Lou L. Ostrow Movies
A former film cutter for William Fox in Hollywood (Fox at one point accused him of stealing raw film but the subsequent case was settled out of court), Louis Ostrow later became an editor and, later still, a production manager at low-budget Tiffany-Stahl. He became a full-fledged producer with the first Monogram, but resigned in 1934 to join Universal. By the late '30s, Ostrow was producing the first Hardy Family and Dr. Kildare pictures for MGM and was later briefly associated with cult favorite Val Lewton. Always associated with routine entertainment, Ostrow's most notable contributions to film history were probably the hospital drama Life Begins (1935) which he produced and, as executive producer, the seminal horror classic The Cat People (1942). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1942
Roddy McDowall stars Hugh Aylesworth, as a well-bred English youth who is evacuated to America during the London blitz. Hugh moves into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (Don Douglas and Katherine Alexander), both of whom are charmed by their little guest's impeccable manners. Less charmed is the couple's own son Don (Freddie Mercer), who not only feels neglected, but considers Hugh a royal pain in the posterior. But Hugh proves himself a "regular guy" when he helps Hugh foil a particularly scabrous schoolyard bully (Stanley Clements). For reasons unknown, On the Sunny Side never seems to show up on TV, not even in the wee small hours. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roddy McDowall, Jane Darwell, (more)
- 1941
This 20th Century-Fox programmer revolves around the misadventures of two not-overly-bright motorcycle patrolmen. Waitress Rose Coughlin (Lynn Bari) causes a rift between cycle cops Bob Brandon (Alan Curtis) and Herman Huff (Don Defore) when she falls in love with both. Rose then jilts the two of them, preferring the company of oriental business mogul Nabob (Gerald Mohr). Brandon and Huff come to the rescue when Nabob turns out to be a criminal. The film's best bit occurs early in the proceedings, when a speeding motorist (Tom Dugan) gives his name as "John Doe"; Brandon and Huff refuse to buy this obvious alias, whereupon the dimwit mollifies them by saying "Okay...Jonathan Doremus." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Bari, Alan Curtis, (more)
- 1941
In this B- romance, an innocent young man endeavors to find his fortune in the Big Apple and ends up finding a dog instead. Fortunately, the furry fellow belongs to a successful businessman's daughter who convinces her daddy into giving the newcomer a job. When the earnest young man discovers errors in company files, he tells the boss, gets a promotion and a fiancee-- the boss's daughter, of course. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brenda Joyce, Bruce Edwards, (more)
- 1940
This is the first of two filmed adaptations of Al Capp's classic comic strip, in which the title hillbilly (Granville Owen) does his best to avoid the marital advances of girlfriend Daisy Mae (Martha O'Driscoll). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Granville Owen
- 1939
The second of MGM's "Dr. Kildare" series, Calling Dr. Kildare finds the title character (Lew Ayres) transferred to Blair General's downtown outpatient clinic by his crusty superior Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore). It is Gillespie's hope that Kildare will gain valuable experience by working in less than ideal circumstances. A wounded gangster stumbles into the clinic; he is treated by Kildare, who is almost immediately tagged as the criminal's accomplice by the police. Kildare clears himself after burrowing through several subplots and the sporadic comedy relief of ambulance jockey Nat Pendleton. Calling Dr. Kildare was primarily a showcase for MGM's new starlet Lana Turner, here playing the gangster's cute sister. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Lew Ayres, (more)
- 1939
In this crime drama, a thieving employee sticks her stolen goods into the locker of a co-worker and causes all sorts of trouble. The stolen items are found in the locker of a store clerk who ends up imprisoned. The store owner's son knows that she is innocent, but he says nothing. The enraged clerk spends her three imprisoned years studying law and learns all about the ins and outs of legal loopholes. Upon her release, she begins using her new-found knowledge. She also tries to seduce the owner's son. Despite her vengeful efforts, the poor woman makes a lousy criminal and again is punished. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Hussey, Tom Neal, (more)
- 1939
A genuine oddity, Life Returns was originally filmed by Universal Pictures in 1935. The story, concerning the efforts by researchers Onslow Stevens and Lois Wilson to find a means to briefly bring dead animals back to life for research purposes, was built around the actual accomplishments of Dr. Robert E. Cornish of the University of California-Berkeley. On May 22, 1934, Cornish was successful in reviving a dog that had been pronounced dead: the actual footage of this experiment was incorporated into Life Returns. Presumably because of its controversial subject matter, the film was shelved by Universal and never released by that studio. It finally received distribution in January 1939 via a small-time firm called Scienart Pictures, which also took credit for producing the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Onslow Stevens, Lois Wilson, (more)
- 1939
If Judge Hardy and Son had been filmed in the 1990s, it would have been titled Andy Hardy VII. In this latest edition of MGM's "Hardy Family" series, the kindly Judge (Lewis Stone) wrestles with two problems. He must rescue an elderly couple from eviction, and he must cope with his wife's (Fay Holden) life threatening illness. This time around, the romantic entanglements of son Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) take second place to Andy's anguish over his mother's condition. It needs hardly be said that Mom recovers and the family is happy again at fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1938
Though not the first Dr. Kildare film ever made, this is the first entry in MGM's long-running series set at Blair General Hospital. With the ink still wet on his diploma, Dr. Kildare is faced with a difficult decision: should he return home to work in his father's quiet country practice, or work at exciting, New York-set Blair General Hospital? Though his parents and his girlfriend are against it, Kildare chooses the latter and promptly gets into trouble after one of his first patients, a prominent politician dies. All kinds of turmoil follows as Kildare tries to clear his name and treat his other patients. Just as it seems like the strong-willed Kildare's career is to die on the vine, curmudgeonly but always capable Dr. Gillespie becomes his mentor. For trivia buffs, the first Dr. Kildare film was Interns Can't Take Money made in 1937 for Paramount. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1935
Rendezvous at Midnight shifts from "low" to "drive" when corrupt city commissioner Myles Crawford (Arthur Vinton) is murdered. His assistant, Bob Edmonds (Ralph Bellamy), originally assigned to investigate the commissioner's administration, now tries to solve his murder. The prime suspect is Sandra Rogers (Valerie Hobson), the last person to see Crawford alive. Despite the most damning evidence, Edmonds refuses to believe that Sandra is guilty, and he sets about to prove it -- even if it means compromising his own honesty. This mild whodunit has curiously been included in TV's "Shock Theater" package, right along with Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Bellamy, Valerie Hobson, (more)
- 1935
A variation on the Lady for a Day theme, Universal's Lady Tubbs stars Alice Brady as Henrietta "Mom" Tubbs, the no-nonsense cook in a rowdy railroad construction camp. Upon inheriting a fortune, Mom Tubbs trains herself to enter high society, not so much for her sake as for that of her pretty niece Wynne (Anita Louise). But before she can stage-manage the marriage between Wynne and Long-Island socialite Phil Ash-Orcutt, Mom must expose a few pompous stuffed shirts for the hypocritical phonies that they really are. Lady Tubbs scores most of its laughs from its central situation, but it's never above resorting to slapstick to make a few comic points. Particularly amusing is a wild fox-hunt sequence, portions of which later showed up in Abbott and Costello's In Society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Brady, Douglass Montgomery, (more)
