Raymond Walburn Movies

Promoted as a follow-up to Frank Capra's 1933 hit Lady for a Day, Lady by Choice resembles the earlier film only in its choice of leading lady. May Robson plays a drunken derelict who'd once been quite a heartbreaker. Her self-respect is restored when she is asked to pose as fan-dancer Carole Lombard's mother. Lombard is part of the deal only to gain publicity for herself, but Robson takes her assignment seriously, ordering Lombard to give up her tacky profession and use her talents for something more dignified. At first against her will, Lombard starts taking formal acting and singing lessons and begins gaining a reputation as a serious artist. Wealthy Roger Pryor, a family friend of Robson's, falls in love with Lombard, but she breaks off the relationship so that Pryor won't be disinherited. Robson takes a hand in things, forcing Pryor and Lombard together in a delightfully devious fashion. Lady By Choice proved that Columbia Pictures (and scriptwriter Jo Swerling) could turn out a perfectly respectable Frank Capra film without Frank Capra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Few famous novels have been filmed as often as Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo--and few versions are as enjoyable as this 1934 adaptation starring Robert Donat. Donat plays Edmond Dantes, wrongly accused of a plot against the post-Napoleonic French government. Condemned to a prison cell in the impenetrable Chateau D'If, Dantes vows vengeance against the four conspirators who framed him. He is particularly anxious to give his ex-friend Mondego (Sidney Blackmer) his comeuppance, since it was Mondego who married Dantes' fiancee Mercedes (Elissa Landi). Twelve years pass; with the help of ancient fellow prisoner Abbe Foria (O.P. Heggie), Dantes digs his way out of the Chateau D'If and escapes. He finds the treasure of Monte Cristo, which makes him the wealthiest man in the world. He uses his riches to put his plan of revenge into motion, methodically destroying every one of his enemies. Though he lives for vengeance, Dantes--alias the Count of Monte Cristo--has his humanity restored by the love of Mercede, who despite her marriage has always remained spiritually faithful to him. According to publicity, the 1955 TV series based on The Count of Monte Cristo was filmed on the standing sets from the 1934 film. This might well have been true, since both film and series were produced by Edward Small. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a fighter's fiancee refuses to marry him until he can overcome his insane jealousy. He does and they marry. The jealousy resurfaces when he finds his wife and her boss in a hotel room. He goes mad with rage and kills her boss. His wife is blamed for the killing. Just before the verdict is announced, the guilt-ridden man confesses and himself receives the death-penalty. Time passes and his finally hour arrives. He asks the attending priest to offer him a 10-count. Just as the priest hits nine, his voice becomes that of a referee and the boxer is seen slowly awakening from being knocked on conscious during a fight. The whole story was but a dream. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After her success in Lady for a Day, elderly character actress May Robson was starred in a number of features. She's wonderfully irascible in this depression-era drama as widow Mary Hastings, who has been running the family steel business since the death of her husband forty years before. Her children, Willard (Raymond Walburn) and Henrietta (Josephine Whittell), have been disappointments to her, and the grandchildren she raised after the death of their father, are even more spoiled and selfish. Nobody seems capable of taking over the concern, but she retires anyway, leaving it in the hands of the board of directors. Then Black Tuesday comes, the stock market crashes, and one by one, all the mills are shut down. The workers are on the verge of seeing their families starve. Mrs. Hastings, determined to help them out, calls all her relatives from Europe and begs them to release some of the 40 million dollar trust fund to keep the local mill going. But the greedy family members refuse. On her own Mrs. Hastings scrapes together enough of her own funds to keep the mill open. Meanwhile, Willard -- unaware of his mother's actions -- closes the mill and calls on the cops to squelch any unrest. Granddaughter Jean (Fay Wray), however, comes to her senses when she helps hide labor leader Jim Devlin (Victor Jory) from the police. After spending the night with Jory in his hideaway, she returns and convinces her brother to override their uncle and aunt and help the mill. The workers, furious over Willard's lies, are ready to storm the plant, and the cops are prepared to shoot them. Jean risks her life by heading for the mill, but it is her brother, who has gone after her, who is killed by police gun fire. While the rest of the family returns to Europe, Jean stays behind with her grandmother. Although Devlin has pointed out to Jean that their romance is impossible, he leaves a small window of hope open for the future. This feature, released by Columbia, was incredibly progressive for its day. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

One of the last Fox releases before the studio's merger with 20th Century, Redheads on Parade stars John Boles and Dixie Lee as washed-up movie star John Bruce and aspiring singer Ginger Blair. The couple is given the opportunity to co-star in a film financed by Augustus Twill (Raymond Walburn), who has a crush on Lee. Not wishing to rock the boat, press agent Peter Mathews (Jack Haley) assures Twill that Ginger is crazy about him, without bothering to consult the girl beforehand. The plot isn't straightened out until the film's premiere, by which time Twill has gone broke and Mathews has had to work overtime to scare up new "angels." Leading lady Dixie Lee was, of course, the real-life Mrs. Bing Crosby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A crusading physician supervises his own life-threatening operation in this farfetched potboiler from MGM, which marked Robert Taylor's first co-starring assignment. Taylor plays handsome Dr. Tommy Ellis, whose proposal of marriage is at first turned down by surgical nurse Madge Wilson (Virginia Bruce). But when Madge's paramour, the upstanding young Dr. Bill Morgan (Chester Morris), takes a leave of his principles to cater to a rich hypochondriac (Billie Burke), she gives Tommy her "yes." Shot by an escaping convict (Arthur Vinton), Bill survives a risky operation conducted by Tommy under his own guidance, and when he recovers, he finally pops the question to Madge. With Tommy's blessing, the nurse agrees to become Mrs. Morgan. Society Doctor, which was originally reviewed as Under Eight Hours, was directed by George B. Seitz, the veteran craftsman who later helmed MGM's "Dr. Kildare" films. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a con artist gets elected to the chamber of commerce in his home town. He then goes there with three fellow grifters who are not welcome until they pay off the bad bonds they sold the town. Fortunately, the protagonist wins a fortune at the track and pays the debt. Despite this, the three persist with their con games and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

"She" is secretary Claudette Colbert and "Her Boss" is Melvyn Douglas. Once married, Colbert discovers that Douglas expects her to work as usual. She must also contend with his wealthy, snooty family, whose most hateful member is his spoiled brat of a daughter (Edith Fellows) by a previous marriage. Rebelling against her repressive existence, Colbert eventually puts her in-laws in their place and arouses the ardor of the "strictly business" Douglas. While consistently amusing throughout, the highlight of She Married Her Boss is a first-reel bit of pantomimic whimsy involving Claudette Colbert and a roomful of department store mannequins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Lone Wolf Returns stars Melvyn Douglas as Louis Joseph Vance's reformed criminal Michael Lanyard, a.k.a. The Lone Wolf. Lanyard lapses back into his old ways when he attempts to steal an emerald pendant belonging to Gail Patrick, but he falls in love with the girl and remains on the straight and narrow. A pair of less sentimental crooks frame Lanyard and force him to participate in a high-stakes heist. The Lone Wolf turns the tables on the crooks and wins his lady love. Previously filmed in 1926, The Lone Wolf Returns was the first of Columbia's "B" series featuring the gentleman thief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a model finds herself inadvertently embroiled in the theft of a society woman's valuable pearl necklace after modeling a wedding dress in the aristocrat's home. The pearls are hooked onto the hem of her voluminous dress. Afterward the model quickly flees the crime scene by diving into a taxi. The driver takes a shine to the girl and helps her hide. He and his friends then begin investigating the theft. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hotel barber Joe Jenkins (Jack Haley), who's obsessed with newspaper stories about high-society celebrities, is dragooned into posing as eccentric millionaire Aloysius Merriweather (Monroe Owsley) at a fancy weekend party. At first thrilled at the prospect of hobnobbing with the 400, Joe is less than thrilled when he's forced to continue the charade after Merriweather is rendered unconscious in a traffic accident. Getting off to a bad start with heiress Patricia Randolph (Betty Furness) -- who loses her speedboat, beach house and clothes thanks to his bumbling -- Joe redeems himself by saving her father's (Raymond Walburn) automobile business. Whether or not he can save himself from Spike Nolan (Tom Dugan), the gun-wielding brother of Owsley's neurotic bride Mazie (Rosina Lawrence), is another matter! Mister Cinderella is a typically frantic farce from the Hal Roach comedy mills, with a marvelous scene-stealing performance by Arthur Treacher and a brisk musical score (culled mostly from Roach's Laurel & Hardy and "Our Gang" comedies) by Marvin Hatley and LeRoy Shield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several light comedy roles, Rosalind Russell proved her salt as a dramatic film actress in this 1936 adaptation of George Kelly's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Craig's Wife. Russell plays Harriet Craig, whose obsession with keeping her house and its furnishings spotless has driven away most of her friends. Harriet's husband Walter (John Boles) loves her and will not brook any criticism of her fastidiousness. But even he has a breaking point: this comes when, during a moment of dire crisis, she reveals that she is more concerned with her own well-being than her husband's. Walter declares his independence by smoking a cigarette in Harriet's spotless living room, strewing his ashes all over her nice clean rug, smashing one of her precious vases, and walking out on her. The final image is of Harriet Craig standing alone in her "perfect" house, so benumbed by events that she fails to notice that her armful of roses is leaving a path of petals on her hitherto unsullied floor. Previously filmed in 1928, Craig's Wife was remade in 1950 with Joan Crawford as Harriet Craig. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide