Hardie Albright Movies

Aunt Clara arouses herself from a "witching slump" by creating a new evening wardrobe for Samantha and Darrin. Unfortunately, the couple's fancy clothes suddenly begin disappearing -- right in the middle of a formal dinner party. Darrin must now mollify his outraged client Charles Barlow (Max Showalter), providing he can get out of jail first. Written by Paul David and John L. Greene, "A Very Informal Dress" first aired on November 4, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Everybody knows the "punchline" of this classic Twilight Zone episode, but that doesn't make this entry any less entertaining. Told in flashback (a last-minute decision, judging by the original script), this is the story of the Kanamints, a race of giant space aliens who arrive on Earth, ostensibly on a mission of goodwill. The Kanamints offer all manner of scientific advancements; all they ask in exchange is that the earthlings trust them without question. Meanwhile, a team of scientists, headed by Dr. Chambers (Lloyd Bochner), work day and night to translate a Kanamint book, the title of which is, of course, "To Serve Man." Richard Kiel, the 7-foot-plus actor who gained fame as "Jaws" in the James Bond series, appears as the Kanamint leader (though his voice is dubbed by Marvin Miller. Scripted by Rod Serling from a short story by Damon Knight, "To Serve Man" was originally telecast March 2, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Peter Caine (Douglas Dick), the dissolute son of prominent building engineer William Harper Craine (John Hoyt), is being blackmailed by Debra Bradford (Diana Millay), who claims that Peter was involved in a hit-and-run accident while drunk. This act of extortion is somehow tied in with the murder of building contractor Roger Quigley (James Westerfield), for which Peter's father is charged. Initially hired by a citizen's group to prevent the construction of an aqueduct named after William Harper Crane, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) ends up defending the man in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The most controversial "road show" film of the 1940s, this was actually a rather innocent little morality play about a teenage girl (June Carlson) who gets in the "family way" during her very first date. The reason, of course, is that Mom (ois Austin) and Dad (George Eldredge) failed to tell their little darling about the birds and the bees. The father of the expected child (Hardie Albright) is killed before he can make the girl an honest woman, but there is the obligatory happy conclusion with the parents appearing suitably repentant. Nothing to get too excited about -- even in the mid 1940s -- Mom and Dad became a cause celebre courtesy of its producer, crafty promoter Kroger Babb, whose common-law wife Mildred Horn had provided the script. Babb added a live hygienic lecturer, the estimable Elliott Forbes, and inaugurated segregated screenings, not between black and whites, but a separation of the sexes. Women and teenage girls were admitted to the two early showings, while their menfolk had to wait until the late show, naturally getting more and more excited as time went slowly by. The Legion of Decency, a Roman Catholic organization, helped Babb no end by banning the film, and Mom and Dad went on to make money for the promoter well into the '50s. Another legendary "sleaze merchant," David Friedman, took over the film in the '60s, when it was finally allowed to be shown in the puritan city of Chicago. At one point, as Friedman recalled, the film played at 10 Chicago theatres simultaneously, still advertized as featuring a live lecture by the redoubtable "Elliott Forbes." No one apparently questioned how this man could be in 10 places at the same time! The actual filming of Mom and Dad had taken place at the Monogram studios in Hollywood on a one week shooting schedule courtesy of co-producer J.S. Jossey, a Mid-Western exchange man. Incredibly, the film proved to be the fourth highest grosser of the '40s behind three Disney cartoons. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this western, a dreamy young woman, tired of her boring life and job travels to an abandoned town where her grandmother had been a notorious dancehall queen. There she imagines scenes from her illustrious grandma's life. The dream takes up most of the picture and during it, the gal meets many fascinating characters. One of those characters is a clean-cut, handsome cowboy. Romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Few B-picture factories ground out topical wartime dramas with as much regularity as Monogram. In Army Wives, Elyse Knox plays bride-to-be Jerry, who follows her GI fiance Barney (Rick Vallin) from camp to camp. Thanks to numerous complications, both foreseen and otherwise, Jerry and Barney never quite make it to the altar-at least not during the first five reels. That shameless old barnstormer Marjorie Rambeau effortlessly steals the film as Mrs. Shannahan, matriarch of a loud and rowdy brood which figures prominently in the storyline. Either by accident or design, Army Wives was followed in 1945 by Monogram's GI Honeymoon (not a sequel!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Considering the fact that it was the only Universal horror film directed by cult favorite Joseph H. Lewis, it's a shame that Mad Doctor of Market Street isn't better than it is. Lionel Atwill dominates the proceedings as Dr. Benson, an addlepated medico obsessed with the notion of restoring the dead to life. After his experiment on the unfortunate William Saunders (Hardie Albright) goes awry, Benson escapes from the authorities by boarding a passenger ship. When the vessel sinks during a storm at sea, Benson and several survivors manage to pull ashore on a remote tropical island. Here the mad doctor wows the natives with his scientific knowhow, and before long he is appointed king of the tribe. In this capacity, he hopes to marry helpless heroine Patricia (Claire Dodd) and to use the rest of the shipwreck survivors as guinea pigs for his experiments. The main problem with Mad Doctor of Market Street is the inclusion of youthful Una Merkel as the heroine's aunt, a role obviously intended for an older, less prominent actress. Obliged to radically alter and "beef up" Merkel's part, the screenwriters were forced to shortchange the rest of the picture, and as a result Mad Doctor of Market Street is nowhere near as frightening or atmospheric as it should have been. Still, the film is worth the price of admission for its chilling closing sequence alone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Shepperd, later known as Shepperd Strudwick, stars as the tragic Edgar Allan Poe in this low-budget biopic. Adopted as a child, Poe grows into a directionless adult, disgracing himself and his foster family through his inability (or unwillingness) to conform to the status quo of 19th century Baltimore. Devastated by the loss of his childhood sweetheart, Elmira Royster (Virginia Gilmore), he finds solace in his marriage to his cousin Virginia Clemm (Linda Darnell). Poe's blossoming literary reputation, and the stability of his private life, are ultimately done in by his addiction to alcohol and drugs. Sixty-seven minutes simply isn't enough time to do justice to this fascinating, complex individual, but everyone involved tries hard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Cagney made his first Technicolor appearance in the morale-boosting aviation flick Captains of the Clouds. Cagney plays Brian MacLean, a hotshot Canadian bush pilot who delights in stealing jobs-and women-away from his competitors. Brian is forced to shape up in a hurry when he's assigned to train other pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force. At the ending of the training period, he is given his first real RCAF assignment: The seemingly unimportant task of shepherding American bomber planes across the Atlantic to England. With startling suddenness, Brian comes to realize the true importance of his job when he is forced into a deadly confrontation with a fleet of Nazi raider planes. Real-life Canadian WW1 flying ace Billy Bishop plays a small but pivotal role in Captains of the Clouds, while the leading-lady duties were handled by Warner Bros. stock actress Brenda Marshall (aka Mrs. William Holden). Cinematographer Sol Polito earned an Oscar nomination for his vivid color photography, though aerial photographers Elmer Dyer, Charles Marshall and Winston Hoch were certainly just as deserving. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Universal's "Baby Sandy" series officially ended with Sandy Gets Her Man, but the infant star still had one picture left on her contract, so that's why Bachelor Daddy was born. Edward Everett Horton, Donald Woods, and Raymond Walburn carry the burden of the plot as the Smith Brothers, Joseph, Edward and George. Confirmed bachelors, the Smiths are forced to play nursemaid when a baby is accidentally abandoned at their doorstep. The laughs arise from the brothers' bumbling efforts at parenthood, culminating in a slapsticky finale wherein the runaway Baby Sandy takes charge of a hand-operated elevator. Ironically, one of the minor players in Bachelor Daddy is teenager Juanita Quigley, who once enjoyed brief stardom at Universal as "Baby Jane". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1940 peacetime draft spawned a whole slew of military and naval comedies, the most successful of which was Abbott and Costello's Buck Privates. In this vein, Warners' Navy Blues features several studio contractees (including Ann Sheridan and Jack Carson), a few borrowed comedians (Jack Oakie, Jack Haley, Martha Raye) and a plethora of forgettable musical numbers. The plot: A ship's crew goes on leave in Honolulu, has a high old time, meets a few pretty girls, and heads back to sea. That's all. Modern viewers will get a kick out of spotting Navy Blues supporting actor Jackie Gleason, who must have relished the opportunity of working with his idol Jack Oakie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This wartime drama is set in 1936 and begins at the Winter Olympics. It centers on the three medalists of a skiing competition. The gold was awarded to a Russian, the silver to a Finn, and the bronze to an American. During the awards ceremony, the three pals proudly announce that war is a thing of the past. The story jumps three years into the future. Now the Russo-Finnish War is raging on the mountainous Manerheim border. Most of the battles are fought on skis and all of the 1936 Finnish team is there to save their country. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide