Mary Young Movies

The Stork Club, the famed New York nightspot immortalized by columnist Walter Winchell (in return for special favors from its owners), is the setting for this typically brash Betty Hutton musical. Hutton plays a young hat check girl who rescues an elderly tramp (Barry Fitzgerald) from drowning. The old bum turns out to be a millionaire, and expresses his gratitude by setting up Hutton in luxury--asking for nothing in return. Hutton's boyfriend Don DeFore suspects hanky panky, but all is forgiven during the obligatory floor show. There are rumors that the Stork Club itself financed The Stork Club as a feature-length commercial. Whatever the case, ownership of the film was cloudy enough to allow it to slip into the public domain in 1982, which explains why Stork Club seems to be running 24 hours a day on cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When he finds out his ex-wife has just had his child and plans to give her up for adoption, a timid English instructor dashes to the child's rescue and attempts to care for her in a hotel room. Before too long, however, his new fiancee and his ex confront him and he must decide what he will do. This light comedy starring Gary Cooper, Theresa Wright and Anita Louise garnered Oscar nominations for Sound and Art Direction and was previously filmed under the title Little Accident in 1930 and 1939. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

An expansion of, and improvement upon, Lillian Hellman's stage play of the same name, Watch on the Rhine stars Paul Lukas, recreating his Broadway role of tireless anti-fascist crusader Kurt Muller. As the clouds of war gather in Europe in the late 1930s, Muller arrives in Washington DC, accompanied by his American wife Sara (top-billed Bette Davis) and their children Joshua (Donald Buka), Bodo (Eric Roberts) and Babette (Janis Wilson). The Mullers stay at the home of Sarah's wealthy mother Fanny Fannelly (Lucille Watson), who lives in her own world of society get-togethers and can't be bothered with politics. Also staying with Fanny is Rumanian aristocrat Teck de Branovis (George Coulouris) and his American wife Marthe (Geraldine Fitzgerald). To protect his family, Muller keeps his "underground" activities a secret from Fanny and her guests, but de Branovis is suspicious of the mild-mannered visitor. It turns out that de Branovis is actually a Nazi sympathizer, willing to betray Muller for a price. Using blackmail as one of his weapons, de Branovis threatens to destroy all that Muller has been fighting for. To prevent this, Muller kills de Branovis in cold blood. Now technically a murderer, Muller bids his family a reluctant goodbye, heading back to Europe to continue his vital work. If ever there was a justifiable homicide in a motion picture, it was the killing of the odious de Branovis in Watch on the Rhine. Still, the Hollywood production code dictated that a murderer must always pay for his crimes, thus a coda is added, alluding to Muller's death-providing a golden opportunity for a nifty smiling-through-the-tears curtain speech by Bette Davis. Scripted by Lillian Hellman's lover Dashiel Hammett, Watch on the Rhine earned several Academy Award nominations, as well as a "best actor" Oscar for Paul Lukas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this WW II spy comedy, an American pilot stationed in England is flying a routine mission when the Nazis shoot down his plane. He ends up seeking shelter in the home of an unhappily married Dutch woman. She covers for the pilot by introducing him as her mentally unbalanced but basically harmless husband. A Nazi major has taken over her home, and mayhem ensues when he and her "husband" meet. In the end, the pilot steals a German plane and takes the woman safely to England. The film is also known as Yank in Dutch. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Fourteen scriptwriters spent five years toiling over a movie adaptation of war correspondent Vincent Sheehan's Personal History before producer Walter Wanger brought the property to the screen as Foreign Correspondent. What emerged was approximately 2 parts Sheehan and 8 parts director Alfred Hitchcock--and what's wrong with that? Joel McCrea stars as an American journalist sent by his newspaper to cover the volatile war scene in Europe in the years 1938 to 1940. He has barely arrived in Holland before he witnesses the assassination of Dutch diplomat Albert Basserman: at least, that's what he thinks he sees. McCrea makes the acquaintance of peace-activist Herbert Marshall, his like-minded daughter Laraine Day, and cheeky British secret agent George Sanders. A wild chase through the streets of Amsterdam, with McCrea dodging bullets, leads to the classic "alternating windmills" scene, which tips Our Hero to the existence of a formidable subversive organization. McCrea returns to England, where he nearly falls victim to the machinations of jovial hired-killer Edmund Gwenn. The leader of the spy ring is revealed during the climactic plane-crash sequence--which, like the aforementioned windmill scene, is a cinematic tour de force for director Hitchcock and cinematographer Rudolph Mate. Producer Wanger kept abreast of breaking news events all through the filming of Foreign Correspondent, enabling him to keep the picture as "hot" as possible: the final scene, with McCrea broadcasting to a "sleeping" America from London while Nazi bombs drop all around him, was filmed only a short time after the actual London blitz. The script was co-written by Robert Benchley, who has a wonderful supporting role as an eternally tippling newsman. Foreign Correspondent was Alfred Hitchcock's second American film, and remained one of his (and his fans') personal favorites. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The marriage of the title is the union between wealthy George Fisher and unwealthy Helen Lynch. Disinherited by his millionaire father (Herschel Mayall) for marrying "beneath his station," the disconsolate Fisher takes up with seductive actress Margaret Livingston. Little does Fisher know that Livingston is the mistress of his own father. When dad is murdered, the most likely suspect is not Fisher, nor Livingston, but innocent little Lynch! The truth will come out by the end of Reel Five in this inexpensive silent programmer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide