Grady Sutton Movies
While visiting a high school pal in Los Angeles in 1924, roly-poly Grady Sutton made the acquaintance of his friend's brother, director William A. Seiter. Quite taken by Sutton's bucolic appearance and comic potential, Seiter invited Sutton to appear in his next film, The Mad Whirl. Sutton enjoyed himself in his bit role, and decided to remain in Hollywood, where he spent the next 47 years playing countless minor roles as dimwitted Southerners and country bumpkins. Usually appearing in comedies, Sutton supported such master clowns as Laurel and Hardy and W.C. Fields (the latter reportedly refused to star in 1940's The Bank Dick unless Sutton was given a good part); he also headlined in two short-subjects series, Hal Roach's The Boy Friends and RKO's The Blondes and the Redheads. Through the auspices of Blondes and the Redheads director George Stevens, Sutton was cast as Katharine Hepburn's cloddish dancing partner in Alice Adams (1935), the first of many similar roles. Sutton kept his hand in movies until 1971, and co-starred on the 1966 Phyllis Diller TV sitcom The Pruitts of Southampton. A willing interview subject of the the 1960s and 1970s, Grady Sutton went into virtual seclusion after the death of his close friend, director George Cukor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1945
Director Henry King's adaptation of John Hersey's novel is a faithful telling of the story of Major Joppolo (John Hodiak), who is assigned to administrate the Sicilian town of Adano after World War II and attempts to return it to its pre-war tranquility. His initial actions include feeding and clothing the villagers, who have been left starved and destitute by the ravages of the war, and preventing the hanging of its former mayor, a Mussolini supporter, although he makes clear that any hints of Fascism will not be tolerated. Suspicious at first, the villagers finally come to trust Joppolo when he works to reclaim the town bell, stolen from the city hall and a symbol of its identity. Gene Tierney plays the fisherman's daughter that Joppolo falls for, while William Bendix is his compassionate orderly and assistant. A Bell For Adano is a low-key look at the effects of war that builds to a quietly powerful conclusion. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Alberni, Gene Tierney, (more)
Manhattan working girl Jean Arthur bids goodbye to her three erstwhile suitors (Grant Withers, Hans Conried and Grady Sutton) to take a bus tour of the west. En route, she meets handsome rodeo-star John Wayne, whose bucking bronco hurls him directly into her lap. Stranded in a tank town with Wayne and his sidekick Charles Winninger, Arthur is introduced to the sort of frontier activities not covered by the tour books: gambling, boozing and brawling. Not surprisingly, Arthur wants to hightail it back to the East, but by now Wayne has fallen in love with her. Lady Takes a Chance was produced for RKO by Jean Arthur's then-husband, Frank Ross. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Arthur, John Wayne, (more)
- 1945
Ernst Lubitsch was the original director for A Royal Scandal, but illness forced him to bow out; his replacement was Otto Preminger, who did his utmost to retain the "Lubitsch touch." Based on a play by Lajos Biro and Melchior Lengyel, the film dwells upon a fictional incident in the life of Russia's Catherine the Great, here played with blue-blooded bawdiness by Tallulah Bankhead. Catherine falls in love with a handsome young army officer (William Eythe), who turns out to be an insurrectionist planning her downfall. At the last moment, Catherine relents, allowing the officer to escape with his true love, lady-in-waiting Anne Baxter. A bit too cute for its own good, Royal Scandal has some choice moments: Most notable are Tallulah Bankhead's pained reaction upon being hailed as "The Mother of All Russias," and supporting actor Grady Sutton's southern-accented reference to the "U-ral Mountains". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tallulah Bankhead, Charles Coburn, (more)
- 1954
- PG
The 1954 musical remake of A Star is Born could have been titled A Star is Reborn, in that it represented the triumphal return to the screen of Judy Garland after a four-year absence. The remake adheres closely to the plotline of the 1937 original: An alcoholic film star, on his last professional legs, gives a career boost to a unknown aspiring actress. The two marry, whereupon her fame and fortune rises while his spirals sharply downward. Unable to accept this, the male star crawls deeper into the bottle. The wife tearfully decides to give up her own career to care for her husband. To spare her this fate, the husband chivalrously commits suicide. His wife is inconsolable at first, but is urged to go "on with the show" in memory of her late husband. In the original, Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett, who with no training or contacts came to Hollywood hoping for stardom. The remake, scripted by Moss Hart, is a shade more realistic: Garland's Esther, though far removed from fame, is a working professional singer/dancer when first we meet her. Both Gaynor and Garland are transformed from "Esther Blodgett" to "Vicki Lester" after being screen-tested, though Gaynor goes on to star in fluffy costume dramas while Garland more logically headlines big-budget musicals. The 1937 Star is Born costarred Fredric March as Norman Maine, Esther/Vicki's sponsor-cum-spouse. March patterned his performance after the tragic John Barrymore, reining in his emotions in favor of pure technique; James Mason's interpretation is more original, more emotional, and far more effective (who can forget the scene where Norman sobbingly overhears Vicki planning to give up her career for his sake?) As the studio's long-suffering publicist, the 1937 version's Lionel Stander is more abrasive and unpleasant than the 1954 version's introspective, intellectual Jack Carson; on the other hand, Adolphe Menjou and Charles Bickford are fairly evenly matched in the role of the studio head. Several important omissions are made in the remake. The 1937 Star is Born included Esther's indomitable old grandma (May Robson), a helpful assistant director (Andy Devine) and a soft-hearted landlord (Edgar Kennedy); all three characters are missing from the 1954 version, though elements of each can be found in the "best friend/severest critic" character played by Tommy Noonan. Wisely, both versions end with the grieving Vicki Lester coming out of her shell at a public gathering, greeting the audience with a proud, defiant "Good evening, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine". Though directors William Wellman (1937 version) and George Cukor (1954 version) handle this finale in their own distinctive manners, the end result is equally effective emotionally. What truly sets the 1954 A Star is Born apart from other films of its ilk is its magnificent musical score by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. The songs include The Man Who Got Away (brilliantly performed by Garland in one long take, sans dubbing), It's a New World, Somewhere There's a Someone, I Was Born in a Trunk, Lose That Long Face and Gotta Have Me Go With You. When originally previewed in 1954, the film ran well over three hours, thanks to the lengthy-and thoroughly disposable-Born in a Trunk number, added to the film as an afterthought without the approval or participation of director George Cukor. The Warner Bros. executives trimmed the film to 154 minutes, eliminating three top-rank musical numbers and several crucial expository sequences (including Norman's proposal to Vicki). At the instigation of the late film historian Ronald Haver, the full version was painstakingly restored in 1983, with outtakes and still photos bridging the "lost" footage. Though nominated in several categories, A Star is Born was left empty-handed at Academy Award time, an oversight that caused outrage then and still rankles Judy Garland fans to this day (Footnote: Judy Garland had previously played Vicki Lester in a 1942 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the original A Star is Born). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Garland, James Mason, (more)
- 1949
The upsurge in commercial air travel in the postwar years resulted in several films dealing with the trials and tribulations of airline stewardesses. Gloria Henry, who'd later star as Alice Mitchell in TV's Dennis the Menace, is teamed with Danny Thomas' future TV wife Marjorie Lord and Audrey Long in Air Hostess. The three leading ladies are cast as stewardesses-in-training, and of course each of the girls is pursuing her own agenda. Henry wants to follow in the footsteps of her sister; Lord wants to honor the memory of her late husband, an airline pilot; and Long is on the lookout for a wealthy husband. Way down on the cast list is another TV star-to-be, Barbara "June Cleaver" Billingsley. In addition, Air Hostess represents one of the few talking pictures made by former silent-screen favorite Leatrice Joy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Henry, Ross Ford, (more)
His Aunt Sophie (Helen Westley) and his teacher Professor Heinrich (Jean Hersholt) are sure that Roger Grant (Tyrone Power) will be a famous classical violinist, but Roger's more interested in popular music. He and his friend, pianist Charlie (Don Ameche), audition at a saloon in San Francisco's Barbary Coast, using sheet music left by singer Stella Kirby (Alice Faye), which had been sent to her by a friend in New York, Irving Berlin. The number, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," proves to be a sensation, and Stella goes along with Charlie's plea to sing with the band, which soon becomes famous for its ragtime numbers. Charlie has fallen in love with Stella by the time they open at the Cliff House, but he soon realizes that she and Roger are in love. Stella is invited to New York by a famous producer, but Roger's against this, and angrily fires her, so Charlie quits, too. When Roger returns from World War I, he meets Stella, only to learn she and Charlie have been married for a year. Another year passes, and Charlie and Davey have formed a new band with Jerry Allen (Ethel Merman) as their lead singer. Charlie knows Stella still loves Roger, so he divorces her, but Roger sails for Europe with the new band. Back in New York, Roger is set for a major concert in swing at Carnegie Hall. Charlie tells Roger about the divorce, and that Stella still loves him. Unable to get a ticket, Stella listens to the concert in a cab. Explaining that he is playing it for one particular person, Roger and his band perform "Alexander's Ragtime Band" as their encore, bringing Stella into the theater, where she's reconciled with Roger. He brings her onstage to perform the number with his band. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, (more)
Katharine Hepburn stars as Booth Tarkington's would-be society belle Alice Adams. The product of a family of modest means, Alice nonetheless dreams of being accepted by the "better people." Luck of luck, she meets well-to-do young Fred MacMurray at a social gathering; he is charmed by her pathetic attempts at putting on airs and accepts her invitation to dine at the Adams home. The meal is a disaster: Alice's parents (Fred Stone and Anne Shoemaker) are obviously way out of MacMurray's league, while the servant (Hattie McDaniel) that the family hired for the occasion shows up drunk and very surly. Alice Adams was the first major directorial assignment for George Stevens, as well as one of the few Katharine Hepburn vehicles of the 1930s to score a hit with the public. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1943
Newlywed bliss surround O'Driscoll and Beery until they get on board the ship for their honeymoon in South America. Then she starts sneezing, and hay fever's uncontrollable grip does not seem to want to let up. They try everything, then finally seek out a doctor on the ship. The trouble is compounded when the physician they find, Bruce, falls for the new bride. His diagnosis: Beery is the cause of the sneezing. She is allergic to him. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martha O'Driscoll, Noah Beery, Jr., (more)
This mammoth musical is at base the story of two sailors on leave in Hollywood. Brash Joseph Brady (Gene Kelly) has promised his shy pal Clarence Doolittle (Frank Sinatra) that he will introduce Clarence to all the glamorous movie starlets whom he allegedly knows so well. Actually, the only actress whom Joseph meets is bit player Susan Abbott (Kathryn Grayson). He arranges for the golden-throated Susan to be auditioned by musician José Iturbi, but when she seems to want to return the favor romantically, Brady tries to foist the girl off on Clarence. But Clarence only has eyes for a fellow Brooklynite (Pamela Britton). Also involved in the plot machinations is runaway orphan Donald Martin (Dean Stockwell). Featuring Kelly dancing with such partners as a cartoon mouse (courtesy of MGM's house animators Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera), Anchors Aweigh was a huge hit in 1945, assuring audiences future Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra teamings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, (more)
- 1934
After several years' faithful service in RKO Radio's short-subject department, director George Stevens was rewarded with his first feature-length assignment, the innocuous comedy Bachelor Bait. Stu Erwin plays Wilbur Fess, the busy owner of a matrimonial agency called Romance, Inc. So dedicated is Fess to his job that he fails to notice how much his girlfriend Linda (Rochelle Hudson) loves him. As consequence, he very nearly marries Linda off to someone else, but at the last moment he is saved from this boo-boo by good-time girl Alice (Pert Kelton). The title Bachelor Bait was later used by RKO for the British release of the 1949 Shirley Temple vehicle Adventure in Baltimore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Erwin, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
- 1947
The Broadway musical Beat the Band was boiled down to B-picture terms in this RKO Radio programmer. The plot concerns Damon (Philip Terry), a bandleader who finds himself financially embarrassed when he returns from WW2. In order to earn enough money to reassemble his orchestra, Damon poses as a famed Italian voice teacher. His first pupil is would-be songstress Ann (Frances Langford), whose family fortune figures prominently in Damon's comeback scheme. Ralph Edwards, emcee of the then-popular radio series "Truth or Consquences," provides comic relief as Damon's crooked business manager. The musical highlights include a "hot" arrangement performed in a boiler room by the Gene Krupa Orchestra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances Langford, Ralph Edwards, (more)
- 1941
Despite its alluring title, Bedtime Story is an innocent little domestic comedy about a bickering married couple. Fredric March is a successful playwright specializing in vehicles for his beautiful actress wife Loretta Young. Young wants to retire from the stage and set up housekeeping on a little Connecticut farm. March refuses to acknowledge her wishes and continues working on his latest play, which is being written for her. She petulantly walks out of the relationship, taking up with straitlaced banker Allyn Joslyn. One does not need a crystal ball to determine the outcome of all this, but Bedtime Story goes through its expected paces with finesse, helped along by such reliable supporting players as Robert Benchley and Eve Arden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1937
Rivalry surfaces between radio producers as they fight for control of programs and sponsors in this lively comedy that features Jack Benny's radio announcer, Don Wilson. One of the producers has trouble because he tends to tell the sponsors exactly what he thinks, no holds barred. Fortunately Wilson, his good friend, intervenes and saves the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gargan, Judith Barrett, (more)
Inasmuch as the spectacular Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart Broadway musical Jumbo was written in 1935, this 1962 film version can't help but seem a little quaint. Still, the film features the original production's star Jimmy Durante, energetically recreating his stage role as circus owner Pop Wonder; it is Durante's bravura performance that saves the film from dullness. Threatened with foreclosure, Pop Wonder and his pretty daughter Kitty (Doris Day) put their fates in the hands of go-getter Sam Rawlins (Stephen Boyd). What they don't know is that Sam is the son of Pop's biggest rival (Dean Jagger), and he's been sent to undermine the Wonder Circus. It goes without saying that Sam turns the tables on his dad, thereby saving the day and winning Kitty's hand. Martha Raye shows up as Lulu, a fortune teller who can't figure out what's going to happen next (funny, we can). And of course there's Jumbo the elephant, who figures into the film's funniest scene (as well as one of Jimmy Durante's most celebrated punchlines). Old MGM musical hands Charles Walters and Busby Berkeley share directing chores, but somehow the film hasn't the panache of their earlier work. Happily, most of the Rodgers-Hart songs are retained, including "My Romance" and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"-not to mention a few Rodgers-Hart tunes borrowed from other show, e.g. "This Can't Be Love". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, (more)
- 1939
Blind Alley, directed by Charles Vidor is a chilling psychological drama in the film-noir tradition reminiscent of the fine melodrama The Desperate Hours. Hal Wilson (Chester Morris) is an escaped killer who hides out in the home of noted psychologist Dr. Shelby (Ralph Bellamy). While Wilson's gang holds Shelby's family and servants hostage, the pipe-smoking mental doctor calmly tries to discover the reasons for Wilson's murderous proclivities. As gun moll Mary (Ann Dvorak) covers Shelby, Wilson willingly allows the doctor to psychoanalyze him, using hypnosis to trace the killer's childhood. Blind Alley works as a "film noir" complete with surrealistic dream sequences. A taut story and moody cinematography by Lucien Ballard -- with sharp direction from Vidor, and superlative acting by Morris and Bellamy -- earn this film noir entry a top spot in the genre. The film was remade scene-for-scene in 1949 as The Dark Past, with William Holden as the killer and Lee J. Cobb as the unflappable head shrinker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1926
No relation to the much-later musical comedy of the same name, The Boy Friend focuses on the misadventures of dreamy-eyed Marceline Day. Unhappy with her small-town home and middle-class family, our heroine yearns to attend a high-society party. To accommodate the girl, her boyfriend John Harron bankrolls the very sort of party that she craves. Not unexpectedly, everything goes hilariously awry, and Day learns the hard way to appreciate what she has in her own back yard. Prolific character actress Elizabeth Patterson made her screen debut at the tender age of 50 in The Boy Friend. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marceline Day, George K. Arthur, (more)
- 1945
Famed WW1 aviator Eddie Rickenbacker once more entered the public's consciousness during WW2 when, while serving as an Air Force officer, he and several other pilots crashed into the Pacific. While the world anxiously awaited news of his fate, Rickenbacker and a handful of survivors floated for 19 days in a tiny rubber raft. Captain Eddie recreates this incident, using it as a framework for a series of flashbacks in which Rickenbacker (Fred MacMurray) reminisces on the high points of his life. He is seen experimenting with aviation in his backyard, working in an auto factory to finance his earliest flights, and wooing and winning the lovely Adelaide (Lynn Bari). When America enters WW1, Rickenbacker immediately signs up, eventually shooting down more enemy planes than any other American aviator. Back in "the present", Rickenbacker and his comrades (including Lloyd Nolan and Richard Conte as Lt. Whittaker and Private Bartek) struggle to stay alive while awaiting rescue. Darryl Hickman plays Rickenbacker as a boy, while Charles Bickford portrays his father William. The huge supporting cast includes amusing unbilled contributions by Grady Sutton ("The schottische is my fav-or-ite dance!") and George Chandler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Lynn Bari, (more)
- 1944
When he finds out his ex-wife has just had his child and plans to give her up for adoption, a timid English instructor dashes to the child's rescue and attempts to care for her in a hotel room. Before too long, however, his new fiancee and his ex confront him and he must decide what he will do. This light comedy starring Gary Cooper, Theresa Wright and Anita Louise garnered Oscar nominations for Sound and Art Direction and was previously filmed under the title Little Accident in 1930 and 1939. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, (more)
- 1940
Former Latin Lover Ricardo Cortez directed this farfetched but fast-paced gambling melodrama in which girl reporter Julie Reynolds (Lynn Bari) attempts to infiltrate a crooked gaming establishment by pretending to be a naïve girl from Texas. Julie's plans go awry, however, when one of the owners, Steve Walker (Donald Woods), recognizes her as his childhood sweetheart. Although Steve's mentor, The Judge (C. Aubrey Smith), warns him of the consequences, the young man insists on resuming his relationship with Julie, a decision that almost costs him his life when rival gangster Marty Connors (Richard Lane) decides to move in on the operation. But Steve and Julie pull a fast one on Marty and The Judge skips the City of Chance on a floating casino. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Bari, C. Aubrey Smith, (more)
- 1933
Directed by Wesley Ruggles, the musical sendup of College Humor centers around the blooming love between a college professor (Bing Crosby) and one of his students (Mary Carlisle). Feeling stilted, the school football star (Richard Arlen) is temporarily unable to concentrate on his game. Fortunately for the team, Crosby's romantic interest has a football-loving brother (Jack Oakie) who saves the day. Husband and wife team Gracie Allen and George Burns appear as themselves, stopping by to create mayhem at a fraternity dance. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, (more)
- 1937
Hoping to ape the success of Sol Lesser's Bobby Breen musicals, Republic Pictures fashioned Dangerous Holiday as a movie vehicle for pint-sized violin prodigy Ra Hould. The star is appropriately cast as preteen violin virtuoso Ronnie Campbell who is so coddled and protected by his family and handlers that he never has a chance to be a "real boy." When he can stand no more, Ronnie runs away from home, whereupon everyone -- including the cops -- assume that the boy has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, Ronnie, together with his new street-urchin friends, stumbles upon a gangster hideaway. In time-honored "Our Gang" fashion, the kids outwit the crooks, whereupon Ronnie's mom and dad promise to give him more freedom of movement in the future. Billed second after Ra Hould is matronly actress Hedda Hopper, who within a year would become one of Hollywood's most powerful (and feared) gossip columnists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ra Hould, Hedda Hopper, (more)
In Dead Reckoning, Rip Murdock (Humphrey Bogart) recites the film's plotline to a priest in the confessional. Murdock and Johnny Drake (William Prince) are Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, en route to Washington by train. Drake hops off and disappears, leading Murdock on a hectic manhunt. Upon meeting Drake's former girlfriend Coral Chandler (Lizabeth Scott), Murdock is thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue involving a crooked gambler (Morris Carnovsky) and a complex blackmailing scheme. The upshot of this is that Murdock finds himself the prime suspect in a murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, (more)
- 1970
- PG
Frank Sinatra stars in this bawdy western satire as Dingus Magee, a would-be outlaw who robs Hoke Birdsill (George Kennedy) while Hoke is en route to Yerkey's Hole, New Mexico. Hoke reports the theft to Belle Knops (Anne Jackson), the mayor of Yerkey's Hole and proprietor of the town's biggest business, a brothel favored by the enlisted men at the nearby Army fort. Belle appoints Hoke as the new deputy, and he tracks down Magee as he's enjoying a roll in the bushes with Anna (Michele Carey), a very friendly Indian maid. Hoke brings in Magee, but Anna then helps him escape; Belle uses Magee's unscheduled release to convince the commanding officers at the Army base that an Indian uprising is imminent, and that their planned relocation to Little Big Horn (where they hope to arrive before Gen. Custer and his troops) might be a bit premature (not to mention bad for her business). Soon Hoke is after Magee for robbing a stage and stealing the strongbox (which, of course, he can't open), the Indians are after Magee for running off with Anna, a sexually repressed schoolmarm named Prudence (Lois Nettleton) is after Magee after he awakens the woman within her, and John Wesley Hardin (Jack Elam) is after Magee, well, just because. "Catch-22" author Joseph Heller co-wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, George Kennedy, (more)
- 1941
In this medical melodrama, a young MD finds himself in love with a woman who doesn't love him. She is interested in an older, more sophisticated doctor. After she discovers that the older medic has a sleazy side, she decides to go for the younger doctor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Paul Muni is a prominent physician who is kidnapped by gangsters and forced to tend the needs of head crook Barton MacLaine. MacLaine takes a liking to the intellectual doctor and allows him to go home after his job is done. Muni finds himself the reluctant "staff physician" for the gangster, thus is periodically spirited away from his practice to look after the criminal. He has given his word not to "rat" on the crooks, but he can't sit idly by while the gangsters loot the city. Muni foils the crooks by injecting them with a drug which induces temporary blindness. Dr. Socrates was remade in 1939 as King of the Underworld, with Humphrey Bogart as the gangster boss and actress Kay Francis in Paul Muni's role (with surprisingly few dialogue alterations to accommodate the gender switch!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, (more)
