Carlyle Blackwell Movies

The East Side Kids have become so benign in Docks of New York that they actually go out of their way to help the cops! It all begins when Glimpy (Huntz Hall) stumbles across a corpse and a stolen necklace. This brings himself and Muggs (Leo Gorcey) under the scrutiny of mysterious knife-wielding assassins, who are also searching for war refugees Saundra (Gloria Pope) and Mrs. Darcy (Betty Blythe). It turns out that Saundra is the incumbent princess of the duchy of Tuscania, and there are those who would kill her before she can assume the throne. Not unexpectedly, the necklace is vital to Saundra's future, so it's up to Muggs, Glimpy and the rest of the East Side Kids to safeguard both the girl and the royal jewels. Contrary to previously published reports, the "Carlyle Blackwell Jr" who appears in Docks of New York is not famed fashion arbiter Mr. Blackwell. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A few corny moments aside, Objective Burma must rate as one of the best combat films of WW2. Errol Flynn stars as Captain Nelson, who leads a hardy band of paratroopers behind enemy lines in Burma, for the purpose of destroying a Japanese radar station. Their mission accomplished, Nelson and his men prepare to make their escape by plane, but this proves to be impossible. It is therefore necessary for the surviving paratroops to make a grueling 150-mile journey by foot through the Japanese-held jungle, in hopes of eventually reaching their own lines. With the exception of Henry Hull, who delivers a mannered, strained performance as an Ernie Pyle-like war correspondent, the performances are uniformly excellent, with Flynn, George Tobias and William Prince standing out. Director Raoul Walsh and cinematographer James Wong Howe stage the combat scenes (filmed on the "Lucky" Baldwin Santa Anita ranch) with brutal efficiency, showing little but conveying a lot in the way of gore and carnage. The strangest sequence (at least to modern viewers) has the paratroopers expressing horror and disgust at a vicious sneak attack by the Japanese-which occurs only a few reels after the Americans have staged an equally merciless attack on a Japanese unit! In England, Objective Burma was taken to task by newspaper journalist who felt that the Americans were unfairly taking full credit for the success of the Burmese campaign. The ensuing hue and cry compelled Warner Bros. to issue an apology, and to withhold the British release of the film until 1952, at which time it was accompanied by a lengthy prologue title extolling England's contribution to the Burma invasion. Originally released at 142 minutes, Objective Burma is usually shown on TV in its 128-minute reissue form. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The genesis of The Story of Dr. Wassell is said to have been a story told by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to director Cecil B. DeMille. Gary Cooper stars as Corydon M. Wassell, a real-life country doctor from Arkansas who worked as a medical missionary in China in the years prior to WWII. When America enters the war, Dr. Wassell joins the Navy and is shipped to Java. As the Japanese overtake the island, Wassell is placed in charge of the wounded evacuated marines. Ordered to leave the area immediately, the doctor disobeys his commands, staying behind to care for ten seriously wounded men from the USS Marblehead, even as Japanese bombs rain down upon his staff. With the help of other stranded allied troops, Wassell and his wounded make it to Australia, where despite his insubordination he is lauded as a hero. Not as much of a spectacular as earlier DeMille films, The Story of Dr. Wassell concentrates on personalities, with mixed results. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This 48-minute Hal Roach "streamliner" represents a rare directorial assignment for veteran Hollywood choreographer LeRoy Prinz, who also produced the film. Johnny Downs stars as Bob Sheppard of Quinceton University, who is appointed by his frat brothers to get even with the snotty sorority gals at all-female Marr Brynn U. This requires Bob to dress up in drag as a "blonde bombshell" and to enter Marr Brynn's annual beauty contest. When he's not flouncing around in curls and crinolines, Bob spends his time romancing pert co-ed Virginia (Frances Langford). The supporting cast ranges from silent-comedy veteran Harry Langdon to leggy newcomer Marie Windsor. The film's four musical numbers (representing approximately 25 percent of the running time!) include the Oscar-nominated "Out of the Silence". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Calling of Dan Matthews is a modernized and sanitized version of Harold Bell Wright's muckraking novel. Minister Dan Matthews (Richard Arlen) wants to rid his community of its seamy "Old Town" district, a breeding ground for prostitution and other crimes. Most of the property in question is owned by leading citizen J. B. Strong (Frederick Burton), who is ignorant (or chooses to be) of the appalling conditions in his tenements. Mathews convinces Strong that changes must be made, but is still compelled to whale the tar out of Hardy (Douglass Dumbrille), the evil vice lord of Old Town. The good reverend also wins the hand of Strong's daughter Hope (Charlotte Wynters). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this bedroom farce, an ex-wife overhears her former hubby's new wife and her lover planning a tryst for the weekend while the husband is away on a business trip. Hoping that the husband will catch them in the act, the ex creates an elaborate scheme whereby the lovers' plans are foiled and they must spend the weekend at her house. She then arranges for her former husband to drop by so he can see for himself the kind of hussy he married. Unfortunately the whole plot goes terribly awry when two fugitive jewel thieves wind up stranded at the ex-wife's house too. Things get really mixed up when the ex-wife discovers that she is in love with the second-wife's lover. Meanwhile second wifey recovers the jewels from the thieves just as her hubby returns. He gets there just as his ex-wife and the lover are married. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this musical campus comedy, trouble ensues when a meddlesome, overprotective father enrolls in the same college as his son so he can watch over his love life. The son soon finds himself involved with a conniving golddigger who dumps him when she discovers that his family fortune has been squandered on a bum business deal. Songs include: "Old Man Rhythm," "I Never Saw a Better Night," "There's Nothing Like a College Education," "Boys Will Be Boys," "When You Are in My Arms," and "Come the Revolution, Baby." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A young man moves to the Canadian West after a shyster bilks him out of his life savings. He is working hard upon his newly purchased ranch when he sees a plane crash and finds a lovely young woman has survived. He takes her home to help her recover from her amnesia. Eventually he learns that she is the daughter of the attorney who took his money. Still, he cannot help but fall in love with her, and he helps save her from the creep she is supposed to marry. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

From its title, one would think this picture was a light comedy, but it isn't -- it's a World War I spy drama, a subject which was growing increasingly stale by early 1919. Carlyle Blackwell plays Charles Conant, a young, wellto-do man who is masquerading as a muleteer on a tramp steamer. He quits the boat in England to look up some distant relatives, Lord and Lady Dartridge. Lady Dartridge's daughter, Lady Joan Templar (Evelyn Greeley) helps him out by giving him work on the estate, but his behavior is suspicious. There are several workers who are secretly plotting to smuggle titanium on board a German submarine, and Conant is quite interested in their activities. Of course by the end of the film, he has proved himself a true-blue American by capturing these bad men -- it turns out that the titanium belongs to his father's company and was inadvertently sold to the Germans. Before Conant goes off to join the Lafayette Squadron in France, Lady Joan has decided to throw away her title and marry him. This convoluted film was originally a Saturday Evening Post story by Kenyon Gambier with an equally convoluted title: "A Huge, Black One-Eyed Man." Some of the English countryside in the picture looks an awful lot like Fort Lee, New Jersey, where World Pictures had its studio. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Jack Burkshaw (Carlyle Blackwell, who also directed) returns home from the West to discover that his mother (Kate Lester) has married a widower, Eugene Alston (Charles Duncan). Alston has two grown children, pretty Marion (Evelyn Greeley) and roguish Jerry (William Sherwood). While Jack falls in love with Marion, Jerry takes advantage of Barbara Manning (Muriel Ostriche), a young stenographer, then neglects her in favor of an actress. Jack uses sneaky and sometimes humorous means to make Jerry see the error of his ways, while winning Marion's heart at the same time. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi