June Brewster Movies
- 1937
Partners in Crime was Paramount's follow-up to its successful Murder Goes to College; both films were based on a series of mystery novels by Kurt Steel. Lynne Overman and Roscoe Karns are back as insouciant private eye Hank Hyer and his bibulous partner-in-crimesolving Sim Perkins. Our heroes are currently engaged in protecting a reform-ticket mayoral candidate from a blackmail scheme. When this fails, Sim himself runs for mayor, and through the sort of miracles that only happen in movies he wins the election. A clever last-minute plot twist loses him his office, but at least the good guys did triumph for a while. Alas, Partners in Crime went the way of most sequels; lacking the freshness and spontaneity of the first film, it was less successful at the box office, precluding any more follow-ups. On the other hand, it did afford an excellent early acting opportunity for new Paramount contractee Anthony Quinn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynne Overman, Muriel Hutchison, (more)
- 1937
In this romantic comedy, a married couple, tired of constantly bickering, separate. The woman heads to France where she immediately gets involved with a suave playboy. This causes the husband to decide that he wants her back. He gets his chance after he finds out the lothario has another lover. In the end, the husband convinces the playboy to marry the lover. Meanwhile his wife returns to him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, (more)
- 1937
Tala Birell, one of the more talented of the Garbo wannabes of the 1930s, stars in the Universal quickie She's Dangerous. The star is cast as Stephanie, a glamorous private detective who's been hired to track down a gang of bond thieves. She charms her way into the confidence of gang leader Nick Shelton (Cesar Romero), knowing full well that the outwardly gracious Shelton won't hesitate to kill her if she's found out. Eventually, Stephanie proves too smart for her own good, and it's up to sidelines hero Dr. Logan (Walter Pidgeon) to bail her out. She's Dangerous bears a marked resemblance to 20th Century-Fox's 15 Maiden Lane, which also featured Cesar Romero as a charming-but-deadly crook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tala Birell, Cesar Romero, (more)
- 1936
When wealthy Mr. Ames is murdered, his beautiful wife Hope (Madeleine Carroll) is the principal suspect. She is acquitted through lack of evidence, but it's hardly a happy ending: her son Bobbie (Scotty Beckett) is taken away from her by spiteful relatives, who poison the boy's mind against her. Making matters worse, assistant DA Matt Logan (George Brent) is still convinced that Hope is guilty. Upon seeing Hope's devotion to her child, Logan softens a bit and alters his strategy. He offers a huge reward for additional information pertaining to the case, ostensibly to prove Mrs. Ames' guilt, but actually to clear her name so that she and her son can be reunited. If the outcome of The Case Against Mrs. Ames seems predictable, it is only because the actor who plays the real murderer was nearly always revealed as the "surprise" culprit in the final reel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Carroll, George Brent, (more)
- 1936
Spendthrift gives the modern viewer a pretty good idea how Hollywood planned to "mold" the image of new star Henry Fonda. The Lanky One is cast as a profligate, polo-playing playboy, married to a beautiful but superficial heiress (Mary Brian). They divorce, and the wife gets all the money. But the humbled (and impoverished) Fonda finds true love in the arms of Pat Paterson, who cares nothing for material things. So obscure is this screwball comedy that, when Henry Fonda passed away in 1982 and newspapers printed the list of his films, some people thought that Spendthrift was the working title for a more famous film--or that it had never really been filmed at all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Pat Paterson, (more)
- 1936
This collection of three comedy shorts includes Bridal Bail (1934), educational No More West (1934) with Bert Lahr and Bad Medicine (1936) with Gene Austin. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Former footballer Reb Russell stars in this very low-budget oater as Muley Benson, a young cowpoke unfairly accused of cattle rustling. After splitting the ear of his accuser, Flash Purdue (Kenneth MacDonald), Muley leaves the area only to be summoned five years later by lovely Sally Griswold (Mary Jane Carey). The Griswolds are being terrorized by a mystery man who, it turns out, is none other than Purdue seeking vengeance for the loss of his auricle. Filmed in 1934, Border Vengeance was produced by Willis Kent, an independent operator better known as a purveyor of cheap exploitation melodramas. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1934
Usually consigned to the supporting cast, eccentric comic actress ZaSu Pitts was occasionally rewarded with a leading role. In Paramount's Private Scandal, Pitts is top-billed as Miss Coates, the fey secretary of hotshot young executive Cliff Barry (Philips Holmes). Accused of murdering his boss B. J. Somers (Lew Cody), Barry suspects that Somers' death was a suicide -- but he dare not voice this opinion without ruining the lives of several others. With the help of obnoxious detective Riordan (Ned Sparks), faithful Miss Coates helps to clear Barry, much to the delight of his long-suffering girlfriend Fran (Mary Brian), the dead man's daughter. Private Scandal was co-written by Vera Caspary, of Laura fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- ZaSu Pitts, Phillips Holmes, (more)
- 1933
Jean Harlow is the "bombshell" of the title, a popular movie actress named Lola. Though she seemingly has everything a girl could possibly want, Lola is fed up with her sponging relatives, her "work til you drop" studio, and the nonsensical publicity campaigns conducted by press agent Lee Tracy. She tries to escape Hollywood by marrying a titled foreign nobleman, but Tracy has the poor guy arrested as an illegal alien. Finally Lola finds what she thinks is perfect love in the arms of aristocratic Franchot Tone, but she renounces Tone when his snooty father C. Aubrey Smith looks down his nose at Lola and her profession. Upon discovering that Tone and his entire family were actors hired by Tracy, Lola goes ballistic--until she realizes that Tracy, for all his bluff and chicanery, is the man who truly loves her. Allegedly based on the career of Clara Bow (who, like Lola, had a parasitic family and a duplicitous private secretary), Bombshell is a prime example of Jean Harlow at her comic best. So as not to mislead audiences into thinking this was a war picture, MGM retitled the film Blonde Bombshell for its initial run. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, (more)
- 1933
Headline Shooter is a brisk comedy/melodrama about a newsreel photographer (William Gargan). He prefers to risk his neck to get "swell" pictures, while his reporter girl friend (Frances Dee), though no less fearless, would prefer that he give up his dangerous profession. Ralph Bellamy (as always!) is around as Frances' "stable" boyfriend, who of course loses the girl. The story wraps up as Gargan rescues Dee from a band of kidnapping gangsters (though neither the girl nor her captors seem to regard the situation as life-threatening!) Padded out with yards and yards of stock newsreel footage, Headline Shooter is highlighted by the opening-scene appearance of humorist Robert Benchley, playing a radio announcer at a beauty contest who can't think of any descriptive phrase other than "feminine pulchritude." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Gargan, Frances Dee, (more)
- 1933
When Merian C. Cooper was in charge of production at RKO Radio, virtually every other film produced at the studio had an aviation theme or tie-in. Set against the backdrop of a barnstorming air circus, the story concerns the travails -- both in the air and on the ground -- of flyboys Bud (Eric Linden), Ace (Bruce Cabot) and Speed (Ralph Bellamy), and female pilot Ann (Arline Judge). Speed is married to Ann, who falls in love with Bud. Seeking revenge, Speed intends to murder Bud during an air show, hoping to make it look like an accident. But Bud's brother Ace foils Speed's scheme, saving Bud's life at the expense of his own. Flying Devils was one of a handful of films directed by legendary press agent Russell Birdwell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arline Judge, Bruce Cabot, (more)
- 1932
Melody Cruise, director Mark Sandrich's first feature film, is an unofficial extension of Sandrich's Oscar-winning RKO short subject So This is Harris (1933). Once again, the director's star is bandleader Phil Harris, then in his wavy-haired romantic lead period. Harris plays a millionaire who, while on a steamship cruise, is the object of the attentions (mercenary and otherwise) of every woman who crosses his path. Charlie Ruggles plays the flustered fellow whose job it is to steer Harris clear of breach-of-promise suits, while Helen Mack is the one girl who isn't interested in either Harris' looks or his millions-which naturally entices him to pursue her. Most of the dialogue is spoken rhythmically, a device that might have been tiresome in lesser hands. Let loose in RKO's optical effects department, Mark Sandrich offers us an endless variety of creative lap-dissolves, "wipes " split screens and flat cuts. The whole enterprise begins to run out of gas when it is necessary to tie up loose plot ends, but otherwise Melody Cruise plays with the same freshness and nuance that it did back in 1933. Watch for Betty Grable as one of the shipboard girls, and for perennial Three Stooges foil Bud Jamison as an operatic train conductor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Phil Harris, (more)
