Freddie Stewart Movies
Freddie Stewart was a swing-era singer and, briefly, a B-movie leading man whose career took him from some of New York's poorest neighborhoods to the top swing band in the country and, for a time, to Hollywood. Born Morris Joseph Lazar, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, he was drawn to music and performing from an early age and later started singing. As a teenager, he chose the professional name Freddie Stewart, partly in honor of his favorite screen actor, James Stewart. Singing gigs eventually got him to California, and he was good enough to attract the attention of Tommy Dorsey, then the most popular bandleader in America. Their relationship proved to be an unhappy one, however, with Dorsey reportedly trying to exert too much control over Stewart. He was finally rescued from his situation -- albeit, a well-paying one for the time -- by the movie business in 1946. Producer Sam Katzman, seeking a handsome but boyish lead for a new series of movies he was planning, signed Stewart to play the leading role in "the Teen Agers," a young troupe of performers who would be stars in a series of Henry Aldrich-type light comedy-adventure movies made at Monogram Pictures. The eight movies in the series, which have developed a cult following, proved to be the total extent of Stewart's acting career, as his youthful attributes worked against him in future projects. He returned to singing and was mostly seen on live television during the '50s when he wasn't working in clubs somewhere around the world, or running one of his own. He passed away in 2000. In 2005, author/fan Pam Munter published When Teens Were Keen, a salute to and biography of Stewart and the Teen Agers. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 1948
It was perhaps inevitable that Monogram's "Teen Agers" series would get around to a murder mystery: after all, wasn't Monogram the home of Charlie Chan, Mr. Wong and The Shadow? Campus Sleuth finds perennial co-stars Freddy Stewart and June Preisser cast as coeds Freddie Trimball and Dodie Rogers. When a magazine photographer is murdered, Freddy and June set about to solve the murder, with the dubious assistance of their college chums Lee Watson (Warren Mills) and Dodie's sister Betty (played by Noel Neill, who later gained TV fame as Lois Lane on Superman). While Inspector Watson (Donald MacBride) fumes, fusses, and jumps to all the wrong conclusions, our young heroes and heroines track down the killer -- who happens to be one of the film's musical guest stars! The film's biggest "mystery" is how the producers managed to pack a murder story, a plethora of comedy relief and four musical numbers into 57 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Stewart, June Preisser, (more)
- 1948
In this musical comedy, a group of clean-cut teens desire to turn an abandoned warehouse into a youth center. Unfortunately they and their two leaders are opposed by the mayor who wants to use the building for his own gain. The kids then put on a show and soon the mayor is convinced to give them the building. Musical numbers include: "Young Man with a Beat" (performed by the Gene Krupa Orchestra), "Sincerely Yours" (sung by Stewart), "Isn't This a Night for Love?" (sung by Stewart), "Household Blues" (sung by Davis), and "Young Man" (sung by Davis, Stewart). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Stewart, June Preisser, (more)
- 1947
Years before his tenure as "The Skipper" on Gilligan's Island, Alan Hale Jr. delivered a delightful comic performance in Monogram's Sarge Goes to College. Hale is cast as a none-too-bright marine sergeant who is ordered to take a long rest before undergoing a serious operation. For reasons best known to himself, "Sarge" decides that a college campus is the ideal locale for peace & quiet. Before long, he's helping the kids put on one of those oversized college musical shows for which Monogram was famous (or, in some circles, infamous). Freddy Stewart and June Preisser once more handle the songs-and-romance angle, while Noel Neill, TV's future "Lois Lane", is as cute as a button as the campus vamp. The musical guest stars this time out include orchestra leaders Russ Morgan and Jack McVea. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Earl Bennett, Margaret Brayton, (more)
- 1947
A sharecropper's son grows up to be the governor of Louisiana in this rags-to-riches bio-pic that tells the story of Jimmie Davis who was determined to get a good education and make something of himself. Not only did he become known as the singing governor, Davis was also a professor in a women's college, and a streetwise police commissioner. He sings several songs throughout the film including: "You Are My Sunshine," "Nobody's Darling but Mine," "It Makes No Difference," "There's a New Moon over My Shoulder," "Let's Be Sweethearts Again," and "You Won't Be Satisfied That Way." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dottye Brown, Tristram Coffin, (more)
- 1947
Band singer Freddie Stewart stars in the pure-'40s frivolity Vacation Days. It's a high-school musical romance, with some of the oldest "teenagers" on record. During summer vacation, Freddie and student June Preisser fall for each other. Their relationship is complicated by romantic rivalries carried over from the regular school year. Vacation Days features a spirited musical number by country-western star Spade Cooley, whose ultimate real-life destiny -- he would die in prison after murdering his wife -- retrospectively casts a slight pall on the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Freddy Stewart and June Preisser, Monogram's answer to Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan, star in Junior Prom. The plot concerns a high-school election, with a snotty rich kid literally buying his way to the class presidency. The backers of hero Freddy Stewart garner votes by using music, specifically big-band numbers and dancing specialties. Guest stars include bandleaders Abe Lyman and Eddie Heywood, Harry "The Hipster" Gibson and the Airliners. Junior Prom represented one of producer Sam Katzman's final Monogram efforts before moving his base of operations to Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Stewart, June Preisser, (more)
- 1946
High School Hero is all about a high school hero (what else?), played by Monogram musical star Freddy Stewart. A student at Whitney High, Freddy agonizes when the Big Football Game approaches with the school's principal rival, who have emerged victorious in all previous gridiron clashes. Director Arthur Dreifuss makes things easy for the audience by dressing the "good" football players in white and the "bad" ones in black, which is perhaps the film's comic highlight. To amplify the budget, the film is rife with "product placement" advertising plugs, a practice that would reach its nirvana in 1949's Love Happy (and would be revived, with a vengeance, in the 1980s). In addition to Freddy Stewart's perennial leading lady June Preisser, High School Hero costars Noel Neill, later to achieve TV fame as Lois Lane on Superman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Curly Joe DeRita, (more)
- 1946
The fun in this musical comedy begins when a popular swing singer mysteriously vanishes and a group of prank-loving college students try to pass off a schoolmate, the crooner's exact double, as the missing singer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1943
A romantic triangle between two best friends and a beautiful woman provides the basis of this romantic comedy. The girl in question is the niece of the head of the law firm the men work for. She likes both of the men, but one of them she considers more of a brother. This one is very manipulative and endeavors to thwart the romantic efforts of his friend by hiring the man's ex-girl friend, a singer, to distract him. It works and the manipulator gets the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, by that time he is dismayed to discover that he has actually fallen in love with the singer. Songs include: "Cae, Cae" (John Latouche, Pedro Barrios, Roberto Martins), "Do I Know What I'm Doing?," "Closer and Closer," and "Ain't You Got No Time for Love?." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Dolenz, David Bruce, (more)
