Henry Sylvester Movies

Deep in My Heart is the MGM-ified biography of composer Sigmund Romberg, here played by José Ferrer. Evidently the scripters didn't feel that the life of Romberg (as set down by author Elliott Arnold, whose book was used as the film's basis) had enough drama to fill out two hours and ten minutes. As a result, the film is overstocked with guest stars, performing such Romberg standards as "One Alone," "Lover Come Back to Me," "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," "Will You Remember," and "Stout-Hearted Men." Among these celebrities are Ann Miller, Vic Damone, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Rosemary Clooney, and Gene Kelly, the latter performing a dance duet with his seldom-seen brother, Fred. For all the heady competition, it is José Ferrer who renders the most memorable production number: a one-man presentation of the Romberg musical comedy Jazzboat, in which Ferrer assumes all the roles, from star Al Jolson's to the entire female chorus! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

1950's Emergency Wedding is a remake of 1940's You Belong to Me. The later film stars Larry Parks, who'd had a bit role in the original. Parks plays wealthy Peter Kirk, a playboy, while Barbara Hale co-stars as female doctor Helen Hunt. When Peter marries Helen, it is a "given" that he'll stay home while she works. Unfortunately, Peter becomes jealous of the amount of time Helen spends at the hospital with her patients. Out of pique, Peter makes the supreme sacrifice and offers to get a job himself. All sorts of misunderstandings and remonstrations ensue before the title Emergency Wedding is explained at the very end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Esther Williams and Red Skelton share equal screen time for once in the MGM Technicolor musical Neptune's Daughter. The title character is, of course, Williams, here cast as Eve Barrett, a bathing-suit manufacturer (and sometimes model). Skelton plays Jack Spratt, the masseur at a fancy polo club, who falls for Eve's sister (Betty Garrett). To prove worthy of her love, Jack poses as dashing Latin polo star Jose O'Rourke (Ricardo Montalban), resulting in a wealth of comic complications. The slapstick setpieces include a hilarious horse-mounting routine and a climactic set-to between Skelton and petty crook Mike Mazurki; there's also a few inspired moments from Mel Blanc, cast as a slow-talking Mexican. While Xavier Cugat is on hand as "himself," the film's musical high point is the Oscar-winning Baby It's Cold Outside, performed first by Williams and Montalban and then by Skelton and Garrett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Usually associated with erudite, urbane comedies, the legendary screen team of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy goes intensely dramatic in the expensive western Sea of Grass. Tracy plays cattle baron Colonel James Brewton, who staunchly opposes opening the western frontier to homesteaders. Standing steadfastly beside Brewton-at least at the beginning--is his headstrong wife Lutie (Hepburn). Eventually disillusioned by the stern implacability of her husband, Lutie leaves Brewton and goes off to Denver, where she falls in love with liberal attorney Brice Chamberlain (Melvyn Douglas), the champion of the homesteaders' cause. Upon giving birth to Chamberlain's son, Lutie confesses her indiscretion to Brewton, who takes the news with commendable restraint, even offering to accept the baby as his own. Unfortunately, the Brewtons' standing in the community is weakened by the revelation of Lutie's infidelity, causing her to leave her husband for a second time. Years later, Lutie's grown-up boy Brock (Robert Walker) drifts to the wrong side of the law, leading to his death at the hands of a posse. Though it hardly seems possible under the circumstances, Brewton and Lutie are at long last reconciled through the intervention of their daughter Sara Beth (Phyllis Thaxter). Elaborately produced in the traditional MGM manner and adroitly directed by Elia Kazan, Sea of Grass is still one of the lesser Tracy-Hepburns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the sixth and final Thin Man whodunit, Nick (William Powell) and Nora Charles (Myrna Loy) look into the mysterious killing of bandleader Tommy Drake (Phillip Reed). The police quickly hone in on the owner of a gambling ship, Phil Brant (Bruce Cowling), who was about to lose Drake's band to a competitor. Also among the many and varied suspects are: Phil's new wife, socialite Janet Thayar (Jayne Meadows); the band's voluptuous vocalist, Fran Page (Gloria Grahame); and the troubled clarinetist, Buddy Hollis (Don Taylor). With the assistance of jive-talking "Clinker" Krause (Keenan Wynn) and the clever terrier Asta, Nick and Nora are soon able to gather all the suspects at the reopening of the floating gaming establishment. In between the skullduggery and the usual wisecracks, Gloria Grahame performs a sultry version of Herb Magidson and Ben Oakland's "You're Not So Easy to Forget." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

We first meet Joan Crawford, star of the moody flashbackfest Possessed, wandering aimlessly through the city streets, moaning "David....David." She goes to pieces in public and is rushed to the mental ward, where a team of psychiatrists try to find out who she is and where she's been. Who she is is a practical nurse, hired by Raymond Massey to care for Massey's invalid wife. While going about her duties, Crawford renews her acquaintance with an old flame, architect Van Heflin. Though Heflin is indifferent, Crawford is still crazy for the man. She remains so even after marrying her employer Massey, whose wife has committed suicide. Any further details would give away the ending, but we can note that Van Heflin's character name is David. Best scene: Crawford, descending into schizophrenia, imagining that she's killed Massey's vitriolic daughter Geraldine Brooks. While the psycho-babble delivered in the asylum scenes is laughable, Possessed still holds up well as one of the best of Joan Crawford's Warner Bros. soap operas. This black-and-white film is also available in a colorized version, but don't blame us. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this light romantic comedy, William B. Whitley (William Powell) is an astronomer who is very excited about his latest discovery, a comet that has been named after him. However, Whitley has been so busy tracking the course of his comet as its path leads straight into the moon that he's been ignoring his new wife, Vicky (Hedy Lamarr). Bored and lonely, one day Vicky visits an astrologer who informs her that she will -- on a specific day -- meet a handsome stranger, and they will fall in love. A bit perplexed at this news, Vicky shares the astrologer's report with William; however, he's so appalled that she would waste her time on pseudo-scientific hooey like astrology that he storms out of the house, moving into his observatory for a few days. On the predicted day, Vicky is wondering what happened to her dream man when an air raid warden, Lloyd Hunter (James Craig), shows up to confront Vicky and ends up going inside her house and shutting off her lights. Vicky and Lloyd strike up a conversation, and she begins to realize that he could well be the man the astrologer predicted she would meet; Vicky is interested in him, but just as he's leaving, William returns. William, however, senses that Vicky is infatuated with Lloyd, and he quickly hatches a devious plan to win back her good graces. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This touching romance is based on a play by Rachel Crothers. An aging sea captain squanders his fortune on a bad business deal. Now he faces having to put his beloved wife in a poor house. He himself also has no place to live. Desperate for cash, he sells interest in a ship he has nothing to do with. This money gets her in a decent home for old ladies. To be with her, he dresses as an old woman and goes to live in the home with her. Eventually the administrators allow him to stay and the other residents begin calling him "Old Lady 31." The fortunes of the couple changes after the brave old salt saves a shipwrecked schooner. The salvage rights restore his fortune and all is well. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In their first serial effort, newcomers Republic Pictures went with the tried and true: beloved animal trainer Clyde Beatty, who had earlier headlined the Mascot serial The Lost Jungle (1934). It is really Beatty, playing himself, who meets and saves Baru (Manuel King), "The Son of the Jungle," and his sister, Valerie, Goddess of Joba (Elaine Shepard). The latter is held captive by an evil High Priest (Lucien Prival), who has aligned himself with a couple of nasty white traders and a force of winged bat-men. In the 15th and final chapter, "The Prophecy of Gorn," the jungle city of Joba -- High Priest, evil traders, ferocious bat-men and all -- is swallowed up by a gigantic stock footage earthquake. Nat Levine, who had merged his serial empire, Mascot Pictures, into the new Republic, produced with his usual keen sense of economy, and the serial was co-directed by the veteran B. Reeves Eason and former film editor Joseph Kane. Darkest Africa was also released in an edited feature version, Batmen of Africa, and re-issued in 1949 under the new rather cumbersome title King of the Jungleland. The proud owner of a gorilla suit that would see jungle-film duty well into the television era, Ray "Crash" Corrigan appeared both in and out of his suit in this serial, billed, rather modestly, as "Ray Benard." Corrigan was to star in Republic's second serial, Undersea Kingdom (1936). Manuel King, Beatty's young and rather pudgy sidekick, was actually somewhat of a rival who billed himself, probably with some accuracy, as "The World's Youngest Wild Animal Trainer." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In the second of producer Harry Sherman's Hopalong Cassidy Westerns, Deputy Sheriff Cassidy (William Boyd) promises El Toro (William Farnum), a retired Mexican outlaw, that he will search for the old man's grandson, missing after a gang of outlaws robbed and murdered the child's parents. With the help of young sidekick Johnny Nelson (James Ellison) and saloon girl Dolores (Joan Woodbury), Hoppy goes undercover as an outlaw in order to infiltrate the gang, which is headed by crooked saloon owner Big Henry (Addison Richards). Dolores is murdered for her efforts, and when Cassidy is forced to kill one of the gang members (Frank Shannon), Big Henry suspects foul play. Johnny, who has found little Pablo (George Mari) wandering in the woods, is wounded by yet another of Big Henry's henchmen (Paul Fix). The latter reports back to his boss, who fears that the child may implicate him in the murders of his parents and quickly plans a trap for Hoppy. There is the inevitable climactic shootout, during which Old Spike (George "Gabby" Hayes), a bartender in Henry's saloon, prudently switches sides and is mortally wounded as a result. Only Big Henry himself escapes the melee, but the villain is hunted down and killed by Hoppy. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

"She" is secretary Claudette Colbert and "Her Boss" is Melvyn Douglas. Once married, Colbert discovers that Douglas expects her to work as usual. She must also contend with his wealthy, snooty family, whose most hateful member is his spoiled brat of a daughter (Edith Fellows) by a previous marriage. Rebelling against her repressive existence, Colbert eventually puts her in-laws in their place and arouses the ardor of the "strictly business" Douglas. While consistently amusing throughout, the highlight of She Married Her Boss is a first-reel bit of pantomimic whimsy involving Claudette Colbert and a roomful of department store mannequins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide