A.S. Byron Movies

Lillian Russell is the sanitized musical biopic of the legendary (and much-married) 19th century musical comedy star. Discovered in 1880 by bandleader Tony Pastor (Leo Carrillo), Lillian Russell (Alice Faye) wastes no time rising to fame and fortune on the Broadway stage. Along the way, she curries the favor of such eligible bachelors as newspaperman Alexander Moore (Henry Fonda), composer Edward Solomon (Don Ameche), and railroad tycoon Diamond Jim Brady (Edward Arnold). She marries the first two, and has a high old time (albeit chastely) with the third. The story ends with Russell's retirement in 1912, and her reunion with the one true love of her life. The film's hands-down highlight is a timeworn but classic routine involving those two Broadway comedy giants Joe Weber and Lew Fields, both of whom had appeared on-stage with the real Lillian Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sonja Henie, the Norwegian skating star, reportedly played second fiddle to no one at Fox in the late '30s, and this backstage musical extravaganza is all Henie. Taking a leaf from producer David O. Selznick, Consolidated Pictures send public relation expert Tyrone Power in search of an unknown to star in the studio's upcoming production of Girl of the North. Power returns to Hollywood with Minnesota schoolmarm (and figure skating expert) Trudy Hovland in tow, and then manufactures a romance between the girl and stolid leading man Roger Maxwell (Rudy Vallee). The ensuing complications are quickly solved and the new star is able to perform a flashy finale to Irving Berlin's "The Song of the Metronome." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Contrary to popular belief, the Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald Technicolor confection Sweethearts is not based on the 1913 Victor Herbert operetta of the same name (though most of Herbert's songs remain intact), but a Dorothy Parker-Alan Campbell brainstorm about a popular Broadway singing duo, starring in a long-running production of Sweethearts. The early portions of the film take place during a purported presentation of the Herbert piece, with Eddy and MacDonald singing their hearts out and Ray Bolger providing comic relief. We then segue into a long sequence wherein producer Frank Morgan, celebrating Sweethearts's six-year run, insists that Eddy and MacDonald attend a lavish party, where the weary performers are called upon to continue singing throughout the evening. Hoping for a few moments alone after escaping the party, Eddy and MacDonald are besieged at their apartment by friends, co-workers, hangers-on and sponging relatives. Seeking peace and quiet, the couple agrees to leave Sweethearts for the comparative calm of Hollywood. But their entourage, fearing that they'll lose their meal ticket if Eddy and MacDonald leave New York, arrange to inaugurate two profitable road companies of Sweethearts by contriving to split up the loving couple. Cleverly sidestepping the sugary sweet sentimentality that one might expect from an MGM musical of the era, the delightful Sweethearts is hampered only by its overlength. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Before sitting down to watch Love and Hisses, it's important to know that columnist Walter Winchell and bandleader Ben Bernie were engaged in a phony but highly publicized feud in the late 1930s. For the purposes of this film, the source of the Winchell-Bernie contretemps is pretty nightclub singer Simone Simon. Secretly signing the girl to a contract, Bernie spreads rumors that the girl has no talent, knowing full well that his "friendly enemy" Winchell will then give her a huge build-up in his newspaper column. Upon finding out that he's been hoodwinked, Winchell gets even by having Bernie kidnapped by a gang of phony hoodlums. With all this going on, it's easy to forget that legendary Broadway clown Bert Lahr is also in Love and Hisses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paramount's resident "big mouth" Martha Raye was afforded her first top-billed screen assignment in Hideaway Girl. The script would have us believe that rambunctious heroine Helen (Raye) is a high-society debutante with a fondness for singing. The plot is set in motion by a stolen necklace, apparently stolen by Helen. She's innocent, of course, as is another suspect named Mike (Robert Cummings) whom she pretends to marry to save him from arrest. The meaning of the film's title is clarified in the final scene, wherein Helen hides herself on the yacht of the actual thief (Monroe Owsley). In the tradition of Martha Raye's signature tune "Mister Paganini," Hideaway Girl serves up a forgettable little ditty called "Beethoven, Mendelsohn and Liszt." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the funniest, most sharply paced comedies of the 1930s, and perhaps the best of all of Harold Lloyd's talkies, The Milky Way was based on the Broadway play by Lynn Root and Harry Clork. Lloyd plays Burleigh Sullivan, a mild-mannered milkman who intercedes one night when his sister Mae (Helen Mack) is being accosted on the street by two obnoxious drunks -- they turn their wrath on him, his sister runs for help, and when she returns less than a minute later, both men are out cold on the pavement, with Burleigh standing over them. As one of them, Speed MacFarland (William Gargan), is the world's middleweight boxing champion, and the other, Spider Schultz (Lionel Stander), is his sparring partner, Burleigh makes the front page of every newspaper in New York. McFarland's manager, Gabby Sloan (Adolphe Menjou), has to figure out how to salvage the champ's career, but first he has to figure out exactly what happened, since both fighters were too drunk to remember anything about it. It turns out that Sullivan couldn't beat an egg, but he is good at one thing -- ducking. He can dodge any punch, and the two fighters knocked each other out in the process of trying to pummel him. What's more, on hearing this, they're so angry that Schultz accidentally knocks MacFarland out again, just ahead of the press' arrival, and the little milkman is given credit once more by the reporters for decking the champ. Burleigh loves the attention, even though he never claims to have hit anyone. Meanwhile, Sloan comes up with a way of salvaging his fighter's career, and convinces Burleigh to go along with it for a promised cash sum -- all Burleigh has to do is get in the ring in six fights, to build up his standing and reputation, and finish his "career" in a fight with MacFarland, who will win. In the meantime, complications arise when MacFarland falls in love with Burleigh's sister, while Burleigh himself meets and falls in love with Polly Pringle (Dorothy Wilson), a helpful neighbor. Gabby, Spider, and Speed also discover that turning tiny, wiry Burleigh Sullivan into something that even looks like a fighter is easier said than done -- all of his fights have to be fixed (and then some) behind his back to make his victories look remotely genuine. Finally, after starting to believe his own publicity, and then discovering that the fights were fixed, Burleigh goes through with the final match-up against MacFarland, the culmination of a comedy of errors involving horses, foals, and a wild chase to the arena. ~ Bruce Eder, 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

MGM loaned Myrna Loy to Paramount to co-star with Cary Grant in the roller coaster-paced romantic drama Wings in the Dark. Loy plays daredevil aviatrix Sheila Mason, who marries Ken Gordon (Grant), a flyer with serious aspirations to set groundbreaking world records. When Ken is accidentally blinded just before he jets off for Paris, Sheila prompts him to continue working at any cost. He decides to become a writer, dictating his work and mailing it off to several magazines; all he receives for his trouble is a pile of rejection slips, but Sheila doesn't let him know that. In the mean time, he works out a fantastic invention -- a plane designed for "blind flying," which enables the pilot to command the craft without the use of his eyes. His plane is repossessed for lack of payment, cluing him into what Sheila has been up to with his articles. Infuriated, he severs all communication with her. In an effort to drive Grant out of her mind, Sheila then undertakes a Moscow-to-Manhattan flight and thus attempts to set a new world record of her own. But on the last leg of her journey -- over Boston -- she becomes surrounded by thick blankets of heavy fog, and cannot locate the airport. At the last moment, Ken steals his own plane from Roosevelt Field, takes it up, and uses it to guide Sheila back to the ground, where he declares his undying love and devotion to her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on an obscure stage comedy, the Paramount musical Two for Tonight stars Bing Crosby as would-be composer and playwright Gilbert Gordon. Hired by music publisher Alexander Myers (Maurice Cass) to write a musical for temperamental stage star Lilly Bianca (Thelma Todd), Gordon is less than thrilled to discover that he must complete the job in one week. As he toils away at his task, our hero becomes convinced that he's in love with the troublesome Lilly, causing heartache for his erstwhile sweetheart Bobbie Lockwood (Joan Bennett). The magnificent Mary Boland commands the audience's attention as Gordon's much-married mother. Elements of the plot of Two for Tonight were later satirized in the 1979 spoof Movie Movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Secret Bride is Ruth Vincent (Barbara Stanwyck), the daughter of Governor Vincent (Arthur Byron). Attorney general Robert Sheldon (Warren William) falls in love with Ruth and they marry, but Sheldon insists that their marriage be kept secret. It seems that the Governor has been accused of accepting $10,000 in bribes, and Sheldon doesn't want to be accused of complicity while he investigates the matter. In the course of events, two murders occur, and it's up to Ruth to straighten the mess out. But how will she be able to manage this without involving herself or her secret husband in the scandal? It's funny how the various TV cable services tend to trot out The Secret Bride whenever a real-life political scandal bursts onto the scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"She" is secretary Claudette Colbert and "Her Boss" is Melvyn Douglas. Once married, Colbert discovers that Douglas expects her to work as usual. She must also contend with his wealthy, snooty family, whose most hateful member is his spoiled brat of a daughter (Edith Fellows) by a previous marriage. Rebelling against her repressive existence, Colbert eventually puts her in-laws in their place and arouses the ardor of the "strictly business" Douglas. While consistently amusing throughout, the highlight of She Married Her Boss is a first-reel bit of pantomimic whimsy involving Claudette Colbert and a roomful of department store mannequins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title refers to those special government agents who go undercover to flush out criminal gangs. In his second starring role, Fred MacMurray plays a government man who travels incognito as he trails a team of crooks from Brooklyn to Kansas. Lynne Overman is MacMurray's easygoing partner, who (naturally) is rubbed out by the hoods. MacMurray inveigles his way into the gang and brings them to justice--the ones who survive, that is. Released at the very beginning of Hollywood's G-Man cycle, Men without Names was instrumental in securing more prestigious acting assignments for Fred MacMurray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, an impoverished orphan girl finds herself acting as a slave to a cruel old farmer. She is soon joined by a reform-school runaway whom the farmer also captures and enslaves. The two youngsters soon fall in love. In the end they are saved by the orphan's long lost father who facilitates their marriage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide