Akim Tamiroff Movies

In this lively programmer a con man hires a character actor to masqueraded as the recently assassinated dictator of a tiny Latin American country so he can bilk an arriving American ambassador out of his fortune. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Originally designed for exhibition at the 1939 World's Fair, Land of Liberty is a 137-minute compendium of filmclips from past American historical epics. The project was sponsored by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc. and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille, who also edited the film with the assistance of his crack Paramount production staff. The narration was written by old DeMille hands Jeannie MacPherson and Jesse Lasky Jr. and spoken by a talented team of uncredited announcers (one of whom sounded suspiciously like old C. B. himself). Clips from such Hollywood productions as America (1924), Abraham Lincoln (1930), Alexander Hamilton (1931), Show Boat (1936), Man of Conquest (1939) and DeMille's own The Plainsman (1936), The Buccaneer (1938) and Union Pacific (1939) are woven together into a chronological continuity, tracing American history from the Revolutionary War to the "present," which is largely represented by newsreel footage of President Roosevelt, the TVA project, and other current personalities and events. In later years, Land of Liberty was redistributed on the classroom circuit, with new footage added from historical dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

My Love for Yours is the alternate title for Paramount's Honeymoon in Bali. Madeline Carroll pulls a "Rosalind Russell" as a hard-shelled businesswoman with no time for romance. Fred MacMurray is determined to melt down her resistance, hoping to do so during a vacation to Nassau. Carroll almost capitulates, but backs off when she mistakenly believes that MacMurray loves someone else. Contrary to the film's "other" title, the situation is resolved not in Bali but in cold old New York. Allan Jones, stuck with a standard-issue "other man" role, is at least given a few opportunities to sing. Scandanavian actress Osa Massen makes her American debut in the comparatively thankless role of the gal who doesn't land MacMurray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A macho Cossack immigrant to the U.S. goes West and joins a ring of rustlers. Later his son follows him to states and he too begins stealing cows. Not knowing his father very well, the youth is anxious to prove himself a manly man and a friendly rivalry develops until the father is captured and imprisoned. Meanwhile, his son joins the cavalry and secretly engineers a break out. He succeeds and then feels terrible guilt, for it is his unit that has been assigned to bring his father to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cecil B. DeMille's The Buccaneer stars Fredric March, complete with curly hair, pencil moustache and florid "Sacre Bleu!" French accent, as 18th century pirate Jean Lafitte. Operating out of a "buccaneer's haven" of the coast of New Orleans, Lafitte plunders all passing ships for their wealth, but refuses to attack any vessel flying the American flag. During one seafaring skirmish, he rescues Dutch maiden Gretchen (Franziska Gaal) from a sunken ship. Gretchen falls madly in love with the dashing Lafitte, but he has eyes only for aristocratic Louisana belle Annette (Margot Grahame). During the War of 1812, Lafitte is offered a pardon by Andrew Jackson (Hugh Sothern) if he and his pirates will fight on the American side. As good as his word, Lafitte stands shoulder to shoulder with Jackson as they ward off the British at the Battle of New Orleans. During a Victory Ball in his honor, Lafitte is confronted with evidence that he unknowingly caused the death of Annette's younger sister Marie (Louise Campbell) during a previous act of piracy. The assembled guests are all for hanging Lafitte on the spot, but General Jackson offers the pirate an hour's head start out of New Orleans, provided he never set foot on American soil again. This naturally costs Lafitte the love of Annette; fortunately, Gretchen is awaiting him on board his ship with open arms. From the opening scene in which Dolly Madison (Spring Byington) rescues the Declaration of Independence during the burning of Washington to the closing clinch between Lafitte and Gretchen, The Buccaneer is one of DeMille's most exhilarating films. It was remade less successfully in 1958 under the direction of Cecil B's son-in-law Anthony Quinn, who played the supporting role of Beluche in the original film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Akim Tamiroff, Paramount Pictures' resident crime lord, runs all illegal gambling activities in a major city. Reporter Lloyd Nolan struggles to get the goods on Tamiroff, but runs up against a stone wall until he meets nightclub singer Claire Trevor. Trevor is anxious to avenge the death of her sister (Helen Burgess), who was done in by Tamiroff's minions. Though only a "B" picture, King of Gamblers was given "A" treatment by director Robert Florey. The film was part of an unofficial Paramount series based on the J. Edgar Hoover book Persons in Hiding. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

High, Wide and Handsome almost defies classification: Perhaps it's best referred to as a historical musical western comedy melodrama. Irene Dunne plays an itinerant circus performer who marries oilman Randolph Scott. The couple heads to Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859, where Scott is among the lucky prospectors who strikes oil. With no train service to the refineries, the townsfolk are obliged to build a pipeline, which is accomplished to the accompaniment of several rousing musical numbers by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein. The villainous element is represented by Alan Hale, who does his best to block the project to serve his own evil ends. Dunne's old circus friends come to the rescue with a herd of trained elephants! High Wide and Handsome confused too many filmgoers to make money in 1937; today it's regarded in some circles as a classic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two brothers exchange lifestyles in this drama. The older brother, a gambler, wants to lead a clean, crime-free life while his wiseacre younger brother wants to become a professional gambler. With great hesitation, the older teaches the younger all he knows. The younger brother is a quick study and ends up playing so well that he aces a group of veteran gamblers out of their money. They become convinced that anyone who is that good, must be a cheat. Meanwhile his older brother begins to see that he is too old to change and returns to gambling in time to save his brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a story by Jules Verne and featuring battle footage from a French film version of the tale, this epic action-adventure follows a courageous courier of the Czar Alexander II as he struggles to deliver vital information to Russian troops fighting a losing battle against the invading Tartar hoards in Siberia. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

General Yang (Akim Tamiroff) is a politically ambitious Chinese bandit who holds the Northern districts in a grip of terror. Yang is opposed by O'Hara (Gary Cooper), an American mercenary who fights on behalf of the peasants. When he is entrusted with a large sum of money to buy guns, O'Hara becomes the target of Yang and his minions. Betrayed by a cowardly Caucasian (Porter Hall), O'Hara nonetheless falls in love with his betrayer's daughter Judy (Madeline Carroll). Yang captures both O'Hara and Judy and spirits them away on his junk, where the General intends to torture O'Hara so as to find out where the money is. A bizarre and gloomy ending caps this atmospheric thriller, adapted from Charles G. Booth's best-selling novel by Clifford Odets--who, along with director Lewis Milestone, novelist John O'Hara and Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky, appears as an extra in one scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A gangland murder is the motivating factor of this fast-moving crime drama. George Murphy stars as reporter Kent Shevlin, whose investigation of the murder leads to a tenure as a temporary FBI agent. His subsequent adventures lead him to Mexico, where he makes the acquaintance of Ramirez (Akim Tamiroff), a bold bandido who isn't all that he seems to be. The story ends up with a kidnapping masterminded by smooth mob boss Riley Ferguson (Sidney Blackmer). The woman of the title is Barbara Andrews (Gertrude Michaels), the daughter of a U.S. senator (Samuel S. Hinds) who figures prominently in the various intrigues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this adventure, a young girl is stranded in the jungle with only a tiger cub for company and grows up to be a wild woman. When an explorer gets lost in the same jungle, she rescues him and takes her to her lair. There he teaches her to speak English and to sing a song. Months pass before the fellow is rescued. Upon his return home he must do plenty of explaining to his fiance. Meanwhile the jungle girl stays behind and sings a romantic song: "Moonlight and Shadows". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide