ZaSu Pitts Movies
According to her own account, actress ZaSu Pitts was given her curious cognomen because she was named for two aunts, Eliza and Susan. Born in Kansas, Pitts moved with her family to California, where at age 19 she began her film career. Her first starring role was as an ugly duckling who finds true love in 1919's Better Times. Her calculated vagueness and fluttery hand gestures earned Pitts comedy roles from the outset, but director Erich Von Stroheim saw dramatic potential in the young actress. He cast her as the grasping, money-mad wife in his masterpiece Greed (1924), and she rose to the occasion with a searing performance. Except for a couple of later collaborations with Von Stroheim, Pitts returned to predominately comic assignments after Greed. One exception was her portrayal of Lew Ayres' ailing mother in the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), a brilliant piece of work that unfortunately fell victim to the editors' scissors when a preview audience, conditioned to Pitts' comedy roles, broke out in loud laughter when she came onscreen (she was replaced by Beryl Mercer in the domestic version of All Quiet, though reportedly her scenes were retained for some European versions). Established as a top character comedian by the '30s (her oft-imitated catchphrase was "Oh, dear, oh my!"), Pitts co-starred with Thelma Todd in a series of Hal Roach two-reelers, was top-billed in such feature programmers as Out All Night (1933) and The Plot Thickens (1935), and showed up in select character roles in A-pictures. During the '40s and '50s, she toured in Ramshackle Inn, a play written especially for her by George Batson. From 1956 through 1960, Pitts played Elvira "Nugey" Nugent on the popular Gale Storm TV sitcom Oh, Susanna. ZaSu Pitts died in 1963, shortly after completing her final film appearance in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and just a few days after her last TV guest assignment on Burke's Law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1931
Rita La Roy has good reasons to hate her philandering husband, Hooper Atchley, in this low-budget but sumptuous-looking art deco mystery directed by comedy specialist Thornton Freeland. The cool and calculated Miss La Roy isn't the only person with a grudge against the nasty Atchley, however; in fact, quite a few people come under suspicion when the philanderer is found dying from a bullet wound in his penthouse apartment. Just before he expires, Atchley manages to gasp, "Casey," referring perhaps to Arthur Jones (William Collier Jr.), whose sister (June Clyde) was one of the evil man's latest victims. In the middle of the investigation, the murder scene is plunged into darkness, a shot is fired, and when the electricity returns, yet another victim is found, with the late Mr. Atchley's pet monkey -- the secret witness -- clutching a still smoking gun. Police Captain McGowan (Purnell Pratt) is at first dumbfounded, but with the help of dizzy neighbor Una Merkel, the identity of the murderer is finally revealed. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Una Merkel, William Collier, Jr., (more)
- 1931
In their first of 16 comedy shorts for Hal Roach, blonde Thelma Todd and fluttery ZaSu Pitts go on a frenetic double date with George Byron and Charlie Hall. Although the series opener, directed by Roach himself, was released in three reels, subsequent comedies were all two-reelers. Teaming the self-assured Todd with bashful, spinsterish Pitts was an obvious attempt by Roach to create a distaff Laurel and Hardy. And despite a few miscalculations along the way, the team came very close indeed. Although Pitts was declared one of America's great dramatic actresses by no less an authority than Erich von Stroheim, the public liked her best in comedy and she proved a perfect foil for the glamorous Todd. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
In this three-hanky melodrama, an aspiring writer abandons his wife and five children to work more closely with a beautiful woman who works for a prominent publishing company. Ten years pass and the writer has become extremely popular despite the fact that his work is consistently trashed by literary critics. The critics have good reason; to support his new wife's exorbitantly high standard of living, he must churn out pulp mysteries. His ex-wife, who still loves him, decides to help him and invites him to visit the family. He does and suddenly finds himself pining for them. He begs his ex-wife to let his adolescent offspring come to live with him. She does and moves them to New York. His second wife, feeling insecure by her husband's newfound love for his children feels ignored. Bette Davis plays the author's adult daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Boles, Genevieve Tobin, (more)
- 1931
In this Thelma Todd-ZaSu Pitts two-reel comedy, the girls are wartime spies assigned to seduce a couple of German officers. Typically well cast, this Hal Roach Studios comedy featured veteran silent star Stuart Holmes, grande dame actress Carrie Daumery, and newcomer Allan Lane. The latter would later become a popular cowboy star under the name Allan "Rocky" Lane. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
The second of 16 Thelma Todd-ZaSu Pitts comedy shorts for producer Hal Roach, this two-reeler proved one of the team's very best. Homesick in the big city, ZaSu falls in love with a prizefighter (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) from her home town of Joplin, MO. He feels certain that he can win his final match if only she appears in the audience wearing a certain lucky hat. Arriving with girlfriend Thelma (who's dating Williams' fight manager Reed Howes), ZaSu promptly looses her hat in the crowd and pandemonium ensues. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
The legendary theatrical team of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne made their only starring screen appearance in this 1931 adaptation of Ferenc Molnar's The Guardsman. The Lunts are appropriately cast as a famous husband-and-wife acting duo, the husband of which suspects the wife of infidelity. To find out for certain, he disguises himself as an amorous Russian guardsman, complete with handlebar mustache. After an evening of paradise, Lunt confesses his subterfuge to Fontanne. She says she knew all the time, but that gleam in her eye opens up quite a few doubts which are never truly resolved. The fabled "naturalism" of the Lunts appears slightly strained under the probing eye of the camera lens, but their seemingly ad-libbed repartee sequences are a joy to behold. The Guardsman served as the basis for the Oscar Straus operetta The Chocolate Soldier, which itself was filmed in 1943 with Nelson Eddy and Rise Stevens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, (more)
- 1931
Previously filmed in 1926 as Red Dice, The Big Gamble stars future "Hopalong Cassidy" Bill Boyd as a heavily-in-debt gambler. The suicidal Boyd makes a deal with mobster Warner Oland, whereby Oland will collect Boyd's huge insurance policy--provided he facilitates the gambler's entry into The Next World. When Boyd meets beautiful Dorothy Sebastian (then the actor's real-life wife), he finds a new reason for living. Oland, however, refuses to go back on the agreement, and proceeds with his plans to plant Boyd six feet under. The melodramatic elements of The Big Gamble are offset by the welcome comedy relief of James Gleason and ZaSu Pitts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Sebastian, Warner Oland, (more)
- 1931
A naive, wealthy small-town girl, bored with her routine life, falls for a dashing con artist who has come looking for fresh marks to swindle. He soon charms her into faking her prominent father's name on a letter of endorsement, which he presents to the other local merchants. They willingly give him all sorts of goodies and he prepares his escape, but not before conning the girl into becoming his wife. After their wedding night in a sleazy hotel, he abandons her. Fortunately, by the story's end, she is able to reassemble her shattered life and find happiness. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Nagel, Bette Davis, (more)
- 1931
In this dramatic adventure a shady lady becomes a spy for the Austrian intelligence agency and ends up involved with a man suspected of being a German spy. She only pretends to love him to discover the truth. The man she really loves is a young naval officer, but in order to serve her country, she must end her love affair. Later the counter-spy commits suicide to avoid detection, while at the same time, the woman is wounded. Though she only has a few months left to live, the officer marries her. His family objects because they think she has a venereal disease. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, William Bakewell, (more)
- 1931
A troubled production that suffered from both severe cuts and retakes under a different director (Edward H. Griffith), this World War I melodrama fell far short of becoming another All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) as had obviously been the original intention. Told in flashbacks, the antiwar drama stars William Boyd as Sergeant Bill Thatcher, the head of an American battalion fighting for control of a French village. As Thatcher listens, three wounded soldiers under his command recall how they came to the battlefields of World War I: A farm boy, Bud (Russell Gleason), defied his mother (Mary Carr) and enlisted despite being the family's sole breadwinner; a New York playboy, trapped between two women, Ina (Marion Shilling), his newest conquest, and a former mistress, Lew (Lew Cody), sought the easy way out by enlisting; finally, Private Jim Mobley (James Gleason) tells the heartfelt story of how his wife, "Mademoiselle" Fritzi (ZaSu Pitts), a carnival knife thrower, got very upset when he decided to escape housekeeping duties by joining the army. Back on the battlefield, Jim finds Bill at the machine gun, where the latter finally tells his own story of how he came to hate his German-born fiancée, Katherine (Lissi Arna), when she warned him of the futility of war. Before blowing up a railroad bridge, Bill admits to Jim that he now fully understands Katherine's sentiments. Wounded in the battle, both soldiers end up in a German Red Cross hospital where Bill is reunited with Katherine. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- ZaSu Pitts, Lew Cody, (more)
- 1931
In this youthful comedy, a child genius has fun getting her cousin into trouble. The bright girl's parents take her and her nephew on a sea cruise to Paris. En route, the girl treats the boy abominably. First she pushes him over the boat, then she stuffs him down an airshaft. Later she sticks his head in a fishbowl. When she is not bedeviling her cousin, she is helping her father get out of trouble with con artists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Errol, Mitzi Green, (more)
- 1931
In their third two-reel comedy for Hal Roach, the zany team of beautiful Thelma Todd and plain-Jane ZaSu Pitts find themselves hired as maids in a swank mansion after its owner (Elizabeth Forrester) accidentally runs them off the road. This is the comedy short where Todd, pretending to be a woman of the world, slips head first into a bathtub full of water. Collecting herself, she looks at the camera with an "Imagine my embarrassment!" Oliver Hardy couldn't have done it better. The Pajama Party was directed by producer Roach himself. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Dorothy Mackaill stars in this old-fashioned melodrama set in the Basque country of Spain. She is Emily Stanley, betrothed to foppish Englishman Sir Harry Congers (Lawrence Grant), but in love with Basque peasant Esteban Cristera (Warner Baxter). Deciding on a final fling before wedlock, Emily goes to Esteban's village in the mountains, but is wounded in a car accident. Recuperating, she learns about the hardships endured by Basque women from Esteban's grandmother (Nance O'Neil) and former girlfriend, Stancia (Mary Doran), and decides to return to Sir Harry in Biarritz. But Esteban, who has gotten his Grand Mere's permission to ask for Emily's hand in marriage, literally abducts the young bride-to-be and brings her onboard his new yacht. As a delighted Emily learns, Esteban is no peasant at all, but an American-made millionaire. A troubled production, Their Mad Moment was filmed in 1930, but retakes (directed by Hamilton MacFadden) delayed the release for almost a year. A Spanish language version featuring Jose Mojica was produced simultaneously. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
One of the most powerful anti-war statements ever put on film, this gut-wrenching story concerns a group of friends who join the Army during World War I and are assigned to the Western Front, where their fiery patriotism is quickly turned to horror and misery by the harsh realities of combat. Director Lewis Milestone pioneered the use of the sweeping crane shot to capture a ghastly battlefield panorama of death and mud, and the cast, led by Lew Ayres, is terrific. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, but the finale, as Ayres stretches from his trench to catch a butterfly, is one of the most devastating sequences of the decade. The film won Oscars for Best Picture and for Milestone's direction -- and trivia buffs should note that the actors were coached by future luminary George Cukor, while Ayres became a conscientious objector in World War II. The Road Back (1937) followed, and the film was remade for television in 1979. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, (more)
- 1930
In this faithful adaptation of the popular 1925 Broadway hit musical, a Bible salesman helps three women with their troubles and finds himself in deep when all three show up at his Atlantic City cottage simultaneously. Songs include: "Dance of the Wooden Shoes," "As Long as I'm With You," "King of the Air," "No, No Nanette," "Dancing to Heaven," "Tea for Two," and "I Want to be Happy." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernice Claire, Alexander Gray, (more)
- 1930
In this crime melodrama, a bootlegger orders the death of his rival. Meanwhile the bootlegger's wife dallies with his best friend. Following the hit, the gangster is arrested. Believing that his best pal ratted on him, he busts out of jail and goes looking for revenge. It is then he discovers that the real stoolie is his own wife who was trying to keep him from being rubbed out by a rival gang. Upon learning the truth, the repentant bootlegger decides to sacrifice himself to the coppers so his son can be raised by his upright best friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Revier, Jack Holt, (more)
- 1930
The 1916 Alice Duer Miller play Come Out of the Kitchen, previously filmed in 1921 with Marguerite Clark, was expertly transformed into early musical Honey. The story takes place in a poverty-stricken Virginia household, where blue-blooded brother and sister Olivia and Charles Dangerfield (Nancy Carroll and Skeets Gallagher) are reduced to renting out their mansion. Pretentious Yankee dowager Mrs. Falkner (Jobyna Howland) moves in with her spunky daughter Cora (Lillian Roth) in tow, while Olivia and Charles remain as servants. It isn't long before Cora has fallen in love with Charles, and Olivia has done likewise with Cora's former fiancee Burton Crane (Stanley Smith). The songs range from the self-spoofing "In My Little Hope Chest" to the lively "Sing You Sinners" (later used as a jazzy leitmotif in several Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons!) The Alice Duer Miller original was filmed again in 1934 as the British comedy Come Out of the Pantry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nancy Carroll, Stanley Smith, (more)
- 1930
War Nurse was based on the anonymous memoirs of an American nurse who served with the French Army during WWI. Since the nurse's recollections included several sexual episodes, the book gained a degree of notoriety, and it was assumed that the material was too "hot" to be adapted to film. But MGM scriveners Becky Gardiner and Joe Farnham managed to retain the spirit of the original novel while still remaining safely within the boundaries of Hollywood censorship. Broadway actress June Walker starred as the title character, here named Babs, whose many romances are crystallized into a single passionate affair with downed aviator Wally (Robert Montgomery) and a less-serious entanglement with a married officer named Robin (Robert Ames). Perhaps to atone for the "sins" of the original novelist, Anita Page appears as Babs' friend Joy, who comes to a sad end after being betrayed by Robin, who likewise dies an unpleasant death. War Nurse failed to make back its $600,000 budget, whereupon June Walker, who wasn't too keen on movies anyway, returned to the stage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Robert Ames, (more)
Based on "Bride 66", a tone poem by composer Herbert Stothart, The Lottery Bride takes place in a distinctly Hollywoodized Norway. Ever on the lookout for extra cash, heroine Jenny Swanson (Jeanette MacDonald) coerces her sweetheart Chris Svenson (John Garrick) to participate with her in a three-day marathon race. When the exhausted couple fails to win first prize, Jenny enters herself in a "wife lottery." Though the lucky winner appears to be Chris's older brother, it is actually Chris himself -- but he isn't aware of it, having embarked on a dirigible expedition to the Yukon. Only after surviving a crash landing does Chris return home for a blissful reunion with Jenny. With a plot this silly, why did the producers bother to hire Joe E. Brown and ZaSu Pitts as comedy relief? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, John Garrick, (more)
- 1930
In this drama, a two wealthy cousins find themselves involved in an unfortunate love triangle. The trouble begins when the one cousin, whose wealth came from marriage convinces the other, an heiress, to marry the family chauffeur. Years pass, and the first cousin ends up falling for the chauffeur herself and trying to break up the marriage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, Kay Johnson, (more)
- 1930
Sometimes all it takes to save a marriage is a good pop, right in the kisser or so this family drama seems to imply. The story focuses on a troubled married couple. At first the wife turns to a therapist, but she finds herself paying a lot of money for nothing. In desperation, she decides to pack up the children and move out. Her husband tries to persuade her to comeback, but she refuses. He then punches her in the face. This seems to do the trick, and she comes home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Genevieve Tobin, Conrad Nagel, (more)
Ahead of its time for liberated thinking, this is still really just a classic romance with a love triangle thrown in on the side. While on a trip to Paris, a woman meets a man that makes her reconsider her marriage of convenience (she had married her boss to save him from his girlfriend!). ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Bennett, Basil Rathbone, (more)
- 1930
Based on a play by Floyd Dell and Thomas Mitchell, Little Accident stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as bridegroom-to-be Norman Overbeck. On the eve of his wedding to Madge (Sally Blane), Norman is visited by his first wife Isabel (Anita Page), who tells him that he's just become a father. Stuck with a kid on his hands, our hero is forced to postpone the wedding and "play daddy." He comes to like the job so much that he ends up marrying Isabel all over again -- but not before a long and drawn-out custody battle. Considerably toned down from the original play (in which the baby was illegitimate), Little Accident is a bit too antiseptic for its own good. The film was remade under the same title as a "Baby Sandy" vehicle in 1939, then again as the Gary Cooper starrer Casanova Brown in 1944. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Anita Page, (more)
- 1930
Nancy Carroll brings a touch of freshness to the well-worn plot convolutions of Devil's Holiday. Ms. Carroll plays a manicurist who woos and weds wealthy Phillips Holmes. She tells herself that she harbors no mercenary notions, but when Holmes' family offers to buy her off if she'll leave, Carroll accepts the offer. The girl's basic loyalty surfaces when Holmes goes temporarily insane; Carroll reneges on her cash deal with the family and returns to her husband. Devil's Holiday is one of those class-conscious early 1930s pictures that always scored a hit with middle-class filmgoers, who liked to believe that they, too, would behave as altruistically as Nancy Carroll if given the chance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nancy Carroll, Phillips Holmes, (more)
