June Storey Movies
Blonde, dimpled, and vivacious, June Storey became the perfect leading lady for cowboy troubadour Gene Autry, opposite whom she starred in no less than ten singing Westerns. In the U.S. since the age of five, the Canadian-born starlet was awarded a screen test with Fox (soon to become 20th Century Fox) in 1934, courtesy of an uncle's friendship with production head Winfield Sheehan. Despite a highly inadequate performance, Sheehan liked her pluck and Storey was awarded a player's contract. She didn't do much actual screen work, however, but spent most of her time at Fox studying acting with Florence Enright and taking dancing lessons from Rita Hayworth's father, Eduardo Cansino. A small role as a German girl in Henry King's In Old Chicago (1938) got the attention of low-budget concern Republic Pictures, who saw in the winsome Storey the perfect foil for Gene Autry, the company's biggest draw at the time.Under term contract with Republic from April 21, 1939, through October 20, 1940, Storey managed to squeeze in ten Westerns with Autry and five additional films before the contract was terminated by mutual agreement. In many ways she was the perfect leading lady for Autry: very agreeable to look upon, competent as a performer by then, and willing to work long, hard hours on location. Often there was not even a dressing room available for the heroine; she later stated, "...and I'd have to find a secluded canyon to change into my cowgirl clothes." The films themselves -- from Home on the Range (1939) to Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride (1940) -- included some of Autry's most genial, and Storey became very popular with the genre's target audience of rural moviegoers. But like most performers, she eventually found B-Westerns too limiting, and apart from Columbia's Song of the Prairie (1945), she never did another.
Returning to Fox in the late '40s, Storey appeared in non-Western programmers and retired to marry an Oregon rancher. Divorced and the survivor of a near-fatal car accident, she later took up nursing, re-married, and became active in charity work. In her final years, a much heavier but still sparkling June Storey became a treasured guest speaker at various nostalgia and B-Western fairs. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1949
The 20th Century-Fox "B" unit under Sol M. Wurtzel was still alive and kicking as late as 1949. Wurtzel's Trouble Preferred stars Peggy Knudsen and Lynne Roberts as policewomen-in-training Dale Kent and Madge Walker. In Charlie's Angels fashion, the ladies are bored by the humdrum assignments they're given. Soon however, they get thrills and spills in spades when they come to the rescue of a would-be suicide. Equal portions of drama and comedy keep the film simmering for a full 63 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Knudsen, Lynne Roberts, (more)
When Lizabeth Scott's Jane Greer husband Arthur Kennedy accidentally gets his mitts on $60,000 in stolen money, she insists that he keep the dough rather than turn it over to the authorities. Two-bit private eye Dan Duryea catches on to Scott's subterfuge, and demands that she turn the cash over to him. Scott persuades Duryea to split the money with her--then, determining that Kennedy might be too honest for everyone's own good, she murders her husband. To cover her tracks, Scott reports her husband as missing. This brings in yet another fly in the ointment: Don DeFore, the brother of Scott's first husband, who died under mysterious circumstances. The already knotted webs of intrigue become even more tangled before Scott's ironic comeuppance. Too Late for Tears was scripted by Roy Huggins, who later produced such TV detective series as The Rockford Files. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, (more)
- 1949
The "B"-picture unit at 20th Century-Fox was slowly being phased out when Miss Mink of 1949 was produced. Lois Collier heads the cast as Alice Forrester, an office clerk who wins a $10,000 mink coat in a radio contest. This windfall proves disastrous to Lois' husband Joe (Jimmy Lydon), who goes deeply into debt so that his wife can live in the style in which she has suddenly become accustomed. Horror of horrors, the mink is stolen, the first of several setbacks for poor Alice and Joe. The mess is straightened out--sort of--in a wild courtroom finale. Veteran supporting players Richard Lane, Dorothy Granger, Paul Guilfoyle and Iris Adrian add a little salt and pepper to the more sugary passages. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Lydon, Lois Collier, (more)
- 1948
In this psychological drama, a group of people are stranded in a remote jungle after a plane crash. The disparate reactions of each are chronicled through out the story as they learn to survive in their new jungle home. Fortunately, they are helped by a man who was similarly stranded several years before. He not only teaches them how to survive, he also teaches them about humility. They are all rescued when the pilot manages to make it to civilization and returns with a helicopter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Audrey Long, (more)
- 1948
This prison drama is told via flashback and follows a group of prisoners bound for Alcatraz. En route, the group plans their escape. One of the convicts is innocent and ends up falling in love with a pretty passenger. Later romance really blooms after his name is cleared, but the other would-be escapees all die trying to break out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don "Red" Barry, Janet Martin, (more)
"A woman loses her mind and is confined to a mental institution." That's the usual TV-listing encapsulation of The Snake Pit -- and like most such encapsulations, it only scratches the film's surface. Olivia de Havilland stars as an outwardly normal young woman, married to loyal, kindly Mark Stevens. As de Havilland's behavior becomes more and more erratic, however, Stevens comes to the sad conclusion that she needs professional help. She is sent to an overcrowded state hospital for treatment -- a curious set-up, in that, while de Havilland is treated with compassion by soft-spoken psychiatrist Leo Genn, she is sorely abused by resentful matrons and profoundly disturbed patients. Throughout the film, she is threatened with being clapped into "the snake pit" -- an open room where the most severe cases are permitted to roam about and jabber incoherently -- if she doesn't realign her thinking. In retrospect, it seems that de Havilland's biggest "crime" is that she wants to do her own thinking, and that she isn't satisfied with merely being a loving wife. While this subtext may not have been intentional, it's worth noting that de Havilland escapes permanent confinement only when she agrees to march to everyone else's beat. Amazingly, Olivia de Havilland didn't win an Academy Award for her harrowing performance in The Snake Pit (the only Oscar won by the film was for sound recording). While some of the psychological verbiage in this adaptation of Mary Jane Ward's autobiographical novel seems antiquated and overly simplistic today, The Snake Pit was rightly hosannahed as a breakthrough film in 1948. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, (more)
- 1948
The opening scene of Robert Siodmak's grim film noir depicts police lieutenants Candella (Victor Mature) and Collins (Fred Clark) observing wounded cop killer Martin Rome (Richard Conte) receive last rites. Though Rome recovers, he still must elude Candella and Collins in his desperate attempt to escape his fate. Rome has two visitors in the hospital: his girlfriend, Teena (Debra Paget), who goes into hiding, and Niles (Berry Kroeger), a crooked lawyer. Niles tries to bribe Rome to take a jewel theft and homicide rap for a client of his since Rome is facing the electric chair anyway. When Rome refuses, Niles threatens to frame Teena as the client's female accomplice. Worried that Candella might find Teena, Rome breaks out of jail and goes to Niles' office to accept the offer, but he actually plans to leave the country with Teena. When Niles reneges, Rome kills him, but not before learning the accomplice's identity and discovering the stolen jewels in the lawyer's safe. Rome finds the accomplice, Rose Given (Hope Emerson), and offers to trade the jewelry for the means to leave the country. She agrees, and they arrange a meeting in the subway, but Rome informs Candella of the plan. When the police arrive, Candella is shot, Rose is arrested, and Rome escapes to meet up with Teena in a church. As he is trying to convince Teena to run away with him, a wounded Candella shows up and tells Teena how Rome uses people and that everyone who helped in his escape will be paying a price. Teena rejects Rome, and he runs again, only to be shot down by Candella. The moral order is ultimately restored, but no one has been left unscarred. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Richard Conte, (more)
- 1948
An especially good casts helps lift Republic's Secret Service Investigator well above the norm. Lloyd Bridges plays disillusioned ex-GI Steve Mallory, who falls in with a gang of wily crooks. Convincing Mallory that they're U.S. secret service agents, the villains persuade our hero to help them in a phony rare-coin scheme. When he realizes he's being flim-flammed, Mallory risks his neck by agreeing to work as a double agent for the real Feds. The film is effortlessly stolen by George Zucco as Otto Dagoff, the erudite but slimy head of the fake-coin racket. In case there's any question that Secret Service Investigator is a Republic film, the presence of Roy Barcroft as one of the heavies should remove all doubt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynne Roberts, Lloyd Bridges, (more)
- 1947
In one of his first "adult" roles (he made his last Andy Hardy vehicle only a year earlier), Mickey Rooney plays Tommy McCoy, a dancer who performs in a going-nowhere nightclub act with his alcoholic father, Brian (James Dunn). Johnny Martin (Mickey Knox), a lightweight boxing champ who is headlining the show that Tommy and his Dad are currently working, admires Tommy's footwork and tells him that he might have a future in the ring. Tommy gives the fight game a try, and he soon proves he's got the goods as a slugger. Before long, Tommy is fighting Johnny for the lightweight title, and after a hard-fought match, Tommy wins -- and Johnny dies. Now dubbed "Killer" McCoy by the press and boxing fans, a distraught Tommy allows his career to be taken over by Jim Caighn (Brian Donlevy), an unscrupulous manager with a gambling problem. Jim drags Tommy through the dirtiest and most dishonest levels of the fight game, but Jim's daughter Sheila (Ann Blyth) sees Tommy's decent side and tries to rescue him. Killer McCoy was a remake of the 1938 Robert Taylor vehicle The Crowd Roars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Brian Donlevy, (more)
- 1946
B-movie auteur Edgar G. Ulmer managed to direct a few A-pictures during his long career; he was personally selected by Hedy Lamarr to helm this big-budget thriller, a project she put together to change her image as a starlet whose sex appeal outweighed her acting abilities. Set in the early 19th century, The Strange Woman takes place in Bangor, Maine, where logging and lumber mills have made the town prosperous. Jenny Hager (Lamarr) has grown up in Bangor, not far from the watchful eye of wealthy Isaiah Poster (Gene Lockhart). The fact that Jenny is twenty years Isaiah's junior does not stem his amorous intentions, and when she's finally out of her teens, Jenny accepts his proposal of marriage. But beneath her sweet exterior, Jenny is a shrewd, conniving women, and while she makes a fine life for herself with Isaiah's money, she obviously doesn't care for him. When Isaiah's son Ephraim (Louis Hayward) visits from college, Jenny is immediately attracted to him, and she tells him that she'll marry him if he murders his father. But, unknown to Ephraim, Jenny is already scheming to win the affections of businessman John Evered (George Sanders), even though he's pledged to marry her best friend Meg (Hillary Brooke). Based on a novel by Ben Ames Williams, The Strange Woman was generally considered one of Hedy Lamarr's best performances, although her best-known performance would continue to be in Ecstasy (1933), largely because of her then-daring nude scenes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders, (more)
- 1945
Idealistic young attorney John Norton (Robert Lowery) finds himself on the Road to Alcatraz when he's accused of murdering his partner. Norton would like to protest his innocence, but can't, since he has no memory of the events leading up to the killing. Investigating on his own, he discovers that he was drugged by the actual murderer-but whoooo is it? The key to the mystery is a fraternity pin found at the scene of the crime. June Storey has practically nothing to do as Norton's supportive wife Kit, while Grant Withers has a bit too much to do in the stereotypical role of Inspector Craven. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lowery, June Storey, (more)
- 1945
In this, the second of eight Ken Curtis music Westerns produced by Columbia, the country band the Hoosier Hots Shots arrive in the wild and woolly West to partake in Dan Tyler's (Curtis) "Painted Post Barn Show." Dan auditions and hires girl-singer Joan Smith (June Storey), unaware that she is actually Boston socialite Joan Wingate, whose father (Thurston Hall) has forbidden her to enter show business. When Joan's foppish fiancée William Van Welby (Grady Sutton) suddenly appears, the Hot Shots dress up as wild Indians in order to scare the tenderfoot off. Van Welby sees through the ruse and contacts Wingate, who demands that Joan leave with him for Boston. The Hot Shots, now dressed as doctors, convince Wingate to stay in the West for health reasons. Van Welby, meanwhile, hires some crooks to sabotage the show, and Dan and his performers are arrested on a groundless charge of running a gambling den. Dan's comic sidekick Andy (Andy Clyde) discovers that old man Wingate is actually a former road show stage manager. Chagrined, Wingate sees the error of his ways and tells Joan that he intends to back the musical revue. Storey, who earlier appeared in ten Gene Autry Westerns, joins leading man Curtis, the Hot Shots, Carolina Cotton, The Town Criers, and Deuce Spriggins and His Band in a selection of musical numbers that include "Toot, Toot Tootsie," "The Covered Wagon Rolled Right Along," and "No Romance in Your Soul." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1944
It's nearly the End of the Road for condemned prisoner Chris Martin (John Abbott), slated to be executed for a murder he says he didn't commit. Martin manages to convince crime novelist Robert Kirby (Edward Norris) of his innocence, but Kirby can't get the cops to go along. Thus, the novelist turns sleuth, reassessing the clues and seeking out the real murderer. Only when heroine Kitty McDougal (June Storey) is herself nearly bumped off by the villain does Kirby solve the case. Without tipping off the identity of the killer, it can be noted that the supporting cast includes such murder-mystery stalwarts as Jonathan Hale, Kenne Duncan, Pierre Watkin and Edward Van Sloan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Norris, John Abbott, (more)
- 1942
In this WW II-era drama, an over-ambitious beauty contestant's single-minded pursuit of movie stardom causes her to step upon the people who love her the most. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edith Fellows, June Storey, (more)
- 1941
The title of this series entry may strike some as a tad redundant: After all, isn't crook-turned-sleuth Michael Lanyard, aka the Lone Wolf, always taking a chance? On this occasion, Lanyard (Warren William) and his trusty valet Jamison (Eric Blore) are framed on a murder charge. The actual miscreants are a gang of counterfeiters, shipping their plates into the country in a thief-proof carrier invented by Johnny Baker (Lloyd Bridges). In the course of clearing their names, Lanyard and Jamison are sealed up with poor Johnny in one of his own carriers, which is then filled with poison gas. Will they escape? Is there really any doubt? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Storey, Warren William, (more)
- 1941
Dance Hall was based on a novel by W. R. Burnett, of Little Caesar fame. Carole Landis stars as dance-hall songstress Lily Brown, who is amused and then intrigued by the attentions of her handsome boss Duke McKay (Cesar Romero). Upon realizing that Duke is a two-timer, she gives him the brushoff. By the time he falls in love with her for real, she could care less, having fallen for young composer Joe Brooks (William Henry). Duke eventually does the "right thing" at fadeout time, taking his loss more philosophically than Lily's would-be sugar daddy Max Brandon (J. Edward Bromberg). During the film's brisk 73 minutes, Carole Landis is afforded the opportunity to sing several standards by Mack Gordon, Harry Revel, Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Landis, Cesar Romero, (more)
- 1941
The comic effusions of Hugh "woo woo" Herbert helps to keep this otherwise forgettable farce afloat. It all begins when Bob Wade (Tom Brown) and Rosalie Brown (Peggy Moran), are conned into buying a run-down vaudeville agency. Upon taking charge of the failing enterprise, they find they have a partner named Hubert (Herbert),who's likewise been victimized by con artists. Pooling their wits and resources, the three suckers put some life back into their agency by promoting variety acts for department-store window displays. A stupid misunderstanding nearly breaks up the budding romance between Bob and Rosalie, but helpful Hubert patches things up in his own inimitable fashion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Herbert, Tom Brown, (more)
Dangerous Lady is yet another variation on the "Thin Man" formula, courtesy this time from bargain-basement PRC Pictures. Neil Hamilton and June Storey star as private detective Duke Martindel and his lawyer wife Phyllis. Putting their heads together (which they seem to enjoy doing), Duke and Phyllis try to save Hester Engel (Evelyn Brent), the "dangerous lady" of the title who has been falsely accused of murder. Police detective Brent (Douglas Fowley) would prefer that the Martindels mind their own business, but even he has to admit that they're quicker on the clue-gathering and suspect-fingering than he is. Far better written than most PRC productions, Dangerous Lady is enhanced by Clarence Wheeler's sprightly musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Storey, Neil Hamilton, (more)
East meets west in this musical western starring singing cowboy Gene Autry. After the death of its owner, the financially troubled Rancho Grande is left to Kay Dodge (June Storey) and her siblings Patsy (Mary Lee) and Tom, (Dick Hogan), three wealthy young socialites from the East who are as unfamiliar with life on the range as they are with hard work and financial responsibility. Ranch foreman Gene (Gene Autry) has the unenviable task of giving the Dodges a crash course in running a ranch, and pitches in to help when they decide to turn the cattle operation into a "Dude Ranch" resort. Kay's lawyer Emory Benson (Ferris Taylor) encourages her in her plans, not knowing that he's also working with a group of farmers who are poised to take over the ranch if it fails; in order to hedge his bets, Benson hires a group of ne'er-do-wells to destroy the ranch's new irrigation system, and Gene and his fellow cowpokes must stand up and fight to protect their land. Rancho Grande includes musical numbers from Mary Lee and Smiley Burnette as well as Gene Autry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1940
Little Mary Lee, Republic's 1940 answer to Shirley Temple, stars in the bucolic musical comedy Barnyard Follies. Essentially a feature-length endorsement of the 4-H clubs of America, the story concerns a group of wrong-headed provincials, headed by vain Mrs. Uppington (Isabel Randolph) of Fibber McGee and Molly radio fame, who try to block the establishment of a 4-H project in their rural community. In order to raise the $5000 necessary to keep the project alive, cutesy radio personality Bubbles Martin (Lee) stages a benefit. Among the featured acts is Rufe Davis, who offers his repetoire of funny animal sounds. Also on hand are such country-western favorites as Harry "Pappy" Cheshire, the Kidoodlers, and the Cackle Sisters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Lee, Rufe Davis, (more)
- 1940
Like so many Gene Autry westerns of the early 1940s, Carolina Moon draws its title from a popular song of the era, duly warbled by Autry in the course of the film. In fact, music takes precedence over action in this outing, which would remain one of Gene's quietest and most laid-back vehicles. The plot finds Autry and his perennial saddle pal Frog (Smiley Burnette) coming to the rescue of several elderly Carolina plantation owners, presently at the mercy of a Uriah Heep-ish villain. The southern setting is as good an excuse as any to trot out several African American spirituals, soulfully performed by the Hall Johnson Choir. And as mentioned, Autry tackles the title tune, singing enthusiastically to wide-eyed heroine June Storey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1940
In Old Missouri is an entertaining Republic "regional" aimed at the thriving Country-Western fandom of the 1940s. Heading the cast are The Weaver Brothers and Elviry, a popular cornpone aggregation of the period. In a plot that predates The Beverly Hillbillies by two decades, the Weavers are bullied around by the snooty family of millionaire Pittman (Thurston Hall). But when the chips are down and the Pittmans face bankruptcy, it is Abner, Cicero and Elviry (Leon, Frank and June Weaver) who come to the rescue. Slickly produced despite its obviously skin-tight budget, In Old Missouri holds up surprisingly well when seen today; as a bonus, the nominal romantic lead is played by none other than Alan Ladd! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Weaver, Frank Weaver, (more)
Gene Autry rescues a young boy from a gang of kidnappers in this delightful musical-Western from Republic Pictures. Having lost their jobs with the rodeo, Gene and sidekick Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) are heading west when they discover a young British stowaway, Ronnie Willoughby (Clifford Severn Jr.), who mistakenly assumes that the two cowboys represent his father's large "Rancho San Quentin." Gene, however, doesn't have the heart to tell the boy that San Quentin is no ranch at all, but the state penitentiary. Along the way, the merry little group picks up a couple of pretty hitchhikers, runaway society bride-to-be Joyce Halloway (June Storey) and her kid sister, Patsy (Mary Lee), and they, too, keep mum about "Rancho San Quentin." In fact, Joyce nobly arranges for her own family ranch to be renamed after the prison lest the boy should learn the truth. Wrongly assuming that Gene and company are kidnappers, Ronnie's father, Frederick (Lester Matthews), makes a daring escape from San Quentin but Gene manages to make it appear as if the escapee is returning from a long and arduous cattle drive. The real kidnappers turn up soon enough, of course, and after the inevitable chase, Willoughby's establishes his innocence and Gene agrees to stay on as Joyce's foreman. Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and girl singer Mary Lee perform no less than seven musical numbers, including the title tune, "The Singing Hills," "Give out With a Song," Headin' for the Wild Open Spaces," and "Wooing of Kitty MacFuty." A television print entitled Keep Rollin' also exists, but without many of the songs and all the Mexican cantina production numbers. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
Unique among the Gene Autry starrers of 1940, Ride Tenderfoot Ride actually contains more action than music. In this one, Autry falls heir to a meat-packing firm which has been targetted for a hostile takeover by the villains. June Storey plays Ann Randolph, owner of a rival meat concern, who is unaware until the last reel that her subordinates have been plotting to ruin or murder our hero. By the time Gene and Ann decide to merge-both professionally and romantically---the bad guys have been soundly trounced by Autry and his saddle pal Frog (Smiley Burnette). Legendary Broadway entertainer Joe Frisco is somewhat wasted in a minor role as a stuttering haberdasher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
