Robert Paige Movies
Born John Paige, this versatile leading man of many '40s B-movies and musicals attended West Point before dropping out to work as a radio singer and announcer. In 1931 he began appearing in film shorts, billed as David Carlyle. In the mid '30s he began appearing in features, changing his name to Robert Paige in 1938; by the early '40s he was a busy leading man, appearing in every genre of film. He was onscreen infrequently after 1949, but did much work on TV; besides acting in TV productions (he was a regular on the series Run Buddy Run), he also worked as a quiz-show host and Los Angeles newscaster. He finished his career as a public relations executive in Hollywood. ~ All Movie Guide- 1938
When G-Men Step In is Columbia's spin on Paramount's "FBI" B-picture series. On this occasion, the feds are after a gang of clever racketeers who've stuck their dirty thumbs in several pies, from charitable organizations to advertising agencies. The main conflict boils down to the antagonistic relationship between gangster boss Frederick Garth (Don Terry) and his G-Man brother Bruce (Robert Paige). As the plot thickens, Bruce comes to realize that Frederick has been working on the "right" side all along. The inescapable Jacqueline Wells is the girl in the case, while Horace MacMahon provides some unexpected chuckles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Terry, Robert Paige, (more)
- 1938
It will do no good to look for Broderick Crawford in the cast of Highway Patrol; this is not the famed TV series of the 1950s, but instead a 1938 Columbia B-picture. Robert Paige heads the cast as motor patrolman William Rolph, dedicated to smashing up a deadly rivalry between two oil-refinery companies. Oil executive J. W. Brady (Robert Middlemass) plays fair, but his competitor does not, hiring goons and murderers to carry out the dirty work. Making Rolph's life easier is the fact that he's in love with Brady's daughter Jane (Jacqueline Wells, aka Julie Bishop). Curiously, the character name of Brady's general manager (and the film's actual villain) is Walter Brennan-played not by the real Brennan, but by Arthur Loft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Paige, Robert Middlemass, (more)
- 1937
The most enjoyable of the Warner Bros.-Dick Foran singing Westerns, this film pitches lawyer Foran against unscrupulous land swindler Edmund Cobb. A "sooner" who cheated the starting gun in the Oklahoma Land Rush (shown via stock footage from William S. Hart's Tumbleweeds), Cobb becomes the de facto owner of the town of Big Rock while doing a bit of cattle rustlings on the side. The town's acting mayor (Tom Brower) soon has had enough of Cobb's schemes and finds an ally in Foran. With the assistance of Brower's pretty daughter, Jane Bryan, and young son, Tommy Bupp, Foran succeeds in bringing the villain and his gang to their knees, not by using his fists or gun but by his superior courtroom dexterity. Foran's introduction in the film is only one of many highlights: Warbling "Along the Old Frontier," he is shot at, not by a music critic, but by a target practicing Tommy Bupp. One of the more palatable of screen kids, the then 12-year old Bupp later performs an engaging duet with Foran and is given some of the film's better lines, basically functioning as the comic relief. One of the studio's best young actresses, Jane Bryan never lives up to her potential here, but she is certainly an improvement over such former Foran heroines as Anne Nagel and Alma Lloyd. A veteran silent Western star, the tight-lipped Edmund Cobb makes a formidable villain this time around, but future leading man Robert Paige (billed as David Carlyle) is wasted as a friend of Foran's. All in all, The Cherokee Strip remains one of the more entertaining horse operas of the era. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Foran, Jane Bryan, (more)
- 1937
This low-budget musical offers a peek behind the scenes in Hollywood. It centers on a recently unemployed talent scout who begins looking for a real talent to help him reestablish his career. He finds a talented actress and manages to convince his old boss to give her a screen test. Unfortunately, she is just awful; still the scout manages to get her on the studio payroll. Later she does indeed become a major star, and promptly falls in love with her leading man. This leads to big trouble. Fortunately, the talent scout saves her, and romance ensues. Songs include: "In the Silent Picture Days," "I Am the Singer, You Are My Song," "Born to Love," and "I Was Wrong" (M.K. Jerome, Jack Scholl). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Woods, Jeanne Madden, (more)
- 1937
A cast of Warner Bros. B-movie players struggles valiantly with a leaden script in this medical drama about foster brothers Steven (Donald Woods) and Jerry Brace (Gordon Oliver) following in their physician father's footsteps. But when Jerry, the natural son, loses two patients on account of drunkenness, he cowardly blames Steven, who is subsequently barred from practicing medicine. Dr. Brace Sr. (Joseph King) suffers a fractured skull in a struggle with Jerry, but the latter is once again too drunk to operate. To the rescue comes the disgraced Steven who not only saves the life of his foster-father but also regains the love of pretty Paula Nordland (Jean Muir). Once a Doctor was an unofficial remake of Alias the Doctor, a 1934 melodrama featuring Richard Barthelmess and Marian Marsh. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Muir, Donald Woods, (more)
- 1937
Before he "reinvented" himself as Robert Paige, actor David Carlyle headed the cast of Republic's Meet the Boy Friend. Paige/Carlyle plays radio crooner Tony Page, billed as "America's Boy Friend" (hence the title). Despite all the publicity hype, Tony is a "regular fellow" who despises the phoniness of show business. When predatory actress Vilma Vlare (Gwili Andre) sets her sights on Tony, his sponsor takes out a $300,000 no-marriage insurance policy. Our hero figures incorrectly that the policy was the handiwork of the insurance agent's niece June (Carol Hughes), who has made no secret that she's crazy about the boy. Tony disdainfully challenges the policy by proposing to Vilma but changes his mind when June is kidnapped, rushing to her rescue as a prelude to wedding bells. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carlyle, Carolyn Hughes, (more)
- 1937
In this boxing drama, a prizefighter spies a young man during a street fight. Deciding that the lad shows promise, he begins training him for the ring. The young man's sister gets romantically involved with the trainer and this creates problems. More trouble ensues when the young man is slated to fight against his trainer. Because his mentor is engaged to his sister, he cannot bring himself to fight him. Finally the trainer enlists the aid of a sportscaster and tricks the young boy into the ring. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wayne Morris, Barton MacLane, (more)
- 1937
In this musical comedy, a struggling songwriter fakes a letter of admittance into the apartment of a rich composer. It is most convenient as the successful fellow is out of town. The girl is hungry and unable to pay her own rent, so she takes full advantage until he returns and finds his well-ordered life in shambles. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Ellis, Warren Hull, (more)
- 1936
As originally conceived by detective novelist Frederick Nebel, hotshot girl reporter Torchy Blaine was a male news-hound named Kennedy. For the purpose of Warner Bros.' Smart Blonde, the character's name and gender was changed -- thereby inaugurating one of the most popular and enjoyable movie series of the 1930s. Glenda Farrell, she of the mile-a-minute mouth, was an inspired choice for Torchy Blaine, while burly Barton MacLane was equally well cast as Torchy's boyfriend-nemesis, police lieutenant Steve McBride. In this first series entry, the only one actually based on a Nebel story, Torchy and Steve join forces to solve -- what else? -- a baffling murder case. McBride thinks that crook-gone-straight Tom Carney (Craig Reynolds) is the guilty party, but Torchy determines that the killing was the handiwork of one of Tom's old underworld cronies. It takes a second murder for McBride to admit that Torchy is right as usual. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, (more)
- 1936
Previously (and uncomfortably) co-starred in Polly at the Circus, Marion Davies and Clark Gable were reteamed in Cain and Mabel, reportedly on the demand of Davies' "sponsor" William Randolph Hearst. The story concerns a hash slinger-turned-Broadway-star named Mabel O'Dare (Davies, endearingly miscast) whose career is in the hands of hotshot publicist Reilly (Roscoe Karns). To stir up interest in Mabel's latest musical show, Karns cooks up a phony romance between his client and boxing champ Larry Cain (Gable) -- even though Mabel and Cain have already developed a healthy dislike for one another. Unfortunately, Karns' brainstorm turns out to be a drizzle: Mabel's show is a flop, and Cain begins losing in the ring. By the time Cain and Mabel have fallen in love for real, both parties have had to virtually abandon their careers as proof that it is for real. Most of the comedy setpieces in the film fall flat, save for a terrific bit near the end: Told that "The show must go on!," a disconsolate Mabel asks "Why?" -- and no one can come up with a good answer! This is the film in which a studio stagehand allegedly pops up during one of the production numbers, but don't kill yourself looking for him. PS: The handsome actor billed as David Carlyle later enjoyed a substantial screen career as Robert Paige. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Clark Gable, (more)
