Jack Mower Movies

Kay Francis was anxious to complete her Warner Bros. contract when she agreed to appear in this lower-berth drama. Francis plays a financially strapped aviatrix who enters an air race to pay for her brother's operation. Friendly mechanic William Gargan offers to lend Francis his plane, but Gargan's ex-wife Sheila Bromley is also competing in the race. Finally securing an aircraft of her own, Francis goes off into the Wild Blue and wins the prize. The otherwise pedestrian Women in the Wind is given a lift by the sensitive direction of John Farrow, on loan from RKO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second film version of Elmer Rice's play On Trial stars Edward Norris as a green lawyer on his first case. He is assigned to defend alleged killer John Litel, who makes Norris' job doubly hard by refusing to defend himself. Through flashbacks, Norris discovers the reason behind Litel's recalcitrance. The young attorney also reunites the convicted man with his missing wife (Margaret Lindsay) and his little daughter (Janet Chapman). The original Broadway production of On Trial gained a near-legendary reputation through its ground breaking use of flashbacks and its surprise ending; these elements aren't quite as innovative in the film version, but they still retain their effectiveness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Probably as a reward for her energetic performance in Torchy Plays with Dynamite, pert Jane Wyman was given another Glenda Farrell-like leading role in Private Detective. Wyman plays gorgeous P.I. Myrna Winslow, the principal rival of male gumshoe Jim Rickey (Dick Foran). The case at hand concerns the murder of a millionaire, with the dead man's wife and her boy friend as principal suspects. Also adding to the intrigue is an enormous trust fund, set up in the name of the millionaire's adopted son. A goodly portion of the film takes place in a deserted mansion at midnight, with Myrna snooping where she shouldn't. The finale finds Myrna and Jim joining forces to capture the real murderer in a well-staged donnybrook. Private Detective runs 57 minutes-and "runs" is the right word here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A remake of Dr. Socrates (1935), this middling melodrama features Kay Francis as Carol Nelson, a medical doctor blaming gangster Joe Gurney (Humphrey Bogart) for the death of her husband (John Eldredge) during a police raid. Determined to get even, Dr. Nelson sets up practice in a small town where a couple of Gurney's henchmen are serving time. And sure enough, Gurney is soon in dire need of Carol's help after being wounded in a jailhouse break. Convincing the gang boss and his men that they all suffer from eye infections, the good doctor proceeds to blind the mobsters with adrenaline eye drops and then calls the cops. Warner Bros. used the general idea a third time in Bullet Scars (1942), yet another B-movie. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Bette Davis earned an Oscar nomination for her role in this classic four-hanky tearjerker. Judith Traherne (Bette Davis) is a very wealthy Long Island heiress whose life is a constant whirl of cocktails, parties, and wild living. Despite her hedonistic lifestyle, Judith derives little pleasure from life except for her horses, cared for by stable master Michael O'Leary (Humphrey Bogart). When Judith begins suffering from headaches and dizzy spells, Dr. Frederick Steele (George Brent) gives her the bad news: she has a brain tumor that could threaten her life if not treated immediately. Judith consents to surgery, and Frederick informs her that the operation was a success. A grateful Judith quickly falls in love with Frederick, and they plan to marry. However, the tumor returns, and when Judith discovers that she has only a few months to live, she calls off the wedding, convinced that Frederick is marrying her only as an act of pity for a dying woman. A major success and perennial favorite, Dark Victory was later remade as Stolen Hours with Susan Hayward and as a TV movie starring Elizabeth Montgomery. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Humphrey Bogart makes his first and last appearance in a horror movie in this film. Though the title implies that it is a sequel to the classic 1932 chiller Dr. X it is not. The terror begins when an eager-beaver reporter stumbles across the corpse of a popular actress who turns up, after much media hoopla, not to be dead at all. At least she seems to be alive on a surface level and is eager to sue the reporter's paper. The reporter can't help but notice that here skin is unnaturally pale and that she keeps her face concealed beneath a long-black veil. Suspecting that evil is afoot, he--who by now is unemployed--launches a private investigation to prove that she really was the corpse he saw. His search leads him into the terrifying world of a psycho blood doctor, and into a series of unsolved murders in which all the victims were found with no blood in their veins. Ultimately, the reporter finds himself face-to-face with the nefarious Dr. Maurice Xavier (Bogart), a man executed several years ago for murdering patients while performing Frankensteinian experiments. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It's Swing Music vs. the Classics in the easy-to-take Warners tunefest Naughty But Nice. Dick Powell dons the obligatory spectacles as a staid music professor Hardwick, who harbors a desire to become a songwriter. With the help of aspiring lyricist Linda McKay (Gale Page), Hardwick pens a little ditty that, through a fluke, becomes a smash hit. Not entirely prepared for show-business success, Hardwick falls into the clutches of predatory vocalist Zelda Manion (Ann Sheridan), leaving poor Linda in the lurch-at least until the last reel. Ronald Reagan breezes through one of his then-typical wiseguy supporting roles, while ZaSu Pitts, Vera Lewis and Elizabeth Dunne are likewise typecast as Hardwick's maiden aunts (conversely, the Professor's other aunt, played by Helen Broderick, is a real hep-cat). Virtually all the Harry Warren/Johnny Mercer songs in Naughty but Nice have been adapted from the works of such past masters as Mozart, Bach and Wagner-and old device, but one which works beautifully here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Boris Karloff starred in this rather static whodunit from the Warner Bros. B-unit as Jeffries, a civilian employee at a military outpost who is accused of killing an ordnance expert, Reilly (Harlan Tucker). The murdered man is discovered by Pvt. Eddie Pratt (Eddie Craven) and his dumbbell bride Sally (Marie Wilson), whom he has managed to smuggle into the otherwise tightly secured military camp. Suspects at first, the couple prove too stupid to have killed anyone and the finger of suspicion instead points to Jeffries, a man with a past. As Colonel Bob Rogers (Cy Kendall) of the Intelligence Department explains, Jeffries has served time for embezzling government funds, a crime he has always maintained was actually committed by Reilly, the murder victim. And Jeffries is indeed innocent, a fact that becomes clear when Sally stumbles over the real killer. Jeffries is wounded in a heroic effort to prevent the culprit from fleeing, and Eddie and Sally are finally able to enjoy their honeymoon. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Edward G. Robinson shines in a fine comic role as Dr. Clitterhouse, a brilliant psychiatrist doing research into the criminal mind. The good doctor wants to gain a clearer understanding of how a thief feels when he's in the midst of a robbery, so strictly for academic purposes he tries to crack a safe at a high society party to which he's been invited. While trying to get rid of the jewels he swiped in the course of this experiment, Clitterhouse makes the acquaintance of "Rocks" Valentine (Humphrey Bogart), the tough-as-nails leader of a group of professional thieves. Clitterhouse is fascinated by Valentine and discovers that he enjoys committing robberies, so he joins forces with Valentine's gang and uses his superior intellect to mastermind a series of daring and profitable heists. Clitterhouse is also beguiled by Jo Keller (Claire Trevor), a beautiful dame who fences stolen gems. But Valentine doesn't appreciate how Dr. Clitterhouse has worked his way into the gang, and he is soon looking for an opportunity to get him out of the picture. The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse was co-written by John Huston and features several key members of the Warner Brothers stock company in supporting roles, including Allen Jenkins and Donald Crisp. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Mystery House is a perfunctory Warner Bros. programmer which coasts along on the appeal of its stars. When a prominent banker is murdered while on a hunting trip, the dead man's daughter, Gwen Kingery (Anne Nagel), calls in private eye Lance O'Leary (Dick Purcell) to investigate. No sooner has he started gathering clues than another murder is committed?and another?and another?.The culprit wants to cover up an embezzlement scheme, and there is certainly no shortage of suspects. Without revealing the ending, it can be noted that Mystery House offers at least one surprise when Lance O'Leary ends up falling in love not with Gwen Kingery but with wisecracking nurse Sarah Keate (Anne Sheridan). Sarah, in fact, is the leading character in the Mignon C. Eberhardt novel upon which Mystery House was based-except in the original, she's a middle-aged spinster rather than a Hollywood glamorpuss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Glenda Farrell having temporarily taken leave of Warner Bros., the actress' signature role of fast-talking girl reporter Torchy Blane was taken over by Lola Lane in Torchy Blane in Panama. Also absent from the proceedings is Barton MacLane as Torchy's loudmouthed police-lieutenant boyfriend Steve McBride; he's been replaced by Paul Kelly, who is frankly better in the role. The plot takes flight when a New York fraternal convention is interrupted by a daring bank robbery. Hoping to crack the story and outscoop her rival newshounds, Torchy Blane heads to Panama by plane, parachute and ocean liner. She manages to beat the other reporters to the punch, and to capture the mastermind of the robbery, with the surprisingly able assistance of McBride's dum-dum sergeant Gahagan (Tom Kennedy). Lola Lane is adequate as Torchy, but there was only one Glenda Farrell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This entry in the Dead End Kids series of adventures makes critical comments about the failings of reform schools. The story begins as the boys are sent to the Gatesville Reformatory, a cruel institution where the discipline is often violent. They boys do their best, but it is difficult to cope. Things get a little better when the deputy commissioner of corrections makes a surprise visit to the institution. He is appalled and immediately fires the sadistic warden. He then begins instituting gentler ways of treating the inmates. The grateful youths save the new warden's life after he is machine gunned during a political double-cross. As a reward, the boys are paroled. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dick Powell stars as a Brooklynite who becomes a cowboy in spite of himself. Drifting into a small western town, Powell takes the only job available as a ranch hand. He likes to sing in his spare time, which attracts the attention of talent scout Pat O'Brien. Before you can say Gene Autry, Powell is promoted into America's favorite singing cowboy--though he's hard pressed to prove his western skills when the plot situations demand it. Rather condescending in its attitude towards western stars (as non-western movies tended to be in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s), Cowboy From Brooklyn was another step backward in the (temporarily) fading career of Dick Powell. The only good thing to come out of the film was the song "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride", which became the leitmotif of many a Warner Bros. cartoon short. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide