Corinna Mura
- 1947
Honeymoon stars an attractively grown-up Shirley Temple as Barbara, the sweetheart of a GI corporal named Phil (Guy Madison). Eloping to Mexico City, Barbara discovers that her boy friend, stationed in the Panama Canal zone, is tied up in bureaucratic red tape and may not make it to his own wedding. The headstrong bride-to-be enlists the reluctant aid of American consul Flanner (Franchot Tone), leading to any number of compromising situations involving Barbara, Flanner, and Flanner's own girl friend Raquel (Lina Romay). The film extracts most of its laughs from the legal and language barriers facing Barbara and her beau while south of the Border. Posting a $675,000 loss, Honeymoon unfortunately proved that Shirley Temple's drawing power had slipped considerably since her 1930s heyday. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, Franchot Tone, (more)
- 1945
In this drama, a young building contractor falls for a pretty Mexican woman who convinces him not to evict the inhabitants of a California barrio so he can replace it with developments. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1944
- NR
Designed as a followup to the enormously successful Casablanca, Passage to Marseille utilizes the talents of many of the on- and off-screen personnel of the earlier Warner Bros. classic. Unfolded in a complex flashback-within-flashback structure, this is the story of Matrac (Humphrey Bogart), a freedom-loving French journalist who sacrifices his happiness and security to battle Nazi tyrrany. The film opens as French liason officer Freycinet (Claude Rains), stationed in London, tells Mantrac's story to a British reporter (John Loder). Freycinet reveals that Mantrac, happily married to Paula (Michele Morgan), was framed by pro-fascists and sentenced to Devil's Island. Here he engineered a daring escape with such lost souls as Marius (Peter Lorre), Garou (Helmut Dantine), Petit (George Tobias) and Renault (Philip Dorn). Adrift in a lifeboat, the escapees were picked up by a French vessel commandeered by pro-fascist Major Duval (Sydney Greenstreet). With the help of Mantrac and the prisoners, the ship's patriotic captain (Victor Francen) thwarted Duval's evil machinations, enabling Mantrac to continue his battle against Nazism as a member of the RAF. By modern standards, Passage to Marseille is overproduced, overdirected, overacted and overscored (by Max Steiner); however, it filled a definite need in wartime America, and proved a huge financial success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Michèle Morgan, (more)
- 1942
This RKO Radio programmer reunites Edmund Lowe and Victor McLaglen in an enjoyable rehash of their earlier Quirt-and-Flagg antics in What Price Glory. The two venerable action stars are respectively cast as Curtis and McGinnis, who after several years' hiatus rejoin the Marines as sergeants. While stationed in San Diego, they duke it out over the attentions of toothsome cabaret singer Vi (Binnie Barnes), who turns out to be linked up with a gang of enemy saboteurs. The plot is secondary to the comedy in this outing, with most of the laughs generated by a tasteless but undeniably hilarious routine involving a speech impediment. In addition, the producers managed to cram six songs into the proceedings, most of them performed by the King's Men Quartet and Six Hits and a Miss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, (more)
One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's café has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, (more)
- 1942
The macabre, overripe war melodrama Prisoner of Japan was produced and directed by the always fascinating Arthur Ripley. Alan Baxter plays the title character, astronomical researcher David Bowman. Stationed on a remote Pacific Island, Bowman is captured by Japanese secret agent Matsuru (Ernst Dorian) when the island is invaded. Ordered to cooperate with the Japanese captors, Bowman is expected to utilize his talents to guide enemy submarines towards American battleships, lest harm befall his sweetheart Toni Chase (Gertrude Michael). Eventually, however, hero and heroine are able to communicate with the U.S. fleet and foil the villains -- but the price is a precious one. Corinna Mura, best remembered as the guitar-playing nightclub singer in Casablanca, plays a major role in Prisoner of Japan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Baxter, Gertrude Michael, (more)
