Shirley Mason Movies

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, All Movie Guide

Two brothers fall for the same woman in this drama. While one of the brothers had been off fighting the war, the other had been romancing his girlfriend. He immediately dumps her when his brother returns. Unfortunately, this upsets the veteran, but it does not prevent him from sacrificing his life to save the other from a midair collision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The basic plot of Wife's Relations involves the romance between heroine Shirley Mason and erstwhile inventor Gaston Glass. Forget that noise: The film's principal attraction was cross-eyed comedian Ben Turpin, cast as Mason's zany father. Well-teamed with scrawny Flora Finch, Turpin goes through his standard slapstick repertoire, extracting belly laughs from the slimmest of circumstances. The film's highlight is a disastrous plumbing sequence, which would be endlessly imitated in future years by such comedians as the Three Stooges and Abbott and Costello. Though obviously tired and aging, Ben Turpin proved withal that he still had what it took to reduce an audience to helpless laughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No relation to the 1953 Grace Moore biopic of the same name, So This is Love was another early Frank Capra production for fledgling Columbia Pictures. The hero, dress designer Jerry McGuire (William Collier Jr.), is tired of being considered a wimp. After business hours, Jerry secretly takes boxing lessons, enabling him to knock the stuffings out of his burly rival Spike Mullins (Johnnie Walker). Jerry's newfound pugilistic skills wins him the affections of store clerk Hilda Jensen (Shirley Mason), who's just car-razy about "cave men." Filmed in a fast three weeks, So This is Love? was completed before Frank Capra's Matinee Idol but released afterward. Leading lady Shirley Mason was the sister of Viola Dana, who starred in Capra's initial Columbia effort, That Certain Thing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Douglas MacLean, who made his mark during the 1920s as a light comedian, stars as a Marine sergeant in this comedy-drama, which he co-produced with Paramount. The studio must have seen this picture as a sure bet at the box office -- MacLean's first breakthrough picture in 1919 was 23 1/2 Hours Leave and Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton were currently reaping in the bucks in their Army picture, Behind the Front. Let-It-Rain Riley (MacLean) is a devil-may-care Marine sergeant who falls in love with a girl (Shirley Mason) who he assumes to be rich. His rival for the girl's affection is his pal, Kelly (Wade Boteler). The guys find out that the object of their affections is but a modest switchboard operator but she proves to be invaluable when she deciphers a code and discovers that a mail train is about to be robbed. Riley takes care of the crooks, but not before a thrilling climax in which the mail car is cut loose from the train. Riley manages to make good, winning both a promotion to lieutenant and the girl. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Sally in Our Alley revives the old bromide about the orphan waif who is unofficially adopted by three men of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds. Shirley Mason plays Sally Williams, who has grown up under the watchful eyes of Scotsman Sandy Mack (Alec B. Francis), Italian Tony Garibaldi (Paul Panzer) and Jewish Abe Lapidowitz (William H. Strauss). Upon reaching maturity, Sally falls in love with a neighborhood boy, plumber Jimmie Adams (Richard Arlen). Enter wealthy Chester Drake (Harry Crocker), who offers to take Sally away from her tenement surroundings and her "low-life" friends. Jimmie and the three surrogate fathers unintentionally embarrass Sally at a party thrown at Drake's estate, whereupon the three old men slink dejectedly back to their old neighborhood, while Jimmie signs on with the merchant marine. But Sally decides to forsake wealth and luxury in favor of those who loved and cared for her throughout her life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a story by Zane Grey, Desert Gold is a remake of the 1919 film of the same name. Neil Hamilton stars as George Thorne, a U.S. cavalry lieutenant in love with fair senorita Mercedes Castaneda (Shirley Mason). When Mercedes is kidnapped by scurrilous outlaw Snake Landree (William Powell in his swarthy-villain period), Lt. Thorne and his Eastern-dude pal Dick Gale (Robert Frazer) gallop to her rescue. Escaping from Landree's gang, the two men and the girl head into the desert, and for a while it looks as though they're not going to get out alive. But salvation is at hand in the form of a self-sacrificing Yaqui Indian (Frank Lackteen) who has long harbored a fondness for the heroine. Desert Gold was filmed once more in 1936, with Buster Crabbe, Robert Cummings, Marsha Hunt and Tom Keene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Famed concert pianist Johann Aradi (Lewis Stone) has earned a "Don Juan" reputation because of his love-'em-and-leave-'em attitude with the ladies. While performing in Rome, he meets a likely conquest in the form of the beautiful Nanette (Shirley Mason), who idolizes the pianist. But when he discovers that the girl is only 16, he sets about to disillusion her by throwing a drunken party and inviting all of his former lovers. He then arranges for Nanette's sweetheart Roberto (Malcolm McGregor) to "rescue" the girl from this den of iniquity. His good deed done, Johann goes back to his old lothario ways -- until, at long last, he falls in love for real. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Columbia "special" Sweet Rosie O'Grady was purportedly inspired by the ballad of the same name. Orphaned at birth, Rosie O'Grady (Shirley Mason) is raised jointly by kindly Jewish pawnbroker Ben Shapiro (E. Alyn Warren) and Irish beat cop James Brady (William Conklin). When wealthy Victor MacQuade (Cullen Landis) gets lost in the tenement district, he is rescued from a street fight by Rosie. Victor invites the girl to a rags-to-riches costume ball, where she wins first prize for her "costume" -- actually, her regular street clothes. Angry and humiliated, Rosie rushes back to her Uncle Ben's pawnshop, where she is comforted by Brady, who fortunately for the plot has become quite wealthy and is living in a luxurious mansion. Searching for the girl, Victor stumbles upon her at Brady's mansion and proposes to her on the spot. Still smarting from her experiences at the party, she refuses, whereupon her headstrong young swain forcibly elopes with her. Thinking that Rosie is being kidnapped, Brady hops into his roadster and gives chase. As a result, Rosie, Victor and Brady are all arrested by a rustic traffic cop -- who unexpectedly serves as plot resolver when it turns out that he's also the local justice of the peace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama was based on the novel Joseph Greer and His Daughter by Henry Kitchell Webster. Inventor Joseph Greer (Lewis Stone) has been separated from his wife for many years, and suddenly discovers he must look after Beatrice (Shirley Mason), his grown daughter who he didn't even know existed. Greer has created a new way to make linen and he is being backed by a group of financiers. Although he does not agree with their marketing schemes, he hopes that his connection to them will help Beatrice socially. Instead, it creates disaster. Vi Williamson (Ethel Grey Terry), the wife of one of the money men (David Torrence), makes a pass at Greer, and when he turns her down, she becomes vengeful. She turns her husband against Greer, and he ruins the inventor. Beatrice, meanwhile, marries Burns (Hugh Allen), the chauffeur. Greer takes to drinking, but with the help of Beatrice and her husband, he pulls himself together. His secretary, Jennie McArthur (Barbara Bedford), also returns, and Greer fights his way back to the top. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Winsome Shirley Mason stars in this routine Fox melodrama. The naïve Grace Whitney (Mason) attends a wild party being held by Monte Brandster (Freeman Wood). Thelma Delores, a gold digger (Hazel Howell), murders Brandster in a fit of jealousy, but circumstantial evidence points to Grace. She is acquitted through the testimony of Herbert Wyckoff (John Roche), who is attracted to her. Grace starts a new life in another city as Enid Day and becomes governess for the Hollisters. Wyckoff visits with his sister (Clarissa Selwynne), and admits that he still has doubts about Grace's innocence. Eventually, however, he overcomes his suspicions and falls in love with her. Mrs. Hollister is having an affair with Dick Thorbeck (Joseph Striker). The illicit lovers are in danger of being caught, and for the sake of the baby, Grace quickly takes Mrs. Hollister's place. She is denounced and her identity as the accused murderer is uncovered, but Wyckoff, whose faith in her is now unshakable, proposes to her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The racy William Hurlbut play The Strange Woman was toned down to make this romantic Shirley Mason vehicle. When small-town resident John Hemmingway (Theodore Von Eltz) travels to wicked Paris to study architecture, he meets Inez de Pierrefond, a young widow (Shirley Mason). He falls in love with her and when he has to return to America he proposes, but much to his surprise, she turns him down. Because of her unhappy marriage, she no longer believes in the institution; on top of that, she's actually the author of a scandalous novel about free love. She manages to convince Hemmingway to bring her to the States without a marriage certificate. The folks in his small town have equally small minds and they do not welcome their freethinking guest. Inez notes all the hypocrisy around her and threatens to expose it unless she is left alone. Finally, Hemmingway's nice, old-fashioned mother is able to talk some sense into Inez and she agrees to marry her sweetheart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide