 Babes in Toyland 1934  N/R, 79 min.
Genre: Family / Comedy / Fantasy / Musical
aka: March of the Wooden Soldiers
Director: Gus Meins, Charley Rogers
Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlotte Henry, Felix Knight, Henry Brandon, Florence Roberts, Ferdinand Munier, Virginia Karns, William Burress, Johnny Downs, Marie Wilson, Richard Alexander, Ellen Corby, Jack Hill, Alice Dahl
This very amusing film of Victor Herbert's "Mother Goose" operetta features Stannie Dum (Stan Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy) as apprentice toymakers coming to the aid of Little Bo-Peep (Charlotte Henry). The evil Silas Barnaby (Henry Brandon) is threatening to force Bo-Peep into marrying him if she does not pay her rent. The wedding does occur, but it is Stannie, disguised as Bo-Peep, who marches down the aisle. Barnaby is humiliated and steals one of the Three Little Pigs making it look as if Bo-Peep's boyfriend Tom-Tom Piper (Felix Knight) did the dirty deed. When Stannie and Ollie step in and expose the plot, Barnaby attacks Toyland. But, never fear, the wooden soldiers come to the rescue and save Toyland.
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The Barretts of Wimpole Street 1934  N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Forbidden Alliance
Director: Sidney Franklin
Cast: Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, Katharine Alexander, Ian Wolfe, Ralph Forbes, Una O'Connor, Ferdinand Munier, Leo G. Carroll
This film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Norma Shearer was also nominated for Best Actress. The story relates the love affair and marriage of Elizabeth Barrett (Norma Shearer) and Robert Browning (Fredric March).
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Hands Across the Table 1935  N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Mitchell Leisen
Cast: Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy, Astrid Allwyn, Ruth Donnelly, Marie Prevost, William Demarest, Edward Gargan, Ferdinand Munier, Bess Flowers
Manicurist Regi Allen (Carole Lombard) sets out to marry a rich man. Theodore Drew III (Fred MacMurray) has similar plans to marry a wealthy woman. They meet, and each thinks the other has money. But, they fall in love and forego their original plans.
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Midnight 1939 N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Mitchell Leisen
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Mary Astor, Francis Lederer, Hedda Hopper, Monty Woolley, Ferdinand Munier, Elaine Barrie, Armand Kaliz, Rex O'Malley, Eugene Borden, Paul Bryar, Gino Corrado, Bess Flowers
While in Paris, American showgirl Eve Peabody (Claudette Colbert) is hired by aristocrat Georges Flammarion (John Barrymore) to take on the job of impersonating royalty to lure playboy Jacques Picot (Francis Lederer) away from Georges' wife Helene (Mary Astor). Eve goes to Georges' chateau in Versailles as Baroness Czemy, and the game begins. Meanwhile, cab driver Tibor (Don Ameche) has fallen in love with Eve, arrives on the scene to win back Eve, and poses as her husband the Baron Czemy.
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 Queen Christina 1933 N/R, 97 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Cast: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith, Lewis Stone, Elizabeth Young, C. Aubrey Smith, Reginald Owen, Georges Renavent, David Torrence, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Ferdinand Munier, Akim Tamiroff
Based on the life of 17th-century Queen of Sweden Christina (Greta Garbo), this story involves her love affair with a Spanish ambassador, Antonio (John Gilbert), that has the whole country questioning the wisdom of having a Catholic as a member of the royal family.
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 Roberta 1935 N/R, 106 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance
Director: William A. Seiter
Cast: Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, Claire Dodd, Luis Alberni, Lucille Ball, Victor Varconi, Ferdinand Munier, Torben Meyer, Adrian Rosley, Bodil Rosing, Lynne Carver, Mary Forbes
Football star John Kent (Randolph Scott) travels to Paris with "Huck" Haines' (Fred Astaire) band. But, when the band is told by the proprietor that he does not want them to perform, they head to John's Aunt Roberta's (Helen Westley) posh fashion boutique. They meet Huck's old girlfriend Lizzie (Ginger Rogers) who is now the singer Comtesse Schyarwenka, and she finds a job for the band. Meanwhile, Aunt Roberta passes away, and John inherits the boutique and enters into a partnership with Aunt Roberta's assistant Stephanie (Irene Dunne). This is a very early Astaire/Rogers pairing, and it is worthwhile viewing.
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| 1. Babes in Toyland (1934)
aka: March of the Wooden Soldiers
2. The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
aka: Forbidden Alliance
3. Hands Across the Table (1935)
4. Midnight (1939)
5. Queen Christina (1933)
6. Roberta (1935)
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