Gene Raymond Movies
Blonde, blue-eyed, early talkie leading man Gene Raymond had been on the New York stage from near infancy, making his Broadway bow at age 12. Though never an upper-echelon star, Raymond developed a following in a variety of good film roles. Some of his best screen assignments include the anguished death row inmate in If I Had a Million (1932), the renegade groundskeeper in Zoo in Budapest (1933), the guy who won Dolores Del Rio in Flying Down to Rio (1933), the stuffy "other man" in Hitchcock's Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941), and a glad-handing politico in The Best Man (1964). In 1948, Raymond produced, directed, cowrote, and starred in Eagle Lion's Million Dollar Weekend. Gene Raymond was married to singing star Jeanette MacDonald from 1937 until her death in 1965; curiously, he acted with MacDonald only once, in 1941's Smilin' Through. Raymond died of pneumonia on May 3, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1932
Forgotten Commandments is a well-meaning but clumsy attempt to explore the consequences of communism. The story takes place at a Russian university where religious discussion is forbidden. A priest risks his life to espouse the Ten Commandments, but he is killed by a hedonistic scientist (Irving Pichel) who writes up his own set of "pagan" commandments--which leads to an overall loosening of morals at the university. The scientist comes to grief when his own mistress (Sari Maritza) takes the "new" commandments to heart and begins an affair with a married man (Gene Raymond). The sole highlight of Forgotten Commandments is a "flashback" sequences to Moses' flight from Egypt, lifted bodily from the Cecil B. DeMille silent epic The Ten Commandments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sara Maritza, Gene Raymond, (more)
- 1932
Sylvia Sidney is again in her "victim" mode in Paramount's Ladies of the Big House. Shortly after their wedding, young innocents Kathleen (Sylvia Sidney) and Standish (Gene Raymond) are arrested for murder on circumstantial evidence. The poor kids don't have a chance: the case is being prosecuted by crooked district attorney Doremus (Rockliffe Fellowes), while the local reporters have a field day crucifying Kathleen in the press thanks to her dubious relationship with the dead man. The couple is found guilty, whereupon Kathleen is thrown into a cell block with several hardened female cons. Hoping to save her husband from going to the electric chair, Kathleen participates in a prison break. There are many more hardships and disasters in store for our heroine before she is able to prove Standish's innocence. If the script of Ladies of the Big House seems a bit more authentic than usual, it may be because it was written by an actual prison convict named Ernest Booth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvia Sidney, Gene Raymond, (more)
- 1931
In this drama, a humble Irish lass from New York City's East Side, dreams of ascending the social ladder to escape her tumultuous family life. She attempts to live her dream by becoming a servant in upscale homes. Soon she finds that wealthy families are just as troubled as her own. Fortunately, her giving nature acts as a balm to the family's wounds and soon peace is restored. She then ends up marrying the family's eldest son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nancy Carroll, Pat O'Brien, (more)
