Zelma O'Neal Movies

Silent-film leading man (and third husband of Mary Pickford) Charles "Buddy" Rogers was a popular band leader at the time he appeared in the British Let's Make a Night of It. Here's the deal: Buddy owns a nightclub; his wife June Clyde runs a rival night spot. That's about it for the plot. The main attraction of Let's Make a Night of It is its cornucopia of guest stars, including impressionist Afrique, legendary Yiddish stage star Molly Picon, and band leaders Jack Jackson, Jack Harris, Sydney Lipton, Joe Loss, Eddie Carroll, Harry Acres and Rudy Starita (all major names on the British entertainment scene of 1937). Let's Make a Night of It was inspired by Henrik N. Ege's radio play The Silver Spoon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an artists paints his clothed model as if she had been dressed in very revealing garb. Later his servant sells the work to the manager of a soap company who wants to use it for advertising. The campaign is a great success and all are pleased--except the company president who sees one of the billboards and realizes that the almost naked model is none other than his daughter! ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two directors were responsible for this satisfying adaptation of the Charlie Roellinghoff-Hans Jacoby novel There Goes Susie. The title character, played by Wendy Barrie, is the daughter of a wealthy soap manufacturer. Tired of her butterfly existence, she goes out into the world to make her own living, landing a job as a model. When aspiring artist Gene Gerald's rendition of the scantily-clad heroine is sold to the soap tycoon for advertising purposes -- well, it's hardly a surprising denouement, but it is a lot of fun. Bolstering the worldwide appeal of There Goes Susie is the presence of Broadway's Zelma O'Neal and Hollywood's ZaSu Pitts in the supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Freedom of the Seas is sometimes listed as French stage director Marcel Varnel's first film; it's actually his first British film, after a two-year stay in Hollywood. Clifford Mollison stars as a meek London clerk who surprises his colleagues by being among the first to sign up when World War I is declared. Though he hardly cuts a dashing figure, Mollison is a steadfast and courageous soldier. In his own mild-mannered fashion, Mollison becomes a hero by foiling a German sabotage plot. Based on a Walter Hackett play, Freedom of the Seas bears a slight resemblance to the 1944 Edward G. Robinson vehicle Mr. Winkle Goes to War. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the best of the pre-Production Code Bert Wheeler & Robert Woolsey vehicles, Peach O' Reno remains as hilariously ribald today as it was nearly 70 years ago. Wheeler and Woolsey play Wattles and Swift, a pair of Reno divorce attorneys whose practice is so successful that their clients have to take numbers to be served. When the working day is over, Wattles & Swift convert their law offices into a nightclub, with the secretaries shedding their street clothes to don skimpy dancing outfits and the junior lawyers transforming into waiters. The story is set in motion when Joe and Aggie Bruno (Joseph Cawthorn and Cora Witherspoon) decide to get a divorce after 20 years of marriage. Wattles agrees to represent Joe in court, while Swift agrees to handle Aggie's case -- a cute conflict of interest that will mean money in the bank for the partners no matter what the outcome. The Brunos' pretty daughters Prudence (Dorothy Lee) and Pansy (Zelma O'Neill) show up in Reno to prevent their parents' breakup, whereupon Wattles falls in love with Prudence and Swift is overcome (quite literally) by Pansy. As part of his legal strategy, Swift arranges for Joe to be seen in public with another woman, who turns out to be Wattles in drag. After several minutes of double- and single-entendre comedy patter, disgruntled ex-husband Ace Crosby (Mitchell Harris), angry over the outcome of his divorce case, comes gunning for Wattles. The latter, still in female disguise, manages to keep Crosby at bay, but soon the ruse is revealed and the shootin' starts. The whole affair ends in up court, where the Brunos' divorce develops into a huge media event, with radio announcer Eddie Kane providing play-by-play and concessionaire Monte Collins hawking peanuts to the spectators. With the help of a melancholy violin rendition of "Hearts and Flowers" Wattles and Swift manage to reunite the warring couple. At this point, the Judge (Sam Hardy) instruct the jurors -- armed with musical instruments -- to "get hot," as he performs a double wedding ceremony, marrying Wattles to Prudence and Swift to Pansy. The musical highlights include a priceless Wheeler-Woolsey terpsichorean number which starts as a sultry tango and ends as an wild Apache dance, and Bert Wheeler and Dorothy Lee's delightful Niagara Falls to Reno, showing off the tapping skills of both performers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musical, based on a Broadway show, was filmed in two-color technicolor. Set upon a golf course, it chronicles the attempts of a handsome golfer to teach a young woman how to play the game. This causes her gossipy rival to start a string of vicious rumors about the two. It seems that her rival is jealous of the golfer's attentions. Songs include: "A Peach of A Pair", "It Must Be You", "You Wouldn't Fool Me, Would You?", "Button Up Your Overcoat", "I Want to Be Bad" and "I'm Hard To Please". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide