Gordon Rigby Movies

Former "Henry Aldrich" James Lydon acquits himself nicely in a serious role in Republic's Out of the Storm. Lydon plays Donald Lewis, a low-paid clerk in a high-profile shipbuilding firm. When the company is robbed in broad daylight, Lewis gathers up $100,000 on his own and skeedaddles, figuring that the lost funds will be attributed to the holdup. Before his girlfriend Ginny (Lois Collier) can persuade him to go straight, the hapless Lewis finds himself hotly pursued by cops and crooks alike. Top-heavy with movie "bad guys" like Marc Lawrence and Roy Barcroft, Out of the Storm is edge-of-the-seat entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Not a science-fiction story despite its title, The Man Who Returned to Life is a story of how deception can lead to tragedy. John Howard stars as a man who, in order to escape an untenable situation, fakes his own death. He escapes to a small town, assumes a new identity and settles down to a happy marriage and comfortable job. One morning he picks up the paper and discovers that an old acquaintance from his past existence has been arrested for his "murder"--and is sentenced to hang. The solution to the dilemma is arrived at following the lengthy flashback that forms the bulk of Man Who Returned to Life. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this musical, a con man makes a good living by promoting bogus charity shows. He gets the communities all revved up and then skips town with all their money. But then he meets three earnest people wanting to garner financial support for an orphanage. This time the con man's loyal assistant finally catches on to the wicked scam and turns him in to the police. Meanwhile, the newly reformed assistant and one of the charity workers fall in loves. Songs include: "Tequila" (sung by Downs, Terry), "I'm Just a Weakie" (sung by Allen, Gilbert), "What Fools These Mortals Be," and "When A Fella's Got a Girl" (Jule Styne, George R. Brown, Sol Meyer). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this drama, a New York physician takes a much-needed vacation down South. Unfortunately, he encounters a nurse working in the backwoods and ends up helping her to combat an epidemic that rages through the mountain communities. The doctor she works for prefers traditional herbs to modern medicine. At first the locals resent the big city doctor's intervention, but when he stops the scourge, they change their opinions. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Jack Holt is impossibly heroic as usual in the Columbia quickie Hidden Power. In his quest to perfect a cure-all for severe burns, Dr. Garfield (Holt) neglects everything else, including his wife Virginia (Gertrude Michael) and son Steve (Dickie Moore). But when Garfield finally perfects the miracle serum, he redeems himself in the eyes of his wife by testing it on his own horribly scarred son. Anyone in 1939 who couldn't see where the story is going from Reel Two should have been drummed out of the theater in disgrace. To add a bit of sidelines intrigue to the proceedings, Henry Kolker plays the villainous Weston, who would use Garfield's amazing discovery for the manufacture of bombs (huh?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jack Holt does his usual Jack Holt thing in the Columbia quickie Flight into Nowhere. Holt is cast as airline pilot Jim Horne (amusingly, considering that the actor was deathly afraid of flying in real life), who hopes to run his own South American transport service. Horne's ace flyer Bill Kellogg (Dick Purcell) annoys everyone with his braying arrogance, leading Horne to "punish" Bill by preventing him from going on a particularly dangerous mission. Incensed, Bill defies orders and flies the mission with a stolen plane, which right on cue runs out of gas in the middle of the jungle. Horne spearheads an expedition to locate the missing Bill, who by now has been "adopted" by a friendly Peruvian tribe and doesn't want to go back to civilization. Meanwhile, Bill's sweetheart Joan Hammond (Jacqueline Wells) anxiously waits back at the base, biting her nails right down to the nubs. The film's best scenes take place amongst the Peruvian natives, incongruously headed by white-maned Shakespearean actor Fritz Leiber. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, set at the turn-of-the-century an ingenious young jockey finds his reputation sullied by criminals. He cleverly outsmarts them and his reputation is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The title may be Orchids to You, but the plot is motivated by a camellia -- to be exact, Camelia Rand (Jean Muir). About to be ejected from her thriving flower shop when a developer plans to tear down the building, Camelia confronts Thomas Bentley (John Boles), the lawyer representing the developer. Despite her anger, Camelia can't help but take a liking to Bentley, though she refuses to entertain any romantic notions because the lawyer is already married to Evelyn (Ruthelma Stevens). Later on, a stranger enters Camelia's shop and orders a dozen orchids for Mrs. Bentley. Not wishing to hurt Mr. Bentley, Camelia refuses to mention Mrs. B's name in court when ordered to do so, and as a result spends 10 days in jail on a contempt charge. All-around comedy relief Teddy Stuyvesant (Charles Butterworth) shows up in time to solve everything, and the film ends with the philandering Mrs. Bentley out in the cold and Camelia in Mr. Bentley's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a stage play by C. Stafford Dickens, Command Performance is also beholden to The Prisoner of Zenda and other Ruritanian romances of that ilk. Neil Hamilton stars as Peter Fedor, a stage actor who bears a striking resemblance to Prince Alexis of Kordovia (also Neil Hamilton). Getting into a fight with the hotheaded Alexis, Peter gives the prince a royal shiner. Impressed by his courage, the Queen Mother (Vera Lewis) orders Peter to impersonate Alexis, who has announced that he will give up his throne if he is forced to marry the contentious Princess Katerina (Una Merkel). Peter and the Princess fall in love, whereupon the petulant Alexis is told to take a hike. Command Performance was one of several interesting if not altogether successful films produced by James Cruze for low-budget Tiffany Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mammy features Al Jolson as the star of a travelling minstrel show, appearing in a small Southern town. Jolson falls in love with an actress in the troupe (Lois Moran), but she loves another. One of Jolson's fellow minstrels (Lowell Sherman) is shot backstage, and it is assumed thanks to several plot convolutions that Jolson is guilty of the deed. He heads for the hills, but returns to the show, his reputation restored but his love for the actress unrequited. Maudlin in the extreme, Mammy is salvaged by several enjoyable songs by Irving Berlin and by its Technicolor photography (though most TV prints are black and white). The film's fascination with modern viewers rests with the presence of Al Jolson--and with the casual use of profanity during his confrontation scene with Lowell Sherman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This lavish musical is based on a play by Oscar Hammerstein II and tells the story of a young girl who inadvertently causes a revolution with her rendition of "Song of the Flame." Later she falls for a captured Russian prince. She is determined to save him, even if it means sacrificing her innocence to a lascivious villain. Songs include: "The Cossack Love Song," "Song of the Flame" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Herbert Stothart), "Petrograd," "Liberty Song," "The Goose Hangs High," "Passing Fancy," "One Little Drink" (Grant Clarke, Harry Akst, Ed Ward) and "When Love Calls" (Ward). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi