Richard Lane Movies
A repertory actor since childhood, Wisconsin-born Richard Lane was singing and dancing in vaudeville by the time he reached his thirteenth birthday. Lane toured europe with a circus "iron jaw" act, then bluffed his way into a dance band job. After more vaudeville work, Lane began securing "legit" gigs on Broadway. He appeared with Al Jolson in the late-'20s musical Big Boy, and was a headliner with George White's Scandals when he was signed to an RKO movie contract in 1937. While at RKO, Lane developed his standard characterization of a fast-talking sharpster, which secured him a recurring role on Al Pearce's popular radio program. He played a variety of detectives, con artists and travelling salesmen throughout the '40s, most often at 20th Century-Fox, Universal and Columbia. He was featured in several Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy comedies during the decade, and costarred as Inspector Farraday in Columbia's Boston Blackie B-series; he also appeared in 11 Columbia 2-reel comedies, teamed with comic actor Gus Schilling. Though most closely associated with breezy, urban characters, Lane was also effective in slow-and-steady dramatic roles, notably the father in the 1940 sleeper The Biscuit Eater and baseball manager Clay Hopper in 1950's The Jackie Robinson Story. A television pioneer, Lane worked at Los Angeles' KTLA-TV as a newsman, sportscaster and used-car pitchman. For over twenty years, he was the mile-a-minute commentator on KTLA's nationally syndicated wrestling and roller derby matches. Significantly, Richard Lane's last screen appearances were in Raquel Welch's roller-derby epic Kansas City Bomber (1978) and Henry Winkler's pro-wrestling spoof The One and Only (1982). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1939
Unexpected Father was designed as a showcase for Universal's infant "star" Baby Sandy (Sandy was a girl, but she played a boy here). Dancer Dennis O'Keefe resigns himself to being stuck with his late partner's baby, but when trying to adopt a child he faces a tough court custody battle. Lovely Shirley Ross is the other applicant, so figure out the ending yourself. The highlight in Unexpected Father is a tense process-screen sequence wherein Sandy toddles around a high skyscraper ledge. Mischa Auer, who'd played a comic doorman in the previous Baby Sandy film East Side of Heaven, repeats the role for Unexpected Father. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley Ross, Dennis O'Keefe, (more)
- 1939
Thanks to a practical joker, hotshot radio newscaster Steve (Kent Taylor) announces that prominent financier Pomeroy (Morgan Conway) has been convicted of murder. When it turns out that Pomeroy has been acquitted, Steve, his radio station and the newspaper that owns it are slapped with libel suits. It's up to Steve and his reporter friends Maggie (Linda Hayes) and Smiley (Richard Lane) to figure a way out of the mess. Putting their heads together, the threesome tries to solve the murder case themselves, leading to the usual surprise denoument. Fans of the Charlie Chan films will get a kick out of watching "Number One Son" Keye Luke doing a series of celebrity impersonations! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kent Taylor, Linda Hayes, (more)
- 1939
Cecil B. DeMille takes us back to the 1860s, then rebuilds the first intercontinental railroad in Union Pacific. The real-life spectacle is occasionally interrupted by the fictional adventures of railroad overseer Joel McCrea, postmistress Barbara Stanwyck (with an incredible Irish brogue), and McCrea's best pal Robert Preston. Unfortunately Preston has fallen in with Brian Donlevy, who is dedicated to destroying the Union Pacific railroad on behalf of a crooked political cartel. During an Indian attack, McCrea and Preston fight side by side to save Stanwyck, prompting Preston to turn honest. On the day in 1869 that the "Golden Spike" is to be driven at Promontory Point, Preston is killed saving McCrea from Donlevy's bullets. Union Pacific owes a great deal to John Ford's 1924 film on the same subject, The Iron Horse, even restaging one or two major action sequences from the earlier film. This DeMille spectacular was a big hit with audiences of 1939, who craved a booster shot of flag-waving now and again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, (more)
- 1939
In this comedy/mystery a milquetoast ad man finds his good ideas constantly copped by ambitious coworkers. His boss doesn't even seem to see him. The ad man's wife pushes her husband into confronting his boss during a party. Unfortunately, the timid fellow finds himself accused of murder after a corpse is found in the trunk of his car. He is quickly incarcerated for the crime. Meanwhile his wife begins investigating in an attempt to prove his innocence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Erwin, Gloria Stuart, (more)
- 1939
One part high-seas adventure and one part western, Mutiny on the Blackhawk opens as a pair of heroes take a stand against mutineers and a ship load of freed slaves. Eventually the ship docks off the California coast and the twosome disembark. While traveling the land, they end up trying to prevent Mexican soldiers from destroying a village. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Arlen, Andy Devine, (more)
- 1939
Peter Lorre stars as the famous Asian detective Mr. Moto in this remake of Murder in Trinidad, in which Moto is asked to help the United States government crack a smuggling ring bringing in stolen diamonds from Puerto Rico. Moto's deductive powers quickly prove impressive as he matches wits with the slow-minded gangster "Twister" McGurk (Warren B. Hymer). This was Lorre's seventh film as Mr. Moto; he would make one more before the series was retired at the end of 1939. Originally shown as Mr. Moto on Danger Island. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Lorre, Jean Hersholt, (more)
- 1939
Zany radio comedian Joe Penner delivers one of his best (and most believable) screen performances in the Runyonesque comedy The Day the Bookies Wept. Penner stars as Ernest, the trainer of a broken-down racehorse named Hiccup. It seems that the nag turns into a potential champion whenever he's promised a bucketful of beer. Poor Ernest remains ignorant of this, but Hiccup manages to locate enough brewski on his own to win the inevitable Big Race. Betty Grable, still a year or so away from full stardom, is an appealing heroine in this likeable contrivance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Penner, Betty Grable, (more)
- 1939
To dim-bulb accountants find themselves working for a bookie in this comedy. Their jobs and their lives are placed in jeopardy when they accidently fumble $50,000 worth of the bookie's cash over to the secretary who wastes no time in spending $44,000 of it in less than 8 hours. The bookkeepers are given 36 hours to get all of the money back by their infuriated boss. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- June Lang, Robert Kent, (more)
- 1939
Stronger Than Desire is a streamlined remake of 1934's Evelyn Prentice. Instead of the earlier film's William Powell and Myrna Loy, we are offered Walter Pidgeon and Virginia Bruce in the roles of a dynamic attorney and his wife. Little has changed storywise from Evelyn Prentice: Bruce kills (or thinks she kills) a man who is blackmailing her; another woman is accused of the crime; and as luck would have it, Pidgeon defends the accused woman. The remake is inferior to the original, save for the presence of child actress Ann Todd, who as the couple's daughter is a lot more appealing than Evelyn Prentice's nails-on-the-blackboard moppet Cora Sue Collins. Sidebar: Ann Dvorak, playing an "other woman" role originated by Rosalind Russell in Evelyn Prentice, is directed in Society Lawyer by her then-husband, Leslie Fenton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1939
In this courtroom drama a countrified prosecutor deliberately fails in his attempt to convict a notorious gangster so he can protect his adopted daughter, the gangster's moll. As a result the lawyer loses his job. When his troubled girl gets accused of murder, he does all he can to defend her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Ellis, Anita Louise, (more)
- 1939
This drama chronicles the life and times of a notorious gangster. The story begins at his funeral. There a reporter, assigned to do a brief biography, interviews a doctor who tells the gangster's sad tale. In flashback, the crook is first seen getting released from prison. His father pleads with him to go straight, but the son doesn't listen. He immediately robs a warehouse. His father rats upon him and the crook's gang abducts the district attorney's daughter to bargain for his release. Later it is discovered that the girl is really his daughter whom he and his lover put up for adoption. A policeman, a good friend of the gangster, helps the criminal escape and save his daughter from the gang. He is killed during the rescue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane Richmond, Amanda Duff, (more)
Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant star in this inspired comedy about a madcap heiress with a pet leopard who meets an absent-minded paleontologist and unwittingly makes a fiasco of both their lives. David Huxley (Grant) is the stuffy paleontologist who needs to finish an exhibit on dinosaurs and thus land a $1 million grant for his museum. At a golf outing with his potential benefactors, Huxley is spotted by Susan Vance (Hepburn) who decides that she must have the reserved scientist at all costs. She uses her pet leopard, Baby, to trick him into driving to her Connecticut home, where a dog wanders into Huxley's room and steals the vital last bone that he needs to complete his project. The real trouble begins when another leopard escapes from the local zoo and Baby is mistaken for it, leading Huxley and Susan into a series of harebrained and increasingly more insane schemes to save the cat from the authorities. Inevitably, the two end up in the local jail, where things get even more out of hand: Susan pretends to be the gun moll to David's diabolical, supposedly wanted criminal. Naturally, the mismatched pair falls in love through all the lunacy. Director Howard Hawks delivers a funny, fast-paced, and offbeat story, enlivened by animated performances from the two leads, in what has become a definitive screwball comedy. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, (more)
- 1938
In this comedy, designed to exploit the then current national craze for picture puzzles, an alcoholic advertising exec becomes addicted to inventing puzzles. Trouble ensues when he goes off on a major drunk and forgets to leave the answers to a national breakfast cereal contest. His colleague is assigned to find him. She succeeds and takes him to a rehab farm to sober up. He is kidnapped by gangsters who want those answers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Sally Eilers, (more)
- 1938
Glenda Farrell plays still another fast-talking girl reporter in Universal's Exposed. Willing to sell her soul for a story, newspaper sob sister Click Stewart (Farrell) is presently on the trail of DA William Reardon (Otto Kruger), a "Judge Crater" type who disappeared without a trace several years earlier. Following a lead, she finds Reardon residing in a flophouse, where he's been drinking his life away ever since he sent an innocent man to the electric chair. Sensing a swell scoop, Click offers to locate the daughter of the wrongly executed man so that Reardon can apologize; in exchange, our heroine will get the ex-DA's exclusive story. As the story progresses, Reardon rehabilitates himself and Click regains her essential decency and humanity, whereupon they team up to smash the operation of racketeer Mike Romero (Bernard Nedell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenda Farrell, Otto Kruger, (more)
- 1938
A French sculptor travels to LA and, with the help of Ace the Wonder Dog, pretends to be blind so he can sneak into a museum and reclaim some missing love letters. The amorous missives were written by his sister and could destroy her reputation. Someone has been using them to blackmail her, so her brother steals them. Unfortunately, they get mixed up in some shipping crates and get sent to California with a bunch of his latest creations. When the crooks learn that the letters are there, they too head for LA making the bulk of this crime drama a race to find those letters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Whitney Bourne, (more)
- 1938
Set in New York City's famed music hall and featuring an all-star cast, this musical chronicles the desperate search of two bungling aspiring songwriters who are looking for the tune that will make them stars. They hear the sweet sound of opportunity's knock when they find a naive country boy who can literally come up with hit tunes in his sleep. Jack Oakie and Milton Berle play the songwriters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, Kenny Baker, (more)
- 1938
Radio comedian Joe Penner, of "You Naaassty Man!" fame, was very much an acquired taste in 1938, and even more so when seen today. Nevertheless, such Penner movie vehicles as I'm From the City never failed to make a tidy profit for RKO Radio Pictures. In this one, the star plays a circus bareback rider who happens to be deathly afraid of horses. In order to perform his equestrian act, Penner must be hypnotized, whereupon he turns into a fearless, ridin' fool. This single joke is stretched across 7 reels as Penner finds himself participating in a grueling cowboy race, snapping out of his hypnotic trance at the most inopportune of moments. Former dancer Lorraine Krueger is actually funnier then Penner in the role of the hero's birdbrained girlfriend, as is Paul Guilfoyle as a comic-strip Indian. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Penner, Richard Lane, (more)
- 1938
In this comedy, a milquetoast clerk is betrothed to the socialite whose aunt holds a big account with his company. When the agency owner hears that the generous aunt is preparing to close her account and give all the money to the happy couple, the boss decides to stop the wedding. To do so, he hires the seductive blonde wife of a vaudevillian friend to play a "practical joke" upon the hapless clerk. The joke almost succeeds when he comes very close to losing his beloved. Fortunately, the gal is loyal and totally trusting. The marriage takes place and all is well. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Richard Lane, (more)
It's more Ginger Rogers than Fred Astaire, and more comedy than singing and dancing in this Astaire-Rogers entry into the screwball comedy sweepstakes which features a top-of-the-line Irving Berlin score (Change Partners, I Used to be Color Blind, The Night is Filled with Music). Fred Astaire plays Dr. Tony Flagg, a psychiatrist, who enters the psyche of Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers), a radio singer whom Tony's friend Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy) takes to see him. It seems Arden thinks that Amanda needs psychiatric help since she can't reach a decision regarding Stephen's proposal of marriage to her. As Tony explores her subconscious dream life, she falls in love with him. Tony feels that her love is temporary -- merely a sign of transference. To channel her love in the right direction, Tony hypnotizes her to believe that she is in love with Stephen. But then things become more complicated when Tony comes to realize that he, in fact, is in love with Amanda himself. He now has to figure out a way to bring her out of her hypnosis and get her back to normal so that they can both fall into the clinch. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, (more)
- 1938
Sidney Toler made his first appearance as aphorism-spouting oriental sleuth Charlie Chan in 1938's Charlie Chan in Honolulu, while Victor Sen Yung likewise makes his series debut as Charlie's Number Two Son Jimmy. While awaiting the birth of his first grandchild, Chan endeavors to solve a shipboard murder on a Hawaiian freighter. Hint: the most likely suspect is played by George Zucco, so it's safe bet that he's not the guilty party. Hampering Chan's investigation is the well-meaning assistance of overeager Charlie Chan Jr. (Layne Tom), as well as the dangerous menagerie of animal trainer Al Hogan (Eddie Collins). Audiences immediately warmed to Sidney Toler as the new Charlie Chan, encouraging 20th Century-Fox to keep the series going as long as possible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Toler, Phyllis Brooks, (more)
- 1938
When mild-mannered bank clerk Wilbur Meely (Joe Penner) finds himself stuck in a speeding trailer after a bank robbery gone wrong, he doesn't think the situation could get much worse than it already is. Unbeknownst to him, however, both the police department and his domineering wife Carol (Lucille Ball) think he's the the one who initiated the robbery. Oblivious to the fact that Wilbur has actually been captured by the true theives, Carol (Ball) and the cops head off in hot pursuit. Go Chase Yourself was directed by Edward F. Cline and also features actors June Travis, Richard Lane, Fritz Feld, Tom Kennedy, Granville Bates, and Bradley Page. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Penner, Lucille Ball, (more)
- 1938
In this comedy, a marriage-license clerk is proud of the fact that during his 20-year career not one of the couples he has licensed have gotten divorced. A reporter learns of his record and writes an article resulting in the small town office being flooded with engaged couples. The reporter then nominates the clerk for mayor, dubbing him "Lucky License." Meanwhile his political rivals try to frame him by having him pose with seductive bathing beauties. When that fails, they try framing him for murder. Fortunately that fails too and things turn out for the best. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Moore, Vicki Lester, (more)
- 1938
The Saint, Leslie Charteris' charming but deadly criminal-turned-sleuth, made his first film appearance in RKO Radio's The Saint of New York. Faithful to Charteris' original concept, this first movie Saint is a cold-blooded murderer, redeemed by the fact that all of his victims are notorious gangsters who'd otherwise elude the clutches of the law. Hired by a coterie of businessmen, Simon Templar (Louis Hayward), aka the Saint, methodically rids New York of its worst criminals, though "The Big Fellow", aka Hutch Rellin (Sig Rumann), continues to elude him. He is aided by Rellin's enigmatic mistress Fay Edwards (Kay Sutton), who pays for her actions with her life. The film's most memorable moment finds Templar disguising himself as a nun to dispose of a particularly nasty villain. The success of The Saint of New York prompted RKO to negotiate with Charteris for a series of "Saint" films, with George Sanders and Hugh Sinclair taking over from Louis Hayward as the title character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Kay Sutton, (more)
- 1938
This "Crime Club" series entry is based on a novel by Jonathan Latimer. Preston Foster and Frank Jenks make return appearances as Latimer's freewheeling private eyes Bill Crane and Doc Williams, here assigned to protect millionaire John Essex (Ray Parker) and John's sister Linda (Frances Robinson) from harm. Someone has been sending Linda threatening notes, eventually carrying out those threats by kidnaping the girl and holding her for ransom. Piecing clues together with the aplomb of two veteran jigsaw-puzzle aficionados, our heroes expose the Least Likely Suspect as the culprit, leading to even more surprises before fadeout time. Perennial dumb blonde Joyce Compton enlivens the proceedings as Doc's addlepated girl friend Dawn Day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Frank Jenks, (more)
- 1938
Another of RKO's movie vehicles for radio comic Joe Penner ("You na-a-a-asty man!"), Mr. Doodle Kicks Off stars Penner as the son of a wealthy and influential businessman. Penner's dad is disappointed at how sonny has turned out (we can't blame him), but is bound and determined to enroll Joe in his alma mater and turn him into a college football hero. Penner falls for June Travis, daughter of the college president, and sets his mind (what there is of it) to make good. Incredibly, Joe makes it into the Big Game, where he pulls a "Roy Riegels" and runs the wrong way. The best moment in Mr. Doodle Kicks Off, if indeed there is one, features Joe Penner conducting a college orchestra while strapped in a straitjacket. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Penner, June Travis, (more)
