M.H. Hoffman Movies

"Courage under fire" was the theme of many wartime Soviet films, and Once There was a Girl is no exception. Actually, there are two girls essential to the action, Nastenka (Nina Ivanova) and Katia (Natasha Zashchipina). Barely out of the toddler stage, the two heroines are forced to endure the deprivations brought about by the long Nazi siege of Leningrad. Miraculously, Nastenka and Katia manage to survive, and even to participate in the celebration attending their city's liberation. The boundless energy and ebullience of the two tiny stars (aged 9 and 5 respectively) makes Once There Was a Girl an uplifting experience, despite the grimness of the subject matter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this musical comedy, a woman runs a boardinghouse for washed up thespians. She puts them on their best behavior when her daughter comes for a surprise visit. It seems her daughter had no idea what her mother did for a living. When an aspiring writer asks for the daughter's hand, conflict ensues. Musical numbers include: "Love Is the Thing," "I Was Taken by Storm," "Let's Be Frivolous," and "Martinique." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Produced by M.H. Hoffman's Liberty Pictures, School for Girls is based on Reginald Wright Kauffman's story Our Undisciplined Daughters. It all begins when innocent heroine Annette Eldridge (Sidney Fox) gets mixed up with a slimy jewel thief. Taking the rap for her boyfriend, Annette ends up doing a three-year stretch in a girl's reformatory, where she's subjected to the sadistic excesses of brutal matron Miss Keeble (Lucille La Verne) (the same actress who later provided the voice of the Wicked Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). Thankfully, young prison-board appointee Gary Waltham (Paul Kelly) dedicates himself to helping Annette -- and by extension, the rest of the unfortunate female inmates. The supporting cast of School for Girls reads like a "B"-picture Who's Who: Lona Andre, Russell Hopton, Kathleen Burke, Fred Kelsey, Edward Le Saint, and former silent-film favorites Anna Q. Nilsson, Charles Ray, Myrtle Stedman and Helene Chadwick. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ellery Queen, the scholarly amateur detective created in 1928 by cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee (who also used "Ellery Queen" as a joint pseudonym), was introduced to the screen in the low-budget mystery The Spanish Cape Mystery. Donald Cook plays Ellery Queen in a low-key, poker-faced fashion, which may not be terribly exciting but is actually closer to the original concept than most of the movie Queens. It all begins when Ellery and his friend Judge Macklin (Berton Churchill), vacationing at a California seaside resort, enter a lavish beach house and find pretty Stella Godfrey (Helen Twelvetrees) tied to a chair. More infuriated than frightened, Stella tells Ellery what the audience has already seen: while spending time with one of her relatives the previous evening, Stella was waylaid by a mysterious gunman (Rychard Cramer), who then knocked out her relative and carried him off into the night. Apparently Stella's relative has been murdered, one of several killings which occur during the film's brief running time. The mystery and motive are solved when Stella permits herself to act as bait for the killer, but the generous Ellery allows local sheriff Moley (Harry Stubbs) to take the credit. Originally released at 65 minutes, The Spanish Cape Mystery was edited to 54 minutes for TV showings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a studio script girl works very hard to support her no-account family. One day she wins a lottery, gives her family some of the winnings and moves in with her best friend. She had a boy friend, but he became disgusted with her loyalty to her lazy family and abandoned her. Soon after winning the money, she finds herself set upon by greedy fellows. Fortunately her old boy friend returns and marries her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A story by Earl Derr Biggers, of Charlie Chan fame, was the springboard for the Monogram melodrama Take the Stand. An abrasive Winchell-type columnist (Jack LaRue) manages to accumulate dozens of enemies, at least one of whom has murder on the mind. While many of the victims of the journalist's vitriol are gathered in his outer office, he is heard delivering his nightly radio broadcast, when suddenly he cries "Don't shoot" -- and a shot is fired. The detective (Russell Hopton) can't figure out "who done it" since all the suspects have air-tight alibis: nor can he run a ballistics test, since there isn't any bullet. The solution to the mystery is one which would be recycled numerous times in the future, most memorably by the Dick Tracy comic strip. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although released as an "Allied Pictures Special," Picture Brides revealed its Poverty Row origins in almost all departments, including casting and choice of material. Waning silent star Dorothy Mackaill was top-billed as Mame, one of five mail-order brides arriving at Lottagrasso, a remote Brazilian gold mining community. The fifth girl, Mary Lee (Dorothy Libaire), is actually there about a job but knowing the reputation of the mining boss, Von Luden (Alan Hale), Mame supplies the girl with a picture of Dave Hart (Regis Toomey) and tells her to pretend to be a bride as well. Hart, meanwhile, is wanted in the States for embezzlement and rejects Mary. During a night of wanton revelry, Dave saves Mary in the nick of time from being ravished by the unscrupulous Von Luden. The villain attacks instead Mataeo (Mary Kornman), the half-breed daughter of the mining community's doctor (Harvey Clark), who is found dead in a nearby swamp the following morning. In front of a couple of American detectives, there to apprehend Dave, Mataeo's distraught father kills his daughter's murderer. Dave returns the money he had embezzled and begins to plan a new future with Mary. Although performing with her usual assurance, nominal leading lady Dorothy Mackaill was given very little to do by producer M.H. Hoffman, who was obviously more interested in promoting young Dorothy Libaire, the wife of stage and screen director Marion Gering. Libaire, unfortunately, did not live up to her billing and her screen career went nowhere. Esther Muir and the ever-popular Mae Busch did well with what little they were given and Alan Hale chewed up the scenery in a role most likely created for Jean Hersholt. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

In this drama, a recently convicted criminal boards a train bound for the prison where he will be hanged. His wife rides with him and en route tells a reporter how her husband had accidentally killed a man while protecting her. The reporter, who is dying of tuberculosis, is touched by the story and decides to help them by knocking out a guard, helping the man to escape and jumping off the train to his death. When authorities find the corpse, the assume it belongs to the young convict, and the real killer and his wife are free to start a new life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Rest assured that star Hoot Gibson is not the "local badman" of the title. He is, however, accused of being a desperado by a pair of unscrupulous bankers. Hoot, you see, is a railroad detective, and the crooks are up to their necks in a train insurance scam. But the old Hooter isn't as slow on the uptake as he seems to be, as the villains discover to their grief. Local Badman was inspired by the Peter B. Kyne story All For Love. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Future Academy Award-winner Hattie McDaniel briefly brightened the proceedings in this, one of her two B-Western appearances in 1932. (The other was George O'Brien's The Golden West.) The rotund African-American comedienne portrays a cook on a ranch belonging to banker Tom Kirk (Lafe McKee). Also working on the premises is Jimmy Duncan (Hoot Gibson), an unruly young man who has promised his Uncle George (George Hayes) he will behave (or else...!). Treacherous bank teller Holt Narbrough (Wheeler Oakman), who not only desires Kirk's ranch, but also his pretty daughter, Laura (Helen Foster), attempts to rid himself of an irritating rival by constantly picking fights with Jimmy. The latter, however, is steadfast in his resolve and soon becomes the laughing stock among the ranch hands. In the end, Jimmy earns both Laura's love and Uncle George's respect by foiling a bank robbery. The Boiling Point was one in a series of cheap Westerns Hoot Gibson made for low-budget company Allied Pictures from 1931 to 1933. Gibson, whose generosity was legendary, found employment for old friends such as Roy "Skeeter Bill" Robbins and Fred Gilman in all of his Allied films, including The Boiling Point. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This M.F. Hoffman production released through Grand National featured Ken Maynard as Friendly Fields, a mama's boy whose hat is stolen by lookalike bandit Blackie Burke (also Maynard). Obtaining a job on Patty Blair's (Lona Andre) ranch, Friendly scares the girl's enemies into submission by playing up his resemblance to Blackie. Patty gets a bit worried when she begins to believe that he really is Blackie, but the cowboy continues his masquerade until his true identity is revealed by his mother (Grace Wood). By then, however, all the wrongs have been righted and Friendly and Lona agree to meet the future together. Maynard, who fancied himself a crooner, sings -- badly -- "Oh! Susannah" by Stephen Foster, accompanied by fellow Grand National cowboy hero Tex Ritter's backing group. Producer Hoffman quickly had enough of the difficult and often tardy Maynard and sold his contract to the Alexander brothers, low-budget producers who also released through Grand National. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This mystery starring Elaine Hammerstein was based on the novel by Harold McGrath. The story centers around two small statuettes containing valuable emeralds, which are said to project a sinister influence on the possessor. The czar of Russia gives the statuettes to a grand duke, who, in turn, gives them to his secretary, John Hawksley (Jack Mulhall). Hawksley sends them to America in a friend's possession and follows after. But Gregor Karlov (Wallace Beery), one of the members of Russia's new regime, wants to get his hands on the statuettes, and he too travels to America. Back in the U.S., Hawksley falls in love with Dorothy (Hammerstein), the daughter of his banker, Barrows (Eric Mayne), who is holding onto the statuettes. When Barrows is found killed, Hawksley becomes the prime suspect. Cutty, a member of the secret service (David Torrence), helps tracks down the real killer who is -- guess who? -- Karlov. Cutty kills Karlov in a fight and Hawksley marries Dorothy. This story was remade as a Poverty Row feature in 1931, with Warner Oland in the villain role. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi