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    Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills
    Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills
    Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills
    Ebook504 pages5 hours

    Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills

    By John Howard Reid

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    HOLLYWOOD "B" MOVIES: A Treasury of Spills, Chills and Thrills, focuses on the support features Hollywood produced in that golden era when cinemagoers demanded value for their admittance money. The 250 movies detailed in this book are truly representative of Hollywood's golden age. Hollywood doesn't make movies like this any more (not deliberately anyway) but for the classic film fan, the "B" movie provides a fascinating subject. So what exactly is a "B" movie, and how does it differ from an "A"? Many people today would reply, "A matter of budget!" And that is certainly true to a certain extent. Moviegoers of the time, however, were not nearly as aware of budgets as we are now. For the average moviegoer of previous decades, a "B" movie was simply any movie that a theater advertised in small letters as a "plus" to the main feature. Generally, the support attraction played before Interval, so that patrons would not feel too unhappy if they arrived late and missed the first ten or twenty minutes. Therefore, in the minds of many moviegoers, the "B" was a movie of no extra special entertainment value. To a cinema manager, however, a "B" was any film at all with a running time of less than 70 (or 75) minutes. This short running time meant that the movie could not stand alone, even as a main attraction, because such was the competition between two or three or four cinemas in every neighborhood that yesteryear's patrons demanded the whole show run not less than 3 hours. The distributor (or "film exchange"), however, applied yet another definition. To the exchange, a "B" meant any feature with an entertainment quotient so low it had to be sold to exhibitors at the lowest flat rate possible. This book extensively covers all three of these categories. Of course, patrons did have their favorites. Mysteries were overwhelmingly popular, especially series movies like Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Edgar Wallace and Torchy Blane. Westerns and slapstick comedies were also strongly favored in blue-collar neighborhoods, as were the series pictures of Blondie and Maisie. Of course, it sometimes turned out that patrons regarded the "B" feature as more entertaining than the extensively touted "A" attraction, particularly if it was actually an "A" in disguise (a film the exchange had decided to offload at bargain basement rentals). You're in the Navy Now (Gary Cooper), Zaza (Claudette Colbert), Zero Hour! (Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Sterling Hayden), The Young Stranger (James MacArthur, Kim Hunter), Without Honor (Laraine Day), The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (Abbott and Costello), Whistling in Brooklyn (Red Skelton), What Next, Corporal Hargrove? (Robert Walker), Western Union (Randolph Scott), Tropic Zone (Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming), Trooper Hook (Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck), That Certain Woman (Bette Davis, Henry Fonda), and Texas Carnival (Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Ann Miller), were just some of many films offloaded by distributors, as detailed in the book. In many cases, the bargain price reflected neither the movie's extensive budget nor its entertainment value. With both Scaramouche (Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer) and The Doughgirls (Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, Jane Wyman) for instance, it was the title itself that held no appeal to patrons or exhibitors; Way Out West (Laurel and Hardy) was disadvantaged by its short running time; White Tie and Tails (one of the best "B" movies ever made) by the studio's decision to cast perennial heavy Dan Duryea as the hero. Romance in Manhattan, a Ginger Rogers vehicle, was also saddled with an unpopular lead (Francis Lederer); a movie titled Abilene Town appealed to Texans but was a dead loss in Vermont; and those little gems, Death on the Diamond (Robert Young), Kind Lady (Ethel Barrymore), and Kid Glove Killer (Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt) were simply undone by the mere fact that they were products of MGM's "B" unit.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Howard Reid
    Release dateApr 16, 2011
    ISBN9781458195821
    Hollywood "B" Movies: A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills
    Author

    John Howard Reid

    Author of over 100 full-length books, of which around 60 are currently in print, John Howard Reid is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Merryll Manning series of mystery novels, anthologies of original poetry and short stories, translations from Spanish and Ancient Greek, and especially books of film criticism and movie history. Currently chief judge for three of America's leading literary contests, Reid has also written the textbook, "Write Ways To Win Writing Contests".

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      Book preview

      Hollywood "B" Movies - John Howard Reid

      HOLLYWOOD B MOVIES

      A Treasury of Spills, Chills & Thrills

      John Howard Reid

      ****

      Published by:

      John Howard Reid at Smashwords

      Copyright (c) 2011 by John Howard Reid

      ****

      All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

      Smashwords Edition Licence Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      ****

      Original text copyright 2011 by John Howard Reid. All rights reserved.

      Enquiries: johnreid@mail.qango.com

      ****

      HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS 10

      Published May 2011.

      Other Books in the Hollywood Classics series:

      1. New Light on Movie Bests

      2. B Movies, Bad Movies, Good Movies

      3. Award-Winning Films of the 1930s

      4. Movie Westerns: Hollywood Films the Wild, Wild West

      5. Memorable Films of the Forties

      6. Popular Pictures of the Hollywood 1940s

      7. Your Colossal Main Feature Plus Full Supporting Program

      8. Hollywood’s Miracles of Movie Entertainment

      9. Hollywood Gold: Films of the Forties and Fifties

      10. Hollywood B Movies

      11. Movies Magnificent: 150 Must-See Cinema Classics

      12. These Great Movies Won No Hollywood Awards

      13. Movie Mystery & Suspense

      14. Movies International: America’s Best, Britain’s Finest

      15. Films Famous, Fanciful, Frolicsome and Fantastic

      16. Hollywood Movie Musicals

      17. Hollywood Classics Index Books 1-16

      18. More Movie Musicals

      19. Success in the Cinema

      20. Best Western Movies

      21. Great Cinema Detectives

      22. Great Hollywood Westerns

      23. Science-Fiction & Fantasy Cinema

      24. Hollywood’s Classic Comedies

      25. Hollywood Classics Title Index to All Movies Reviewed in Books 1-24

      --

      Other Movie Books By John Howard Reid

      CinemaScope One: Stupendous in Scope

      CinemaScope Two: 20th Century-Fox

      CinemaScope 3: Hollywood Takes the Plunge

      Mystery Suspense, Film Noir and Detective Movies on DVD

      British Movie Entertainments on VHS and DVD

      Silent Films and Early Talkies on DVD

      WESTERNS: A Guide to the Best (and Worst) Western Movies on DVD

      Musicals on DVD

      Table of Contents

      A

      Abilene Town (1946)

      Absolute Quiet (1936)

      Army Mystery (see Criminals Within)

      Around the World (1943)

      Arrest at Sundown (see Trails of the Wild)

      As Young As You Feel (1951)

      B

      Babes in Toyland (see March of the Wooden Soldiers)

      Bachelor Mother (1939)

      Benny Goodman Story (1956)

      Between Fighting Men (1932)

      Big Leaguer (1953)

      Blazing Guns (1935)

      Blondie (1938)

      Blondie Brings Up Baby (1939)

      Blondie Johnson (1933)

      Blondie for Victory (1942)

      Blondie Goes to College (1942)

      Blondie Hits the Jackpot (1949)

      Blondie in Society (1941)

      Blondie in the Dough (1947)

      Blondie Knows Best (1946)

      Blondie Meets the Boss (1939)

      Blondie’s Anniversary (1947)

      Blondie’s Big Deal (1949)

      Blondie’s Big Moment (1947)

      Blondie’s Blessed Event (1942)

      Blondie’s Hero (1950)

      Blondie’s Holiday (1947)

      Blondie’s Lucky Day (1946)

      Blondie’s Reward (1948)

      Blondie’s Secret (1948)

      Blondie Takes a Vacation (1939)

      Blood and Sand (1922)

      Bold Caballero (1937)

      Bold Cavalier (see Bold Caballero)

      Bombsight Stolen (see Cottage To Let)

      Big Deal (see Blondie’s Big Deal)

      Border Vengance (1935)

      Born To Be Wild (1938)

      Boss Cowboy (1934)

      Boss Said No (see Blondie Goes to College)

      Bounty Hunter (1954)

      Bulldog Edition (1936)

      Bundle of Trouble (see Blondie’s Blessed Event)

      Burn ’Em Up O’Connor (1939)

      C

      Canyon Pass (see Raton Pass)

      Cash and Carry (see Ringside Maisie)

      Caught by Television (see Trapped by Television)

      Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)

      Cheat (see Lone Hand Texan)

      Cheyenne Tornado (1935)

      Condemned To Live (1935)

      Crime of Dr Crespi (1935)

      Cottage To Let (1941)

      Criminals Within (1941)

      D

      Dalton’s Women (1950)

      Daniella by Night (see Zart Haute in Schwarzer Seide)

      Dark Hazard (1934)

      Dark Hour (1936)

      Dawn Express (1942)

      Dawn Trail (1930)

      Death on the Diamond (1934)

      Desert Trail (1935)

      Destination Murder (1950)

      Dick Tracy (1937)

      Doughgirls (1944)

      Dressed to Kill (1946)

      E

      East of the River (1940)

      Easy Living (1949)

      Emergency Landing (1941)

      Every Man’s Woman (see Prizefighter and the Lady)

      F

      Feudin’, Fussin’ and A-Fightin’ (1948)

      Feud of the Trail (1937)

      Fighting Champ (1932)

      Fighting Texans (1933)

      the Fireball (1950)

      Flight to Tangier (1953)

      Flying Blind (1941)

      Fog Island (1945)

      Forbidden Cargo (1954)

      Fort Worth (1951)

      G

      Ghost of Zorro (1959)

      Ghost Valley (1932)

      Girl from 10th Avenue (1935)

      Girl in Overalls (see Swing Shift Maisie)

      God’s Country and the Woman (1936)

      Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956)

      Green Eyes (1934)

      H

      Hair-Trigger Casey (1936)

      Heart of the Rockies (1937)

      Henpecked (see Blondie in Society)

      Hitting the Jackpot (see Blondie Hits the Jackpot)

      Housewife (1934)

      I

      I Can’t Escape (1934)

      Idaho Kid (1936)

      I Killed That Man (1941)

      I’ll Name the Murderer (1936)

      In Old Santa Fe (1934)

      Interference (see Easy Living)

      It Couldn’t Have Happened (1936)

      It’s Never Too Late To Mend (see Never Too Late)

      J

      Johnny Rocco (1958)

      Journey into Fear (1943)

      K

      Kelly of the Secret Service (1936)

      Kid Glove Killer (1942)

      Killer Ape (1953)

      Kind Lady (1951)

      L

      Ladies Crave Excitement (1935)

      Ladies of the Chorus (1949)

      Ladies They Talk About (1933)

      Lady Reporter (see Bulldog Edition)

      Last of the Mohicans (1936)

      Law of the Wild (1934)

      Little Mr Jim (1946)

      Lone Avenger (1933)

      Lone Hand Texan (1947)

      Lumberjack (1944)

      Lusty Men (1952)

      M

      Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951)

      Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Paris (see Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation)

      Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953)

      Maisie Gets Her Man (1942)

      Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)

      Man in the Saddle (1951)

      Man Trailer (1934)

      Man with Two Faces (1934)

      March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934)

      Mark of the Lash (1948)

      Men on Her Mind (see Girl from 10th Avenue)

      Mighty McGurk (1946)

      Million Dollar Baby (1941)

      Miss Pinkerton (1932)

      Mohawk (1956)

      Murder at the Baskervilles (1937)

      Murder by an Aristocrat (1936)

      Murder by Television (1935)

      Murder on the Campus (1934)

      Mysterious Mr Wong (1935)

      Mystery House (1938)

      Mystery Man (1935)

      N

      Nazi Spy Ring (see Dawn Express)

      Never Too Late (1935)

      No Place To Go (1939)

      Northern Frontier (1935)

      O

      Old Hutch (1936)

      On the Stroke of Nine (see Murder on the Campus)

      Our Blushing Brides (1930)

      Outcast (see Man in the Saddle)

      Outcasts of the Trail (1949)

      P

      Panama Menace (see South of Panama)

      Phantom Broadcast (1933)

      Phantom of the Plains (1945)

      Phantom Thunderbolt (1933)

      Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)

      R

      Racket Busters (1938)

      Ranch Dynamite (See Texas Tornado)

      Raton Pass (1951)

      Randy Strikes Oil (see Fighting Texans)

      Red Danube (1949)

      Revenge Is Sweet (see March of the Wooden Soldiers)

      Riders of Death Valley (1941)

      Ringside Maisie (1941)

      Rio (1939)

      Roaring Rider (see Wyoming Whirlwind)

      Roar of the Dragon (1932)

      Robot Pilot (see Emergency Landing)

      Rocky Mountain (1950)

      Rogues’ Tavern (1936)

      Romance in Manhattan (1935)

      S

      Santa Fe (1951)

      Scaramouche (1952)

      Sea Wall (see West of Dodge City)

      Second Childhood (1936)

      See Here, Private Hargrove (1944)

      Shadow on the Wall (1950)

      She Got Her Man (see Maisie Gets Her man)

      Sheik (1921)

      Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code (see Dressed to Kill)

      Shriek in the Night (1933)

      Sign of Fiur (1932)

      Silver Blaze (see Murder at the Baskervilles)

      Silver Bullett (1935)

      Sinister Hands (1932)

      Son of a Bad Man (1949)

      South of Panama (1941)

      South of Suez (1946)

      Sphinx (1933)

      Study in Scarlet (1933)

      Sundowners (1950)

      Sunset Range (1935)

      Swing Shift Maisie (1943)

      T

      Telegraph Trail (1933)

      Ten Wanted Men (1955)

      Terror by Night (1946)

      Texas Carnival (1951)

      Texas Express (see Fort Worth)

      Texas Tornado (1932)

      That Certain Woman (1937)

      Thoroughbred (1936)

      Three Mesquiteers (1936)

      Tiger Shark (1932)

      Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939)

      Trails of the Wild (1935)

      Trail Street (1947)

      Trapped by Television (1936)

      Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955)

      Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935)

      Trooper Hook (1957)

      Tropic Zone (1953)

      Trouble Busters (1933)

      Troubles Through Billets (see Blondie for Victory)

      Twice Two (1933)

      U

      Up in the Air (1940)

      U.S.S. Teakettle (see You’re in the Navy Now)

      Utah Blaine (1957)

      V

      Valley of Vengeance (1944)

      Vigilante Terror (1953)

      W

      Wanderer of the Wasteland (1945)

      Wanderers of the West (1941)

      Wanted: Dead or Alive (1951)

      Way Out West (1937)

      Westbound Stage (1940)

      Western Union (1941)

      West of Cheyenne (1938)

      West of Dodge City (1947)

      West of Sonora (1948)

      What Next, Corporal Hargrove? (1945)

      Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)

      Whistling in Dixie (1942)

      White Tie and Tails (1946)

      White Wings (1923)

      Who Was Maddox? (1964)

      Wide Open Town (1941)

      Wilderness Mail (1935)

      Winds of the Wasteland (1936)

      Wistful Widow {of Wagon Gap} (1947)

      Without Honor (1949)

      Woman Accused (see Without Honor)

      Wyoming Mail (1950)

      Wyoming Whirlwind (1932)

      Y

      You Can’t Do That To Me (see Maisie Goes to Reno)

      Young Stranger (1957)

      Young Wives’ Tail (1952)

      You’re in the Navy Now (1951)

      Z

      Zart Haute in Schwarzer Seide (1961)

      Zaza (1939)

      Zero Hour (1957)

      Zoo Baby (1957)

      Zorro the Avenger (1958)

      Zorro: The Bold Caballero (see Bold Caballero)

      --

      Abilene Town

      Randolph Scott (Marshall Dan Mitchell), Ann Dvorak (Rita), Edgar Buchanan (Sheriff Bravo Trimble), Rhonda Fleming (Cherie Balder), Lloyd Bridges (Henry Dreiser), Helen Boyce (Big Annie), Howard Freeman (Ed Balder), Richard Hale (Charlie Fair), Jack Lambert (Chet Younger), Dick Curtis (Ryker), Eddie Waller (Hannaberry), Hank Patterson (Doug Neil), Earl Schenck (Hazelhurst), Buddy Roosevelt (cowhand), Paul Brinegar (gambler), Dick Elliott (man who reports jailbreak), Stanley Andrews, Morgan Flowers, Chubby Johnson (homesteaders), Guy Wilkerson (fan-tan player with Bravo), Walter Baldwin (train conductor), Irving Bacon (trainman), Victor Cox (barfly), Calvin Spencer (stunt double for Lloyd Bridges).

      Director: EDWIN L. MARIN. Screenplay: Harold Shumate. Based on the novel Trail Town by Ernest Haycox. Photography: Archie Stout. Supervising film editor: Otho Lovering. Film editor: Richard Heermance. Art director: Duncan Cramer. Music director: Nat W. Finston. Songs (all Dvorak): Every Time I Give My Heart, All You Gotta Do, I Love It Out Here In the West by Fred Spielman, Kermit Goell, Max Terr, Gerard Carbonara, Albert Glasser, Charles Koff, James Mayfield. Vocal arrangements: Jack Elliott. Choreography: Sammy Lee. Costumes for Rhonda Fleming and Ann Dvork designed by Peter Tuesday. Make-up: James Barker. Character drawings: Joe De Young. Assistant director: Maurie Suess. Production manager: Joseph H. Nadel. Unit manager: Ben Berk. Sound recording: Ben Winkler. Producer: Jules Levy. Associate producer: Herbert J. Biberman.

      Copyright 11 January 1946 by Guild Productions, Inc. Released through United Artists. New York opening at the Globe: 2 March 1946. U.S. release: 11 January 1946. U.K. release: 2 September 1946. Australian release: 20 June 1946. 8,299 feet. 92 minutes.

      SYNOPSIS: Cattlemen versus homesteaders in Abilene, Kansas, in the 1870s.

      COMMENT: A minor western classic, beautifully photographed by Archie Stout. In fact, Ann Dvorak has never looked more attractive. She also sings a couple of saucy songs with admirable vitality. The rest of the players, led by the redoubtable Randy Scott, are likewise in excellent form. Marin’s direction rates a distinct notch above his usual standard, although the pace tends to drag a bit in the middle and the action scenes (with one or two notable exceptions like the Chet Younger sequence) are a little disappointing.

      OTHER VIEWS: The Randolph Scott/Edwin L. Marin movies are less interesting than those the star made with Andre De Toth or Budd Boetticher, but they do embody all the traditional western effects, thanks to details like pouring the coffee pot over the fire, or Randy removing his spurs before creeping up on the bad guys. The writing occasionally has a nice ring to it: If I’d backed down, in 24 hours the trail hands would sweep across Texas Street and shoot into your parlor windows, just to hear your women scream! The final images of the purging destruction are poor man’s Ince or Hathaway, but nonetheless This is the way a tough town dies: Not with a roar, but with a whine!

      — Barrie Pattison.

      --

      Absolute Quiet

      Lionel Atwill (G.A. Axton), Irene Hervey (Laura Tait), Ann Loring (Zelda), Raymond Walburn (Governor Pruden), Stuart Erwin (Chubby Rudd), Louis Hayward (Bengard), Wallace Ford (Jack), Bernadene Hayes (Judy), Harvey Stevens (Barney Tait), Robert Gleckler (Cowdray, Pruden’s minder), J. Carroll Naish (Pedro), Edwin Maxwell (Baxter), Charles Trowbridge (doctor), Matt Moore (pilot), Robert Livingston (co-pilot), William Newell (pilot with bottle), Lee Phelps, Monte Vandergrift (mechanics), Alexander Cross (Rudd’s editor), Gwen Lee (Western Union operator), James Bush (airport radio operator), Harry Geise (police radio operator), Phil Tead (Dallas Airport radio operator), Jessie Rosenquist (radio announcer), Kitty McHugh (Axton’s secretary).

      Director: GEORGE B. SEITZ. Screenplay: Harry Clork. Story: George F. Worts. Film editor: Conrad A. Nervig. Photography: Lester White. Art directors: Cedric Gibbons and James Havens. Set decorator: Edwin B. Willis. Costumes designed by Dolly Tree. Music score: Franz Waxman. Dialogue director: Edwin Maxwell. Assistant director: Robert E. Barnes. Continuity girl: Carl Roup. Sound supervisor: Douglas Shearer. Western Electric Sound Recording. Producer: John W. Considine, junior.

      Copyright 14 April 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation. New York opening at the Rialto: 1 May 1936. U.S. release: 1 May 1936. Australian release: 25 November 1936. 7 reels. 70 minutes.

      SYNOPSIS: After suffering a heart attack in his office, a wealthy tycoon is ordered to take a rest at his remote ranch-house in absolute quiet.

      COMMENT: A favorite plot device for stories and novels (and B movies) gathers an interesting group of characters together at a remote farm-house or haunted old mansion, miles away from police and emergency services. It’s a mighty effective device, so it’s no surprise that Absolute Quiet turns out as a solidly entertaining entry in this fascinating genre. Harry Clork’s cleverly ingenious screenplay not only brings a wonderfully diverse array of people together (without straining co-incidence or credibility too far), but sets them up in situations of mutual conflict, and then provides an added bonus in smart, sharply acerbic dialogue. In fact, the script hands just about all the actors meaty roles—and all have a field day. Without running through the entire cast list, it’s virtually impossible to single out a few players for special praise. Nonetheless, in his enthusiastic review in The New York Times, B.R. Crisler did have a go, particularly lauding Bernadene Hayes. A fully justified commendation I feel. A more refined and less tiny Iris Adrian, Miss Hayes was predicted to have a strong future. (This didn’t come about, alas. Miss Hayes spent most of her career in unrewarding support roles in the B hive). Also not to be sneezed at, is her partner, Wallace Ford, who is here given a rare opportunity to demonstrate his ability at impersonations. His butler is a real scream. I’d like to add mentions of the lovely, endearing Irene Hervey (whose captivating grace will charm the most unresponsive viewer), personable Louis Hayward (who handles the fallen star with remarkable conviction), cowardly, light-of-brain yet masterfully pompous Raymond Walburn, and the toadying, slyly manipulative Robert Gleckler (who has one of his finest hours as Walburn’s minder). And last but not least, Lionel Atwill. It says much for Atwill’s charismatic power, as well as his histrionic talent, that the movie’s original conclusion had to be changed in order to accommodate audience expectations. (As shot, the picture ended with Atwill succumbing to a fatal heart attack. This ending so enraged preview patrons, it was completely scissored. The movie now fades out abruptly on a line that was obviously not designed as a curtain tag).

      Although production values are firmly B, the picture has been realized in a typically polished Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer style. Strong direction (from George B. Andy Hardy Seitz of all people), attractive photography, gorgeous costumes and some exciting special effects work lift Absolute Quiet well above the Poverty Row league.

      --

      Around the World

      Kay Kyser, Mischa Auer, Joan Davis, Marcy McGuire, Georgia Carroll, Harry Babbitt, Sully Mason, Julie Conway, Diane Pendleton, Jack and Max, Al Norman, Lucienne and Ashour, Little Fred's Football Dogs, Jadine Wong, Li Sun, Joan Barclay, Marjorie Stewart, Barbara Hale, Rosemary La Planche, Barbara Coleman, Shirley O'Hara, Kay Kyser's Band (themselves), Wally Brown (double-talking pilot), Alan Carney (Joe Gimpus), Merwyn Vogue (Ish Kabibble), Robert Armstrong (general), Sherry Hall (clipper steward), Joan Valerie (Countess Olga), Frank Puglia (native dealer), Peter Chong (Wong), Duncan Renaldo (dragoman), Chester Conklin (waiter), Selmer Jackson (American consul), Louise Currie (WAC), James Westerfield (bashful marine), Philip Ahn (Foo), Fred Essler (seller), Hans Schumm (Nazi).

      Director: ALLAN DWAN. Screenplay: Ralph Spence. Special material: Carl Herzinger. Photography: Russell Metty. Film editor: Theron Warth. Art directors: Albert D’Agostino, Hal Herman. Set decorations: Darrell Silvera, Claude Carpenter. Costumes: Renie. Special photographic effects: Vernon L. Walker. Songs: Candlelight and Wine, They Chopped Down the Old Apple Tree, Don’t Believe Everything You Dream, He’s Got a Secret Weapon, Great News in the Making, A Moke from Shamokin, Roodle-De-Doo by, Jimmy McHugh (music) and Harold Adamson (Iyrics). Music director: Constantin Bakaleinikoff. Musical and vocal arrangements: George Dunning. Musical numbers created and staged by Nick Castle. Assistant director: Harry Scott. Montage: Douglas Travers. Sound technician: Jean L. Speak. Sound re-recording: James G. Stewart. RCA Sound System. Producer: Allan Dwan.

      Copyright 24 November 1943 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Globe: 24 November 1943. U.S. release: 24 November 1943. Australian release: 15 June 1944. 7,314 feet. 81 minutes.

      SYNOPSIS: Kay Kyser and his band entertain the troops in Australia, India, Chungking and North Africa.

      COMMENT: The tone for this poor man's musical melange is set right from the beginning when Kyser and his merry band of musical misfits entertain a crowd of admirers in Australia with their rendition of Waltzing Matilda. Never mind that Kyser was box-office poison anywhere outside the U.S.A. Of course for the film Kyser and company never left Hollywood. This is patently obvious. Also obvious, a lot of corny jokes, radio jests and assorted bits of Keystone Cops slapstick (including Auer's duel with an electricity-wired sword) plus some purple sentiment from Marcy McGuire plus some over-the-top patriotic plugs from old K.K. himself.

      I suppose the movie does have a bit of nostalgia appeal for those who heard Kyser's weekly radio broadcasts. But I am not a great fan of his music. Even the lively Roodle-Ee-Doo leaves me cold. The only number I really liked was Don't Believe Everything You Dream, nicely sung and rather inventively staged and photographed. It almost made the whole film worth seeing. Almost.

      OTHER VIEWS: Auteurists who have elected director Allan Dwan to the pantheon would be hard pressed to find much to admire in this lame and rather lackluster effort. How dull can you get? Kay Kyser and his Band make music with no impact, the comedy is so tired not even a team of fine comedians can lift it from rock bottom, and the direction is boringly routine. The wonder is that so much talent could produce a film so depressingly banal.

      —E.V.D.

      --

      As Young As You Feel

      Monty Woolley (John Hodges). Thelma Ritter (Della Hodges), Jean Peters (Alice Hodges), David Wayne (Joe Elliott), Constance Bennett (Lucille McKinley), Albert Dekker (Louis McKinley), Marilyn Monroe (Harriet), Clinton Sundberg (Erickson), Allyn Joslyn (George Hodges), Minor Watson (Cleveland), Wally Brown (Gallagher), Russ Tamblyn (Willie McKinley), Paul E. Burns (handpress operator), James Griffith (pay Clerk), Don Beddoe (head of sales), Harry Cheshire (chairman, chmaber of commerce), Murray Alper (Cleveland’s chauffeur), Ludwig Stossel (conductor), Renie Riano (harpist), Roger Moore (Saltonstall), Ann Tyrrell (Cleveland’s secretary), Frank Wilcox (Cleveland’s lawyer), Emerson Treacy (head of public relations), Houseley Stevenson, Robert Dudley (old men in park), Gerald Oliver Smith (McKinley’s butler), Harry Shannon, Charles Cane (detectives), Carol Savage (librarian), Harry McKim (page boy), Billy Lechner (mailboy), William Frambes (bellboy), Raymond Greenleaf (vice president), Charles J. Conrad (information clerk), Dick Cogan (Benson), Helen Brown (Clancy).

      Director: HARMON JONES. Screenplay: Lamar Trotti. Screen story: Paddy Chayefsky. Photography: Joe MacDonald. Film editor: Robert Simpson. Art directors: Lyle Wheeler, Maurice Ransford. Set decorators: Thomas Little and Bruce Macdonald. Music composed by Cyril Mockridge, orchestrated by Maurice de Packh, directed by Lionel Newman. Song: You Make Me Feel So Young (chorus) by Josef Myrow and Mack Gordon. Make-up: Ben Nye. Wardrobe director: Charles Le Maire. Costumes designed by Renie. Special effects: Fred Sersen. Assistant director: Arthur Lueker. Sound recording: W.D. Flick, Roger Heman. Western Electric Sound Recording. Producer: Lamar Trotti.

      Copyright 14 June 1951 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation. New York opening at the Palace: 2 August 1951. U.S. release: June 1951. U.K. release: 24 September 1951. Australian release: 22 November 1951. 6,906 feet. 76 minutes.

      SYNOPSIS: Forcibly retired worker tries to get his job back.

      COMMENT: What’s a B picture? A neighborhood theater manager once answered that question very succinctly for me: Any movie that runs less than 80 minutes. In the days of universal double bills, patrons kept keen eyes on the theater clock. The pre-Interval movie had to run less than 80 minutes because it was supported by at least one newsreel, one cartoon, and up to four trailers. On the other hand, the main feature had to engage the audience for more than 80 minutes, otherwise it was not viewed as value for money. So, in addition to a quota of full-fledged B features, studios also released better-quality program pictures which could share almost equal billing with the main attraction on value-for-money double bills. As Young As You Feel is such a picture. Popular stars and top production credits are financed by a fair swag of money. Where many of these fall down, however, lies in the script department. Even though Young is bolstered by a top writer/producer, there are glaring faults in the screenplay which will make audiences restless. There is far too much talk. In fact the whole of the Third Act (if we can call it that) is too stagey in construction, with all the characters coming and going in the one set. This rounding up of the main characters and protracted resolution of the plot not only seems a little too contrived, but, alas, offers no opportunities for Marilyn Monroe to re-appear. And her role as Dekker’s secretary forms the main reason why 2005 movie fans will want to watch the picture anyway. After making a big impression in the first part of the action, she simply disappears. We keep waiting for her to come back, but we’re all out of luck. Marilyn gives a wonderful performance too. Not only does she deliver a most amusing characterization, but she looks great and is costumed to perfection. Fortunately, Jean Peters’ fans will not feel cheated. Nor Monty Woolley’s, Thelma Ritter’s and David Wayne’s. Some of our favorite character actors like Constance Bennett, Clinton Sundberg, Wally Brown and Allyn Joslyn are also each handled at least two or three opportunities to shine. Production values are more than adequate. Joe MacDonald’s lustrous black-and-white cinematography comes across most appealingly.

      --

      Bachelor Mother

      Ginger Rogers (Polly Parrish), David Niven (David Merlin), Charles Coburn (J.B. Merlin), Frank Albertson (Freddie Miller), E.E. Clive (butler), Elbert Coplen, jr (baby), Ernest Truex (foundling home investigator), Ferike Boros (Mrs Weiss, the landlady), Irving Bacon (exchange clerk), Leonard Penn (Jerome Weiss), Paul Stanton (Hargraves, the floorwalker), Reed Hadley (Polly’s first dance partner), Edna Holland (Mrs Wilkins), Frank M. Thomas (doctor), Dennie Moore (Mary), June Wilkins (Louise King), Murray Alper, Horace McMahon, Elliott Sullivan, Charlie Hall (bouncers), Dorothy Adams (secretary), Alec Craig, Joseph E. Bernard (store watchmen), Jack Chefe, Bert Moorhouse (dance extras), Chester Clute (polite little man), Florence Lake (little man’s wife), Gerald Oliver Smith (Hennessy), Hugh Prosser (chauffeur), Renie Riano (Amy Mellish), Leona Roberts (old lady), Barbara Pepper (dance hall hostess), Nestor Paiva (security man), Harold Miller (nightclub extra), Perc Launders (policeman in park), Jean De Briac (waiter), Dan Clark, Frank Corcasi, Dick Crockett, Edythe Elliott, R. Feldman, Fred Fuller, Ethel Haworth, Roger Hunt, Dean Kaye, John Laing, Dorothy Panter, Ed Rochelle, Jean Stevens, Estelle Taylor, Monte Vandergrift, Jane Woodworth (bits), and Clarence Nash (voice of Donald Duck).

      Director: GARSON KANIN. Screenplay: Norman Krasna. Story: Felix Jackson. Film editors: Henry Berman, Robert Wise. Photography: Robert de Grasse. Art directors: Van Nest Polglase and Carroll Clark. Set decorator: Darrell Silvera. Miss Rogers’ costumes designed by Irene. Make-up: Mel Berns. Music: Roy Webb. Music orchestrated by George Parrish. Choreographer: Hermes Pan. Stills: John Miehle. Special effects: Vernon L. Walker. Publicity: Nan Blake. Assistant director: Edward Killy. Sound recording: Richard Van Hessen. RCA Sound System. Producer: Buddy G. DeSylva. A Pandro S. Berman Production.

      Copyright 6 July 1939 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 29 June 1939 (ran two weeks). U.S. release: 4 August 1939. U.K. release: 31 August 1939. Australian release: 19 October 1939. 82 minutes.

      SYNOPSIS: On the day before Christmas, a department store salesgirl innocently picks up a baby on the steps of a foundling home.

      NOTES: Hollywood obviously thought there was something especially catchy about the word bachelor, for it used in the title of a whole heap of movies including Bachelor Father, Father Is a Bachelor, Bachelor Daddy, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Bachelor Apartment, Bachelor Bait, Bachelor in Paradise, The Bachelor Girl, Bachelor Party, The Bachelor’s Affairs, The Bachelor’s Daughters, Bachelor’s Folly, Bachelor Flat, etc. There’s even another movie called Bachelor Mother. Produced and released in 1932 by Hollywood Pictures, it starred Evelyn Knapp, James Murray, Maragret Seddon, Paul Page, and Astrid Allwyn. The screenplay by Paul Gangelin, Jack Natteford, Luther Reed and Jack Townley was based on a story by Al Boasberg. The movie was directed by Charles Hutchison.

      Felix Jackson, who penned the story for this one, was nominated for the year’s top writing award, but lost out to Lewis R. Foster’s Mr Smith Goes to Washington.

      COMMENT: Although disguised by a typical exploitation picture title, Bachelor Mother actually turns out to be a very classy A romantic comedy with a top cast and high production values. Mind you, there are no comedic belly laughs but plenty of chuckles and lots of charm. The story no doubt deserved its award nomination, but Krasna’s ingenious screenplay adds many piquant details to take the fun much further and even manages to weave Donald Duck into playing a key role in the proceedings. Indeed the whole business with Mr Duck is quite funny, including a clever montage and a brilliantly satiric scene in which Niven attempts to get a faulty Donald exchanged. We love the reprimand: You’re a disgrace to the Toy Department! All the players are faultlessly cast, from stars down to the smallest bits. Krasna even provides some nice bits of business for favorite character actors like Chester Clute (as the little man at the water bubbler in the park), Horace McMahon (as a tuxedo-suited bouncer), Barbara Pepper (as Niven’s willing/unwilling dance partner), Alec Craig (as a mink-coat-gathering night watchman), and above all, June Wilkins, the snooty society girl who stands Niven up and is then neatly put into her place by a delightfully acerbic Ginger Rogers.

      --

      the Benny Goodman Story

      Steve Allen (Benny Goodman), Donna Reed (Alice Hammond), Berta Gersten (Mom Goodman), Herbert Anderson (John Hammond), Robert F. Simon (Pop Goodman), Sammy Davis Sr (Fletcher Henderson), Dick Winslow (Gil Rodin), Barry Truex (Benny Goodman at 16), David Kasday (Benny Goodman at 10), Fred Essler (Prof. Franz Schoepp), John McGovern (student with Selmer clarinet), Harry James, Martha Tilton, Gene Krupa, Ziggy Elman, Wilton Graff, Lionel Hampton, Ben Pollack, Teddy Wilson, Edward Kid Ory (themselves). Hal K. Dawson (irate manager), Hy Averback (William Alexander), Wilton Graff (Hammond), Shep Menken (Harry Goodman).

      Director: VALENTINE DAVIES. Screenplay: Valentine Davies. Photographed in Technicolor by William Daniels. Art directors: Alexander Golitzen, Robert Clatworthy. Additional music: Henry Mancini. Music supervision: Joseph Gershenson. Film editor: Russell Schoengarth. Set decorators: Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron. Make-up: Bud Westmore. Hair styles: Joan St Oegger. Costumes: Bill Thomas. Technicolor color consultant: William Fritzsche. Assistant director: Phil Bowles. Sound recording: Leslie I. Carey, Robert Pritchard. Producer: Aaron Rosenberg. Steve Allen’s clarinet playing dubbed by Goodman. Musical numbers: Let’s Dance Fanny Baldridge, Gregory Stone, Joseph Bonine; Down South Camp Meeting Irving Mills, Fletcher Henderson; It’s Been So Long Walter Donaldson, Harold Adamson; Bugle-Call Rag Elmer Schoebel, Billy Meyers, Jack Pettis; Goody,

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