Mickey Rentschler Movies

Substantially, Lupe Velez' Columbia vehicle Redhead from Manhattan was the same as her previous RKO starrers-boisterous, unsubtle, and immensely profitable. La Lupe plays a dual role, as twin sisters named Rita and Elaine. Escaping from a torpedoed ship, Rita shows up in New York, where she takes the place of her Broadway-star sister Elaine, who's having problems with her marriage and needs to make a short but quick getaway. Naturally, neither Elaine's husband (Gerald Mohr) nor Rita's saxophone-player boyfriend (Michael Duane) are aware of the switch. Anyone who can't figure out what happens next should be drummed out of the theater in disgrace. And as always, a little of Lupe Velez goes a long, long way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A fine, action-packed entry in Republic Pictures' long-running "Three Mesqueteers" Western series, West of Cimarron featured the constellation of Bob Steele as Tucson Smith, Tom Tyler as Stony Brooke, and Rufe Davis as Lullaby Joslin. The scene is Texas right after the Civil War and former medical doctor Ken Morgan (James Bush) is leading a gang of "bushwackers" against the unfair taxation policies of the occupying Union army lead by Colonel Conway (Guy Usher). But Conway is unaware that his civilian attaché Bentley (Hugh Prosser) and nasty Captain Hawkes (Roy Barcroft) are in fact squeezing money from the populace in general and tavern owner Morgan (Budd Buster), Ken's father, in particular. When Ken's younger brother (Mickey Rentschler) is shot in the back by one of Hawkes' men, Tucson, Lullaby, and Stony come to the rescue, despite the fact that the latter fought with the Union Army in the recent war. Learning the truth from the Mesqueteers, an outraged Colonel Conway demands an investigation. Hawkes, however, has the colonel killed by his own orderly (Cactus Mack), who manages to frame Ken. When Stony and Tucson interfere, they are imprisoned by Bentley, who has taken over command. But by using a great deal of cunning, Lullaby and his sidekick Rastus (Cordell Hickman) get word to Major Briggs (Stanley Blystone) -- the inspector general -- and the renegade army officers are wiped out in a final shootout. Unusual for a B-Western, West of Cimarron got in trouble with the Production Code Administration, which demanded that some of the killings be eliminated and that the writers more clearly portray Hawkes and his men as renegades and not representatives of the Union army. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Peck's Bad Boy and his gang of mischievous misfits (including Spanky McFarland) make all kinds of trouble around the circus. ~ All Movie Guide

This melodrama chronicles the enduring friendship between four boys in New York's Hell's Kitchen. As boys, the made a pact that they would meet annually to renew their friendship. Trouble ensues when one of the boys accidently sets fire to a building. Another boy took the blame. He went to reform school. Years pass before he is reunited with his pals. Now the man is a professional gambler and nightclub owner. He sees two of his friends, who have become cops, when they come into his club to investigate a murder. As they look into the death, one of the cops is killed. The fourth friend, now a priest, makes sure that justice prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the tradition of such earlier Universal serials as Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim, the 12-chapter Radio Patrol was based on a popular comic strip, this one created by Eddie Sullivan and Charlie Schmidt. Grant Withers heads the cast as "radio cop" Pat O'Hara, at present the protector of young Pinky Adams (Mickey Rentschler). Pinky's father, the inventor of a new bulletproof steel, has been murdered, and the villains intend to kidnap the boy and force him to reveal his dad's secret formula. With the help of Molly Selkirk (Katherine Hughes), Pat prevents the bad guys from getting their slimy hands on Pinky. He also proves that the mastermind behind the crooks is the highly respected owner of a huge steel factory. Featured prominently in the cast is the talented German shepherd Silver Wolf, here cast as "Irish." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A bell ringer's wife dies while giving birth to his second son who turns out to be deaf. His oldest son moves to America where he becomes a successful engineer. Meanwhile, back at home in Austria, the bell ringer gives his remaining son to a monastery and then wanders off to become a bum. Years pass and eventually the hearing-impaired boy grows up. During WW I, an explosion miraculously restores his hearing. He then becomes a musician and moves to America where he not only finds fame and fortune, but also renewed family ties. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An above-average cast makes up for the lack of production values in this, the second of 32 Bob Steele Westerns produced by A.W. Hackel for the States' Rights market. Steele is Rod Kent, a rancher falling in love with his neighbor, Margie Orkin (Lucile Browne), whom he rescues from an irate bull. Margie, however, is soon in a different kind of danger altogether when her father's evil half-brother, Bill (George Hayes), suddenly appears on the property with blackmail on his mind. When Rod intervenes, his father (Charles K. French) is shot by one of Bill's nasty sons, Holt (James Flavin). Bill's attempt to pin the blame on his half-brother, Joe (William Farnum), fails. Assisted by Margie's kid brother, Budd (Mickey Rentschler), and his faithful pooch, Pardner, Rod rounds up the villains, who are hog-tied and delivered to the Sheriff (Jack Rockwell). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Produced by Warner Bros. in 1934, A Modern Hero was the only American talkie directed by the great German filmmaker G. W. Pabst. Richard Barthelmess plays Pierre, the bastard son of blowzy, besotted circus performer Mme. Azais (Marjorie Rambeau). Fiercely ambitious, Pierre enters the world of automobile manufacturing, rising to the heights of success by callously using wealthy women to get ahead. After breaking one heart after another, Pierre is finally beaten at his own game by a disgruntled young lady who walks out on him, forcing him to admit that he's an utter flop as a human being. Jean Muir co-stars as Joanna, seduced and abandoned early in the proceedings, while other women crucial to Pierre's ascension are played by Veree Teasdale and Florence Eldredge. Based on a novel by Louis Bromfield, A Modern Hero has been correctly assessed by one of the director's devotees as having "little of Pabst in it." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A very young John Wayne is atypically cast as a randy playboy in His Private Secretary. Much to the dismay of his businessman father, Dick Wallace (Wayne) prefers a life of wine, women and more women to honest work. The elder Wallace demands that Dick take a job as his company's collection manager, and it is in this capacity that our hero heads to the small town of Somerville to collect a debt. Here he meets pretty Marion (Evelyn Knapp), the granddaughter of the man from whom Dick must extract overdue payments. Immediately putting the moves on Marion, Dick is rebuffed with a slap and several harsh words -- and for the first time in his life, the prodigal son is really in love! Inevitably, Marion ends up working as a secretary for Dick's dad, driving the poor boy crazy in his efforts to make up for his previous boorish behavior. Excerpts from His Private Secretary have frequently shown up in TV documentaries about John Wayne, as "proof" of his inability to act in his pre-John Ford years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide