Lee Bonnell Movies

Unlike what the title suggests, this routine docudrama is not about one of the Nuremberg trials but about the rise of Nazism in Hitler's Germany. A woman is ostensibly on trial at Nuremberg, the issue being whether she was a card-carrying Nazi or not, and then flashbacks (documentary footage) show Nazi activities in Germany during the '30s and '40s. The idea was to coordinate the narration with the available footage and make the entire collection of images fit into a storyline. The slightly misleading title of this film about Nazi Germany led to legal battles with Stanley Kramer and the producers of the award-winning Judgment at Nuremberg. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Monogram's Jiggs and Maggie in Society was the second entry in the series based on the George McManus comic strip "Bringing Up Father." Joe Yule Sr. (Mickey Rooney's father) and Rene Riano are once again ideally cast as Jiggs and Maggie, the world-famous nouveau riche shanty-Irish couple. Though down-to-earth Jiggs has little patience for his wealthy new surroundings, Maggie insists upon entering "The 400," and to do this she enlists the aid of dance instructor Arthur Murray and How to Win Friends and Influence People guru Dale Carnegie (both playing themselves!) Try though she might, Maggie cannot win acceptance in High Society, but Jiggs saves the day when he solves a jewel robbery in an upper-crust mansion. The level of wit in Jiggs and Maggie in Society can be gauged by such character names as Mrs. Vacuum and Mrs. Heavydoe. Still, a good time was apparently had by all during filming; it's especially enjoyable to watch "guest stars" Murray, Carnegie and columnist Sheila Graham enthusiastically participate in the lowbrow proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Elevating Criminal Court above the B-picture norm is the inventive direction by Robert Wise and the better-than-usual performances by all concerned. In a break from his heroic "Falcon" role, Tom Conway stars as Steve Barnes, a criminal attorney known for his unorthodox courtroom tactics. After accidentally killing a crooked nightclub owner, Barnes is stuck on the horns of a dilemma when his sweetheart, cabaret singer Georgia Gale (Martha O'Driscoll), is arrested for the crime The problem: How can Barnes clear Georgia of the murder without implicating himself? As for the solution...well, best not to reveal that here. All that keeps Criminal Court from A-picture status is its 62 minute running time; on the other hand, the film's impact might have been blunted had it been any longer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This prison reform-minded melodrama from B-movie director Gordon Douglas opens with an introduction from Lewis F. Lawes, the real-life prison warden turned author of 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932). Lawrence Tierney stars as Jim Roland, one of the founding members of the Inmate's Welfare League, a prisoners' rehabilitation group operating inside the California state prison San Quentin. The League keeps internal peace at the prison and helps career criminals go straight, training them for a law-abiding life on the outside. Upon his parole, Jim became one of the program's first success stories, but the same can't be said for Nick Taylor (Barton McLane). Once a model prisoner, Taylor has broken out of the facility and gone on a violent crime spree. When San Quentin officials, including Warden Kelly (Harry T. Shannon), consider shutting down the program, the membership feels responsible and appeals to Jim for help. The ex-con, now a responsible citizen, sets out to bring Taylor to justice and save the League, putting his own life at risk. Douglas employs a brisk pace in San Quentin (1946), which is also the feature film debut of actor Raymond Burr, who appears in the supporting role of Jeff Torrance. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In this drama, an ex-vaudevillian dancer opens up a dance band agency and help street kids at the same time by hiring them to help out. Unfortunately, the local gang of hood's leader resists his attempts. More trouble ensues when the dancer helps a convict gain parole by hiring him. It later turns out that the ex-con is only interested in trying to use the agency as a front for extortion. Songs include the Oscar nominated "When There's a Breeze on Lake Louise," "Your Face Looks Familiar," "Heavenly, Isn't He?" "Let's Forget It," "You're Bad For Me," and "A Million Miles From Manhattan." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In time-honored B-Western fashion, RKO took the exciting Oklahoma land-rush sequence from their Academy Award-winning Cimarron (1931) and crafted an entirely new story to suit their cowboy star in residence, the personable Tim Holt. The result was an exciting, well-acted story of a small-town real estate developer who bequeaths his largely ill-gotten range to anyone who has served two years or more in prison. Naturally, the small Arizona cattle town is soon teeming with would-be settlers arriving straight from the hoosegow. Among them are less than desirable types such as Tonto (Tom London) and Dode (Frank Ellis), both assigned by crooked lawyer Gil Carse (Roy Barcroft to stake out a piece a land that will enable him to control the valley's water supply. Aligning themselves with more upstanding former inmates such as Dad Cook (John Elliott) and retired safecracker Pinky (Hobart Cavanaugh), deputies Dave Walton (Holt), Smokey (Ray Whitley) and Whopper (Lee "Lasses" White) manage to foil Carse's evil scheme. In between the action (which is plentiful), Holt romances Dad Cook's spunky daughter (Janet Waldo and Whitley sings "Ki-Yo My Horse is Slow" and the title-tune. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this patriotic war drama, a unit of Army recruits train for a parachute corps. One is an arrogant football star who finds jumping a kick. Another is a coward who eventually finds his courage. Finally there is a chronic bumbler. The coward and jock find themselves competing for the affections of an indecisive young woman. The filmmakers of this movie paid careful attention to detail and was made with the cooperation of the 501st Parachute Battalion at Fort Benning, Georgia using actual paratroopers. The viewer is taken through every stage of a jump including folding the chute at the beginning. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A sequel to the zany backstage comedy Curtain Call, RKO Radio's Footlight Fever once again stars Alan Mowbray and Donald MacBride as fly-by-night theatrical producers Avery and Crandall. This time, our heroes try to weasel money out of a potential backer, spinsterish millionaire Hattie (Elisabeth Risdon). Part of the scheme requires Avery and Crandall to pose as the seafaring buddies of Hattie's long-lost fiance, leading to the usual complications when said fiance finally shows up. The romantic leads in this one are played by Elyse Knox, later the mother of actor Mark Harmon, and Lee Bonnell, later the producer-husband of Gale Storm. Posting a $40,000 loss, Footlight Fever effectively ended RKO's burgeoning Mowbray-MacBride comedy series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Richard Dix is his usual strong, silent self in RKO Radio's Men Against the Sky. Dix plays a washed-up pilot who designs a revolutionary new plane. Realizing that he is persona non grata in the aviation industry due to his irresponsibility and alcoholism, Dix allows his sister Wendy Barrie to take credit for the "wonder" plane. Preliminary tests of the aircraft prove disastrous, but Dix establishes the viablity of his design by flying the plane himself, a spectacular act of self-sacrifice that has the salutary effect of restoring his tattered reputation. Among the aircraft seen in Men Against the Sky is the plane used by Howard Huges to establish a new transcontinental record when he flew from California to New Jersey in less than 7 1/2 hours. The film was scripted by Nathaniel West, better known for his trenchant Hollywood novel Day of the Locust. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide