Henry Victor Movies

Ernst Lubitsch was the original director for A Royal Scandal, but illness forced him to bow out; his replacement was Otto Preminger, who did his utmost to retain the "Lubitsch touch." Based on a play by Lajos Biro and Melchior Lengyel, the film dwells upon a fictional incident in the life of Russia's Catherine the Great, here played with blue-blooded bawdiness by Tallulah Bankhead. Catherine falls in love with a handsome young army officer (William Eythe), who turns out to be an insurrectionist planning her downfall. At the last moment, Catherine relents, allowing the officer to escape with his true love, lady-in-waiting Anne Baxter. A bit too cute for its own good, Royal Scandal has some choice moments: Most notable are Tallulah Bankhead's pained reaction upon being hailed as "The Mother of All Russias," and supporting actor Grady Sutton's southern-accented reference to the "U-ral Mountains". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

If you believe all-American Fred MacMurray as an Oxford don, you'll probably swallow the rest of Above Suspicion. Newly married to Joan Crawford, MacMurray goes on a honeymoon in prewar Germany. Actually it's more business than pleasure: they are secret agents for the British, attempting to smuggle back information about a new superweapon being developed by the Nazis. Evil, mean, cruel and also wicked German officer Basil Rathbone imprisons and tortures Crawford (though she still looks like a million bucks), but McMurray comes to the rescue, paving the way for a suspenseful race-to-the-border climax. The tenor of Above Suspicion can be summed up in a scene in which, after being confronted by a monolingual stormtrooper, Fred MacMurray says in English "Nuts to you, dope!," whereupon the Nazi scratches his head and wonders aloud, "Vass iss das 'dope'?" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this WW II spy comedy, an American pilot stationed in England is flying a routine mission when the Nazis shoot down his plane. He ends up seeking shelter in the home of an unhappily married Dutch woman. She covers for the pilot by introducing him as her mentally unbalanced but basically harmless husband. A Nazi major has taken over her home, and mayhem ensues when he and her "husband" meet. In the end, the pilot steals a German plane and takes the woman safely to England. The film is also known as Yank in Dutch. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this, one of many World War II propaganda films of the early 1940s, Errol Flynn is one of five RAF pilots to survive a crash-landing in occupied Poland. They are relentlessly pursued by Nazi officer Raymond Massey, who despite his erudition and poise comes across as one of the densest men on earth--not that his Nazi underlings are any brighter. After repeatedly humiliating Massey and laying waste to most of the Third Reich installations in Poland, Flynn and cohort Ronald Reagan steal a German bomber and head back to England. "Now for Australia and a crack at those Japs!" declares Flynn at the end, admirably maintaining a straight face. Desperate Journey gained some negative fame in the 1980s because of its brief scenes in which Ronald Reagan dons a Nazi uniform. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this espionage caper, a government spy must keep enemy agents from spying upon a defense plant. His work is made easier by his newest invention, a word scrambler which makes it difficult for the enemy agent. The good guy spy then hires a crack team to assist him; among them is the pretty young plant worker he inadvertently got fired. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Set in the Caribbean shortly before the U.S. was drawn into WWII, this zombie chiller tells the tale of an American special agent who, along with his butler and a pilot, is sent out to find a missing American Admiral, whose plane crashed on one of the islands. Unfortunately, the hero's plane also crashes. Fortunately, a suave but sinister German doctor with a very strange wife is there to help them. The doctor explains that his spouse is in a strange trance and he is trying to find a cure. The butler soon discovers that she is not the only one; the island is teeming with zombies. When the butler tries to tell his employer, the employer refuses to believe in "voodoo hocus pocus." The butler and the pilot find themselves entranced. Fortunately, the agent is still around to solve the mystery of the zombies and to confront the culprit, an enemy spy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Basil Rathbone is the batty physician of the title, a sophisticated gentleman who woos and weds several of his wealthy women patients. Unfortunately the ladies have a bad habit of dying prematurely, with the above-suspicion doctor diagnosing these deaths as the result of disease. Given the film's title, it isn't hard to figure out that the doctor has been knocking off his wives himself through sophisticated medical methods. An intriguing plot twist involves the doctor's loyal male assistant (Martin Kosleck), who tampers with the buried bodies of the victims to hide the evidence; though it's never made obvious by the script, it is implied that the doctor and his assistant have a strong sexual bond between them. The ex-fiance of Dr. Rathbone's latest bride (Ellen Drew) saves the woman from suffering the fate of her predecessors, leaving Rathbone no recourse but a suicidal plunge off a skyscraper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this espionage adventure, a courageous millworker must prove himself innocent of treason charges after the title spies purloin valuable blueprints from his plant. He also tries to bring the spies to justice, but soon finds himself in deep trouble. Fortunately, the good-guy spies show up at the crucial moment and justice is served. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The title character in Charter Pilot is King Morgan (Lloyd Nolan), who thinks nothing of taking life-threatening risks on a daily basis. When Morgan marries radio personality Marge Duncan (Lynn Bari), he accedes to her wishes and takes a desk job. Alas, he is unable to resist the call of the clouds, and soon he's back flying between the US and Central America. At long last, she talks him into remaining earthbound by starring him in a radio series based on his adventures. But there's still enough time in this 70-minute programmer for Morgan and his missus to foil a gang of Nazi saboteurs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Evidently Paramount had a great deal of faith in Mystery Sea Raider, else why would a mere B picture be permitted to run nearly 80 minutes? Onslow Stevens has the largest role as Carl Cutler, a prosperous importer who unexpectedly becomes a German spy when WW2 breaks out. Taking over a freighter in mid-ocean somewhere in the Caribbean, Cutler transforms the vessel into a Nazi raider, then does his best to decimate the British fleet. But Cutler has failed to take into consideration the resourcefulness of ship's captain Jimmy Madden (Henry Wilcoxon), who with the help of the Nazi's unwitting cohort June McCarthy (Carole Landis) manages to strike a blow for Democracy in the final footage. Though set in the 1940s, Mystery Sea Raider seems more like a WW1 melodrama, with both Allied and German forces displaying gallantry and even chivalry in the face of death. This sort of romanticism would be dispensed with after Pearl Harbor, whereupon no enemy officer would ever be cut any slack in a Hollywood film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a vengeful woman searches for the man she blames for her sister's suicide. To get at him, the woman masquerades as a mousy maid in the tiny hotel where he stays. The story is set in Gallacia during WW I and while she enacts her plan, the Russians and Austrians take over the town. This does not stop her from getting revenge. This is a remake of a 1927 film of the same title. In Hollywood it has the legend of being a cursed production in that it suffered endless production problems and major changes in cast and crew. Originally Marlene Dietrich was to play the title role, but she and director Henry Hathaway were constantly at loggerheads. With the help of Paramount head Arthur Lubitsch, she got Hathaway to rewrite the script with Grover Jones. The new story was called I Loved a Soldier and things resumed. Unfortunately, Lubitsch had been fired and Dietrich, still miserable, abruptly quit, costing Paramount, a fortune. All production ceased, but later they resurrected the original script and tried again to make the film with Margaret Sullavan. Unfortunately, Sullavan and a co-star were horsing around one day on the set and she ended up with a broken arm. The studio heads demanded she perform the role in a sling. This was too much for Hathaway who immediately quit. Soon after, Dietrich returned with her long-time director Josef von Sternberg and said she was now willing to make Hotel Imperial. The studio heads refused and eventually the lead was given to Italian actress Isa Mira. A major sex symbol in Italy, she made this her U.S. debut. Unfortunately, she spoke little English and was forced to recite her lines phonetically. Meanwhile her co-star Ray Milland nearly died during a scene in which he had to lead a cavalry charge. During the run, he was thrown off his horse and tossed head first into a brick pile. Fortunately he only suffered a concussion. Later Hotel Imperial was remade as Five Graves to Cairo Sometimes, as in this case, the history behind the film is more interesting than the film itself, no? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Thunder Afloat is set during the first world war. Wallace Beery plays an veteran tugboat captain who harbors a grudge against younger ex-pal Chester Morris. When Morris joins the navy as an officer, he runs across Beery, who resparks the feud. Both men bury the hatchet and work shoulder to shoulder when German U-boats threaten innocent shippers. Though the action takes place in 1918, the film was intensely topical in 1939 given the renewal of maritime hostilities in Europe and the Far East. Thunder Afloat made money by the bushel basket, as did most of Wallace Beery's formula vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy set during WW I, two crazy vaudevillians try their new act out on their agent. He thinks it is a real dud and the boys end up working as mule skinners in France. While there, they meet a French officer's American daughter. Mayhem ensues when they are mistaken German spies necessitating their escape in a hot-air balloon. Unfortunately, the balloon ends up in Germany, and now the duo must get back to France. Along the way, they capture a German genera. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide