Constance Moore Movies
Blonde leading lady Constance Moore started in films as a contract player at Universal. She appeared as Wilma Deering in the 1938 serial Buck Rogers, and was Edgar Bergen's love interest in the W.C. Fields vehicle You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939). A band singer before and after her Universal sojourn, Moore briefly forsook films to star in the 1942 Broadway musical comedy By Jupiter, then returned to Hollywood as the star of a string of above-average Republic musicals. She virtually retired from filmmaking in 1947, making unexpected return appearances in 1951's The Thirteenth Letter and 1967's Spree. Sporadically active on TV in the 1960s, Constance Moore was a regular on the 1961 Robert Young "dramedy" Window on Main Street and the 1965 soap opera The Young Marrieds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A master blend of high comedy and tense emotional drama, A Letter of Introduction reteams Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, who'd previously costarred in the negligible Goldwyn Follies. Menjou plays John Mannering, a Barrymoresque actor who years earlier had divorced his wife and severed his relationship with his daughter Kay (Andrea Leeds). Now a grown woman, Kay aspires to an acting career, fully determined to make it on her own without her father's help. She goes so far as to change her last name to Martin, and to keep her actual relationship to Mannering a secret from the public. This set-up leads to a dizzying series of complications, including the breakup of Mannering's romance with a tootsie named Lydia Hoyt (Anne Sheridan), who falsely assumes that Kay is Mannering's mistress, and Kay's own romantic travails with vaudeville hoofer Barry Paige (George Murphy). Meanwhile, Kay's ventriloquist friend Bergen and his dummy McCarthy rise to superstardom on radio. It is, in fact, Bergen and Charlie who are instrumental in reuniting the estranged Mannering and Kay, paving the way for the film's tear-stained conclusion. Unavailable for many years, A Letter of Introduction re-emerged on the Public Domain circuit in 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, (more)
- 1940
The Andrews Sisters made their screen debut in Argentine Nights, but the stars of the show are the Ritz Brothers, in the first of their four Universal vehicles. The wafer-thin plotline finds the Ritz boys showing up flat broke in Argentina with an all-girl band. Despite their utter lack of funds, the zany trio tries to save a local hotel from the clutches of a con man. Highlights include the Ritz Brothers' famous "hero sandwich" routine (repeated by the two surviving brothers in 1975's Blazing Stewardesses) and a perversely hilarious climax in which the Ritzes are called upon to impersonate the Andrews Sisters (which may have given rise to Patty Andrews' oft-quoted observation "We looked like the Ritz Brothers in drag"). As a bonus for fans of the Superman TV series, nominal romantic lead George Reeves warbles the deathless tune "Amigo We Go Riding Tonight". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- The Ritz Brothers [Al, Jimmy, Harry], The Andrews Sisters, (more)
- 1944
Definitely no relation to the 1980 Louis Malle film of the same name, 1944's Atlantic City is a tuneful Republic musical, not quite an "A" picture but certainly not a "B". Brad Taylor (who formerly acted at Columbia under the name of Stanley Brown) stars as Brad, an early-20th-century entrepreneur who decides to transform the sleepy oceanside community of Atlantic City, New Jersey into a mecca for vacationers and thrill-seekers. One of Taylor's visionary notions is the creation of a bathing-beauty contest, and that's where prim-and-proper heroine Marilyn Whitaker (Constance Moore) comes in. The plot is essentially an excuse to trot out several venerable entertainers doing their tried-and-true specialties. Guest stars include Belle Baker, Paul Whiteman, Louis Armstrong, Buck & Bubbles, and Joe Frisco, not to mention Al Shean (of Gallegher and Shean) and Gus Van (of Van and Schenck). Also adding to the general frivolity are Jerry "Ahhh, Yes!" Colonna and up-and-coming Dorothy Dandridge. Atlantic City demonstrated that Republic could make a 20th Century-Fox style musical even without Betty Grable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Moore, Brad Taylor, (more)
- 1938
Universal's newest singing cowboy Bob Baker heads the cast of Border Wolves. The film starts off like gangbusters, with an outlaw attack on a covered wagon (largely culled from Universal's stock-footage vault). Falsely accused of masterminding the attack, young Rusty Reynolds (Baker) vows to track down the genuine culprit. So predominant is the film's musical angle that, at one point, even the bad guys lift their voices in a campfire song! Like many of Bob Baker's westerns, Border Wolves was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, who had a happy knack of bringing artistry and nuance to the cliched proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Baker, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1939
Based on the character created by sci-fi writer, Phil Nolan, this feature has the space-age hero facing a number of adventures and villains when he finds himself in the future. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
After starring in two successful serials as All-American Boy in Outer Space Flash Gordon, Larry "Buster" Crabbe found himself visiting very familiar territory in 1939's Buck Rogers, a 12-episode serial in which he played an young adventurer sent 500 years into the future. Buck Rogers (Crabbe), his friend and sidekick Buddy Wade (Jackie Moran), and Buck's sweetheart, Wilma Deering (Constance Moore), are piloting a new and experimental airship when bad weather sends them crashing into the Arctic wastes. A newly developed drug called Nirvano is supposed to keep this crew in suspended animation until help arrives; however, five centuries pass before Buck, Buddy, and Wilma are found by scientists working for Dr. Huer (C. Montague Shaw). Huer is an idealist who is attempting overthrow fearsome ruler Killer Kane (Anthony Warde), who rules the Earth with an iron fist. Buck and his pals throw in their lot with Huer and his staff, and attempt to find allies on Saturn; however, Buck is unaware that Saturn has already fallen to the minions of Kane. Originally released as a serial, Buck Rogers was later re-edited into two different feature-length condensations, Planet Outlaws and Destination Saturn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Jackie Moran, (more)
- 1941
A gangster and his mob buy a small-town in this warm comedy. They, tired of trying to make it as big city hoods, buy the town to use as a hideout. The leader of the gang begins to have a change of heart after he begins falling for a local girl. He decides to use the "protection money" his gang has been pocketing to benefit the townsfolk. This feels good to the tough and thug-like gangsters who begin embracing the ideals of good citizenship in favor of a life of crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1939
Having proven their box-office value in such films as A Letter of Introduction, Goldwyn Follies and You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wise-lipped dummy Charlie McCarthy were awarded with a starring vehicle of their own. While entertaining at the home of magazine publisher Court Aldrich (Samuel S. Hinds), Bergen and his "friends" Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd get mixed up in their host's murder. It seems that Aldrich was working hand in glove with gangster Tony Garcia (Harold Huber), who has kept himself busy knocking off the publisher's enemies. Could Garcia be the murderer this time as well, or was it someone else at the party? Inspector Dailey (Edgar Kennedy) wants to find out-but he doesn't want the unsolicited assistance of Charlie McCarthy, who insists upon playing Sherlock Holmes, replete with deerstalker and magnifying glass. Though essentially a "stunt" film, Charlie McCarthy, Detective pleases the crowd with an abundance of hilarious dialogue and a reasonably good mystery subplot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edgar Bergen, Robert Cummings, (more)
In her second starring film, teenaged singing sensation Jane Powell plays Cheryl Williams, a 15-year-old music student who is led to believe that her older sister Josephine (Constance Moore) is a big Broadway star. In truth, Josephine is a stripper in a tawdry burleycue house, but fortunately Cheryl (apparently) never reads any out-of-town newspapers and thus is in a state of blissful ignorance. The fun begins when Cheryl arrives in New York, figures out the truth, and tries to marry Josephine off to big-time Broadway producer Arthur Hale (Ralph Bellamy). As a result, both Josephine and Cheryl are starring in Hale's latest production. Yes, it's a Deanna Durbin picture without Deanna, right down to newly arranged versions of old operetta favorites. Delightfully Dangerous is currently available from several video companies thanks to its "public domain" status. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Powell, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1946
Though Republic had decided to forego plans for an annual film edition of Earl Carroll's Vanities, their reciprocal deal with the Broadway impresario was still very much in effect in 1946: Hence the creation of the musical extravaganza Earl Carroll Sketchbook. The highly forgettable plot involves a serious composer named Tyler Brice (William Marshall) who "sells out" to write radio commercials. Artistically redeemed by heroine Pamela Thayer (Constance Moore), Brice decides to lend his talents-both as composer and singer-to producer Earl Carroll's newest nightclub revue (Richard Lane plays the Carroll character, here named Richard Starling). The Jule Styne-Sammy Cahn tunes are hardly classics, though "I've Never Forgotten" has possibilities. The film also revives Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler's "I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues", first introduced in the 1932 edition of Vanities. TV prints of Earl Carroll's Sketchbook have been retitled Hats Off to Rhythm ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Moore, William Marshall, (more)
- 1945
Broadway producer Earl Carroll was a Ziegfeld-like entrepreneur who staged lavish revues featuring attractive young ladies. Carroll's annual "Vanities" provided story material for three Hollywood films: Murder at the Vanities (34), A Night at Earl Carroll's (40) and Earl Carroll Vanities (45). This last film was produced by Republic Pictures, a bread-and-butter studio specializing in Westerns and serials; Republic had made musicals before, but few of them were expensive enough to allow for lavish production numbers. Earl Carroll Vanities is likewise rather threadbare, though some of the individual musical highlights aren't bad. The plot, such as it is, concerns financially strapped nightclub owner Eve Arden, who finagles Earl Carroll into staging one of his revues at her club. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1939
In this boxing drama, an ex-champ finds himself working as a doorman at a nightclub. His son aspires to a high caliber career on Wall Street; he is getting ready to marry a banker's daughter. When not working at the club, the boxer trains a welterweight with championship potential. Later the son gets caught embezzling funds. To help him pay it back the boxer asks that his trainee throw his next fight while he bets everything on the opponent. The young fighter refuses to take a dive and wins the fight. Fortunately, the ex-champ's assistant knew this and bet even more money on their protegee. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Tom Brown, (more)
- 1940
Reporter Albertson works to solve a murder case in order to clear his name and get a great story for his paper. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Albertson, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1938
In this lively campus-set musical comedy, a budding entrepreneur nearly loses everything after his get-rich quick scheme to earn money selling "flunk" insurance his fellow students goes terribly awry. The plan was to sell the insurance for fifty cents a shot. In exchange, any policy-holder who flunks a test will get a ten dollar settlement. At first the young fresh fellow makes a mint, but then a particularly strict professor sees fit to flunk an entire class, all of whom are insured. Keep a sharp eye peeled for a young Alan Ladd in a bit part. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dixie Dunbar, William Lundigan, (more)
- 1939
For some reason, Hollywood movie musicals "discovered" Hawaii in the late 1930s. One of the lesser but still entertaining efforts in this realm was Universal's Hawaiian Nights, starring the personable Johnny Downs. The story centers on Ted Hartley (Downs), son of a wealthy hotelier. Rather than stick to the family business, Ted prefers to lead a band made up of hotel personnel. When his father (Thurston Hall) transfers Ted to his near-bankrupt Honolulu hotel, our hero takes the band along with them, and in so doing turns a losing operation into a winner. He also gets to romance heroine Lonnie Lane (Constance Moore), while band vocalist Millie (Mary Carlisle) settles for comedy-relief press agent Ray Peters (Eddie Quillan). Hawaiian Nights represents Universal's second successful teaming of Johnny Downs and Eddie Quillan, the first being Swing, Sister, Swing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Downs, Mary Carlisle, (more)
- 1947
Four dreamers team up to produce their own musical extravaganza. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1947
In this musical, the fourth entry in a five-film series, three singers come together to form a nightclub act. Their songwriter falls for the female. They become a hit and are soon signed to appear in Hollywood musicals, but when the female becomes a star, the group disbands. Songs include: "Chiquita from Santa Anita," "Is There Anyone Here from Texas?" "I Guess I'll Have That Dream Right Away," "Couldn't Be More in Love," "The Customer is Always Wrong," "The Cats Are Going to the Dogs," "Brooklyn Buckaroos," and "Out California Way." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Albert, Chester Clute, (more)
- 1941
Three disparate young men struggle to become Army Air Corps pilots in this rousing drama that earned an Oscar for its excellent aerial special effects. The film is also noted for making Veronica Lake, who previously appeared in films under the name Constance Keane, a star. For added realism, the three male leads, William Holden, Ray Milland and Wayne Morris were placed into the same training program at Randolph Field, Texas (and also Kelly Field, Texas) as real recruits. Lake plays a seductress who pursues Holden while Constance Moore plays a female photographer who comes to shoot a story and ends up falling for Milland. By the time the pilots' rigorous training has finished only one will have proved himself fit to fly. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Milland, William Holden, (more)
- 1940
In this low-budget musical, two sets of politically ambitious parents attempt to pair up their youngsters who unfortunately despise each other and only pretend to like each other to please their parents. On the nights they are to go out, they sneak out with their respective true loves. It all works well until the unwilling couple find themselves falling in love for real. songs include: "I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now", and "Got Romance". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1946
Director Joseph Kane adapted his own story Diamond Carlisle for the screenplay of In Old Sacramento--the third film version of Kane's original tale. Bill Elliot stars as masked bandit Spanish Jack, who behaves as badly as he wishes with few of the usual redeeming features plaguing most cinema desperadoes. In fact, in the earlier film versions of Diamond Carlisle, Elliot's character was the villain! After numerous hairbreadth adventures, Elliot dies in the arms of loving saloon singer Constance Moore. Also released as Flame of Sacramento, this was the first of a long line of films in which onetime "B" cowboy star Bill Elliot would portray a new kind of "B" western hero--one who drank at any opportunity, took advantage of unarmed foes, and lived by his own personal code rather than the edicts of society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Moore, Hank Daniels, (more)
- 1940
In this comedy, actor Hugh Herbert plays six different roles. Only one of the roles is a man. The story centers around a dizzy music lover, who has grown rich through real estate deals. Also figuring in the story are a cab driver/performer, and a down-on-her-luck, aspiring singer. They meet when she hails his cab as she skips out on her former boarding house because she cannot pay rent. The cabbie takes her to his boarding house. All of the residents are struggling performers. Unfortunately, they are all about to be evicted as none of them can pay rent. All of the tenants put together a show to try to earn money. They then turn the house into a nightclub. It is just about to fold when the real estate tycoon arrives and is impressed. He then remembers that he owns the building. The kind tycoon gives the place to the cabbie and the singer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Herbert
- 1941
For his first feature-film appearance in two years, comedian Bert Wheeler (of Wheeler & Woolsey fame) teamed up with bandleader Phil Regan. The story gets under way when a quartet of vaudevillians-Bill Stevens (Regan), Stu Grant (Wheeler) and Norma and Mildred Jennings (Constance Moore, Lillian Cornell) show up in Vegas with nary a cent between them. Norma manages to win big at a gambling joint, whereupon the money is put in Stu's care. Alas, Stu makes a beeline to the gaming tables, where he manages to lose all. The winsome foursome is saved from utter ruin by a real estate operator who happens to be the father of one of the protagonists. Even Bert Wheeler admitted that Las Vegas Nights was a bomb, noting on "a picture like that can come back and haunt you." Still, it holds some historical value as the film that introduced Frank Sinatra, here appearing as the uncredited vocalist for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phil Regan, Bert Wheeler, (more)
- 1939
Laugh it Off was one of two Johnny Downs vehicles released within the same week in December of 1939 (the other was Bad Boy). Downs plays Stephen Hannis, a Broadway bandleader who aspires to become a lawyer. He gets his big break when he champions the cause of a group of elderly ex-chorus dancers who've been booted out of their retirement home. The thorn in the hero's side is gangster Phil Ferranti (Horace McMahon), who wants to take over operation of the home for his own nefarious purposes. Among the venerable damsels appearing in Laugh it Off are Marjorie Rambeau, Cecil Cunningham and Hedda Hopper, the latter already well established as a Hollywood columnist. For romantic purposes, Johnny Downs is teamed up with a somewhat younger showgirl, played by Constance Moore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Downs, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1940
In this musical, a sharp witted press agent teams up with an unemployed chorine and dubs her "Miss Manhattan" to promote a cheap line of clothing. To escort her about town, the agent invents a "Mr. Manhattan." He then has them fake a marriage. When he realizes that he is in love with his creation, the agent promptly fires "Mr. M" and takes her to the altar personally. Songs include: "Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me," "Unfair To Love," and "A Lemon In The Garden Of Love." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Brown, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1945
In this musical comedy, a popular Mexican singer finds himself tiring of the constant adulation of rabidly adoring females and decides to fake a marriage so that will stop ripping the clothing off his body after concerts. Unfortunately, he and the woman he chooses seldom agree and mayhem ensues. Songs include: "Mexicana," "Lupita," "See Mexico," "Heartlessness," "Time Out for Dreaming," "De Corazon a Corazon," "Somewhere There's a Rainbow," and "The Children's Song." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tito Guizar, Constance Moore, (more)
