The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 N/R, 106 min. Genre: Action / Adventure / Romance
Director: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley Cast: Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Ian Hunter, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Melville Cooper, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin, Montagu Love, Robert Noble, Leonard Willey, Kenneth Hunter
Errol Flynn IS Robin Hood. Romance blooms between Robin and Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) in the midst of sweeping sword fights in Sherwood Forest as Robin leads his band of merry men against Prince John (Claude Rains) and his efforts to tax the poor. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
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The Bride Came C. O. D. 1941 N/R, 94 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: William Keighley Cast: James Cagney, Bette Davis, Stuart Erwin, Eugene Pallette, Jack Carson, George Tobias, Harry Davenport, William Frawley, Edward Brophy, William Hopper
Runaway bride Joan (Bette Davis) is kidnapped by down-and-out pilot Steve (Jimmy Cagney) on behalf of her father. They end up getting along after the standard trials common to such story lines. Actually, it's a fun movie.
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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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Bullets or Ballots 1936 N/R, 81 min. Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: William Keighley Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, Joe King, Dick Purcell, George E. Stone, Louise Beavers, Joseph Crehan, Henry O'Neill, Henry Kolker
An undercover cop (Edward G. Robinson) manages to infiltrate the world of gangsters in an effort to bring an end to their criminal activities.
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Close to My Heart 1951 N/R, 90 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William Keighley Cast: Ray Milland, Gene Tierney, Fay Bainter, Howard St. John, Mary Beth Hughes, Ann Morrison, James Seay, Eddie Marr, Louis Jean Heydt, Ralph Byrd
Midge Sheridan (Gene Tierney) wants to adopt an abandoned baby, but her husband, Brad (Ray Milland), wants more information about the baby's family before taking responsibility for a new family member.
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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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The Fighting 69th 1940 N/R, 89 min. Genre: Action
Director: William Keighley Cast: James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, George Brent, Jeffrey Lynn, Alan Hale, Frank McHugh, Dennis Morgan, Dick Foran, William Lundigan, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams
This film is based on facts from the 69th regiment's World War I records. Jerry Plunkett (James Cagney) is a smart-aleck recruit who buckles under fire and causes the death of some men in his company. Father Duffy (Pat O'Brien) helps in the rehabilitation. Great battle scenes.
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Four Mothers 1941 N/R, 85 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William Keighley Cast: Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Gale Page, Claude Rains, Jeffrey Lynn, Eddie Albert, May Robson, Frank McHugh, Dick Foran
This sequel to "Four Daughters" and "Four Wives" continues the Lemp family saga as the four sisters are now married and anxious to start their own families.
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G-Men 1935 N/R, 85 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William Keighley Cast: James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ann Dvorak, Robert Armstrong, Lloyd Nolan, Regis Toomey, Harold Huber, Raymond Hatton, Marc Lawrence, Barton MacLane, William Harrigan, Russell Hopton, Edward Pawley, Monte Blue, Addison Richards
James Cagney plays a good guy is this movie, which is perhaps William Keighley's best directing job. The plot follows the adventures of James "Brick" Davis (Cagney), a lawyer whose education was financed by crime boss "Mack" McKay (William Harrigan). Brick's roommate Eddie (Regis Toomey) becomes an F.B.I. agent but is later killed by gangster Danny Leggett (Edward Pawley) in a gang shooting. Now, Brick joins the F.B.I. as an agent where he is looked upon with suspicion because of his background ties to McKay. Nevertheless, Brick sets out to avenge the death of Eddie and follows a trail of murders that extends from New York to the Midwest. Based on Gregory Miller's book "Public Enemy No. 1."
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George Washington Slept Here 1942 N/R, 93 min. Genre: Comedy
Director: William Keighley Cast: Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Charles Coburn, Percy Kilbride, Hattie McDaniel, William Tracy, Joyce Reynolds, Lee Patrick, Charles Dingle, John Emery, William Tracy
A New York couple (Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan) buys a "fix-me-up" home in Connecticut where they discover a letter that may be evidence that George Washington once slept there.
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Honeymoon 1947 N/R, 74 min. Genre: Comedy aka: Two Men and a Girl
Director: William Keighley Cast: Shirley Temple, Franchot Tone, Guy Madison, Lina Romay, Gene Lockhart, Grant Mitchell, Corinna Mura, Julio Villarreal, Manuel Arvide, Jose Goula
Barbara (Shirley Temple) heads to Mexico to marry her fiance (Guy Madison). Once there, she enlists the aid of the American Vice Consul (Franchot Tone) to find her husband-to-be and help cut red tape so they can marry.
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The Man Who Came to Dinner 1942 N/R, 112 min. Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley, Richard Travis, Billie Burke, Jimmy Durante, Reginald Gardiner, Mary Wickes, Elisabeth Fraser, Grant Mitchell, George Barbier, Russell Arms, Edwin Stanley
Monty Woolley recreates his Broadway role of Sheridan Whiteside, a critic and radio personality. Whiteside is a guest lecturer who suffers an injury. While recuperating, he and his secretary (Bette Davis) move in with a local family. It does not take long for the welcome to wear out. Monty Woolley: "Strange? She's right out of 'The Hounds of the Baskervilles.'"
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The Master of Ballantrae 1953 N/R, 88 min. Genre: Adventure
Director: William Keighley Cast: Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, Anthony Steel, Beatrice Campbell, Yvonne Furneaux, Felix Aylmer, Mervyn Johns, Charles Goldner, Ralph Truman, Francis De Wolff
This film is based (loosely) on Robert Louis Stevenson's story of the Scottish rebellion. Errol Flynn fights against the British monarchy–and his own brother (Anthony Steel) for the woman he loves.
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No Time for Comedy 1940 N/R, 98 min. Genre: Comedy aka: Guy with a Grin
Director: William Keighley Cast: James Stewart, Rosalind Russell, Charles Ruggles, Genevieve Tobin, Louise Beavers, Frank Faylen, Allyn Joslyn, Clarence Kolb, Robert Greig, J.M. Kerrigan
Gaylord and Linda Easterbrook (James Stewart and Rosalind Russell) are a playwright and actress who spar with each other while his play is being readied as a Broadway production.
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The Prince and the Pauper 1937 N/R, 115 min. Genre: Family / Adventure / Drama / Fantasy
Director: William Keighley Cast: Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Billy Mauch, Robert J. Mauch, Alan Hale, Montagu Love, Barton MacLane, Henry Stephenson, Eric Portman, Halliwell Hobbes, Lionel Pape, Leonard Willey, Murray Kinnell, Phyllis Barry, Ivan F. Simpson
Two boys meet–one is Prince Edward (Robert J. Mauch), and the other is a poor boy from London's slums, Tom (Billy Mauch)–and are struck by their physical resemblance to each other. While playing, they exchange clothes and identities, and Edward is evicted from the palace by the Captain of the Guard (Alan Hale) who believes he is a pauper. Now, Tom is thought to be the Prince of Wales by everyone except the evil Earl of Hertford (Claude Rains) who uses the deception as his chance to control the throne. Meanwhile, Edward lives with Tom's father (Barton MacLane) until he is befriended by a soldier of fortune, Miles Hendon (Errol Flynn), who takes him to the palace where he proves his real identity in time to be crowned King of England. A great musical score backs up this film version of Mark Twain's story.
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Rocky Mountain 1950 N/R, 83 min. Genre: Western / Action / Adventure
Director: William Keighley Cast: Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Scott Forbes, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Slim Pickens, Sheb Wooley, Yakima Canutt, Dickie Jones, Howard Petrie, Chubby Johnson, Robert "Buzz" Henry, Peter Coe, Rush Williams, Marianne Stone, Alex Sharp
While a band of Confederate soldiers, led by Captain Lave Barstow (Errol Flynn), is in California trying to recruit soldiers, they rescue Johanna (Patrice Wymore) who is aboard a stage coach that is being attacked by Indians. Johanna is the fiancee of Union soldier Lt. Rickey (Scott Forbes), and Barstow uses her as the bait to lure Rickey and his patrol of Union soldiers into battle. They capture the Union soldiers, but the Indians launch their own attack, and Barstow allows the Union soldiers and Johanna to escape the Indian massacre.
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Special Agent 1935 N/R, 78 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ricardo Cortez, George Brent, Jack La Rue, Henry O'Neill, Joe Sawyer, Joseph Crehan, Irving Pichel, Robert Strange, J. Carrol Naish
A detective (George Brent), posing as a reporter, tries to get information on a racketeering boss (Ricardo Cortez) via his bookkeeper (Bette Davis).
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The Street with No Name 1948 N/R, 91 min. Genre: Drama
Director: William Keighley Cast: Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark, Lloyd Nolan, Barbara Lawrence, Ed Begley, Donald Buka, Joseph Pevney, John McIntire, Walter Greaza, Howard Smith, Billy Mauch, Sam Edwards
FBI Agent Gene Cordell (Mark Stevens) goes undercover and infiltrates a gang led by Alec Stiles (Richard Widmark). But, Styles gets word of the mole activity and plots to get even. Remade in 1955 as "House of Bamboo."
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Torrid Zone 1940 N/R, 87 min. Genre: Action / Comedy / Adventure
Director: William Keighley Cast: James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien, Andy Devine, George Tobias, Helen Vinson, Jerome Cowan, George Reeves, Victor Kilian, Frank Puglia, Grady Sutton, John Ridgely, Paul Porcasi, Frank Yaconelli, Dick Botiller
Central American planter Nick Butler (James Cagney) is a plantation foreman working for Baldwin Fruit Company executive Steve Case (Pat O'Brien). Butler is preparing to head back to Chicago and leave his plantation job behind, but he encounters problems from Case who wants O'Brien to work on another plantation. Butler does agree and goes to the plantation where problems lie ahead in the form of Gloria (Helen Vinson) who is the wife of former foreman Bob Anderson (Jerome Cowan), sexy nightclub singer Lee Donley (Ann Sheridan), and Latino bandits led by Rosario "Rosie" La Mata (George Tobias).
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Varsity Show 1937 N/R, 120 min. Genre: Musical / Comedy
Director: William Keighley Cast: Dick Powell, Fred Waring and his Orchestra, Ted Healy, Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane, Walter Catlett, Johnnie Davis, Ford Washington Lee, John William Sublett, Sterling Holloway, Mabel Todd, Scotty Bates, George MacFarland, Poley McClintock
After Broadway producer Chuck Daly (Dick Powell) volunteers to produce a show at his alma mater, Winfield College, a dean, Professor Sylvester Biddle (Walter Catlett) opposes the idea of bring Broadway "trash" into the school. Daly bows out of the stage production, and, instead, arranges for Busby Berkeley to stage a hit show on Broadway starring the students. Songs include "Love is on the Air Tonight," Moonlight on the Campus," and "Old King Cole." This film marks the film debut of Fred Waring and the Lane sisters.
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| 1. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
2. The Bride Came C. O. D. (1941)
3. Brother Rat (1938)
4. Bullets or Ballots (1936)
5. Close to My Heart (1951)
6. Each Dawn I Die (1939)
7. The Fighting 69th (1940)
8. Four Mothers (1941)
9. G-Men (1935)
10. George Washington Slept Here (1942)
11. Honeymoon (1947) aka: Two Men and a Girl
12. The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
13. The Master of Ballantrae (1953)
14. No Time for Comedy (1940) aka: Guy with a Grin
15. The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
16. Rocky Mountain (1950)
17. Special Agent (1935)
18. The Street with No Name (1948)
19. Torrid Zone (1940)
20. Varsity Show (1937)
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