Regina Wallace Movies
- 1949
Producer Samuel Goldwyn dishes up sentiment by the bowlful with My Foolish Heart. Susan Hayward is (somewhat unconvincingly) cast as a wide-eyed girl from Idaho who meets bon vivant Dana Andrews at a Manhattan party. Their brief affair results in a pregnancy, but since Andrews has been killed in the war, Hayward marries a man she doesn't love to give her child a name. The experience turns the girl into an embittered alcoholic, but she sees the light before she can cause grief for her baby. Based on a story by J. D. Salinger (the only one of this reclusive author's stories ever translated to film), My Foolish Heart strains credulity to the breaking point, but was popular enough to yield a hit title song, which is still a standard on "easy listening" FM radio stations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1948
- NR
This late-40s western features Robert Mitchum as an Indian scout who happens upon an unlikely family cabined up in the Great Northwest. They're unlikely because the widower settler (William Holden) has "purchased" a wife (Loretta Young as wife Rachel) to help raise his son and do the female chores around the farm. The son resents the surrogate mom and the whole bunch aren't too happy when Mitchum shows up and starts making eyes at the lady. Their mutual attraction makes Holden jealous and he starts finding his wife a lot more attractive. It takes a full-fledged Indian attack to force the action, resolving the issue as to who's the right fella for Rachel. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, William Holden, (more)
- 1948
Newly arrived at Columbia, quickie producer Sam Katzman tried his hand at a musical with I Surrender Dear. Gloria Jean stars as Patty Nelson, the daughter of "old fashioned" radio disc jockey Russ Nelson (Robert Emmet Keane). When Patty's bandleader boyfriend Al Tyler (David Street) gets her father's radio job, she walks out on him. The lovers are eventually reunited, but not before plenty of misunderstandings and musical numbers. Worth noting is the presence in the cast of three real-life deejays: Jack Eigen (immortalized by Nichols and May's "Jack Ego" routine), Peter Potter (of Juke Box Jury fame), and future Today Show host Dave Garroway. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Jean, David Street, (more)
- 1948
Two future TV favorites--Rocky Jones' Richard Crane and Dennis the Menace's Gloria Henry-head the cast of Columbia's Triple Threat. Crane plays Don Whitney, an egocentric college football hero who receives a good strong dose of reality when he joins a professional team. Whitney's game really begins to suffer when he moons over sweetheart Ruth Nolan (Henry), who seems interested in someone else. All the various subplots are resolved in the obligatory "Big Game" climax. The principal selling card of Triple Threat was the presence of several real-life gridiron stars, including Sammy Baugh, Paul Christman, Johnny Clement, Steve Van Buren and Bob Waterfield (later the husband of actress Jane Russell), not to mention sports commentators Harry Wismer, Tom Harmon and Bob Kelley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Crane, Gloria Henry, (more)
- 1948
A man who dreams of seeing the future discovers the horrible burden that it can carry in this film noir suspense story. Suicidal Jean Courtland (Gail Russell) is prevented from killing herself by her fiancée Elliot Carson (John Lund). When they consult psychic John Triton (Edward G. Robinson), he confesses that he used his powers to bring on her death. Years ago, Triton was a phony mentalist in a vaudeville act, but he began seeing genuine visions of the future, most of which portended tragic results. After a premonition of the death of his wife Jenny (Virginia Bruce) in childbirth, a terrified Triton went into hiding for five years; upon his return, he discovered that his wife had married Whitney (Jerome Cowan) shortly after John was declared dead...and she died giving birth. Years later, Jenny's child grew up to be Jean Courtland, and when Triton receives a vision of Whitney's death in a plane wreck, he rushes to California in hopes of stopping fate. However, he's foreseen a tragic future for both Jean and Whitney and is afraid of the agony that awaits them. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes was adapted from a novel by Cornell Woolrich. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell, (more)
- 1948
- NR
Casting Frank Sinatra as a Pennsylvania priest is but one of the many miscalculations made by the producers of Miracle of the Bells. Adapted by Ben Hecht and Quentin Reynolds from the best-selling novel by Russell Janney, the story revolves around an aspiring actress named Olga Treskovna (Alida Valli). Escaping the sooty environs of Coaltown, Pennsylvania, Olga heads to Hollywood, where through a series of incredible circumstances she manages to land the highly coveted leading role in a film based on the life of Joan of Arc. Tragically, Olga dies suddenly after wrapping up the film's final scene. Producer Marcus Harris (Lee J. Cobb) wants to reshoot the film with another, better-known actress, rather than risk losing a fortune on an "unknown" whom he can no longer groom for stardom. But press agent Bill Dunnigan (Fred MacMurray), who has journeyed to Coaltown to learn Olga's life story, tries to persuade Harris to release Joan of Arc as filmed, and to this end he enlists the aid of local priest Father Paul (Sinatra). To show their support for the late, lamented Olga, all the churches of all denominations in Coaltown ring their bells, nonstop, for three days. This man-made miracle not only convinces Harris to change his mind, but leads to a genuine miracle at the fadeout. Reviewers were unanimous in condemning Miracle of the Bells as a pretentious failure: the kindest comments ranged from "mawkish" to "nauseating." The picture hasn't improved much with age, but should be seen at least once on the strength of its cast alone. If it is seen, however, it's best to stick with the original black-and-white version and avoid the colorized TV print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Ahn, Lee J. Cobb, (more)
- 1948
Sexual harassment can work both ways as can be seen in this romantic comedy when ad man endeavors to maneuver out of a relationship with his girlfriend. This is difficult as she controls a major account for his company and refuses to renew it unless he continues to go out with her. The frustrated fellow then begins having neurotic fits until, at last, he is taken off her account. For his new assignment, he must promote a psychiatrist's latest book. They meet and he is captivated by the lovely doctor. The nervous fellow then becomes her patient, and before long they both fall in love. Unfortunately, the other woman has not given up. His troubles are far from over when he later discovers that the shrink doesn't really love him--she is only using him for a case study. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hedy Lamarr, Robert Cummings, (more)
- 1947
In this musical, a young socialite reluctantly attends an exclusive school; she would rather be working on becoming a Broadway star. She is so determined to be one that she begins ditching her classes to work as a chorus girl in a musical. Following the show's closing, she invites two fellow dancers to visit her home. Musical mayhem and romance ensue. Songs include: "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "It's So Easy," "All I Know Is Si Si" (Doris Fisher, Allan Roberts), "Boogie Woogie from Nowhere" (Saul Chaplin). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Porter, Jimmy Lloyd, (more)
- 1947
High Conquest was a good example of the sort of "prestige" fare that lowly Monogram Pictures hoped to turn out on a regular basis in the postwar years. Adapted from a novel by James Ramsey Ullman, the story centers on Hugo Lannier (Warren Douglas), an American youth who makes it his mission in life to conquer the Matterhorn in Switzerland. Hugo's father had been killed years earlier in a similar attempt, and our hero hopes to honor his father's memory by completing the task. But first, Hugo must overcome his intense dislike of the Alps and his fear of heights-not to mention his fear of fear itself. Top-billed Anna Lee plays Marie, a Swiss girl who believes in Hugo even when he doesn't. Genuine location footage of the Matterhorn is deftly blended with some surprisingly convincing studio mockups. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Bleifer, Beulah Bondi, (more)
- 1946
As appealing as ever in 1946, Deanna Durbin was admittedly getting a bit long in tooth for her ingenue-like role in Because of Him. Durbin is cast as Kim Walker, an aspiring actress determined to become the protegee of famed Broadway actor/producer Sheridan (Charles Laughton). The only person not charmed by Kim's herculean efforts to achieve stardom is playwright Paul Taylor (Franchot Tone), who balks when ordered to write a play for her. But even Taylor is won over by fadeout time, leaving Sheridan, who'd also had designs on Kim, in the lurch. Evidently intended as a "straight" comedy, Because of Him was turned into a musical at the last minute, with a handful of pleasant but irrelevant songs wedged into the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deanna Durbin, Franchot Tone, (more)
- 1946
In this heartwarming children's movie, an adorable child finds a darling donkey and decides to make it his pet, but in order to keep it, he must first housebreak the beast. Even so, the family is not pleased with his pet. Meanwhile, his brother, a recent Army vet, endeavors to make it as a commercial photographer. He gets his break when he snaps a wonderful shot of his brother and the burro and wins a major contest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Louise, Michael Duane, (more)
Faced with the challenge of writing a screenplay based on the life of fabulously wealthy, fabulously successful composer Cole Porter, one Hollywood wag came up with a potential story angle: "How does the S.O.B. make his second million dollars?" By the time the Porter biopic Night and Day was released, the three-person scriptwriting team still hadn't come up with a compelling storyline, though the film had the decided advantages of star Cary Grant and all that great Porter music. Roughly covering the years 1912 to 1946, the story begins during Porter's undergraduate days at Yale University, where he participated in amateur theatricals under the tutelage of waspish professor Monty Woolley (who plays himself). Though Porter's inherited wealth could have kept him out of WWI, he insists upon signing up as an ambulance driver. While serving in France, he meets nurse Linda Lee (Alexis Smith), who will later become his wife. Focusing his attentions on Broadway and the London stage in the postwar years, Porter pens an unbroken string of hit songs, including "Just One of Those Things," "You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Begin the Beguine," and the title number. The composition of this last-named song is one of the film's giddy highlights, as Porter, inspired by the "drip drip drip" of an outsized rainstorm, runs to the piano and cries "I think I've got it!" The film's dramatic conflict arises when Porter is crippled for life in a polo accident. Refusing to have his legs amputated, he makes an inspiring comeback, even prompting a WWI amputee to remark upon his courage! Corny and unreliable as biography, Night and Day is redeemed by the guest appearances of musical luminaries Mary Martin (doing a spirited if disappointingly demure version of her striptease number "My Heart Belongs to Daddy") and Ginny Simms, the latter cast as an ersatz Ethel Merman named Carole Hill. Jane Wyman, seen as Porter's pre-nuptial sweetheart Gracie Harris, also gets to sing and dance, and quite well indeed. Beset with production problems, not least of which was the ongoing animosity between star Grant and director Michael Curtiz, Night and Day managed to finish filming on schedule, and proved to be an audience favorite -- except for those "in the know" Broadwayites who were bemused over the fact that Cole Porter's well-known homosexuality was necessarily weaned from the screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, John Alvin, (more)
- 1946
Charles Barton took a break from his Abbott and Costello assignments at Universal to direct the second-feature thriller Smooth as Silk. Kent Taylor plays a slick criminal lawyer adept at all sorts of sneaky legalistic tricks. Taylor's girl friend Virginia Grey jilts him for the more honest Milburn Stone. The lawyer hatches a plan to murder Stone, then to use his knowledge of the law to get off scot-free and implicate someone else for the crime. Though running a scant 65 minutes, Smooth as Silk packs a bigger wallop than some of Universal's more ambitious "A" melodramas of the same period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kent Taylor, Virginia Grey, (more)
- 1946
Avalanche offers an IRS man as a hero, meaning that there isn't much chance of this particular film being remade! Treasury agents Steve Batchellor (Bruce Cabot) and Red Kelley (Roscoe Karns) head to a mountain resort in the dead of winter to arrest a tax-evading businessman. Upon cornering their quarry, the two agents, along with everybody else at the resort, are trapped in the lodge by an avalanche. During their enforced stay, several murders occur, forcing Steve and Red to play detective. Stealing the show from the human actors is a live raven which carries empty shot glasses to the bartender (maybe the bird is the killer-who knows?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Cabot, Roscoe Karns, (more)
- 1946
In this WW II romance, a small-time nightclub singer who works in a little Manhattan nightclub has a one-night stand with a handsome fly-boy. The next day, the B-29 pilot is sent to the Pacific and once there, his crew mischievously paints the picture of the singer upon his plane with the words "The Bamboo Blonde" beneath it. The pilot takes off to become one of the most fearsome fighters of the war, earning himself considerable renown back home. Ever the entrepreneur, the nightclub owner sees a chance to make big bucks off of the singer. He succeeds and she becomes famous. Later the pilot returns, but though he wants to be with his Bamboo Blonde he cannot for he is engaged to another -- at least for the moment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances Langford, Ralph Edwards, (more)
This grade-A example of "film noir" stars Mark Stevens as Brad Galt, an embittered ex-convict who returns to the private detective business upon his release. Sour and surly, Galt behaves himself only when he's around his faithful and adoring secretary Kathleen (top-billed Lucille Ball). When Galt's crooked former partner Tony Jardine (Kurt Krueger) inaugurates an affair with socialite Mari Cathcart (Cathy Downs), Cathcart's waspish art-collector husband (Clifton Webb) arranges Jardine's murder, carefully pinning the blame on Galt. On the lam from the cops, Galt must rely on Kathleen to help gather enough evidence to prove his innocence. Best scene: Cathcart's abrupt but chillingly casual murder of his partner-in-crime (William Bendix). The deliberate lack of background music serves to enhance the gloomy atmosphere of The Dark Corner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, (more)
- 1945
The Blonde From Brooklyn is perky Susan Parker (Lynn Merrick), gainfully employed as a "jukebox singer", back in the days when jukebox patrons could request that their songs be performed live via telephone hookup. Teaming with showbiz-minded G.I. Dixon Harper (Robert Stanton), Susan passes herself off as a Southern belle in order to land a job singing radio commercials for a Dixiefied coffee company. The fun begins when Susan is mistaken for the heir to a Southern plantation, forcing her to keep up her "yew all"s and "sho' nuff"'s indefinitely. Director Del Lord (of Three Stooges fame) resurrects any number of old two-reel-comedy routines in this trivial Columbia musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stanton, Lynn Merrick, (more)
- 1945
Yes, even Ida Lupino occasionally starred in screwball comedies during the 1930s and 1940s. Pillow to Post casts Lupino as free-spirited travelling saleswoman Jane Howard, who has trouble finding suitable lodgings during the wartime housing shortage. In order to secure a room at a motor camp catering exclusively to married servicemen, Jane pretends to be the wife of hapless young lieutenant Don Mallory (William Prince). Misunderstanding piles upon misunderstanding, and before long poor Mallory is facing a general court-martial. While Lupino pushes the envelope a bit in the leading role, the film's comedy content is also in the capable hands of Sidney Greenstreet, Stu Erwin and Willie Best. Pillow to Post is adapted from a stage play by Rose Simon Kohn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ida Lupino, Sydney Greenstreet, (more)
From a novel of the same name by "Elizabeth", the film begins in 1914, with Bette Davis cast as vain, flighty society woman Fanny Trellis. Informed by Jewish-American financier Job Skeffington (Claude Rains) that her brother Trippy (Richard Waring) has stolen money to pay his gambling debts, Fanny marries Job, securing his promise that he won't prosecute her thieving sibling. Angered by Fanny's agreeing to this loveless union, Trippy runs off to join the army, and is killed during World War I. Fanny holds Skeffington responsible for her brother's death, and demands a divorce with a generous cash settlement. Despite Job's oft-repeated belief that "a woman is only beautiful when she is loved," Fanny uses her coquettish beauty to flit indiscriminately from man to man. While on a sailing trip with her latest beau, Fanny comes down with diphtheria. The disease destroys her facial beauty, and before long the shallow Fanny is left completely alone. Her self-centered efforts to reunite all of her old boyfriends for a party is a failure due to her pathetic middle-aged efforts to be kittenish, and the grotesqueness of the mounds of facial makeup she apples. Meanwhile, Skeffington, who has resettled in Europe with his daughter, is captured by the Nazis and placed in a concentration camp. He manages to escape, returning to the US totally blind and utterly penniless. A chastened Fanny comes back to her husband, promising to care for him for the rest of his life. Most TV prints of Mr. Skeffington run 127 minutes; the videocassette and cable TV versions have been restored to the original length. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Claude Rains, (more)
- 1944
The overcrowding in WWII-era Washington, D.C., provided the concept for this comedy, as well as another film from the previous year, The More the Merrier (1943). Lee Stevens (Fred MacMurray) is an executive from a toy company owned by T.J. Todd (Edward Arnold). In hopes of landing a lucrative wartime production contract, Todd has dispatched Stevens and Jane Rogers (Paulette Goddard), a secretary, to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with a political fat cat. Once there, Jane foolishly cancels their hotel reservations, unaware that the capitol is so jammed that there is nowhere else to stay. She devises a plan -- she and Lee will pose as servants in the home of wealthy Ira Cromwell (Roland Young), where their lodging will be part of their salary. Lee is a disaster as a domestic, and when the very same politician they've come to meet arrives for a formal dinner, disaster looms. Standing Room Only (1944) was the third of five films in which MacMurray and Goddard would appear together. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard, (more)
- 1943
Overloaded with unreleased films in 1942 and 1943, Paramount Pictures cleaned house by diverting several pictures to United Artists. One such effort was The Crystal Ball, wherein beauty contest loser Toni Gerard (Paulette Goddard) takes a job as a sideshow fortune teller. Subbing for the ailing head (Gladys George) of a fake medium racket, Toni whimsically advises attorney Brad Cavanaugh (Ray Milland) to purchase some property that is coveted by the government. Cavanaugh follows her advice, nearly ruining himself in the process. All turns out okay in the end, but there's a last-minute entanglement when several of Toni's disgruntled clients converge upon her all at once. Strictly second-rate, The Crystal Ball is salvaged by the work of such surehanded supporting players as William Bendix, Cecil Kellaway, Mary Field, Ernest Truex, Iris Adrian, Nestor Paiva and Mabel Paige (in her film debut). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, (more)
- 1943
Veteran film actor Tully Marshall makes his final appearance in PRC's Behind Prison Walls. A reworking of a familiar theme, the story finds scheming steel tycoon James J. MacGlennon (Marshall) and his high-minded lawyer son Jonathan (Alan Baxter) simultaneously ending up behind bars. While incarcerated, Jonathan tries to mend his larcenous father's ways, thereby drawing closer to his not-so-bad dad. Together, father and son scheme to legally outwit the elder MacGlennon's unscrupulous business partners. Meanwhile, Jonathan's sweetheart Elinor Cantwell (Gertrude Michael) waits patiently on the "outside". One of the better PRC efforts of its time, Behind Prison Walls is a gentle comedy with pointed sociological undertones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Baxter, Gertrude Michael, (more)
- 1942
RKO Radio's film series based on the popular radio serial Scattergood Baines rolled into 1942 with Scattergood Rides High. Guy Kibbee returns as Scattergood Baines, the grocer-sage of the small town of Coldriver. On this occasion, Baines champions the cause of orphan boy Dan Knox (Charles Lind), who has been cheated out of his family's racing stable and horse-breeding farm. Using common sense and a bit of genteel larceny, Scattergood out-slickers the crooks who've victimized Dan. He also puckishly stage-manages the romance between Dan and wealthy city gal Helen Van Pelt (Dorothy Moore). Mild comedy relief is provided by black youngsters Philip Hurlic and Paul White. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Kibbee, Jed Prouty, (more)
- 1942
Glenn Ford plays Martin Eden, an aspiring writer who signs on a merchant ship as a sailor. Tormented by the ship's sadistic captain (Ian McDonald), Eden survives the voyage, determined to write an expose of his horrible experiences. At first opposed by the maritime authorities, Martin's book becomes a best-seller. Its publication results in punishment for the wicked captain and the exoneration of a sailor (Stuart Erwin) accused of murder. Based on Jack London's semi-autobiographical novel, Adventures of Martin Eden earned a minor niche in media history as the first major-studio film to be released to television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, (more)
