Laird Doyle Movies

Backed by the "American GI Chorus", Nelson Eddy made his final screen appearance in the unusually elaborate Republic musical Northwest Outpost. The story is set in the 1830s, when a good portion of California was owned by Russia. US cavalry officer James Laurence (Nelson Eddy) arrives at one of the Russian colonies to pave the way for the eventual American takeover of the territory. He faces resistance in the form of Prince Nikolai Balinin (Hugo Haas), who has no intention of weakening his despotic hold over the local peasants. The plot thickens when Laurence falls in love with Natalie Alanova (Ilona Massey), the wife of disgraced nobleman Count Igor Savin (Joseph Schildkraut). The script draws several unsubtle parallels between Russian California of 1830 and Communist Russia of 1947, but this can be chalked up to the political tenor of the times. Rudolf Friml's soaring musical score evokes fond memories of Friml's earlier Rose Marie, which of course also starred Nelson Eddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this Errol Flynn vehicle sprang from an "inside" joke at Warner Bros. Whenever the studio depicted a marquee or poster of a fictional film in one of their productions, the film's title was inevitably Another Dawn. When time came to shoot this Flynn epic, the studio, stuck for a title, opted for Another Dawn -- and had to cast about for another phony film title whenever the necessity arose. An unabashed soap opera, the film casts Flynn as Captain Denny Roark, a British army officer stationed in a remote Sahara outpost. Against his better judgement, Roark falls in love with Julia (Kay Francis), the wife of his commanding officer Colonel Wister (Ian Hunter). Wister knows what's going on, but he is too much the gentleman to interfere, just as Roark is too much the gentleman to demand that the Colonel grant Julia a divorce. Wister finally does the honorable thing by volunteering for a suicide mission, allowing Roark and Julia to continue their romance unencumbered. About the only distinguishing aspect in this dreary exercise in restraint is the lush Erich Wolfgang Korngold musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1882, Mark Twain published a delightful fairy tale "for young people of all ages"; 45 years later, Warner Bros., inspired by the real-life coronation of Edward VII, created a lavish screen version starring radio favorites Billy and Bobby Mauch in the title roles and Errol Flynn as their dashing savior. As Jane Seymour (Helen Valkis), consort of King Henry VIII (Montagu Love), gives birth to the heir to the throne, the later Edward VI (Bobby Mauch), Tom Canty (Billy Mauch) is born in the nearby slums. Years later, as King Henry is near death, providence brings the two together and they discover that they share a striking resemblance. Having changed clothes with Tom during play, Edward Tudor is mistaken for a pauper by the Captain of the Guard (Alan Hale) and evicted from the palace. In contrast, Tom is believed to be the Prince of Wales by all of sundry and, when protesting, is treated as mentally unsound. Only the Earl of Hertford (Claude Rains), the king's scheming advisor, realizes the truth but keeps quiet to further his own career. With a price on his head, the real Edward lives the life of a pauper among the thieves and beggars of London, befriended only by Miles Hendon (Flynn), whom he, to Miles' great amusement, creates an earl. But despite his skepticism, Miles is right there to rescue Edward from the murderous Captain of the Guard and return him to the palace just as Tom is about to be crowned king. Proving his true identity by locating the missing Seal of England, Edward is restored to the throne and Hertford is banished from the realm. Miles is recognized for his bravery and Tom is made a ward of the king for life. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

All but forgotten today, the George Abbott-John Cecil Holm stage comedy Three Men on a Horse was once a staple of the community theatre and summer-stock circuit (a 1958 TV production starred no less than Johnny Carson). Though a faithful adaptation of the Broadway original, this 1936 film version avoids staginess thanks to the sprightly direction of Mervin LeRoy. Frank McHugh plays a meek, henpecked greeting-card writer who has an uncanny knack for picking winning race horses. Wandering into a bar after a spat with his wife (Carol Hughes), the prognosticative McHugh is "adopted" by Runyonesque horseplayers Sam Levene, Allen Jenkins and Teddy Hart. Held a virtual prisoner by the three gamblers, McHugh is unable to return to his job at the greeting card company, forcing his boss Guy Kibbee to realize for the first time the indispensability of his missing employee. A very slight piece, Three Men on a Horse is buoyed by the talents of the above-mentioned actors, as well as such reliables as Joan Blondell, Edgar Kennedy and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not even considered a good film back in 1935, Dangerous is held together by the mesmerizing performance of Bette Davis. The star is cast as alcoholic, self-destructive stage actress Joyce Heath, a character obviously based on Jeanne Eagels. Wealthy architect Don Bellows (Franchot Tone) becomes convinced that Joyce can be rehabilitated with the "right" stage vehicle, and begins pulling strings to bring her back to the footlights. She rises to the occasion, falling in love with Don in the process. But Joyce becomes convinced that she's a jinx to any man who gets near her, as proven by her spineless, dissolute husband, Gordon Heath (John Eldredge), who refuses to give her a divorce. Deliberately hurting Don's feelings so he will escape her "curse," Joyce determines to rid the world of both herself and her husband. But things don't work out that way, and as a result Joyce is left in an inextricable Ethan Frome-like dilemma at film's end, while Don finds happiness with his socialite Gail Armitage (Margaret Lindsay). It is generally conceded that Bette Davis won her Academy Award for Dangerous because she was denied the Oscar for her performance in the previous season's Of Human Bondage. Dangerous was remade (and considerably reshaped) in 1941 as Singapore Woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama about corporate treachery was based on the best-selling novel by Alice Tisdale Hobart. Stephen Chase (Pat O'Brien) is a salesman and inventor with an American oil company who is sent to China to reach that nation's untapped market. While Stephen is often told that his company looks after their own and he's selflessly devoted to his job, it becomes evident with time that they're treating him with disrespect. After his fiancée leaves him, Stephen marries a woman he's only just met, Hester (Josephine Hutchinson), because he's already arranged to bring a wife to China. Stephen has designed a new kerosene lamp for the Chinese market, but his rival Swaley (William B. Davidson) is given credit for the product. When Stephen is transferred to another part of China, he accepts even though his wife is expecting a baby; the physical toll of the journey causes Hester to lose the child. Stephen and Hester become close to another American couple, Don and Alice Wellman (John Eldredge and Jean Muir), but when Stephen is ordered to fire Don, he unhesitatingly agrees. After communist forces nationalize the oil firm's holdings, Stephen risks his life to protect $15,000 in company funds. But when he is released from the hospital, Stephen learns that instead of being rewarded, he's been demoted -- and another man was promoted in his place. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Paul Muni stars in this drama about a romantic triangle that leads to madness and murder. Overly enthusiastic Mexican attorney Johnny Ramirez (Muni) is disbarred after his first trial for his flagrant disregard of courtroom etiquette. In desperate need of work, he takes a job as a bouncer in a sleazy bordertown night club owned by Charlie Roark (Eugene Pallette). Charlie's wife Marie (Bette Davis) is immediately attracted to Johnny and makes a none-too-subtle play for him. But Johnny has his eye on Dale Elwell (Margaret Lindsay), a socialite who enjoys slumming in low-class dives and admiringly refers to Johnny as a "savage." Johnny tells Marie that it's against his principles to get involved with a married woman, so she decides to do something about that: she traps drunken Charlie in his car while it's locked in a garage, allowing the carbon monoxide to take Charlie out of the picture. When Marie explains that she killed her husband and is now available to him, Johnny wants no part of her; bitter that Johnny has snubbed her, Marie implicates him in Charlie's murder, leading to a dramatic and surprising trial. Paul Muni reportedly moved in with his Mexican chauffeur in order to study his accent and reproduce it accurately for this film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

British Agent starred the Hungarian/British actor Leslie Howard in the title role, was directed by full-fledged Hungarian Michael Curtiz, and costarred American leading lady Kay Francis as a Russian spy. Based on the memoirs of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who had been the unofficial British emissary to the Russian Revolutionary government in 1917, British Agent spends more time on its romantic subplot than in recreating the birth of Bolshevism. Leslie Howard's purpose in this film is to dissuade the Bolsheviks from signing a separate treaty with the World War I German regime. It is obvious to modern-day viewers that Howard is merely looking after Britain's interests and has no concern for the Russians; this was par for the course in a 1930s film, but does not play well with less jingoistic audiences of the 1990s. The most interesting aspect of British Agent is the performance of saturnine Irving Pichel as a young Josef Stalin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Cagney runs a shady missing-heir tracing service, occasionally providing phony heirs in order to collect his fee. He suffers a tinge of jealousy when he takes a gander at the offices of a legitimate tracing firm, where his former girlfriend (Bette Davis) has taken a job. Jimmy soon learns that the reputable organization's boss (Alan Dinehart) is more crooked than Jimmy ever was, but he can't convince the girl of this fact. Using his own street smarts, Cagney exposes the "honest" heir tracer and agrees to go straight if his girl will come back to him. At the time Jimmy the Gent was filmed, James Cagney was getting tired of the formula pictures being handed him; rather than go on suspension, he expressed his displeasure by shaving his hair almost down to the bone, which is why he appears in this film with an uncharacteristic buzz-cut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hell Below transcends its hackneyed World War I plot to emerge as a drama of rare originality and gutsiness. Walter Huston stars as a submarine commander whose lieutenant (Robert Montgomery) falls in love with Huston's daughter (Madge Evans). All cliches (including the intrusive comedy relief of Jimmy Durante) are forgiven and forgotten once the sub is launched on a dangerous mission in the Adriatic. Commander Huston is forced to make several cold-blooded decisions to preserve the safety of his crew members. In one scene, seaman Sterling Holloway is trapped in a room full of poison gas. Huston orders the men not to rescue Holloway, lest they too be exposed to the deadly fumes. As the men grimly try to go about their routine tasks, the dying Holloway presses his face against the glassed-in porthole and piteously begs for help! This brief moment in Hell Below sticks in the mind far longer than Robert Montgomery's own death scene, in which he redeems his reckless behavior during a crucial battle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide