Jean Muir Movies

Based on the novel by Aldous Huxley, the four-episode British miniseries Point Counterpoint was set in 1920s London. Concentrating on a group of dissolute young intellectuals, the story was a biting satire on the false, hypocritical, and often dangerous values of those with nothing but time on their hands. Lyndon Brook was cast as Huxley's alter ego Phillip Quarles, who quietly recorded the many fads and foibles (among them political fanaticism, open infidelity, and even a "necessary" murder) indulged in by his friends. First broadcast in Britain in 1972, Point Counterpoint was reedited as a five-parter and telecast in America as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre beginning February 18, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, a common chemist lives up to his lineage (he's a direct descendant of Dr. Jekyll), and creates a concoction which changes him into a suave jewel thief. After pulling off a caper, the thief becomes his original self and then helps bring in a gang of robbers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Warner Bros.' The Constant Nymph was the third filmization of Margaret Dean's 1924 novel; the first two were filmed in Britain in 1928 and 1933 by producer Michael Balcon. The plot was substantially the same in all three versions: A self-centered European musician (Charles Boyer) is idolized by a young Belgian girl (Joan Fontaine) with a serious heart condition. Though he is fond of the girl, the composer opts for a wealthy marriage to her socialite cousin (Alexis Smith)--and lives to regret the move. Peter Lorre, taking a respite from villainous roles, is quite effective as a philosophical family friend. Composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold's six-minute symphonic tone poem for Constant Nymph was given class-A treatment in a specially recorded RCA Victor orchestration in 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Social-climbing Helen (Jean Muir) sends her less-pretentious younger sister Kate (Laraine Day) to a party in her stead, and there Kate strikes up a friendship with wealthy playboy Ridley Crane (Robert Cummings), but later, he clearly prefers Helen. One night he gets drunk, so Helen drives him home, but she accidentally kills a bicyclist then allows the crime to be pinned on Ridley. Kate learns who really was driving, but she cannot convince Helen to reveal the truth, and Ridley is sentenced to prison. ~ Bill Warren, Rovi

Outcasts of Poker Flat is an adaptation of Bret Harte's western story of the same name, with elements of Harte's The Luck of Roaring Camp thrown in for good measure. Set during the California gold rush, the story traces the destinies of several divergent individuals. Preston S. Foster is gambler John Oakhurst, a seemingly underhanded gent with an untapped streak of decency. Jean Muir is a schoolteacher who tries to find some good in the gambler. Margaret Irving is the duchess, a woman of (presumed) ill repute. And Virginia Weidler is "Luck," the diminutive mascot of the mining town of Roaring Camp. Van Heflin is also around and about as the minister of the mining community. The film spends its first half establishing the characters and its second half placing them in a life-threatening situation wherein the true natures of all concerned are revealed. The Outcasts of Poker Flat, previously filmed in 1919, was remade (minus the "Luck of Roaring Camp" subplot) in 1952. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Draegermen are the brave people who rescue victims of mining disasters. This film tells the story of a Nova Scotia mining disaster that left three men, a doctor, the mine owner, and a foreman, stranded during a cave-in. The head draegerman is in love with the doctor's daughter. He leads the crew on the dangerous mission to save the men. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A cast of Warner Bros. B-movie players struggles valiantly with a leaden script in this medical drama about foster brothers Steven (Donald Woods) and Jerry Brace (Gordon Oliver) following in their physician father's footsteps. But when Jerry, the natural son, loses two patients on account of drunkenness, he cowardly blames Steven, who is subsequently barred from practicing medicine. Dr. Brace Sr. (Joseph King) suffers a fractured skull in a struggle with Jerry, but the latter is once again too drunk to operate. To the rescue comes the disgraced Steven who not only saves the life of his foster-father but also regains the love of pretty Paula Nordland (Jean Muir). Once a Doctor was an unofficial remake of Alias the Doctor, a 1934 melodrama featuring Richard Barthelmess and Marian Marsh. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

A young wife butts head with her beautiful best friend after her husband hires the latter to be his personal secretary and then begins spending too much time at the office. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on Jack London's famous story of the same name, White Fang was first filmed in 1925. It is set in the Gold Rush era in Alaska and the Yukon. Sylvia Burgess (Jean Muir) is traveling with her brother Hal (Thomas Beck) to a gold mine that they have inherited from their father. Their guide is Weedon Scott (Michael Whalen), who owns the tracking dog, White Fang. Along the arduous journey, Hal dies. Beauty Smith (John Carradine), the leader of a criminal gang, claims that Scott murdered Hal. His men try to take possession of the mine, but they are thwarted by White Fang. Eventually, Hal's diary reveals that he killed himself in despair, and Smith's plans are foiled. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Max Reinhardt's legendary Hollywood Bowl production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream was transferred to the screen by Warner Bros. in 1935. Like most of Shakespeare's comedies, the story contains several seemingly unrelated plotlines, all tied together by a single unifying event, in this instance the impending wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. One story thread concerns the mistaken-identity romances of four young Athenians; another involves a group of "rude mechanicals" who plan to stage a production of "Pyramus and Thisbe" in honor of the wedding; and third plot strand is motivated by the mischievous misbehavior of invisible fairies Oberon, Titania, and Puck. While one of the members of Reinhardt's original stage cast, Olivia De Havilland (Hermia) was retained for the film version, the remainder of the roles went to Warners' ever-reliable stock company. Some of the casting is inspired: James Cagney is brilliant as vainglorious amateur thespian Bottom, while Joe E. Brown is ideal as the reluctant female impersonator Flute. As the four lovers, De Havilland and Jean Muir far outshine the smirking and simpering Dick Powell and Ross Alexander. In the dominion of the fairies, Mickey Rooney is a bit too precious as Puck, but Anita Louise is a lovely Titania and Victor Jory a suitably menacing Oberon (his opening line "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania!" still sends shivers down our spines). Cagney and Brown's fellow "mechanicals" are an odd mixture of the sublime (Frank McHugh) and the just plain silly (Hugh Herbert). While the performances and direction (by Reinhardt and William Dieterle) are uneven, the art direction and special effects (especially the nocturnal dance of the fairies) are breathtakingly beautiful. Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream" incidental music is masterfully orchestrated by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, while the cinematography by Hal Mohr earned the first write-in Academy Award in Hollywood history (Mohr had not been nominated due to hostilities arising from a recent industry strike). Considered a brave failure at the time of its first release, on a purely visual level A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the more satisfying Shakespearean cinemadaptations of Hollywood's golden age. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a mystery novel by Mignon Eberhart, The White Cockatoo concerns three mysterious murders at a French chateau. The villain seems determined to bump off all the friends and relatives of Sue Talley (Jean Muir) and Jim Sundean (Ricardo Cortez), hoping thereby to get his (or her) hands on the fortune they've inherited. Clouding the issue is the curious behavior of ostensible hero Sundean, who may very well be behind the killings. Though reviewers complained that they couldn't make heads or tails of the storyline, audiences didn't seem to share this confusion. Still, it would have been nice if screenwriters Ben Markson and Lillie Hayward had been more faithful to the Eberhart original. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the best-selling Gladys Hasty Carroll novel of the same name, As the Earth Turns covers four seasons in the life of a Maine farming family. Jean Muir stars as Jen Shaw, daughter of dirt-poor farmers Mark and Min Shaw (David Landau, Dorothy Appleby). Jen's parents have an abiding distrust for their new neighbors, the Jankowskis -- not only because they're first-generation Poles, but also because they used to live in faraway Boston. Despite Mark and Min's opposition, Jen falls in love with Stan Jankowski (Donald Woods), but trouble looms in the form of Jen's stepsister Doris (Dorothy Appleby), who also has designs on Stan. New Warners contractee Jean Muir acquitted herself well in her first major role, which may be why As the Earth Turns did slightly better than expected at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi