James "Doc" Blakely Movies

The "music box" of the title of this low-budget, routine gangster film is a submachine gun, and its owner Larry Shaw (Ronald Foster) is the focus of attention. Larry has as little concern for morality or human life as an exterminator does for cockroaches, and so he is able to climb up the ladder of organized crime with little difficulty. The setting is New York in the 1920s, when mobsters become both rich and famous and eventually dead because of Prohibition. For inexplicable reasons, Larry is married to a decent woman (Luana Patten) who one day has had enough of her husband's activities and rebels in a most significant way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Small Town Boy was the 33rd release from the burgeoning "B"-picture factory of Grand National Pictures. Stuart Erwin plays the title character, a milquetoast named Henry, who's brimming with good ideas but lacks the confidence to express them. All this changes when he finds a thousand-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Emboldened by his sudden wealth, Henry becomes a veritable dynamo of energy -- and, to some, a major pain in the neck. Joyce Compton, usually consigned to dumb-blonde support, is a most-appealing heroine. Small Town Boy is based on a short story by Manuel Komroff, also titled The Thousand Dollar Bill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Shadow, the famed radio and pulp-novel hero with the mysterious power to "cloud men's minds" so that they cannot see him, was first brought to the screen by low-budget Grand National Pictures in 1937. Former matinee idol Rod LaRocque stars as the Shadow's man-about-town alter-ego Lamont Cranston, a lawyer-criminologist who occasionally adopts his celebrated disguise to prey on the consciences of the guilty. The only person who knows the true identity of the Shadow is Cranston's faithful manservant Henry (Margot Lane, the Shadow's "constant friend and companion" who shared his secret in the radio version, does not appear in the picture). On this occasion, Cranston tries to solve the murder of a wealthy "gentleman" who had enemies galore, with suspects ranging from the victim's heirs to a gang of racketeers. Since the film's budget precluded the special effects needed to cloud men's minds, Cranston must rely on his wits -- and a none-too-concealing cloak and mask -- to outmaneuver the villains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After her success in Lady for a Day, elderly character actress May Robson was starred in a number of features. She's wonderfully irascible in this depression-era drama as widow Mary Hastings, who has been running the family steel business since the death of her husband forty years before. Her children, Willard (Raymond Walburn) and Henrietta (Josephine Whittell), have been disappointments to her, and the grandchildren she raised after the death of their father, are even more spoiled and selfish. Nobody seems capable of taking over the concern, but she retires anyway, leaving it in the hands of the board of directors. Then Black Tuesday comes, the stock market crashes, and one by one, all the mills are shut down. The workers are on the verge of seeing their families starve. Mrs. Hastings, determined to help them out, calls all her relatives from Europe and begs them to release some of the 40 million dollar trust fund to keep the local mill going. But the greedy family members refuse. On her own Mrs. Hastings scrapes together enough of her own funds to keep the mill open. Meanwhile, Willard -- unaware of his mother's actions -- closes the mill and calls on the cops to squelch any unrest. Granddaughter Jean (Fay Wray), however, comes to her senses when she helps hide labor leader Jim Devlin (Victor Jory) from the police. After spending the night with Jory in his hideaway, she returns and convinces her brother to override their uncle and aunt and help the mill. The workers, furious over Willard's lies, are ready to storm the plant, and the cops are prepared to shoot them. Jean risks her life by heading for the mill, but it is her brother, who has gone after her, who is killed by police gun fire. While the rest of the family returns to Europe, Jean stays behind with her grandmother. Although Devlin has pointed out to Jean that their romance is impossible, he leaves a small window of hope open for the future. This feature, released by Columbia, was incredibly progressive for its day. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Tulio Carminati, who was previously and felicitously teamed with Grace Moore in One Night of Love, co-stars with another splendid operatic singer, Mary Ellis, in Paris in Spring. Ellis plays Simone, who breaks up her long-standing engagement with Paul de Lille (Carminati) because she balks at the notion of marriage. Simultaneously, young lovers Mignon (Ida Lupino) and Albert (James Blakely) split up for the same reason. In desperation, Mignon heads to the Eiffel Tower, intending to leap to her death. She is dissuaded from doing away with herself by Paul, who'd come to the tower with the same thought in mind. The symbiotic relationship between the two couples is played to the hilt, especially when Mignon and Albert conspire to make Simone and Albert jealous. The distinctly American character actor Lynne Overman is bizarrely but effectively cast as a dry-witted French gendarme. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just after completing It Happened One Night, director Frank Capra churned out a bread-and-butter picture titled Broadway Bill. Warner Baxter plays the carefree scion of a wealthy, highly-respected family. Baxter's cold but socially correct wife Helen Vinson forces her husband into the family business, but Baxter would rather spend his time at the racetrack. He buys a nag named Broadway Bill and tries to build the horse into a winner--if he doesn't bankrupt himself first. Only Baxter's sister-in-law Myrna Loy and black stable hand Clarence Muse have faith in Broadway Bill. The horse wins a crucial race, but dies suddenly at the finish line. Baxter is comforted and given encouragement by Loy, who is now his sweetheart, Vinson having long since washed her hands of her "irresponsible" husband. Broadway Bill was remade by Capra as Riding High (1950), utilizing generous portions of stock footage and even going so far as to rehire several of the original film's cast members (Douglass Dumbrille, Clarence Muse, Charles Lane, Raymond Walburn, Margaret Hamilton, Frankie Darro) to recreate their roles and match up their scenes from the earlier production. Long withheld from distribution due to Riding High, Broadway Bill was made available for videocassette in the mid-1980s. Keep an eye out for Lucille Ball as a blonde telephone operator and Alan Hale Sr. as a racetrack announcer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide