Ann Brody Movies

William Powell is a poor East Side lawyer who works his way up the ladder to assistant prosecutor. He isn't too particular how he uses and misuses the law, much to the dismay of his faithful secretary (Joan Blondell). Powell's downfall comes when he falls for a shady lady (Claire Dodd) who blackmails him for a past misdeed. He escapes prosecution with a hung jury, but the experience rekindles his conscience. With his loving secretary at his side, Powell returns to his old neighborhood to set up an honest legal practice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Roland Brown's Blood Money (1933) has lost none of its ability to entertain and startle over the seven decades since its release. The title refers to the business of affable, ambitious bail bondsman (and politically-connected grifter) Bill Bailey (George Bancroft), who, in the course of his work, crosses paths with every kind of offender there is, from first-time defendants to career criminals. Among the latter is Drury Darling (Chick Chandler), the brother of Bailey's paramour, nightclub owner Ruby Darling (Judith Anderson). Bailey is popular enough in the criminal world, over his providing the means for gang members to stay in circulation while awaiting trial, and he knows how to spread the money around to make the wheels of government run more smoothly (and not run over any of the speakeasies, casinos, clip-joints, and other enterprises of the gangs to which he is closest). Then, one day, he meets Elaine Talbert (Frances Dee), a thrill-seeking socialite whose penchant for excitement has ratcheted up from shoplifting in the better stores to fast cars and fast men. Bailey doesn't quite know what to make of her -- she's attractive enough, and drawn to him, but her lust for illicit and dangerous diversions runs counter to the common sense that he applies to his life, every place but where women are concerned. His quasi-legal and extra-legal maneuvering is fun for a while, but what she really wants, as she tells Bailey, is a man who will "take charge" and dominate her, physically and in every other way. Eventually, she tires of the middle-aged Bailey and gravitates toward Drury Darling, whose exploits as a bank robber, willing to fight the law head on, are more in line with some of the excitement that she craves. When Darling is arrested, he depends upon her to pass along the money that Bailey needs to bail him out, and that's when the smoothly operating life that Bailey has arranged for himself grinds to a halt. A cache of worthless bonds, a war within the underworld itself, and an assassination attempt on Bailey are just part of the double-dealing and blood-letting that ensues, climaxing with game of pool involving a booby-trapped eight ball (a variation of a famous sequence from Keaton's Sherlock Jr., later re-used by the Three Stooges in I'll Never Heil Again). And the finale for Elaine Talbert is a sequence that might not even have gotten past the politically-correct censors of the 1980's. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Three on a Match covers approximately 13 years in the lives of girlhood chums Mary Keaton (Joan Blondell), Ruth Wescott (Bette Davis) and Vivian Deverse (Ann Dvorak). Having graduated from grammar school together in 1919, the girls stage a reunion ten years later. Hard-boiled Mary is now a chorus girl, level-headed Ruth has a steady job as a secretary, and vixenish Vivian is on the verge of capriciously deserting her wealthy husband Robert Kirkwood (Warren William) and their baby in favor of sexy mob-boss Mike (Lyle Talbot). Several more years pass, during which Mary marries Henry, Ruth is hired as governess for Henry, and Vivian's son and a drug-addicted Vivian become fatally enmeshed in a kidnapping plot involving her own child. In his second Warner Bros. film, tenth-billed Humphrey Bogart essays his first sneering-gangster role. Three on a Match was remade (and considerably laundered) in 1938 as Broadway Musketeers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Most existing prints of the 1931 melodrama Drums of Jeopardy are in pretty bad shape, but it's worth enduring the tinny soundtracks and messy splices just to watch Warner Oland in his full villainous glory. Oland plays a mad scientist who seeks revenge on the aristocratic family responsible for the death of his daughter. He travels from Russia to New York in search of any and all descendants of the hated Petroff family, using four rubies (the "drums" of the title) as instruments of death. Rising above its poverty-row origins, Drums of Jeopardy contains a high level of suspense, as well as several cunningly designed camera angles courtesy of cinematographer Arthur Reed. Trivia note: Warner Oland's character name is Dr. Boris Karlov! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The difference between social classes provides the basis for this comedy. The trouble begins when a drunken sot wanders into the fancy home of a woman who is hosting a gala dinner. She had invited 13 guests, and so hired Blankely's, a professional company to send her a sophisticated 14th guest. Naturally she mistakes the drunk for the hired guest and invites him to dine. Mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this romance, an impoverished, struggling writer finally leaves his humble boarding house room after he is bequeathed a large inheritance. He becomes so wealthy, that he can help out a friend who is married to a philandering husband. To help her, he buys the castle in which she lives and wins her heart. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A lesser-known effort from director Josef Von Sternberg, The Case of Lena Smith has been unfairly chastised for all the wrong reasons. It has been branded a financial failure, but in fact its comparatively small box-office take was due to the decision by Paramount Pictures to withdraw several of its late silent releases from distribution and concentrate on talkies. And the casting of Paramount contractee Esther Ralston, who in 1928 was more closely associated with light comedies and romances, has been condemned as a concession to the actress' popularity, when in fact Von Sternberg chose Ralston over Paramount's strenuous objections. The story is set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, where simple peasant girl Lena Smith (Ralston) falls head-over-heels in love with young aristocrat Franz Hofrat (James Hall). The couple are married, despite intense pressure from Hoffrat's blue-blooded family. Ever so slowly and ever so surely, Lena's good nature and unbounded optimism are crushed and shattered by the merciless juggernaut of class consciousness and public opinion, leading unswervingly to a tragic ending. In the original script, Lena Smith was a prostitute, but this was carefully written out to avoid audience animosity against the character (one of the few concessions to popular taste made by Von Sternberg in this instance). Like all of the director's films, The Case of Lena Smith was exquisitely photographed; in fact, there were those who felt that the already gorgeous Esther Ralston never looked better on screen, despite all the suffering endured by her character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Lewis Milestone presided over The Betrayal, a part-talkie which represented the only screen teaming of Hollywood's Gary Cooper and Germany's Emil Jannings. Second-billed Esther Ralston stars as Swiss peasant girl Vroni, who enjoys a blissful summertime romance with vacationing Viennese artist Andre Frey (Cooper). For diverse reasons, the young lovers decide to keep their affair a secret until Andre can return to Vroni. But when he does come back to Switzerland, Andre learns to his dismay that Vroni has been forced into a marriage with wealthy burgomeister Poldi Moser (Jannings). To justify Andre's presence, Vroni introduces him as a young man who has just lost his sweetheart (which, of course is true) -- whereupon Poldi sympathetically invites Andre to be a guest in his house. The situation is sheer hell for both hero and heroine, but they brave it out for the sake of the likable Poldi. Seven years later, Andre comes back to the village for another visit, prompting Poldi to again extend his hospitality to the increasingly morose artist. Unable to withhold his emotions any further, Andre begs Vroni to run off with him, threatening to kill himself if she doesn't. She refuses but agrees to one last rendezvous in the village. While speeding down a toboggan slide, an accident occurs, killing Vroni and seriously injuring Andre. At the funeral, Poldi discovers the truth about the relationship between Andre and Vroni. He swears revenge, only to discover that Andre has already died from his injuries. Left alone in his grief, Poldi philosophically vows to forgive and forget, preferring to harbor only good thoughts towards his late wife and their mutual "friend." Boasting a plotline dangerously close to Ethan Frome, Betrayal was co-produced by David O. Selznick. In later years, director Lewis Milestone tended to dismiss this film, recalling only that Emil Jannings was an extremely difficult man to work with. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Warner Bros. contractees Myrna Loy and Walter Pidgeon were "borrowed" by low-budget Lumas pictures for the 1928 military drama Turn Back the Hours. Based on the venerable stage play by Edward E. Rose, the film stars Pidgeon as a Naval officer who is dishonorably discharged for cowardice. While being transported home to England, Pidgeon is caught in the middle of a shipwreck, from which he is rescued by passenger Loy. Recuperating in the Caribbean home of Loy's wealthy father, our hero returns the favor by rescuing the heroine and her daddy from a gang of bandits. In so doing, Pidgeon regains his courage and self-respect -- not to mention the love of the grateful Loy. Elements of Turn Back the Hours later resurfaced in the 1942 Humphrey Bogart vehicle Across the Pacific. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although this was only the second "Lone Wolf" film produced by Columbia, Bert Lytell had already played Louis Joseph Vance's gentleman crook in several prior films, the first dating back to 1917. Michael Lanyard, aka the Lone Wolf, is sailing to America when he meets pretty Eve de Montalais (Lois Wilson). Eve wants to sneak her valuable necklace through U.S. customs so that she can use the money from its sale to help straighten out her brother. The only problem is that there is a gang of jewel thieves on board who are just as determined to steal the necklace. Lanyard uses his wiles to keep the thieves at bay, but they try to ruin his credibility by revealing his past to Eve. Lanyard manages to outwit the gang anyhow, and in the end, he reveals that he has gone straight and become an undercover agent. Of course, he wins the girl, too. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This entertaining knockoff of Abie's Irish Rose and The Cohens and the Kellys stars George Sidney and Will Armstrong as rival clothing-store owners Hyman Cohen and Timothy Clancy. Right on schedule, Cohen's daughter Leah (Sharon Lynn) and Clancy's son Tom (Rex Lease) fall in love. To break up the romance, Cohen forces Leah to date the suitor of his choice, Jewish boxer Izzy Murphy (Ed Brady). Determined to win back his sweetheart, Tom challenges Izzy to a fight, while both fathers place bets on the outcome, putting up their businesses as collateral. Tom wins, whereupon the young lovers force Cohen and Clancy to merge their stores, allowing the two bickering neighbors to live scrappily ever after. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The dignified Lewis Stone lets down his hair in a comedy role in the rollicking Too Much Money. Thanks to a series of financial reverses, wealthy Robert and Annabel Broadley (Lewis Stone, Anna Q. Nillson) finds themselves flat broke. They take jobs as dishwashers in a delicatessen, where another of the employees begins flirting with Annabel. When it turns out that the Broadleys still have plenty of money thanks to smart investments, Robert still must duke it out with his rival to win back Annabel's affections (which, like his fortune, he has never really lost). Critics in 1926 were unimpressed by Lewis Stone's attempt to emulate such farceurs as Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, though they allowed that Too Much Money would get by on its novelty value. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide