Leo Carrillo Movies

As indicated by the title, 20 Mule Team is all about pioneering borax miners in territorial Arizona. Wallace Beery goes through his usual paces as Skinner Bill Bragg, a fugitive from justice who forms an uneasy alliance with slick outlaw Stag Roper (Douglas Fowley). The two scoundrels plot to jump a valuable borax claim in Death Valley, but Bragg changes his minds when Roper begins to have unsavory designs on virginal heroine Jean Johnson (Anne Baxter, in her film debut). Ever on the prowl for a new Wallace Beery-Marie Dressler screen team, MGM pairs up Beery with Marjorie Rambeau this time out, with mixed results. 20 Mule Team was originally released in Sepiatone, a tinting process MGM had previously utilized in the "Kansas" scenes of The Wizard of Oz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third film version of Earl Derr Biggers' novel Love Insurance, One Night in the Tropics stars Allan Jones as a hotshot insurance salesman who sells a policy to his best pal Robert Cummings. Cummings will earn $1 million if he fails to marry his fiance Nancy Kelly. Half of the policy is underwritten by tough gambling-house owner William Frawley, who panics when Cummings heads for a Caribbean isle in pursuit of Peggy Moran. As for Kelly, she wants no part of Cummings once she finds out she's a pawn in his policy. Well, who cares? The real attraction of One Night in the Tropics is the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, here making their feature film debut in the roles of Frawley's flunkeys. Though they never get in the way of the plot (worse luck!), Abbott and Costello have plenty of time to perform several of their best routines, including "Mustard," "Jonah and the Whale," and a tantalizingly brief excerpt of "Who's on First?" Outside of A&C's contributions, the film boasts several pleasant if forgettable tunes by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. Though not a big box-office success, One Night in the Tropics garnered such positive reviews for Abbott and Costello that the team was rewarded with its own vehicle, the 1941 cash cow Buck Privates. Note: many TV prints of Tropics are struck from the 69-minute reissue of the late 1940s, in which the "straight" plot was pared to down to give more emphasis to Abbott and Costello. The original 82 minute version was recently restored for videocassette release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Barry Benefield, Chicken Wagon Family affords nearly equal screen time to child star Jane Withers and veteran character actor Leo Carrillo. Tired of living in the boonies, itinerant merchant J. P. B. Fiffany (Carrillo) packs his family into his ramshackle wagon and sets out for New York. Alas, Fiffany has a fondness for poker, losing his hard-earned wages as quickly as he gets them. Fortunately, his enterprising daughter Addie (Jane Withers) is a human cornucopia of money-making schemes, and it is she who saves the day. Chicken Wagon Family was originally purchased by Fox as a Will Rogers vehicle, but was put on the back burner when Rogers died in 1935. Musical highlights include Jane Withers' boisterous rendition of "Daughter of Mademoiselle," originally performed by Louise Hovick (aka Gypsy Rose Lee) in The Battle of Broadway (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally designed for exhibition at the 1939 World's Fair, Land of Liberty is a 137-minute compendium of filmclips from past American historical epics. The project was sponsored by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc. and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille, who also edited the film with the assistance of his crack Paramount production staff. The narration was written by old DeMille hands Jeannie MacPherson and Jesse Lasky Jr. and spoken by a talented team of uncredited announcers (one of whom sounded suspiciously like old C. B. himself). Clips from such Hollywood productions as America (1924), Abraham Lincoln (1930), Alexander Hamilton (1931), Show Boat (1936), Man of Conquest (1939) and DeMille's own The Plainsman (1936), The Buccaneer (1938) and Union Pacific (1939) are woven together into a chronological continuity, tracing American history from the Revolutionary War to the "present," which is largely represented by newsreel footage of President Roosevelt, the TVA project, and other current personalities and events. In later years, Land of Liberty was redistributed on the classroom circuit, with new footage added from historical dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though running a mere 75 minutes, Rio has enough plot for ten movies. Basil Rathbone and Sigrid Gurie, previously teamed in The Adventures of Marco Polo, head the cast as crooked French financier Paul Reynard and his wife Irene. Sentenced to a ten-year term in a French penal colony for bank fraud, Paul wonders if his wife will remain faithful to him. At first glance it seems that he has nothing to worry about: Irene and family friend Dirk (Victor McLaglen) head to Rio to arrange for Paul's escape, with Dirk vowing to shield Irene from any and all sexual predators. But once she's landed in the Brazilian capital, Irene falls in love with red-blooded American engineer Bill Gregory (Robert Cummings). Upon emerging from his dank prison cell, Paul realizes that he's lost his wife forever to a better man. Seeking revenge, he prepares to shoot Bill in cold blood, but good old Dirk intervenes, paving the way for a happy ending -- for everyone but Paul, that is. Though he plays a thoroughly unsavory character, Basil Rathbone ends up the most sympathetic person in the film, and as such he's the only real reason to sit through the melodramatic convolutions of Rio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Since the United States was officially neutral in the Spanish Civil War, the struggle of the Loyalists against Franco's forces didn't find much favor in Hollywood; this drama, produced by Walter Wanger, was one of the few films to deal with the conflict, albeit in watered-down terms. Marco (Henry Fonda) is a simple farmer driven from his land by troops of invading soldiers; in an act of defiance, he makes a speech declaring the need for freedom from tyranny, and soon Marco's fellow peasants are following him as their leader. Marco becomes a member of the Loyalist forces, and his strong words and fierce beliefs allow him to rise through the ranks and become a key member of the struggle. While stationed in a city under blockade, Marco becomes acquainted with Norma (Madeleine Carroll), who serves as a spy for armies allied with Franco; her sympathies are less with his policies than for the safety of her family, who live in an occupied territory. Despite their differences, the two become close when they're trapped in a building during a bombing raid; eventually Norma finds herself swayed by Marco's impassioned call to stop the murder of the innocent people of Spain. While producer Wanger was one of the few people in Hollywood who felt strongly enough about the situation in Spain to put it on film, the resulting picture doesn't say much about the specific political issues involved in the fight against Franco, and the troops Marco and his men encounter wear uniforms designed not to resemble those of any actual countries, for fear of offending nations that sided with Franco. Despite this, Blockade was deemed a strong enough leftist tract to be used against screenwriter John Howard Lawson when he was blacklisted in the 1950s. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Flirting with Fate is one of the lesser Joe E. Brown vehicles for independent producer David L. Loew. Brown is cast as Dixon, the manager of a third-rate vaudeville troupe stranded in a mythical South American country. Completely broke, Dixon hits upon a plan to finance the actors' trip home: he'll take out a huge life insurance policy, then arrange to get himself killed by bandit chieftan Sancho (Leo Carrillo). Unfortunately, Sancho has no interest whatsoever in knocking off our hero, nor can he be insulted into committing the deed. By the final reel, of course, Dixon has decided to go on living-and that's when his life is really in danger, courtesy of a cannister of nitroglycerine. Hungarian-born Steffi Duna provides unintentional laughs as an offkey Latin American songstress. The title Flirting with Fate had previously been used by Douglas Fairbanks in 1917; coincidentally, that film also had a leading character with suicidal notions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

MGM's leading musical team of the 30's, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy are paired once again in this fourth film version of David Belasco's creaky melodrama, featuring music by Sigmund Romberg and Gus Kahn. Jeanette MacDonald is Mary Robbins, the owner of a bawdy, rough-house saloon in a western mining town, who falls in love with the Mexican bandit Ramerez (Nelson Eddy), who has disguised himself as a cavalry officer. But when local sheriff Jack Rance (Walter Pidgeon) tracks down Ramerez and wounds him, Mary discovers Ramerez's ruse and begs Rance for the outlaw's freedom. The only problem is that Nance is also in love with Mary. Girl of the Golden West was originally tinted in a sepia-tone to create a look as burnished as the MGM production design. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A pageant-like Rex Beach story was the source of the 1937 western The Barrier. Leo Carrillo is top-billed, but the main character is half-breed girl Jean Parker. Actually, Parker is a full-blooded white woman; she has been raised to believe that she is of mixed blood by Robert H. Barrat, who has spent the better part of his life seeking revenge against Parker's mother. When the girl falls for army officer James Ellison, she despairs, believing that the laws against miscegenation will never permit her to marry the man she loves. The Barrier was produced by Harry Sherman, of Hopalong Cassidy fame, and directed by frequent "Hoppy" contributor Lesley Selander. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musical chronicles 15 years in the life of a New York City Street. In 1912, 52nd Street is a peaceful residential neighborhood and by 1937 it has become a bawdy red-light district. As the street changes, so do the lives of a brother and his two sisters who become estranged when he marries an actress at the beginning of the film. The two snooty sisters find their brothers' actions distasteful and consider the lowly actress unworthy of their high-born brother. Songs include: "I Still Love to Kiss You Goodnight," "Nothing Can Stop Me Now," "52nd Street," "23 Skiddoo," "Let Down Your Hair and Sing," and "We Love the South." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, a rookie reporter works for his uncle's newspaper and gets assigned to write a story about an elderly archduke. While interviewing him, the young journalist falls in love with the crown princess. He then exposes a conspiracy to kill her and her father. Mayhem ensues as he successfully thwarts the killers, and marries the girl who soon becomes queen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy, a crooked record producer uses his mob connections to force performers to do their stuff. The trouble really begins when the gangster's strong-arm tactics nearly cause a singer to lose his fiancée. A wide variety of entertainers appear including cowboy crooner Gene Autry, baseball hero Joe DiMaggio, and big band stars Cab Calloway, Ted Lewis, and the Kay Thompson Singers. Songs include "Mamma I Wanna Make Rhythm," "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round," "Heaven?," "I Owe You," and "It's Round-up Time in Reno." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide