Una Merkel Movies

The splashy, star-studded This is the Army is based on the Irving Berlin Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was a reworking of Berlin's WW1 "barracks musical" Yip Yip Yaphank. In both instances, the cast was largely comprised of genuine servicemen, many of them either recently returned from fighting or on the verge of heading off to war. The Hollywood-imposed storyline concerns Jerry Jones (George Murphy), a member of the original 1918 Yip Yip Yaphank cast. His showbiz career curtailed by a leg injury, Jerry becomes a producer during the postwar era. When the US enters WW2, Jerry gathers together several other cast members from the 1918 Berlin musical to help him stage a new all-serviceman show, titled (what else?) This is the Army. The show-within-a-show framework is able to accommodate a romantic subplot, involving Jerry's son Johnny (Ronald Reagan, later a political comrade-in-arms of George Murphy) and Eileen Dibble (Joan Leslie), the daughter of Yip Yip Yaphank alumnus Eddie Dibble (Charles Butterworth). Some of the best moments in This is the Army are from the Broadway production itself, though the lengthy Alfred Lunt-Lynn Fontanne imitation and incessant "gay" jokes may have been too smart for the room in 1943. Guest stars include boxer Joe Louis, Kate Smith (singing "God Bless America", naturally) and Irving Berlin himself, who steals the show with his plaintive rendition of "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning". All profits for the stage and film version of This is the Army went to the Army Emergency Relief Fund, which also controlled the rights to the film. Long withheld from TV distribution, the film finally hit the small screen when it lapsed into Public Domain in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Considering the fact that it was the only Universal horror film directed by cult favorite Joseph H. Lewis, it's a shame that Mad Doctor of Market Street isn't better than it is. Lionel Atwill dominates the proceedings as Dr. Benson, an addlepated medico obsessed with the notion of restoring the dead to life. After his experiment on the unfortunate William Saunders (Hardie Albright) goes awry, Benson escapes from the authorities by boarding a passenger ship. When the vessel sinks during a storm at sea, Benson and several survivors manage to pull ashore on a remote tropical island. Here the mad doctor wows the natives with his scientific knowhow, and before long he is appointed king of the tribe. In this capacity, he hopes to marry helpless heroine Patricia (Claire Dodd) and to use the rest of the shipwreck survivors as guinea pigs for his experiments. The main problem with Mad Doctor of Market Street is the inclusion of youthful Una Merkel as the heroine's aunt, a role obviously intended for an older, less prominent actress. Obliged to radically alter and "beef up" Merkel's part, the screenwriters were forced to shortchange the rest of the picture, and as a result Mad Doctor of Market Street is nowhere near as frightening or atmospheric as it should have been. Still, the film is worth the price of admission for its chilling closing sequence alone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama two children return from their separate boarding schools to a nasty surprise. The father of one is romantically involved with the other's aunt. The two immediately try to destroy the love affair. They all get involved with chasing some thieves and end up in jail. There the judge marries the lovers and the children are finally able to accept it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Comin' Round the Mountain was a tailor-made vehicle for bucolic radio humorist Bob "Bazooka" Burns. After striking out in New York, backwoods musician Jed Blower (Burns) and his hillbilly family band return to their native Tennessee. Here they land a job at a tinker-toy radio station in a community plagued by a long-standing family feud. Also causing local headaches is a continuing political tug of war over the maintence of the city's poorhouse. Hoping to solve everyone's problems, Jed runs for mayor, using the radio station as his podium. Old-time radio aficionados will enjoy seeing such Fibber McGee and Molly regulars as Harold Peary (the Great Gildersleeve), Bill Thompson (the "Old Timer") and Cliff Arquette (Grandpappy) in supporting roles, not to mention perennial Bob Hope stooge Jerry Collonna and Jack Benny's rotund announcer Don Wilson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The brief but lively film career of infant star Baby Sandy came to an end with Sandy Gets Her Man. In this one, Sandy is the granddaugther of town councilman Clark (William B. Davidson), while her widowed mother Nan (Una Merkel) finds herself torn between the affections of fireman Bill (Stu Erwin) and police captatin Tom (Jack Carson). The plot hinges on a municipal appropriation, which both Bill and Tom vie for. Sandy unwittingly expedites matters by allowing Bill to become a hero by rescuing her from a blazing building. One wonders if the producers of the 1994 "kid in jeopardy" comedy Baby on Board were weaned on the thrill-packed "Baby Sandy" vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Old Gramps (Lionel Barrymore) is not about to go gentle into that good night when Mr. Brink (Cedric Hardwicke), who sometimes travels under the name of the Grim Reaper, comes calling. Through a ruse, Gramps chases Brink up a tree in his garden, rendering the mysterious stranger helpless. As a result, no one dies throughout the world, and disease and misery runs rampant. Dispassionately, Mr. Brink decides to "reach" Gramps through his beloved grandson (Bobs Watson). He talks the boy into climbing the tree and then suffering a crippling fall. Realizing that the only way he can stem his grandson's pain is by surrendering to Mr. Brink, Gramps does so--and discovers that Crossing Over wasn't as painful as he thought. Together with his grandson, who has likewise expired, Gramps joyfully strolls into a most pastoral-looking Heaven. The final shots of Lionel Barrymore walking into Paradise under his own power represent a triumph of misdirection and special effects. In truth, the wheelchair-confined Barrymore was placed on a treadmill, and merely simulated his walking movements as a process screen enhanced the illusion; for long shots, a double was used. While Barrymore's performance naturally dominates On Borrowed Time, Cedric Hardwicke is equally effective in the role of Mr. Brink (his favorite role). A great early vignette finds a consumptive motorist (Hans Conried) offering Brink a lift; the latter waves the motorist on, politely saying "No, not yet." On Borrowed Time was based on the novel by Lawrence Edward Watkin and the popular Broadway play version by Paul Osborne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tom Destry (James Stewart), son of a legendary frontier peacekeeper, doesn't believe in gunplay. Thus he becomes the object of widespread ridicule when he rides into the wide-open town of Bottleneck, the personal fiefdom of the crooked Kent (Brian Donlevy). His detractors laugh even louder when Destry signs on as deputy to drunken sheriff Wash Dimsdale (Charles Winninger). But the laughter subsides when Destry casually proves himself a crack shot, despite his abhorrence of firearms. Later, when saloon chanteuse Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich), Kent's gal, takes umbrage at Destry's indifferent reaction to her charms, she vows to make a fool of the new deputy. A huge moneymaker, Destry Rides Again served as a spectacular comeback for Marlene Dietrich, who two years earlier had been written off as "box office poison." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Good Old Soak was based on a story by Don Marquis, creator of the immortal "Archy and Mehitabel." Wallace Beery is well-cast as town drunk Clem Hawley, a blot on the escutcheon of a small Prohibition-era Midwestern town. When a large sum of bank money is stolen, Clem immediately falls under suspicion. His previously spineless son Clemmie (Eric Linden) rushes to his dad's defense, insisting that he, and not Clem, is the thief. But the "good old soak" manages to recover the money and expose the thief, a respectable "social" drinker and stock-market swindler whose hypocrisy is in stark contrast to Clem's bibulous honesty. In one of his last film roles, Ted Healy manages to steal quite a few scenes from Beery (no small feat) as a cheerful bootlegger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The owner of a racehorse, the owner's lovely niece and a jockey must deal with a number of travails before the big race in this comedy. The uncle must win so he can afford to keep the bank from foreclosing on his horse farm. Unfortunately, his horse breaks his leg and all seems to be lost. Fortunately the girl finds a clever veterinarian who uses a new technique to repair the leg and therefore save the farm. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

We Went to College is a perceptive spoof of alumni "homecoming" reunions. Hugh Herbert plays a daffy economics professor, who invites old grads Glenn Harvey (Charles Butterworth), Phil Talbot (Walter Abel) and Senator Budger (Walter Catlett), among many others, to attend the annual homecoming rally. It isn't long before the three middle-agers jump-start their old campus rivalries, much to the consternation of their wives. Our heroes also try their best to interfere with campus activities, notably the all-important homecoming football game. The finale, in which the inebriated Glenn Harvey stumbles onto the football field to prevent a touchdown, was based on an actual incident, which presumably wasn't quite as amusing as what happens on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fast-paced world of Indy car racing provides the backdrop for this drama. The story centers on a test driver who works at a major auto plant. He and his cohorts have invented a new kind of carburetor and are feverishly working to perfect and use it in the upcoming Indianapolis 500. As the race date draws near, the crew keeps having problems with their new invention. The owner's daughter suggests that her father let her friend, an engineer, examine the device. He proves to be a big help, but then tension begins developing on the team as both he and the inventor have developed romantic feelings for the daughter. On the day the carburetor is finally tested, something goes terribly wrong and the test driver and the inventor nearly die. Fortunately, the engineer saves them and they continue working on the troublesome invention. They perfect it on time, and by the end of the race they are all showered with praise. The inventor also gets his girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this western, a cowpoke from Wyoming rides into the big city to look for a wife. Instead he finds himself investigating the mysterious death of a man in the hotel room next to his. In the corpse's room, the cowpoke found a lost bracelet. He and the hotel phone operator use this clue to solve the mystery. Later he marries the operator and they return back to wild Wyoming. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Directed by Raoul Walsh, Baby Face Harrington features actor Charles Butterworth as Willie, a meek clerk who unintentionally gets involved with the mob when he misplaces two thousand dollars from the life insurance policy he was forced to cash after losing his job. While searching for the missing money, Willie (Butterworth) is taken hostage by gangsters. After learning his long-suffering wife Millicent (Una Merkel) plans to divorce him shortly, Willie loses all hope and prepares to hang himself. Just before he jumps to his suicide, however, the crime boss shows up and stops him. It turns out that the mob leader is an old school friend of Willie's, and convinces the former clerk that he still has much to live for. Baby Face Harrington also features actors Harvey Stephens, Eugene Pallette, and Ruth Selwyn. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide