Bob Perry Movies
Character actor Bob Perry made his film debut as Tuxedo George in 1928's Me Gangster. For the rest of his Hollywood career, Perry popped up in brief roles as bartenders, croupiers, referees, guards, and the like. Many of his characters were on the wrong side of the law, and few of them spoke when shooting or slugging would do. Bob Perry kept busy in films until 1949, when he retired at the reported age of 70. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1921
When the brutal Captain Briggs (a miscast Dustin Farnum) destroys a Malay idol, a native witch (Evelyn Selbie) puts a curse on him. From there on in, death follows him. He marries, but his wife dies when their son is born. The son reaches adulthood and weds, but the couple catch a fever and die, leaving Briggs with an orphaned grandson. The boy, Hal (Bernard J. Durning, also the film's director), grows up to be as violent and mean-tempered as his grandfather. He gets into a brawl and is stabbed by a poison dagger. Briggs, who had once had his own encounter with a poison dagger, has both the poison and the antidote -- unfortunately, he doesn't recall which is which. But he risks his life by tasting one of the powders. It turns out to be the antidote, and he gives it to Hal, who recovers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Farnum, Virginia Valli, (more)
- 1922
The real draw of this suspenseful drama was the yacht race and the motor boat chase, which included a hydroplane. No one cared much about the plot, but here it is anyway: Wealthy Lawrence Bradbury (a miscast Dustin Farnum) owns a transatlantic line which is being plagued by silk thieves. When he weds his fiancee, Constance (Ethel Gray Terry), he doesn't realize that her brother Ned (Maurice "Lefty" Flynn) is a detective who's on the case (as a matter of fact, the audience isn't apprised of this, either). Constance can't tell him because she is duty bound to keep Ned's profession secret. Bradbury comes to suspect that both his brother Jim (Fred Thomson) and Constance are part of the gang, but finally after a load of complications the truth comes out. The small role of Helen Palmer is one of Aileen Pringle's first appearances in a major studio film. In fact no one seemed to get the name of the future star of Three Weeks correct -- it ranges from Adele Pringle (Motion Picture News) to Eileen Pringle (Film Daily). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Farnum, Ethel Grey Terry, (more)
- 1927
Charlie Chaplin's talented brother Sydney enjoyed moderate box-office success as star of a series of Warner Bros. features in the late 1920s. Sydney's Fortune Hunter was based on a play by Winchell Smith, which had starred John Barrymore on Broadway and which had previously been filmed in 1914 with William Elliot in the lead. Chaplin plays Nat Duncan, an impoverished socialite who hopes to land a rich spouse. His partner in "crime" is his pal Handsome Harry West (Duke Martin), who intends to share the monetary rewards of Nat's marriage. The plan is scotched when Nat falls for just-getting-by soda shop owner Josie Lockwood (Helene Costello). The film's best bit finds the lovestruck Nat subbing for Josie at the soda fountain; when a customer asks for a cigar, the absent-minded hero begins peeling the stogie like a banana. The Fortune Hunter was directed by Charles Reisner, who cut his cinematic teeth as an actor/assistant with Charlie Chaplin's First National unit in the late teens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Chaplin, Helene Costello, (more)
- 1928
Me, Gangster was director Raoul Walsh's third 1928 film -- and, according to some historians, the blueprint for such future Walsh crime dramas as Me and My Gal, The Roaring Twenties and White Heat. Told in the form of a diary, the story details the rise and fall of gangster boss Jimmy Williams, played by future serial favorite Don Terry. Shown to be a layabout and ne'er-do-well in his youth, Jimmy falls in with a gang of petty thieves, working his way up the professional ladder through a combination of brains and cold-blooded ruthlessness (not unlike the characters played by frequent Raoul Walsh collaborator James Cagney). He finally comes acropper when he tries to pull off a $50,000 heist by himself, which earns him a stiff jail term. The death of his beloved mother Lizzie (Stella Adams), combined with the good influence of heroine Mary Regan (June Collyer), prompts Jimmy to try to turn over a new leaf upon his arrest. Alas, he must now contend with his former gangland buddies, who don't cotton to "turncoats" and begin drawing up plans to put Jimmy "on the spot" for keeps. On the whole, Me Gangster is a bit more sentimental than one might expect from Raoul Walsh, but at least it's honest sentiment and doesn't weaken the picture as a whole. Filmed silent, Me, Gangster was released with a Fox Movietone music score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Collyer, Don Terry, (more)
- 1928
Wallace Beery appeared in this silent film with intertitles, a dark drama of hobo life. Jim (Richard Arlen), a wanderer, comes upon young Nancy (Louise Brooks), who has just killed the guardian who was trying to rape her. Disguised as a boy, she takes off with Jim and rides the rails to a hobo camp led by Arkansas Snake (Robert Perry). When Oklahoma Red (Beery) takes over the camp, he begins to pursue Nancy, but before he can take her from Jim, the detectives show up to arrest her. He escapes with Nancy and Jim, and when he sees how much they love each other, Red helps them escape by creating a diversion, during which the detectives kill him. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks, (more)
- 1929
Bearing no relation to the popular torch song of the same name, The Man I Love is a prizefight picture, courtesy of Paramount production exec David O. Selznick. Richard Arlen stars as Dum-Dum Brooks, a tank-town boxer who journeys to New York in hopes of cracking the Big Time. Along for the ride is Dum-Dum's long-suffering but ever-faithful wife Celia (Mary Brian). After licking Champ Mahoney (Charles Sullivan) in an exhibition bout, Dum-Dum is given a chance to win the title for real. His road to success is temporarily blocked off by seductive Sonia Baranoff (Olga Baclanova), giving poor Celia even more to worry about. Among the real-life pugilists seen in The Man I Love is ubiquitous stunt man and bit player Sailor Vincent, who remained in films well into the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Mary Brian, (more)
- 1929
Only three minutes of the 74-minute Noisy Neighbors contains any dialogue; the rest of the film has hardly any noise at all. Written for the screen by F. Hugh Herbert (of Kiss and Tell and The Moon is Blue fame), the story focuses on a family of second-string vaudevillians, played by genuine vaudeville trouper Eddie Quillan and his real-life family. Inheriting a Southern plantation, Quillan and his brood land in the middle of a raging hillbilly feud. One of the mountain patriarches is played by old DeMille reliable Theodore Roberts, in his final screen appearance; he died shortly before the film's release. Also in the cast is pert ex-Sennett bathing beauty Alberta Vaughan (who appeared in a swimsuit in the film's production stills, but not on screen), and bombastic comedian Billy Gilbert, in his movie debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alberta Vaughn, Theodore Roberts, (more)
- 1930
In this convoluted drama, the jolly painted face of a circus clown is but a mask for an avaricious, ruthlessly ambitious, and deceitful man. Hap is performing in small New Orleans clubs when he saves the life of the starving Gardino, a member of a distinguished family of European clowns. Though impoverished and unemployed, Gardino is determined to avoid the family slapstick and become a "serious" performer of high-class clowning. Hap suggests they team up, but thanks to Gardino's refusal to do slapstick, their act is a dud. Gardino leaves in a huff. Later Hap finds his former partner performing Hap's proposed act with a new partner. He is doing quite well, and when he sees Hap, Gardino apologizes and they again team up. This time Gardino insists on star billing. To make matters worse, he steals Hap's girl and they marry. The honeymoon is barely over before Gardino is playing around with other women and gambling away all of their money. After his latest affair goes bust, Gardino grows despondent and so walks into the sea, never looking back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hal Skelly, William Powell, (more)
- 1930
This M.F. Hoffman production released through Grand National featured Ken Maynard as Friendly Fields, a mama's boy whose hat is stolen by lookalike bandit Blackie Burke (also Maynard). Obtaining a job on Patty Blair's (Lona Andre) ranch, Friendly scares the girl's enemies into submission by playing up his resemblance to Blackie. Patty gets a bit worried when she begins to believe that he really is Blackie, but the cowboy continues his masquerade until his true identity is revealed by his mother (Grace Wood). By then, however, all the wrongs have been righted and Friendly and Lona agree to meet the future together. Maynard, who fancied himself a crooner, sings -- badly -- "Oh! Susannah" by Stephen Foster, accompanied by fellow Grand National cowboy hero Tex Ritter's backing group. Producer Hoffman quickly had enough of the difficult and often tardy Maynard and sold his contract to the Alexander brothers, low-budget producers who also released through Grand National. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hoot Gibson, Ken Maynard, (more)
- 1930
Those Who Dance is not so much a film as a "class reunion" for several former silent-screen favorites. Monte Blue stars as Dan Hogan, a cop who poses as a Detroit gangster, the better to ferret out the murderer of his brother. He does this as much for himself as for his sweetheart Nora Brady (Lila Lee), whose own brother Tim (William Janney) has been accused of the crime. The real villain is Diamond Joe Jennings (William "Stage" Boyd), who is ultimately betrayed by his mistress Kitty (Betty Compson). The title, of course, is derived from the old proverb that ends "must pay the piper." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Blue, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1931
William A. Wellman's triangle melodrama "The Steel Highway" -- a title referring to the film's railroad setting -- was changed to the more suggestive Other Men's Women shortly before it's April 19, 1931 New York premiere. Grant Withers and Regis Toomey played lifelong friends and co-workers in love with the same woman, Mary Astor). She, unfortunately, is also Toomey's wife and the two friends have a blow-out on the job. The train derails and Toomey is blinded for life. When the river floods, the repentant Withers concocts a scheme to save an important railroad bridge by driving his engine across, thus stabilizing the construction. Believing his blindness makes him a burden to Astor, Toomey sacrifices himself instead. The ploy fails and Toomey is killed. Toomey and Astor, who had replaced James Hall and Marian Nixon, and Grant Withers were all fine under Wellman's crisp direction but the film was stolen outright by supporting players James Cagney and Joan Blondell, the latter as Wither's former girlfriend. With typical pre-production code frankness, Blondell's tough-talking waitress advises a fresh customer that she is "A.P.O." What does this "A.P.O. means?" the customer asks. Blondell: "Ain't puttin' out!" Blondell and Cagney, who had appeared together in the Broadway play Penny Arcade and its subsequent film version, Sinner's Holiday (1930), would reach stardom in their third film together, the gangster classic The Public Enemy (1931). Overly static at times, Other Men's Women was livened considerably by the climactic bridge collapse, a successful use of miniatures. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Withers, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1931
In this boxing drama, a prizefighter is left by his money-grubbing showgirl wife who aspires to be a movie star. The fighter's manager is tickled by the turn of events and immediately snaps the boxer out of his love-struck funk and sets him a challenging training program. Sure enough the fighter makes a strong comeback. As soon as the fame and fortune starts rolling in, the avaricious wife shows up at his door. She fires his manager and hires her secret lover in his place. Soon the fighter begins losing again. Just before the championship bout the old manager proves that his wife is being unfaithful. That is only the beginning of the end for the champ. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1931
In this courtroom drama, a lawyer defends his sister's fiance after he is accused of murder. The lawyer knows his client is guilty, and that another man, a sailor, also accused of the crime because he gambled away his gun, which became the murder weapon, but he must honor the confidentiality between he and his client. The sailor is given the death sentence. Just before he is to die, the lawyer's client comes forward and tells the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Brook, Richard Arlen, (more)
- 1931
In this comedy, a female mayoral candidate promises to rid the town of gangsters. She joined the race in the first place when her daughter got involved with a young mobster who has been framed for a murder. With her manager's assistance, the candidate rallies all the women in town and gets them to stop taking care of their husbands unless the men vote for her. It works like a charm and the woman is elected. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, (more)
- 1932
Tim McCoy is falsely accused of killing his own father in this typical low-budget oater directed by the generally efficient but unexciting D. Ross Lederman. Framed in the killing of his own father, Tim Benton (McCoy) escapes from prison along with brutish Red Larkin (Matthew Betz). The fugitives head for the former Benton mine now operated by the villainous John Sebastian (Ethan Laidlaw), where Tim plans to rob the payroll. En route, they are discovered by Bob Dinsmore (William A. Howell), the new marshal of Silver City, who is killed by Red. Tim, who believes the marshal to be merely knocked unconscious, decides to impersonate him in order to get the goods of the two men, Stevens and Ainsley, who framed him on behalf of Sebastian. Accepted by the townspeople in general and the sheriff's daughter Alice (Gulliver) in particular, Tim's scheme is endangered by the arrival of both Stevens (Bob Perry) and Ainsley (Dick Dickinson). After quickly arresting the two henchmen, Tim tells Red that he no longer wishes to go through with the planned payroll robbery. Red, in anger, frames his former partner for Dinsmore's murder. In the ensuing shootout, Red is mortally wounded, but manages to clear Tim's name before he expires. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Dorothy Gulliver, (more)
- 1932
Often referred to as an imitation of Warner's legendary prison drama I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932), RKO's stirring Hell's Highway was actually released a few months earlier. The two films were in production at the same time, but RKO was determined to beat the competition (which also included Universal's Laughter in Hell, 1933) and not a few corners were cut. All three films were set in a generic Southern state (read Georgia) and depicted a horrid penal system more akin to the Middle Ages than the supposedly enlightened 1930s. In Hell's Highway, the chain gang prisoners wear uniforms with a large target printed on the back and the torture instrument du jour is a so-called sweatbox, in constant operation so that unscrupulous contractor Billings (Oscar Apfel) may construct his "Liberty Highway" on time and under budget. When a prisoner dies from exposure in the dreaded contraption, Duke Ellis (Richard Dix) concocts a plan to escape. The escape comes to an abrupt halt with the sudden arrival of his kid brother, Johnny (Tom Brown). The latter ends up in the sweatbox, but Duke has the kid transferred to office duty by using a bit of blackmail. There is a climactic prison riot, during which Duke is killed after saving his brother once again. Or at least that was what a preview audience saw. The death of the film's hero proved so shocking that RKO hastily filmed an alternative ending and Hell's Highway, as it survives today, concludes with Billings being charged with murder (the sweatbox situation) and Duke asked to testify against him. Typical of pre-code Hollywood, Hell's Highway features an openly gay prisoner (who bats his eyes at the prison guards), several scenes of torture, an appearance of near equality between black and white inmates, a bible-quoting polygamist (Charles Middleton), a wife-murdering guard (Warner Richmond), and, for added verisimilitude, a handicapped character who, when mortally wounded during the riot, signs his farewell to this world. Hell's Highway may not have enjoyed the status of I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, but it remains a powerful indictment of the Georgian penal system of 1931 and a fine, well-acted film in its own right. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Tom Brown, (more)
- 1932
James Cagney stars as a popular prizefighter who loses his winnings through too much partying and too many women. Cagney's fans finance the boxer's regenerative stay at a New Mexico health resort. For the sake of pretty, poverty-stricken Marian Nixon, Cagney enters into a return bout. He splits his winnings with Nixon, then goes back to his old skirt-chasing pattern with fickle society girl Virginia Bruce. Having had his nose broken, Cagney fixes it up to please Bruce, and stops taking chances in the ring lest his beezer get smashed again. It doesn't take long for Cagney to plummet from popularity, but true-blue Nixon is there for him when he gets wise to himself. The beautifully staged fight scenes in Winner Take All, wherein James Cagney disdains the use of a double, were later excerpted in Cagney's last-ever film, 1985's Terrible Joe Moran. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Marian Nixon, (more)
- 1932
A pre-Hopalong Cassidy William Boyd is the robust star of this logging camp melodrama which also featured a very young Ginger Rogers -- who performs Bernard Grossman and Harold Lewis' "How Could I Love You" -- and Hollywood veteran Hobart Bosworth. The latter plays Jim Gannon, a lumberjack boss whose son Buck (Boyd) is neglecting his duties in favor of romancing riverboat entertainer Honey (Rogers). Father and son come to blows but their animosity ends after Buck rescues Jim from a runaway logging train. Feeling left out, Honey plans to leave with the carnival boat but decides to stick around after violence erupts at the hands of villainous lumberjack Hack Logan (Fred Kohler). Carnival Boat was filmed on location at Big Pine, CA. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Fred Kohler, (more)
- 1932
Running a swift 55 minutes, Trial of Vivienne Ware packs in more sheer entertainment value than its longer, more prestigious "role model," The Trial of Mary Dugan. Joan Bennett plays the title character, a beleaguered young woman accused of murdering her nasty fiancee (Jameson Thomas). She is defended in court by hotshot lawyer John Sutherland (Donald Cook), who happens to be in love with her. Subtlety is checked at the door in the ensuing trial, which comes to a climax when the actual murderer tosses a knife at a female witness, just as she is about to make a startling revelation. ZaSu Pitts is hilarious as Miss Fairweather, a lachrymose radio personality who during her daily courtroom broadcasts seems less concerned with the progress of the trial than with Vivienne's wardrobe. Trial of Vivienne Ware was based on a novel by Kenneth M. Ellis, which had been previously adapted as a popular radio serial. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, Donald Cook, (more)
Gangster Cagney allows his powerful political connections to appoint him "deputy inspector" of a state reform school. There he finds the youths abused and battered by a brutal, heartless warden and his thuggish guards. It is a nurse who informs Cagney and pleads with him to clean things up. Something touches Cagney's normally hard heart and he commits himself to enacting more humane reforms. Soon, he gets the warden booted out and begins working closely with the inmates, who come to trust and respect him until Cagney's dark side emerges and he reveals himself for what he is--a ruthless mobster. This destroys the boys' trust and when the old warden is reinstated makes matters even worse until Cagney makes a difficult choice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Madge Evans, (more)
- 1933
The end of prohibition spells the end of business as usual for Chicago gangster Bugs Ahearn (Edward G. Robinson in this delightful spoof of mob melodramas from Warner Bros. Paying off their latest moll, Edith (Shirley Grey, Bugs and chief lieutenant Al Daniels (Russell Hopton) grab their ill-gotten gains and go west, hoping to crash polo playing Santa Barbara society. Bugs acquires a rental mansion and a high class girlfriend, Polly Cass (Helen Vinson), but the estate actually belongs to kind but down-on-her-luck socialite Ruth Wayburn (Mary Astor) -- whom the former mobster retains as his social secretary -- while Polly and her relatives prove to be bigger crooks than he ever was. The Little Giant was reportedly filmed in 18 days on a budget of $197,000. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, (more)
An admirably tough B-picture enlivened by an energetic James Cagney performance, Picture Snatcher stars Cagney as Danny Kean, a former gangster who has decided to go straight after a stretch in the big house. Danny has fallen for Patricia (Patricia Ellis), the daughter of the cop who put him away (Robert Emmett O'Connor). Dad isn't convinced that Danny has left his life of crime behind him, and he isn't too impressed with his new career taking pictures for a sleazy tabloid newspaper. Between getting a lurid photo of a fireman in front of a burning building (where his wife and her lover met their fate) and a daring shot of a woman being executed (based an actual incident when a New York Daily News photographer got a photo of Ruth Snyder in the electric chair), Danny's work is selling papers but hardly making Officer O'Connor think his daughter is in good hands (especially since he was in charge of press security for the execution). Short, sweet and sassy, Picture Snatcher is the sort of gutsy fare Warner Bros. did best in the 1930's; Ralph Bellamy turns in a great supporting performance as Danny's boozy editor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1934
A satire on radio crooners, Twenty Million Sweethearts stars Dick Powell as a singing waiter--fake handlebar mustache and all. Publicity man Pat O'Brien discovers Powell and gets him a radio gig, leading to nationwide adulation for the nonplused tenor. All of this jeopardizes Powell's happy marriage to Ginger Rogers, but he proves faithful to her despite the twenty million sweethearts (i.e. female radio fans) referred to in the title. Twenty Million Sweethearts is fitfully amusing, with some of the best moments concentrated at the beginning wherein the Radio Rogues imitate several popular personalities of the airwaves. This film was remade in 1949 as My Dream Is Yours, with Doris Day (!) in the Dick Powell role but with the same "signature" tune, "I'll String Along with You." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, (more)
- 1934
Filmed between the original Thin Man and the first of its sequels, Evelyn Prentice re-teamed William Powell and Myrna Loy as another husband-and-wife team knee deep in a murder mystery. In this one, Powell is John Prentice, a prominent lawyer with an eye for women other than his own wife. His latest interest is Nancy Harrison (Rosalind Russell, in her film debut), a client accused of manslaughter, whom Prentice successfully defended. Loy plays John's wife, Evelyn, who loves him but is hurt by his inattention and the loneliness that ensues. This leads her to engage in a flirtation of her own, with a charming writer (Harvey Stephens). The writer, however, is interested in Evelyn only for what he can get out of her and threatens to blackmail her. In a panic, she shoots him and runs away, discovering later that he has been found dead and that another woman, Judith Wilson, has been accused of his murder. Hoping that his expert legal skills will the innocent woman her acquittal, Evelyn convinces her husband to take on Wilson's defense. As the film progresses, Evelyn feels increasingly pressured to admit that she is responsible for the man's death. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Myrna Loy, William Powell, (more)
- 1935
The third screen version of Jack London's classic adventure story was also the first with sound, and it toyed with the original story a bit to add a love interest for leading man Clark Gable. Jack Thornton (Gable) is a would-be prospector who has headed to Alaska hoping to cash in on the gold rush. However, he loses most of his stake in a poker game and instead ends up buying a Saint Bernard named Buck. He's able to pick up Buck for a song because he's too ill-tempered to pull a sled; Smith (Reginald Owen), Buck's former owner, treated him with cruelty and the dog mangled Smith's hand in retaliation. Jack loves the dog, though, and treats him with care and kindness. Buck bonds with Jack and soon becomes a loyal companion and a good sled dog. Angry and astounded, Smith bets Jack that Buck can't pull a half-ton sled 100 yards; while the old Buck would never have done it, with Jack's urging the dog manages the feat and Jack now has the funds to set out with his friend Shorty (Jack Oakie) to stake their claim. While searching for gold, Jack and Shorty discover Claire Blake (Loretta Young), the wife of a miner who abandoned her to look for a fresh vein of gold. A warmth grows between Claire and Jack in the frozen North, but Jack is forced to help her husband when he runs afoul of thieves trying to steal his claim. Six more films based on The Call of the Wild would follow this to the screen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Loretta Young, (more)
