Mary Carlisle Movies

This painfully cheap but wildly entertaining PRC production stars a hammy George Zucco in a dual role as the Clayton Twins -- both doctors, one good, one evil. Elwyn Clayton, a practitioner of the black arts, is murdered by his brother Lloyd and returns from the dead as a vampire to seek revenge with the aid of his leering, hunchbacked assistant (Dwight Frye -- who else?). He exacts his vengeance by brutally murdering Elwyn's associates, with all evidence pointing to the only living twin. Jungle Siren director Sam Newfield makes the most of the paltry budget, helped greatly by Zucco's typically flamboyant performance -- which threatens to out-camp even that of legendary eye-roller Frye (who would die of a heart attack some months after this film's completion). ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This homey little comedy is predicated on the notion that bucolic country boy Morgan (Richard Cromwell) is the son of a notorious Roaring-Twenties racketeer. Morgan Senior's former gang, pining for their glory days, appoint "Baby Face" Morgan as their leader and resume their criminal activities. Their strategy is sublime: with the FBI busily beating the bushes for Nazi spies, who's going to pay attention to a bunch of middle-aged Prohibition gangsters? Unaware that he's being used as a figurehead, Morgan gets mixed up in a crooked insurance scheme, but by film's end he's figured out a way to clear himself and the mob, with everyone learning a lesson in the process. Reviewers in 1942 were amused by Baby Face Morgan but deplored its threadbare production values, noting that at one point the klieg lights could be seen reflecting on the bald dome of supporting player Vince Barnett! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a story by Vicki Baum (of Grand Hotel) fame, Dance, Girl Dance finds innocent young Judy (Maureen O'Hara) journeying to the Big Apple in hopes of gaining fame as a classical dancer. Instead she ends up as the "stooge" for raucous strip-tease artist Bubbles (Lucille Ball), who attempts to perform ballet before leering, catcalling, unappreciative burlesque audiences. Eventually, Judy and Bubbles both fall for playboy Jimmy Harris (Louis Hayward), a rivalry that culminates in a hair-pulling, eye-scratching cat fight. Eventually, Harris's ex-wife (Virginia Field) reels him back in, and Judy is hired by ballet producer and entrepreneur Steve Adams (Ralph Bellamy). In recent years, Dance, Girl, Dance has been canonized as a feminist manifesto, due to the fact that Dorothy Arzner was the director and because of Maureen O'Hara's climactic burlesque-house speech, in which she lambastes the male spectators for their puerile chauvinism. It should be noted, however, that Arzner became director only after Roy Del Ruth pulled out of the project. Uncertain how to promote the film, RKO Radio elected to sneak it into its first-run houses without fanfare, and the result was a $400,000 loss for the studio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For some reason, Hollywood movie musicals "discovered" Hawaii in the late 1930s. One of the lesser but still entertaining efforts in this realm was Universal's Hawaiian Nights, starring the personable Johnny Downs. The story centers on Ted Hartley (Downs), son of a wealthy hotelier. Rather than stick to the family business, Ted prefers to lead a band made up of hotel personnel. When his father (Thurston Hall) transfers Ted to his near-bankrupt Honolulu hotel, our hero takes the band along with them, and in so doing turns a losing operation into a winner. He also gets to romance heroine Lonnie Lane (Constance Moore), while band vocalist Millie (Mary Carlisle) settles for comedy-relief press agent Ray Peters (Eddie Quillan). Hawaiian Nights represents Universal's second successful teaming of Johnny Downs and Eddie Quillan, the first being Swing, Sister, Swing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Call a Messenger is the second entry in Universal's "Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys" series. In this one, the Little Tough Guys (Hally Chester, Harris Berger, David Gorcey) cede most of the screen time to Dead Enders Billy Halop (as Jimmy Hogan) and Huntz Hall (as Pig). When he and his pals are caught robbing their local branch of the Postal Union, Jimmy valiantly takes the blame for his friends' action. Given a choice between going to reform school and taking an honest job as a messenger boy, Jimmy opts for the latter-and before long, all of his buddies are wearing messenger uniforms. With the help of his Postal Union confreres, Jimmy manages to thwart the criminal activities of his ex-con brother Ed (Victor Jory) and Ed's gangster partner Chuck Walsh (Larry "Buster" Crabbe). Billy Benedict makes his first appearance as a Dead End Kid/East Side Kid/Bowery Boy in Call a Messenger, while comedy relief is provided by veteran funster El Brendel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pity poor police captain Dugan (Harry Carey). As if he hasn't got enough trouble with the green recruits that Headquarters continues saddling him with, he also has to solve a series of high-profile jewel robberies. Enter brash rookie cop Danny Blake (Dick Foran), whose know-it-all attitude drives Dugan right up the proverbial wall. Even more irritating are Blake's newfangled "scientific" crime-solving methods, not to mention the fact that the newcomer is sweet on Dugan's pretty niece Kathleen Burke (June Lang). Eventually, of course, Blake and Dugan work side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder to catch the head of the jewel thieves in the act (to reveal his identity would spoil the fun, though it isn't hard to figure out). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It can be said with some certainty that Paramount's Touchdown, Army is not a baseball picture. Taking time out from his "Bulldog Drummond" series, John Howard stars as Brandon Culpepper, a self-admiring West Point football hero. A true Southerner, Culpepper is mercilessly heckled by his teammates and his gridiron opponents. The taunting reaches a fever pitch when our hero pulls a "Roy Riegels", running the wrong way during a crucial game and nearly scoring a touchdown for the opposition. Culpepper is rescued from making a fool of himself by Jimmy Howell (Robert Cummings), his rival for the affections of pretty Toni Denby (Mary Carlisle). Judging by Touchdown, Army the median age of the West Point senior class is 35. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hunted Men is part of Paramount's unofficial B-picture series based on the J. Edgar Hoover book Persons in Hiding. Lynne Overman stars as a middle-class family man whose even-keel lifestyle is shattered when he brings home an affable stranger (Lloyd Nolan) to dinner. The stranger turns out to be an escaped killer, who repays Overman's hospitality by holding his family prisoner. Both criminal and hostages tensely count the hours as the rest of Nolan's gang (including J. Carroll Naish and Patricia Morrison) formulates an escape plan. Hunted Men has earned a latter-day reputation for its accurate portrayal of a suburban household of the 1930s, and for its surprisingly sympathetic portrayal (without overtly pleading for sympathy) of head crook Lloyd Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tip-Off Girls is a worthwhile entry in Paramount's "FBI" series, based on the various writings of
J. Edgar Hoover. The title refers to a group of pretty young women who are ordered by their gangster bosses to pick up tips on incoming merchandise shipments, thereby expediting a sophisticated hijacking operation. The girls are also expected to keep the freight drivers occupied while the crooks go about their business. G-Man Bob Anders (Lloyd Nolan) eventually smashes the racket with the help of decoy Marjorie Rogers (Mary Carlisle). Equipped with a Greek accent this time out, J. Carrol Naish plays the supposedly respectable head of the hijackers, while the rest of the cast is populated with such reliable Paramount stock-company players as Roscoe Karns, Buster Crabbe, Anthony Quinn, Benny Baker, Evelyn Brent, Irving Bacon and Stanley Andrews. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this sports drama, framed by the annual Army-Navy football game, a freshman footballer at the Naval Academy falls in love with a pretty girl who is already going with one of his upper-class team cohorts. Their rivalry creates problems until the day of the Big Game when they unite on the last crucial play. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When a king suddenly abdicates, his subjects are lead to believe that it is for the love of a foreigner in this romance. In reality, he is stepping down so avaricious businessmen can crown their own man king. The deposed monarch spends his exile on the Riviera, while the woman, filled with guilt because he stepped down for her, lives in Holland. Interestingly enough, Edward VIII the King of England abdicated for the love of American woman Wallis Simpson a few weeks after this British film was released. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When MGM remade its 1935 film Kind Lady in 1951, the earlier picture was retitled House of Menace to avoid confusion. The 1935 version stars Aline MacMahon, previously cast as wisecracking golddiggers, as a wealthy unmarried Londoner who befriends a charming but untalented artist (Basil Rathbone). The artist gains entrance to Aline's home by preying upon her basic kindliness, then slowly begins moving his own confederates in and taking over the household, the better to pilfer the lady's valuable collection of paintings. When Aline catches on, she is plied with drugs and locked up in her attic; the artist and his gang convince outsiders that the imprisoned woman is hopelessly insane. In the original Hugh Walpole short story, the lady of the house is ultimately murdered; in the play and film versions, she manages to outwit her captors and summon help. The 1951 version of Kind Lady starred Ethel Barrymore and Maurice Evans as fly and spider respectively. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A writer of mysteries helps a house detective solve a murder in this murder mystery. The murder occurs in the hotel in which the writer is staying. It is a mystery because, though the corpse was found in a hotel room, it was not the room he had registered for. One of the suspects claims that the man had asked to switch rooms. This leads the house detective to suspect the one who exchanged rooms.Unfortunately, the detective is easily mislead and it is up to the author to help solve the case. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide