The Canary Murder Case 1929  N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Malcolm St. Clair, Frank Tuttle
Cast: William Powell, Louise Brooks, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Eugene Pallette, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Charles(1) Lane, Lawrence Grant, Ned Sparks, Louis John Bartels
This is the first of what would be a series of mysteries centered on the sophisticated Philo Vance. The films spanned nearly 20 years with several actors in the lead role, though William Powell is generally associated with the films. Beautiful nightclub singer Margaret (Louise Brooks), also called the "Canary," is not a nice person. She has affairs with, then blackmails, wealthy men. After meeting her true love, Jimmy (James Hall), she demands one lump-sum payment from each of her playboys. When she is murdered, Jimmy is suspected, and Philo enters the scene to solve the crime. Originally completed as a silent film, the cast was called back to dub the sound. Louise Brooks, an up-and-comer, refused, thus effectively ending her career (except for a few low-budget films).
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Four Sons 1928  N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Ford
Cast: Margaret Mann, James Hall, Ralph Bushman, Earle Foxe, Charles Morton, George Meeker, June Collyer, Albert Gran, Frank Reicher, Jack Pennick
In this silent, anti-war film, a Bavarian woman (Margaret Mann) had four sons, but three of them were killed during World War I. Now, her only remaining son (James Hall) has moved to the United States and is branded a traitor, but she longs to join him.
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 Hell's Angels 1930 N/R, 127 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Howard Hughes
Cast: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow, Lucien Prival, Roy Wilson, Wyndham Standing, Pat Somerset, Thomas Carr
Howard Hughes spent heavily on this film, which paid off with some spectacular aerial footage of zeppelin warfare. The story revolves around two Oxford grads who enter the RAF during World War I. A fellow grad becomes a member of the German air wing and takes part in bombing runs to England. The storyline is weak, but the action makes up for it. This film launched Jean Harlow on her career.
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Millie 1931 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Francis Dillon
Cast: Helen Twelvetrees, Lilyan Tashman, Robert Ames, Joan Blondell, John Halliday, James Hall, Anita Louise, Edmund Breese, Frank McHugh, Charlotte Walker, Charles Delaney, Harry Stubbs, Harvey Clark
Millie (Helen Twelvetrees) has been unlucky in love more than a few times over the years, but, unlike her gold digging friends Angie and Helen (Joan Blondell and Lilyan Tashman), Millie has made a living on her own. Now, one of her long-lost suitors, Jimmy (John Halliday), has returned and is pursuing Millie's 16-year-old daughter, Connie (Anita Louise). Millie warns Jimmy to stay away from Connie, he ignores her, and Millie shoots and kills him when she catches him seducing Connie. Millie is acquitted, however, after Connie testifies and tells what really happened the night Jimmy was killed.
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| 1. The Canary Murder Case (1929)
2. Four Sons (1928)
3. Hell's Angels (1930)
4. Millie (1931)
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