Joe Bernard Movies

Ronald Colman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of an off-the-beam actor in A Double Life. A beloved stage star, Anthony John (Colman), has problems with his private life due to his unpredictable outbursts of temper. This trait has already cost him his wife, Brita (Signe Hasso), and threatens to sabotage his career. Nonetheless, Anthony makes his peace with Brita, and the two actors star in a new Broadway staging of Othello. The play is a hit, running over 300 performances, but the pressures of portraying a man moved to murder by jealousy takes its toll on Anthony. In a fit of delirium, he strangles his casual mistress, Pat (Shelley Winters), but retains no memory of the awful crime. Press agent Bill Friend (Edmond O'Brien), unaware that Anthony is the killer, uses Pat's murder as publicity for Othello. Anthony becomes enraged at this cheap ploy, and attacks Friend. At this point, Anthony realizes that he has been living "a double life" and is in fact Pat's murderer. A Double Life was written for the screen by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who occasionally digress from the melodramatic plotline to include a few backstage inside jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

If Grecian storyteller Aesop really did exist, he was most likely a black slave. He wasn't an Austrian actor with an Egyptian name, but that's who played him in A Night in Paradise. Turhan Bey portrays the fable-spouting Aesop, who tries to escape his bondage by disguising himself as an old man. It is at the lavish court of King Croesus that the greyed-up Aesop first meets luscious Grecian princess Merle Oberon. The low-born talespinner is smitten, and determines to win the princess for his very own. Moral: If Universal buys a novel by George S. Hellman titled The Peacock's Feather, transforms it into a picture called A Night in Paradise, and appoints onetime Abbott and Costello cohort Arthur Lubin as director, you know what you're in for. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second of three movie versions of P.C. Wren's adventure novel Beau Geste is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the 1927 silent version. We open on the now-famous scenes of a remote, burning desert fort, manned by the dead Foreign Legionnaires, then flash back to the early lives of the Geste brothers. As children, the Gestes swear eternal loyalty to one another and to their family. One of the boys, young Beau (played as a youth by Donald O'Connor), witnesses his beloved aunt (Heather Thatcher) apparently stealing a valuable family jewel in order to finance the Geste home; Beau chooses to remain silent rather than disgrace his aunt. Years later, the grown Beau (Gary Cooper) again protects his aunt by confessing to the theft and running off to join the Foreign Legion. He is joined in uniform by faithful brothers John (Ray Milland) and Digby (Robert Preston), who in turn are pursued by a slimy thief (J. Carroll Naish). The crook is in cahoots with sadistic Legion Sgt. Markov (Brian Donlevy, in one of the most hateful portrayals ever captured on celluloid), who is later put in charge of Fort Zinderneuf, where Beau and John are stationed. When the Arabs attack, Markov proves himself a valiant soldier; it is he who hits upon the idea of convincing the Arabs that the fort is still fully manned by propping up the corpses of the casualties at the guard posts. Beau is seriously wounded, and while the greedy Markov searches for the jewel supposedly hidden on Beau's person, he is held at bay by loyal John. The suddenly enervated Beau kills Markov, then dies himself--but not before entrusting two notes to John, one of which requests that John give Beau the "Viking funeral" he'd always wanted (this is why the fort is in flames at the beginning of the film). After the battle, Digby Geste, a bugler with the relief troops, comes upon Beau's dead body, and appropriates the notes. As it turns out, John Geste is the only one who survives to return to England. He gives his aunt Beau's letter, which explains why Beau had confessed and run off--"a 'beau geste', indeed" comments his tearful aunt. No one missed nominal leading lady Susan Hayward in this essentially all-male entertainment. For years available only in muddily processed or truncated versions, Beau Geste was restored to its pristine glory by the American Film Institute in the late 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This comedy finds American writer Lawrence Colby (Robert Wagner) augmenting his scribing income by smuggling Swiss watch parts into France. Martine (Mary Tyler Moore) enlists his help to find her friend Sabine (Glynis Johns), an author of erotic novels. Sabine is vacationing in Greece, but crooks kidnap her beautiful ghost writer (Barbara Rhoades) by mistake. Sabine's nervous agent Merriman Dudley (Harvey Korman) feels the pressure from the book publishers for the deadline on the new book, still unfinished. Martine and Lawrence help the ghost writer escape, but she is accused of murdering a notorious gangster. The thug conveniently appears and is promptly arrested, as the writers all try to get back to work. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this musical drama, a Vermont farm lad goes to the Big Apple to become a member of the National Dairy Association. He happens to bring with him his beloved trombone. Soon, with the help of bandleader Skinnay Ennis, the boy gets a job in a nightclub and subsequently becomes a popular radio star. His girlfriend back home is not amused. Eventually she slides on back into his life. Songs include: "My Melancholy Baby," "My Devotion," "Ain't Misbehavin," "Swingin' the Blues," "Spellbound," "Hilo Hattie," "The Army Air Corps," "Rosie the Riveter," and "Don't Tread on the Tail of Me Coat." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Johnny Hart (Rod Cameron) is on the run from the law after killing one of the men who shot his partner. He passes through a town and stops at a saloon owned by singer Lorena Dumont (Yvonne de Carlo). The two seem a good, albeit tempestuous match, although Johnny has no plans to marry -- Lorena has other ideas and a shotgun wedding ensues. Blackie (Sheldon Leonard), an outlaw who is jealous of the marriage, informs Lorena of Johnny's wanted status, and he ends up getting caught by the law after their wedding night. He serves six years and returns to find that he and Lorena don't get along any better than they did before, and that he's also the father of a five-year-old girl (Beverly Simmons). Also lurking about is Blackie, whom he recognizes as one of the men who killed his partner, and Blackie wants Johnny out of the way so he can marry Lorena. Johnny and Lorena fight over custody of their daughter and Blackie nearly gets them each killed at one point or another. He kidnaps their daughter before Johnny dispatches him. He finally realizes that the only way he can win Lorena is to meet her cup for cup and blow for blow, until she understands that he loves her. The film, a sort of Western Taming of the Shrew, ends on a note of romance and reconciliation. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Olivia De Havilland hadn't wanted to star in RKO's Government Girl, but was forced to do so by her home studio Warner Bros. Perhaps in retaliation, De Havilland delivers a strident, overbaked performance, which serves only to make this so-so wartime comedy something of an endurance test for modern viewers. The actress plays "Smokey", the Washington DC-based secretary of Detroit automobile expert Browne (Sonny Tufts, who's actually pretty good in this one!) Aware that Browne is a babe in the woods so far as Washington lobbying, politicking and backstabbing are concerned, Smokey takes the poor boy by the hand and shows him the ropes. Despite the derivative nature of Adela Rogers St. John's screenplay-the film seems like a hybrid of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and The More the Merrier--Government Girl was an enormous hit, posting a profit of $700,000. The film represents the film directorial debut of producer-screenwriter Dudley Nichols. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Universal "monster rally", an immediate sequel to House of Frankenstein, would seem to have been deliberately designed as the final entry in the studio's B-horror cycle. Onslow Stevens plays psychiatrist Dr. Edelman, who suddenly has a thriving business when two of Universal's "fright" personalities come calling. Count Dracula (John Carradine) wishes to be weaned away from his vampiric tendencies, while Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney), aka the Wolfman, wants to be cured of his werewolfism. Edelman does his best to help, simultaneously attempting to bring the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange) back to life. Unfortunately, Edelman inherits the madness, killer instincts and other antisocial habits of his celebrated patients. Only Lawrence Talbot manages to escape from Edelman's lab unscathed, ambling off into the sunset with heroine Militza (Martha O'Driscoll). Universal contract starlet Jane Adams, perennially cast as unfortunate young women with physical afflictions, plays Edelman's faithful hunchbacked nurse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Cornell Woolrich novel was the source for the variable Monogram melodrama I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes. The plot refers to the dancing shoes of young terpsichorean Tom (Don Castle). A print from one of those shoes is found at the scene of a murder, and the police don't buy Tom's story that his footwear was stolen. The only person who believes in Tom's innocence is his wife and dancing partner Ann (Elyse Knox), and it is she who follows the trail of clues to the genuine killer. Without revealing the ending, it can be noted here that the actual miscreant has remained in very close proximity of both Tom and Ann all along -- and has been encouraged to do so by the police! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Silent screen sweetheart Corinne Griffith, who originally wanted to retire when talkies came in, proved the wisdom of her earlier decision when she starred in the clunky musical drama Lilies of the Field. Griffith is cast as Mildred Harker, who loses custody of her child in a messy divorce settlement. Leaving her hometown in disgrace, Mildred heads to New York, where after a crash course in the school of hard knocks she joins the chorus of a Ziegfeld-like musical revue. Now a full-fledged gold-digger, she enjoys the favors of backstage johnnies and elderly sugar daddies, but finally finds true love in the form of Park Avenue socialite Ted Willing (Ralph Forbes). Alas, Mildred is damaged goods, and soon she's back in the gutter whence she came. A remake of a 1924 silent film which also starred Corinne Griffith, Lilies of the Field is distinguished by a bizarre musical number in which the star is dressed (just barely) as an art-deco automobile hood ornament! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Imprisoned mobster Gunther Schell (H.M. Wynant) is the only person who knows where a stolen cache of money is located. Before the IMF can reach Schell, he is sprung from jail by a mob-controlled "underground railroad", which specializes in robbing its clients before smuggling them out of the country. To put both Schell and the "underground" out of business --- and, incidentally, to recover the stolen millions --- Jim Phelps poses as a wanted murderer. Peter Mark Richman also appears in this episode as criminal mastermind Hargreaves. Originally aired on October 28, 1972, "Underground" was written by Leigh Vance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pregnant Alice Faye was forced to bow out of this colorful Fox musical, which instead went to Rita Hayworth, whom the studio borrowed from Columbia. Hayworth plays the highly fictitious Sally Elliott of the title, a musical star teaming up with Indiana boy Paul Dresser (Victor Mature), a runaway who after a brief stopover in a tank town medicine show arrives in Gay Nineties New York full of verve and vigor. There he composes the title tune for the fair lady and becomes the toast of Tin Pan Alley. There are the obligatory bumps on the road along the way, of course, but everything ends, as any Fox musical should, with a grand and glorious finale. Although Fox publicity claimed that My Gal Sal was based on a My Brother Paul, a biography by the composer's brother, Theodore Dreiser, it was actually concocted from an unpublished manuscript by Dreiser and his wife Helen Richardson. The film earned Oscars™ for art and set decoration and included such Dresser songs as "On the Banks of the Wabash", "I'se Your Honey, If You Wants Me, Liza", "Come Tell Me What's Your Answer (Yes or No)" and "Mr. Volunteer. House songwriters Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger contributed "Me and My Fella" and "On the Great White Way. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The bland performance of star George Raft is the only drawback of this splashy 20th Century-Fox musical. Set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, the film casts Raft as Barbary Coast saloonkeeper Tony Angel, who endears himself to patrons and pedestrians alike by tossing out silver dollars at the slightest provocation. Though Tony is loved by saloon singer Sally Templeton (Vivian Blaine), he only has eyes for Nob Hill socialite Harriet Carruthers (Joan Bennett). Upon marrying Harriet, Tony realizes he is sorely outclassed, and turns to the bottle as the result. It's up to "Little Miss Fixit" Katie Flanagan (Peggy Ann Garner) to bring Tony and Sally back together. Ample comedy relief is provided by Alan Reed and B. S. Pully, while the largely uncredited supporting cast includes such familiar faces as J. Farrell McDonald, Nestor Paiva, Bud Jamieson, and Frank McCown, who rose to fame under the new moniker of Rory Calhoun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide