 1956
Night watchman Clyde Matik has been stabbed to death in an appliance store warehouse. One of the dead man's fellow employees is convinced that the guilty party is Matik's girlfriend Bessie Rowan (Ann Doran), but Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) are sent off on a different path thanks to evidence dug up by the crime lab. The guilty party turns out to be a huge surprise for all concerned--especially Bessie Rowan. This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of August 16, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Having forsaken westerns for detective melodramas in Dial Red O, William "Wild Bill" Ellliot continues in this vein in Sudden Danger. Elliot is cast as detective lieutenant Doyle, who at present is investigating the alleged suicide of a clothing manufacturer. Doyle suspects that the victim was murdered, and that the perpetrator was the dead man's blind son, Curtis (Tom Drake). Hoping to clear himself, Curtis begins searching for clues on his own, and by fadeout time he and Doyle have cornered the actual killer. Though obviously made in a hurry, Sudden Danger is elevated by better-than-usual scripting and a well-chosen supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Drake, Beverly Garland, (more)
Bob Hope tries to capture the comic magic of his 1946 costume farce Monsieur Beaucaire with the splashy Technicolor romp Casanova's Big Night (filmed in 1952, released in 1954). Set in 18th century Venice, the film casts Hope as Pippo, the humble tailor of notorious ladies' man Casanova (an unbilled Vincent Price). When Casanova skips town without paying his debts, the local tradesman's guild, led by Casanova's butler Lucio (Basil Rathbone), conspire to pass off one of their number as the great lover and arrange a profitable marriage. Selected to impersonate Casanova is the hapless Pippo, who soon afterward is hired by the imperious Duchess of Castelbello (Hope Emerson) to test the fidelity of the duchess' future daughter-in-law Elena (Audrey Dalton). Along the way, Pippo is given lessons in etiquette and swordsmanship by both Lucio and tradeswoman Francesca (Joan Fontaine). Eventually, Pippo finds himself up to his neck in court intrigue, courtesy of the scheming Doge of Venice (Arnold Moss). Further complications include a couple of hilarious swashbuckling scenes, an interlude in a dungeon with addlepated prisoner Emo (Lon Chaney), and the obligatory disguise scene. The Pirandellian ending of Casanova's Big Night was later imitated by such films as The Maltese Bippy (1969) and Wayne's World (1992). Bob Hope is in fine form, the production is sumptuous and the supporting cast superb, but somehow there's a little something missing in Casanova's Big Night. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Joan Fontaine, (more)
- 1953
Attractively filmed in Cinecolor, Roar of the Crowd is a better-than-average actioner from Allied Artists. Howard Duff plays Johnny Tracy, scion of a racecar-driving family. Johnny wants a crack at the Indianapolis 500 above all else, but his girl friend Marcy Parker (Helene Stanley) wants him to quit the racetrack. Finally, a compromise is reached: Johnny will retire from racing if Marcy allows him to prepare for the 500. Alas, Johnny is injured in a pre-Indy accident, and it looks like he hasn't a chance. While the outcome is predictable, a few surprises still await the audience in the final reel. A few months before Roar of the Crowd went into release, stock footage from the racing sequences were seen in the Bowery Boys epic Jalopy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Howard Duff, Helene Stanley, (more)
- 1953
Eccentric "Daily Planet" stringer Horatio Hinkle (Lucien Littlefield) invents a robot named Hero, which he uses to break up a jewel robbery. The disgruntled thieves decide to kidnap the robot and force Hinkle to reprogram it to help them commit their next few crimes. This, of course, is a contingency that Superman (George Reeves) hopes to prevent--but he may be too late to do so. Future Gilligan's Island costar Russell Johnson is rather surprisingly cast as the leader of the criminal gang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
At Sword's Point is about the sons of Dumas' Three Musketeers--one of those "sons" being of the female persuasion, played by Maureen O'Hara. As the swash-buckling daughter of Athos, O'Hara joins the offspring of Aramis and Porthos, portrayed respectively by Dan O'Herlihy and Alan Hale Jr., as well as the bouncing boy of D'Artagnan, played by Cornel Wilde. These second-generation Musketeers are reunited by the ageing Queen Anne (Gladys Cooper), who wants to stem the villainy of her treacherous nephew, the Duc de Lavalle (Robert Douglas). Lunging and parrying throughout the French countryside, the new Musketeers save the day by preventing a marriage of state between the princess (Nancy Gates) and Lavalle, restoring the girl to her true love, prince Peter Miles. Technicolor is the only decided plus in the favor of the lazy and derivative At Sword's Point, which was completed in 1949 but remained unseen in RKO's vaults for three years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
Republic's Trucolor "special" Susanna Pass stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, King and Queen of the West. Rogers plays "himself," while Evans is cast as female doctor Kay Parker. The villains this time around are trying to force a fish hatchery owner out of business so they can drill for underwater oil. The film's action content never impedes its musical highlights (and vice versa); among the vocal contributors are Estrelita Rodriguez (who figures prominently in one of the cliff-hanging action setpieces) and Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. Susanna Pass represented the on-screen reteaming of Rogers and Evans, after several attempts by Republic to link up their Number One cowboy star with other leading ladies. Surprising, Rogers isn't teamed with a comical sidekick, though Estrelita Rodriguez is admittedly pretty funny as a flirtatious senorita. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Estelita Rodriguez, (more)
- 1949
Director Kurt Neumann, more closely associated with science fiction and mystery programmers, delivers a powerhouse of a pocket western in Bad Men of Tombstone. Barry Sullivan and Broderick Crawford head the cast as a pair of gunslingers who hold no regrets and evidently harbor no consciences. They ride into a mining camp during the Gold Rush days and set about staking a claim--and woe be unto him who gets in the way. A blood-splattered gunfight is the logical conclusion when the two gunfighters have their final falling out. Screenwriters Philip Yordan and Arthur Strawn clearly hold their leading characters in contempt, but can't help imbuing them with a certain degree of fascination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Sullivan, Marjorie Reynolds, (more)
- 1948
Sexual harassment can work both ways as can be seen in this romantic comedy when ad man endeavors to maneuver out of a relationship with his girlfriend. This is difficult as she controls a major account for his company and refuses to renew it unless he continues to go out with her. The frustrated fellow then begins having neurotic fits until, at last, he is taken off her account. For his new assignment, he must promote a psychiatrist's latest book. They meet and he is captivated by the lovely doctor. The nervous fellow then becomes her patient, and before long they both fall in love. Unfortunately, the other woman has not given up. His troubles are far from over when he later discovers that the shrink doesn't really love him--she is only using him for a case study. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hedy Lamarr, Robert Cummings, (more)
- 1948
Jinx Money is not so much a Bowery Boys vehicle as a murder mystery that happens to star the Bowery Boys. It all begins when a gambler is murdered shortly after winning $50,000 in a card game. As the other cardplayers scramble around in search of the money, Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and Sach Jones (Huntz Hall) recover the loot from a gutter. Intending to turn 75% of the money over to charity and pocket the rest, our heroes get mixed up with the murder of yet another cardplayer. The cops are stymied, but Sach, who glimpsed the killer as he made his escape, prattles on and on about "The umbrella with the hand." Sure enough, the culprit does carry an umbrella, but it takes several more murders to ascertain his true identity. At times, there are more corpses than characters in this offbeat comedy thriller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Andrews, Ben Baker, (more)
- 1948
Lightnin' in the Forest is a rare Republic Studios foray into the comedy field, kept alive by the rapport between its stars. Lynne Roberts plays an Eastern gal who heads to the North Woods, looking for thrills. Vacationing psychiatrist Warren Douglas likewise journeys to the tall timbers, in search of peace and quiet. Roberts and Douglas "meet cute," verbally spar for a few reels, and team up to undergo several exhilarating, life-threatening outdoor adventures. Adding additional spice to Lightnin' in the Forest are such dependable players as Don Barry, Adrian Booth, and the ageless Lucien Littlefield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynne Roberts, Warren Douglas, (more)
John Muller (Paul Henreid), an intelligent, arrogant criminal who has been a medical student and a phony psychoanalyst, believes that people are only interested in themselves and do not notice what is happening around them. Paroled from prison to a boring job, Muller is more interested in a big score, and along with his old cronies robs a crooked gambling joint owned by Rocky Stansyck (Thomas Brown Henry). Although he gets away with the money, some of his men are caught by Stansyck and identify John as the ringleader. On the run from Stansyck's gang, he is mistaken for Dr. Bartok, a psychiatrist also played by Henreid. Curious, Muller goes to the doctor's office, and meets Bartok's secretary and lover, Evelyn Nash (Joan Bennett). Needing to avoid capture, he assumes Bartok's identity, but first must scar his face like the doctor's. Working from a photograph printed from a reversed negative, he applies the scar to the wrong side. Though fooled at first, when Evelyn discovers the truth, she decides to leave, although she is in love with Muller/Bartok. Steve Sekely's Hollow Triumph (aka The Scar) is a film that requires an exceptionally hefty suspension of disbelief in its reliance on coincidence and the literal acceptance of Muller's cynical view of human blindness. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Henreid, Joan Bennett, (more)
A semi-sequel to Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Columbia's Down to Earth is a camp- and kitsch-lover's delight. More beautiful than ever, Rita Hayworth stars as Terpsichore, the Goddess of Dance. From her perch Up Above, Terpsichore discovers that Broadway producer Danny Miller (Larry Parks) intends to put together a musical satire, lampooning herself and her fellow Greek Gods. Eliciting the aid of Heavenly emissary Mr. Jordan (Roland Culver, taking over from the earlier film's Claude Rains), Terpsichore descends to Earth in human form, landing a role in Miller's play. Through her bewitching influence, Miller agrees to abandon his plans for a satire, transforming his production into a portentiously serious "work of art"-which lays a large and noxious egg with the opening-night crowd. Somehow, our ethereal heroine manages to set things right, but there's still one nagging problem: Will she, a goddess, ever be permitted to fall in love with a mere mortal like Miller? Repeating their Here Comes Mr. Jordan roles, James Gleason and Edward Everett Horton appear respectively as the eternally flustered Max Corkle (formerly a fight promoter, now a theatrical agent) and the pompous, rule-bound Heavenly messenger #7013. Silly but immensely entertaining, Down to Earth was remade as the sillier but decidedly less entertaining Xanadu in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Burke, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1946
In this melodrama, a self-absorbed mother unwittingly teaches her daughter some terrible habits. From her, the girl learns that she should simply take everything she wants without considering the consequences of her actions. Her conniving tactics make her rich, but unlucky in love. Fortunately, her second husband teaches her some important life lessons and the girl changes her ways. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Mona Freeman, (more)
- 1946
Director Allan Dwan moved to Republic Pictures in 1946, there to make the same sort of marital farce he'd been specializing in at United Artists throughout the 1940s. Eddie Albert plays an American pilot stationed in England who pines for his stateside wife (Faye Marlowe). Denied a pass, he goes AWOL to see his wife in New York. The complication? His wife becomes pregnant, and Albert must prove he's the father without admitting to his unauthorized leave of absence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
For his first post-WWII starring film, 26-year-old Mickey Rooney returned to familiar territory in Love Laughs at Andy Hardy. In true Art-Imitates-Life fashion, Rooney plays returning GI Andy Hardy, who arrives in his home town of Carvel to the open arms of his family: Father Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone), mother Mrs. Hardy (Fay Holden) and Aunt Milly (Sara Haden). After reels and reels of "Gee, Mom and Dad, it's great to be home", Andy launches into a new romance with college coed Kay Wilson (Bonita Granville). His boundless ebullience is dampened when Kay elects to marry another, setting the stage for a another of those man-to-man talks between Judge Hardy and Son. Fortunately, Andy bounces back to his old self when he meets Latin American exchange student Isobel Gonzales (Lina Romay). Wisely, MGM decided that Mickey Rooney was too old to continue to play Andy Hardy, and the studio dropped the series with this entry (there would be a so-so "reunion" picture, Andy Hardy Comes Home, in 1958). If it seems nowadays as though Love Laughs at Andy Hardy is being telecast at least seven times per week, it may be because the film lapsed into public domain in 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, (more)
- 1946
Director Joseph Kane adapted his own story Diamond Carlisle for the screenplay of In Old Sacramento--the third film version of Kane's original tale. Bill Elliot stars as masked bandit Spanish Jack, who behaves as badly as he wishes with few of the usual redeeming features plaguing most cinema desperadoes. In fact, in the earlier film versions of Diamond Carlisle, Elliot's character was the villain! After numerous hairbreadth adventures, Elliot dies in the arms of loving saloon singer Constance Moore. Also released as Flame of Sacramento, this was the first of a long line of films in which onetime "B" cowboy star Bill Elliot would portray a new kind of "B" western hero--one who drank at any opportunity, took advantage of unarmed foes, and lived by his own personal code rather than the edicts of society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Moore, Hank Daniels, (more)
- 1945
The Caribbean Mystery is a remake of Mr. Moto on Danger Island (1939)-which in turn was a remake of Murder in Trinidad. James Dunn stars as Mr. Smith, a Columbo-like Brooklyn detective who pops up on a tropical island to track down some missing geologists. In his own shambling, easygoing manner, Mr. Smith uncovers an elaborate murder scheme fomented by a self-styled jungle "boss" who kills anyone who threatens his domain. Our hero must survive bullets, alligators and quicksand before he can collar the miscreant. All three versions of this steamy melodrama were based on a novel by radio commentator John W. Vandercook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheila Ryan, Edward Ryan, (more)
This comedy centers around an inept reporter who wouldn't recognize a hot story if it burned him on the hand. The trouble begins when he is assigned to do a story on a local wine festival. Meanwhile an escaped convict holds the heated interest of the rest of the newspaper employees. The bungler gets involved when he goes to the wrong location and ends up on a bus where someone is killed. He becomes a suspect, and later when he must stop at an inn, he finds his girl friend and a detective there too. At the inn, the proprietor has two priceless jeweled chess pieces that have been attracting a lot of attention from the public, and from the fugitive convict. Mayhem ensues when the crook shows up to claim the chessmen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Haley, Ann Savage, (more)
Roy Rogers saves Dale Evans from being hoodwinked by a rodeo competitor in this pleasant, and pleasantly tuneful, B-Western from Republic Pictures. Due to the mismanagement of old-timer Gabby Whittaker (George "Gabby" Hayes), The Brooks Rodeo is about to be gobbled up by competitor Frank Madden (Richard Powers aka Tom Keene), who also has designs on pretty owner Marjorie Brooks (Evans) herself. But when Gabby hires Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers as the new headliners, Madden and his henchman Ken Ferguson (Roy Barcroft) are forced to commit a bit of sabotage. With the aid of Trigger, "The Smartest Horse in the Movies," and radio announcer Marty Maizely (Lloyd Corrigan), Roy and Gabby manage to the goods on Ferguson and prevent Marjorie from marrying the sleazy Madden. Featuring early silent screen star Claire Du Brey as Dale Evans' faithful housekeeper, Lights of Old Santa Fe also presents such pleasant musical divertissements as Jack Elliott's title tune, Tim Spencer's "Trigger Hasn't Got a Pretty Figger", "I'm a Happy Guy in My Levi's Britches" and "Cowpoke Polka", and Ricardo Lopez Mendez' "Amor". The latter is performed by Dale Evans in both English and Spanish versions. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes, (more)
Popular latter-day serial queen Linda Stirling starred in the title role in this well-made 12 chapter serial produced by genre specialist Republic Pictures. Stirling plays Barbara Mededith, a pretty girl who takes over her murdered brother's crusading newspaper. She also assumes the dead sibling's identity as "The Black Whip," righting the wrongs of Crescent City very much in the manner of her famous ancestor, Zorro. Off course, "being a mere woman," Barbara needs the assistance of a stalwart young man, in this case Vic Gordon (George J. Lewis), a government secret agent. Arguably the most popular serial heroine since the days of Pearl White, Linda Stirling's other top-billed serial role was as The Tiger Woman (1944). The choice of Lewis as Stirling's male lead was surprising; the Mexican-born Lewis, although handsome enough and a veteran of Universal's popular "Collegians" 2-reelers, had recently played mostly villains. Produced by Ronald Davidson, Zorro's Black Whip benefitted from second unit direction by stunt-man extraordinaire Yakima Canutt and special effects by the famed Theodore Lydecker. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
