Kate Price Movies

Financier J.B. Ball (Edward Arnold) -- known in the press as "the Bull of Broad Street" -- may be one of the wealthiest investment bankers in the country, but he also knows the value of a dollar. And when his wife (Mary Nash) spends 50,000 of them on a sable coat, he is driven into such a fury in the ensuing argument on the roof of their Fifth Avenue townhouse, that he throws the coat into the street -- where it promptly lands on the head of Mary Smith (Jean Arthur), a clerk-typist on her way to work, riding on the upper deck of a double-decker bus, ruining her hat in the process. She jumps off the bus to try to return the coat, but Ball insists that she keep it. What she really needs, however, is not a 50,000-dollar sable coat so much as a ride to work -- as she doesn't even have a dime for bus fare -- and perhaps a new hat. Ball obliges, taking her to one of the top clothing stores in New York, buying her an expensive fur hat to go with the coat, and then dropping her at work in his limo. Her superiors, seeing her decked out in a sable coat and a new hat, and getting out of the chauffeured car, conclude that Mary is a kept woman, and, therefore, unfit to work for the boys magazine where she is employed, and they fire her. Now out of work and virtually broke, she seems to have become a victim of random fate, but suddenly the scales start to tip the other way from the very same misunderstanding that got her fired. Having been seen in the company of J.B. Ball -- whose name she didn't even get -- she is rumored to be his mistress; the prissy clothing store proprietor (Franklin Pangborn) spreads this story, and that turns Mary into the object of attention for Mr. Louis Louis (Luis Alberni), the owner of a failed luxury hotel on which Ball's bank holds the mortgage, and is about to foreclose. For reasons that she can't begin to understand, since there is nothing going on between her and J.B. Ball (whose name she doesn't even know), or between her and anyone, Louis moves her into the most luxurious suite in his hotel for a dollar a day, asking her only to inform "that certain someone" of how she loves living there. Mary has no idea of who "that certain someone" is, or what Louis is talking about, but she needs a place to live, and Louis is insistent. She still needs to eat, and, while trying to get a meal at the automat, she crosses paths with a handsome, well-meaning, but inept waiter (Ray Milland), who gets fired for helping her. She takes him into her suite so he has a place to stay, and the two fall in love in the course of finding out about each other. She knows that he is John Ball Jr., but doesn't realize that he is the son of J.B. Ball, trying to make it on his own, nor does she yet realize who J.B. Ball is, in terms of being the man who gave her the coat and the new hat, or one of the wealthiest men in the country. But after the elder Ball spends an innocent night at the Hotel Louis, a gossip columnist named "Wallace Whistling" (William Demarest) prints that he is keeping a woman at the hotel, and suddenly the Hotel Louis, perceived as a fashionable playground for the upper-crust, is filled with guests. This multiple case of mistaken identity plunges through two or three new layers, eventually bringing about an impending stock market crash to rival 1929, before Mary discovers who her would-be benefactor and her would-be fiancé are. She bails them out of the jam that they're in, also restoring the Ball's marriage, her own reputation, and her romance with Ball's son in the process. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

After retiring from a boxing career, Johnny Cave (James Cagney) accepts an appointment to serve as head of the Bureau of Weights and Measures. However, when he discovers that his organization is full of corruption and lies, he sets out to uncover the scam, much to the dismay of his girlfriend, Janet (Mae Clarke), and his underhanded coworkers. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

The career of dance instructor Sally (Jean Parker) comes to an abrupt end when she is crippled in an accident on the eve of her wedding. Sally's far-from-supportive fiancé (Paul Page) walks out on her, but good old Jimmie (James Dunn), who has loved her all along, offers to marry her and help shoulder the burden of her handicap. This in itself would make a good story, but MGM got nervous an added a gangster subplot. Interspersing their usual never-fail comedy relief are Una Merkel and Stu Erwin, who might have starred in this picture had it been made by any other studio. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Metropolitan opera star Lawrence Tibbett headed the cast of The Rogue Song, an opulent Technicolor adaptation of the Franz Lehar operetta Gypsy Love. Set (vaguely) in 19th-century Russia, the film stars Tibbett as Yegor, dashing leader of an outlaw band called "The Robbing Larks." During one of his excursions into Moscow, Yegor falls in love with beautiful Russian princess Vera (Catherine Dale Owen). But when Yegor's sister (Florence Lake) is betrayed by Vera's brother Prince Serge (Ulrich Haupt), the bandit kills the prince and kidnaps the princess. Upon her rescue, she orders Yegor's arrest and has him flogged. As the defiant bandit merrily sings away while the whip tears across his back, Vera realizes that she's still in love with him. Knowing that they can never live together as man and wife, Vera bids Yegor a tearful farewell as he rides off into the sunset with his comrades. After previewing the rough cut of Rogue Song, MGM realized that the film was in desperate need of comedy relief, so the studio borrowed Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy from Hal Roach, casting the team as two members of Yegor's outlaw gang. Written and directed without credit by Hal Roach himself, Laurel & Hardy's scenes wear spotted throughout the picture, bearing only the faintest relevance to the plot. In typical fashion, the two comedians tried to eat a wheel of cheese while being plagued by pesky flies, attempted to shave one another while being distracted by pretty girls and a flock of chickens, shared a darkened cave with a surly bear, and in general behaved more like "Stan and Ollie" than a pair of Russian bandits. Critics were divided as to the merits of Laurel & Hardy's contributions to the film, but audiences loved their antics, and indeed they were billed above star Lawrence Tibbett on some movie marquees. No matter what the reason, The Rogue Song was a huge moneymaker for MGM, earning a "Best Picture" Oscar nomination in the bargain. Alas, the film has apparently vanished from the face of the earth; the negative was destroyed decades ago, and no original prints are known to survive. In the mid-1970s, the film's soundtrack discs were rediscovered, and in the early 1980s a Laurel & Hardy collector came across a worn Technicolor dupe of a three-minute routine. A few years after that, a black-and-white print of the film was found in a Czechoslovakian archive -- with all the musical numbers and Laurel & Hardy scenes removed! One of the ten highest-priority titles on the American Film Institute's "most wanted" list of lost movies, The Rogue Song may indeed turn up intact some day, but the chances grow slimmer with each passing year. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Cohens and the Kellys, those ever-feuding in-laws introduced in the 1925 play Two Blocks Away, are at large again in this fourth entry in the Cohen-Kelly series. Once again, George Sidney stars as Jewish shopkeeper Cohen, while Charlie Murray co-stars as Irish cop Kelly. On vacation with their wives (Vera Gordon and Kate Price) our heroes arrive in Scotland to buy up as much plaid fabric as possible, intending to sell the material at a handsome profit to a foreign prince, likewise in Scotland to participate in a national golfing tournament. It must needs be that Cohen and Kelly find themselves on the golf links, with hilarious results. Most of the gags arise from the ongoing comparison between Jewish and Scottish stinginess, the sort of exaggerated ethnic humor that would be purged from Hollywood films after the strengthening of the Production Code in 1933. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The second in a series of Buck Jones westerns produced by Sol Lesser for Columbia release, Shadow Ranch is the story of a cowboy who comes to the rescue of an embattled female rancher (Marguerite de la Motte). She is being driven off her land by opportunistic saloon owner Albert J. Smith, but the heroic Buck manages to beat the villain into submission. Filmed at the Tiffany-California studios, a rental facility, Shadow Ranch was popular enough for the story to be trotted out again less than a year later as Sunset Trail starring Ken Maynard. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Taking Two Weeks Off for the first time in his life, plumber Dave Pickett (Jack Mulhall) spends his savings on a posh hotel suite. During his vacation, he meets and falls in love with pretty Kitty Weaver (Dorothy Mackaill). Hoping to impress the girl, Dave poses as a famous movie star (Jack Mulhall, perhaps?) His true identity is eventually revealed by a jealous lifeguard, but by that time Kitty has fallen in love with Dave for himself and not what he pretends to be. Perennial Laurel and Hardy stooge James Finlayson co-stars as Kitty's sour-pussed pa. Essentially a silent film, Two Weeks Off contains approximately two reels' worth of dialogue sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Completed as a silent film, Cecil B. DeMille's The Godless Girl was quickly converted into a part-talkie by the simple expedient of tacking on a 10-minute coda, wherein the characters discuss the weather. The film begins as a condemnation of the atheistic movement then prevalent on high-school and college campuses. Heroine Judith Craig (Lina Basquette) and hero Bob Hathaway (George Duryea, later known as western star Tom Keene) hold secret anti-religious meetings with their friends. During one such meeting, the police stage a raid, whereupon a stairway collapses and a young girl is killed. Arrested for complicity in the girl's death, Judith and Bob are sent to reform school, where they suffer mightily at the hands of their sadistic jailers. Likewise brutalized is hard-boiled Mame (Marie Prevost), who in one of the film's most notorious scenes is strung up by her wrists and beaten (DeMille claimed that he was only mirroring "real life," but he was always saying things like that). Somehow, their horrible experiences serve to renew Judith and Bob's faith in God. In a harrowing climax, Bob rescues Judith from a fire, a scene so realistically staged that, for the rest of her life, the actress retained vivid memories of how close she came to being genuinely incinerated. Featured in the cast are Noah Beery Sr. as "The Brute" and Eddie Quillan as "The Goat." The Godless Girl represented Cecil B. DeMille's final production for Pathe; shortly afterward, he moved to MGM, thence to Paramount. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"Thanks for the Buggy Ride" is the name of a tune penned by would-be songwriter Joe Hall (Glenn Tryon). On the verge of selling his song to an important music publisher, Joe loses his opportunity when the publisher is inadvertently insulted by the hero's sweetheart, nightclub chanteuse Jenny (Laura La Plante). Hoping to make up for her blunder, Jenny dons a disguise and attends a fancy party for vaudeville headliners. She manages to gain access to popular entertainer Trixie Friganza (playing herself), who loves Hall's song and agrees to plug it in her act. Good-hearted Friganza also arranges a tender reunion between the estranged hero and heroine. Thanks for the Buggy Ride was directed by William A. Seiter, then the husband of star Laura La Plante. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The confident direction of Allan Dwan transformed The Mad Hour into something more than a mere "soap opera." Based on a novel by Elinor Glyn (the Barbara Cartland of her time), the story concerns a hasty marriage and a long, long repentance. While drunk on bootleg hootch, good-time girl Cuddles (Sally O'Neil) and college-boy Jack (Donald Reed) get married. Jack's wealthy father instantly disowns the boy, while Cuddles finds herself falsely accused of a jewel theft. While serving her prison term, Cuddles gives birth to Jack's baby, only to discover upon her release that her marriage has been annulled and her kid is illegitimate in the eyes of the law. Throwing caution to the winds, the grief-crazed Cuddles hops into a roadster and speeds off a cliff to her death -- while Jack quietly marries his former sweetheart Aimee (Alice White), the expression on his face indicating that he will be tortured with guilt for the rest of his life. The moral: Alcohol and Wedding Bells Don't Mix. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the popular railroad ballad, Casey Jones stars Ralph Lewis in the title role. Actually, the ballad itself is dealt with only in the early scenes, when Casey's beloved daughter is killed in a train wreck. The bulk of the storyline is carried by Casey Jr. (Jason Robards), a humble baggage handler. Father and son work shoulder to shoulder in the climax to prevent a couple of professional "train wreckers" from causing widespread havoc. It should be noted that leading lady Anne Sheridan is no relation to popular talkie star Ann Sheridan. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The "Abie's Irish Rose" formula was given yet another airing in MGM's Frisco Sally Levy. Sally O'Neil plays Colleen Lapidowitz, the daughter of Jewish father Isaac (Tenen Holtz) and Irish mother Bridget (Kate Price). When Colleen falls in love with Irish cop Patrick Sweeney (Charles Delaney), it comes as a relief to her parents, who've spent most of the picture trying to discourage Colleen's interest in oily lounge lizard Stuart Gold (Roy D'Arcy). This is the sort of picture in which everyone's problems are solved by the heroine's strawberry shortcake. Mickey Daniels, late of the Our Gang comedies, is often erroneously identified as the young actor playing Colleen's brother (it's really a juvenile performer named Turner Savage). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A bit more sedate and reserved than the usual Marion Davies vehicle, this 1927 adaptation of James M. Barrie's Quality Street turned out to be one of the star's best and most likeable films. Davies is cast as Phoebe, a pretty young thing who agrees to be faithful to her sweetheart Dr. Valentine Brown (Conrad Nagel) when he marches off to war. He returns several years later to discover that Phoebe has transformed into a prudish "old maid" (after all, she is nearly thirty!) To win back Dr. Brown's love, Phoebe pretends to be her own teenaged niece, with mirthsome results. Quality Street was attractively remade with Katharine Hepburn in 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi