George Meeker Movies

In this crime drama, a news editor writes a scandalous expose about a notorious gangster. The gangster then has the gall to sue him for libel and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

James Cagney made his first Technicolor appearance in the morale-boosting aviation flick Captains of the Clouds. Cagney plays Brian MacLean, a hotshot Canadian bush pilot who delights in stealing jobs-and women-away from his competitors. Brian is forced to shape up in a hurry when he's assigned to train other pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force. At the ending of the training period, he is given his first real RCAF assignment: The seemingly unimportant task of shepherding American bomber planes across the Atlantic to England. With startling suddenness, Brian comes to realize the true importance of his job when he is forced into a deadly confrontation with a fleet of Nazi raider planes. Real-life Canadian WW1 flying ace Billy Bishop plays a small but pivotal role in Captains of the Clouds, while the leading-lady duties were handled by Warner Bros. stock actress Brenda Marshall (aka Mrs. William Holden). Cinematographer Sol Polito earned an Oscar nomination for his vivid color photography, though aerial photographers Elmer Dyer, Charles Marshall and Winston Hoch were certainly just as deserving. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It takes a while for the viewer to catch on, but the 1942 quickie Spy Ship is a remake of the 1934 crime melodrama Fog Over Frisco. The main difference is that the film's principal murder victim, the sister of the heroine, is transformed from a dizzy socialite to an out-and-out villainess. The story is re-set during the months before America's entry into WW2. Famed aviatrix Pamela Mitchell (Irene Manning), a devout and outspoken isolationist, is secretly in the employ of the German government. Her younger sister Sue (Maris Wrixon) worries about the company Pamela keeps, and expresses these concerns to hotshot reporter Ward Prescott (Craig Stevens). When Pamela is killed by her Nazi confreres to keep her from revealing all to the world, Sue finds herself among the suspects. It all comes to an end on the spy ship of the title, where a kidnapped Sue is rescued in the nick of time by Ward and practically every cop in New York. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This parody of gangster flicks centers on an incarcerated gangster who decides to reform after he is released from Sing Sing. He and his cell mate have earned a small fortune in investments and are planning to buy a dog track. Unfortunately, another prisoner eavesdrops and attempts to force the fellow to use his savings to buy a luggage store and then dig a tunnel to the bank next door so they can easily rob it. The reformer and his partner refuse. They sing a different tune when they learn that most of their money was lost by their third partner. In desperation, he buys the suitcase outlet. While he tries to deal with his many customers, the other two bumblers attempt to dig, but it's not easy because every time someone comes in, they must stop their noisy operation. More trouble follows when another gangster tries to get in on their operation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's café has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In this corny comedy, the Weaver Brothers learn that in 1790, their distant forebears loaned the government some cash. The government did not pay it back, and now, by their computations, they are owed a substantial amount from interest on the principal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Also known as The Singing Hills, this Gene Autry western boasts a screenplay cowritten by Jesse Lasky Jr. Gene and his saddle pal Smiley Burnette ride into town and sing a few songs. They make the acquaintance of heiress Virginia Grey, who wants to divest herself of her land holdings. Villain George Meeker hopes that she'll do this so he can charge inordinately high prices for grazing lands. Autry fixes everything, then he sings a few more songs. Director Lew Landers keeps things moving apace between the musical interludes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a manner of speaking, Humphrey Bogart had George Raft to thank for his ascendancy to stardom: after all, if Raft hadn't turned down both High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon, Bogart might have continued playing second-billed gangsters to the end of his days. Adapted from W. R. Burnett's novel by Burnett and John Huston, High Sierra opens with gangster Roy Earle (Bogart) being paroled after a lengthy prison term. Though he enjoys the fresh air and sunshine of the outside world, Earle has no intention of giving up his criminal ways. In fact, his parole has been arranged by Big Mac (Donald MacBride), so that Earle can mastermind a big-time heist at a fancy California resort hotel. After a few unkind words with a crooked cop, Kranmer (Barton MacLane), in Big Mac's employ, Earle heads toward a fishing resort, where he is to commiserate with his inexperienced, hot-headed cohorts Babe (Alan Curtis) and Red (Arthur Kennedy). En route, he befriends a farm family, heading to LA in search of work. He falls in love with the family's club-footed daughter Velma (Joan Leslie)--though she never really gives him any encouragement--and makes a silent promise to finance an operation on her foot once he's gotten his share of the loot. At the mountain cabin rendezvous, Earle meets Marie (Ida Lupino), Babe's tough-but-vulnerable girlfriend. He angrily orders her to scram, but she stubbornly remains. Earle also finds himself the owner of a "jinxed" dog, whose previous masters have all met with early demises (a none-too-subtle foretaste of things to come). Marie is strongly attracted to Earle, but he refuses to have anything to do with her, reserving his affections for Velma. He arranges an operation for the girl with mob doctor Banton (Henry Hull), never suspecting that the self-serving Velma is planning all along to marry someone else. The robbery goes off without a hitch, save for the fact that "inside man" Mendoza (Cornel Wilde) panics and nearly gives the game away. While escaping, Babe and Red are killed in a car accident, but Earle and Marie escape. Having been disillusioned by Velma's indifference and by the fact that the untrustworthy Kranmer has taken over the late Big Mac's operation, Earle at last realizes that the only person he can truly depend upon is the faithful Marie. With the police hot on his trail, Earle tells Marie to look after herself, then heads alone into the High Sierras--where, in Greek Tragedy fashion, he "busts out" of life. As in Petrified Forest, Humphrey Bogart plays a burnt-out anachronism from an earlier era in crime in High Sierra; in the latter film, however, Bogart has an innate nobility that allows the audience to empathize with him throughout. It is nothing short of amazing that, despite his superb performance in this 1940 film, he still had to wait until The Maltese Falcon for top billing in an "A picture." High Sierra was remade in 1949 as Colorado Territory and in 1955 as I Died a Thousand Times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this B- romance, an innocent young man endeavors to find his fortune in the Big Apple and ends up finding a dog instead. Fortunately, the furry fellow belongs to a successful businessman's daughter who convinces her daddy into giving the newcomer a job. When the earnest young man discovers errors in company files, he tells the boss, gets a promotion and a fiancee-- the boss's daughter, of course. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Brett Halliday's flippant Irish-American private eye Michael Shayne was first brought to the screen by 20th Century-Fox in 1940, with Lloyd Nolan cast to perfection as Shayne. In dire financial straits as usual, Mike allows himself to be hired by his millionaire pal Brighton (Clarence Kolb) to keep the old man's chronic-gambler daughter Phyllis (Marjorie Weaver). This won't be easy, since Phyllis has been associating with such hardcase types as gambling boss Gordon (Douglas Dumbrille) and his handsome flunkey Harry Grange (George Meeker). To teach Phyllis a lesson, Mike knocks out Harry and makes it look as though the man was murdered. Unfortunately, Harry ends up murdered for real, and soon both Mike and Phyllis are high on the suspect list. Our hero manages to expose the real murderer with the assistance of Phyllis' maiden aunt Olivia (Elizabeth Patterson), an eccentric mystery-novel enthusiast. An expert blend of comedy and suspense, Michael Shayne, Private Detective (based on Halliday's novel Dividend for Death) bode well for the brief "Shayne" series that followed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hot on the heels of Frontier Pony Express came the equally exciting Roy Rogers vehicle Rough Riders' Roundup. In the first film, Rogers was an express rider during the Civil War era; in the second, he's a veteran of the Spanish American war (ubiquitous fellow, isn't he?) With several of his fellow Rough Riders, Rogers joins the Texas border patrol, where he almost immediately clashes with a villain named Arizona (William Pawley). While maintaining a respectable facade, Arizona and his minions rob the stagecoaches and express offices, divesting the local prospectors of their hard-earned gold. With the help of grizzled old sidekick Rusty (Raymond Hatton)-not to mention the rest of the Rough Riders-Rogers crushes Arizona's operation once and for all. The film boasts two leading ladies: Rogers' usual vis-a-vis Mary Hart, and former silent star Dorothy Sebastian, here making a comeback attempt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide