Bobby Watson Movies

Writer/director Billy Wilder (in collaboration with producer/writer Charles Brackett) earned his first critical condemnation with A Foreign Affair. Reviewers accused Wilder (as they would so often in the future) of moral bankruptcy, challenging him to prove what could possibly be funny about the Nazi war guilt, the bombed-out city of Berlin, the postwar European black market or attempted suicide. All of these elements are in Foreign Affair, and all are very funny. John Lund is an American army captain carrying on a casual affair with Berlin songstress Marlene Dietrich, who accepts Lund's attentions so long as there are contraband cigarettes and nylons added to the bargain. Iowa congresswoman Jean Arthur is sent as part of an American fact-finding delegation to Berlin, and Lund is compelled to clean up his act--or at least pretend to. Despite her initial shock at the corruption all around her, straitlaced Arthur eventually falls for Lund, but Dietrich has been at this game a lot longer. For an interesting cinematic and sociological exercise, A Foreign Affair should be shown in tandem with Wilder's 1961 Cold War comedy One, Two, Three. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second of MGM's Thin Man films reteams William Powell and Myrna Loy as, respectively, bibulous private detective Nick Charles and his socialite wife Nora. The Charleses are sucked into another murder case via Nick's lovely cousin Elissa Landi, whose husband Alan Marshall has vanished. Hubby has been conducting an affair with nightclub thrush Dorothy McNulty (later known as Penny Singleton) and is also blackmailing gangsterish Joseph Calleia. When the corpses begin piling up, Nick and Nora try to piece the clues together, with the earnest assistance of Jimmy Stewart, who carries a torch for Landi. You won't believe who turns out to be the murderer in this one--then again, given the plot's strict adherence to "least likely suspect" formula, you probably will. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A boy learns life-changing lessons about the importance of friendship and the dignity of labor in this adventure saga based on a story by Rudyard Kipling. Young Harvey Cheyne (Freddie Bartholomew) is the working definition of a spoiled brat; the only child of a wealthy widowed businessman, Harvey has everything he needs, but never stops asking for more, convinced he can get anything if he yells, pouts, or throws the right tantrum. Even other boys his age are disgusted with his antics, and when he accompanies his father on an ocean cruise, he finds he has no friends to play with. After wolfing down six ice-cream sodas, Harvey gets sick to his stomach and while vomiting over the side of the ship, he falls into the drink. He is rescued by Manuel (Spencer Tracy), a Portuguese old salt who drags him on board a Gloucester fishing boat where he's a deck hand and doryman. Harvey shows no gratitude to Manuel for saving his life and demands to be taken home immediately; Manuel and the crew, not the least bit sympathetic, inform him that once they've filled the ship's hold with fresh catch, they'll return to shore, and not a moment sooner. Over the next few weeks, Harvey grows from a self-centered pantywaist into a young man who appreciates the value of a hard day's work, and in Manuel he finds the strength, guidance, and good sense that he never got from his father. Spencer Tracy earned an Academy Award for his performance in Captains Courageous and even sings a bit; the story was parodied years later (with a few rather drastic changes) in the Chris Elliott vehicle Cabin Boy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Set just after the close of the Civil War, a former Confederate officer (Ray Milland) joins a vaudeville target-shooting show to avoid detection by the Union army. Working his way West, he falls in league with a group of Southern copper-miners being harassed as they try to make a living. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Deep in My Heart is the MGM-ified biography of composer Sigmund Romberg, here played by José Ferrer. Evidently the scripters didn't feel that the life of Romberg (as set down by author Elliott Arnold, whose book was used as the film's basis) had enough drama to fill out two hours and ten minutes. As a result, the film is overstocked with guest stars, performing such Romberg standards as "One Alone," "Lover Come Back to Me," "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," "Will You Remember," and "Stout-Hearted Men." Among these celebrities are Ann Miller, Vic Damone, Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Rosemary Clooney, and Gene Kelly, the latter performing a dance duet with his seldom-seen brother, Fred. For all the heady competition, it is José Ferrer who renders the most memorable production number: a one-man presentation of the Romberg musical comedy Jazzboat, in which Ferrer assumes all the roles, from star Al Jolson's to the entire female chorus! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having made a mint with his Bobby Breen films, producer Sol Lesser decide to groom another talented youngster for stardom. Everything's on Ice was specifically designed to suit the talents of six-year-old skating sensation Irene Dare, who'd previously played as supporting role in Breen's Everything on Ice. Little Ms. Dare plays an ice-skating whiz who is passed off as an heiress by her wheeler-dealer uncle (Roscoe Karns). Starring in an oversized ice show at a Florida resort, the pint-sized heroine also stage-manages a romance between her 19-year old sister (Lynne Roberts) and a handsome young sprout (Eric Linden), while uncle tries to land a wealthy husband for Sis, never realizing that her sweetheart is himself a millionaire. Billed last in Everything's on Ice is Paul Winchell, a young ventriloquist who'd rise to fame and fortune on television in the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 62-minute GI Jane may well be the best of Lippert Studios' "pocket" musicals. TV producer Tim (Tom Neal) is in the midst of staging a special featuring WACS when he receives his induction notice. The shock of the news causes Tim to faint, whereupon he imagines he has been promoted to sergeant and shipped to an all-male desert radar command. Our hero then schemes to transfer the WAC officers to his post. In so doing, he falls in love with the titular "GI Jane" (Jean Porter) and runs afoul of tough-talking WAC lieutenant Adrian (Iris Adrian). Featured in the cast is future Mickey Mouse Club star Jimmy Dodd, performing two of his own compositions. Also on hand is famed Hitler imitator Robert (Bobby) Watson, here cast as a flustered Army colonel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Reportedly at the request of Marion Davies herself, Bing Crosby was borrowed from Paramount for the MGM Davies vehicle Going Hollywood. Der Bingle plays a struggling crooner who falls in love with Davies, a French teacher in a girl's school. He rises to fame and fortune in Hollywood, leaving Davies behind. She trails after him and becomes a movie star in her own right, supplanting Crosby's current vis-a-vis, the seductive Fifi D'Orsay. Hero and heroine are reunited in a lyrical finale. Some of the best moments in Going Hollywood belong to Patsy Kelly, making her movie debut as Davies' wisecracking chum, and to the Radio Rogues, a comedy singing act specializing in impressions of contemporary radio celebrities. As was his wont, publisher William Randolph Hearst, Marion Davies' very good friend, was present throughout the filming, making it difficult indeed for Bing Crosby to "lose himself" in the kissing scenes. The gloriously oversized production numbers include "Temptation" (given an astoundingly seductive rendition by a worldly Bing Crosby) and the high-kickin' title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Hero for a Day is elderly night watchman Frank Higgins (Charley Grapewin), still basking in the memories of his long-age college football triumphs. To stir up publicity for a crucial post-season game, his alma mater plucks Higgins out of obscurity and once more showers him in glory. The old man's triumph turns to tragedy when he drops dead during the Big Game, but at least he goes out secure in the knowledge that his protégé Brainy (Dick Foran) has scored the winning touchdown. Critics in 1939 were amused by the inconsistencies during the gridiron sequences (the scenes appeared to have been shot at several different stadiums, then haphazardly patched together in the cutting room) and by the lavish wardrobe sported by "humble" stenographer Sylvia Higgins (Anita Louise). Featured in the cast of Hero for a Day is Richard Lane, who seems to have been in every sports movie ever produced between 1935 and 1945. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Abel Kandel's 1931 play Hot Money, this delightfully daffy comedy from Warner Bros. is a typical example of that studio's turbo-charged dialogue and irreverent attitude. William Powell, at the top of his game here, plays Gar Evans, the "world's foremost promoter," hired by Jewish entrepreneur Ginsberg (George Sidney) to boost a new discovery that may turn sewage into artificial rubber. Unfortunately, after Evans and his minions have talked untold suckers into buying stocks in the dubious venture, the inventor (Harry Beresford) goes missing. The good professor turns up eventually but proves to be quite demented and the entire scheme is about to fall apart when Evans, more or less at the seat of his pants, manages to sweet-talk himself into an even better deal. William Powell is a marvel in this comedy, whether cheerleading a gaggle of would-be salesmen or attempting to persuade a disillusioned Francine (Evelyn Brent), his good luck charm, to stay onboard despite ever impending doom. Miss Brent, who usually had only one expression -- sullen hauteur -- is quite charming as Powell's long-suffering girlfriend; and Frank McHugh, whose comedy relief often proved more grating than funny, is more than tolerable this time around as Powell's rah-rah second lieutenant. And finally there is veteran dialectician George Sidney, whose worried entrepreneur offers some of High Pressure's best laughs. A French-language version, La Bluffeur, was produced later in 1932 featuring Andre Luget as the promoter and Danish comic Torben Meyer as Ginsberg. Warner Bros. remade the story under its original title, Hot Money, in 1936, this time featuring Ross Alexander and Joseph Cawthorn. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Believe it or not, this bizarre wartime "B"-picture was based on a true story. In the early stages of WWII, a prominent American businessman offered one million dollars to anyone who could nab Adolf Hitler and bring him to justice, dead or alive. This real-life character is herein played by Russell Hicks; accepting his offer, no questions asked, are ex-convicts Ward Bond, Warren Hymer and Paul Fix. Joining the Canadian Air Force, the three heroes-by-default strong-arm their way into Nazi Germany, then gain access to Hitler by posing as musicians. Robert Watson, frequent Hitler impersonator during the war years, co-stars as Der Fuhrer, who turns out to be a craven coward once he's shorn of his postage-stamp mustache (we're not making this up.) The quasi-comic tone of the film turns dead serious at the end, as a wild-eyed Ward Bond makes a long patriotic speech while facing a firing squad (previously shown mowing down little children in their bedclothes!). One of the oddest scenes in the picture finds the three former convicts busting out of the Dachau concentration camp -- and this before the world at large was unaware of the horrors going on behind the walls of this infamous death factory. Only one quibble: Why are there shadows of flames playing against Bond's face in the final scene, when there isn't any fire? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Raymond McCarey, the prolific if less-inspired brother of Leo McCarey, called the directorial shots for Universal's Love in a Bungalow. Nan Grey stars as young real estate agent Mary Callahan, whose job it is to guide potential house-buyers through a "model" bungalow. Enter Jeff Langan (Kent Taylor), a handsome young indigent who moves into the bungalow and steadfastly refuses to move out. Falling in love with the stubborn but charming Jeff, Mary conspires with him to enter a radio contest in hopes of winning the bungalow rent-free. But there's a catch: Jeff and Mary have to pretend to be married. Never a studio to throw anything away, Universal recycled the plot of Love in a Bungalow for one of its mini-musicals of the 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An heiress gets a crash course in the simple life when she marries a penniless man in this comedy. Calvin Jordan (Henry O'Neill) is the prosperous owner of a successful steel mill, and the apple of his eye is his daughter Cora (Myrna Loy). Cora stands to inherit Calvin's firm, and he's taken it upon himself to find a good husband for her. However, free-spirited Cora doesn't think much of her father's skills as a matchmaker, and makes it clear she's going to marry whomever she pleases. One day, Cora meets Bill Overton (Robert Taylor), a jobless and homeless man camping out on a park bench. After bumming fifty cents from a cop, Bill offers to take Cora out to dinner; instead, they end up gambling, and turn the four bits into a bankroll. After a few too many celebratory drinks, Bill and Cora decide true love and good fortune are shining upon them, and they get married the same evening. However, the next day the newlyweds realize they are indeed husband and wife, and after defying her father Cora can't count on her dad's help in paying the bills anymore. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide