Charles Quigley Movies

No sooner had Columbia called it quits with the "Blondie" series than the studio launched a new group of "B"-pictures, based on the popular radio series David Harding, Counterspy. Third-billed Howard St. John plays Harding, with actor/director Fred Sears co-starring as Harding's assistant Peters. Most of the film is carried by Willard Parker as Jerry Baldwin, a navy commander assigned to root out saboteurs in a torpedo factory. Falling in love with Betty Iverson (Audrey Long), the widow of his murdered predecessor, Baldwin is aghast to learn that Betty may be an enemy agent. There's action aplenty as the film rushes to its pyrotechnic conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This adventure is the first live-action Superman serial and was one of the most successful multi-chapter films ever made. Superman is played by B-movie hero Kirk Alyn. The story centers upon the hero and the nefarious Spider Lady, who is trying to rule the Earth. If she cannot have complete control, she plans on shrinking it with her powerful reducer ray. Much of the episodes center upon Superman's relationship with Lois Lane and upon his ability to fly. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Three on a Ticket was the fourth entry in PRC's "Michael Shayne" series, and arguably the best of the batch. Hugh Beaumont, still ten years away from Leave It to Beaver, stars as Brett Halliday's red-headed private eye Michael Shayne, who this time out is assigned to locate a fortune in stolen bank funds. Mike's only clue is a baggage claim check, which has been torn in three pieces. Tracing these missing fragments, Shayne methodically tracks down the thieves. Though officially based on a story by Brett Halliday, the plot of Three on a Ticket is remarkably similar to the storyline of PRC's Lash LaRue western Law of the Lash. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the most entertaining serials to be released by Republic Pictures, this mystery employed yet another inscrutable invention, a counter atomic device known as Cyclotrode X, sought after by yet another cloaked villain, The Crimson Ghost of the title. But just like the well-known criminologist Duncan Richards (Charles Quigley) and his lovely assistant Diana Farnsworth (Linda Stirling), the Saturday Matinee kids had a tough job spotting the person hiding behind the hideous disguise. The studio took no chances this time and ingeniously cast stunt-man Bud Geary to embody the villain while several actors supplied the voice, including I. Stanford Jolley, whose role was minor but who received fourth-billing and was therefore highly suspect. When The Crimson Ghost was unmasked in the 12th and final chapter, he proved to be yet another actor, Joseph Forte, who had enacted a character seemingly above suspicion. Instead of feeling cheated, however, the young target audience subconsciously enjoyed the above-average writing and fine direction by the talented William Witney and Fred C. Brannon, and no one complained. Quigley and Stirling were at the top of their serial game, and to the bemused surprise of more recent viewers, television's Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore, played one of the master villain's henchmen, a cold-hearted gangster. The Crimson Ghost was also released in an edited feature version, retitled Cyclotrode. In 1966, yet another edited version was given the title Cyclotrode X. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Larceny in Her Heart was the second entry in PRC's revival of the "Michael Shayne" series, with Hugh Beaumont as Brett Halliday's two-fisted sleuth. It all starts when Shayne agrees to track down the stepdaughter (Marie Harmon) of a local bigwig. But when his client's corpse turns up at his doorstep, our hero finds himself reluctantly involved in yet another murder mystery. Along the way, he must fend off femme fatale Phyllis (Cheryl Walker), who may or may not be intimately involved in the killing. He also endures a chilling episode at an alcoholic ward that's straight out of The Lost Weekend, by way of Murder My Sweet. It says in the credits that Larceny in Her Heart is based on a novel by Brett Halliday, though liberties were obviously taken. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film gives a fictionalized version of how the popular real-life radio program of the title began. A promoter has an idea for a show devoted to various country musicians, and an ad agency owner is interested. The promoter goes down South, finds some talented acts, and brings them back to Chicago, but the owner has changed his mind. The musicians pose as the owner's servants and wow him with a show to end all shows, and "National Barn Dance" is born. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a country bumpkin spends most of his free time watching movies and becomes such an expert that he can accurately predict which ones will be hits and which will fail at the box-office. An employee at a failing Hollywood studio finds the fellow and takes him back to Tinsel Town. Trouble ensues when the rube convinces the studio to put a no-talent gangster in the leading role of an upcoming gangster movie because he is involved with the mobster's sister. Eventually, the hayseed extricates himself from it all and happiness ensues. Songs include: "Comes Love," "It's Me Again," "Let's Make Memories Tonight," "I Can't Afford to Dream" (Lew Brown, Charles Tobias, Sammy Stapt), and "Jim" (Caesar Petrillo, Nelson Shawn, Edward Ross). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a naive young woman receives an unpleasant wake-up call when she learns that her seemingly wonderful beau is a notorious gangster. After he is sent to prison, she marries a charming assistant district attorney. Trouble comes when her old flame is paroled and comes looking for a reconciliation. A murder ensues and the woman's brother is framed for the crime, causing her to go up against her own spouse in court to prove that her brother is innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

One of silent serial queen Pearl White's best efforts, The Iron Claw was remade by Columbia Pictures starring brunette Joyce Bryant as the imperiled heroine. Bryant, alas, was no Pearl White, and needed a strong male lead in order to defeat that master criminal, the Iron Claw. She found him in handsome Charles Quigley, an Academy of Dramatic Art alumni whom the studio was grooming as an action lead. The story line is a bit less confusing this time around; Bryant is the heir to a fortune, which the Iron Claw also desires. Quigley plays Bob Lane, an enterprising reporter who saves the damsel-in-distress over and over again through the serial's 15 chapters. Among the many and various villains skulking about, Forrest Taylor, as Anton, was at his menacing best in The Iron Claw. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Richard Dix is his usual strong, silent self in RKO Radio's Men Against the Sky. Dix plays a washed-up pilot who designs a revolutionary new plane. Realizing that he is persona non grata in the aviation industry due to his irresponsibility and alcoholism, Dix allows his sister Wendy Barrie to take credit for the "wonder" plane. Preliminary tests of the aircraft prove disastrous, but Dix establishes the viablity of his design by flying the plane himself, a spectacular act of self-sacrifice that has the salutary effect of restoring his tattered reputation. Among the aircraft seen in Men Against the Sky is the plane used by Howard Huges to establish a new transcontinental record when he flew from California to New Jersey in less than 7 1/2 hours. The film was scripted by Nathaniel West, better known for his trenchant Hollywood novel Day of the Locust. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though Ginger Rogers' starring vehicles always turned a profit for RKO Radio, many filmgoers thought of Rogers only in terms of "Fred Astaire's partner." Others considered her a delightful comedienne, but no great shakes as a dramatic actress. Thus it was both a personal and professional triumph when Ms. Rogers walked home with an Oscar for her performance in Kitty Foyle. Based on Christopher Morley's Story of an American Girl, the film, told in flashback, relates the progress of working-girl Kitty Foyle (Ginger Rogers) as she pursues her Cinderella dreams. While employed at a department store, Kitty is wooed by Dennis Morgan, scion of a wealthy Philadelphia family. She flirts with the notion of marrying Morgan for his money, but decides that he's a bit too weak-willed for her tastes. Kitty enters into a romance with poor-but-dedicated doctor James Craig, then does an about-face by accepting Morgan's proposal. She quickly runs afoul of Morgan's snobbish family, who are so tightly bound by centuries-old tradition that Kitty is moved to exclaim "You mean to say you let all those dead people tell you what do?" She walks out on Morgan, then discovers that she's pregnant. Even after the trauma of delivering a stillborn child, Kitty is too proud to go back to Morgan. When true-blue Craig comes back into her life, Kitty, repeating her favorite phrase "By Judas Priest!", decides to forego money for love. Though successful to the tune of an $860,000 profit in 1940, Kitty Foyle seems stilted and over-rehearsed when seen today, save for the refreshing spontaneity of Ginger Rogers' performance. The film's best scene is the opening montage of the American Woman's "progress" once she enters the workplace (an uncredited Heather Angel is the central character in this delightful pantomimic vignette). Featured in the cast of Kitty Foyle is director Sam Wood's daughter Katherine Stevens, better known as K.T. Stevens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Brothers Terry and Joe Murphy (Dick Purcell, Charles Quigley) are the Heroes in Blue in this Monogram actioner. Actually, Terry, a policeman, is the only one "in blue"; Joe washes out of the police training program early on, opting for a dangerous association with a band of gangsters. Poor old Pop Murphy (Frank Sheridan), an ex-cop turned night watchman, tries to extricate Joe from his dilemma, with disastrous results. It's up to Terry to round up the crooks during the film's pulse-pounding racetrack finale. It's best to ignore some of the plot absurdities in Heroes in Blue, including a murder that occurs in full view of a crowd, but reaps only a single solitary eyewitness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide