Herman Mankiewicz Movies

Pride of St. Louis is the story of one of baseball's most colorful characters, Jerome Herman "Dizzy" Dean. While playing amateur ball in 1928, Dizzy (Dan Dailey) is hired by the St. Louis Cardinals. He spends a year or so playing with the Cards' Texas farm team, during which time he woos and wins department-store clerk Pat Nash (Joanne Dru, who ironically was the real-life aunt of pro baseball player Pete LaCock!) Once in the majors as a pitcher, Dean is joined on the Cards lineup by his younger brother Paul (Richard Crenna), whom the press nicknames "Daffy." Through a combination of spectacular ballplaying and zany publicity stunts, Dizzy and Daffy become nationwide favorites. Their popularity really soars after they help the Cardinals win the 1934 World Series. After this triumph, things begin to go downhill for Dizzy, who endures several injuries and finally "loses" his pitching arm. Dean is rescued from a binge of self-pity by his old friend Johnny Kendall (Richard Hylton), whose dad is a brewery executive. Johnny convinces his dad to sponsor a series of St. Louis Browns radio broadcasts, and to hire Dizzy as a play-by-play announcer. Ol' Diz gets in a lot of trouble with local schoolteachers because of his eccentric grammar ("he slud into third base," etc.) but things eventually turn out A-OK. Pride of St. Louis takes any number of liberties with the facts, but the real Dizzy Dean didn't care so long as 20th Century-Fox ponied up a huge sum of money for the rights to his life story: "Jeez," he said at the time, "they're gonna give me 50,000 smackers just fer livin'!" Future NBC news commentator Chet Huntley shows up in one of the closing scenes as sportscaster Tom Weaver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This romantic fantasy was based on a popular play by Arthur Pinero. Oliver Bradford (Robert Young) is a young man who returned from World War II with severe facial scars; while he was engaged to be married before he left, he believes that no one could love him now, and he lives on the brink of suicide. Oliver meets Laura Pennington (Dorothy McGuire), a plain young woman who is convinced that her looks will never win her a man. These two lonely people marry, more out of desperation than love, and move into a small cottage which is all that remains of the large estate of Abigail Minnett (Mildred Natwick), who lost the rest of her property in a fire. The cottage has been the site of many happy honeymooners over the years, and inside its walls, Oliver and Laura discover that a magical transformation takes place; he regains the handsome features he once possessed, and she becomes beautiful. The couple find love and happiness with each other, but find that the cottage's magical spell only works as long as they remain at home with each other; the outside world does not recognize the beauty that they have found with each other. The Enchanted Cottage was previously adapted for the silent screen in 1924, with Richard Barthelmess and May McAvoy as the newlyweds. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Don't be fooled by the title. Christmas Holiday is a far, far cry from It's a Wonderful Life. Told in flashback, the story begins as Jackie (Deanna Durbin), marries Southern aristocrat Robert Monette (Gene Kelly). Unfortunately, Robert has inherited his family's streak of violence and instability and soon drags Jackie into a life of misery. When her husband commits murder, Jackie is compelled by Robert's equally degenerate mother (Gale Sondergaard) to cover up the crime. When Robert is arrested, Jackie, tormented by the love she still holds for her husband, runs away from the family home, changing her name and securing work as a singer in a New Orleans dive. Robert escapes from prison and makes his way to Jackie's dressing room. Holding a reporter hostage, he threatens to kill both Jackie and the waylaid sailor who has been listening to her story. An astonishing change of pace from Deanna Durbin's usual lightweight musical fare, Christmas Holiday (based, believe it or not, on a story by W. Somerset Maugham) is one of the bleakest film noirs of the 1940s. Durbin is merely adequate in her role, but Gene Kelly gives a disturbingly convincing portrayal as a man virtually devoured by his inner demons. Robert Siodmak directs with his usual flair, using a taut, suspenseful screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas' (Charles Laughton) spoken tribute to "the finest Naval officer I knew" provides the framework for the wartime flag-waver Stand By For Action. Robert Taylor stars as Gregg Masterman, a flippant socialite who comes to realize his obligation to his country when he is called to active duty during WW II. Determined to get sea duty, Lt. Masterman is passed over by Admiral Thomas in favor of Lt. Cmdr. M. J. Roberts (Brian Donlevy), who, unlike our academy-trained hero, rose from the ranks to his present position of authority. Any differences between Masterman and Roberts are forgotten in the climactic attack against a formidable Japanese "super-battleship." Though there's precious little room for romance in this essentially all-male entertainment, Stand by for Action offers Robert Taylor a brief dalliance with up-and-coming MGM starlet Marilyn Maxwell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Orson Welles first feature film -- which he directed, produced, and co-wrote, as well as playing the title role -- proved to be his most important and influential work, a ground-breaking drama loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst which is frequently cited as the finest American film ever made. Aging newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) dies in his sprawling Florida estate after uttering a single, enigmatic final word -- "Rosebud" -- and newsreel producer Rawlston (Phil Van Zandt) sends reporter Jerry Thompson (William Alland) out with the assignment of uncovering the meaning behind the great man's dying thought. As Thompson interviews Kane's friends, family, and associates, we learn the facts of Kane's eventful and ultimately tragic life: his abandonment by his parents (Agnes Moorehead and Harry Shannon) after he becomes the heir to a silver mine; his angry conflicts with his guardian, master financier Walter Parks Thatcher (George Coulouris); his impulsive decision that "it would be fun to run a newspaper" with the help of school chum Jedediah Leland (Joseph Cotten) and loyal assistant Mr. Bernstein (Everett Sloane); his rise from scandal sheet publisher to the owner of America's largest and most influential newspaper chain; his marriage to socially prominent Emily Norton (Ruth Warrick), whose uncle is the President of the United States; Kane's ambitious bid for public office, which is dashed along with his marriage when his opponent, corrupt political boss Jim Gettys (Ray Collins), reveals that Kane is having an affair with aspiring vocalist Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore); Kane's vain attempts to promote second wife Alexander as an opera star; and his final, self-imposed exile to a massive and never-completed pleasure palace called Xanadu. While Citizen Kane was a film full of distinguished debuts -- along with Welles, it was the first feature for Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, and Ruth Warrick -- the only Academy Award it received was for Best Original Screenplay, for which Welles shared credit with veteran screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In addition to his supporting-player duties at MGM, Frank Morgan could always be counted upon to star in the studio's B-picture product. In Keeping Company, Morgan plays real estate broker Harry C. Thomas, blessed (or saddled) with three growing daughters. Mary (Ann Rutherford), oldest of the Thomas girls, leaves the nest to marry handsome Ted Foster (John Shelton). Thanks to the well-meaning parental interference of Thomas and his wife (Irene Rich), the young couple ends up on the verge of divorce. Leave it to tomboyish kid sister Harriet (Virginia Weidler) to patch things up by fadeout time. Intended as the first entry in a series that never materialized, Keeping Company was based on a story by Herman J. Mankiewicz, who obviously didn't take this assignment as seriously as he did Citizen Kane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this frothy screwball comedy, Guy Johnson (James Stewart) is a private detective who is dedicated to his job but still quite green and a bit of a bumbler. Guy is hired to keep a close watch on Willie Heyward (Ernest Truex), a footloose millionaire with a habit of getting into trouble. One night, Willie ties one on and somehow ends up accused of murder, with Guy also charged as an accomplice. After the two are convicted, Guy escapes from the train taking him to prison, and he hits the road in hopes of finding evidence that will clear both himself and Willie. En route, Guy encounters Edwina Corday (Claudette Colbert), an eccentric poetess, and essentially abducts her, forcing her to let him use her car and help him as he tries to find the real murderer. But before long, Edwina seems more amused by Guy than threatened, and she falls in love with him as he assumes a bewildering series of disguises (actor, driver, Boy Scout) while trying to find the truth before it's too late. It's a Wonderful World also features Guy Kibbee, Edgar Kennedy, Sidney Blackmer, and Hans Conried. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When Walter Pidgeon wasn't playing Greer Garson's perfect husband at MGM, he could usually be found portraying a newspaper editor. This is how we find him in My Dear Miss Aldrich, the first MGM flick in which Pidgeon was awarded top billing. Maureen O'Sullivan plays the title character, a glamorous schoolteacher who receives an inheritance from a wealthy relative. That legacy turns out to be the very newspaper managed by Mr. Pidgeon--and the usual fireworks result. My Dear Miss Aldrich was written by Herman J. Mankiewicz, a former newspaperman who would cap his cinematic reminiscences with his 1940 screenplay for Citizen Kane. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a king suddenly abdicates, his subjects are lead to believe that it is for the love of a foreigner in this romance. In reality, he is stepping down so avaricious businessmen can crown their own man king. The deposed monarch spends his exile on the Riviera, while the woman, filled with guilt because he stepped down for her, lives in Holland. Interestingly enough, Edward VIII the King of England abdicated for the love of American woman Wallis Simpson a few weeks after this British film was released. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Society girl Constance Bennett goes to work as a reporter for a big-city newspaper. Harried editor Clark Gable fires the flighty socialite, but rehires her when Bennett starts dating the co-respondent (Harvey Stephens) in a major divorce case. Things get sticky when the wife in the case is murdered and Bennett's beau is accused of the crime. More interested in the well-being of Bennett than in making headlines, Gable tracks down the killer and springs the boy friend. The freed man sizes up the situation and courteously steps out of the picture, allowing Gable and Bennett--who of course have been in love all along--to head for the altar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, based on a popular play by George Kelly, an office clerk masquerades as a railroad magnate to impress a young woman. Though the enamored girl believes his every word, her mother is not so easily fooled. Still she says nothing and the emboldened fellow begins making even more outlandish claims and wild promises he could never keep. As a result, the boorish loudmouth loses his job and gets booted out of his girl friend's house. The braggart is then reduced to earning a meager living as a sandwich board man. While wandering about one day, he meets an inventor who shares his latest idea. The young man then helps the inventor sell his new gadget to the railroad. His good work wins him renewed respect and love from his gal. Eventually they marry. The nuptials do nothing to quell the doubts of the bride's mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Given the usual pedestal upon which mothers were placed by MGM head Louis Mayer, it's all the more amazing that Mayer gave the go-ahead for Another Language. Louise Closser Hale plays a domineering matriarch who controls the lives of her grown, married sons, using a fabricated heart condition to keep them in line. Helen Hayes marries youngest son Robert Montgomery, only to sit by in mute horror as Mother exerts her authority over her timorous offspring at a weekly family get-together. At the end, only Hayes and Montgomery's nephew John Beal have the courage to break the apron strings, but not without the formidable opposition of Monster Mom. Based on the Broadway play by Rose Franken, Another Language represented the screen debut of Margaret Hamilton, recreating the supporting role she'd played on stage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a man masquerading as the notorious Baron Munchausen and his partner arrive from the African jungles and create quite a stir in New York. Eventually he ends up a women's college involved in a number of interesting musical production numbers. Look for an early appearance by the "The Three Stooges." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide