Adrian Morris Movies

In this wisecracking comedy, Dan Dolan (Spencer Tracy) is a cop whose beat is the New York waterfront. Dan has a soft spot for Helen Riley (Joan Bennett), a sharp-tongued waitress at a cheap diner, while her scatter-brained sister Kate (Marion Burns) is in love with Duke Castage (George Walsh), a sleazy low-level mobster. While Duke makes a play for Kate, both Helen and Dan know that he's bad news, and Dan wants to put Duke behind bars before he can break Kate's heart. Me and My Gal was directed by Raoul Walsh, one of the great craftsmen of the studio system -- and also the brother of George Walsh, who plays the villain. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Although claiming to be based on actual cases, this mild crime drama appears to have been derived more from a screenwriter's manual than a police blotter. Newly transferred from robbery to missing persons, glib Butch Saunders (Pat O'Brien) is like the proverbial bull in a china shop at first, but quickly gets the hang of things. In walks pretty Norma Roberts (Bette Davis), claiming to be missing her new husband, whom she accuses of shipping out. Despite being married to nagging Belle (Glenda Farrell), Butch falls in love with the dame, until, that is, he learns the truth. Norma's last name isn't Roberts at all, but Williams, and she is wanted in Chicago for the murder of her boss, Therme Roberts. Begging Butch to cover for her -- "just for a little while. I'll explain everything later" -- Norma does a disappearing act herself and makes it look like suicide. But Butch refuses to buy the act and with the help of his boss, Captain Webb (Lewis Stone), the fast-talking cop arranges for a corpse to be lying in state at a local funeral parlor under the name of Norma Williams, hoping to flush out the real Norma. Norma walks right into the trap with another cockamamie story at the ready. But this time, it may just be the truth and Butch becomes determined to clear the lady of murder. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The end of prohibition spells the end of business as usual for Chicago gangster Bugs Ahearn (Edward G. Robinson in this delightful spoof of mob melodramas from Warner Bros. Paying off their latest moll, Edith (Shirley Grey, Bugs and chief lieutenant Al Daniels (Russell Hopton) grab their ill-gotten gains and go west, hoping to crash polo playing Santa Barbara society. Bugs acquires a rental mansion and a high class girlfriend, Polly Cass (Helen Vinson), but the estate actually belongs to kind but down-on-her-luck socialite Ruth Wayburn (Mary Astor) -- whom the former mobster retains as his social secretary -- while Polly and her relatives prove to be bigger crooks than he ever was. The Little Giant was reportedly filmed in 18 days on a budget of $197,000. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Lew Ayres and Patricia Ellis are the "official" stars of Let's Be Ritzy, but the film is dominated by Frank McHugh as brash radio performer Bill Damroy. In his efforts to appease his social-climbing girlfriend Betty (Isabel Jewell), Damroy gets young hero Jimmie (Lew Ayres) mixed up in all sorts of hair-brained schemes. As a result, it looks as though Jimmie and his young bride Ruth (Patricia Ellis) will never be able to scrape enough money together to rent their own apartment, much less "crash" society themselves. In addition to lavishing praise on Frank McHugh, reviewers in 1934 were quite taken by Robert McWade's performance as last-minute problem-solver Mr. Spelvin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pursuit of Happiness was adapted from the risque stage comedy by Lawrence Langner and Armina Marshall. Set during the American revolution, the film centers around the quaint 18th century custom of "bundling"--that is, having unmarried men and women share the same bed during cold weather, albeit fully clothed and with a wooden plank separating the bedmates. Joan Bennett is the American heroine, an innkeeper's daughter, and Francis Lederer the Hessian hero, who has deserted the English cause to experience American freedom--most notably the bundling practice. As Bennett's parents, Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland perform their usual domestic comedy in period costume. TV Guide listings frequently confuse the 1934 Pursuit of Happiness with an altogether different 1971 TV-movie of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Colt MacDonald's 1934 story based on the Three Mesqueteers characters was brought to the screen the following year by RKO, who billed it "the Barnum and Bailey of Westerns" and seems to have rounded up every Western star not under exclusive contract. The Western, in fact, could boast of no less than 13 former silent screen cowboy heroes: Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Buzz Barton, Wally Wales (aka Hal Taliaferro), Art Mix (aka George Kesterson), Buffalo Bill Jr. (aka Jay Wilsey), Buddy Roosevelt, Franklyn Farnum, William Desmond, and William Farnum. Carey, Gibson, and Williams played Tucson Smith, Stony Brooke, and Lullaby Joslin, respectively -- the Three Mesqueteers -- who happen upon a stage robbery in progress. They catch the bandit (Ethan Laidlaw) red-handed rifling through the mail and discover that one of the letters is meant for them. Without their knowing, a young friend, the Guadalupe Kid (Steele), has bought a ranch in their names and is awaiting their arrival. The ranch, however, is located in an area controlled by greedy saloon proprietor turned political boss Steve Ogden (Sam Hardy), who takes umbrage to their presence to the point of hiring a professional gunslinger, Sundown Saunders (Tyler). Provoking a confrontation, Sundown challenges Tucson to his trademark sundown showdown. The wily Tucson realizes that Sundown prefers an encounter in the dusk because of failing eyesight and only lightly wounds his opponent. Although a recuperating Sundown turns down Tucson's request to join the fight against Ogden, in the ensuing shootout the gunslinger heroically takes a bullet meant for Tucson. After forcing a confession out of the crooked sheriff (Adrian Morris), the Mesqueteers confront Ogden who is killed in a fight with Tucson. Filmed on locations at Kernville and Newhall, CA, Powdersmoke Range was not the first film version of MacDonald's Mesqueteers. That honor goes to Law of the .45's, a cheap, independently made Western that had starred Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Tucson and perennial sidekick Al St. John as Stony. (The film omitted the third mesqueteer, Lullaby Joslin, altogether). Despite the success of Powdersmoke Range, RKO failed to follow up with a regular series. Bob Steele would play the character of Sundown Saunders in an independently produced Western of that name in 1936 but the Three Mesqueteers as a group found a regular berth with Republic Pictures, which went on to produce 51 highly successful and influential B-Westerns between 1935 and mid-1943. Through several cast changes both Bob Steele and Tom Tyler would at one point or another play one of the mesqueteers, as would Robert Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, ventriloquist Max Terhune, John Wayne, Raymond Hatton, Duncan Renaldo, Rufe Davis, Ralph Byrd, and Syd Saylor. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Paul Muni is a prominent physician who is kidnapped by gangsters and forced to tend the needs of head crook Barton MacLaine. MacLaine takes a liking to the intellectual doctor and allows him to go home after his job is done. Muni finds himself the reluctant "staff physician" for the gangster, thus is periodically spirited away from his practice to look after the criminal. He has given his word not to "rat" on the crooks, but he can't sit idly by while the gangsters loot the city. Muni foils the crooks by injecting them with a drug which induces temporary blindness. Dr. Socrates was remade in 1939 as King of the Underworld, with Humphrey Bogart as the gangster boss and actress Kay Francis in Paul Muni's role (with surprisingly few dialogue alterations to accommodate the gender switch!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to avoid the new inheritance tax, eccentric millionaire Jasper Whyte (Charles Grapewin) gathers together his greedy relatives and associates and announces that he intends to give away his fortune to his long-lost granddaughter Doris -- but if she doesn't show up for the reading of the will, the money will be divided evenly among the heirs. Among those present are two girls (Mary Carlisle and Evalyn Knapp) who both claim to be Doris. When one of the girls is poisoned, Whyte's heirs waste no time blaming each other for the murder. After an attempt on the life of the remaining girl, the suspect list narrows down to Whyte's great-nephew Tom (Regis Toomey). Combining forces with two-bit vaudeville magician Joe Luvalle (Wallace Ford), Tom manages to expose the genuine murderer. Written by Stuart Palmer of "Hildegarde Withers" fame, One Frightened Night is a class act all the way, from the inventive opening-title sequence to the exciting finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Actual footage of the 1936 Rose Bowl game is cleverly (if not seamlessly) integrated into the action of this sports-oriented comedy. Longtime chums Paddy O'Reilly (Tom Brown) and Dutch Schultz (Benny Baker) may be heroes of the high-school gridiron, but they're persona non grata with the girls, thanks to campus lothario Ossie Merrill (Larry "Buster" Crabbe). Managing to get on the college football team in time for the Rose Bowl competition, Paddy and Dutch finally win out over Ossie by scoring the winning touchdown. Of interest in the cast as one of the campus cuties is curvaceous Priscilla Lawson, who'd previously starred as Princess Aura opposite Buster Crabbe in the Universal serial Flash Gordon. Also on hand is William Frawley, as-what else? -- a college football coach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Burned-out British intellectual Alan Squier (Leslie Howard) wanders into the desert service station/restaurant owned by Jason Maple (Porter Hall). Alan finds himself an object of fascination for Jason's starry-eyed daughter, Gabrielle Bette Davis, who dreams of moving to France and establishing herself. Boze Hertzlinger (Dick Foran), Gabrielle's gas-jockey boyfriend, grows jealous of Alan, but the penniless, dissipated Briton has no intention of settling down; in fact, as soon as he mooches a ride from wealthy tourists Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm (Paul Harvey and Genevieve Tobin), he's on his way out of Gabrielle's life...or so everyone thinks. Later that same day, Alan, Gabrielle, Jason, Boze, and Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm are huddled together in the selfsame restaurant, held at gunpoint by Dillinger-like desperado Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart) and his gang. Alan seems indifferent to the danger, toasting Duke as "the last great apostle of rugged individualism." Sensing an opportunity to give his life meaning, Alan takes Duke aside, begging the outlaw to kill him so that Gabrielle can travel to Paris on the money provided by Alan's insurance policy. When the police converge on the restaurant, Duke announces that he intends to use Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm as a shield in order to make his escape. Alan tries to stop him, receiving a bullet in the belly for his troubles. "So long, pal," growls Duke fatalistically, moments before his own death, "I'll be seein' ya soon." Alan dies in Gabrielle's arms, secure in the knowledge that, alone among the film's principals, she will be able to escape the trap of her existence. When originally presented on Broadway, Robert E. Sherwood's The Petrified Forest starred Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart. Warner Bros. intended to cast Edward G. Robinson in Duke's role, only to be thwarted by Howard, who told the studio that he himself would drop out of the project if Bogart wasn't retained. The film proved to be just the break that Bogart needed; years later, he expressed his undying gratitude to Howard by naming his daughter Leslie Bogart. One year after The Petrified Forest, Humphrey Bogart and Leslie Howard co-starred in The Stand-In. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two brothers exchange lifestyles in this drama. The older brother, a gambler, wants to lead a clean, crime-free life while his wiseacre younger brother wants to become a professional gambler. With great hesitation, the older teaches the younger all he knows. The younger brother is a quick study and ends up playing so well that he aces a group of veteran gamblers out of their money. They become convinced that anyone who is that good, must be a cheat. Meanwhile his older brother begins to see that he is too old to change and returns to gambling in time to save his brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this screwball comedy, a fresh-out-of-college fellow heads for the gold fields of Alaska to find his fortune. He is gone for a long time. He returns to marry his girl friend and is dismayed to discover that she is no longer interested him. When her mother learns that the fellow has struck it rich, she changes her daughter's mind. Unfortunately, the young man has become enamored of the girl's little sister. Catastrophic sibling rivalry ensues as the women vie for the young man's affection. Meanwhile, the fellow's prospector friend tries to mediate and calm things down. In the end, the young man gets the best woman and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide