Jack Rice Movies

Son of Flubber represented the first time that Walt Disney ever attempted a theatrical feature sequel: in this case, the earlier film was the 1961 moneyspinner The Absent-Minded Professor. While Flubber is more formula-bound than Professor, it proved an instant audience-pleaser, and a hit to the tune of nine million dollars. Fred MacMurray returns as professor Ned Brainerd, currently working on his new discovery, "dry rain." The comically destructive side effects of this discovery seemingly doom the professor to failure -- at least until the closing courtroom sequence -- but meanwhile he has better luck with Flubbergas, a byproduct of the antigravity glop he'd invented in the first film. In addition to MacMurray, Absent-Minded Professor alumni Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliott Reid, Alan Carney, Gordon Jones, Forrest Lewis, and James Westerfield reprise their roles from the earlier film, while Ed Wynn shows up in a new guise as a nervous agricultural agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lou Costello made his only film appearance without Bud Abbott in 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock. Lou plays a bumbling junk dealer who fancies himself a great inventor. One of his creations transforms his girlfriend Dorothy Provine into a towering giant! The subsequent shenanigans involve Lou, the humongous Ms. Provine, her bombastic uncle Gale Gordon, and the entire US Army. Before Dorothy can be returned to normal size again, Lou's invention transmogrifies into a time machine and rocketship. 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock tries to be a satire of Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, a slapstick comedy, a marital farce, and a sci-fi epic all in one, but it never really jells. Ill with rheumatic fever during shooting, Costello seems more solemn and reserved than usual; still, whenever the material is up to par, he rises to the occasion, offering some choice comic moments in the climactic chase sequence. The special effects are a bit grainy, but convincing within their medium-budget limits. Our favorite bit: the "barking Sputnik", a cute comment on the US-Russian space race. By the time 30-Foot Bride of Candy Rock hit the theaters, Lou Costello was dead, precluding any followups (if, indeed, any were planned). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the Bowery Boys series, one of the members suddenly finds that he can predict winning numbers after he suffers an electrical shock. He and the boys take this special talent and use it on a TV game show. They win a trip to Las Vegas. Unfortunately, his winning streak attracts the interest of local gangsters who trick the clairvoyant lad into believing he killed a man. They use this to blackmail him into forking over his winnings. The gang comes to his aid. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When Orson Welles was signed to produce and direct films at RKO Radio Pictures in 1939, he'd wanted to cast Lucille Ball in an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The studio turned Welles down, insisting that the actress "can't carry a picture." Seventeen years later, Ball was more than carrying her own TV series -- and thus, she and Orson Welles were finally able to work together. The plot of this episode finds Lucy Ricardo (Ball) trying to insinuate herself into Welles' act at her husband Ricky's (Desi Arnaz) nightclub. When Welles decides to hire her, Lucy alerts her former high-school drama coach (Ellen Corby), assuming that she will be co-starring in a scene from Shakespeare. What Lucy doesn't know until the night of the performance is that Orson merely wants her to assist him with the "levitation" routine in his magic act. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Silver Whip stars Dale Robertson as Race Crim, the guard on a stage coach driven by his best friend, young Jess Harker (Robert Wagner). Wounded during a holdup, Crim vows to get even with bandit Slater (John Kellogg). Meanwhile, Harker, fired from his job as driver, manages to become the deputy for Sheriff Tom Davisson (Rory Calhoun). When the sheriff captures Slater and throws him in jail, a lynch mob, headed by Crim, converges upon the jailhouse. Harker is placed in a delicate dilemma: should he protect Slater and uphold justice, or should he allow his old friend Crim to satisfy his thirst for vengeance? The Silver Whip was based on a novel by Jack Schaefer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stars and Stripes Forever is the highly fanciful filmed biography of "march king" John Philip Sousa. Clifton Webb does a fine job as Sousa, while Ruth Hussey is equally good in the less-demanding role of Sousa's wife. The problem faced by screenwriter Lamar Trotti (who adapted the film from Sousa's autobiography Marching Along) was that, outside of Sousa's early travails in organizing his own band after leaving the Marine Corps, there just wasn't much drama in the great composer's life. Thus, a secondary (and wholly fictional) romance involving young musician Willie (Robert Wagner) and ex-chorus girl Lily (Debra Paget) is given special emphasis. Willie invents the Sousaphone on behalf of his mentor, and upon returning from the Spanish American War minus one of his legs, Willie makes an inspirational solo appearance with the Sousa band. The best scenes include Sousa's ongoing efforts to break free from the "march king" onus and write romantic ballads, and Lily's high-kicking rendition of the music-hall ballad "Father's Got 'Em." When first telecast on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies in 1962, Stars and Stripes Forever was accompanied by a short newsreel clip of the real John Philip Sousa in action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After 12 years and 28 films, Columbia's Blondie series came to a close with 1950's Beware of Blondie. The plot is "business as usual," with Mr. Dithers leaving Dagwood (Arthur Lake) in charge of the office for a short period. Poor old Dag manages to gum things up when he falls for a confidence scam engineered by the duplicitous Toby Clifton (Adele Jergens). He even finds himself in a compromising position that seriously endangers his future connubial happiness with wife Blondie (Penny Singleton). Once again, it's up to Blondie to straighten out the mess. Mr. Dithers is played by an uncredited Edward Earle, who is seen only from the back; Earle's voice is dubbed over with an old recording of Jonathan Hale, the series' original Dithers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Powell stars in Take One False Step as a happily married college professor who foolishly agrees to a reunion supper with old flame Shelley Winters. Winters later disappears, and the evidence points to murder. To allay suspicion--and to avoid losing an important financial grant to his university--Powell starts his own investigation. The trail leads him to San Francisco, where poor Powell becomes mired in a confusing crime plot. Fortunately, Winters is still alive; unfortunately, Powell may not be for long. Adapted from the Irwin Shaw novel Night Call, Take One False Step is saved from tawdriness by the innate dignity of William Powell. Also, the film is leavened by unexpected moments of humor, notably the relaxed banter between Powell and Shelley Winters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Barkleys of Broadway became Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' "reunion" picture purely by accident. Originally conceived as a follow-up to the successful Astaire-Judy Garland vehicle Easter Parade, Barkleys was to have starred Fred and Judy as a successful musical comedy team that breaks up when the female half decides to become a "serious" artist. Just before shooting started, Garland fell ill, Rogers replaced her, and the rest, as they say, is history. The script is as thin as a spider's web, a mere coat-rack upon which to hang several topnotch musical numbers. Fred and Ginger aren't quite as footloose and fancy-free as they were in their RKO heyday, but they still work together seamlessly. The film's highlights include "My One and Only Highland Fling," "You'd Be Hard to Replace," a reprise of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (originally performed by Astaire and Rogers in Shall We Dance?), and Oscar Levant's keyboard rendition of "The Sabre Dance." The film's least memorable moment is the play-within-a-play wherein Rogers, cast as the young Sarah Bernhardt, passionately recites "The Marseillaise" as an audition piece! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 23rd entry in the "Blondie" film series stars, as ever, Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake as Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead respectively. It all begins as Dagwood prepares for a long-delayed vacation with the family. His boss Mr. Radcliffe (Jerome Cowan) has promised the Bumsteads that there'll be no more postponements for their holiday. But when something comes up that requires Dagwood's presence, Radcliffe hires a couple of thugs to steal Blondie and Dagwood's luggage so that they'll have to stay in town. And that's only the beginning of the frantic fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When he was first offered the film version of the best-selling Frederick Wakeman novel The Hucksters, Clark Gable turned it down, characterizing the book as "filthy and not entertainment." He finally agreed to star in the film after screenwriter Luther Davis' extensive laundering job. Gable plays Vic Norman, a radio advertising executive just returned from World War II. His wartime experiences have soured him on the phony aspects of his profession; nonetheless, he takes a job with the biggest and phoniest agency in town, headed by the glad-handing Kimberly (Adolphe Menjou). At Kimberly's recommendation, Vic takes over the Beautee Soap account, which brings him in close quarter's with Beautee's boorish head man Evans (Sidney Greenstreet). At their first meeting, Evans unexpectedly spits on his highly polished conference table. "Gentlemen," he growls, summing up his philosophy on advertising, "You have just seen me do a disgusting thing. But you will always remember it!" (Evans was based on George Washington Hill, the colorfully crude president of the American Tobacco Company). Vic's first assignment for Evans is to round up 25 high society women to sign testimonials for Beautee Soap. The least cooperative of the bunch is young widow Mrs. Dorrance (Deborah Kerr, in her American film debut), the stepdaughter of an American war hero. Attracted to Vic, Mrs. Dorrance signs the agreement, but breaks off her personal relationship with Vic when it appears as though he's making unsolicited advances towards her. The ever-demanding Evans then insists that Vic sign up two-bit comedian Buddy Hare (Keenan Wynn) for a radio program. Becoming more and more corrupt with each passing day, Vic obtains Hare's service at a rock-bottom price by blackmailing the comedian's agent (Edward Arnold), Vic's onetime close friend. A demo record is made of Hare and of nightclub singer Jean Ogilvie (Ava Gardner), who is in love with Vic but who eventually gives him up because of his apparent lack of scruples. Returning to the Beautee Soap headquarters, Vic watches dumbstruck as Evans smashes the demo record--then laughs uproariously, telling Vic that the contract is his, along with a $25,000 bonus. By this time, Vic is so disgusted with himself and with Evans' childish baiting tactics that he tells off the soap mogul in no uncertain terms, ending his tirade by dousing Evans with a pitcher of water. Having regained his integrity, Vic is now worthy of the love of Mrs. Dorrance, who has forgiven him his earlier misdeeds. As the film ends, she encourages Vic to use his advertising talents for something clean and honest (and, undoubtedly, starve to death in the process!) To mollify Madison Avenue, screenwriter Davis narrowed the attack on advertisers to one single radio sponsor; to please Gable, Mrs. Dorrance was changed from a still-married woman to a widow, while Vic Rodman is transformed from a "huckster" to an idealist who Does the Right Thing at the end. The Hucksters is one of Clark Gable's best postwar films, as well as one of the finest Hollywood satires of the rarefied world of advertising. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Irving Pichel's They Won't Believe Me is the flashback unfolding of Larry Ballentine's (Robert Young) witness-stand testimony in his trial for the murder of girlfriend Verna Carlson (Susan Hayward). Larry is the first to admit he's a parasitic heel, cheating on his rich wife Gretta (Rita Johnson) first with magazine writer Janice Bell (Jane Greer) and then with Verna. Though aware of Larry's affairs, Gretta cannot manage to leave him; rather, she uses her money to keep him in tow. She foils his attempt to run off with Janice by buying him a partnership in a brokerage firm. When she discovers his plan to flee with Verna, she sells her interest, leaving Larry unemployed and penniless. The lovers run off nonetheless, but Verna is killed when a truck crashes into their car. When the authorities assume the charred victim is his wife, Larry gets a sinister idea. He returns home to kill Gretta, but she is already dead, so all he has to do is hide the body. Unfortunately for him, the police come looking for the missing Verna, who they suspect was blackmailing him. They find Gretta's unrecognizable corpse, think it's Verna's, and arrest Larry. The flashback structure of this suspenseful film noir effectively creates a foreboding tension that mounts to a powerful final scene. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide

Blondie decides she wants to be a star and nearly turns her household upside down in this entry in the long-running domestic comedy series. Dagwood has mixed emotions about his wife's theatrical aspirations and eventually he decides to get her to quit. Disaster ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide