Lou Breslow Movies
Born in Boston, Lou Breslow was raised in California, where he received his first training in the motion picture industry as a film extra. At various junctures, Breslow was a cameraman and story consultant before graduating to screenwriting and directing. With a predilection for comedy, Breslow made uncredited contributions to the Marx Bros. films Horse Feathers (1932) and Duck Soup (1933) and directed several 2-reelers, including the early Three Stooges opus Punch Drunks (1934). He spent many years in the screenwriting pool at 20th Century-Fox, writing for everyone from Betty Grable to Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre). He also wrote scripts for funnymen Bob Hope and Red Skelton. Keeping his hand in directing into the 1950s, Lou Breslow helmed the delightful comedy-fantasy You Never Can Tell (1951) and also contributed his services as scripter and story consultant for dozens of TV anthologies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1961
When Beaver (Jerry Mathers) announces that he needs twenty-five dollars to buy a canoe, dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) offers to put up half the money, provided Beaver comes up with the other twelve dollars and fifty cents. A sure-fire moneymaking proposition falls in Beaver's lap when a neighbor asks him to catch a few frogs, for which our hero will be amply compensated. But Beaver's enthusiasm over the frog-harvesting job is quickly scuttled when he finds out that his customer intends to kill the amphibians and use them in lab experiments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Talbot, Richard Correll, (more)
- 1961
Not exactly looking forward to his dance-class reunion, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) changes his mind when he meets attractive Betsy Patterson (Pam Smith). In fact, Beaver is so smitten that he asks Betsy to go to an upcoming dance -- his first-ever date with a girl! Alas, fickle Betsy spends most of the evening dancing with other partners, leaving Beaver to while away his time with his male pals...and to seriously reconsider the prospect of entering the dating scene at this point in his life! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Bank, Richard Correll, (more)
- 1955
In this melodrama, an American soldier finds himself by two private eyes hired by the wealthy German father of the man he wrongly killed eight years ago. The female detective begins working at the killer's drive-in; eventually she seduces him into marrying her. At that point the other private eye appears claiming to be her estranged brother. He gets the couple interested in a scheme whereby they all might split $200,000 in Berlin. The killer goes for the ruse, returns to Germany and finds himself prosecuted for the murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard, (more)
- 1952
Back at the Front is the second of two film comedies based on the wartime cartoons of Bill Mauldin. As in Up Front, the principal characters are woebegone GIs Willie and Joe: Tom Ewell is back as Willie, but Harvey Lembeck replaces David Wayne as Joe. The original purpose of Mauldin's newspaper cartoons--to give enlisted men a surreptitious means of blowing off steam concerning the iniquities of war and the occasional idiocies of their officers--is completely ignored in Back at the Front. Instead, we are offered a very standard spy plot set in postwar Tokyo, involving femme fatale Mari Blanchard and a shipment of booby-trapped food tins. Back at the Front could have been done just as well with Abbott and Costello--better, in fact. Watch in the closing scenes for David Janssen, playing a one-line bit as a rookie soldier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Ewell, Harvey Lembeck, (more)
- 1952
Steel Town top-bills Ann Sheridan, but the bulk of the story is carried by John Lund. Cast as Steve Kostane, the nephew of a steel-plant proprietor, Lund must prove his value to by learning the business from the ground up as a steelworker. It isn't easy: throughout the film, Kostane is weighed down by personal problems that threaten to overwhelm him -- and to financially ruin the little steel town where he works. Sheridan does her usual competent job as "Red" McNamera, the down-to-earth restaurant cashier who ends up the romantic bone of contention between Kostane and veteran open-hearth worker Jim Denko (Howard Duff). A heart-pounding climax finds Kostane rescuing Red 's father (William Harrigan) from a horrible fate. Steel Town was lensed on location at California's Kaiser-Fontana steel plant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sheridan, John Lund, (more)
- 1951
Bob Hope is up to his famous nose in danger in this espionage comedy. Second-rate burlesque comic Peanuts White (Hope) is approached by federal agents who think that he's international spy Eric Augustine, to whom Peanuts bears a striking resemblance. When they realize that Peanuts and Eric are two different people, the FBI persuades him to travel to Africa posing as Eric and fetch a batch of microfilm that could prove vital to national security. With reluctance, Peanuts flies to Tangiers and arranges a rendezvous with Lily Dalbray (Hedy Lamarr), Eric's beautiful girlfriend and an agent of shifting alliances herself. However, Lily's superior Karl Brubaker (Francis L. Sullivan) wants the microfilm, and he will stop at nothing to get it. As Peanuts tries to rescue the microfilm, make time with Lily, and avoid Karl, things become even more confused when Eric escapes from hiding and re-enters the picture. Both Bob Hope and Hedy Lamarr contribute songs to the soundtrack, though unlike Bob, Hedy's vocals were dubbed in by a studio vocalist. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Hedy Lamarr, (more)
- 1951
Columbia and Universal were the leading purveyors of well-crafted "little" pictures in the 1950s. It was Universal who put together Reunion in Reno, which opens with little Maggie (Gigi Perreau) walking into the offices of divorce-attorney Norman (Mark Stevens), demanding a divorce from her parents! It seems that Maggie is an adoptee, who fears that she'll be left in the lurch when mom (Frances Dee) and dad (Leif Erickson) become natural parents, which will happen very soon. As Norman strives to solve his youthful "client"'s problems, problems, he decides at long last to wed his own fiancee Laura (Peggy Dow) -- though if ever there was a strong argument against marriage and parenthood, it is the precocious Maggie. Elements of Reunion in Reno were later reworked into the 1984 comedy Irreconcilable Differences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Stevens, Peggy Dow, (more)
Forget what you've been led to believe: Bedtime for Bonzo is a most enjoyable film, and Ronald Reagan is not outacted by the chimpanzee. Reagan is cast as psychology professor whose reputation is sullied by the fact that his father was a convict. To prove that environment rather than heredity dictates a man's personality, Reagan uses Bonzo the chimp to test out his theories. The hairy little guy seems to be responding to the kindnesses lavished upon him--and then he is accused of robbery. Reagan nearly goes to jail in Bonzo's stead, but everything turns out all right in the end (we're not giving anything away; after all, everybody knows that there was a Bonzo Goes to College in 1952). While it's an uphill climb, Ronald Reagan and his able costars Diana Lynn and Walter Slezak manage to keep Bonzo from running away with the picture. And yes, director Fred DeCordova is the same guy who produced Johnny Carson's late-night show in the 1980s and 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Lynn, Walter Slezak, (more)
- 1951
The most delightful aspect of You Never Can Tell is the film's ability to successfully sustain its single joke for 78 minutes. The story begins when King, a German shepherd, falls heir to a fortune. Ellen Hathaway (Peggy Dow), trustee of King's estate, spends most of her time fending off would-be fortune hunters -- with the exception of personable Perry Collins (Charles Drake), who claims to have been King's "commander" in the wartime K-9 corps. Soon afterward, King dies of strychnine poisoning, and though no evidence exists, Ellen is held responsible. The film then shifts to the celestial way-station for animals known as "Beastatory." Here, the ghost of King implores a heavenly jury to be given an opportunity to return to earth and expose his genuine murderer. King gets his wish, and in a twinkling he is reincarnated in the form of private-eye Rex Shepard (Dick Powell). Shepard's girl Friday is Goldie (Joyce Holden), a reincarnated racehorse who insists upon outrunning buses just for the exercise. In his new human form, Rex returns to his mansion, where despite his animal instincts he can't help falling in love with Ellen as he endeavors to clear her name. To reveal more would rob the viewer of thoroughly enjoying this captivating piece of whimsy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Powell, Peggy Dow, (more)
- 1950
- NR
In this 1951 comedy Irene Dunne stars as Kay, a Manhattan-based songwriter who marries widowed rodeo cowboy Chris (Fred MacMurray). In the tradition of The Egg and I, Kay suffers a great deal of culture shock when she moves into Chris' western ranch. When she isn't being bedeviled by her new step-children, poor Kay is subjected to bumps and bruises as she tries to become an expert horsewoman. Nothing happens in Never a Dull Moment that isn't thoroughly predictable, though the stars bring a degree of freshness to the proceedings. This film was one of several produced for RKO by Harriet Parsons, daughter of gossip columnist Louella Parsons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1949
Bride-to-be Barbara Hale collapses into a faint while taking the altar vows. Hale learns that she is pregnant by her former husband Robert Young, who steadfastly refuses to give her custody of the unborn child. As it turns out, she isn't pregnant at all, but her reunion with Young has convinced her that she's still in love with her first hubby. Robert Hutton is the prospective bridegroom left out in the cold--but he's a nasty sort, so good riddance. And Baby Makes Three was produced for Columbia by Humphrey Bogart's Santana company. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Barbara Hale, (more)
- 1948
An Innocent Affair was the original release title for the tame marital comedy Don't Trust Your Husband. Making her first film appearance in six years, Madeleine Carroll plays Paula Doane, the wife of ad executive Vincent Doane (Fred MacMurray). For business reasons, Vincent is obliged to entertain lovely widow Margot Fraser (Louise Allbritton). Misunderstanding the situation, Paula vows to "get even" with Vincent by dallying with wealthy tobacco magnate Claude Kimball (Charles "Buddy" Rogers, who like Carroll was returning to films after a six-year absence). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens next. At the very least, it was nice to see Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll working together on-screen for the fifth (and as turned out, the last) time. Much of An Innocent Affair is a thinly disguised advertisement for "Prince" Michael Romanoff's Hollywood eatery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Madeleine Carroll, (more)
Also known as A Miracle Can Happen, On Our Merry Way is a multipart comedy linked by inquiring reporter Burgess Meredith. It is Meredith's job to interview several people, asking them what effect children have had on their lives. First he checks with two itinerant musicians (James Stewart and Henry Fonda), who earn extra under-the-counter money by fixing a music contest so the mayor's son will win. Next he meets Hollywood extras Dorothy Lamour and Victor Moore, who are hired to work with a precocious child star. Finally, the old "Ransom of Red Chief" twist is given to the tale of hoboes Fred MacMurray and William Demarest, who find themselves at the mercy of a preteen prankster, whose wealthy uncle (Hugh Herbert) won't take the kid back unless the hoboes pay him. Meredith returns to the newspaper office with a black eye, which earns him the sympathy and affection of coworker Paulette Goddard. Though the direction is credited to Leslie Fenton, portions of On Our Merry Way were actually directed (sans credit) by George Stevens and King Vidor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burgess Meredith, Paulette Goddard, (more)
- 1947
In this crime melodrama, two would-be jewel thieves conspire to pull a heist, but are frustrated because the police are able to successfully anticipate their every move and stop them. Later the thieves fall in love and it is then that the female thief admits that she is a detective who was hired by an insurance company to stop him. She then pleads with him to give up crime, but he doesn't, so she rats on him and justice is served. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kent Taylor, Louise Currie, (more)
- 1947
The George S. Kaufman-Marc Connelly play Merton of the Movies was previously filmed in 1923 with Glenn Hunter, and in 1932 (as Make Me a Star) with Stu Erwin. This time around, Red Skelton plays Merton, the small-town rube who aspires to become a dramatic actor in silent pictures. Bumbling his way into Hollywood, he lays waste to several movie sets before he finally lands a screen test. When his histrionic efforts are greeted with derisive laughter, Merton slinks away disappointed and disillusioned-only to re-emerge triumphant as moviedom's newest comedy sensation! In one of her few non-musical appearances, deadpan comedienne Virginia O'Brien plays Phyllis "Flips" Montague, the warmhearted Hollywood stunt girl who befriends and eventually falls in love with the hapless Merton. Reportedly, Buster Keaton supplied a few of the film's sight gags, but apparently not enough to permit Merton of the Movies to rise above mediocrity and predictability. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Red Skelton, Virginia O'Brien, (more)
- 1945
- Add Abbott and Costello in Hollywood to QueueAdd Abbott and Costello in Hollywood to top of Queue
The last of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's three MGM features, Abbott & Costello in Hollywood is a loose remake of Buster Keaton's Free and Easy. Bud and Lou play a pair of Tinseltown barbers who dream of becoming high-priced showbiz agents. Their first clients are Frances Rafferty and Robert Stanton, whose careers may be over before they begin when A&C manage to antagonize powerful producer Donald MacBride and stuck-up film star Carleton Young. The plot serves only as a clothesline upon which to hang several sidesplitting comedy routines: Abbott teaching Costello how to give a shave, Lou vainly trying to get a good night's sleep, a "stunt man" bit involving the tremulous Costello and hulking Mike Mazurki, and a wild roller-coaster finale. MGM contractees Lucille Ball, Jackie "Butch" Jenkins, Preston S. Foster and Robert Z. Leonard make guest appearances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, (more)
- 1945
Though it comes on much too strong at times, Murder, He Says fully justifies its present "cult" status. Professional pollster Pete Marshall (Fred MacMurray) gets more than he bargained for when he heads to hillbilly country to investigate the disappearances of several of his colleagues. Poor Pete stumbles across the Fleagle family, who have a quaint habit of murdering anyone they consider to be a nuisance. Whip-wielding Mamie (Marjorie Main), her deceptively meek husband Mr. Johnson (Porter Hall) and her hulking, lamebrained twin sons (both played by Peter Whitney) are searching for $70,000 hidden by Bonnie Parker-like desperado Bonnie Fleagle, and they don't intend to be disturbed by any outsiders like Pete. Having previously poisoned their troublesome grandma (Mabel Paige) with a curious substance that causes its victims to glow in the dark, Mamie and her brood try to dispatch Pete in the same manner, leading to an uproarious slapstick setpiece involving an elaborate "Lazy Susan" table. Complicating matters is the arrival of two different women (Helen Walker, Barbara Pepper) claiming to be the long-lost Bonnie Fleagle. Jean Heather costars as Elany Fleegle, the only sympathetic (but no less crack-brained) member of the killer brood. Its comedy content aside, Murder, He Says would be memorable for its eye-popping split-screen photography, thoroughly convincing the audience that Peter Whitney is indeed two different people. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Helen Walker, (more)
- 1944
Paramount Pictures did their patriotic duty with this World War II era musical, with a number of the studio's biggest stars making cameo appearances. Tony West (George Raft), his sister Kitty (Grace McDonald), and their father Nick (Charles Grapewin) tour together as The Three Wests, a failing act just scraping by in the latter days of vaudeville. With job opportunities drying up on the East Coast, Tony persuades the family to take their chances in California, and for once luck is with him. Not long after arriving in Hollywood, Tony is hired as a chorus boy on a musical starring Latin bombshell Vera Zorina (Gloria Vance). Cocky Tony offers Vera some much-needed advice on her dancing. She's intrigued by his confidence, and a romance blooms; soon, the two marry. Tony becomes a major star as Vera's on and off screen dancing partner, but when World War II breaks out, Tony's conscience gets the better of him. Tony is 4-F because of a bad knee, but he's ashamed to admit this, even to Vera, who thinks he's avoiding the service out of cowardice. Vera eventually gives Tony his walking papers, and desperate to show his support of our troops, Tony organizes an all-star U.S.O. revue bringing much needed entertainment to America's fighting men overseas. Follow the Boys also features guest shots by Marlene Dietrich, W.C. Fields (demonstrating trick billiard shots), Orson Welles (doing his magic act), Dinah Shore, The Andrews Sisters, Jeanette MacDonald, Sophie Tucker, Randolph Scott, Lon Chaney Jr., and Maria Montez, among many others. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Raft, Vera Zorina, (more)
- 1943
After an absence of three years, Mae West returned to the screen in the musical comedy The Heat's On. La West is cast as Fay Lawrence, a famous Broadway actress who is loved intensely by her producer Tony Ferris (William Gaxton). Rival producer Forrest Stanton (Alan Dinehart) steals Fay away from Ferris by convincing her that she's been blacklisted from Broadway by blue-nosed moralist Hannah Bainbridge (Almira Sessions). Meanwhile, Hannah's puckish brother Hubert (Victor Moore) syphons money from his sister's "clean up show business" committee to produce a musical show for his actress niece Janey (Mary Roche). Somehow, all these characters converge for a spectacular closing production number spotlighting the formidable Fay. Part of the reason for the failure of The Heat's On is the fact that Mae West didn't write her own dialogue, as was usually her custom. The film performed so poorly that it would be 27 years before West would again appear on the Big Screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mae West, Victor Moore, (more)
- 1943
This backstage musical offers a peek at vaudeville behind-the-scenes. The story centers on a recently divorced woman who decides to use her generous alimony settlement to stage an old fashioned vaudeville show. Unfortunately her chief backer insists on being the star. Fortunately, at the last minute, a very talented person replaces the no-talent backer. Songs include: "I Always Knew," "Hasta Luego," "Lotus Bloom," "Something to Shout About," "Through Thick and Thin." The song "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," was nominated for an Academy Award. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Janet Blair, (more)
- 1943
In this drama, set during WW II, a teacher at a military school is derided by his students because he has not joined the military. The man is deeply disturbed by their ridicule and disrespect and so pleads with the draft-board to reconsider his "essential" status and allow him to join. He is allowed to enlist, but still, because he has a punctured ear-drum, is not allowed to join. Unable to face his students, the teacher gets a job at a shipyard, then deceives his students into believing that he is at war by having a buddy at boot camp forward their letters to him. Soon ugly rumors begin to circulate amongst the suspicious students. One is that their teacher went AWOL. The other is that he is really a Nazi spy. The students' actions threaten to destroy the teacher's new romance with a female welder. In the end everything comes out hunky-dory when the teacher proves himself a courageous hero during a shipyard fire. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edgar Buchanan, Jess Barker, (more)
- 1942
The Milton Berle starrer Whispering Ghosts was clearly inspired by the Red Skelton comedy-mystery Whistling in the Dark (itself inspired by Bob Hope's The Ghost Breakers). Uncle Miltie is cast as H. H. Van Buren, a radio sleuth who delights in solving real-life mysteries ahead of the official constabulary. At the behest of his sponsor, Van Buren tackles an unsolved case from ten years earlier: the death of an old sea captain. To this end, he visits the ship where the dirty deed took place, accompanied by his nervous valet Euclid (Willie Best, who played much the same role in Ghost Breakers). At first convinced that the ship is haunted, our hero deduces that the "ghosts" are actually a gang of crooks, in search of the treasure left behind by the murdered skipper. The arrival of Elizabeth Woods (Brenda Joyce), the lawful heir to the missing treasure, convinces Van Buren to stick around for a while to solve the decade-old murder and locate the captain's legacy. Why is it that none of Milton Berle's vehicles for 20th Century-Fox--Whispering Ghosts, Over My Dead Body, Margin for Error--have shown up on TV since the 1970s? Now there's a mystery worth solving! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Milton Berle, Brenda Joyce, (more)
- 1942
One of the most fondly remembered of the "Blondie" series entries, Blondie Goes to College is predicated on the notion that Dagwood Bumstead (Arthur Lake) must receive a college diploma or lose his job with the Dithers Construction Company. Not wishing to be separated from her husband, Blondie (Penny Singleton) enrolls in college as well-but the rules stipulate "no married couples", forcing our hero and heroine to pretend that they're not married. This causes quite a dilemma when coed Laura Wadsworth (Janet Blair) begins flirting with Dagwood and B.M.O.C. Rusty Bryant (Larry Parks) does same with Blondie. Making things worse-Blondie is expecting another child (who will make her first appearance in the next installment, Blondie's Blessed Event), but she daren't tell anyone lest both she and Dag be expelled. The student body at this particular seat of learning is comprised of quite a few familiar faces (most well past college age), including Lloyd Bridges, Sid Melton, and Adele Mara. The biggest laughs in Blondie Goes to College are garnered by famed double-talk expert Al Kelly, playing an uncredited cameo as a tangle-tongued professor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, (more)
- 1942
Laurel & Hardy's second starring vehicle for 20th Century-Fox is arguably their weakest feature film, with the laughs few and far between. Broke as usual, the duo is given 24 hours to get out of town by the local constabulary. In dire need of travelling expenses, they take a job accompanying a coffin to Dayton, Ohio. Unbeknownst to our heroes, the coffin contains a live gangster: one Darby Mason (James Bush), who wants to get to Dayton to claim an inheritance without risking arrest by the Feds. Chugging towards their destination by train, Stan and Ollie lose their money to a pair of slick con artists but are bailed out by another passenger, Dante the Magician (played by "himself", aka Harry A. Janssen), who takes a liking to the boys and hires him as assistants for his magic act. It so happens that one of Dante's illusions involves a coffin -- and you guessed it, this coffin gets mixed up with the one bearing Darby Mason. Aside from a few slapstick contributions to Dante's stage act, Laurel & Hardy barely have any purpose in this picture at all: to paraphrase L&H buff Randy Skretvedt, the two comedians have been reduced to supporting players in their own film. A-Haunting We Will Go seemed much funnier when it was cut from 67 to 9 minutes and released to the 8-millimeter home movie market back in the mid-1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheila Ryan
- 1941
In their first 20th Century-Fox vehicle, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are cast respectively as the butler and chauffeur of wealthy young Dan Forrester (Dick Nelson). Tired of being pampered and coddled by his overprotective aunts (Mae Marsh, Ethel Gryffies), Dan is delighted when he is drafted into the Army. To make certain that no harm will befall their "frail" master, Stan and Ollie also don uniform and accompany Dan to US Cavalry training camp. While the boys get mixed up in one disaster after another-at one point, they find themselves behind a moving target on the rifle range-Dan pursues a romance with photo-shop proprietor Ginger Hammond (Sheila Ryan), much to the consternation of Ginger's erstwhile beau Sergeant Hippo (Edmund MacDonald). Convinced that Ginger is a gold-digger, Stan and Ollie try to break up the romance, to no avail. All plotlines are resolved during a climactic "sham battle", wherein Dan proves his courage and grit while Laurel & Hardy end up captured by the "enemy". Obviously inspired by the success of Abbott & Costello's Buck Privates (it's even more obvious in the earlier drafts of the script), Great Guns is a major letdown from Laurel & Hardy's previous starring features at Hal Roach Studios, with Stan and Ollie looking most uncomfortable as they mouth the inanities written for them by Lou Breslow. Still, a few good bits emerge, including a surrealistic routine with a faulty light bulb and an amusing bridge-building sequence. Watch for Alan Ladd in a jaunty bit role as a camera-store customer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, (more)
