Billy Bletcher Movies

No relation to the Cracked Nuts he directed in 1931, this hokey sci-fi-comedy from director Edward F. Cline stars Stuart Erwin as Lawrence Trent, a country rube who wins a refrigerator-slogan contest and gets some money for his efforts. Meanwhile, mad scientist Boris Kabikoff (Mischa Auer) builds a silly-looking robot in his own image and hooks up with a New York patent attorney (William Frawley from I Love Lucy) to bilk Trent out of his prize money. Shemp Howard plays the robot as a lusty creature with a penchant for skirt-chasing and is used by black servant Chloe (Hattie Noel) to do housechores and frighten her husband Burgess (Mantan Moreland), who has a gambling problem. Una Merkel co-stars with Astrid Allwyn and Pierre Watkin. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

The shortest of Disney's major animated features Dumbo involves a baby elephant with unusually large ears. Ostracized from the rest of the circus animals, poor Dumbo is even separated from his mother, who is chained up in a separate cage after trying to defend her child. Only brash-but-lovable Timothy Mouse offers the hand of friendship to Dumbo, encouraging the pouty pachyderm to exploit his "different" qualities for fame and fortune. After trepidatiously indulging in a vat of booze, Dumbo awakens in a tall tree. Goaded by a group of jive-talking crows, Dumbo discovers that his outsized ears have given him the ability to fly. The musical score by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace won Oscars for them both. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though based on a stage play by Laurence Gross and Edward Childs Carpenter (previously filmed as an Ernest Truex vehicle in 1933), MGM's Whistling in the Dark was clearly inspired by the success of Paramount's Bob Hope comedy-mystery The Ghost Breakers. In his first film starring role, Red Skelton plays radio actor Wally Benton, better known to his fans as that intrepid crime-solver "The Fox". On the eve of his wedding to perennial fiancee Carol Lambert (Ann Rutherford), Wally is summoned to the mansion of cult leader Joseph Jones (Conrad Veidt). Though he preaches a message of "radiant contentment" to his followers, Jones is actually a racketeer who hopes to get his hands on a $1,000,000 inheritance. The only person standing in the way of Jones' windfall is the sole heir, mild-mannered Mr. Upshaw (Lloyd Corrigan), who is about to take a business trip by plane. Impressed by "The Fox"'s encyclopedic knowledge of crime, Jones wants Wally to plan a "perfect murder", one which will put Upshaw out of the way without detection. Naturally, Wally balks at this, but he is persuaded to go along with Jones when the latter kidnaps both Carol and Fran Post (Virginia Grey), the daughter of Wally's sponsor (Henry O'Neill). Considerately, Jones gives Wally till 11 o'clock to come up with his plan, leaving our hapless hero in the "care" of hulking henchman Sylvester (Rags Ragland). Fully aware that neither his life nor those of Carol and Fran will be worth five cents once Upshaw is murdered, Wally spends most of the evening trying to concoct a way out of his jam. Full of hilarious one-liners and sidesplitting slapstick, Whistling in the Dark is also quite suspenseful--especially in the final reel, wherein the best line is delivered by the pop-eyed potential murder victim. So well received was Whistling in the Dark that MGM rushed out two sequels, also starring Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford and a "reformed" Rags Ragland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beautifully restored to its original theatrical length of 84 minutes by the Gene Autry Foundation, Melody Ranch is a bright, tuneful, and at times quite action-packed piece of B-Western extravaganza, Republic style. The victim of both a drop in ratings and a tardy leading lady, radio star Gene Autry is only too happy to oblige when old friend Pop Laramie (George "Gabby" Hayes) proposes that he return to his hometown of Torpedo as honorary sheriff during the upcoming Frontier Day celebration. With leading lady Julie Shelton (Ann Miller), city slicker announcer Cornelius Courtney (Jimmy Durante), and bemused sponsor Tommy Summerville (Jerome Cowan) in tow, Gene takes Torpedo by storm. That is, everyone except the Wildhack brothers (Barton MacLane, Joe Sawyer, and Horace MacMahon), old enemies who take umbrage to Gene's lampooning them on his daily broadcast. Julie, meanwhile, falls in love with the Wild and Woolly West in general and Gene in particular, and when the crooner proposes to leave show business and run for the office of sheriff for real, she decides to stay as well. The Wildhack brothers, meanwhile, attempt to sabotage the election, but Gene and his pals persevere against the odds. Produced at a cost of 500,000 dollars, Melody Ranch was the first Autry Western to be booked into first-run theaters, which had been Republic Pictures' goal all along. Autry, Ann Miller, Jimmy Durante, Mary Lee, and Bob Wills and His Playboys perform "Melody Ranch," "We Never Dream the Same Dream Twice," "Call of the Canyon," My Gal Sal," "Torpedo Joe," What Cowboys Are Made Of," and "Rodeo Rose," all by Jule Styne and Eddie Cherkose, and a good time is had by all. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The third and definitive film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy, this musical adventure is a genuine family classic that made Judy Garland a star for her heartfelt performance as Dorothy Gale, an orphaned young girl unhappy with her drab black-and-white existence on her aunt and uncle's dusty Kansas farm. Dorothy yearns to travel "over the rainbow" to a different world, and she gets her wish when a tornado whisks her and her little dog, Toto, to the Technicolorful land of Oz. Having offended the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton), Dorothy is protected from the old crone's wrath by the ruby slippers that she wears. At the suggestion of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke), Dorothy heads down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where dwells the all-powerful Wizard of Oz, who might be able to help the girl return to Kansas. En route, she befriends a Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a Tin Man (Jack Haley), and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr). The Scarecrow would like to have some brains, the Tin Man craves a heart, and the Lion wants to attain courage; hoping that the Wizard will help them too, they join Dorothy on her odyssey to the Emerald City.

Garland was MGM's second choice for Dorothy after Shirley Temple dropped out of the project; and Bolger was to have played the Tin Man but talked co-star Buddy Ebsen into switching roles. When Ebsen proved allergic to the chemicals used in his silver makeup, he was replaced by Haley. Gale Sondergaard was originally to have played the Wicked Witch of the West in a glamorous fashion, until the decision was made to opt for belligerent ugliness, and the Wizard was written for W.C. Fields, who reportedly turned it down because MGM couldn't meet his price. Although Victor Fleming, who also directed Gone With the Wind, was given sole directorial credit, several directors were involved in the shooting, included King Vidor, who shot the opening and closing black-and-white sequences. Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg's now-classic Oscar-winning song "Over the Rainbow" was nearly chopped from the picture after the first preview because it "slowed down the action." The Wizard of Oz was too expensive to post a large profit upon initial release; however, after a disappointing reissue in 1955, it was sold to network television, where its annual showings made it a classic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This time Porky Pig is an Eskimo, living in a North Pole that more closely resembles a huge, shimmering bowl of Jell-O. After musically cavorting with a flock of penguins, Porky gets down to the business at hand--namely, preventing the evil trapper I. Killem from wiping out every animal in sight (a gruesome sequence, for all its hilarity!) Songs include "Let's Rub Noses (Like the Eskimoses)", "Deep in a Dream", "T'aint No Sin", and (inevitably for a Warner Bros. cartoon) "Singing in the Bathtub." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Brash and vigorous director William Wellman always had a place in his filmography for movies glorifying the early years of aviation -- from the start of his career (Wings), until the end (Lafayette Escadrille). But, perhaps, never has his devotion to aviation been made more vivid than in his 1938 drama Men With Wings. Wellman, in this film, attempts to dramatize the history of aviation from the early days of the Wright Brothers until the 1930s, when airline transportation first became viable. The story centers upon two contrasting aviation types: the barnstormer, Pat Falconer (Fred MacMurray), and the methodical scientist of flight, Scott Barnes (Ray Milland). Through these two archetypes, Wellman follows Pat and Scott from childhood to adulthood. Pat marries childhood sweetheart Peggy Ransom (Louise Campbell) and they have a child. Scott, who had always loved Peggy, remains in the background, not wanting to break up his solid friendship with Pat. But Pat is clearly doomed by his recklessness and breakneck individuality. After fighting in the skies during World War I, he refuses to sit back and do the methodical work of flight research like Scott. Always searching for another war to fight, Falconer leaves Scott and Peggy behind, taking off for China to help the Chinese fight Japanese invaders. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Harold Lloyd plays a professor of Egyptology, frightened by the notion that he has fallen under an ancient Egyptian curse. Lloyd has the opportunity to join an archeological expedition to search for a missing tablet that will determine his fate, but he has to travel from Los Angeles to New York before the party sails to Egypt. Alas, Lloyd is also required to appear in court to answer charges of "indecent exposure" (it's a long story). The rest of the film is a frantic chase with the authorities pursuing the fugitive professor across the country, highlighted by a daredevil sequence atop a moving train. Most of the individual gags are funny, but Professor Beware is several notches below the standard set by Harold Lloyd's silent films. The lukewarm boxoffice response to this film would convince Lloyd that he should retire from performing--which he did, returning to the screen only for 1947's Sins of Harold Diddlebock. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first of four Tom Keene westerns for Monogram release, God's Country and the Man is fine, virile stuff in the old William S. Hart tradition. Keene is cast as wandering cavalier Jim, who finds himself in the Tall Timber territory of Canada. Here he runs afoul of scurrilous gunslinger Gentry (Charles King), the scourge of the Mounties. Not only does Jim neutralize Gentry, but he also helps a poor blacksmith (Billy Bletcher) stake a valuable gold claim. For his initial Monogram outing, Keene is favored with two leading ladies: Charlotte Henry, the onetime star of Alice in Wonderland, and silent-screen favorite Betty Compson, here given an opportunity to display her skill with the violin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of several attempts by "Termite Terrace" to promote a cat named Beans to cartoon stardom, this one takes place somewhere in the Alps, where Beans enters a skiing contest to win "$100,000 in prizes or $2,00 in cash"--not to mention the hand and heart of Little Kitty. Unfortunately, Beans' chief rival is a snarling bully, who pulls every dirty trick in the book to cross the finish line first. Porky Pig makes a nonspeaking cameo appearance as another contestant, riding in on a rocking-horse sled. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While John Huston's screen adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon is widely regarded as a screen classic, it wasn't the first time Hammett's novel had been brought to the screen, and this comedy drama offers a decidedly different spin on the same story. Detective Ted Shayne (Warren William) is hired by a woman named Valerie Purvis (Bette Davis) to find a woman named Mme. Barrabas (Alison Skipworth). Valerie, however, won't tell Ted what she wants from her, and as he tries to track down Barrabas, Barrabas' people come to him in search of Valerie. When Ted and Barrabas finally meet, she claims Valerie has a valuable piece of her property -- a jewel-encrusted ram's horn -- and she'll gladly pay Ted to return it to her. Certain Valerie hasn't been on the level with him, Ted asks his partner to trail her, but when Valerie discovers she's being watched, she kills the second detective. Unaware that she's killed Ted's partner, Valerie asks that Ted pick up a package for her from a ship arriving from Asia the next day, which Ted realizes is the precious horn that has caused all the trouble. Satan Met a Lady was actually the second feature film based on The Maltese Falcon; the first, also called The Maltese Falcon, was released in 1931. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Tex Avery's first Warner Bros. cartoon stars Beans the Cat as a prospector during the 1849 Gold Rush--and when we say "rush", brother we ain't kiddin'! The plot, such as it is, gets under way when a snarling claim-jumper purloins a valuable package belonging to Porky Pig (bigger, fatter and louder than he'd ever be again). Beans vows to retrieve the stolen goods in exchange for the hand of Porky's daughter Little Kitty, thus setting the stage for a breathtaking car-chase finale--and never mind that cars haven't been invented yet! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the last day of school, the Our Gang kids learn that their beloved teacher Miss Jones (Arletta Duncan) is going to be married; thus, come September, the kids will have a "new" teacher, Mrs. Wilson. Miss Jones' fiancee Ralph (Edward Norris) playfully paints a frightening picture of Mrs. Wilson as "a dried-up mean old woman" ---neglecting to inform the kids that his last name is Wilson, and that Miss Jones will continue to be their teacher under her new married name. Thanks to Ralph's ill-timed joshing, the youngsters convince themselves that the only way to retain their favorite teacher is to break up the wedding --- starting with the pre-nuptual reception, where the kids surreptitiously "spike" the food with tabasco sauce, horseradish and garlic peppers. Originally released on April 27, 1935, "Teacher's Beau" marks the final "Our Gang" appearance of series stalwart Mathew "Stymie" Beard. Note: the version included in the "Little Rascals" TV package has been severely edited, rendering the film's punchline incomprehensible (a complete and uncut version is available on home video). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide