Henry Brandon Movies

This second of three movie versions of P.C. Wren's adventure novel Beau Geste is a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the 1927 silent version. We open on the now-famous scenes of a remote, burning desert fort, manned by the dead Foreign Legionnaires, then flash back to the early lives of the Geste brothers. As children, the Gestes swear eternal loyalty to one another and to their family. One of the boys, young Beau (played as a youth by Donald O'Connor), witnesses his beloved aunt (Heather Thatcher) apparently stealing a valuable family jewel in order to finance the Geste home; Beau chooses to remain silent rather than disgrace his aunt. Years later, the grown Beau (Gary Cooper) again protects his aunt by confessing to the theft and running off to join the Foreign Legion. He is joined in uniform by faithful brothers John (Ray Milland) and Digby (Robert Preston), who in turn are pursued by a slimy thief (J. Carroll Naish). The crook is in cahoots with sadistic Legion Sgt. Markov (Brian Donlevy, in one of the most hateful portrayals ever captured on celluloid), who is later put in charge of Fort Zinderneuf, where Beau and John are stationed. When the Arabs attack, Markov proves himself a valiant soldier; it is he who hits upon the idea of convincing the Arabs that the fort is still fully manned by propping up the corpses of the casualties at the guard posts. Beau is seriously wounded, and while the greedy Markov searches for the jewel supposedly hidden on Beau's person, he is held at bay by loyal John. The suddenly enervated Beau kills Markov, then dies himself--but not before entrusting two notes to John, one of which requests that John give Beau the "Viking funeral" he'd always wanted (this is why the fort is in flames at the beginning of the film). After the battle, Digby Geste, a bugler with the relief troops, comes upon Beau's dead body, and appropriates the notes. As it turns out, John Geste is the only one who survives to return to England. He gives his aunt Beau's letter, which explains why Beau had confessed and run off--"a 'beau geste', indeed" comments his tearful aunt. No one missed nominal leading lady Susan Hayward in this essentially all-male entertainment. For years available only in muddily processed or truncated versions, Beau Geste was restored to its pristine glory by the American Film Institute in the late 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a waitress leaves her husband after getting sick of being alone while her husband, a commercial pilot, plies his trade. To be near her, he quits his job and joins the state police air service. Unfortunately, he becomes mixed up in an interdepartmental rivalry between road-bound and airborne cops. Later it is the aerial cops that capture a ring of notorious jewel thieves. This causes his wife to respect him and his job and they are happily reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A remake of sorts of the 1935 western The Arizonian, this fine George O'Brien oater features Leon Ames as Sheriff Judd Cronan, a slick lawman running Mesa City as if he owns the place. When schoolmarm Virginia King (Virginia Vale) has had enough of both Cronan's capriciousness and his advances and decides to leave town, the sheriff arranges for his henchman Pete (Joe McGuinn) to commit a bit of kidnapping. Unhappily for Cronan and his cronies, Cliff Mason (O'Brien), a retired lawman, happens by and is easily persuaded to stick around and do something about the general lawlessness of the area. Cornered, the sheriff sends for Duke Allison (Henry Brandon), a hired killer. Marshal of Mesa City was the first of six westerns teaming George O'Brien with RKO starlet Virginia Vale, formerly Dorothy Howe and the winner of the "Gateway to Hollywood" radio contest. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

If I Were King is a delightful costume adventure tale set in 14th century France, during the reign of Louis XI, and inspired by the legend of the rebel poet François Villon, whose exploits were filmed earlier as The Beloved Rogue (1927) with John Barrymore, and later transformed into the musical The Vagabond King on Broadway and onscreen. The movie opens with Paris surrounded by the forces of the Duke of Burgundy, whose armies have laid siege to the city in hopes of starving out King Louis XI (Basil Rathbone, in a riveting performance), a wily, cruel monarch who distrusts all around him -- mostly, however, Burgundy has succeeded in forcing Louis to hunker down and in starving the common people of Paris, whose well-being their king can't be bothered about.

The one man in Paris with the courage to raise a hand to ease the suffering is François Villon (Ronald Colman), a gifted poet and glib orator who understands the common people far better than Louis. We first meet him leading a raid on the king's storehouse for sorely needed food and wine. Pursued by the king's guards, he accidentally crosses paths with Louis himself -- trying to uncover a nest of traitors -- at a tavern, and is captured. Louis would normally have Villon put to death without a second thought, but the rebel poet has done him the service of killing a treasonous officer, and has also piqued the king's interest with his notion of inspiring loyalty rather than fear in his subjects. The king also wishes to show Villon that it isn't always easy, even with all of the power of the crown on one's side, to rule a kingdom, or even the capitol city of a kingdom. Louis appoints Villon to the post of Constable of France, in command of all military and police authorities, and nominally in charge of the army, and leaves it to him to do his job -- with the provision that, at the end of a week in so powerful a position, Villon will, indeed, hang. Villon does a very good job of dispensing justice in a way that makes his followers love the king, and even turns one traitor into a loyalist. He is less successful at getting the titled nobility on his side, or the generals to rally their armies for the task at hand, breaking the siege, and is further distracted from his task by his romantic entanglements, with Ellen Drew as the girl of the streets who loves Villon and Frances Dee as the lady-in-waiting to the queen who has stolen his heart.

Director Frank Lloyd uses the same sure hand that propelled his Oscar-nominated Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) to weave together the telling of this lusty and witty tale (from a clever screenplay by Preston Sturges, who added his own translations of Villon's poetry to the original script); but the real interest for most viewers will reside with the sparks that fly from the performances of Colman and Rathbone as the two equally matched antagonists, each toying with the other's perceived weaknesses (especially their vanity) while, in his way, secretly admiring elements of the other's character. In the end, Sturges' script cleverly interweaves their common interests, Villon realizing that he must save Paris in order to keep from losing his head. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Supporting actor Scott Kolk was elevated to playing the title role in this Graustarkian spy thriller, serialized in 12 chapters by Universal. Reportedly based on characters created by Dashiell Hammett, the serial featured an American secret agent assigned to recover the crown jewels of Belgravia. Agent X-9 is assisted in his quest by Shara Graustark (Jean Rogers) and opposed by a master criminal known as Blackstone (Henry Brandon). A Universal contract player, Scott Kolk had played Leer, one of the young German soldiers-turned-cannon fodder in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), but stardom had eluded him. A name change to Scott Colton didn't do the trick either, and he left films in 1938. Leading lady Jean Rogers, on the other hand, had played Dale Arden in Flash Gordon (1936) and has become a serial icon. Universal used the title Secret Agent X-9 again in 1945, but with a different setting and plot. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this mystery, a railroad agent is blamed for a terrible train crash. Actually, just before the crash, the agent was trying to keep a gunman from hijacking the train. The agent then runs from the authorities. He ends up sheltered by an impoverished family whom he tries to help while conducting his own investigation into the crash. He soon reveals the culprit's true identity and brings him to justice. He also manages to keep a second train tragedy from occurring. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmed on a microscopic budget, the independently-produced Island Captives is purportedly set in the South Seas (though it looks a lot like Catalina). Hero Tom Willoughby (Eddie Nugent) is one of several seafarers shipwrecked on a remote tropical island. A law unto itself, the island is crawling with murderers, smugglers, forgers and at least one potential rapist. Tom takes it upon himself to shield heroine Helen Carsons (Joan Barclay) and island lass Taino (Carmen LaRoux) from harm. Foremost among the villains is gaunt, bearded Henry Brandon, twixt-and-tween his assignments as Silas Barnaby in Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland and the title character in Drums of Fu Manchu. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's a black night in Hollywood when matinee idol Neil DuBeck (Rod LaRoque) is murdered at the preview of his latest film. Director E. Gordon Smith (Ian Keith), who has long harbored a deep hatred for DuBeck, is the main suspect -- until he too is killed, along with a movie-studio watchman (Spencer Charters). Closing down the studio and refusing to let anyone leave, police lieutenant McKane (Thomas Jackson) sifts through the clues, but it's up to actors Johnny Morgan (Reginald Denny) and Peggy Madison (Frances Drake) to solve the mystery, applying a few tricks they've learned at the movies. Director Robert Florey enlivens Preview Murder Mystery with scores of delightful inside jokes, ranging from an elaborate takeoff of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to a "television camera" which looks like a reconverted movie projector. Several Paramount contractees appear briefly in guest roles, while a host of silent screen favorites (Jack Mulhall, Bryant Washburn, Chester Conklin, Wilfrid Lucas et. al.) show up in nostalgic bit parts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 12-episode Universal serial Jungle Jim was based on the Alex Raymond comic strip of the same name. Grant Withers stars as Jungle Jim, who on this occasion is leading an expedition into darkest Africa. His employers hope to ascertain the whereabouts of Joan (Betty Jane Rhodes), a young heiress who disappeared in the jungle several years earlier. It turns out that Joan has become the ruler of a small native tribe -- and that she has fallen under the influence of The Cobra (Henry Brandon), a mysterious figure who exercises an evil influence upon her. With Jungle Jim's help, Joan breaks free of The Cobra's spell; now, however, both hero and heroine must make their way back to civilization without being devoured by marauding wildlife. Though Jungle Jim was well received, it would be another 12 years before Columbia's Jungle Jim "B"-movie series began production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide