Barbara Jo Allen Movies

1963's The Sword in the Stone is Disney's animated take on Arthurian legend. In the midst of the Dark Ages, when England has no rightful ruler, a sword imbedded in a stone mysteriously appears in a London churchyard, bearing the inscription "Whoso pulleth out the sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of England." Scores of would-be kings travel to London to attempt the feat and thereby claim the throne. They all fail. Years later, in the English countryside, an 11-year-old squire nicknamed Wart (Rickie Sorensen) is devotedly helping his incompetent foster brother, Kay (Norman Alden), train to become a knight, when he meets the great magician Merlin (Karl Swenson). The well meaning, but absentminded, wizard declares himself Wart's mentor and claims that he will lead the boy to his destiny. Spirited and full of spunk, Wart (whose real name is Arthur) approaches Merlin's lessons with the same determination that he applies to Kay's hopeless training and to the monotonous chores he is assigned by his guardian. He soon finds himself accompanying Kay to London for a jousting tournament that will determine England's new king. There, Wart forgets to bring Kay's weapon to the joust, but finds an abandoned sword in a nearby churchyard -- which he effortlessly pulls out of a stone. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, Rovi

Gold Flats is the first of three cities in which Bart Maverick (James Garner) comes face to face with the estimable Stephanie Malone (Pat Crowley)--who proceeds to rob him at gunpoint a few seconds after introducing herself. But Stephanie insists that she isn't a bad girl, and that she's only trying to help her father (Louis Jean Heydt), who has accrued a huge gambling debt. Somehow or other, both Bart and Stephanie are rescued by the members of the Ladies Aid Society, headed by the formidable Hannah Adams (played by Barbara Jo Allen, the dithery "Vera Vague" of radio fame). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Opposite Sex is an opulent musical remake of Clare Booth Luce's The Women (1939). June Allyson stars in the old Norma Shearer role, playing the virtuous wife who loses her husband to scheming Joan Collins (as the Joan Crawford character). At first agreeing to a divorce, June decides to win hubby back by utilizing the same crafty feminine wiles that Joan had employed to lead him astray. Doloress Gray plays the counterpart to Rosalind Russell's vitriolic gossip. The original The Women boasted an all-female cast: the remake includes several male characters, played by the likes of MGM contractees Leslie Nielsen and Jeff Richards. Dick Shawn, Jim Backus and Harry James are also on hand, billed as "special guest stars." The satirical bite of The Women has been softened in The Opposite Sex, but musical fans should have a good time. Sammy Cahn, Nicholas Brodszky, Ralph Freed and George Stoll were among the songwriters; Collins, Allyson and Jeff Richards perform musical numbers in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This parody of gangster flicks centers on an incarcerated gangster who decides to reform after he is released from Sing Sing. He and his cell mate have earned a small fortune in investments and are planning to buy a dog track. Unfortunately, another prisoner eavesdrops and attempts to force the fellow to use his savings to buy a luggage store and then dig a tunnel to the bank next door so they can easily rob it. The reformer and his partner refuse. They sing a different tune when they learn that most of their money was lost by their third partner. In desperation, he buys the suitcase outlet. While he tries to deal with his many customers, the other two bumblers attempt to dig, but it's not easy because every time someone comes in, they must stop their noisy operation. More trouble follows when another gangster tries to get in on their operation. ~ Sandra Brennan, 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

By Republic Pictures standards, 1941's Ice-Capades certainly qualifies as an "all-star" film. The many subplots center around a performance of the real-life Ice-Capades skating troupe, featuring such luminaries as Belita, Red McCarthy, Megan Taylor, and future Republic film queen Vera Hruba Ralston. James Ellison plays the nominal leading character, a hotshot newsreel cameraman named Bob Clemens. Assigned to film an international skating star in action, Clemens inadvertently wastes miles of celluloid on aspiring skater Marie (Dorothy Lewis) rather than the real star, the unphotogenic Karen Vajda (Rene Riano). But not to worry: With the help of slick showbiz promoter Larry Herman (Phil Silvers), Marie becomes an Ice-Capades headliner in her own right. In addition to Silvers, the comedy relief in Ice-Capades is in the capable hands of Vera Vague (Barbara Jo Allen), Jerry Colonna and Gus Schilling. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Basil Rathbone is the batty physician of the title, a sophisticated gentleman who woos and weds several of his wealthy women patients. Unfortunately the ladies have a bad habit of dying prematurely, with the above-suspicion doctor diagnosing these deaths as the result of disease. Given the film's title, it isn't hard to figure out that the doctor has been knocking off his wives himself through sophisticated medical methods. An intriguing plot twist involves the doctor's loyal male assistant (Martin Kosleck), who tampers with the buried bodies of the victims to hide the evidence; though it's never made obvious by the script, it is implied that the doctor and his assistant have a strong sexual bond between them. The ex-fiance of Dr. Rathbone's latest bride (Ellen Drew) saves the woman from suffering the fate of her predecessors, leaving Rathbone no recourse but a suicidal plunge off a skyscraper. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this musical, a con man makes a good living by promoting bogus charity shows. He gets the communities all revved up and then skips town with all their money. But then he meets three earnest people wanting to garner financial support for an orphanage. This time the con man's loyal assistant finally catches on to the wicked scam and turns him in to the police. Meanwhile, the newly reformed assistant and one of the charity workers fall in loves. Songs include: "Tequila" (sung by Downs, Terry), "I'm Just a Weakie" (sung by Allen, Gilbert), "What Fools These Mortals Be," and "When A Fella's Got a Girl" (Jule Styne, George R. Brown, Sol Meyer). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Beautifully restored to its original theatrical length of 84 minutes by the Gene Autry Foundation, Melody Ranch is a bright, tuneful, and at times quite action-packed piece of B-Western extravaganza, Republic style. The victim of both a drop in ratings and a tardy leading lady, radio star Gene Autry is only too happy to oblige when old friend Pop Laramie (George "Gabby" Hayes) proposes that he return to his hometown of Torpedo as honorary sheriff during the upcoming Frontier Day celebration. With leading lady Julie Shelton (Ann Miller), city slicker announcer Cornelius Courtney (Jimmy Durante), and bemused sponsor Tommy Summerville (Jerome Cowan) in tow, Gene takes Torpedo by storm. That is, everyone except the Wildhack brothers (Barton MacLane, Joe Sawyer, and Horace MacMahon), old enemies who take umbrage to Gene's lampooning them on his daily broadcast. Julie, meanwhile, falls in love with the Wild and Woolly West in general and Gene in particular, and when the crooner proposes to leave show business and run for the office of sheriff for real, she decides to stay as well. The Wildhack brothers, meanwhile, attempt to sabotage the election, but Gene and his pals persevere against the odds. Produced at a cost of 500,000 dollars, Melody Ranch was the first Autry Western to be booked into first-run theaters, which had been Republic Pictures' goal all along. Autry, Ann Miller, Jimmy Durante, Mary Lee, and Bob Wills and His Playboys perform "Melody Ranch," "We Never Dream the Same Dream Twice," "Call of the Canyon," My Gal Sal," "Torpedo Joe," What Cowboys Are Made Of," and "Rodeo Rose," all by Jule Styne and Eddie Cherkose, and a good time is had by all. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi