Thomas Pogue Movies

Fourteen scriptwriters spent five years toiling over a movie adaptation of war correspondent Vincent Sheehan's Personal History before producer Walter Wanger brought the property to the screen as Foreign Correspondent. What emerged was approximately 2 parts Sheehan and 8 parts director Alfred Hitchcock--and what's wrong with that? Joel McCrea stars as an American journalist sent by his newspaper to cover the volatile war scene in Europe in the years 1938 to 1940. He has barely arrived in Holland before he witnesses the assassination of Dutch diplomat Albert Basserman: at least, that's what he thinks he sees. McCrea makes the acquaintance of peace-activist Herbert Marshall, his like-minded daughter Laraine Day, and cheeky British secret agent George Sanders. A wild chase through the streets of Amsterdam, with McCrea dodging bullets, leads to the classic "alternating windmills" scene, which tips Our Hero to the existence of a formidable subversive organization. McCrea returns to England, where he nearly falls victim to the machinations of jovial hired-killer Edmund Gwenn. The leader of the spy ring is revealed during the climactic plane-crash sequence--which, like the aforementioned windmill scene, is a cinematic tour de force for director Hitchcock and cinematographer Rudolph Mate. Producer Wanger kept abreast of breaking news events all through the filming of Foreign Correspondent, enabling him to keep the picture as "hot" as possible: the final scene, with McCrea broadcasting to a "sleeping" America from London while Nazi bombs drop all around him, was filmed only a short time after the actual London blitz. The script was co-written by Robert Benchley, who has a wonderful supporting role as an eternally tippling newsman. Foreign Correspondent was Alfred Hitchcock's second American film, and remained one of his (and his fans') personal favorites. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alice Faye stars as aspiring playwright Judith Poe Wells. She falls in love with producer George Macrae (Don Ameche), which makes George's girlfriend Louise Hovick (Gypsy Rose Lee) see red. Judith drops from view while George loses his troublesome girlfriend and prepares to put together a Broadway musical. He chooses Judith's play for his next production, which of course reunites the pair at fadeout time. And how do The Ritz Brothers fit into You Can't Have Everything? Not very well, but the Ritzes do have one funny elongated number set in a Greenwich Village nightclub (where the extras are obviously breaking up at the boys' adlibs). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Women of Glamour is a considerably toned-down remake of Frank Capra's pre-code drama Ladies of Leisure. Virginia Bruce steps into the old Barbara Stanwyck role as streetwise good-time girl Gloria, who falls in love with wealthy playboy Dick (Melvyn Douglas). Not only must she contend with Dick's snooty society pals, but she must also cross claws with the hero's rich-bitch lady friend Carol (Leona Maricle). The dilemma almost leads Gloria to suicide, but there's a happy ending in the offing. Counterpointing the Gloria-Dick romance is the comic courtship of Gloria's dance-hall chum Fan (Pert Kelton) and silly socialite Fritz (Reginald Denny). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This cinematic meringue stars Loretta Young as a young woman whose second husband (Lyle Talbot) is a hard working but dull business exec. She pines for hubby Number One (Tyrone Power), an irresponsible playboy. Young runs into Tyrone again during a Florida vacation, spurning him at first because he hasn't mended his old carefree ways. But that old black magic soon has Young under Tyrone's spell, and boring old Lyle Talbot is left holding the bag. The footloose and fancy-free Second Honeymoon is based on a story by Philip Wylie, an otherwise cantankerous critic of social foibles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, and William Powell star in this crackling screwball comedy about a cut-throat newspaper editor's scheme to prevent a libel suit that ends up exploding in everybody's face. Tracy plays Warren Haggerty, the managing editor of a newspaper that mistakenly prints a story declaring the rich Connie Allenbury (Myrna Loy) has stolen away another woman's husband. Connie retaliates by suing the paper for $5 million. This happens right before Warren is about to marry his fiancee Gladys (Jean Harlow). As he has done several times in the past, Warren delays the wedding in order to stop the libel suit. Warren hires Bill Chandler (William Powell), a former employer who is desperate for a job, to marry Gladys in name only and then court Connie. That way, Gladys can sue Connie for alienation of affections and get Connie to agree to drop her lawsuit if Gladys will drop hers. Bill hops an ocean liner to accompany Connie and her father (Walter Connolly) back to the United States, but along the way Bill and Connie fall in love and Bill tries to convince Gladys to drop her suit so it won't hinder his relationship with Connie. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Lloyds of London traces the rise to prominence of the venerable British insurance company, as seen through the eyes of fictional 19th-century Londoner Jonathan Blake (Tyrone Power, in his first starring role). A lifelong friend of naval hero Lord Nelson, Blake puts his job (and the future existence of Lloyds) on the line when he announces Nelson's victory at Trafalgar -- before it takes place. For those not interested in policies and premiums, the script serves up a romance between Blake and the lovely Lady Elizabeth (Madeleine Carroll), the unhappily married spouse of snotty aristocrat Lord Everett Stacy (George Sanders). Among the few real-life historical personages depicted in the film is Lloyds founder John Julius Angerstein, played by Sir Guy Standing. A box-office bonanza, Lloyds of London proved that 23-year-old Tyrone Power could carry a picture -- and that the recently-formed 20th Century-Fox was truly a major Hollywood studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several years away from the Our Gang series, the gang's longtime mentor Robert F. McGowan briefly resumed his directorial activities with the sidesplitting Divot Diggers. The action takes place at an expansive California golf course, where the Our Gang kids merrily play their own ragtag version of golf with their own makeshift clubs. When the course's regular caddies quit en masse, the desperate caddy master hires the gang members as replacements. The kids -- and their gibberish-spouting pet chimpanzee -- proceed to drive an adult foursome crazy, then put the finishing touch on an imperfect day by accidentally commandeering a lawn-mowing tractor. To list the film's best verbal and visual gags would require a website in itself; suffice to say that the film packs an inordinate amount of laughs into its brief 14 minutes. Augmented by a terrific LeRoy Shield musical score (including such familiar Hal Roach leitmotifs as "Hot and Dry," "Standing on the Corner," and "Beyond the Rainbow"), Divot Diggers made its theatrical debut on February 8, 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Lone Wolf Returns stars Melvyn Douglas as Louis Joseph Vance's reformed criminal Michael Lanyard, a.k.a. The Lone Wolf. Lanyard lapses back into his old ways when he attempts to steal an emerald pendant belonging to Gail Patrick, but he falls in love with the girl and remains on the straight and narrow. A pair of less sentimental crooks frame Lanyard and force him to participate in a high-stakes heist. The Lone Wolf turns the tables on the crooks and wins his lady love. Previously filmed in 1926, The Lone Wolf Returns was the first of Columbia's "B" series featuring the gentleman thief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide