Nunnally Johnson Movies
Starting out as a reporter in his native Georgia, Nunnally Johnson worked his way up the journalistic ladder to the New York Herald Tribune. A prolific writer, Johnson contributed fiction to such periodicals as The New Yorker and The Saturday Evening Post; one of his Post stories was adapted for the screen as the 1927 Clara Bow vehicle Rough House Rosie. Unlike other Manhattan-based writers, Johnson was attracted to film work. When his proposal to write movie criticism for The New Yorker was turned down by editor Harold Ross in 1933, Johnson decided to move to Hollywood, where he immediately found work as a screenwriter. Well known for his laconic, biting wit, Johnson became a close friend of several other well-known Tinseltown quipsters, notably Groucho Marx. His movie career was briefly jeopardized in the late 1930s when, under a pseudonym, he wrote a less than flattering Saturday Evening Post profile of powerful gossip columnist Louella Parsons. The crisis passed, and Johnson remained incredibly busy, particularly at 20th Century-Fox, where from 1935 onward he toiled as both screenwriter and associate producer.Among the many films benefitting from Johnson's expertise was 1940's The Grapes of Wrath, which co-starred Dorris Bowden, a budding leading lady who gave up her career to become Johnson's wife. In partnership with onetime Fox executive William Goetz, Johnson formed International Pictures in 1943, turning out such projects as Woman in the Window (1944) and The Stranger (1946) until International merged with Universal in 1946. Johnson returned to Fox as a producer, handling many of the best early CinemaScope efforts, notably 1953's How to Marry a Millionaire. He turned to directing in 1954 with the literate murder mystery Black Widow; though not terribly proficient visually, he had a sharp ear for intelligent, scintillating dialogue, as proven by such films as The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit (1956). Johnson's best directorial efforts include the pioneering multiple-personality drama Three Faces of Eve (1957) and the sprightly all-star comedy Oh, Men, Oh Women (1957). While sweating through a difficult location shoot during the making of The Angel Wore Red (1960), Johnson suddenly decided he was too old and too wealthy to continue knocking himself out as a director, and he returned exclusively to screenwriting. Two years after his last film, The Dirty Dozen (1968), Johnson announced his formal retirement ("I simply put on my top hat and tails -- and retired"); a collection of his letters to and from famous friends was published posthumously in 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1933
This musical comedy stars Maurice Chevalier as (what else?) a Parisian playboy with a song and a kiss for every beautiful woman in sight. His libertine ways are stemmed when Chevalier finds himself saddled with an abandoned baby. Because he is perceived to be the father of the infant, Chevalier finds his lovemaking activities severely diminished. At fadeout time, Chevalier finds lasting romance with Helen Twelvetrees, the baby's governess. Though he was probably uncomfortable sharing scenes with a scene-stealing toddler, Chevalier manages to deliver his usual sly, winking performance. A Bedtime Story was the screen debut for Baby LeRoy (later W.C. Field's perennial nemesis), playing (again, what else?) the troublesome baby. The film is based on Roy Horniman's story Bellamy the Magnificent, which had previously been filmed as A Gentleman of Paris (27). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Chevalier, Helen Twelvetrees, (more)
Gary Cooper added "producer" alongside "star" on his resume with this light-hearted Western about a mild-mannered cowboy (Cooper) who drifts into a small town with his sidekick (William Demarest). Naturally, he's mistaken for a notorious highway robber (Dan Duryea), although he can barely handle a gun. His impersonation of the menacing gunman falls apart when his skills are put to the test, and he faces certain doom when challenged by the returning gunman himself. In the end, however, our hero defeats the villain and even ends up with his girl (Loretta Young). A send-up of both Western clichés and Cooper's own heroic persona, Along Came Jones is brisk, amusing entertainment. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1936
This lively riverboat musical shows off the vocal and terpsichorean talents of former Ziegfeld Follies star Barbara Stanwyck as it tells the tale of two newlyweds who must postpone their honeymoon when the groom gets in a fight with a villain, decks him and, believing he has killed him, flees upon a riverboat, leaving his bride to take up with a womanizing photographer. She and the cameraman head for New Orleans and this is where most of the action, music and romantic mayhem takes place. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, (more)
- 1954
Broadway producer Peter Denver (Van Heflin) takes in young actress Nanny Ordway (Peggy Ann Garner) while his wife (Gene Tierney) is out of town. When Nancy is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, the two prime suspects are Peter and the neglected husband (Reginald Gardiner) of temperamental Broadway star Ginger Rogers, who had also been dallying with the dead girl. Detective Bruce (George Raft) figures out the true identity of the killer, but the audience may be well ahead of him. Despite its resplendant color photography, Black Widow is a "film noir" at heart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, (more)
- 1934
This second and final "Bulldog Drummond" film to star Ronald Colman, finds the famed sleuth in the midst of a sinister plan orchestrated by Warner Oland. Damsel in distress Loretta Young reports that her wealthy and influential uncle is missing, but all those concerned insist that the uncle never existed, and that Young is out of her mind. Drummond suspects that she's telling the truth, and that the uncle's disappearance is tied into political intrigue of some sort or other. Before the rousing climax, Drummond, the heroine, and Drummond's pal Algy (Charles Butterworth) are repeatedly kidnapped, imprisoned, and threatened with certain death. Counterpointing the film's plot twists (a bit too convoluted to relate in full here) is a comic subplot involving the continually interrupted honeymoon of Algy and his frustrated bride (Una Merkel). Unfortunately, Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back is currently unavailable on television or on videocassette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1937
Cafe Metropole stars Tyrone Power as an international playboy with a habit of writing rubber checks. Heavily in debt to cafe owner Adolphe Menjou, Power agrees to pose as a Russian nobleman and woo heiress Loretta Young, so that Menjou can get his mitts on the girl's money. Avarice gives way to love, but not before Young walks out on Power when she catches on to his original selfish intentions. The script for Cafe Metropole was written by actor/director Gregory Ratoff, who also plays a supporting role. The film's first biggest laughs are reserved for the first scene, in which mild-mannered Christian Rub attempts to collect on one of Power's debts by clumsily wielding a loaded revolver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Tyrone Power, (more)
- 1944
When he finds out his ex-wife has just had his child and plans to give her up for adoption, a timid English instructor dashes to the child's rescue and attempts to care for her in a hotel room. Before too long, however, his new fiancee and his ex confront him and he must decide what he will do. This light comedy starring Gary Cooper, Theresa Wright and Anita Louise garnered Oscar nominations for Sound and Art Direction and was previously filmed under the title Little Accident in 1930 and 1939. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, (more)
- 1940
Henry Fonda plays Chad Hanna, a New York country bumpkin of the mid-nineteenth century who joins a travelling circus. He falls in love with beauteous bareback rider Dorothy Lamour, but she spurns him. Chad Hanna then finds himself attracted to another runaway, country girl Linda Darnell. Though everybody assumes that the boy is slow on the uptake, Chad Hanna manages to save the circus from financial ruin. He also secures the services of a trained elephant; when asked how he acquired such a prize, Chad laconically responds "I gave him half interest in the circus." A lightweight period piece, Chad Hanna is visually impressive, and best viewed in its original pristine Technicolor state. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, (more)
- 1936
- NR
This lavish Shirley Temple starrer is set in New York, sometime in the 1850s. While lovable pickpocket "Professor" Eustace Appleby works the crowd, his talented granddaughter Dimples (Temple) dances for pennies. Dimples demands that Appleby stop his thieving ways, but every time he tries to follow the straight and narrow, he comes out the loser (most memorably when he's hoodwinked by a dapper con man played by John Carradine). While Dimples entertains at the home of society matron Mrs. Caroline Drew (Helen Westley), Appleby pilfers several valuable objects. This time he's caught with the goods, but Dimples gallantly takes the blame. Touched by this, Mrs. Drew adopts the little girl, enabling her to find success on the legitimate stage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Temple, Frank Morgan, (more)
- 1949
A remake of Wife, Husband and Friend (1938), Everybody Does It is a frantic satire of the opera world. Businessman Paul Douglas is forced to suffer in silence when his wife (Celeste Holm) decides to become an opera star. Compelled to bankroll a concert for his missus, Douglas meets genuine opera diva Linda Darnell at the concert. While passing the time, Darnell discovers that Douglas in fact has a magnificent singing voice. Partly because he is flattered by Darnell's attentions, and partly to show up his wife, Douglas embarks on his own operatic career. But on the night of his debut, Douglas suffers a severe attack of stage fright, gets "doped up" on medicine in order to survive the performance, and hilariously humiliates himself in front of everyone. Darnell l angrily stalks out of the scene, and the sadder-but-wiser Douglas and Celeste Holm return to each other's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Douglas, Linda Darnell, (more)
Tensely directed by Don Siegel, Flaming Star is the grittiest of Elvis Presley's post-Army films. Elvis plays Pacer Burton, a half-breed youth in the old West, torn between loyalty to the whites, as represented by his father (John McIntyre), and the Indians, represented by his mother (Dolores Del Rio). A series of brutal Kiowa raids, and the subsequent reprisals by the white settlers, sorely test Pacer's fortitude. Though offered moral support from his loved ones, Pacer is forced to work things out himself. The film was based on a novel by Clair Huffaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Steve Forrest, (more)
- 1943
A man trying to leave his fame behind discovers the perils of choosing to be the wrong unknown person in this farcical British comedy. Priam Farli (Monty Woolley) is an eccentric but famous and well-respected artist who prefers to work in total seclusion -- so much so that he's spent the last 20 years creating his paintings while living on an isolated island in the Pacific, with only his valet, Henry Leek (Eric Blore), for company. When word reaches Farli that he is to be knighted by King Edward VII (Edwin Maxwell), the artist reluctantly sails back to Great Britain with Leek, but en route, his devoted servant dies. Seeing a perfect opportunity to once again escape the public eye, Farli poses as Leek and claims that the great painter was the one who passed away. Farli is not allowed to attend his own funeral, but things get more complicated when Alice Challice (Gracie Fields) appears with a letter in which Leek proposes marriage to her. Wanting to maintain his cover, Farli goes through with the wedding, only to find that Leek was already married, and his first wife (Una O'Connor) would like some explanations as to why her Henry has taken another wife, not to mention wondering where he's been for the past two decades. Laird Cregar, Alan Mowbray, and Fritz Feld highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Woolley, Gracie Fields, (more)
- 1955
Betty Grable's final film was a remake of the 1934 Bing Crosby-Miriam Hopkins musicomedy She Loves Me Not, which in turn was based on a play by Howard Lindsay. Betty and Sheree North star as a couple of striptease "artistes" who have the bad luck to witness a murder. Hoping to evade the killer, the girls hide out in a small college town, where they immediately win the hearts of the male frat brothers. One of these is overaged undergrad Robert Cummings, who falls for Betty, while Sheree settles for not-terribly-bright Orson Bean. A subplot concerns the unending get-rich-quick schemes of college president Charles Coburn. Before the story can be resolved, both Betty and Sheree are placed under hypnosis, with hilarious results. It could not have rested well with Betty Grable that Sheree North stole the show in How to Be Very, Very Popular--especially with her energetic rendition of "Shake, Rattle and Roll"--but Betty was on the verge of retiring anyway, so what the heck? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, Sheree North, (more)
A remake of 1933's The Greeks Had a Word for Them, as well as a retread of 20th Century-Fox's favorite plotline, How to Marry a Millionaire was the first Hollywood comedy to be lensed in Cinemascope. Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe play three models of modest means who rent an expensive Manhattan penthouse apartment and pose as women of wealth. It's all part of a scheme hatched by Bacall to snare rich husbands for herself and her roommates. The near-sighted Monroe is wooed by an international playboy, but ends up settling for the tax-dodging fugitive (David Wayne) who owns the girls' apartment. The knuckle-headed Grable goes off on an illicit weekend in the mountains with a grouchy married executive (Fred Clark), but falls instead for a comparatively poor--but very handsome--forest ranger (Rory Calhoun). And Bacall very nearly lands an aging millionaire (William Powell), but has a sudden attack of conscience and opts instead for the supposedly poverty-stricken chap (Cameron Mitchell) who has been pursuing her since reel one. It turns out that she has actually landed one of the richest men in New York--and upon learning this, our three luscious heroines faint dead away. Before the opening credits roll in How to Marry a Millionaire, we are treated to a "live" orchestral rendition of Alfred Newman's "Street Scene" overture, conducted by Newman himself. In addition to its being the first wide-screen comedy, Millionaire was also the first-ever presentation of the weekly NBC series Saturday Night at the Movies, premiering on the small screen on September 23, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, (more)
- 1940
Actress/ballerina Vera Zorina stars as a phony countess, working in cahoots with two international con artists (Erich von Stroheim and Peter Lorre). She renounces her earlier life after falling in love with one of her victims (Richard Greene), but her old crooked cronies show up to blackmail her. Zorina confesses to her husband, who forgives all. Von Stroheim and Lorre steal everything but the cameras in their brief scenes, outshining both hero and heroine with their patented rascality. I Was an Adventuress ends with a George Balanchine ballet sequence, which like all such film "highlights" goes on too long and is strictly a matter of taste. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Zorina, Richard Greene, (more)
The real Frank and Jesse James were murderous thugs, light years away from the Robin Hood image imposed on them by revisionist dime novelists. But in 1939, 20th Century-Fox wasn't about to build an expensive Technicolor feature around the exploits of a couple of low-lives, thus Jesse James upholds the mythos, offering us the standard whitewashed version of the James boys. According to Nunally Johnson's irresistibly entertaining screenplay, Jesse (Tyrone Power) and Frank (Henry Fonda) become train and bank robbers to avenge the death of their mother (Jane Darwell), killed at the behest of greedy railroad interests. Once he feels his work is done, Jesse settles down to a life of marital domesticity--only to be shot in the back by cowardly Bob Ford (John Carradine). Frank James is left alive at film's end, paving the way for the 1941 sequel The Return of Frank James. Director Henry King stages the action sequences in glorious outsized fashion, notably the famous bank-robbery scene in which Jesse rides his horse through a plate glass window. The scenes involving both James brothers are stolen hands-down by Henry Fonda, not so much because he was a better actor than Tyrone Power but because his character had all the best lines. Jesse James was filmed largely on location in Missouri, resulting in crowd-control nightmares for the picture's beleaguered assistant directors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, (more)
Brooklyn tugboat worker Eddie (Eddie Cantor), bullied and cowed by his tough-guy stepfather and stepbrothers (a la Harold Lloyd's The Kid Brother), inherits $77 million from his uncle, an Egyptologist. Con artist Dot (Ethel Merman) wants to get her lunchhooks on the money, and to this end offers herself as Eddie's adopted mother (never mind that she's nearly 20 years younger), intending to have her thuggish brother Louie (Warren Hymer) bump off our hero at the first opportunity. The nonsensical plotline ends up with Eddie, Dot, Louie, pompous Southern colonel Larrabee (Berton Churchill), and nominal romantic leads Jerry (George Murphy in his film debut) and Jane (Ann Sothern) trapped in the palace of Arab potentate Mulhulla (Paul Harvey). The better-than-average comic banter includes some funny bits between Cantor and Eve Sully, of the comedy team of "Block and Sully" (her husband-partner Jesse Block is also in the picture, but just barely). Spotted among the featured players in Kid Millions are such "Our Gang" members as Stymie Beard, Scotty Beckett and Tommy Bond, and there's a specialty by the Nicholas Brothers during Cantor's obligatory "blackface" number; and yes, that's Lucille Ball as a blonde Goldwyn Girl in the harem sequence. PS: According to Ethel Merman, the film's elaborate Technicolor ice-cream factory finale, in which Eddie allows dozens of tenement kids to gorge themselves on his tasty confections, posed censorship problems: while producer Sam Goldwyn was allowed to show the little boys with comically extended stomachs, he was not permitted to do so with the little girls, for fear that the audience might think the female moppets were pregnant! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Fields, Eddie Cantor, (more)
- 1942
In this drama, a has-been stage thespian finds that his alcoholism is ruining his life. When his daughter, a cripple, attempts to show her concern, he rebuffs her with his cruel, razor sharp witticism. His drinking and cynicism continue to increase, but, through it all, his daughter stands steadfastly beside him until her heart is stolen away by a handsome composer. He begins helping her to convince the theatrical community that her father is still a talented actor. Meanwhile, the father, thinking the composer will take his daughter away, remains suspicious of the young man's motives. Finally, after working in a series of odd jobs, the old man lands the lead in King Lear where he is a smash. He then renews a relationship with a wealthy old girlfriend. Meanwhile, the young couple also begin their relationship in earnest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Woolley, Ida Lupino, (more)
- 1937
In this detective adventure, a young woman is accused of stealing a valuable necklace from her boss and takes off for Spain just before the Civil War. She is trailed by a detective form Scotland Yard. He finds her and soon falls in love and the two try to flee on a British ship. The story does not reveal whether the girl was innocent or not. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Don Ameche, (more)
- 1933
The felicitous screen team of Mary Boland and Charles Ruggles once more collaborated with director Norman Z. McLeod for the delightful Mama Loves Papa. Middle-class Wilbur Todd (Ruggles) is content with his lot in life, but his wife Jessie (Boland) is an inveterate social climber. Convinced that clothes make the man, Jessie dresses up her spouse in garish new suits, which elicit shouts of derision rather than murmurs of admiration. Frustrated by his wife's nagging, Wilbur goes off on a toot and becomes innocently involved with village vamp Mrs. McIntosh (Lilyan Tashman). It's all very basic material, but in the hands of its stars, its director, and ace screenwriter Nunnally Johnson, Mama Loves Papa emerges as something truly special. The National Board of Review selected the film as one of the best of its year, quite an honor for what was officially a "B" picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, (more)
- 1934
A remake of the silent film Her Sister From Paris, Moulin Rouge stars Constance Bennett in a dual role as twin French entertainers. One is married to a songwriter (Franchot Tone), who doesn't want his wife to return to the stage. In order to hide the fact that she's gotten a job in a musical, the married sister poses as her unmarried twin, while the twin pretends to be the married one (You following this?) The husband attends the musical and falls madly in love with the leading lady--never suspecting that she's his own wife. The married woman continues the ruse as a test of her husband's fidelity...and on and on it goes. Moulin Rouge was withdrawn from circulation in the early 1950s to avoid confusion with the more famous Toulouse Lautrec biopic of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Bennett, Franchot Tone, (more)
Screenwriter Nunnally Johnson adapted the novel by author Edward Streeter, whose work was also the basis of Father of the Bride (1950), into this domestic comedy. James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara star as Roger and Peggy Hobbs, a St. Louis couple with a large brood who desire a seaside vacation. Renting a cottage by the ocean is just the first step in a summer fraught with disasters, including a couch potato son, a shy daughter with newly installed braces, a pair of grown daughters who have married badly, and a local yachtsman with eyes for Peggy. Not to mention the ramshackle state of the shoreline abode, Roger and Peggy's new grandparent status, and incidents involving a sexy neighbor, a sailboat regatta and bird watching. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, (more)
- 1948
- NR
Something seems fishy when a married man finds new adventure and romance in this comic fantasy. Arthur Peabody (William Powell) is a slightly stuffy businessman from Boston who after turning fifty finds himself suffering from a full-fledged midlife crisis. On the advice of his doctor, Peabody and his wife Polly (Irene Hervey) head to the Caribbean for a restful vacation. One evening, Peabody decides to do some fishing, and he pulls in a highly unexpected catch -- a beautiful mermaid named Lenore (Ann Blythe). Peabody takes the mysterious creature home with him (keeping her in a backyard pond for safekeeping), but while he soon becomes infatuated with Lenore, she's quite shy around others, refusing to let people see her except for the tip of her tail, so few believe his story about the big one he's reeled in. Makeup whiz Bud Westmore designed the special mermaid costuime for Ann Blythe; keep an ear open for the song "The Caribbees", co-written for the movie by Johnny Mercer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Ann Blyth, (more)
- 1952
Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton star in this adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's gothic novel. In a reversal of Jane Eyre, it is the hero who arrives at the home of a mysterious woman. Rachel (de Havilland) is the widow of a Cornish man of property (John Sutton), who died in suspicious circumstances. Philip Ashley Burton is the dead man's cousin, who in probing his relative's demise immediately suspects Rachel -- and goes on suspecting her even after he falls in love with her. Going against the inheritance laws of the era, Burton turns over his cousin's estate to Rachel, but she refuses his entreaties of marriage. He soon falls ill, and it is whispered that Rachel has poisoned him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia de Havilland, Richard Burton, (more)
- 1937
Nancy Steele was the baby daughter of a munitions tycoon who was kidnapped by an antiwar activist who did it to protest the magnate's support of WW I. This drama provides a sympathetic portrait of the kidnapper who leaves the baby with two close friend who assume it's his and raise her. The activist later gets arrested during a fight and sentenced to two years in prison that become a life sentence after he is framed during a failed escape. One night, he sleeps in his cell when his cellmate overhears the sleeping protestor talking about the notorious kidnapping. When the protestor if finally released, he immediately visits the girl, whom he regards as his daughter. She thinks he is her father too. Together, the two go to New York, where he gets a job working as a gardener for her real father. Trouble comes in the form of his blackmailing cellmate and in the end, the protestor must make a difficult decision involving the fate of his daughter and himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Walter Connolly, (more)
