Walter Miller Movies

Tyrone Power plays the college-grad son of jailed-embezzler Edward Arnold. Power tries to find work, only to be turned away because of his father's reputation. When he decides to use a phony name, he is still fired, because his ex-convict boss feels that Power is being unfair to his imprisoned father. If you can't win for losing in a 1940 film, you turn to crime. Power hires on as the right-hand man of personable but deadly gangster Lloyd Nolan. Arnold, who has become a model convict, is disgusted that his son has turned to crime. He even refuses to have anything to do with his son when Power lands in the slammer himself. Through the intervention of Nolan's moll Dorothy Lamour, a nightclub singer who has grown to love Power, Arnold realizes that his son is still a good guy underneath. Power proves as much by preventing a climactic jailbreak engineered by the homicidal Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of dirt-poor Dust Bowl migrants by 4-time Oscar-winning director John Ford starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, who opens the movie returning to his Oklahoma home after serving jail time for manslaughter. En route, Tom meets family friend Casey (John Carradine), a former preacher who warns Tom that dust storms, crop failures, and new agricultural methods have financially decimated the once prosperous Oklahoma farmland. Upon returning to his family farm, Tom is greeted by his mother (Oscar-winner Jane Darwell), who tells him that the family is packing up for the "promised land" of California. Warned that they shouldn't expect a warm welcome in California--they've already seen the caravan of dispirited farmers, heading back home after striking out at finding work--the Joads push on all the same. Their first stop is a wretched migrant camp, full of starving children and surrounded by armed guards. Further down the road, the Joads drive into an idyllic government camp, with clean lodging, indoor plumbing, and a self-governing clientele. When Tom ultimately bids goodbye to his mother, who asks him where he'll go, he delivers the film's most famous speech: "I'll be all around...Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat...Whenever there's a cop beating a guy, I'll be there...And when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build. I'll be there too." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cattle rancher George O'Brien, thinking that he's emptying his six shooters in the direction of rustlers, apparently kills one of his own ranchhands. To make amends, O'Brien joins up with the dead man's father in trying to corral the crooks. Turns out that O'Brien is innocent of the accidental killing, proof of which comes none too soon to patch up the relationship between George and the late ranchhand's sister (Virginia Vale). Bullet Code was one of the last of George O'Brien's budget westerns for RKO. He would soon gracefully hand over his holsters to new RKO cowboy Tim Holt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Responding to star George Sanders' complaint that his role of "modern Robin Hood" Simon Templar was becoming a bore, RKO Radio permitted Sanders to essay a duel role in The Saint's Double Trouble. This one finds Templar, aka the Saint, heading to Philadelphia to catch a gang of diamond smugglers. It so happens that the head of the criminals, Duke Plato, is an exact double for Templar (so guess who plays Plato?) Bela Lugosi is wasted in the role of a secondary hoodlum, though it is amusing to watch his double--take when he's confronted with two Sanders. Based on characters created by Leslie Charteris, The Saint's Double Trouble was the fourth entry in RKO's Saint series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Venerable character actor Harry Davenport (best remembered as Dr. Meade in Gone with the Wind) takes center stage in the "Higgins Family" entry Grandpa Goes to Town. The story gets under way when Joe and Lil Higgins (James and Lucille Gleason) invest their life savings in a frontier hotel. Upon arrival, the family discovers that the establishment is smack dab in the middle of a ghost town that hasn't seen a human face in years. Fortunately, Grandpa Higgins (Davenport) discovers gold on the property, leading to a spectacular upsurge in business-and a bit of unexpected trouble from a few unsavory types. In keeping with its policy of hiring the losers of Joe Louis' heavyweight championship bouts for their films, Republic Pictures provides a sizeable role in Grandpa Goes to Town for Louis' latest victim, Arturo Godoy, who appears in a dance sequence with his attractive wife Ledda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Promoted as a follow-up to the popular 1939 western Dodge City (which, indeed, was left wide open for a sequel in its closing scenes), Virginia City bears only surface resemblance to the earlier film. Indeed, the only discerning links between the two pictures are the western setting and the presence in the cast of Errol Flynn, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. After escaping from a Confederate prison during the Civil War, Union officer Flynn vows to stop a $5,000,000 gold shipment from reaching the South. He is challenged by Southern sympathizer Randolph Scott, whose interest in the gold is patriotic, and by outlaw Humphrey Bogart (complete with a Mexican accent that wouldn't convince a cow), whose interests are purely mercenary. Adding spice to the proceedings is Miriam Hopkins as a dance hall chanteusse-cum-Confederate spy. Better in individual components than sum total, Virginia City pleased the crowds in 1940, assuring that the Tasmanian-born Errol Flynn would continue appearing in westerns in the future. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third and definitive film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy, this musical adventure is a genuine family classic that made Judy Garland a star for her heartfelt performance as Dorothy Gale, an orphaned young girl unhappy with her drab black-and-white existence on her aunt and uncle's dusty Kansas farm. Dorothy yearns to travel "over the rainbow" to a different world, and she gets her wish when a tornado whisks her and her little dog, Toto, to the Technicolorful land of Oz. Having offended the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton), Dorothy is protected from the old crone's wrath by the ruby slippers that she wears. At the suggestion of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke), Dorothy heads down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where dwells the all-powerful Wizard of Oz, who might be able to help the girl return to Kansas. En route, she befriends a Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a Tin Man (Jack Haley), and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr). The Scarecrow would like to have some brains, the Tin Man craves a heart, and the Lion wants to attain courage; hoping that the Wizard will help them too, they join Dorothy on her odyssey to the Emerald City.

Garland was MGM's second choice for Dorothy after Shirley Temple dropped out of the project; and Bolger was to have played the Tin Man but talked co-star Buddy Ebsen into switching roles. When Ebsen proved allergic to the chemicals used in his silver makeup, he was replaced by Haley. Gale Sondergaard was originally to have played the Wicked Witch of the West in a glamorous fashion, until the decision was made to opt for belligerent ugliness, and the Wizard was written for W.C. Fields, who reportedly turned it down because MGM couldn't meet his price. Although Victor Fleming, who also directed Gone With the Wind, was given sole directorial credit, several directors were involved in the shooting, included King Vidor, who shot the opening and closing black-and-white sequences. Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg's now-classic Oscar-winning song "Over the Rainbow" was nearly chopped from the picture after the first preview because it "slowed down the action." The Wizard of Oz was too expensive to post a large profit upon initial release; however, after a disappointing reissue in 1955, it was sold to network television, where its annual showings made it a classic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Otis Ferguson has said of Each Dawn I Die that "the story is of the kind you would have to see to disbelieve." And to be sure, the film is nothing more than a sampler of '30s prison-film conventions. But with the brilliant acting by James Cagney and the fast-paced and hard-edged direction of William Keighley, the film clatters past like an express train. Cagney plays Frank Ross, an innocent newspaperman who is railroaded into prison by a corrupt district attorney. In prison, he meets hardened-con Stacey (George Raft). Frank, at first, doesn't want to associate with Stacey and the other prisoners, but trapped in the hellhole prison, he more and more turns into a bitter con. Finally granted a hearing from the parole board, Frank pleads his innocence, but the parole board is headed by Grayce (Victor Jury), the man responsible for his imprisonment, and his parole is denied, and Frank becomes more hardened and embittered. By this point, Stacey has befriended him and agrees to help Frank prove his innocence. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The cornpone comedy of the Weaver Brothers & Elviry permeates this ramshackle Republic musical. The plot gets under way when the government tries to buy up some of the Weavers' property for a dam project. The hillbilly family wants nothing to do with the "furriners", but eventually they change their minds when construction engineer John (Ralph Byrd) falls in love with the Weavers' pretty daughter Mary (June Storey). Featured as John's sidekick is bespectacled crooner Pinky Tomlin, whose principal vocal contribution is a musical nursery rhyme. Down in Arkansaw wasn't aimed at the New York intelligentsia: its target audience was rural, and by delivering exactly what its fans wanted the film succeeded spectacluarly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lawless Valley is one of the best of George O'Brien's series westerns for RKO Radio. Falsely accused of orchestrating a stage robbery with his conveniently deceased father, O'Brien spends the rest of the film trying to clear his name. Along the way, he uncovers the perfidy of land baron Fred Kohler Sr. (in his last film role), who's been committing murders all over the place to grab up every piece of the surrounding territory. Kohler even tries to inveigle heiress Kay Sutton into a forced marriage with his son to strengthen his land holdings. Forcing a confession from corrupt sheriff Earle Hodgins, O'Brien is able to tighten the noose around Kohler's neck, but not before a fistic set-to reminiscent of the similar O'Brien-Kohler donnybrook in 1924's The Iron Horse. Adding to the enjoyment of Lawless Valley is the presence in of Fred Kohler Jr., appropriately cast as Fred Kohler Sr.'s offspring. At one point, Kohler Jr. stands up to his father, whereupon Kohler Sr. growls "Careful, son--you're talkin' to your dad, you know!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

RKO Radio's ace short-subjects director Leslie Goodwins graduated to features with the economically produced Crime Ring. Allan Lane plays a hotshot newspaperman who takes on a phony spiritualist ring. The crooked soothsayers are in league with a band of stock swindlers, coercing the gullible into parting company with their life savings on the advice of the "dear departed." Teaming with unemployed actress Frances Mercer, Lane poses as a potential sucker to draw out the bad guys. Lane and Mercer prove to be too clever for their own good, however, and it's problematic as to whether or not they'll survive until the closing credits. Crime Ring was partially remade in 1950 as Bunco Squad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 15-chapter Columbia serial is largely set on a remote Carribean island (which looks suspiciously like Catalina). Reporter Larry Kent (Don Terry) arrives on the island to investigate the disappearance of another newshound. It turns out that somewhere in the area is buried a valuable treasure, for which there exists half of a map. Toni Morrell (Gwen Gaze), the daughter of an old salt whose murdered partner knew the location of the treasure, joins forces with Larry to solve his friend's disappearance-and, hopefully, dig up the buried loot. They are opposed at every turn by the evil Collins (Walter Miller), who has a seemingly endless supply of weapons, land mines and henchmen at his disposal. Adding to Larry and Toni's burden is the presence of the mysterious Dr. X (Hobart Bosworth), who is hard at work developing a new and powerful explosive. And as if that weren't enough, Larry is obliged at several junctures to battle an unknown assailant disguised as a 17th century pirate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide