Paul Porcasi Movies

Metropolitan Opera diva Grace Moore made her film debut in MGM's A Lady's Morals. The film purports to be the biography of "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind, who was ballyhooed to stardom by 19th-century showman P.T. Barnum (Wallace Beery, who'd re-create the role in 1934's The Mighty Barnum). Most of the story, however, is given over to the fabricated romance between Lind (Moore) and young composer Paul Brandt (Reginald Denny), who gives her up when stricken with blindness. As if this wasn't trouble enough, Lind loses her voice at the height of her career; she regains her golden throat, but Paul is lost to her forever. Grace Moore sings seven songs during the film's amazingly brief (75-minute) running time, two of them operatic classics. The anemic box-office showing of A Lady's Morals and her follow-up vehicles briefly squelched Grace Moore's hopes for film stardom, but a few years later she enjoyed enormous success in a series of Columbia musicals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A rare "prestige" item from low-budget Allied Pictures, Parisian Romance boasts a screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert, of The Moon is Blue fame. Lew Cody stars as a libidinous French baron whose love-'em-and-leave-'em philosophy is seriously challenged when he falls for the beautiful Claudette (Marion Shilling). Realizing that Claudette would be happier with someone else, the Baron has the wisdom to do the wrong thing at the right time. Our hero's sang froid is never more pronounced than when he stoically accepts two socks on the chin from his rival Victor (Gilbert Roland). Joyce Compton, a specialist in "dumb Southern belle" roles, is incongruously cast as Parisian coquette Marcelle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Andrews Sisters made their screen debut in Argentine Nights, but the stars of the show are the Ritz Brothers, in the first of their four Universal vehicles. The wafer-thin plotline finds the Ritz boys showing up flat broke in Argentina with an all-girl band. Despite their utter lack of funds, the zany trio tries to save a local hotel from the clutches of a con man. Highlights include the Ritz Brothers' famous "hero sandwich" routine (repeated by the two surviving brothers in 1975's Blazing Stewardesses) and a perversely hilarious climax in which the Ritzes are called upon to impersonate the Andrews Sisters (which may have given rise to Patty Andrews' oft-quoted observation "We looked like the Ritz Brothers in drag"). As a bonus for fans of the Superman TV series, nominal romantic lead George Reeves warbles the deathless tune "Amigo We Go Riding Tonight". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama is set during the mid Twenties when gangsters were a bit more genteel than their 1930s counterparts. Based on a true story, it profiles the experiences of a young gangster who, after getting caught during a robbery is given a choice: he can either go to prison or join the military and fight. He chooses the military. There he becomes a hero. But when he returns home, he immediately returns to gangster life. Trouble ensues when he falls for an aristocratic woman with a daughter. Their happiness is interrupted by an old enemy who kidnaps the girl. The protagonist successfully saves the girl and kills his enemy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

British Agent starred the Hungarian/British actor Leslie Howard in the title role, was directed by full-fledged Hungarian Michael Curtiz, and costarred American leading lady Kay Francis as a Russian spy. Based on the memoirs of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who had been the unofficial British emissary to the Russian Revolutionary government in 1917, British Agent spends more time on its romantic subplot than in recreating the birth of Bolshevism. Leslie Howard's purpose in this film is to dissuade the Bolsheviks from signing a separate treaty with the World War I German regime. It is obvious to modern-day viewers that Howard is merely looking after Britain's interests and has no concern for the Russians; this was par for the course in a 1930s film, but does not play well with less jingoistic audiences of the 1990s. The most interesting aspect of British Agent is the performance of saturnine Irving Pichel as a young Josef Stalin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This typically wild-and-wooly entry in Paramount's "Bulldog Drummond" series gets under way when stiff-upper-lip Scotland Yard inspector Nielsen is kidnapped by master criminal Richard Lane (J. Carroll Naish). Ensconsed in his lavish jungle hideout somewhere in Africa, Lane wines and dines his captive as a prelude for his intended revenge against the good Inspector. As Bulldog Drummond (John Howard), his fiancee Phyllis (Heather Angel), his best friend Algy (Reginald Denny) and his valet Tenny (E. E. Clive) hack their way through the African foliage in search of Nielsen, Lane carries out his evil scheme by strapping the inspector to a pillar and preparing to release a ferocious, ill-fed pack of lions. Even if Nielsen should escape this peril, Lane has covered his bets by planting a time bomb in Drummond's private plane. Were it not for the fact that there were still three films to go in the "Drummond" series, one would be inclined to start worrying. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's café has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

As much a horror film as a murder mystery, Charlie Chan in Egypt is one of the best entries in the "Chan" series. The story is motivated by a King Tut-like curse, which has apparently befallen the members of an archeological expedition. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is brought into the case when a French museum wants to find out how several valuable Egyptian artifacts, originally slated for museum exhibition, have ended up for sale to the highest bidder. Arriving in Egypt, Chan must first figure out the modus operandi for two murders in which neither a weapon nor a wound was found. The solution to the killings involves a certain musical pitch played on a violin (a familiar mystery-movie device of the period). Though the screenwriters do a good job concealing the identity of the villain, Fox Studio's typecasting policy tends to give away that identity somewhat ahead of schedule. Prominent among the supporting players is black comedian Stepin Fetchit, whose stereotyped routines may offend the sensibilities of modern viewers. Originally released at 72 minutes, Charlie Chan in Egypt is currently available only in its choppy, shortened reissue version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This action movie provides interesting information about the special training and experiences of motorcycle cops. The story centers around a California highway patrolman who was formerly a carnival stunt rider. Throughout the tale, the CHPs officer has a series of encounters with bad drivers, a roadhouse cabaret gang, and a ring of smugglers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

King Vidor directed this screen adaptation of the novel An Imperfect Lover by Robert Gore-Brown, which had also made the transition to the stage. Jim Warlock (Ronald Colman) is a successful British lawyer who has always displayed a solid and conservative nature in his business associations, his professional ethics, and his personal life. He has enjoyed a happy if unexciting marriage with his wife Clemency (Kay Francis) for seven years, but when she leaves town for several days, Jim meets Doris (Phyllis Barry), a young sales clerk. To his surprise, Jim finds himself infatuated with Doris, and what begins as an innocent flirtation quickly escalates into a passionate affair. Eventually, when Jim tries to break off the relationship, Doris becomes distraught and kills herself. The death leads to a criminal investigation which makes Jim the leading figure in a national scandal, but he accepts all responsibility and refuses to say anything that would cast Doris in a negative light. The publicity forces him to leave the country and puts the future of his marriage in serious question. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This Monogram melodrama gets off to a quick start as a young man is shot to death -- while he's being led to the electric chair! The condemned man was planning to make a startling last-minute revelation which would have put a noose around the neck of his murderer. Several other people shared the dead man's secret, and the murderer isn't averse to bumping them off as well. Assistant DA Preston S. Foster and intrepid newspaperwoman Peggy Shannon try to solve the mystery and trap the unknown assassin A good cast of "B"-picture regulars includes Bryant Washburn, George Hayes (still not "Gabby"), Jason Robards Sr., and, as the unfortunate hot-seat candidate, future John Ford regular Paul Fix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The trials of being a doctor's wife are presented in this drama. The story centers upon the problematic marriage of one couple. Their troubles begin when the doctor makes a housecall to a seductive woman with designs upon him. His suspicious wife follows him and spies on him. She thinks they are getting romantic when he is actually trying to extricate himself from his predatory patient. She decides to get revenge with his best friend, but nothing happens. The doctor later finds out that she saw him. He then becomes suspicious because it is she who is now seldom home. He confronts his friend about the alleged adultery. The friend becomes distraught and tries to kill himself. The doctor operates to save his friend's life. He then discovers that his wife has been taking nursing classes so she could work beside her husband and see him more often. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide