Felix Jackson Movies

An original story by no less than Jackie Gleason was the basis of this one-hour drama, originally telecast live on the CBS dramatic anthology Studio One. Decked out in white robes and a cute little halo, comedian Red Buttons stars as St. Emergency, a celestial troubleshooter whose aid is summoned by St. Barnabas (Henry Jones), guardian angel of the town of Morton's Wish. Alas, the little community is rife with corruption, and it looks as though the citizens are doomed to a fiery punishment. But if St. Emergency can find one honest man in Morton's Wish within 24 hours, the community will be saved. Luck of luck, an honest man does indeed exist -- but it's Joe Tinker (Joe Barton), the town drunk, and hardly a candidate for Heavenly redemption. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, Louise Ginglebusher (Deanna Durbin) is a girl from a small town who comes top New York City with dreams of making it in show business. She gets her foot in the door in a roundabout way when she gets a job as an usherette at a prestigious movie palace run by tycoon J. Conrad Nelson (Adolphe Menjou). It soon becomes obvious that Nelson has eyes for his new hire, while Louise is more interested George Prescott (Tom Drake), a young lawyer looking to establish himself. Hoping to discourage Nelson while helping Prescott at the same time, Louise fibs and tells Nelson that Prescott is her husband, and could use a job within his organization. However, Louise's white lie turns out to have unexpected repercussions. Like any Deanna Durbin vehicle, I'll Be Yours features the star singing several tunes, including "Sari Waltz and "Granada"; two years after making this film, she would retire from the screen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Deanna Durbin offered her fans a change of pace in this mystery story seasoned with elements of comedy and music. Nikki Collins (Durbin) is a small-town girl visiting New York City to meet with Mr. Haskell (Edward Everett Horton), her family's attorney. As her train pulls into the station, she looks out her window into a nearby office building. She's shocked by what she sees -- a man is being strangled to death, and while she can't see the face of the killer, she gets a good look at the victim. Terrified, Nikki immediately goes to the police, but they think that her story is simply the product of an overactive imagination and send her on her way. Nikki, however, is certain that she witnessed a murder, and she approaches mystery writer Wayne Morgan (David Bruce) to help her piece together the facts of what happened. Thanks to a newsreel, Nikki is able to recognize the victim as Mr. Waring, a wealthy man who made his fortune in shipping; she attempts to contact Waring's family, but they're convinced that Nikki is a nightclub singer with whom the tycoon was having an affair. Hoping to contact the chanteuse in question, Nikki visits the club where she works, only to discover that she's also been murdered. Nikki soon finds herself being trailed by both Jonathan (Ralph Bellamy) and Arnold (Dan Duryea), two members of Waring's family whom she believes may have been involved in the crime, and could be trying to silence her once and for all. Like most of Durbin's vehicles, Lady on a Train's plot stops every now and then to give her the opportunity to sing a song; Western fans may want to keep an eye peeled for future cowboy star Lash LaRue, who has a small role as a waiter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Don't be fooled by the title. Christmas Holiday is a far, far cry from It's a Wonderful Life. Told in flashback, the story begins as Jackie (Deanna Durbin), marries Southern aristocrat Robert Monette (Gene Kelly). Unfortunately, Robert has inherited his family's streak of violence and instability and soon drags Jackie into a life of misery. When her husband commits murder, Jackie is compelled by Robert's equally degenerate mother (Gale Sondergaard) to cover up the crime. When Robert is arrested, Jackie, tormented by the love she still holds for her husband, runs away from the family home, changing her name and securing work as a singer in a New Orleans dive. Robert escapes from prison and makes his way to Jackie's dressing room. Holding a reporter hostage, he threatens to kill both Jackie and the waylaid sailor who has been listening to her story. An astonishing change of pace from Deanna Durbin's usual lightweight musical fare, Christmas Holiday (based, believe it or not, on a story by W. Somerset Maugham) is one of the bleakest film noirs of the 1940s. Durbin is merely adequate in her role, but Gene Kelly gives a disturbingly convincing portrayal as a man virtually devoured by his inner demons. Robert Siodmak directs with his usual flair, using a taut, suspenseful screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this frothy musical comedy, Ann Carter (Deanna Durbin) is an aspiring singer from the Midwest who decides to move to New York in hopes of advancing her career. Her half brother, Martin Murphy (Pat O'Brien), is already living in the Big Apple, and has told her that he's doing well as a businessman; however, when she arrives at his door, she discovers that he's actually working as a valet for Charles Gerard (Franchot Tone), a well-known composer. This is good news for Ann, since Charles could doubtlessly do a great deal to give her career a boost, but Martin is hesitant to talk to his boss about Ann. Charles is inundated with pleas from semi-talented would-be musicians all day long, and putting another in his path would earn Martin no favors. However, Martin soon has bigger worries; it seems that Charles has developed an interest in Ann which Martin is convinced has nothing to do with music. As you might expect, Durbin sings several songs, including "In the Spirit of the Moment," "When You're Away," and an aria from Puccini. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

What's a modern guy to do when his wife's ideas about marriage are a bit too modern for his taste? Andre Casall (Charles Boyer) is a successful, free-thinking playwright who becomes infatuated with a progressive female doctor, Jane Alexander (Margaret Sullavan). They marry impulsively, and Andre soon learns that Jane's ideas about marriage are a bit different from his own -- she demands that they keep separate apartments, and they are to meet only once a day, at 7 a.m. This isn't quite the way that Andre had imagined wedded bliss, and he is soon scheming to make her jealous, in hopes that she'll demand a more traditional living arrangement. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this light and lovely romantic musical, a Hungarian woman (Deanna Durbin) attends a fair in Austria and buys a card from a gypsy fortune teller. It says that she will meet someone important and is destined for a happy marriage. Afterward she gets a job as a baker's assistant. She then meets a handsome army drummer (Bob Cummings) who secretly dreams of becoming a famous composer and conductor. Unfortunately the military forbids the young corporal to create his own music. But then Ilonka (Durbin) secretly sends one of the drummer's waltzes to the Austrian Emperor with his weekly order of pastries. Her act paves the way toward the tuneful and joyous fulfillment of the gypsy's prediction. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Tom Destry (James Stewart), son of a legendary frontier peacekeeper, doesn't believe in gunplay. Thus he becomes the object of widespread ridicule when he rides into the wide-open town of Bottleneck, the personal fiefdom of the crooked Kent (Brian Donlevy). His detractors laugh even louder when Destry signs on as deputy to drunken sheriff Wash Dimsdale (Charles Winninger). But the laughter subsides when Destry casually proves himself a crack shot, despite his abhorrence of firearms. Later, when saloon chanteuse Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich), Kent's gal, takes umbrage at Destry's indifferent reaction to her charms, she vows to make a fool of the new deputy. A huge moneymaker, Destry Rides Again served as a spectacular comeback for Marlene Dietrich, who two years earlier had been written off as "box office poison." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a girl with a lively imagination gets in hot water when she tries to make her tall tales real. Gloria Harkinson (Deanna Durbin) is the teenage daughter of Gwen Taylor (Gail Patrick), a well-known Hollywood actress who has shipped Gloria off to a boarding school in Switzerland to keep the girl out of the public eye, partly for her well being, and party because Gwen would prefer people not to know that she's old enough to have a teenage daughter. Gloria amuses herself and earns the awestruck admiration of her schoolmates when she begins spinning increasingly remarkable tales about the globe-trotting adventures of her millionaire father. However, in reality Gloria has no father, and after some time, her friends become skeptical and demand some sort of physical evidence that he exists. Gloria makes the acquaintance of Richard Todd (Herbert Marshall), a British composer, and she asks him if he wouldn't mind posing as her dad so that her friends could meet the man they've heard so much about. Richard agrees, but the scheme doesn't go quite as Gloria had hoped. Mad About Music was later remade as The Toy Tiger (1956), with "Gloria" turned into a young boy named Timmie, and the songs removed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This late-30s gem is an engaging spoof that features the U.S. film debut of the French acting beauty Daniell Darrieux. She appears as a French model who's come to New York to find a job. Things go a little awry in her first interview when she applies for a nude modeling position and gets the addresses mixed up. When she shows up at the wrong place and starts disrobing, the man at the desk (Douglas Fairbanks) thinks she's a trouble-causing hussy and orders her to leave. Things look up for the frustrated model when she teams up with an ex-actress and a clever waiter who together convince her that as her agents, they'll be able to make things happen for her. And they do. ~ All Movie Guide