Nydia Westman Movies

Once the audience accepts the notion than George Raft and Adolphe Menjou are Mexican brothers, the rest of Paramount's Trumpet Blows is easy to take. A retired bandit, Pancho Montez (Menjou) wants to settle down to a quiet life. This proves impossible when his headstrong young sibling Manuel (Raft) insists upon trying to become a bullfighter. Manuel also falls in love with Pancho's fiancee Chulita (Frances Drake), but she renounces both of them, calling them cowards. By film's end, of course, both Manuel and Pancho have proven Chulita wrong -- and one of them (guess which one?) has claimed her for his wife. Beyond its romantic-triangle intrigues, Trumpet Blows was the first major talkie treatment of the bullfighting mystique. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

George Cukor directed this classic adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's sentimental novel with a shimmering lavishness that is a prime example of the classic Hollywood style at its best. The story concerns the lives of four New England sisters -- Jo (Katharine Hepburn), Amy (Joan Bennett), Meg (Frances Dee), and Beth (Jean Parker) -- during the time of the Civil War. Jo desires to leave home to become a writer, but decides to stay to help the family. But Meg announces her plans to get married, so Jo leaves for New York City. As she settles down to a writing career, she meets Professor Fritz Bhaer (Paul Lukas), who helps her with her work. While Jo is away, Amy falls in love and marries Jo's old flame Laurie Laurence (Douglass Montgomery). But Jo is forced to return to New England when she discovers Beth is dying. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The world of horse racing provides the backdrop for this episodic drama. Much of the story is set at the Luray Springs Hotel where the characters wait for the running of the Capitol Handicap. The main story focuses upon Colly Tannyer, a pretty young handicapper who must wrangle up $10,000 so she can bet on a special horse. He former lover, Cuff Billings, helps her out under the condition that if the horse loses, she must make love to him. She agrees, and unfortunately, her steed places third. Fortunately, Cuff is more honorable than she though and he ends up romancing her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this romantic musical, a carnival knife thrower's assistant falls for a Parisian tour guide who earns money wearing a sandwich board that says "Is Your Heart Happy? No? Consult Professor Bibi, 17 Rue Canton." After a few romantic mishaps, true love eventually ensues. Songs include: "Lover of Paree," "Lucky Guy," "In a One-Room Flat," "The Way to Love," "It's Oh, It's Ah, It's Wonderful" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This drama is a compilation of stories occurring in the Empire State Building with the focus on topics such as bank failures, love scenes and odd clerks. ~ Rovi