Badlands of Dakota 1941  N/R, 74 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Robert Stack, Ann Rutherford, Richard Dix, Frances Farmer, Broderick Crawford, Hugh Herbert, Andy Devine, Lon Chaney Jr., Fuzzy Knight, Samuel S. Hinds, Addison Richards, Glenn Strange
Set during the gold-rush era in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Wild Bill Hickok (Richard Dix) keeps the gangsters under control while trying to keep Calamity Jane's (Frances Farmer) romantic intentions at bay. Meanwhile, two brothers (Robert Stack and Broderick Crawford), fight over a woman (Ann Rutherford).
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The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend 1949 N/R, 77 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Betty Grable, Cesar Romero, Rudy Vallee, Olga San Juan, Porter Hall, Hugh Herbert, Al Bridge, Sterling Holloway, Margaret Hamilton, Emory Parnell
Saloon singer Freddie Jones (Betty Grable) hides out from the law in a Western town where she poses as the new schoolmarm.
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 The Black Cat 1941  N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Horror / Mystery / Comedy
Director: Albert S. Rogell
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Gale Sondergaard, Anne Gwynne, Gladys Cooper, Alan Ladd, Claire Dodd, John Eldredge, Cecilia Loftus
When cat-loving dowager Henrietta Winslow (Cecilia Loftus) dies, her greedy relatives converge on her haunted mansion for the reading of her will looking for their fortunes. Now, they must deal with screams in the night and hidden passages.
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Bureau of Missing Persons 1933 N/R, 73 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Bette Davis, Lewis Stone, Pat O'Brien, Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins, Hugh Herbert, Ruth Donnelly, Alan Dinehart, George Chandler, Marjorie Gateson
Police officer Butch Saunders (Pat O'Brien) falls in love with fugitive Norma Phillips (Bette Davis) and helps prove her innocence in a murder charge.
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College Coach 1933 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William A. Wellman
Cast: Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak, Pat O'Brien, Arthur Byron, Lyle Talbot, Hugh Herbert, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Donald Meek, John Wayne, Ward Bond
Corruption in college sports is part of the theme of this film in which Phil Sargent (Dick Powell) is a young chemistry major AND football player who wins the big game for Coach Gore (Pat O'Brien). Watch for USC player John Wayne in a bit part.
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Dames 1934  N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Musical / Comedy
Director: Ray Enright
Cast: Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Zasu Pitts, Hugh Herbert, Guy Kibbee, Arthur Vinton, Sammy Fain, Phil Regan, Arthur Aylesworth, Johnny Arthur, Leila Bennett, Berton Churchill
Multi-millionaire Ezra Ounce (Hugh Herbert) leads his friends and family in a campagne for "the preservation of America's Morals." Meanwhile, his distant cousin, Jimmy (Dick Powell), is producing a show in what Ezra believes to be "the demon world of the theater" starring Ezra's niece Barbara (Ruby Keeler). Ezra's solution: hire thugs to wreck the show, and mayhem ensues.
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Eternally Yours 1939 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Tay Garnett
Cast: Loretta Young, David Niven, Hugh Herbert, Billie Burke, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Walburn, Zasu Pitts, Broderick Crawford, Virginia Field, Eve Arden, Ralph Graves, Lionel Pape
Anita (Loretta Young) looks forward to a comfortable life when she marries wealthy, stable Don (Broderick Crawford). But when she meets a magician, "The Great Arturo" (David Niven), she falls in love with him, the two marry, and they head out on his travels around the world. Despite her new adventures, she yearns for home, and–after several years of traveling with the flirtatious magician–she decides to leave him and return to the simple life.
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Fashions of 1934 1934  N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Musical
aka: Fashions
Director: William Dieterle
Cast: William Powell, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Verree Teasdale, Reginald Owen, Henry O'Neill, Philip Reed, Hugh Herbert, Gordon Westcott, Etienne Girardot
Sherwood Nash (William Powell) and Lynn (Bette Davis) try to pass themselves off as Paris fashion designers.
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Fog Over Frisco 1934 N/R, 68 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William Dieterle
Cast: Bette Davis, Donald Woods, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot, Alan Hale, William Demarest, Arthur Byron, Douglass Dumbrille, Hugh Herbert, Robert Barrat
An offbeat daughter (Bette Davis) of a wealthy man (Arthur Byron) manages to get herself in the middle of a securities-fraud scheme.
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Footlight Parade 1933 N/R, 104 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Renee Whitney, Ruth Donnelly
This is one of those grand scale musicals that, in this instance, contains some of Busby Berkeley's best work. Chester Kent (James Cagney) is a brash, hustling stage director who faces economic and romantic problems.
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Four's a Crowd 1938 N/R, 91 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell, Patric Knowles, Hugh Herbert, Walter Connolly, Melville Cooper, Franklin Pangborn, Herman Bing, Margaret Hamilton
A romantic triangle involving Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Rosalind Russell provide good entertainment; the participants can't seem to make up their minds as to who loves whom.
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Gold Diggers of 1935 1935 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Musical
Director: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Wini Shaw, Grant Mitchell, Hugh Herbert, Joseph Cawthorn, Dorothy Dare, Ruth Eddings, Don Brodie, E.E. Clive, Dennis O'Keefe
Following the popularity of "Gold Diggers of 1933," this film was made, and it was not a disappointment. The story takes place during the summer at the seaside resort Hotel Wentworth where the workers depend on tips and often fleece the guests. Desk clerk Dick Curtis (Dick Powell) is working to pay medical school bills and is engaged to hostess Arlene (Dorothy Dare). Among the guests are multi-millionaire Mathilda Prentiss (Alice Brady) and her daughter Ann (Gloria Stuart). Mathilda hires Dick to chaperone Ann, and, of course, they fall in love–much to the dismay of Mathilda. Meanwhile, Mathilda is in charge of running the annual charity theater show, and she hires Russian director Nicolett (Adolphe Menjou). The show does go on, and one of its musical numbers, "Lullaby of Broadway," won the Academy Award for Best Song. Another Busby Berkeley musical extravaganza.
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The Great Waltz 1938 N/R, 102 min.
Genre: Musical / Drama / Romance
Director: Julien Duvivier
Cast: Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravey, Miliza Korjus, Hugh Herbert, Lionel Atwill, Curt Bois, Leonid Kinskey, Minna Gombell, George Houston, Bert Roach, Greta Meyer, Herman Bing, Alma Kruger, Henry Hull, Sig Ruman
In this fictionalized biography of Austrian "Waltz King" Johann Strauss, Fernand Gravey takes on the role of Strauss in a very good romantic musical. Luise Rainer plays Strauss' wife Poldie and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this film.
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Hellzapoppin' 1941 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: H.C. Potter
Cast: Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Robert Paige, Jane Frazee, Martha Raye, Clarence Kolb, Mischa Auer, Elisha Cook Jr., Hugh Herbert, Nella Walker, Shemp Howard, Richard Lane
Big stars of the 1940s, Ole Olsen and Chick Johnson, provide good fun in this comedy about behind-the-scenes filmmaking.
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Hollywood Hotel 1937 N/R, 109 min.
Genre: Musical / Comedy / Romance
Director: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Ted Healy, Alan Mowbray, Frances Langford, Hugh Herbert, Glenda Farrell, Edgar Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Johnny Davis, Mabel Todd, Allyn Joslyn, Grant Mitchell, Louella Parsons
This Busby Berkeley musical has, of course, great musical numbers. While the plot is weak, the renditions of "Hooray for Hollywood" and "Sing Sing Sing" are classics. Many, many guest stars.
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Hook, Line and Sinker 1930 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Edward F. Cline
Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Ralf Harolde, Jobyna Howland, Natalie Moorhead, Hugh Herbert, George F. Marion, William B. Davidson, Stanley Fields
Wilbur and Addington (Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey) come to the aid of Mary (Dorothy Lee) by helping fix up her inherited, run-down hotel despite the objections of her mother who wants Mary to wed rich lawyer John (Ralf Harolde). The hotel becomes successful, but rival gangs find it as a place to do business, and John is associated with one of them. One of several films made by the comedy team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey.
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It's a Great Life 1943 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Comedy
aka: Blondie and Dagwood: It's a Great Life
Director: Frank R. Strayer
Cast: Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Hugh Herbert, Jonathan Hale, Danny Mummert, Alan Dinehart, Irving Bacon, Si Jenks, Douglas Leavitt
There are some good laughs in this Blondie entry, but not too many. Poor Dagwood is sent out to buy a house but ends up with a horse. Then there's the fox hunt.
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Kismet 1944 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Adventure / Fantasy
aka: Oriental Dream
Director: William Dieterle
Cast: Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Edward Arnold, Florence Bates, James Craig, Joy Page, Harry Davenport, Hugh Herbert, Hobart Cavanaugh, Robert Warwick, Morris Ankrum, Harry Cording, Yvonne De Carlo, Victor Kilian, Pedro de Cordoba
In this Arabian Nights tale, the Baghdad "King of Beggars" Hafiz (Ronald Colman) disguises himself as a prince and romances the queen of the castle, Jamilla (Marlene Dietrich). Meanwhile, his daughter Marsinah (Joy Page) is interested in a gardener who is really the Caliph (James Craig). By story's end, fate steps in–Hafiz finds true love with Jamilla, and Caliph and Marsinah live happily ever after. Remade in 1955 as a musical.
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Men Are Such Fools 1938 N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Wayne Morris, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Hugh Herbert, Johnnie Davis, Penny Singleton, Mona Barrie, Donald Briggs, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart
A secretary (Priscilla Lane) at an advertising agency is out to climb the ladder of success, but her boyfriend (Wayne Morris) wants her to quit and get married. When she invents a cure for hangovers, she is on her way and love triangles abound. Will she get the aggressive Harry (Humphrey Bogart) or stay with her solid boyfriend? One of Berkeley's few non-musicals.
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 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1935 N/R, 132 min.
Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / Romance
Director: William Dieterle, Max Reinhardt
Cast: James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Hugh Herbert, Victor Jory, Frank McHugh, Olivia de Havilland, Dick Powell, Mickey Rooney, Arthur Treacher, Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Hobart Cavanaugh, Ross Alexander, Jean Muir, Grant Mitchell
In a well-known screen adaptation of this fantasy, Warner Brothers' big-name stars showed up for very good performances. Enhanced by Hal Mohr's Oscar-winning cinematography, this fairy tale follows the misadventures of a group of mythical mischief-makers. James Cagney as Bottom and the music of Mendelssohn are especially good. This was the film debut of Olivia de Havilland in her role as Hermia. Mohr's Oscar was the only write-in ever. An Oscar was also awarded for Best Film Editing, and a nomination was received for Best Picture.
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Million Dollar Legs 1932  N/R, 64 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Edward F. Cline
Cast: Jack Oakie, W.C. Fields, Andy Clyde, Lyda Roberti, Susan Fleming, Ben Turpin, Hugh Herbert, Dickie Moore, George Barbier, Irving Bacon
To off-set bankruptcy, the citizens of the country of Klopstokia aspire to win the gold at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games in this zany comedy.
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Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 1942 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Ralph Murphy
Cast: Fay Bainter, Hugh Herbert, Barbara Jo Allen, Barbara Britton, Carolyn Lee, Moroni Olsen, Billy Lee, John Archer, Clem Bevans, Ethel Griffies
Based on a 1901 novel by Alice Hegan, this is the story of Mrs. Wiggs (Fay Bainter) who is a mother of five children, and although they suffer adversities, she manages to instill positive messages in her brood.
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On Our Merry Way 1948 N/R, 107 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
aka: A Miracle Can Happen
Director: Leslie Fenton, King Vidor, George Stevens, John Huston
Cast: Burgess Meredith, Paulette Goddard, Fred MacMurray, Hugh Herbert, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour, Victor Moore, Eilene Janssen, Henry Fonda, William Demarest, Harry James, Charles D. Brown, Henry Hull, Eduardo Ciannelli, John Qualen
This film is a series of episodes tied together by the shell of a story about a newspaper reporter (Burgess Meredith) and his new wife (Paulette Goddard–his actual wife at the time). He asks a number of people how a child has changed their lives and gets a variety of answers.
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One Touch of Venus 1948 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Fantasy / Romance
Director: William A. Seiter
Cast: Ava Gardner, Robert Walker, Dick Haymes, Eve Arden, Tom Conway, Sara Allgood, Arthur O'Connell, James Flavin, George Meeker, Olga San Juan, James Flavin, Hugh Herbert, Anne Nagel, Russ Conway, Eddie Parker
This musical comedy is taken from the Broadway show and involves a department store statue of Venus (Ava Gardner) coming to life after being kissed by employee Eddie Hatch (Robert Walker). Love becomes the order of the day, and Venus and Eddie dance in Central Park. The love affair continues for 24 hours until Venus returns to her pedestal and her immobile form.
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The Perfect Speciman 1937 N/R, 97 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Errol Flynn, Joan Blondell, Hugh Herbert, Edward Everett Horton, Dick Foran, May Robson, Beverly Roberts, Allen Jenkins, Dennie Moore, Hugh O'Connell
A wealthy woman (May Robson) shelters her grandson (Errol Flynn) from the outside world until a beautiful woman (Joan Blondell) enters the picture, and the grandmother loses control.
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A Song Is Born 1948  N/R, 112 min.
Genre: Comedy / Musical
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Benny Goodman, Hugh Herbert, Steve Cochran, Felix Bressart, Louis Armstrong, Esther Dale, J. Edward Bromberg, Ludwig Stossel, Ford Washington Lee, John William Sublett, O.Z. Whitehead, Ben Weldon, Mary Field
In this remake of "Ball of Fire," musicologist Professor Hobart Frisbee (Danny Kaye) heads a team of professors studying the history of jazz. While they do research, gangster Tony Crow's (Steve Cochran) moll, Honey Swanson (Virginia Mayo), decides that the house where the team of professors are living would make a great place to hide while police search for her to testify at Tony's trial. Honey introduces the professors to popular music, and a good time is had by all–until Tony spoils the party. Lots of Big Band greats are featured and certainly add to the entertainment value of this film. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | mllagers 03/14/2007 | | It's great. Great historical value. |
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There's One Born Every Minute 1942 N/R, 59 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Harold Young
Cast: Hugh Herbert, Tom Brown, Peggy Moran, Guy Kibbee, Gus Schilling, Edgar Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Catherine Doucet, Charles Halton
This movie contains the screen debut of 10-year-old Elizabeth Taylor who plays the young member of a very bizarre family.
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The Villain Still Pursued Her 1940  N/R, 66 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Edward F. Cline
Cast: Hugh Herbert, Anita Louise, Alan Mowbray, Buster Keaton, Joyce Compton, Richard Cromwell, Billy Gilbert, Margaret Hamilton, Franklin Pangborn, William Farnum, Charles Judels, Walter Tetley
In this spoof of the popular stage melodrama "The Drunkard," Edward the Hero (Richard Cromwell) is lured by Cribbs the Villain (Alan Mowbray) into drinking rum, which plunges poor Edward into the gutter. Gribb's goal is to win the affections of Edward's long-suffering wife, Mary (Anita Louise), but along comes the real hero, Frederick (Hugh Herbert), who foils Cribbs' plan. Despite the presence of Buster Keaton (who has some good lines), the joke is on the audience.
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| 1. Badlands of Dakota (1941)
2. The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949)
3. The Black Cat (1941)
4. Blondie in the Dough (1947)
5. Bureau of Missing Persons (1933)
6. College Coach (1933)
7. Dames (1934)
8. Eternally Yours (1939)
9. Fashions of 1934 (1934)
aka: Fashions
10. Fog Over Frisco (1934)
11. Footlight Parade (1933)
12. Four's a Crowd (1938)
13. Friends and Lovers (1931)
14. Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
15. The Great Waltz (1938)
16. Hellzapoppin' (1941)
17. Hollywood Hotel (1937)
18. Hook, Line and Sinker (1930)
19. It's a Great Life (1943)
aka: Blondie and Dagwood: It's a Great Life
20. Kismet (1944)
aka: Oriental Dream
21. Men Are Such Fools (1938)
22. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
23. Million Dollar Legs (1932)
24. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1942)
25. On Our Merry Way (1948)
aka: A Miracle Can Happen
26. One Touch of Venus (1948)
27. The Perfect Speciman (1937)
28. A Song Is Born (1948)
29. There's One Born Every Minute (1942)
30. The Villain Still Pursued Her (1940)
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