William Howard Movies

In this drama, a husband becomes a single parent after his wife dies in childbirth. He is so engrossed in his newspaper career that he pays little attention to his daughter. He then meets and falls for a woman who chastises him for ignoring the child. He has just begun reestablishing his relationship with his daughter and is about to marry the woman when a convict escapes from prison and goes looking for the woman, who testified against him in court, to exact his murderous revenge. Fortunately, her fiance saves her and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

For his first independently-produced starring effort, James Cagney chose the sentimental drama Johnny Come Lately. Cagney plays itinerant newspaperman Tom Richards, who wanders into a small corruption-ridden town. Striking up a friendship with elderly Vinnie McLeod (Grace George in her only movie appearance), the editor of the local newspaper, Tom tries to help Vinnie exposed the community's crooked politicians. He is thwarted in his efforts until Gashouse Mary (Marjorie Main), a wealthy dowager with a shady past, exposes the machinations behind a phony Orphan's Fund. At the insistence of star Cagney, the cast of Johnny Come Lately was filled with familiar character actors (Hattie McDaniel, Edward McNamara, George Cleveland, Margaret Hamilton, Lucien Littlefield) who are herein offered a lot more screen time than was customary. Based on the Louis Bromfield novel McLeod's Folly, Johnny Come Lately was produced by Cagney's brother William; the film garnered an Oscar nomination for Leigh Harline's nostalgic musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A good wife's innocence is shattered when she learns that her wealthy husband is actually an amoral big-shot jewel thief. She learns this when he brazenly robs some of their vacationing friends. Naturally she wants to leave him, but he won't let her and makes her return to Chicago and stay quiet. He doesn't realize that a detective is in hot pursuit. Once in Chi-town, the thief abandons the wife and she gets a divorce. Unfortunately, she ends up accused of the latest heist. After good friends help to clear her, she meets the detective. Together they plot an ingenious revenge that culminates in the capture of the crook and a new chance at happiness. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The fact that James M. Cain (Double Indemnity, Mildred Pearce et. al.) was responsible for the storyline is the sole distinguishing feature of the pedestrian Warner Bros. melodrama Money and the Woman. Roger Pryor plays bank teller Charles Patterson, an outwardly honest soul who is actually a conscienceless embezzler. When Patterson becomes seriously ill, his wife Barbara (Brenda Marshall) calls upon bank president Dave Bennett (Jeffrey Lynn), beginning his forgiveness for her husband's past misdeeds. It turns out that Patterson isn't worth the effort, since he's been carrying on a torrid affair with coworker Miss Church (Lee Patrick). But Barbara doesn't have time to grieve, inasmuch as she's fallen in love with the handsome Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, a humble country girl lives her life in the ramshackle mansion of her aged uncle. Feeling sorry for her "poor" relation and selflessly keeping him company until he dies, she is later shocked to learn that he has left her an enormous fortune. One might think such a windfall a dream come true, but not for the girl. Things immediagely go wrong when her fiance, the town doctor, wanting to focus on his career, refuses to abandon his patients and go galavanting across Europe. Angrily, she goes anyway and finds herself surrounded by gigolos more interested in her assets than in her perosonality. This causes her to reasses her new values and return to the man who loves her for herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on an Edgar Wallace novel, this is an involved story of the consequences within the underworld of a big-time diamond heist. It also tells the story of a disgraced inspector who is trying to catch the infamous jewel fence known as the "Squeaker" to help clear his name again. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

An innocent but admittedly none-too-bright victim of circumstance, Mary Burns (played by perennial movie victim Sylvia Sidney) is inexorably sucked into the vortex of organized crime. She tries to escape her murderer husband Babe Wilson (Alan Baxter), but it's a losing proposition, especially since the newspapers have already branded her a gun moll. Making matters worse, she is thrown into prison for crimes committed by her husband (understandably, since her behavior at her trial was self-defeating to say the least). Though believing her guilty, detective Harper (Wallace Ford) allows Mary to escape from jail, hoping in this way to track down Wilson. Nominal hero Alec MacDonald (Melvyn Douglas) isn't much help; not introduced until the film's halfway point, he spends most of his time in a hospital bed, recuperating from an injury. In fact, the story is wrapped up only after MacDonald is rescued by the heroine! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This espionage thriller with romantic comedy touches was loosely based on the book American Black Chamber by the real-life head of the U.S. Secret Service during World War I, Herbert O. Yardley. Bill Gordon (William Powell) is a newspaper puzzle editor who becomes a lieutenant in 1917 when he enlists to fight in the First World War. Before shipping out, Bill meets and becomes attracted to Joel Carter (Rosalind Russell), the niece of John Carter (Samuel Hinds), the Assistant Secretary of War. When Joel learns about Bill's former occupation, she arranges for his transfer to the War Department, where he is put to work code breaking for Major Brennan (Lionel Atwill). When Brennan is murdered as the result of a German-Russian spy ring's machinations, Bill investigates the spies and a comely secret agent (Bonnie Barnes), which jeopardizes his newfound romance with Joel. Russell received the role because MGM's first choice, Myrna Loy, was refusing to work for the studio at the time. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Filmed between the original Thin Man and the first of its sequels, Evelyn Prentice re-teamed William Powell and Myrna Loy as another husband-and-wife team knee deep in a murder mystery. In this one, Powell is John Prentice, a prominent lawyer with an eye for women other than his own wife. His latest interest is Nancy Harrison (Rosalind Russell, in her film debut), a client accused of manslaughter, whom Prentice successfully defended. Loy plays John's wife, Evelyn, who loves him but is hurt by his inattention and the loneliness that ensues. This leads her to engage in a flirtation of her own, with a charming writer (Harvey Stephens). The writer, however, is interested in Evelyn only for what he can get out of her and threatens to blackmail her. In a panic, she shoots him and runs away, discovering later that he has been found dead and that another woman, Judith Wilson, has been accused of his murder. Hoping that his expert legal skills will the innocent woman her acquittal, Evelyn convinces her husband to take on Wilson's defense. As the film progresses, Evelyn feels increasingly pressured to admit that she is responsible for the man's death. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Frequently cited as the precursor to Citizen Kane, Power and the Glory is the first major Hollywood film to extensively utilize narrated flashbacks to tell its story. At the funeral of a powerful railroad executive (Spencer Tracy), the exec's best friend (Ralph Morgan) recalls the dead man's colorful but tragic life. We see Tracy's early years as a trackwalker and his marriage to Colleen Moore, who helps him rise to the top. At first, Tracy is a kindly man, a fair minded employer and a devoted husband and father, but his ever-increasing power corrupts him. He leaves Moore for an adventuress (Helen Vinson), whereupon his wife commits suicide. Tracy later kills himself as well when he learns that his second wife has been unfaithful with his grown son. The "narrative" technique used to relate the plotline of Power and the Glory is interesting, though the film itself is a bit too cut-and-dried (suicide seems to be a logical solution rather than a last desperate move) and far too short (76 minutes) to do justice to its central character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grace Livingston (Janet Gaynor) is leading a happy life in her small town, with her mother (Maude Eburne) and father (Robert McWade), being courted by two men, the steady but predictable Tommy Tucker (Charles Farrell) and the more ambitious, flashy, and worldly Dick Loring (George Meeker), who seems closer to Grace in his desire for travel and adventure. It's Tommy whom she marries, however, while insisting that they live someplace other than the town where they grew up. So Tommy abandons his successful insurance business and the couple moves to Joplin, MO, where he takes over a real-estate business, and for 11 months the couple struggles quietly while Tommy goes about trying to establish himself, and Grace becomes increasingly bored and impatient, not liking Joplin or the tiny three-room apartment where they live. Tommy has been steadily working on a plan that will bring them all the money they need, acquiring land that he is certain that the railroad needs, but closing the deal with the purchasing agent (Henry Kolker) requires him to throw a small dinner party, on the very day that Tommy is down literally to his last ten dollars, and when Grace's patience is at an end and her kitchen help falls ill. With the maid's inexperienced daughter (Leila Bennett) doing her barely adequate best, they muddle through dinner to a successful conclusion to the deal; however, when the unexpected reappearance of Dick Loring throws a wrench in the works, not only of the deal but their marriage, his presence suddenly brings to a head all of Grace's frustrations. The couple splits up, Grace leaving Tommy to return to her parents' home, and even though each soon has some wonderful news to tell the other, it takes a lot of help -- and a knock-down, drag-out fight between two of the contending parties -- to help get them back to a place where each will give the other the hearing they should.

It sometimes seems as though, during the 1930s, the studios could mix comedy and drama more freely and easily without having to go into too many explanations for their audience -- whereas in the 21st century, audiences need a guide and a warning for pictures such as The First Year, which might be very funny in many spots (especially in the scenes with Grace's parents) and steeped in drama and serious moments elsewhere. Although not remotely as substantial as some of Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor's other work together, The First Year is a good representation of the high level of quality of their work together when they weren't acting in masterpieces such as Street Angel or near-masterpieces like After Tomorrow. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Surrender is yet another triangular romance set against the backdrop of WWI. French POW Dumaine (Warner Baxter) is sequestered near the castle of a prideful Prussian nobleman, Count Reinmacher (C. Aubrey Smith), who lives for the day that his four sons will march triumphantly into Paris. Axelle (Leila Hyams), the daughter of one of the sons, makes periodic goodwill visits to the prison compound, and by-and-by she falls in love with Dumaine. Things take a dirty-work-at-the-crossroads turn when Captain Elbing (Ralph Bellamy), the martinet prison commandant, likewise develops an interest in Axtelle. Though Surrender hasn't been seen in years, outtakes from the film -- in which the dignified C. Aubrey Smith swears like a sailor after blowing his lines -- have long been on the public-domain video market. The film was based on Axelle, a play by Pierre Benoit, previously filmed in France. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This French-style farce is set at a large party. There a young misogynist explains why he cannot trust women. A man overhears him and wagers $10,000 that the woman-hater will not succeed in getting the next woman through the door to kiss him. He has 48 hours to succeed or fail. Unfortunately the woman turns out to be the wagerer's wife. She gets wind of the bet and decides to teach both her hubby and the bitter young man an unforgettable lesson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide