Richard Day Movies
American production designer Richard Day first gained industry notice as one of the most trusted associates of director Erich von Stroheim. After successfully translating Stroheim's designs to on-set reality in 1919's Blind Husbands, Day remained as the director's principal set decorator throughout the '20s. Day's cathedral altar set for 1928's The Wedding March was so authentic looking that cinematographer Hal Mohr elected to be married before it! Working in collaboration during the early-talkie years, Day went solo as a production designer in 1930, then latched onto Samuel Goldwyn studios, where he won Academy Awards for his work on The Dark Angel (1935) and Dodsworth (1936). While with 20th Century-Fox in 1942, Day conceived the meticulously detailed Welsh village set for How Green Was My Valley (1941), which would see service in several subsequent productions until it was bulldozed along with the rest of the studio backlot in 1962. Richard Day went on to win additional Oscars for This Above All (1942) and My Gal Sal (1942) at Fox, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) at Warner Bros., and On the Waterfront (1954) at Columbia. Richard Day's final assignment was 1970's Tora! Tora! Tora!, a painstakingly accurate restaging of the Pearl Harbor attack, for which 20th Century-Fox spent more money than the Japanese had on the original attack in 1941. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1942
Cesar Romero plays an outwardly tough bookie with the proverbial golden heart. Romero falls in love with Carole Landis, an art shop proprietor who introduces her raffish romeo into the world of fine art. Utilizing his gambling skills, he amasses an impressive collection of valuable paintings, only to discover that there are just as many crooks and phonies in the art world as there are at the race track. At first attempting to cash in on the clever forgeries of a duplicitous painter (J. Carroll Naish), Romero is redeemed by the love of Carole Landis and ends up scamming the scammers. Gentleman at Heart includes a brashly amusing performance by Milton Berle as Cesar Romero's chief flunky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cesar Romero, Carole Landis, (more)
- 1940
In this comedy drama based on Shaw's play Pygmalion, and set in the 1800s, a wealthy playwright rescues a beautiful street urchin from the cruel city streets to use her as an authentic source of street language for his newest play. His whole family gets in an uproar when she comes to stay, but this does not deter him. In the end he turns her into a perfect lady and the family becomes charmed by her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Withers, Kent Taylor, (more)
In the classic play by Tennessee Williams, brought to the screen by Elia Kazan, faded Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) comes to visit her pregnant sister, Stella (Kim Hunter), in a seedy section of New Orleans. Stella's boorish husband, Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando), not only regards Blanche's aristocratic affectations as a royal pain but also thinks she's holding out on inheritance money that rightfully belongs to Stella. On the fringes of sanity, Blanche is trying to forget her checkered past and start life anew. Attracted to Stanley's friend Mitch (Karl Malden), she glosses over the less savory incidents in her past, but she soon discovers that she cannot outrun that past, and the stage is set for her final, brutal confrontation with her brother-in-law. Brando, Hunter, and Malden had all starred in the original Broadway version of Streetcar, although the original Blanche had been Jessica Tandy. Brando lost out to Humphrey Bogart for the 1951 Best Actor Oscar, but Leigh, Hunter, and Malden all won Oscars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, (more)
- 1941
Though it isn't obvious from the outset, A Very Young Lady is a remake of 20th Century-Fox' Girl's Dormitory; both films were based on a Hungarian play by Ladislas Fodor. Stepping into the old Simone Simon role is Jane Withers as hoydenish Kitty Russell, who is packed off to finishing school in the hopes that the experience will turn her into "a lady". Falling in love with headmaster Dr. Meredith (John Sutton), Kitty dares not express her ardor verbally, so she writes passionate love letters to the teacher, never intending to mail the mushy missives. Alas, one of the letters finds its way to Meredith's desk, resulting in a big-time scandal. It's up to teacher Alice Carter (Nancy Kelly), who also harbors a crush on Meredith, to straighten out the mess. Among other things, A Very Young Lady was the film in which Jane Withers receives her first screen kiss (Trivia alert: the boy is played by Richard Clayton). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Withers, Nancy Kelly, (more)
A Yank in the RAF is brash pilot Tim Baker (Tyrone Power), freshly arrived in London. Hoping to impress his nightclub-singer girlfriend Carol Brown (Betty Grable), Tim joins the Royal Air Force, immediately alienating everyone with his cockiness and "What the Hell?" attitude concerning the war. All this changes when Baker is obliged to fly under combat conditions, whereupon he shows what he's really made of. One of the most popular of the pre-Pearl Harbor "preparedness" films, A Yank in the RAF comes to an exciting conclusion, with actual newsreel footage of the evacuation of Dunkirk expertly matched with studio mockups. As a bonus, Betty Grable sings such catchy numbers as Another Little Dream Won't Do Us Any Harm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, (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
- 1927
'That's either your wife or your sister-in-law!" declares Gwen Lee to Aileen Pringle in the middle of Adam and Evil. This should be indication enough that this silent feature was a comedy, despite its title. Lew Cody, married to Aileen Pringle, pretends to be his own twin brother so that he can carry on with Ms. Lee. The laughs start rolling in when Cody's genuine lookalike brother shows up. Hedda Hopper and Roy D'Arcy play Cody's nonplussed friends in this door-slamming farce, cowritten by Florence Ryerson and F. Hugh Herbert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Cody, Aileen Pringle, (more)
- 1933
Based very loosely on Nathaniel West's Miss Lonelyhearts, Advice to the Lovelorn is a comedy-drama about a hotshot reporter (Lee Tracy) who is forced to become an advice columnist. Hiding behind a female nom de plume, the cynical Tracy dispenses fatuous advice and becomes quite popular. Ever seeking an extra buck, Tracy agrees to promote a shady line of pharmaceutical products in his column--a move that has tragic consequences when Tracy's mother (Jean Adair) dies thanks to bad medicinal drugs. With the aid of his girlfriend (Sally Blane) and his bucolic "leg man" (Sterling Holloway), a chastened Tracy brings the crooked drug dealers to justice. Beaten to a pulp by the criminals, Tracy nonetheless survives to get married (wrapped in surgical bandages!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Tracy, Sally Blane, (more)
- 1927
Film star Norma Shearer and director Monta Bell made a half-dozen films together. Bell gave Shearer some of her best acting opportunities during the silent era, even when he cast her in lightweight material such as this romance. Mary, a cigarette girl (Shearer), meets Joe Miller (Lawrence Gray) during a holdup. She takes a lead pipe from him, knocks him on the head, and then proceeds to reform him. The two of them plan to get married until one day she mistakenly believes he has failed her. They have an argument and split up, even though she has managed to scrape up enough money to buy a thousand-dollar bond for their new life together. That night, her gold-digging sister, Maizie (Gwen Lee), comes home from a party with a bond just like hers, given as a party favor. Mary begins to feel that it's pointless to lead an upstanding life, so she buys some flashy clothes and goes to a wild party where she proceeds to get very drunk. It's Maizie who has to pull her formerly sedate sister away from the revelry. On the drive home, Mary grabs the steering wheel away from Maizie and there is an accident. Mary is unhurt, but Maizie is killed. Back home, Joe, who has returned to his old associates, shows up and berates Mary for being just like her sister. Then Mary reveals that her sister has died. The couple both realize the error of their ways and decide to make a fresh start. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Shearer, Lawrence Gray, (more)
One of the more prestigious films of its time, John Ford's film adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has a sleek Art Deco look strangely out of tune with its tale of moral struggle. Ronald Colman stars as Martin Arrowsmith, an idealistic young doctor, who, after graduating from medical school, must forego a research position with Dr. Max Gottlieb (A.E. Anson) due to his marriage to nurse Leora Tozer (Helen Hayes). He returns to her rural hometown and establishes a small practice, and in his spare time eventually develops a serum for a deadly cow disease. Based on this work he is able to return to work under Dr. Gottlieb. When Dr. Gustav Sondelius (Richard Bennett), a friend of the researchers, informs them about a plague devouring the West Indies, Arrowsmith decides to travel to the area to test whether the serum he's working on might be effective in combatting it. The white citizens of the area refuse to allow themselves to be the subjects of an experiment, but black Harvard-educated Dr. Oliver Marchand (Clarence Brooks) persuades the island's native population to go along with Arrowsmith's plan. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, (more)
- 1926
The Rafael Sabatini swashbuckler Bardelys the Magnificent served as an excellent vehicle for MGM's top male star John Gilbert. Set during the regime of France's King Louis XIII, the story concerns a bold young braggart named Bardelys (Gilbert), whose sexual conquests have become legendary. When informed that there is at least one member of Louis' court who will not succumb to Bardelys' charms, our hero wagers that he will able to melt this "ice princess," a regal beauty named Roxelanne de Lavedas (Eleanor Boardman). But before he can concentrate his efforts on Roxelanne, Bardelys agrees to deliver some important diplomatic documents on behalf of a dying man named Lesperon. When it turns out that Lesperon was a traitor to the throne, Bardelys is sentenced to hang. In the final scenes, our hero desperately tries to escape his fate, while Roxelanne tearfully prepares to marry the only man who can clear Bardelys' name. Unfortunately, Bardelys the Magnificent no longer exists, though a tantalizingly brief excerpt appears in the Marion Davies comedy Show People. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gilbert, Eleanor Boardman, (more)
- 1936
This lavishly appointed Sam Goldwyn soap opera is set in Ireland during "the troubles." Irish rebel leader Dennis Reardon (Brian Aherne) falls in love with Lady Helen Drummond (Merle Oberon), the aristocratic daughter of British diplomat Lord Athleigh (Henry Stephenson). Reardon's underground associates, not so romantically inclined, assume that their leader has sold out to the enemy, when in fact he is working tirelessly for an honorable and equitable end to the hostilities. His best friend O'Rourke (Jerome Cowan) is given the job of assassinating Reardon, leading to a tragic climax more suited to an Italian opera than an Irish political meller. Beloved Enemy was very loosely based on the exploits of Irish patriot Michael Collins, who of course was the subject of the far more accurate 1996 biopic starring Liam Neeson and Julia Roberts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, (more)
- 1926
This typically overproduced Marion Davies vehicle casts her in a distaff variation of The Prisoner of Zenda. An American lass, Davies is obliged to impersonate her male cousin (Creighton Hale), heir to the throne of Graustark. Our heroine is quite fetching in male drag, and it's amazing that the Graustarkian courtiers don't tumble to her masquerade earlier than they do. Once she's been revealed to be a girl, Davies is able to move about freely in her efforts to squelch the plans of villainous Roy D'Arcy. The final reel of Beverly of Graustark was filmed in eye-pleasing early Technicolor. The film was based on a popular novel by George Barr McCutcheon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Antonio Moreno, (more)
Based on the novel by Vincente Blasco Ibanez, Blood and Sand is the beautifully rendered story of the rise and fall of a young, cocksure Spanish bullfighter, played by Tyrone Power. Working his way slowly up the ladder to success, Power achieves fame when he is praised to skies by fatuous, fickle critic Laird Cregar. A country boy at heart, Power finds himself way over his head with sophisticates, and is soon torn between his pious and faithful wife Linda Darnell and sexy, mercenary Rita Hayworth. It is Darnell, however, who comforts Power after his final, fatal goring in the bull ring. The film's best scenes depict the curious combination of horror and fascination with which bullfighting aficionados treat this most barbaric of "sports." Blood and Sand was previously filmed in 1922 with Rudolph Valentino; a Valentino contemporary, Alla Nazimova, plays Power's mother in the remakes. Portions of this film turned up as stock footage in the 1945 Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bullfighters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, (more)
Boomerang, directed by Elia Kazan, is a chilling film noir, the true story about the murder of a priest, the subsequent arrest and trial of a jobless drifter, and the efforts of young state's attorney Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews) to uncover the truth. Closely based on the actual 1924 murder of Fr. Hubert Dahme in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the film was directed by the young Elia Kazan in a highly effective, semi-documentary style. Kazan shot most of the film on location, using high-contrast cinematography and an extremely mobile camera to create a palpable sense of urgency. The screenplay, expertly crafted by Richard Murphy received an Academy Award nomination. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, E.J. Ballantine, (more)
Loretta Young, who became known almost exclusively for playing sweet, wholesome roles, is kind of a shocker in this romantic drama as Letty Strong, an unwed mother who survives by living life as a grifter and the next thing to a prostitute -- all for the good of her son Mickey (Jackie Kelk), who, not yet 10 years old, is turning into a street hustler every bit as devious and untrustworthy as she is. Then, one day, he's skating on the street and gets hit by a milk truck, which happens to be driven by Malcolm Trevor (Cary Grant), the owner of the dairy, who was spot-checking his operation. Letty and Mickey try to take Malcolm for a hefty sum in court until their case is blown out of the water, but Malcolm also finds himself appalled by the kind of life that Letty is setting up for the boy. He gets her to agree to let Mickey move in with him and his wife Alice ($Marion Burns), at their estate outside the city. And after some extremely rough patches, Mickey begins to see that there's more to being a boy -- or becoming a man -- than what you can steal or cheat off the next guy. But Letty isn't about to let her son get away that easily, or let Malcolm get away with taking him from her, even if he is right. She tries to wreck Malcolm's home and marriage, all to get her son back and take revenge on him in the process. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Cary Grant, (more)
- 1925
Charles Ray's career had been declining for some time when he made this comedy-drama. Unfortunately, this attempt to return to the characterization that brought him fame -- that of an unsophisticated country boy -- didn't win him back the fans he had lost. Actress Pansi Delaney (Pauline Starke) is tired of the big city and its flashy, phony men, so she's glad to return to the farm back home and visit her mother. She meets a country boy, Tom Corbin, and his naive, wholesome ways win her over. Tom, however, feels out of place amongst Pansi's city friends -- he doesn't realize that the qualities that make him appear awkward are just what she likes. When he visits Chicago and sees one of the slick city types trying to make time with Pansi, Tom decides to make himself over. But instead of being cool and sophisticated, he comes off as a jerk and Pansi is disgusted. One of her friends tips Tom off, so he returns to his country boy demeanor, and wins back his girl. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Ray, Pauline Starke, (more)
- 1934
This second and final "Bulldog Drummond" film to star Ronald Colman, finds the famed sleuth in the midst of a sinister plan orchestrated by Warner Oland. Damsel in distress Loretta Young reports that her wealthy and influential uncle is missing, but all those concerned insist that the uncle never existed, and that Young is out of her mind. Drummond suspects that she's telling the truth, and that the uncle's disappearance is tied into political intrigue of some sort or other. Before the rousing climax, Drummond, the heroine, and Drummond's pal Algy (Charles Butterworth) are repeatedly kidnapped, imprisoned, and threatened with certain death. Counterpointing the film's plot twists (a bit too convoluted to relate in full here) is a comic subplot involving the continually interrupted honeymoon of Algy and his frustrated bride (Una Merkel). Unfortunately, Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back is currently unavailable on television or on videocassette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, (more)
In this big-budget historical adventure, Tyrone Power stars as Pedro De Vargas, a young and impetuous nobleman in 16th Century Spain. Pedro helps to free a slave who belongs to Diego De Silva (John Sutton), but this proves to be a mistake, as Diego is one of the leaders of the Inquisition. Diego soon brands Pedro a heretic, puts his family behind bars, and subjects his 12-year-old sister to torture so horrible it kills her. An outraged Pedro plots his escape, with the help of his friend Juan Garcia (Lee J. Cobb) and hot-blooded peasant girl, Catana Perez (Jean Peters). Pedro and his friends help his parents make their way out of Spain, and he soon joins forces with Hernando Cortez (Cesar Romero), who has an ambitious plan to sail to the new world in search of gold. However, a vengeful Diego uses his powers to foil Cortez, and when Diego is murdered, Pedro becomes the key suspect in the crime. Captain From Castile was shot on location in Morelos, Mexico, where the active volcano Paricutin slowed production, causing delays that expanded the film's budget to a then-extravagant $4.5 million. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, (more)
- 1942
This final entry in 20th Century-Fox's "Charlie Chan" series is set in a huge mansion, smack-dab in the middle of the Mojave desert. When snoopy weekend guest Professor Gleason (Lucien Littlefield) is murdered, every member of the household falls under suspicion-none more so than Mr. Manderly (Douglass Dumbrille), the surly and highly secretive master of the household. Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) and number two son Jimmy (Sen Yung) stumble into this nest of vipers and quickly get to work trying to unravel the mystery, which involves a collection of priceless artifacts and an old-fashioned torture chamber. An excellent series entry, Castle in the Desert would have been a worthy screen finale for the inscrutable Mr. Chan; alas, the character would be revived two years later in a much inferior series at Monogram. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Toler, Arleen Whelan, (more)
- 1940
Henry Fonda plays Chad Hanna, a New York country bumpkin of the mid-nineteenth century who joins a travelling circus. He falls in love with beauteous bareback rider Dorothy Lamour, but she spurns him. Chad Hanna then finds himself attracted to another runaway, country girl Linda Darnell. Though everybody assumes that the boy is slow on the uptake, Chad Hanna manages to save the circus from financial ruin. He also secures the services of a trained elephant; when asked how he acquired such a prize, Chad laconically responds "I gave him half interest in the circus." A lightweight period piece, Chad Hanna is visually impressive, and best viewed in its original pristine Technicolor state. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, (more)
Jack Benny brings his own distinctive touch to Brandon Thomas' venerable (and oft-filmed) stage farce Charley's Aunt. Utilizing a gloriously unconvincing broad-A English accent, Benny is cast as Lord Fancourt Babberly, a somewhat overaged undergraduate at Oxford University. Babbs' roommates Jack Chesney (James Ellison) and Charley Wyckeham (Richard Haydn, in his film debut) are desirous of inviting their lady friends Kitty Verdun (Arleen Whelan) and Amy Spettigue (Anne Baxter) to their quarters, but first they must secure the services of a proper escort. When Charley's aunt Donna Lucia D'Alvadorez (Kay Francis) is detained, Jack and Charley coerce Babbs, who has dressed up as an old lady for a school play, to pose as the absent Donna Lucia. The fun really begins when, for reasons far too complicated to detail here, both Jack's father Sir Francis Chesney (Laird Cregar) and Amy's uncle Stephen Spettigue (Edmund Gwenn) romantically pursue the bogus aunt. The third-act arrival of the real Donna Lucia only adds to the comic confusion-but at least poor Babbs has finally found a lady friend closer to his own age. The female-impersonation angle in Charley's Aunt has been known to descend into vulgarity, but Jack Benny remains both hilarious and tasteful throughout. Understandably, the film was one of Benny's favorites. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Benny, Kay Francis, (more)
- 1939
Movie buffs are nearly unanimous in agreement: Charlie Chan at Treasure Island is the best of the Sidney Toler "Charlie Chan" entries. The film wastes no time getting started, with Chan (Toler) and his son Jimmy (Sen Yung) on hand when Charlie's writer friend Paul Essex (Louis Jean Heydt) dies on the Honolulu Clipper while en route to San Francisco. The police rule Essex' death a suicide, but Chan believes differently. He follows the trail of clues to the mysterious Zodiac, a crooked spiritualist. The oriental detective is aided in his investigation by Rhadini (Cesar Romero), a charming stage magician who hopes to expose Zodiac as a phony and blackmailer. After several plot twists and a couple of additional murders, all the likely suspects are gathered together during one of Rhadini's performances at Treasure Island, the San Francisco branch of the 1939 World's Fair. In a truly eerie climax, mystic Eve (Pauline Moore) who really does have psychic powers, prepares to name the killer. The revelation of the culprit is a genuine surprise, staged with topnotch showmanship by director Norman Foster, whose wife Sally Blane (Loretta Young's sister) appears in a small role as Essex's widow. Many of the magicians' props utilized in Charlie Chan at Treasure Island would do service again in 1942 in the Laurel & Hardy vehicle A-Haunting We Will Go. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Toler, Cesar Romero, (more)
- 1940
Escaped gangster Steve McBirney (Marc Lawrence), vowing to get even with Oriental sleuth Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler), lies in wait at a spooky wax museum run by demented plastic surgeon Dr. Cream (Henry Gordon). Chan is lured to the museum's opening day ceremonies on a ruse, along with a variety of strange characters ranging from a girl reporter (Joan Valerie) to a radio announcer (played by real-life announcer Ted Osborn). The subsequent murder spree is complicated by the fact that no one-not even the wily Chan--can tell the wax effigies from real thing. The explanation of the film's events-and the revelation of the killer-are quite a surprise. With Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum, 20th Century-Fox's "Chan" series reached its peak: from here, it could only go downhill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Toler
- 1938
Sidney Toler made his first appearance as aphorism-spouting oriental sleuth Charlie Chan in 1938's Charlie Chan in Honolulu, while Victor Sen Yung likewise makes his series debut as Charlie's Number Two Son Jimmy. While awaiting the birth of his first grandchild, Chan endeavors to solve a shipboard murder on a Hawaiian freighter. Hint: the most likely suspect is played by George Zucco, so it's safe bet that he's not the guilty party. Hampering Chan's investigation is the well-meaning assistance of overeager Charlie Chan Jr. (Layne Tom), as well as the dangerous menagerie of animal trainer Al Hogan (Eddie Collins). Audiences immediately warmed to Sidney Toler as the new Charlie Chan, encouraging 20th Century-Fox to keep the series going as long as possible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Toler, Phyllis Brooks, (more)
