Gene O'Donnell Movies
American actor Gene O'Donnell played character roles in films of the '40s, '50s, and '60s, primarily working for Republic Studios. He got his start as a radio announcer and made his film debut in the Boris Karloff vehicle The Ape (1940). He served in the Army during WWII and afterward returned to Hollywood to resume his career in both films and television. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this collegiate drama, a team of college oarsmen promise their gals that they will win the big race. Unfortunately, it looks as if their victory will go to another team after their strongest rower is drafted. The sly, enterprising lads end up replacing him with a truck driver on the sly. Songs include "Look What You've Done to Me", "Sweet 16", and "Let's Do a Little Dreaming". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Marcia Mae Jones, (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)
- 1940
Monogram's Laughing at Danger finds page-boy Frankie Kelly (Frankie Darro) trying to solve a murder at a fancy beauty salon. It so happens that the establishment is used for blackmail purposes by a gang of crooks who eavesdrop on their gossiping clientele by means of hidden microphones. When the cops prove unable to find out who killed the owner of the salon, Kelly takes over, assistant by timid but resourceful janitor Jefferson (Mantan Moreland). The film's romantic angle is handled by opera star George Houston as a police lieutenant and perennial starlet Joy Hodges as a cosmetician. Darro and Moreland work together so well that it's a shame the film's script doesn't come up to their performances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Joy Hodges, (more)
This painfully-bad Monogram feature wastes the talents of two of horrordom's finest -- star Boris Karloff and co-writer Curt Siodmak (who would write the horror classic The Wolf Man for Universal the same year). The goofy plot involves the efforts of one Dr. Adrian (Karloff) to procure human spinal fluid for his polio-vaccine research by donning the pelt of a slain circus ape and slaughtering innocent people. The fact that he's snapping spines in the interest of medicine doesn't really help to clear the moral waters (he never does find a cure, anyway). Filmed during a particularly grueling year for Karloff, this marks the end of his lengthy stir with Monogram (after a tedious string of Mr. Wong potboilers). Without Karloff to kick around, the studio concentrated their humiliating efforts on Bela Lugosi, who appeared in a virtual remake, The Ape Man, three years later. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Maris Wrixon, (more)
