Victor Potel Movies

The girl is stenographer Dot Duncan (Lucille Ball); the guy is her boss, stuffy young shipping magnate Stephen Herrick (Edmond O'Brien); and the gob is a brash sailor known as Coffee Cup (George Murphy). Not surprisingly, the plot involves the efforts by the self-effacing Stephen and the self-confident Coffee Cup to woo and win the lovely Dot. And that's about all the "story" there is; the rest of the picture is jam-packed with round-robin comic misunderstandings and wild slapstick setpieces. A Girl, a Guy and a Gob was one of two RKO Radio films produced by silent-screen great Harold Lloyd, who reportedly dropped in on the set from time to time to offer a bit of sage comedy advice (note the "handkerchief" bit utlized by Edmond O'Brien; it had previously done service in Lloyd's own Welcome Danger). Not as big a moneymaker as Harold's starring features of the 1920s, the RKO film nonetheless turned a tidy profit for the studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Steinbeck cowrote this sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching study of small-town hypocrisy. Shiftless Benny (who is never seen) has been tossed out of his Southern California town by the "proper" citizens. Drafted into the army, Benny is killed in action--and now that he's a hero, his old home town gears up for a Congressional Medal of Honor ceremony. Suddenly the same upright townsfolk who'd previously scorned Benny and his impoverished father (J. Carroll Naish) bend over backward to prove how much they "loved" the boy. Only Dorothy Lamour, playing Benny's former sweetheart, sees through the sham, though she's honor bound to celebrate Benny's heroism. A Medal for Benny bestows top billing upon Lamour, but the film's true star is J. Carroll Naish as Benny's volatile Italian papa--a performance which won Naish an Academy Award nomination. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Viola Dana plays Ruth Ambrose, a citified interior decorator who expands her business to the country. The locals don't quite know what to make of the sophisticated Ruth, but she soon wins them over. After renovating a general store, Ruth finds true love in the form of farm boy Raymond McKee. Comedy relief is in the pudgy hands of Walter Hiers, while Tully Marshall goes through his "wizened rustic" repertoire. Along Came Ruth was released by Metro-Goldwyn, just before the company evolved into MGM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This entertaining little silent comedy stars Earl Schenck and Betsy Ross Clark). The pair play Harlan Carr and his wife, who have inherited a New England homestead, the Jack O' Lantern, from his Uncle Ebenezer. One stipulation in the will is that they must live in the house for six months before they can claim ownership. It isn't long after they've moved in that they're invaded by a passel of obnoxious relatives who have made it a habit of spending every summer at the place. The relatives spend their time taking advantage of the Carrs and complaining that they inherited nothing. Eventually the couple can take it no longer and they summarily eject all the freeloaders. With that, the lawyer arrives and hands them a letter from Uncle Ebenezer, which congratulates them -- he felt the same way they did about his relatives, but he never had the courage to kick them out. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This melodrama required less stunts than usual from dog star Rin-Tin-Tin and more "acting." Always the trouper, Rin-Tin-Tin proved to be the histrionic equal of his co-stars. Slasher (Rin-Tin-Tin, a famed fighting dog, falls off the train that is carrying him. He is found, broken in spirit, by Donald Cass (John Harron). The dog is regenerated by Donald's love. Donald is equally devoted to his sweetheart, May Barton (June Marlowe), a minister's daughter. A wealthy young woman donates a large sum of money to the church and is later found murdered. The sinister Jamber Niles (Pat Hartigan) knows that the money is in Donald's safekeeping, and he attacks the young man. Slasher springs into action and kills his master's assailant. Jamber's half-wit brother Cuckoo (Victor Potel) sets a pack of bloodhounds on Donald and May, but once again Slasher comes to the rescue and fends them off. Evidence proves that Jamber was the woman's murderer. Donald, May, and the loyal Slasher look forward to a happy life together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Rather shaky as history, Birth of the Blues delivers the goods in terms of entertainment, thanks to the unbeatable star combination of Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. Set in New Orleans in the 'teens, the film stars Crosby as clarinetist Jeff Lambert, who breaks away from a traditionalist orchestra to form his own jazz band. His partners in this endeavor are songstress Betty Lou Cobb (Martin) and trumpeter Memphis (Brian Donlevy), a character obviously meant to be a white-bread version of Louis Armstrong. Inspired by the rhythms heard amongst the African American population of Louisiana, Jeff, Betty Lou and Memphis rise to fame and fortune, but internal jealousies and external gangster threats seriously compromise their success. An added complication is the presence of cute little orphan girl Phoebe (Carolyn Lee), Betty Lou's aunt, whom Jeff is obliged to hide from the child-welfare behemoths. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson is in his element as Jeff's long-suffering general factotum Louey, whose near-death experience towards the end of the story results in one of film's most powerful musical vignettes. The 14 songs heard in Birth of the Blues range from such classics as "St. Louis Blues" and "St. James Infirmary" to such newly-minted ditties as Johnny Mercer's "The Waiter, the Porter and the Upstairs Maid". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A well-staged battle between two wild horses became the centerpiece in this early musical Western starring diminutive Mexican actress Armida. She plays the owner of a hacienda who takes in a fugitive (Don Terry) from the Mexican authorities. Terry, of course, is completely innocent in the charge of horse stealing and gets a chance to clear his good name when Armida's ranch becomes a target for the real rustlers. Produced by the penny-pinching Lester F. Scott, Jr., Border Romance came complete with a sentimental theme song written by Will Jason and Val Burton. Scott, however, wanted his money's worth and the theme, according to the New York Times was "heard on the sands of the desert, in adobe huts, at fiestas, during horse raids and after every meal!" ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Basically a silent film, Pathe's Captain Swagger was released with a synchronized music and sound-effects track, courtesy of RCA Photophone. Rod La Rocque stars as American aviator Hugh Drummong, whose fearlessness during WWI earns him the nickname of Captain Swagger. Signing up with a French flying regiment, our hero takes on the challenge of shooting down dreaded German air ace Von Stahl (Ulrich Haupt). He brings the German down in enemy territory but rescues Von Stahl before his ruined plane explodes. In gratitude, Von Stahl helps Drummong elude capture and return to his regiment. Ten years pass, whereupon we pick up the story in New York. Unable to hold down a job or any other sort of responsibility, Drummong is forced to become a common thief. As luck would have it, his first "victim" is Sue (Sue Carol), likewise living on the fringes of society, who immediately falls in love with the would-be bandit. The couple reforms and finds work as a nightclub dance team. One night, the club where Drummong and Sue are employed is held up by a slick criminal gang, headed by none other than Drummong's "friendly enemy" Von Stahl. Returning the wartime favor, Drummong sets about to convince Von Stahl to change his ways and return his ill-gotten gains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chip of the Flying U was Johnny Mack Brown's first western entry for 1940. Brown essays the title role of Chip Bennett, foreman of the Flying U ranch. Before the second reel has tumbled over the spools, Chip finds himself falsely accused of robbery and murder. The actual miscreants are in the employ of a band of foreign gunrunners, who speak in heavily Teutonic accents. Rest assured that Chip makes short work of these bush-league Storm Troopers before the sun sets in the West. Musical interludes are provided by a group calling themselves the Texas Rangers, even though they actually hailed from Kansas City. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lois Wilson stars in this drama, which was based on the novel by Clarence Buddington Kelland. Schoolteacher Carmel Lee (Wilson) inherits a run-down country newspaper from her uncle. With the help of eccentric Professor Pell (Raymond McKee) and Jed Tubal, an old printer (Luke Cosgrave), she starts bringing it back to life. When she decides to rid the town of a gang of bootleggers, she runs into trouble. The reformers are on her side but the bad guys are determined to stop them. Sheriff Churchill (Charles Ogle) has disappeared and she suspects foul play. Pell proves that the sheriff has been murdered, and that Abner Fownes (Edwards Davis) is the leader of the bootleggers. Deputy Sheriff Jenney (a well-cast Noah Beery) is Fownes' equally villainous assistant. Carmel gathers up the reformers of the town and leads them to the bootleggers' lair. Their game is uncovered and they're run out of town. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In its first few years of existence, Republic Pictures evinced an eagerness to tackle any sort of offbeat subject. The studio's Down to the Sea has to be one of the only films of the 1930s to concentrate on a pair of Greek sponge fishermen. Played by Russell Hardie and Ben Lyon, the heroes battle over the affections of Ann Rutherford, whose father controls much of Florida's sponge industry. The climactic scenes benefit from the fine location and underwater photography, courtesy of cinematographer Harry Neumann. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this espionage adventure, a courageous millworker must prove himself innocent of treason charges after the title spies purloin valuable blueprints from his plant. He also tries to bring the spies to justice, but soon finds himself in deep trouble. Fortunately, the good-guy spies show up at the crucial moment and justice is served. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Fritz Lang's first American film is a vigorous and perceptive indictment of mob law, starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney. Katherine (Sidney) leaves her boyfriend, Joe Wilson (Tracy), behind in their Midwestern hometown when she takes a job in another city. Joe is a decent, hard-working soul, who wants to save up to buy a gas station and looks forward to the future when he and Katherine can get married. A year later, Joe is traveling to meet Katherine so that they can be married. Driving through a small town, Joe is stopped by a deputy sheriff waving a shotgun. Apparently there has been a kidnapping, and the fact that Joe has peanuts in his pocket circumstantially incriminates him in the crime. Joe is arrested and jailed. As Joe sits in his jail cell, the local townspeople begin to talk and whisper and spread rumors. Finally, a lynch mob forms and heads toward the jail. The mob tries to storm the jail and frustrated over their inability to penetrate the prison walls, they set the jail on fire. Joe barely manages to escape ("I could smell myself burning"), but the mob thinks that Joe has been burned to death. Behind the scenes, and with the help of his brothers, Joe tries to rig the verdict in the impending trial of the 22 vigilantes. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide