Emory Parnell Movies
Trained at Iowa's Morningside College for a career as a musician, American actor Emory Parnell spent his earliest performing years as a concert violinist. He worked the Chautauqua and Lyceum tent circuits for a decade before leaving the road in 1930. For the next few seasons, Parnell acted and narrated in commercial and industrial films produced in Detroit. Determining that the oppurtunities and renumeration were better in Hollywood, Emory and his actress wife Effie boarded the Super Chief and headed for California. Endowed with a ruddy Irish countenance and perpetual air of frustration, Parnell immediately landed a string of character roles as cops, small town business owners, fathers-in-law and landlords (though his very first film part in Bing Crosby's Dr. Rhythm [1938] was cut out before release). In roles both large and small, Parnell became an inescapable presence in B-films of the '40s; one of his better showings was in the A-picture Louisiana Purchase, in which, as a Paramount movie executive, he sings an opening song about avoiding libel suits! Parnell was a regular in Universal's Ma and Pa Kettle film series (1949-55), playing small town entrepreneur Billy Reed; on TV, the actor appeared as William Bendix' factory foreman The Life of Riley (1952-58). Emory Parnell's last public appearance was in 1974, when he, his wife Effie, and several other hale-and-hearty residents of the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital were interviewed by Tom Snyder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Although the main character, Tony Manetta (Frank Sinatra), in this light comedy tends to tip the scales towards being unbelievably unrealistic, the story is pulled off because everyone else is convincing. Tony is a widower in need of a financial bailout for himself and his son, so he asks for help from his brother Mario (Edward G. Robinson), a wealthy New Yorker. Tony owns a small hotel in Miami Beach but his impractical ways have made it a losing proposition. After Mario and his wife (Thelma Ritter) arrive in Miami, thinking of taking custody of Tony's son, they suddenly decide to try to match Tony up with the widowed Mrs. Rogers -- maybe that will teach him some responsibility. This was one of the last movies directed by Frank Capra. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
- 1944
In this drama, a remake of Hat, Coat and Glove (1934), a hard working attorney is upset when he learns that his long-suffering, neglected wife is having an affair with an accused murderer. This does not prevent the highly principled lawyer from representing the man and his wife in court. Not only does he get them acquitted, he also manages to keep the whole mess out of the newspaper. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Conway, Audrey Long, (more)
- 1941
The oft-used title A Shot in the Dark was affixed in 1941 to this Warner Bros. B-picture. Much of the film takes place in the big-city nightclub owned by shady Phil Richards (Ricardo Cortez). When the prospective buyer of Richards' establishment is murdered, there's no shortage of suspects, but the cops have their money on Richards' jealous sweetheart Clare Winters (Lucia Carroll)-until she's murdered as well. Police reporter Peter Kennedy (William Lundigan) and detective Bill Ryder (Regis Toomey) put their heads together to solve the mystery, with the help (and sometimes hindrance) of pert nightclub singer Dixie Waye (Nan Wynn). A Shot in the Dark is based on a story by Frederick Nebel, creator of the "Torchy Blaine" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Lundigan, Nan Wynn, (more)
- 1949
- NR
Screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz adopts the same prismatic-flashback technique he'd used so well in Citizen Kane for the 1949 filmic soap opera A Woman's Secret. Based on a novel by Vicki (Grand Hotel) Baum, the film begins with the shooting of nightclub singer Susan Caldwell (Gloria Grahame). Marian Washburn (Maureen O'Hara), who'd coached Susan into the Big Time, confesses to the shooting. Neither Marian's piano-player friend Luke Jordan (Melvyn Douglas) nor police inspector Fowler (Jay C. Flippen) completely buy her story, and it is their probing investigation of the facts that sparks the flashback parade. The film details in sometimes clever, sometimes maudlin fashion the perils of living one's life vicariously through the accomplishments of others. Though filmed before director Nicholas Ray's "official" debut feature They Live by Night, A Woman's Secret was released afterward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen O'Hara, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
- 1946
Abie's Irish Rose, the surprise hit of the 1922-23 Broadway season, was old-fashioned when it was first filmed in 1928, and this 1946 remake, though updated by playwright Anne Nichols, was even more anachronistic. It's the story of what happens when Jewish-American Abie Levy (Richard Norris) marries Irish-Catholic Rosemary Murphy (Joanne Dru, in her film debut). At first, Abie and Rosemary try to hide their ethnic differences from their feuding fathers Solomon Levy (Michael Chekhov) and Patrick Murphy (J. M. Kerrigan). When the truth comes out, the couple attempts to molify their families by going through three wedding ceremonies: Jewish, Catholic and Protestant. But the Cohens and the Murphys are reconciled only when Rosemary has a baby. Produced by Bing Crosby, Abie's Irish Rose was a terrific flop when first released, which may be one of the reasons why director Eddie Sutherland never again worked in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Dru, Richard Norris, (more)
- 1944
A plot revealed through the correspondence between German-American businessman and his Jewish partner, Lukas, the German-American, returns to Germany during the early Nazi years and gets caught up in the racist philosophies. He goes to the point of denying even his partner's daughter, who is engaged to Lukas's son. Disastrous results follow this man's newly acquired bigoted decisions. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Lukas, Carl Esmond, (more)
- 1949
Dauntless Navy intelligence officer Richard Travis is dispatched to the Frozen North to smash a spy ring. By a fortuitous circumstance, Travis is the exact lookalike of a recently deceased enemy agent. This plot contrivance is given surface credibility by the film's semi-documentary style. Onetime child actress Helen Westcott is second-billed in a cast busting to the seams with familiar faces, ranging from saturnine James Griffith to dignified Jason Robards Sr. Alaska Patrol was released by Film Classics, a reissue firm of the late 1940s that dabbled in production from time to time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Travis, Helen Westcott, (more)
- 1959
Bob Hope plays a 19th-century insurance agent whose miserable sales record prompts his boss to send him out West, where he can (supposedly) do little harm. Hope manages to sell a $100,000 life insurance policy--to outlaw Jesse James (Wendell Corey), one of the worst "risks" in history! In his efforts to get the policy back, Hope finds himself being mistaken for Jesse, which is all part of the outlaw's plan to get Hope killed and thereby collect the policy money himself. But with the help of beauteous Rhonda Fleming (the essentially honest beneficiary to Jesse's policy), Hope gains a reputation as a lightning-fast gunslinger. In the inevitable shoot-out with the James gang, Hope is helped out by several famous Westerners, including Gary Cooper, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, James "Maverick" Garner, and even Tonto (Jay Silverheels). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming, (more)
- 1941
When wealthy Mrs. Bullion informs her husband, Ajax that they are adopting a "little refugee" -- a common event amongst society people during World War II -- he is less than thrilled. But a trip to the dentist changes his perspective. Instead of getting his tooth pulled by his regular guy, Dr. I. Yankum, he winds up with three building janitors -- none other than The Three Stooges -- working on his mouth. Later, when he finds them hiding out in his car, he decides to take them home to Mrs. Bullion as not one, but three, long-awaited refugee children. But Bullion doesn't realize what he's in for -- Johnnie (Moe Howard), Frankie (Curly Howard) and Mabel (Larry Fine) steal his cigars and play craps with the butler. Mrs. Bullion throws a party to introduce the little darlings to her friends, but the festivities are interrupted when her furious husband chases the Stooges from the house with an ax. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1938
Arson Gang Busters was a slick little Republic programmer highlighted by several well-staged miniature sequences, courtesy of the talented Lydecker Brothers. Robert Livingston plays a firefighter who feels that the police aren't moving fast enough in tracking down an arson ring. Livingston decides to do a little sleuthing himself, ultimately going undercover and joining the crooks. It turns out that the culprits are insurance underwriters, seeking a quick turnover by creating their own "accidents". The 65-minute Arson Gang Busters was later reissued to television as the 54-minute Arson Racket Squad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Rosalind Keith, (more)
- 1955
Bearing very little relation to the 1937 Paramount musical of the same name, Artists and Models is a lavish, girl-filled vehicle for the popular team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Martin plays Rick Todd, a comic-book artist who is under fire from his publisher (Eddie Mayehoff), who complains that Rick's work isn't gory enough. Lewis plays Eugene Fullstack, Rick's roommate, who while asleep dreams up elaborate comic-book plots and garishly costumed superheroes. Eugene's nightmares help Rick become a success; meanwhile, our two heroes romance their luscious neighbors, artist Dorothy Malone and rambunctious model Shirley MacLaine (who during one song wrestles Eugene to the floor and sits on his chest!) Eugene's overworked imagination somehow attracts the attention of a group of Russian spies, who attempt to abduct Eugene during the annual Artists and Models Ball. Director Frank Tashlin uses Artists and Models as an excuse for some of the wildest sight-gags seen in a mid-1950s film. At one point, the director contrives to stuff a gag in Shirley MacLaine's mouth. Tashlin also exhibits his ongoing fascination with female breasts and legs by giving ample screen time to the natural attributes of co-stars Anita Ekberg and Eva Gabor. One of the best of the Martin/Lewis efforts, Artists and Models suffers only from being about 20 minutes too long. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, (more)
- 1946
- NR
In this is '40s western a U.S. marshal chases a band of big-name bandits into no-man's territory (land outside of U.S. government jurisdiction) as he's trying to locate his little brother. He ends up facing off with none other than the James Boys, the Daltons and other notorious fellows. Badman's Territory proved so successful that the formula was repeated several times by RKO and other studios. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Ann Richards, (more)
- 1954
George Montgomery heads the virile cast of the B-plus western Battle of Rogue River. Montgomery plays Cavalry major Frank Archer, assigned to protect the settlers in Oregon territory. Archer tries to find out why the previously peaceful Indians have suddenly become warlike. What he doesn't know is that duplicitous settler Stacey Wyatt (Richard Denning), working in concert with crooked land speculator Matt Parrish (Charles Evans), has been deliberately aggravating the Indians so that the other whites will be erased from the territory, thereby allowing Wyatt and his chums to plunder the land's rich mineral deposits. Curiously, the film's titular battle never takes place! Martha Hyer provides a dash of feminity to the otherwise all-male proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Richard Denning, (more)
- 1950
After 12 years and 28 films, Columbia's Blondie series came to a close with 1950's Beware of Blondie. The plot is "business as usual," with Mr. Dithers leaving Dagwood (Arthur Lake) in charge of the office for a short period. Poor old Dag manages to gum things up when he falls for a confidence scam engineered by the duplicitous Toby Clifton (Adele Jergens). He even finds himself in a compromising position that seriously endangers his future connubial happiness with wife Blondie (Penny Singleton). Once again, it's up to Blondie to straighten out the mess. Mr. Dithers is played by an uncredited Edward Earle, who is seen only from the back; Earle's voice is dubbed over with an old recording of Jonathan Hale, the series' original Dithers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, (more)
The film career of actress Leslie Brooks lasted long enough for her to contribute several mesmerizingly bitchy performances. In Blonde Ice, Brooks is cast as Claire, a society reporter who'll do literally anything for a story. She manages to keep herself in the headlines by marrying and romancing a series of wealthy men, all of whom die under mysterious circumstances. To deflect suspicion from herself, Claire frames her erstwhile boyfriend, sportswriter Les Burns (Robert Paige). Because the police department is incredibly obtuse throughout the film, it's up to a criminal psychologist (David Leonard) to expose Claire as a homicidal sociopath. Blonde Ice might make a fascinating double feature with Nicole Kidman's 1994 starrer To Die For. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Brooks, Robert Paige, (more)
- 1940
This is the celebrated Blondie episode that costars Rita Hayworth, who in 1940 was still just another Columbia contract actress. Hayworth plays an old flame of Dagwood Bumstead's (Arthur Lake), who moves into the Bumstead household when wife Blondie (Penny Singleton) advertises for a boarder. Blondie (Penny Singleton) tries to be civil when she meets Rita, but her true feelings are manifested in a superimposed montage of explosions and gunshots. Innocently caught in a compromising position with Hayworth at a local movie house, Dagwood is shown the door by the heartbroken Blondie. All misunderstandings are swept away by fadeout time in this fifth installment in Columbia's Blondie series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, (more)
- 1951
William Holden plays Boots Malone, a dishonest--and impoverished--jockey's agent. Malone sees a chance to crack the big time through the talents of young jockey John Stewart. Stewart's wealthy mother wants to remove the boy from the rarefied world of the race track, but it is Malone himself who destroys his friendship with Stewart by ordering the boy to throw the race, or else they'll be put on the spot by gangsters. Malone's last-minute regeneration restores Stewart's faith in him. Filmed on location, Boots Malone is a satisfying horse-race drama, though one might expect a little something extra from star William Holden and director William Dieterle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, John Stewart, (more)
- 1947
In this Republic musical, all heck breaks loose when the girlfriend of an aspiring composer becomes a model for the starving artist who lives next door. The story takes place at the turn of the 19th century and is set in Miss Rich's boardinghouse, the temporary home of many young artists and performers hoping to make it big in New York. Songs include "Have I Told You Lately?" and "A Bluebird Is Singing to Me." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Arnt, Jane Frazee, (more)
Ethel Merman reprised her role as a socialite turned diplomat in this screen adaptation of Irving Berlin's hit Broadway musical. Sally Adams (Merman) has made it her business to know everyone worth knowing in Washington D.C., and her penchant for parties pays off when she's appointed United States Ambassador to Lichtenburg. Once she is installed in her new position, she falls in love with suave Foreign Minister Cosmo Constantine (George Sanders), while Princess Maria (Vera-Ellen) has her head turned by Sally's press attaché, Kenneth (Donand O'Connor). Call Me Madam is a showcase for Merman's roof-raising musical comedy style, and here she gets to sing a handful of Berlin tunes, including "You're Just In Love," "Can You Use Any Money Today?" and "Hostess With The Mostes' on the Ball." Vera-Ellen's singing was dubbed by Carol Richards. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, (more)
In this saccharine Klondike adventure, a brave female reporter who has a rapport with wild animals heads north to cover a story. Included in her animal entourage are a pair of bear cubs, a talking rook, and a homeless collie. After she gets lost, a handsome guide shows up to lead her out of the wilderness. It is an arduous journey fraught with many natural dangers, and the travelers nearly die from hunger until another man shows up to save them. When he begins pursuing the reporter, the guide gets jealous and a terrible fight erupts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Beverly Roberts, (more)
- 1944
When he finds out his ex-wife has just had his child and plans to give her up for adoption, a timid English instructor dashes to the child's rescue and attempts to care for her in a hotel room. Before too long, however, his new fiancee and his ex confront him and he must decide what he will do. This light comedy starring Gary Cooper, Theresa Wright and Anita Louise garnered Oscar nominations for Sound and Art Direction and was previously filmed under the title Little Accident in 1930 and 1939. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, (more)
- 1950
Columbia's Chain Gang combines biting social commentary with good old-fashioned melodrama. Reporter Cliff Roberts (Douglas Kennedy) intends to expose political corruption by posing as a convict and joining a prison chain gang. While a "guest of the state," Roberts gets the lowdown on how cheap convict labor is being brutally exploited by certain higher-ups. Unfortunately, his ruse is discovered, and soon Roberts is desperately clambering through treacherous hills and dismal swamps, with police bloodhounds hot on his trail. Producer Sam Katzman claimed that Chain Gang was "torn from today's headlines," but he was always saying things like that. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Kennedy, Marjorie Lord, (more)
Based on a novel by Barry Fleming, Colonel Effingham's Raid stars Charles Coburn in the title role. Upon retiring from the army, Effingham returns to his home town of Fredericksville, Georgia. Dismayed by the town's paucity of civic pride, the Colonel begins writing a newspaper column honoring Fredericksville's old traditions and chastizing those who would tear those traditions down. His pet peeve is the city administration's plan to rename Confederate Square after the pompous, mildly corrupt town mayor (Thurston Hall). When it seems that his protests are falling upon deaf ears, Colonel Effingham literally stage a "military assault" against City Hall, which in real life would get him thrown in the looney bin but which in a whimsical comedy of this nature results in a smashing success for the "good guys". If Colonel Effingham's Raid seems to be popping up on TV at a rate of once a day, it is because the film lapsed into public domain in 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, William Eythe, (more)
- 1950
County Fair is an amiable racetrack drama starring Rory Calhoun. A veteran horse trainer, Calhoun has developed a somewhat unsavory reputation. He redeems himself by arranging for near-impoverished matron Florence Bates to win an important race. It's all for the love of a good woman--in this case, Bates' niece Jane Nigh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Jane Nigh, (more)
- 1946
Deadline at Dawn represented not only the sole film directorial effort of Broadway's Harold Clurman, but also the only cinematic collaboration between Clurman and his former Group Theatre associate, screenwriter Clifford Odets. While on shore leave in New York, sailor Alex (Bill Williams) is slipped a doped-up drink by B-girl Edna (Lola Lane). When he awakens, Alex discovers that she has been murdered. Though he believes that he's the killer, our hero is talked into locating the actual miscreant by philosophical cab driver gus (Paul Lukas) and nightclub dancer June (Susan Hayward). Adapted from a novel by Cornell Woolrich, Deadline at Dawn leans towards pretentiousness at times, but is redeemed by the no-nonsense performance by Susan Hayward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, (more)
