Katherine Alexander Movies
Usually playing dignified women of high social standing, brunette Katherine Alexander could occasionally prove a rather catty acquaintance. A noted Broadway actress and the daughter-in-law of legendary impresario William Brady (she married his namesake son, William Brady Jr.), Alexander is perhaps best remembered for playing Queen Anne to George Arliss' Cardinal Richelieu (1935) and the neglected wife in Sutter's Gold (1936). In both films, however, she was overshadowed by the gregarious Edward Arnold (playing Louis XIII and Sutter, respectively), as she would be by John Barrymore in The Great Man Votes (1939). In fact, Alexander was always more vibrant on the legitimate stage, where she was highly acclaimed for her Linda opposite Paul Muni in the 1949 London revival of Death of a Salesman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1949
John Lawrence (Ronald Reagan) is a returning GI. Mary McKinley (Patricia Neal in her film debut) is the girl he left behind. But their reunion will have to wait: John has returned with cockney war bride Lilly Herbish (Virginia Field) in tow. It seems that John married Lilly as a favor to get her into the U.S., intending to divorce her so that she can wed her true love, John's old pal Fred Taylor (Jack Carson). Alas, Taylor has gotten married himself in the interim--and now John is stuck with Lillie. Somewhat cleaned up from Norman Krasna stage original, John Loves Mary is otherwise faithful to its source, right down to the all-smiles curtain call at the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Reagan, Jack Carson, (more)
- 1948
Deanna Durbin's career was clearly on the downswing when she starred in For the Love of Mary. Durbin plays a switchboard operator at the White House, whose hiccuping spells throw several incoming special-interest callers into a tizzy. The President himself cures Durbin of her hiccups, thereby becoming entangled with the girl's various romances. She, in turn, finds herself neck-deep in numerous political intrigues. A forgettable comedy with disposable songs, For the Love of Mary turned out to be Deanna Durbin's last picture. The onetime mortgage-lifter of Universal Pictures was tired of the Hollywood grind and of fighting a losing battle with her fluctuating weight; thus she retired to France with her director-husband Charles David. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deanna Durbin, Edmond O'Brien, (more)
- 1945
If there were any doubts that little Shirley Temple was all grown up by 1945, those doubts were disippated by her appearance in Columbia's Kiss and Tell. Based on the mildly risque stage comedy by F. Hugh Herbert, the film casts Temple as impulsive teenager Corliss Archer, who is the only person in on the secret marriage between her GI brother and local girl Mildred Pringle (Virginia Welles). When Mildred becomes pregnant, Corliss can't reveal the marriage, since the Archers and the Pringles aren't overly fond of one another. Thus it is that Corliss herself pretends to be expecting, intending to claim Mildred's baby as her own. She further identifies her next-door boyfriend Dexter Franklin (Jerome Courtland) as the father, opening yet another can of worms. Somehow this mess straightens itself out, but not before several "chancy" scenes and lines of dialogue that must have given the Hollywood censors headaches aplenty. Kiss and Tell (the original play, that is) not only spawned a 1949 movie sequel, A Kiss for Corliss, but also inspired the popular radio and TV sitcom Meet Corliss Archer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, Jerome Courtland, (more)
- 1943
- NR
Author William Saroyan's corn-shucking brand of sentimentality works wonders in this 1943 filmization of his novel. Narrator Ray Collins is dead before the film begins; thus he is able to provide an all-seeing overview of the tiny community of Ithaca, California. The principal character, played by Mickey Rooney, is Collins' son; as the delivery boy for the local telegraph office, Rooney keeps in close contact with virtually every family in town, which results in several comic and poignant moments. Rooney's older brother Van Johnson is in uniform, off fighting World War II; his sister Marcia Hunt is the erstwhile sweetheart of telegraph-office supervisor James Craig. The "circle of life" concept that unifies the anecdotal plotline is best illustrated by the film's final image: after Johnson dies in battle, his best friend, parentless John Craven, is more or less adopted by Collins' family. Reportedly, The Human Comedy was MGM chief executive Louis B. Mayer's favorite film, an apotheosis of Mayer's devotion to "family values." Among the many small-part players populating Human Comedy are Barry Nelson, Robert Mitchum, Don DeFore, Jay Ward (later the producer of Rocky and His Friends) and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, (more)
- 1942
Roddy McDowall stars Hugh Aylesworth, as a well-bred English youth who is evacuated to America during the London blitz. Hugh moves into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (Don Douglas and Katherine Alexander), both of whom are charmed by their little guest's impeccable manners. Less charmed is the couple's own son Don (Freddie Mercer), who not only feels neglected, but considers Hugh a royal pain in the posterior. But Hugh proves himself a "regular guy" when he helps Hugh foil a particularly scabrous schoolyard bully (Stanley Clements). For reasons unknown, On the Sunny Side never seems to show up on TV, not even in the wee small hours. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roddy McDowall, Jane Darwell, (more)
Olive Higgins Prouty's popular novel was transformed into nearly two hours of high-grade soap opera by several masters of the trade: Warner Bros., Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, director Irving Rapper, and screenwriter Casey Robinson. Davis plays repressed Charlotte Vale, dying on the vine thanks to her domineering mother (Gladys Cooper). All-knowing psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains) urges Charlotte to make several radical changes in her life, quoting Walt Whitman: "Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find." Slowly, Charlotte emerges from her cocoon of tight hairdos and severe clothing to blossom into a gorgeous fashion plate. While on a long ocean voyage, she falls in love with Jerry Durrance (Henreid), who is trapped in a loveless marriage. After kicking over the last of her traces at home, Charlotte selflessly becomes a surrogate mother to Jerry's emotionally disturbed daughter (a curiously uncredited Janis Wilson), who is on the verge of becoming the hysterical wallflower that Charlotte once was. An interim romance with another man (John Loder) fails to drive Jerry from Charlotte's mind. The film ends ambiguously; Jerry is still married, without much chance of being divorced from his troublesome wife, but the newly self-confident Charlotte is willing to wait forever if need be. "Don't ask for the moon," murmurs Charlotte as Max Steiner's romantic music reaches a crescendo, "we have the stars." In addition to this famous line, Now, Voyager also features the legendary "two cigarettes" bit, in which Jerry places two symbolic cigarettes between his lips, lights them both, and hands one to Charlotte. The routine would be endlessly lampooned in subsequent films, once by Henreid himself in the satirical sword-and-sandal epic Siren of Baghdad (1953). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, (more)
- 1941
The Vanishing Virginian was adapted from the autobiographical bestseller by Rebecca Yancey Williams. Newcomer Kathryn Grayson stars as Ms. Williams, a headstrong Southern girl growing up in the early 20th century. Rebecca sets her conservative household on its ear when she joins the woman's suffrage movement, despite the objections of father Frank Morgan, a lifelong civil servant. In the tradition of Life with Father, the film is really about the dad rather than the daughter: his abiding love for his family, his eccentricities, his occasional bullheadedness, and his grudging acceptance of social changes. Intended in part as a showcase for MGM's new young-talent roster, The Vanishing Virginian spotlights, in addition to Kathryn Grayson, hopefuls Douglass Newland and Natalie Thompson--who were seldom heard from again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Morgan, Kathryn Grayson, (more)
- 1941
Jane Withers, 20th Century-Fox's second-feature Shirley Temple, plays the favorite daughter of a wealthy man (Cecil Kellaway). Real-life debutante Cobina Wright Jr. plays Jane's snobbish sister, who is pushed into society by her mother (Katherine Alexander). The hostility between the down-to-earth dad and the snooty mom is mirrored by the rivalry between Withers and Wright. Eventually, however, the kids make up, then set to work on reuniting their parents. Small Town Deb represents the first time that child actress Jane Withers was permitted to play a character closer to her own age (she was 16 and looked it). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Withers, Jane Darwell, (more)
- 1941
Previously filmed with Mabel Normand in 1920, the old Rose Melville stage property Sis Hopkins was trotted out in 1941 for Republic's newest star, raucous cornpone comedienne Judy Canova. Sporting pigtails and dressed like a potato sack, Sis Hopkins (Canova) shows up at the doorstep of her snooty rich relations in the Big City after her family farm burns down. Though she immediately ingratiates herself to her uncle, bathroom-appliance mogul Horace Hopkins (Charles Butterworth), Sis runs afoul of her bitchy, beautiful cousin Carol (played by a pre-stardom Susan Hayward). Determined to humiliate our heroine and send her packing, Carol arranges for Sis to partipate in a sorority-initiation striptease. Fortunately, Sis wins out in the finale, while Carol must endure such indignities as a well-aimed pan of water and a misplaced bathroom plunger. As a bonus, Sis wins the heart of college bandleader Jeff Farnsworth (Bob Crosby). Adding to the general merriment of Sis Hopkins is Jerry Colonna as a zany college professor. Judy Canova sings several of her patented country-western ditties, then surprises her fans with a "straight"operatic rendition from La Traviata. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Canova, Charles Butterworth, (more)
- 1941
Widowed mother Charlotte Lord (Katherine Alexander) would like to marry wealthy Guy Barton (Sidney Blackmer), but Bartons' avaricious ex-wife Sybil (Binnie Barnes) insists upon contesting their recent Mexican divorce. Charlotte's daughters Jane (Jane Frazee), Leni (Leni Lynn), and Marilyn (Marilyn Hare) conspire to put Sybil out of the way by pairing her off with Steve Nelson (Edward Norris), gilding the lily by convincing Nelson to pose as Argentine cattle baron Don Pablo Viscente (Gilbert Roland). The ruse almost works, but then the real Don Pablo shows up. Undaunted, the Lord girls concoct a variety of additional schemes to smooth the path of romance for their mother and the eligible Mr. Barton. And on and on it goes, slapstick set pieces alternating with musical numbers for the remainder of the film's 72 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Binnie Barnes, Gilbert Roland, (more)
- 1940
This sequel to 1934's Anne of Green Gables stars Anne Shirley as Anne Shirley, the plucky Canadian orphan girl created by novelist Lucy Maude Montgomery. Now all grown up, Anne takes on the job of vice-principal of the only school in Windy Poplars Unfortunately, she must contend with the opposition of the community's most powerful and contentious family, the much-hated Pringles. Helping matters a bit is the fact that handsome Tony Pringle (James Ellison) falls in love with Anne. It takes a near-tragedy to wash away all misunderstandings, prejudices and hypocricies and restore happiness and stability to the community. Based on L. M. Montgomery's novel Anne of Windy Willows, Anne of Windy Poplars was remade for Canadian television in 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Shirley, James Ellison, (more)
- 1940
A gold-digger facing middle-age decides to pass her special talents on to a younger woman. Her young student learns quickly and is soon raking in the dough from wealthy suckers, but when she falls in love with a handsome Texan, she abandons her golddigging ways. The older woman is appalled that she would go for mere romance when she could have glorious money. But the girl makes a good choice, especially when she discovers that her Texan is a cattle magnate worth millions. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, James Ellison, (more)
Based on a story by Vicki Baum (of Grand Hotel) fame, Dance, Girl Dance finds innocent young Judy (Maureen O'Hara) journeying to the Big Apple in hopes of gaining fame as a classical dancer. Instead she ends up as the "stooge" for raucous strip-tease artist Bubbles (Lucille Ball), who attempts to perform ballet before leering, catcalling, unappreciative burlesque audiences. Eventually, Judy and Bubbles both fall for playboy Jimmy Harris (Louis Hayward), a rivalry that culminates in a hair-pulling, eye-scratching cat fight. Eventually, Harris's ex-wife (Virginia Field) reels him back in, and Judy is hired by ballet producer and entrepreneur Steve Adams (Ralph Bellamy). In recent years, Dance, Girl, Dance has been canonized as a feminist manifesto, due to the fact that Dorothy Arzner was the director and because of Maureen O'Hara's climactic burlesque-house speech, in which she lambastes the male spectators for their puerile chauvinism. It should be noted, however, that Arzner became director only after Roy Del Ruth pulled out of the project. Uncertain how to promote the film, RKO Radio elected to sneak it into its first-run houses without fanfare, and the result was a $400,000 loss for the studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, (more)
- 1939
- NR
Based on Memory of Love, a novel by Bessie Breuer, In Name Only is soap opera par excellence, blessed with a peerless cast. Carole Lombard plays widow Julie Eden, who meets and falls in love with unhappily married Alec Walker (Cary Grant). Having married Alec solely for his wealth and family prestige, his manipulative wife, Maida (Kay Francis), has managed to convince everyone -- even Alec's parents -- that she is the victimized one and that Alec is an irresponsible philanderer. Making matters worse, Maida refuses to give Alec a divorce so that he can find happiness in the arms of the sweet, unassuming Julie. Almost miraculously, Maida agrees to let Alec go, only to capriciously renege at the last minute and sue Julie for alienation of affections. Disconsolately, Alec goes on a bender, falling asleep in front of an open window and contracting pneumonia. As Alec lays seriously ill in a hospital bed, Julie tearfully agrees to give him up if only Maida will try to make him happy. But Maida isn't about to give up this moment of triumph, cheerfully bragging about her underhanded methods and her intention to take Alec for every penny that he has. Without giving away the outcome, it can be noted that, figuratively speaking, loose lips sink ships. Though In Name Only could have been a wallow in bathos, the performances by the stars -- and the knowing direction of John Cromwell -- elevate the production to the level of "romance classic." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Cary Grant, (more)
Few will argue with the contention that RKO Radio's 1939 adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame was the best of the many screen versions of the Hugo classic. We say this even allowing for certain liberties taken with the source material-liberties calculated by scenarists Sonya Levien and Bruno Frank to draw parallels between 15th century Paris and 20th century Europe. Thus, Claude Frollo (Cedric Hardwicke), the villain of the piece, is no longer merely a religious hypocrite unable to control his own carnal desires. Instead, Frollo is a bush-league Hitler, warning that the invention of the printing press is dangerous in that it will encourage the rabble to think for themselves, and plotting the persecution and destruction of the "undesirable" gypsies. In the same vein, Gringoire the Poet (Edmond O'Brien in his film debut) has been transformed into an agit-prop "Group Theatre" activist, bent on bringing the unvarnished truth to the ignorant Parisians. Many of Hugo's subplots have been dispensed with, the better to concentrate on the grotesquely deformed Quasimodo (Charles Laughton), bell-ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, and his puppylike loyalty towards imperiled gypsy dancer Esmerelda (Maureen O'Hara, in her first American film appearance). The schism between the haves and have-nots in the walled city of Paris is illustrated in broad, visually dynamic strokes by director William Dieterle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, (more)
- 1939
In this drama, a department store owner is deeply saddened to learn that none of his grown sons are interested in taking over the business he has worked so hard to build. To coerce them, he even tries giving them shares of company stock. In the end, only the youngest son shows any interest at all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Ellis, William Gargan, (more)
- 1939
Jeanette MacDonald and Lew Ayres make strange bedfellows in the overproduced MGM musical Broadway Serenade. She plays aspiring singer Mary Hale, and he plays her husband, struggling songwriter James Geoffrey Seymour. The couple's vaudeville act breaks up when Mary is hired for a big-time Broadway revue. As she rises to the top of the show-business heap, Seymour hits the skids, having lost his inspiration. On the verge of divorcing Seymour to marry a wealthy producer, Mary finally realizes that her life will be incomplete without her husband by her side. Saving the film from drowning in a sea of cliches are Jeanette MacDonald's musical renditions, not to mention the comedy relief of Frank Morgan and veteran vaudevillian Al Shean. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, Lew Ayres, (more)
- 1938
Perhaps the best of Jane Withers' 20th Century-Fox vehicles, Rascals is also the one that pops up most frequently on televisoin. Withers plays Gypsy, the youthful queen of a band of wandering vagabonds. Joining Gypsy and her fellow gypsies is amnesia victim Margaret Adams (Rochelle Hudson), who soon becomes the tribe's top fortune-teller. The gypsies finance an operation that will restore Margaret's memory, only to discover that she has been slated for a loveless marriage with a buffoonish baron (Jose Crespo). She is rescued from this fate by the resourceful Gypsy, who orchestrates a romance between Margaret and the misogynistic Tony (Robert Wilcox). Musical highlights are provided by the always-delightful Withers and by harmonica virtuosos Borrah Minevitch and His Gang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Withers, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
- 1938
Ageing, alcohol-benumbed John Barrymore had one last great performance left in him before his death in 1942, and The Great Man Votes was the ideal vehicle for that performance. Barrymore plays a widowed, once-distinguished professor, lately reduced to being a night watchman. He tries to stay off the "hard stuff" for the sake of his two small children, Virginia Weidler and Peter Holden, but his lack of responsibility nearly loses him the custody of both kids. Meanwhile, scheming politico Donald MacBride discovers that his winning the upcoming mayoral election hinges upon one single vote--and guess whose vote that is? With "VIP" status suddenly thrust upon him, Barrymore regains his children, his former status in life, and (as a last-minute plot twist reveals) his self respect. Director Garson Kanin was so anxious to extract a good performance from John Barrymore that he ordered everyone on the set to treat the fading matinee idol with deference and respect. Unaccustomed to such treatment in his later years, Barrymore looked around the set and bellowed, "Which Barrymore do you think I am, Lionel?" Despite his precarious physical condition and his reputation for temperamental outbursts, Barrymore was the soul of cooperation on the set. His fiery temper flared only once, when child actor Virginia Weidler calculatedly attempted to steal a scene from him. Though appalled at the spectacle of The Great Profile profanely chewing out the tiny Weidler, Kanin admitted in retrospect that Barrymore was absolutely right: the kid was intruding on one of the star's soliloquies, and nobody did that to John Barrymore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Peter Holden, (more)
- 1937
Former musical comedy star Edward N. Buzzell called the shots on the Universal programmer As Good as Married. John Boles plays a wealthy businessman whose inability to keep his love life in order threatens both his financial and emotional well-being. Faithful secretary Doris Nolan is determined to save Boles from himself. She marries him "in name only" to keep him away from his arduous lady friends, and to provide him with an income tax deduction. Love, of course, isn't supposed to enter into the picture, but you know how these things turn out. As Boles' architect friend, Walter Pidgeon plays the "Ralph Bellamy" part of the guy who loses the girl. For an essentially minor comedy, As Good as Married boasts an impressive behind-the-camera talent lineup: F. Hugh Herbert co-adapted the screenplay from "an idea" by Norman Krasna. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Boles, Doris Nolan, (more)
- 1937
Richard Thorpe's comedy Double Wedding (1937) marked the seventh screen pairing of William Powell and Myrna Loy, known for their popular appearances together in the Thin Man series. Powell is Charlie Lodge, a bohemian artist who lives in a trailer, camped in an auto parking space in a busy city. Lodge believes that work is meaningless - that life should be full of entertainment and relaxation and nothing else. Loy is Margit Agnew, a stylish dress-shop proprietor who constantly works herself into the ground. Margit has picked a suitable husband for her younger sister Irene (Florence Rice), a rather dull and ineffectual young man named Waldo Beaver (John Beal). While together, Irene and Waldo happen upon the improvident Lodge. Charlie subsequently encourages the girl to break free of the oppressive constraints of her fiance and sister, and to pursue her dreams of heading out to Hollywood and becoming an actress; Irene immediately fancies herself in love with Charlie. Loy intervenes by confronting Powell --and anyone who can't guess who's going to fall in love at this point should be drummed out of the theater. This amusing and affable by-the-numbers MGM comedy was based on a play by Ferenc Molnar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1937
Edmund Goulding directed this remake of his own 1929 The Trespasser, which starred Gloria Swanson. Here Bette Davis assumes the lead role of Mary Donnell, a young innocent married to a bootlegger. When her husband is killed, she decides to pursue a better life and gets a job as a secretary to attorney Lloyd Rogers (Ian Hunter). Lloyd falls in love with Mary but stoically keeps his feelings hidden from her. One of Lloyd's clients is the millionaire Merrick (Donald Crisp), whose playboy son Jack (Henry Fonda) falls in love with Mary. The two elope and take off on their honeymoon, but Merrick, who feels that Mary is not good enough for Jack, asks that the marriage be annulled. Jack reluctantly agrees and Mary goes back to her old job with Lloyd. But Mary finds that she is pregnant and has a baby boy. She swears Lloyd to secrecy concerning her child and Lloyd agrees. Meanwhile, Jack marries a woman of his own class, Flip (Anita Louise), but she is fatally injured in an automobile accident. Lloyd also falls ill and dies at Mary's feet --but not before confessing his love for Mary. When his will is read, it reveals that he has left Mary and her child a vast fortune. Lloyd's wife (Katherine Alexander) believes the baby boy is Lloyd's illegitimate child, and she tries to overturn the terms of the will. Jack hears about Mary's child, and she confesses that the child is actually his. Merrick then tries to have the baby taken away from Mary, contending that she is unfit to raise the baby. Unable to withstand Merrick's legal hammering, Mary offers the child to Jack and Flip. Mary, distraught after abandoning her baby, leaves on a European trip. While she is gone, Flip dies and Jack leaves for Europe to try to find her. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, (more)
- 1937
The Girl from Scotland Yard has a dynamite opening sequence, as villain Franz Borg (Eduardo Cianelli) demonstrates his futuristic "death ray" on a helpless London. Threatening to destroy all of Europe if his demands aren't met, Borg hasn't reckoned with the resourcefulness of gorgeous secret service agent Viola Beech (Karen Morley) and American reporter Derrick Holt (Robert Baldwin). Things move apace until a serial-like climax in a runaway airplane. It's giving away nothing of the outcome to reveal that Viola and Derrick fall in love along the way. The Girl from Scotland Yard makes no pretence at believability, though it's slightly more credible than Karen Morley's tacked-on British accent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Morley, Katherine Alexander, (more)
Adapted from the Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman play, Stage Door is a comedic portrait of the theatrical community in New York. Katharine Hepburn stars as Terry Randall a young woman who comes from a wealthy, socially connected family. Aspiring for a career on the stage, Terry opts to see if she can make it on her own gumption and moves into a boarding house with several other wannabe Broadway starlets attempting to make a mark for themselves in show business. Terry's sassy roommate Jean (Ginger Rogers) just might get the opportunity to do that when she meets a lecherous producer, but at what cost? Unamused by Terry's attempts to pull herself up by her bootstraps, her father offers her an opportunity for a starring role in a show that's sure to fail. Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, and Ann Miller are among the other residents of the boarding house. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, (more)
- 1936
Moonlight Murder takes place virtually in its entirety at the Hollywood Bowl. Despite dire warnings by a sinister mystic (Pedro de Cordoba), opera-star Gino D'Acosta (Leo Carrillo) insists that he will sing in the Bowl's current production of Il Trovatore. He gets no farther than the "Anvil Chorus" before he drops dead in full view of the audience. It turns out that D'Acosta was murdered, placing everyone in the cast under suspicion. As night segues into morning, detective Steve Farrell (Chester Morris) -- whose past mistakes have put him in hot water with his boss -- teams up with lady-scientist Toni Adams (Madge Evans) to piece the clues together. The hot-potato issue of euthanasia is raised during the course of Moonlight Murder, and as a result the film turns out to have one of the most sympathetic and reasonable culprits in "B"-picture history. Trivia alert: One of the suspects is played by Duncan Renaldo, who later co-starred with "victim" Leo Carrillo on TV's The Cisco Kid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, Leo Carrillo, (more)
