Frank Davis Movies

In providing the "synopsis" for Are Husbands Necessary?, one best-selling film source says merely "And what about this film?" There's more to the story than that, of course--but not much. The film was based on Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, a novel by Frank Davis. Ray Milland and Betty Field play a warring married couple who hope to patch up their differences by adopting a baby. When Milland's ex-flame Patricia Morrison shows up unexpectedly, the fur flies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

A sleazy lawyer gains clients by showing up at terrible accidents. His boss is determined to stop him so he hires a pretty girl to cozy up and coerce the truth out of the ambulance-chaser. Unfortunately, the boss doesn't count on the romance factor and sure enough, love blossoms between the girl and the shyster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A romantic triangle heats up the Alaskan tundra in this romantic comedy. Bascom Dinsmore (Robert Montgomery) is a radio operator who is stationed at a remote outpost in the frozen plains of Alaska. Dinsmore gets very little in the way of companionship, particularly of the female variety, so he's more than a bit enthusiastic when lovely Irene Champion (Myrna Loy) and her wealthy British groom-to-be Sir James Felton (Reginald Owen) have to make an emergency landing near his cabin. Dinsmore takes an immediate liking to Champion, and she appears to feel the same, much to the consternation of Felton. As Dinsmore and Felton wage a merry battle over Champion's hand, Clara Wilson (Winifred Shotter), Felton's former fiancée, arrives on the scene, eager to win back the affections of her now-wealthy ex-boyfriend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this western, a cowpoke from Wyoming rides into the big city to look for a wife. Instead he finds himself investigating the mysterious death of a man in the hotel room next to his. In the corpse's room, the cowpoke found a lost bracelet. He and the hotel phone operator use this clue to solve the mystery. Later he marries the operator and they return back to wild Wyoming. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Colonel Tim McCoy's third western for MGM starred the former Indian sign language interpreter as an army captain facing demotion until successfully defeating a gang of Mexican cutthroats. Set in old California, the film depicted several real-life American heroes, including Kit Carson (Fred Warren) and Brig. Gen. Stephen Kearney (played by Romaine Fielding who, for now obscure reasons, billed himself Edwin Terry). The only series western star MGM ever had, McCoy enjoyed five releases in 1927 alone. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide