Rudolph C. Flothow Movies
German-born Rudolph Flothow was in Hollywood as early as 1929, when he co-directed the George Jessel feature Lucky Boy. He didn't emerge in a very visible way, however, until 1943 when he joined Columbia Pictures' B-movie unit as a producer. Over the next eight years, he oversaw the production of movies in the Crime Doctor, Boston Blackie, and Lone Wolf series of films as well as the serials Batman and The Phantom (both in 1943), which, if not distinguished as cinematic art, were all profitable, as were virtually all of the three dozen films for which Flothow was credited. After leaving Columbia in 1951, Flothow applied his expertise at low-budget production to television by producing the jungle adventure series Ramar of the Jungle starring Jon Hall and Ray Montgomery, episodes of which were later recut for theatrical release. The scripts and production values of the series closely resembled that of the serial The Phantom, which Flothow had produced a decade earlier. Flothow was also involved in the production of the 1957 series The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, starring J. Carrol Naish, but it was Ramar of the Jungle, rerun for decades on television, that made him one of the best known producers in television among eager young baby-boomer viewers. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1955
In this adventure, set in the dark African jungles, visiting American scientists inadvertently enrage the local natives when they steal a sacred golden tablet. Fortunately a jungle dwelling doctor helps the insensitive brutes return the tablet before they are killed by the natives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1955
In this adventure, a renowned American physician journeys to darkest Africa to help a pair of sibling missionaries stop prospectors from inciting a tribal war. The miners do this to scare the white colonists away from their newly discovered mine. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1953
In this African adventure, a fearless physician goes into the jungle to search for rare medicinal herbs. While there, he runs into a tribe ruled by white women claiming to be goddesses. Some viewers may find the racial stereotypes presented in this story offensive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
Though made in 1951, Criminal Lawyer has the feel of a 1930s film, right down to the casting of Pat O'Brien in the lead. The star plays attorney James Regan, whose unethical methods have earned him the disdain of the American Bar Association. Eventually, Regan is even disgusted with himself, and accordingly crawls into a liquor bottle. Redeemed by the love of girl-Friday Maggie Powell (Jane Wyatt), Regan tackles a difficult make-or-break case which comprises the film's tense denouement. Critics in 1951 were impressed by the subtle performance by brutish Mike Mazurki as Regan's bodyguard; few of them were aware that the college-educated Mazurki was a sensitive, highly intelligent performer who was not at all like the thugs and pluguglies he played on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Brien, Jane Wyatt, (more)
- 1951
In this exciting actioner a daring Eurasian woman gets involved with a shipwrecked engineer whom she rescues from a remote island. Together, they have many romantic and exciting adventures as they try to keep a crook from selling her uncle's priceless collection of antique jade. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Hall, Lisa Ferraday, (more)
- 1951
The real Al Jennings was a wizened little man who, after a largely unsuccessful career as a western outlaw, reformed to the extent of hitting the lecture circuit and even producing his own films. Jennings was still alive when Columbia's Al Jennings of Oklahoma was produced in 1951, so one can assume that he approved of the radical changes made in his life story and the casting of the better-looking Dan Duryea in the lead. The story begins with Al and his brother Frank (Dick Foran) trying to go straight, even though there's a $25,000 reward on their heads. Al's hopes for connubial bliss with Margo St. Clare (Gale Storm), who loves him despite his reputation, is shattered by the vengeful machinations of a railroad detective. Forced back into a life of crime, Jennings is captured and sentenced to life imprisonment--a sentence that, of course, was eventually modified. Al Jennings of Oklahoma is not one of the classic westerns, but it manages to hold one's attention throughout a plenitude of plot twists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Duryea, Gale Storm, (more)
- 1950
William Eythe is the Customs Agent in this brisk Columbia programmer. The plot finds Bert Stewart (Eythe) stationed in China, where he goes undercover to join a gang of dope smugglers. His plan is to stop the wholesale stealing of valuable streptomycin, which the crooks are peddling to drug addicts. Marjorie Reynolds will surprise fans of her work in TV's The Life of Riley with her portrayal of the gang-leader's moll. Another TV favorite, Jim Backus, co-stars as one of the good guys. Customs Agent makes no demands upon the intellect but does succeed as slam-bang entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Eythe, Marjorie Reynolds, (more)
- 1950
He's a Cockeyed Wonder stars Mickey Rooney as the title character. Try as he might, Freddy Frisby (Rooney) can't succeed at anything. Things take an upward turn when Freddy inherits the estate of his uncle, a famed magician. Armed with all sorts of legerdemain, Freddy begins giving shows at local businesses, assisted by his girl friend Judy Sears (Terry Moore). While performing at a factory, Freddy and Judy are framed for a payroll robbery by a gang of thieves. By using his bag of tricks to the utmost, Our Hero clears himself and Judy then prepares to round up the bad guys. Nobody seems willing to play straight in He's a Cockeyed Wonder--certainly not William Demarest as the heroine's father and Douglas Fowley and Mike Mazurki as the head crooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore, (more)
- 1950
The TV-generated popularity of professional wrestling in 1950 inspired a brief cycle of inexpensive films on the subject. Columbia's C-plus Bodyhold borrows the old Kid Galahad formula of a naive young man becoming a wrestler by accident, only to be exploited by crooked promoters. Willard Parker plays a plumber who is forced to subdue a champion grappler. Duplicitous manager Roy Roberts promotes Parker as the successor to the ex-champ, who has been sidelined by a suspicious injury. When Parker refuses to throw a match, Roberts sees to it that Our Hero is incapacitated in the same manner as his predecessor. Thanks to Parker's girlfriend Hillary Brooke, Roberts is caught in the act, and banned from wrestling for life. Of historical interest in Bodyhold is the presence in the cast of real-life wrestlers Henry Kulky, Wee Willie Davis and Ed "Strangler" Lewis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willard Parker, Lola Albright, (more)
- 1949
In this final episode of the Boston Blackie mystery series, our hero and his side-kick find themselves accused of murder after they are seen exiting a Chinese laundry where the proprietor is soon found murdered. Blackie must find the real killers before he gets in real trouble. Action and mystery ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, Joan Woodbury, (more)
- 1949
When a priceless diamond is stolen from a museum exhibition all suspicion falls upon the notorious Lone Wolf, a former jewel thief who became a reporter. It doesn't help that he was in the museum to write a story on the gem at the time of its theft. Now he and his gal pal must play amateur detectives in order to ring the real crooks to justice. This was the final entry in the "Lone Wolf" series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Randell, June Vincent, (more)
- 1949
Though Columbia's Crime Doctor series officially ended with Crime Doctor's Secret, the studio trotted out the property one last time with the misleadingly titled Devil's Henchman. Instead of his usual "Crime Doctor" character Dr. Robert Ordway, (Warner Baxter) travels under the name of Jess Arno. It's all a ruse, of course; Ordway is working incognito, the better to track down a gang of smugglers. Forever hanging around the waterfront, gumming up the works for Ordway, is the pea-brained Captain (Harry Shannon), who's a lot smarter than he lets on. "B"-picture favorite Mary Beth Hughes is a delight as always as a stylish gangster's moll. Equally well-cast in surprising characterizations are Regis Toomey and Mike Mazurki. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1949
Columbia's "Crime Doctor" series drew to a close with 1949's Crime Doctor's Diary. A visibly weary but still virile Warner Baxter stars as Dr. Robert Ordway, whose previous life of crime has made him something of an expert in the field of detection. This time, Ordway takes the case of parolee Steve Carter (Steve Dunne), who claims he was framed for arson by his former employers. Things get sticky when Carter is accused of the murder of Anson (George Meeker), the man who took over his old job. When the genuine murderer is revealed, it comes as a genuine surprise to both cast members and viewers alike. The cast of Crime Doctor's Diary ranges from such veterans as Robert Armstrong to such comparative newcomers as Lois Maxwell (later to achieve worldwide fame as Miss Moneypenny in the "James Bond" films). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Lois Maxwell, (more)
- 1949
Marsha Hunt seems far too mature and intelligent for the pulpish goings-on in Mary Ryan, Detective. Still, Hunt was a pro (for that matter, she still is), and she managed to survive this Columbia "B" without egg on her face. Assigned to get the goods on a notorious fence, detective Mary Ryan (Hunt) poses as a prison inmate to gain the confidence of one of her quarry's confederates. Upon being sprung from jail, Mary goes to work for the fence--and, predictably, nearly gets bumped off when her ruse is revealed. Featured in the cast are such crime-meller habitues as John Dehner, Ben Welden, Paul Bryar and Ralph Dunn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marsha Hunt, John Litel, (more)
- 1949
Warner Baxter plays the title role in Columbia's Prison Warden. A well-known reformer, Victor Burnell (Baxter) is put in charge of a prison in dire need of reforming. Meanwhile, Victor's faithless wife Elisa (played by future General Hospital star Anna Lee) carries on an affair with convict Al Gardner (Harlan Warde). Through Elisa's influence, Gardner is appointed Burnell's chauffeur, which results in disaster for all concerned. Prison Warden was directed by Seymour Friedman, with whom Warner Baxter had established a copacetic professional relationship during the run of Columbia's "Crime Doctor" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Anna Lee, (more)
- 1949
Long before he became a highly respected Wall Street financial adviser, Richard Ney was a minor-league film star. In Secret of St. Ives, Ney plays Anatole de Keroual, the unofficial head of a group of French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars. Organizing an escape from his British captors, Anatole leads his fellow prisoners to Scotland, thence to London. Doggedly pursued by nasty British major Chevenish (Henry Daniell), Anatole is recaptured and sentenced to hang. How he wriggles out of this dilemma is the dramatic thrust of the film's last reel. Vanessa Brown co-stars as Floria, Anatole's British sweetheart. The Secret of St. Ives was adapted from a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Ney, Vanessa Brown, (more)
- 1948
This final entry in Columbia's "Whistler" series is also the first to dispense with the services of star Richard Dix. This time around, hero Ted Nichols (Michael Duane) tries to ascertain the whereabouts of his wealthy fiancee Alice Barclay (Lenore Aubert). Finally locating the girl in a mental institution, Nichols discovers that she's been placed there at the behest of a man named John (James Cardwell), who claims to be her husband. Private eye Gaylord Travers (Richard Lane) suspects there's more to this than meets the eye-especially when all records pertaining to Alice's previous existence mysteriously vanish. Return of the Whistler was scripted by Cornell Woolrich, who was doing this sort of Alfred Hitchcock stuff long before he ever worked with Hitchcock himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lenore Aubert, Trevor Bardette, (more)
- 1948
The sure-handed starring performance of Warner Baxter and the inventive direction of William Castle help lift The Gentleman From Nowhere out of the ordinary. When Earl Donovan (Baxter) is picked up on a robbery charge, insurance investigator Barton (Luis Van Rooten) can't help but notice that Donovan resembles a criminal who was supposedly killed several years later in a chemical-plant hold-up. Hoping to solve the earlier case, Barton talks Donovan into impersonating the dead criminal. What the investigator doesn't know is that Donovan is the criminal, who's returned to his hometown for a second chance in life -- and hopefully, a reconciliation with his wife Catherine (Fay Baker). It's a surefire premise, and neither Baxter nor Castle let that premise down. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Fay Baker, (more)
- 1948
Who better to guard a priceless pearl necklace than an ex-thief? That's the logic behind Trapped by Boston Blackie, starring Chester Morris in the title role. Blackie finds himself posing as a guard at a society party, where the hostess (Sarah Selby) intends to display her new necklace. The private eye officially assigned to guard the pearls is mysteriously killed (or so it seems), whereupon the necklace vanishes. Blackie must locate the real crook before the cops arrest him on suspicion. Trapped by Boston Blackie was the twelfth in Columbia's "Boston Blackie" B series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, June Vincent, (more)
- 1947
The last of the Richard "The Jaw" Dix films. Dix, the trucking company owner, is pitted against time to discover who murdered a police officer rival of his. He must do so to clear his own name, as the murder was pinned on him. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1947
In this mystery, the Crime Doctor, an amnesiac ex-crook, takes on yet another intriguing psychological murder case. This time he is on vacation, but the kindly fellow cannot help but look into a murder to help a troubled soul. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1947
For the ninth time, Warner Baxter plays Dr. Robert Ordway, better known to movie (and radio) fans as "The Crime Doctor". Ordway is in Paris, mingling with the upper crust of the art world. A murder is committed and a valuable painting is stolen; the principal suspects are the victim's son (Roger Dann), the father (Steven Geray) of the heroine (Micheline Cheirel), and an attorney (Marcel Journet). Ordway's search for the missing masterpiece takes him all over the European continent, while the solution to the murder takes him back to Paris. Crime Doctor's Gamble was directed by William Castle, long before he'd established himself as the king of "gimmick" horror films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Micheline Cheirel, (more)
- 1947
With a little extra effort, Columbia's Key Witness might have been a model B picture. John Beal plays inventor Milton Higby, whose treacherous ex-girlfriend is mysteriously murdered. As the number one suspect, Higby is in the doghouse witht he Law. Fortunately, it seems as though someone witnessed the crime; less fortunately, that someone has apparently disappeared from the face of the earth. Higby also tries to disappear by disguising himself as a bum, which only adds to his already mounting problems. So little critical attention was paid to Columbia's B product in the late 1940s that one reviewer labelled Key Witness costar Trudy Marshall as a "newcomer", even though she'd been in pictures since 1942 (Marshall, incidentally, is the mother of 1970s star Deborah Raffin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trudy Marshall, Jimmy Lloyd, (more)
- 1946
Scripted by Leigh Brackett of The Big Sleep fame and directed by future horrormeister William Castle, Crime Doctor's Manhunt has been singled out by many film buffs as the best of Columbia's "Crime Doctor" series. This time, criminal-turned-sleuth Dr. Robert Ordway (Warner Baxter) befriends amnesiac war veteran Philip Armstrong (Myron Healey), who is morbidly drawn to a small-town carnival. When Armstrong is murdered, Ordway recalls him saying that his death was preordained by sideshow fortune-teller Alfredi (Ivan Triesault). An interested observer to the events is Armstrong's meek fiancee Irene (Ellen Drew) whose cruel twin sister Natalie would seem to be the instigator of the murder. That's a swell theory-except for the fact that Natalie has been dead for two years! The film's best line is delivered by Inspector Manning (William Frawley), but to repeat it here would be giving away the ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Paul E. Burns, (more)
- 1946
The Whistler, mysterious narrator of the radio series of the same name, "knows many things" for he "walks by night." This time the unseen whistler knows all about mentally disturbed artist Richard Dix, whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances. Wife Number Two (Leslie Brooks) begins to suspect that Dix's earlier spouse may have been murdered, and that the artist was the killer. In a tense finale, the second wife uses psychological warfare to turn the tables on the homicidal Dix. This was the sixth in the film in the "Whistler" series produced by Columbia in the mid-1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
