Neal Burns Movies

The last of RKO's Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers vehicles, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is also the least typical. At their best playing carefree characters in gossamer-thin musical comedy plotlines, Fred and Ginger seem slightly ill at ease cast as the real-life dancing team of Vernon and Irene Castle. The stripped-to-essentials storyline boils down to novice dancer Irene (Rogers) convincing vaudeville comic Vernon (Astaire) to give up slapstick in favor of "classy" ballroom dancing. With the help of agent Edna May Oliver, the Castles hit their peak of fame and fortune in the immediate pre-World War I years. When Vernon is called to arms, Irene stays behind in the US, making patriotic movie serials to aid the war effort. Vernon is killed in a training accident, leaving a tearful Irene to carry on alone. To soften the shock of Astaire's on-screen death (it still packs a jolt when seen today), RKO inserted a closing "dream" dancing sequence, with a spectral Vernon and Irene waltzing off into the heavens. The film's production was hampered by the on-set presence of the real Irene Castle, whose insistence upon accuracy at all costs drove everyone to distraction--especially Ginger Rogers, who felt as though she was being treated like a marionette rather than an actress. In one respect, Mrs. Castle had good reason to be so autocratic. Walter, the "severest critic servant" character played by Walter Brennan, was in reality a black man. RKO was nervous about depicting a strong, equal-footing friendship between the white Castles and their black retainer, so a Caucasian actor was hired for the role. Mrs. Castle was understandably incensed by this alteration, and for the rest of her days chastised RKO for its cowardice. As it turned out, it probably wouldn't have mattered if Walter had been black, white, Chicano or Siamese; The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle was a financial bust, losing $50,000 at the box office. Perhaps as a result, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers would not team up again for another ten years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although it was nominated for an Academy Award, the third Three Stooges comedy two-reeler for Columbia has not dated well. A spoof of MGM's Clark Gable vehicle Men in White, Men in Black was a rather shapeless romp in which Moe, Larry, and Curly played dumbbell interns at the Lost Arms Hospital. The team was supported by such veteran comedians as Bud Jamison, Dell Henderson, Hank Mann, and Neal Burns, while Ruth Hiatt, Kay Hughes, and a host of starlets appeared as nurses, but the two-reeler remains one of the team's lesser early efforts. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Three guesses as to the profession of the heroine in Sob Sister. That's right: Jane Ray (Linda Watkins) is a girl reporter, both fearless and foolhardy. Jane's great rival is news-hound Garry Webster (James Dunn), whose love for the girl never gets in the way of his tireless pursuit of "big scoops." Eventually, Jane proves to be too smart for her own good and is captured by the villains. She is rescued not by Garry but by six-year-old kidnap victim Billy Stotesley (future "Our Gang" member Wally Albright), who cuts the ropes which bind our heroine. Naturally, this leads Garry to declare that he wants to marry Jane to keep her from harm's way -- but there's always another hot headline story just around the corner. Leading lady Linda Watkins, a Broadway veteran, returned to the stage shortly after appearing in Sob Sister, only to be "rediscovered" as a TV and movie character actress in the late 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi