William P. Carleton Movies

The 1937 Spanish-language romantic drama La Zandunga unfolds against the backdrop of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Fruit Fair, where a young woman named Lupe finds herself being romantically wooed by three men at once: octogenarian Don Atanasio, local boy Ramon, and the sailor Juancho - an out of towner with whom she falls passionately in love. Unfortunately, Juancho must go away for an indefinite period of time, and Lupe - uncertain if he will even return per se - decides to marry Ramon instead. Then Juancho returns, complicating matters immensely for the young woman and forcing her new husband to make an extremely difficult decision. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The excellent box-office returns for the previous Laurel & Hardy comic operas The Devil's Brother and Babes in Toyland encouraged Hal Roach to cast the team in still another operatic adaptation, a self-styled "comedy version" of William Balfe's The Bohemian Girl. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy play members of a gypsy tribe wandering through middle Europe sometime in the early 19th century. As if he hasn't got enough trouble trying to train dimwitted Stan to be a "first-class pickpocket," Ollie is also saddled with a faithless wife (Mae Busch), who is in love with dashing gypsy robber captain Devil's Hoof (Antonio Moreno). While trying to break into the palace of gypsy-hating Count Arnheim (William P. Carleton), Devil's Hoof is captured and flogged. In retaliation, Ollie's wife kidnaps Arnheim's little daughter Arline (Darla Hood of "Our Gang" fame) and leaves the child in Ollie's care, explaining that the baby is his ("I didn't want to tell her who her father was until she was old enough to stand the shock!") Twelve years later, Arline (now played by Jacqueline Wells) has grown into a beautiful young woman who's forgotten all about her aristocratic childhood, except whenever she dreams "she dwelt in marbl'd halls" (from the song of the same name). By coincidence, Arline one day finds herself wandering around the grounds of her ancestral home. She is captured by the Captain of the Guards (James Finlayson) and sentenced to be flogged, whereupon her foster-daddy Ollie and her drink-besotted Uncle Stanley race to her rescue. There's a happy ending for Arline, but not for Stan and Ollie, who wind up the picture with one of their famous "physical distortion" gags. A troubled production, The Bohemian Girl had to be extensively reshot and re-edited after previews because of the sudden (and still unsolved) death of co-star Thelma Todd, who was originally cast as the Gypsy Queen. It was decided out of respect for Todd to retain only one of her musical numbers and to refilm the rest of her scenes with other actors; as a result, Bohemian Girl is one of the patchiest and most uneven of the Laurel & Hardy features. Fortunately, Stan and Ollie's scenes are well up to par, especially the classic bit wherein Stan inadvertently becomes progressively drunker as he tries to bottle a cask of bubbling wine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Still hanging on in 1935 despite several financial setbacks, brave little Majestic Pictures continued turning out such worthwhile programmers as The Perfect Clue. Eloping with boyfriend Ronnie Van Zandt (Skeets Gallagher), madcap heiress Mona Stewart (Dorothy Libaire) changes her mind about marriage and runs away from her fiancé. Mona hires a car in a small town, only to discover that her chauffeur, David Mannering (David Manners), is a hold-up man when he robs her and leaves her stranded in the middle of nowhere. Having a change of heart, David returns to Mona, promising to behave himself for the rest of the ride. This proves difficult when the mismatched couple gets mixed up in a murder case, with David winding up the prime suspect. The most amusing aspect of The Perfect Clue is that neither hero nor heroine are terribly bright; truth be told, they're both dumb as doornails. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rendezvous at Midnight shifts from "low" to "drive" when corrupt city commissioner Myles Crawford (Arthur Vinton) is murdered. His assistant, Bob Edmonds (Ralph Bellamy), originally assigned to investigate the commissioner's administration, now tries to solve his murder. The prime suspect is Sandra Rogers (Valerie Hobson), the last person to see Crawford alive. Despite the most damning evidence, Edmonds refuses to believe that Sandra is guilty, and he sets about to prove it -- even if it means compromising his own honesty. This mild whodunit has curiously been included in TV's "Shock Theater" package, right along with Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This 1933 movie version of Sinclair Lewis's novel Ann Vickers stars Irene Dunne in the title role. Left alone and pregnant by her soldier sweetheart (Bruce Cabot), Ann turns her life around by devoting herself to social work. A frustrating tenure as psychologist in a poorly maintained woman's prison only strengthens Ann's resolve to improve the world around her. She falls in love with the politically progressive judge (Walter Huston) who helps finance her career, standing by him when he is unjustly accused of graft. Ann Vickers contains one startling sequence in which Ann, following the premature end of her pregnancy, walks with great discomfort around her garden while she speaks wistfully about,"the daughter I'll never have." Otherwise, the film suffers from its adaptors' soap-opera mindset, as well as the decision to cram Lewis's complex novel into a brief 75 minutes' screen time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Thomas Meighan was appropriately cast in this ocean-bound romance based on the novel A Light to Leeward by Peter B. Kyne. First mate Jim Bedford (Meighan) saves a ship when he takes over command from its drunken captain, Svenson (Gus Weinberg). Svenson is then given charge of a yacht belonging to Mary Brent (Lila Lee), the daughter of wealthy ship-owner Rufus Brent (Charles Abbe). Bedford puts him off the boat and takes command once again. During the trip, Bedford and Mary fall in love and they secretly marry. Brent wants to get rid of Bedford, so he gives him the assignment of taking an old ship to South America, but Mary stows away. Brent chases after the ship in his yacht, but it is disabled in a storm. Bedford tows the yacht, then presents Brent with a bill. This insult, on top of Bedford's marriage to Mary, infuriates Brent., but he eventually comes to appreciate his son-in-law, and offers him a partnership in his firm. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Although this domestic drama was certainly subpar, it featured two of the most beautiful faces of the silent screen -- Katherine MacDonald and Barbara LaMarr. (LaMarr had just come off an impressive appearance in The Prisoner of Zenda and was not yet a star.) Judge James Benton (William P. Carleton Jr.) sends Joe Martin (Frank Leigh) to jail for beating his wife (LaMarr) after finding her with another man. But Benton doesn't realize that he's abusing his own wife Barbara (Benton) just as much by his neglect. He gets his just desserts when he hires an artist, Pierre (George Fisher), to paint her portrait. The day comes when the judge arrives home and finds Barbara in Pierre's arms. Without waiting for an explanation he banishes Barbara from his home. Later he asks her to come back because their separation is having a negative effect on his position, but she refuses. She meets Mrs. Martin through charity work, and the two women become friendly. When Martin gets out of jail, he heads for the judge's house with a loaded gun. Mrs. Martin warns Barbara, who goes to protect Benton. The result is that both men are reconciled with their wives.
~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Clara Kimball Young plays twin sisters, one a cabaret entertainer, the other a nun, in this melodrama produced and directed by her husband Harry Garson. Convent novitiate Janet Trevor agrees to exchange places with her worldly sister Lucy, who mistakenly believes that she has killed her longtime friend, politician John McBride (William P. Carleton). McBride had been attempting to save Lucy from her drug habit when a gun accidentally went off, but unbeknownst to Lucy he survived with only minor injuries. Impersonating Lucy, Janet wins everyone at the Cubist Café with her rendition of religious songs, but when she spurns the unwanted attentions of cabaret owner Alan Graves (Richard Graves), the latter threatens to expose McBride as the killer of one of his waiters. Janet, however, persuades the real culprit, lovesick hunchback Ramez (George Hackathorne), to come forward and when McBride discovers that the waiter, Lorenz (Jean De Limur), is not dead at all, but in hiding, Graves admits defeat. Free from accusations, Lucy and McBride plan to marry while Janet returns to her novitiate. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This drama was based on Clyde Fitch's play The Woman in the Case, which was originally filmed in 1916 starring Pauline Frederick). Like Frederick, Betty Compson as Margaret has a tough time standing out next to the flashier supporting role of Clara, here played by Cleo Ridgely. Although Margaret (Compson) and Julian Rolfe (William T. Carleton) are deeply in love, Rolfe has a bit of a past. At one time he had befriended Clara Foster (Ridgely), a woman of the streets. When he discovers that his ward Phil Long (Casson Ferguson) is about to wed Clara, he tries to stop him. But he finds that Long and Clara have already married, so he heads back home. When Phil is found murdered, Rolfe is arrested and tried for the crime. Every action is taken to save him from conviction but it looks like he's headed for the electric chair. Margaret, desperate to save her husband, disguises herself as a woman of Clara's profession and wins her trust. She manages to get Clara to confess that it was she who committed the murder, and Rolfe is set free. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This minor dramatic programmer was an independent production. In spite of the fact that she's loved by Howard (William P. Carleton), a fine upstanding fellow, Florence (Fritzi Brunette) decides to marry the scheming George Otis (Sam De Grasse). Otis uses her to help him put over some questionable business deals. But when he asks her to get a 25,000-dollar loan from her former sweetheart, she can't go through with it. Instead, she gets the money from her mother. Because she does not tell him where the money came from, Otis suspects that she was intimate with Howard. When he needs even more money, he demands that she approach him again, but she refuses. Otis accuses Florence of being unfaithful, and finally she wakes up and realizes the kind of man she has married. She walks out on him, and they begin divorce proceedings. It is assumed that when she is free, Florence will marry Howard. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Rosemary Theby is American heiress Katherine Brinkley, a selfish young lady who believes that every woman should be out for herself. When she meets pianist Nicolai Brouevitch (Hamilton Revelle), it matters not one whit to her that he has a wife, Inna (Irene Blackwell), who loves him very much. Katherine convinces the temperamental musician that the two of them are soul mates and that Inna should not stand in the way of their romance. Their scandalous affair, which takes them to Europe, finally convinces her that Brouevitch is a shallow man and she should never have gotten involved with him in the first place. He eventually goes back to Inna, his social standing unaffected by the affair. Not so with Katherine, especially not in the 1920s when the double standard was in full swing. Her reputation is ruined, and she learns too late that she can't flout convention. One of the selling points of this drama was that it featured the same director and cast (excepting Otis Skinner) of 1920's Kismet. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

In silent films, few actresses played more long-suffering roles than Clara Kimball Young. By the time this picture came out, audiences were getting tired of suffering along with her. Miss Harvey, a newspaper woman (Young), does everything she can to see that the children of the slums are fed and clothed. Her former sweetheart, lawyer Craig Dunlap (Lowell Sherman), has married a woman who is both selfish and a kleptomaniac. In spite of his efforts, she winds up in jail and Dunlap himself becomes a derelict. That's how Miss Harvey finds him, and she nurses him back to health and happiness. When his wife gets out of jail she associates with a number of sleazy characters and gets arrested once again. Dunlap, who is completely fed up with her, insists that he will help her out only if she agrees to a divorce. She does, and Miss Harvey finally gets her man. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi