Tala Birell Movies

Tala Birell, one of the more talented of the Garbo wannabes of the 1930s, stars in the Universal quickie She's Dangerous. The star is cast as Stephanie, a glamorous private detective who's been hired to track down a gang of bond thieves. She charms her way into the confidence of gang leader Nick Shelton (Cesar Romero), knowing full well that the outwardly gracious Shelton won't hesitate to kill her if she's found out. Eventually, Stephanie proves too smart for her own good, and it's up to sidelines hero Dr. Logan (Walter Pidgeon) to bail her out. She's Dangerous bears a marked resemblance to 20th Century-Fox's 15 Maiden Lane, which also featured Cesar Romero as a charming-but-deadly crook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Lone Wolf Returns stars Melvyn Douglas as Louis Joseph Vance's reformed criminal Michael Lanyard, a.k.a. The Lone Wolf. Lanyard lapses back into his old ways when he attempts to steal an emerald pendant belonging to Gail Patrick, but he falls in love with the girl and remains on the straight and narrow. A pair of less sentimental crooks frame Lanyard and force him to participate in a high-stakes heist. The Lone Wolf turns the tables on the crooks and wins his lady love. Previously filmed in 1926, The Lone Wolf Returns was the first of Columbia's "B" series featuring the gentleman thief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The story goes that Peter Lorre wanted to star in a film version of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, but was certain that Columbia Pictures chieftain Harry Cohn would turn the project down flat. So Lorre hired a secretary to type up a synopsis of the story in words of one syllable then submitted this simplified resume to Cohn. Enthusiastic over the project, Cohn gave Lorre the go-ahead -- but first he asked "Tell me -- has this book got a publisher?" Apocryphal story or no, the fact is that Lorre did star in Columbia's Crime and Punishment and in the bargain was directed by the ultra-stylish Josef Von Sternberg. As the arrogant sociopath Raskolnikov, who is convinced that he can get away with the murder of a nasty pawnbroker because he is "above" such intangibles as a conscience, Lorre is excellent, especially when his bravado is slowly eroded by the gentle but determined Inspector Porfiri (Edward Arnold). Like the aforementioned typed-up synopsis, the film oversimplifies the Dostoyevsky original, concentrating only on the crime, the pangs of guilt, the confession and the arrest: the punishment and its aftermath, so essential to the novel's overall impact, are dispensed with entirely. To make the film even more accessible to a mass audience, the story is subtly updated, though any distinctly "contemporary" touches such as automobiles, telephones and current slang are studiously avoided. The supporting cast is wildly inconsistent: Mrs. Patrick Campbell is fine in her brief scenes as the vitriolic pawnbroker, but Marian Marsh is all wrong as the streetwalker heroine Sonya. The principal strength of this Crime and Punishment is the film-long game of cat-and-mouse between the reckless Raskolnikov and the quietly methodical Porfiri. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having struck gold in 1934 with Grace Moore's One Night of Love, Columbia Pictures hoped to do the same with international favorite Lillian Harvey in Let's Live Tonight. The story concentrates on a romantic triangle, with millionaire Nick Kerry (Tulio Carminati) and his brother Brian (Hugh Williams) both in love with gorgeous Kay Routledge (Harvey). One glance at the billing order should tip off which of the two brothers wins the heroine in the final reel. Oddly, the loser is the most sympathetic character in the film -- even more so than Kay, who comes across as charmingly cold-blooded. Director Victor Schertzinger, who'd previously helmed One Night of Love (in which Carminati also co-starred), also wrote the songs for Let's Live Tonight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's Grand Hotel on the high seas, with a remarkable cast -- particularly for the usually parsimonious Columbia Pictures. As irascible captain Helquist (Walter Connolly) pilots his boat along the Atlantic, an assortment of subplots involving a vast array of characters play themselves out. Among the passengers are bond-thief Checkett (Fred Keating) and his girlfriend Janet Grayson (Helen Vinson), private detective Schulte (Victor McLaglen), "fallen woman" Mrs. Jeddock (Wynne Gibson), and her unforgiving husband (Wynne Gibson). In his final film appearance, former silent-screen idol John Gilbert gives an outstanding performance as pugnacious hard-drinking reporter Steve Bramley, forever putting the lie to the legend that he failed in talkies because his voice was inadequate. The Three Stooges also show up as musicians -- but only Larry has any lines (spoken in a Yiddish accent!). The story goes that Lewis Milestone filmed the picture on a real ocean liner to prevent John Gilbert and the other imbibers in the cast from having easy access to liquor -- a plan doomed to failure when someone smuggled several cases of booze on board. As the production went way past its budget and schedule, Columbia's business manager sent an urgent wire to Milestone: HURRY UP--THE COST IS STAGGERING. Milestone's answer: SO IS THE CAST. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This war drama, set in a snow covered Tyrolean pass during WW I, chronicles a strange situation between an Austrian battalion assigned to guard the snowbound pass and the Italians that plan to blow their position up. The Austrian leader is well aware that the enemy has been digging a tunnel beneath them with the intent to blow them up, but he cannot disobey orders and move. One Austrian, Trenker, slips over Italian lines to learn the exact time of the explosion. He hopes that he will be able to move his troops in time. Meanwhile, the Italian commander, Varconi, stays in Trenker's home. The two men had been mountain climbing partners before the war. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Liebe auf Befehl is the German-language version of the American film The Boudoir Diplomat, with Johannes Riemann (who also co-directed) replacing the original film's star Ian Keith. The story concerns the carnal escapades of Baron Valmi, who literally sleeps his way to the top of the social ladder. After wooing, winning and abandoning several influential ladies, the Baron has convinced himself that he can never truly fall in love. It is then that he meets the beautiful Helene. Liebe auf Befehl translates as Command to Love, which was the title of the play upon which the film was based. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide