Wally Albright Movies

"What are you rebelling against?" asks someone. "What've you got?" responds surly, leather-jacketed motorcycle punk Marlon Brando. It comes as a disappointment to discover that The Wild One, the quintessential Brando "rebel" film, is at base a traditional "misunderstood youth vs. the nasty system" effort, with a particularly banal finale. Based on a true incident, the film begins with Brando and his motorcyle gang invading a small town after having been kicked out of a cycle competition (but not before stealing the second-prize trophy). Brando's bikers raise hell all day, but some of the townsfolk are shown to be little better than the invaders. Sheriff Robert Keith, whose daughter (Murphy) has gone fond of Brando, finally responds to the bikers' destructiveness by jailing Lee Marvin, leader of a rival gang. When Marvin's buddies goes on a rampage, Brando exhibits his essential decency by safely escorting the sheriff's daughter out of the melee. The townsfolk misunderstand, assuming that Brando intends to rape the girl. He is attacked by a vigilante mob led by town hothead Ray Teal, who uses this excuse to exercise his own sadistic tendencies. Keith breaks up the mob and suggests that Brando leave; he tries to do so, but another angry response from the mob causes him to inadvertently strike and kill a pedestrian. At the subsequent hearing, the girl rushes to Brando's defense. Though grateful for the unexpected kindness, Brando is constitutionally unable to say "thank you" and rides out of town alone. The image of Marlon Brando astride his Triumph has entered movie folklore, just like King Kong on the Empire State Building or the billow-skirted Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grating; it's too bad that The Wild One isn't a more worthy vehicle for Brando's talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of dirt-poor Dust Bowl migrants by 4-time Oscar-winning director John Ford starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, who opens the movie returning to his Oklahoma home after serving jail time for manslaughter. En route, Tom meets family friend Casey (John Carradine), a former preacher who warns Tom that dust storms, crop failures, and new agricultural methods have financially decimated the once prosperous Oklahoma farmland. Upon returning to his family farm, Tom is greeted by his mother (Oscar-winner Jane Darwell), who tells him that the family is packing up for the "promised land" of California. Warned that they shouldn't expect a warm welcome in California--they've already seen the caravan of dispirited farmers, heading back home after striking out at finding work--the Joads push on all the same. Their first stop is a wretched migrant camp, full of starving children and surrounded by armed guards. Further down the road, the Joads drive into an idyllic government camp, with clean lodging, indoor plumbing, and a self-governing clientele. When Tom ultimately bids goodbye to his mother, who asks him where he'll go, he delivers the film's most famous speech: "I'll be all around...Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat...Whenever there's a cop beating a guy, I'll be there...And when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build. I'll be there too." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gene Autry goes up against a crooked oil company in this delightful music Western restored in 2001 by Gene Autry Entertainment. Carruthers (William Royle) of the so-called Alta Vista Oil Company is selling worthless stock from a non-existent well located on a Spanish land grant occupied by Padre Dominic (William Farnum) and his orphanage. At first, the padre's niece, Anita Loredo (Luana Walters), accuses radio entertainer Gene Autry of being in cahoots with Carruthers, but the crooner instead unmasks the oil company for the phony outfit it is. A defecting engineer, Blythe (LeRoy Mason), suspects that there really is oil in them thar hills and with the help of Mexican outlaw turned Robin Hood Valdez (Noah Beery), Gene tricks Carruthers and his equally crooked salesman McElroy (Roy Barcroft) into abandoning the well. A heroic Valdez is killed during the rescue of a couple of wayward orphans (Wally Albright and Kathy Frye) but the discovery of oil saves the orphanage from bankruptcy. In addition to the hit title song, Gene Autry performs "You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven," "El Rancho Grande," and "Robin Hood" while comic sidekick Smiley Burnette takes care of "My Orchestra's Driving Me Crazy." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The fight for the Louisiana Territory provides the basis for this adventure. The struggle begins when the Spaniards controlling the land try to keep American boatmen from entering the Mississippi. A young American fellow is dispatched to represent the US and to parlay with the Spanish. Eventually, he and his girl friend attempt to return to Washington, DC to speak with the president, but the Spanish do all they can to stop them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Claudette Colbert is a young freethinking woman living in Salem, Massachusetts during the notorious 17th century "witch trials". Colbert falls in love with adventurer Fred MacMurray, causing no end of scandal with the Puritan townsfolk. A hateful little girl (Bonita Granville) pretends to be "possessed", thereby convincing the Salemites that Claudette is a witch. Tried and convicted of sorcery, the poor girl is sent to be burned at the stake, but is rescued in the nick of time by MacMurray, who convinces the townsfolk that they've been the victim of a hoax. Maid of Salem earned a footnote in entertainment history in 1937 when it was booed off the screen of New York's Paramount theatre by fans who wanted to see the evening's real attraction--a performance by Benny Goodman and his orchestra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Anatole Litvak's first Hollywood film was a remake of his French success L'Equipage, itself based on a novel by Joseph Kessel. Paul Muni stars as Maury, an unorthodox, abrasive WWI fighter-pilot whose skill in the air is compromised by his inability to get along with his colleagues and subordinates. His wife Denise (Miriam Hopkins) loves Maury in her fashion but cheats on him in favor of younger, handsomer flyboy Jean (Louis Hayward). This romantic triangle is settled not in the boudoir but in the air, during a particularly tense "dogfight." Though The Woman I Love often copies L'Equipage scene for scene (even retaining the original musical score by Arthur Honegger and Maurice Thiriet), the ending of the remake is markedly different from that of the original, obviously to appease the more stringent Hollywood censors. The film's title was obviously chosen to cash in on a similar sentiment expressed by Britain's King Edward VII when he abdicated from his throne for the sake of his American wife; perhaps this was why The Woman I Love was retitled The Woman Between in Great Britain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Columbia Pictures' newest cowboy hero, Charles Starrett, played just that in this fanciful Western which teamed him for the first time with blonde leading lady Iris Meredith. They would go on to make 19 additional Westerns together, one of the longest runs in B-Western history. Starrett played Spencer Yorke, a cowboy turned movie star who declines to sign a new contract with Hollywood producer Jack Kingswell (Landers Stevens). "Retiring" instead to Arizona under the assumed name of George Weston, Yorke arrives in the ghost town of Taylorsville just in time to save real estate proprietress Mary Baker (Meredith) and her kid brother Jimmy (Wally Albright) from a runaway team. Kidnapped by three outlaws on the lam, Jimmy is rescued by Yorke who arrives armed with a machine gun. After killing the villains in a hail of bullets, Yorke reveals his identity to an excited Jimmy and, now a real-life hero, is awarded a new and much more advantageous contract by producer Kingswell. One of the most talented actresses to grace B-Westerns, Iris Meredith appeared opposite William "Wild Bill" Elliott in four oaters and one Western serial (Overland With Kit Carson, 1939) in addition to her 20 with Starrett. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Another of MGM's Wallace Beery-Jackie Cooper assault on the tear ducts, O'Shaugnessy's Boy casts Beery as oafish but lovable circus animal trainer Windy O'Shaughnessy. Believing himself happily married to acrobat Martha (Sara Haden), Windy is shocked to discover that Martha has walked out on him with their young son Stubby (Jackie Cooper). Conditioned by his nasty mother and nastier aunt (Leora Maricle) to think that Windy is a no-good, Stubby grows up despising his father, who has been reduced to a mere circus roustabout. Windy's comeback with a brand-new animal act coincides with his lachrymose reconciliation with his beloved so -- but not before one of those nick-of-time rescue scenes so beloved by MGM's scenario department. Cast as "Stubby as a Child" is Spanky McFarland, who like Jackie Cooper was a member of Hal Roach's Our Gang Kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When neighborhood bully Leonard Kibrick wrecks little Marianne Edwards' favorite doll, the "Our Gang" kids promise to purchase a new doll for the brokenhearted girl. Unfortunately, the local toy store is run by Leonard's equally obnoxious father William Wagner, who agrees to give the kids a doll only if they'll hand over their beloved Pete the Pup in exchange. Balking at this arrangement, the kids concoct a variety of moneymaking schemes, all of them doomed to failure. Tearfully, the youngsters trade Pete for the doll --- but fear not, a happy ending is waiting in the wings! Originally released on April 14, 1934, "For Pete's Sake" is highlighted by the bantering byplay between the two youngest "Our Gang" members, Spanky McFarland and Scotty Beckett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the day that he is scheduled to perform a violin solo at a swank bridge luncheon held by his social-climbing mother, rich kid Wally Albright opts instead to play football with the Our Gang kids. With Wally's help, the kids win the game, but his expensive clothes are covered with mud. Unofficial "Gang" leader Spanky McFarland declares that he and his pals are perfectly capable of washing Wally's duds on their own --- and the result is a slapstick smorgasbord, culminating in a typically outsized Hal Roach traffic jam. Originally released on September 29, 1934, "Washee Ironee" was the only "Our Gang" comedy helmed by perennial Laurel and Hardy director James Parrott --- which may explain the presence of stalwart L & H supporting players Ellinor Van der Veer and Tiny Sandford in the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Brooklyn tugboat worker Eddie (Eddie Cantor), bullied and cowed by his tough-guy stepfather and stepbrothers (a la Harold Lloyd's The Kid Brother), inherits $77 million from his uncle, an Egyptologist. Con artist Dot (Ethel Merman) wants to get her lunchhooks on the money, and to this end offers herself as Eddie's adopted mother (never mind that she's nearly 20 years younger), intending to have her thuggish brother Louie (Warren Hymer) bump off our hero at the first opportunity. The nonsensical plotline ends up with Eddie, Dot, Louie, pompous Southern colonel Larrabee (Berton Churchill), and nominal romantic leads Jerry (George Murphy in his film debut) and Jane (Ann Sothern) trapped in the palace of Arab potentate Mulhulla (Paul Harvey). The better-than-average comic banter includes some funny bits between Cantor and Eve Sully, of the comedy team of "Block and Sully" (her husband-partner Jesse Block is also in the picture, but just barely). Spotted among the featured players in Kid Millions are such "Our Gang" members as Stymie Beard, Scotty Beckett and Tommy Bond, and there's a specialty by the Nicholas Brothers during Cantor's obligatory "blackface" number; and yes, that's Lucille Ball as a blonde Goldwyn Girl in the harem sequence. PS: According to Ethel Merman, the film's elaborate Technicolor ice-cream factory finale, in which Eddie allows dozens of tenement kids to gorge themselves on his tasty confections, posed censorship problems: while producer Sam Goldwyn was allowed to show the little boys with comically extended stomachs, he was not permitted to do so with the little girls, for fear that the audience might think the female moppets were pregnant! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Wrecker is a flinty-eyed demolition engineer named Regan (Jack Holt). While he's off on another assignment, Regan's wife Mary (Genevieve Tobin) and supposed best friend Cummings (Sidney Blackmer) engage in some heavy petting. About to wash his hands of his faithless wife and his back-stabbing chum, our hero is compelled to save both their lives when they're pinned under the wreckage of a collapsed schoolhouse. George E. Stones supplies some good-natured ethnic humor as Regan's junk-dealer pal Shapiro. A plot-resolving earthquake caps this typically virile Jack Holt vehicle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Silent-movie favorites Priscilla Dean and William Farnum appear in the company of up-and-coming action star Rex Bell in the low-budget Law of the Sea. Ship's captain Farnum and his wife Dean are saved from drowning by sadistic skipper Ralph Ince, who promptly blinds Farnum and casts him adrift again, the better to "have his way" with Dean. The wife kills herself, whereupon Farnum vows to have his revenge against Ince -- but he'll have to wait 20 years to do so. When events threaten to repeat themselves as Ince goes on the make for Sally Blane, the sweetheart of Farnum's son Bell, Farnum is at last afforded the opportunity to settle his long-standing account with his old enemy. In addition to borrowing heavily from Jack London's The Sea Wolf, Law of the Sea is also beholden to the 1919 seafaring melodrama Behind the Door. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide