Adele Pearce [Pamela Blake] Movies
In Hitchcock's rare foray into comedy (courtesy of a wittily risque script by Norman Krasna), Mr. Smith (Robert Montgomery) makes the mistake of telling Mrs. Smith (Carole Lombard) that if he had it to do all over again, he might not have married her. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Smith discovers that his marriage is invalid. Rather than say goodbye, the newly aroused Mr. Smith attempts to entice Mrs. Smith into the bedroom, thrilled at the prospect of an "illicit" romance. But Mrs. Smith has also been apprised that her marriage is no more--and, remembering Mr. Smith's "second thoughts", she kicks him out of the house. This comedy of misunderstanding rolls merrily along from this point onward, accommodating an uproarious scene at a fancy restaurant, a near-liaison between Mrs. Smith and new beau Gene Raymond on the World's Fair parachute jump, and a farcical denouement at a ski lodge, with Mrs. Smith's conjugally crossed skis symbolizing the carnal pleasures ahead for both Mr. and Mrs. Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1941
The dangers of the dread venereal disease syphilis are depicted in this earnest drama from the 1940s. The story centers upon an intrepid health commissioner who is out to get rid of the tawdry hookers responsible for spreading the disease. He is assisted by a reporter. In a different subplot a young philanderer contracts the disease and gives it to his pregnant wife. Later a rotten doctor claims that he is cured, but it is not so and the young man returns, picks a fight, and accidentally kills the doctor. Later the young fellow is persuaded into giving his reasons for the killing; he does, and his name is cleared. At the same time, the reporter and health commissioner have fallen in love, and the town council finally gives the go ahead for the commissioner to clean up the streets. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Ames, Luana Walters, (more)
- 1940
In addition to his yearly manifest of six 2-reel comedies, Leon Errol always managed to squeeze a few feature-film appearances into his RKO Radio contractual duties. In Pop Always Pays, Henry Brewster (Errol) disapproves of the romance between his daughter Edna (Adele Pearce, aka Pamela Blake) and local spendthrift Jeff Thompson (Dennis O'Keefe). He finally agrees to give his blessing to the union if Jeff is able to save $1000, whereupon Brewster will match Jeff's thousand with the same amount as a wedding present. Confident that Jeff will never be able to raise that kind of cash, Brewster is decidedly nonplussed when the boy does come up with the necessary funds-especially since Brewster doesn't have his thousand, and isn't likely to ever have it. The film really comes to life wheneve Leon Errol shares the screen with his old Ziegfeld Follies cohort Walter Catlett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis O'Keefe, Leon Errol, (more)
- 1939
In this thriller, a man is brutally murdered and an innocent man takes the rap. The real murderer later confesses his crime to his priest. The priest strongly urges the killer to tell the police, but he steadfastly refuses. At the end, the killer attacks and mortally wounds the priest. The murderer feels guilty for his deed and gives the priest a lifesaving blood transfusion. He then admits his crime and saves the innocent man from execution. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Sally Eilers, (more)
- 1939
A talented South American singer heads for New York to keep her innocent brother from being convicted of arson in this tuneful mystery. She convinces her boyfriend, a news reporter to help her investigate and bring the real culprit to justice. They figure out that the real suspect is a shady club owner, who may have torched some of his other establishments. To find out for sure, the singer gets a job in his newest club and soon finds herself in serious danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Hull, Alan Baldwin, (more)
- 1938
Tex Ritter's final music Western for floundering company Grand National, The Utah Trail was yet another low-budget patch-up job with plenty of stock footage from earlier releases. Horace Murphy and Snub Pollard (who is credited as "Peewee Pollard" in the film's credits) once again lent dubious comedy relief, while Charles King took it on the chin for the umpteenth time. As opposed to Murphy, Pollard and King, Utah Trail proved the Western debut of Adele Pearce, a pert actress later known as Pamela Blake. Miss Blake summed up everyone's feelings when she years later told B-Western historian Boyd Magers: "It was terrible! I never saw it and never wanted to!" Ritter, who also supplied the story for The Utah Trail, played Tex Stewart, an agent for the Border States Railroad investigating sightings of a mysterious "ghost train." Posing as an outlaw, The Pecos Kid, Tex discovers that the mysterious train is part of a rustling operation headed by the well-named Hiram Slaughter (Karl Hackett) and his henchman Badger (King). At first, railroad heiress Sally Jeffers (Miss Pearce/Blake) is under the influence of Slaughter but she is soon enough convinced otherwise by Tex who, in between battling the Bad Guys, gets to sing Utah Trail by Bob Palmer and Give Me My Saddle and A Roamin' I'll Be by Frank Harford. Executive producer Edward F. Finney and director Al Herman filmed Utah Trail in a few days on an abandoned railroad siding bear Bakersfield, California, and at the movie ranches in Chatsworth. Finney and Ritter then enjoyed a more or less amicable parting of the ways with Grand National before relocating, lock, stock and barrel, at rival Monogram Pictures. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tex Ritter, Horace Murphy, (more)
Adapted from the Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman play, Stage Door is a comedic portrait of the theatrical community in New York. Katharine Hepburn stars as Terry Randall a young woman who comes from a wealthy, socially connected family. Aspiring for a career on the stage, Terry opts to see if she can make it on her own gumption and moves into a boarding house with several other wannabe Broadway starlets attempting to make a mark for themselves in show business. Terry's sassy roommate Jean (Ginger Rogers) just might get the opportunity to do that when she meets a lecherous producer, but at what cost? Unamused by Terry's attempts to pull herself up by her bootstraps, her father offers her an opportunity for a starring role in a show that's sure to fail. Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, and Ann Miller are among the other residents of the boarding house. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, (more)
