Harley Wood Movies

When an innocent man (Kermit Maynard) is suspected of stealing cattle, he must struggle to clear his name. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

This Three Stooges comedy is especially fast-paced. The boys wake up at their usual time -- 11 a.m. -- and fix themselves breakfast, only to have their wives come home and threaten divorce if they don't find work. So they land jobs as salesmen for Brighto, a miracle medicine that "brightens old bodies." The Stooges never bother reading the label, however, and don't even know what it's for: "It's for sale!" Moe declares. They proceed to show off Brighto's many attributes to potential customers but, unfortunately, the formula eats through everything -- shoes, a policeman's jacket, car paint -- and the Stooges find themselves pursued by several angry men. When Dr. Brighto tells them that the stuff is medicine, they try their luck selling it at the Los Arms hospital. After creating much mayhem amongst the patients, they discover that the supervisor (Vernon Dent) is the man whose car-finish they destroyed. After a frantic chase, the Stooges sail out of the hospital on a gurney. It smashes into a car and the boys dive into the window of their own apartment -- right back into bed. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Whistling Bullets was one of better Kermit Maynard westerns from the Ambassador Pictures "B"-mill. Based on a story by James Oliver Curwood, the story finds Texas Ranger Larry Graham (Maynard) hot on the trail of an outlaw and his gang. To gain the villains' confidence, Larry poses as an escaped criminal, deliberately gets sent to prison, and befriends the outlaw, hoping that the fellow will lead him to a cache of stolen money. John English, later a mainstay of the Republic "B"-western product., directs, while Harlene Wood co-stars as the heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the landmark "screwball" comedies of the 1930s, My Man Godfrey offers the radiant Carole Lombard in her definitive performance as flighty young heiress Irene Bullock, who on a society scavenger hunt stumbles on Godfrey (William Powell), an erudite hobo residing in the city dump. Godfrey becomes the family's butler, much to the dismay of Irene's father Alexander (Eugene Pallette), who thinks his household is crazy enough without another apparent lunatic under his roof. Halfway through the film, we discover that Godfrey isn't a penniless bum at all, but the scion of a wealthy Boston family. Having been burned by an unhappy romance, Godfrey dropped out of life, taking up residence in the dump. Here his faith in humanity was restored by his fellow indigents, who managed to survive and remain optimistic despite the worst deprivations. Meanwhile, however, he wants to straighten out the Bullock family, who he feels are a basically decent bunch beneath all their pretensions and eccentricities -- and along the way, of course, Irene determines that Godfrey will be her husband. While Godfrey's ultimate "solution" to the exigencies of the Depression seems more of a placebo, My Man Godfrey is all in all a totally satisfying jolt of 1930s-style wish fulfillment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi