Harry Beaumont Movies
Harry Beaumont was a prolific, versatile director during the 1920s and '30s who worked for some of the biggest production companies in Hollywood including Fox, Goldwyn, Metro, Warner Brothers, and MGM. As a young man, he left school to join a stock company, eventually ending up on the New York vaudeville stage. In 1912, he began working for Edison films, where he played a variety of roles in many shorts and at least two serials. At that time, he also collaborated on several scripts. In 1915, Beaumont made his directorial debut; one year later he began working for Essanay studios, but soon moved on to various other studios. Because he was efficient and dependable, he was in high demand, especially in the 1920s when he reached the pinnacle of his career by being allowed to direct major feature films such as Main Street (1923) and John Barrymore's Beau Brummel (1924). After directing a silent "musical," Our Dancing Daughters (1928), featuring Joan Crawford doing the Charleston, MGM assigned Beaumont to direct their very first sound musical, The Broadway Melody, in 1929. The show won an Academy Award as Best Picture that year. Although Beaumont continued directing for MGM until the late '40s, his sound films were never able to reach the level of popularity of his silent films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1948
Alias a Gentleman is impeccably tailored to the slovenly talents of MGM star Wallace Beery. He's cast as Jim Breeden, an ex-convict who finds himself wealthy overnight when oil is discovered on his property. His first order of business as a man of means is to locate his long-lost daughter. Hoping to get a piece of the financial action, several of Breeden's disreputable buddies try to palm off Elaine Carter (Dorothy Patrick) as his daughter -- and he falls for the ruse hook, line and sinker. Touched by Breeden's efforts to "do right" by her, Elaine comes to love the old soak and refuses to go through with his jailmates' shakedown scheme. They retaliate by kidnapping the girl, forcing Breedin to rely on his prison instincts to affect a rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery, Tom Drake, (more)
- 1947
MGM's "Maisie" series came to an end with this undistinguished entry. Eschewing show business for the time being, perennially stranded showgirl Maisie Revere (Ann Sothern) decides to join the Los Angeles police force. This she does primarily to be near her latest beau, Lt. Paul Scott (Barry Nelson). After an amusingly grueling training session, our heroine goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of confidence tricksters, headed by phony swami Willis Farnes (Leon Ames). When she's found out, Maisie is taken for a one-way ride by the crooks, but Lt. Scott comes to the rescue by following a trail of clues that Maisie has cleverly left behind. More slapsticky than most "Maisie" entries, Undercover Maisie subjects Ann Sothern to an incredible amount of physical abuse, though sharp-eyed viewers will be able to detect that she is extensively doubled by diminutive David Sharpe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Barry Nelson, (more)
- 1946
Previously filmed in 1926 and 1934, George Kelly's venerable stage comedy The Show-Off was dusted off as a Red Skelton vehicle in 1946. Skelton is well cast as Aubrey Piper, an inveterate braggart who sorely annoys the family of his wife Amy (Marilyn Maxwell). All talk but no action, Piper gets Amy's family involved in one foredoomed get-rich-quick scheme after another. Through a fluke, the show-off actually makes good towards the end, but though he realizes that he could never have done so without his wife's help he insists upon blowing his own horn well past the fadeout and "end" credits. Only Skelton's inherent likeability saves Aubrey Piper from being a thoroughly obnoxious blowhard. Featured in the cast of The Show-Off is Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, who is given surprisingly little to do. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Ames, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, (more)
- 1946
MGM's first "Maisie" entry in two years, Up Goes Maisie once more stars Ann Sothern as eternally stranded showgirl Maisie Revere. Our heroine manages to secure a job as secretary to inventor Joseph Morton (George Murphy), who has developed a revolutionary new helicopter. A rival aircraft manufacturer tries to discredit and/or steal Morton's invention, but Maisie comes to the rescue. The entire film seems to be building up to the inevitable moment wherein Maisie herself takes over the copter controls and embarks on a wild ride high over Manhattan. The process work in this climactic sequences is unusually good for an MGM production, providing an exciting wrap-up to an otherwise pedestrian project. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, George Murphy, (more)
- 1945
The little-known Twice Blessed was an MGM vehicle for the Wilde Twins, who were first introduced in Andy Hardy's Double Trouble. Not surprisingly, the film is predicated on a mistaken-identity gimmick, with "typical" teenage girl Terry Turner (Lee Wilde) trading places with her high-IQ look-alike Stephanie Hale (Lyn Wilde). Amidst a welter of comic complications, romance blooms between Terry's father Jeff (Preston S. Foster) and Stephanie's mother Mary (Gail Patrick). Fresh from Paramount's "Henry Aldrich" series, Jimmy Lydon co-stars as the boyfriend of one of the twins, though he isn't sure which one. Twice Blessed was directed by Harry Beaumont, whose association with MGM extended back to the early-talkie era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Gail Patrick, (more)
- 1944
In this eighth film in MGM's "Maisie" series, Ann Sothern is back as ever-stranded chorus girl Maisie Revier. As the story opens, Maisie has a steady non-showbiz job as a defense plant riveter (it's wartime, of course); still, she utilizes a two-week vacation to take a singing job in a Reno night spot. This small Nevada town being the Divorce Capital of America, Maisie finds herself involved in the crumbling marriage between a GI (Tom Drake) and his wealthy wife (Ava Gardner). Meanwhile, Maisie's own well-being is threatened by a conniving businessman who has her committed to an asylum when she threatens to squeal about his crooked business practices. Like most "Maisie" pictures, Maisie Goes to Reno suffers from a surfeit of plotting, but is redeemed by the insouciant Ann Sothern. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, John Hodiak, (more)
- 1937
On the whole, Joe E. Brown's vehicles for independent producer David L. Loew were distinct retrogressions from his films at Warner Bros., but When's Your Birthday? still contains some very funny moments. This time, Joe plays Douglas Willoughby, a mild-mannered astrologer who through a series of incredible plot twists becomes a prizefighter. Though he's a most unprepossessing figure in the ring, Douglas manages to box his way up to the championship -- but refuses to don gloves unless the stars are "right." This gets him mixed up with several shady characters and also plants him at the apex of a romantic triangle, with Marian Marsh and Suzanne Kaaren as his two sweeties. Original prints of When's Your Birthday include a Technical animated opening-credits sequence, courtesy of the cartoonmakers of "Termite Terrace" at Warner Brothers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe E. Brown, Marian Marsh, (more)
- 1936
Gloria Stuart's trouble only begins when she inherits a newspaper in this routine, but at times, quite hilarious comedy from Universal. Overhearing a chauvinistic remark from senior editor Hank Gilman (Edmund Lowe), Joan Langford decides to begin her newspaper business career from the bottom and incognito. Gilman, however, quickly discovers the ruse and sends the girl out on the most arduous assignments he can find. After threatening to quit, the heroine unwittingly gets herself involved with a gang of blackmailers but Hank is watching over her and together they bring the gang to justice. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Gloria Stuart, (more)
- 1935
Enchanted April was adapted for the screen from the novel by "Elisabeth" and play by Kane Campbell. Neglected by her novelist husband Mellersh Wilkins (Frank Morgan), repressed Lotty Wilkins (Ann Harding) and her best friend Rose Arbuthnot (Katherine Alexander) impulsively rent an Italian castle during the month of April. Like Lotty, Rose hopes to briefly escape her humdrum marriage to pompous barrister Henry Arbuthnot (Reginald Owen). The two ladies are eventually joined by bejeweled dowager Mrs. Fisher (Jessie Ralph) and young heiress Lady Caroline (Jane Baxter), likewise seeking a respite from a male-dominated society. For the next 30 days, the convivial foursome revels in their newfound liberation, leading to all sorts of unexpected complications. A mixed bag, Enchanted April was better served by director Mike Newell's 1991 remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Harding, Frank Morgan, (more)
- 1934
Harry Beaumont, a director-composer most closely associated with MGM's musical product, does a nice job handling the tongue-in-cheek melodramatics of Murder in the Private Car. Charlie Ruggles goes through his standard drunken-detective act as amateur gumshoe Scott, who stumbles onto a dead body when he wanders into the wrong train car. Despite the fact that the private car can only be locked from the inside, several more murders occur within its walls. This means plenty of trouble for heroine Ruth (Mary Carlisle), who'd rented the car for a cross-country journey of vital importance. Before this particular odyssey is over and the murderer is revealed, the private car, with Ruth trapped inside, is separated from the rest of the train and sent hurtling backward down the tracks, loaded with dynamite! Perhaps Harry Beaumont missed his calling: judging by Murder in the Private Car, he should have specialized in serials. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Una Merkel, (more)
- 1933
In this romantic comedy, a middle-aged woman married to a much older man begins a harmless flirtation with an artistically inclined gigolo after she mistakes him for her long-lost lover. Unfortunately, the opportunist really loves the woman's daughter. He is also smitten with another woman. Romantic mayhem ensues when the artist's true identity is revealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Alice Brady, (more)
- 1933
Henry Beaumont directed this verbose adaptation of Rachel Crother's play. Ann Harding plays Claire Woodruff, the wife of philandering publisher Rogers Woodruf (Frank Morgan). Myrna Loy is Mary Howard, a lithe and beautiful writer of novels with whom Rogers is in love. Meanwhile, her friend Jimmie Lee (Robert Montgomery), a frosty newspaper man who continually puts down her novel writing, is actually in love with her. When Claire and Mary finally meet up with each other to discuss characters in a new book Mary is writing, Claire, in a blunt and common-sensical way, provides Mary with her own personal take on love and philandering husbands. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1933
Heroine Mona (Sally Eilers) is "made" in more ways than one in this free-wheeling spoof of the press-agent business. A would-be suicide, Mona is rescued by public-relations whiz Jeff (Robert Montgomery), who decides to turn the girl into a celebrity -- and line his own pockets in the process. But if she's been used by Jeff, Mona knows how to be a user as well, and soon she's manipulating Jeff, relying on his expertise to save her from a nasty murder rap. Eventually, Jeff gets wise to Mona's game and returns to his sweetheart Claire (Madge Evans), virtually the only 100% honest character in the picture. The film's unsubtle double-edged title was made even more so in England, where it was changed to The Girl I Made. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Sally Eilers, (more)
- 1932
"Are you listening?" was the catchphrase of early-1930s radio personality Tony Wons. Though Wons does not appear in the 1932 MGM programmer Are You Listening?, the film is concerned with the burgeoning broadcast industry. William Haines plays a wise-cracking radio writer who is tricked into confessing on the air that he murdered his wife. Whenever an actor normally associated with comedy roles plays a murderer (either actual or implied) in a film, it's usually a sign that his studio contract has come to an end. Such was the case of Are You Listening?, which proved to be William Haines' swan song at MGM, where he'd been employed since 1925. Perhaps as a going-away present, J.P. McEvoy's script contrives to give Haines three leading ladies: Madge Evans, Anita Page and Karen Morley (nobody outside the industry knew that Haines was in fact a homosexual, and MGM was determined to keep it that way). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Haines, Madge Evans, (more)
- 1932
Tallulah Bankhead plays a giddy 1920s heiress who spurns the affections of executive Robert Montgomery because he makes a "mere" $20,000 per year. Tallulah is impoverished by the Depression, as is Montgomery. She refuses again to marry him now that they are equals, preferring to maintain her lifestyle by becoming the mistress of a clloddish millionaire (Hugh Herbert). Her new benefactor behaves atrociously, prompting Tallulah to run to the arms of Montgomery, who is now a blue-collar worker. Again stripped of her wealth, Tallulah marries Montgomery, who is promptly incapacitated in a violent labor dispute. Desperate to keep up her husband's medical bills, Tallulah takes to the streets. She is about to hit upon her first "John" when she is stopped by the kindly beat cop, who sends her back to her husband--and presumably a new lease on life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tallulah Bankhead, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1932
Directed by Harry Beaumont, the courtroom drama Unashamed stars Robert Young as Dick Ogden, who will do anything to protect his sister Jean (Helen Twelvetrees). Unfortunately, Jean is in love with the sleazy Harry Swift (Monroe Owsley), who is only interested in her fortune. After Harry (Owsley) manipulated Jen (Twelvetrees) into spending the night alone with him, Mr. Odgen (Robert Warwick) refused to give them permission to marry. A furious Harry threatens to ruin Jean's reputation, but is shot by Dick (Young) before he can say anything. Heartbroken, Jean does not forgive her father or brother and plans to testify against Dick even if it means the death penalty. It looks as if Dick will be sent to the gas chamber until the very end, when his sister suddenly has a change of heart. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, Robert Young, (more)
- 1931
No relation to the 1949 Bob Hope comedy of the same name, The Great Lover stars that master of sartorial splendor, Adolphe Menjou. Menjou plays a famed opera singer, better known for his sexual proclivities than his theatrical performances. He sets his sights on the opera company's ingenue, novice singer Irene Dunne. Menjou's love for Dunne is genuine--the first time he's ever permitted himself such an emotion--but his past misdeeds catch up with him. Dunne ultimately finds happiness in the arms of arrow-collar leading man Neil Hamilton. The Great Lover was directed by Harry Beaumont, the man responsible for so many of MGM's early talkie musicals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Irene Dunne, (more)
- 1931
Though silent star John Gilbert's talking pictures were habitual money-losers, the stubborn actor insisted that MGM honor his $250,000-per-picture contract, signed just before talkies came on. West of Broadway wasn't a bad Gilbert vehicle by any means, but the star's previous failures worked against its success. Gilbert is cast as cynical millionaire Jerry, who, after being snubbed by his sweetheart Anne (Madge Evans), marries Dot (Lois Moran) on the rebound -- and while blind stinking drunk. Sobering up, Jerry treats Dot atrociously, letting her know that he's not in love with her. By the time he realizes that he is, she has had enough of his oafish behavior and has walked out on him. The scene then shifts to Jerry's Arizona ranch, where after much verbal dueling, the reluctant husband is tenderly reunited with his now-forgiving wife. El Brendel, borrowed from Fox Studios, enlivens the picture with his trademarked Swedish-dialect humor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gilbert, El Brendel, (more)
- 1931
The Kenyon Nicholson play Torch Song was the source for the Joan Crawford vehicle Laughing Sinners. Crawford plays nightclub entertainer Ivy Stevens, who loses her zest for living when she's thrown over by her salesman sweetheart Howard Palmer (Neil Hamilton). At her lowest ebb, Ivy is befriended by Salvation Army captain Carl Loomis (yes, that's Clark Gable!). With her faith in God and Mankind renewed, Ivy becomes an "urban missionary," singing on street corners with Loomis and his flock. Alas, she falls from grace when she rekindles her romance with the now-married Howard. The conscience-stricken Ivy quits the Salvation Army, insisting that she's no longer worthy of the organization. But rather than accept her resignation, Carl turns in his uniform and collection plate and pledges eternal devotion to Ivy! And this all happens in a swift 71 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Neil Hamilton, (more)
- 1931
Joan Crawford and William Bakewell play the spoiled-rotten grown children of stockbroker William Holden. When Wall Street lays its famous egg in 1929, Crawford and Bakewell find that they can no longer pursue their flamboyant lifestyle (for example, they'll have to put a moratorium on the sort of "lingerie parties" with which this film opens). Crawford gets a newspaper job, while Bakewell ties up with vicious bootlegger Clark Gable. When Gable is implicated in the murder of seven gangsters (a transparent reenactment of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre), Crawford's fellow reporter Cliff Edwards gets proof of Gable's complicity. Bakewell is ordered to kill Edwards; Crawford, not knowing of her brother's actions, takes Edwards' place, wooing Gable in hopes of getting a scoop. When Gable finds out that Crawford's working undercover (so to speak), he prepares to rub her out, but her life is saved by Bakewell at the cost of his own. Compared to the rest of the stick-figure leading men in Dance Fools Dance, Clark Gable stood out like a testosterone-soaked thumb, and it wouldn't be long before he'd be promoted from villains to heroes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Cliff Edwards, (more)
- 1930
In this comedy, set during the 1900s, a Florodora girl slowly falls for a gentle millionaire. Songs include: "My Kind Of Man," "Pass The Beer And Pretzels," "Swingin' In The Lane," and a Technicolor stage sequence of "Tell Me Pretty Maiden." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Lawrence Gray, (more)
- 1930
Few movie "heroes" are as despicable as Roy (Charles Kaley), the leading character in the MGM musical Lord Byron of Broadway. A seedy pianist in a seedier dive, Roy aspires for the big time, getting his chance when he transforms a bunch of old love letters written to his casual sweetheart into a hit song. Once he's made a name for himself, he dumps his "inspiration" in favor of Nancy (Marion Shilling), who becomes his vaudeville partner. As he climbs further up the show-biz ladder, Roy neglects Nancy in favor of singing star Ardis (Ethelind Terry) then throws her over when someone younger comes along. If there's any doubt by now that Roy is a thorough heel, that doubt will be erased by the scene in which he exploits the death of his best friend Joe (Cliff Edwards) by penning a maudlin "buddy" song. Only in the last few moments does Roy change his ways and become a "right guy," but even then, one has one's doubts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethelind Terry, Marion Shilling, (more)
- 1930
Having starred in Our Dancing Daughters (28) and Our Modern Maidens (30), the next logical step for Joan Crawford was Our Blushing Brides (30). Crawford is featured with her Dancing Daughters costars Dorothy Sebastian and Anita Page in this tale of three roommates trying to make good in the Big City. Crawford works as a department store mannequin, while Sebastian and Page have jobs as clerks. Robert Montgomery, son of the store's owner, marries Crawford, having failed to "score" any other way; Sebastian weds a thief (John Miljan) whom she mistakes as a millionaire; and Robert Montgomery's younger brother Raymond Hackett takes Page as his mistress, which results in her suicide after he drops her. Our Blushing Brides has plenty to blush about. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1930
In this musical comedy, a Jewish songwriter pursues and conquers a society blonde. Unfortunately, the indecisive fellow realizes that he really loves his female partner and dumps the blonde on their wedding day. Songs include "Leave It That Way," "Dust," "Girl Trouble," "A Couple of Birds with the Same Thought in Mind," and "The Whole Darned Thing's for You." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Gray, Benny Rubin, (more)
- 1930
Those Three French Girls are Charmaine (Fifi D'Orsay), Dian (Yola D'Avril) and Madelon (Sandra Ravel), each a real oo-la-la in her own right. All three get mixed up in the affairs of stuffy Englishman Larry (Reginald Denny) and the even stuffier Earl of Ippleton (George Grossmith). Meanwhile, American doughboys Owly (Cliff Edwards) and Yank (Edward S. Brophy) set their own sights on the lovely trio. The result is an uneven combination of drawing-room comedy and slapstick farce, including such standbys as the roadster caught in the rain and the idyllic (but innocent) overnight stay in the barnyard. And, of course, Those Three French Girls strip down to their skivvies when things threaten to get dull. Hard to believe that P.G. Wodehouse wrote the original story, and that one of the screenwriters was Arthur Freed, who later produced such prestigious MGM musicals as An American in Paris and Singin'in the Rain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Edwards
