Brother Rat 1938 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: William Keighley Cast: Priscilla Lane, Wayne Morris, Johnnie Davis, Jane Bryan, Eddie Albert, Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman, Henry O'Neill, Olin Howland, Gordon Oliver
Three cadets (Eddie Albert, Wayne Morris, and Ronald Reagan) at Virginia Military Institute conceal a forbidden marriage that would mean dismissal from the cadet corps if discovered. This film was remade in 1952 as the musical "About Face." There is also a sequel: "Brother Rat and a Baby."
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Brother Rat and a Baby 1940 N/R, 87 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: Ray Enright Cast: Eddie Albert, Wayne Morris, Priscilla Lane, Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan, Jane Bryan, Henry O'Neill, Alan Ladd, Paul Harvey, Irving Bacon
This sequel to "Brother Rat" has Virginia Military Institute cadets (Ronald Reagan, Wayne Morris, and Eddie Albert) graduated and on the road to success as young men in New York.
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The Case of the Black Cat 1936 N/R, 65 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: William C. McGann, Alan Crosland Cast: Ricardo Cortez, June Travis, Jane Bryan, Craig Reynolds, Carlyle Moore Jr., Bill Elliott, Nedda Harrigan, Garry Owen, Harry Davenport, George Rosener
Ricardo Cortez takes on the role of Perry Mason in the fifth entry in the series. Perry is called to a client's estate at night to write the client's granddaughter out of his will as an incentive to keep her from marrying a suspected fortune hunter. The client is killed in a suspicious fire, the gardener is murdered, and a treasure hunt for missing jewelry follows. The granddaughter's boyfriend is accused of the murders, but with Perry on his side, the real culprit will soon be identified. Director Alan Crosland was killed in an auto accident; the film was completed by William McGann.
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Confession 1937 N/R, 83 min. Genre: Mystery
Director: Joe May Cast: Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Basil Rathbone, Jane Bryan, Donald Crisp, Mary Maguire, Robert Barrat, Dorothy Peterson, Laura Hope Crews, Ben Welden
When Vera's (Kay Francis) daughter, Lisa (Jane Bryan), becomes involved with an evil man (Basil Rathbone) from her own past, murder is the result with Vera confessing to the crime.
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Each Dawn I Die 1939 N/R, 92 min. Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: William Keighley Cast: James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan, George Bancroft, Max "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom, Victor Jory, Stanley Ridges, Alan Baxter, Willard Robertson, Clay Clement, John Wray, Emma Dunn, Edward Pawley, Paul Hurst, Louis Jean Heydt
This prison melodrama centers around the attempted escape of crime boss "Hood" Stacey (George Raft) and the involvement of another prisoner, youthful reporter Frank Ross (James Cagney), who was framed for murder. Frank has appealed for parole but remains behind bars at Rocky Point Prison. He thinks that he has found a solution when he makes a deal to help "Hood" escape if "Hood" will help Frank prove his own innocence. "Hood" escapes but does nothing to help Frank until Frank's reporter girlfriend Joyce (Jane Bryan) steps in and convinces "Hood" to identify the real killer, Peter Kassock (John Wray), as the man who framed Frank. It turns out that Peter is also at Rocky Point Prison, and now his fate is sealed.
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Girls on Probation 1938 N/R, 63 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William C. McGann Cast: Jane Bryan, Ronald Reagan, Anthony Averill, Sheila Bromley, Henry O'Neill, Elisabeth Risdon, Sig Ruman, Susan Hayward, James Spottswood
After a young woman (Jane Bryan) is arrested for her unwitting involvement in a bank robbery, her lawyer (Ronald Reagan) falls in love with her.
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Invisible Stripes 1939 N/R, 82 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Lloyd Bacon Cast: George Raft, Jane Bryan, William Holden, Flora Robson, Humphrey Bogart, Paul Kelly, Marc Lawrence, Lee Patrick, Henry O'Neill, Moroni Olsen, Tully Marshall, Joseph Crehan, Joe Downing, Chester Clute, Margot Stevenson
Cliff Taylor (George Raft) is paroled from Sing Sing prison the same day as mobster Chuck Martin (Humphrey Bogart). Cliff needs money to help his younger brother Tim (William Holden) get married to Peggy (Jane Bryan) and joins Chuck's gang. Problems ensue, and both Cliff and Chuck are killed by rival gangsters Ed Kruger (Paul Kelly) and Lefty Sloan (Marc Lawrence). But, as they lie near death, Cliff and Chuck console themselves with the fact that by dying they will not be serving life sentences.
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Kid Galahad 1937 N/R, 101 min. Genre: Drama / Romance aka: The Battling Bellhop
Director: Michael Curtiz Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Wayne Morris, Harry Carey, Jane Bryan, William Haade, Soledad Jimenez, Joseph Crehan, Ben Welden, Joe Cunningham, Veda Ann Borg, Frank Faylen, Harland Tucker, Bob Evans
Boxing manager Nick Donati (Edward G. Robinson) decides to promote a young bellhop (Wayne Morris) as the next champion. While still training for his prize fight, the bellhop knocks out heavyweight Chuck McGraw (William Haade) after he insults Donati's girlfriend Louise "Fluff" Phillips (Bette Davis), and he is given the name "Kid Galahad." Later, he falls in love with Donati's young sister Marie (Jane Bryan). Their interest in each other angers Donati, and he arranges a fight that he is sure "Kid Galahad" will lose. But, will "Kid Galahad" come through and live up to his reputation as a winner? Remade in 1941 as "The Wagons Roll at Night" and in 1962 as "Kid Galahad."
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Marked Woman 1937 N/R, 96 min. Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Lloyd Bacon Cast: Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannelli, Isabel Jewell, Allen Jenkins, Lola Lane, Ben Welden, Henry O'Neill, John Litel, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Damian O'Flynn, Raymond Hatton, Frank Faylen
Mary Dwight (Bette Davis) works at a nightclub, owned by mob boss Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Ciannelli), where she performs as a hostess and prostitute. After one of the customers is killed, Mary swears to turn states evidence to help prosecutor David Graham (Humphrey Bogart). But when she appears in court, Mary clams up. Later her sister Betty (Jane Bryan) joins the group and is killed by a gangster for not submitting to his advances. Mary again threatens to testify but is beaten and scarred for life. Finally, from her hospital bed, she begs fellow prostitutes to testify. The five women–including Mary–appear in court, testify, and help bring Vanning to his knees.
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The Old Maid 1939 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Edmund Goulding Cast: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, Donald Crisp, Jane Bryan, Louise Fazenda, James Stephenson, Jerome Cowan, William Lundigan, Rand Brooks, Cecilia Loftus, Janet Shaw, William Hopper, Sidney Bracey
Based on Edith Wharton's novel, this is the story of the aftermath of a love affair between Charlotte (Bette Davis) and Clem (George Brent). When Clem dies while fighting in the Civil War, Charlotte is left alone to face unmarried motherhood. Her solution is to give their daughter (Jane Bryan) to a cousin (Miriam Hopkins) to raise as her own. Now, Charlotte watches as her daughter grows up but must remain as an outsider.
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The Sisters 1938 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Anatole Litvak Cast: Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Anita Louise, Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp, Beulah Bondi, Alan Hale, Henry Travers, Jane Bryan, Dick Foran
Three sisters, Louise (Bette Davis), Helen (Anita Louise), and Grace (Jane Bryan), find love and marriage in this drama set during the turn of the 20th century in San Francisco.
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A Slight Case of Murder 1938 N/R, 85 min. Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Lloyd Bacon Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Bryan, Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly, Willard Parker, John Litel, Edward Brophy, Harold Huber, Paul Harvey, Margaret Hamilton, Eric Stanley, Bobby Jordan, Joe Downing, Bert Hanlon
Edward G. Robinson is again excellent as he plays a gangster who goes broke after Prohibition ends. His brewery collapses due to the terrible tasting product, and he heads to his summer home where the fun begins as assorted guests appear, and bodies of gangsters are discovered along with half a million dollars of their loot. A fine, funny flick.
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These Glamour Girls 1939 N/R, 78 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: S. Sylvan Simon Cast: Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Tom Brown, Richard Carlson, Jane Bryan, Anita Louise, Marsha Hunt, Ann Rutherford, Mary Beth Hughes, Ernest Truex
Ivy Leaguer Philip (Lew Ayres) has a big night on the town and asks dancehall girl Jane (Lana Turner, in her first starring role) to the big, annual weekend party. When she arrives, he had forgotten that he invited her, but she refuses to leave. Rather, Jane shows up the snobbish girls of the school.
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| 1. Brother Rat (1938)
2. Brother Rat and a Baby (1940)
3. The Case of the Black Cat (1936)
4. Confession (1937)
5. Each Dawn I Die (1939)
6. Girls on Probation (1938)
7. Invisible Stripes (1939)
8. Kid Galahad (1937) aka: The Battling Bellhop
9. Marked Woman (1937)
10. The Old Maid (1939)
11. The Sisters (1938)
12. A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
13. These Glamour Girls (1939)
In The News
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