Clarence J. Marks Movies

A sequel to the Hal Roach "streamliner" The Devil with Hitler, That Nazty Nuisance is much funnier, albeit nearly as tasteless as the earlier film. Bobby Watson, Hollywood's foremost Adolf Hitler impersonator, plays Der Fuhrer as a pompous imbecile, and who's to say his interpretation wasn't accurate. The plot requires Hitler to summon his Axis partners Mussolini (Joe Devlin) and Suki Yaki (a Hirohito clone played by comedy foil Johnny Arthur) for a secret meeting. For the purposes of secrecy, the three dictators travel to the island nation of Norom (spell it backwards). Fortunately for Truth, Justice and the American Way, Hitler and his stooges are sabotaged by shipwrecked American sailor Benson (Frank Faylen) and island beauty Kela (Jean Porter). A bit strong for contemporary tastes, That Nazty Nuisance provided 48 minutes of solid laughs for its wartime audience. The film has since been released to television as Double Crossed Fool. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this campus drama, an orphan wins a cadet scholarship to the Culver military academy. He is a cocky fellow, and is very proud that his late father was a decorated war hero who died in battle. His arrogance and unwillingness to comply with the academy's strict rules soon gets him into hot water. Fortunately, the lad's level-headed roommate helps him settle down and toe the line. Later the young man learns that his dad is still alive and is recovering from the trauma of battle in a local VA hospital. Time passes and the young man grows up to be a fine cadet. Meanwhile, his father heals and becomes the courageous hero he once was. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This film is, as far as is known, the world's only Western with an all-midget cast. The conventional plot -- about a cowboy helping out a beautiful ranch owner menaced by local thugs -- is an excuse for the filmmakers to show cowboys entering the local saloon by walking under the swinging doors and pint-sized cowboys galloping around on Shetland ponies. Many of these same actors were part of a performing troupe called Singer's Midgets, who also played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

Men may come and men may go, but silly service comedies like Swing It Sailor go on forever. James Dunn and Ray Mayer star as Pete Kelly and Husky Stone a pair of over-age but under-mature gobs. Pete and Husky's main purpose in life seems to be duking it out over the affections of peroxide blonde Myrtle Montrose (Isabel Jewell) Back on duty, our heroes conspire to drive the rest of the Navy nuts with their goofy antics. Ultimately, Husky finds himself abandoned on a derelict ship slated for target practice, forcing the suddenly sobered Pete to race to his rescue. Most of the naval maneuvers seen in the final reels of Swing It Sailor were harvested from newsreel footage, some of it seemingly older than the three leading players. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Susan (ZaSu Pitts) is a plain-Jane wallflower who spends a day at Coney Island. Here she catches the eye of equally shy (and twice as homely) Hugh O'Connell. Though both hero and heroine spend every penny and then some riding the rides and trying their luck at the arcade; it hardly matters since, at the end of the day, they have each other. A short story by Mann Page was the principal inspiration of The Affair of Susan; scripters include ex-Laurel and Hardy gagman H. M. Walker and future Three Stooges contributor Andrew Benniston. In no way is this amiable little farce the predecessor to the 1945 political satire The Affairs of Susan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Birdlike ZaSu Pitts and gangly Slim Summerville are together again in the Universal programmer Love Birds. The stars are cast respectively as schoolmarm Araminta Tootle and chicken farmer Henry Whipple, both of whom are sold the same abandoned ranch by the same fast-talking con artist. Neither Araminta nor Henry are entranced by the idea of sharing the property, but they try to make the best of things for the sake of precocious orphan boy Gladwyn (Mickey Rooney), whom the teacher hopes to adopt. The plot goes off on a new tangent when Henry loses a gold tooth filling, which when found on his property is mistaken for a gold nugget by a grizzled old prospector, leading to a slapstick finale in which the tiny ranch is invaded by all manner of suspicious-looking characters -- including the sharpster who sold the hero and heroine the property in the first place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One wonders if William Wyler ever gave Her First Mate a second thought when he was busy directing such subsequent films as The Little Foxes, Mrs. Miniver,The Best Years of Our Lives and Ben-Hur. This early Wyler efforts stars Slim Summerville and ZaSu Pitts as John and Mary Horner; he's a peanut vendor on the Albany night boat, while she's trying to scrimp together enough money to buy John his own ferryboat. Along the way, the Horners get mixed up with comic bootlegger Socrates (Henry Armetta) and a pair of doltish lovebirds named Hattie (Una Merkel) and Percy (Warren Hymer). The story comes to a climax with a slapstick ferry wreck, easily the best scene in the picture. Her First Mate was based on Salt Water, a play by Dan Jarrett, Frank Craven and John Golden; among the screenwriters was H. M. "Beanie" Walker, an alumnus of the Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang two-reelers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Wyler directed this melodramatic story about a boy who, after growing up in the shadow of his father, learns the old man wasn't all he claimed to be. Tom Brown (played, as coincidence would have it, by an actor named Tom Brown) is a boy who has been struggling to help his mother keep body and soul together ever since the death of his father during World War I. The elder Brown died in combat when Tom was a baby, but her heroism earned him a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor, and in tribute to his father a local American Legion post presents Tom with a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Culver Military Academy; while Tom has his doubts about his future as a soldier, he certainly understands the value of an education and accepts. However, its not until after he's enrolled at Culver that Tom learns the truth about his father -- "Doc" Brown (H.B. Warner) fled in the midst of battle, exchanging his identification with a dead soldier, and has been living the life of a coward ever since. Will Tom be able to restore the good name of the Brown family? Andy Devine, Sidney Toler, Slim Summerville and a young Tyrone Power highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this heart-tugging musical, a Southern boy loses his parents during the Civil War and is forcibly wrenched away from his beloved mammy and sent to New York to live with his Yankee grandma. At first the family resents the rebel upstart, but soon he charms them into loving him with his singing ability. The story is also called Rainbow on the River. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Directed by William Wyler, The Love Trap centers around a chorus girl whose sudden job termination (on the day of her eviction, no less) leads her to a hasty decision -- she would attend a party and make money by whatever means necessary, however dubious those means may be. It isn't long before the young woman ends up on the receiving end of an attack, and not only finds herself thrown out of the party, but homeless, penniless, and at the mercy of a good-hearted taxi-cab driver. The cab driver lets her take up temporary residence inside one of his cars, and winds up falling in love with the singer, as she would with him. Certain that they were meant to be together, the couple rushes off to the altar; sparking no small amount of ire from the cab driver's snooty, upper crust family. Indeed, the relatives raise a mighty fuss -- his uncle goes so far as to expose the new bride of having been the host's mistress at the ill-fated party she had attended at the height of her desperation, which leads to a heated showdown between husband, mother, and uncle. The Love Trap features Laura LaPlante, Nell Hamilton, Norman Trevor, and Jocyln Lee ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide