 Bedtime Story 1941  N/R, 83 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Alexander Hall
Cast: Fredric March, Loretta Young, Robert Benchley, Allyn Joslyn, Eve Arden, Helen Westley, Joyce Compton, Tim Ryan, Clarence Kolb, Andrew Tombes
Playwright Lucius Drake (Fredric March) and his wife (Loretta Young) have problems: he wants her to star in his next production. Their solutions provide good entertainment.
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Born to Be Bad 1934  N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Lowell Sherman
Cast: Loretta Young, Cary Grant, Jackie Kelk, Henry Travers, Russell Hopton, Andrew Tombes, Paul Harvey, Harry Green, Marion Burns, Wade Boteler
Mickey (Jackie Kelk) got a bad start in life, and now he has a chance to change his ways after being adopted by a wealthy man (Cary Grant).
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Can't Help Singing 1944  N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Frank Ryan
Cast: Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige, Akim Tamiroff, David Bruce, Leonid Kinskey, June Vincent, Ray Collins, Andrew Tombes, Thomas Gomez, Clara Blandick
The senator's daughter (Deanna Durbin) loves a U.S. Army officer, but the senator, not caring for him, sends his unit to California. Now she is on the way West by all sorts of transportation, picking up companions on the way. Not much plot, but Deanna's singing is great, and Jerome Kern's musical score won an Academy Award nomination. This is Deanna's only Technicolor film.
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Charlie Chan at the Olympics 1937 N/R, 71 min.
Genre: Comedy / Mystery / Drama / Thriller
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
Cast: Warner Oland, Katherine DeMille, Pauline Moore, Allan Lane, Keye Luke, C. Henry Gordon, John Eldredge, Jonathan Hale, Andrew Tombes, Selmer Jackson, Tom Layne Jr., Morgan Wallace, Frederick Vogeding, Arno Frey, Howard C. Hickman
Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) rides in the dirigible "Hindenburg" on his way to Berlin in order to track down an espionage ring that has hijacked an experimental plane. They plan to sell the plane's remote control device that allows it to fly unmanned. Coincidentally, Charlie's son Lee (Keye Luke) is on the United States swimming team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and, of course, will aid Charlie in the investigation. Charlie suspects that Yvonne Roland (Katherine DeMille) is a spy and works with U.S. Navy officials to solve the case. During the investigation, Lee is kidnapped during a wild chase through Berlin after Yvonne hides the stolen device in the luggage of Lee's teammate Richard's (Allan Lane) girlfriend Betty (Pauline Moore). Another good "Charlie Chan" film.
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Coney Island 1943 N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Walter Lang
Cast: Betty Grable, George Montgomery, Cesar Romero, Charles Winninger, Phil Silvers, Frank Orth, Andrew Tombes, Paul Hurst, Phyllis Kennedy, Byron Foulger
Set during the late 1800s, this is an entertaining musical about a nightclub singer (Betty Grable) who is promoted by a hustler (George Montgomery) into a Broadway star.
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Don't Fence Me In 1945 N/R, 71 min.
Genre: Western
Director: John English
Cast: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, George "Gabby" Hayes, Robert Livingston, Moroni Olsen, Marc Lawrence, Andrew Tombes, Paul Harvey, Lucile Gleason, Tom London, Bob Nolan, Steve Barclay
The music makes this movie. Roy Rogers sings the title song written by Cole Porter, and the Sons Of The Pioneers sing two of their biggest hits: "The Last Roundup" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Dale Evans is a reporter conducting research on a presumed-dead fugitive.
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Down Mexico Way 1941 N/R, 77 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Joseph Santley
Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, Harold Huber, Sidney Blackmer, Joe Sawyer, Paul Fix, Andrew Tombes, Murray Alper, Arthur Loft, Duncan Renaldo, Julian Rivero
Gene Autry comes to the aid of the townspeople of Sage City who were victims of a scam.
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Easy Living 1937  N/R, 86 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Mitchell Leisen
Cast: Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, Ray Milland, Franklin Pangborn, William Demarest, Mary Nash, Luis Alberni, Andrew Tombes, Esther Dale, Harlan Briggs
The food fight in the automat is a classic scene from this comedy involving the rags-to-riches story of a young secretary (Jean Arthur) who is mistaken for a mistress when she catches a fur coat that is tossed from a terrace and lands in her possession.
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Hoppy's Holiday 1947 N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Western
Director: George Archainbaud
Cast: William Boyd, Rand Brooks, Andy Clyde, Andrew Tombes, Jeff Corey, Mary Ware, Leonard Penn, Donald Kirke
Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) and the Bar 20 cowboys, California Carlson (Andy Clyde) and Lucky Jenkins (Rand Brooks), take a vacation and become involved in a mechanized bank robbery, complete with a horseless carriage.
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Larceny, Inc. 1942 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, Jack Carson, Anthony Quinn, Edward Brophy, Harry Davenport, Jackie Gleason, Grant Mitchell, George Meeker, John Qualen, Barbara Jo Allen, Andrew Tombes, Joe Downing, Joseph Crehan
After being released from Sing Sing Prison, attempting one last robbery before going straight, three ex-cons Pressure Maxwell (Edward G. Robinson), Jug Martin (Broderick Crawford), and Leo Dexter (Anthony Quinn) join forces to tunnel through to a bank vault. Jackie Gleason plays the bit part of a soda jerk, Hobart. Very funny.
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Louisiana Purchase 1941 N/R, 98 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Irving Cummings
Cast: Bob Hope, Vera Zorina, Victor Moore, Irene Bordoni, Dona Drake, Max "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom, Frank Albertson, Raymond Walburn, Donald MacBride, Andrew Tombes
Both Irving Berlin's music and Senator Jim Taylor's (Bob Hope) outrageous filibuster in which he reads "Gone with the Wind" contribute to making this film an enjoyable escape from reality.
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 Meet John Doe 1941  N/R, 123 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy / Romance
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan, Edward Arnold, James Gleason, Spring Byington, Gene Lockhart, Irving Bacon, Regis Toomey, Warren Hymer, J. Farrell MacDonald, Rod La Rocque, Harry Holman, Pierre Watkin, Andrew Tombes
Journalist Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) has been fired from her newspaper job, and she thinks she has found the perfect way to get that job back by printing a fake letter from "John Doe" announcing that he is going to jump off City Hall on New Year's Eve. The stunt works, the newspaper's readership rises, John Doe gains incredible support, and Ann is rehired. Now, Ann must find someone to play "John Doe"–and she does in the form of a soft-spoken hobo, Long John Willoughby (Gary Cooper). His popularity rises, newspaper publisher D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold) puts John Doe on the radio to deliver inspirational speeches, and soon he is deeply involved in politics. But, the politics support those of fascist Norton who has a secret plan to become a dictator of the United States. Will Willoughby catch on in time to save the day? 1 User Review
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| | The darkest of the Frank Capra Films | 1fatts 07/22/2007 | It is the depression, and a failed baseball pitcher with a bum arm trying to get by in tough times, finds himself being trained by reporter Barbara Stanwyck to pretend to be John Doe, a symbol of the down-and-out who has promised to jump from the tallest building in town on New Year's Eve. Cooper as "Long John Willoughby" does "the decency of the simple man" quite wonderfully here. It's not as funny as "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town", but more poignant for sure.
The movie is solid Capra, with a Robert Riskin screenplay. But there is a darkness here which other Capra films just hint at. Yes, John Doe doesn't commit suicide. (Love conquers all. Sorry.) But the mildly upbeat ending is artificial. The bad guys win, in effect. The little guys, whom John Doe comes to represent, really are outmatched, outsmarted and defeated by the power of crooked money and crooked politics.
When Capra did Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, he invited all the members of the Senate to a preivew. Hearing that the Senate was presented in something less than pure halo and glory, they stayed away in droves. But it is John Doe that is the real critique, hidden in a comic script and a romantic ending.
Real hollywood film buffs need to be conversant with Capra. This is the one that needs to be the center of the discussion of "The Optimistic Vision of Frank Capra". |
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Melody for Three 1941  N/R, 67 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Cast: Jean Hersholt, Fay Wray, Walter Woolf King, Schuyler Standish, Patsy Lee Parsons, Maude Eburne, Astrid Allwyn, Irene Ryan, Donnie Allen, Leon Tyler, Andrew Tombes, Irene Shirley
RKO Radio's Dr. Christian comes to film with Jean Hersholt playing that understanding family doctor practicing in the town of River's End. In this story, he helps child prodigy Billy Stanley (Schuyler Standish) reunite with his estranged conductor father (Walter Woolf King).
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Oh, You Beautiful Doll 1949 N/R, 93 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: John M. Stahl
Cast: June Haver, Mark Stevens, S.Z. Sakall, Charlotte Greenwood, Gale Robbins, Jay C. Flippen, Andrew Tombes, Eduard Franz, Dick Rich, Nestor Paiva
In this musical biography, a classical music composer (S.Z. Sakall) couldn't get his songs heard until a publisher of popular songs (Mark Stevens) suggested going toward popular music. His daughter (June Haver), a singer/dancer, was all for this idea. Needing money, the composer used the name "Fred Fisher" and rearranged his music with great success. "Peg O' My Heart" was one of his many hits.
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San Fernando Valley 1944 N/R, 54 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Yakima Canutt, John English
Cast: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Jean Porter, Andrew Tombes, Bob Nolan, Charles Smith, Edward Gargan, LeRoy Mason, Dot Farley, Jim Farley
Lady ranchers need help and Roy Rogers rides to the rescue.
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Sis Hopkins 1941 N/R, 97 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Joseph Santley
Cast: Judy Canova, Bob Crosby, Charles Butterworth, Jerry Colonna, Susan Hayward, Katharine Alexander, Carol Adams, Lynn Merrick, Charles(2) Lane, Andrew Tombes
Sis Hopkins (Judy Canova) heads for college in a big city and sings her way to success and popularity.
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A Stranger in Town 1943 N/R, 67 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Roy Rowland
Cast: Frank Morgan, Richard Carlson, Jean Rogers, Porter Hall, Robert Barrat, Donald MacBride, Walter Baldwin, Andrew Tombes, Olin Howland, Chill Wills, Irving Bacon, Eddie Dunn
It is election time in this small town, and honest mayoral candidate Bill Adams (Richard Carlson) is trailing his opponent, the incumbent Mayor James Connison (Robert Barrat) who runs a corrupt administration. When a hunter, John Josephus Grant (Frank Morgan), appears on the scene, he offers legal advice that helps Adams' campaign. How did Grant gain his legal knowledge? Why, he just happens to be a vacationing Supreme Court justice.
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Texas 1941 N/R, 93 min.
Genre: Western
Director: George Marshall
Cast: William Holden, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan, Don Beddoe, Andrew Tombes, Addison Richards, Edmund MacDonald, Joseph Crehan
Amidst the wild world of early Texas cattlemen, two friends–one a cattle rustler, the other a cattleman (William Holden and Glenn Ford)–vie for the affections of a beautiful young woman (Claire Trevor).
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Thanks a Million 1935 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Musical / Comedy / Romance
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak, Fred Allen, Patsy Kelly, Raymond Walburn, David Rubinoff, Benny Baker, Andrew Tombes, Alan Dinehart, Paul Harvey, Edwin Maxwell, Margaret Irving, Charles Richman, Lynn Bari, Harry Stubbs
Eric Land (Dick Powell) is the leading man in a traveling musical show whose manager Ned Lyman (Fred Allen) talks him into taking the place of an alcoholic candidate and running for the office of Governor of Pennsylvania. The campaigning proves disastrous for Eric's relationship with his girlfriend Sally (Ann Dvorak), and Eric wants out of politics. However, the people now love Eric, and he wins the election–and Sally as well.
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They All Kissed the Bride 1942 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Alexander Hall
Cast: Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Allen Jenkins, Andrew Tombes, Helen Parrish, Emory Parnell, Mary Treen, Nydia Westman
This entertaining comedy is centered on the inane premise that a man could be arrested for kissing the bride during her wedding festivities.
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Two Guys from Texas 1948 N/R, 86 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: David Butler
Cast: Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Dorothy Malone, Penny Edwards, Fred Clark, Forrest Tucker, Gerald Mohr, John Alvin, Andrew Tombes, Monte Blue
This remake of "The Cowboy from Brooklyn" features two New York entertainers (Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson) trying to excel when out of their element on a ranch in Texas.
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| 1. Bedtime Story (1941)
2. Born to Be Bad (1934)
3. Can't Help Singing (1944)
4. Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)
5. Coney Island (1943)
6. Don't Fence Me In (1945)
7. Down Mexico Way (1941)
8. Easy Living (1937)
9. Hoppy's Holiday (1947)
10. Larceny, Inc. (1942)
11. Louisiana Purchase (1941)
12. Meet John Doe (1941)
13. Melody for Three (1941)
14. Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949)
15. San Fernando Valley (1944)
16. Sis Hopkins (1941)
17. A Stranger in Town (1943)
18. Texas (1941)
19. Thanks a Million (1935)
20. They All Kissed the Bride (1942)
21. Two Guys from Texas (1948)
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