Lloyd Corrigan Movies

Dancing Pirate was the second feature-length production by Pioneer Pictures, whose earlier effort Becky Sharp was the first three-strip Technicolor feature. Pirate was likewise filmed in the three-strip process, but the film is currently available only in its black-and-white reissue version. London and Broadway musical comedy favorite Charles Collins stars as Jonathan Pride, a mild-mannered dance instructor in 1820 Boston. En route to visit relatives, Jonathan is shanghaied by a band of zany pirates and forced to work as a galley boy. When the pirate vessel arrives at the port of Las Palomas, Jonathan, clad in buccaneer's garb, makes his escape. Everyone in Las Palomas, including Governor Alcalde (Frank Morgan) and fetching senorita Serafina (Steffi Duna), assumes that Jonathan is the pirate chieftain, leading to a series of typical comic-opera complications. Featured in the cast are the Dancing Cansinos, whose daughter Rita Hayworth was just beginning her own screen career. The Rodgers & Hart score, like the film itself, is pretty lackluster, but Charles Collins is a pleasing screen personality who should have gone much farther in movies than he did. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Those wily Egyptians are once again selfishly attempting to keep the treasures of the Pharaohs to themselves in this rough-and-tumble melodrama from Universal. The wiliest of them all is one Abbadi (George Zucco), who leaves no stone unturned in his quest for possession of the fabulous "seven jewels of the seventh pharaoh," which American archeologist Professor Wyndham (Wright Kramer) obligingly has excavated. The elderly professor is easily gotten rid of, but Abbadi also faces Police Inspector Joachim (Rod LaRocque), a rather more formidable foe. Soon, knives are whizzing through the air, swarthy natives abduct pretty maidens, and a couple of All-American archeologists crack wise and perform daring stunts. Sigrid Gurie, Samuel Goldwyn's version of the "Edsel," is star-billed and The Dark Streets of Cairo also employs Ralph Byrd, Eddie Quillan, and, seething in the background, Katherine DeMille. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Two of Paramount's best contract comedians made a rare joint appearance in Dude Ranch. Jack Oakie heads the cast as Jennifer (sic!), the head of a travelling troupe of repertory actors. Finding themselves on the premises of a dude ranch, Jennifer and his actors strike up a deal with ranch proprietor Chester Carr (Stuart Erwin). The thespians will stage a "Wild West" extravaganza, complete with a phony hold-up, to entertain the tourists. Naturally, a bunch of gangsters try to take advantage of the actors' presence to knock off the local bank -- and just as naturally, it is the faux Westerners who save the day. Some of the film's best moments are provided by Eugene Pallette who, as the acting troupe's resident character man, is forced to double as a mustache-twirling villain and a stoic Indian, with some bizarre costume juxtapositions along the way. Elements of Dude Ranch later worked their way into the script of Jack Benny's 1940 comedy Buck Benny Rides Again. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Father is a Bachelor is a pleasant throwback to the "rural" comedies of the 1930s. William Holden plays Johnny Rutledge, a philosophical hobo to whom fishing is the only reason for living. Rutledge is forced to take a few jolts of responsibility when he crosses the path of five orphans. The kids decide to "adopt" Johnny and find him a bride--preferably small-town girl Prudence Millett (Colleen Gray). Charles Winninger steals the film from everyone--even those five urchins--as a medicine-show charlatan named Professor Mordecai Ford. One of the children is played by Billy Gray, of Father Knows Best fame. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally telecast in 1956 as a presentation of the CBS anthology Ford Star Jubilee, "High Tor" was a musical adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's 1937 stage play, with lyrics by Anderson and music by veteran Broadway and Hollywood tunesmith Arthur Schwartz. Bing Crosby stars as Van Van Dorn, the owner of a mountain overlooking the Hudson River on the Tappan Zee. Though uncertain as to whether or not he should wed his sweethart Judith (Nancy Olson), Van is firm in his resolve not to sell his mountain to a pair of shady realtors. Angry that Van is turning down a huge amount of money, Judith walks out on him. Shortly afterward, a rock slide traps Van and the realtors high on the mountain. While searching for help, Van comes across the ghost of a Dutch girl named Lisa (Julie Andrews), who along with the spirits of several sailors has been "living" on the mountain for the past 300 years. Falling in love with Van, Lisa ultimately solves all his problems--but not all her own. High Tor is historically significant on at least two levels. Because Bing Crosby was averse to appearing on live television, he insisted that the 90-minute, color production be filmed--and thus Crosby was responsible for what many media historians regard as the first made-for-TV movie. Also, the play represented Julie Andrews first starring appearance on American television, her first filmed appearance, and one of the few existing records of Andrews' acting and singing styles before she became a Broadway superstar via My Fair Lady. Musical highlights include the Crosby and Andrews duet "Once Upon a Long Ago", Andrews' solo number "Sad is the Life of a Sailor's Wife", and "When You're in Love", performed by--of all people--Everett Sloane. After years of obscurity, High Tor was made available on home video in the early years of the 21st century. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Paramount's Pine-Thomas production unit continued its unbroken string of box-office successes with Gambler's Choice. Pine-Thomas perennial Chester Morris plays turn-of-the-century gambler Ross Hadley, owner of a posh gaming establishment in the heart of New York. Hadley's chief antagonist is his boyhood chum Mike McGlennon (Russell Hayden), now a police lieutenant determined to put the gambler out of business. Adding to the rivalry is the fact that both Hadley and McGlennon are in love with cabaret singer Vi Parker (Nancy Kelly). The whole thing sounds a lot like the 1936 MGM film San Francisco, though not enough to spark a lawsuit, of course. Despite its tiny budget, Gambler's Choice is successful in recreating a bygone period and its color characters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama a big-city reporter moves to a tiny town to begin running the newspaper he half-owns. His in-your-face reporting style does not make him very popular; especially when he begins causing trouble for the incumbent mayor's opposition. It is the candidate's pretty niece who teaches the arrogant journalist a valuable lesson. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Astrologer Samuel H. Keel (Richard Boone) has predicted that someone named Seth Carter is destined to win a $500,000 lottery. In hopes of locating the elusive Carter, Keel hires Paladin (Richard Boone) to help in his search. Unfortunately, the first three people presumed to be linked to Carter are brutally murdered--and if the pattern continues, Paladin may be unable to prevent further bloodshed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Former child star Margaret O'Brien is Betty Foster, the "all growed up" heroine of Her First Romance. Hoping to rendezvous with handsome teenager Bobby Evans (Allen Martin Jr.) at a fancy summer camp, Betty bamboozles her parents into sending her there. Once she's arrived, Betty proves her devotion to Bobby by committing a robbery on his behalf. She reasons that since she's robbing her own father's safe, her crime is none too serious. Boy, is she wrong! A curious blend of comedy, melodrama and sentiment, Her First Romance failed to establish Margaret O'Brien as an adult box-office favorite, though the film itself is easy to take. Featured in the cast are Jimmy Hunt, of Invaders from Mars fame, and future TV-series perennial Elinor Donahue. Margaret O'Brien's parents are played by Ann Doran and Arthur Space, who'd later be reteamed on the weekly TVer National Velvet. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Unlike Shirley Temple, Jane Withers was permitted to "grow up" in her 20th Century-Fox vehicles. Since Withers was 13 going on 14 in 1940, it was only natural that she should star in a film titled High School. Fresh from her family's Texas cattle ranch, rambunctious Jane Wallace (Wither) is sent to a fancy-schmantsy San Antonio high school, where her unbridled behavior earns her the scorn of her more reserved classmates. The limit comes when she inadvertently causes football hero Slats Roberts (Joe Brown Jr.) to miss his opportunity to play in the Big Game. Ultimately, Jane learns to comport herself in a proper fashion, graduating with the highest honors and with popularity to spare. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this sports drama, framed by the annual Army-Navy football game, a freshman footballer at the Naval Academy falls in love with a pretty girl who is already going with one of his upper-class team cohorts. Their rivalry creates problems until the day of the Big Game when they unite on the last crucial play. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this thriller, a young couple gets married while the groom is on a weekend furlough with the Navy. The newlyweds have only thirty-six hours to honeymoon and they have no place to stay. A mysterious stranger on her way to elope, offers them her apartment. Unfortunately, the suite had been let by three show girls who had sent a gang of mobsters to jail. The gangsters are now out and are looking to exact their revenge. They head straight for the apartment. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Contrary to popular belief, Clara Bow was already Paramount's biggest box-office draw when she starred in this delightful rags-to-riches comedy. But It, from the fertile mind of bizarre best-selling author Elinor Glyn, remains perhaps the quintessential Bow picture. Not that the story of a poor shopgirl falling for her rich employer was anything new (by 1927, Bow could play that role in her sleep), but It came complete with one of the best publicity campaigns in Hollywood history. Glyn herself publicly pointed to Bow as the personification of It, "that quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force." Paramount made sure that Glyn's lofty description of the word sunk in and even convinced the author to explain It in the film to leading man Antonio Moreno (who, according to Glyn, simply oozed It as well). The lightweight comedy behind all this hoopla centered on little Betty Lou Spence, a vivacious salesgirl invited to dinner at the Ritz by foppish wastrel and self-described "old fruit" "Monty" Montgomery (William Austin in one of those roles later personified by Edward Everett Horton). Betty is not paying attention to her dinner companion, however, but is ogling department store heir Cyrus Waltham (Moreno). He notices her too, and takes the salesgirl on a whirlwind tour of Coney Island. But when Betty is mistakenly assumed to be the unmarried mother of an infant (actually her roommate Molly's), stern Cyrus no longer sees her as proper marriage material. Betty, of course, gets her man in the end and Waltham's snooty girlfriend ("other woman" specialist Jacqueline Gadsden) ends up in the drink. Delivering all the vivacious punch expected of a Bow comedy, It takes time out for a couple of rather poignant scenes. With the hindsight that Brooklyn's own Bow was never fully accepted by Hollywood society despite her stardom, it is touching to watch Betty being ostracized at the snobbish Ritz; and Bow is never more affecting than when she realizes that Moreno is offering diamonds and pearls instead of marriage. Priscilla Bonner, as Bow's drab, single-mother roommate, adds a touch of realism to her brief role, enviously observing Betty's frivolity. If It only added to Bow's brilliant success, the film did little for the intelligent Bonner. To the end of her life, Bonner maintained that accepting featured billing in It lost her any chance of true stardom. A very young Gary Cooper, has a bit as a reporter and director Josef Von Sternberg reputedly took over for Clarence Badger during a brief illness. Despite its rather trite Cinderella plot, It magnificently demonstrates why Bow's guileless flapper came to define an entire decade. It is heartbreaking to realize that her decline had already set in, and Bow's very public troubles and eventual career destruction were lurking right around the corner! ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi