Alan Brooks Movies

Filmed on location in Atlantic City, Convention Girl is the story of Babe Laval (Rose Hobart), whose job it is to keep out-of-town conventioneers entertained during their visits to the New Jersey resort town. Though Babe has a tough veneer, she's a good girl at heart, hoping someday to escape the lecherous clutches of "tired businessmen" in favor of true love. A likely candidate for romance is gambler Bill Bradley (Weldon Heyburn), but Babe will have nothing to do with him because of his shady profession. After an embarrassing episode with soap-tycoon Ward Hollister (Herbert Rawlinson), however, Bill looks a lot more appealing to our heroine. The supporting cast includes perennial western heroine Nell O'Day, as a convention girl who nearly loses her virtue, and comedian Shemp Howard in a "straight" role as a petty thief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This shoddy "B"-picture represents one of the few talkie appearances by former Broadway matinee idol Lou Tellegen. Mary Nolan heads the cast as lady cop Florence Vinton, who goes undercover to get the goods on rival gangsters Eddie Swan (Tellegen) and Larry Marsh (Johnny Walker). Just at the point in which Florence looks like she's going to be rubbed out, Swan and Marsh shoot each other down, solving several script problems all at once. Surviving the carnage, Marsh is turned over to the authorities, even though Florence has by this time fallen in love with him. One of the few gangster pictures of the era to feature a female protagonist, Enemies of the Law was also one of the few of its kind to be produced in New York. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Having scored big-time box office with his first Biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), Cecil B. DeMille hoped to top this success with his 1927 The King of Kings. Inasmuch as he was now dealing with the life of Christ, DeMille had to be careful to serve up equal amounts of showmanship and reverence. The first creative challenge: how to "introduce" Christ in a tasteful manner? The answer: as a blind child is cured through Jesus' intervention, DeMille cuts to the child's point-of-view, slowly fading in on the kindly countenance of H.B. Warner as the Son of Man. Still, DeMille remained DeMille, especially in his handling of the character of Mary Magdalene (Jacqueline Logan). No longer a tattered streetwalker, Mary Magdalene is now a glamorous courtesan, replete with legions of gorgeous slave girls (one of whom is "bubble dancer" Sally Rand) and dressed in revealing Hollywood-style gowns. In fact, the film opens on this character, as she ruminates over the defection of her favorite customer, Judas Iscariot (Joseph Schildkraut), who is spending far too much time with Jesus of Nazareth. Upon visiting Jesus herself, she immediately repents, casting off all her prior sins. Once again, the efficacy of the Cecil B. DeMille formula is proven: redemption has no dramatic value unless the film shows viewers why the sinner needs to be redeemed. Once he's gotten his box-office considerations out of the way, DeMille adheres faithfully to the particulars of Jesus' life, betrayal, trial, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. (Again, however, the director improves a bit upon his source material: the storm that follows the Crucifixion is of the same spectacular dimensions as the parting of the Red Sea in Ten Commandments, while the Resurrection is filmed in vibrant Technicolor). To back up the authenticity of his images, DeMille -- with an assist from scenarist Jeannie Macpherson -- utilizes Scriptural quotes in his subtitles. And to avoid any untoward publicity while filming, DeMille required all of his actors to sign legal documents preventing them from indulging in any sort of "sinful" activity; this meant that poor old H.B. Warner had to steer clear of alcoholic beverages for nearly a year, though he more than made up for lost time after his contract ran out. Prepared to mercilessly lambaste The King of Kings, DeMille's critics were disarmed by his reverent, tasteful approach to the subject. Years after the film's release, a specially prepared 60-minute version of the 18-reel King of Kings was making the rounds of religious groups, church basements, and Easter-weekend telecasts. The film was remade in 1961 by producer Samuel Bronston and director Nicholas Ray, with Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Chorus girl Barbara Page (Viola Dana) gives up the footlights when she becomes the wife of bank clerk Dick Cobb (Tom Gallery). Content to be a housewife, Barbara is unable to convince her party-animal husband of the joys of domesticity. To support his hedonistic lifestyle, Dick embezzles money from his bank, only to be exposed by fellow clerk Warren Townsend (Nigel Barrie), who's got the hots for Barbara. While Dick goes on the lam, Warren shows up at Barbara's doorstep, offering to be of "help." Before she can fall into the false friend's clutches, however, Barbara is rescued by her ex-beau, theatrical producer Lyn Holmes (Alan Brooks). With Holmes' support, Barbara lands a choice part in a Broadway show and becomes an overnight success. When the chastened Dick comes back into Barbara's life, Holmes gallantly stage-manages the couple's reconciliation -- even though he, too, is madly in love with the girl. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Prominent Viennese stage star Rudolph Schildkraut (Joseph's father) heads the cast of Pals in Paradise. Schildkraut plays a Jewish storekeeper who sets up shop in a small desert gold-rush village. When time comes to elect a sheriff, Schildkraut wins the appointment by default. Though he's determined to rule the town with an iron hand, the old sheriff proves to be a softie at heart by helping along the romance between young miner John Bowers and pretty heiress Marguerite de la Motte (the real-life Mrs. Bowers). He also prevents the girl from marrying an oily crook, who in the end turns out to be the murderer of the heroine's father. Pals in Paradise was based on a story by Peter B. Kyne, of "Broncho Billy" fame. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi