Lilyan Tashman Movies
American stage and screen actress Lilyan Tashman was one of the most enjoyable -- and most tragic -- participants in Hollywood's early-talkie era. In films since 1921, Tashman contributed sleekly sophisticated performances in such silents as Manhandled (1924) and Don't Tell the Wife (1929), but didn't truly come into her own until her first sound film, New York Nights (1929). For the next five years, the blond, statuesque, flashing-eyed Tashman became one of Hollywood's best "bad girls," using up men like tissue paper, employing her wiles in any and every means possible to adorn herself with creature comforts, and letting the audience know that she considered sex as a pleasurable recreation rather than a grim necessity of life. Even when playing the instigator of a killing spree in Murder by the Clock 19(31), Tashman was impossible to dislike. She was at her most effective in a brief series of costarring stints with actress Kay Francis, especially in Girls About Town (1931), wherein she and Francis played the two most craven golddiggers in all of Manhattan. Alas, shortly after completing her last film Riptide (1934), Tashman died at age 33, the victim of a cancerous tumor. It is probable that, had she not passed away, Lilyan Tashman would have had a severe career setback after the establishment of Hollywood Production Code, which effectively eliminated the sort of delightfully debauched vixens whichTashman so deftly portrayed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1936
This low-budget musical drama is based on the famous song and tells the story of Frankie, a cat-house singer (famed singer Helen Morgan), and the naive country boy Johnny who comes to St. Louis to seek his fortune. They fall in love and marry. Unfortunately, the country boy learns fast and soon begins fooling around with the sexy Nellie Bly. It is a tragic mistake, for when Frankie tires of his philandering she opts to stop Johnny with a bullet. Before she can do the deed though, another beats her to it. The fact that this picture was shelved for two years explains the presence of Lilyan Tashman, who died in the interim. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Morgan, Chester Morris, (more)
- 1934
Once-prominent silent-film director Herbert Brenon attempted a talkie comeback with the low-budget Wine, Women and Song. Adapted by Leon D'Usseau from his own stage play, the film stars Lilyan Tashman as aging chorus girl Frankie Arnette, who'll do anything for publicity. Fiercely ambitious, Frankie even promises that if she is given a leading role in an upcoming Broadway musical, prominent producer Morgan Andrews (Lew Cody) will be allowed to enjoy the "attentions" of her own daughter Marilyn (Marjorie Moore). But Marilyn is in love with likeable Ray Joyce (Matty Kemp), and wants no part of her mother's intrigues. A bizarre murder-suicide, with a rare poison as the principal weapon, figures prominently in the climax of this tawdry backstage meller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lilyan Tashman, Lew Cody, (more)
- 1934
A few unique touches aside -- notably the opening costume-party scene, in which the revellers are dressed as insects -- Rip Tide is a standard-issue Norma Shearer soap opera. Shearer plays Mary, a footloose and fancy-free American heiress who weds British nobleman Lord Rexford (Herbert Marshall). Five years later, Rexford embarks upon a business trip to New York, while Mary, urged on by her fun-loving aunt, vacations on the Riviera. Here she is reacquainted with her ex-boyfriend Tommie (Robert Montgomery), whose drunken misbehavior causes scandal to befall them both. Refusing to hear Mary's side of the story, Rexford begins divorce proceedings, but a happy ending finally manifests itself after reels and reels of endless high-toned dialogue. Legendary stage star Mrs. Patrick Campbell makes her Hollywood film debut in Rip Tide as Shearer's all-knowing Aunt Hetty, while Walter Brennan and Bruce Bennett show up in microscopic bit roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1933
The felicitous screen team of Mary Boland and Charles Ruggles once more collaborated with director Norman Z. McLeod for the delightful Mama Loves Papa. Middle-class Wilbur Todd (Ruggles) is content with his lot in life, but his wife Jessie (Boland) is an inveterate social climber. Convinced that clothes make the man, Jessie dresses up her spouse in garish new suits, which elicit shouts of derision rather than murmurs of admiration. Frustrated by his wife's nagging, Wilbur goes off on a toot and becomes innocently involved with village vamp Mrs. McIntosh (Lilyan Tashman). It's all very basic material, but in the hands of its stars, its director, and ace screenwriter Nunnally Johnson, Mama Loves Papa emerges as something truly special. The National Board of Review selected the film as one of the best of its year, quite an honor for what was officially a "B" picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, (more)
- 1933
There can never be Too Much Harmony in a Bing Crosby picture, not even in a bucolic backstage musical like this. Crosby plays Eddie Bronson, a big-time singing star stranded in a one-horse town. Refusing to let any grass grow under his feet, Eddie combs through the local talent, discovering comedians Benny Day (Jack Oakie) and Johnny Dixon (Skeets Gallegher) and aspiring actress Ruth Brown (Judith Allen). He brings his new protegees with him to Broadway, where Ruth becomes a huge success in spite of the machinations of prima donna Lucille Watson (Lilyan Tashman). Featured in the cast as Benny Day's mother is Jack Oakie's real-life mom Evelyn, who's absolutely terrific. A partial remake of 1929's Close Harmony, Too Much Harmony features such hummable Crosby tunes as Thanks, Black Moonlight and the self-parodying Boo Boo Boo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, (more)
- 1932
Margaret Hughes (Claudette Colbert) returns from a trip abroad to discover that her sweetheart, crusading attorney David Rolfe (Melvyn Douglas), has been framed for murder. To save Rolfe from the chair, Margaret poses as a trollop and insinuates herself into the confidence of the criminal underworld. Her efforts to get her hands on the evidence that will free Rolfe are stymied by gang boss Harry Evans (William "Stage" Boyd), but Evans is himself destroyed by his castoff mistress Claire Foster (Lilyan Tashman). The Wiser Sex was inspired by the recent crime-busting activities of New York's Seabury committee, though one assumes that the real-life participants were not as glamorous as Colbert and Douglas. Featured in the cast is a talented young actor named Ross Alexander, who would go on to a tragically brief starring career at Warner Bros. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
- 1932
A remarkably ambitious endeavor from low-budget World Wide Studios, Those We Love was adapted by F. Hugh Herbert from a play by S.K. Lauren and George Abbott. Mary Astor stars as May, the doggedly devoted wife of struggling writer Fred (Kenneth McKenna). When Fred strays from his wedding vows to dally with temptress Valerie (Lilyan Tashman), May insists upon remaining loyal to her husband, if only for the sake of their son Ricky (Tommy Conlon). As it happens, it is young Ricky who confronts his dad with evidence of his indiscretion, forcing Fred to make a clean breast of things and beg May's forgiveness. Critics were warmly responsive to Those We Love and were especially impressed by pinchpenny World Wide's willingness to spend a bit more than usual for the sake of a good picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Kenneth MacKenna, (more)
- 1932
The Russian Revolution provides the backdrop of this costume epic that centers around a young nobleman who, with his maid, escapes from his homeland to Constantinople where the two marry and begin a new life as commoners. But though it seemed a good idea at the time, the aristocrat has trouble adjusting to the daily toil and grimness of his new existence and when he meets an exciting seductress he immediately, abandons his good, peasant wife. With his shady lady, the fellow tries to become a con artist, but it doesn't work. He decides to return to his wife, and gets there just as she is about to be sent back to Russia. Much of the film was shot in real homes in Constantinople. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Nancy Carroll, (more)
- 1931
In this drama, a twice married woman tries one more time with number three. Unfortunately, her wedding is suddenly halted when the woman's irate son kills the groom during the ceremony, and then shoots himself. This causes the woman's daughter who heretofore had been following in her misguided mother's footsteps, to reconsider her own actions and settle down with a nice young fellow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lilyan Tashman, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, (more)
- 1931
In this romance, an aspiring writer encounters a wealthy publisher who gives him an advance on the first two chapters of his book. Meanwhile, his wife helps out by becoming a chorus girl in a nightclub revue. Instead of enjoying the peace and quiet of home life, the poor writer finds himself inundated by unexpected visitors and minor household disasters. Among the visitors is a flirtatious Southern gal who tries to lure him away from his wife. At the same time, the publisher has become enamored of the husband's wife and tries to tempt her with his money. The wife thinks he is simply offering her more advance money on her husband's book. Mayhem ensues when the couple begins suspecting each other of cheating. Following their separation, the man becomes a famous writer. Eventually he realizes that he has only loved his wife all along. The two reconcile and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Erwin, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1931
This offbeat WWI drama concentrates not on Men in War (there are in fact no men in the picture!), but on their women. The story focuses on nine Red Cross nurses, each from a different social background, who converge on No Man's Land to tend to the wounded and dying. Though their wartime experiences strengthen and toughen most of the women, not all of them are suited to their responsibilities: an ongoing battle between two of the nurses over the affections of a handsome soldier ends in a murder by hand grenade! Weighted down by a patchy, uneven script, Mad Parade scores on its individual characterizations; standout performers include Evelyn Brent as a habitual troublemaker, Lilyan Tashman as an alcoholic, Fritzi Ridgeway as the obligatory gossip and Irene Rich as the group leader. Produced independently by M. H. Hoffman's Liberty Pictures, Mad Parade was released by Paramount. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evelyn Brent, Irene Rich, (more)
Yet another variation on the already then-ancient Madame X theme, this early talkie stars Helen Twelvetrees in the title role, a small-town girl marrying a New York City businessman (James Hall). The union produces a daughter, but ends when Millie catches her husband with a mistress (Marie Astaire). Attempting to make a life for herself without turning to gold-digging, like her friends, Angie (Joan Blondell) and Helen (Lilyan Tashman), Millie is once again disappointed by a man when reporter boyfriend Tommy (Robert Ames) is found in another girl's apartment. Years later, a nearly destitute and much hardened Millie discovers that an old admirer, Jimmy Damier (John Halliday), is about to seduce her now 17-year-old daughter, Connie (Anita Louise). Catching the couple almost in the act, Millie shoots and kills Jimmy, but is acquitted when the jury learns the identity of the molested girl. Millie was an independent Charles R. Rogers production sold to RKO when producer Rogers joined that company. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, Lilyan Tashman, (more)
- 1931
An eerie early-talkie mystery, Murder by the Clock spends most of its time in a cemetery. The matriarch (Blanche Frederici) of a wealthy family is haunted by the notion that she'll be buried alive. To avoid this contingency, she has a horn installed in the family mausoleum, to be activated in case she arises from her casket. The lady is murdered, and shortly after her internment the horn blows at regular intervals. Each time the horn is heard, the dead woman is seen wandering the cemetery, and each time one of her relatives winds up dead. These "supernatural" events are actually being orchestrated by a covetous family member (there's a large legacy involved of course), who uses the services of several homicidal confederates. Murder by the Clock was perhaps more frightening in 1931 than it is today, but a TV revival is long overdue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Stage" Boyd, Lilyan Tashman, (more)
- 1931
In this youthful comedy, a child genius has fun getting her cousin into trouble. The bright girl's parents take her and her nephew on a sea cruise to Paris. En route, the girl treats the boy abominably. First she pushes him over the boat, then she stuffs him down an airshaft. Later she sticks his head in a fishbowl. When she is not bedeviling her cousin, she is helping her father get out of trouble with con artists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Errol, Mitzi Green, (more)
- 1931
Samuel Goldwyn attempted to turn British operetta star Evelyn Laye into another Jeanette MacDonald with this cardboard romance that proved a disaster at the operetta-weary box office. Laye plays Lilli, a demure flower girl at a Budapest theater who worships the show's star, the temperamental and highly flirtatious Fritzi Yajos (Lilyan Tashman), despite the admonitions of her friend Otto (Leon Errol). Fritzi, however, commits one indiscretion too many and the local prefect of police (Henry Kolker) orders her to take a six months "vacation" in the country, but the highly combustible chanteuse is loath to leave her many lovers and convinces Lilli to go in her stead. When the attractive girl arrives in the provincial town of Zuppa, she becomes the target of handsome but shallow Count Mirko Tibor (John Boles), who is merely out to make yet another conquest. Needless to say, the count has fallen head over heels in love with the surprisingly decorous "star," and she with him, when the real Fritzi makes her belated appearance. Miss Laye sings Bruno Granichstaedten, Edward Eliscu, and Clifford Grey's lilting "Along the Road of Dreams"; Nacio Herb Brown's "Heavenly Night (When Evening Is Near)" with John Boles; and "Goodnight Serenade." Lilyan Tashman performs Granichstaedten's "I Belong to Everybody." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evelyn Laye, John Boles, (more)
- 1931
Kay Francis and Lilyan Tashman portray what used to be euphemistically labelled "good time girls". They work the convention circuit, providing companionship and other favors for tired business men--who of course lavish the girls with expensive gifts. Francis spoils this little set-up by falling for poor but virtuous Joel McCrea. Meanwhile, Tashman continues plying her trade with wealthy Eugene Pallette, whose wife responds not with jealousy but by trying to imitate Tashman's style! Girls About Town is the sort of ribald film fare that would be chased off the screen a few years later by the more stringent Production Code. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, Joel McCrea, (more)
- 1930
The Cat Creeps is the first of three talkie versions of John Willard's durable stage melodrama The Cat and the Canary (filmed under its original title in 1927). Twenty years after the death of misanthropic millionaire Cyrus West, the old man's heirs are summoned to the spooky ancestral mansion for the reading of two recently discovered sealed envelopes. The first contains West's will; the second envelope is to be opened only if the terms of that will are carried out. Summoned to the West estate for the "grand opening" are West's grandniece Annabelle (Helen Twelvetrees) and several predatory would-be heirs. On the verge of opening the second envelope, the sinister Lawyer Crosby (Lawrence Grant) disappears behind a secret panel -- only to turn up murdered a few moments later. Is Annabelle --the last person to see Crosby alive -- the guilty party? And what's all this about an escaped lunatic wandering through the ghostly mansion? Alas, The Cat Creeps is evidently a lost film; not even the simultaneously-filmed Spanish version is still extant. Fortunately, the original sound discs have been recovered, allowing future generations to at least hear this landmark "old dark house" chiller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, Raymond Hackett, (more)
- 1930
In this drama, a macho ironworker and his equally tough friend decide to leave New Orleans to work as beam-walkers on a New York City skyscraper. This arouses the ire of his Cajun girlfriend who promptly shoots at him as he walks away and then follows him to the Big Apple where she becomes a nightclub performer. Time passes and her ex-lover becomes the head of the ironworker's union. He then finds himself dishonest crooks who are trying to manipulate him into embezzling treasury funds for them by having their most luscious moll seduce him. Fortunately, the ever-jealous Cajun girl and her pistol intervene, and the treasury money is saved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, William Harrigan, (more)
- 1930
Whatever rapport comedian Frank Fay enjoyed with Broadway audiences invariably evaporated when he appeared on film. In The Matrimonial Bed, Fay is his usual overbearing self as Adolphe, a small-town husband who is rendered an amnesiac in a train crash. Five years pass, during which time Adolphe marries Southern belle Sylvaine (Lilyan Tashman). In the meantime, Wife Number One Juliette (Florence Eldridge), believing her husband dead, has also remarried, to Gustave (James Gleason). One afternoon, she walks by a neighborhood barbershop, where Adolphe is now working -- and it isn't hard to guess what happens next. The fact that Frank Fay and director Michael Curtiz were constitutionally incapable of getting along undoubtedly hurt the overall effectiveness of this otherwise passable farce. Matrimonial Bed was remade in 1941 as Kisses for Breakfast, where it was frankly much funnier; on the other hand, the earlier film does contain a surprising amount of "gay" humor which still elicits chuckles when seen today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Fay, Lilyan Tashman, (more)
- 1930
The rise and fall of a popular entertainer provides the basis of this musical drama. Harry Raymond (played by nightclub superstar Harry Richman) begins his career with nothing but his ambition, his talent and the support of friends and loved ones. Eventually he hits the big time and becomes a star. Unfortunately with stardom comes arrogance and selfishness and he disdains his lowly but loyal lover and pals to hang out with the upper crust. His downfall comes from a bottle of tainted homemade gin. Harry nearly dies and ends up permanently blind. Fortunately, at least one of his old crowd is around to help him rebuild his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Richman, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1930
In this faithful adaptation of the popular 1925 Broadway hit musical, a Bible salesman helps three women with their troubles and finds himself in deep when all three show up at his Atlantic City cottage simultaneously. Songs include: "Dance of the Wooden Shoes," "As Long as I'm With You," "King of the Air," "No, No Nanette," "Dancing to Heaven," "Tea for Two," and "I Want to be Happy." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernice Claire, Alexander Gray, (more)
- 1930
In this musical, adapted from the earlier Musical Present Arms, a Marine private falls in love with a socialite and is willing to do anything to win her affections--even if it means stealing his captain's uniform and posing as an officer. When that doesn't work, he tries faking a shipwreck that goes awry and turns into the real shipwreck of the woman's yacht. Eventually the sailor's determination pays off and the girl is his. Songs include: "You Took Advantage of Me", "A Kiss for Cinderella", "All My Life", "Careless Kisses", "Evening Star", "Brightly Nice And So Peculiar", and "Shake It Off and Smile". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, Ken Murray, (more)
- 1929
The Lone Wolf, the gentleman thief created by Louis Joseph Vance, made his talking-picture debut in Columbia's The Lone Wolf's Daughter (the film was essentially silent, save for an opening dialogue sequence). Bert Lytell, who'd essayed the title role so often during the silent era, again appears as Michael Lanyard, alias the Lone Wolf. Promising to reform his ways for the sake of his adopted daughter (Florence Allen), Lanyard is obliged to revert to his old tricks to prevent a jewel robbery. Scotland Yard is convinced that Lanyard has not reformed, but he proves otherwise when he turns the genuine miscreants over to the authorities. Unavailable in recent years for reappraisal, The Lone Wolf's Daughter was remade in 1939 as The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt, easily the best-ever entry in Columbia's long-running Lone Wolf series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bert Lytell, Gertrude Olmstead, (more)
- 1929
Previously filmed in 1923, Avery Hopwood's 1920 comedy The Gold Diggers was resurrected in 1929 as the Technicolor musical Gold Diggers of Broadway. Nancy Welford, Winnie Lightner and Ann Pennington stars as Jerry, Mable and Ann, three chorus girls who try to entice a wealthy backer to put his money in their cash-poor Broadway show. Stuffy Stephen Lee (Conway Tearle) shows up to rescue his brother Wally (William Bakewell) from the heroine's clutches, only to succumb to the girls' charms himself. According to contemporary reviews, the show was stolen by Winnie Lightner as the brassiest of the three gold-diggers, and by crooner Nick Lucas, performing his signature tune Tiptoe Through the Tulips. The other big number from the film, Painting the Clouds with Sunshine, served as the title for the 1951 remake of Gold Diggers of Broadway, which in the interim had been filmed as the more famous Gold Diggers of 1933. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nancy Welford, Conway Tearle, (more)
- 1929
Terrified at the prospect of making her talking-picture debut, silent-screen queen Norma Talmadge spent several months taking diction lessons before shooting commenced on New York Nights. The results were negligible: though she managed to keep her thick Brooklyn accent in check, Talmadge was ultimately defeated by the banalities of the script. Based on the stage play Tin Pan Alley, the film casts Talmadge as Broadway musical star Jill Deverne, the wife of struggling composer Fred Deverne (Gilbert Roland). Her new husband's drinking problem causes our heroine to seek solace in the arms of gangster Joe Prividi (John Wray), but after a bloody gangland shootout (filmed on location at New York's 125th Street Station), Jill is more than happy to return to the now-repentant Fred. After a second talkie attempt, Dubarry: Women of Passion, Norma Talmadge, a millionaire several times over, wisely elected to retire from films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland, (more)
