Ian Wolfe Movies

The third of MGM's profitable Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy songfests, Maytime opens in the early 20th century, with a young girl arguing with her boyfriend over her wishes to become an opera singer. The girl's neighbor, a lonely old woman whom we gradually recognize as a convincingly "aged" Jeanette MacDonald, tells the girl of her own career in opera. The old lady was once the radiant young diva Marcia Mornay. In 1868 she was the toast of Europe, thanks to the tutelage of her voice instructor Nikolai Nazarov (John Barrymore). He proposes marriage, and Marcia accepts, more out of gratitude than love. In a euphoric pre-nuptial state, Marcia finds herself on Paris' Left Bank, where she meets handsome café crooner Paul Allison (Nelson Eddy). They meet again at a lavish Maytime festival, falling in love (to the accompaniment of Sigmund Romberg's most dazzling duets) in the process. Sadly, Marcia returns to Nazarov, while Paul goes off to America to lick his wounds. Seven years later, Marcia, making her New York debut in a fictional opera based on the works of Tchaikovsky, finds that the leading baritone is none other than Paul. Unable to envision life without her new love, Marcia begs Nazarov for a divorce. He smiles slyly and promises to give her her freedom-whereupon he heads to Paul's apartment and kills the poor fellow. The flashback done, Marcia advises her pretty young neighbor that one can never have both love and a career. Out of tragedy grows the happy ending, in which the spirit of the now-deceased Marcia is reunited with Paul in a blossom-filled Hereafter. On paper, Maytime may seem to be the ultimate in Hoke, but even in recent revival showings the film never fails to cast its spell over an audience. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

League of Frightened Men was the second and last entry in Columbia's short-lived mystery series based on the "Nero Wolfe" novels by Rex Stout. Taking over from Edward Arnold as crabby, corpulent consulting detective Nero Wolfe is Walter Connolly, who despite his physical resemblance to the Stout original is not all that well suited for the role. Sitting in his greenhouse surrounded by his beloved orchids, Wolfe agrees to investigate a series of murders seemingly tied in with a long-ago Harvard hazing prank that went tragically awry. Three Harvard grads have died under mysterious circumstances, and Ferdinand Bowen (Walter Kingsford) is determined not to become the fourth. Accepting Bowen's retainer, Wolfe dispatches his leg man Archie Goodwin (Lionel Stander) to start the investigation. The revelation of the killer's identity should not surprise any dyed-in-the-wool mystery fan, though Nero Wolfe seems somewhat taken aback! As a nod to the Production Code, Wolfe's famous addiction to imported beers is once more changed to a fondness for hot chocolate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bold Caballero, Republic Pictures' first color film, was also the first talkie version of the "Zorro" legend (as originally set down by Johnston McCulley in The Curse of Capistrano). Robert Livingston essays the dual role of foppish Spanish-Californian aristocrat Don Diego, who when the necessity arises dons the mask and black cape of righter-of-wrongs Zorro. As usual, the Z-man spends his time defending the California peasantry from the wicked machinations of the corrupt, quasi-fascistic commandante (Sig Rumann), who has murdered the provincial governor and shifted the blame to Zorro. The film contains such marvelous set-pieces as Diego's advice to the leering commandante as to how to romance the fair Isabella (Heather Angel), and a bizarre "drag" scene in which the hero disguises himself as the heroine's duenna. Alas, current prints of The Bold Caballero are available only in black and white. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In his first American film, Peter Lorre portrays egg-bald Dr. Gogol. A brilliant and highly respected surgeon, Gogol would give up everything he has in life for the love of Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake), star of the Parisian Horror Theatre. But Yvonne is deeply in love with her husband, concert pianist Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive). When Orlac loses his hands in a train accident, Yvonne pleads with Gogol to save her husband. Perversely, he does so by grafting the hands of a recently executed murderer onto Orlac. Not only is Orlac unable to resume his musical career, but he has suddenly developed a peculiar talent for throwing knives; he also has a bad habit of attempting to win arguments by throttling his opponents. Gleefully exploiting his patient's torment, Gogol disguises himself as the executed killer and tries to convince Orlac that he, Orlac, was responsible for a recent murder. In a effort to prove her husband's innocence, Yvonne goes to Gogol's home and switches places with a lifesize replica of herself that the obsessive Gogol keeps in his living room. Only the last-minute intervention of Orlac saves Yvonne from being strangled by the crazed Gogol. The first of several film versions of Maurice Renard's The Hands of Orlac, Mad Love was directed by cinematographer Karl Freund. Its deployment of certain visual elements that would later (consciously or otherwise) be adopted by Orson Welles in Citizen Kane brought Mad Love a surfeit of latter-day attention when Pauline Kael annotated the resemblances in her 1971 New Yorker article on Kane (Ms. Kael's assessment of Mad Love as a "dismal, static horror film" is both unfair and untrue). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff team up in this excellent 1935 chiller. Lugosi is crazed brain-surgeon Dr. Richard Vollin who is infatuated with the characters and devices found in the Edgar Allan Poe stories. When a local judge brings his beautiful daughter for brain surgery, the doctor falls in love with her and is spurned by the judge when he asks for her hand in marriage. To extract revenge, Vollin invites the judge, his daughter, and her new fiance over for dinner. He intends to try out some of his gruesome Poe gadgets on them. Before he can, enter Boris Karloff, a prison escapee who wants Vollin to do some much-needed plastic surgery on his face. Vollin obliges, but instead of making him handsome, he deforms Karloff and subjects him to his will. Now the evil Vollin can get down to business... ~ All Movie Guide

Two rich and wealthy millionaires who have a lot of money bet that reporter Robert Pryor can't spend $720,000 in twelve hours. If you're asking "Why $720,000?", the answer is: because this Republic programmer is titled $1000 a Minute . Anyway, a couple of cops spot Pryor flashing a roll of bills, and deduce that he's the bank robber they're looking for. For the rest of the film, Pryor must race around to spend his money, while remaining two steps ahead of the Law. The supporting actors in $1000 a Minute are delightfully cast to type, from Edgar Kennedy as a detective to Sterling Holloway as a helpful cabbie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wallace Beery plays P.T. Barnum in this comic biography of the renowned showman. As the story opens, Phineas Taylor Barnum is operating a dry goods store in New York City with his friend Bailey Walsh (Adolphe Menjou), and he is looking for a way to boost business. He strikes upon the idea of adding a sideshow of human oddities and curious individuals, much to the annoyance of his wife Nancy (Janet Beecher). But the sideshow brings in a large audience, and soon it begins to overtake the retail store; however, Barnum's venture comes to a halt when it is revealed that Zorro The Bearded Lady (May Boley) has fake facial hair,and that Joyce Heth (Lucille LaVerne) wasn't really George Washington's nursemaid, as she claims. Despite this setback, Barnum has developed a taste for show business, and he brings noted English singer Jenny Lind (Virginia Bruce) to the U.S. for a concert tour, where she becomes the toast of New York. Barnum soon becomes infatuated with Lind, and while his attempts to woo her are often fumblingly inept, they're effective enough to alienate Nancy, who leaves him and New York City for good. Between his attempts to romance Lind and his shameless ballyhoo for performing midget General Tom Thumb (George Brasno), Barnum finds himself on Walsh's bad side, who has taken to drinking to ease his anger. After his budding romance with Lind fails, Barnum suffers an even greater indignity when his museum, featuring his sideshow freaks and other wonders and oddities, is burned to the ground by angry rivals. However, Barnum's performers show their loyalty by offering their savings to Barnum to help him rebuild, and Nancy returns to Barnum's side in his moment of need. Walsh also appears, ready to bury the hatchet and show off his latest acquisition -- an elephant named Jumbo who could be used in a traveling act, or perhaps even a circus.... The Mighty Barnum was based on the play by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, who also wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide