Eleanore Whitney Movies
A lively presence in Paramount college musicals of the 1930s, almost always paired with the fresh-faced Johnny Downs, brunette Eleanore Whitney was said to have been taught tap dancing by no less an expert than Bill Robinson. On stage from the age of ten, she later toured vaudeville with singer Rae Samuels and became known as "the world's fastest tap dancer." By no means a threat to Eleanor Powell, Whitney left films in 1938 to marry. Surprisingly, she returned to the Broadway stage in 1946, opposite Bobby Clark in Moliere's The Would-Be Gentleman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1938
This comical campus romance showcases the fancy footwork of All-American basketball player Hank Luisetti while it tells the story of a dean's son who does his very best to become a good student. When he fails, he turns to playing basketball and befriends Luisetti, which makes him quite popular. This doesn't sit well with the dean, who wants academics to be more important than sports. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, Eleanore Whitney, (more)
- 1937
Previously filmed in 1921 with Wallace Reid, Booth Tarkington's stage comedy Clarence proved a worthwhile screen vehicle for Roscoe Karns. The title character is a resourceful young man who knows a whole little about a whole lot of things, and who concentrates by playing his saxophone. Clarence ingratiates himself with the wealthy and eccentric Wheeler family, though daughter Cora can't stand the boy. Ultimately, of course, she realizes that the feckless but likeable Clarence would be a far better catch than her fortune-hunting fiance Tobins (Theodore Von Eltz). As the flustered patriarch of the zany Wheeler clan, Eugene Pallette offers a virtual reprise of his role in My Man Godfrey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanore Whitney, Eugene Pallette, (more)
- 1937
"Camp Romance," a place for the romantically challenged, provides the setting of this musical. The story centers on a frumpy secretary's crush on her handsome boss, the camp manager. The manager has been working on a musical. Just as he is about to finish it, the secretary gives herself a makeover, turns into a drop- dead knockout, and romantic bliss ensues. Songs include: "Keeno, Screeno and You," "I'll Follow My Baby," "Thrill of a Lifetime," "Paris in Swing," "Sweetheart Time," "It's Been a Whole Year," "If We Could Run the Country for a Day." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yacht Club Boys, Judy Canova, (more)
- 1937
Department store owner Elliot Dinwiddy (Charlie Ruggles) never makes a decision without first consulting his astrologer Dr. Wakefield (Andrew Tombes). Problem is, Dinwiddy's dependence upon the stars to dictate his fate has a negative trickle-down effect on his impending marriage to his secretary Myrtle Tweep (Marjorie Gateson) -- and on the romance between store employees Terry Keith (Johnny Downs) and Caroline Wilson (Eleanor Whitley). Most of the plot is forgotten during the climactic floor-show celebrating the 25th anniversary of Dinwiddy's store, with specialties from pantomimist Ben Blue (cast as night watchman Luke) and Jack Benny Show regulars Kenny Baker and Phil Harris. The film's best moment finds store detective Dugan (Romo Vincent) cutting loose with a Charles Laughton impression. The film editor for Turn off the Moon was Edward Dmytryk, who later went on to a prestigious directorial career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Eleanore Whitney, (more)
- 1937
Johnny Downs takes a break from his usual campus musicals to play a small-town songsmith in Blonde Trouble. Attempting to make it big in New York, Downs falls victim to con artists, back-stabbing agents and vainglorious "artistes." But with the help of down-to-earth Eleanor Whitney, Downs pens a hit song that plants him firmly on Easy Street. The best lines go to seasoned comedy pros Lynne Overman and William Demarest. The music in Blonde Trouble was co-written by Burton Lane, several years removed from his Broadway hit Finian's Rainbow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanore Whitney, Johnny Downs, (more)
- 1936
The quaint genetic theories of the 1930s are satirized in College Holiday. Dotty matron Mary Boland runs a ramshackle summer resort, opening her doors to college students of both sexes--but only those collegiates with extra-special physical and mental skills. She hopes to encourage these select co-eds to meet and mate, then produce a breed of "perfect" children. What Boland doesn't count on is the supremacy of the Heart over Science. Engagingly silly, College Holiday devotes generous screen space to some of the biggest comic talents of the 1930s: Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye and Ben Blue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Benny, Gracie Allen, (more)
- 1936
Actual footage of the 1936 Rose Bowl game is cleverly (if not seamlessly) integrated into the action of this sports-oriented comedy. Longtime chums Paddy O'Reilly (Tom Brown) and Dutch Schultz (Benny Baker) may be heroes of the high-school gridiron, but they're persona non grata with the girls, thanks to campus lothario Ossie Merrill (Larry "Buster" Crabbe). Managing to get on the college football team in time for the Rose Bowl competition, Paddy and Dutch finally win out over Ossie by scoring the winning touchdown. Of interest in the cast as one of the campus cuties is curvaceous Priscilla Lawson, who'd previously starred as Princess Aura opposite Buster Crabbe in the Universal serial Flash Gordon. Also on hand is William Frawley, as-what else? -- a college football coach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanore Whitney, Tom Brown, (more)
- 1936
Previously filmed in 1919, the Kate Douglas Wiggin novel Timothy's Quest was remade as a talkie in 1935. Dickie Moore plays Timothy Tarbox, a dewy-eyed orphan united in misery with his little sister Samantha (Virginia Weidler). The kids are taken in by maiden lady Vilda Cummins (Elizabeth Patterson), an old battle-ax who allegedly hates all children. It takes some doing, but Timothy and Samantha eventually win over Vilda, whose bark (as suspected) is far worse than her bite. A romantic subplot involving grown-ups Martha (Eleanor Whitney) and David (Tom Keene) never intrudes too long on the sentimental main story. Among the scenarists of Timothy's Quest are former Harold Lloyd director Gil Pratt and future MGM executive Dore Schary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dickie Moore, Virginia Weidler, (more)
- 1936
The third film of Paramount's "Big Broadcast" series follows the pattern of the first two titles: negligible plot with plenty of memorable music and guest stars. Jack Carson (Jack Benny) owns the radio station this time out; he doesn't get along with the sponsors, and many are threatening to pull their advertising off the air. Jack's solution? Put on a big show, of course, with a handful of the biggest stars of the day. George Burns and Gracie Allen appear once again, this time as the hosts of a golfing program; musical guests include Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Gene Krupa, Larry Adler, and Leopold Stokowski. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Benny, George Burns, (more)
- 1936
In this musical, a young lady is sent to an East coast finishing school. She doesn't realize that it is a bogus school run by an unemployed stage troupe, her fellow students are chorus girls, and the faculty is comprised of the troupe's star act. The truth is soon revealed. Fortunately, it all turns out well when the girl's father, a prominent Hollywood-producer pays the school a call and sees their performance. He is so impressed that he offers them all contracts. Songs include: "Where Is My Heart?" "The Swing Tap," "Tap Your Feet," "Long Ago and Far Away" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin), "Learn to Be Lovely." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanore Whitney, Robert Cummings, (more)
- 1936
Hollywood Boulevard is a trenchant look at the underside of Tinseltown. Though the nominal hero is a disillusioned screenwriter played by Robert Cummings (whose dialogue anticipates the lines spoken by William Holden in 1950's Sunset Boulevard), the focus of the story is John Halliday as a washed-up film star. Desperately, Halliday accepts the offer from a sleazy "tell all" magazine to write his memoirs. The actor's estranged family is devastated by the resultant scandal, and out love for his daughter (Marsha Hunt), Halliday tries to break his contract. But the publisher (C. Henry Gordon) threatens to ruin Halliday's comeback attempt if he refuses to write the rest of his memoirs. In a scuffle, the publisher kills Halliday, and the blame falls on the actor's daughter. But wise guy screenwriter Cummings gets to the truth of the mystery. A slick B-plus crime melodrama, Hollywood Boulevard has the added bonus of several well-known silent film personalities (Charles Ray, Francis X. Bushman, Maurice Costello, Mae Marsh etc.) in cameo roles, as well as a guest appearance by Gary Cooper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Halliday, Marsha Hunt, (more)
- 1935
The title doesn't refer to mosquitoes but to the amount of money that could be earned in the radio business of the 1930s. Samuel S. Hinds plays a Major Bowes-type entrepreneur who sponsors a weekly radio amateur contest. Hinds' daughter Wendy Barrie has show-biz aspirations, but dad won't hear of it. She enters his contest under an assumed name, winning not only the prize but the heart of a the program's emcee (John Howard). Millions in the Air is one of the few feature films costarring Broadway comedian Willie Howard, whose Jewish characterization and "blue" humor made him difficult to cast in most Hollywood productions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Willie Howard, (more)
