Mortimer Offner Movies
- 1948
Though the most famous and controversial of the WWII "shell shock" documentaries, John Huston's Let There Be Light, was withheld from public view for nearly four decades, there were a few similar films made available for general distribution. One of these was Shades of Gray, produced under strict governmental supervision by the U.S. Army Pictorial Service. Because of the censorial hue and cry over the use of actual shell-shock victims in Let There Be Light, it was decided to use professional actors in Shades of Gray. The results are stiff and contrived, and not nearly as powerful as the images seen in the Huston film. In addition, the "solutions" offered by the film's psychiatrists seem to be pat and pedantic, as if all the mental problems fomented by the war could be resolved by a few carefully chosen words (it should be noted without further comment that the script was approved in advance by the Army's psychiatric technical advisers). Shades of Gray was directed by Joseph E. Henabery, whose film career extended all the way back to The Birth of a Nation (1915). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Larson
- 1939
Hugh Herbert is the head of The Family Next Door; he's a plumber of modest means and questionable skills. The rest of Herbert's family would love to climb the social ladder and improve their lot, but their dreams are always compromised by papa's ineptitude. In time-honored fashion, Hugh saves the day at the last minute with a sudden act of acute competence. Ruth Donnelly plays Herbert's beleaguered wife, while Eddie Quillan is the oldest son. Universal Studios' The Family Next Door looks like it was intended as the vanguard of a "B" series which never materialized. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1938
In this socially conscious drama a sextet of juvenile delinquents flee a crime screen in their seedy ghetto and wind up getting invited to a posh mansion by a wealthy criminal. Their attempts to accustom themselves to the opulent surroundings nearly results in the destruction of the manse. Eventually they boys decide that they must return to the city and pay for their crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mischa Auer, Mary Boland, (more)
- 1938
The Saint, Leslie Charteris' charming but deadly criminal-turned-sleuth, made his first film appearance in RKO Radio's The Saint of New York. Faithful to Charteris' original concept, this first movie Saint is a cold-blooded murderer, redeemed by the fact that all of his victims are notorious gangsters who'd otherwise elude the clutches of the law. Hired by a coterie of businessmen, Simon Templar (Louis Hayward), aka the Saint, methodically rids New York of its worst criminals, though "The Big Fellow", aka Hutch Rellin (Sig Rumann), continues to elude him. He is aided by Rellin's enigmatic mistress Fay Edwards (Kay Sutton), who pays for her actions with her life. The film's most memorable moment finds Templar disguising himself as a nun to dispose of a particularly nasty villain. The success of The Saint of New York prompted RKO to negotiate with Charteris for a series of "Saint" films, with George Sanders and Hugh Sinclair taking over from Louis Hayward as the title character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Hayward, Kay Sutton, (more)
- 1938
Set in New York City's famed music hall and featuring an all-star cast, this musical chronicles the desperate search of two bungling aspiring songwriters who are looking for the tune that will make them stars. They hear the sweet sound of opportunity's knock when they find a naive country boy who can literally come up with hit tunes in his sleep. Jack Oakie and Milton Berle play the songwriters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, Kenny Baker, (more)
- 1937
Based on a story by Jules Verne and featuring battle footage from a French film version of the tale, this epic action-adventure follows a courageous courier of the Czar Alexander II as he struggles to deliver vital information to Russian troops fighting a losing battle against the invading Tartar hoards in Siberia. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anton Walbrook, Elizabeth Allan, (more)
- 1937
Previously filmed with Marion Davies in 1927, the lightweight James M. Barrie play Quality Street proved an ideal vehicle for Katharine Hepburn ten years later. The setting of the Barrie original was switched from 1805 Scotland to 1815 Regency England, to avoid a preponderance of brogues and to take advantage of the latter era's more attractive costumes. (Candid home movies taken on the set indicate that this sumptuous production might have been even more resplendent in Technicolor.) Because she's nearly 30 and still unwed, Phoebe Throssel (Hepburn) is regarded as an over-the-hill spinster. Thus, when offered the opportunity for a reunion with Captain Brown (Franchot Tone), whom she hasn't seen in years, Phoebe desperately wants to rekindle his affections. To this end, she poses as her own teenaged niece -- and pulls off the ruse beautifully. Alas, despite Katharine Hepburn's wonderful performance and George Stevens' sensitive direction, Quality Street posted a loss of 248,000 dollars, further convincing movie exhibitors that Hepburn was "box office poison." Notably, one of the supporting players is an 18-year-old Joan Fontaine, making her first appearance under her RKO Radio contract. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Franchot Tone, (more)
This big-budget 1936 RKO Studios picture lost money, perhaps due to a cool box-office reception to the idea of leading lady Katharine Hepburn in drag, and a rare-for-its-day screen kiss between two women. Edmund Gwenn plays the title character's father Henry, who is obsessed with gambling. His daughter Sylvia (Hepburn) has stolen some expensive lace which they hope to smuggle from France to England. To elude police, she cuts her hair short and disguises herself as a man. She and her father board a ship, and a drunken Henry confesses their scheme to Jimmy Monkley (Cary Grant), a jewel smuggler. To divert attention away from him, Jimmy snitches on Henry to the customs officials, and Henry has to pay up or be arrested. Later, Sylvia confronts Jimmy on a train and punches him. Jimmy apologizes and cuts them in on a scheme to steal jewels from a wealthy family, using his friend Maudie (Dennie Moore), a maid in the house. But Sylvia, still disguised as a man, talks Maudie out of it, and she responds with a kiss. Maudie and Sylvia's father fall in love and Maudie, an aspiring actress, invests money in a show to open in a seaside resort. There they are invited to the mansion of a wealthy artist, Michael Fane (Brian Aherne), who is unsettled by Sylvia's obvious affections before finally discovering that she's a woman. Jimmy is attracted to Michael's roommate, the Russian-born Lily (Natalie Paley) -- and from there, the romantic entaglements between the aformentioned parties proceed like a Shakespearean comedy. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, (more)
Katharine Hepburn stars as Booth Tarkington's would-be society belle Alice Adams. The product of a family of modest means, Alice nonetheless dreams of being accepted by the "better people." Luck of luck, she meets well-to-do young Fred MacMurray at a social gathering; he is charmed by her pathetic attempts at putting on airs and accepts her invitation to dine at the Adams home. The meal is a disaster: Alice's parents (Fred Stone and Anne Shoemaker) are obviously way out of MacMurray's league, while the servant (Hattie McDaniel) that the family hired for the occasion shows up drunk and very surly. Alice Adams was the first major directorial assignment for George Stevens, as well as one of the few Katharine Hepburn vehicles of the 1930s to score a hit with the public. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Fred MacMurray, (more)
- 1934
Based on the novel and play by James M. Barrie, The Little Minister turned out to be Katharine Hepburn's best vehicle since Little Women. John Beal plays the Reverend Gavin, the sobersided new cleric of a tiny Scottish village. Almost against his better judgment, Beal falls in love with Babbie (Hepburn), a feisty gypsy girl whom the villagers regard as a pariah. Thanks to this "unholy" alliance, the little minister is nearly run out of town, but when he is accidentally stabbed in a fracas, the townsfolk come to their senses. Previously filmed in 1921, The Little Minister was afforded sumptuous production values by RKO Radio (its elaborate Scottish-village set would later pop up in innumerable films, notably Laurel & Hardy's Bonnie Scotland), and benefits immeasurably from the spirited performances of all concerned. Alas, the film was too expensive to post a profit, and despite respectable business it ended up $9000 in the red. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, John Beal, (more)
