Lyle Talbot Movies
Born into a family of travelling show folk, Lyle Talbot toured the hinterlands as a teen-aged magician. Talbot went on to work as a regional stock-company actor, pausing long enough in Memphis to form his own troupe, the Talbot Players. Like many other barnstorming performers of the 1920s, Talbot headed to Hollywood during the early-talkie era. Blessed with slick, lounge-lizard good looks, he started out as a utility lead at Warner Bros. Talbot worked steadily throughout the 1930s, playing heroes in B pictures and supporting parts in A pictures. During a loanout to Monogram Pictures in 1932, he was afforded an opportunity to co-star with Ginger Rogers in a brace of entertaining mysteries, The 13th Guest and The Shriek and the Night, which were still making the double-feature rounds into the 1940s. In 1935, Talbot and 23 other film players organized the Screen Actors Guild; to the end of his days, he could be counted upon to proudly display his SAG Card #4 at the drop of a hat. As his hairline receded and his girth widened, Talbot became one of Hollywood's busiest villains. He worked extensively in serials, playing characters on both sides of the law; in 1949 alone, he could be seen as above-suspicion Commissioner Gordon in Batman and Robin and as duplicitous Lex Luthor in Atom Man Vs. Superman. He remained in harness in the 1950s, appearing on Broadway and television. Two of his better-known assignments from this period were Joe Randolph on TV's The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and as Bob Cummings' lascivious Air Force buddy Paul Fonda on Love That Bob. Seemingly willing to work for anyone who met his price, Talbot had no qualms about appearing in the dregs of cheapo horror films of the fifties. He was prominently cast in two of the estimable Edward D. Wood's "classics," Glen or Glenda (1953) and Plan Nine From Outer Space (1955). When asked what it was like to work for the gloriously untalented Wood, Talbot would recall with amusement that the director never failed to pay him up front for each day's work with a handful of stained, crinkly ten-dollar bills. Though he made his last film in 1960, Lyle Talbot continued touring in theatrical productions well into the late 1970s, regaling local talk-show hosts with his bottomless reserve of anecdotes from his three decades in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1933
Sent to Sing Sing prison, influential crook Spencer Tracy is unregenerate and refuses to adhere to the rules. While in solitary confinement, Tracy reconsiders his attitude. Thanks to the correctional facility's compassionate warden (Arthur Byron), Tracy becomes a model prisoner, even refusing to participate in a jailbreak. The warden sets up a special program permitting selected prisoners a degree of freedom and even suggests allowing an occasional furlough. When Tracy's girl friend (Bette Davis) is hurt in an auto accident, he is given a 24 hour pass to visit her. It's a test case--if Tracy doesn't return, the warden will be discredited and replaced. While on the "outside," Tracy learns that his old rival (Louis Calhern) was responsible for his girl's injuries. Davis shoots the rival, who in turn fingers Tracy as the one responsible; the convict thus risks execution upon returning to the arms of the law. Based on the book by real-life Sing Sing warden Lewis E. Lawes, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing was remade in 1940 as Castle on the Hudson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, (more)
The quintessential "backstage" musical, 42nd Street traces the history of a Broadway musical comedy, from casting call to opening night. Warner Baxter plays famed director Julian Marsh, who despite failing health is determined to stage one last great production, "Pretty Lady." Others involved include "Pretty Lady" star Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels); Dorothy's "sugar daddy" (Guy Kibbee), who finances the show; her true love Pat (George Brent); leading man Billy Lawlor (Dick Powell); and starry-eyed chorus girl Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler). It practically goes without saying that Dorothy twists her ankle the night before the premiere, forcing Julian Marsh is to put chorine Peggy into the lead: "You're going out there a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" Delightfully corny, with hilarious wisecracking support from the likes of Ginger Rogers, Una Merkel, and George E. Stone, 42nd Street is perhaps the most famous of Warners' early-1930s Busby Berkeley musicals. Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes (which was a lot steamier than the movie censors would allow), 42nd Street is highlighted by such grandiose musical setpieces as "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," "Young and Healthy," and of course the title song. Nearly fifty years after its premiere, it was successfully revived as a Broadway musical with Tammy Grimes and Jerry Orbach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, (more)
- 1934
This is the second movie version of Willa Cather's Pulitzer Prize winning novel that tells the story of a bride-to-be whose fiance is near-fatally injured by the jealous husband of a woman he had an affair with. The poor young woman is so upset by the situation that she swears she will never love another and takes off to live in an isolated mountain retreat. There she feels terribly sorry for herself. One day she is moping along a rough trail, falls and hurts herself. Fortunately, she is rescued by an elderly lawyer who helps her heal both physically and psychologically. The grateful girl ends up marrying him. Unfortunately she meets a handsome young man with whom she falls passionately, but chastely in love. Now she regrets marrying the old attorney. She decides to tell the lawyer her true feelings. When she is finished he promptly keels over with a heart attack. It might be noted that after Cather saw this film, she forbade the further sale of her works to Hollywood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Morgan, (more)
- 1940
In this touching holiday drama, a sad carnival dancer happens upon an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. She takes the infant in, but when her cruel estranged husband suddenly appears, trouble follows. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1942
Glenda Farrell reprises her fast-talking girl reporter persona in PRC's Night for Crime. Ms. Farrell is cast as Susan, a big-city sob sister who investigates the murder of movie extra Ellen Smith (Marjorie Manners). Adding to the confusion, movie star Mona (Lina Basquette) disappears in the middle of an important production. As clues and suspects pile up, Susan and detective Joe (Lyle Talbot) try to solve the mystery without ending up as murder victims themselves. A Night for Crime was based on a story by Hollywood columnist Jimmy Starr, who appears on-screen with his journalistic colleagues Erskine Johnson, Edwin Schallert (father of actor William Schallert) and Harry Crocker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenda Farrell, Lyle Talbot, (more)
The second of two low-budget murder melodramas starring Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot, A Shriek in the Night is not quite as good as the first (The Thirteenth Guest), but it far outclasses most other poverty-row thrillers of its period. The titular nocturnal shriek is heard just before a wealthy philanthropist falls from his penthouse balcony to his death. Virtually everybody in the apartment building comes under suspicion when it is determined that this "accidental" death was no accident. Rival reporters Pat Morgan (Rogers) and Ted Rand (Talbot) spend most of the picture snooping around where they don't belong, the better to outscoop one another. Meanwhile, the already baffled police become more flummoxed when three additional murders occur -- each preceded by a cryptic letter sent to the victim, stating "You Will Get It!" The method of execution turns out to be asphyxiation, but how is this being done? And better yet, why is this being done, and by whom? The solution was unfortunately tipped off in the film's lobby posters, which showed the unconscious heroine being carried off by the actor who turns out to be the killer. Even so, A Shriek in the Night remains an entertaining whodunit, with a pre-Fred Astaire Ginger Rogers doing a great job exhibiting stark, screaming terror. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, (more)
- 1951
Whip Wilson rides again in the Monogram western Abilene Trail. Wilson and his grizzled sidekick Andy Clyde are accused of horse stealing, a hangin' offense around these here parts. Eluding the authorities, the boys take jobs at a ranch where the real crook is hiding out. Between whip-cracking sessions, Wilson finds time to romance the ranch owner's pretty daughter Noel Neill ("Lois Lane" on the 1950s TVer Superman). Director Lewis D. Collins keeps things moving fast enough to make up for any plot or budgetary shortcomings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whip Wilson, Andy Clyde, (more)
- 1973
Hoping to solve a series of burglaries, Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) set their sights on Reno West (Jed Allan), an ex-convict whom they'd confronted in the previous episode "Hot Shot". Elsewhere, the cops search high and low for a nasty marauding dog. And yet another squabbling married couple causes headaches for Jim and Pete. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Number Seven in Monogram's Bomba the Jungle Boy series was African Treasure. This time Bomba (Johnny Sheffield) agrees to help geologist Arthur Space and his team locate a hidden diamond mine. Unfortunately for our hero, Space and his cohorts Lane Bradford and Lyle Talbot are actually jewel thieves. For a while, it looks like the villains have the upper hand, but a convenient landslide changes things. The heroine is played by voluptuous pin-up girl Laurette Luez, whose acting ability is hardly a consideration here. Stock footage from African Treasure later popped up in Monogram's Bowery Boys entry Jungle Gents, which also co-starred Laurette Luez. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Sheffield, Laurette Luez, (more)
- 1948
Appointment with Murder is the second of three "Falcon" mysteries produced by bargain-basement Film Classics Productions in the late 1940s. Professional magician John Calvert assumes the leading role of private eye Michael Lanyard, aka The Falcon. Working for an insurance company, Lanyard travels from Hollywood to Italy in search of a pair of stolen paintings. This brings him in close contact with pretty art curator Lorraine (Catherine Craig), who may be involved in the thefts, and erudite international criminal Norton (Jack Reitzen). The only complaint one can level against Appointment with Murder is that it's a bit too ambitious for its tiny budget. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Calvert, Catherine Craig, (more)
- 1944
This 1940s drama implies that children do indeed learn what they live as it tells the story of a teenage girl who runs away from her posh boarding school to be with her ne'er-do-well, blue-collar boy friend because she believes her wealthy parents do not care about her. Soon the idle kids are getting into minor trouble that turns major when they find themselves accused of murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Vinson, Lyle Talbot, (more)
- 1950
The second of Columbia's Superman serials, the 15-episode Atom Man Vs. Superman stars Kirk Alyn in the dual role of Clark Kent and the "Man of Steel." This time, Kent/Superman is pitted against bald-pated Lex Luthor (Lyle Talbot), who, disguised as Atom Man, threatens to devastate Metropolis with any number of devilish devices-the deadliest of which is a disintegration machine. Luthor tumbles onto Superman's Achilles' heel: Kryptonite. Once our hero has been exposed to this fatal ore, Metropolis becomes a wide-open town for criminals of all varieties. But Superman regains his full powers in time to stop Luthor from laying waste to Metropolis with his latest demon machine, a sonic vibrator. Also appearing in Atom Man vs. Superman are Noel Neill as Lois Lane, Tommy Bond (the onetime "Butch" of The Little Rascals) as Jimmy Olson, and Pierre Watkin as Perry White. The serial is energetic enough, but the flying scenes (crudely conveyed via animation) are rather laughable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Alyn
- 1949
Following up on the popular 1943 film serial The Batman, this 15-part serial is about a nefarious masked figure called the Wizard, who swipes a diamond-powered remote control device that renders all of Gotham City's machines immobile. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lowery
- 1932
Based on the play New York Town by Ward Morehouse, Mervyn LeRoy directs the black-and-white 1932 comedy drama Big City Blues. A small-town innocent from Indiana, Bud Reeves (Eric Linden) inherits money and goes to New York to get in all sorts of trouble. He meets up with his cousin Gibby (Walter Catlett), who introduces him to chorus girl Vida Fleet (Joan Blondell). Bud and Gibby then throw a drunken hotel party with bootleg liquor that gets out of hand and a young woman (Josephine Dunn) is hit on the head and accidentally killed. Bud and Vida go gambling and drinking to escape the cops, but they are caught and arrested with everyone else from the party. Eventually, the police find the real killer and release everyone. Bud leaves for Indiana, but plans to go back, get his dog, and marry Vida. Humphrey Bogart appears in a brief uncredited role as Shep Adkins, a guy who gets into a fight with Lyle Talbot during the party. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Blondell, Eric Linden, (more)
- 1950
Big Timber was another in a series of medium-budget dramas co-produced by actor Roddy McDowall for Monogram. McDowall himself stars as Jimmy, a novice tree surgeon who takes a manual-labor job at a logging camp. Jimmy develops into a fairly competent logger, but his efforts are sabotaged by a jealous rival. Just when all seems lost, Jimmy redeems himself during a rousing climax, wherein the lumber camp is endangered by a "log avalanche". This time, Roddy McDowall has two leading ladies, Miss Jeff Donnell and Lyn Thomas. More than one reviewer has cited the resemblance between Timber and the earlier self-produced McDowall vehicle Tuna Clipper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roddy McDowall, Jeff Donnell, (more)
- 1951
Bill Williams and Jane Nigh, the stars of Monogram's Blue Grass of Kentucky, are reunited in the strikingly similar Blue Blood. Based on Peter B. Kyne's story Dog Meat, the film traces the efforts made to rescue a thoroughbred from being ground into hamburger by a dog-food factory. Harry Shannon carries the film's dramatic weight as an elderly trainer who prizes his horses above all else. It is giving away nothing to reveal that the film's climax occurs during the obligatory Big Race. The Cinecolor process is put to excellent use during this sequence, with the color red figuring crucially in the race's outcome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Williams, Jane Nigh, (more)
- 1961
Julie Adams guest-stars as Helen, the widow of Ben Cartwright's old friend Josh Layton. As beautiful as she is charming, Helen has a fatal flaw: She is a chronic gambler, one who tends to drag her lovers down into her own bottomless pit of debt and despair. Now Helen has caught the eye of Hoss-much to Ben's dismay. Marshall Reed and Lyle Talbot also appear in this episode, which was written by Richard N. Morgan. "The Courtship" first aired on January 7, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, (more)
- 1950
Don Barry stars as Texas Ranger Bob Standish, sworn to avenge his brother's death in Border Rangers. To achieve his goal, Standish goes undercover, joining the bandit gang. In this guise, he hopes to trap outlaw Mugo (Robert Lowery), his brother's murderer, unawares. Most Lippert Studio productions include Sid Melton as comedy relief. But Melton must have been out of town, since the comic sequences in Border Rangers are handled by veteran vaudevillian Wally Vernon. As an added fillip, child actor Paul Jordan provides a few heart-tugging moments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lowery, Wally Vernon, (more)
- 1936
In this romantic crime drama a young Detroit criminal flees into the West after killing his boss. It was accidental, but he fears retaliation. He finds work in Colorado building the great dam, proves to be a hard-working honest young man and is promoted to foreman. When not working, he woos a beautiful singer. Eventually he can no longer hide from his past. Fortunately, his good work has won him friends in high places. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ross Alexander, Patricia Ellis, (more)
- 1935
An aspiring singer learns the bitter price of stardom in this musical drama. She starts out a small-town girl and soon becomes a big star. Unfortunately, she still cannot find true love and so must lead a successful but lonely life. Songs include: "He Was Her Man", "Let It Be Me", "Weary", and ""Who But You"". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Genevieve Tobin, Lyle Talbot, (more)
In this saccharine Klondike adventure, a brave female reporter who has a rapport with wild animals heads north to cover a story. Included in her animal entourage are a pair of bear cubs, a talking rook, and a homeless collie. After she gets lost, a handsome guide shows up to lead her out of the wilderness. It is an arduous journey fraught with many natural dangers, and the travelers nearly die from hunger until another man shows up to save them. When he begins pursuing the reporter, the guide gets jealous and a terrible fight erupts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Beverly Roberts, (more)
- 1956
Calling Homicide was another of Bill Elliot's "working-man detective" efforts of the 1950s. This time, Elliot plays LA sheriff's department operative Lieutant Doyle. While searching for a cop killer, Doyle discerns a connection between the first murder and the strangling of a pretty model. The villain's modus operandi involves dynamite and nitroglycerine, leading to quite a few hairy suspense sequences. One of the victims is played by Jeanne Cooper, future TV soap opera doyenne and the mother of actor Corbin Bernsen. Calling Homicide benefits from the brisk direction of Edward Bernds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Haggerty, Kathleen Case, (more)
- 1954
Anthony Dexter, who had essayed the title role in the 1951 biopic Valentino, plays a beardless Captain Kidd. Eva Gabor, who would later costar with Arnold the Pig on TV's Green Acres, is the slave girl. Gabor has been dispatched by the villains to seduce Kidd and determine the whereabouts of the pirate's legendary buried treasure. She falls in love with him instead, standing by his side as he fights his way through reels and reels of stock footage from old Hollywood swashbucklers. Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl was produced by Edward Small--and is "small" in every sense of the word. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This comedy stars Ronald Colman as Beauregard Bottomley, a self-styled genius in need of a job. He applies for a position with a large soap company, but Burnbridge Walters (Vincent Price), the firm's willfully eccentric president, falls into a "trance" while interviewing Beauregard and decides not to give him the job. When Beauregard overhears his sister Gwenn (Barbara Britton) listening to a game show sponsored by Walters' soap company, he discovers the perfect means to get revenge -- each time a contestant answers a question correctly, they double their prize money. Beauregard gets a spot on the show and starts winning -- and doesn't stop. Before long, the company owes him $40 million and Beauregard hasn't even broken a sweat. Beauregard is poised to bankrupt Walters and destroy his company, so the soap tycoon persuades Flame O'Neal (Celeste Holm) to pose as a nurse who will (a) find out if there's anything Beauregard doesn't know, and (b) distract him romantically. While a critical success and something of a cult item, Champagne for Caesar was a box office disappointment on its initial release; Ronald Colman appeared in only two more films before his death eight years later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, (more)
- 1938
Gloria Stuart plays Carol Murdock, a champion golfer whose businessman husband Anthony (Michael Whalen) cares nothing for the game. Only when Carol teams up with handsome golf pro Philip Reeves (Lyle Talbot) does Anthony experience the "change of heart" of the title. As Carol and Philip win tournament after tournament, Anthony, partly out of jealous and partly out of self-preservation, takes to the golf links himself. Soon he's as adept at the game as Carol, who has her own change of heart and returns to her husband. A typical 20th Century-Fox programmer, Change of Heart has the advantages of slickness and professionalism, not to mention the amusing performance of 12-year-old Delmar Watson as a wise-cracking caddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, (more)
