John Lund Movies
While working for an advertising agency, he was asked by a friend to appear in an industrial show for the 1939 World's Fair. By 1941 he was debuting on Broadway in As You Like It, and also worked often as an actor and writer on radio. He wrote the book and lyrics for Broadway's New Faces of 1943. His successful appearance in the play The Hasty Heart led to a long-term film contract with Paramount. He debuted onscreen in To Each His Own (1946). He went on to play leads in numerous films over the next decade. By the early '60s he appeared in minor films and secondary roles and then retired from the screen altogether, becoming a successful Hollywood businessman. ~ All Movie Guide- 1948
A woman stands to inherit a fortune if she can get all her brothers and sisters in one place...which is far more complicated than it might sound. When the Tatlocks, a very wealthy couple, suddenly and unexpectedly die, the executor of the estate informs Nan Tatlock (Wanda Hendrix) that their will stipulates that all members of the immediate family must be present at the reading in order for it to be valid. Nan immediately smells trouble, as the Tatlocks are a notoriously eccentric group of people, and as the sole "normal" member of the family, she's generally the only one who can be counted upon to arrive on schedule. As it turns out, Nan's greatest problem is rounding up her brother Skylar, who is so dizzy that he requires a full-time caregiver, Denno (Barry Fitzgerald). However, Skylar got away from Denno during a trip to Hawaii, and no one is sure where he is -- or even if he's still alive. When Nan learns that she could inherit several million dollars if she can bring her relatives together, and Skylar stubbornly refuses to materialize, the caretaker hires Burke (John Lund), a Hollywood stuntman who bears a striking resemblance to the missing man, to pose as Skylar at the reading of the will. Miss Tatlock's Millions was the first film directed by veteran British comic actor Richard Haydn, who appears in a small role under the pseudonym "Richard Rancyd." Ray Milland and noted director Mitchell Leisen also make cameo appearances. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lund, Wanda Hendrix, (more)
The third of four films bearing the title of The Perils of Pauline, this musical biopic purports to tell the life story of famed silent serial queen Pearl White. Right at the beginning, however, an introductory title informs the audience that what follows is merely "suggested" by incidents in White's life and career. Translation: The film is a fabrication from beginning to end, but an enjoyable one. Played on all four cylinders by Betty Hutton, White is introduced as a frustrated factory worker who aspires to become a dramatic actress. She joins a touring theatrical troupe managed by handsome but pompous Mike (John Lund), but fame and fortune elude her because she's unable to suppress her natural rambunctiousness. In desperation, White takes a job at a movie studio, where she promptly finds herself in the middle of a slapstick pie fight. With the help of bombastic director Mac (William Demarest), top-hatted villain portrayer Timmy (Billy De Wolfe), and imperious dramatics coach Julia (Constance Collier), Pearl soon becomes world-famous as the star of such cliffhanging, tied-to-the-railroad-tracks serials as The Perils of Pauline (hence the title of this film). At the height of her fame, she arranges for her theatrical mentor Mike to get a job as her leading man, forcing him to swallow his pride and admit that he's been in love with her from the moment he met her. A series of clichéd complications contrive to separate White and Mike, but he returns to her arms when she's seriously injured during a Parisian stage performance. A few fairly credible recreations of silent moviemaking techniques aside, The Perils of Pauline is wildly anachronistic and inaccurate (for one thing, Pearl White made most of her serials in New Jersey rather than Hollywood). As a musical comedy, however, the film passes muster, especially during the performance of such Frank Loesser tunes as "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" and "The Sewing Machine." As a bonus, the film rounds up several silent-movie veterans in cameo roles, including William Farnum, Chester Conklin, Jimmy Finlayson, Creighton Hale, Hank Mann -- and Paul Panzer, who played the sneering villain in the original 1914 Perils of Pauline. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Hutton, John Lund, (more)
- 1947
This story of two young hopefuls who come to Hollywood is merely a thin device to feature almost every star working for Paramount Studios in 1947. Mary Hatcher plays Catherine Brown, a woman of humble origins who arrives in Hollywood, where she meets another wanna-be movie star, Amber La Vonne (Olga San Juan). They work their way through the Paramount studios, trying to impress every important person. Mostly, the film is a cavalcade of songs by various stars that take place at several studio and Hollywood locations, including the famous Brown Derby restaurant. Many of the film's songs were written by Frank Loesser. Dorothy Lamour and Alan Ladd sing "Tallahassee"; Bing Crosby and Bob Hope play golf and sing a duet, "Harmony"; the Original Dixieland Jazz Band plays "Tiger Rag"; and a host of other top performers of the era appear in brief cameos. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Alden, Mary Hatcher, (more)
- 1946
Olivia De Havilland won the first of her two Academy Awards for To Each His Own. During World War I, De Havilland falls in love with a young soldier (John Lund). He is killed in battle before they can marry, leaving De Havilland to raise their child alone. She gives the baby up for adoption, then goes to work in the cosmetic business, working her way up to an executive post. While in London on business during World War II, Olivia comes face to face with her grown son (John Lund again), now a military officer himself. Though she resists revealing her true identity, mother and son are brought together by a wise old British peer (Roland Culver). Olivia De Havilland's Oscar win was doubly sweet in that To Each His Own was her first film after an enforced two-year absence, brought about when she sued Warner Bros. to get out of her restrictive contract. Long available only in washed-out TV prints, To Each His Own was eventually restored to its pristine 35-millimeter glory by the American Film Institute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia de Havilland, Mary Anderson, (more)
