Delmar Watson Movies
- 1933
Overworked and fearing that life is passing her by, eminent plastic surgeon Margaret "Peggy" Simmons (Ann Harding) takes an impromptu trip to California in this lifeless romance from RKO. She meets and falls in love with playboy Bobby Preble (Robert Young), who seems to sustain himself by little more than the ability to party and fly an airplane. Much to the consternation of fellow physician Dr. Heppling (Nils Asther), Peggy accepts Bobby's impulsive proposal. But life among the young elite does not prove as fulfilling as Peggy had hoped for, especially when flighty debutante Lee Joyce (Sari Maritza) reenters the picture. "I let myself forget that I was grown up," our heroine sighs before falling into the arms of the always-accommodating Dr. Heppling. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Harding, Robert Young, (more)
- 1932
Bret Harte's story Salomy Jane's Kiss provided the basis for a play (by Paul Armstrong and a number of films, including 1932's Wild Girl. Set in the High Sierras at the end of the Civil War, the "wild girl" of the title is Salome Jane Clay (Joan Bennett). Rather tomboyish and determined, she isn't the vixen that the title suggests; as a matter of fact, she is upset and angry over a man who has tried to take liberties with her. A stranger Charles Farrell shows up, looking for the same man who has incurred Jane's enmity. Farrell has a score to settle, for this man ruined the life and reputation of Farrell's sister. He shoots him, then flees the town with Jane's help. They are pursued by numerous individuals; as they overcome various obstacles, they find themselves falling in love. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- 1931
In this comedy, a rebellious son of a powerful industrialist returns home to prepare to take over the company. While their he marries a boarding-house servant because she helped him heal from a hangover. His actions enrage his family. The rest of the movie chronicles the sly father's attempts to destroy the relationship. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, Jean Colin, (more)
- 1930
Lone Star Ranger was a superior entry in western star George O'Brien's Zane Grey series for Fox Studios. Lensed on location in Utah's Monument Valley (long before it was "adopted" by John Ford), the film was adapted for the screen by Zane Grey from a novel by Max Brand, which had previously done service as a Tom Mix vehicle (and would later be remade by Fox with John Kimbrough in the lead). At the outset of the film, Buck Duane (O'Brien) is an outlaw, but upon rescuing Mary Aldridge (Sue Carol) from a runaway stagecoach, he vows to turn over a new leaf. He takes to ranching, whereupon the governor offers him a pardon -- if he will agree to lasso a gang of cattle rustlers. What no one knows is that the leader of the outlaws is Mary's father Colonel Aldridge (Russell Simpson). There are plenty of well-rehearsed thrills in Lone Star Ranger, but the film's most charming moment is purely spontaneous: upon meeting Sue Carol for the first time, a shirtless George O'Brien instinctively sucks in his stomach! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Sue Carol, (more)
- 1930
A remake of his 1921 film of the same name, Tod Browning's Outside the Law offers Edward G. Robinson in an incisive, pre-Little Caesar gangster portrayal. Robinson, however, is not the star of the picture: that honor goes to Owen Moore, cast as enterprising bank robber Fingers O'Dell. As part of his plan to knock over the City National Bank, Fingers poses as an advertising mannequin in the bank's window, allowing himself to case the joint while in full view of the police and public. Gangster boss Cobra Collins (Robinson) gets wind of Fingers' scheme and demands a 50-percent piece of the action. Fingers' girlfriend Connie (Mary Nolan) tries to throw Collins off the track by giving him the wrong date of the scheduled heist, but this plan falls through at the last minute. After blowing the bank's safe, Fingers hides out in an apartment which happens to be next door to a flat owned by a policeman. Thus it is that when Collins shows up, demanding his share of the dough, the cops are ready for him. Browning's directorial technique and Robinson's energetic performance help to obscure the plot idiocies in this outlandish cops-and-robbers yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Nolan, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
