Mark Sandrich Movies
One of Hollywood's most gifted and least heralded directors of the '30s and early '40s, Mark Sandrich was an engineering student at Columbia University when he entered the movie business by accident -- visiting a friend on the set of a film, he saw that the director had run into a problem in setting up a shot; Sandrich offered his advice, which worked. He entered movies in the prop department, and became a director specializing in comedy shorts five years later, in 1927. He made his first feature the next year, but returned to shorts following the arrival of sound. He won an Oscar in 1932 for So This is Harris and returned to feature films, most notably, comedies starring the team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, such as Hips Hips Hooray. In 1934, Sandrich got his first directing assignment on a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical Gay Divorce, which proved a success -- the following year, he directed what is widely regarded as the best movie ever made by the legendary dance team, Top Hat, which excelled in every department from music to choreography and was all pulled together seamlessly by Sandrich. Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and Carefree (1938) followed. In 1940, Sandrich, who made his career at RKO, left the studio for Paramount, which offered him a chance to be a producer/director. He made several successful films in this capacity, including two Jack Benny classics, Buck Benny Rides Again and Love Thy Neighbor (both 1940), and the romantic comedy Skylark (1941), with Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland. But it was Holiday Inn (1942), starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, with music by Irving Berlin, that showed Sandrich at his best -- the musical/comedy started on the eve of America's entry into World War II, it featured sufficient serious overtones to capture the mood of the time, and showed Crosby and Astaire to brilliant advantage as performers who are rivals for the same woman; and it introduced the song "White Christmas," which remains the biggest selling popular song in history more than 50 years later. So Proudly We Hail (1943) was a Sandrich-produced and directed adaptation of a hit play, about army nurses sreving in the Pacific, and it was extremely popular and successful, and featured a pair of performers -- Adrian Booth and George Reeves -- whom Sandrich intended to bring to stardom after the war. Alas, it wasn't to be. In 1945, while in pre-production on a follow up to Holiday Inn called Blue Skies, starring Bing Crosby and featuring Irving Berlin's music, and serving as president of the Directors Guild, Sandrich died suddenly of heart failure. He was at the time one of the most trusted and influential directors in Hollywood, respected by his colleagues and the studio management -- his style was straightforward yet elegant, without pretentions, and he was equally adept at comedy, drama, and musicals. His sons Mark Jr. and Jay have gone onto successful careers as directors. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1944
Paulette Goddard and Sonny Tufts, two of the stars of director Mark Sandrich's wartime morale-booster So Proudly We Hail, were reunited in Sandrich's I Love a Soldiers. Looking gorgeous in bib overalls, Goddard plays defense-plant welder Eva Morgan, who avoids romance but gives generously of her time at the local GI canteen. One evening, soldier Dan Kilgore (Sonny Tufts) saunters into the canteen; Eva takes one look at the handsome hunk, and it's love at first sight, despite her vow to steer clear of romantic entanglements. Upon learning that Dan is already married, however, Eva bitterly breaks off the relationship. She is drawn back to him when he insists he's about to get a divorce, but renounces him again-not because she doesn't believe his divorce story, but because she feels that he'd be more valuable on the battlefield if he could only get his mind off women. Boy, is this a period piece! Outside of its stars, I Love a Soldier affords excellent acting opportunities for a number of character actresses, especially Mary Treen in a role specifically written for her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulette Goddard, Sonny Tufts, (more)
- 1944
This peppy wartime musical stars Bing Crosby as radio crooner Johnny Cabot, the heartthrob of millions. To escape his frenzied fans, Johnny joins the Navy, where is he ordering to aid a WAVE recruiting drive. He is helped(?) in this endeavor by Betty Hutton, amusingly cast in a dual role as twin sisters Susie and Rosemary, one a shy retiring brunette, the other a bold and brassy blonde (Vera Marshe doubles for Hutton is some scenes). Part of Johnny's recruiting strategy is to stage a musical show, as good an excuse as any for a steady stream of bouncy musical numbers. This is the film in which Bing Crosby and Sonny Tufts, both in blackface, introduce the Johnny Mercer-Harold Arlen standard "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive." Sharp-eyed viewers will spot Yvonne de Carlo, Mona Freeman, Mae Clarke, and Noel "Lois Lane" Neill in small roles. Here Come the Waves was partially remade by Martin & Lewis as Sailor Beware. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton, (more)
Paramount's So Proudly We Hail, like MGM's Cry Havoc, is a tribute to the Red Cross nurses trapped behind enemy lines in the early days of the Pacific war. Claudette Colbert is the self-sacrificing head nurse, struggling to minister to the wounded and to keep her staff (including Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake and Barbara Britton, all of them giving better than usual performances) from buckling under the pressure. Taking into consideration the regular fans of the film's female cast, the producers thoughtfully include several scenes in which the ladies pursue their romantic lives. The story culminates with the fall of Bataan, ending on a resigned but optimistic note; this finale was designed to lift the spirits of the audience, which in 1943 wasn't so certain as Hollywood of final victory. So Proudly We Hail was not only effective propaganda (though not as effective as Cry Havoc), but it also enabled Paramount to introduce its new crop of male hunks--including the estimable Sonny Tufts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, (more)
Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire star in Holiday Inn as a popular nightclub song-and-dance team. When his heart is broken by his girlfriend, Crosby decides to retire from the hustle-bustle of big city showbiz. He purchases a rustic New England farm and converts it to an inn, which he opens to the public (floor show and all) only on holidays. This barely logical plot device allows ample space for a steady flow of Irving Berlin holiday songs (including an incredible blackface number in honor of Lincoln's Birthday). Oddly enough, the most memorable song in the bunch, the Oscar-winning White Christmas, is not offered as a production number but as a simple ballad sung by Crosby to an audience of one: leading lady Marjorie Reynolds. Fred Astaire's best moment is his Fourth of July firecracker dance. Ah, but what about the plot? Well, it seems that Astaire wants to make a film about Crosby's inn, starring their mutual discovery Reynolds. Bing briefly loses Reynolds to Astaire, but wins her back during the filming of a musical number on a Hollywood soundstage (eleven years earlier, Bing enjoyed a final clinch with Marion Davies under surprisingly similar conditions in Going Hollywood). As with most of Irving Berlin's "portfolio" musicals of the 1940s, the song highlights of Holiday Inn are too numerous to mention. This delightful film is far superior to its unofficial 1954 remake, White Christmas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, (more)
- 1941
Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland, stars of the 1940 hit Arise, My Love, were immediately reteamed for Skylark. Adapted from the play by Samson Rafaelson, the film stars Colbert as the wife of a neglectful businessman Milland (her role had been played on Broadway by Gertrude Lawrence). Brian Aherne is a handsome bachelor who hopes to win Colbert away from her husband. At first enjoying her vacation from marriage, Colbert finds she can't keep up with Aherne's peripatetic lifestyle, and returns to Milland. Skylark's comic highlight is a slapstick sequence in which Colbert tries to prepare lunch in a yacht during a storm. The scene was shot in a single take, an accomplishment in which the actress took justifiable pride. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, (more)
- 1940
Love Thy Neighbor was produced to capitalize on the famous radio feud between comedians Jack Benny and Fred Allen. The two stars (actually friends in real life) play "themselves," constantly at each other's throats due to real and imagined slights. Benny complicates matters by falling in love with Allen's niece, played by Mary Martin. The battling comics briefly patch up their differences when Benny rescues Allen from an out of control motorboat, but the truce doesn't last long. The final scene takes place during a musical revue starring Benny, which Allen tries to break up with a slingshot. The Benny-Allen feud was already old news by the time of Love Thy Neighbor, and the film is merely an uninspired attenuation of a threadbare premise. The result is a letdown for fans of both Jack Benny and Fred Allen--though there are a handful of genuinely funny one-liners, as well as adroit supporting contributions from Mary Martin and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. The best scene in Love Thy Neighbor is the animated opening-credits sequence, produced by Warner Bros.' "Looney Tunes" mentor Leon Schlesinger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Benny, Fred Allen, (more)
- 1940
To fully appreciate Buck Benny Rides Again, one must have some familiarity with Jack Benny's radio programs of the 1939-40 season. During this period, Jack's broadcast costars included bandleader Phil Harris, announcer Don Wilson, singer Dennis Day and comedians Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Andy Devine. All five supporting players appear in this film, all playing "themselves" just as Benny does. Falling in love with aspiring singer Joan Cameron (Ellen Drew), Jack vows to go out of his way to impress her. When he learns that Joan is headed for a western dude ranch, he poses as "Buck" Benny, a rootin'-tootin'-shootin' 100% genuine cowboy. In truth, both Jack and his valet Rochester are terrified at the Wide Open Spaces, certain that they'll be scalped by Indians at the first opportunity, but through a series of silly coincidences Benny manages to convince Joan that he's an honest-to-goodness frontiersman. The plot thickens when a pair of modern-day desperadoes (Ward Bond and Morris Ankrum) plot to rob the dude ranch's safe, but our hero saves both the day and his girlfriend, with the unsolicited but very welcome assistance of his pet polar bear Carmichael (the same bruin who allegedly ate the gas man on Jack's radio show). Benny fans will get an extra kick out of seeing his legendary Maxwell in all its sputtering, backfiring glory, while old-time radio aficionados will enjoy hearing the voices of Mary Livingstone (Mrs. Benny) and Jack's "friendly enemy" Fred Allen. Frank Loesser's musical score includes such hit-parade favorites as "Say It (Over and Over Again)" and "My! My!", the latter sung by Rochester to his sweetie Josephine (Theresa Harris). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Benny, Ellen Drew, (more)
- 1939
Jack Benny goes to London in this frothy musical. He plays a Broadway producer and while in London begins pining for the love of glamorous singer Dorothy Lamour. Unfortunately, she finds him unattractive. Wanting to make her jealous, Benny pursues a pair of women who are trying to make their neglectful husbands jealous by pursuing Benny. Their ploy works and creates all kinds of comical mayhem until Benny's butler steps into to save his boss from the husbands' wrath. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Benny, Dorothy Lamour, (more)
It's more Ginger Rogers than Fred Astaire, and more comedy than singing and dancing in this Astaire-Rogers entry into the screwball comedy sweepstakes which features a top-of-the-line Irving Berlin score (Change Partners, I Used to be Color Blind, The Night is Filled with Music). Fred Astaire plays Dr. Tony Flagg, a psychiatrist, who enters the psyche of Amanda Cooper (Ginger Rogers), a radio singer whom Tony's friend Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy) takes to see him. It seems Arden thinks that Amanda needs psychiatric help since she can't reach a decision regarding Stephen's proposal of marriage to her. As Tony explores her subconscious dream life, she falls in love with him. Tony feels that her love is temporary -- merely a sign of transference. To channel her love in the right direction, Tony hypnotizes her to believe that she is in love with Stephen. But then things become more complicated when Tony comes to realize that he, in fact, is in love with Amanda himself. He now has to figure out a way to bring her out of her hypnosis and get her back to normal so that they can both fall into the clinch. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, (more)
The seventh of RKO's Fred Astaire--Ginger Rogers musicals, Shall We Dance casts Astaire as a world-renowned ballet dancer and Rogers as a musical comedy headliner. Rogers' manager Jerome Cowan concocts a phony romance between his client and Astaire in order to garner publicity for them both. Eventually, of course, the twosome falls in love for real, but not before a cornucopia of confusion, complications and misunderstandings. Highlights include a number performed on roller skates and Astaire's dance solo in the art-deco boiler room of an ocean liner. The George and Ira Gershwin score (their last for Astaire and Rogers) includes "Slap That Bass," "Beginner's Luck," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "They All Laughed," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," and the title number. Shall We Dance was slated as the last of the Fred-and-Ginger romps, but within a year they were together again in Carefree. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, (more)
This lesser Astaire/Rogers vehicle is one of several screen versions of the venerable Hubert Osborne stage play Shore Leave. For reasons unknown, Fred and Ginger are virtually supporting players here, spending most of their time trying to patch up the romance between Fred's fellow sailor Randolph Scott and Ginger's sister Harriet Hilliard (better known as Harriet Nelson, of Ozzie and Harriet fame). One of the sillier aspects of the plot hinges on raising enough money to renovate a broken-down old ship; to do this, Fred and Ginger stage a lengthy musical number that must have cost five times as much money as they raised! But that number, a languorous dance rendition of Irving Berlin's "Let's Face the Music and Dance", compensates for all the nonsense that has gone before. One fringe benefit of Follow the Fleet is spotting two fresh-faced starlets named Betty Grable and Lucille Ball. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, (more)
- 1936
Based on a novel by Netta Syrett, A Woman Rebels is the story of Pamela Thistlewaite (Katharine Hepburn), whose mission in life is to defy the restrictive and often hypocritical conventions of Victorian England. Refusing to conform to the status quo, Pamela lives alone, reads, and says whatever she wishes, and even -- horrors! -- takes a job. Her romantic dalliance with young Gerald (Van Heflin, in his film debut) results in an illegitimate daughter (Doris Dudley), whom Pamela raises as her niece until she decides it's high time to tell the truth in all matters. Faithful suitor Thomas Lane (Herbert Marshall) offers to make an "honest woman" of her, but Pamela refuses until she can stand on her own two feet financially. Fiercely independent to the last, she becomes the crusading editor of a pioneering pro-feminist magazine and an early champion of Women's Suffrage. It was hoped by RKO Radio that The Woman Rebels would restore the popularity of Katharine Hepburn, which thanks to a series of expensive failures had been flagging for the past two years. Though the film turned out to be a box-office loser (it posted a $220,000 deficit), in retrospect it can be regarded as an artistic triumph -- and a remarkably timely one at that. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Hepburn, Herbert Marshall, (more)
One of the best of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals, Top Hat centers on a typical mistaken-identity plot, with wealthy Dale Tremont (Rogers), on holiday in London and Venice, assuming that American entertainer Jerry Travers (Astaire) is the husband of her friend Madge (Helen Broderick) -- who's actually the wife of Jerry's business manager Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton). Complicating matters is Dale's jealous suitor Beddini (Erik Rhodes), whose motto is "For the woman the kiss -- for the man the sword." Beddini is disposed of by some last-minute chicanery on the part of Jerry's faithful valet Bates (Eric Blore), paving the way for the happy ending everyone knew was coming from the opening scene. The Irving Berlin score includes "Cheek to Cheek," "Isn't it a Lovely Day?," and the jaunty title song. The charisma of the stars, the chemistry of the supporting players, the white-telephone art direction of Van Nest Polglaise, the superlative choreography by Astaire and Hermes Pan, and the effervescent direction of Mark Sandrich all combine to make Top Hat a winner. Originally released at 101 minutes, the film was for many years available only in its 93-minute reissue form; it has since been restored archivally to 99 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, (more)
Based on Dwight Taylor and Cole Porter's play of the same name, The Gay Divorcee centers on Mimi (Ginger Rogers), a woman seeking a divorce from her husband. Mimi travels to an English seaside resort, pursued by the love-stricken Guy (Fred Astaire), whom she mistakes for the hired correspondent in her divorce case. Among the many musical numbers featured are "Night and Day," the only song from the original Broadway musical included in the film, and "The Continental," which won the first ever Academy Award for Best Song. Directed by Mark Sandrich, the film features supporting performances by Alice Brady and Edward Everett Horton. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, (more)
- 1934
Considered by many to be the best of the many Bert Wheeler-Robert Woolsey vehicles of the 1930s, Cockeyed Cavaliers is set in Merrie Olde England, where the comic-opera ambience is immediately established when a Walter Winchellesque town crier (Franklin Pangborn) sings the local gossip. Bert and Bob play a pair of wandering indigents who are constantly in trouble because of Bert's chronic kleptomania. "My doctor tells me it's a sickness," he explains." Bob: "Well, why don't you take something for it?" Bert: "I've already taken everything." Bert's latest bit of unintentional larceny earns the boys a few hours in the local pillory, where the villagers pelt them with vegetables until they are rescued by a feisty young boy. Unbeknownst to our heroes, the "boy" is beautiful young Mary Ann (Dorothy Lee), who has disguised herself to escape an arranged marriage with the gross and gouty Duke of Weskit (Robert Grieg). Stopping over at a local inn, Bert, Bob and the in-drag Marian make the acquaintance of a lusty Baron (Noah Beery), who celebrates his recent hunting trip in song. Forced to make a quick getaway when the local constable shows up, Bert and Bob "borrow" the clothes of a pair of drunken royal physicians (Snub Pollard and Jack Norton) and escape in the doctors' coach, with Mary Ann still in tow. Following the instructions found in the coach, the boys stop over at the home of the Duke of Weskit, obliging Mary Ann to remain in disguise. Bert and Bob ingratiate themselves with the Duke by curing his stomach ache (using a horse-doctor book!), while Bob tries to make time with Weskit's gorgeous niece Lady Genevieve (Thelma Todd) -- never dreaming that "Genny" is the wife of the irascible Baron whom they previously met at the inn. All sorts of double-entendre nonsense ensues before Bert and Bob save themselves from the Baron's jealous wrath by capturing an elusive wild boar, a contingency that also permits Bert to wed Mary Ann, whose true identity has finally been revealed. Elaborately produced on leftover sets from RKO Radio's The Little Minister, Cockeyed Cavaliers is a gem of a comedy, filled to overflowing with clever dialogue and hilarious sight gags. Musical highlights include the novelty song "I Went Hunting (And the Big Bad Wolf is Dead)" and the delightful "Dilly Dally." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, (more)
- 1934
With notable exceptions of Diplomaniacs and Cockeyed Cavaliers, Hips Hips Hooray must rank as the best of RKO-Radio's Bert Wheeler & Robert Woolsey vehicles. Bert and Bob are cast Andy Williams (sic) and Doc Dudley, sidewalk peddlers specializing in flavored lipstick. Falling in love with fashion model Daisy Maxell (Dorothy Lee), Andy offers to teach his and Doc's surefire sales techniques to Daisy's boss Amelia Frisby (Thelma Todd), owner of Maiden America Cosmetics. This requires our two heroes to pose as Big Businessmen, which they do by "borrowing" the office of investment executive Mr. Clark (Spencer Charters). When Clark returns from a wild-goose chase concocted by Doc Dudley, Andy and Doc beat a hasty retreat, inadvertently grabbing a bagful of Clark's money and leaving their sample case behind. Accused of thievery, the boys escape to Kansas but redeem themselves when they accidentally enter a cross-country auto race and drive Maiden America's car to victory. Hips Hips Hooray is a delightfully risque and boundlessly inventive effort, highlighted by two of the finest songs ever to come out of a Wheeler-Woolsey epic: Kalmar and Ruby's "Keep Romance Alive" (sung by Ruth Etting) and "Keep on Doin' What You're Doin' (originally written for Zeppo Marx in 1933's Duck Soup!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, (more)
- 1933
When her tough boyfriend Red Branahan (William Gargan) is sent to jail, Aggie Appleby (Wynne Gibson) meets mild-mannered Adoniram Schlump (Charles Farrell), and decides to turn him into a real man. She teaches him how to talk tough, changes his name to Red Branahan, and gets him a construction job -- unaware that the real Red has been released from prison. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Farrell, Wynne Gibson, (more)
- 1933
Broadway comedians Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough were as popular as the Marx Brothers during the 1920s and 1930s. While mustachioed straight man McCullough was essentially a fur-coated nonentity, Clark was hailed as a comic genius, a master of the instant adlib and zany nonsequitur. Certainly no one looked more like a comedian than Clark, who sported a pair of painted-on hornrimmed glasses and wore an impossibly wide-brimmed hat. From 1930 to 1936 (the year of McCullough's death), Clark and McCullough turned out an average of six 2-reel comedies per year for RKO Radio Pictures. While many were mediocre, a handful are as amusing today as they were six decades ago. Clark and McCullough: Inspired Madness contains three of their best short subjects: The Druggist's Dilemma (1933), Fits in a Fiddle (1933) and Alibi Bye-Bye (1935). The last-named film, wherein the pair portray "alibi photographers" in Atlantic City, is perhaps the funniest of the batch. One quibble: why not include the team's all-time best effort, 1934's Odor in the Court? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Melody Cruise, director Mark Sandrich's first feature film, is an unofficial extension of Sandrich's Oscar-winning RKO short subject So This is Harris (1933). Once again, the director's star is bandleader Phil Harris, then in his wavy-haired romantic lead period. Harris plays a millionaire who, while on a steamship cruise, is the object of the attentions (mercenary and otherwise) of every woman who crosses his path. Charlie Ruggles plays the flustered fellow whose job it is to steer Harris clear of breach-of-promise suits, while Helen Mack is the one girl who isn't interested in either Harris' looks or his millions-which naturally entices him to pursue her. Most of the dialogue is spoken rhythmically, a device that might have been tiresome in lesser hands. Let loose in RKO's optical effects department, Mark Sandrich offers us an endless variety of creative lap-dissolves, "wipes " split screens and flat cuts. The whole enterprise begins to run out of gas when it is necessary to tie up loose plot ends, but otherwise Melody Cruise plays with the same freshness and nuance that it did back in 1933. Watch for Betty Grable as one of the shipboard girls, and for perennial Three Stooges foil Bud Jamison as an operatic train conductor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Phil Harris, (more)
- 1932
The most intriguing aspect of the 1932 Bert Wheeler-Robert Woolsey romp Hold 'Em Jail was that it was co-scripted by legendary humorist and frequent Marx Bros. contributor S. J. Perelman. The film bears a slight resemblance to the like-vintage Marx/Perelman collaboration Horse Feathers, in that both pictures are climaxed by a zany football game sequence. But while Horse Feathers is set at a college, Hold 'Em Jail takes place behind the cold gray walls of Bidemore Prison. Edgar Kennedy, Bidemore's warden, is all geared up for an impending all-prisoner football game; alas, his team is woefully short of talent. Kennedy puts out a call to Bidemore's "alumni," one of whom is nightclub-owner John Sheehan. When novelty salesmen Wheeler and Woolsey show up at Sheehan's club, the owner frames the two goofs on a robbery charge so that they'll be carted off to Bidemore and recruited for the football team. W&W make themselves at home in jail, securing jobs as trustees so that Wheeler can romance Kennedy's pretty daughter Betty Grable (who was 16 at the time, and looks it), while Woolsey pitches woo at Kennedy's homely sister Edna May Oliver (explaining that she's spent four years studying music in Paris, Edna confesses "I'm not a virtuoso." "Not after four years in Paris" is Woolsey's response). During the climactic gridiron activity, Wheeler and Woolsey spot the duplicitous John Sheehan on the other team, and struggle manfully to get him to sign a confession that will exonerate them. When originally previewed, Hold 'Em Jail was a musical comedy running 74 minutes; audiences laughed at the comedy scenes but groaned at the songs, whereupon the film was pared down to a 66-minute non-musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, (more)
- 1929
This ambitious independently-produced musical was filmed in New York, utilizing the talents of several Broadway performers. Dialect comedian Nat Carr stars as movie mogul J. Pierpont Ginsburg, an amusing take-off of malaprop-spouting Sam Goldwyn. On the verge of bankruptcy, Ginsburg sinks every penny he has into a musical-comedy spectacular built around the questionable talents of French film siren Adore Renee (Fay Marbre). Meanwhile, Ginsburg's daughter Hope Sutherland pursues a romance with her dad's goyishe lawyer Sherline Oliver. In the climax, Ginsburg screens his masterpiece for a gathering of potential investors (including an uncredited Sam Levene), only to discover to his horror that the soundtrack is out of synchronization with the picture (pre-dating a similar gag in Singin' in the Rain by 22 years). Perhaps unintentionally, Talk of Hollywood is funnier in its dramatic moments than in its comedy sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1928
Runaway Girls was the first directorial credit for Mark Sandrich, who would still have to serve a long apprenticeship in short subjects before regaining his stride at RKO in the mid-1930s. An unabashed exploitationer, this 1928 release was redeemed somewhat by virtue of its professional Columbia Pictures trappings. Shirley Mason stars as Sue Hartley, the mixed-up product of a broken home. Sue heads to the Big City in hopes of finding success as a model; instead, she falls into the clutches of white slavers. Clean-limned Jim Grey (Arthur Rankin) rescues the girl from evil vice lord Varden (Edward Earle), only to be accused of Varden's murder. But the actual killer is a grief-stricken father whose own wayward daughter wasn't quite as lucky as Sue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hedda Hopper, Alice Lake, (more)
