Bob Milasch Movies
Jack Hoxie's long-nosed, homely sidekick in several Universal Westerns of the 1920s, Robert Milasch (sometimes spelled Milash) had appeared on stage with the legendary James K. Hackett in The Prisoner of Zenda. According to one account, Milasch, who had begun his screen career in the peep show days of the late 1890s, later played one of the robbers in the groundbreaking The Great Train Robbery (1903) and appeared in several of Thomas A. Edison's early "talking picture" experiments. He continued in films until the early '50s -- albeit in increasingly smaller roles -- something of a longevity record. "I'm six feet, six inches tall, so all they let me play are heavies, atmosphere, and character parts," Milasch complained to a reporter in 1939. He died at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1939
This film should have been a press agent's dream: Hollywood's two greatest "big mouths," Joe E. Brown and Martha Raye, together in the same picture. Brown and Raye play a show business couple who inherit a near-bankrupt college. They decide to build up the school's scraggly football team in hopes of improving alumni funding; somewhere along the line it is agreed to grant one thousand dollars for every touchdown scored, hence the title. Slapstick opportunities abound, and with the two stars at the helm, the film should have been far funnier than it is. But thanks to uninspired direction and a threadbare budget, $1000 a Touchdown was a disappointment for fans of both Martha Raye and Joe E. Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe E. Brown, Martha Raye, (more)
- 1939
The "Lady" of the title is horse-farm owner Penelope Hollis (Ellen Drew), but during the first half of this film, bookie Marty Black (George Raft) only has eyes for Penelope's prize two-year-old. After losing his gambling joint, Marty finds himself with half ownership of the horse as his sole asset. He tries to persuade Penelope to continue racing the horse, but she will have none of this and packs the nag back to her Kentucky farm. Through Marty's persistence, the horse is entered in an important stake race, but in the process is "ridden out" and rendered useless. The enraged Penelope refuses to have anything to do with Marty again unless he changes his reckless ways-which of course he does. The best moment in The Lady's From Kentucky comes at the end, when supporting players Hugh Herbert ("Woo woo!") and ZaSu Pitts ("Oh, dear, oh, my") imitate each other's catch-phrases, a gag repeated the following year by Mae West and W.C. Fields in My Little Chickadee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Ellen Drew, (more)
- 1937
Frances Farmer plays the daughter of an honest and ethical newspaper publisher (Charlie Ruggles). She wants to become a reporter herself, but when her Dad refuses to give her an easy break, Frances goes to work for a rival "tell all" tabloid. Her irresponsible reporting causes a highly respected citizen to commit suicide, and also loses her the respect of her father. But when Frances gets "over her head" in tracking down a killer, her father comes to the rescue. Taking a bullet meant for his daughter, Ruggles dies in her arms, but not before advising her in how to report this late-breaking event: "Write it simply and clearly and keep the paragraphs short." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Frances Farmer, (more)
- 1932
This first film version of H.G. Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau stars Charles Laughton as Dr.Moreau, a dedicated but sadly misguided scientist who rules the roost on a remote island. Shipwrecked sailor Edward Parker Richard Arlen finds himself on Moreau's island, agreeing to stick around until another boat can come along and take him home. But that's not quite what Moreau has in mind: he'd rather Parker stay on the island and marry the exotic Lota (Kathleen Burke), who curiously possesses the characteristics of the panther. In fact, all the island's natives seem more animal than human, especially the hirsute Bela Lugosi. And why not? They are animals who've been transformed by Moreau into humanlike creatures via surgery. Moreau's plans to mate Parker and Lota are complicated by the arrival of Parker's fiancee Leila Hyams, who has been brought to the island by ship's captain Stanley Fields, one of Moreau's flunkies. When Moreau kills Fields for this insubordination, he makes the mistake of breaking one of the rules he himself has imposed on the island: That no creature shall kill another. Island of Lost Souls does its job of inducing goosebumps so well that one can forgive the cherubic excesses of Charles Laughton in his portrayal of Dr. Moreau. The film would be remade under Wells' original title in 1978, with Burt Lancaster in the Laughton role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, (more)
- 1932
The 1932 Tom Mix western talkie Texas Bad Man has much in common with the sombre silent efforts by Mix's former rival William S. Hart. Lawman Mix deliberately cultivates a reputation as an outlaw in order to infiltrate a gang of thieves. What sets this one apart from most budget westerns of its period are the believable situations and three-dimensional characterizations. In particular, Willard Robertson as the head villain delivers a performance that under different circumstances might very well have earned him an Oscar nomination. Also worthy of praise is the cinematography, courtesy of longtime Tom Mix associate Daniel Clark. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Fred Kohler, (more)
- 1931
Lion and the Lamb takes place in Columbia Pictures' idea of London. Upon returning home after a long absence, globetrotting playboy Dave (Walter Byron) finds that he's inherited an Earldom. Thanks to a case of mistaken identity, however, Dave is intercepted en route to his ancestral estate by a criminal gang, headed by Moriarty look-alike Tottie (Montague Love). Perceived to be a notorious criminal, Dave is ordered to kidnap heiress Madge (Miriam Seegar). Managing to escape from the gang, Dave sets about to rescue Madge and foil the villains. The basic story, by workhorse wordsmith E. Roberts Oppenheim, is a good one, deserving of better treatment than it receives here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Byron, Carmel Myers, (more)
- 1930
Having long enjoyed a near-legendary status because of its general unavailability, Dangerous Nan McGrew inevitably disappoints when seen today. In her only starring feature role, Helen Kane, the original "Boop-boop-a-doop" girl, stars as an entertainer in a travelling medicine show. While her boss Doc Foster (Victor Moore) peddles his snake oil and picks as many pockets as possible, Nan shows off her skills as a singer and sharpshooter. Through a series of improbable plot twists, Doc's little show becomes a rendezvous for bank robber Muldoon (Frank Morgan), RCMP officer Bob Dawes (James Hall), and all-around dufus Eustace Macy (Stu Erwin). The comedy sequences are strictly from hunger, and the songs aren't much better, but Helen Kane's sheer likability -- and the combined comic expertise of Victor Moore (in his first talkie) and Frank Morgan -- save the film from being a complete waste of time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Kane, Victor Moore, (more)
- 1928
Ted Wells starred as ranch foreman turned crime fighter in this long lost Universal western directed by action ace Ray Taylor. Having inherited her grandfather's ranch, city girl Diana Standish (Betty Caldwell) finds herself forced to reject the attentions of smooth-talking Dick Merrihew (Walter Shumway). The latter, however, proves to be the leader of a gang of cattle rustlers and it is up to ranch foreman Jonny Parker (Wells) to save both the girl's property and her honor. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Milasch, Myrtis Crinley, (more)
- 1927
Nearing the end of his long, profitable association with Universal Westerns, stout cowboy hero Jack Hoxie played "Grinner" Martin, a returning war veteran hired to fill in for the editor (George K. French) of a local newspaper in a town terrorized by a gang of bandits. Deciding to clean up the town, "Grinner" exposes one member in each issue until the leader, Harvey Purcell (Arthur Morrison), is unmasked. Purcell attempts to burn down the newspaper in retaliation but succeeds only in getting caught by the alert "Grinner." As his reward, the crusading newspaperman wins the love of the editor's daughter (Ena Gregory aka Marian Douglas). Hoxie starred in two additional Westerns before tearing up a new contract after an argument with studio boss Carl Laemmle. No actor in any real sense of the word but also not the illiterate moron some sources suggest, Hoxie appeared in a series of very low-budget oaters for poverty row company Majestic before leaving films altogether in favor of touring with various Wild West shows and a stint as a rancher. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1925
The wild behavior of Kenneth Jamieson (George O'Brien) has finally gone too far and his millionaire father (George Fawcett) hands him a small allowance and sends him to live on a chicken farm in the tiny hamlet of Dedham. The pastor there, David Lee (Alec B. Francis), is an old friend of Jamieson's. Lee is ill-appreciated by his parishioners, and when his niece Diane (Jacqueline Logan) arrives from France in all her sophisticated Parisian finery, they are scandalized. Kenneth, on the other hand, is thrilled, and they strike up a romance. Lee is underpaid, but when he asks for more money from his parishioners they insist they will reduce his stipend unless Diane goes. One of the town's gossips, Mrs. Jones (Edith Bostwick), lets Kenneth's father know about Diane and he comes to Dedham to separate the couple. Diane, however, easily wins him over. Lee is discovered to be missing, and he is found collapsed in the church. The elder Jamieson gives the townsfolk a severe verbal thrashing for the way they have treated their pastor. Lee is nursed back to health and gets his raise, while Kenneth and Diane become engaged. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Jacqueline Logan, (more)
- 1924
This epic covers all of Lincoln's life. His birth in a blizzard; his boyhood (depicted by Danny Hey as young Lincoln); his romance with the ill-fated Anne Rutledge (Ruth Clifford) and courtship of Mary Todd (Nell Craig), who he married; his debates with Stephen Douglas (William Humphreys); and his rise to the presidency. The Civil War is covered, including the surrender of Lee (James Welch), then Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth (William Moran). Playing Lincoln as an adult is George A. Billings, an uncanny lookalike. Because of its scope, the film seems a bit sketchy at times, but its sincerity is always obvious. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Hunt
- 1921
Vitagraph pumped up the human angle to bring Anna Sewell's immortal story to the screen while still remaining true to the book's spirit. Jack Beckett (George Webb) has stolen 800 pounds from Lord Wynwaring (Leslie T. Peacocks), and the only one who learns of the theft is George Gordon (Colin Kenny). George is killed during a fox hunt and Beckett tells his sister, Jessie (Jean Paige), that her brother took the money. To save her mother from the shock of having this information revealed, Jessie agrees to marry Beckett when she comes of age. Four years later a horse, Black Beauty, is bought by Jessie's father, Squire Gordon (John Steppling). The horse, with its almost human intelligence, saves both its master and his wife (Mollie McConnell). Beckett, meanwhile, is pressing Jessie to marry him, even though she has fallen in love with Harry Blomefield (James Morrison), the son of the vicar (Robert Bolder). Jessie is temporarily rescued from Beckett, and Black Beauty changes owners several times until he comes into possession of the Blomefields. Beckett plots to snatch Jessie from a train and marry her in London, but Harry rides Black Beauty to the station and beats him there. He saves Jenny from the wicked Beckett and Black Beauty has finally found a permanent home. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Paige, James Morrison, (more)
