Howard Estabrook Movies
Like so many people who entered the American entertainment industry at the turn of the century, Howard Estabrook trained himself to be a jack-of-all-trades. At various junctures he was an actor, stage director, film director, and playwright before zeroing in on a long screenwriting career. Estabrook entered films in 1914 as an action player in such fast-moving epics as Officer 666 (1914) and The Mysteries of Myra (1916). He had the strong-chinned good looks of a college sports hero and was a reasonably persuasive actor, but he soon found more satisfaction in writing scripts than in reading them. Estabrook's writing skills were well-represented for over three decades, from 1928's Port of Missing Girls to 1959's The Big Fisherman. He won an Academy award for his work on the 1931 western Cimarron; he also occasionally functioned as a producer at Paramount. In 1944, Howard Estabrook returned to directing for the medium-budget Heavenly Days (1944), which some fans consider the best film-vehicle of the popular radio team Fibber McGee and Molly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1932
Katharine Hepburn made her auspicious film debut in the otherwise undistinguished A Bill of Divorcement. Based on a play by Clemence Dane, the film is set on the day that Hepburn's mother, Billie Burke, is to divorce her insane and long-institutionalized husband John Barrymore. But Barrymore escapes from the asylum and returns home, only vaguely aware of the passage of time (he was shell-shocked during WWI). His presence puts Burke in an uncomfortable spot, especially since she plans to wed Paul Cavanaugh. Pressured by her idiotically traditional family to renew her vows with her first husband, Burke is saved from a lifetime of misery by her spunky daughter Hepburn, who takes care of her child-like father. The film's attitude towards male-female relationships, not to mention its archaic approach to the problem of mental illness, make Bill of Divorcement a chore to sit through today. Its saving grace is the warm rapport between Katharine Hepburn and John Barrymore (contrary to Hollywood legend, they did not despise one another). Even given its dated quality, Bill of Divorcement is more palatable than its empty 1940 remake, which starred Maureen O'Hara and Adolphe Menjou. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Billie Burke, (more)
- 1931
Eternal movie juvenile Eric Linden offers perhaps the best performance of his career in RKO's Are These Our Children? In this pioneering Juvenile Delinquent drama, Linden plays a know-it-all high school dropout who falls in with a bad crowd. While burglarizing the delicatessen of a family friend (William Orlamond), Linden accidentally kills the old man. No one can connect him with the crime, and for a while Linden privately gloats as he reads newspaper stories of the killing. But one of his friends (Ben Alexander), who was in on the robbery, spills the beans, and Linden winds up going to the chair. The true impact of Are These Our Children? is Linden's performance as an emotionally immature youth who cannot fully fathom the seriousness of his dilemma: he tries to jolly himself into believing that he hasn't killed anyone, and as he sits on death row he continues displaying a childish bravado, as if expecting to wake up from a bad dream at any moment. Despite its age and the corniness of some of the dialogue, Are These Our Children? is an unforgettably powerful film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Linden, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
- 1930
In this convoluted drama, the jolly painted face of a circus clown is but a mask for an avaricious, ruthlessly ambitious, and deceitful man. Hap is performing in small New Orleans clubs when he saves the life of the starving Gardino, a member of a distinguished family of European clowns. Though impoverished and unemployed, Gardino is determined to avoid the family slapstick and become a "serious" performer of high-class clowning. Hap suggests they team up, but thanks to Gardino's refusal to do slapstick, their act is a dud. Gardino leaves in a huff. Later Hap finds his former partner performing Hap's proposed act with a new partner. He is doing quite well, and when he sees Hap, Gardino apologizes and they again team up. This time Gardino insists on star billing. To make matters worse, he steals Hap's girl and they marry. The honeymoon is barely over before Gardino is playing around with other women and gambling away all of their money. After his latest affair goes bust, Gardino grows despondent and so walks into the sea, never looking back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hal Skelly, William Powell, (more)
Filmed on location at Montana's Glacier National Park, Cattle Queen of Montana makes excellent use of the diverse talents of Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan. Stanwyck is cast as Sierra Nevada Jones, who hopes to stake her claim in the cattle business despite opposition from hostile land barons. She is helped along by government agent Farrell, even though he's officially on hand to find out who's been inciting the local Indian tribes into attacking the whites. Lance Fuller delivers a well-balanced performance as Colorados, a college-educated Indian chief who hopes to bring peace to the land. Long a fixture of TV's Late Late Shows, Cattle Queen of Montana was briefly reissued theatrically when Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Ronald Reagan, (more)
Cimarron was the first Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture--and, until Dances with Wolves in 1990, the only one. The film begins on April 22, 1889, the opening day of the great Oklahoma Land Rush on the Cherokee Strip. Boisterous Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his land claim by the devious Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Instead of becoming a homesteader, Cravat establishes a muckraking newspaper, and with pistols in hand he becomes a widely respected (and widely feared) peacekeeper. He also displays a compassionate streak by coming to the defense of Dixie Lee, who is about to be arrested for prostitution. Cravat's insistence on sticking his nose into everyone's affairs drives a wedge between him and his young wife Sabra (Irene Dunne), but she stands by him--until he deserts her and her children, ever in pursuit of new adventures. Sabra takes over the newspaper herself, and with the moral support of her best friend, Mrs. Wyatt (Edna May Oliver), she creates a powerful publishing empire. Cimarron makes the mistake of placing most of the action early in the film, so that everything that follows the spectacular opening land-rush sequence may feel anti-climactic. While it's always enjoyable to watch Irene Dunne persevering through the years, it's rather wearing to sit through the overblown performance of Richard Dix, who seems to think that he can't make a point unless it's at the top of his lungs. Cimarron creaks badly when seen today, but it still outclasses the plodding 1960 remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, (more)
According to Hollywood lore, both John Wayne and director Frank Borzage refused to work with Vera Hruba Ralston, the Czech-born inamorata (and future wife) of Republic Pictures owner Herbert I. Yates. Yates somehow managed to convince Wayne to change his mind, but Borzage was replaced by contract director Joseph Kane. The result was Dakota, the company's major release of 1945, a potentially sprawling empire-building Western. Wayne and Ralston play newlyweds heading for Fargo, North Dakota, where they plan to buy land in anticipation of the coming of the railroad. They are opposed by saloon owner Jim Bender (Ward Bond), who also knows about the expansion and is coercing the homesteaders into selling their land to him and his chief lieutenant, Collins (Mike Mazurki). The latter has been elected president of the Wheat Growers Association, and soon the farmers find themselves indebted to Bender. But Wayne, with his wife's help, beats Bender and his henchman at their own game, making certain that the farmers are well compensated for selling their land to the railroad company owned by Ralston's father (Hugo Haas). Contrary to popular belief, Vera Hruba Ralston was not Dakota's chief liability. For some reason, Republic Pictures, normally a leader in action-oriented melodrama, chose to employ an inordinate amount of rear projection footage this time around, making for rather dull viewing. The Western only leaves the confines of the studio back lot for the climactic prairie fire scenes, filmed by a second unit under the direction of stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Apparently a better figure skater than an actress, Ralston actually shows a bit of spirit in some of her scenes but is rather obviously upstaged by the veteran Ona Munson as a kind-hearted saloon entertainer. Munson was borrowed from Warner Bros. and her singing of "Coax Me" by Andrew B. Sterling and Harry Von Tilzer remains one of Dakota's main pleasures despite editor Fred Allen's endless cross-cutting to Ralston's reactions. The latter was reportedly a very pleasant person devoid of a prima donna ego and would be cast opposite John Wayne again in The Fighting Kentuckian (1949). Republic serial heroines Linda Stirling and Adrian Booth can be spotted among Munson's dancing girls. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Vera Ralston, (more)
David Copperfield was MGM's major Christmas release for its 1934-1935 season and also the first of producer David O. Selznick's major "literary" films for that studio. While a great deal of editing and streamlining was necessary to distill Charles Dickens' massive novel into 133 minutes of screen time, the end result was so successful that only the nittiest of nitpickers complained about the excised characters and events. Freddie Bartholomew plays the young Copperfield, who, after the death of his mother (Elizabeth Allan), is cruelly mistreated by his stepfather, Mr. Murdstone (Basil Rathbone). David's life brightens when he meets the ever-in-debt Mr. Micawber (W.C. Fields), and he is sheltered by Micawber's large and loving family until Micawber is carted off to debtor's prison. Forced once more to seek a home, David makes his way to the Dover estate of his Aunt Betsey (Edna May Oliver), where he meets another colorful cast of characters, none more so than the childlike Mr. Dick (Lennox Pawle). When Murdstone arrives, insisting that David be returned to him, Aunt Betsey and Mr. Dick form a united front to protect the boy. Flash-forward several years: the grown David (now played by Frank Lawton) is attending school, where he meets the lovely Agnes Wickfield (Madge Evans). David discovers that Agnes' businessman father (Lewis Stone) is under the thumb of the "'umble" prevaricator Uriah Heep (Roland Young) and the equally disreputable Steerforth (Hugh Williams). With the help of Mr. Micawber-who in a weak moment has taken a job working side-by-side with Heep-David proves Heep's treachery and rescues the Wickfields. By rights, he should marry Agnes, but David impulsively weds the empty-headed Dora (Maureen O'Sullivan). Only after Dora's death does David come to his senses, realizing that Agnes is the true love of his life. Originally, Charles Laughton was slated to play Micawber, but he pulled out of the production, worried that he wouldn't be funny enough. The casting of W.C. Fields was an inspired choice: although he injects his own established screen personality at every opportunity, Fields was born to play Micawber. Likewise, second-billed Lionel Barrymore fits his portrayal of crusty old Dan Peggoty like a glove. In fact, there isn't a false bit of casting in the whole production, and this, as much as Selznick's sumptuous production values, is the key to David Copperfield's enormous success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- W.C. Fields, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1930
In this crime drama a reformed safecracker is pressured by his ex-cellmate to pull off one last job. The cellmate gives the safecracker a chance for peace and happiness on an isolated farm. There he meets a pretty woman and her grandmother. He falls in love with the young woman. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that they are part of his cellmate's gang. Eventually the two lovers are reunited and truly reformed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ames, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1928
Most of Dressed to Kill takes place at a swank nightclub which serves as an Underworld rendezvous. Heroine Jean (Mary Astor) hopes to recover the bonds that her imprisoned sweetheart is accused of stealing. To do this, Jean sidles up to mob boss Mile-Away Barry (Edmund Lowe), figuring that he was the mastermind behind the theft. Unfortunately, the crooks play for keeps, and by Reel Five it looks as though Jean is going to be taken "for a ride." But Mile-Away Barry undergoes a sudden change of heart, putting his own life on the line to save Jean's. One symbolic touch -- the chief heavy dying from police bullets under an advertising billboard reading "You Can't Win" -- was borrowed from Josef Von Sternberg's Salvation Hunters and would be used again, with variations, in Howard Hawks' Scarface. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1928
A criminal with a conscience will go to any lengths to give his daughter a better life in this silent drama. "Heliotrope Harry" Harlow (Clive Brook) is a stick-up man who, after robbing a gambling den with his partner Froggy (William Powell), returns home to discover his wife Lily (Olga Baclanova) in the arms of another man. Harlow kills Lily's lover and hits the road with Froggy, taking his infant daughter with him. Feeling remorse for his crime, Harlow turns himself in, but not before leaving his daughter on the doorstep of a loving family. As Harlow serves a life sentence for murder, Froggy keeps tabs on the daughter, who grows up to be Alice Deane (Mary Brian) and is engaged to marry the son of a prominent socialite. Lily, however, has been trying to track down her daughter ever since Harry took her away, and after finding Froggy she tricks him into revealing Mary's true identity, Harry escapes from prison to prevent Lily from spoiling Alice's new marriage and happy life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Brook, Mary Brian, (more)
- 1915
Of all the movie versions of the A.E.W. Mason adventure novel Four Feathers, this 1915 adaptation is the most obscure. If contemporary reviews can be trusted, the film deserves its obscurity. The plot follows the exploits of Harry Faversham (Howard Estabrook), who after deciding not to join his regiment in the Sudan, is branded a coward with the traditional white feather. He goes on to prove his valor in various decisive ways, eventually returning the four feathers sent to him at the beginning of the story. A film of this nature required a sweeping, epic treatment, which the budget just plain didn't allow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1917
Shipped off to a fancy girl's school, Becky (Vivian Martin) runs up against the snobbery of her classmates. To impress these haughty little hussies, Becky claims that she is the product of a wealthy household, though the truth is that both her mother and father have virtually worked themselves to death on behalf of their daughter. To keep up appearances, Becky tackles two jobs, working by day as a maidservant and by night as a cabaret entertainer known only as "the Masked Dancer." When the truth about Becky's double (or is it triple?) life comes out, she fully expects to be rejected by her friends and loved ones alike. Instead, she becomes the wife of the rich, handsome doctor who has loved her from afar since the film's opening credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1944
Heavenly Days was the last of three RKO Radio film vehicles for the popular radio duo of Fibber McGee and Molly (aka Jim and Marion Jordan). Unlike their first two films, which were cacophonous, plotless musical farces, this one actually has a coherent storyline and not a little "heart appeal." Self-styled expert on everything Fibber McGee takes it upon himself to leave the safe environs of Wistful Vista to go to Washington DC, intending to present himself as the "common man" before the US Congress. Naturally, Fibber's wife Molly goes along for the ride, if only to keep her husband from making a fool of himself. Fibber's actions are given credibility when pollster George Gallup (played by Don Douglas) selects the McGees as Mr. and Mrs. Average Man (or Person). While at large in DC, the McGees also become involved with a group of wide-eyed war orphans. The film's highlight is an impromptu musical interlude with Fibber, Molly, and a group of GIs, played by the King's Men Quartet (regulars on the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show). Perhaps because it took itself a bit too seriously, Heavenly Days failed to match the box-office success of RKO's earlier Fibber-and-Molly efforts, posting a loss of $205,000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, (more)
No one was surprised in 1929 that aviation mogul Howard R. Hughes would produce a paean to World War I flying aces like Hell's Angels. Given Hughes' comparative inexperience as a moviemaker, however, everyone was taken slightly aback that the finished film was as good as it was. The very American Ben Lyon and James Hall play (respectively) Monte and Roy Rutledge, a couple of British brothers who drop out of Oxford to join the British Royal Flying Corps. Several early scenes establish Lyon and Hall's romantic rivalry over two-timing socialite Helen (Jean Harlow). While flying a dangerous bombing mission over Germany, the brothers are shot down. The commandant (Lucien Prival), who'd earlier been cuckolded by one of the brothers, savors his opportunity for revenge. He offers the boys their freedom if they'll reveal the time of the next British attack; if they don't cooperate, they face unspeakable consequences. Roy, driven mad by his combat experiences, is about to tell all when he is shot and killed by Monte. The latter is himself condemned to a firing squad by the disgruntled commandant -- who, it is implied, will soon meet his own doom at the hands of the British bombers. Nobody really cares about this hoary old plot, however; Hell's Angels culls most of its strength from its crackerjack aerial sequences. The highlight is a Zeppelin raid over London, one of the most hauntingly effective sequences ever put on film. From the first ghost-like appearance of the Zeppelin breaking through the clouds, to the self-sacrificing behavior of the German crew members as they jump to their deaths rather than provide "excess weight," this is a scene that lingers in the memory far longer than all that good-of-the-service nonsense in the finale. Also worth noting is the star-making appearance of Jean Harlow. When Hell's Angels was begun as a silent film, Norwegian actress Greta Nissen played the female lead. During the switchover to sound, producer Hughes decided that her accent was at odds with her characterization, so he reshot her scenes with his latest discovery, Harlow. While she appears awkward in some of her scenes, there's no clumsiness whatsoever in her delivery of the classic line about slipping into "something more comfortable." Originally, Marshall Neilan was signed to direct the film, but became so rattled by Howard Hughes' interference that he handed the reins to Hughes himself, who was in turn given an uncredited assist by Luther Reed. Also ignored in the film's credits are the dialogue contributions by future Frankenstein director James Whale, who'd been hired as the film's English-dialect coach. Modern audiences expecting a musty museum piece are generally surprised by Hell's Angels' high entertainment content: they are also startled by the pre-code frankness of the dialogue, with phrases like "The hell with you" bandied about with reckless abandon. In recent years, archivists have restored the film's two-color Technicolor sequence, providing us with our only color glimpses of the radiant Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, James Hall, (more)
- 1917
Lonely Lou (Kathlyn Williams) works in the dance hall at a mining camp -- not as one of the dancers, but as a slavey. The brutish Missouri Joe (Jim Farley) is trying to force her into marrying him. But she is rescued by Steve King (House Peters) who, while drunk, decides to marry her himself. When he wakes up sober the next morning, he is not thrilled with what he's done, nor is Lou. Nevertheless, they head up into the mountains in search of gold. Steve makes a strike, but can't bear the thought of bringing Lou home to his city parents, and he contemplates taking poison. Lou finds the nitric acid and believes it is meant for her, so she pretends to take it and feigns death. Steve leaves and tramps around the country while Lou develops the claim and becomes wealthy. Years later, she and Steve are finally reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Hungarian actress Ilona Massey stars as an operative for the Axis in this slightly tongue-in-cheek wartime melodrama. She spends her working hours signalling secret messages to enemy U-boats. George Brent is the U.S. counterspy sent to track down the security leak. Brent's job is made doubly delicate when he falls in love with the seductive Massey. It is said that Ilona Massey never mastered the English language, and had to learn her lines phonetically; if true, why does she handle the funnier lines in International Lady so well? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Ilona Massey, (more)
- 1930
Edward Knoblock's warhorse theatrical piece Kismet, first filmed in 1920, resurfaced as a talkie in 1930. Repeating the role he'd created on stage in 1911, Otis Skinner stars as Hajji, the wily Baghdad beggar who goes from rags to riches to rags again to riches again in the space of 24 hours. Outwitting the evil wazir (Sidney Blackmer), Hajji manages to install himself in the royal palace, romance the wazir's gorgeous "head wife," and arrange the marriage between his own daughter (Loretta Young) and the caliph's son (David Manners). Though well on in years, Skinner conveys much of the effortless charisma which had endeared him to audiences since the turn of the century. Kismet was remade in 1944 with Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich; the popular Broadway musical version was brought to the screen in 1955, with Howard Keel as Hajji. The subsequent film versions have kept the 1930 Kismet out of television circulation, denying future generations the pleasure of watching the legendary Otis Skinner in action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otis Skinner, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1951
- NR
During the 1845 battle for Texas' independence, a cattle baron (Clark Gable) spars with an evil senator (Broderick Crawford) over the state's future and for the affections of newpaperwoman Ava Gardner. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, (more)
- 1941
Also released as The Great Awakening, New Wine purports to recreate an incident in the life of Austrian composer Franz Schubert. Though the real-life Schubert was chubby and homely, he is played on screen by the slim-and-handsome Alan Curtis. Unable to convince the world of his talent, Schubert is on the verge of starvation when he is rescued by a gorgeous patron: Countess Anna, portrayed by Curtis' then-wife Ilona Massey. In the film's most memorable scene, Ludwig Van Beethoven (Albert Basserman) advises Schubert to finish that Unfinished Symphony. It's that kind of picture. At least New Wine is full of glorious music, written by Schubert and his contemporaries and only slightly Hollywoodized in the arrangements. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ilona Massey, Alan Curtis, (more)
- 1935
The title may be Orchids to You, but the plot is motivated by a camellia -- to be exact, Camelia Rand (Jean Muir). About to be ejected from her thriving flower shop when a developer plans to tear down the building, Camelia confronts Thomas Bentley (John Boles), the lawyer representing the developer. Despite her anger, Camelia can't help but take a liking to Bentley, though she refuses to entertain any romantic notions because the lawyer is already married to Evelyn (Ruthelma Stevens). Later on, a stranger enters Camelia's shop and orders a dozen orchids for Mrs. Bentley. Not wishing to hurt Mr. Bentley, Camelia refuses to mention Mrs. B's name in court when ordered to do so, and as a result spends 10 days in jail on a contempt charge. All-around comedy relief Teddy Stuyvesant (Charles Butterworth) shows up in time to solve everything, and the film ends with the philandering Mrs. Bentley out in the cold and Camelia in Mr. Bentley's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Boles, Jean Muir, (more)
The winning combination of producer Benedict Bogeaus and director Allan Dwan once more struck box-office gold with Passion. Set in 19th century California, the film stars Cornel Wilde as a young rancher seeking vengeance for the murders of his wife Yvonne de Carlo and his parents. The guilty parties are a group of terrorists, headed by Rodolpho Acosta, whom Wilde, now a fugitive from justice himself, intends to knock off one by one. Loyally standing by her man is the sister of Wilde's slain wife, also played by Yvonne de Carlo (one character is demure, the other fiery). Featured in the cast is Raymond Burr as a police chief determined to follow the letter of the law--at least, until things get too personal. Passion was effectively color-photographed on location in the mountain ranges between California and Nevada. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cornel Wilde, Raymond Burr, (more)
- 1927
Thanks to constant exposure in excerpt form in scores of silent-movie compilations, Play Safe is the best-known of the Monty Banks comedies. Banks plays a dapper little doofus who tries to rescue heiress Virginia Cragg (Virginia Lee Corbin) from the evil machinations of crooked estate trustee Silas Scott (Charles Mailes). The film comes to a heart-pounding climax as Virginia is kidnapped by Scott's minions and spirited off to a freight train. Banks mans a fruit wagon, gives chase after the villains, and ultimately boards the train, leading to a spectacular slapstick setpiece in which both hero and heroine narrowly escape death at every twist and turn. The justly famous runaway-train finale was later released separately as the two-reeler Chasing Choo-Choos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Banks, Virginia Lee Corbin, (more)
- 1932
Richard Dix stars as a heroic riverboat captain in this lurid action-melodrama produced under the aegis of David O. Selznick. Trapped at a hotel in a Mandarin town under siege, a group of Occidentals turn to alcoholic riverboat captain Chauncey Carson (Dix) for help. Among the besieged are Helen (Arline Judge), an American entertainer; her admirer, Busby (Edward Everett Horton); a German doctor (William Orlamond); Carson's cowardly boss, Johnson (Dudley Digges); and Natascha (Gwili Andre), a Russian whom everybody takes for a spy. Carson, who has a long history with Voronsky (C. Henry Gordon) and his Tartar bandits, manages to keep the attackers at bay while at the same time romances the mysterious Natascha, who is no spy after all. A machine gun manned by a self-sacrificing Busby eventually decides the outcome in favor of the westerners, who manage to escape on Carson's riverboat. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Gwili Andre, (more)
- 1929
In spite of its unbelievable storyline, She Goes to War manages to sustain interest from first reel to last. During WWI, spoiled socialite Joan Morant (Eleanor Boardman) heads to France, hoping to be reunited with her soldier sweetheart Reggie (Edmund Burns). Her presence is resented by Reggie's CO, Lieutenant Tom Pike (John Holland), who endeavors to prove to the heroine that social standing means nothing in the face of war. When Reggie turns coward and refuses to march into battle, the newly-responsible Joan, hoping to save Reggie's honor, dons a uniform and marches off in his place! Through a bizarre turn of events, Joan ends up saving the lives of everyone else in the regiment. Currently available from several public-domain videocassette sources, She Goes to War is worth seeing if only for its brief talkie sequences, in which the voice of actress Alma Rubens (cast as ukelele-plucking Rosie Cohen) was heard for the first and only time; within two years, Rubens would be dead, having lost her ongoing battle with drug addiction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Boardman, John Holland, (more)
- 1930
Passing herself off as a countess, glamorous Lucy Stavrin (Evelyn Brent) hobnobs with the rich and famous along the French Riviera. Aware that Lucy is a phony, jewel-thief Malatroff (Paul Lukas) blackmails Lucy into helping him steal the valuable necklace owned by the young wife (Helen Ware) of phlegmatic American businessman Sylvester Corbett (Eugene Pallette). She does what she's told, only to find herself in competition with gentleman thief Courtney Parkes (Clive Brook). Upon falling in love with each other, Lucy and Stavrin mutually decide to reform -- if they can. A French-language version of Slightly Scarlet, titled L'Enigmatique Monsieur Parkes, was filmed in mid-1930, with Adolphe Menjou and Claudette Colbert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evelyn Brent, Clive Brook, (more)
