Sidney Howard Movies
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Sidney Howard worked in Hollywood writing alone or with others during the '20s and '30s. His popular play They Knew What They Wanted was filmed three times in 1928, 1930, and 1940 and later was adapted into the Broadway musical The Most Happy Fella'. Several other of Howard's plays have also been adapted for films. Among his most distinguished screenplays are Dodsworth (1936) and Gone with the Wind (1939), for which he was the principal and only billed writer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Based on the Ferenc Molnar play Olympia, A Breath of Scandal serves as an elegant vehicle for a ravishing Sophia Loren. The star plays Princess Olympia, who despite her station in life cannot resist the urge to satisfy her sexual appetites. Exiled to the countryside, Olympia falls in love with American millionaire Charlie Foster (John Gavin). Meanwhile, a marriage of state is arranged between the princess and Prince Ruprecht of Prussia (Carlo Hintermann). Jealous rival Countess Lina (Angela Lansbury) endangers this union by threatening to tell all about Olympia and Foster. A cute, continental plot twist brings this harmless confection to a close. Maurice Chevalier dispenses his usual all-knowing glances and sly smiles as Olympia's understanding father. A Breath of Scandal was directed by Michael Curtiz, who uncharacteristically allows the pace to lag at crucial junctures. Scriptwriter Sidney Howard was credited with the script posthumously, some 21 years after his death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Maurice Chevalier, (more)
- 1940
Like its predecessors, this third cinema version of Sidney Hoiward's Pulitzer Prize-winning play They Knew What They Wanted suffers from Hollywood censorship. Still, this story of the grim consequence of a misbegotten mail-order marriage has much to offer. Carole Lombard is superb as the waitress who lies about herself while carrying on a romance by correspondence with the Italian-born owner of a Napa Valley vineyard. Equally fine (if a shade too effusively hammy) is Charles Laughton as the grape grower, who also misrepresents himself in his letters, going so far as to pass off a photograph of handsome hired hand William Gargan as a picture of himself. Vowing to be loyal to her new husband Laughton, despite her distaste for him, Lombard nonetheless enters into an affair with Gargan. For the most part, the film moves along harmoniously. It falters only in the censor-dictated alterations (why is Lombard crying at the end?) and the horrendous performance by Frank Fay as a sanctimonious priest. Keep an eye peeled during the engagement party for a young, unbilled Karl Malden and Tom Ewell. Previous versions of They Knew What They Wanted included The Secret Hour (1928) and A Lady in Love (1930). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Charles Laughton, (more)
Gone With the Wind boils down to a story about a spoiled Southern girl's hopeless love for a married man. Producer David O. Selznick managed to expand this concept, and Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel, into nearly four hours' worth of screen time, on a then-astronomical 3.7-million-dollar budget, creating what would become one of the most beloved movies of all time. Gone With the Wind opens in April of 1861, at the palatial Southern estate of Tara, where Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) hears that her casual beau Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) plans to marry "mealy mouthed" Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland). Despite warnings from her father (Thomas Mitchell) and her faithful servant Mammy (Hattie McDaniel), Scarlett intends to throw herself at Ashley at an upcoming barbecue at Twelve Oaks. Alone with Ashley, she goes into a fit of histrionics, all of which is witnessed by roguish Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), the black sheep of a wealthy Charleston family, who is instantly fascinated by the feisty, thoroughly self-centered Scarlett: "We're bad lots, both of us." The movie's famous action continues from the burning of Atlanta (actually the destruction of a huge wall left over from King Kong) through the now-classic closing line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Holding its own against stiff competition (many consider 1939 to be the greatest year of the classical Hollywood studios), Gone With the Wind won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Oscar). The film grossed nearly 192 million dollars, assuring that, just as he predicted, Selznick's epitaph would be "The Man Who Made Gone With the Wind." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, (more)
- 1939
The fourth cinematic version of the novel Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung, this romantic caper is a virtual remake of the 1930 version. David Niven stars as A.J. Raffles, a famed cricket player of English society's upper crust. Secretly, however, Raffles is a skilled cat burglar known as "The Amateur Cracksman" to Scotland Yard, which has been unable to catch him. Known for returning the items he's filched, Raffles is about to give up a life of crime because he's fallen for Gwen (Olivia de Havilland), a rich society girl. But first Gwen's brother, Bunny (Douglas Walton), needs help to extricate himself from a gambling debt that will be satisfied nicely by the valuable necklace owned by royal Lady Melrose (May Whitty). At a party thrown by Melrose, a rival thief and a detective (Dudley Digges) stand in Raffles' way, although the nimble and perturbed master criminal has a master plan that will result in the least possible harm coming to all involved. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Niven, Olivia de Havilland, (more)
- 1938
The Sidney Howard/Paul de Kruf Broadway play Yellow Jack was transferred to the screen by MGM in 1938. The film is set at the turn of the century, when yellow fever was the Number One killer in Latin America. Army doctors Lewis Stone, Charles Coburn and Stanley Ridges gather in Cuba to attempt to find the cause and cure of the dreaded disease. Five US soldiers--Robert Montgomery, Buddy Ebsen, Alan Curtis, Sam Levene and William Henry--volunteer to expose themselves to yellow fever as a means to test the experimental vaccines. In a very well handled close-up setpiece, the audience discovers long before the medical staff that the humble mosquito is the disease carrier. The "Let me be the first to die" brand of heroics is sometimes hard to take, but otherwise Yellow Jack is inspiring entertainment in the grand old Hollywood tradition. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Virginia Bruce, (more)
In this highly acclaimed adaptation of Sinclair Lewis's novel, Walter Huston plays Sam Dodsworth, a good-hearted, middle-aged man who runs an auto manufacturing firm. His wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton) is obsessed with the notion that she's growing old, and she eventually persuades Sam to sell his interest in the company and take her to Europe. He agrees for the sake of their marriage, but before long Fran has begun to think of herself as a cosmopolitan sophisticate and thinks of Sam as dull and unadventurous. Craving excitement, Fran begins spending her time with other men and eventually informs Sam that she's leaving him for a minor member of royalty. While in Italy, Sam runs into Edith Cortright (Mary Astor), an attractive widow whom he first met while sailing to Europe. Edith seems to understand Sam in a way his wife does not, and they fall in love. However, Sam impulsively breaks off their relationship, only to discover in her absence just how deeply he cares for her. Dodsworth was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Walter Huston), and Best Supporting Actress (Maria Ouspenskaya), though only art director Richard Day walked away with an Oscar. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, (more)
- 1933
Sidney Howard's once-controversial play about the smothering aspects of Mother Love, The Silver Cord was filmed in 1933 with Laura Hope Crews recreating her stage role. Ms. Crews plays the outwardly selfless mother of Joel McCrea and Eric Linden; Irene Dunne and Frances Dee play the younger women in the lives of the two sons. Irene, an established physician, is quick to see that Ms. Crews' supposed loving relationship with her sons is an obsessive power trip, and that Mother is actually an emasculating monster who can't stand to have any other woman come between her and her offspring. Crews' steamroller tactics lead Frances Dee to attempt suicide, which results in the breakup of her relationship with Linden. Dunne, who loves McCrea and insists he stand on his own feet, is determined that Mother will exert her insidious influence no longer. She persuades McCrea to sever the "silver cord," leaving Crews alone with her weaker son Linden...a fate both richly deserve. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Irene Dunne, Joel McCrea, (more)
- 1933
Based on the play by Sidney Howard (of Gone with the Wind and Dead End fame), Christopher Bean is a showcase for the magnificent Marie Dressler. She plays Abby, the poor but proud housekeeper of a small-town doctor (Lionel Barrymore), his wife (Beulah Bondi), and their children. Years before the story proper begins, Abby had been a close friend of Christopher Bean, a local painter who was treated as a pariah by the community because of his drunken misbehavior. After his death, however, Bean was acknowledged as a genius, and his paintings became extremely valuable. One of Bean's best works is a portrait that he painted of Abby -- and she refuses to part with it at any price, despite the entreaties of her avaricious employers. Sadly, Christopher Bean was Marie Dressler's final film; she died of cancer not long after its completion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1932
Zoë Akins' archetypal "gold-digger" stage comedy The Greeks Had a Word for It was transferred to the screen in 1933, with the "It" changed to "Them" in the title, reportedly at the insistence of over-cautious producer Sam Goldwyn (this became a moot point in the 1940s, when the film was reissued as Three Broadway Girls). Ina Claire, Madge Evans, and Joan Blondell star as ex-showgirls Jean, Polaire, and Schatze, who pool their resources to rent a luxurious penthouse apartment. Their strategy is as follows: if they live like millionaires, dress like millionaires and act like millionaires, they'll be able to attract wealthy boyfriends. The original play ended with all three girls continuing their gold-digging activities unto eternity, while the film concludes with one of the three finding true love in the arms of Dey Emery (David Manners). The Greeks Had a Word for Them was later remade (and considerably rewritten) as How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), with Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Madge Evans, Joan Blondell, (more)
One of the more prestigious films of its time, John Ford's film adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has a sleek Art Deco look strangely out of tune with its tale of moral struggle. Ronald Colman stars as Martin Arrowsmith, an idealistic young doctor, who, after graduating from medical school, must forego a research position with Dr. Max Gottlieb (A.E. Anson) due to his marriage to nurse Leora Tozer (Helen Hayes). He returns to her rural hometown and establishes a small practice, and in his spare time eventually develops a serum for a deadly cow disease. Based on this work he is able to return to work under Dr. Gottlieb. When Dr. Gustav Sondelius (Richard Bennett), a friend of the researchers, informs them about a plague devouring the West Indies, Arrowsmith decides to travel to the area to test whether the serum he's working on might be effective in combatting it. The white citizens of the area refuse to allow themselves to be the subjects of an experiment, but black Harvard-educated Dr. Oliver Marchand (Clarence Brooks) persuades the island's native population to go along with Arrowsmith's plan. ~ Michael Costello, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, (more)
- 1931
Samuel Goldwyn attempted to turn British operetta star Evelyn Laye into another Jeanette MacDonald with this cardboard romance that proved a disaster at the operetta-weary box office. Laye plays Lilli, a demure flower girl at a Budapest theater who worships the show's star, the temperamental and highly flirtatious Fritzi Yajos (Lilyan Tashman), despite the admonitions of her friend Otto (Leon Errol). Fritzi, however, commits one indiscretion too many and the local prefect of police (Henry Kolker) orders her to take a six months "vacation" in the country, but the highly combustible chanteuse is loath to leave her many lovers and convinces Lilli to go in her stead. When the attractive girl arrives in the provincial town of Zuppa, she becomes the target of handsome but shallow Count Mirko Tibor (John Boles), who is merely out to make yet another conquest. Needless to say, the count has fallen head over heels in love with the surprisingly decorous "star," and she with him, when the real Fritzi makes her belated appearance. Miss Laye sings Bruno Granichstaedten, Edward Eliscu, and Clifford Grey's lilting "Along the Road of Dreams"; Nacio Herb Brown's "Heavenly Night (When Evening Is Near)" with John Boles; and "Goodnight Serenade." Lilyan Tashman performs Granichstaedten's "I Belong to Everybody." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Evelyn Laye, John Boles, (more)
- 1930
Sometimes all it takes to save a marriage is a good pop, right in the kisser or so this family drama seems to imply. The story focuses on a troubled married couple. At first the wife turns to a therapist, but she finds herself paying a lot of money for nothing. In desperation, she decides to pack up the children and move out. Her husband tries to persuade her to comeback, but she refuses. He then punches her in the face. This seems to do the trick, and she comes home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Genevieve Tobin, Conrad Nagel, (more)
- 1930
The odd combination of Vilma Banky and Broadway import Edward G. Robinson starred in this early sound version of Sidney Howard's 1925 play They Knew What They Wanted. California grape grower Tony (Robinson) advertises for a young wife but passes off a photograph of his handsome foreman Buck (Robert Ames) as himself. San Francisco waitress Lena (Banky) answers the add, and although disillusioned when she learns the truth, accepts Tony's proposal of marriage because of a desire to settle down. When Buck attempts to take her away, Lena realizes that she has fallen in love with her unattractive but kind husband. Howard's play was filmed again in 1940 under its original title and starred Charles Laughton as Tony and Carole Lombard as Lena. A Lady to Love proved to be Hungarian silent star Banky's final American film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vilma Banky, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
- 1930
The third in a succession of film adaptations of author E.W. Hornung's novel Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman, this version was the first to also be produced in sound. Ronald Colman stars as A.J. Raffles, an utterly unflappable British gentleman cricket player who by night is secretly a thief known in the press as The Amateur Cracksman and causing apoplectic fits at Scotland Yard. Raffles has fallen in love with society girl Gwen Manders (Kay Francis) and intends to give up his criminal pursuits, but first he must help an indebted pal, Bunny (Bramwell Fletcher) by stealing a valuable necklace owned by Lady Melrose (Alison Skipworth) at a weekend soiree. Suspecting that Raffles and the Cracksman are one and the same, Inspector McKenzie (David Torrence) is a guest at the same party, with a keen eye peeled at Raffles. In the meantime, rival crook Crawshaw (John Rogers) also has designs on the necklace, setting himself as an unfortunately perfect scapegoat. Although George Fitzmaurice was credited as the sole director of Raffles (1930), he was actually the replacement for Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast, who was fired during production. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Kay Francis, (more)
- 1929
Tired of his sedentary postwar existence, Col. Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond (Ronald Colman) offers his services as adventurer for hire. This gets him mixed up with lovely Joan Bennett, whose wealthy father is being held against his will in a gloomy sanitarium. Armed with little more than bravado, Drummond, his pal Algy (Claud Allister) and faithful butler Danny (Wilson Benge) walk right into the villain's lair--said villain being the evil Dr. Lakington. Drummond is overpowered by Lakington's henchpersons, played by Lilyan Tashman and Montague Love. Our Hero is willing to accept the inevitability of his own death, but when the unspeakable Lakington fondles the unconscious Ms. Bennett, that's too much! Drummond escapes, and in a jaw-dropping sequence kills Lakington in cold blood. He then becomes his old charming self and allows secondary villains Love and Tashman to escape, since he's not really mad at them. Drummond saves the millionaire and wins the girl, though later "Bulldog Drummond" films bear out the fact that he doesn't marry her immediately as he should (virtually every subsequent "Drummond" flick would open with an interrupted wedding). Filmed in the earliest days of the talkie era, Bulldog Drummond is a remarkably sophisticated film for its time, directed with assurance by former Mack Sennett associate F. Richard Jones (who unfortunately died shortly after the film's release). Its only concessions to the "all talking/all singing" mania of 1929 are the unnecessary Irish songs performed by tenor Donald Novis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Claud Allister, (more)
- 1929
Ronald Colman's second talking picture, Condemned is a snail's-pace melodrama set on a Devil's Island. The evils of the notorious French penal colony are treated head-on, though the awkwardness of early-talkie techniques lessen the impact of several scenes. The plot has Colman, a condemned bank robber, working his way into the confidence of the warden (Dudley Digges) and into the heart of the warden's frustrated wife (Ann Harding). When she leaves for France, Colman escapes in order to join her. Condemned was adapted from Blair Niles' novel Condemned to Devil's Island by future Gone with the Wind screenwriter Sidney Howard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Ann Harding, (more)
- 1928
The Secret Hour was the first of three screen versions of Sidney Howard's Pulitzer Prize-winning play They Knew What They Wanted. The owner of a prosperous California orange grove, Italian-born Tony (Jean Hersholt) decides that he lacks romance in his life. Spotting waitress Amy (Pola Negri) at a roadside café, Tony falls in love with her from afar. Mailing her a proposal of marriage, the self-conscious Tony encloses a photo of his handsome foreman Joe (Kenneth Thomson). Even when Amy finds out the truth, she reconciles herself to going through with her marriage to the crude but likeable Tony. Meanwhile, Joe and Amy meet, and though Joe can't stand the girl at first, eventually they fall in love and marry in secret; before long, Amy is pregnant with Joe's child. Enraged when he finds out what's been going on behind his back, the good-hearted Tony can't bring himself to send Amy away or break up his friendship with Joe, so he agrees to bless their marriage. The Secret Hour underwent several radical changes in the transition from stage to screen (in the Sidney Howard original, Tony marries Amy and is cuckolded by Joe), but this didn't weaken the film as much as Pola Negri's miscasting. In addition to the two subsequent film versions, They Knew What They Wanted was transformed by Frank Loesser into the Broadway musical The Most Happy Fella. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pola Negri, Jean Hersholt, (more)
- 1927
The second of Thomas Meighan's three 1927 vehicles, We're All Gamblers was also the first of two collaborations between Meighan and director James Cruze. Based on Lucky Sam McCarver, a play by Sidney Howard, the story concerns a refugee of the Lower East Side who rises to the uppermost rungs of the nightclub world, all for the sake of a "dame." Boxer Sam McCarver (Meighan) falls in love with society girl Carlotta Asche (Mariette Mische). To prove his devotion, Sam purchases a swank nitery, where he shows up every night at the piano to serenade his sweetheart. When Carlotta is a accused of murder, Sam nobly takes the blame, and for a while it looks as though he's going to make the supreme sacrifice on her behalf. But thanks to a dizzying series of last-reel plot convolutions, Sam is permitted to enjoy a happy ending with Carlotta. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Cullen Landis, (more)
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