Clarissa Selwynne Movies

In this comedy a pair of aspiring music hall entertainers attempt to live their dream while saving their landlady's daughter from ruin. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Popular British music-hall and radio entertainer Harry Roy is the central figure in Everything is Rhythm. A spoof of Ruritanian romances, the story revolves around the mutual attraction between orchestra leader Harry Wade (Roy) and mittel-European Princess Paula (played by one Princess Pearl, who claimed to be of noble blood). The Princess' advisors disapprove of the affair and do everything they can to break up the couple, but love triumphs over all in a closing floor show. Essentially a glorified quota quickie, Everything is Rhythm benefits from the engaging performance by Harry Roy, who though no actor, is a winning screen personality. The film was directed by former Hal Roach contractee Alfred Goulding, who managed to secure a plum role for another ex-Roach employee, comedian Syd Crossley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

La Fosse's new lover, a boxer, rescues her from a deadly plot by her former lover during an amateur production of Carmen. ~ All Movie Guide

A few unique touches aside -- notably the opening costume-party scene, in which the revellers are dressed as insects -- Rip Tide is a standard-issue Norma Shearer soap opera. Shearer plays Mary, a footloose and fancy-free American heiress who weds British nobleman Lord Rexford (Herbert Marshall). Five years later, Rexford embarks upon a business trip to New York, while Mary, urged on by her fun-loving aunt, vacations on the Riviera. Here she is reacquainted with her ex-boyfriend Tommie (Robert Montgomery), whose drunken misbehavior causes scandal to befall them both. Refusing to hear Mary's side of the story, Rexford begins divorce proceedings, but a happy ending finally manifests itself after reels and reels of endless high-toned dialogue. Legendary stage star Mrs. Patrick Campbell makes her Hollywood film debut in Rip Tide as Shearer's all-knowing Aunt Hetty, while Walter Brennan and Bruce Bennett show up in microscopic bit roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

My Pal the King may not be the best of Tom Mix's talkie westerns, but it is the one that comes closest to the spirit of his silent films -- and it's the one that everyone seems to remember the most. The scene is a mythical European kingdom, where 10-year-old King Charles (Mickey Rooney) yawns his way through cabinet meetings dominated by the scheming, covetous Count DeMar (James Kirkwood). Escaping his royal environs, Charles scurries to the town square (actually the village set from Frankenstein!) where visiting Wild-West showman Tom Reed (Mix) is leading a parade. Quickly befriending Tom, Charles and his entourage are invited to a special presentation of Reed's travelling circus. Reciprocating, Charles welcomes Tom into the palace, where the down-to-earth Westerner introduces the young monarch to the concept of democracy. Sensing that Charles is being swayed by Tom's egalitarian point of view, the evil DeMar kidnaps the boy and traps him in the catacombs of the Count's country estate. As Charles's underground prison slowly fills with water, Tom and his buddies race to the rescue. In the best tradition of Universal Pictures, My Pal the King offers a million dollars' worth of entertainment on a very modest budget; in addition, the film offers the modern viewer a tantalizing glimpse of what Tom Mix's real-life Wild West Show must have been like (among the performers is former Olympic champion Jim Thorpe). The film falters only when star Mix comes "out" of the picture, exhorting the kids in the audience to imagine what it must be like for King Charles to experience his first western show; impressive though he is on a physical level, Mix was never much of a verbal actor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Silent screen sweetheart Corinne Griffith, who originally wanted to retire when talkies came in, proved the wisdom of her earlier decision when she starred in the clunky musical drama Lilies of the Field. Griffith is cast as Mildred Harker, who loses custody of her child in a messy divorce settlement. Leaving her hometown in disgrace, Mildred heads to New York, where after a crash course in the school of hard knocks she joins the chorus of a Ziegfeld-like musical revue. Now a full-fledged gold-digger, she enjoys the favors of backstage johnnies and elderly sugar daddies, but finally finds true love in the form of Park Avenue socialite Ted Willing (Ralph Forbes). Alas, Mildred is damaged goods, and soon she's back in the gutter whence she came. A remake of a 1924 silent film which also starred Corinne Griffith, Lilies of the Field is distinguished by a bizarre musical number in which the star is dressed (just barely) as an art-deco automobile hood ornament! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by William Wyler, The Love Trap centers around a chorus girl whose sudden job termination (on the day of her eviction, no less) leads her to a hasty decision -- she would attend a party and make money by whatever means necessary, however dubious those means may be. It isn't long before the young woman ends up on the receiving end of an attack, and not only finds herself thrown out of the party, but homeless, penniless, and at the mercy of a good-hearted taxi-cab driver. The cab driver lets her take up temporary residence inside one of his cars, and winds up falling in love with the singer, as she would with him. Certain that they were meant to be together, the couple rushes off to the altar; sparking no small amount of ire from the cab driver's snooty, upper crust family. Indeed, the relatives raise a mighty fuss -- his uncle goes so far as to expose the new bride of having been the host's mistress at the ill-fated party she had attended at the height of her desperation, which leads to a heated showdown between husband, mother, and uncle. The Love Trap features Laura LaPlante, Nell Hamilton, Norman Trevor, and Jocyln Lee ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

The Columbia programmer Sinner's Parade stars studio utility player Victor Varconi as shady dance-hall proprietor Al Morton. Schoolteacher Mary Tracy (Dorothy Revier) goes to work for Al to support her family. When Bill Adams (John Patrick), the son of anti-vice campaigner Mrs. Adams (Clara Selwynne), falls for Mary, she tries to quit her job, but Al won't let her. The girl's resentment for Al intensifies when the joint is raided and she loses her teaching job as a result. Amazingly, however, Al turns out to be the hero of the piece when the "respectable" Bill Adams reveals himself to be a gangster boss, whereupon Mary saves Al from being taken for a ride by Adams' hired goons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Baby Cyclone was adapted from the George M. Cohan stage play of the same name, which originally starred Grant Mitchell and an up-and-comer named Spencer Tracy. The popular MGM screen team of Lew Cody and Aileen Pringle top the cast in this pleasant domestic comedy, wherein two suburban wives battle over the same pet Pekinese dog. Since F. Hugh Herbert's screenplay totally eliminated the play's third act, the roles played by William Morris and Georgia Hale -- both carryovers from the Broadway original -- were whittled down to nothing. Critics were most impressed by the performance of MGM contractee Gwen Lee, who was developing into a distinctive comedienne. The subtitles for Baby Cyclone were written by Bob Hopkins, the legendary MGM "idea man" whose one-sentence plot synopses provided fodder for Hollywood wits for nearly three decades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A largely silent musical, My Man is primarily a showcase for the enormously popular Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice who plays the owner of a costume shop who tries to deal with her free-spirited troublesome sister while simultaneously trying to hang onto her relationship with a homeless physical culture demonstrator. Brice and he decide to marry and as they prepare for their wedding, her sister gets jealous and tries to seduce him. Though the story isn't much, Brice does perform some of her most famous sketches and even sings a couple songs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hip-swinging danseuse Gilda Gray, the girl who created the late-'20s dance craze "The Shimmy," plays the provocatively underdressed title character in The Devil Dancer. Written by Alice Duer Miller, this the story of Takia (Gray), a white girl brought up in a remote oriental Lamasery. English explorer Stephen (Clive Brook) stumbles onto this "forbidden" stronghold, where he interrupts a punishment ritual wherein Sada (Anna May Wong) is being buried alive. Fascinated by Takia's dancing during the ceremony, Stephen vows to rescue the girl from her "barbaric" surroundings. This, of course, does not meet with the approval of the despotic tribal chieftain (Michael Vavich), who has his own designs on Takia. Originally directed by Al Raboch, who was replaced early on by Lynn Shores, The Devil Dancer was completed by Fred Niblo, who received sole screen credit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide