Pat O'Malley Movies
Vaudeville and stage performer Pat O'Malley was a mere lad of seventeen (or thereabouts) when he inaugurated his film career at the Edison company in 1907. A dependable "collar-ad" leading man possessed of an athlete's physique, O'Malley rose to stardom at the Kalem Studios during the teens. From 1918 to 1927, O'Malley hopscotched around Hollywood, appearing at Universal, First National, Vitagraph and Paramount; he starred in war films (Heart of Humanity [1918]), westerns (The Virginian [1922]) and adaptations of bestsellers (Brothers Under the Skin [1922]). His talkie debut in 1929's Alibi would seem to have heralded a thriving sound career, but O'Malley had aged rather suddenly, and could no longer pass as a romantic lead. He worked in some 400 films in bits and supporting roles, frequently showing up in "reunion" films in the company of his fellow silent screen veterans (Hollywood Boulevard [1936], and A Little Bit of Heaven [1941]). O'Malley remained "on call" into the early '60s for such TV shows as The Twilight Zone and such films as The Days of Wine and Roses (1962). Pat O'Malley's film credits are often confused with those of Irish comedian/dialectian J. Pat O'Malley (1901-1985) and Australian performer John P. O'Malley (1916-1959). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1935
Eight year old Paddy O'Day (Jane Withers) arrives at Ellis Island after a long sea voyage from Ireland, to be with her mother. But her mother is nowhere to be found when the ship docks, and the authorities are notified that Mrs. O'Day has died, only a few days ago -- the little girl will have to be sent back. Paddy has only been told that her mother is ill, and manages to sneak out off the island. After encountering a group of street urchins who try to make trouble for her -- and proving that she's got what it takes to take care of herself -- she makes her way to the large mansion on Long Island where her mother works, and learns the truth. The home is owned by Roy Ford (Pinky Tomlin), a studious upper-class bird fancier who has been browbeaten into life as an eccentric collector of stuffed birds by his two overbearing aunts (Vera Lewis, Louise Carter) -- their intention is to notify the authorities if Paddy shows up. But the servants, led by kindly maid Jane Darwell and initially unwilling butler Russell Simpson, decide to hide the child in the house while the aunts are away. Paddy chances to meet Roy, who takes a liking to her and decides to try and help her as well -- and when Paddy's very pretty shipboard friend Tamara Petrovich (Rita Cansino) shows up, along with her restauranteur cousin Mischa (George Givot), he starts to really come out of his shell. Mischa and Tamara will hide the little girl, and Mischa -- with help from a beverage new to Roy, called vodka -- convinces the young millionaire that there is a future in investing in his establishment. Roy likes the loosening up effect that vodka has on him, and also likes even more being around Tamara, and he soon becomes a new man -- not only a partner in the business, but a performer in the stage show that Mischa works up for his now-expanded restaurant/night club, which includes Paddy along with Tamara. But Roy's aunts have returned home, and are as appalled by their nephew's new, joyful approach to life as they are by his apparent infatuation with an immigrant girl and her family. They hire an investigator (Clarence H. Wilson) to try to prove that Roy is mentally incompetent, and he soon discovers that the little Irish waif working in the act is in the United States illegally, a fact that, once reported to the authorities, will get not only get Paddy deported by Tamara as well. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Withers, Pinky Tomlin, (more)
- 1935
Its the US Marines against the pirates in this spliced-together adventure serial. The Marines are trying to set up a landing field on a Pacific island. Unfortunately, Halfway Island is the lair of the "Tiger Shark," a modern day pirate, and he is unwilling to share. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1934
In this thriller, a young woman marries a dashing young man who, unbeknownst to her, is a jewel thief. After his latest job, he takes off and leaves her to take the rap. In court she is found guilty. She is riding a train en route to prison when the train crashes. Her identity is confused with that of a wealthy young man's fiancee. The two soon fall in love. They are later confronted by the real fiancee, her thieving husband, the fiancee's brother and the police. Somehow the girl is extricated from the mess with her name and reputation intact. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neil Hamilton, Florence Rice, (more)
- 1934
His dramatic fall broken by sacks of flour, Dick (Richard Talmadge) once again emerges unharmed and the voyage to the Caribbean island can begin. En route, Dorothy (Lucille Lund) accidentally discovers the group of gang members hiding in the hold of the Lottie Carson. Unaware that he is the secret leader of the gang, she appeals to Stanley Brasset (Walter Miller) for help and he secretly orders his men to take over the ship. A carelessly tossed cigarette starts a fire in the hold and Dick fearlessly enters the ship's cargo room. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Talmadge, Lucille Lund, (more)
- 1934
Filmed between the original Thin Man and the first of its sequels, Evelyn Prentice re-teamed William Powell and Myrna Loy as another husband-and-wife team knee deep in a murder mystery. In this one, Powell is John Prentice, a prominent lawyer with an eye for women other than his own wife. His latest interest is Nancy Harrison (Rosalind Russell, in her film debut), a client accused of manslaughter, whom Prentice successfully defended. Loy plays John's wife, Evelyn, who loves him but is hurt by his inattention and the loneliness that ensues. This leads her to engage in a flirtation of her own, with a charming writer (Harvey Stephens). The writer, however, is interested in Evelyn only for what he can get out of her and threatens to blackmail her. In a panic, she shoots him and runs away, discovering later that he has been found dead and that another woman, Judith Wilson, has been accused of his murder. Hoping that his expert legal skills will the innocent woman her acquittal, Evelyn convinces her husband to take on Wilson's defense. As the film progresses, Evelyn feels increasingly pressured to admit that she is responsible for the man's death. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Myrna Loy, William Powell, (more)
- 1934
This thriller centers around a super detective's attempt to mastermind the perfect crime after he suspects his wife of infidelity. A woman has been blackmailing the man he suspects of messing with his wife. The detective kills this woman and blames the lover. The hapless man is convicted of the crime. Unfortunately, his wife continues to reject him. The despondent detective kills himself, but not before he sends a letter to his peers explaining his evil deed. To appease the censors, the film has an odd ending tacked on: the whole story was really part of a criminologist's novel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Kruger, Karen Morley, (more)
- 1934
Some people never know what they have until someone else is about to get it as can be seen in this romance that centers upon a city slicker who returns home to finally marry the woman he's been engaged to for 16 years. When he sees her, he is disappointed to find her a tad matronly looking. His roving eye quickly falls upon a sweet young thing to whom he proposes. He then becomes engaged to every woman he kisses leading the original fiancee to drop him, take her substantial savings, and move into a posh apartment. She later goes home and falls in love with another causing her old fiancee to return and marry her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aileen Pringle, Theodore Von Eltz, (more)
- 1934
The 1934 Universal serial The Perils of Pauline borrows the title and very little else from the pioneering Pearl White chapter play of 1914. This time around, Pauline (Evelyn Knapp) is the daughter of a prominent scientist (James Durkin). When daddy heads to Indochina to search for the formula to a deadly gas, Pauline dutifully tags along. So does villain John Davidson and his battalion of henchmen. Pauline is rescued from certain doom at every turn by hero Robert Allen and by unfunny comic relief Sonny Ray. The 12-episode Perils of Pauline makes excellent use of standing sets from such previous Universal efforts as The Old Dark House and The Mummy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1934
The fourth and last of Columbia's "Inspector Trent" mysteries, Girl in Danger once more stars Ralph Bellamy as the super-methodical Trent. The endangered girl is socialite Gloria Gale (Shirley Grey), who on a caprice steals a valuable emerald. Pursued by Inspector Trent, the playful Gloria leads the detective on a merry chase, apparently never realizing that Trent is merely trying to protect her from a murderous gang of jewel thieves. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Trent is murdered, leaving Gloria to her fate. Or is this what really happens? Nothing is quite what it seems to be in Girl in Danger, keeping the audience on guard throughout the picture -- and, incidentally, obscuring the film's many plot holes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Bellamy, Shirley Grey, (more)
A decidedly minor entry in Tim McCoy's Western oeuvre, The Whirlwind was released in the middle of McCoy's unsuccessful "straight" melodramas. Tim played Tim (as he almost always did), a rodeo rider returning to his hometown of Sagebrush only to find the place run by power-hungry sheriff Tate Hurley (Matthew Betz). The latter takes umbrage to Tim's meddling in his crooked ways and frames him in a bank robbery. The rodeo rider manages to escape along with sidekicks "Injun" (J. Carrol Naish) and Pat (Pat O'Malley), and sets a trap for his enemy. The stolid McCoy was not really the rodeo type, but his fine acting capabilities remained persuasive even in less than top-notch fare like this. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
At first concentrating exclusively on westerns and serials, up-and-coming Mascot Pictures began branching out in the early 1930s with such lavish star vehicles as Laughing at Life. Victor McLaglen is in his element as a devil-may-care globetrotting adventurer named McHale. After risking his neck in WWI, the restless McHale heads to Mexico for more action. Before the film is half over, our hero is overseeing a South American revolution, and in this capacity comes face-to-face with his long-estranged son -- who, like his dad, is a thrillseeker travelling under an assumed name. The star-studded cast includes William "Stage" Boyd, Regis Toomey, Frankie Darro, Henry B. Walthall, Noah Beery Jr., J. Farrell McDonald and Lois Wilson -- many appearing in one scene each, indicating that the ever-economical Mascot studios hired these talented thespians by the day rather than the week. Also showing up uncredited is ace stuntman Yakima Canutt, doubling for Victor McLaglen in the more strenuous action scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Conchita Montenegro, (more)
- 1933
This dark, brooding ancestor to Hang 'Em High features Buck Jones as a happy-go-lucky cowpoke who is duped by a gang of rustlers into "guarding" their camp. When the camp is raided, Jones is caught and savagely branded by a group of heavy-handed lawmen in spite of his protests of innocence. Jones survives the ordeal and seeks revenge. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Barbara Weeks, (more)
New York Police Commissioner Mulroney opens Penal Code with a stern warning for parents about keeping the children off the streets and out of gangs. The rest of the film provides a grim example of what could happen if they do not heed him as it tells the tale of a young man's descent into criminalhood and eventually jail. After serving his time, he tries to reform, but finds his bad-reputation clinging to him tartar to a tooth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Regis Toomey, Helen Cohan, (more)
- 1933
The Mystery of the Wax Museum begins in London in the 1920s. Lionel Atwill plays Ivan Igor, a brilliant sculptor who manages a wax museum. Regarding his historical creations as his friends, Igor refuses the entreaties of his business partner, Joe Worth (Edwin Maxwell), to turn his labor-of-love museum into a more profitable "house of horror." Worth responds by setting fire to the museum, hoping to collect the insurance; as Igor looks on in horror, his effigies of Marie Antoinette, Queen Victoria, et al. grotesquely melt to the floor. Flash-forward to 1933: New York City is plagued by several disappearances -- not only of live people, but of recently deceased corpses from the morgue. Hard-boiled girl reporter Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell) browbeats her long-suffering editor Jim(Frank McHugh) into investigating these disappearances. Florence rooms with Charlotte Duncan (Fay Wray), the girlfriend of Ralph Burton (Allen Vincent), who works as a technician at a new midtown wax museum. This about-to-open attraction is run by Igor, who had survived the London fire but is now confined to a wheelchair. Igor's old enemy Worth is also in New York, his fingers in several crooked pies. It appears to Florence (and the audience) that somehow Worth is involved in the recent rash of disappearances; the guilty party could also be playboy George Winton (Gavin Gordon), Florence's boyfriend, who is deeply in debt to Worth. But once Igor decides that Charlotte is the living image of Marie Antoinette, the audience becomes uncomfortably suspicious that all those incredibly life-like statues in his museum are actually the paraffin-coated bodies of the missing people. Igor tips his hand when a terrified Charlotte, promised "eternal life" by being "transformed" into an Antoinette effigy, begins punching and clawing at his face -- revealing his countenance to be a mask, covering his hideously burned and gnarled features. Thus, the stage is set for the climactic race to prevent the strapped-down Charlotte from being permanently encased in wax. Long thought lost, The Mystery of the Wax Museum was rediscovered in Jack Warner's personal film collection in 1970. Its two-color Technicolor had faded to the point of monochrome, but fortunately its original hues were preserved by dedicated AFI technicians. The film was remade (and considerably simplified) as the 1953 3-D extravaganza House of Wax, with Vincent Price in the Atwill role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, (more)
- 1933
A couple of demoted cops fight over a gangster's moll in this cheap crime drama produced and directed by Harry S. Webb. A major star of the silent era now down on her luck, Madge Bellamy earned top-billing as Lil Daley, the moll assigned to lure handsome detective Bob Larkin (Pat O'Malley) to an apartment where gangster Diamond Jareck (Addison Richards) is lying in wait. Larkin, however, escapes and instead falls in love with Lil, who is being courted by detective McCue (James Flavin). The two officers' rivalry has them demoted to the riot squad, where they continue to fight over Lil. When it appears that Lil is involved in the kidnapping of a judge's daughter (Alene Carroll), Larkin denounces her. Lil is being blackmailed by Diamond, however, and the riot squad eventually frees the kidnap victim and arrests Diamond. Exonerated, Lil is free to marry Larkin. Riot Squad was released to television in the 1950s, as Police Patrol. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Pat O'Malley, (more)
- 1933
Grounded daredevil pilot Douglas Fairbanks Jr. secures a job protecting shady Leo Carrillo from his many enemies. Carrillo takes a liking to the young man and promotes him to a flying job--smuggling narcotics into the United States. Fairbanks eventually redeems himself with the help of good girl Bette Davis. Frank McHugh is also around to do his "best buddy" specialty, as Fairbanks' pilot chum. Parachute Jumper was one of Bette Davis' least favorite pictures, a dislike which is all too evident in her substandard performance. In 1962, clips from Parachute Jumper were used in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, which costarred Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, to illustrate that the character Davis was playing was a lousy actress! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Leo Carrillo, (more)
- 1933
Jenny (Ruth Chatterton) becomes pregnant by a young man who is killed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Bearing her child in secret, Jenny gives up custody to a wealthy couple. The years pass, and through the auspices of a crooked politician (Louis Calhern), Jenny becomes the number one "madame" of San Francisco, with interests in several other illicit activities. Crusading district attorney Dan Reynolds Donald Cook decides to rid the city of Jenny's operations -- little suspecting that the notorious woman is actually his own mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Chatterton, Donald Cook, (more)
- 1933
In this romance, an ambitious young career woman is slated to marry a wealth man until she gets into a fender-bender and meets a poor fellow with whom she falls instantly in love. She soon jilts her fiance in favor of him. She later discovers that her new love is the errant son of a wealthy family who eventually welcome him and his new bride back into the fold. Happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marian Marsh, Owen Moore, (more)
- 1933
Sing, Sinner, Sing is one of several 1930s films based on the notorious, well-publicized romance between nightclub singer Libby Holman and tobacco heir Smith Reynolds (the most recent a clef incarnation of this scandalous affair was 1956's Written on the Wind). The Holman counterpart, torch singer Lela Larson, is played by Leila Hyams, while the Reynolds character, wastrelly millionaire Ted Rendon, is essayed by Donald Dillaway. Told mostly in flashback, the story concerns the events leading up to the murder of Rendon, for which his wife Lela is standing trial. The fact that Paul Lukas, cast as gambling-ship owner Phil Cardia, is given top billing tends to give away a vital plot point. At the time of its release, Sing, Sinner, Sing was thought to be in poor taste for capitalizing on the tawdry Holman-Reynolds affair; seen today, it looks about as tasteless as Bambi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leila Hyams
In this drama, a recently convicted criminal boards a train bound for the prison where he will be hanged. His wife rides with him and en route tells a reporter how her husband had accidentally killed a man while protecting her. The reporter, who is dying of tuberculosis, is touched by the story and decides to help them by knocking out a guard, helping the man to escape and jumping off the train to his death. When authorities find the corpse, the assume it belongs to the young convict, and the real killer and his wife are free to start a new life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Brian, Russell Hopton, (more)
- 1932
Bank president Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston) has instituted a lending policy that shows great faith in ordinary people but which also irritates his board of directors, as does his claim that an increased money supply will help end the Depression. Elsewhere in the bank, criminal Dude Finlay (Robert Ellis) has coerced head cashier Cluett (Gavin Gordon) into cooperating with a robbery by threatening to reveal Cluett as a habitual gambler. Dickson's neglected wife Phyllis (Kay Johnson), upset that Thomas has forgotten their anniversary, agrees to go out with Cluett, but they're spotted by head teller Matt Brown (Pat O'Brien). Matt goes to Cluett's apartment and convinces Phyllis to leave with him just as the robbery takes place back at the bank. Because he was responsible for locking the vault, Matt is assumed to be in league with the robbers, and he's arrested. News of the robbery leads to frantic depositors demanding their money back from the bank; Dickson cannot talk them out of it, and the bank is running out of money. This gives the board of directors the leverage over Dickson that they've been seeking, and they try to force his resignation. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Huston, Pat O'Brien, (more)
- 1932
In this drama, the son of a shipping tycoon is left to reflect upon his life after his lover abandons him. He decides that it is time he pulled his weight and did something useful and so begins working on a new boat to help his father's financially foundering company. He decides to enter his new boat in an upcoming race. Unfortunately, his vessel is sabotaged by wicked gamblers and explodes during the race. The son investigates, gets his revenge, and ends up with a major contract for his new design. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucien Littlefield, Charles Sellon, (more)
Mascot produced their serials fast and furious with little concern for believability, acting prowess, or technical niceties. Shadow of the Eagle is neither the best nor worst of the bunch, but rather typical of the company's hit-and-miss methods. The acting is occasionally downright embarrassing -- and that includes a very young John Wayne in the starring role -- but the fisticuffs are fast and plentiful, and the plot, such as it is, moves forward at a fast clip. The Mascot writers once again turn to trickery in order to conceal the identity of the mystery villain -- including having a different actor providing a voice-over -- but that is just par for the serial course. Comedy is provided by the carnival performers, but it quickly becomes grating, especially a running joke which has the circus midget (Little Billy) constantly mistaken for a child by the typically bone-headed cops, whom the circus performer refers to as "flatfooted palookas." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Buck Jones took a break from his cowboy duties to play a speedway driver in this highly implausible but fast-paced action melodrama from Columbia Pictures. Jones plays Bill Toomey, a mechanic promising a fatally injured driver (Pat O'Malley) to care for his crippled son Buddy (Mickey Rooney). Through his girlfriend, automobile manufacturing heiress Peggy Preston (Loretta Sayers, Bill becomes a driver himself and is the favorite to win a $5000 purse, enough money to pay for an operation that will enable Buddy to walk. But the race is sabotaged by Tom Carlis (Wallace MacDonald), Old Man Preston's (William Walling) crooked business manager, who is secretly working for the competition. Bill is framed for the accident but nevertheless manages to secure a job as a policeman. In that capacity, he is able to track down the real culprits behind the fix, win the Big Race and help restore Buddy to perfect health. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace MacDonald
- 1932
The Reckoning is one of several 1932 releases starring Sally Blane, the pretty (and overworked) older sister of Loretta Young. Blane plays the sweetheart of hero James Murray, who gets sucked into a life of crime by criminal mastermind Bryant Washburn. Convinced that Murray is a "good kid" at heart, detective Edmund Breese sets him free after hauling him in on a misdemeanor. Murray repays this kindness by taking care of the reprehensible Washburn, shooting the dirty rat down like a dog to prevent a robbery-murder. At 50 minutes, The Reckoning is just long enough to set up the situation and deliver a denouement; character development is hardly a consideration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Blane, Edmund Breese, (more)
