Frank McGlynn, Jr. Movies

In this mystery programmer, a prizefighter dies in the midst of a match, but evidence suggests that it was a dose of poison that killed him rather than the violence of the bout. Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), a detective who also teaches sleuthing to others, is called in to find out who killed the boxer and why. Assisting Mr. Moto is Lee Chan (Keye Luke), the "number one son" from the Charlie Chan series. Mr. Moto's Gamble began as Charlie Chan at Ringside, but after Warner Oland became seriously ill during filming, it was rewritten for the screen's other well-known Asian detective in order to make use of the footage that had already been shot. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Those zany Ritz Brothers are at it again--good news or bad, depending on one's feelings toward the team. This time they're a trio of Manhattan entertainers who can't get anywhere because hillbilly acts are "in" with radio and theatrical producers. Also left out in the cold by the new fad is singer Marjorie Weaver. Weaver and the Ritzes decide to pass themselves off as hillbillies, and to do this head for the Kentucky hills in order to be discovered. They land smack-dab in the middle of one of those mountain feuds so beloved of comedy filmmakers. Radio star Tony Martin, who has been sent southward to find genuine hayseed talent, spots the Ritzes and Weaver and brings them back to New York. The truth comes out at last, but the Ritz boys redeem themselves with a rib tickling "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" radio sketch--easily the highlight of this wildly uneven film. When reminiscing about Kentucky Moonshine in 1978, director David Butler remembered that team member Al Ritz refused to perform a barefoot hillbilly dance unless he was outfitted with rubber feet! The producers should have recreated that true-life bit in the film and gotten rid of the tiresome opening routine in which the Ritzes play poker using hospital progress charts. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though its title and cast suggests a lighthearted romantic comedy, Trouble for Two is actually a fairly faithful adaptation of three of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Suicide Club" stories. Robert Montgomery stars as incognito Prince Florizel, who is lured to a gathering of strange characters devoted to suicide and murder. One of the conclave members is the enigmatic Miss Vandelur (Rosalind Russell) -- who, unbeknownst to Florizel, is actually the princess he is slated to marry. It soon develops that the Suicide Club is being used as a blind by a gang of international terrorists, bent on toppling Florizel from his throne. Louis Hayward has a fascinating bit as "The Man with the Cream Tarts," whose burning desire to end his own life leads Florizel into the clutches of the villains. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It's a Small World was the latest in a long line of It Happened One Night clones, this time starring Spencer Tracy and Wendy Barrie as rough approximations of Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. It all begins when spoiled socialite Jane Dale (Barrie) and abrasive lawyer Bill Shevlin (Tracy) "meet cute" in a small-town auto accident. The couple is arrested by Julius B. Clummerhorn (Raymond Walburn), the local judge, justice of the peace, sheriff, notary public and everything else. Clummerhorn subjects Jane and Bill to a farcical trial, which is continually interrupted by a wide variety of oddball characters and silly emergencies. In the course of events, our hero and heroine fall in love? But that's not the end of the story by a long shot! Future singing star Dick Foran plays a motorcycle cop, while perennial Abraham Lincoln impersonator Frank McGlynn Sr. shares an amusing scene with his real-life son Frank McGlynn Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmed in two weeks at Red Rock Canyon and Lone Pine, California, Hop-Along Cassidy was the opener of one of the best -- and most fondly remembered -- B-Western series of all time. Former silent screen star William Boyd regained his lost fame playing the prematurely gray, black-clad hero of pulp-writer Clarence E. Mulford's Bar 20 stories, with young Paramount contract player James Ellison as handsome sidekick Johnny Nelson and Charles Middleton (in a surprisingly low-key performance) as Cassidy's old friend, Buck Peters. Bill Cassidy arrives at the Bar-20 ranch in the middle of a range war with the neighboring Meeker spread. Old man Meeker (Robert Warwick) has been driving his cattle onto Bar-20 land for water against Buck's wishes. Cattle begin to disappear from both ranches and a couple of Meeker cowboys are shot. Meeker blames the Bar-20 crew but his daughter Mary (Paula Stone), who is in love with Johnny Nelson, believes in their innocence. Looking out for the headstrong Johnny, Cassidy is shot in the leg, thus acquiring his famous nickname of "Hop-Along." Bar-20 oldtimer Uncle Ben (George "Gabby" Hayes) discovers that cattle from both ranches have their brands altered and the two ranches band together to trap a vicious gang of rustlers lead by Meeker's unscrupulous foreman Pecos Jack Anthony (Kenneth Thomson). In the ensuing war, Uncle Ben is killed by Anthony but "Hop-Along" manages to catch the killer, whom he drives off a cliff to his death. With the Dance of the Furies from Gluck's Orfeo et Euridice underscoring the climactic ride, Hop-Along Cassidy proved a fast-paced, well-acted opener to the series. George "Gabby" Hayes, whose contribution to this success was vital, returned in the next entry, The Eagle's Brood (1935), as as a bartender, finally finding his true place in the "Hopalong Cassidy" oeuvre as Windy, Hopalong's grizzled old windbag of a sidekick, in the third film, Bar 20 Rides Again. Producer Sherman left Paramount in 1942 in favor of United Artists where the "Hopalong" series continued to flourish until 1948. Boyd then bought the rights to the films and re-edited them for television. The 1949-1951 Hopalong Cassidy series was so popular that Boyd filmed 52 new half-hour episodes for the 1952-1954 seasons. Hop-Along Cassidy, the initial "Hopalong" feature, is usually shown today under its re-release title, Hopalong Cassidy Enters. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

In this, his fourth Western for Republic Pictures, John Wayne plays John Middleton, a would-be rodeo rider forsaking his chance of winning the championship in favor of searching for an old family friend who is missing under mysterious circumstances. After carrying out a bit of undercover work with the help of the missing man's pretty niece, Ann Mason (Sheila Mannors), John is ready to join the local ranchers in their fight against unscrupulous banker Frank Carter, aka Butch Martin (Frank McGlynn, Jr.), who is trying to steal their gold rich land. As he had in his earlier Riders of Destiny (1933), John Wayne "sings" a couple of ditties, including "On the Banks of the Sunny San Juan", his unlikely baritone this time supplied by bit player Jack Kirk. Adding to the unusually high musical quotient is the harmony group The Wranglers performing "The Old Dusty Road", none of which makes anyone forget Gene Autry! ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Perhaps the most memorable of all of the movies based on Damon Runyon's story because of the winning presence of Shirley Temple (although it was remade three times), this is the story of a little girl who is left as a marker for a $20.00 bet. Temple's father kills himself and the bookie doesn't know what to do with the young girl. Needless to say, she wins over the hearts of all and sundry and the bookie turns over a new leaf to make this little girl happy. Through all the complications the bookie runs in to, including eventually marrying his long-time girlfriend to provide a home for the child, there is a tenor of love and joy that was not matched in any of the remakes. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

In this romance, two travelling sign painters find themselves inspired by a young woman's lovely smile. Soon her face is found painted on signs and barns throughout New England. Eventually one of the painters and the girl get married. Soon after the wedding, the painters are offered job in New York. There they are challenged to paint an enormous sign. Again, it is the bride's lovely face that inspires them. Meanwhile, the lonely bride decides she cannot bear to be away from her love. By herself, she travels to the Big Apple and finds him on her very first day there. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Rin Tin Tin wannabe Ranger is the canine hero of When a Dog Loves. The story gets underway when both Ranger and a valuable necklace turn up missing. The dog is rescued by a small boy who adopts him as a pet, never realizing that Ranger's owners have offered a huge reward for his return. Meanwhile, hero Harold Goodwin finds the necklace around the neck of his sweetheart Helen Foster. Both Goodwin and Foster subsequently run afoul of jewel thieves, but Ranger comes racing to the rescue. Director J. P. Gowan performs yeoman duty trying to make sense of the herky-jerky plotline. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Produced by and starring lower-echelon silent screen cowboy Bill Cody, this minor Western featured yet another variation on the Hatfield/McCoy feud. Ma Cowan (pinch-faced Nora Cecil) mistakenly believes that Luke Barstow (John P. Lockney) shot her husband 20 years earlier. Much to Ma and Barstow's disgust, young Billy Cowan falls in love with pretty Barbara Barstow (Barbara Luddy) and the feud is dangerously close to continue into a new generation. But Billy discovers that his evil uncle Tolliver (Sheldon Lewis) is fanning the flames for his own selfish reasons. Directed by the prolific Alvin J. Neitz (later known as Alan James), Born to Battle also found employment for such B-Western stalwarts as Olin Francis, Frank McGlynn, Jr., Ralph Yearsley, Lew Meehan, Sailor Sharkey and, as the sheriff, Fred Burns. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi