Jack Richardson Movies
A veteran stage actor, Jack Richardson began his screen career at the American Film Manufacturing Company opposite his then-wife Louise Lester, the studio's comic "Calamity Anne." One of the better "Boss Heavies" around, Richardson even starred in a couple of low-budget Westerns in the 1920s, but was not really suitable hero material. Today he is perhaps best remembered for playing the brutal servant -- in blackface, no less -- in Thomas H. Ince's justly infamous Free and Equal (1915, released 1925). Richardson's career lasted through the 1940s, but mostly in minor roles. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1956
In this war romance, set during WW II, a widow falls for a Marine colonel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Deborah Kerr, (more)
- 1951
A pair of top 20th Century Fox contractees were loaned to Paramount as stars of The Mating Season. Gene Tierney plays globe-trotting socialite Maggie Carleton, while Thelma Ritter is cast as Ellen McNulty, the hash-slinging mother of Maggie's husband, Val (John Lund). Perceiving that her son is embarrassed by his lower-class origins, Ellen poses as a maid when she attends Maggie and Val's wedding reception. Even after Val expresses displeasure at this deception, Ellen refuses to reveal her true identity, leading to a series of funny and poignant consequences. Miriam Hopkins co-stars as Ellen's blue-blooded mother, whose third-act arrival heralds the film's inevitable "moment of truth." Rest assured, The Mating Season is never dull. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, John Lund, (more)
- 1949
Western star Whip Wilson stars in the Monogram oater Crashing Thru. He periodically displays his whip-wielding skill (which far outclasses his acting ability) to bring a gang of rustlers to heel. In so doing, he rescues Christine Larson from financial ruin and physical danger. Wilson's comic sidekick Andy Clyde again proves that he's got more talent in his little pinky than most cowboy heroes have in their whole carcasses. Crashing Thru was produced by Barney A. Sarecky, later one of the leading lights of TV's Wild Bill Hickok. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
If Republic's skating star Vera Hruba Ralston could go "dramatic", so too could Monogram's skating star Belita. Produced by the enterprising King Brothers, Suspense takes place in an ice-skating emporium owned by Frank Leonard (Albert Dekker). No-good heel Joe Morgan (Barry Sullivan) not only strongarms Leonard into sharing the establishment's profits, but also tries to move in on Leonard's wife Roberta (Belita). The plot thickens when Leonard is apparently killed by Morgan, only to return from the dead! But what really does Morgan in is his own checkered past, as personified by his vengeful ex-sweetheart Ronnie (Bonita Granville, in a truly offbeat characterization). Belita's ice-skating solos (staged by Nick Castle) and Philip Yordan's overly complicated script tend to weigh down the proceedings; still, Suspense deserves to be seen, if for no other reason than its dazzling opening sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belita, Barry Sullivan, (more)
- 1946
Filmed in two-toned Cinecolor, Romance of the West was the second of PRC's western vehicles for singing cowboy Eddie Dean. Our hero is cast as a government agent, bound and determined to prevent an Indian war. The villains are a gang of outlaws who are fomenting discord between the Indians and the white settlers for their own gain. The plan is to have both sides wipe each other out, so that the crooks can move in and claim the silver-rich land. Emmet Lynn, Dean's comedy relief, would be replaced in later entries by Roscoe Ates, all for the better. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Dean, Joan Barton, (more)
- 1946
Peter Cookson, Monogram's answer to Jimmy Stewart, stars in Fear, also known as Black Tower Cookson plays a medical student who becomes involved in a murder. Anne Gwynne is the girl who doesn't completely trust Cookson, but helps him out anyway. Also appearing as one of those oh-too-helpful types is Warren William, who died in 1948, suggested that perhaps Black Tower was lensed a few years before its official 1950 release date. Some sources list Black Tower as a PRC production; this is possible, though PRC was defunct by 1950. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Cookson, Warren William, (more)
- 1942
By PRC Studios standards, Mr. Celebrity is decidedly an "all-star" picture. The title character is a prize race horse, jointly owned by veterinarian Jim Kane (James Seay) and his orphaned nephew Danny Mason (Buzzy Henry). When not tending to ailing nags, Kane struggles to prevent Danny's snobbish grandparents (William Halligan and Laura Treadwell) from gaining custody of a boy. Naturally, Kane will be able to afford to officially adopt Danny himself, if only Mr. Celebrity wins that all-important Big Race. The film's highlight is the custody-hearing sequence, in which several human celebrities of yesteryear show up as witnesses: Silent film stars Clara Kimball Young and Francis X. Bushman, both of whom reminisce about their career highlights, and former boxing champion Jim Jeffries, who recalls his glory days of the 1890s. Incidentally, leading lady Doris Day is not the 1950s box-office champ of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buzz Henry, James Seay, (more)
(Preston Sturges) wrote and directed this classic romantic comedy starring Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck, who are involved in a scintillating battle of the sexes, as Sturges points up the terrors of sexual passion and the unattainability of the romantic ideal. Henry Fonda plays Charles Pike, the heir to the Pike Ale fortune ("The Ale That Won for Yale"). An ophiologist (a snake expert), he just spent a year "up the Amazon" looking for rare snakes with his cynical and protective guardian/valet Muggsy (William Demarest). He arrives to board the S.S. Southern Queen bound for New York, and immediately becomes the main order of business for a collection of single women looking to nab the eligible bachelor. Amongst those watching Charles board are a trio of con men and cardsharps -- Colonel Handsome Harry Harrington (Charles Coburn), his partner Gerald (Melville Cooper), and the Colonel's daughter Jean (Barbara Stanwyck). All three see Charles as a pushover and at dinner, while all the women are ogling Charles, Jean wins the day by sticking out her foot and tripping him. Complaining to Charles that he should watch where he is going, she gets him to escort her to her cabin so that she can replace her broken heel. Charles is sexually attracted to Jean, but when Charles is about to make a pass at her, she pulls back, telling him, "You ought to be put in a cage." Back in the dining room, Charles is introduced to the Colonel and the three play cards, Charles winning $500 from the Colonel and $100 from Jean. But Charles is merely being set-up for the next game when the Colonel will come in for the kill. Back at Jean's cabin, Charles and Jean sit close and something happens she hadn't planned -- she becomes attracted to Charles too. The next morning, Muggsy warns Charles that the Colonel and Jean are cardsharks, but Charles won't hear of it. Meanwhile, the Colonel is looking forward to fleecing Charles, but Jean doesn't want any part of it. Jean participates in the card game between Charles and the Colonel, making sure than the Colonel doesn't cheat. But while Jean waits on deck for Charles after the game, the Colonel plays Charles a game of double-or-nothing, with Charles losing $32,000. Jean, angry with her father, makes the Colonel tears up Charles' check. The next morning, Muggsy proves to Charles the three are con artists. Devastated, Charles shows Jean the photograph, claiming he knew she was a criminal the morning after he met her. Jean is determined to get even with Charles ("I hate that mug!"). Docking in New York, the Colonel reveals he merely palmed the $32,000 check. But that's not enough revenge for Jean. Impersonating an aristocratic English woman, Lady Eve Sidwich, Jean has herself introduced to Charles. Planning to make Charles to fall in love with her again, she intends to break his heart like he broke her own. As she explains, "I've got some unfinished business with him -- I need him like the axe needs the turkey." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Barbara Stanwyck, (more)
- 1940
Don't be fooled by the opening credits: the "Peter Stewart" listed as director Gun Code was actually PRC workhorse Sam Newfield. This low-budget western stars Tim McCoy as federal agent Tim Hammond, who follows a gang of big-city gangsters to the Wide Open Spaces. The crooks shake down the locals by demanding exorbitant funds for "protection" money, letting it be known that serious consequences will befall those who don't pony up the dough. When the villains kidnap a young boy, they've gone too far, sealing their doom at the hands of the stalwart Tim Hammond. Typical of the PRC product of the times, Gun Code is full of technical boners and logic gaps that tended to elicit laughter from more discriminating audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Lou Fulton, (more)
- 1940
Fred MacMurray stars as a US Army misfit who, with pals Albert Dekker and Gilbert Roland, roam the west in search of adventure. Arriving in a small town, they befriend the elderly newspaper editor (Arthur Allen) and his young granddaughter (Betty Brewer). The trio learns that the community is under the thumb of a covetous land baron (Joseph Schildkraut), who is endeavoring to push out the ranch owners and take over the territory. Advertised by Paramount Pictures as a standard western, Rangers of Fortune is full of startling surprises, not the least of which is the fact that Fred MacMurray doesn't get the girl (Patricia Morison). In one scene, villain Joseph Schildkraut explains his motivations so persuasively that he seems to be more in the right than the heroes. And despite Paramount's promotional buildup of their new child star Betty Brewer, the studio had no qualms about killing off her character some ten minutes before the end! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Albert Dekker, (more)
- 1940
This slightly laundered remake of the 1932 courtroom classic The Mouthpiece stars George Brent as brilliant but unprincipled DA Steve Forbes, a character based on legendary lawyer William Fallon. After railroading an innocent boy into the electric chair, Forbes goes on a bender, then cynically builds up a new practice as a criminal attorney. His underhanded legal tactics cause a rift between Forbes and his idealistic younger brother Johnny (William Lundigan), despite the fact that it was Steve's income that enabled Johnny to finish law school. Angered that his brother has enabled big-time gangster J.B. Roscoe (Richard Barthelmess) to continually elude the law, Johnny turns in damning evidence to the FBI. On Roscoe's orders, Steve frames Johnny on a murder charge, but reforms his ways in the nick of time. Based on a play by Frank J. Collins, The Man Who Talked too Much was remade in 1955 as Illegal, with Edward G. Robinson in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Virginia Bruce, (more)
Frank Capra's classic comedy-drama established James Stewart as a lead actor in one of his finest (and most archetypal) roles. The film opens as a succession of reporters shout into telephones announcing the death of Senator Samuel Foley. Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), the state's senior senator, puts in a call to Governor Hubert "Happy" Hopper (Guy Kibbee) reporting the news. Hopper then calls powerful media magnate Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), who controls the state -- along with the lawmakers. Taylor orders Hopper to appoint an interim senator to fill out Foley's term; Taylor has proposed a pork barrel bill to finance an unneeded dam at Willet Creek, so he warns Hopper he wants a senator who "can't ask any questions or talk out of turn." After having a number of his appointees rejected, at the suggestion of his children Hopper nominates local hero Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), leader of the state's Boy Rangers group. Smith is an innocent, wide-eyed idealist who quotes Jefferson and Lincoln and idolizes Paine, who had known his crusading editor father. In Washington, after a humiliating introduction to the press corps, Smith threatens to resign, but Paine encourages him to stay and work on a bill for a national boy's camp. With the help of his cynical secretary Clarissa Sanders (Jean Arthur), Smith prepares to introduce his boy's camp bill to the Senate. But when he proposes to build the camp on the Willets Creek site, Taylor and Paine force him to drop the measure. Smith discovers Taylor and Paine want the Willets Creek site for graft and he attempts to expose them, but Paine deflects Smith's charges by accusing Smith of stealing money from the boy rangers. Defeated, Smith is ready to depart Washington, but Saunders, whose patriotic zeal has been renewed by Smith, exhorts him to stay and fight. Smith returns to the Senate chamber and, while Taylor musters the media forces in his state to destroy him, Smith engages in a climactic filibuster to speak his piece: "I've got a few things I want to say to this body. I tried to say them once before and I got stopped colder than a mackerel. Well, I'd like to get them said this time, sir. And as a matter of fact, I'm not gonna leave this body until I do get them said." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1939
Torchy Plays with Dynamite was the final entry in Warner Bros.' "Torchy Blane" series, based on characters created by Frederick Nebel. Taking over from series star Glenda Farrell, Jane Wyman imitates Farrell to the nth degree, right down to the mile-a-minute dialogue delivery and the angle of her hat. Hoping to get the goods on gangster Denver Eddie (Eddie Marr), intrepid girl reporter Torchy Blane (Wyman) gets herself arrested and thrown into the same prison with Eddie's gun moll Jackie McGuire (Sheila Bromley). All this effort is aimed at winning Torchy's detective boyfriend Steve McBride (Allen Jenkins) a promotion, but it nearly winds up with our heroine pushing up daisies. According to the opening credits, the film's official title is Torchy Blane?Playing With Dynamite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Allen Jenkins, (more)
- 1939
A big city lawyer returns to his tiny home town to enter the firm of his late father. His father's partner is happy to have him, but the partner's lovely daughter is even happier.. Every one is happy until the young attorney decides to represent the local villain, a ruthless factory owner who cares more for money than his employees. When the abused workers go on strike, the partner drops the factory owner's account, but the young slicker stays with the magnate. This upsets the partner's daughter. Tragedy and chaos follow when gangsters get involved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Joseph Allen, Jr., (more)
- 1939
Code of the Secret Service was the second of Warner Bros. "Brass Bancroft" series, starring Ronald Reagan as troubleshooting federal operative Bancroft. This time, Brass and his wisecracking partner Gabby (Eddie Foy Jr., brother of producer Bryan Foy) take on a particularly vicious gang of counterfeiters. Our heroes end up in Mexico, where they undergo a series of wild and wooly adventures the like of which were seldom seen outside of the Republic serials. According to Reagan, he was obliged to do his own stunts in the film because the budget couldn't afford a double; it certainly looks that way. Entertaining in its own dizzy fashion. Code of the Secret Service is proof positive that Reagan could carry a film with the right material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Rosella Towne, (more)
- 1938
Choreographer Bobby Connolly and prolific screenwriter Crane Wilbur teamed up on the direction of Warner Bros.' The Patient in Room 18. Patric Knowles delivers a delightfully comic performance as Lance, an outwardly normal young man obsessed with detective stories. When his obsession threatens to lapse over into lunacy, Lance is sent to the hospital for a nice long rest. It isn't long before he gets mixed up in a genuine murder mystery, using his second-hand knowhow to solve the case. Up-and-coming Ann Sheridan is quite amusing as Lance's nurse and confidante, while the murderer is played by a fellow who is usually cast as the murder victim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sheridan, Patric Knowles, (more)
- 1938
In this wartime drama, cavalry private Dennis Murphy purchases a nervous horse, Sergeant, after it is deemed unfit for military service. With patience and love, Murphy trains his horse into a champion and later proves his worth by sneaking the steed into England where he enters him in the Grand National. He wins. The plucky private also wins the affection of the colonel's daughter. This film is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Mary Maguire, (more)
- 1937
Claudette Colbert is a young freethinking woman living in Salem, Massachusetts during the notorious 17th century "witch trials". Colbert falls in love with adventurer Fred MacMurray, causing no end of scandal with the Puritan townsfolk. A hateful little girl (Bonita Granville) pretends to be "possessed", thereby convincing the Salemites that Claudette is a witch. Tried and convicted of sorcery, the poor girl is sent to be burned at the stake, but is rescued in the nick of time by MacMurray, who convinces the townsfolk that they've been the victim of a hoax. Maid of Salem earned a footnote in entertainment history in 1937 when it was booed off the screen of New York's Paramount theatre by fans who wanted to see the evening's real attraction--a performance by Benny Goodman and his orchestra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1937
German director Joe May brought a decidedly Teutonic ambience to his American film Confession--no surprise, since the film was based on the 1935 German production Mazurka. Kay Francis plays a onetime singer who confesses to the murder of her pianist, Basil Rathbone. In flashback, we learn that Rathbone had been responsible for the breakup of Francis's marriage. Years later, Rathbone came back into her life, this time with the intention of seducing Ms. Francis' grown daughter (Jane Bryan). In a variation of Madame X, Francis was stuck with the dilemma of deflecting Rathbone from his "mission"--and of keeping her true identity secret from her daughter. Prior to Mazurka, the Hans Rameau story upon which Confession was based had been filmed as a silent picture starring Gloria Swanson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, (more)
- 1937
The title of this Errol Flynn vehicle sprang from an "inside" joke at Warner Bros. Whenever the studio depicted a marquee or poster of a fictional film in one of their productions, the film's title was inevitably Another Dawn. When time came to shoot this Flynn epic, the studio, stuck for a title, opted for Another Dawn -- and had to cast about for another phony film title whenever the necessity arose. An unabashed soap opera, the film casts Flynn as Captain Denny Roark, a British army officer stationed in a remote Sahara outpost. Against his better judgement, Roark falls in love with Julia (Kay Francis), the wife of his commanding officer Colonel Wister (Ian Hunter). Wister knows what's going on, but he is too much the gentleman to interfere, just as Roark is too much the gentleman to demand that the Colonel grant Julia a divorce. Wister finally does the honorable thing by volunteering for a suicide mission, allowing Roark and Julia to continue their romance unencumbered. About the only distinguishing aspect in this dreary exercise in restraint is the lush Erich Wolfgang Korngold musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, Errol Flynn, (more)
- 1937
Now decidedly a product of Warner Bros.' grade-B unit, The Case of the Stuttering Bishop brought the Perry Mason series to a close. Donald Woods starred as Mason, with Ann Dvorak as his loyal secretary Della Street (who is constantly promised a raise that never seems to materialize) and Edward McWade in the title role. The latter asks Mason's help in a case of a young girl, Janice (Anne Nagel), who may or may not be the granddaughter of wealthy Ronald Brownley (Douglas Wood). The bishop suspects that she is a fake and it is Mason's job to find the real Janice, whose estranged mother Ida (Mira McKinney) believes her to be one Janice Seaton (Linda Perry). But before Brownley can verify this latest claim, he is murdered by what appears to be a woman wearing a light raincoat. A fingerprint in Brownley's car points to Ida as the murderess, but is she guilty? And who is the real Janice Brownley? ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Woods, Ann Dvorak, (more)
- 1937
Call It a Day is a Warner Bros. attempt at British light comedy. Nothing much happens of any consequence in this story of a day in the life of a typical middle-class London family, headed by accountant Ian Hunter. The husband is tempted by a seductress (Marcia Ralston), the wife (Freda Inescourt) tries but fails to have a "fling" herself, the daughter (Olivia De Havilland) throws herself at a married artist (Walter Woolf King), and all is set aright before the sun goes down. The film's funniest moments belong to droll Roland Young and sharp-tongued Alice Brady. Call it a Day was adapted from Dodie Smith's gossamer-thin stage play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia de Havilland, Ian Hunter, (more)
- 1936
As originally conceived by detective novelist Frederick Nebel, hotshot girl reporter Torchy Blaine was a male news-hound named Kennedy. For the purpose of Warner Bros.' Smart Blonde, the character's name and gender was changed -- thereby inaugurating one of the most popular and enjoyable movie series of the 1930s. Glenda Farrell, she of the mile-a-minute mouth, was an inspired choice for Torchy Blaine, while burly Barton MacLane was equally well cast as Torchy's boyfriend-nemesis, police lieutenant Steve McBride. In this first series entry, the only one actually based on a Nebel story, Torchy and Steve join forces to solve -- what else? -- a baffling murder case. McBride thinks that crook-gone-straight Tom Carney (Craig Reynolds) is the guilty party, but Torchy determines that the killing was the handiwork of one of Tom's old underworld cronies. It takes a second murder for McBride to admit that Torchy is right as usual. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, (more)
Still hanging on in 1935 despite several financial setbacks, brave little Majestic Pictures continued turning out such worthwhile programmers as The Perfect Clue. Eloping with boyfriend Ronnie Van Zandt (Skeets Gallagher), madcap heiress Mona Stewart (Dorothy Libaire) changes her mind about marriage and runs away from her fiancé. Mona hires a car in a small town, only to discover that her chauffeur, David Mannerling (David Manners) is a hold-up man who robs her and leaves her stranded in the middle of nowhere. Having a change of heart, David returns to Mona, promising to behave himself for the rest of the ride. This proves difficult when the mismatched couple gets mixed up in a murder case, with David winding up the prime suspect. The most amusing aspect of The Perfect Clue is that neither hero nor heroine are terribly bright; truth to tell, they're both dumb as doornails. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Manners, Dorothy Libaire, (more)
- 1935
In this drama, an amateur pilot is driven to living life in the fast lane after he pilots that plane that crashed and killed his parents and his sister. He goes on to marry. He and his new wife live in terrible conditions until he suddenly inherits $8,000 which he uses to buy a plane and start up a commuter service. Unfortunately, he finds himself again in debt. His disgusted wife leaves, but when he is hurt in a car crash, she eventually returns. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, George Brent, (more)
