 42nd Street 1933  N/R, 89 min.
Genre: Musical / Drama / Romance
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Una Merkel, Ruby Keeler, Guy Kibbee, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, George E. Stone, Allen Jenkins, Ned Sparks, Edward J. Nugent, Robert McWade, Louise Beavers, George Irving
Busby Berkeley's musical numbers highlight this entertaining film about what goes on behind the scenes of the Broadway musical show, "Pretty Lady." The show's director Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) is in poor health but wants to enjoy one more hit before he retires. When the show's temperamental star, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels) breaks her ankle on the night of the show's opening, chorus girl Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) fills in and takes over the lead. Featured numbers include" "You're getting to Be a Habit with Me," "Shuffle off to Buffalo," and "42nd Street." The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
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Anything Goes 1936  N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Musical
aka: Tops Is the Limit
Director: Lewis Milestone
Cast: Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Charles Ruggles, Ida Lupino, Grace Bradley, Arthur Treacher, Margaret Dumont, Robert McWade, Philip Ahn, Keye Luke
This musical features Cole Porter's songs, and it also has the bonus of Ethel Merman bringing her Broadway role of Rena Sweeney to film. The story revolves around entertainers on an ocean liner. "You're the Top" and "I Get a Kick Out of You" are highlighted in this film.
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Back Street 1932 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John M. Stahl
Cast: Irene Dunne, John Boles, George Meeker, Zasu Pitts, Arletta Duncan, William Bakewell, Jane Darwell, June Clyde, Doris Lloyd, Walter Catlett, Pat Weigel, James Donlan, Maude Turner Gordon, Shirley Grey, Robert McWade
The ill-fated romance of lovers Rae and Walter (Irene Dunne and John Boles) is doomed because of complications. They part, but their passion for each other remains. Walter does marry another woman, but when he and Rae meet again years later, they enter into a secret love affair, and Rae remains loyal to Walter for the rest of her life.
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Cimarron 1931 N/R, 131 min.
Genre: Drama / Western
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Cast: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, Nance O'Neil, William Collier Jr., Roscoe Ates, George E. Stone, Robert McWade, Edna May Oliver, Frank Darien, Stanley Fields, Judith Barrett, Eugene Jackson, Frank Beal, Helen Parrish
This early sound film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and is based on Edna Ferber's novel about the hardships faced by Yancey and Sabra Cravat (Richard Dix and Irene Dunne) staking a land claim during the Oklahoma land rush. Yancey starts a newspaper business and crusades for justice. His efforts lead to long separations from Sabra, which prove fatal for the marriage, and Yancey leaves Sabra and their children to continue his "quick draw" brand of justice. With help from her friend, Mrs. Wyatt (Edna May Oliver), Sabra takes over the newspaper business and turns it into a powerful empire.
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Diamond Jim 1935 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: A. Edward Sutherland
Cast: Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur, Binnie Barnes, Cesar Romero, Eric Blore, Hugh O'Connell, George Sidney, William Demarest, Robert McWade, Tully Marshall
This is the film biography of Diamond Jim Brady (Edward Arnold), the millionaire gambler, who romanced the beautiful entertainer, Lillian Russell (Binnie Barnes), during his steady round of gambling, gorging on food, and womanizing.
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The Dragon Murder Case 1934  N/R, 68 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone
Cast: Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot, Eugene Pallette, Helen Lowell, Dorothy Tree, Robert McWade, Robert Barrat, George E. Stone, George Meeker, Etienne Girardot, Robert Warwick
Warren William takes over the role of sophisticated sleuth Philo Vance in this not-too-great entry. There are many suspects when deaths occur in the "dragon pool" at the wealthy Stamm residence. But Philo Vance is able to sort through the clues to find the culprit. William was concurrently playing Perry Mason in another series and would later star in the "Lone Wolf" series.
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Feet First 1930 N/R, 93 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Clyde Bruckman
Cast: Harold Lloyd, Robert McWade, Lillian Leighton, Barbara Kent, Alec B. Francis, Noah Young, Henry Hall, Arthur Housman, Willie Best, Noah Beery, Buster Phelps, Leo Willis, James Finlayson
While on a cruise to Honolulu, shoe salesman Harold Horne (Harold Lloyd) falls in love with heiress Barbara Carson (Barbara Kent) who believes that Harold is a millionaire. While trying to hide the deceit, Harold becomes tied up in a mail sack and lands on a builder's hoist near a skyscraper. Now, he must find a way to climb down the building–and the acrobatic fun begins.
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Frisco Kid 1935 N/R, 80 min.
Genre: Action
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ricardo Cortez, Lili Damita, Donald Woods, Barton MacLane, George E. Stone, Addison Richards, Joe King, Robert McWade
Good fast moving action as Bat Morgan (Cagney) is on the loose in San Francisco. From Bat's arrival as a poor sailor through his rise to money and power and ill-fated romance, the well-made movie of mayhem and vengeance is entertaining.
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Grand Hotel 1932 N/R, 115 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Edmund Goulding
Cast: Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Jean Hersholt, Robert McWade, Purnell Pratt, Rafaela Ottiano, Tully Marshall, Lewis Stone, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Morgan Wallace, Frank Conroy, Murray Kinnell
This anthology won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1931-1932. The story takes place in Berlin following World War I and involves guests of the Grand Hotel. Among those visiting are a ballerina (Greta Garbo), a jewel thief (John Barrymore), and a young stenographer (Joan Crawford).
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Hard to Handle 1933  N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: James Cagney, Mary Brian, Ruth Donnelly, Allen Jenkins, Claire Dodd, Gavin Gordon, Emma Dunn, Robert McWade, Douglass Dumbrille, Matt McHugh
Lefty Merrill (Cagney) is a press agent/con artist who gets into a number of humorous situations, including a get-rich-quick dance marathon. Lots of wisecracking.
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The Healer 1935 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Little Pal
Director: Reginald Barker
Cast: Ralph Bellamy, Karen Morley, Mickey Rooney, Judith Allen, Robert McWade, Bruce Warren, J. Farrell MacDonald, Vessie Farrell
While wealthy Dr. Holden (Ralph Bellamy) and his assistant, Evelyn Allen (Karen Morley), help polio-stricken Jimmy (Mickey Rooney) with therapy at an Adirondacks charity camp, Holden becomes more interested in socialite Joan Bradshaw (Judith Allen) whose designs on him go well beyond his treating her injuries. After Joan funds a sanitarium for the good doctor, he works there for awhile before discovering that he needs to go back to his roots–and Evelyn.
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Heroes for Sale 1933 N/R, 73 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William A. Wellman
Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Loretta Young, Aline MacMahon, Gordon Westcott, Robert Barrat, Grant Mitchell, Charley Grapewin, Douglass Dumbrille, Ward Bond, Frank Darien, Berton Churchill, Robert McWade, G. Pat Collins, Margaret Seddon, Arthur Vinton
As the country heads for the Great Depression in 1929, Tom and Ruth Holmes (Richard Barthelmess and Loretta Young) manage to cope with Tom's morphine addiction that he got while recuperating from an injury suffered during World War I. Tom is treated and released from an asylum and finds work at a laundry. He becomes friends with Max Brinker (Robert Barrat) who has invented a washing machine, and they form a partnership. Later, the machines put Tom and his coworkers out of business, which results in a riot during which Ruth is killed. By story's end, Tom has donated his fortune from the washing machine business to Mary (Aline MacMahon) so that she can feed the hungry during the Depression, and Tom is out roaming the streets looking for a job.
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Kept Husbands 1931 N/R, 76 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Dorothy Mackaill, Joel McCrea, Robert McWade, Ned Sparks, Florence Roberts, Clara Kimball Young, Mary Carr, Bryant Washburn, Freeman Wood, Lita Chevret
Steel mill engineer Dick Brunton (Joel McCrea) marries the mill owner's daughter, Dot (Dorothy Mackaill), and quickly becomes the spoiled girl's pawn. But, by story's end, Dick learns to deal with the problem, and Dot learns her lesson.
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The Lemon Drop Kid 1934 N/R, 71 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Marshall Nellan
Cast: Lee Tracy, Helen Mack, William Frawley, Minna Gombell, Robert McWade, Henry B. Walthall, Kitty Kelly, Baby LeRoy, Clarence Wilson, Charles C. Wilson, Eddie Peabody, Edward LeSaint, Dell Henderson, Ann Sheridan, Lee Shumway
A reformed racetrack tipster (Lee Tracy) finds his past catching up with him as the legal system closes in. This film, based on a Damon Runyon story, was remade in 1951 with Bob Hope playing the title role.
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Movie Crazy 1932 N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Clyde Bruckman
Cast: Harold Lloyd, Constance Cummings, Kenneth Thomson, Sidney Jarvis, Eddie Fetherston, Robert McWade, Louise Closser Hale, Spencer Charters, Harold Goodwin, Lucy Beaumont, DeWitt Jennings, Mary Doran, Noah Young, Arthur Housman, Grady Sutton
Kansas boy Harold Hall (Harold Lloyd) is a big movie fan and sends a letter to Hollywood asking for a movie role. His letter is confused with another from a talented performer, and Harold soon gets an invitation to come for a screen test. Now the slapstick fun begins when the bungling Harold tries to break into the movie world.
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Next Time We Love 1936 N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Edward H. Griffith
Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Ray Milland, Grant Mitchell, Anna Demetrio, Robert McWade, Florence Roberts, Christian Rub, Hattie McDaniel, Nat Carr
The marriage of newspaper reporter Christopher Tyler (James Stewart) and his actress wife, Cicely (Margaret Sullavan), is threatened by their busy lifestyles and the amorous attentions of Tommy Abbott (Ray Milland).
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Once in a Lifetime 1932 N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Russell Mack
Cast: Jack Oakie, Sidney Fox, Aline MacMahon, Russell Hopton, Zasu Pitts, Louise Fazenda, Gregory Ratoff, Onslow Stevens, Alan Ladd, Robert McWade
This film views Hollywood through the eyes of playwrights George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart who see the entire Hollywood scene as inane, especially when the talkies arrive on the scene.
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The Prizefighter and the Lady 1933 N/R, 102 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Cast: Myrna Loy, Max Baer, Walter Huston, Otto Kruger, Primo Carnera, Jack Dempsey, Vince Barnett, Robert McWade, Garry Owen, Matt McHugh
Max Baer makes his film debut in this film about a boxer (Max Baer) who falls in love with the girlfriend (Myrna Loy) of a mobster and then refuses to throw his fight.
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Sins of the Children 1930 N/R, 86 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: The Richest Man in the World
Father's Day
Director: Sam Wood
Cast: Louis Mann, Robert Montgomery, Elliott Nugent, Leila Hyams, Clara Blandick, Mary Doran, Ralph Bushman, Robert McWade, Dell Henderson, Henry Armetta, James Donlan, Jeane Wood, Lee Kohlmar, Jane Reid
Successful businessman Adolf Wagenkampf (Louis Mann) adores his family, and when his son is forced to move to the desert because he has tuberculosis, Adolph stays with him there. This is not a good business decision but an excellent family choice as Adolf is willing to sacrifice his business and wealth for the interests of his loved ones.
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Thirty Day Princess 1934 N/R, 74 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Marion Gering
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Cary Grant, Edward Arnold, Henry Stephenson, Vince Barnett, Edgar Norton, Ray Walker, Lucien Littlefield, Robert McWade, George Baxter
When a princess becomes ill and cannot go on her scheduled tour, an actress (Sylvia Sidney) fills in for her, and she falls in love with a reporter (Cary Grant) she meets while performing her duties.
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| 1. 42nd Street (1933)
2. Anything Goes (1936)
aka: Tops Is the Limit
3. Back Street (1932)
4. California Straight Ahead (1937)
5. Cimarron (1931)
6. Diamond Jim (1935)
7. The Dragon Murder Case (1934)
8. Feet First (1930)
9. Frisco Kid (1935)
10. Grand Hotel (1932)
11. Hard to Handle (1933)
12. The Healer (1935)
aka: Little Pal
13. Heroes for Sale (1933)
14. Kept Husbands (1931)
15. The Lemon Drop Kid (1934)
16. Movie Crazy (1932)
17. Next Time We Love (1936)
18. Once in a Lifetime (1932)
19. The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)
20. Sins of the Children (1930)
aka: The Richest Man in the World
aka: Father's Day
21. Thirty Day Princess (1934)
In The News
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