Michael Whalen Movies

The Gas House Kids, the very poor man's Bowery Boys, head for Hollywood. While en route to their destination, they accept the invitation of scientist Milton Parsons to spend the night at his home. Head "Gas Housers" Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Tommy Bond investigate strange nocturnal noises and discover a houseful of apparent ghosts and goblins. Actually, the noisemakers are a bunch of gangsters, searching for stolen money. Gas House Kids in Hollywood was the last of PRC's three-film "Gas House Kids" series, none of them exactly box office worldbeaters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled Dawn Express, this PRC spy melodrama was hastily rechristened Nazi Spy Ring to keep abreast of current events. Michael Whalen stars as Robert Norton, a scientist who has developed a formula for synthetic gasoline. A group of Nazi spies try to intimidate Norton into parting with his formula, but he is not so easily frightened. The villains then contrive to have Norton suspected of being a Nazi himself so that he'll be more susceptible to their overtures. As one critic pointed out, the hero could have saved himself all this trouble if he'd reported the spies to the FBI in the first reel, but then the movie would have been over in 12 minutes. Nazi Spy Ring is so cheaply produced that the sets constantly threaten collapse -- and indeed, at one point a break-away door fails to break properly, provoking laughter in all the wrong places. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a young man is in trouble, his sister puts herself in danger to save him. ~ All Movie Guide

Ralph Bellamy made the first of four appearances as fictional sleuth Ellery Queen in Columbia's Ellery Queen, Master Detective. For reasons that defy logic, the studio elected to transform the brilliant, analytical Queen into a hopeless bumbler, who seems incapable of tying his own shoes, much less solving a murder. Set at a posh health resort, the story gets under way when wealthy physical culturalist John Braun (played by former director Fred Niblo) is killed after threatening to cut all his heirs out of his will. Investigating the killing is crime novelist Ellery Queen, his police-inspector father (Charles Grapewin), and another mystery writer, Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsay). In short order, the body disappears, along with the will, a set of X-rays, and an ambulance! Somehow, Ellery Queen manages to put the pieces together and solve the crime, whereupon Nikki Porter offers to become Ellery's secretary-even though it's clear she's got more brains in her left toe than he has in his whole carcass. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, the owner and chief editor of a newspaper gets together with two college pals and begins looking into the strange death of an old hermit who lived on the fringe of town. The official cause of death is alcoholism, but the editor thinks otherwise. Sure enough, the man's daughter admits she killed him. But they soon find that she is lying. With a little more leg-work, the three find the real culprits and bring them to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a the journalist and editor of a prison newspaper is good enough, that he even contributes to outside publications, but still encounters difficulty after he is released. With the help of a prison loan, he buys his own little printing press and begins attacking the crooked politicians who have been dictating what the major dailies can and cannot print. His heated essays result in the firing of the prison warden. Fortunately, the ex-con successfully helps the ousted warden become the next state governor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Gloria Stuart plays Carol Murdock, a champion golfer whose businessman husband Anthony (Michael Whalen) cares nothing for the game. Only when Carol teams up with handsome golf pro Philip Reeves (Lyle Talbot) does Anthony experience the "change of heart" of the title. As Carol and Philip win tournament after tournament, Anthony, partly out of jealous and partly out of self-preservation, takes to the golf links himself. Soon he's as adept at the game as Carol, who has her own change of heart and returns to her husband. A typical 20th Century-Fox programmer, Change of Heart has the advantages of slickness and professionalism, not to mention the amusing performance of 12-year-old Delmar Watson as a wise-cracking caddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While New York Sleeps is when fast-talking reporter Barney Callahan (Michael Whalen) prowls the night beat for a great metropolitan newspaper. At present, Callahan is trying to find out who's responsible for a series of baffling murders. The victims were all bond carriers, and the cops have already targeted the most likely suspects. With the help of photographer Snapper Doolan (Chick Chandler), Callahan bypasses the Obvious and goes after the least likely suspect-who, of course, is the guilty party. When not on the job, Callahan relaxes by romancing long-legged showgirl Judy King (Jean Rogers), as good an excuse as any for an extended nightclub musical number. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not a remake of the 1932 Erich Von Stroheim film of the same name (which was ultimately released as Hello Sister), Walking Down Broadway owes more to the old Warner Bros. melodrama Three on a Match. The story concerns six Broadway chorus girls, who, when their latest show folds on New Years' Eve, make a pact to stage a reunion one year later. And what a year it is! Two of the girls die in accidents, one is framed on a manslaughter charge, and the other three land husbands, one of whom is fabulously wealthy. The most successful of the six is the group's "den mother" Joan Bradley (Clare Trevor), who not only finds the man of her dreams, but also achieves success in the business world. For the record, the other five girls are played by 20th Century-Fox contractees Phyllis Brooks, Leah Ray, Dixie Dunbar, Lynn Bari and Jayne Regan, who like their cinematic counterparts would have mixed success in their future careers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Scheduled to marry a man she doesn't love (and for good reason), spoiled heiress Barbara Blanchard (Claire Trevor) runs away from her wedding and hits the road. While hitchhiking, Trevor is given a ride by Bob Reynolds (Michael Whalen), a personable young auto salesman who's been hired to deliver what was then called a "caravan car" but would now be labelled an RV. As luck and the screenwriters would have it, a fugitive jewel thief hides his stolen gems in Bob's vehicle. Our hero is arrested, causing Barbara to cease her incessant put-downs of the poor guy. In trying to spring Bob from jail, Barbara realizes that she's fallen in love with him (why didn't she just ask the audience, who knew it all along?) It's positively awe-inspiring how many runaway-heiress films were spawned by the freak success of It Happened One Night. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An earnest, honest newspaper sports editor single-handedly launches a campaign to clean up the shadowy, crooked world of professional prizefighting in this drama. He focuses most of his energy on one shady promoter and proves his point by easily punching out the lights of the promoter's "champ." The fallen fighter's daughter is terribly upset with the ethical editor until she finds herself falling in love with earnest fellow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Social butterfly Rena Allen (Doris Nolan) is bored unto tears by her stuffy fiance Throckton Van Cortland (Gerald Oliver Smith). She runs off to the country, where she falls in love with struggling playwright Ken Durkin (Michael Whalen). He is astonished by her uncanny ability to critique his work and offer advice, but the audience knows that Rena is the niece of prominent Broadway producer Robert Hartley (Nigel Bruce). The audience also knows -- but Rena doesn't -- that Durkin is himself a runaway socialite. Elated when his play is purchased by Hartley, Ken is offended when he discovers that Rena was responsible for this stroke of fortune and storms out of her life (the fact that he'd also been deceiving her doesn't seem to bother him too much). It takes a night together in the small-town jail of rustic sheriff Chic Sale for Rena and Robert to kiss and make up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide