Abby Berlin Movies

Father is a Bachelor is a pleasant throwback to the "rural" comedies of the 1930s. William Holden plays Johnny Rutledge, a philosophical hobo to whom fishing is the only reason for living. Rutledge is forced to take a few jolts of responsibility when he crosses the path of five orphans. The kids decide to "adopt" Johnny and find him a bride--preferably small-town girl Prudence Millett (Colleen Gray). Charles Winninger steals the film from everyone--even those five urchins--as a medicine-show charlatan named Professor Mordecai Ford. One of the children is played by Billy Gray, of Father Knows Best fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marsha Hunt seems far too mature and intelligent for the pulpish goings-on in Mary Ryan, Detective. Still, Hunt was a pro (for that matter, she still is), and she managed to survive this Columbia "B" without egg on her face. Assigned to get the goods on a notorious fence, detective Mary Ryan (Hunt) poses as a prison inmate to gain the confidence of one of her quarry's confederates. Upon being sprung from jail, Mary goes to work for the fence--and, predictably, nearly gets bumped off when her ruse is revealed. Featured in the cast are such crime-meller habitues as John Dehner, Ben Welden, Paul Bryar and Ralph Dunn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blondie opens a bakery in her home to help fill the family cookie jar in this entry in the long-running domestic comedy series based on the popular comic strip. Her tasty cookies become so popular that a cookie magnate makes her an offer that is difficult to refuse. Unfortunately, this creates all kinds of problems for the Bumsteads. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Blondie decides she wants to be a star and nearly turns her household upside down in this entry in the long-running domestic comedy series. Dagwood has mixed emotions about his wife's theatrical aspirations and eventually he decides to get her to quit. Disaster ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Daisy, the Bumstead's mischievous mutt, makes the family a little extra cash when she wins a contest to become a model for the Navy. From there she becomes the favorite calendar gal. All the attention to the dog, makes Dagwood feel that his position as master of the house is jeopardized. Meanwhile all the attention catches the greedy eyes of gangsters who abduct Daisy. Fortunately, everything works out for the best. This was one of many entries in the comic-strip based series of domestic comedies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Blondie Knows Best was writer/director Edward Bernds' first entry in the long-running "Blondie" series, and arguably his funniest. The story contrives to have Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) pose as his boss Mr. Dithers (Jonathan Hale) so that a big business deal can be consummated while Dithers avoids nearsighted process server Jim Gray (Shemp Howard). The upshot of all this is that Dagwood ends up in a lunatic asylum, forcing Blondie (Penny Singleton) to come to the rescue. Ed Bernds was a big fan of comedian Shemp Howard (whom he'd directed in several Columbia 2-reelers) and accordingly he gives Shemp free reign in his scenes, resulting in some hystericially funny moments. Blondie Knows Best represented Jonathan Hale's farewell to the series; in the next entry, Blondie's Big Moment, he would be replaced by Jerome Cowan as Mr. Radcliffe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Humphrey Bogart considered this World War II action epic from director Zoltan Korda one of his finest films. Sergeant Joe Gunn (Bogart) is the commander of an American M-3 tank crew allied to the British Eighth Army, which is defeated by the Germans at Tobruk. Joining the scattered retreat across the Libyan desert, Gunn and his two remaining men, Jimmy Doyle (Dan Duryea) and Waco Hoyt (Bruce Bennett) search for water. Instead the tank crew finds an international mix of stragglers, including an officer doctor (Richard Nugent) with several soldiers and a British Sudanese sergeant, Tambul (Rex Ingram), with his Italian prisoner of war (J. Carrol Naish). The rag-tag column shoots down an attacking plane and takes its German pilot (Kurt Kreuger) as a second captive, although a soldier, Fred Clarkson (Lloyd Bridges) is killed in the fighting. After one well turns out to be dry, the troupe finally reaches an abandoned mosque with a well that provides a trickle of water. Two more prisoners are taken while scouting the area and reveal that an entire German battalion is en route to the same well. Gunn misleads them into believing that there is plenty of water to go around, sets them free to report back to their superiors, and then persuades his fellow Allies to help him fight the enemy force that's en route, even though they are staggeringly outnumbered. A betrayal, an escaped prisoner, and bloody skirmishes follow in short order as Hoyt goes in search of help while Gunn and his compatriots attempt to crush the German battalion. Sahara (1943) inspired several subsequent action films, most notably Last of the Comanches (1952), and was remade as a 1995 cable television movie. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide