Robert Riskin Movies
Screenwriter Robert Riskin entered the film business as a teenager, at a time (1914) when anyone with a glimmer of talent was allowed to work on what were then called scenarios. During the 1920's, Robertson kept busy on Broadway, penning such popular plays as Illicit and Bless You Sister. On the Columbia Pictures payroll in 1931, Riskin found himself adapting many of his own works for the screen -- including Bless You Sister, which ended up as the Frank Capra production The Miracle Woman. Riskin and Capra liked each other's work, and, as a result, Riskin contributed the wisecracking dialogue for Capra's Platinum Blonde (1931). Future Riskin/Capra collaborations included American Madness (1932), Lady for a Day (1933), It Happened One Night (1934) (which won Riskin an Oscar), Broadway Bill (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937) and You Can't Take It With You (1938). Free of their Columbia contracts in 1941, Riskin and Capra formed their own production company to put together Meet John Doe. In later years, Capra would sometimes comment that he'd often have to tone down Riskin's Manhattan-bred cynicism; it's also likely that Riskin may have bristled at Capra's tendency to take all the credit for his collaborators' contributions. In 1937, Riskin ventured into directing for the first and last time with the Grace Moore musical When You're In Love (1937). In 1942, he married actress Fay Wray, who later put her own career on hold to nurse Riskin through a debilitating (and eventually fatal) neurological illness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1932
Ben Lyon plays an aspiring boxer in this pre-code drama. Cookie Bradford (Lyon) toils at a diner and works out at the gym while waiting for his big break. His one supporter is the gym owner's daughter, Honey (Constance Cummings). When her father dies suddenly, she decides to take over his business. The fighters, however, have no faith in a woman, and they all walk out on her -- except for Bradford. She begins coaching him and he starts winning fights. But when they marry and head for the big city, male prejudice towards Honey works against them until she manages to place Bradford in a charity fight held by a socialite (Thelma Todd, on loan from the Hal Roach Studios). Bradford then fights his way up to Madison Square Garden, but it all goes to his head. He ignores Honey in favor of the socialite, and dumps her as a manager in favor of Dan Wilson, a man with a big name and big promises. But Bradford's luck runs out and he loses his way to the bottom of the bill. It takes Honey's ingenuity to make him into a contender once again. This was Edward N. Buzzell's debut as a feature film director. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1932
The title Virtue should be a good tip-off that the central character is a step below virtuous. Carole Lombard, still not established as a comedienne in 1932, plays a streetwalker seeking an escape from her sordid existence. She meets Pat O'Brien, one of the few men who doesn't expect a quick fix of satisfaction. Redeemed by his love, Lombard marries O'Brien and tries her best to bury her past. Fortunately Virtue was made before the 1934 production code, thus Carole Lombard is not subject to the censor-approved Torments of the Damned which were visited upon post-1934 movie prostitutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Pat O'Brien, (more)
- 1932
Glamorous Jean Harlow had her first big starring role in this standard story of an innocent small town young woman corrupted by big city life. Harlow plays Cassie Barnes, who is bored with her life and jumps at the chance to move to New York City to join her old friend Gladys Kane (Mae Clarke). She gets an apartment with Gladys' friend Dot (Marie Prevost), whose life is not so glamorous -- she addresses envelopes to make money. Cassie quits her first job after her boss hits on her then becomes a model in the department store where Gladys works. There she falls for a philandering tycoon named Jerry Dexter (Walter Byron). Cassie eventually discovers that he is married. Jerry tries to claim that he's going to divorce his wife, but Cassie doubts it and dumps him. Gladys is the mistress of another married man, Arthur Phelps (Jameson Thomas), who keeps her happy with a well-furnished Park Avenue apartment. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Harlow, Mae Clarke, (more)
- 1931
Few actresses exuded as much raw sensuality as the pre-Production Code Barbara Stanwyck. In Illicit, Anne Vincent (Stanwyck) spends most of her time dressed in a loose-fitting kimono as the mistress of Dick Ives (James Rennie). The couple lives openly in sin because Anne does not believe in marriage, convinced that she could never remain faithful to Dick if they legalized their union. Sure enough, when Annie and Dick do tie the knot, they immediately begin fooling around with others. In the end, however, morality and fidelity prevails -- and about time! Illicit created quite a stir in 1931, not so much because of its half-hearted advocation of "free love," but because of its unconventionally independent heroine (of course, if it had been the hero who was opposed to marriage, no one would have said boo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, (more)
- 1931
Young Joan Bennett and Lew Ayres make an attractive couple in the Universal programmer Many a Slip. Because of her imperious attitude, beautiful young debutante Pat Coster (Bennett) can't find a boy friend until Jerry Brooks (Ayres) comes along. Anxious not to lose Jerry, Pat leads him to believe that she's pregnant. Only after they've exchanged wedding vows does Pat reveal that no baby is forthcoming, whereupon the angry Jerry walks out on her. Trouble is, Pat is now pregnant for real! This is one film in which stars definitely outshine the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, Lew Ayres, (more)
- 1931
A minister's daughter finds fame as an evangelist but struggles with her own lack of faith in Frank Capra's impassioned drama. Inspired by the true story of Aimee Semple McPherson, the film follows the rise to prominence of Florence Fallon (Barbara Stanwyck). Disillusioned by the mistreatment of her dying father by his church, Florence grows cynical about religion. She nevertheless retains an intimate knowledge of the Bible and natural flair for preaching, talents put to use by promoter Bob Hornsby (Sam Hardy) in a series of phony revival meetings, complete with staged healings and other stunts. Florence plays along, but she soon comes to take her religious mission more seriously, especially after a blind songwriter John Carson (David Manners) claims that her preaching saved his life. Guilt-ridden Florence decides to go straight, but Hornsby sets out to stop her, seeing her new-found morality -- and her budding romance with John -- as a threat to his lucrative business. Foreshadowing many of his better-known classics, Capra addresses issues about the manipulation of the public and the importance of truth while also presenting an unlikely romance. The film's treatment of religion was considered controversial on its initial release; it now seems justifiably complex but far from critical. The film's most notable element is the intense lead performance from Stanwyck, whose combination of fiery charisma and vulnerability is magnetic and convincing, providing Capra's ambitious drama with a gripping emotional core. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, David Manners, (more)
- 1931
In this drama, a woman with dubious past finds herself blackmailed when she makes plans to marry a senator's son. She finds salvation with a bootlegger who offers to take care of the excursionist. Unfortunately, he chooses to kill the fellow, gets caught, and is put on trial. Now the woman must choose to risk reputation, and good marriage or tell the truth and save him from the electric chair. Eventually, she chooses the honorable path and happiness ensues all around. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lois Moran, Charles Bickford, (more)
A rather bleak comedy-drama from Frank Capra, Platinum Blonde basically starts where Capra's later and much more buoyant It Happened One Night (1934) ends: the marriage between a brash newspaperman and a society dame. But where the latter comedy was enhanced by the director's patented optimism, Platinum Blonde, produced at the height of the Great Depression, expresses no faith in a common ground between the classes. Star reporter Stew Smith (Robert Williams) falls in love with the sister (Jean Harlow) of his latest victim (Donald Dillaway). They marry despite the misgivings of Ann Schuyler's blue-nosed mother (Louise Closser Hale) and Stew's cynical colleagues ("Ann Schuyler's in the blue book. You're not even in the phone book!"). Unable to stand life in a gilded cage for long, Stew upsets the Schuyler mansion by inviting his friends to a wild and woolly party. Returning home unexpected in the middle of the drunken revelry, Ann lays down the law and Stew bolts -- right into the arms of girl reporter Gallagher (Loretta Young), whom he has loved all along without realizing it. Jean Harlow is surprisingly realistic as the callous society girl but Robert Williams' wisecracking reporter comes across as rather grating. An up-and-coming comic lead, Williams died after an operation for appendicitis on November 3, 1931, less than a month after Platinum Blonde had premiered to mostly positive reviews. Ironically, Loretta Young, who received top billing, had demanded to star in this film when it was still known as "Gallagher," the name of her character. Harlow, needless to stay, stole the limelight completely and Capra changed the title much to Young's chagrin. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Robert Williams, (more)
- 1931
When Lt. Bob Denton (John Wayne) tells his girlfriend Evelyn (Laura La Plante) that he has no intention of marrying her, she takes her revenge by romancing Denton's protege and father figure Colonel Bonham (Forrest Stanley). Unbeknownst to Evelyn (La Plante), Denton (Wayne) begins to court Evelyn's younger sister Bonita (June Clyde). It doesn't take long for Denton to fall in love with Bonita (Clyde), and the former ladies man decides to commit to their relationship. Though a reformed Denton secretly marries Bonita, Evelyn finds a way to convince the Colonel that Denton had made illicit advances at her. Feeling angry and betrayed, Colonal Bonham asks for Denton's resignation. Men Are Like That was directed by George B. Seitz and also features actress (Susan Fleming). ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Laura La Plante, (more)
