Bruce Bennett Movies
When Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs set about to produce his own talking pictures based on his jungle-man creation, he decided to emulate the example of the MGM Tarzan pictures, which starred Olympic champion Johnny Weissmuller. Using the 1932 Olympics as his talent pool, Burroughs selected shot-put champ Herman Brix, who'd already played a few bits in such films as Student Tour (1934) and Death on the Diamond (1934). Brix was quickly dispatched to Guatemala to film the 12-chapter serial The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935). This low-budget endeavor brought Brix to the attention of independent producer Sam Katzman, who cast the gangly young athlete in a succession of action pictures and serials. In 1937, Brix took some time off to learn the rudiments of acting, then re-emerged on screen in 1938 with a new name: Bruce Bennett. Under contract to Columbia from 1938 through 1943, Bennett showed up in roles of all sizes in films of all kinds, ranging from George Stevens' big-budgeter Talk of the Town (1942) to such 3 Stooges shorts as How High Is Up? (1940) and So Long Mr. Chumps (1941). His parts increased in size and importance when he moved to Warner Bros. in 1945; here he was assigned such choice roles as Joan Crawford's ex-husband in Mildred Pierce (1945) and the lone prospector who is killed off in the middle of Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). A ubiquitous second lead and character actor throughout the 1950s, Bruce Bennett left films in the early 1960s to make a bundle in real estate, briefly returning before the cameras in 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1940
Invisible Stripes is a cookie-cutter Warners prison drama which rounds up the usual suspects. George Raft and Humphrey Bogart are top-billed, and as is often the case in such a circumstance, it is Raft who is given the larger (albeit less interesting) role. Raft plays Cliff Taylor, an ex-convict who finds that his "invisible stripes" prevent him from getting a decent job. Cliff's younger brother (William Holden) shows unfortunate signs of following his older sibling's footsteps when he is pressured into crime to support himself and his girl friend (Jane Bryan). To save his brother, Cliff joins Humphrey Bogart's gang and earns enough dishonest money to set his brother up in business. But movie censorship prevails, and all of the miscreants in Invisible Stripes--even those motivated by good intentions--must pay the penalty. Side note: The prankish Humphrey Bogart spent so much time needling newcomer William Holden that Holden nearly came to blows with the older actor; the animosity persisted into the Bogart-Holden costarring feature Sabrina, made fourteen years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Jane Bryan, (more)
- 1940
Warren William is back as suave thief-turned-sleuth Michael Lanyard, alias the Lone Wolf, in Columbia's The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date. Freshly arrived at the Miami airport after a sojourn in Havana, Lanyard and his general factotum Jamison (Eric Blore) rescue beautiful Pat Lawrence (Frances Robinson) from a pair of hooligans. It turns out that the thugs were after the satchelful of ransom money carried by Pat, with which she hopes to rescue a kidnapped millionaire. Invetibly, the money is stolen, leading Lanyard and Jamison on a merry chase all through Miami and its environs. Along the way, Lanyard tries to spring Pat's boyfriend Scotty (Bruce Bennett), who's been thrown in jail because the authorities think he was responsible for the kidnapping. In the final scenes, Lanyard exposes the genuine miscreant, and also unearths an insidious fraud scheme. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren William, Frances Robinson, (more)
- 1940
Hi-Yo Silver is a 69-minute abridgement of the 1938 Republic serial The Lone Ranger. Departing from the continuity established by the Lone Ranger radio program (which had been running since 1933), the film offers five leading man, any one of whom might be the legendary "masked rider of the plains". All five team up to combat the outlaw gang headed by the scurrilous Mr. Jeffries (Stanley Andrews), with the assistance of faithful Indian companion Tonto (Chief Thundercloud). As the quintet of heroes are killed off one by one, the identity of the Lone Ranger becomes more and more obvious. The five candidates are played by Lee Powell, Herman Brix (aka Bruce Bennett), Hal Taliaferro (aka Wally Wales), George Letz (aka George Montgomery) and Lane Chandler. The original Lone Ranger serial is no longer available for viewing thanks to a tangle of legalities and a paucity of watchable prints. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Powell
- 1940
The lady in question in this delightful whodunit is Joan Bradley (Jean Muir), a former secretary who is about to marry her employer's son, Bob Pennison (Warren Hull). Mrs. Pennison (Georgia Caine) graciously lends her future daughter-in-law a priceless necklace, but when Joan returns to her apartment, she is met by what at first appears to be the ghost of her late husband, Rennick (Roger Pryor). He is no ghost -- but very much alive, in fact. Rennick grabs the necklace, shoves poor Joan away, and he's promptly shot and killed by...well, that is indeed the question. Brought into the case by accident (literally), former jewel thief-turned-master sleuth Michael Lanyard (Warren William) must once again cross swords not only with a dangerous criminal but with the ubiquitous foe, Inspector Crane (Thurston Hall). The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady was the third entry in the Lone Wolf series. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren William, Jean Muir, (more)
- 1940
Like the other entries Columbia's "Five Little Peppers" series, The Five Little Peppers at Home is based on characters created by Margaret Sidney. Edith Fellows stars as Polly, the oldest child of the Pepper clan, while her four siblings are portrayed by Dorothy Ann Seers (as Phronsie), Ronald Sinclair (Jasper), Charles Peck (Joey) and Davey (Bobby Larson). This time around, Polly and the kids try to figure out a way to save their mother (Dorothy Peterson) from bankruptcy, with the help of crusty-but-lovable Mr. King (Clarence Kolb). After a slow-moving hour or so, the film picks up tremendously in the final reel when the kids are trapped in a copper mine cave-in, sparking a tension-filled rescue effect. A bit too syrupy sweet for modern tastes, Five Little Peppers at Home is redeemed by the cynical performance of Rex Evans as a sneering butler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edith Fellows, Dorothy Ann Seese, (more)
- 1940
Condemned to death for a mercy killing, Dr. John Garth (Karloff) continues to experiment in prison to develop a serum that will put at end to the ageing process. On the eve of his execution, he offers himself as guinea pig for his youth serum, which has recently been mixed with the blood of an executed psychopath. Miraculously, Garth does grow younger before the astonished eyes of kindly prison physician Ralph Howard (Edward Van Sloan). Alas, the serum has murderous side effects, which Howard discovers only as Garth strangles him to death. Pardoned from Death Row thanks to a script contrivance, Garth spends the rest of the film trying to carry on his humanitarian work despite embarrassing lapses into homicidal mania. Many observers regard Before I Hang as the best of Karloff's "Mad Doctor" series for Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1940
Blazing Six Shooters is a by-the-numbers Charles Starrett western, with the same sets, supporting actors and plot devices already seen in so many earlier Starretts. The story revolves around a valuable silver deposit, located between two ranches. Villain Lash Bender (Dick Curtis) cooks up a scheme to gain control of both ranches so that he may have a clear field to the silver lode. He is foiled by hero Jeff Douglas (Starrett), who settles Bender's hash in a climactic fist-fight (one of dozens performed by Charles Starrett and Dick Curtis over a twelve-year period). Lifting Blazing Six Shooters out of the ordinary is the inventive direction of Joseph H. Lewis, of Gun Crazy and Terror in a Texas Town fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Iris Meredith, Dick Curtis, (more)
- 1940
Buster Keaton is sadly miscast in this two-reel comedy about the capture of a jewel thief. Mainly nonstop slapstick, the short left no room for Keaton to even begin to develop his character. The Taming of the Snood marked the Keaton series debut of Elsie Ames, an eccentric dancer whom Columbia was grooming for comedy stardom. The attempt proved singularly unsuccessful. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buster Keaton
- 1940
At the start of this comic short, the Three Stooges are unemployed. They've been sleeping in the awning of a swap shop and are rudely awakened when the shop owner unrolls it. After turning the store into a disaster area, the trio run away. They escape to city hall and exit as census takers. Excited over their four-cents-per-head fee, they get working. One place they invade is a mansion during a party. Curly, who has been flirting with the maid in the kitchen, mixes the punch and sweetens it with alum, which he mistakes for powdered sugar. Meanwhile, Moe and Larry somehow get collared by the hostess into playing bridge. When the card players drink the alum-saturated punch, their mouths shrivel up, which makes bidding very difficult. Curly and the maid get into a spat and the hostess, who is in the wrong place at the wrong time, winds up with a dress soaked with punch. The Stooges dash off and find a stadium full of spectators watching a football game. The potential income from all these surveys is very appealing, so the boys sneak into the stadium and start off by trying to survey the players. This doesn't go over very well with the team, and after the Stooges have disrupted the game, the players chase them out of the stadium and into the street. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1940
In this crime drama, an ex-crook uses his skills as a forensic scientist to solve crimes. He forms a secret society of forensic scientists. Their main mission is convince skeptical police departments that modern science has a lot to offer them. To prove their point, the scientists randomly choose one large American city. There they enlist the aid of the police chief's daughter and using chemistry, solve a series of puzzling murders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Florence Rice, Barton MacLane, (more)
- 1940
The lives of female hoboes in the Great Depression are chronicled in this interesting drama. In order to fully understand the travails of their existence, the governor's daughter dresses down and joins them. There in the hobo camps she experiences their aimless unlucky lives as they hitchhike across the country, and live out of doors. The women are hindered by a pesky sheriff who constantly harasses them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Dvorak, Helen Mack, (more)
- 1940
The inventive magician Professor Mordini (Lynton Brent) hires Buster Keaton and his wife (Elsie Ames) as caretakers for his contraption-filled home. He warns them to make sure that his disgruntled former assistant doesn't get in and steal his ideas while he's away. After being scared silly by numerous spooky goings on (including an inebriated penguin on roller skates!), the Keatons are confronted by Mordini's ex-assistant (Bruce Bennett) as well as by a spiritualist (Dorothy Appleby) and her husband (Don Beddoe). The assistant uses the house's creepy resources to send both married couples running for the hills in terror. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buster Keaton
- 1940
From the same folks who brought us My Son is a Criminal comes the near-lookalike property My Son is Guilty. Veteran police patrolman Tim Kelly (Harry Carey) despairs over the antics of his ne'er-do-well son Ritzy (Bruce Cabot), who prefers to live life in the fast lane. Released from prison after getting mixed up with mob activities, Ritzy promises his dad that he'll try to reform, but before long he's back with a bad crowd, compounding his misdeeds by plotting the demise of his own father. Meanwhile, Ritzy's sweetheart Julia Allen (Jacqueline Wells) gives up on the lad entirely, preferring a much safer relationship with young author Barney (Glenn Ford, in one of his first major roles). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Cabot, Harry Carey, (more)
- 1940
Veteran second-unit director and stunt coordinator Ralph Cedar warmed the director's chair for the 1940 Charles Starrett oater West of Abilene. Frontiersman Tom Garfield (Starrett) and his pals endeavor to save their land from the clutches of slimy easterner Forsyth (Don Beddoe). The villain hires a bit of local muscle in the form of brutish Chris Matson (William Pawley), but he's no match for our hero. Stalwart Columbia contractee Bruce Bennett delivers a nicely understated performance as Garfield's brother, who is also the film's official romantic lead. The absence of such "regulars" as Iris Meredith, Dick Curtis and E. J. LeSaint and the presence of such comparative newcomers as heroine Marjorie Cooley and supporting player George Cleveland was indication enough that Columbia was endeavoring to remove the "rubber-stemp" onus from its Charles Starrett series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Starrett, Marjorie Cooley, (more)
Man with Nine Lives (released in England as Behind the Door) is the second of Columbia's unofficial "Mad Doctor" series starring Boris Karloff. This time, Boris is obsessed with the notion that he can come up with a cure for cancer. To do this, it is necessary for Karloff to freeze his patients, then use a revolutionary new serum on the bodies while they're in a state of suspended animation. Alas, Karloff is accidentally locked up with his deep-frozen subjects. When thawed out years later, he and the patients are alive and healthy. But when Karloff learns that his formula has been destroyed, he lapses into lunacy and uses his storage-locker comrades as unwilling guinea pigs in an effort to recreate the serum. Man with Nine Lives can be considered a real (ouch!) chiller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Roger Pryor, (more)
- 1940
The Grand Hotel formula that was so overworked in the 1930s made an encore appearance in 1940's Escape to Glory. The story is given timeliness by placing the characters on a British merchant ship on the very day that World War II is declared. The ship is attacked by a Nazi U-Boat, resulting in a variety of reactions from the diverse passengers--one of whom (Erwin Kalser) is a German doctor. Constance Bennett is glamorous, Pat O'Brien is boozy, John Halliday is pensive, and everybody else (except for the German medico) is plain fearful. Twenty years later, director John Brahm would masterfully recreate the shipboard tensions he sustained so well in Escape to Glory for his classic Twilight Zone TV playlet "Judgment Night." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Constance Bennett, (more)
- 1940
This Three Stooges comedy has no story to speak of, but it's loaded with great gags. The boys are fix-it men who are sleeping under their car. A flood of water from a fire hydrant sends them floating down the street and they wake up in front of an oncoming car. They try to get back to work, but pause to help Curly remove his sweater which he can't seem to get out of. Crowbars don't seem to work, but scissors finally do. To create work for themselves, the Stooges punch holes in the lunch boxes belonging to a group of workmen, but their scam is quickly discovered and they're on the run. To escape their pursuers, the boys claim to be "three of the best riveters that ever riveted," and are sent to work on the 97th floor of a high rise that's under construction. About the only thing Curly knows to do with a rivet is eat it, and the boys' craftsmanship is horrifying at best -- their labor results in a mess of crooked beams. The supervisor is steamed, and the boys fall off the building. Luckily, Curly has a parachute which he figures out how to open just in time. The Stooges land in their car and take off at high speed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1940
Following in the footsteps of Boris Karloff and Charles Laughton, Peter Lorre turns sadist in this routinely made but efficient little potboiler from Columbia Pictures. Lording over Dead Man's Island where he uses paroled convicts as slaves, Stephen Danel frames G-Man Mark Sheldon (Robert Wilcox) for murdering a colleague and then arranges for the convict's transfer to the island. Mark immediately becomes attracted to Danel's glamorous wife, Lorraine (Rochelle Hudson), beautifully gowned and bejeweled but like the slaves, a caged bird susceptible to her husband's rages. With the assistance of Cort (Charles B. Middleton), the two attempt to escape, but are eventually caught by Danel's spy, Brand (Don Beddoe). Happily, when all seems lost, the sadistic Stephen is killed by one of his own men, the disgruntled Siggie (George E. Stone). Although most of Island of Doomed Men was produced on sound stages, some scenes were filmed at famous Bronson Canyon in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Lorre, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
- 1939
Sad-eyed Ann Dvorak plays Jo, the "café hostess" of the title. Poor put-upon Jo doesn't know it, but she's being used by her gangster boyfriend Eddie Morgan (Douglas Fowley), who relies upon her as an alibi to cover up his recent crimes. Likeable sailor Budge (Bruce Bennett) is in love with Jo, but can't pry her loose from the possessive Mr. Morgan. This dilemma is resolved by Eddie's cast-off mistress Annie (Wynne Gibson), who resolves her problems with the business end of a revolver. It's up to detective Dan Walters (Preston Foster) to clean up the mess. Café Hostess was also released as Street of Missing Women. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bickford, Harry Carey, (more)
- 1939
In this, the first entry in four-part series, children's movie, Polly Pepper takes care of her siblings while her mother toils at a factory. Polly's newest friend is Jasper, a rich kid who likes to play with the Pepper kids. Trouble ensues when the littlest Pepper comes down with the measles and infects Jasper and his grandfather, Mr. King. They all wind up stuck together in a quarantined house. After the devoted Polly collapses from working too hard, Mr. King moves the Pepper clan into his mansion. The plucky family finally garners a fortune when it is discovered that Polly has inherited the controlling shares in a mine that the grandfather wants to purchase. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edith Fellows, Clarence Kolb, (more)
- 1939
Columbia's new "Blondie" series continued its winning streak with its fourth entry, Blondie Brings Up Baby. So much happens within the film's 67 minutes that it's best to boil things down to the central storyline. Baby Dumpling (Larry Simms), the six-year-old son of Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead (Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake) disappears from sight during his first day at school. While Dagwood frantically combs the city in search of the boy, Baby Dumpling spents a nice, safe afternoon with poor little rich girl Melinda Mason (Peggy Ann Garner), who with her new playmate's help arises from her sickbed to walk across the room for the first time in months. Other plot threads include Dagwood's disastrous confrontation with an important business client (Robert Middlemass), and Daisy the Dog's ongoing battle of wits with the local dog-catcher. Like many of the "Blondie" films, Blondie Brings Up Baby serves as a showcase for young talent on the way up: Robert Sterling is seen as one of Dagwood's office buddies, while Bruce Bennett plays a uniformed chauffeur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, (more)
