Brian Marlow Movies

One of the eerier chillers of its period -- and one of the best ever to come out of Paramount -- Stuart Heisler's Among the Living is a strange and compelling mix of social drama, horror film, and suspense thriller. The story opens with the funeral of Maxim Raden, the patriarch who was pretty much responsible for building up the town that bears the family name, and which has been dominated for decades by the now-idle mill that he owned. Present at the funeral is Dr. Ben Saunders (Harry Carey Sr.), Raden's oldest friend, and the surviving Raden son John (Albert Dekker), who has been away for most of the last 25 years and recently married Elaine (Frances Farmer), a beautiful young woman from New York. John was one of a pair of twin boys; the other, Paul, died in an accident a quarter century ago, just after John was sent away to school. But Saunders and Maxim Raden had a secret between them -- that Paul Raden didn't die, but went dangerously insane, and has kept been alive all of this time, in a hidden room in the decaying Raden mansion, tended to by the doctor and the faithful family servant Pompey (Ernest Whitman). Paul was a victim of abuse by his overbearing father, and suffered brain damage from a beating he received while trying to protect his mother. He has never stopped "hearing" his father's threats or his mother's weeping, and they leave him prone to violent, potentially murderous outbursts of rage. Worse still, the death of his father has agitated him into a state where he is able to escape the mansion. Once freed and relieved of his quarter century of isolation, Paul is at once confused by and delighted with the company of people; he heads to the town and rents a room at a seedy boarding house, where he immediately attracts the attention of the landlady's frisky (and avaricious) daughter Millie (Susan Hayward) with his large bankroll, free-spending habits, and lost-puppy-dog demeanor. Meanwhile, the doctor reveals the truth about Paul to John, who wants to notify the authorities that his brother is loose and potentially dangerous -- but the doctor won't hear of it, fearing that news of the insane son will tarnish the Raden name and the reputation of the clinic that Maxim founded and funded on the doctor's behalf, in return for his covering up the son's existence.
The stakes get raised higher when the coroner reveals that a death the doctor tried to cover up was, in fact, a murder, and then a young woman is found strangled. While John is torn between sympathy for his brother, who never got the help or care he needed, and his feeling of responsibility to the town, the doctor tries to continue the cover-up by posting a 5,000-dollar reward for the capture of the killer. This sets off an orgy of assaults and destruction as the work-starved townspeople, led by Millie's ex-boyfriend Bill Oakley (Gordon Jones), begin rounding up anyone who looks even the least bit suspicious or out of place, trying to get the reward. Millie's greed is also brought to the fore and she persuades her new boyfriend, Paul, to go with her to the one place no one has searched yet -- the Raden mansion. Paul's veneer of calm unravels as he finds himself back in the location of his imprisonment, and in the course of the fight and the chase that ensues, John is caught and accused, by Millie and all of the other witnesses to Paul's outbursts, as the killer. Now it looks like a lynching is in the offing as hundreds of angry, drunken, greedy townspeople gather together to mete out justice -- and John must make them believe that he has a twin who is responsible for the murders. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Though Joe E. Brown's starring vehicles of the late 1930s-early 1940s were on the whole decidedly inferior to his earlier Warner Bros. films, some were better than others. In the "better" category is Columbia's Beware Spooks!, a hectic comedy-mystery set on Coney Island. On the strength of the reputation of his famous police-officer father, hapless Roy Gifford (Brown) is invited to join the "boys in blue". He soon proves himself an inept peacekeeper, and by mid-film he's been booted off the force. Cutting his losses, Roy heads to Coney Island for a honeymoon with his new bride Betty Lou (Mary Carlisle), and while in the fun house-which turns out to be a criminal hideaway--manages to solve a baffling murder. The zany climactic chase through the darkened "spook house" is the funniest scene in the picture, leaving no tried-and-true slapstick gag unturned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this lively comedy, a cop bungles a simple arrest and ends up suspended. He redeems himself by capturing some notorious crooks in a funhouse during a visit to Coney Island. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A sort of follow-up to the studio's earlier College Scandal, Paramount's Murder Goes to College once again combines homicide with higher learning. When the titular murder occurs, detective Hank Hyer (Lynne Overman) shows up to investigate, with vacationing reporter Sim Perkins (Roscoe Karns) tagging along. Both of our heroes run up against formidable opposition from a strangely secretive faculty, an openly hostile local constabulary, and sneering racketeer Strike Belno (Larry "Buster" Crabbe). Foremost among the suspects is Greta Barry (Astrid Allwyn), the ex-showgirl spouse of much-despised professor Tom Barry (Earl Foxe). Much of the suspense in Murder Goes to College arises from the possibility that the bibulous Sim Perkins won't remain sober long enough to solve the mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A gangland murder is the motivating factor of this fast-moving crime drama. George Murphy stars as reporter Kent Shevlin, whose investigation of the murder leads to a tenure as a temporary FBI agent. His subsequent adventures lead him to Mexico, where he makes the acquaintance of Ramirez (Akim Tamiroff), a bold bandido who isn't all that he seems to be. The story ends up with a kidnapping masterminded by smooth mob boss Riley Ferguson (Sidney Blackmer). The woman of the title is Barbara Andrews (Gertrude Michaels), the daughter of a U.S. senator (Samuel S. Hinds) who figures prominently in the various intrigues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's a black night in Hollywood when matinee idol Neil DuBeck (Rod LaRoque) is murdered at the preview of his latest film. Director E. Gordon Smith (Ian Keith), who has long harbored a deep hatred for DuBeck, is the main suspect -- until he too is killed, along with a movie-studio watchman (Spencer Charters). Closing down the studio and refusing to let anyone leave, police lieutenant McKane (Thomas Jackson) sifts through the clues, but it's up to actors Johnny Morgan (Reginald Denny) and Peggy Madison (Frances Drake) to solve the mystery, applying a few tricks they've learned at the movies. Director Robert Florey enlivens Preview Murder Mystery with scores of delightful inside jokes, ranging from an elaborate takeoff of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to a "television camera" which looks like a reconverted movie projector. Several Paramount contractees appear briefly in guest roles, while a host of silent screen favorites (Jack Mulhall, Bryant Washburn, Chester Conklin, Wilfrid Lucas et. al.) show up in nostalgic bit parts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Forgotten Faces is the third of four versions of the old chestnut Heliotrope Harry. Herbert Marshall stars as Harry Ashton, a gambler-turned-jailbird saddled with a vindictive ex-wife named Cleo (Gertrude Michael). Seventeen years after the break-up, an impoverished Cleo, now a cheap burlesque performer, searches for her daughter Sally (Jane Rhodes), whom she gave up for adoption. She blackmails Sally's foster parents, threatening to tell the girl that her real mother is a tramp and her real father has just served a long prison term. But Harry, recently paroled, stops Cleo in her tracks by killing her. This grand gesture also costs him his own life, but at least he can shuffle off his mortal coil secure in the knowledge that his daughter will be spared the truth. Director E. A. Dupont is at his Germanic best in Forgotten Faces, which is altogether suitable to the melodramatic nature of the storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sequel to 1934's The Notorious Sophie Lang, The Return of Sophie Lang once more stars Gertrude Michael in the title role. Before reforming, Ms. Lang was a jewel thief; now she is the scrupulously honest traveling companion of an elderly dowager (Elizabeth Patterson). When the old lady's diamonds disappear during an ocean voyage, suspicion immediately falls upon Sophie. The ex-thief turns amateur sleuth, tracking down the guilty party in order to escape incarceration. A young but very self-assured Ray Milland provides the romantic angle in The Return of Sophie Lang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This atmospheric suspense film from the makers of White Zombie marked an unusual turn for glamorous Carole Lombard as heiress Roma Courtenay, who is approached by phony psychic Paul Bavian (Alan Dinehart), who claims to bear an important message from her recently deceased brother. After attending a bogus seance, Roma suddenly becomes possessed by the malevolent spirit of executed triple-murderess Ruth Rogen (Vivienne Osborne), whose unfinished business includes killing Bavian, her one-time lover. Fearing that Roma is actually under the charlatan's control, her fiancé (Randolph Crane Scott) sets out to rescue her -- and eventually discovers that the supernatural influence is quite real. Though too subdued to generate real suspense, this atmospheric film benefits from the visual style of director Victor Halperin. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This unique thriller chronicles the exploits of a doctor who will do almost anything to please his young, second wife. She wants more money. He arranges to get it by hypnotizing a bank official and making him extract $100,000 from the vault. The doctor then plans to murder him and then rob him. Before he acts, the physician comes to his senses and confesses his scheme to the police. He then swears he will have the bank officer return the cash. Unfortunately, the bank official is killed and robbed. The doctor, who had come to hypnotize him, is found unconscious. Someone chloroformed him. At this point the movie grinds to a halt and an intermission is inserted. It's purpose is to allow the viewer one minute to look back upon the clues and try to solve the murder. A clock ticks off the seconds, and the characters and clues quickly flash across the screen. It is still very difficult to determine "whodunit" until the very end of the picture. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a bandleader thinks that his young friend will be corrupted by his budding relationship with a taxi dancer. To protect the tender youth, the conductor sends him out of town.The bandleader soon finds himself wooing the lovely dancer. Unfortunately, a jealous gangster is also in love with her. When the gangster discovers that the bandleader presents competition, he targets him for a hit. Chaos ensues ending in a shoot-out. The gangster is killed, the bandleader shot, and the callow youth is finally reunited with his beloved dancer. Songs include: "St. Louis Blues." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a twice married woman tries one more time with number three. Unfortunately, her wedding is suddenly halted when the woman's irate son kills the groom during the ceremony, and then shoots himself. This causes the woman's daughter who heretofore had been following in her misguided mother's footsteps, to reconsider her own actions and settle down with a nice young fellow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide