Fred "Snowflake" Toones Movies
During Hollywood's pre-"politically correct" era, it was not uncommon for African-American performers to be saddled with such demeaning professional monikers as "G. Howe Black," "Stepin Fetchit," and "Sleep 'n' Eat." One of the more egregious racially oriented nicknames was bestowed upon a talented black character actor named Fred Toones. From 1931 until his retirement in 1948,... (read more) Toones was usually billed as "Snowflake," often playing a character of the same name. His standard characterization, that of a middle-aged "colored" man with high-pitched voice and childlike demeanor, was nearly as offensive as his character name. True to the Hollywood typecasting system of the 1930s and 1940s, "Snowflake" was generally cast as redcaps, bootblacks, and janitors. He appeared in dozens of two-reelers (including the Three Stooges' first Columbia effort, 1934's Woman Haters) and scores of B-Westerns. During the early '40s, Fred Toones was a semi-regular in the zany comedies of producer/director/writer Preston Sturges. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Bells of San Angelo
1947
The Bells of San Angelo was the second Republic Roy Rogers western to be filmed in the "new" Trucolor process (actually the old Magnacolor process). Set in the modern...
Two Smart People
1946
One of two con-artists ends up arrested and given five days of freedom before he must go to jail. This comedy chronicles those five days. The man loves to eat; knowing that prison...
Fool's Gold
1946
The second of William Boyd's self-produced "Hopalong Cassidy" films, Fool's Gold maintains the standards set by the first (Devil's Playground), though it's a step down from...
The Hoodlum Saint
1946
William Powell plays a cynical con man who graduates from penny-ante operations to a big-time charity racket. The scam involves collecting money on behalf of St. Dismas,...
The Lost Weekend
1945
Billy Wilder's searing portrait of an alcoholic features an Oscar-winning performance by Ray Milland as Don Birnam, a writer whose lust for booze consumes his career, his...
Hidden Valley Outlaws
1944
"Wild Bill" Elliott heads the all-star (by B-flick standards, at any rate) western Hidden Valley Outlaws. Elliott does battle with a cartel of ruthless landgrabbers, who are...
The Yellow Rose of Texas
1944
The Yellow Rose of Texas is, at least in the case of this Roy Rogers vehicle, both the title of a song and the name of a fancy showboat. Rogers plays a frontier insurance...
Firebrands of Arizona
1944
In this convoluted western, a sickly cowboy sidekick gets into a terrible fix when he is mistaken for a notorious bank robber and tossed in the clink. There is a huge bounty on...
Meet the People
1944
MGM's musical extravaganza Meet the People top-bills two future powerful TV executives: Dick Powell and Lucille Ball. Ball plays a popular but stuck-up Broadway star who...
Spy Train
1943
One can't deny that Monogram's Spy Train never stops moving; after all, it is set on a speeding train. Richard Travis and Catherine Craig are the not-what-they-seem hero and...
Land of Hunted Men
1943
The Range Busters bust the range once more in Monogram's Land of Hunted Men. This time around, the star trio consists of Ray "Crash" Corrigan (returning to the...
The Haunted Ranch
1943
The Triangle W Ranch is indeed haunted in this Monogram Range Busters series entry, though not by the spirit of the late outlaw Reno Red as the townsfolk are led to...
The Great Man's Lady
1942
This rambling historical drama covers 109 years in the life of one woman. Encased in convincing old-age makeup, Barbara Stanwyck reminisces on her experiences in the American...
The Palm Beach Story
1942
As for the opening reels, the principal motivating factor is money. After a deliberately confusing pre-credit sequence (not explained until the film's punch line), Tom Jeffers...
Queen of Broadway
1942
There are no queens and very little Broadway (except for an opening establishing shot) in Queen of Broadway. Instead, this sentimental B-picture is the story of a gambler...
Silver Queen
1942
In this Victorian-era adventure, a blue-blooded girl is dismayed to discover that her recently deceased father, a compulsive gambler, has left her destitute and deeply in debt. At...
Give Out, Sisters
1942
The Andrews Sisters headline this musical. They play the lead act at a popular nightclub. The trouble begins when they hire a few students from a financially foundering dance...
A Missouri Outlaw
1942
Don "Red" Barry is unjustly accused of being a Missouri Outlaw. The real bad guys are a gang of crooks who've been conning the local merchants and farmers out of their...
Raiders of the West
1942
In this western, a frontier detective disguised as an entertainer performs for the leader of an outlaw gang. At the same time, he learns the whereabouts of the outlaws' hideout....
Obliging Young Lady
1941
The studio concocted the film as a showcase for its 9-year-old discovery Joan Carroll, here cast as precocious Bridget Potter. Little Bridget has been willingly "kidnapped" by...