Charles D. Brown Movies

The Killers uses Ernest Hemingway's short story as a springboard for a complex film noir. Two mysterious men (William Conrad and Charles McGraw) muscle their way into a small town and kill an aging boxer (Burt Lancaster, making his screen debut), who offers no resistance and seems to be welcoming his death. An insurance investigator (Edmond O'Brien) is hired to locate the beneficiary to Lancaster's policy, and in the course of his investigation reopens a long-dormant robbery case. In a series of flashbacks, O'Brien makes the connection between Lancaster and the robbery and tracks down the "brains" behind the operation. He also comes in contact with Lancaster's former girlfriend (Ava Gardner), whose duplicity played a big part in Lancaster's demise -- and his indifferent reaction to it. Siodmak's hard-edged, moody direction of the Oscar-nominated screenplay by Anthony Veiller, makes The Killers one of the definitive films noirs, including what is considered to be one of the greatest opening sequences in movie history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a barge captain with an Electra complex marries two women. He married the first because she laughed like his late mother. He married the other because she cooks like his mom. He soon finds himself in over his head. A good friend helps extricate him by devising an ingenious plot. The captain is to be blamed for a murder. He can then escape his wives by pretending to be sent to prison. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Set in New York's Lower East Side during the Gay '90s, this lively low-budget musical follows the exploits of a feisty and talented saloon owner's daughter who loves nothing more than to perform in her father's tavern. Her late-night shenanigans appall her wealthy and socially conscious aunt who launches a secret campaign to shut down the bar and force her niece to reside in her palatial home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Having Wonderful Crime spotlights Michael J. Malone, the murder-solving attorney created by author Craig Rice. The film is also ostensibly based on a novel by Rice, though precious little of the original actually made it to the screen. The story begins as Malone (Pat O'Brien) brusquely informs his newlywed friends Jake and Helene Justus (George Murphy and Carole Landis) that he's not going to allow them to suck him into another murder mystery. Unfortunately for the attorney, Jake and Helene shortly afterward attend a stage magic show wherein the star magician (George Zucco) disappears for real! Their investigation leads to a resort hotel literally packed with murder suspects. When the newlyweds learn too much for their own good, it's up to Malone to come to the rescue and nab the killer. One of the suspects is played by an actress named Anje Berens, who as "Gloria Holden" previously starred in Dracula's Daughter (1936). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Secret Command features Pat O'Brien as a onetime foreign correspondent in the wartime employ of the FBI. Under an assumed name, O'Brien goes to work at a shipyard, intending to keep both eyes open for potential saboteurs. To maintain the cover, O'Brien is given a "wife" (Carole Landis) and two children. When O'Brien's brother Chester Morris shows up, he can't comprehend the charade and nearly spills the beans to the Nazi spies O'Brien hopes to trap. Based on the short story The Saboteurs by John and Ward Hawkins, Secret Command offers a graying but still feisty Pat O'Brien doing what he does best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paramount Pictures did their patriotic duty with this World War II era musical, with a number of the studio's biggest stars making cameo appearances. Tony West (George Raft), his sister Kitty (Grace McDonald), and their father Nick (Charles Grapewin) tour together as The Three Wests, a failing act just scraping by in the latter days of vaudeville. With job opportunities drying up on the East Coast, Tony persuades the family to take their chances in California, and for once luck is with him. Not long after arriving in Hollywood, Tony is hired as a chorus boy on a musical starring Latin bombshell Vera Zorina (Gloria Vance). Cocky Tony offers Vera some much-needed advice on her dancing. She's intrigued by his confidence, and a romance blooms; soon, the two marry. Tony becomes a major star as Vera's on and off screen dancing partner, but when World War II breaks out, Tony's conscience gets the better of him. Tony is 4-F because of a bad knee, but he's ashamed to admit this, even to Vera, who thinks he's avoiding the service out of cowardice. Vera eventually gives Tony his walking papers, and desperate to show his support of our troops, Tony organizes an all-star U.S.O. revue bringing much needed entertainment to America's fighting men overseas. Follow the Boys also features guest shots by Marlene Dietrich, W.C. Fields (demonstrating trick billiard shots), Orson Welles (doing his magic act), Dinah Shore, The Andrews Sisters, Jeanette MacDonald, Sophie Tucker, Randolph Scott, Lon Chaney Jr., and Maria Montez, among many others. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

It is said that producer Sam Goldwyn had a habit of addressing his new star of the 1940s, Danny Kaye, as "Eddie", confusing Kaye with Eddie Cantor. If true, it may be because Kaye's first starring film for Goldwyn, Up in Arms, was a remake of Cantor's Whoopee--which in turn was a musical version of that old theatrical chestnut The Nervous Wreck. Kaye plays Danny Weems, a hopeless hypochondriac who finds himself drafted into the army. While a passenger on an overseas transport ship, Danny is obliged to hide his girl friend Mary Morgan (Constance Dowling), who has stowed away on board, from the authorities. The plot (what there is of it) contrives to have Danny and Mary, together with Virginia (Dinah Shore), who's in love with Danny, and Joe (Dana Andrews), who's in love with Mary, arrive simultaneously on the same South Sea island. After numerous comic and romantic complications, Danny emerges as the hero of the hour by capturing a whole bunch of Japanese soldiers. The film shows signs of post-production tampering-an offscreen narration, an abrupt ending-indicating that, as yet, Sam Goldwyn wasn't quite sure how to package Danny Kaye for the screen. Despite its erratic editing and uneven scenario, Up in Arms contains some priceless moments, including Kaye's rapid-patter songs "The Lobby Number" and "Melody in 4F", both written by Sylvia Fine (Mrs. Kaye) and Max Liebman. There are also a few cute "inside" jokes referring to the illogical nature of the plotline and such esoterica as the out-of-nowhere appearances of the Goldwyn Girls (one of whom was Kaye's future leading lady Virginia Mayo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adhering to the formula of such previous Pine-Thomas productions as Forced Landing, Flying Blind and Torpedo Boat, Minesweeper is the action-packed story of military men under wartime pressure. Richard Arlen plays Jim Smith, a once-reliable Naval officer who has virtually destroyed his life with his chronic gambling. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, Smith finds a chance for redemption. He signs up under an assumed name as a lowly seaman, then proves that he's still made of "the right stuff" by single-handedly seeking out and destroying a new type of Japanese mine. Jean Parker, who like Arlen was a "regular" in the Pine-Thomas product, plays Smith's loyal wife Mary, while the requisite romantic-rival duties are handled by western alumnus Russell Hayden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Iron Major is the saga of WW1 hero-cum-football coach Frank Cavanaugh, played with his usual no-nonsense professionalism by Pat O'Brien. Leaving home and hearth behind to serve his country in the Great War, Cavanaugh goes on to lead the Dartmouth, Boston College and Fordham football teams to victory. His credo throughout is "Love of God?Love of Country?Love of Family"-inspiriational words indeed in war-torn 1943. Based on the memoirs of Cavanaugh's wife Florence (played in the film by Ruth Warrick), The Iron Major suffers from repetition and overkill. But, as Humphrey Bogart once said in an unrelated interview, "Pat O'Brien was good? Pat was always good." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A fun though abortive bid to pair crime-solving duo Lew Ayres and Laraine Day for a series of thrillers, this murder mystery benefits from good performances by the leads. The plot involves a series of axe murders in Chicago being perpetrated by the patients of an insane asylum, all of whom have been hypnotically conditioned to kill by madman Doctor Santelle (Basil Rathbone). The plot is finally foiled by Oliver Duffy (Ayres), a former actor-turned-amateur sleuth, just in time to save his none-too-bright companion Edwina (Day). Though the suspense elements are fairly well-mounted, they are too frequently diluted by some rather ill-conceived attempts at comic relief. Despite his popularity as Doctor Kildare, Ayres' star potential would fade quickly after this film thanks to his subsequent conscientious-objector status during World War II. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Sweater Girl is an okay remake of 1935's College Scandal, and like its predecessor is that rare bird, a "musical mystery". Someone is stalking a midwestern college campus, murdering students left and right. Among the victims is campus radio personality Miles Tucker (Kenneth Howell) and aspiring composer Johnny Arnold (Johnnie Johnston). If this keeps up, there won't be anyone left to stage the annual college musical-and that would be disastrous! Without giving the game away, it can be noted that solution of the mystery is not unlike that of the first Friday the 13th film of the 1980s (minus the blood and gore, of course). Amidst all this merry mayhem, two choice Frank Loesser song hits are spotlighted: the amusingly provocative "I Said No" and the enduring standard "I Don't Want to Walk Without You." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Out of work as usual, showgirl Maisie Revier (Ann Sothern) takes a job as the maid for a wealthy family. She wins over the young man of the household (Lew Ayres), but the rest of the family is too wrapped up in its own problems to benefit from Maisie's good-natured personality. The daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan) tries to kill herself when her engagement breaks up, prompting Maisie to instill a sense of purpose and self-confidence in the shallow lives of her employers. Maisie Was a Lady is enjoyable "B" fare, given substance by the battle of wits between down-to-earth Maisie and imperious family butler C. Aubrey Smith. This film was the fourth in MGM's "Maisie" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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