Walter Shumway Movies

Though she may have won an Oscar in 1948, Jane Wyman still had a Warner Bros. contract to fulfill, even if it meant appearing in frivolities like The Lady Takes a Sailor. It all begins when Jennifer (Wyman), the head of an oceanographic research institute, claims to have made a fascinating underwater discovery. It is suspected that she's made this claim so that her funding will be continued, so the money-men send Bill Craig (Dennis Morgan) to investigate. Disguised as a sailor, Bill accompanies Jennifer on her next expedition, just to see if her story was true. Jennifer falls in love with Bill, neglecting her work in the process. When Bill is revealed to be a fake, things look bleak--but not for long. Eve Arden has all the best lines as Jane Wyman's sarcastic best friend (the sort of role Wyman used to play in her blonde-ingenue days). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this action film, an officer is thrown off the force by his father the chief of police. The bitter ex-cop then joins a racketeering operation. The ring leader assigns him to drive a truck-load of armed hoods to ambush his father. Unbeknownst to the crooks, the ex-cop is still active on the force. The whole affair was a ruse to capture them. The brave cop succeeds in warning his peers of the ambush and the bad-guys die in a hail of bullets. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Showdown was the second 1940 entry in Paramount's "Hopalong Cassidy" western series. William Boyd (who else?) stars as Hoppy, while his sidekicks on this trip are Russell Hayden as Lucky Jenkins and Britt Wood as Speedy. When his rancher friend dies of a heart attack after being swindled by a gang of crooks, Hoppy vows to see that justice is done for the sake of the dead man's niece (Jane Clayton, aka Jan Clayton, who at the time was Mrs. Russell Hayden). There's action aplenty in Showdown, ranging from a burning barn to a runaway train, but the film's highlight is a rigged poker game, wherein supposed tenderfoot Hoppy flummoxes the bad guys. Perennial "Cassidy" heavy Morris Ankrum seems to be having a wonderful time posing as a European count, though he reverts to his usual Ugly-American self in the final scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The first of six Ken Maynard Westerns produced on the cheap by the Alexander brothers, Max and Arthur, Whirlwind Horseman awarded Ken one of filmdom's least memorable sidekicks, Bill Griffith. En route to their friend Cherokee Jake's (Budd Buster) gold mine, Ken and Happy Holmes are waylaid by Peggy Radford (Joan Barclay), who is in trouble with a gang of cattle rustlers. Ken kills one of the bandits during an attack on the Radford ranch only to discover that the snakeskin the dead man was wearing belongs to Cherokee. At one point, Ken suspects Peggy's father (Joseph W. Girard) of being the secret leader of the rustlers, but further investigation reveals him to be Banker Harper (Kenneth Harlan), who wanted to buy up cheaply the land surrounding Cherokee's mine. The Whirlwind Horseman was memorable to Maynard only because he had battled a furious cold all through the filming. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

In this romantic comedy, Marilyn David (Claudette Colbert) is a stenographer who has become good friends with Peter Dawes (Fred MacMurray), a newspaper reporter who takes the same subway as she does each morning. While Peter is crazy about Marilyn, she has her eye on Charles Gray (Ray Milland), a wealthy Englishman. Charles is the son of Lloyd Granville (C. Aubrey Smith), a titled British nobleman, which means Charles is rich, good looking, and minor royalty, tipping the scales in his favor. Charles proposes marriage to Marilyn, but after a sudden argument, she turns him down. Peter is ecstatic at this bit of news and publishes an article about the working girl who passed on a chance to marry into money and nobility. Marilyn is suddenly famous as "The No Girl," and is even able to turn her sudden notoriety into a new career as a nightclub performer. Marilyn's fame causes Charles to take a second look at her; he asks her to reconsider, but Marilyn wonders if she might be better off with Peter after all. The Gilded Lily was the first co-starring vehicle for Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, who would go on to make seven movies together. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on an 1830 opera entitled "Fra Diavolo" by Daniel F. Auber, the parts of two bit bandits were built up for Laurel and Hardy, but this was still just a minor effort--a few good laughs but nothing spectacular that wasn't done better elsewhere. Released later as Bogus Bandits and The Virtuous Tramps, changing the title didn't improve the product. A classic impersonation film, it has the comic duo servants to a bandit who is impersonating a Marquis to get his hands on the jewels worn by the upper crust. Standard dual identity film is similar to The Scarlet Pimpernel. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Leathery western hero Harry Carey is once more suspected of being an outlaw in The Night Rider. The title character is a mysterious figure who has been conducting raids on the local ranchers. Naturally, the townsfolk assume that strong, silent stranger Carey is the elusive Night Rider. Instead, Carey turns out to be an undercover law officer, dedicated to bringing the Rider to justice. A pre-"Gabby" George Hayes turns up as the ostensible comedy relief, who, like Carey, isn't all that he seems. Ironically, leading lady Elinor Fair was at one time the wife of William Boyd, who as Hopalong Cassidy teamed up with Gabby Hayes for a series of popular "B"-westerns in the 1930s and 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cowboy star Bob Steele looks embarrassed throughout most of Headin' North, as well he should. The film begins conventionally enough, with Steele once again accused of a murder he didn't commit. Hoping to remain in hiding until he can expose the real killer, our hero disguises himself as a vaudeville entertainer, complete with a loud and vulgar "city slicker" outfit. Heroine Barbara Luddy (later a prolific radio actress) speaks for the entire audience when she gives Steele the once-over and exclaims "Where did you get those funny clothes?" Fortunately, Steele regains most of his dignity in a climactic fistfight with the villain. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This small-scale but entertaining Western was yet another outing for Buzz Barton, FBO's pint-sized cowboy ace, and his scruffy-looking sidekick Frank Rice. This time, Red Hepner (Barton) and Hank Robbins (Rice) obtain jobs on the Bruce ranch after saving Janet Bruce (Gloria Lee) from drowning in quicksand. With the assistance of handsome Hugh Trevor (there to provide a bit of grown-up romance), the two friends rescue the Bruce ranch from falling into the grubby hands of a city slicker. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Having scored big-time box office with his first Biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), Cecil B. DeMille hoped to top this success with his 1927 The King of Kings. Inasmuch as he was now dealing with the life of Christ, DeMille had to be careful to serve up equal amounts of showmanship and reverence. The first creative challenge: how to "introduce" Christ in a tasteful manner? The answer: as a blind child is cured through Jesus' intervention, DeMille cuts to the child's point-of-view, slowly fading in on the kindly countenance of H.B. Warner as the Son of Man. Still, DeMille remained DeMille, especially in his handling of the character of Mary Magdalene (Jacqueline Logan). No longer a tattered streetwalker, Mary Magdalene is now a glamorous courtesan, replete with legions of gorgeous slave girls (one of whom is "bubble dancer" Sally Rand) and dressed in revealing Hollywood-style gowns. In fact, the film opens on this character, as she ruminates over the defection of her favorite customer, Judas Iscariot (Joseph Schildkraut), who is spending far too much time with Jesus of Nazareth. Upon visiting Jesus herself, she immediately repents, casting off all her prior sins. Once again, the efficacy of the Cecil B. DeMille formula is proven: redemption has no dramatic value unless the film shows viewers why the sinner needs to be redeemed. Once he's gotten his box-office considerations out of the way, DeMille adheres faithfully to the particulars of Jesus' life, betrayal, trial, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. (Again, however, the director improves a bit upon his source material: the storm that follows the Crucifixion is of the same spectacular dimensions as the parting of the Red Sea in Ten Commandments, while the Resurrection is filmed in vibrant Technicolor). To back up the authenticity of his images, DeMille -- with an assist from scenarist Jeannie Macpherson -- utilizes Scriptural quotes in his subtitles. And to avoid any untoward publicity while filming, DeMille required all of his actors to sign legal documents preventing them from indulging in any sort of "sinful" activity; this meant that poor old H.B. Warner had to steer clear of alcoholic beverages for nearly a year, though he more than made up for lost time after his contract ran out. Prepared to mercilessly lambaste The King of Kings, DeMille's critics were disarmed by his reverent, tasteful approach to the subject. Years after the film's release, a specially prepared 60-minute version of the 18-reel King of Kings was making the rounds of religious groups, church basements, and Easter-weekend telecasts. The film was remade in 1961 by producer Samuel Bronston and director Nicholas Ray, with Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This comedy-drama about the Follies was written by veteran newspaper reporter and "sob sister" Adela Rogers St. John. Maggie (ZaSu Pitts) is the Follies comedienne, and she envies all the other girls in the show -- the pretty ladies with their sweethearts. She knows she's only there for the laughs, and that no one would ever give her a second look if not for her clowning. Things change when the accidentally falls into the orchestra and breaks the drums being played by Al Cassidy (Tom Moore). A friendship begins which blooms into romance, sparking the jealousy of Selma, the leading lady (Lilyan Tashman). Cassidy writes a hit for Maggie and sticks by her. Eventually they marry and start a family. Cassidy, who has become a renowned songwriter, is called to Atlantic City to prepare a new score for Selma. Finally he falls prey to her charms. A gossip informs Maggie of this fact, but when he returns home contrite she refuses to listen to him and pretends nothing has happened. Secretly, she prays it will never happen again. The supporting cast in this picture is impressive. It includes Norma Shearer, Conrad Nagel, and Ann Pennington as herself. In a bit part is an ambitious, up-and-coming young starlet by the name of Lucille LeSueur. It would be a mere matter of months before she became more well known as Joan Crawford. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Although Clara Bow was not yet a full-fledged star, she had already made a mark by mid-'20s. In this melodrama, said trade paper Motion Picture News, "Clara Bow is cast as the flapper, a role for which she has become quite famous on the screen." For once she is nearly upstaged by experienced character actor and perennial villain Walter Long, who plays a bootlegger. On the evening that society deb Angela Warriner (Bow) debuts, her mother (Myrtle Steadman) discovers that the family is bankrupt. To keep the Warriners afloat financially -- and to keep Angela's parties and social status intact -- Mrs. Warriner convinces her husband, John (Huntly Gordon), to become partners with Benedict (Long), a bootlegger posing as a count. Meanwhile, Angela is being courted by Carl Graham (Forrest Stanley), but Harry Van Alstyne (Robert Agnew) tempts her away with a fun, jazzy lifestyle. Everything falls down with a crash for the Warriner family; John is arrested and sent to prison, and his wife temporarily goes blind from the bootleg booze. This wakes up Angela, however, and she returns to the more sedate romancing of Graham. The story to this picture came from the Saturday Evening Post tale by William MacHarg. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi