Lee Tracy Movies

Based very loosely on Nathaniel West's Miss Lonelyhearts, Advice to the Lovelorn is a comedy-drama about a hotshot reporter (Lee Tracy) who is forced to become an advice columnist. Hiding behind a female nom de plume, the cynical Tracy dispenses fatuous advice and becomes quite popular. Ever seeking an extra buck, Tracy agrees to promote a shady line of pharmaceutical products in his column--a move that has tragic consequences when Tracy's mother (Jean Adair) dies thanks to bad medicinal drugs. With the aid of his girlfriend (Sally Blane) and his bucolic "leg man" (Sterling Holloway), a chastened Tracy brings the crooked drug dealers to justice. Beaten to a pulp by the criminals, Tracy nonetheless survives to get married (wrapped in surgical bandages!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With famed journalist Drew Pearson appearing in the film's prologue and epilogue, it was easy in 1945 to confuse Betrayal from the East with Real Life. Lee Tracy is once again cast as a seemingly disreputable type with a heart of gold, in this case an expatriate ex-GI named Eddie. Believing that he'd be willing to sell out his country, a Japanese spy ring approach Eddie and ask him to get his hands on secret American war plans. But Eddie is still a true-blue Son of Uncle Sam; at the behest of Army Intelligence, Eddie agrees to play counterspy, using dictaphones, phony messages and other such devices to pull the wool over the enemy's eyes. The results aren't very pretty for either Eddie or his fellow counterspy Peggy (Nancy Kelly), though the audience can take some comfort in the fact that their sacrifice was for the good of Democracy. Fairly slow going during most of its 82 minutes, Betrayal From the East comes to a startling conclusion as Peggy suffers mightily at the hands of her Japanese captors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blessed Event is one of several early-1930s films inspired by the meteoric rise to fame of gossip columnist Walter Winchell--and like most such films, its title is based on a Winchell tag line. Lee Tracy plays a glib-tongued reporter who is conducting a feud with popular singer Dick Powell (making his film debut). Along the way, Tracy offends a powerful gangster, and in so doing becomes entangled with chorus girl Mary Brian. The film is at its best when parodying commercial radio of the era (notably an inane jingle for "Shapiro Shoes" warbled by Dick Powell). The original Broadway stage version of Blessed Event was written by Manuel Seff and Forrest Wilson--and reportedly inspired by the career of Ruby Keeler, who rose to stardom thanks in part to the patronage of a New York mobster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama is set during the mid Twenties when gangsters were a bit more genteel than their 1930s counterparts. Based on a true story, it profiles the experiences of a young gangster who, after getting caught during a robbery is given a choice: he can either go to prison or join the military and fight. He chooses the military. There he becomes a hero. But when he returns home, he immediately returns to gangster life. Trouble ensues when he falls for an aristocratic woman with a daughter. Their happiness is interrupted by an old enemy who kidnaps the girl. The protagonist successfully saves the girl and kills his enemy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A splashy journalist finds herself embroiled in international intrigue when she hooks up with a sneaky Russian correspondent who curries favor by saving a Secret Police official. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Attorney Lee Tracy gains renown for his flamboyant courtroom tactics, which nearly always result in acquittal for his clients. Though none too honest, Tracy rises to the position of district attorney. Unbeknownst to the public, the D.A. is in the pocket of local gangster interests, who hope that their courtroom connections will allow them to operate unmolested. His conscience awakened by his faithful girlfriend (Margot Grahame), Tracy turns his back on his mobster cronies; his career is ruined, but he is "clean" for the first time in his life. Criminal Court is a remake of the 1932 John Barrymore vehicle State's Attorney; the later film makes several concessions to the now more stringent censors, especially when it comes to detailing the former profession of the D.A.'s lady friend. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fay Wray screams when she first lays eyes on Lionel Atwill in Doctor X, but don't let that fool you. Atwill plays Fay's father this time around, and he may very well not be the diabolical "Moon Murderer" whom the police are seeking. Dr. Xavier (Atwill) maintains a research lab in a remote Long Island estate. The police suspect that one of Xavier's assistants--all "second-chancers" whose previous misdemeanors range from botched experiments to cannibalism!--is the mysterious murderer who strikes only when the moon is full. Newspaper reporter Lee Tracy sneaks into the estate to get a swell scoop, whereupon he falls in love with Fay. In trying to help the authorities, Xavier stages an elaborate trap for the Moon Murderer, with his daughter as the willing bait. The killer (we won't tell you who it is, but you'll figure it out anyway) reveals himself by coating his body with "synthetic flesh", which gives him supernatural powers. Based on a play by Howard C. Comstock and Allen C. Miner, Doctor X was originally filmed in two-color Technicolor; available for years only in black and white, the film was restored to its full tinted state in the 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a PR man saves a struggling radio station from ruin. Songs include: "Slap Polka", "Walk A Little Faster", "Moonlight Fiesta", and "Where The Prairie Meets The Sky". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This first film version of Ferenc Molnar's poignant fantasy Liliom was supposed to have reunited the director Frank Borzage and stars Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor of Fox's 1927 box-office smash Seventh Heaven. But Gaynor was enmeshed in one of her periodic contract disputes with the studio, so she was replaced by Rose Hobart. Set in the suburbs of Budapest, the film centers on the rocky romantic relationship between studdish carnival barker Liliom (Farrell) and his working-girl sweetheart Julie (Hobart). Fired by jealous carnival owner Mme. Muscat (Estelle Taylor), the swaggering Liliom is financially unprepared for Julie's pregnancy. Needing plenty of money fast, he agrees to participate in a robbery masterminded by "The Buzzard" (Lee Tracy), a two-bit thief. The hold-up goes horribly awry, whereupon Liliom, rather than face arrest, commits suicide. His soul is whisked by a modernistic celestial train to the outer gates of Heaven where he stands trial before the Court of Judgment. After ten years in Purgatory, he is given the opportunity to visit Earth for one day to make amends for past wrongs. He meets for the first time his daughter, Marie (Mildred Van Dorn), and tries to give her a stolen gift. When she backs off from him in terror, Liliom slaps the girl, just as he had her mother. A failure in death as in life, Liliom wearily returns to Purgatory, while Julie, somehow sensing what has happened, comforts her confused daughter. At present considered a "lost" film, Liliom was faithfully remade three years later in France, with Charles Boyer as the title character and Fritz Lang in the director's chair; this version is still extant. The property was reworked again as the 1945 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel, itself duly filmed by 20th Century Fox in 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

What happens when "freedom of the press" is abused in wartime? In Power of the Press, the consequences are nearly catastrophic. Otto Kruger plays ruthless newspaper publisher Howard Rankin, who uses his journalistic privileges to destroy his political enemies. When the usual methods of character assassination fail him, Rankin resorts to murder. Honest editor Griff Thompson (Lee Tracy), working hand-in-hand with his faithful secretary Edwina Stephens (Gloria Dickson), sets the wheels in motion for Rankin's downfall. Top-billed Guy Kibbee plays a supporting role as a "solid citizen" who's actually a nefarious hoarder (this was WW II, remember), while Victor Jory is slime personified as Rankin's chief henchman. Power of the Press is based on a story by former newspaper editor (and future director) Sam Fuller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the few pre-1930 John Ford films currently available, the part-talkie Salute was co-directed by Ford and David Butler. George O'Brien is cast as cadet John Randall, star player for the Army college football team. His principal gridiron opponent is Navy player Paul Randall (William Janney), his own kid brother. In the days before the big Army-Navy game, John and Paul's sibling rivalry intensifies as both pay court to pretty Nancy Wayne (Helen Chandler). The film concludes with the inevitable Big Game, an expert blend of newly shot scenes and Fox Movietone newsreel footage. Stepin Fetchit, a Ford favorite, goes through his usual bizarrely racist routines as the hero's valet. The entire University of Southern California football team appears in Salute, including two strapping young players named John Wayne and Ward Bond. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide