Brian Aherne Movies

A dedicated nurse in a British hospital takes a nervous rookie under her wing. When the new nurse messes up and causes a patient's death, she protects her and loses her job. She eventually finds work at another bigger and more rundown hospital and there falls in love with a handsome young doctor. Trouble comes in the form of a lustful chief of staff who makes a play for the nurse. When she spurns him, he arranges to have her fired. Still determined to practice her profession the nurse and her fledgling assistant start their own service. Later a terrible epidemic strikes and she and her helper suddenly find themselves in demand at the hospital. There, the younger nurse redeems herself by making a great sacrifice and her mentor's own selfless devotion is finally recognized. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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

Director James Whale, well known for his witty horror films, tackled comedy head-on in this period piece, set in the 18th Century. David Garrick (Brian Aherne) is a gifted but supremely arrogant British actor whose fame is exceeded only by his ego. After finishing a starring run at London's Drury Lane Theatre, Garrick informs the audience his next engagement will be at the Comedie Francaise in Paris, and adds that he plans to use the opportunity to teach the French a few things about acting. Stung by the insult, the Comedie Francaise company plan to take their revenge against Garrick by pulling an elaborate prank; on his first night in Paris, Garrick is taken to an inn where, unbeknown to him, the staff and clientele have been taken over by actors, who stage an lively evening for his benefit. Garrick soon sees through the ruse but plays along, and acts cool towards a lovely young woman, Germaine De Le Corbe (Olivia de Havilland), even though he's smitten with her. After giving Germaine the brush off, Garrick informs the assembled thespians that he saw through their trick, only to discover that Germaine happened upon the inn by accident and wasn't part of the act. Garrick realizes he's alienated the woman who has stolen his heart, and his grief begins to effect his performance as Don Juan. The Great Garrick also features Lionel Atwill, Edward Everett Horton, and Melville Cooper; a young Lana Turner has a bit part. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This big-budget 1936 RKO Studios picture lost money, perhaps due to a cool box-office reception to the idea of leading lady Katharine Hepburn in drag, and a rare-for-its-day screen kiss between two women. Edmund Gwenn plays the title character's father Henry, who is obsessed with gambling. His daughter Sylvia (Hepburn) has stolen some expensive lace which they hope to smuggle from France to England. To elude police, she cuts her hair short and disguises herself as a man. She and her father board a ship, and a drunken Henry confesses their scheme to Jimmy Monkley (Cary Grant), a jewel smuggler. To divert attention away from him, Jimmy snitches on Henry to the customs officials, and Henry has to pay up or be arrested. Later, Sylvia confronts Jimmy on a train and punches him. Jimmy apologizes and cuts them in on a scheme to steal jewels from a wealthy family, using his friend Maudie (Dennie Moore), a maid in the house. But Sylvia, still disguised as a man, talks Maudie out of it, and she responds with a kiss. Maudie and Sylvia's father fall in love and Maudie, an aspiring actress, invests money in a show to open in a seaside resort. There they are invited to the mansion of a wealthy artist, Michael Fane (Brian Aherne), who is unsettled by Sylvia's obvious affections before finally discovering that she's a woman. Jimmy is attracted to Michael's roommate, the Russian-born Lily (Natalie Paley) -- and from there, the romantic entaglements between the aformentioned parties proceed like a Shakespearean comedy. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Legendary "improvisational" director Gregory La Cava elected to stick to the script for his film version of the James M. Barrie play What Every Woman Knows. Helen Hayes repeats her stage role as a Victorian Scotswoman of far-reaching ambition. Using her supposedly frail feminine wiles, Hayes maneuvers her fatuous husband Brian Aherne into a successful political career. He rises to a parliamentary seat, never quite realizing that he hasn't done it alone. The charm of What Every Woman Knows was augmented by the pleasing Scots burr adopted by the American leading lady. An earlier version of the Barrie play was filmed in 1921, starring Lois Wilson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This story of espionage in World War I is based on a true story. Marthe McKenna (Madeleine Carroll) is a nurse from Belgium who uses her beauty and charm to serve her native land during the war. McKenna is able to ferret out secret information from German officers and pass it along to Allied intelligence officers with the help of fellow spy Stephan (Herbert Marshall). When the evil Commandant Oberaertz (Conrad Veidt) discovers what McKenna has been doing, she's sentenced to be executed, and Stephan must step in to save her. I Was a Spy was the first American sound feature for German actor Conrad Veidt, who electrified audiences with his performance in the silent classic Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari; Veidt left his homeland when the Nazis began their rise to power, though ironically he was to play a number of Nazi villains during his stay in Hollywood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Song of Songs was the first Marlene Dietrich vehicle not directed by Dietrich's "Svengali," Josef von Sternberg. The star plays a zaftig German peasant girl who becomes a nude model (anything to get her out of those ill-fitting 1890s costumes!) She falls in love with a struggling sculptor (Brian Aherne), but her ambitions get the better of her and she marries a hedonistic baron (Lionel Atwill). Leaving her husband, Dietrich sinks further down the social scale by becoming a cabaret singer. She is eventually reunited with the sculptor, but not before smashing the nude statue based on her voluptuous frame, thereby symbolically purging her checkered past. Song of Songs was based on a Herman Sudermann novel, previously adapted into a stage play and then filmed twice during the silent era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The time is WWI. British guerilla fighter Col. Duncan Grant (Brian Aherne) makes his way behind enemy lines to foil the Germans' plans to destroy those towns presently controlled by the Allied Expeditionary Forces. The Germans have planted a series of mines throughout the countryside, in a pattern resembling the letter "W" hence the film's title The W Plan. Assisting Grant in his mission is his pre-war sweetheart Rosa Hartman (Madeleine Carroll), German by birth but sympathetic to the Allied cause. Based on a novel by Graham Seton, The W Plan was distributed in the U.S. by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written by Anthony Asquith, Shooting Stars is motivated by the sexual misconduct of unprincipled movie star Mae Feather, played by Annette Benson. Though married to her leading man Julian Gordon (Brian Aherne), Mae develops a craving for charismatic slapstick comedian Andy Wilks (Donald Calthrop). The heroine gives the comic the key to her apartment, informing him that her husband will be away for the weekend. But when Andy comes calling, Julian is still on the premises, and it doesn't take Julian long to size up the situation. He announces his intention to divorce his wife, an action which, thanks to a morals clause in Mae's contract, will ruin the actress' career. At Mae's urging, Andy schemes to kill Julian before papers can be filed, loading a prop gun on the set of Julian's latest picture with a "live" cartridge. Through a series of devilishly clever plot twists, Julian survives the murder attempt, but Andy himself is killed by the booby-trapped gun. Five years pass: Free of his deceitful wife, Julian has become a top director, while poor Mae has been demoted to an extra. Greeted with mixed reviews in 1928, Shooting Stars seems somewhat better today than it did then, primarily because of the detailed authenticity of the movie-studio scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Eleventh Commandment is apparently "Thou Shalt Not Get Caught." Marian Barchester (Lillian Hall Davis) is in danger of being blackmailed for past dalliance. Her actress-sister Ruth (Fay Compton) comes to Marian's rescue. In Lady Windemere's Fan fashion, Ruth pretends she had the affair, thus foiling extortionist James Mountford (Charles Quartermaine) and reuniting Marian and John Lynton (Stewart Rome). Based on a play by Brandon Fleming, Eleventh Commandment was one of a handful of silent films in which famed London stage star and acting coach Fay Compton appeared. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide