Lee Bowman Movies

Travelling under the name "Stu Manning", Kimble (David Janssen) takes a job at a Wyoming mountain lodge which is subsequently burglarized. Obliged to let the police take his fingerprints during the investigation of the crime, Kimble figures that he better get while the going is good, and boards the shuttle bus heading out of the mountains. When the bus is trapped by a landslide, Kimble finds himself entangled in the personal problems of the other passengers--a strange and motley crew indeed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fritz Lang was the guiding hand of this laudable Republic Studios melodrama. Louis Hayward stars as a wealthy wastrel who tries to seduce the family maid. She resists, and he kills her. Long jealous of his brother Lee Bowman, Hayward does his best to pin the blame for the murder on his sibling. Also affected by Hayward's arrogant dementia is his long-suffering wife Jane Wyatt. Originally, director Lang had proposed that the unfortunate maid be a black woman, and that the killing take place accidentally during some harmless flirtation on Hayward's part. He was vetoed by the timorous Republic staff (even the slightest hint of miscegenation was taboo in 1950), but House by the River turned out pretty well all the same. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Whenever Monogram wanted to get prestige bookings, the studio released its product through its "class" subsidiary Allied Artists. Such was the case of There's a Girl in My Heart, a period musical that any of the larger studios would have been proud of. The only indication of its Monogram origins is its less-than-stellar cast, including Lee Bowman and Elyse Knox; surprisingly, the film's big-money musical stars, Gloria Jean and Peggy Ryan, are billed fourth and fifth. The story finds New York ward-heeler Terrence (Lee Bowman) trying to erect a sports stadium on the property partially occupied by music-hall entrepreneur Colton (Lon Chaney Jr.) The fly in the ointment is Claire (Elyse Knox), the owner of the property, who refuses to sell because several tenants would be thrown out of their homes. But Terrence is determined to have his way -- at least until he falls in love with Claire. Cast as the daughter of a music teacher, Gloria Jean gets to sing a couple of tunes, while Peggy Ryan hoofs it with her perennial dancing partner Ray McDonald. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Columbia mystery melodrama The Walls Came Tumbling Down is regarded in many circles as star Lee Bowman's finest hour-and-a-half. Bowman is cast as Winchellesque Broadway columnist Gilbert Archer, who insists upon investigating the death of an old friend, a priest. The police insist that the priest hanged himself, but Archer believes otherwise, and together with Boston socialite Patricia Foster (Marguerite Chapman) he begins to play detective -- though "play" is hardly the word. Key ingredients to the mystery are two rare Bibles and a painting of the fall of Jericho. The principal villainy comes at the grubby hands of Columbia contractees George Macready and Edgar Buchanan, while J. Edward Bromberg has a few amusing moments as a kooky art dealer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rosalind Russell plays yet another independent career woman in She Wouldn't Say Yes. This time she's a psychiatrist who sees no need for a man in her life. Her resolve weakens a bit when she meets Lee Bowman, a dashing combat sketch artist suffering from wartime emotional problems. Bowman falls in love with the shrink and determines to establish a beachhead, while Russell is equally determined to hold her ground. She doesn't say yes for the first 80 minutes of the film, but does in the last six. Even Rosalind Russell made jokes concerning the inordinate number of look-alike films she made in this vein. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Up in Mabel's Room was one of a mid-1940s series of profitable film revivals of venerable theatrical comedies, all produced by Edward Small and directed by Allan Dwan. Previously filmed in 1925, this rusty-dusty stage perennial was written by Otto Harbach and Willson Collison; Tom Reed was the scenarist hired to bring the play's creaky plot contrivances up to date. The story hinges on the fact that newly-married Gary Ainsworth (Dennis O'Keefe) once gave his former sweetheart Mabel (Gail Patrick) a sexy negligee with his initials embroidered in the lacework. It is Gary's unenviable task to retrieve the incriminating undergarment from Mabel's room before his wife Geraldine (Marjorie Reynolds) gets wise. Most of the film's laughs are generated by Mischa Auer as dour manservant Boris. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In 1942, Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and the United States Office of War Information collaborated on Bataan with the official goal to increase public understanding of World War II. The first war film to take place entirely on the battlefield -- with no scenes of the soldiers on leave, depictions of the home front, or flashbacks to pre-war civilian life -- Bataan prepared its wartime audience for American casualties. Its Alamo-esque storyline emphasized the value of such sacrifice and its diverse group of soldiers --compiled of all ranks, races, classes, ages, and creeds -- portrayed this effort as the duty of all men. It is a depiction of altruism and national unity that both inspired public support of the War and served as the template for World War II films throughout the forties and into the present. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, Rovi

Kid Glove Killer is an expanded remake of They're Always Caught (1938), a 2-reel entry in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series. Van Heflin stars as criminologist Gordon McKay, at present investigating the murder of of reform mayor Daniels (Samuel S. Hinds). What the audience knows, but McKay doesn't, is that the the culprit is district attorney Gerald Ladimer (Lee Bowman), ostensibly a crusader against organized crime. Thickening the plot is the fact that McKay and Ladimer are rivals for the affections of McKay's pretty lab assistant Jane Mitchell (Marsha Hunt). The question: Will McKay be able to piece together the fragmentary clues in his forensic lab before Ladimer is able to strike again? An excellent example of MGM's "B" unit at the height of its powers, Kid Glove Killer served as the feature-film directorial debut of Fred Zinnemann, who obviously was destined for bigger things. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, the town gossip fills her time running the lives of others. Naturally, she is also a matchmaker. When she tries to find a suitable mate for her nephew, trouble ensues because he only has eyes for the daughter of the busybody's nemesis, the town judge. Meanwhile the girl the town yente wanted for her nephew finds herself attracted to the judge's son and ends up marrying him on the sly. He impregnates her and then goes to war. She later gives birth, but dies before she can tell anyone the truth. To protect her, the old gossip begins claiming the babe as her own. No one believes her. Fortunately, the judge's son returns and tells the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Filmed on a B-picture budget, Buck Privates was Universal's biggest box-office hit of 1941, firmly securing the movie popularity of the studio's hot new team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The story is fairly evenly divided between the antics of Bud and Lou-here cast as sidewalk salesmen Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown-and the romantic triangle involving Randolph Parker III (Lee Bowman), Judy Gray (Jane Frazee) and Bob Martin (Alan Curtis). Escaping the wrath of policeman Mike Collins (Nat Pendleton), Slicker and Herbie duck into a nearby movie theater, which unbeknownst to them has been converted into a US Army recruiting center. As the boys are reluctantly inducted into the Service, wealthy draftee Parker hopes to pull a few strings to avoid putting on a uniform, while Parker's former chauffeur Martin willingly answers his call to the Colors. Once ensconced in boot camp, Slicker and Herbie continually run afoul of their sergeant, who is none other than their old nemesis Mike the cop. Meanwhile, Parker and Martin vie for the attentions of USO hostess Judy, who'll have nothing to do with Parker until he proves his worth as a soldier. Poor Slicker and Herbie are shunted into the background as the romantic subplot is resolved, but at least our heroes get to steal the film's closing scene. It's hard to believe that anyone cared about the Parker-Martin-Judy triangle with Abbott & Costello on hand to perform their classic "dice game", "awkward squad", "turn on the radio" and "boxing ring" routines-not to mention their timeless verbal exchanges, the best of which finds Bud convincing Lou that if he marries an underage girl, she'll eventually be older than he (it plays better than it reads!) As a bonus, the film spotlights the Andrews Sisters, performing such top-ten tunes as "Apple Blossom Time" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". Even from the vantage point of six decades, with the WWII draft but a dim memory, it is easy to see why Buck Privates was such a huge success. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rosalind Russell stars as a no-nonsense judge who dabbles in sculpting in her spare time. Walter Pidgeon costars as a reporter assigned to discredit Rosalind after she rules against his boss (Edward Arnold) in a divorce case. Pidgeon plans to frame the judge in a compromising situation, then blackmail her into reducing the alimony. He succeeds in humiliating Rosalind, but regrets his actions when he realizes he's fallen in love with her. All ends happily in this glossy derivative of MGM's earlier Libelled Lady (36). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi