Grant Mitchell Movies

Father is a Prince is a scaled-down remake of the 1934 comedy-drama Big Hearted Herbert, itself based on a play by Sophie Kerr Underwood. Grant Mitchell plays tyrannical paterfamilias Mr. Bower, who runs his home like he runs his carpet-sweeper factory: pinching pennies, turning off lights, and interfering in every aspect of his loved ones' private lives. What with trying to manage things at home and attempting to hoodwink the IRS at the factory, Bower is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The limit comes when he humiliates his daughter Connie (Jan Clayton) at the home of his prospective in-laws with his obnoxious behavior. But Bowers' essential decency and humanity finally surfaces when his wife (Dora Bryant) is forced to undergo emergency surgery. The nominal leading man is future Superman star George Reeves, though perhaps the role should have gone to John Ridgely, who makes a meal of his bit part as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frank Capra's classic comedy-drama established James Stewart as a lead actor in one of his finest (and most archetypal) roles. The film opens as a succession of reporters shout into telephones announcing the death of Senator Samuel Foley. Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), the state's senior senator, puts in a call to Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee) reporting the news. Hopper then calls powerful media magnate Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), who controls the state -- along with the lawmakers. Taylor orders Hopper to appoint an interim senator to fill out Foley's term; Taylor has proposed a pork barrel bill to finance an unneeded dam at Willet Creek, so he warns Hopper he wants a senator who "can't ask any questions or talk out of turn." After having a number of his appointees rejected, at the suggestion of his children Hopper nominates local hero Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), leader of the state's Boy Rangers group. Smith is an innocent, wide-eyed idealist who quotes Jefferson and Lincoln and idolizes Paine, who had known his crusading editor father. In Washington, after a humiliating introduction to the press corps, Smith threatens to resign, but Paine encourages him to stay and work on a bill for a national boy's camp. With the help of his cynical secretary Clarissa Sanders (Jean Arthur), Smith prepares to introduce his boy's camp bill to the Senate. But when he proposes to build the camp on the Willets Creek site, Taylor and Paine force him to drop the measure. Smith discovers Taylor and Paine want the Willets Creek site for graft and he attempts to expose them, but Paine deflects Smith's charges by accusing Smith of stealing money from the boy rangers. Defeated, Smith is ready to depart Washington, but Saunders, whose patriotic zeal has been renewed by Smith, exhorts him to stay and fight. Smith returns to the Senate chamber and, while Taylor musters the media forces in his state to destroy him, Smith engages in a climactic filibuster to speak his piece: "I've got a few things I want to say to this body. I tried to say them once before and I got stopped colder than a mackerel. Well, I'd like to get them said this time, sir. And as a matter of fact, I'm not gonna leave this body until I do get them said." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Juarez was originally designed to concentrate almost exclusively on the tragedy of Hapsburg Emperor Maximillian, whose attempts to establish a puppet government in Mexico on behalf of Napoleon III ended in disaster and death. But when Paul Muni decided that he wanted to play Zapotec-Indian-turned-Mexican President Benito Pablo Juarez, the film's emphasis perceptibly shifted -- and Bette Davis, cast as Empress Carlotta, was shunted to second billing rather than first. Muni's makeup and costuming convincingly transforms him into Juarez incarnate. But unlike his other historical impersonations (Pasteur, Zola), Muni's Juarez is a one-note characterization: stoic, uncompromising, and v-e-e-r-y slow of speech. Far more exciting dramatically is Bette Davis as Empress Carlotta, whose highly stylized descent into madness is a tour de force both for the actress and for director William Dieterle. Claude Rains and Gale Sondergaard, as Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie, in essence repeat their diabolical characterizations from Anthony Adverse (1936), while John Garfield is singularly miscast as Pofirio Diaz. The best performance is delivered by Brian Aherne, whose kindly, honorable Emperor Maximillian is less a despot than a misguided political pawn. When Aherne, about to be executed at Juarez' orders, requests that his favorite Mexican song "La Paloma" be played as he is led before the firing squad, audience sympathies are 100% in Maximilian's corner--which was not quite what the filmmakers intended. Based largely on Bertita Harding's book The Phantom Crown (the film's original title), Juarez takes every available opportunity to parallel its title character's fight against foreign intervention with the then-current European situation. To protect their investment in Juarez Warner Bros. purchased outright a like-vintage Mexican film on the same subject, The Mad Empress, suppressing the latter film's release in the United States. ~ 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

District attorney Walter Pidgeon pursues the conviction of criminals so diligently that word has gone out in the state prison to "get" Pidgeon at the first opportunity. The DA has several enemies on the outside as well, one of whom frames him on a bribery charge. Pidgeon is sentenced to the prison where he has sent so many miscreants in the past. Dodging attempts on his own life, Pidgeon makes several valuable convict friends and manages to clear himself during a climactic jailbreak. 6,000 Enemies runs only 61 minutes--an average of about 100 enemies per minute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this socially conscious drama, a man is appointed warden at a boys reformatory on the condition that he can keep unwanted publicity away. The man does all he can to insure fair treatment of the young inmates; unfortunately, one of his guards refuses to toe the new line. When the warden catches the guard beating a boy, the warden begins punching the guard; he then fires him. The warden's toughest case truly reforms and proves that the new methods are more effective. The warden must prove this before the governor when one of the boys escapes. He does and all is well. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this musical romantic comedy of 1938, Deanna Durbin plays Alice Fullerton, a young woman of a "certain age" who is prone to developing crushes against her best judgment. Her parents have taken in an intriguing house guest, Vincent Bullitt (Melvyn Douglas), a successful international news correspondent who has come to town to work on some assignments for her father's newspaper. Alice falls hard for Bullitt, and she ditches her boyfriend Ken (Jackie Cooper), a local guy who seems provincial and pedestrian in comparison to Bullitt; unfortunately, complications ensue. The songs include You're as Pretty as a Picture. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Edward G. Robinson offers an excellent turn as a crime lord obsessed with the welfare of his son in this melodramatic crime story. The lad is born while the notorious Robinson serves 10 years. Unfortunately, the press hound the babies mother and constantly derider her until a kinder reporter takes pity and begins writing stories to support her. This angers his editor who fires him. One day Robinson's wife goes to visit him and he behaves like a brute. She is so shocked that she ends her marriage and hooks up with the reporter. Together, they move far away to start successful new lives. A decade later, Robinson gets out and begins searching for his boy. Unfortunately, he also gets talked into his gangster activities by an old cohort. The gang, however turns on him and forces him to reveal the location of a large cache of loot that he hid before entering the slammer. Tough old Robinson won't tell them, so they kidnap his son.
Fortunately, Robinson and the lad escape. The gangster tries to get to know his boy, but the child wants nothing to do with him. Angered, Robinson swears vengeance upon his ex and her new spouse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The second of Paul Muni's biographical films for Warner Bros., the Oscar-winning The Life of Emile Zola is by far the best, even allowing for the dramatic license taken with the material. When first we meet French novelist and essayist Zola, he is starving in a Parisian garret with his painter friend, Paul Cezanne. Each time Zola attempts to write "the truth," he is stymied by governmental censors. Still, he is able to achieve both fame and fortune with the publication of "Nana," an unardorned and best-selling tale of a prostitute (whom we can safely assume was not quite as likeable or attractive as Erin O'Brien-Moore, who plays the novel's "role model"). The lion's share of the film is devoted to Zola's attempts to clear the reputation of Army captain Alfred Dreyfus (Joseph Schildkraut), who has been framed on a charge of treason by his superiors and condemned to Devil's Island. Publishing his famous manifesto "J'accuse," Zola leaves himself wide open for public condemnation and criminal prosecution. Though he delivers a brilliant self-defense in court, Zola is found guilty. Forced to flee to England, he continues railing against the unjust, corrupt military establishment, eventually forcing a retrial and exoneration of Dreyfus. Alas, Zola is killed in a freak accident at home before he can meet the liberated Dreyfus. At his funeral, Emile Zola is eulogized by Anatole France (Morris Carnovsky), who refers to the fallen crusader as "a moment of the conscience of man." For various reasons -- some dramatic, some legal -- the actual facts of "L'affaire Dreyfus" are altered by the Norman Reilly Raine/Heinz Herald/Geza Herczeg screenplay.

The fact that Dreyfus was railroaded because he was Jewish is obscured; in fact, except for a very brief visual reference, the word "Jew" is never mentioned. Only those villains whose names were a matter of public record (Major Dort, Major Esterhazy) are specifically identified. Others are referred to as the Chief of Staff, the Minister of War, etc. to avoid lawsuits from their descendants (remember that the events depicted in the film, most of which take place between 1894 and 1902, were still within living memory in 1937). As for Dreyfus himself, he was not freed and restored to rank in 1902, the year of Zola's death, but in 1906-after being found guilty again in an 1899 retrial (Dreyfus died in 1935, outliving everyone else involved in the case). These historical gaffes can be forgiven in the light of the film's overall message: that a single small, clear voice can fight City Hall. If for nothing else, The Life of Emile Zola deserves classic status due to Paul Muni's towering performance, most notably in the unforgettable summation scene: "By all that I have done for France, by my works -- by all that I have written, I swear to you that Dreyfus is innocent. May all that melt away -- may my name be forgotten, if Dreyfus is not innocent. He is innocent." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "suspense" in the RKO Radio musical comedy Music for Madame lies in whether or not golden-voiced Operatic tenor Nino Martini will be permitted to sing. En route to Hollywood, Tonio (Martini) is hoodwinked into serenading a wedding party while a gang of jewel thieves clean out the place. The crooks head for the hills, but not before threatening to murder Tonio if he ever sings again (his voice, you see, is the only clue the police have to go by). While pondering the future of his career, our hero falls in love with beautiful Jean (Joan Fontaine) and is sorely tempted to express his ardor in song. Music for Madame was Jesse L. Lasky's first RKO production -- and very nearly his last when the picture lost $375,000 for the studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Devil Is a Sissy deserves an historical footnote as the only film to team three of the biggest child stars of the 1930s: Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper and Freddie Bartholomew. Bartholomew is a wealthy young English boy attending a New York "magnet" school, whose students are drawn from all walks of life. He is befriended by slum kid Rooney, son of a recently executed gangster, who in his own roughneck fashion helps Bartholomew to "assimilate" (Translation: He helps him to steal and evade the cops). Cooper is a middle-class gang leader with whom Rooney frequently clashes. Freddie attempts to fit in with his new chums by masterminding a break-in at a Park Avenue townhouse. None too soon, all three boys end up in juvenile court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A lesser but still effective entry in the mid-1930s "prison" cycle, Parole catalogues the many problems facing prisoners who've served their debt to society. The story concentrates on Russ Whalen (Henry Hunter), one of several parolees trying to find work on the outside. The "ex-con" onus forces some of these men to return to crime, but Russ keeps his nose clean and finally finds success. Also given attention are the many abuses in the parole system, which in 1936 frequently favored those with the right connections. Of historical significance, Parole represents the film debut of Anthony Quinn, in a 45-second bit as a prisoner named Zingo Browning. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide