Christian Rub Movies
Wispy-looking, soft-spoken Austrian character actor Christian Rub made his first Hollywood film appearance in 1932. For the next 20 years, Rub played a variety of functional roles (innkeepers, peasant farmers, musicians, janitors) in a variety of accents (usually German or Swedish). Many of his roles were small but memorable, such as his brief turn as the melodic coachman who inspires Johann Strauss (Fernand Gravet) to compose Tales From the Vienna Woods in The Great Waltz (1938). Christian Rub's most lasting contribution to cinema was as the voice and physical inspiration for Geppetto in the 1940 Disney cartoon feature Pinocchio. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1952
Something for the Birds is a toothless satire of Washington, filmed during the McCarthy era. For lack of a political target that wouldn't get them labeled as Communists, the producers decided to go after lobbyists. Patricia Neal comes to Washington on behalf of the preservation of the California Condor; she finds herself the object of ridicule for almost everyone, including leading man Victor Mature, a lobbyist for the oil interests who threatens a large bird sanctuary. Edmund Gwenn is one of the few Washingtonians willing to financially back Neal's cause; unfortunately he turns out to be a charlatan with nary a nickel to his name. Eventually Mature is made to realize that the plight of the Condor is worthy worrying about, and he is able to dissuade the agreeable oil executives from drilling on the bird's territory. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Patricia Neal, (more)
- 1947
Nice guys don't always finish last as can be seen in this crime drama. The story begins as a perfectly nice fellow finds himself arrested for murder. The trouble is, the man cannot remember a thing about the night of the murder. Though he insists he is innocent, all the evidence tells a different story. He was found at the scene with a bloody knife in his hand. Fortunately, a policeman friend, believes him. He gets him out of jail and together, they begin looking for the real killer. They soon find that the set-up was perpetrated by his uncle who strongly disapproved of his dating his ward. The woman who died had been the uncle's lover who was blackmailing him. To get even with them all, the uncle drugged his nephew, killed his mistress and planted the knife upon his unconscious relative. In the end, the uncle is arrested and the nephew and his lover live a long and happy life together. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1945
In this suspense story (released as part of Universal's "Inner Sanctum" series, named for the popular radio series of the day), Jeff Carter is a scientist who is working on a medicine which would cure the flu. Carter's duplicitous boss Roger Graham (J. Carrol Naish) sends him on a business trip to South America, and uses his absence to steal Carter's uncompleted formula, as well as the affections of his wife Mary (Brenda Joyce). When Carter returns home and discovers what Graham has done, he plots a grisly revenge. Strange Confession was a remake of the 1934 Claude Rains vehicle The Man Who Reclaimed His Head. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lon Chaney, Jr., Brenda Joyce, (more)
- 1945
There's slightly more fancy than fact in this lavish film biography of legendary American composer George Gershwin, but oh! That music! Director Irving Rapper had wanted Tyrone Power to play Gershwin, but Power was still serving in the Marines, so Rapper had to settle for Robert Alda--who isn't bad at all, just a trifle over-enthusiastic. The film traces Gershwin's rise from a "song plugger" for a Manhattan music publishing company to the heights of international fame and fortune. Gershwin's first big hit is "Swanee," introduced on Broadway by Al Jolson (who plays himself, making his first film appearance in six years). In collaboration with his lyricist brother Ira (well played by Herbert Rudley), George pens hit after hit in show after show. Impresario Charles Coburn is happy with this, but George's kindly old music teacher Albert Basserman wants his prize pupil to aspire to something more artistic. Gershwin responds with "Rhapsody in Blue", which debuts at Aeolian Hall in 1924 under the baton of bandleader Paul Whiteman (also playing himself). As his fame and workload grows, George finds he has no time at all for romance; the two (fictional) ladies in his life, both of whom eventually realize that they'll always have to play second fiddle to Gershwin's muse, are musical comedy star Joan Leslie and socialite Alexis Smith. Gershwin continues to compose such masterpieces as "An American in Paris", "Cuban Overture", "Concerto in F" and the 1935 folk opera Porgy and Bess. He will not allow himself to rest on his laurels, ruthlessly pushing himself to top all his previous accomplishments. Finally, the strain proves too great: George Gershwin dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1937, at the age of 39. Featured in the cast as themselves (in addition to those already mentioned) are Gershwin's lifelong friend Oscar Levant, producer George White, and Broadway performers Tom Patricola and Hazel Scott. Morris Carnovsky and Rosemary DeCamp play George's parents, while Julie Bishop is cast as Ira's wife Lee, who is saddled with the film's silliest line: "Ira, promise me that you'll never become a genius." Alternately hokey and inspired, Rhapsody in Blue has weathered the years as one of Hollywood's most solid biopics. And, as a bonus, we are treated to a virtually complete performance (running a full reel) of the title composition. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, (more)
- 1944
Based on a play by Phoebe and Henry Ephron, Three Is a Family is a 1940s farce that frequently substitutes noise for humor. Charlie Ruggles plays a hubby whose bungled business schemes force his wife Fay Bainter to enter the workplace. The couple's daughter Marjorie Reynolds shows up with her twin babies in tow. Son Arthur Lake arrives with his pregnant wife (Jeff Donnell). And overbearing maiden aunt Helen Broderick also decides to move in. Because his wife is away at work, poor old Charlie Ruggles is not only housekeeper, but nursemaid and servant as well. If you like diaper and bottle-warmer jokes, you'll love Three is a Family. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marjorie Reynolds, Charlie Ruggles, (more)
Based on Norman Corwin's satirical radio play My Client Curley, Once Upon a Time is an engaging bit of whimsy, completely dominated by the personality of star Cary Grant. It all begins when fly-by-night Broadway producer Jerry Flynn (Grant) learns of a trained caterpillar (!) that dances to the tune of "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby." In short order, Jerry has promoted Curly the Caterpillar to international stardom-and in the process he alienates both Pinky Thompson (Ted Donaldson), the impressionable 9-year-old who owns Curley, and Pinky's attractive older sister Jeanne (Janet Blair). Eventually, Flynn comes to his senses and regains his essential decency-though it's too late to continue capitalizing on Curley, who has turned into a non-dancing butterfly! Full of delightful contemporary references and "cameo appearances" by such celebrities as producer Walt Disney and radio commentator Gabriel Heatter (both played by uncredited impressionists), Once Upon a Time proved an agreeable diversion for wartime audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Janet Blair, (more)
- 1944
A strong contender for the title of Universal's worst horror film of the 1940s, Jungle Woman continued the melodramatic exploits of "Ape-Woman" Paula Dupree (Acquanetta from Captive Wild Woman) including seemingly endless "flashback" footage. (Captive, of course, had itself "benefitted" from plenty of stock footage courtesy of the studio's 1933 Clyde Beatty film, The Big Cage.) Poor Dupree is found roaming an all-too familiar back lot jungle and is once again captured by a scientist (J. Carrol Naish), who proceeds to torment the girl to death. At his trial, Dr. Carl Fletcher is acquitted when he proves that the girl was not only more simian than human, but jealously stalked the good doctor's lovely daughter (Lois Collier). Fletcher is acquitted after an excursion to the morgue, where the body of Dupree has indeed transformed into that of an "Ape Woman." The film's odorous repute, even among the most ardent Z-movie apologists, stems mainly from its overuse of stock footage and some notoriously rotten acting. The studio's "Scream Queen," first-billed Evelyn Ankers, basically walked through her repeating role as Beth Mason and the film's only comedy relief was provided by the patently unfunny Edward M. Hyans, Jr., whose eventual demise thus came as a true relief. Worst of all, Irish-American character actor J. Carrol Naish, who was between Academy Award-nominated performances in Sahara (1943) and A Medal for Benny (1945), delivered perhaps the only bad performance of his long career as the not-so-mad doctor. Acquanetta (né Mildred Davenport), a former fashion model claiming to be the result of a liaison between an Arapaho princess and British royalty, was allowed to speak this time around, a fact which hasn't exactly enhanced the film's reputation either. Starlet Julie London was lucky; her small role as one of Lois Collier's friends landed on the cutting-room floor. The third and final installment in Universal's "Paula, the Ape Woman" trilogy, The Jungle Captive (1945), replaced Acquanetta (who had become a "goodwill ambassador" to South America for President Roosevelt) with 18-year-old starlet Vicky Lane. The series' strongest critic at the time, John T. McManus, actually took Universal to task for spreading "Nazi propaganda" through the work of legendary make-up artist Jack Pierce. "In Mein Kampf," McManus wrote, "Hitler calls the Negro a 'half-born ape.' Jungle Woman illustrates the point, changing a Hollywood glamor girl into an ape and vice versa with the Negro stage inserted right where Hitler says...Apparently it is to be an annual outrage unless somebody passes a law against propounding Nazi race theories in America." Still much debated today, Jungle Woman has a certain notoriety for modern audiences. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, (more)
- 1943
A princess finds love with a regular American Joe in this patriotic romantic comedy. A European diplomat (Charles Coburn) is named an ambassador to the U.S., and when he relocates to Washington D.C., he's accompanied by his niece, Princess Maria (Olivia de Havilland). Maria's uncle hopes that she'll meet an eligible American bachelor during her visit, since potential husbands are in short supply at home. Maria tires of her uncle's attempts at matchmaking, and when he suggests that she take a side trip to San Francisco, she leaps at the chance. However, Maria has a fear of flying, and when she's given tranquilizers to settle her nerves, she passes out in mid-flight. Maria is down for the count when bad weather forces the flight to return to Washington, and pilot Eddie O'Rourke (Robert Cummings) volunteers to put her up for the night. When Maria comes to, she's struck by Eddie's decency and charm, and it's love at first sight for them. However, Maria's uncle was hoping for someone higher up the social ladder than a pilot, and the lovebirds have an uphill battle getting him to consent to their wedding. No one seems sure if it's actually President Franklin D. Roosevelt appearing in the film's final scenes or just an impersonator, but apparently FDR's dog Fala did actually play himself. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings, (more)
- 1943
An American pilot swears to get revenge on the German ace who shot his brother in this war movie set in war-torn Europe. Montgomery is the pilot. After he sees his brother die while trying to parachute to safety, Montgomery's plane is shot down over Germany. He is placed in a POW camp. There he meets a Russian medic and a Czech. Together the trio escapes. Along the way it is discovered that the Czech is a Nazi spy. The medic, Annabella, makes it to England through the underground. Montgomery, discovers a local airport, impersonates a German pilot, steals a plane and flies home. He also manages to kill the flying ace who shot his brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Montgomery, Annabella, (more)
- 1942
In this wartime drama, a doctor discovers that one of his patients isn't as crazy as he thought, with dangerous consequences for the whole world. Dr. Michael Lewis (John Garfield) is an intern at a hospital where a woman named Jane (Nancy Coleman) is admitted. Jane was injured in a car wreck, and she tells Michael a remarkable story. She claims that she is actually an espionage agent with top-secret information that could help the Allied war effort; the accident occurred while she was trying to escape from Axis spies who will do anything to get her documents. Michael, who is supposed to keep an eye on Jane, thinks she must be delusional, and when psychiatrist Dr. Ingersol (Raymond Massey) arrives with Jane's father, Mr. Goodwin (Moroni Olsen), he signs Jane out in their custody. However, Michael soon discovers that Mr. Goodwin isn't Jane's father at all; he and Ingersol are actually the Nazi spies Jane was fleeing in the accident, and someone must rescue her before it's too late, both for Jane and the Allied war effort. Dangerously They Live was scripted by Marion Parsonnet from her novel, Remember Tomorrow. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Garfield, Nancy Coleman, (more)
- 1942
Tales of Manhattan is a sumptuous multipart film centered around a formal tailcoat. The coat is specially designed for stage actor Charles Boyer, who wears it during a rendezvous with his lady friend (Rita Hayworth). The lady's husband (Thomas Mitchell) shoots Boyer, thus the tailcoat is damaged merchandise and sold at a discount to a bridegroom (Cesar Romero). When the groom's peccadillos catch up to him, the bride (Ginger Rogers) chooses to marry the best man (Henry Fonda) instead, and the coat is shipped off to a second hand store. It is purchased by a would-be composer (Charles Laughton), who wears it the night that he is to conduct his first symphony; alas, the coat is too tight and tears apart, nearly ruining the conductor's debut. Stitched back together, the coat is donated to a skid row mission, wherein the kindly proprietor gives the coat to a down and out drunkard (Edward G. Robinson) so that the shabby gentleman can attend his 25th college reunion. Later on, the coat is stolen by a crook (J. Carroll Naish) in order to gain entrance to a fancy charity ball. The crook holds up the ball and stuffs the loot in the pockets of the coat, but while escaping in an airplane he loses the outer garment. The coat floats down to an impoverished African American shanty community; a farmer (Paul Robeson) decides to distribute the "money from heaven" amongst his needy neighbors. At the end, the tattered coat adorns the shoulders of a scarecrow. Tales of Manhattan is one of the best "portmanteau" dramas turned out by Hollywood; it was directed by French expatriate Julien Duvivier, a past master of the multi-story technique. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Boyer, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1942
This Irving Asher production was that rarity, a genuine B-movie from posh MGM. Set in a pre-Pearl Harbor United States, Nazi Agent starred real-life Hitler refugee Conrad Veidt as identical twins, one a timid stamp collector and rare book store owner, the other the Nazi consul. The evil Veidt is killed during an argument between the two and the good Veidt shaves his beard in order to take his brother's place as head of a Nazi spy ring. He manages to quell the group's attempts to sabotage allied shipping routes before being exposed by, of all things, a pet canary. In order to save the life of a defecting fifth columnist (Ann Ayars), Veidt agrees to return to Germany, gaining strength for the upcoming ordeal in the Vaterland as his ship passes the Statue of Liberty. Relatively fast-paced and engrossing most of the way, Nazi Agent was the feature-film debut of director Jules Dassin, formerly of MGM's short subject department. Dassin went on to direct several groundbreaking crime dramas for Universal before finding himself blacklisted during the Hollywood "witch hunts." He continued his career in Europe, helming such genuine classics as Never on Sunday (1959). A lyric soprano, Ann Ayars spent the mostly unrewarding years between 1941 and 1943 in MGM potboilers before leaving films in favor of the New York City Opera. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Ann Ayars, (more)
- 1942
Berlin Correspondent is a cut-rate variation of Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, courtesy of 20th Century-Fox. In one of his first important film roles, Dana Andrews plays Bill Roberts, an American radio commentator station in Berlin in the months before Pearl Harbor. Having witnessed Nazi brutalities first hand, Roberts hopes to alert his listeners of impending dangers, and does so by sending out coded messages during his broadcasts. The Gestapo begins to suspect something and assigns glamorous secret agent Karen Hauen (Virginia Gilmore) to spy on Roberts. When she discovers that her own father (Erwin Kaiser) is supplying Roberts with vital secrets, she turns her back on the Nazis and joins our hero in his efforts. The film winds up with an exciting airborne escape from Hitler-land. Arte Johnson fans please note: At one point, the head Gestapo officer (Martin Kosleck) actually says "Verrrry interesting"! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Virginia Gilmore, Dana Andrews, (more)
- 1941
Successful small-town attorney William Emory (John Litel) and his wife Ruth (Frieda Inescort) look forward to the return of their son Bill Jr. (Billy Dawson) from military school -- the elder Emory, in particular, hopes that the school's strict disciplinary regimen has curbed some of his son's wilder, more rambunctious tendencies. Instead, Bill Jr. can't wait to get out of uniform and start playing with his old neighborhood friends, and show them some of what he's learned, in building things, playing sports and, yes, fighting. The younger Emory, who can't seem to hold a thought (or an instruction from his parents) in his head for more than 30 seconds, is soon upsetting his father's life at every turn, while Ruth looks on with increasing concern -- not for her son, but her husband's rigid disapproval, openly expressed, about everything their son is about. Bill Jr. decides to run away from home and nearly falls into the hands of a pair of larcenous tramps, only to be rescued by fisherman Lunk Nelson (Christian Rub). This near-disaster causes the couple to split up, with Ruth taking her son away to live in considerably reduced circumstances. And he benefits for a time from going to work for Lunk, learning responsibility and acquiring some slivers of maturity in the process. But he wants his parents to get back together, and decides that faking his own kidnapping might be just the crisis to do it. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Litel, Frieda Inescort, (more)
- 1940
Johan David Wyss' novel Swiss Family Robinson had been in print for nearly fifty years before the first film version was made by RKO in 1940. Thomas Mitchell is top-billed as the patriarch of the Robinson family, who, as in the book, are shipwrecked on a tropical island and compelled to bring the edicts and values of civilization to their tiny patch of the world. To give the story a bit of topicality, screenwriters Walter Ferris, Gene Towne and Graham Baker contrive to depict the Robinsons as refugees from a foreign war (Napoleonic rather than Hitler-inspired). Produced independently by The Play's the Thing Productions and released by RKO, Swiss Family Robinson was completely withdrawn from circulation on the occasion of the 1960 Disney remake. Side note: The 1940 version represented the feature film debut of Orson Welles, who functioned as offscreen narrator. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Thomas Mitchell, Edna Best, (more)
- 1940
Future blacklistee John Howard Lawson co-wrote this remake of Samuel Goldwyn's 1920 drama Earthbound, presented here as a rather more straightforward morality tale/fantasy. Warner Baxter and Andrea Leeds star as Nick and Ellen Desbrough, a seemingly happily-married couple celebrating their fifth anniversary at the outset of the movie. But Nick hasn't been nearly as faithful as Ellen believes, and his one-time romance with Linda Reynolds (Lynn Bari) has come back to haunt him. He believed the relationship was safely ended long ago, and Linda to be in love with his longtime friend Jeffrey Reynolds (Henry Wilcoxon) -- but she still wants Nick, and when he rejects her, she shoots him in a fit of jealous rage. Jeff takes the blame for the murder and is put on trial, while Nick -- now a wraith-like figure caught between heaven and earth -- tries desperately to communicate with Ellen or anyone else, to no avail, to tell them of Jeff's innocence. The only person with whom he can communicate is a mysterious man (Charles Grapewin) who seems to know a great deal about where Nick has been and also where he might -- or might not -- end up. Confronted in death by all of the unhappiness that his faithless life has caused, Nick vows to try and repair some of the damage, but it may take a miracle for that to happen. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Andrea Leeds, (more)
When the gentle woodcarver Geppetto (Christian Rub) builds a marionette to be his substitute son, a benevolent fairy brings the toy to life. The puppet, named Pinocchio (Dick Jones), is not yet a human boy. He must earn the right to be real by proving that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish. But, even with the help of Jiminy (Cliff Edwards), a cricket who the fairy assigns to be Pinocchio's conscience, the marionette goes astray. He joins a puppet show instead of going to school, he lies instead of telling the truth, and he travels to Pleasure Island instead of going straight home. Yet, when Pinocchio discovers that a whale has swallowed Geppetto, the puppet single-mindedly journeys into the ocean and selflessly risks his life to save his father, thereby displaying that he deserves to be a real boy. Based on a series of stories by 19th century Italian author Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio came under fire for being a sugarcoated version of its original tale, but the film's moral did have a strong educational effect on children. Soon enough, a 16 mm excerpt from the picture, titled "Pinocchio: A Lesson in Honesty," was released for teachers to use in schools. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dick Jones, Cliff Edwards, (more)
- 1940
An incredibly long but never dull adaptation of the Rachel Field best-seller, All This and Heaven Too was based on a once-notorious European scandal. Star Bette Davis, playing Henriette Deluzy-Desportes, is first seen as a French schoolteacher in a 19th century American seminary. When her supervisor, Reverend Henry Mortyn Field (Jeffrey Lynn), has questions to ask about her tainted past, Henriette relates her story in flashback. She had been hired by French duke De Praslin (Charles Boyer) to be the governess for his children. De Praslin's wife (Barbara O'Neil) was insanely jealous, so much so she inadvertently threw De Praslin and Henriette together. Henriette was willing to leave rather than cause more discord, but the influential wife vengefully refused to write a letter of recommendation (a bravura scene). Later, the impoverished Henriette was arrested as an accomplice in the murder of De Praslin's wife. The latter's position in French society stirred up volatile political ramifications, with Henriette innocently in the center of the storm. De Praslin committed suicide, exonerating Henriette on his deathbed, but she had already been condemned in the court of public opinion. Disgraced, she left for America to start life anew, which brings the story back to the present. Unable to continue running away from herself, Henriette confesses her past indiscretions to her students -- who promptly forgive her. Casey Robinson had a hell of a job adapting Rachel Field's cumbersome novel, but, by golly, he pulled it off. The performances in All This and Heaven Too are enhanced immeasurably by the lush Max Steiner musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, (more)
- 1940
This remake of John Ford's classic WW1 drama Four Sons has been updated to the Europe of the late 1930s. At the time of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, four sons of German-Czech parentage go off in separate ideological directions. Chris (Don Ameche) remains loyal to the concept of a free Czechoslovakia; Karl (Alan Curtis) embraces the Nazi cause; Joseph (Robert Lowery) heads to America; and the youngest, Fritz (George Ernest), is drafted in the German army and is killed during the Polish campaign. The impact of the original film is somewhat muted here, since the political ramifications of WW2 were far more complex than those of WW1, and also because Archie Mayo isn't as good a director as John Ford. By far the best performance of the film is delivered by the great Russian stage actress Eugene Leontovich, making a rare screen performance as the long-suffering mother of the Four Sons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Eugenie Leontovich, (more)
- 1939
No Place to Go is a remake of the 1932 Chic Sale vehicle The Expert, which in turn was adapted from the George S. Kaufman-Edna Ferber play Old Man Minick. Fred Stone plays elderly retiree Andrew Plummer, who moves in with his well-to-do son Joe (Dennis Morgan) and Joe's wife Gertrude (Gloria Dickson). Before long, Andrew makes a bloody nuisance of himself with his well-intentioned interference in his son's affairs. In the original The Expert, the main character finally realizes he's just in the way and voluntarily heads to an old folk's home. No Place to Go takes a slightly different plot turn, with Andrew accepting a job with Joe's business firm, only to decide over his son's protests that he'd be better off in a retirement home-or as he puts it, "a club for gentleman". In both films, the ageing protagonist finds a kindred spirit in a pugnacious street urchin: Dickie Moore in the original, Sonny Bupp in the remake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1939
In this actioner, a U.S. border patrol agent stationed in Tijuana loses his job and gets into deep trouble after a friend is shot while the agent was doing an investigation. When the agent discovers that it was he, not his friend, who was targeted for the hit, he decides to get revenge upon the gang that did it. As he investigates, he is nearly blown up in a booby-trapped truck. He eventually succeeds and the gang gets its just desserts. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, June Lang, (more)
- 1939
Jack Holt is impossibly heroic as usual in the Columbia quickie Hidden Power. In his quest to perfect a cure-all for severe burns, Dr. Garfield (Holt) neglects everything else, including his wife Virginia (Gertrude Michael) and son Steve (Dickie Moore). But when Garfield finally perfects the miracle serum, he redeems himself in the eyes of his wife by testing it on his own horribly scarred son. Anyone in 1939 who couldn't see where the story is going from Reel Two should have been drummed out of the theater in disgrace. To add a bit of sidelines intrigue to the proceedings, Henry Kolker plays the villainous Weston, who would use Garfield's amazing discovery for the manufacture of bombs (huh?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Holt, Gertrude Michael, (more)
- 1939
Bob Hope and an all-star cast have great fun in this frothy romantic comedy about a wealthy tycoon who learns that he only has one month left to live. Not realizing that the tests were wrong, he decides to make hay while the sun still shines. He dumps his fiancee and then heads for the lovely Bad Gaswasser Spa in Switzerland. There he meets a young heiress who is being forced to marry a prince rather than the bus driver she loves. Taking pity on her and having nothing to lose, he marries her and plans to leave her his fortune so she will be free to marry anyone she wants. During their honeymoon, on which the bus driver accompanies them, the groom learns that he will live. Unfortunately for the bus driver, true romance has bloomed between the newlyweds. Of course they don't find this out until a little later. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martha Raye, Bob Hope, (more)
- 1939
The gang's beloved teacher Miss Pipps (Sara Haden) is fired by crabby old school board chairman Mr. Pratt (Clarence Wilson), who believes that the teacher is too "nice" for her job. With the help of friendly school custodian Mr. Swenson (Christian Rub), the kids stage a play for the local PTA, explaining why Miss Pipps should not be dismissed and simultaneously exposing Mr. Pratt as the nasty curmudgeon that he is. As a result, Miss Pipps is reinstated and Pratt is duly punished -- only to be forgiven by the surprisingly charitable children. One of the better MGM Our Gang comedies, the one-reel Come Back, Miss Pipps was originally released on October 25, 1941. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- George "Spanky" McFarland, Mickey Gubitosi, (more)
- 1939
20th Century Fox's Christmas gift to moviegoers in 1939, this fanciful comedy-drama features the studio's darling of the ice, Sonja Henie. She plays the daughter of a Nobel Peace Prize-winner feared murdered by the German Gestapo. A couple of rival American newspaper reporters, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings, discover that the legendary Professor Norden (Maurice Moscovich) is still very much alive and living under an assumed name in Switzerland. The heroes, however, completely forget their critical assignment after spotting the professor's lovely daughter, Louise (Henie), and their preoccupation with the girl nearly leads to disaster. Fox borrowed Ray Milland from Paramount for this Henie vehicle, which was partially filmed at Sun Valley, ID. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sonja Henie, Ray Milland, (more)
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