Martin Spellman Movies

Meet the Chump is an hour's worth of nonsense ideally suited to the talents of Hugh "Woo Woo" Herbert. The star plays Hugh Mansfield, the bumbling trustee of the estate of his nephew John Mansfield (Lewis Howard), who will come into a fortune when he reaches his 25th birthday. As John's natal day approaches, Hugh begins to panic, as well he should: thanks to his ineptitude, he's managed to fritter away $10 million. Hoping to cover up his financial foolishness, Hugh feigns insanity (it's not much of a stretch) and allows himself to be thrown into the booby hatch. The plot is resolved by the timely arrival of gangsters in the last reel, among them the notorious Stinky Fink (Shemp Howard, who seems right at home in this elongated 2-reel comedy). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Navy drama, a young sailor finds himself interested in everything but marriage. But then he encounters a runaway orphan who sees the sailor and decides that he would do anything to make him become his father. He begins dogging the salt, who does everything he can to get rid of the troublesome kid. Eventually he can't help but care for the poor lad and so adopts him. A pretty woman comes along and soon their little family is complete. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This second of three movie versions of P.C. Wren's adventure novel Beau Geste is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the 1927 silent version. We open on the now-famous scenes of a remote, burning desert fort, manned by the dead Foreign Legionnaires, then flash back to the early lives of the Geste brothers. As children, the Gestes swear eternal loyalty to one another and to their family. One of the boys, young Beau (played as a youth by Donald O'Connor), witnesses his beloved aunt (Heather Thatcher) apparently stealing a valuable family jewel in order to finance the Geste home; Beau chooses to remain silent rather than disgrace his aunt. Years later, the grown Beau (Gary Cooper) again protects his aunt by confessing to the theft and running off to join the Foreign Legion. He is joined in uniform by faithful brothers John (Ray Milland) and Digby (Robert Preston), who in turn are pursued by a slimy thief (J. Carroll Naish). The crook is in cahoots with sadistic Legion Sgt. Markov (Brian Donlevy, in one of the most hateful portrayals ever captured on celluloid), who is later put in charge of Fort Zinderneuf, where Beau and John are stationed. When the Arabs attack, Markov proves himself a valiant soldier; it is he who hits upon the idea of convincing the Arabs that the fort is still fully manned by propping up the corpses of the casualties at the guard posts. Beau is seriously wounded, and while the greedy Markov searches for the jewel supposedly hidden on Beau's person, he is held at bay by loyal John. The suddenly enervated Beau kills Markov, then dies himself--but not before entrusting two notes to John, one of which requests that John give Beau the "Viking funeral" he'd always wanted (this is why the fort is in flames at the beginning of the film). After the battle, Digby Geste, a bugler with the relief troops, comes upon Beau's dead body, and appropriates the notes. As it turns out, John Geste is the only one who survives to return to England. He gives his aunt Beau's letter, which explains why Beau had confessed and run off--"a 'beau geste', indeed" comments his tearful aunt. No one missed nominal leading lady Susan Hayward in this essentially all-male entertainment. For years available only in muddily processed or truncated versions, Beau Geste was restored to its pristine glory by the American Film Institute in the late 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, a gangster uses an innocent newsboy to manipulate the jury just prior to his manslaughter trial. The 10-year-old newsboy idolizes the gangster. Eventually the lad's admiration comes to deeply affect the gangster who begins to soften up. Meanwhile his moll plans to rob him. The newsboy intervenes and stops her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Republic Three Mesquiteers series western Santa Fe Stampede stars John Wayne as Stony Brooke, Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Tucson Smith, and Max Terhune as Lullaby Joslin. The plot finds our heroic trio butting heads and exchanging gunfire with a gang of crooked politicians. Head crook LeRoy Mason frames Wayne for the murder of William Farnum, but Big John proves his innocence with the help of his fellow mesquiteers. A startling moment occurs when two mischievous kids are killed in a runaway buckboard. As western historian Don Miller has observed, "Rough treatment of children was a near-taboo in westerns." In other words, Santa Fe Stampede isn't your usual run-of-the-mill Three Mesquiteers opus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sharpshooters was the initial entry in what was to have been a series of six "Camera Daredevils" adventures. Brian Donlevy and Wally Vernon star as Steve and Waldo, intrepid newsreel cameraman on assignment in the mythical kingdom of Mitovania. It isn't long before our heroes discover that Michael (Martin Joseph Spellman Jr.), the young Mitovanian prince, has been targeted for assassination by usurping Count Maxim (Douglass Dumbrille). Literally punching their way into the palace, Steve and Waldo do their best to rescue Michael and his pretty tutor Diana Woodward (Lynn Bari) from Maxim's evil minions. It's all strictly formula stuff, and darned if it doesn't work beautifully. For reasons unknown, 20th Century-Fox discontinued its "Camera Daredevils" series after the second entry, Chasing Danger (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide