Robert Montgomery Movies

A lovely stenographer, tired of men falling all over her, tries to make herself homely in this comedy. With her horn rim specs and tweed suits, she finds that she is actually able to get some work done. She begins working as a writer's secretary to help him make his deadline. When the writer catches her without her suit and glasses, he instantly falls in love. Songs include: "Wreaths of Flowers", "Ever Since Eve", and "Shine on Harvest Moon". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Emlyn Williams' theatrical horror piece Night Must Fall was filmed by MGM without the usual studio-imposed happy ending. Robert Montgomery stars as Danny, a wickedly charming Irish bellhop who wins the confidence of an elderly invalid (Dame May Whitty). The old woman's niece (Rosalind Russell) is not so easily swayed by Danny's blarney, but she finds him strangely attractive, especially when he exhibits a streak of viciousness. Even when the possibility arises that Danny is a wanted murderer, Rosalind is hesitant to call the police. The film's final scene, in which Danny ambles around the house carrying a hatbox that may or may not contain Ms. Whitty's head, is unforgettable. Robert Montgomery fought long and hard with MGM for the right to play the murderous Danny; the studio heads finally gave in, hoping that the actor would fall on his face and cease to bother him. That Night Must Fall was a success is evidenced by the willingness of MGM to remake the property in 1964; the resultant film was a gore-encrusted opus that had not one tenth of the original's quality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A romantic triangle heats up the Alaskan tundra in this romantic comedy. Bascom Dinsmore (Robert Montgomery) is a radio operator who is stationed at a remote outpost in the frozen plains of Alaska. Dinsmore gets very little in the way of companionship, particularly of the female variety, so he's more than a bit enthusiastic when lovely Irene Champion (Myrna Loy) and her wealthy British groom-to-be Sir James Felton (Reginald Owen) have to make an emergency landing near his cabin. Dinsmore takes an immediate liking to Champion, and she appears to feel the same, much to the consternation of Felton. As Dinsmore and Felton wage a merry battle over Champion's hand, Clara Wilson (Winifred Shotter), Felton's former fiancée, arrives on the scene, eager to win back the affections of her now-wealthy ex-boyfriend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

British humorist P. G. Wodehouse wrote the story upon which Piccadilly Jim was based. Frank Morgan and Robert Montgomery play a well-to-do father and son, who find themselves rivals in love. The object of their affection is Madge Evans, who likes them both but favors the son. Everything could have been wrapped up in eight reels, but MGM had a mania about lengthy running times, so Piccadilly Jim lumbers on at 100 minutes. Fortunately, such accomplished farceurs as Billie Burke, Robert Benchley and Eric Blore are around to pep up the dull spots. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic drama a woman with a scandalous past tells all in an autobiography. It seems the woman, an artist, received special favors from a politician in exchange for a few favors from her. The pushy magazine editor who tries to convince her to write her memoirs, despises everything she stands for, yet in the end cannot help falling in love with her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the last of Hugh Walpole's "Herries Chronicles," Vanessa: Her Love Story is set in Victorian England. Vanessa (Helen Hayes) doesn't know it, but there's a strain of inherited insanity in the family of her husband Ellis (Otto Kruger). Disturbed by Ellis' bizarre behavior, poor Vanessa is all but forced to take a lover, handsome military officer Benjie (Robert Montgomery). Though both hero and heroine are punished for their transgressions, the film ends on a relatively happy note; the original novel's final chapters and tragic denouement are blithely ignored by scenarist Lenore J. Coffee. May Robson steals the show as Vanessa's centenarian grandma. Vanessa: Her Love Story represented Helen Hayes' last film work until her 1952 "comeback" in My Son John. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A few unique touches aside -- notably the opening costume-party scene, in which the revellers are dressed as insects -- Rip Tide is a standard-issue Norma Shearer soap opera. Shearer plays Mary, a footloose and fancy-free American heiress who weds British nobleman Lord Rexford (Herbert Marshall). Five years later, Rexford embarks upon a business trip to New York, while Mary, urged on by her fun-loving aunt, vacations on the Riviera. Here she is reacquainted with her ex-boyfriend Tommie (Robert Montgomery), whose drunken misbehavior causes scandal to befall them both. Refusing to hear Mary's side of the story, Rexford begins divorce proceedings, but a happy ending finally manifests itself after reels and reels of endless high-toned dialogue. Legendary stage star Mrs. Patrick Campbell makes her Hollywood film debut in Rip Tide as Shearer's all-knowing Aunt Hetty, while Walter Brennan and Bruce Bennett show up in microscopic bit roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though it's also a "bus" picture, MGM's Fugitive Lovers is as different from Columbia's It Happened One Night as oil and water. Escaping from her gangster boyfriend Legs (Nat Pendleton), chorus girl Letty (Madge Evans) boards a Greyhound bus bound for California. Likewise a passenger -- albeit a non-paying one -- is Porter (Robert Montgomery), a fugitive from justice. As the bus rolls ever onward, hero and heroine are inexorably drawn together, despite the looming twin threats of arrest and/or extermination. The already incredible plotline takes an even more bizarre turn when Porter is obliged to rescue a group of children who've been trapped in a snowbound school bus somewhere in the Rockies. Fugitive Lovers is fascinating on two levels: as a showcase for the directorial excesses of Richard Boleslawski (this picture has more offbeat camera angles than Citizen Kane) and for the comedy relief of Ted Healy and his Stooges (Curly, Larry and Moe -- with Curly as the unofficial leader of the group!) The scene in which Moe Howard tries to make time with Madge Evans is worth the admission price in itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Henry Beaumont directed this verbose adaptation of Rachel Crother's play. Ann Harding plays Claire Woodruff, the wife of philandering publisher Rogers Woodruf (Frank Morgan). Myrna Loy is Mary Howard, a lithe and beautiful writer of novels with whom Rogers is in love. Meanwhile, her friend Jimmie Lee (Robert Montgomery), a frosty newspaper man who continually puts down her novel writing, is actually in love with her. When Claire and Mary finally meet up with each other to discuss characters in a new book Mary is writing, Claire, in a blunt and common-sensical way, provides Mary with her own personal take on love and philandering husbands. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This suspense drama was based on a novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Riviere (John Barrymore), who operates an air delivery service, is fanatical in his dedication to service, putting prompt delivery before the safety of his men or his fleet after receiving a contract to help transport the mail. Riviere's risk-taking earns him the contempt of his pilots, including Jules (Clark Gable), who, despite his misgivings, does his best to satisfy Riviere's punishing schedule. When Jules is lost after a dangerous mission, Riviere has to tell his wife (Helen Hayes) that her husband has died, but despite losing another pilot (William Gargan), Riviere responds by demanding that more pilots be called up to ensure that the letters will be delivered on time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, this drama chronicles the tangled web woven by a poisonous New York socialite who tires all her means to escape the unwanted attentions of a would-be lover before resorting to murder. Joan Crawford stars as the title character whose travails begin during a South American vacation after she meets the handsome Emile (Nils Asther). For her own amusement, she dallies with him and even writes him a few passionate letters before boredom overtakes her and she decides to return to the Big Apple--without her new lover. Unfortunately, Emile has become obsessed with her and to force he to stay threatens to use her impassioned letters to socially embarrass her back home. This only increases her icy determination to return home. On the long cruise northward, she meets and falls in love with Robert Montgomery and they get engaged. Crawford has no idea that Emile has taken a plane to New York so he can greet her at the dock. He then begins stalking her and constantly threatening her with those damning letters until she decides she has had enough and puts a permanent end to his badgering. Unfortunately, her action is not without repercussions and ultimately, she must put her trust in her fiance and her mother with whom she has been emotionally estranged. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Marion Davies and Billie Dove, both veterans of the real-life Ziegfeld Follies, star in the entertaining comedy-drama Blondie of the Follies. Having both grown up in the New York tenement district, Blondie (Davies) and Lurleen (Dove) hope to escape their shabby surroundings in favor of the show-business world. But while Lurleen takes "the easiest path," sleeping her way to the top and living in luxury as the kept woman of playboy Robert Montgomery, Blondie does her best to hold on to her virtue while climbing the rungs of fame and fortune. The rivalry between the two girls reaches a fever pitch when Lurleen inadvertently causes Blondie to suffer a debilitating injury during a particularly treacherous Follies production number. Sticking fast to her principles, Blondie ultimately wins Montgomery, whereupon she and Lurleen renew their rocky friendship. The film's highlight is a delightful party scene in which Marion Davies and Jimmy Durante perform a devastating send-up of Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in Grand Hotel. Blondie of the Follies might have even been better had it been shorter; at 90 minutes, however, it veers towards repetition and predictability in the final reels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tallulah Bankhead plays a giddy 1920s heiress who spurns the affections of executive Robert Montgomery because he makes a "mere" $20,000 per year. Tallulah is impoverished by the Depression, as is Montgomery. She refuses again to marry him now that they are equals, preferring to maintain her lifestyle by becoming the mistress of a clloddish millionaire (Hugh Herbert). Her new benefactor behaves atrociously, prompting Tallulah to run to the arms of Montgomery, who is now a blue-collar worker. Again stripped of her wealth, Tallulah marries Montgomery, who is promptly incapacitated in a violent labor dispute. Desperate to keep up her husband's medical bills, Tallulah takes to the streets. She is about to hit upon her first "John" when she is stopped by the kindly beat cop, who sends her back to her husband--and presumably a new lease on life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide