Myrna Loy Movies

This Mark Twain adaptation affords a rare opportunity to enjoy a "collaboration" between two of America's greatest humorists. Will Rogers plays the operator of a tiny radio repair shop, who is called to an old mansion to replace a battery on a dark and stormy night. Here Will meets a scientist (William Farnum) who thinks he can contact King Arthur by radio, a sinister butler (Brandon Hurst), a pair of young lovers who've been forbidden to see one another, and a seductive femme fatale (Myrna Loy). Suffering a blow on the head, Rogers wakes up in 9th-century Camelot. "Could you please tell me where the helleth I am?" Rogers remarks when captured by Sir Sagramor (Brandon Hurst); condemned to burn at the stake as a "sorcerer," Rogers saves himself by pretending to conjure up a solar eclipse. Dubbed Sir Boss, Rogers brings 20th-century mechanization to Camelot, taking time out for long, ad-libbed ramblings about the state of the world in 1931. Sir Boss' new friend King Arthur (William Farnum) is being undermined by Morgan le Fey (Myrna Loy) and Merlin (Brandon Hurst). After finding out that Clarence is his own ancestor, Rogers races against time to keep Clarence alive and get him married to Melisande (Maureen O'Sullivan). The last-minute ride to the rescue finds King Arthur's knights commandeering Model Ts, tanks and autogiros Connecticut Yankee predates Wizard of Oz by having the characters in Camelot and the residents of the modern-day mansion played by the same actors. In the original prints, Rogers' face was tinted red after receiving a kiss from Myrna Loy; this cute sight gag has been restored by computer to the videocassette version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Consolation Marriage (British title: Marriage in Haste) stars Irene Dunne and Pat O'Brien. When hero and heroine are jilted by their respective sweethearts Lester Vail and Myrna Loy, they marry each other on the rebound. Having already been burned around the heart, Dunne and O'Brien agree that theirs will be a marriage in name only, with no romance in the equation. Only when they're disastrously reunited with their former lovers do Dunne and O'Brien realize how deeply in love they truly are, and always have been. Surprisingly, though Pat O'Brien and Myrna Loy would enjoy long Hollywood careers, they would not work together on-screen again until they were cast as Burt Reynolds's parents in the 1979 comedy The End. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The fact that The Naughty Flirt was advertised as having a 78-minute running time but was released at 57 minutes is indication enough that the picture didn't test well with preview audiences. Alice White does her usual as Kay Elliot, a footloose heiress who spends most of her time in night court trying to explain her latest madcap escapade. Kay is in love with white-collar businessman Alan Ward (Paul Page), but he'll have nothing to do with her until she changes her ways. She tries to please him by working as his secretary, but to no avail. In desperation, she agrees to marry fortune-hunting Jack Gregory (Douglas Gilmore), who has been put up to his proposal by his mercenary sister Linda (Myrna Loy, once again far better than her material). Just as Kay is about to take her vows at the altar, she realizes she's still in love with Alan, who has likewise come to his senses. According to some sources, Bela Lugosi played a small role in Naughty Flirt, though he's nowhere to be found in the currently available prints. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For reasons unknown, Cock O' the Walk seldom shows up in the "official" resumes of director James Cruze's career. In his third talkie appearance, Joseph Schildkraut plays callous gigolo Carlos. A violinist in a Spanish café, Carlos enjoys a brisk traffic in women, particularly wealthy married women who enjoy bestowing financial favors upon him. Rescuing the beautiful Narita (Myrna Loy) from a suicide attempt, Carlos takes her home with him, where she insists that she'll try to kill herself again. Our "hero" decides to capitalize upon the girl's self-destructive tendencies by marrying her then insuring her life for $20,000, knowing full well it won't be long before he collects. Continuing his philandering ways, Carlos happens to make the acquaintance of Narita's former husband, who threatens to spill the beans about Narita's unsavory past. Carlos kills the man and is put on trial for murder, whereupon Narita spends every penny she has for her husband's defense -- and when that money runs out, she decides it's time to commit suicide so that Carlos can benefit from her insurance. Unexpectedly, Carlos realizes that he's truly in love with Narita and breaks out of jail to prevent her self-inflicted demise -- but will he make it in time? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this western based on a novel by Zane Grey, Buck Duane (George O'Brien) is a cowboy who is forced to kill a man in an act of self-defense; the same man also took the life of Buck's father. However, the law isn't so sure Buck's motivations were pure, and Buck is forced to leave town one step ahead of the peace officers. Buck gets a chance to prove his good intentions when he helps protect a rancher who is being harassed by a gang of thugs, and also rescues his lady love, Ruth (Lucille Brown), from the same outlaws. However, Buck's brave actions do not come without retaliation -- and they also attract the attention of Lola (Myrna Loy), one of the hombre's molls. The Last Of The Duanes was filmed before in 1924 (with Tom Mix in the lead), and the story would hit the screen again in 1941, starring George Montgomery. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Truth About Youth is the third film version of Henry V. Esmond's play, When We Were Twenty-One. Richard Dane (David Manners) is turning twenty-one, and his guardian, Dick Carewe (Conway Tearle) has arranged a nice surprise party for him. Unfortunately, Richard (nicknamed "Imp") never shows up for the party, as he is celebrating in his own wild and free way. This includes visiting a nightclub where the seductive Kara (Myrna Loy) holds forth. Kara has a habit of toying with the affections of young men until she gets bored with them -- which is usually when their money runs out. Not knowing that Richard has no money, Kara quickly becomes involved with him. This does not sit well with Carewe, who hopes to arrange a marriage between his Richard and the sweet, simple Phyllis (Loretta Young), daughter of his housekeeper. Unbeknownst to Carewe, however, Phyllis is in love with him, despite the fact that he is much older than she. Matters become complicated when Richard marries Kara, only to be thrown out by her when she discovers his true financial status. Carewe continues his efforts to bring Richard and Phyllis together, but Phyllis finally makes her true feelings known, and she and Carewe finally get together. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Comedian Frank Fay and director Michael Curtiz reportedly despised one another at sight, and their mutual animosity tends to seep through every frame of Under a Texas Moon. The vainglorious Fay is cast as Don Carlos, a gay caballero ("gay" meaning "carefree") whose serenades every senorita he meets. When a group of ranchers post a $7000 dollar reward for the capture of the Bad Man of the Pool (Fred Kohler), a notorious bandit, Don Carlos passes himself off as a daring cattle rustler and promises to bring the Bad Man to heel within 10 days. Characteristically, he spends nine of those ten days romancing such lovelies as Raquella (Raquel Torres), Lolita (Myrna Loy) and Dolores (Armida). All of this was played for laughs, but Frank Fay's special brand of quiet put-down humor didn't play quite as well on screen as it did on stage. Under a Texas Moon was originally released in Technicolor, but try finding a color print today. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this early musical western, Stephen Ghent (Ian Keith) is a businessman who, after the death of his partner, has been helping to support Ruth Jordan (Dorothy Mackaill), the late man's college-age daughter. While visiting a town near the Mexican border on business, Ghent is shocked to discover Ruth has become a jaded and hard-drinking sophisticate. Convinced she needs a healthy dose of the great outdoors and the simple life, Ghent kidnaps her disguised as a Mexican bandit and carries her away to an isolated cabin in the hills. As the masked cowboy attempts to teach Ruth about the virtues of the simple life, she finds herself falling in love with her captor, though she has a rival for his affections in hot-blooded servant girl Manuella (Myrna Loy). Fancy Baggage was released both as a talking picture and in a silent version, designed to play in small-town theaters (where westerns were perennially popular) which had yet to be wired for sound. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This somewhat obscure early musical western produced by George W. Weeks for poverty row's Sono Art-World Wide has gone down in film history as Myrna Loy's talkie debut. Loy and Carmelita Geraghty played South-of-the-Border Belles dallying with notorious bandit El Malo (Jose Bohr) who, of course, is actually a sagebrush Robin Hood. In between stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, El Malo unmasks the nasty sheriff of Sierra Blanco (Walter Miller) as a real crook who keeps the loot for himself. This technically deficient early talkie was the English language debut of German-born Chilean actor-director Bohr. Bohr's stay in Hollywood proved brief but he continued to direct and star in South American productions until the 1960s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Basically a filmed vaudeville presentation, The Show of Shows was Warner Bros.' entry in the "all star, all talking, all singing and all dancing" sweepstakes of 1929. Though slightly better than MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929, the Warners entry pales in comparison to Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 and Paramount on Parade, due mainly to the film's master of ceremonies, the insufferable Frank Fay. Some of the individual acts seen in Show of Shows were pretty good, notably Winnie Lightner's delightful Singing in the Bathtub (a spoof of Hollywood Revue of 1929's Singin' in the Rain) and John Barrymore's brilliant rendition of Richard III's soliloquy from Shakespeare's Henry VI. Also easy to take was "Floradora Sextette," featuring such luminaries as Myrna Loy, Patsy Ruth Miller and cross-eyed comedian Ben Turpin, and "Eight Sister Acts," including such Hollywood siblings as Dolores and Helene Costello, Sally Blane and Loretta Young and Shirley Mason and Viola Dana (also teamed in this number are Ann Sothern and Marion Byron, who were not sisters). But for the most part, the acts are on a par with "Skull and Crossbones," a boring production number showcasing entertainer Ted Lewis, and "Recitations," a one-joke affair in which three different anecdotes (related by Frank Fay, Louis Fazenda, Lloyd Hamilton and Bea Lillie) are melded into one. Show of Shows was originally released in two-color Technicolor but now exists only in black in white, save for the "Chinese Fantasy" number featuring crooner Nick Lucas and Warner Bros. contractee Myrna Loy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A woman finds herself a victim of love in this drama. Her trouble begins when her husband falsely accuses her of having an affair. He divorces her and tells her that she can never see her son again. Six long years pass. Her son sees her in a park and takes her home. Her husband immediately tosses her out. It is only after a jilted boyfriend kills himself and leaves a telling note, that the truth about the situation is discovered: he had told her husband that he had been having an affair with her in the hope that she would return to him after her marriage crumbled. The ex-husband begs forgiveness, and the wife comes back. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Still in the Hollywood phase of his career, director Alexander Korda made his talking-picture bow with Warner Bros.' The Squall. Myrna Loy stars as Nubi, a sexy and seductive Hungarian gypsy girl who is caught in a torrential downpour. Taking refuge in a farmhouse, Nubi wreaks havoc on the male occupants, all of whom violently vie for her attentions. In other words, the film's title is both literal and symbolic. Loretta Young appears in the secondary role of Irma, sweetheart of emotional young farmer Paul Lajos (Carrol Nye). The Squall was based on a play by Jean Bart. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi