George C. Pearce Movies

The Star Maker is the story (with variations) of vaudeville enterpreneur Gus Edwards, here played by Bing Crosby. Determining that he can attain the uppermost showbiz rungs by spotlighting new, untried talents, Edwards rises to fame by hiring preteen boys and girls for his touring acts, the most famous of which is his "schoolroom" routine. Among Edwards' more prominent discoveries were Eddie Cantor, Georgie Jessel, Bert Wheeler, Walter Winchell and Mae Murray, none of whom are depicting in the film (though composer Walter Damrosch is portrayed "By Himself"). Paramount intended The Star Maker as a showcase for a whole new crop of "stars in the making", though the studio's own discoveries were destined for obscurity--with the exception of Janet Waldo, who in 1997 was still providing the voice of Judy Jetson for a series of TV commercials. Louise Campbell provides the nominal romantic interest as Edwards' super-supportive wife, while a welcome note of cynicism is introduced by the ineffable Ned Sparks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Heart of the Rockies launched Republic's second season of popular "Three Mesquiteers" westerns. Returning to the fold are Robert Livingston as Stony Brooke, Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Tucson Smith and Max Terhune as Lullaby Joslin. This time our heroes play modern-day cattle ranchers who are falsely accused of killing bears on the grounds of a national park. The boys seem to have plenty of motive, inasmuch as the bears are suspected of depleting their livestock. When it turns out that the real villains are a gang of smugglers, the Mesquiteers team with the park rangers to get their man (or men). Robert Livingston was injured during production of Heart of the Rockies, forcing Republic to replace him with Ralph Byrd in the next Three Mesquiteers opus, Trigger Trio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this tuneful, romantic drama, an Australian opera star (Grace Moore) wants to perform in a major U.S. festival but cannot enter the country unless she is married. To this end, she hires a handsome artist (Cary Grant) temporarily marry her. At first it is all strictly business, but in time, the artist starts falling in love. Songs include: "Our Song," "Minnie the Moocher" (this number is usually cut out in 98m televised version of the film), "Siboney," and "The Waltz Song." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In his second Western for low-budget Puritan Pictures, Tim McCoy comes to the aid of a pretty ranch owner whose property is in danger of being usurped by a crooked saloon owner. Ruth McArthur (Billie Seward) cannot pay her late father's debt and lawyer Eric McGillis (Robert McKenzie) advises her to sell out to saloon owner Harry DeLong (Wheeler Oakman). But Ruth, who is awaiting the arrival of her brother, Alan, demurs and DeLong has Alan (Rex Lease) murdered by hired gunslinger Bill Slater (Jack Rockwell). Cowboy Tim Hanlon (McCoy), who had befriended Alan, is accused of the killing and imprisoned. Convincing the sheriff of his innocence, Hanlon is allowed to search for the real culprit. When he arrives at the McArthur ranch, Tim is mistaken by Ruth for the long-absent Alan and goes along in order to help her. Bankrolled by Banker Wells (George Pearce), Tim and a gang of workmen begin to repair the local dam, despite the preventive efforts of DeLong and his men. DeLong shows the sheriff (Jack Clifford) a note that ostensibly proves Tim's guilt in Alan's death but the ruse backfires as only the killer would know that Tim isn't the real Alan. Despite an overly complicated plot, The Man From Guntown was well mounted and rather elaborate for a B-Western. Co-written by Thomas H. Ince Jr., the film was an unofficial remake of the 1919 Square Deal Sanderson, a William S. Hart vehicle produced by Ince's late father. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

More a whodunit than a straight Western, this Tim McCoy series entry from Columbia featured a cowboy returning to his homestead to find his brother, the sheriff, killed and the family of his girl somehow involved. Dissatisfied with the investigation by newly appointed Sheriff Ludlow (Jack Clifford), Tim O'Neil (McCoy) discovers that Jed Harmon (Frank Sheridan), the father of Myra (Billie Seward), Tim's sweetheart, is being blackmailed by Kramer (Edward Earle). Ludlow, who is in cahoots with Kramer, arrests Jed but Tim helps the old man escape. Confessing in writing to an old crime, Jed is left alone when Tim is called out on an errand. Kramer enters the room and shoots Jed, making it look like a suicide. But Tim later demonstrates how Kramer could have left the body in a room bolted from the inside. There is a final confrontation between Tim and Kramer, which leaves the villain dead and Tim with a final resolution to avenge his brother's murder. As it turns out, Jed is still alive and proven innocent in the old charge of murder to which he earlier confessed. Tim McCoy's handsome sidekick in this and two subsequent Westerns, Robert Allen, would later star in his own B-Western series for Columbia. The Revenge Rider was remade by Columbia in 1938 as Riders of the Black River, a vehicle for McCoy's successor at the studio, Charles Starrett. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Adapted by director Paul Sloan from the novel by Will James, Lone Cowboy is an "outdoors" epic tailored to the talents of young Jackie Cooper. Actually the title character is not played by Cooper but by character actor Addison Richards, cast as a grizzled old rodeo rider named Dobe Jones. Placed in charge of Eastern lad Scooter O'Neal (Cooper), Dobe forms a strong friendship with the kid, but this does not dissuade him from his main purpose in life -- to track down his runaway wife Eleanor (Lila Lee) and her lover Jim Weston (Gavin Gordon). Finally catching up to the errant couple, Dobe shoots and kills Weston, a violent outburst that also seriously wounds Scooter. Evidently a more sombre ending was planned for Lone Cowboy than the hastily tacked-on happy denouement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frequently and misleadingly advertised as a W.C. Fields vehicle, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch confines the Great Man's appearance to the final two reels. The rest of the picture is a ploddingly paced adaptation of the hoary old Anne Hagan Rice novel about how wonderful it is to be poor. In a rare movie appearance, the great stage star Pauline Lord plays Mrs. Wiggs, the impecunious but ever-optimistic matriarch of a large, fatherless brood. Though creditors constantly hound Mrs. Wiggs, she remains firmly confident that all family problems will be resolved when her long-missing husband (Donald Meek) returns from his unexplained odyssey. It's quite a chore for our heroine to put on a happy face, especially after the death of the sickliest Wiggs child (George Breakstone), but she does -- and miracle of miracles, her faith in the elusive Mr. Wiggs turns out to be well-founded (though not intentionally so). W.C. Fields is cast as touring actor Mr. Stubbins the "mail-order husband" of Mrs Wiggs' spinsterish friend Miss Hazy (ZaSu Pitts). Once Fields shows up on screen, demanding a gourmet meal from poor Miss Hazy (who's never cooked anything in her life!) all the film's shortcomings and maudlin passages can be forgiven. W.C.'s best line: "The theatre was so packed, the audience couldn't applaud this way?" (claps sideways) "?They had to applaud this way." (claps up and down). Previously filmed in 1914 and 1919, Mrs.Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was remade with Fay Bainter in 1942. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having signed for eight Westerns with poverty row entrepreneur E.W. Hammons, Ken Maynard went on to deliver a series of solid sagebrush entertainment despite non-existing budgets and filming on standing sets at the old, threadbare Tiffany lot on Sunset Boulevard. The opener, Dynamite ranch presented Ken as a cowboy falsely accused of safe-cracking.The robbery was actually committed by villainous foreman Park Owens (Alan Roscoe) but only the rancher's daughter, Doris (Ruth Hall), believes in his innocence. But even she turns against the cowboy when his glove is found on the crime scene. When the assistance of the rancher's accountant (Arthur Hoyt), Ken sets a trap for Owens and manages to clear his own good name. As a sign of changing times in Hollywood, former silent star Jack Perrin appears at the bottom of the cast-list playing one of Owens' henchmen. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed in 1915 and 1920, Sir Gilbert Parker's novel The Right of Way was exhumed once more in 1931. Conrad Nagel stars as Conrad Steele, a Canadian lawyer saddled with a nagging wife (Olive Tell) and a lazy brother-in-law (William Janney). When the latter steals some of Conrad's money, the lawyer searches for the boy, ending up in a tough waterfront saloon. Rendered unconscious in a barroom brawl, Conrad loses his memory and wanders into the Canadian Northwoods where he falls in love with pretty postmistress Rosalie (Loretta Young). Perfectly content in his "new" life, Conrad is understandably aghast when his memory returns. He dutifully returns to his former wife -- and that's all that can be said here without revealing the climactic plot twist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Buck Jones' first sound western, The Lone Rider, was not a rousing success. The former Fox star had left that studio at the changeover to sound in favor of touring with a circus. The tour proved a major flop, and the show closed after playing only forty-one stands. Returning to Hollywood, Jones was essentially starting all over in the film industry and could only command a $300 salary for The Lone Rider. Stardom would return with later series entries, but at the time the actor had good reasons to be worried. The producer of Jones' comeback western was Sol Lesser whose Beverly Productions released through Columbia. Jones played The Hell's River Kid, an outlaw mistaken for a hero during a stagecoach hold-up. He becomes the leader of a vigilante group while keeping his past life a secret; until, that is, the chief outlaw (Harry Woods), begins to dig up the truth. Jones, however, heroically defeats the gang and his past is forgiven. Despite the lukewarm reception, this film was remade by Jones in 1934, as The Man Trailer, and again in 1939, as The Thundering West, a vehicle for Columbia's newest western star, Charles Starrett. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The Valiant began life as a one-act play by Holworthy Hall and Robert Middlemass. It is a stark little vaudeville piece about a convicted murderer who goes silently to his execution without ever revealing his true identity. Expanded to 65 minutes, The Valiant was filmed in 1929, starring Paul Muni in his first feature-film role. He plays a drifter with a clouded past who accidentally kills the key witness to a crime, then sacrifices himself to the law under an assumed name rather than disgrace his family. In this manner, Muni is certain that he's redeemed himself for his previous misdeeds--but a curious police inspector tries to probe his past. The Valiant was remade in 1940 as The Man Who Wouldn't Talk, with Lloyd Nolan in the Muni role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pleasant but unremarkable comedy from Universal, Home James featured the studio's premiere light comedian Laura La Plante as Laura Elliott, a department store clerk who mistakes her youthful boss, James Lacey Jr. (Charles Delaney), for a chauffeur. Amused by the situation and wishing to impress Laura's visiting relatives, James plays along, pretending that the Lacey mansion belongs to Laura. When Lacey Sr. (George Pearce) arrives unexpectedly, the dignified elder is mistaken for an intruder and arrested. Everything is cleared up in the end of course, with James and Laura announcing their engagement ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The title character is world-famous lothario Norman Kerry, who has given up keeping track of all his female conquests. While strolling to yet another dalliance, Kerry is struck down by a car. He is nursed back to health by winsome Lois Moran. Genuinely falling in love for the first time in his life, Kerry must scurry about settling his other affairs before he can happily-ever-after with Lois. Way down on the cast list of Irresistible Lover is future "Dagwood Bumstead" Arthur Lake, here cast as one "Jack Kennedy"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide