Richard Day Movies

In this musical, the cruise that salesgirl Nan Spencer (Alice Faye) worked so hard to pay for is cut tragically short when the ship is damaged. In recompense for the failed cruise, Nan is treated to a tour of Havana, guided by a shipping company officer, Jay Williams (John Payne). Once in Havana, Nan becomes the center of attention when both Jay and a local man (Cesar Romero) fall for her. This film features a number of songs, including "Tropical Magic," "Romance and Rhumba," and "A Weekend in Havana." ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

To quell the rumors that musical stars Alice Faye and Betty Grable detested each other (actually they were fast friends, if not close buddies), 20th Century-Fox cast both ladies in their 1940 "inventory" musical Tin Pan Alley. Set in the years just prior to and during WW1, the film casts Faye and Grable as Katie and Lily Blaine, a singing-sister act playing the vaudeville circuits of the land. Ambitious songwriter Skeets Harrigan (John Payne) senses star potential in Katie Blaine, and his efforts to promote her-and his tunes-at all costs result in a great deal of ill-will before the inevitable happy ending. Counterpointing the likeably ruthless Skeets is his ebullient partner Harry Calhoun (Jack Oakie), who spends most of the picture trying to find suitable lyrics for a novelty ditty he's written, a quest that proves unsuccessful until a stuttering soldier inspires him to write "K-K-Katie". With the exception of the Mack Gordon-Harry Warren song "You Say the Sweetest Things Baby", all the tunes heard in Tin Pan Alley were popular during the period depicted in the film, including "Moonlight Bay", "Honeysuckle Rose", and "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France". The film's best ensemble piece is "The Shiek of Araby", with corpulent "potentate" Billy Gilbert matching the lissome Alice Faye and Betty Grable step for step. Incidentally, this number was one of several to be severely trimmed before final release: removed entirely was a delightful sequence involving the Tin Lizzie-inspired song "Get Out and Get Under", though this scene later appeared on a cable-TV compendium of excised 20th Century-Fox musical highlights. The winner of a 1940 Oscar for Alfred Newman's score, Tin Pan Alley was remade in 1950 as I'll Get By. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The success of 1938's Kentucky prompted 20th Century-Fox to come up with the similar (though not entirely identical) horse-racing opus Maryland. After her husband (Russell Hicks) is killed during a fox hunt, Maryland matriarch Charlotte Danfield (Fay Bainter) forbids her son Lee (John Payne) from ever riding or even owning a horse. Lee obedient only until he meets lovely Linda Stewart (Brenda Joyce), the daughter of his father's ex-trainer William Stewart (Walter Brennan, doing a virtual reprise of his Kentucky characterization). In concert with Linda, Lee enters his horse in the fabled Maryland Hunt, an annual steeplechase event. The outcome of the race is instrumental in weakening Charlotte Danfield's anti-equestrian stance, but Stewart, alas, isn't around long enough to fully bask in his restored glory. Much of Maryland was filmed on location, gorgeously lensed in Technicolor by George Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This remake of John Ford's classic WW1 drama Four Sons has been updated to the Europe of the late 1930s. At the time of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, four sons of German-Czech parentage go off in separate ideological directions. Chris (Don Ameche) remains loyal to the concept of a free Czechoslovakia; Karl (Alan Curtis) embraces the Nazi cause; Joseph (Robert Lowery) heads to America; and the youngest, Fritz (George Ernest), is drafted in the German army and is killed during the Polish campaign. The impact of the original film is somewhat muted here, since the political ramifications of WW2 were far more complex than those of WW1, and also because Archie Mayo isn't as good a director as John Ford. By far the best performance of the film is delivered by the great Russian stage actress Eugene Leontovich, making a rare screen performance as the long-suffering mother of the Four Sons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is perhaps the best of the many Zorro films as Tyrone Power gives an outstanding performance as the alternately swishing and swashbuckling son of a 19th century California aristocrat. As a champion of the oppressed, Zorro must face a wicked governor portrayed by J. Edward Bromberg, who, of course, has a beautiful niece whom our hero loves. Basil Rathbone is a delightfully evil assistant to the governor. Based on Johnston McCulley's novel The Curse of Capistrano, The Mark of Zorro was a remake of the 1921 silent film and by far superior to all the Zorro incarnations. Interspersed with humor and one-liners but still keeping up with the highest of swashbuckling traditions, it is an action-packed story of one man standing against a corrupt, oppressive government on behalf of those less able to bear their burdens. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Actress/ballerina Vera Zorina stars as a phony countess, working in cahoots with two international con artists (Erich von Stroheim and Peter Lorre). She renounces her earlier life after falling in love with one of her victims (Richard Greene), but her old crooked cronies show up to blackmail her. Zorina confesses to her husband, who forgives all. Von Stroheim and Lorre steal everything but the cameras in their brief scenes, outshining both hero and heroine with their patented rascality. I Was an Adventuress ends with a George Balanchine ballet sequence, which like all such film "highlights" goes on too long and is strictly a matter of taste. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a transient farm worker suffering from amnesia gets in trouble with the cops. One day he drifts into a town, finds a good woman and marries. Soon after, a blow to the head restores his memory. He remembers that his father is a prominent businessman in Chicago. At first, he does not know what led him to marry the woman, but in time he remembers and discovers that he does indeed love her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed in 1923 as a vehicle for Marion Davies, Rida Johnson Young's warhorse theatrical property Little Old New York was dusted off by 20th Century-Fox for Alice Faye, Fred MacMurray and Richard Greene. The latter plays the nominal lead, Scottish inventor Robert Fulton, who in 1807 arrives in New York City with the intention of building a steamboat which will accelerate transportation between the many boroughs. Everyone laughs at "Fulton's Folly" with the exception of gorgeous tavern keeper Pat O'Day (Alice Faye), who offers Fulton shelter and financial assistance. This doesn't sit at all well with Pat's boyfriend Charles Brownne (MacMurray), who like most of the sailors in the region is fearful that Fulton's steamboat will put him out of business. By film's end, however, Brownne has aligned himself with Fulton, if only because of his intense dislike for the villain of the piece, rival mariner Regan (Ward Bond). Several notably 19th century New York personages show up for cute cameo bits, among them Nicholas Roosevelt (Robert Middlemass), John Jacob Astor (Roger Imhof) and Washington Irving (Theodore Von Eltz). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This slick marital farce features Joel McCrea as T. H. Randall, a race horse owner whose devotion to his work causes a strain in his relationship with wife Valerie (Nancy Kelly). Unable to stand any more neglect, Valerie divorces Randall, even though the audience is well aware that she's still in love with him. Reduced to poverty by his huge alimony payments, Randall cooks up a scheme with lawyer Bill Carter (Roland Young) to marry off Valerie to staid Paul Hunter (Lyle Talbot). But during a weekend party at the home of dowager Ethel (Mary Boland), Randall resents the attentions lavished upon Valerie by rakish young Freddie (Cesar Romero). It doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out who winds up with whom in the last scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Barrymore provides an embarrassing spectacle in the semi-autobiographical role of a ham actor. Constantly in debt and always half-loaded, Barrymore accepts a role in an important play, which he nearly ruins by his intemperate antics. Anne Baxter plays a sincere young woman who tries to pull Barrymore back together. He makes a triumphant comeback, but there's always the chance that he'll be back to his old tricks before long. Tastelessly exploiting the real-life relationship between John Barrymore and Elaine Barrie, The Great Profile is supposed to be a comedy. Ha ha. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lillian Russell is the sanitized musical biopic of the legendary (and much-married) 19th century musical comedy star. Discovered in 1880 by bandleader Tony Pastor (Leo Carrillo), Lillian Russell (Alice Faye) wastes no time rising to fame and fortune on the Broadway stage. Along the way, she curries the favor of such eligible bachelors as newspaperman Alexander Moore (Henry Fonda), composer Edward Solomon (Don Ameche), and railroad tycoon Diamond Jim Brady (Edward Arnold). She marries the first two, and has a high old time (albeit chastely) with the third. The story ends with Russell's retirement in 1912, and her reunion with the one true love of her life. The film's hands-down highlight is a timeworn but classic routine involving those two Broadway comedy giants Joe Weber and Lew Fields, both of whom had appeared on-stage with the real Lillian Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pier 13 is a remake of the delightful Spencer Tracy-Joan Bennett vehicle Me and My Gal, which itself was a reworking of a 1922 silent picture. Wisecracking cop Danny Dolan (Lloyd Nolan) takes a liking to self-reliant waterfront waitress Sally Kelly (Lynn Bari), and the feeling is definitely mutual. But when Sally begins behaving strangely, Dolan suspects that she's mixed up with notorious criminal Johnnie Hale (Douglas Fowley). In fact, Sally is merely covering up for her flighty sister Helen (oan Valerie), who has foolishly fallen for Hale and has become deeply involved in the latter's underhanded activities. Things come to a head during a nocturnal warehouse robbery, with Dolan and Hale settling their differences face to face. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Girl in 313 is undercover police detective Joan Matthews (Florence Rice), who infiltrates a gang of jewel thieves. It is Joan's goal to unmask the leader of the gang, who is presently hiding behind a veneer of respectability. Piecing the clues together, she discovers that the crooks are in cahoots with a shady insurance company. Things look pretty bleak for Joan when her ruse is discovered, but she is rescued by Greg Dunn (Kent Taylor), the handsomest of the thieves, who has fallen in love with her. It took three writers to put together this 56-minute quickie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide