Willard Parker Movies

Edmund Goulding directed this remake of his own 1929 The Trespasser, which starred Gloria Swanson. Here Bette Davis assumes the lead role of Mary Donnell, a young innocent married to a bootlegger. When her husband is killed, she decides to pursue a better life and gets a job as a secretary to attorney Lloyd Rogers (Ian Hunter). Lloyd falls in love with Mary but stoically keeps his feelings hidden from her. One of Lloyd's clients is the millionaire Merrick (Donald Crisp), whose playboy son Jack (Henry Fonda) falls in love with Mary. The two elope and take off on their honeymoon, but Merrick, who feels that Mary is not good enough for Jack, asks that the marriage be annulled. Jack reluctantly agrees and Mary goes back to her old job with Lloyd. But Mary finds that she is pregnant and has a baby boy. She swears Lloyd to secrecy concerning her child and Lloyd agrees. Meanwhile, Jack marries a woman of his own class, Flip (Anita Louise), but she is fatally injured in an automobile accident. Lloyd also falls ill and dies at Mary's feet --but not before confessing his love for Mary. When his will is read, it reveals that he has left Mary and her child a vast fortune. Lloyd's wife (Katherine Alexander) believes the baby boy is Lloyd's illegitimate child, and she tries to overturn the terms of the will. Jack hears about Mary's child, and she confesses that the child is actually his. Merrick then tries to have the baby taken away from Mary, contending that she is unfit to raise the baby. Unable to withstand Merrick's legal hammering, Mary offers the child to Jack and Flip. Mary, distraught after abandoning her baby, leaves on a European trip. While she is gone, Flip dies and Jack leaves for Europe to try to find her. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The first of three remakes of the 1933 Paul Muni picture Hi, Nellie, Love is on the Air is historically important as the screen debut of Ronald Reagan. In the original Hi, Nellie, a Winchellesque newspaper reporter is demoted to writing the "advice to the lovelorn" column when he steps on too many important toes. In the remake, reckless radio commentator Andy McLeod (Reagan) gets into hot water when he attacks a corrupt city government (a portent for the future, perhaps?), whereupon his boss disciplines McLeod by forcing him to host an innocuous kiddie program. While advising his youthful audience to eat their spinach and drink their milk, our hero manages to dig up enough dirt to expose the crooks once and for all. In his maiden film effort, Ronald Reagan is pretty good, though some distance removed from The Great Communicator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Slight Case of Murder is a breakneck-paced comedy starring Edward G. Robinson as a tough but good-hearted bootlegger. When Prohibition is repealed, Robinson faces a financial crisis: His beer tastes so awful that no one wants to drink it legally. As an additional headache, Robinson is under scrutiny from the Law, which is waiting to slip the cuffs on him for the slightest infraction. He arrives at his rented Saratoga mansion with his wife (Ruth Donnelly), daughter (Jane Bryan) and adopted son (Bobby Jordan), only to discover that a killer has left four corpses in his bedroom. Robinson and his stooges are forced to hide the bodies before his future son-in-law (Willard Parker), who happens to be a cop, tumbles to the dilemma. Based on a stage play by Howard Lindsay and Damon Runyon, A Slight Case of Murder a just as entertaining in the 1990s as it was fifty years ago (please ignore a tepid 1953 musical remake titled Stop, You're Killing Me). Surprisingly, this film was not a favorite of star Edward G. Robinson, who felt that director Lloyd Bacon rushed through the material without taking full advantage of its comic potential. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hankies are not optional for this grim melodrama that tells the story of a kindly producer who mentors a beautiful young girl and helps her to become a big Broadway star. In time the two fall in love and decide to wed. Unfortunately, en route to a justice of the peace, tragedy strikes the happy couple and the would-be groom ends up permanently paralyzed. Still, his girl remains devoted to him and the marriage proceeds. Nine years pass and the woman decides she wants to adopt a child. All things seem to be in place for the adoption, but unfortunately, a widower shows up to claim the child. The wife and the widower begin an affair soon after meeting. When the husband finds out, he selflessly executes his final option to ensure his wife's future happiness. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Columbia Pictures' entree into the swashbuckling genre was the opulent 18th century costumer The Fighting Guardsman. Willard Parker stars as Baron Francois de Sainte Hermaine, who is in reality the Robin Hoodlike righter-of-wrongs Roland. Robbing the wealth-laden coaches of King Louis XVI (Lloyd Corrigan), Roland redistributes the wealth to the poor and oppressed. Complicating his mission is the fact that Roland has fallen in love with French aristocrat Amelie de Montreval (Anita Louise), whose family is perceived to be enemies of "the people". Everything is resolved during the French Revolution, which in this instance seems to exist solely to straighten out the hero's love life. Were it not for the presence of such Columbia contractees as Edgar Buchanan and George Macready, The Fighting Guardsman might well have been taken for an MGM or Warners epic. Stock footage from Fighting Guardsman would pop up for years to come in the cheapie adventure films of producer Sam Katzman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whenever budget-conscious Columbia laid out good money for Technicolor in the 1940s, it was usually for a musical or an "A" western. Renegades falls into the latter category. Fresh from The Jolson Story, Larry Parks stars as the son of a notorious, Scripture-spouting outlaw (Edgar Buchanan). Parks tries to go straight, but eventually succumbs to expectations and becomes a renegade along with his father and brothers. Willard Parker is the peaceable town doctor who guns down Parks in the climax, while Evelyn Keyes is the leading lady, who insists upon finding Parks fascinating despite of (or maybe because of) his reputation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Described by one critic as a western version of The 39 Steps, Relentless stars Robert Young as a cowboy on the lam. Framed for murder, Young must find the one man who can clear him, while a posse dogs his trail. He briefly becomes an outlaw, hoping to make contact with his quarry by befriending the dregs of the west, notably mercenary saloon keeper Akim Tamiroff. Marguerite Chapman plays the love interest, while Barton MacLaine does his usual as the main heavy. Directed at a rapid clip by George Sherman, Relentless does its best to live up to its title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This adventure is based on Longfellow's famous poem. It's the story of an ex-sea captain who uses devious means to make his salvage company a success. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

For various reasons, the 1949 western Calamity Jane and Sam Bass has a rather poor reputation amongst film buffs. Many observers feel that stars Yvonne de Carlo and Howard Duff merely go through the motions, while others complain that the usually dependable Universal-International production values are largely absent. Recent cable-TV showings of this film have revealed that, while not in the same league as Stagecoach or Winchester 73, Calamity Jane and Sam Bass is a relatively entertaining rehash of a familiar story. Most of the film consists of Bass' rise to notoriety as a colorful outlaw. On the verge of retirement, he agrees to one last holdup, which proves his undoing. According to the film, Calamity Jane remains by Bass' side throughout his various exploits, even though she ultimately loses him to "nice" girl Katharine Egan (Dorothy Hart). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Secret Fury works best if one is willing to suspend one's disbelief from the outset. Claudette Colbert stars as Ellen, a famed concert pianist who, on the day of her wedding, is accosted by a stranger who insists that she's already married to someone else. Ellen is willing to laugh this off, until the stranger produces witnesses, records and the justice of the piece. Has Ellen lost her mind, or is she merely the victim of an elaborate scam. With the help of fiancé David (Robert Ryan), Our Heroine begins her own investigation -- and ends up accused of murder and shunted off to a mental institution. And the story isn't over yet! Featured in a pivotal role is future I Love Lucy co-star Vivian Vance, who'd previously worked in an L.A. theatre company with Secret Fury-director Mel Ferrer. For reasons best known to himself, Willard Parker, a fairly well-known film actor in 1950, appears unbilled. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

1950's Emergency Wedding is a remake of 1940's You Belong to Me. The later film stars Larry Parks, who'd had a bit role in the original. Parks plays wealthy Peter Kirk, a playboy, while Barbara Hale co-stars as female doctor Helen Hunt. When Peter marries Helen, it is a "given" that he'll stay home while she works. Unfortunately, Peter becomes jealous of the amount of time Helen spends at the hospital with her patients. Out of pique, Peter makes the supreme sacrifice and offers to get a job himself. All sorts of misunderstandings and remonstrations ensue before the title Emergency Wedding is explained at the very end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Long before she became a TV cosmetic-commercial spokeswoman, Barbara Britton essayed the title role in Bandit Queen. Britton plays Lola, daughter of a American father and Spanish-aristocrat mother. When her parents are murdered, Lola forms an outlaw band, dedicated to reclaiming those portions of California illegally seized from her fellow Spaniards. She is aided in this endeavor by dashing bandit Joaquin Murietta (Philip Reed). The film really comes to life whenever Lola settles an argument by wielding her bull-whip! Bandit Queen was Lippert Studios' final release for 1950. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shortly before his death, horror film producer Val Lewton switched creative gears by overseeing the Universal western Apache Drums. The scene is the potentially prosperous western town of Spanish Boot, built from nothing by a group of determined settlers. Before they can enjoy the fruits of their labors, the townsfolk are threatened with an imminent Apache attack. Delivering this sobering news is gambler Sam Leeds (Stephen McNally), previously kicked out of town by the "proper" citizens. At first, no one believes Leeds, but soon the Apaches prove the veracity of the gambler's claims. The rest of the film is light on action but heavy on tension, as the true personalities of all concerned are revealed while they await the final, fatal Apache assault. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide