Rowland V. Lee Movies

The lush romanticism of director Frank Borzage (Seventh Heaven, Street Angel) is subsumed by the plodding reverence of producer Rowland V. Lee's screenplay (co-written with Howard Estabrook), based on the best-selling novel by Lloyd C. Douglas. Howard Keel stars as a stalwart Simon-Peter, the apostle of Christ called "the fisher of men" and the "Rock" upon whom the Christian Church was founded. The film, on the surface, deals with Simon-Peter's conversion from a self-sufficient fisherman to a believer in the inspirational teachings of Christianity. Simon-Peter also serves the needs of the real story: how Simon-Peter succeeds in joining together two lovers from the other side of the tracks. John Saxon is Voldi, an Arab prince who wants to follow in his father's footsteps as the chief of an Arab tribe and marry his beloved, Fara (Susan Kohner). But Fara, wants to see her father, Herod Antipas (Herbert Lom), dead for the misery he has inflicted upon her mother -- abandoning her for the lustful Herodias (Martha Hyer). When Voldi and Fara hear the teachings of Christ, they realize that their love must be put in abeyance to their Christian beliefs. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

First filmed in 1928, Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey is given a ponderous treatment in this 1944 remake. Like the novel, the film begins at the end, with the collapse of a rope bridge in 18th century Peru. The story then flashes back to the lives of the five unfortunates killed in the collapse. Among the five are singer-turned-couresan Michaela (Lynn Bari), her obsequious Uncle Pio (Akim Tamiroff), feuding twin brothers Manuel and Estaban (both played by Francis Lederer) and the envious Marquesa (Nazimova). Trying to make sense of the lives and deaths of the five is sensitive young priest Brother Juniper (Donald Woods). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though set in 1865, The Son of Monte Cristo is a thinly disguised indictment against 20th century dictatorships. Louis Hayward plays the title character, Edmond Dantes Jr., who while posing as an epicene dandy works tirelessly to topple the regime of fascistic Balkan despot Count Gurko (George Sanders). Under cover of night, Hayward dons mask and cape as "The Torch", a Zorro-like dogooder rallying the peasantry to rise up against Gurko and his ilk. As a bonus, he rescues the lovely Grand Duchess Zona (Joan Bennett) from an arranged marriage with the usurping Count. Produced by Edward Small as a followup to his 1939 version of Man in the Iron Mask, The Son of Monte Cristo benefits from a carefully chosen supporting cast, including Clayton "Lone Ranger" Moore and Ralph "Dick Tracy" Byrd. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The most elaborate--and longest--of Universal's Frankenstein series, Son of Frankenstein represents Boris Karloff's last appearance in the role of the Monster. The title character is played by Basil Rathbone, who with wife Josephine Hutchinson and son Donnie Donegan returns to the Old Country to take over his late father's estate. Rathbone receives a cool reception from the local villagers, who remember all too well the havoc wreaked by his father's monstrous creation. Though he assures his neighbors that he has no intention of following in his father's footsteps, Rathbone is hounded by suspicious town constable Lionel Atwill, whose stiff artificial arm is an unfortunate legacy of an earlier confrontation with Karloff. Also hanging around Frankenstein Castle is crazed shepherd Bela Lugosi), whose neck was broken in an unsuccessful hanging attempt. Lugosi wishes to exact revenge on the city fathers who'd tried to execute him, and to that end persuades Rathbone to revive the hideous Karloff. At first resistant, Rathbone becomes as obsessed as his father with the notion of creating artificial life. Now the fun begins, directed with Germanic intensity by Rowland V. Lee. Though Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein has rendered Son of Frankenstein virtually impossible to take seriously, the film remains an excellent marriage of the slick, sanitized production values of the "New Universal" and the Gothic zeitgeist of the earlier Frankenstein epics. Best line: Lugosi, looking over the dormant body of The Monster, explains raspily that "He does...things...for me." Hans J. Salter's intense musical score for Son of Frankenstein would continue to resurface in Universal's Mummy B pictures of the 1940s. Watch for Ward Bond in a bit part as a police officer...and see if you can spot Dwight Frye, whose supporting part was excised from the final release print, among the villagers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this frothy comedy-drama, a businesswoman owns a successful service bureau for the filthy rich. Her service does everything from handling mundane finances to putting on weddings. Her most recent client wants her to prevent his rube of a nephew from coming to New York to visit him. She does her best and in the end, falls in love with the bumpkin after charming him away from his countrified girl friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Allegedly based on two factual works, Bouck White's The Book of Daniel Drew and Matthew Josephson's The Robber Barons, RKO's The Toast of New York is a largely fanciful account of the career of 1870s financier "Jubilee Jim" Fisk. As played by Edward Arnold in his usual "tycoon" mode, Fisk was a likable scoundrel who finagled his way into the upper rungs of Wall Street as much for fun as for profit. The film conveniently ignores Fisk's involvement with the infamous Tweed Ring, and skims over his complicity in 1869's "Black Friday," one of the most disastrous events in American economic history. We are also offered a sanitized version of Fisk's notorious mistress Josie Mansfield, who as played by Frances Farmer is an apple-cheeked lass who regards Fisk only as a loyal friend. Cary Grant is along for the ride as "Nick Boyd," a thinly disguised version of Fisk's actual partner in crime Ned Stokes. Too costly to post a profit, Toast of New York is nonetheless fine non-think entertainment, kept alive by a superb supporting cast ranging from Donald Meek as Daniel Drew and Clarence Kolb as Cornelius Vanderbilt to such bit players as Laurel & Hardy perennial James Finlayson, who plays the inventor of a self-tipping hat! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A remake of the French comedy Monsieur Sans-Gene, One Rainy Afternoon gets under way when film-actor Phillippe Martin (Francis Lederer) heads to a darkened Parisian movie theater for a romantic rendezvous with his married sweetheart Yvonne (Countess Live de Margaret). But our hero sits in the wrong seat and kisses the wrong young lady: Monique Pelerin (Ida Lupino), the daughter of a powerful publisher Joseph Cawthorn. This innocent mistake snowballs into a national scandal, fomented by the hatchet-faced president (Eily Malyon) of the Purity League, with Phillippe earning the onus of "The Kissing Monster." It all culminates in one of those zany courtroom trails which proliferated in screwball comedies of the 1930s, wherein Phillippe defends himself by insisting that it is in a Frenchman's nature to be romantic, even with perfect strangers -- and as a result he becomes an international hero! One Rainy Afternoon was the first of a handful of United Artists talkies personally produced by studio vice-president Mary Pickford. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Released generally as Cardinal Richelieu, this George Arliss vehicle was based on the popular 19th-century blank-verse play by Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Downplaying the more villainous aspects of the character, Arliss portrays Richelieu as a dry-witted foxy-grandpa type, manipulating the well-meaning but often ineffectual French monarch Louis XIII (Edward Arnold) and cleverly outmaneuvering his scurrilous enemies, especially Louis' power-hungry brother Gaston (Francis Lister). Richelieu even finds time to smooth the romantic path of the young lovers, his young ward Lenore (Maureen O'Sullivan) and handsome Andre de Pons (Cesar Romero) -- though he does this mainly to suit his own political and ecumenical purposes. Highlights include the famous scene in which the wily Richelieu defeats his foes by threatening them with eternal damnation! Richelieu was George Arliss's last American film; henceforth, he would appear only in British productions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Few famous novels have been filmed as often as Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo--and few versions are as enjoyable as this 1934 adaptation starring Robert Donat. Donat plays Edmond Dantes, wrongly accused of a plot against the post-Napoleonic French government. Condemned to a prison cell in the impenetrable Chateau D'If, Dantes vows vengeance against the four conspirators who framed him. He is particularly anxious to give his ex-friend Mondego (Sidney Blackmer) his comeuppance, since it was Mondego who married Dantes' fiancee Mercedes (Elissa Landi). Twelve years pass; with the help of ancient fellow prisoner Abbe Foria (O.P. Heggie), Dantes digs his way out of the Chateau D'If and escapes. He finds the treasure of Monte Cristo, which makes him the wealthiest man in the world. He uses his riches to put his plan of revenge into motion, methodically destroying every one of his enemies. Though he lives for vengeance, Dantes--alias the Count of Monte Cristo--has his humanity restored by the love of Mercede, who despite her marriage has always remained spiritually faithful to him. According to publicity, the 1955 TV series based on The Count of Monte Cristo was filmed on the standing sets from the 1934 film. This might well have been true, since both film and series were produced by Edward Small. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A beautiful orphan girl, faced with the prospect of being forced to work as an indentured servant (more like a slave) until she grows up, runs away to the zoo. There she encounters a kindly zookeeper who has been chastised by his boss for being too nice to the animals. He becomes a fugitive after stealing a wealthy woman's fur coat. He and the girl meet while hiding out in the zoo. Later he saves her from an attack by a vicious co-worker. More scuffles ensue and they result in many dangerous animals being freed from their cages. The errant zookeep later redeems himself by saving a young child from a hungry tiger. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this Sherlock Holmes mystery, the great detective and Dr. Watson help a young woman who has received a giant pearl from a mysterious man. The woman, to whom Watson is very attracted, is also searching for her father who has mysteriously disappeared. Holmes and the Dr. first go to the home of a flamboyant fellow in South London. This man too is being harassed by the mysterious stranger. This leads the sleuths to a one-legged criminal and his assistant, a dwarf. The story climaxes with a thrilling motor boat chase down the Thames. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Originally titled Upper Underworld, The Ruling Voice stars Walter Huston as a powerful underworld chieftain who covers his crooked activities in a cloak of respectability. Cold-blooded in all business matters, Huston cares only for the welfare of his beloved daughter Loretta Young, whom he has been careful to shield from his criminal cohorts. When she learns the truth, Young angrily walks out of her father's life, a blow compounded when his "trusted" henchman Dudley Digges betrays him. In a last-ditch effort at redemption, Huston puts his own life on the line to rescue his daughter from her rival-gangster kidnappers. The final shot in The Ruling Voice is a gem, with the newspaper bearing the headline of Huston's downfall being used to wrap a dead fish. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though he plays an Italian-American character in Ladies Love Brutes, George Bancroft refreshingly avoids the ethnic stereotype so prevalent in films of the early 1930s. Bancroft is cast as Joe Forziati, a rough-and-tumble building contractor who is suddenly thrust into great wealth. He tries to remain his same down-to-earth self, but soon he's putting on airs in hopes of impressing attractive divorcee Mimi Howell (Mary Astor). Forziati ultimately drops his social pretenses and puts up his dukes when both his son Joey (David Durand) and Mimi's boy Jackie (Freddie Burke Frederick) are kidnapped by Capone-like gangster Mike Mendino (Stanley Fields). Billed third, Fredric March is rather wasted as Mimi's former husband. Ladies Love Brutes was based on Pardon My Glove, a play by Zoe Akins. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi