 Alice in Wonderland 1933  N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Family / Fantasy
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Cast: Charlotte Henry, Richard Arlen, Roscoe Ates, Charles Ruggles, Roscoe Karns, Gary Cooper, W.C. Fields, Cary Grant, Sterling Holloway, Edward Everett Horton, Leon Errol, Ned Sparks
This is the Lewis Carroll story brought to the screen with Alice (Charlotte Henry) dealing with the offbeat characters in Wonderland. This is the first full-length film of the story.
|  | |
Billy the Kid 1930 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Western
aka: The Highwayman Rides
Director: King Vidor
Cast: Johnny Mack Brown, Wallace Beery, Kay Johnson, Karl Dane, Roscoe Ates, Wyndham Standing, Russell Simpson, Blanche Friderici, Warner Richmond, James A. Marcus, Nelson McDowell, Jack Carlyle, Chris-Pin Martin, John Beck, Marguerita Padula
A Marshal (Wallace Beery) is determined to capture and bring to justice the infamous Billy the Kid (Johnny Mack Brown) in this early talkie Western.
| | |
Captain Caution 1940 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: Richard Wallace
Cast: Victor Mature, Louise Platt, Leo Carrillo, Bruce Cabot, Robert Barrat, Vivienne Osborne, Miles Mander, Roscoe Ates, Alan Ladd
Set during the War of 1812, patriot Dan Marvin (Victor Mature) fights the British as he heads up a crew on a sailing ship. Alan Ladd has a bit part in this film as one of the sailors.
| | |
Chad Hanna 1940  N/R, 86 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Henry King
Cast: Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, Linda Darnell, Guy Kibbee, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Roscoe Ates, Olin Howland, Si Jenks, Frank Conlan
The circus in the 19th century is the world of Chad Hanna (Henry Fonda); the story follows his adventures, which aren't all that great.
| | |
 The Champ 1931  N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: King Vidor
Cast: Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe Ates, Edward Brophy, Hale Hamilton, Jesse Scott, Marcia Mae Jones
Wallace Beery won the Academy Award for his role of Champ, the down-and-out boxer who loves his son, Dink (Jackie Cooper). Nominations for Best Picture and Director were also received. The story was later remade as "The Clown" in 1953 and again as "The Champ" in 1979.
| | |
Check and Double Check 1930  N/R, 75 min.
Genre: Comedy
aka: Amos 'N' Andy
Director: Melville W. Brown
Cast: Freeman F. Gosden, Charles J. Correll, Sue Carol, Irene Rich, Ralf Harolde, Charles Morton, Edward Martindel, Rita La Roy, Russ Powell, Roscoe Ates, Duke Ellingon, Robert Homans
In this, their only film appearance, the White comedians of radio fame, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, bring their Black characters of Amos 'n' Andy to the screen. Although their radio show had been a hit, seeing them in blackface was a different matter. Years later, the characters were brought to TV and were readily accepted when Black men took on the roles of Amos 'n' Andy.
| | |
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.
| | |
Come Next Spring 1956  N/R, 92 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: R.G. Springsteen
Cast: Ann Sheridan, Steve Cochran, Walter Brennan, Sherry Jackson, Richard Eyer, Edgar Buchanan, Sonny Tufts, Harry Shannon, Mae Clark, Roscoe Ates
Following eight years of roaming the countryside, family patriarch Matt Ballot (Steve Cochran) returns to his wife Bess (Ann Sheridan) and children. He has his work cut out for him in convincing relatives and friends that he is home to stay.
| | |
 Freaks 1932 N/R, 64 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Tod Browning
Cast: Wallace Ford, Olga Baclanova, Leila Hyams, Roscoe Ates, Henry Victor, Edward Brophy, Matt McHugh, Rose Dione, Harry Earles, Daisy and Violet Hilton, Schlitze, Josephine Joseph, Johnny Eck, Frances O'Connor, Peter Robinson
This is producer Irving Thalberg's classic film about circus sideshow "freaks." "Little person" Hans (Harry Earles) marries trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova), but Cleopatra is planning to kill him, collect his money, and run off with strongman Hercules (Henry Victor). However, there is a code of honor among circus freaks, and they are keeping an eye on Cleopatra. The freaks uncover Cleopatra's scheme after she poisons Hans, and they transform her into a Feathered Hen. This insightful horror film forces the viewer to rethink preconceived ideas about those who are "different."
| | |
A Free Soul 1931 N/R, 91 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Clarence Brown
Cast: Norma Shearer, Lionel Barrymore, Leslie Howard, Clark Gable, James Gleason, Lucy Beaumont, Claire Whitney, Frank Sheridan, Edward Brophy, George Irving, Roscoe Ates, Bess Flowers, James Donlan, Henry Hall, Lee Phelps
Lionel Barrymore won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the boozing lawyer, Stephen Ashe, whose daughter (Norma Shearer) becomes part of a romantic triangle with gangster Ace Wilfong (Clark Gable) and her fiance, Dwight Winthrop (Leslie Howard). This film was later remade as "The Girl Who Had Everything."
| | |
Hold 'Em Jail 1932 N/R, 74 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Norman Taurog
Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Betty Grable, Edgar Kennedy, Edna May Oliver, Roscoe Ates, Paul Hurst, Warren Hymer, Robert Armstrong, Spencer Charters
Prison inmates Curly (Bert Wheeler) and Spider (Robert Woolsey) get involved in prison football–the warden's (Edgar Kennedy) favorite sport.
| | |
The Kettles in the Ozarks 1956 N/R, 81 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Marjorie Main, Arthur Hunnicutt, Una Merkel, Ted de Corsia, Richard Eyer, Dave O'Brien, Joe Sawyer, Roscoe Ates, Richard Deacon, Sid Tomack
Percy Kilbride was not available to play Pa Kettle in this film, so the storyline shifts to Uncle Sedge Kettle (Arthur Hunnicutt) who Ma Kettle tries to reform from his moonshining ways when she and the kids go to visit his back-country haunts.
| | |
 King Kong 1933  N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Adventure / Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Thriller
Director: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Cast: Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Robert Armstrong, Noble Johnson, Frank Reicher, Sam Hardy, James Flavin, Paul Porcasi, Etta McDaniel, Vera Lewis, Steve Clemente, Roscoe Ates, Earl Dwire, George MacQuarrie, Frank Mills
This film about a huge ape that terrorizes New York City is a classic. It is worth watching for the exciting climax when King Kong takes the "light of his life" (Fay Wray) in his arms and climbs to the top of the Empire State Building where he is attacked by an airplane. Good viewing–even better the second time around.
| | |
The Ladies' Man 1961 N/R, 106 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jerry Lewis
Cast: Jerry Lewis, Helen Traubel, Kathleen Freeman, Pat Stanley, George Raft, Harry James, Marty Ingels, Gloria Jean, Roscoe Ates, Jack Kruschen
A handyman for a girls' school, Herbert H. Helbert (Jerry Lewis), encounters more than a little trouble for his efforts.
| | |
The Palm Beach Story 1942 N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Preston Sturges
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, Rudy Vallee, William Demarest, Sig Arno, Jack Norton, Robert Warwick, Torben Meyer, Franklin Pangborn, Roscoe Ates, Dewey Robinson, Arthur Hoyt, Al Bridge, Fred "Snowflake" Toones
Gerry (Claudette Colbert) leaves her engineer husband, Tom (Joel McCrea), in New York and heads for Florida where she meets snobby John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee). Tom pursues, and comedy ensues.
| | |
Rancho Grande 1940 N/R, 68 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Frank McDonald
Cast: Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Mary Lee, Ellen Lowe, Roscoe Ates, Ann Baldwin, Dick Hogan, Ferris Taylor, Rex Lease
When Kay (June Storey) brings her brothers and sisters out West to run the ranch left to her by her grandfather, she obviously will need help. Along comes Gene (Gene Autry) who educates them as well as taking on the bad guys who try to ruin the irrigation system of the Easterners' ranch.
| | |
Reg'lar Fellers 1941 N/R, 66 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Arthur Dreifuss
Cast: Billy Lee, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Sarah Padden, Roscoe Ates, Maren Mayo, Buddy Boles, Janet Dempsey, Jerry Wilson, Malcolm Hutton, Netta Packer, Jack C. Smith, Sharon Lynn
Based on a popular comic strip of the day, this film's plot involves a group of kids–Pinhead (Billy Lee), Jimmy (Buddy Boles), Bump (Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer), Aggie (Janet Dempsey), Skeeter (Jerry Wilson), and Puddin'Head (Malcolm Hutton)–who invent a machine that they think will run on both land and water. Meanwhile, mean old Hetty Carter (Sarah Padden) is targeted to be robbed by thugs, but the kids help her, and she softens in her attitude toward children.
| | |
Robin Hood of the Pecos 1941 N/R, 56 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Joseph Kane
Cast: Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes, Marjorie Reynolds, Jay Novello, Roscoe Ates, Eddie Acuff, Wade Boteler, Sally Payne, Leigh Whipper, Robert Strange, William Haade, Cy Kendall, Bob Burns, Art Dillard, Ted Mapes
During the post-Civil War era, Texas is run by corrupt politicians from the North who are trying to drive ranchers out of the area. Vance Corbin (Roy Rogers) is elected Sheriff, but then Ambrose Ballard (Cy Kendall) declares martial law, and "Gabby" Hornaday (George "Gabby" Hayes) is sentenced to be executed for murder. Vance investigates, finds the real villain Stacy (Jay Novello) who confesses to the crime, and Gabby's life is saved.
| | |
Short Cut to Hell 1957 N/R, 89 min.
Genre: Adventure
Director: James Cagney
Cast: Robert Ivers, Georgann Johnson, William Bishop, Jacques Aubuchon, Yvette Vickers, Murvyn Vye, Roscoe Ates, Peter Baldwin, Milton Frome, Sarah Selby
This screen adaptation of Graham Greene's "A Gun for Sale" is about a hit man who searches for the man who hired him. This is a remake of 1942's "This Gun for Hire."
| | |
The Stranger Wore a Gun 1953 N/R, 82 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Andre De Toth
Cast: Randolph Scott, Claire Trevor, Joan Weldon, George Macready, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Roscoe Ates, Alfonso Bedoya, Pierre Watkin, Joseph Vitale, Clem Bevans
As Jeff Travis (Randolph Scott) tries to reform after being a spy for the Quantrill raiders, he is tempted to become involved in a plot to capture a government gold shipment but changes his mind in the nick of time.
| | |
| 1. Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955)
2. Alice in Wonderland (1933)
3. Billy the Kid (1930)
aka: The Highwayman Rides
4. Captain Caution (1940)
5. Chad Hanna (1940)
6. The Champ (1931)
7. Check and Double Check (1930)
aka: Amos 'N' Andy
8. Cimarron (1931)
9. Come Next Spring (1956)
10. Freaks (1932)
11. A Free Soul (1931)
12. The Great Lover (1931)
13. Hold 'Em Jail (1932)
14. The Kettles in the Ozarks (1956)
15. King Kong (1933)
16. The Ladies' Man (1961)
17. Lucky Devils (1932)
18. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
19. Rancho Grande (1940)
20. Reg'lar Fellers (1941)
21. Robin Hood of the Pecos (1941)
22. Short Cut to Hell (1957)
23. The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953)
In The News
|
