Purnell Pratt Movies

Number ten in MGM's heart-warming (and immensely profitable) "Andy Hardy" series was the 1941 entry Life Begins for Andy Hardy. Upon his graduation from high school, Andy (Mickey Rooney) decides to seek his fortune in New York City without benefit of a college education, much to the consternation of his father Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone). Moving to the Big Apple, Andy lands a job in a stockbroker's office, where he falls in love (at least he thinks it's love) with fickle telephone operator Jennitt Hicks (Patricia Dane). Alas, Andy is unable to cope with life in the fast lane, but it takes the combined efforts of his father and his hometown sweetie Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) to convince him of this fact. For reasons that defy logic, each of Judy Garland's four songs in Life Begins for Andy Hardy were cut from the final release print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Stewart once classified Pot O' Gold as his worst film, though this may have stemmed from his reported inability to get along with his costar Paulette Goddard (who is supposed to have dismissed Stewart's acting technique with a flippant "Anyone can swallow.") Inspired by the popular radio giveaway series of the same name, the film represented an ill-fated production venture for James Roosevelt, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Stewart plays Jimmy Haskell, nephew of breakfast-food mogul C. J. Haskell (Charles Winninger). Befriending bandleader Horace Heidt (playing himself) and his orchestra members, Jimmy and his sweetheart Molly McCorkle (Paulette Goddard) tries to persuade C. J. to sponsor Heidt's radio program. The elder Haskell refuses until Jimmy and Molly's landlady mother (Mary Gordon) come up with a sure-fire "gimmick" for the program: they'll pick names from the phone book at random, call up those numbers, and give away huge prizes to whomever answers-provided that the call-ees are tuned into Heidt's show. This format worked beautifully for the real Pot O' Gold radio program, but tends to fall flat on screen, despite the energetic musical contributions of Horace Heidt and his entourage (including a very young and astonishingly articulate Art Carney, in his film debut). In England, Pot O' Gold was retitled The Golden Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sonja Henie, the Norwegian skating star, reportedly played second fiddle to no one at Fox in the late '30s, and this backstage musical extravaganza is all Henie. Taking a leaf from producer David O. Selznick, Consolidated Pictures send public relation expert Tyrone Power in search of an unknown to star in the studio's upcoming production of Girl of the North. Power returns to Hollywood with Minnesota schoolmarm (and figure skating expert) Trudy Hovland in tow, and then manufactures a romance between the girl and stolid leading man Roger Maxwell (Rudy Vallee). The ensuing complications are quickly solved and the new star is able to perform a flashy finale to Irving Berlin's "The Song of the Metronome." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Gene Autry goes up against another "protection" racket in this tuneful series entry, which also features country & western singer Patsy Montana and the CBS-KMBC Texas Rangers. Doc Blair (Robert Barrat), a crooked veterinarian, is doing a good business terrorizing the local dairy farmers into paying for not having their deliveries destroyed -- until, that is, Gene and Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) move in. Blair, as it turns out, does not even shy away from murdering the local sheriff (William Farnum) and attempts to get his own stooge, Dave Haines (Buster Crabbe), elected in his stead. But Gene takes up the fight and wins the election. Now he only has to win over Haines' innocent sister, radio announcer Carol Haines (June Storey), whom Blair has used to relay coded messages to his henchmen over the air waves. Autry, Burnette, Patsy Montana, and the CBS-KMBC Texas Rangers perform "Colorado Sunset," "On the Merry Way Back Home," "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," "Poor Little Doggie," "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere" and "Seven Years with the Wrong Woman," all by Con Conrad and L. Wolfe Gilbert. The Gene Autry debut of producer William Berke, Colorado Sunset was filmed on location at Keen Camp near Hemet, CA. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This Roy Rogers musical western (his second starring vehicle for Republic) concerns itself with a group of Texas Rangers, forced to disband when Texas is admitted the Union. The state brings in members of the U.S. Cavalry to provide law enforcement in the Rangers' stead, yet the Cavalry officers become hopelessly confused and muddled -- not only from their ignorance of the territory, but by the guerilla tactics of Texas bandits and local political corruption. When ex-ranger Rogers's brother is killed, he recognizes that the Cavalry will not be able to respond with proper force, and asks his fellow ex-rangers to take up arms in vengeance. The film co-stars Mary Hart, Raymond Hatton, J. Farrell MacDonald and Purnell Pratt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This service comedy from the Republic Studio mills was perhaps the most aggressively titled of the "Marine Corps" film cycle of the mid-1930s (Come on Leathernecks, Pride of the Marines et. al.) Paul Kelly plays Phil Donlan, a pugnacious ex-cop and ex-Olympic athlete who is run out of New York in disgrace after falsely being accused of drunkenness. The innocent cause of Donlan's woes is pretty Paula Denbrough (June Travis), daughter of a Marine colonel (Purnell Pratt). To ingratiate himself with Paula -- and incidentally, to restore his reputation -- Donlan joins the Corps, where after a grueling training period he earns a commission. Offered a chance to return to the New York police force, Donlan gives it up to re-enlist, and Paula couldn't be happier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sort of follow-up to the studio's earlier College Scandal, Paramount's Murder Goes to College once again combines homicide with higher learning. When the titular murder occurs, detective Hank Hyer (Lynne Overman) shows up to investigate, with vacationing reporter Sim Perkins (Roscoe Karns) tagging along. Both of our heroes run up against formidable opposition from a strangely secretive faculty, an openly hostile local constabulary, and sneering racketeer Strike Belno (Larry "Buster" Crabbe). Foremost among the suspects is Greta Barry (Astrid Allwyn), the ex-showgirl spouse of much-despised professor Tom Barry (Earl Foxe). Much of the suspense in Murder Goes to College arises from the possibility that the bibulous Sim Perkins won't remain sober long enough to solve the mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One is immediately aware that The Plainsman is a Cecil B. DeMille production in the opening scene, wherein President Abraham Lincoln (Frank McGlynn Sr.), on the verge of signing crucial legislation which will determine the future of the American West, is dragged away from his Cabinet by a scolding Mrs. Lincoln (Leila McIntyre), who informs her husband that he'll be late for the theater! The story proper picks up in the years just following the Civil War, as crooked arms dealer John Lattimer (Charles Bickford) schemes to sell a huge shipment of repeating rifles to the Indians. Constantly thwarting Lattimer's schemes is lawman Wild Bill Hickok (Gary Cooper), who soon forms a strong alliance with Indian scout Buffalo Bill Cody (James Ellison). Rambunctious Calamity Jane (Jean Arthur) is crazy about Wild Bill, but he refuses to have anything to do with her, contemptuously wiping his mouth whenever he kisses her. He prefers the company of winsome Louisa (Dorothy Burgess), but gallantly steps aside when Louisa marries Buffalo Bill. Upon learning that a band of Indians armed with Lattimer's rifles have attacked a military garrison, Wild Bill tells General Custer (John Miljan), who in turn sends Buffalo Bill to the garrison with a consignment of weapons. Wild Bill then tries to arrange a peace conference with Indian chief Yellow Hand (Paul Harvey), but is sidetracked when he sees Calamity Jane being captured by two Indian braves. Riding to her rescue, Wild Bill is himself captured and tortured in the hope that he'll reveal the whereabouts of Buffalo Bill and his weapons. He refuses to talk, but Calamity, horrified at the agony endured by Wild Bill, tells all. Her breach of confidence leads indirectly to Custer's death at the Little Big Horn (not seen, but described by a young Indian played by DeMille's then son-in-law Anthony Quinn), whereupon Wild Bill disgustedly breaks off all communication with her. Hoping to make up for her past sins, Calamity warns Wild Bill that Lattimer has come to town a-gunning for him. Wild Bill makes short work of Lattimer, only to be shot in the back by the villain's snivelling confederate Jack McCall (Porter Hall). As he breathes his last, Wild Bill forgives Calamity for revealing the whereabouts of the ammunition; with tears in her eyes, Calamity plants a kiss on Wild Bill's lips that he'll never wipe off. As can be seen, accuracy is not the strong suit of The Plainsman; DeMille, like Buffalo Bill before him, was more interested in putting on a helluva good show than offering a dry history lesson. Unfortunately, the film often promises more than it can deliver, thanks to DeMille's insistence upon filming more of his big scenes indoors and relying far too heavily on grainy process screens. Still, the DeMille version of The Plainsman is infinitely more entertaining than the 1966 remake with Don Murray and Abby Dalton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jack Holt stars as Robert Bailey, a Henry Ford-like auto industrialist who decides to give his millions away to various charitable causes. Naturally, this arouses hostility amongst Bailey's friends, relatives and associates, some of whom have murder on their minds. When he elects to give away his company stock to his faithful employees, Bailey's intimates converge upon him, making a last-ditch effort to make him change his mind. When the inevitable murder attempt finally comes to pass, Bailey is shocked to discover that the culprit is his oldest and most trusted friend. Like most Columbia "B"'s of the period, Under Suspicion boasts a top-rank cast, including three former Marx Brothers foils: Margaret Irving, Esther Muir and Purnell Pratt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this bedroom farce, a writer rails against marriage and touts the benefits of staying single. He then convinces his friend that only relationships based on struggle and strife are worth having. His friend is married so the writer suggests he start trouble by trying to make her jealous. The naive fellow does so by sleeping with a faded French actress. This is the woman the writer wanted. The philanderer then returns home fully expecting his beloved wife to forgive him with open arms. Things don't turn out that way at all. To make it worse, the writer is also very angry at him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hollywood Boulevard is a trenchant look at the underside of Tinseltown. Though the nominal hero is a disillusioned screenwriter played by Robert Cummings (whose dialogue anticipates the lines spoken by William Holden in 1950's Sunset Boulevard), the focus of the story is John Halliday as a washed-up film star. Desperately, Halliday accepts the offer from a sleazy "tell all" magazine to write his memoirs. The actor's estranged family is devastated by the resultant scandal, and out love for his daughter (Marsha Hunt), Halliday tries to break his contract. But the publisher (C. Henry Gordon) threatens to ruin Halliday's comeback attempt if he refuses to write the rest of his memoirs. In a scuffle, the publisher kills Halliday, and the blame falls on the actor's daughter. But wise guy screenwriter Cummings gets to the truth of the mystery. A slick B-plus crime melodrama, Hollywood Boulevard has the added bonus of several well-known silent film personalities (Charles Ray, Francis X. Bushman, Maurice Costello, Mae Marsh etc.) in cameo roles, as well as a guest appearance by Gary Cooper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Curt Hayden (Ralph Bellamy), a witness from the mob, is hidden away in a remote mountain cabin for his own safety. Accompanying Hayden is his young son Johnny (David Holt), who resents his father for planning to remarry. But Johnny loyally rushes to his dad's defense when a pair of gunmen invade the cabin during Hayden's absence. As the assassins await Hayden's return, Johnny concocts a deucedly clever scheme to disarm them. This tension-laden climax is the best part of the picture, which otherwise is a traditional crime melodrama with romantic undertones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this newspaper farce, an editor loses his voice and his job after he tires of being tormented by the practical jokes of one of two reporters. The joker ends up the new editor. Soon after taking the job, his personality changes dramatically and soon he has become a pompous and excessively harsh taskmaster. His former partner is so disgusted that she decides to leave and marry a stodgy writer of inspirational books. The new editor loves his partner and tries to get her back. When he fails, he begins drinking heavily and wondering what kind of wedding gift he should get her. Knowing that she likes the excitement of police and fire calls, he insures that her wedding will be unforgettable by having fire engines, police cars, and hearses show up to the nuptials. In the end, the editor drives a wagon from the local loony bin into the ceremony and kidnaps her. Romance ensues and eventually the two are married. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide