Harry Lachman Movies

John Shepperd, later known as Shepperd Strudwick, stars as the tragic Edgar Allan Poe in this low-budget biopic. Adopted as a child, Poe grows into a directionless adult, disgracing himself and his foster family through his inability (or unwillingness) to conform to the status quo of 19th century Baltimore. Devastated by the loss of his childhood sweetheart, Elmira Royster (Virginia Gilmore), he finds solace in his marriage to his cousin Virginia Clemm (Linda Darnell). Poe's blossoming literary reputation, and the stability of his private life, are ultimately done in by his addiction to alcohol and drugs. Sixty-seven minutes simply isn't enough time to do justice to this fascinating, complex individual, but everyone involved tries hard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This final entry in 20th Century-Fox's "Charlie Chan" series is set in a huge mansion, smack-dab in the middle of the Mojave desert. When snoopy weekend guest Professor Gleason (Lucien Littlefield) is murdered, every member of the household falls under suspicion-none more so than Mr. Manderly (Douglass Dumbrille), the surly and highly secretive master of the household. Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) and number two son Jimmy (Sen Yung) stumble into this nest of vipers and quickly get to work trying to unravel the mystery, which involves a collection of priceless artifacts and an old-fashioned torture chamber. An excellent series entry, Castle in the Desert would have been a worthy screen finale for the inscrutable Mr. Chan; alas, the character would be revived two years later in a much inferior series at Monogram. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Wily Honolulu detective Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is summoned when Miss Nodbury (Ethel Gryffies), an elderly eccentric, is murdered just before taking part in a seafaring treasure hunt. Chan deduces that the old lady died of fright, brought on by the apparent visitation of the ghost of her ancestor, a notorious pirate. Suspecting that the ghost was actually one of Miss Nodbury's enemies in disguise, Chan tags along on the treasure hunt to pinpoint the real killer. Meanwhile, Number Two Son Jimmy Chan (Victor Sen Yung) seeks out suspects on the waterfront, only to be constantly dunked in the briny by a wild-eyed but essentially harmless lunatic (Milton Parsons). A lesser Charlie Chan entry, Dead Men Tell is redeemed by its atmospheric harbor scenes, a specialty of director Harry Lachman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Murder Over New York finds Honolulu-based detective Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) arriving in the Big Apple for a policeman's convention. No sooner has he arrived than Charlie is up to his neck in a murder mystery. This time the killing is tied in with a gang of enemy saboteurs, bent upon scuttling the test flight of a revolutionary new bomber plane. With the "help" of willing but inept Number Two Son (Victor Sen Yung), Charlie wades through a sea of suspects to finger the genuine killer. Among the film's highlights is a very funny "line-up" bit by an uncredited Shemp Howard; its low point is a lamentable stretch of racist humor involving black actor Clarence Muse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the fine tradition of And Sudden Death, Columbia's The Devil is Driving tabulates the dangers of drunken driving in an exciting, unabashedly melodramatic fashion. In his first true portrayal of a "little creep," Elisha Cook Jr. stars as Tony, the spoiled-rotten son of the wealthy and influential Mr. Stevens (Henry Kolker). Forever climbing behind the wheel after one too many martinis, Tony strikes and kills an old woman and later forces his sweetheart Kitty (Ann Rutherford) over an embankment. By rights, this blatant vehicular homicide should earn Tony a stiff jail sentence, but he is constantly bailed out by his father, who even buys off juries and judges to keep his son out of prison. After helping Stevens spring his son once too often, guilt-stricken district attorney Paul Driscoll (Richard Dix) joins forces with crusading reporter Eve Hammond (Joan Perry) to keep repeat offenders like Tony off the road. Be assured that Tony will receive his comeuppance in spades by fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Enjoying a break from crime-solving, oriental sleuth Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) takes his 12 children to the circus. It isn't long, however, before he's sucked into yet another murder case, with a more colorful array of suspects than usual. Meanwhile, Number One Son Lee Chan (Keye Luke) tries to make time with pretty Chinese lass Su Toy (Shia Jung), a task made difficult by his morbid fear of the circus animals. One of the secondary villains, sinister lion tamer Tom Holt, is played by J. Carroll Naish, who later portrayed Charlie Chan on a late-1950s TV series. Some of the best moments in Charlie Chan at the Circus are contributed by brother-and-sister midget performers George and Olive Brasno. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Working on the theory that the only thing funnier than Laurel and Hardy is two sets of Laurel and Hardys, Our Relations milks its central mistaken-identity situation for all it's worth. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are two solid citizens, happily married and highly respected in their community. One morning, Hardy receives a letter from his mother, containing an old photo of himself and Laurel with their twin brothers, Alf Laurel and Bert Hardy. Mamma also reveals that Alf and Bert turned out to be "bad lads" and ran off to sea, and that reportedly they'd been hanged for taking part in a mutiny. "Isn't that calamitous!" remarks Hardy, who conspires with Laurel to hide the facts about their no-good brothers from their wives. Meanwhile, in another part of town, the S.S. Periwinkle pulls into port. Among the crew members are the selfsame Alf and Bert, who have decided to entrust their pal Fin (James Finlayson) with their month's salary. Fin has promised to invest the dough so that the boys will become millionaires "before you can say Jack Robinson". Alf and Bert are then summoned to the cabin of their captain (Sidney Toler), who orders them to pick up a valuable package for him, then meet him later at Denker's Beer Garden. While waiting for the captain at Denker's, Alf and Bert are captivated by a pair of waterfront floozies, Alice (Iris Adrian) and Lily (Lona Andre). Talked into buying the girls a huge meal for which they haven't the necessary funds, Alf and Bert decide to go back to Fin and reclaim their money, leaving the contents of the captain's package-a valuable pearl ring-with tough waiter Joe Groagan (Alan Hale) as security. Later, Laurel and Hardy take their wives Betty (Betty Healy) and Daphne (Daphne Pollard) to lunch-and, inevitably, they end up at Denker's Beer Garden, where the equally inevitable mix-ups begin to occur. Things snowball from bad to worse before both sets of twins, an angry captain, a disgruntled Fin, the wives, the floozies, a genial drunk (Arthur Housman) and a brace of smooth gangsters (Ralf Harolde and Noel Madison) all converge at the upscale Pirate Club. Several slapstick complications later, Laurel and Hardy are captured by the gangsters, who threaten to dump the boys in the river with their feet encased in cement if they don't cough up the pearl ring. Alf and Bert come to the rescue, and all is well, at least until the film's boffo punchline. Based on W.W. Jacobs' short story The Money Box, Our Relations is perhaps the most plot-heavy of Laurel and Hardy's features for Hal Roach Studios. It is also one of their funniest, as well as their most lavishly produced. The film was officially listed as "A Stan Laurel Production"-as if Laurel hadn't been the prime creative force behind all of the team's previous films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dressed to Thrill was a brave but foredoomed attempt to transform Russian musical favorite Tutta Rolf into a Hollywood movie star. Rolf is cast in a dual role, as famed stage singer Nadia Petrova and humble dressmaker Colette DuBois. It hardly takes two reels before the two heroines' identities are switched when Colette impulsively decides to wear a gown created with Nadia in mind. Hero Bill Trent (Clive Brook) looks confused even after he's figured out which girl is which. A remake of a French film of the same name (also directed by Harry Lachman), Dressed to Thrill was adapted by Samson Rafaelson from a play by Albert Savoir. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this musical, an insurance agent falls in love with a pretty girl. When the self-righteous agent discovers that she is a cabaret singer, he dumps her. Soon after, his sister quits her telephone operator's job to become a chorine. Songs include: "Blue Sky Avenue", "Let's Put Two and Two Together", "I Like It That Way", and "Goin' to Town". ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Shirley Temple's first starring vehicle casts her as the button-cute daughter of ex-convict Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) and his wife Kay (Claire Trevor). Ellison and his old cellmate Larry Scott (Ray Walker) manage to land jobs as chauffeurs for a wealthy family. When a valuable string of pearls disappears, both men are fired and Eddie is accused of the crime. Incredibly, it is little Temple who manages to locate the pearls and clear her father's name. Rather slow going for the most part, Baby Take a Bow comes to life in the final reel, as genuine thief Trigger Stone (Ralf Harolde) grabs Temple and uses her as a human shield during his desperate rooftop escape. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

At age 26, Janet Gaynor was still playing "gamin" roles in such musical trifles as Paddy, the Next Best Thing. Gaynor stars as a spirited Irish lass whose older sister (Margaret Lindsay) is about to marry a wealthy gent (Warner Baxter). Fully aware that Sis doesn't love the man, Gaynor sacrifices herself by marrying him instead--hence the "next best thing" part of the title. It takes about seven reels for Gaynor and Baxter to succumb to the inevitable and declare their true love for each other. Paddy, the Next Best Thing was a little bit of Heaven to Janet Gaynor's fans, but mere Irish stew to everyone else. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this actioner, a half-Arab member of the Foreign Legion, previously court-martialed for insubordination, cannot earn his commander's trust. Eventually the commander locks him up. The leader then sends his own son to fight with native troops. Meanwhile the jailed soldier breaks out and rushes to save the commander's son. He willingly sacrifices his life for the young man. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi