Mary Russell Movies
- 1988
- PG13
Writer/director Sam Shepard's jaundiced view of "Lake Woebegone" territory is essentially a vehicle for his lady fair Jessica Lange. Far North is set in rural Minnesota, at the home of a dour, curmudgeonly farm family. Only Kate (Lange) has been able to escape this repressive environment, but she comes home when dad Bertram (Charles Durning) is laid up in the hospital. Despite her city-bred sophistication, Kate almost instantly reverts to childhood, trying desperately to "prove herself" to her misogynistic papa. To do this, she vows to kill the poor old horse that caused her father's injury. Considering its bleak surroundings and vituperative characters, Far North contains very funny dialogue; in terms of the film's cinematic value, however, Shepard's idea of directing seems to be to yell "Action!" and hope for the best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Charles Durning, (more)
- 1938
Squadron of Honor takes place during an American Legion convention, with newsreel shots of the genuine article interspersed among the reenacted scene. A murder is committed, and young legionnaire Blane (Don Terry) wants to find out who's responsible. The cops are convinced that pacifistic munitions executive Metcalf (Thurston Hall) committed the crime, but in fact Metcalf has been framed by pro-war armaments manufacturer Kimball (Robert Warwick). Before Blane can prove this, he has to get past Kimball's hulking henchmen, played by Columbia B-picture "regulars" Marc Lawrence and Dick Curtis. The producers are careful never to impugn the reputation of the American Legion; as a result, Squadron of Honor features some of the most sedate and conservative conventioneers in the history of the movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Terry, Mary Russell, (more)
- 1938
Extortion was designed as a sort of trial balloon for Columbia's new contractees Scott Colton and Mary Russell. The story takes place on a college campus, where a distinctively unpopular professor is murdered. When her physics-teacher father (Thurston Hall) falls under suspicion, co-ed Betty Tisdale (Mary Russell) turns to campus newspaper editor Larry Campbell (Scott Colton). Dissatisfied with the slowness of police procedure, Betty, Larry and their fellow students conduct their own investigation, unearthing a hotbed of scholastic intrigue and double-crossing. The much-hated victim is played by Albert Von Dekker, who'd later streamline his professional monicker as Albert Dekker and go on to a distinguished film career; ironically, Dekker would himself be the victim of a spectacular demise in 1968, which may or may not have been a sex murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Colton, Mary Russell, (more)
The Big Show is a modestly budgeted but elaborately turned out Gene Autry western. Autry plays "himself," a famous cowboy star, and his own stunt man. When Autry-the-star reneges on a agreement to make a personal appearance at Dallas' Texas Centennial (represented through newsreel shots), Autry-the-stunt man takes his boss' place. This causes confusion with the ladies, and with a gang of mobsters who were hoping to extort money from Autry-the-star. Ever protective of his own image, Gene Autry saw to it that both of his cinematic alter egos prove worthy of their salt in a climactic fist-fight with the villains. Also appearing in The Big Show is a radio aggregation called the Sons of the Pioneers, featuring future Gene Autry rival Roy Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1937
The Three Mesquiteers take on a group of frontier fascists in the zippy series entry Roarin' Lead. This being Season One of the "Mesquiteers" series, the heroic threesome is played by Ray "Crash" Corrigan (as Tucson Smith), Robert Livingston (Stony Brooke), and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). Appointed trustees of an estate, the Mesquiteers are assigned to turn over part of the legacy to a trustee of an orphanage. Said trustee is a member of a cattlemen's protective association, run along the lines of a brown-shirted private army by corrupt politico Hackett (Hooper Atchley). To save the orphanage from being closed down by Hackett and his minions, the Mesquiteers ride hard, fight harder, and shoot hardest. Best moment: Upon being confronted by Hackett henchman Canary (Yakima Canutt) and a group of cowboy storm troopers, our three heroes burst out laughing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Livingston, Max "Alibi" Terhune, (more)
- 1937
In this romantic mystery, a defense attorney attempts to get his lovely client acquitted of murder charges. As he and the heiress look into the case they fall in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Fay Wray, (more)
- 1937
Clearly made several years before its 1938 New York release, The Silver Trail serves as an adequate vehicle for canine star Rin Tin Tin Jr. Essentially a western, the film's "human" stars include such sagebrush favorites as Rex Lease, Slim Whittaker and Tom London. The story is set in motion by a gang of greedy claim jumpers, operating in silver-mining territory. Somewhere around reel 5, all of the characters the audience cares about are in dire jeopardy, prompting Rinty Junior to gallop to the rescue. Put charitably, the dog has all of the film's best lines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Lease, Mary Russell, (more)
In perhaps their most unusual Western adventure, the Three Mesqueteers -- Stony (Bob Livingston), Tucson (Ray Corrigan), and Lullaby (Max Terhune) -- go in search of Professor Marsh (John Van Pelt), an archeologist who vanished while searching for the lost city of Lukachukai. Along for the ride are Marsh's daughter, Betty (Mary Russell); Rutledge (Roger Williams); and an Indian guide, Otah (Yakima Canutt). The expedition heads straight for the Whistling Skull, a huge rock formation in the "nostril" of which the Mesqueteers discover the missing scientist, gaunt but alive among several mummies. Both Rutledge and Otah prove to be less than helpful, however, and at one point Betty and Stony go missing and are feared lost. As Tucson learns, the natives are under the influence of a fanatical white man, but who is he? Oliver Drake and John Rathmell's screenplay was later reworked into a latter-day Charlie Chan thriller The Feathered Serpent (1949), which featured Bob Livingston as the villain. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max "Alibi" Terhune
- 1935
The Secret Bride is Ruth Vincent (Barbara Stanwyck), the daughter of Governor Vincent (Arthur Byron). Attorney general Robert Sheldon (Warren William) falls in love with Ruth and they marry, but Sheldon insists that their marriage be kept secret. It seems that the Governor has been accused of accepting $10,000 in bribes, and Sheldon doesn't want to be accused of complicity while he investigates the matter. In the course of events, two murders occur, and it's up to Ruth to straighten the mess out. But how will she be able to manage this without involving herself or her secret husband in the scandal? It's funny how the various TV cable services tend to trot out The Secret Bride whenever a real-life political scandal bursts onto the scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Warren William, (more)
- 1935
There's nary a serious moment in the loopy Warner Bros. programmer A Night at the Ritz. William Gargan stars as Duke Regan, a hot-shot hotel publicity agent. Fired from several jobs, Duke is given one last chance by the Ritz-Carlton. Improvising quickly, he promotes his future brother-in-law Leopold (Erik Rhodes) as a master chef, landing the hapless fellow a choice spot in the Ritz kitchen. But there's a hitch: Not only has Leopold never cooked anything in his life, but the mere mention of food makes him extremely nauseous. As Duke desperately seeks a way out of the web he's woven around himself, a banker's convention shows up at the Ritz, and they're as hungry as hunters. This is one of the few pictures of the 1930s in which a mother-in-law (Bodil Rosing) comes to the rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gargan, Patricia Ellis, (more)
- 1934
James Cagney manages to retain his pre-Code cockiness within post-Code limitations in the likeable St. Louis Kid. Cagney and Allen Jenkins, Eddie Kennedy, and Buck Willetts play long-distance truck drivers who get entangled in a battle between a crooked trucking firm and striking milk farmers (a plot thread based on actual events). When one of the dairymen is killed by a hired goon, Eddie is accused of the crime. He breaks out of jail to track down the real killer then has to rescue his girlfriend Ann (Patricia Ellis), who's been kidnapped by henchmen of the truck company. It takes a bit of clever brainwork between Eddie and Buck, but our hero manages to flummox the bad guys and rescue the girl. James Cagney's sheer star power is such that the audience is willing to forgive the fact that, in the early passages of the film, his character is nothing more or less than a "scab." St. Louis Kid is the picture in which Cagney, tired of playing characters who settle differences with their fists, hit upon the novel idea of incapacitating his screen rivals by butting his forehead against theirs, knocking them cold without laying a hand on them! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Patricia Ellis, (more)
- 1934
This is the second movie version of Willa Cather's Pulitzer Prize winning novel that tells the story of a bride-to-be whose fiance is near-fatally injured by the jealous husband of a woman he had an affair with. The poor young woman is so upset by the situation that she swears she will never love another and takes off to live in an isolated mountain retreat. There she feels terribly sorry for herself. One day she is moping along a rough trail, falls and hurts herself. Fortunately, she is rescued by an elderly lawyer who helps her heal both physically and psychologically. The grateful girl ends up marrying him. Unfortunately she meets a handsome young man with whom she falls passionately, but chastely in love. Now she regrets marrying the old attorney. She decides to tell the lawyer her true feelings. When she is finished he promptly keels over with a heart attack. It might be noted that after Cather saw this film, she forbade the further sale of her works to Hollywood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Morgan, (more)
- 1934
The Man with Two Faces is based on The Dark Tower, a stage comedy-mystery by Alexander Woollcott and George S. Kaufman. Edward G. Robinson is at his hammy best as flamboyant, temperamental, but withal endearing theatrical actor-manager Dawson Wells. Mary Astor co-stars as Damon's beloved actress sister Jessica, making a stage comeback after a disastrously unhappy marriage. Alas, Jessica's caddish husband Stanley Vance (Louis Calhern) soon returns, exerting a Svengali-like hold on the poor girl and setting her back on the road to ruin. Unable to buy off Vance, Wells plots a clever revenge, and shortly afterward, Vance is visited by one Monsieur Chautard, an effusive European producer with murder on his mind. The central "gimmick" in Man With Two Faces, which was adroitly concealed in the original Dark Tower, is a bit more obvious on screen due to the dynamic personalities involved. Also, the play's ending, in which Vance's murderer is allowed to escape scot-free by a sympathetic detective, was obviously altered at the very last minute to appease the new Production Code. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1934
In his autobiography, Pat O'Brien described his character in The Personality Kid as a "Cassius Clay" type (this of course, was before Clay metamorphosed into Muhammad Ali). Indeed, arrogant prizefighter Ritzy (Pat O'Brien) is quite a piece of work, wearing a derby hat in the ring and dancing an Irish jig whenever he scores a knockout. Once he's risen to the top of his profession, Ritzy becomes even more insufferable, forsaking his faithful manager-wife Joan (Glenda Farrell) in favor of society artist Patricia (Claire Dodd). Ultimately he discovers that he'd be nowhere without Joan, who's been arranging "bum a month" boxing matches to guide him towards the championship. Only when he's hit the skids, however, does Ritzy return to Joan -- just in time to learn of another surprise in store for him, courtesy of "Mr. Stork." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Glenda Farrell, (more)
- 1934
Josephine Hutchinson is a beautiful heiress bored by her stifling lifestyle. She bolts her family mansion on New Years' Eve and heads for a boisterous nightclub, where she meets blue-collar worker Dick Powell. Hutchinson pretends to be poor, and soon she and Powell are pitching woo. Powell has ambitions to go into business for himself, so Josephine secretly pulls strings to help him get ahead. But when Powell finds out, he renounces the girl and breaks up the relationship. Hutchinson returns to a loveless engagement with a society type, but her father has grown fond of Powell and arranges a reconciliation. Happiness Ahead isn't exactly a musical, though Dick Powell does sing the title song during the opening credits and later introduces the Warner Bros. cartoon perennial "Pop Goes Your Heart." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Frank McHugh, (more)
- 1934
Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler reunite once again for this musical salute to the West Point Military Academy, including many scenes shot at West Point with "the full cooperation of the United States Army." Powell is Canary Dorcey, a private at a Hawaiian army post where he meets the perky Kitt Fits (Ruby Keeler), and she proceeds to flirt with him. Unable to handle the love games, Canary escapes Hawaii by getting an appointment at West Point, where he diligently pursues his studies and tries to forget about dames. But four years later, Kit shows up at West Point with her father, General Jack Fitts (Henry O'Neill), who has accepted the position of the new West Point commander. After some sparring and hedging, a visit to the Kissing Rock along the Flirtation Walk turns the two little lovebirds around, and soon enough they are appearing in the annual West Point musical revue, all forgiven. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, (more)
