Bob McKenzie Movies
Irish-born Robert McKenzie was already a theatrical showman of some renown by the time he made his first film appearance in 1921. The barrel-chested, snaggle-toothed McKenzie appeared in dozens of westerns and comedies, usually as a bombastic lawman or backwoods con artist. Even when he played bits (which was often), his raspy voice and hyena-like laugh always identified him. His more memorable feature-film roles included W. C. Fields' drinking buddy Charlie Bogle in You're Telling Me (1934), larcenous Judge Roy Dean in Gene Autry's Sing, Cowboy, Sing (1937), and the jolly captain who rents Laurel & Hardy a broken-down boat in Saps at Sea (1940). In addition, he appeared in hundreds of short subjects, playing opposite the likes of Our Gang, Andy Clyde, Charley Chase and the Three Stooges. In 1927, McKenzie tried his hand at screenwriting with the low-budget western The White Outlaw. Robert McKenzie and his actress-wife Eva had three daughters, all of whom acted in films at one time or another; their daughter Ella was the wife of comedian Billy Gilbert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A popular title, a mystery death and college hi-jinks are the ingredients in this pleasant little whodunit from lower-rung company Chesterfield. Charles Starrett stars as Ken Harris, a college football hero whose roommate, Byron Coates (James Bush), is found dead outside their dormitory, a murder camouflaged as a suicide. Suspicion briefly centers on Byron's look-alike half-brother (also Bush) but he, too, is found slain by the mystery killer. Assisted by Byron's sister Jean (Marian Shilling), an at times confounded Ken manages to get to the bottom of the alarming goings-on and unmask the murderer, whose identity will come as little surprise to fans of low-budget 1930s crime thrillers. A Shot in the Dark was filmed on rental stages at the former Pathé studios. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Robert Warwick, (more)
- 1935
In this comedy with musical numbers set in the Old South, Bing Crosby plays a singer (talk about a casting stretch!) from Philadelphia named Tom Grayson, who has fallen in love with Southern heiress Elvira Rumford (Gail Patrick). Tom wants to marry Elvira, but a man called Major Patterson (John Miljan) has announced his desire to do the same, and he challenges Tom to a duel to decide who will have Elvira's hand. Tom is not at all agreeable to this idea, which leads Elvira's father (Claude Gillingwater) to proclaim Tom to be a coward and deny him permission to wed his daughter. Elvira's sister Lucy (Joan Bennett), who is infatuated with Tom, thinks that he's merely being sensible, but Tom thinks that Lucy is too young for a serious relationship. In need of work and not especially welcome in the Rumford's community, Tom takes a job performing on a riverboat piloted by the blustery Commodore Orlando Jackson (W.C. Fields). One night, Tom finds himself in a barroom brawl with a man named Captain Blackie (Fred Kohler), who dies accidentally from a shot fired by his own gun. Hoping that his infamy will draw crowds, Jackson begins billing Tom as "The Singing Killer." Tom comes to realize that Lucy may be the right woman for him after all, but Lucy is not interested in a man with blood on his hands, and now Tom must convince her that he's not a killer at all. Noted gambling aficionado Fields has a hilarious poker-playing bit, and he steals most of his scenes from the rest of the cast. Mississippi was loosely based on the play "Magnolia" by Booth Tarkington. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, (more)
- 1935
In perhaps the most tranquil B-Western of the 1930s, Buck Jones, who also produced, plays the tough but goodhearted proprietor of the Bonanza, the only gambling establishment in otherwise God-fearing Silver Creek. Noel Francis, who used to play blonde schemers in Warner Bros. gangster films, earns second billing as the casino's equally goodhearted chanteuse. Surprisingly, the glamorous Miss Francis is not paired off with Jones, but has to settle for country pumpkin Grady Sutton, of all people. In fact, the hero must wait no less than 51 minutes before he is finally provided a few romantic moments with Peggy Campbell, who arrives just in time to warble "Tonight May Never Come Again" to an enraptured Jones. The latter does very little of anything in this film, except prevent a couple of gamblers (Rodney Hildebrand and Harry Semels) from robbing the casino's safe, proving himself worthy in the eyes of Pastor Timothy Tucker (Niles Welch) and his girlfriend Martha (Marion Shilling) along the way. Restored by Universal/MCA in 2000, Stone of Silver Creek has no action to speak of, but is saved from the doldrums by good performances from Jones, the unfairly forgotten Noel Francis, and the always watchable Grady Sutton, who gets the top-billed girl for the first and only time in his long career. Unlike most Westerns of the day, Stone of Silver Creek was produced entirely on the Universal back lot. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Niles Welch, (more)
- 1935
After suffering a nervous breakdown (at least that's what she calls it), imperious movie star Carol Corliss (Ginger Rogers) retreats to a small mountain resort community to recuperate. Carol proceeds to adopt a series of ridiculous disguises so she won't be bothered by her fans, only to realize that she misses being bothered. She also tangles with chauvinistic local sportsman Emory Muir (George Brent), who's convinced that Carol is one shrew who is worth taming. In Person was released after the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers vehicle Top Hat, but filmed earlier; even so, Rogers performs a pair of dance routines choreographed by future Top Hat associate Hermes Pan, and as a bonus sings a trio of songs co-written by Oscar Levant and Dorothy Fields. Fans of the Three Stooges will recognize comedy-foil Bud Jamison as a disgruntled (and non-speaking) elevator passenger in the film's opening scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, George Brent, (more)
- 1935
Happiness C.O.D was one of the last productions from flagging Chesterfield. Perennial supporting player Maude Eburne assumes the leading role as Aunt Addie, philosophical matriarch of a large, rambunctious brood. Dipping deep into her own pockets, Addie must constantly bail out her less-practical brother Thomas Sheridan (Donald Cook), whose construction business is constantly overextended at the bank because of his selfish, spendthrift children. Eventually deserted by his ungrateful offspring, Sheridan faces eviction and bankruptcy. But Aunt Addie, fed up with seeing her brother stepped upon, rallies the whole family together in the nick of time. Cast as Sheridan's youngest son Larry was Frank Coghlan Jr., a prominent juvenile actor since the silent era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maude Eburne, Donald Meek, (more)
- 1935
The first of MGM's phenomenally profitable Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy musicals, Naughty Marietta takes several beneficial liberties with the libretto of the original Victor Herbert operetta. MacDonald plays an 18th-century French princess who escapes an arranged marriage by posing as a "cake girl," a mail-order bride sent to the New World to marry a colonist. En route, MacDonald and the other brides are captured by pirates, but are rescued by mercenary Eddy and his roistering companions. To avoid marrying some lowly farmer or frontiersman, simon-pure MacDonald intimates that she is a woman with a "history," which makes her attractive to the glitterati of old New Orleans. Only Eddy sees through MacDonald's feigned "naughtiness," and in the end claims her for his own. The most memorable of the Herbert songs retained for the film version of Naughty Marietta was "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life", which remained one of Jeanette MacDonald's signature tunes ever afterward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, (more)
- 1935
William Colt MacDonald's 1934 story based on the Three Mesqueteers characters was brought to the screen the following year by RKO, who billed it "the Barnum and Bailey of Westerns" and seems to have rounded up every Western star not under exclusive contract. The Western, in fact, could boast of no less than 13 former silent screen cowboy heroes: Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Buzz Barton, Wally Wales (aka Hal Taliaferro), Art Mix (aka George Kesterson), Buffalo Bill Jr. (aka Jay Wilsey), Buddy Roosevelt, Franklyn Farnum, William Desmond, and William Farnum. Carey, Gibson, and Williams played Tucson Smith, Stony Brooke, and Lullaby Joslin, respectively -- the Three Mesqueteers -- who happen upon a stage robbery in progress. They catch the bandit (Ethan Laidlaw) red-handed rifling through the mail and discover that one of the letters is meant for them. Without their knowing, a young friend, the Guadalupe Kid (Steele), has bought a ranch in their names and is awaiting their arrival. The ranch, however, is located in an area controlled by greedy saloon proprietor turned political boss Steve Ogden (Sam Hardy), who takes umbrage to their presence to the point of hiring a professional gunslinger, Sundown Saunders (Tyler). Provoking a confrontation, Sundown challenges Tucson to his trademark sundown showdown. The wily Tucson realizes that Sundown prefers an encounter in the dusk because of failing eyesight and only lightly wounds his opponent. Although a recuperating Sundown turns down Tucson's request to join the fight against Ogden, in the ensuing shootout the gunslinger heroically takes a bullet meant for Tucson. After forcing a confession out of the crooked sheriff (Adrian Morris), the Mesqueteers confront Ogden who is killed in a fight with Tucson. Filmed on locations at Kernville and Newhall, CA, Powdersmoke Range was not the first film version of MacDonald's Mesqueteers. That honor goes to Law of the .45's, a cheap, independently made Western that had starred Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Tucson and perennial sidekick Al St. John as Stony. (The film omitted the third mesqueteer, Lullaby Joslin, altogether). Despite the success of Powdersmoke Range, RKO failed to follow up with a regular series. Bob Steele would play the character of Sundown Saunders in an independently produced Western of that name in 1936 but the Three Mesqueteers as a group found a regular berth with Republic Pictures, which went on to produce 51 highly successful and influential B-Westerns between 1935 and mid-1943. Through several cast changes both Bob Steele and Tom Tyler would at one point or another play one of the mesqueteers, as would Robert Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, ventriloquist Max Terhune, John Wayne, Raymond Hatton, Duncan Renaldo, Rufe Davis, Ralph Byrd, and Syd Saylor. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, (more)
- 1935
On the last day of school, the Our Gang kids learn that their beloved teacher Miss Jones (Arletta Duncan) is going to be married; thus, come September, the kids will have a "new" teacher, Mrs. Wilson. Miss Jones' fiancee Ralph (Edward Norris) playfully paints a frightening picture of Mrs. Wilson as "a dried-up mean old woman" ---neglecting to inform the kids that his last name is Wilson, and that Miss Jones will continue to be their teacher under her new married name. Thanks to Ralph's ill-timed joshing, the youngsters convince themselves that the only way to retain their favorite teacher is to break up the wedding --- starting with the pre-nuptual reception, where the kids surreptitiously "spike" the food with tabasco sauce, horseradish and garlic peppers. Originally released on April 27, 1935, "Teacher's Beau" marks the final "Our Gang" appearance of series stalwart Mathew "Stymie" Beard. Note: the version included in the "Little Rascals" TV package has been severely edited, rendering the film's punchline incomprehensible (a complete and uncut version is available on home video). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Spanky" McFarland, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, (more)
- 1935
Much against his will, Spanky McFarland had been entered in a kiddie talent contest by his ambitious mother (Kitty Kelly). Hoping to dissuade his Mom from forcing him into a theatrical career, Spanky arranges for the other Our Gang kids to "razz" him during the performance, thereby making certain that he'll lose. While backstage, however, Spanky befriends little Marianne Edwards, who desperately needs the prize money to buy a new dress. Stricken by stage fright, Marianne rushes offstage in tears before she can go into her act. Touched by the girl's plight, Spanky is now determined to win the contest and turn the prize money over to the girl--but the other Gang members don't know that, and they're primed to greet Spanky's recitation with a barrage of boos, catcalls, noisemakers and peashooters. As in the previous comedy Our Gang: Mike Fright, this two-reeler scores its biggest laughs by contrasting the pretensions of "professional kids" with the down-to-earthness of the Gang. As an added bonus, this film marks the debut of future series stalwart Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. "Beginner's Luck" was originally released on February 23, 1935. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George "Spanky" McFarland, Matthew "Stymie" Beard, (more)
- 1935
In this comedy, a woman lives with her recently impoverished family who would do anything to regain their former wealth and status. They use the young woman, and every time any likely person comes to call, they try to foist her upon them. One of these visitors is the son of a conniving lawyer who wants the rest of their fortune for himself. The attorney's other son is a bug collector. The family is so busy with their farfetched money grubbing schemes that they pay no attention to the level-headed young woman's attempts to get by. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lois Wilson, Lloyd Hughes, (more)
- 1935
A best-selling nonfictional book of the 1920s provided the title for this Will Rogers vehicle. Rogers plays a small town newspaper editor who prints all the news that fits his own homespun view of the world. Against the wishes of the town higher-ups, Rogers tries to clear the name of Richard Cromwell, a young man accused of a long-ago bank robbery. Along the way, the genial editor smooths the path of romance between Cromwell and sweet Rochelle Hudson. Life Begins at 40 contains some great bits of dialogue, notably Rogers' comment after unloading a box of canned goods that the American emblem should be changed from an eagle to a can opener. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Rogers, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
- 1934
A far from factual filmed biography of Mexican patriot Pancho Villa, Viva Villa! was written by lengendary screenwriter Ben Hecht. We first meet the young Villa when his father is beaten to death after protesting Diaz' seizure of the Mexican peons' land. Pancho exacts a temporary revenge by knifing one of his father's killers, then heads for the hills, where he organizes a band of renegades. As he "matures," Pancho is played by child actor Phillip Cooper and adult star Wallace Beery. Though ruthless in his treatment of the rich, Pancho is a hero to the poor, who receive the spoils of Villa's raids. Befriended by American reporter Johnny Sykes (Stuart Erwin), Villa becomes internationally famous thanks to Sykes' articles concerning his exploits. Pancho also finds a strong ally in Don Felipe de Castillo (Donald Cook), who introduces the rebel bandit to Madero (Henry B. Walthall), the leader of the peon revolt. Madero convinces Villa to join forces with him, the better to oust the Diaz regime. His principal rival in this goal is ambitious General Pascal (Joseph Schildkraut), who intends to set up an even more despotic regime once Diaz is eliminated. Emerging victorious in his fight against the federales, Villa is encouraged to go back home by Madero. Illiterate and dangerously naïve, Villa quickly runs into trouble with the new government, giving Pascal a chance to humiliate his former "comrade in arms." Later, Pascal shows his true colors by assassinating Madero and assuming control of Mexico. Thirsting for revenge, Villa and his men go on a bloody rampage, culminiating in the ritualistic murder of the treacherous Pascal (he is staked out on an anthill and covered with honey). Made president of Mexico upon the elimination of Pacal, Villa once more finds himself in over his head. Unable to deal with political infighting, Villa retires to his ranch. One day, after running into his old friend Johnny Sykes (Stu Erwin), Villa is shot and mortally wounded by his onetime friend Don Felipe, who holds Pancho responsible for the death of his sister Teresa (Fay Wray). As he dies, Villa begs Johnny to tell him what his epitaph will be. Improvising quickly, Johnny tells of Villa's love for Mexico and his many accomplishments. Partially filmed on location in Mexico, Viva Villa was plagued with a multitude of production problems, not least of which was the diplomatic gaffe committed by Lee Tracy, the film's original Johnny Sykes: While standing on a balcony watching a military parade, an inebrieated Tracy relieved himself on the troops below and was immediately fired. Another crisis arose when the Mexican government objected to star Wallace Beery, on the grounds that Beery usually played villains or buffoons. Despite these and other setbacks, Viva Villa was finally completed under the assured directorial hand of MGM troubleshooter Jack Conway and the expert supervision of David O. Selznick. Though some critics objected to the film's violence, Viva Villa was a financial success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery, Leo Carrillo, (more)
- 1934
W.C. Fields stars in a remake of his silent comedy So's Your Old Man. Fields plays Sam Bisbee, an erstwhile inventor who is the laughingstock of his small town. Returning in defeat from a disastrous big-city demonstration of his latest invention, Sam makes the acquaintance of a beautiful young woman (Adrienne Ames) who happens to be an incognito foreign princess. After Bisbee tells her of how he'd like to be a success for the sake of his family, the princess decides to use her celebrity to Sam's benefit. She arrives in his town and lets it be known of her high regard for the downtrodden Bisbee. Suddenly Sam is the town's big shot, enabling him to merchandise his inventions and do right by his wife and daughter. Sam earns the respect he's so long deserved--but he's never completely convinced that the princess is who she claims to be, and keeps congratulating her on her "racket." Based on a story by Julian Street, You're Telling Me is climaxed by a sidesplitting recreation of W.C. Fields' Ziegfeld Follies golf routine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- W.C. Fields, Joan Marsh, (more)
- 1934
In this western, a band of avaricious men kill a rancher in order to take over his land. The dead man's nephew was slated to inherit the ranch, but he has vanished so the outlaws hire another to impersonate the heir. Trouble ensues when the real heir, a state ranger, appears, gets his revenge, and gets his ranch. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Hooper Atchley, (more)
- 1934
The "six" are Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, George Burns, Gracie Allen, W.C. Fields, and Alison Skipworth, who star in this cross-country comedy. Planning a motor vacation to California, J. Pinkham Whinney (Ruggles) and Flora Whinney (Boland) advertise for a couple to help drive and share expenses. That couple turns out to be George Edwards (Burns) and Gracie De Vore (Allen), accompanied by Allen's surly Great Dane. Whinney is driven to near-insanity by Edwards' intrusiveness and stupidity, but the worst is yet to come: thanks to a crooked co-worker, Whinney has been accused of stealing bank funds and is now an unwitting fugitive from justice. Sheriff Hoxley (W.C. Fields, who spends a priceless ten minutes explaining why he's called "Honest John") joins forces with hotel proprietor Mrs. "Duchess" K. Rumford (Alison Skipworth) in hopes of capturing Whinney and claiming the reward. After a zany night of everybody in the cast running in and out of hotel rooms, the real crook is captured and Whinney and Flora prepare to enjoy what's left of their vacation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, (more)
- 1934
Rin Tin Tin clone Tarzan the Wonder Dog is top-billed in the independently produced Inside Information. Tarzan nuzzles up to hero Rex Lease, a detective assigned to locate some missing bonds. The crooks prove no match for Tarzan, who bares his fangs and tears their clothes asunder. A happy ending is had by all, include Lease's lady friend Marion Shilling. Inside Information was co-scripted by Victor Potel, a silent comedy star of the pre-World War I era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Lease
- 1934
Dry-goods store owner Tillie Prescott (ZaSu Pitts) has promised to marry meek barber Chris Peterson (El Brendel), but he won't marry her until his business has grown successful enough to allow him to get a second chair in his barber shop -- and it's been 10 years, and he's not any closer to getting that second chair. Then, one day, an acting troupe gets stranded in town, and out-of-work showgirl Lulu White (Pert Kelton) sets herself up in Chris's barber shop doing manicures. Lulu knows a lot of the angles, including how to get men to do what she wants most of the time, and suddenly every male in town is eager to get his nails manicured (and hang around for a shave and haircut) just to get near Lulu. Chris's second chair seems like a real possibility, but Tillie gets jealous of Lulu, and is tricked by a smooth-talking salesman (Skeets Gallagher) into signing with a big retail chain that forces her out of the store she founded. Meanwhile, local wise-guy Duke Slater (James Gleason) gets led on by Lulu and decides he's going to set right what's happened to Tillie, and teach Lulu a lesson in the bargain. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- ZaSu Pitts, James Gleason, (more)
- 1934
The first of five Guinn "Big Boy" Williams Westerns produced by low-budget Beacon Pictures, Thunder Over Texas remains one of the decade's more obscure sagebrush melodramas. Written by Sherle Castle, the film was directed by her soon-to-be husband, legendary cult figure Edgar G. Ulmer, who moonlighted as "John Warner" in order to fool his employers at Universal. Big Boy plays Ted Wright, a cowboy who adopts a little girl, Tiny (Helen Westcott), after her father is killed in a struggle over valuable railroad maps. When several attempts to get hold of the maps fail, crooked banker Bruce Laird (Claude Payton) and his cohort, the even more crooked sheriff (Philo McCullough), kidnap the little girl who is, of course, saved in the nick of time by Ted and pretty schoolmarm Helen Mason (Marion Shilling). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Shilling, Helen Westcott, (more)
- 1934
W.C. Fields plays the Great McGonigle, the manipulative manager of a large 19th century theatrical troupe. Notorious for skipping board bills and forgetting the pay his actors, McGonigle descends on a small town, where he relies on the hospitality of a wealthy widow (Jan Duggan). He secures lodging for his cast and financing for his production by promising the widow a major part in his upcoming production of The Drunkard. The play goes on as schedule, but the widow's part is cut down to one line which she's never permitted to deliver. McGonigle escapes with his hide again, but not before securing the future happiness of his daughter (Judith Allen) so that she won't have to spend the rest of her life one step ahead of the sheriff. The storyline of The Old-Fashioned Way is conveniently shunted aside as W.C. Fields does battle with Baby LeRoy, cons everyone in sight with equanimity, and offers the audience an uninterrupted display of his remarkable juggling skills. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- W.C. Fields, Joe Morrison, (more)
- 1934
Written (under the pseudonym of Jimmy Hawkey) and directed by Robert F. Hill, this very low-budget Western from poverty row company Spectrum starred former silent screen cowboy Bill Cody and his real-life son Bill Cody, Jr.. Everything of course being relative, Frontier days, filmed at majestic Lone Pine, was perhaps Cody senior's best sound Western although he looked emaciated and a tendency to act overly coy with the ladies ladies became grating at times. Cody played an agent for the Well's Fargo masquerading as The Pinto Kid, complete with pinto horse Chico and fancy pinto vest. Trailing a gang of stage robbers, he is falsely accused of killing rancher Franklyn Farnum. Farnum's daughter, Ada Ince, believes in him though, and he proves his innocence saving the girl from crooked banker Wheeler Oakman and his gang of desperadoes, the real murderers. Surprising B-Western devotees everywhere, the usually so jovial Robert McKenzie, he of the Andy Devine-like gravel-voice, turned out to be one of the Bad Guys this time around -- billing himself "Bill McKenzie" for the occasion. Ancient-looking Lafe McKee got to play the girl's grandpa instead of her father for a change and 8-year-old Billy, Jr. managed to pretty much stay out of harms way. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ada Ince, Wheeler Oakman, (more)
- 1933
In this musical western, everybody sings, even the outlaws. The story follows a government agent who goes undercover as a musical ventriloquist named Fiddlin' to find an ruthless outlaw and his gang. The gang comes to Fiddlin's town, commits a robbery and leaves the ventriloquist to shoulder the blame. He is jailed, escapes, catches the gang, and saves the kidnapped heroine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Gloria Shea, (more)
- 1933
Alison Skipworth and W.C. Fields play Tillie and Augustus Winterbottom, a husband-and-wife team of con artists. The larcenous couple is summoned to a small town by their niece (Jacqueline Wells) and her husband (Clifford Jones) when the niece's father dies. Hoping for a sizeable inheritance, Tillie and Gus discover that the legacy consists of one rundown ferry boat. When they notice that a local lawyer (Clarence Wilson) seems unusually interested in obtaining this seemingly worthless vessel, T and G decide to help their niece restore the boat and keep the ferry line running. The climax occurs during a boat race between Tillie & Gus and the duplicitous lawyer; the prize is a large cash settlement from a major ferry franchise. Disappointingly restrained for a W.C. Fields film, Tillie and Gus is still good for a few quiet chuckles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- W.C. Fields, Alison Skipworth, (more)
- 1932
A broad lampoon of celebrity worship, The Half-Naked Truth stars Lee Tracy as a carnival huckster and Lupe Velez as a "kootch" dancer. Reaching for the moon, Tracy passes Lupe off as an exotic foreign princess--and manages to pull the wool over the eyes of all Manhattan. Now "famous for being famous", Lupe is employed for special appearances by Ziegfeldish impresario Frank Morgan. When the fraud is revealed to the world, Tracy returns to the carnival, with Lupe (who's loved him since Reel One) at his side. Half-Naked Truth co-stars Eugene Pallette as Tracy's assistant; the bullfrog-voiced Pallette has a wonderful moment in which he discovers that he's been mistaken for "Princess" Lupe's head eunuch! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy, (more)
- 1932
More a romantic melodrama than a true Western, this Buck Jones vehicle from Columbia starred Jones as Buck Randall, a carefree cowboy whose popularity with the local saloon girls becomes the talk of the town. The new marshal, Joseph Slyde (Russell Simpson), gets on Buck's bad side by enforcing a "no gun" rule. Buck returns the favor by falling in love with the marshal's mistreated wife, Mary (Mary Doran), and she asks her husband for a divorce so she can marry Buck. After helping Mary escape a lecherous deputy, Frame (Walter Miller), Buck hears a shot and returns to find Frame dead and Mary holding a smoking gun. Marshal Slyde enters and accuses Buck of the crime. Convicted of murder in Slyde's kangaroo court, Buck is saved from being lynched by a more level-headed judge (Robert Mckenzie). As it turns out, Slyde is the real killer and Buck is free to pursue a life with Mary. A former Ziegfeld girl, blond Mary Doran was one of Hollywood's better "other women." She left films in 1937 to marry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Eternal movie juvenile Eric Linden offers perhaps the best performance of his career in RKO's Are These Our Children? In this pioneering Juvenile Delinquent drama, Linden plays a know-it-all high school dropout who falls in with a bad crowd. While burglarizing the delicatessen of a family friend (William Orlamond), Linden accidentally kills the old man. No one can connect him with the crime, and for a while Linden privately gloats as he reads newspaper stories of the killing. But one of his friends (Ben Alexander), who was in on the robbery, spills the beans, and Linden winds up going to the chair. The true impact of Are These Our Children? is Linden's performance as an emotionally immature youth who cannot fully fathom the seriousness of his dilemma: he tries to jolly himself into believing that he hasn't killed anyone, and as he sits on death row he continues displaying a childish bravado, as if expecting to wake up from a bad dream at any moment. Despite its age and the corniness of some of the dialogue, Are These Our Children? is an unforgettably powerful film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Linden, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
