Larry Parks Movies
Plagued by several severe childhood illnesses, Larry Parks was inspired by the example of his doctors to study medicine at the University of Illinois. But before graduating, Parks had decided to become an actor. He headed for New York, where he ushered at various theaters and movie houses before joining the Group Theater. He signed a movie contract with Columbia Pictures in 1941, appearing in "B"s and bits until selected to play the title role in the big-budget The Jolson Story. Parks was coached in the role by Al Jolson himself, whose singing voice was heard throughout the film (reportedly, this association was a pleasant one until Jolson, incensed that Columbia had not asked him to star in his own biopic, viciously turned on Parks and treated him atrociously). With the exceptions of Jolson Story and its 1949 follow-up, Jolson Sings Again, most of Parks' starring vehicles were easily forgettable. As a result of his brief association with the Communist Party, Parks was ordered by the HUAC to testify in its loyalty hearing in 1951. Though he publicly begged not to be forced to turn stool pigeon by identifying his fellow "Reds" in the movie industry, Parks ended up being strongarmed into doing just that. If he had harbored any hopes that his testimony would save his own career, those hopes were dashed when Parks was dropped by Columbia and unofficially blacklisted from films for ten years. He supported himself during these dark days by appearing in musical stage productions with his wife, actress Betty Garrett. In 1962, the ban was lifted on Larry Parks, and he made his movie comeback in John Huston's Freud; it proved to be his last film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1943
After gathering dust for nearly a year, the independently produced The Deerslayer attained a national release through Republic. A bottom-budget adaptation of the James Fenimore Cooper classic, the film stars Bruce Kellogg as Deerslayer, an intrepid Indian scout-hunter in the 18th century Hudson Valley. He spends most of the film escaping from hostile Indians and helping white settlers protect themselves against the savage hordes. Most of the film is amateurishly shot, with the actors fighting a losing battle against an uninspired, illogical script (in one scene, an Indian brave receives a wound in a portion of the body that was out of the range of gunfire!) In later years, Deerslayer would gain reissue value by virtue of supporting actors Larry Parks and Yvonne De Carlo, who'd gone on to achieve full-fledged stardom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Kellogg, Larry Parks, (more)
- 1943
Substantially, Lupe Velez' Columbia vehicle Redhead from Manhattan was the same as her previous RKO starrers-boisterous, unsubtle, and immensely profitable. La Lupe plays a dual role, as twin sisters named Rita and Elaine. Escaping from a torpedoed ship, Rita shows up in New York, where she takes the place of her Broadway-star sister Elaine, who's having problems with her marriage and needs to make a short but quick getaway. Naturally, neither Elaine's husband (Gerald Mohr) nor Rita's saxophone-player boyfriend (Michael Duane) are aware of the switch. Anyone who can't figure out what happens next should be drummed out of the theater in disgrace. And as always, a little of Lupe Velez goes a long, long way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lupe Velez, Michael Duane, (more)
- 1942
The first of Columbia's "B" wartime melodramas for their Summer 1942 schedule was the largely speculative Submarine Raider. Set in the early stages of the war, the film makes several suppositions concerning the events surrounding the Pearl Harbor attack which don't entirely hold up when seen today. According to the screenplay, a Japanese aircraft carrier en route to Hawaii takes time out to shell an American yacht, killing all the passengers except for heroine Sue Curry (Marguerite Chapman). Fortunately she is rescued by a passing submarine, wherein she falls in love with sub commander Chris Warren (John Howard). Apprised by Sue of covert Japanese naval movements, Warren tries to alert Pearl Harbor of the impending sneak attack. Failing to do so, he spends the remainder of the picture trying to sink that enemy aircraft carrier introduced in Reel One (both sub and carrier are "played" by unconvincing scale models, bobbing up in down in Columbia's studio tank). Nino Pipitone, in real life a Philippine horse trainer, plays the black-hearted Japanese commander. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Marguerite Chapman, (more)
- 1942
Another timely entry from the Columbia assembly line, Canal Zone stars Chester Morris as flight instructor "Hardtack" Hamilton (his nickname sums up his personality with sublime perfection). Our hero's students will eventually help ferry bombing planes across the Atlantic-with the possible exception of stuck-up civilian pilot Harley Ames (John Hubbard), who shows no signs of acquiring discipline and responsibility. When the chips are down, however, Ames proves he's got the Right Stuff, rescuing Hardtack after a particularly nasty plane crash. The heroine is Harriet Hilliard, later beloved by millions as one-half of TV's "Ozzie and Harriet", while one of the pilots is portrayed by future Jolson Story star Larry Parks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1942
Nurse Chapman begins to fall in love with a gangster and ends up entertaining miners until she manages to pull herself out of this bad situation. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1942
One of the most fondly remembered of the "Blondie" series entries, Blondie Goes to College is predicated on the notion that Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) must receive a college diploma or lose his job with the Dithers Construction Company. Not wishing to be separated from her husband, Blondie (Penny Singleton) enrolls in college as well-but the rules stipulate "no married couples", forcing our hero and heroine to pretend that they're not married. This causes quite a dilemma when coed Laura Wadsworth (Janet Blair) begins flirting with Dagwood and B.M.O.C. Rusty Bryant (Larry Parks) does same with Blondie. Making things worse-Blondie is expecting another child (who will make her first appearance in the next installment, Blondie's Blessed Event), but she daren't tell anyone lest both she and Dag be expelled. The student body at this particular seat of learning is comprised of quite a few familiar faces (most well past college age), including Lloyd Bridges, Sid Melton, and Adele Mara. The biggest laughs in Blondie Goes to College are garnered by famed double-talk expert Al Kelly, playing an uncredited cameo as a tangle-tongued professor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, (more)
- 1942
Released shortly after the similar Columbia wartime mellers Submarine Raider and Parachute Nurse, Atlantic Convoy is set on the coast of Iceland. Civilian weatherman Carl Hansen (John Beal) is suspected of being a Nazi spy after an unexpected enemy attack on an Allied convoy. With the help of nurse Lida Adams (Virginia Field), Beal not only proves his innocence but also rounds up a gang of Fifth Columnists. Bruce Bennett costars as a fearless fighter pilot, while Victor Kilian is the rather obvious "secret" villain. Cheaply and hastily assembled, Atlantic Convoy benefits from the believable performances by its main characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Bennett, Virginia Field, (more)
- 1942
Columbia Pictures evidently felt that ex-boxer "Slapsy" Maxie Rosenbloom was the funniest man on earth, despite the fact that he consistently proved otherwise in vehicles like Harvard, Here I Come. This little masterpiece finds Rosenbloom, playing himself, receiving an award from the satirical Harvard Lampoon for his well-known stupidity. Instead of being enrage, Slapsie Maxie is delighted by the "honor", and promptly tries to enroll at the ivy-league university. Upon arriving on campus, our punchy hero is pounced upon by a group of eccentric scientists led by Professor Alvin (Byron Foulger), who is convinced that Rosenbloom is the "missing link" that science has long been searching for. The professors subsidize Maxie's education, which seems to consist exclusively of fraternity hazings and product endorsements! Though a zaftig Yvonne de Carlo shows up in several publicity stills for Harvard, Here I Come, she is nowhere to be seen in the film itself; instead, the leading-lady duties were handled by Marie Wilson, whose character comes across as even dumber than Maxie Rosenbloom, if such a thing is possible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom, Arline Judge, (more)
- 1942
Joan Crawford is the kissable bride of the title--but when the film opens, matrimony is the farthest thing from her mind. Crawford becomes a big-time executive upon inheriting her father's trucking business, which leaves her no time for such trivialities as romance. To enhance her business, Crawford arranges a marriage of convenience for her younger sister (Helen Parrish). At the wedding, Crawford meets reporter Melvyn Douglas, who is out to discredit Crawford....and you know what's coming next. They All Kissed the Bride was one of several 1942 productions originally slated for Carole Lombard, whose sudden death in a plane crash required all the major studios to reshuffle their production schedules to come up with last-minute Lombard replacements. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
- 1942
In this entry in the "Boston Blackie" series, the suave ex-thief returns to prison to see a Christmas show. There he is impressed by the talent of the inmates. One particularly talented fellow uses his magic act to break out of prison. Now Blackie must find him. Meanwhile the fugitive searches for his look-alike, the man who really committed the crime. Clever Blackie manages to catch them both and then insures that the real crook goes to jail while the innocent man goes free. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1942
In this silly but enjoyable rip-off of Arsenic and Old Lace, Boris Karloff plays an addlepated scientist who is experimenting with bringing the dead back to life. To do this, he has "killed" several travelling salesmen and placed them in suspended animation in his basement. Karloff is fiercely protected by his housekeeper (Maude Eburne), who is none too normal herself. Beauteous real estate agent Jeff Donnell approaches Karloff to buy his New England home; Donnell wishes to turn the ramshackle domicile into a rustic inn. Other visitors to the Karloff manse are Donnell's ex-husband Larry Parks, and the local sheriff/justice of the peace (Peter Lorre)! who holds the high-interest mortgage on the house. Travelling peddler Maxie Rosenbloom also shows up, and is promptly made a subject of Karloff's experimentation. It turns out that Karloff has really killed no one--all the salesmen are merely stunned, especially the dimwitted Rosenbloom--but the plot is complicated by a real murder, committed by person or persons unknown. As the convoluted storyline runs down, the Karloff home is invaded by an Italian P.O.W. (Frank Puglia) who is wired with explosives, and finally by representatives of the local booby hatch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, (more)
The second and last of the Fred Astaire-Rita Hayworth vehicles, You Were Never Lovelier takes place in Argentina (courtesy of the Columbia Pictures art-direction department). Fred plays an American dancer whose fondness for betting on horse races has left him broke. Rita is the daughter of wealthy Argentinian nightclub owner Adolphe Menjou, who has vowed that his daughters will marry in the order of their ages-and since older sister Leslie Brooks is about to walk to the altar, Rita is next in line. To encourage his daughter to seek out an eligible husband, Menjou sends Rita unsigned love notes so that she'll think she has a secret admirer. Through a series of misunderstandings that could only happen in the movies, Rita becomes convinced that Fred is the man who's been plying her with notes and gifts. Menjou hires the impoverished Astaire as a potential son-in-law. Fred bridles at the thought of being a "bought spouse", but changes his mind when he falls in love with Rita on his own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1942
There are moments in Columbia's Flight Lieutenant that approach "high camp"; indeed, one is hard pressed to remember if any cliché is left unturned. Pat O'Brien plays air pilot Sam O'Doyle, who is professionally disgraced when he survives a crash in which his co-pilot is killed. He tries to get work elsewhere, but finds that he can't shake the onus of his apparent dereliction of duty (Even the newspapers conspire against him, trumpeting his humilitation in front-page headlines!) Finally O'Doyle escapes to the tropics, leaving his young son in the care of his best friend Sanford (Jonathan Hale). As the years pass, young Danny Doyle (Glenn Ford), an aviator himself, grows to despise his father's memory-especially since he has married Susie Thompson (Evelyn Ankers), the daughter of Sam's unfortunate co-pilot. When WW2 breaks out, Danny is promoted to flight lieutenant, whereupon his father enlists as an Army Air Corps private under Danny's command. The elder Doyle finally redeems himself when he knocks Danny out and takes over a suicidal test-pilot assignment (That darn fool kid-er, darn fool grownup!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Glenn Ford, (more)
- 1942
Tom Brown, an actor who "borrowed" his professional name from 1932's Tom Brown of Culver, finds himself back in the collegiate pool in 1942's Hello Annapolis. Brown and up-and-coming Larry Parks sign up at the titular Naval academy, battling both in and out of uniform over the affections of Jean Parker. This pre-Pearl Harbor comedy has plenty of energy and little in the way of truth, but who wanted 62 minutes' worth of truth on the bottom half of a double bill? Silent movie buffs might want to keep a lookout for veterans Herbert Rawlinson and Mae Busch in the supporting cast. Hello Annapolis is augmented with background footage lensed at the real-life Annapolis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Faith, Hope and Charity motivate the wacky storyline of Columbia's Three Girls About Town--or to be more exact, gorgeous sisters Faith, Hope and Charity Banner, played respectively by Binnie Barnes, Joan Blondell and Janet Blair. Faith and Hope are gainfully employed as New York hotel hostesses, whose job it is to entertain wealthy out-of-town conventioneers (but no hanky panky, if you please!) They've remained in this profession in order to afford the expensive private-school education of their sister Charity, who shows up in the Big Apple in pursuit of her own career, or a wealthy husband, or both. Charity's arrival coincides with several big-time conventions, one of which is being covered by Faith's newspaper-reporter boyfriend Tommy Hopkins (John Howard). Things get dicey when the three girls discover a corpse in one of the hotel rooms. Certain that they'll be blamed for the death (or at the very least fired from their jobs!), the sisters conspire with Tommy to hide the body from the cops. Trouble is, the body just won't stay hidden, not even when our heroines try to dispose of the awkward stiff in one of the coffins brought into the hotel for an undertaker's convention. Blessed with a generous supply of belly-laughs and an unending stream of familiar character actors, Three Girls About Town sustains a proper level of zaniness right up to the cop-out finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Blondell, Binnie Barnes, (more)
- 1941
Next to Ann Miller, few Columbia contractees made more B musicals than Jinx Falkenberg. In Sing for Your Supper, Falkenberg is cast as Evelyn Palmer, the gorgeous proprietor of a dime-a-dance emporium. Bandleader Larry Hays (Charles "Buddy" Rogers) is the official owner of the joint, but when he finds himself in financial hot water, Evelyn, a wealthy socialite, secretly buys up the lease and takes a job as one of the dancers to keep tabs on her money-and the handsome Mr. Hays. Much of the film's running time is given over to comedian Bert Gordon, better known as radio's "Mad Russian" ("How do you doooooo?") Eve Arden is rather wasted as a wisecracking taxi dancer, but better things were to come her way within a few short years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jinx Falkenburg, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, (more)
- 1941
Harmon of Michigan was the first in a trio of Columbia sports films, each starring a real-life athlete. In this case, the title character is All-American halfback Tom Harmon, who when introduced in the film is on the verge of graduating from Michigan and turning professional. Shortly thereafter, he becomes a college football coach, surprisingly resorting to illegal (or at least unethical) tactics to drive his team to victory. Even more surprising is that he is never called on the carpet for these tactics, which seem to have been given the tacit approval of the film's producers. Harmon's former teammate Forest Evashevski and Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Henry also appear as themselves. Though Anita Louise is cast as Tom Harmon's wife, the real-life Mrs. H. would ultimately turn out to be actress Elyse Knox (their children included 1980s screen star Mark Harmon and future "Mrs. Ricky Nelson" Kris Harmon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Harmon, Anita Louise, (more)
- 1941
A daffy romantic comedy released in Great Britain under the title Good Morning Doctor, this film reunites the two stars of The Lady Eve. Henry Fonda plays Peter Kirk, a wealthy but bored playboy who has a skiing accident while admiring a beautiful woman. The woman turns out to be a doctor, Helen Hunt (Barbara Stanwyck), who treats the injuries to his rear end. The two fall in love and marry. But Peter, who has too much time on his hands, becomes jealous of his wife's time with her male patients. Helen makes him look for a job to keep him from stewing. Because he has no experience, the only position that Peter can get is as a department store clerk. The other workers there discover that he's a millionaire and force him to leave, causing him to rethink how he is going to spend his free time. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1941
Mystery Ship was one of the last of Columbia's pre-Pearl Harbor "preparedness" melodramas. Paul Kelly and Larry Parks are cast as G-men Allan Harper and Tommy Baker, assigned to maintain control on a most unusual prison ship. The "passengers" are crooks and saboteurs who've been designated as undesirables and shipped off for deportation to an unnamed foreign country. While on the high seas, the human "cargo" mutinies, which could spell curtains for Harper and actually does precipitate the death of Baker. Making matters worse is the presence of newspaper reporter Patricia Marshall (Lola Lane), who stowed away in the first reel and may not survive to the last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Lola Lane, (more)
