Aldrich Bowker Movies

A woman's attempt to disguise herself as an underage girl mushrooms into a series of humorous deceptions in this romantic comedy. Ginger Rogers stars as Susan Applegate, a young woman living in New York who, nearly broke and sick of the city, decides to head home to Iowa. Lacking the money for a regular ticket, she pretends to be an unusually tall 11-year old girl named Sue-Sue in order to pay half-price. The train conductors catch on to her scheme, however, forcing her to take refuge in the car of Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland). The kindly major virtually adopts the "lost little girl," and circumstances force Susan to play along and accompany him to the local military academy. There the fun begins, as she struggles to deal with the unwelcome romantic attentions of countless young cadets and her own increasing attraction to the engaged Major Kirby. The Major and the Minor was the first Hollywood feature helmed by the legendary Billy Wilder. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Universal's standing Show Boat sets get another workout in the 60-minute B-picture Mississippi Gambler. On the trail of mob hitman Mathews (Douglas Fowley), reporter Johnny Forbes (Kent Taylor) journeys from New York to Mississippi. Here he finds big-time gangster boss Carvel (John Litel), long thought dead but actually living pseudonymously as a respectable plantation owner. Despite his civilized veneer, Carvel continues mastermining his criminal empire, including a chain of gambling emporiums. With the help of leading ladies Beth (Frances Langford) and La Verne (Claire Dodd), Forbes manages to trap Carvel in his own den. Shemp Howard shows up as a zany taxi driver, doing a lot more for the film than it does for him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first of director Frank Capra's independent productions (in partnership with Robert Riskin), Meet John Doe begins with the end of reporter Ann Mitchell's (Barbara Stanwyck) job. Fired as part of a downsizing move, she ends her last column with an imaginary letter written by "John Doe." Angered at the ill treatment of America's little people, the fabricated Doe announces that he's going to jump off City Hall on Christmas Eve. When the phony letter goes to press, it causes a public sensation. Seeking to secure her job, Mitchell talks her managing editor (James Gleason) into playing up the John Doe letter for all it's worth; but to ward off accusations from rival papers that the letter was bogus, they decide to hire someone to pose as John Doe: a ballplayer-turned-hobo (Gary Cooper), who'll do anything for three squares and a place to sleep. "John Doe" and his traveling companion The Colonel (Walter Brennan) are ensconced in a luxury hotel while Mitchell continues churning out chunks of John Doe philosophy. When newspaper publisher D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold), a fascistic type with presidential aspirations, decides to use Doe as his ticket to the White House, he puts Doe on the radio to deliver inspirational speeches to the masses -- ghost-written by Mitchell, who, it is implied, has become the publisher's mistress. The central message of the Doe speeches is "Love Thy Neighbor," though, conceived in cynicism, the speeches strike so responsive a chord with the public that John Doe clubs pop up all over the country. Believing he is working for the good of America, Cooper agrees to front the National John Doe Movement -- until he discovers that Norton plans to exploit Doe in order to create a third political party and impose a virtual dictatorship on the country. The last of Capra's "social statement" films, Meet John Doe posted a profit, although Capra and Riskin were forced to dissolve their corporation due to excessive taxes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Stewart once classified Pot O' Gold as his worst film, though this may have stemmed from his reported inability to get along with his costar Paulette Goddard (who is supposed to have dismissed Stewart's acting technique with a flippant "Anyone can swallow.") Inspired by the popular radio giveaway series of the same name, the film represented an ill-fated production venture for James Roosevelt, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Stewart plays Jimmy Haskell, nephew of breakfast-food mogul C. J. Haskell (Charles Winninger). Befriending bandleader Horace Heidt (playing himself) and his orchestra members, Jimmy and his sweetheart Molly McCorkle (Paulette Goddard) tries to persuade C. J. to sponsor Heidt's radio program. The elder Haskell refuses until Jimmy and Molly's landlady mother (Mary Gordon) come up with a sure-fire "gimmick" for the program: they'll pick names from the phone book at random, call up those numbers, and give away huge prizes to whomever answers-provided that the call-ees are tuned into Heidt's show. This format worked beautifully for the real Pot O' Gold radio program, but tends to fall flat on screen, despite the energetic musical contributions of Horace Heidt and his entourage (including a very young and astonishingly articulate Art Carney, in his film debut). In England, Pot O' Gold was retitled The Golden Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Powell and Myrna Loy re-team for this (literally) crazy screwball comedy about a happily married couple who, thanks to a visit from mother, find their marriage on the rocks and the husband committed to a mental institution. Poised to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary, Steven (William Powell) and Susan Ireland (Myrna Loy) find their domestic bliss shattered by a visit from Susan's mother (Florence Bates). Susan's mother sprains her ankle and extends her visit, just in time to draw the wrong conclusions when her son-in-law pays a friendly visit to his old girlfriend Isobel (Gail Patrick). Susan's mother eavesdrops and reports it all to Susan, who in a jealous rage tries to make Steven jealous. But she winds up being chased through the hallway of her apartment building by half-naked archery enthusiast Ward Willoughby (Jack Carson). The couple agree on a divorce, but Steven then has second thoughts. On the advice of his lawyer, George Renny (Sidney Blackmer), Steven pretends he is insane, since the law prohibits Susan from divorcing him if Steven is mentally ill. Unfortunately, Susan is wise to his charade and has him committed to an asylum. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Virginia Gilmore stars as Jennie, the daughter-in-law of German-born shoe manufacturer Ludwig Stossel. The stubborn manufacturer refuses to grow with the time, continuing to run his business and his household with outmoded and oppressive "old country" methods. Jennie counters this attitude by encouraging Stossel's employees to go on strike--a job action that extends to his family members. The old man stages a fake heart attack to bring his lost sheep back to the fold, then apologizes for his previous bullheadedness and promises to change his ways. Though released by 20th Century-Fox, Jennie is not mentioned in the otherwise thorough Tony Thomas/Aubrey Solomon volume The Films of 20th Century-Fox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rachel Crothers' thoughtful stage play Susan and God was tastefully adapted for the screen by Anita Loos. Joan Crawford stars as Susan, whose unquestioning devotion to various religious organizations causes a great deal of strain between herself and her family. When Susan embraces a "New Thought" theological movement, she decides to apply the tenets of this new philosophy to patch up the unhappy marriages within her own social circles. She succeeds only in making things worse, and in further harming her own relationship with husband Barrie (Fredric March) and daughter Blossom (Rita Quigley). But it is the unadorned, unpretentious religious faith of little Blossom that ultimately brings Susan and Barrie together again. When Susan and God was first released in 1940, Joan Crawford's performance was occasionally compared unfavorably to that of Gertrude Lawrence, who created the role of Susan on Broadway; it was suggested by some that Crawford patterned her portrayal exactly on Lawrence's, right down to the line delivery. Modern audiences, denied the opportunity to see Lawrence's interpretation, are less inclined to downgrade Crawford's work, which rates among her best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third of Warner Bros.' series based on the teenaged sleuth created by Carolyn Keene, Nancy Drew, Trouble Shooter stars Bonita Granville as the plucky Nancy. Nancy's father Judge Drew (John Litel) is tormented by the fact that an old friend has been accused of murder. The Judge insists that Nancy not get involved in the case, but that warning has never stopped her in the past. With the help of her long-suffering boyfriend (Frank Thomas Jr.) Nancy sticks her nose where she shouldn't and solves the mystery. 16-year-old Bonita Granville was perfect as every schoolgirl's favorite detective; her Nancy Drew unflappable even when stumbling across a corpse in a cabbage field. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though not a sequel to Angels with Dirty Faces, this Warner Bros. programmer does star the Dead End Kids-or, more specifically, Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, and Bernard Punsley. Fresh out of reform school, Gabe Ryan (Frankie Thomas) promises his sister Joy (Ann Sheridan) that he'll go straight, and promptly joins the Beale Street Termites (the Dead Enders), a tough but basically good-hearted street gang. Local mobster William Kroner (Bernard Nedell), seeking out a fall guy for a series of arsons, frames Gabe for a fire in which helpless invalid Sleepy (Punsly) dies. With the help of the other Termites, crusading DA Pat Remson (Ronald Reagan) tries to prove Gabe's innocence, using surprisingly high-handed tactics to get results: arresting Kroner on a misdemeanor, he turns the crook over to the kids, who force a confession out of the terrified crook. In this and several other instances in the film, the gang's rowdy behavior is "purified" because the end justifies the means. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No Place to Go is a remake of the 1932 Chic Sale vehicle The Expert, which in turn was adapted from the George S. Kaufman-Edna Ferber play Old Man Minick. Fred Stone plays elderly retiree Andrew Plummer, who moves in with his well-to-do son Joe (Dennis Morgan) and Joe's wife Gertrude (Gloria Dickson). Before long, Andrew makes a bloody nuisance of himself with his well-intentioned interference in his son's affairs. In the original The Expert, the main character finally realizes he's just in the way and voluntarily heads to an old folk's home. No Place to Go takes a slightly different plot turn, with Andrew accepting a job with Joe's business firm, only to decide over his son's protests that he'd be better off in a retirement home-or as he puts it, "a club for gentleman". In both films, the ageing protagonist finds a kindred spirit in a pugnacious street urchin: Dickie Moore in the original, Sonny Bupp in the remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the long-running series, one of the Kids goes to military school and learns, with the help of his late father's friend who promised to watch over the lad, to be a real man. The kid is initially, quite rebellious. One boy tries to help him, but the kid throws him out a second story window. Eventually the kid grows up and becomes a hero by saving another boy's life during a dangerous fire. This was the final entry in the series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this touching drama, a young woman cons her father the Colonel to put their colt in the Kentucky Derby. They do, but the horse fails miserably and his rider is suspended. It is then discovered that the horse lost because it is blind. This does not dissuade the girl and her father who work hard to train the horse who goes on to win the Grand National. The jockey too is subsequently cleared of wrong-doing and is again allowed to race. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide