Lynn Merrick Movies

The late '60s and early '70s produced a large crop of social critics and self-labelled revolutionaries. Outspoken black militant feminist and communist Angela Davis was one of these. Davis, also a professor of philosophy at U.C.L.A., is the subject of this documentary film made by one of her U.C.L.A. students. It features her in the classroom, at a "rap" session, studying quietly, and giving her rumbustious speeches at antiwar and other demonstrations. Given the fact that this is clearly a pro-Davis film, it demonstrates an unusual degree of objectivity. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A semi-sequel to Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Columbia's Down to Earth is a camp- and kitsch-lover's delight. More beautiful than ever, Rita Hayworth stars as Terpsichore, the Goddess of Dance. From her perch Up Above, Terpsichore discovers that Broadway producer Danny Miller (Larry Parks) intends to put together a musical satire, lampooning herself and her fellow Greek Gods. Eliciting the aid of Heavenly emissary Mr. Jordan (Roland Culver, taking over from the earlier film's Claude Rains), Terpsichore descends to Earth in human form, landing a role in Miller's play. Through her bewitching influence, Miller agrees to abandon his plans for a satire, transforming his production into a portentiously serious "work of art"-which lays a large and noxious egg with the opening-night crowd. Somehow, our ethereal heroine manages to set things right, but there's still one nagging problem: Will she, a goddess, ever be permitted to fall in love with a mere mortal like Miller? Repeating their Here Comes Mr. Jordan roles, James Gleason and Edward Everett Horton appear respectively as the eternally flustered Max Corkle (formerly a fight promoter, now a theatrical agent) and the pompous, rule-bound Heavenly messenger #7013. Silly but immensely entertaining, Down to Earth was remade as the sillier but decidedly less entertaining Xanadu in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, it is up to two young lawyers to save a business executive who has been framed for embezzlement. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this lively entry in the Boston Blackie mysteries, Blackie gets in trouble when he helps a friend auction off a first-edition Charles Dickens book and discovers that it was counterfeit. As a result of his involvement in the con, Blackie must clear himself after being accused of murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Blonde From Brooklyn is perky Susan Parker (Lynn Merrick), gainfully employed as a "jukebox singer", back in the days when jukebox patrons could request that their songs be performed live via telephone hookup. Teaming with showbiz-minded G.I. Dixon Harper (Robert Stanton), Susan passes herself off as a Southern belle in order to land a job singing radio commercials for a Dixiefied coffee company. The fun begins when Susan is mistaken for the heir to a Southern plantation, forcing her to keep up her "yew all"s and "sho' nuff"'s indefinitely. Director Del Lord (of Three Stooges fame) resurrects any number of old two-reel-comedy routines in this trivial Columbia musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bob Crosby, bandleader brother of Bing, heads the cast of Columbia's Meet Miss Bobby Socks. The thin-as-cheesecloth plot concerns WW2 veteran Don Collins (Crosby), who becomes the idols of teenaged girls everywhere when he pursues a singing career. Obviously intended as a takeoff of the "Sinatra craze", the film's comedy is rather dated, especially the story angle wherein Collins' fans, rather than cagey promoters, find a series of jobs for their idol. It's hard to tell who the titular "Miss Bobby Socks" is since the film is virtually wall-to-wall girls; apparently, the title refers to Susan Tyler (Louise Erickson), kid sister of nominal heroine Helen Tyler (Lynn Merrick). Guest stars include Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five and the Kim Loo Sisters, though they're seen but briefly in the course of events. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nine Girls stars several of Columbia's loveliest contract actresses as sorority sisters at an exclusive California college. None of the girls is fond of nasty student Anita Louise--in fact, sometime dislikes her enough to kill her. Police detectives William Demarest and Willard Robertson are called in to solve the mystery, and as in most films of this type, there are plenty of suspects to choose from. The solution of the crime will be obvious to hardened movie buffs, simply by checking out the name of the film's top-billed actress. For the record, the Nine Girls of the title are Anita Louise, Evelyn Keyes, Jinx Falkenberg, Leslie Brooks, Lynn Merrick, Miss Jeff Donnell (as she was usually billed), Nina Foch, Marcia Mae Jones, and Shirley Mills. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stalwart supporting actor Allyn Joslyn is afforded a rare leading role in the Columbia mystery meller Dangerous Blondes. Joslyn and Evelyn Keyes play Harry and Jane Craig, a road-company Nick and Nora Charles. A popular mystery writer, Harry occasionally indulges in amateur detective work, with wife Jane at his side; their friendly nemesis is Inspector Clinton (Frank Craven), who'd prefer that the Craigs would stay home and mind their own business. This proves impossible when Ralph McCormick (Edmund Lowe), the owner of a swank fashion studio, is accused of murdering his wife for the love of designer Julie Taylor (Anita Louise). Snooping around on their own, the Craigs find the real killer-and nearly wind up victims themselves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, a San Francisco musician encounters the son of an pal. The young man has a real dilemma and asks the advice of the older man. He has been inducted in the Army and is to be shipped off to fight WW II. He is also engaged to be married, but doesn't want to go through with it as he could be killed in battle. The musician the tells him the tale of a WW I veteran who turns out to be the young soldier's father. The soldier gets the point and decides to get married after all. Songs include: "It Had to Be You", "More Than Anyone Else in the World", "This Old Hat of Mine", "Cuddle Up a Little Closer", "I'm Just Wild about Harry", "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", "St. Louis Blues", "Pretty Baby", and "Am I Blue?" ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This second entry in Columbia's "Crime Doctor" series once again stars Warner Baxter as Dr. Ordway, a former criminal turned criminologist. In this outing, Ordway is called in to analyze the dreams of elderly Patricia Cornwall (Virginia Brissac). It is hoped that this will provide a clue to the long-ago disappearance of Patricia's husband-not to mention $30,000. Naturally, there's at least one person who doesn't want the secret revealed, and that's the person who murdered Cornwall and hid his body in the basement of a popular café. Could the guilty party be Diana Burns (Rose Hobart), widow of Cornwall's former partner, who has just become a murder victim himself? Billed ninth in the cast of Crime Doctor's Strangest Case is young Columbia contractee Lloyd Bridges. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Singer Bob Haymes (not Dick Haymes, as has sometimes been reported) heads the cast of Columbia's Swing Out the Blues. The film is partly a parody of The Goodwill Court, a popular radio problem hosted by advice-dispenser "Mr. Anthony". The host of a "What's your problem?" radio hour tries to smooth the romantic path of singer Rich Cleveland (Haymes) and his socialite wife Penelope (Lynn Merrick). The fly in the ointment is Dena Marshall (Janis Carter), who has set her sights on the handsome Rich. Much of the film's humor is dispensed by the Vagabonds, a zany singing group that comes across as a combination of the Yacht Club Boys and the Ritz Brothers. If the fellow playing "Larry Stringfellow" sounds familiar, he should: Arthur Q. Bryan was also the voice of Elmer Fudd in the Warner Bros. cartoons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carson City Cyclone stars Don "Red" Barry as a frontier lawyer with the deceptively mild-mannered monicker of Gilbert Phalen. After an argument with his judge/banker father (Noah Beery), Gilbert finds himself the Number One suspect when his dad is murdered. Endeavoring to prove his innocence and bring the guilty party to justice, Gilbert is forced to assume the guise of a fearsome outlaw. An awful lot happens in the course of the film's 57 minutes, and most of it happens to the hero. Featured in the cast are such reliable Republic-western heavies as Roy Barcroft and Bud Osborne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A well-acted, well-paced entry in the Don "Red" Barry Western series from Republic Pictures, The Sombrero Kid featured the diminutive Barry as Jerry Holden, the apparent son and heir of veteran lawman Tom Holden (Robert Homans). But when Holden Sr. is killed by one of Banker Martin's (Joel Friedkin) gang of claim jumpers, Jerry learns that his real father was Bart Clanton, a notorious bandit killed by Marshal Holden, who then raised the orphaned boy as his own. After accidentally killing one of Martin's men, Taggart (I. Stanford Jolley), in a barroom fight, Jerry becomes a fugitive wanted for murder. He joins a gang led by Smoke (Stuart Hamblen), one of Martin's henchmen, hoping to obtain enough evidence to convict the crooked banker. Along with Tommy Holden Jr. (John James), who has replaced his late father as town marshal, Jerry sets a trap for Mason's weak-willed son, Phillip (Rand Brooks). In a desperate attempt to escape justice, Mason kills Phillip, but is arrested by Jerry. The latter is cleared of all charges and elected sheriff by a grateful citizenry. Country gospel songwriter Stuart Hamblen makes a fine villain in one of his infrequent screen appearances and blonde Lynn Merrick is, as always, an attractive adornment to any "Red" Barry vehicle. Merrick, whose contract was held jointly by Republic and Columbia Pictures, appeared in no less than 16 Barry Westerns, one of the longest runs of any sagebrush heroine. Her "leading man" this time around, however, is John James, not Barry. The Sombrero Kid was filmed at the Walker Ranch at Placerita Canyon, CA, a busy location for low-budget moviemaking from 1931-1955. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide