Leon Waycoff [Ames] Movies
- 1935
Reckless is a delightfully breezy screwball comedy from the same director (Victor Fleming) and star (Jean Harlow) responsible for the celebratedBombshell (itself a film à clef loosely based on Clara Bow) -- with the added appeal of William Powell. One can readily see the chemistry between the two stars at work, which would lead to their impending marriage at the time of Harlow's death a year later. The sets for the Broadway number that Harlow's Mona Leslie performs in are also extraordinary. Mona Leslie (Jean Harlow) is an up-and-coming Broadway actress, dancer, and singer, who leads a happy-go-lucky, freewheeling lifestyle; bailed out of jail by family friend Ned Riley (William Powell), a sports promoter who loves Mona but won't slow down his lifestyle long enough to give her the satisfaction of admitting it, she performs in a bizarre "benefit" show, only to discover that she has an audience of one, wealthy admirer Bob Harrison (Franchot Tone). He declares his love for her and a romance does develop, but when he proposes marriage, he discovers that his upper-crust set won't accept a showgirl as one of their blue-blood crowd.
Their romance leads to a marriage and desperate unhappiness for all concerned, most of all Harrison, whose basic neurotic nature gets worse as the marriage deteriorates. When Harrison takes his own life, Riley and Mona find themselves accused of every foul deed possible, and when Mona gives birth to a son, a legal battle ensues over custody of the child, with Harrison's family claiming that she is unfit. Finally, Mona decides to fight back -- she gets Harrison's family to stand down by giving up any claim to her late husband's money, but she must now contend with the nation's self-appointed moral guardians. No producer will take the risk of backing a show with Mona in it, but she finally gets a helping hand from Ned Riley. The movie has a few too many changes in tone, which detracts from the verisimilitude. The whole story is a film à clef based on the tragic romance between torch singer Libby Holman and tobacco heir Smith Reynolds (which also provided fodder for such à clef films as Brief Moment, Sing, Sinner, Sing, and Written on the Wind) -- and Harlow's singing is obviously dubbed, just as her dancing is doubled. Also, the songs -- except for the final two numbers -- don't quite fit with the melodrama, and the Damon Runyon-esque comic antics feel completely out of left field at times. But when she and Powell are onscreen together, the film just lofts into the air, past all of those flaws. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Their romance leads to a marriage and desperate unhappiness for all concerned, most of all Harrison, whose basic neurotic nature gets worse as the marriage deteriorates. When Harrison takes his own life, Riley and Mona find themselves accused of every foul deed possible, and when Mona gives birth to a son, a legal battle ensues over custody of the child, with Harrison's family claiming that she is unfit. Finally, Mona decides to fight back -- she gets Harrison's family to stand down by giving up any claim to her late husband's money, but she must now contend with the nation's self-appointed moral guardians. No producer will take the risk of backing a show with Mona in it, but she finally gets a helping hand from Ned Riley. The movie has a few too many changes in tone, which detracts from the verisimilitude. The whole story is a film à clef based on the tragic romance between torch singer Libby Holman and tobacco heir Smith Reynolds (which also provided fodder for such à clef films as Brief Moment, Sing, Sinner, Sing, and Written on the Wind) -- and Harlow's singing is obviously dubbed, just as her dancing is doubled. Also, the songs -- except for the final two numbers -- don't quite fit with the melodrama, and the Damon Runyon-esque comic antics feel completely out of left field at times. But when she and Powell are onscreen together, the film just lofts into the air, past all of those flaws. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Harlow, William Powell, (more)
- 1935
Former silent-screen leading man Ralph Forbes makes the best of his B-picture surroundings in Empire Productions' Rescue Squad. Forbes plays a fearless fireman, assigned to solve a series of arsons. It's rough work, and it takes its toll on Forbes' private life. Slow going for its first 5 reels, Rescue Squad peps up during its fiery finale. Incidentally, the cast member known as Leon Waycoff later changed his professional cognomen to Leon Ames. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1933
Ship of Wanted Men stars former MGM leading lady Dorothy Sebastian and burly, all-purpose villain Fred Kohler Sr. A shipful of fugitives from justice pulls up on a Pacific Island where there are no extradition laws. The island is a magnet for the scum of the earth, as well as a few honest guys who were framed. Into this den of iniquity swims socialite Dorothy Sebastian, who jumped off a yacht after apparently murdering her lecherous host. To remain on the Island, Sebastian is told that she must pay $5,000 to head honcho Fred Kohler -- and if she hasn't got the money, it is implied, there are other methods of collection. The heroine is not only saved from a fate worse than you-know-what by the strong, stalwart hero Leon Waycoff (later billed as Leon Ames), but it also turns out that she's not guilty of murder after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Waycoff [Ames], Gertrude Astor, (more)
- 1932
Having missed the opportunity to direct Frankenstein for Universal, Robert Florey was offered Murders in the Rue Morgue as a consolation, whereupon he transformed a pedestrian property into a minor classic. Owing more to Cabinet of Dr. Caligari than to Edgar Allen Poe, the film stars Bela Lugosi as Doctor Mirakle (accent on the second syllable), a carnival sideshow entertainer who doubles as a mad scientist. Kidnapping prostitutes off the Paris streets, Mirakle endeavors to mix their blood with that of his pet gorilla. His experiments will forever be doomed to failure, however, until he is able to obtain the blood of a virgin -- and that's where Camille L'Espanye (Sidney Fox) comes into the picture. When Mirakle's monkey kidnaps Camille and murders her mother, suspicion immediately falls upon the girl's sweetheart, starving artist Pierre Dupin (Leon Waycoff, later known as Leon Ames). But by using the deductive skills displayed in the original story by Poe's master detective C. Auguste Dupin, our hero not only proves his innocence, but rescues the helpless heroine from Mirakle's clutches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bela Lugosi, Sydney Fox, (more)
- 1932
Roly-poly comedian Jack Oakie in a serious role? Yes, that is exactly what you get with Uptown New York, an otherwise humdrum melodrama from lower echelon company World Wide Pictures. Oakie plays Eddie Doyle, a gumball machine salesman who marries Pat Smith (Shirley Grey) knowing full well that the girl is on the rebound from a failed romance with aspiring Jewish doctor Max Silver (Leon Ames). But when Pat is nearly killed in an effort to protect her husband's gumball machines from hoodlums and is in need of a lifesaving operation, Eddie calls on Dr. Max and then nobly fades into the background. While recuperating, Pat learns from one of Eddie's pals that her husband is languishing in prison, convicted of selling the business without consulting her, the part owner. The girl finally realizes that she truly loves the self-sacrificing Eddie and they reconcile. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, Shirley Grey, (more)
- 1932
Two disparate brothers work it out in this drama. Their father, an engineer on the Cannonball Express, considers one son to be good and the other to be bad. He must reassess his judgment when the "good son" gets involved with hold-up men during a crap game. He loses and now must pay substantial IOU's. The desperate young man resorts to stealing from his dad to save his skin. It is the "bad seed" who saves his brother by taking the rap after their father finds out. The truth is revealed when the robbers attempt a heist on the father's train. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1931
John Barrymore is the "State's Attorney" in the RKO picture of the same name. A brilliant criminal lawyer, Barrymore counts on his underworld connections to climb the ladder of success to the Governor's chair. "Humanized" by his girlfriend Helen Twelvetrees, a former streetwalker, Barrymore decides at long last to go straight, making mincemeat of his one-time mob patron William "Stage" Boyd in a thrilling courtroom finale. Barrymore's longtime drinking crony Gene Fowler collaborated on the script of State's Attorney with gangster-saga scrivener Rowland Brown. The film was remade (and extensively sanitized) as Criminal Lawyer in 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Helen Twelvetrees, (more)
