Brief look at Paramount’s One Hour Late, a late 1934 release starring Joe Morrison and Helen Twelvetrees. Action takes place over single day at an office. Directed by Ralph Murphy.
Secret of the Chateau (1934) Universal Murder Mystery Starring Claire Dodd
Universal murder mystery with an excellent ensemble cast revolves around a Gutenberg Bible. Bonus material about the U.S. Library of Congress 1930 purchase of a Gutenberg Bible with funds that ultimately filled the coffers of a Nazi propagandist.
Brief Impressions: King for a Night (1933) – Big Hearted Herbert (1934) and Father Is a Prince (1941) – Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941)
Enjoying a key scene between Chester Morris and Grant Mitchell in King for a Night (1933) leads to more Morris in a Boston Blackie entry plus Mitchell’s own starring vehicle, Father Is a Prince (1941), itself a remake of Big Hearted Herbert (1934), which is also discussed.
Five Star Final (1931) Starring Edward G. Robinson
Mervyn LeRoy’s Five Star Final (1931) stars Edward G. Robinson as the managing editor of a trashy New York newspaper that resurrects a 20-year-old murder case for circulation. A Warner Bros.-First National production adapted from the play by Louis Weitzenkorn. Also starring Marian Marsh, H.B. Warner, Frances Starr, Boris Karloff and Aline MacMahon.
The Racket (1928) Starring Thomas Meighan, Louis Wolheim and Marie Prevost
Howard Hughes bought Bartlett Cormack’s play The Racket, which had made Edward G. Robinson a star on Broadway. Hughes made it into a film twice. This article focuses on the first film version, a 1928 silent movie, starring Thomas Meighan with Louis Wolheim as the gangster.
The Phantom of Crestwood (1932) with Ricardo Cortez and Karen Morley
America wondered “Who Killed Jenny Wren?” and RKO’s The Phantom of Crestwood revealed the answer in the first movie-radio tie-in. Starring Ricardo Cortez and Karen Morley with a large cast of familiar character actors and former silent stars in support.
Penthouse (1933) Starring Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy
Warner Baxter stars as a mobster’s mouthpiece in Penthouse (1933) also featuring Myrna Loy. And, in one of his best, Nat Pendleton plays the mobster.
