Hal Roach, Jr. Movies

Go, Johnny, Go! was second and last of a proposed trio of jukebox movies built around and co-produced by DJ Alan Freed. He plays himself in this rags-to-riches tale, told in flashback, of a young rock & roll singer named Johnny Melody (Jimmy Clanton), whose rise from life in an orphanage where no one wanted him to his "discovery" by Freed through an unsolicited demo recording sent to the disc jockey's office is told in 75 minutes, in a dramatic time frame that's impossible to determine. Along the way, Johnny meets a girl (Sandy Stewart) with whom he falls in love, and nearly gets himself arrested when it looks as though everything has turned against him. The plot is a threadbare reprise of the kind of juvenile delinquency-with-music stories that Elvis Presley had been doing, but it offers glimpses of several very worthwhile (and a couple of legendary) music acts of the era who were otherwise undocumented on film: Jimmy Clanton himself, who was one of the best white singers to come out of that New Orleans R&B/rock & roll sound; Sandy Stewart, who was (and is still, 40-plus years later) a serious vocal talent; Chuck Berry, in a pair of performing clips that are brilliant; Ritchie Valens, in his only film appearance, doing a hot rocking number called "Oh, My Head"; Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows; the Cadillacs, in a pair of killer comic-relief numbers; Jo-Ann Campbell; and Jackie Wilson, showing how little Michael Jackson actually brought to performing that was new more than 20 years later. No, Go, Johnny, Go! isn't A Hard Day's Night, but it is a lot of fun to watch, and is easily the best of Freed's handful of feature films, before his downfall in the payola scandal. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

This 1956 episode of the CBS dramatic anthology Screen Directors' Playhouse was historically significant as the first TV appearance by swashbuckling film idol Errol Flynn. Though his swash had long since been unbuckled due to excessive high living, the 47-year-old Flynn still cuts quite a dashing figure in the role of vagabond poet Francois Villon. Aided by a beautiful mademoiselle named Velvet (Pamela Duncan), Villon sets about to foil an assassination scheme targetting the King of France. Longtime Abbott and Costello foil Hillary Brooke costars as "The Countess." Thanks to the diligent archivists at Blackhawk Films, at one time the foremost purveyors of quality product for the 8- and 16-millimeter home movie enthusiasts, "The Sword of Villon" was resurrected from obscurity and restored for public consumption in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"The Silent Partner" is, along with John Ford's "Rookie of the Year", perhaps the best-known episode of the TV anthology series Screen Directors' Playhouse. Buster Keaton stars as Kelsey Dutton, a former silent-film comedian fallen upon hard times. While visiting a neighborhood tavern, Kelsey is recognized by Selma (ZaSu Pitts), herself an ex-actress. Their happy reunion is spoiled by the Academy Award telecast being shown on the bar's TV set, in which prominent actor-director Arthur Vail (Joe E. Brown), accepting an Oscar, flippantly refers to Kelsey and Selma as washed-up hasbeens. As it turns out, however, Vail's apparent cruelty has a noble purpose. Directed and cowritten by George Marshall, who in his movie heyday worked with the likes of Bob Hope, W.C. Fields and Laurel and Hardy, the film is at its best when recreating the Golden Days of silent slapstick comedy, of which Keaton was an acknowledged master. Unavailable for many years, The Silent Partner was put back in circulation for collectors and aficionados alike by Blackhawk Films in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though filmed through the facilities of Hal Roach Studios and produced by Hal Roach Jr., Tales of Robin Hood was released by Lippert Pictures. Robert Clarke stars as the young Earl of Huntington, who after losing his property and title to the invading Normans heads to Sherwood Forest. Here he gains notoriety and adulation as beneficent outlaw Robin Hood. Mary Hatcher co-stars as Maid Marian, while Sir Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff of Nottingham are played respectively by Paul Cavanaugh and Tiny Stowe. Robin's Merry Men are portrayed by Wade Crosby (Little John), Ben Welden (Friar Tuck), Robert Bice (Will Scarlet) and Bruce Lester (Alan A-Dale). Reportedly, Tales of Robin Hood was intended as the pilot film for a TV series; indeed, its structure resembles two half-hour TV episodes cobbled together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the early 1940s, producer Hal Roach turned out several entertaining and profitable "streamliners" (each running approximately 45 minutes) about an army recruit with a photographic memory and his long-suffering sergeant. William Tracy portrayed Private (and later Sergeant) Doubleday, while Joe Sawyer was his topkick Sgt. Ames. In 1951, Hal Roach Jr. decided to revive the series, but only two 6-reel films resulted. The first, As You Were, finds Doubleday re-enlisting, much to the consternation of the bombastic Ames. This time both men find themselves at odds with their new "fellow" sergeant, lovely WAC Joan Vohs. Like its sequel Mr. Walkie Talkie, As You Were was released by Lippert Films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to start up where he left off before his studio was taken over by the government during WWII, Hal Roach turned out a brief series of "streamliners" (short-length feature films) under the umbrella title Hal Roach's Laff-Time. The third entry in this series was Here Comes Trouble, a Cinecolor attempt to revive a popular Roach military-comedy series from the early 1940s. William Tracy and Joe Sawyer return respectively as Doubleday and Ames, erstwhile army buddies with a predilection for trouble. Now in civilian clothes, Doubleday, he of the photographic memory, becomes a newspaper reporter, while the long-suffering Ames joins the police force. It doesn't take long for our heroes to become involved in a hectic search for a valuable missing diary. Former silent screen star Betty Compson provides a touch of class in the role of newspaper publisher's wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When millionaire bachelor John Hubbard takes a run-out powder at his own wedding, Hubbard's vengeful fiancee Polly Ann Young has the luckless fellow committed to an insane asylum. Hubbard escapes with certified looney Adolphe Menjou; together they join a carnival run by Carole Landis. Hubbard and Menjou not only save Landis from bankruptcy, but also convince Hubbard's allegedly normal uncle Charles Butterworth (who races fire engines as a hobby) to arrange for the carnival to be set up right next to the family mansion. Directors Hal Roach, Hal Roach Jr. and Gordon M. Douglas deliberately blur the thin line between sanity and insanity throughout Road Show. Just who's crazier: the delusional Menjou, who takes photographs with an invisible camera, or lovestruck Indian George E. Stone, who spends his free time chasing after carnival employee Patsy Kelly? And are the freewheeling carney folk any goofier than the flibbertigibbet society folk? The Charioteers, a black singing group who'd previously appeared in the Broadway production of Hellzapoppin, act as a sort of Greek chorus, commenting on the action with several refrains of the Hoagy Carmichael song "Calliope Jane". The amiable wackiness of Road Show is capped by a car-chase finale. The film was based on a novel by Eric Hatch, who four years earlier had worked on Roach's Topper. Watch for several familiar comedy faces among the uncredited bit players, including Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide