Sheila Terry Movies

Jack LaRue goes through his usual unsavory paces in the not-bad cheapie I Demand Payment. The film is one of several late-1930s exposes of the loan-shark racket, with LaRue playing head shark Smiles Badollo (five points for that name alone!) Among the victims of Badollo's usury are heroine Judith Avery (Betty Burgess) and doctor Craig Mitchell (Lloyd Hughes). When Judith's sister Rita (Sheila Terry) is murdered by the villains, it's the beginning of the end for Badollo and company. Cast as Jack LaRue's cowardly second-in-command is Matty Kemp, who later ruffled more than a few Hollywood feathers as Mary Pickford's no-nonsense business manager. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this bargain-basement actioner, a determined young woman tries to prove that her incarcerated brother is innocent. She must hurry, for he has a fatal date with the electric chair. Desperate, she enlists the aide of a shady character and a kindly district attorney. Most of the action scenes were cut from minor serials. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Richard Dix is as stalwart and oaklike as ever in Special Investigator. Here he plays courtroom-movie cliche #22B: The wealthy attorney who keeps mobsters out of prison. When Dix's brother, a G-Man, is killed by one of his ex-clients, the attorney switches sides and joins the Department of Justice. Dix uses his inside knowledge on the criminal element to avenge his brother's death. Special Investigator was adapted from a novel by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a woman lives with her recently impoverished family who would do anything to regain their former wealth and status. They use the young woman, and every time any likely person comes to call, they try to foist her upon them. One of these visitors is the son of a conniving lawyer who wants the rest of their fortune for himself. The attorney's other son is a bug collector. The family is so busy with their farfetched money grubbing schemes that they pay no attention to the level-headed young woman's attempts to get by. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Earl Dwire supplies a deliciously ripe performance as a half-breed outlaw in this early John Wayne Western from Monogram. After killing John's father, Zanti (Dwire) attempts to abduct pretty Ruby (Sheila Terry), but the girl is saved in the nick of time by John. Unfortunately, the bumbling sheriff (Jack Rockwell) not only mistakes John for one of Zanti's outlaws, but also accuses him of killing Ruby's grandfather, Dusty (George Hayes). The latter, however, is still very much alive and John tracks Zanti into the desert where the outlaw perishes after drinking poisoned water. With the boss villain dead, John goes after the entire gang who is eventually trapped in Dusty's mine. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Based on a story by Zona Gale, When Strangers Meet concentrates on a small, interrelated community separated down the middle by a narrow path. The bungalow-dwelling residents on one side of the path consider their neighbors to be "beneath" them, and vice versa. Tensions come to a boil when a double murder is committed, with accusations flying back and forth. The solution to the crime comes about when a much-abused housewife (Sarah Padden) finally rebels against her tyrannical husband (played by the ever-hissable Charles Middleton). A good cast, headed by Richard Cromwell and Arline Judge, helps lift this independently-produced drama well above the "B"-picture norm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Wayne attempts to locate Shirley Jean Rickert's wayward father in this low-budget Western from his days with Monogram. The little girl, a "half-breed," is the heir to a 50,000-dollar Indian oil claim, but she needs the signature of her long-lost father in order to collect. Chris Morrell, Nina's foster father, manages to get the tyke out of town before Sam Black (Yakima Canutt) and his gang can get their grubby hands on her and her inheritance, but other villains learn of the girl's potential windfall, including express office robbers Vic Byrd (Jack Rockwell) and Jim Moore (Jay Wilsey). When Vic finally gets hold of the child, he is shot and killed by one of his own hands, Tom (Earl Dwire), who is revealed to be Nina's real father. With Tom's help, Chris manages to trick the Black gang and is able to storm their hideout. In the ensuing melee, Tom is fatally shot but Byrd manages to escape with Nina. Chris goes after them and there is a final confrontation in a raging river. 'Neath the Arizona Skies was based on Gun Glory, a short story by B.R. Tuttle, which had been filmed in 1933 by maverick producer Victor Adamson as Circle Canyon. This earlier version starred Buddy Roosevelt as Chris and Clarise Woods as the little heiress. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This melodrama chronicles three decades in the life of the New York located title house beginning at the turn of the century when a chorine falls in love with a wealthy young man. He loves her too and this inspires the lass to leave her sugar daddy, marry and move into the beautiful home that is located very close to Park Avenue. The pair are deliciously happy and even more so when a daughter is born. Unfortunately, unhappiness comes in the form of the jilted lover who returns and threatens to kill himself unless the former dancer comes back to him. Concerned, she visits his apartment to dissuade him from suicide. A struggle ensues with his gun and he dies leaving her to spend twenty years in jail for the alleged crime. Fortunately, her husband's belief in her innocence and his devotion never wavers. Unfortunately, he ends up killed on the front lines during WW I. It is 1925 when the hapless heroine is finally released from prison. She finds herself confused by the many dramatic changes that have turned refined New York into the wild Big Apple of the 1920s. She is also upset that her late husband's family refuses to let her see her grown daughter. They pay her a large sum to stay a stranger. On a subsequent ocean cruise she joins forces with a card sharp and becomes a wealthy con artist. They decide to work in a speakeasy on 56th Street. Surprise, it turns out to be her old home and in it is still the beautiful Florentine medallion that once symbolized the undying love between the woman and her husband. Still she opens the house for its disreputable business. One night her daughter, a compulsive gambler, who of course, doesn't recognize her own mother, shows up and loses a lot of money. She and the card sharp get in a terrible row and the young girl shoots him. Her mother then tries to take the rap but the speakeasy owner doesn't buy it and tells her he'll cover for her on the provision that she remain in the house forever. She accepts the dubious proposition and the story ends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Joe E. Brown is a sailor who hopes to match the accomplishments of his seaman father. Unfortunately, Joe is perhaps the clumsiest gob ever to sail the seven seas. Nor can he steer clear of trouble: Through a series of wholly unbelievable circumstances, Joe finds himself alone on deck of a ship that's about to be shelled for target practice. He redeems himself for this and all past misdeeds when he inadvertently breaks up an espionage ring. Son of a Sailor is typical Joe E. Brown fare, but it's the sort of surefire material the public craved; indeed, at least one theatre manager insisted that Warner Bros. (Brown's home studio) send him more of the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

This drama is set aboard a cross-country train bound for New York. Aboard this train is a silk manufacturer from Seattle who is going to the Big Apple to deliver a valuable shipment. Unfortunately, an avaricious rival is also on board. Fortunately, a railroad detective is also aboard the train as are a sickly professor and his daughter. The foursome join forces and stop the rival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Grounded daredevil pilot Douglas Fairbanks Jr. secures a job protecting shady Leo Carrillo from his many enemies. Carrillo takes a liking to the young man and promotes him to a flying job--smuggling narcotics into the United States. Fairbanks eventually redeems himself with the help of good girl Bette Davis. Frank McHugh is also around to do his "best buddy" specialty, as Fairbanks' pilot chum. Parachute Jumper was one of Bette Davis' least favorite pictures, a dislike which is all too evident in her substandard performance. In 1962, clips from Parachute Jumper were used in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, which costarred Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, to illustrate that the character Davis was playing was a lousy actress! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This adaptation of the Puccini opera jettisons all the music and retains only David Belasco's timeworn libretto. American actress Sylvia Sidney plays Japanese maiden Cio-Cio San, while Cary Grant is the dashing American navy lieutenant Pinkerton. The girl and the officer have a brief affair, resulting in a child. Cio-Cio San blissfully awaits the return of Pinkerton, who arrives back in Japan with his American wife in tow. The heartbroken Japanese girl bids farewell to her callous lover, then commits hara-kiri. The absence of Puccini's brilliant music makes the plot contrivances of Madame Butterfly seem creakier than ever, though Sylvia Sidney--in real life a New York Jewish girl-- is moderately convincing as the Oriental heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide