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
Directed by serial specialist Spencer Gordon Bennet, They Raid by Night is a PRC "special" dealing with the activities of the commandos in WWII. Lyle Talbot plays Capt. Robert Owen, the head of a three-man commando squad who parachute into Norway to rescue an Allied general (Paul Baratoff) from a Nazi concentration camp. One of the men is Norwegian-born Von Ritter (Victor Varconi), who is reunited with his former sweetheart Inga (June Duprez). Unbeknownst to our heroes, Inga has turned "Quisling," and tips off the local Nazi commandant as to the commandos' whereabouts. Later on, Von Ritter is captured by the Gestapo and tortured into revealing the plans of his compatriots. Eventually, Owen is able to complete his mission, thanks in no small part to a local Fifth Columnist who decides to switch allegiances at the very last moment. Most of They Raid by Night is enacted in front of a grainy back-projection screen, rendering the story line even more unbelievable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, June Duprez, (more)
- 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)
- 1942
This raucous series entry reunites Lupe Velez as Carmelita (aka "The Mexican Spitfire") and Leon Errol as Uncle Matt, with Walter Reed taking over from Charles "Buddy" Rogers as Carmelita's staid American husband Dennis Lindsay. The titular elephant is a tiny glass figurine, brought back from a trip abroad by Uncle Matt. On board a luxury liner heading to New York, jewel smugglers Ready (Lyle Talbot) and Diana (Marion Martin) hide a valuable gem in the miniature elephant, for the purpose of avoiding the customs inspectors. Upon arriving home, Uncle Matt misplaces the pint-sized pachyderm, causing no end of headaches for Carmelita and Dennis. The ensuing confusion requires Carmelita to march a live, regulation-sized elephant into a nightclub, and obliges Uncle Matt to once again disguise himself as his British lookalike Lord Epping. One could never confuse the "Mexican Spitfire" series with True Art, but the films were admittedly a lot of harmless fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lupe Velez, Walter Reed, (more)
- 1942
She's in the Army is a fascinating vehicle for character actress Lucille Gleason (aka Mrs. James Gleason), heretofore usually confined to supporting roles. Gleason is cast as Hannah, a crusty, all-knowing sergeant in the Women's Ambulance and Defense Corps. Brassy nightclub singer Diane (Veda Ann Borg) would rather romance Army captain Steve (Lyle Talbot) than follow Hannah's orders, but eventually she realizes that her first duty is to her country. Likewise, dizzy Marie Wilson "smarts up" enough to prove her value to the Corps. She's in the Army was written by Sidney Sheldon, two decades removed from his success as a best-selling novelist and I Dream of Jeannie mentor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Gleason, Veda Ann Borg, (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
- 1940
This slick marital farce features Joel McCrea as T. H. Randall, a race horse owner whose devotion to his work causes a strain in his relationship with wife Valerie (Nancy Kelly). Unable to stand any more neglect, Valerie divorces Randall, even though the audience is well aware that she's still in love with him. Reduced to poverty by his huge alimony payments, Randall cooks up a scheme with lawyer Bill Carter (Roland Young) to marry off Valerie to staid Paul Hunter (Lyle Talbot). But during a weekend party at the home of dowager Ethel (Mary Boland), Randall resents the attentions lavished upon Valerie by rakish young Freddie (Cesar Romero). It doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out who winds up with whom in the last scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel McCrea, Nancy Kelly, (more)
- 1940
Parole Fixer is another entry in Paramount's unofficial "J. Edgar Hoover" series, purportedly based on an actual case in the files of the FBI. The plot revolves around the activities of crooked attorney Paul McGrath, who secures paroles for big-time criminals by pulling a number of political strings. Feeling particularly expansive, McGrath masterminds the kidnapping of socialite Virginia Dale, using ex-con chauffeur Robert Paige as an "inside man". When another of McGrath's stooges, Anthony Quinn, bumps off FBI agent Jack Carson (established as a happy family man in the early scenes, thereby signing his own death warrant!), Carson's partner William Henry vows to bring the whole rotten bunch of crooks to justice. Directed with split-second timing by Robert Florey, Parole Fixer is a masterpiece of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Henry, Virginia Dale, (more)
- 1939
In this crime drama, the owner and chief editor of a newspaper gets together with two college pals and begins looking into the strange death of an old hermit who lived on the fringe of town. The official cause of death is alcoholism, but the editor thinks otherwise. Sure enough, the man's daughter admits she killed him. But they soon find that she is lying. With a little more leg-work, the three find the real culprits and bring them to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Lundigan, Joy Hodges, (more)
- 1939
Sonja Henie, the Norwegian skating star, reportedly played second fiddle to no one at Fox in the late '30s, and this backstage musical extravaganza is all Henie. Taking a leaf from producer David O. Selznick, Consolidated Pictures send public relation expert Tyrone Power in search of an unknown to star in the studio's upcoming production of Girl of the North. Power returns to Hollywood with Minnesota schoolmarm (and figure skating expert) Trudy Hovland in tow, and then manufactures a romance between the girl and stolid leading man Roger Maxwell (Rudy Vallee). The ensuing complications are quickly solved and the new star is able to perform a flashy finale to Irving Berlin's "The Song of the Metronome." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Rudy Vallee, (more)
- 1939
In this actioner, a U.S. border patrol agent stationed in Tijuana loses his job and gets into deep trouble after a friend is shot while the agent was doing an investigation. When the agent discovers that it was he, not his friend, who was targeted for the hit, he decides to get revenge upon the gang that did it. As he investigates, he is nearly blown up in a booby-trapped truck. He eventually succeeds and the gang gets its just desserts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, June Lang, (more)
Torture Ship is a strange amalgam of crime thriller and horror chiller that can't quite make up its mind what it wants to be. Irving Pichel plays Dr. Herbert Stander, a well-meaning physician who becomes a little too much the single-minded visionary. Convinced that criminality is a result of a glandular condition, he assembles an array of escaped convicts -- from small-time grifters to murderers and psychopaths who have nothing to lose (or so they think) -- and takes them out to sea. The doctor begins performing nasty operations and other (usually lethal) experiments on them. The ship's captain (Lyle Talbot) allows this to go on, believing in the doctor's better nature. The criminals know what's going on, but between the doctor's own strong-arm men and the unwillingness of the crew to intervene, they're not able to protect themselves. It's only when Talbot's character gets a first-hand glimpse of the doctor's work that he raises a hand against him, ordering the crew, working in tandem with the wanted men and women, to take control of the ship from the doctor, who is destroyed by his own intended victims. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, Irving Pichel, (more)
- 1938
This drama chronicles the different paths taken by former partners in law. One of them, an avaricious attorney who will stop at nothing to find success, becomes a lawyer for the mob. His dreams are soon realized, but their achievement cost him his marriage, family and partner. Meanwhile his ex-associate becomes assistant DA. The two lawyers must then go head-to-head in court. Despite his best efforts, the honest lawyer cannot win a case against his former partner until the dishonest lawyer comes clean and provides him with the much needed incriminating evidence to destroy the gangsters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Cummings, Helen Mack, (more)
- 1938
En route to America, Irish immigrant Arleen Whelan is the victim of shipboard masher Raymond Walburn. Pushed away by the girl, Walburn is slightly injured, whereupon he brings up charges against Whelan and holds up her entry visa at Ellis Island. War correspondent Don Ameche comes to the rescue, but Whelan's problems are far from over thanks to her involvement with another immigrant, gangster Gilbert Roland. Gateway represents perhaps the best screen opportunity for 20th Century-Fox starlet Arleen Whelan, who faded from prominence in the 1940s. Other than that, the film is an intriguing glimpse of immigration procedures in the prewar years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Arleen Whelan, (more)
- 1938
In the course of One Wild Night, four prominent businessmen withdraw their savings from the bank and disappear from sight. Student criminologist Jimmy Nolan (Dick Baldwin) suspects foul play, and with the help of girl reporter Jennifer Jewel (June Lang) he intends to prove his thesis. During a 24-hour period, Baldwin and Lang trace every possible clue, running up against an abundance of brick walls. Finally it develops that the whole megillah was a conspiracy cooked up between the four missing man and bank manager Mr. Norman (J. Edward Bromberg). It wouldn't be fair to reveal what kind of conspiracy in this synopsis: best to catch One Wild Night on TV, if indeed it ever shows up again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Lang, Dick Baldwin, (more)
- 1938
In its never-ending efforts to find a "rustic" screen personality to replace the late Will Rogers, Hollywood turned to popular radio humorist Bob Burns. In Paramount's The Arkansas Traveller, Burns plays the nameless title character, who wanders in out of the nowhere to settle down in a dusty Arkansas farming community. It turns out that he's arrived just in time: newspaper editor Martha Allen (Fay Bainter), widow of The Traveller's best friend, is in danger of losing her publication to crooked politico Matt Collins (Lyle Talbot). While helping Martha foil the villain, our hero also stage-manages the romance between Martha's daughter Judy (Jean Parker) and local boy Johnnie Daniels (John Beal). Irvin S. Cobb, no mean humorist himself, provides a bit of homespun philosophy as the town constable. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fay Bainter, John Beal, (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)
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)
- 1937
This cinematic meringue stars Loretta Young as a young woman whose second husband (Lyle Talbot) is a hard working but dull business exec. She pines for hubby Number One (Tyrone Power), an irresponsible playboy. Young runs into Tyrone again during a Florida vacation, spurning him at first because he hasn't mended his old carefree ways. But that old black magic soon has Young under Tyrone's spell, and boring old Lyle Talbot is left holding the bag. The footloose and fancy-free Second Honeymoon is based on a story by Philip Wylie, an otherwise cantankerous critic of social foibles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1937
In this drama, a Boy Scout leader hosts a local gossip show. Trouble ensues when he predicts a politician's murder just before it occurs. He is arrested by the DA, but before getting to jail, he is abducted by irate gangsters--the real killers. Fortunately, his loyal Scout troop rallies to his rescue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Alice Brady, (more)
- 1937
In this crime drama, a cop is ashamed because a fearful moment prevented him from stopping a bank robbery. He feels so bad he turns in his badge. He then joins the bank robbers' gang and brings them to justice. The story was originally titled What Price Vengeance? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, Wendy Barrie, (more)
Returning from a trip, wealthy seaman Cappy Ricks (Walter Brennan) is annoyed to find his home automated, his daughters' romances awry and his business in disarray, so he schemes with Bill (Lyle Talbot) to trap everyone aboard Cappy's yacht. Later, they fake a fire to maroon everyone on an island -- but then they end up really marooned. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Brennan, Mary Brian, (more)
- 1937
In this mystery, a railroad agent is blamed for a terrible train crash. Actually, just before the crash, the agent was trying to keep a gunman from hijacking the train. The agent then runs from the authorities. He ends up sheltered by an impoverished family whom he tries to help while conducting his own investigation into the crash. He soon reveals the culprit's true identity and brings him to justice. He also manages to keep a second train tragedy from occurring. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, Polly Rowles, (more)
- 1937
More ambitious than its budget will permit, Three Legionnaires details the misadventures of comrades-in-arms Chuck (Robert Armstrong), Jimmy (Lyle Talbot) and Grant (Donald Meek). In the days just following the Armistice, American doughboys Chuck and Jimmy separate themselves from the rest of their platoon and stumble into a remote Russian town. Falling in love with White Russian princess Sonia (Anne Nagel), our heroes attempt to rescue her from the Bolsheviks, enlisting the aid of crackpot scientist Grant. Stanley Fields makes a convincing Russian general, while wrestler "Man Mountain" Dean is at least a visually imposing presence as a Soviet peasant who breaks down walls when he can't find the door. On the other hand, there's French-accented Fifi D'Orsay as local Slavic tootsie Olga, who's about as convincing as a set of wooden teeth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Lyle Talbot, (more)
- 1936
Strictly for Al Jolson's most fervent fans, The Singing Kid casts Jolie as neurotic Broadway star Al Jackson. Facing professional ruin when he loses his voice, Al heads to the country to regain his vocal timbre and to get his head back together. While recuperating, he falls in love with farm girl Ruth Haines (Beverly Roberts), the pretty aunt of precocious little Sybil Haines (Sybil Jason). The kid bids fair to steal the picture, but Big Al isn't about to let that happen! Much as it must have pained him, Jolson shares the spotlight with such specialty performers as Wini Shaw, Cab Calloway, the Yacht Club Boys and the knockabout comedy team of Mitchell and Durant. The E.Y. Harburg-Harold Arlen score includes "I Want to Sing a Mammy Song" and "I Love to Singa," which later served as the basis of an amusing Merrie Melodies cartoon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Jolson, Allen Jenkins, (more)
- 1936
Nurse Sarah Keate, the middle-aged crime-solver created by mystery novelist Mignon Eberhardt, was reshaped as a much younger and prettier woman in Murder by an Aristocrat. Marguerite Churchill is the white-clad heroine, here rechristened Sarah Keating, while Lyle Talbot is her doctor boyfriend Allen Carick. The murder of the title takes place in a Old Dark House where Sarah is presently employed. The victim is nasty Bayard Thatcher (William B. Davidson), who supplements his income by blackmailing the various members of his family. Naturally, all of the other Thatchers are suspected of the crime, but the list narrows as they themselves are bumped off one by one. With nary a cop in sight, Sarah takes it upon herself to solve the mystery before she ends up on a morgue slab. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, Marguerite Churchill, (more)
