James K. McGuinness Movies

John Wayne stars as Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke, whose devotion to duty has cost him his marriage to his beloved Kathleen (Maureen O'Hara). Yorke gets word that his son, Jeff (Claude Jarman Jr.) -- whom he hasn't seen in 15 years -- has been dropped as a cadet from West Point, and that he lied about his age to enlist in the cavalry, in an effort to redeem himself. By chance, the boy is then assigned to his father's post. Once more, as a function of his duty as a cavalry officer, Yorke must sacrifice his love of family -- he cannot show any preferential treatment to the boy, or exhibit any sign of love and affection. But Jeff is too strong to be injured by his father's actions, and already enough of a man that he is befriended by two older recruits, troopers Tyree (Ben Johnson) and Boone (Harry Carey Jr.), who watch out for him while taking him in as a virtual equal. Yorke's resolve is further tested when his estranged wife, Kathleen, arrives at the post, the better to look after her son -- and possibly to buy back the boy's enlistment, which Yorke, as commanding officer in a remote post with a critical shortage of men, can't and won't permit. After an attack by the Apaches, Yorke orders the post's women and children to be moved to safety, and Jeff is assigned as part of the troop conducting the caravan, despite his wish to participate in the planned action against the Apaches. The caravan is attacked, and the wagon with the children is taken by the Apaches to their encampment in a deserted village across the Rio Grande in Mexico. Yorke has been given permission by General Sheridan (J. Carrol Naish) to take his men into Mexico in pursuit of the Apaches, but the punitive expedition is now a rescue mission, as the Indians' night-time vengeance dance is the prelude to certain slaughter of the children at daybreak. As part of the mission, it's up to Tyree, the slyest man in the troop, to infiltrate the enemy camp, and he chooses Jeff and Boone as the two men he wants with him on this dangerous mission. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Highlights from World War II are documented in this award-winning film. ~ All Movie Guide

Winfield Sheehan, former head of Fox studios, owned the only Austrian Lippizan horses in the U.S. In 1940, MGM bought the rights to the Felix Salten novel Florian, all about the Lippanzers. When the film was made, the producer was Winfield Sheehan. Coincidence? We don't think so. At any rate, the story, set in the 1880s, tells of how hero (Robert Young) and heroine (Helen Gilbert) are brought together through their love of horses. Just so we don't forget that Florian is set in Austria, Reginald Owen shows up as emperor Franz Josef. For another filmic treatment of the fabulous Lippanzer show horses, we refer you to Disney's The Miracle of the White Stallions (63). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Spencer Tracy won his second Oscar for his portrayal of Father Edward J. Flanagan--then promptly turned the statuette over to the real Father Flanagan out of gratitude. The priest's philosophy that no boy will grow up bad if given a chance in life culminates in his formation of Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska. Unable to raise funds through "proper" channels, Flanagan finds that his staunchest supporters are the workaday folks who have faith in him; none is stauncher than Jewish pawnbroker Henry Hull, who digs deep into his pockets to help Flanagan realize his dream. The story of the struggle to get Boys Town on its feet paralleled with the regeneration of punkish Mickey Rooney, the younger brother of criminal Edward Norris. At first a wise-guy rebel, Rooney rises to a position of authority, responsibility and respect in Boys Town's self-maintained government. Boys Town, by the way, is the source of the classic line "He ain't heavy--he's my brother." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Sam Wood always seemed most comfortable with cozy family-oriented films like Lord Jeff. Freddie Bartholomew plays Geoffrey Braemer, a basically good kid who falls in with bad company. The orphaned Geoffrey is being used as part of jewel-theft scheme masterminded by his so-called aunt Doris Clandon (Gale Sondergaard) and her confederate Hampstead (George Zucco). Left holding the bag when his cohorts skip town, Geoffrey is saved from reform school by kindly Captain Briggs (Charles Coburn), who enrolls the boy in the Russell-Cotes Merchant Marine Training School. At first antagonistic, Geoffrey eventually makes friends with his fellow students, especially Irish boyo Terry O'Mulvaney (Mickey Rooney). A series of misunderstandings brings disgrace upon Geoffrey, but he redeems himself by delivering Doris and Hampstead into the waiting hands of Law-with a little help from his new shipmates, of course. A teenaged Peter Lawford makes his American film debut as Geoffrey's school chum Benny Potter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although some purists hold out for Duck Soup (1933), many Marx Brothers fans consider A Night at the Opera the team's best film. Immediately after the credits roll, we are introduced to Groucho Marx as penny-ante promoter Otis B. Driftwood. After a sumptuous dinner with a beautiful blonde at a fancy Milan restaurant, Driftwood tries to cadge another free meal from his wealthy patroness, Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont). The dignified dowager complains that Driftwood had promised to get her into high society, but has done nothing so far. Otis B. counters by introducing Mrs. C to pompous opera entrepreneur Gottleib (Sig Rumann); all Mrs. Claypool has to do is invest several hundred thousand dollars in Gottleib's opera company, and her entree into society is in the bag. Contingent upon this plan is Driftwood's signing of Rodolfo Lassparri (Walter Woolf King), a self-important tenor. Backstage at the opera, Driftwood meets Fiorello (Chico Marx), who poses as a manager and offers to sell Driftwood the "world's greatest tenor"-not Lassparri, as Driftwood assumes, but Fiorello's pal Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones). Instantly the two sharpsters try to draw up a contract ("The party of the first part shall hereafter be known as the party of the first part..."), which they proceed to tear up piece by piece whenever coming across a clause that displeases them (Driftwood: "That's a sanity clause"; Fiorello: "You no foola me. There ain't no Sanity Claus"). Having lost Lassparri to Gottleib, Driftwood sails back to America with Mrs. Claypool and the opera company. Gottleib arranges for Driftwood to get the tiniest, least accessible stateroom on the ship. Unpacking his trunk, Driftwood discovers that he's got to share his postage-stamp quarters with Ricardo Baroni, who has stowed away because he's in love with the opera troupe's leading lady Rosa (Kitty Carlisle). Also hiding out in Driftwood's trunk is Fiorello, who's come along because he's still Ricardo's manager, and the wacky Tomasso (Harpo Marx), Lassparri's former dresser, who has come along for the hell of it. Anxious to arrange a tete-a-tete with Mrs. Claypool in his stateroom, Otis finds out that his unwelcome guests won't leave until they're fed ("Do you have any stewed prunes? Well, give them some black coffee, that'll sober 'em up"). After ordering a huge dinner, Otis and his new friends are crowded even farther by a steady stream of intruders, including an engineer and his assistant, a cleaning lady, a manicurist, a girl looking for her Aunt Minnie, and a dozen waiters. The celebrated "stateroom scene" comes to a rollicking conclusion when Mrs. Claypool has the misfortune of opening the door. On the last night of the voyage, Fiorello, Tomasso and Ricardo sneak out of their stateroom to enjoy an impromptu ethnic festival in steerage. Ricardo sings, Fiorello "shoots the keys" on the piano, and Tomasso plays the film's theme song Alone on the harp. The stowaways are caught and thrown in the brig, but with Driftwood's help they escape. To avoid recapture, the stowaways don heavy beards and pose as three famed Russian aviators. After making a shambles of a public reception, the three reprobates hide out in Driftwood's New York apartment, where everyone conspires to drive an investigating detective (Robert Emmet O'Connor) crazy. Driftwood is fired from the opera company for associating with the stowaways, while Rosa is dismissed for refusing Lassparri's affections. In order to restore Rosa's job and put the deserving Ricardo in Lassparri's place during the opening performance of La Traviata, Driftwood, Fiorello and Tomasso concoct a scheme that will reduce the opera to comic chaos. The actual night at the opera in A Night at the Opera must be seen to be believed, but the spirit of the scene can be summed up by Gottleib's anguished cry "A battleship in Il Trovatore!" Opera was the Marx Brothers' first film for MGM, and they dearly coveted a hit after the disappointing box-office showing of their final Paramount films. With the blessing of MGM production chief Irving Thalberg, the Marxes went on the road with their brilliant writing staff (including George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind and Al Boasberg) to test their comedy material before live audiences. As a result of this careful preplanning, Night at the Opera was a smash-hit gigglefest, grossing over $3 million and putting the Marxes back on top in the hearts and minds of filmgoers everywhere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Big Mike (Wallace Beery) is a tough Army flyer who longs to see his son Little Mike (Robert Young) take to the air like himself. Little Mike's excessive attraction to Dare (Rosalind Russell) strains his relationship with his father, but eventually he finds the right woman -- Skip (Maureen O'Sullivan), the daughter of Army commandant General Carter (Lewis Stone) -- and an airborne Little Mike does his father proud. Bit-Part Alert: Watch for the brief appearance of then up-and-coming MGM contract player Robert Taylor as Jaskerelli. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide

In this action-drama, a railroad worker plys his trade at the straits of Malay. He begins a steamy affair with a spoiled rich girl. His romantic rival tries to break them and keep the railroad from being completed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This melodrama, with a few comic overtones, was not the finest moment for either star Bebe Daniels or director Victor Schertzinger (who also composed the music and songs). It also hasn't weathered the years well, since its male chauvinism has fallen way out of favor. In fact, to modern eyes, Randolph Scott's character, Randolph Morgan, seems like an insufferable prig when he constantly lectures his artist girlfriend Cynthia Warren (Daniels) that "you can't change the rules" -- in other words, women were meant for marriage and child-rearing, not successful careers. Whereas viewers of the day may have wondered how Daniels could have fallen for the womanizing Lawton (Sidney Blackmer, who, looks-wise, was definitely a comedown from Scott), modern audiences tend to hope she'll dump her stuffy boyfriend, whom she's left back home while she goes on an ocean voyage. But there was no women's lib in 1933, and you know that Daniels' shipboard affair is going to end badly, and that she will throw everything away to return to the maddeningly arrogant Scott. The brightest spots in the film are offered by Muriel Kirkland, as a phony Russian countess who really hails from Kansas, and her eccentric companion, Alvarez (George Nardelli). Kirkland's worldly wise persona is a lot more interesting than the character that is handed to Daniels, which is bland in spite of her go-rounds with Scott. This picture was based on the story Pearls and Emeralds by James K. McGuinness. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In this drama, an ambitious lawyer doesn't think twice about convicting an innocent man on circumstantial evidence to further his own career, at least not at first. But as time passes he feels increasingly guilty and many year's later tries to quietly make amends when the son of the man he falsely imprisoned is acquitted of murder charges. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

John Barrymore is the "State's Attorney" in the RKO picture of the same name. A brilliant criminal lawyer, Barrymore counts on his underworld connections to climb the ladder of success to the Governor's chair. "Humanized" by his girlfriend Helen Twelvetrees, a former streetwalker, Barrymore decides at long last to go straight, making mincemeat of his one-time mob patron William "Stage" Boyd in a thrilling courtroom finale. Barrymore's longtime drinking crony Gene Fowler collaborated on the script of State's Attorney with gangster-saga scrivener Rowland Brown. The film was remade (and extensively sanitized) as Criminal Lawyer in 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Locomotive engineer Edmund Lowe falls head-over-heels in love with musical-comedy dancer Mae Clarke. When he finds out that Clarke was mixed up in a notorious scandal, Lowe, who's no paragon of virtue himself, walks out on her. He's so upset by this turn of events that he accidentally causes a train wreck, whereupon he loses his job and becomes a hobo. Given a new lease on life in the Coast Guard, Lowe is "on call" when he spots a drowning girl off the port bow. Upon rescuing the girl, he discovers that it's Clarke, and all is forgiven. Men on Call was released minus screenwriter's credit, which is just as well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Ford directed this undersea adventure from the early days of the sound era; it features talking sequences along silent passages with intertitles. After a brief shore leave in Singapore, where sailors have the opportunity to slake their thirsts for both liquor and women, the crew of a U.S. Navy S-13 submarine is ordered back to duty (with many still drunk) in hopes of getting into safer waters before rough weather hits. In the midst of a storm, the sub collides with a ship and starts to sink; the S-13 begins taking on water, which knocks out their radio equipment not long after they begin sending out distress signals. The sub has a limited amount of oxygen on board, and tempers begin to flare as the men begin to wonder who (if anyone) can survive if they are not rescued soon. Adding to this tension is the presence of torpedo launcher Burke (Kenneth MacKenna). The ship's commander, Weymouth (Charles Gerrard), thinks that Burke may actually be Quartermain, a British officer who was the enemy of Weymouth's best friend and was widely presumed to be dead after going missing in action. A young Frank Albertson plays the sub's ensign, and John Wayne has a small part as a radio operator. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide