Nina Quartero Movies
Although a New Yorker of Italian parentage, Nena Quartaro spent her entire screen career playing feisty Latin senoritas. Quartaro's career began well enough with The Red Mark (1928), a red-blooded action melodrama in which she played an innocent girl involved with inmates at a penal colony, and some suggested she might become a new Dolores Del Rio. But another newcomer, Lupe Velez, got the choice assignments while Quartaro was relegated to supporting the likes of Bob Steele and Rin-Tin-Tin. By the mid-'30s, she mainly portrayed Mexican types in B-Westerns and her career was over by the early '40s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1943
- G
Perhaps Hollywood's greatest success du scandal of the 1940s, this odd psychological Western became a box office hit largely thanks to the costuming of leading lady Jane Russell (or, more accurately, its relative absence). Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel) and Doc Holliday (Walter Huston) are close friends until lawman Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell) attempts to ambush Billy and put him behind bars. Doc brings Billy to his ranch to hide out, but when Billy meets Doc's mistress Rio (Russell), he's instantly attracted to the buxom beauty. An intense chemistry quickly grows between them, despite the fact that Billy murdered Rio's brother. Billy and Rio secretly marry, but their love runs hot and cold, and soon Billy, Doc, and Rio are fighting among themselves as they're chased through the desert by Garrett and his posse. Director Howard Hawks and screenwriter Ben Hecht both worked on The Outlaw, but they went uncredited after disputes with the legendarily difficult financier (and sometimes producer/director) Howard Hughes, whose battles with the censors resulted in the film spending three years on the shelf before finally gaining wide release in a cut version in 1946. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, (more)
- 1937
Left-Handed Law is an average western lifted well above the norm by star Buck Jones and director Lesley Selander. Jones is cast as Alamo Bowie, who tries to help rancher Sam Logan (George Regas) rid his land of outlaws. He does this partly because he's fond of Logan's daughter Betty (Noel Francis), but mostly because he feels like a-doin' it. The film's "money" scene finds Alamo agreeing to accommodate fatally wounded outlaw One-Shot Brady (Matty Fain), whose last wish is to die with his boots off. Our hero removes one boot, pauses, looks down, and says softly "Got one of 'em off, old timer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Noel Francis, (more)
Magazine publisher Clark Gable is happily married to Myrna Loy. Clark's devoted, super-efficient secretary Jean Harlow may have once harbored a secret desire for her boss, but she's perfectly content with boyfriend James Stewart. Accompanying Gable on a crucial business trip, Jean answers the phone in her boss' suite. Myrna, on the other end of the line, misunderstands, thereby setting the stage for a series of subsequent misunderstandings. As one can see, nothing much really happens in Wife vs. Secretary. The film is a vehicle in every sense of the word, totally reliant on the appeal of its stars. But it works beautifully, and remains as entertaining now as it did sixty years ago. One film historian has wondered what Wife vs. Secretary would have looked like had it been made before the imposition of the production code: would Jean have really had an affair with Clark, thereby giving Myrna something to really worry about? No matter; while it may have been racier, it's not likely the film could have been any more entertaining than it already is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, (more)
- 1936
On New Year's Eve, aspiring actress Julia Wayne (Joan Bennett) and chronic gambler Larry Stevens (Joel McCrea), both flat broke, each find one-half of a $1000 banknote. They decide to invest their windfall in a race horse and jockey, in hopes of financing a theatrical career for Julia and a new start in life for Larry. Unfortunately, the thousand-dollar note turns out to be stolen, dropped in haste during a bank robbery. This gets hero, heroine and horse mixed up with the crooks, and for a while it looks as though the nag won't show up for the climactic Big Race. Even after the horse arrives at the starting gate, he refuses to gallop until he spies the cart that he used to haul around for coal peddler Jonesy (Andy Clyde). After a great opening, Two in a Crowd runs out of gas, but the two stars are always worth watching. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, Joel McCrea, (more)
- 1936
After a couple of false starts, William Colt MacDonald's "Three Mesquiteers" stories were converted into a western film series by Republic Studios. The Mesquiteers, a trio of wandering do-gooders, are muscular Tucson Smith, played by Ray "Crash" Corrigan; hotheaded Stony Brooke, played by Robert Livingston; and comic sidekick Lullaby Joslin, portrayed in this first series entry by Syd Saylor. The three heroes waste no time getting down to business once they're discharged from WWI military service: Tucson and Stony take on a gang of greedy cattlemen, Stony romances homesteader's daughter Marian (Kay Hughes), and Lullaby rounds up stray cattle while astride a motorcycle. J. P. Gowan plays the villain, as he would in several subsequent Mesquiteers entries. Among the film's many assets is the excellent location photography by William Nobles. The Three Mesquiteers proved to be a moneyspinner, encouraging Republic to stay with the series through six years and 51 entries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Sid Saylor, (more)
- 1936
A Poverty Row western that has the rare distinction of being shot in color, director Jacques Jaccard's action-packed shoot 'em up tells the tale of a peaceful prairie beset by a mysterious phantom. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Another of cowboy hero Bill Cody's low-grade horse operas for Spectrum Pictures, Cyclone Ranger casts the white-Stetsoned star as the Pecos Kid. Despite his reputation as a cattle rustler, Pecos is a nice guy underneath. He gets to prove it by saving a blind old woman's cattle stock from falling into the hands of the villains. When his work is done, Pecos deposits the baddies in the local calaboose and bids adios to the fuming sheriff. Cyclone Ranger is no prize winner, but it isn't as awful as such future Cody vehicles as Border Menace and Phantom Cowboy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Cody, Eddie Gribbon, (more)
The Man From Monterey was the last of John Wayne's "B"-westerns for Warner Bros. The Duke plays U.S. army captain John Holmes, dispatched to Monterey to convince the ranchers to register their long-standing Spanish land grants, lest their property fall into the hands of undeserving strangers. This makes Holmes the enemy of local land swindler Don Luis Gonzales (Donald Reed), who has been plotting to grab up all the acreage for himself. Holmes must race against time to prevent Gonzales from achieving his goal by marrying Dolores (Ruth Hall), the daughter of the richest landowner (Lafe McKee) in the territory. John Wayne looks most uncomfortable in his ill-fitting army uniform and fancy-dancy Mexican duds -- but no more uncomfortable than Ken Maynard, who appears in the silent stock footage which is spread throughout The Man From Monterey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Ruth Hall, (more)
- 1933
A minor entry from small-scale Progressive Pictures, Under Secret Orders starred the rather pallid Donald Dillaway as Henry Ames, a bank employee assigned to bring valuable bonds from San Francisco to a client, Franklyn Lawrence (Lafe McKee), in South America. En route, Henry hits the bottle once too often and gets himself involved with a gang planning to steal the valuable bonds and fund a revolution. Happily, the boozy hero is helped by one John Burke (J. Farrell MacDonald) and the bonds are safely delivered to their destination. Forsaking the evil drink, Henry wins the love of Lawrence's daughter, Jane (Phyllis Barrington). Under Secret orders was produced by Poverty Row entrepreneur Willis Kent and released as a "Phyllis Barrington Special." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Dillaway, John Farrell MacDonald, (more)
- 1933
An old man learns the sad truth of the old saw about being careful what you wish for in this horror outing that is based on the enduring cautionary tale. It all begins with an army sergeant who is given a magical monkey's paw while fighting in India. He learns that the paw contains three wishes. Later the soldier is seen visiting an elderly couple in England. He tells of the paw and how no wish it grants comes without a terrible price. Despite the warning, the old man is tempted by the paw's power and so slyly steals it from the soldier as he departs in the morning. the old man's first wish is for enough money to pay the dowry of the girl her son wants to marry. Sure enough the wish is granted. Unfortunately, money comes from the son's life insurance, for the boy is killed at work. Horrified, the father wishes for his son to be alive, but then fearing that the paw will do something even more dreadful wishes that he had never said that. The next day, as if by magic, the man awakens to find his son hale and hearty. Whew! It was all but a bad dream. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ivan Simpson, C. Aubrey Smith, (more)
- 1931
Buck Jones falls in love with the sister of the outlaw he has just killed in this superior B-Western from independent producer Sol Lesser. Jones plays Bob Terry, the sheriff of Red River, a town bedeviled by a series of holdups. Bob suspects that the local saloon proprietor, Flash Halloway (Robert Ellis), is behind the crimes but doesn't have enough evidence to arrest him. Instead, he corners gang member Jack Smight (Paul Fix) in a shootout, but Smight dies before he can reveal the identity of his boss. Jack's sister Mary (Loretta Sayers) arrives the very next day and Bob immediately falls in love with the pretty girl, who is unaware of her brother's criminal lifestyle. When circumstantial evidence found at yet another holdup implicates Flash, the latter tells Mary that Bob killed her brother. Angered at this betrayal, Mary agrees to marry the smooth-talking saloon owner. In retaliation, the fiery Tiana (Nena Quartero), Flash's former girlfriend, informs Bob of a scheme to steal a shipment of gold bullion and after hunting down Flash and his gang, Bob finally tells Mary the truth about her brother and they embrace. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Loretta Sayers, (more)
- 1931
God's Gift to Women demonstrated conclusively that Warner Bros. would never make a movie star out of Broadway comedian Frank Fay. Portraying a most unlikely Frenchman, Fay pitches woo at every beautiful woman in sight, but falls in love with none of them. When Cupid genuinely strikes him for the first time, Fay is compelled by the girl's father to prove that he's honestly in love with her and not just with her millions. Fay does just that, but it takes ever so long. God's Gift to Women is injured beyond repair by the obnoxious, mannered performance of Frank Fay, and by the fact that Fay and director Michael Curtiz detested each other at first sight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Fay, Laura La Plante, (more)
- 1931
Edward Childs Carpenter's stock-company perennial Bachelor Father was reshaped as a Marion Davies vehicle in 1931. Davies plays Tony Flagg, one of the three grown children of ageing roue Sir Basil Winterton (C. Aubrey Smith). Tony and her siblings Geoffrey Trent (Ray Milland) and Maria Credaro (Nena Quartero), were all born out of wedlock, each to a different mother. In order to ensure her future happiness, Tony vows to find Sir Basil a proper wife. In the meantime, she goes the Amelia Earhart route, planning to make a transatlantic flight despite her daddy's protests. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Ralph Forbes, (more)
- 1931
When Lt. Bob Denton (John Wayne) tells his girlfriend Evelyn (Laura La Plante) that he has no intention of marrying her, she takes her revenge by romancing Denton's protege and father figure Colonel Bonham (Forrest Stanley). Unbeknownst to Evelyn (La Plante), Denton (Wayne) begins to court Evelyn's younger sister Bonita (June Clyde). It doesn't take long for Denton to fall in love with Bonita (Clyde), and the former ladies man decides to commit to their relationship. Though a reformed Denton secretly marries Bonita, Evelyn finds a way to convince the Colonel that Denton had made illicit advances at her. Feeling angry and betrayed, Colonal Bonham asks for Denton's resignation. Men Are Like That was directed by George B. Seitz and also features actress (Susan Fleming). ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Laura La Plante, (more)
- 1931
Trapped could well describe how former silent-movie queen Priscilla Dean must have felt when she was cast in this poverty-row quickie. Nick Stuart, the chauffeur for a gangster chieftain, falls in love with Nena Quartaro, the daughter of brassy nightclub entertainer Dean. Meanwhile, Dean herself is romanced by her "friendly enemy," police detective Tom Santschi. Somehow this all ends up with a bank robbery and a bloody gangland shootout. A lesser entry in the gangster cycle of the early 1930s, Trapped is some distance removed from such classics as Little Caesar and Scarface. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Stuart, Priscilla Dean, (more)
- 1930
In this melodramatic blend of romance and adventure set in the South Seas, Stella Blackney (Betty Compson) is married to Tom Shane (Noah Beery), an American exploring and exploiting the region. Stella has grown disenchanted with Tom, and decides to leave him in favor of dashing David Wade (Monte Blue). However, Stella's decision to build a life on her own is seriously hampered when she's captured by angry natives. David and Tom set aside their obvious differences and set out to rescue Stella, but David soon finds himself pursued by seductive native beauty Moira (Myrna Loy). Among the "angry natives" in the supporting cast is Duke Kahanamoku, a gifted swimmer who won medals in the 1912, 1920 and 1924 Olympic games. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Blue, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1930
A failure of near epic proportions when first released and an unintentionally funny disaster today, this bizarre operetta almost single-handedly destroyed the musical genre for years to come. Vivienne Segal stars as Dawn, a white girl presumed to be born among the natives in what was once Dutch East Africa. Set in a German prisoner of war camp during World War I, Golden Dawn presents a truce between captors and captives who are facing a common danger: the threat of an uprising among the native African population. The threat becomes almost a certainty when young rubber planter Tom Allen (Walter Woolf King) spends a romantic night with Dawn. That doesn't sit well with Shep Keyes (Noah Beery), a native brute who covets Dawn, despite the fact that she is promised to the god Mulunghu. To quell an almost certain riot among the natives, Tom is sent home to England. The British soon recapture the area and Keyes demands that Dawn be sacrificed to the god Mulunghu to ward off a potentially calamitous drought. Tom, meanwhile, having learned that Dawn is indeed Caucasian, kidnapped by Mooda (Alice Gentle) in childhood and raised as her own, rushes back to the camp just in time to rescue the girl from the evil Keyes. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivienne Segal, Noah Beery, Sr., (more)
- 1929
In this adventure, a remake of 1923's The Arab, a British cavalry soldier stationed in the Sudan takes the rap for his brother, who had been accused of stealing; the soldier subsequently joins a vaudeville troupe. There he falls in love with a lovely woman only to lose her when she is purchased by a sheik. When the sheik learns she is a white woman, he throws her out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Bronson, William Collier, Jr., (more)
