Olin Howland
A look at actresses who starred in films with thought-provoking subjects made between 1930 and July 1934, before the Hollywood Production Code —the infamous Hays Code— was enforced.
A drive-in favorite, this sci-fi classic follows teenagers Steve and his best girl, Jane, as they try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches. The first to discover the substance and live to tell about it, Steve and Jane witness the blob destroying an elderly man, then it growing to a terrifying size. But no one else has seen the goo, and policeman Dave refuses to believe the kids without proof.
In this fast-paced Western, smaler ranchers hire a former gunman Bart Jones (Scott Brady) in the middle of a range war when he's called on to protect a group of small-time ranchers against cattle baron Maj.
Sgt. Chuch Brennan always disliked playboy and hotshot, Col. Jim Herlihy. Now Chuck has even more reason to, Jim is dating his daughter, Lois.
As a result of nuclear testing, gigantic, ferocious mutant ants appear in the American desert southwest, and a father-daughter team of entomologists join forces with the state police officer who first discovers their existence, an FBI agent and, eventually, the US Army to eradicate the menace, before it spreads across the continent, and the world.
In the third movie in Monogram's "Father" series, patriarch Henry Latham buys a cow in order to bypass the town's milk tax.
The residents of a small town are haunted by the ghost of Charlie McCarthy, who doesn't like the fact that they are a very careless bunch and are constantly putting themselves in danger.
A greedy businessman tries to block the building of a new railroad in his area.
Henry Latham and town Mayor Colton continue their misadventures in Smalltown, America. This time, twelve-year-old David Latham is testifying at the trial of his father, Henry, who is accused of burning down the McCluskey bridge.
After being betrayed, a gangster hangs out in a settlement house while seeking revenge.
A marshal goes up against a collection of vicious outlaws terrorizing his own.
When a woman goes missing on the eve of her wedding, her fiancee hires a detective to track her down
Bob Hope stars in this laugh-packed wild west spoof co-starring Jane Russell as a sexy Calamity Jane, Hope is a meek frontier dentist, "Painless" Peter Potter, who finds himself gunslinging alongside the fearless Calamity as she fights off outlaws and Indians.
Daniel Bone is aiming for success. A Brooklyn gunsmith by trade, he figures the place to be is where the guns are. So off he goes into the West and becomes the foe of the notorious Pecos Kid, the captive of Paiutes, the target in a saloon showdown, and the lone source of the whereabouts of a fabulous gold strike.
When two US cavalrymen transporting a gold shipment get killed, US Army Intelligence investigator John Haven goes undercover to a mining and logging town to find the killers.
Roy is an oil prospector. His efforts to get drilling rights on an old Spanish land grant are countered by gamblers from an off-shore gambling boat determined to control the land (and oil) themselves.
A World War II pilot (Gene Kelly) comes home to a bride (Marie McDonald) who, spoiled by her father (Charles Winninger), now wants a divorce.
Notorious shootist and womanizer Quirt Evans' horse collapses as he passes a Quaker family's home. Quirt has been wounded, and the kindly family takes him in to nurse him back to health against the advice of others. The handsome Evans quickly attracts the affections of their beautiful daughter, Penelope. He develops an affection for the family, but his troubled past follows him.
Comedy about an Irish father, who enjoys betting on horses, who keeps interfering with his daughter's romance with a serviceman.
Frankie Madison returns to New York after 14 years in prison. Noll Turner, Frankie's former partner in bootlegging, is now a wealthy nightclub manager, and Frankie is expecting him to honor a verbal '50:50' agreement they made when he was caught and Noll got away. Fat chance! Can Frankie, who knows only the strong-arm methods of Prohibition, win out against Big Business? It'll be tough...even with the unlikely alliance of torch singer Kay (Noll's ex-girlfriend).
Mystery writer Marian Carstairs is hard at work trying to finish her latest novel. Her three children meanwhile are entertaining themselves by trying to solve a murder in their own neighborhood. In between gathering clues, the kids play matchmaker by trying to fix up their widowed mom with the handsome detective investigating the case.
A criminal psychologist investigates the murder of a veteran with amnesia.
Governor Price sends Sunset Carson to investigate a smuggling ring which is baffling the Border Patrol. Newspaper woman Ann Morton is working incognito in the saloon waiting for a break on ...
An eccentric wealthy man is murdered, and the police set out to find his killer.
Sunset Carson rides into the town of Cimarron looking for his brother and the crooks who framed him for cattle rustling. When he's made sheriff, he struggles to keep order in a place overrun by thieves and liars. Cimarron is a wild town overrun by outlaws. Sunset, who was framed as a cattle rustler, has just been released from prison after 3 years when he winds up in Cimarron.
WWI flyer Eddie Rickenbaker remembers his life which brought him from a car salesman, race driver and pilot in WWI, to an important person in the early years of civil airline service, after his plane crashed in the South Pacific in late 1942.
Determined to become a radio singer, a young girl runs away from her family. She hooks up with a man who is actually the real voice of a famous radio crooner, who actually can't sing at all.
In this romantic comedy, three man-hungry sisters consult a fortune-teller to help them with their romantic futures.
An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills. Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.
In 1871, professional gambler John Devlin elopes with Sandra "Sandy" Poli, daughter of Marko Poli, an immigrant who has risen to railroad tycoon. Sandy, knowing that the railroad is to be extended into Dakota, plans to use their $20,000 nest egg to buy land options to sell to the railroad at a profit. On the stage trip to Ft. Abercrombie, their fellow passengers are Jim Bender and Bigtree Collins, who practically own the town of Fargo and Devlin is aware that they are prepared to protect the little empire... trying to drive out the farmers by burning their property, destroying their wheat, and blaming the devastation on the Indians. Continuing their journey north on the river aboard the "River Bird', Sandy and John meet Captain Bounce, an irascible old seafarer. Two of Bendender's henchmen, Slagin and Carp, board the boat and relieve John of his $20,000 at gunpoint. Captain Bounce, chasing the robber's dinghy..
A young bride who comes from a rich family has a hard time adjusting to life in a boarding house with other soldiers and their wives. Her spoiled ways cause resentment from the other wives and problems with her husband.
With the California Gold Rush beginning, Senator Frost's singing daughter Caroline loves a young army officer; the Senator can't stand him, and has him sent to California. Headstrong Caroline follows him by train, riverboat, and covered wagon, gaining companions en route: a vagrant Russian prince and gambler Johnny Lawlor, who just might take her mind off the army.
Mary Marshall, serving a six year term for accidental manslaughter, is given a Christmas furlough from prison to visit her closest relatives, her uncle and his family in a small Midwestern town. On the train she meets Zach Morgan, a troubled army sergeant on leave for the holidays from a military hospital. Although his physical wounds have healed, he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and is subject to panic attacks. The pair are attracted to one another and in the warm atmosphere of the Christmas season friendship blossoms into romance, but Mary is reluctant to tell him of her past and that she must shortly return to prison to serve the remainder of her sentence.
Matt Braddock is a civil engineer during World War II who has new ideas for shipbuilding. Braddock tries to establish yards for building prefabricated ships on the West Coast, but he is hindered by the former superintendent of the shipyard, Joel Kennedy. A disappointed lover fails to deliver an important message on welds and it leads to the collapse of a new ship's superstructure and the death of a boy.
In this musical western, a cowboy band is offered the chance to appear in a Hollywood movie and begins the journey to the West Coast. Unfortunately, the band ends up stranded in Texas and must take a job running a ranch. Musical mayhem ensues: Songs include: "Let's Love Again," "Where the Prairie Meets the Sky," "Don't You Ever Be a Cowboy," "Texas Polka," "No Letter Today," "I Got Mellow in the Yellow of the Moon," "Sip Nip Song," "Salt-Water Cowboy," "The Blues," "Little Brown Jug" and "And Then."
A private eye and a niece investigate when six World War I veterans start dying in the same week.
Two bumbling servants are hired by a dizzy society matron to cook and serve a meal to visiting royalty.
The Falcon is called to a young woman's school to investigate a murder. When he arrives, another victim is discovered.
A young songwriter leaves his Kentucky home to try to make it in New Orleans. Eventually he winds up in New York, where he sells his songs to a music publisher, but refuses to sell his most treasured composition: "Dixie." The film is based on the life of Daniel Decatur Emmett, who wrote the classic song "Dixie."
In the small town of Crownport local attorney Bill Adams is trying to break up the ring of corrupt town officials by running for mayor. The cards seemed stacked against him when he gets help from a visiting hunter who, unknown to Adams and the rest of the town, is actually vacationing supreme court justice John Josephus Grant.
Flying Tiger Fred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron's personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days of leave. He quickly falls for photographer Joan Manion, pursuing her in the guise of a carefree drifter.
The Falcon is framed for the murder of a banker and the theft of war bonds. He makes his escape into the mountains where he hides out in a rustic lodge. From here he uncovers a phony war bond operation.
Boston pharmacist Tom Craig comes to Sacramento, where he runs afoul of local political boss Britt Dawson, who exacts protection payment from the citizenry. Dawson frames Craig with poisoned medicine, but Craig redeems himself during a Gold Rush epidemic.
Cookie is born, producing unmitigated joy in the Bumstead household. Adding to the chaos a new baby always creates is the appearance of Hans Conried as a cynical author who becomes caught up in the Bumstead lifestyle.
Sadistic killer-for-hire Raven becomes enraged when his latest job is paid off in marked bills. Vowing to track down his double-crossing boss, nightclub executive Gates, Raven sits beside Gates' lovely new employee, Ellen, on a train out of town. Although Ellen is engaged to marry the police lieutenant who's hunting down Raven, she decides to try and set the misguided hit man straight as he hides from the cops and plots his revenge.
The fifth film version of Alice Hegan Rice's 1901 novel, starring Fay Bainter as the loving but near-penniless mother struggling to raise her five children in their shantytown home.
With the help of a WAAC group, Mr. District Attorny smashes a Nazi spy-ring that is selling counterfeit War Stamps and Bonds.
In the shadows of the night Dudley Wolff, his secretary Alfred Dunning, and his doctor, Haggard, bury a body in the estate cemetery. At the house, Wolff's daughter Catherine arrives unexpectedly and tells her step-mother Anne Wolff that she has just been married to Roger Blake who will be along in a few days. Cathy retires and is awakened by a mysterious assailant who fires a shot at her, but her parents tell her she was just dreaming. Wolff goes to the cemetery and finds the body missing. The scared Cathy calls in fast-talking private detective Mike Shayne and, since her father doesn't like detectives, she introduces him as her husband. That evening Shayne hears a shot and finds that Haggard has been killed. While the police are questioning the family, the lights go out and a shot is fired from outside.
Radio star Gene Autry returns to his home town of Gold Ridge at the request of his old friend Pop Harrison, who wants Gene to straighten out his wayward son, Tex Harrison, whose gambling and drinking threaten to bankrupt the rodeo organization which he heads. News photographer Clementine "Clem" Benson and reporter Hack Hackett are ordered to follow Gene. The group finds quarters at the "Bar Nothing" dude ranch, winter quarters for Tex's rodeo group, and Tex soon tangles with Hackett in a quarrel.
A New York doctor (Macdonald Carey) saves a chorus girl (Jean Phillips) from a window ledge, twice, and rounds up racketeers.
This historical drama tells the story of the first class to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In the early 19th Century, Congress appropriated the money to build the school, but opponents who believed it to be an illegitimate expansion of the powers of the federal government decided to sabotage the school. They put the hard-as-nails Major Sam Carter in charge of the academy, and he ruthlessly put the recruits through grueling training -- until only ten prospective soldiers remained. They include Dawson, a patriotic farm boy and Howard Shelton, a selfish playboy who has come to West Point only because of its prestige. The two vie for Carolyn Bainbridge, while they, along with the other eight, try convince Carter that the school is worth keeping.
Roy Rogers takes on crooked wartime profiteers in the musical western Ridin' Down the Canyon. Posing as solid citizens, the crooks spend their evening hours stealing horses from local ranchers, then selling the steeds to the government at exorbitant prices. The head of the bad guys runs a dude ranch where Rogers and his pals (The Sons of the Pioneers) are employed.
After accidentally sinking a borrowed motorboat, teenager Henry Aldrich (Jimmy Lydon) scrambles to raise the replacement cash the boat's owner demands. The catch: Henry only has two days to come up with the funds, or the boat's angry owner will turn him over to the police. Comedy.
A gangster and his mob buy a small-town in this warm comedy. They, tired of trying to make it as big city hoods, buy the town to use as a hideout. The leader of the gang begins to have a change of heart after he begins falling for a local girl.
Young Matt Masters, an Ozark Mountains moonshiner, hates the father he has never seen, who apparently deserted Matt's mother and left her to die. His obsession contributes to the hatred rampant in the mountains. However, the arrival of a stranger, Daniel Howitt, begins to positively affect the mountain people, who learn to shed their hatred under his gentle influence
Ralph Bellamy made his fourth and final appearance as literary sleuth Ellery Queen in Columbia's Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring. On this occasion, Ellery and his police-inspector father (Charley Grapewin) are summoned to a private hospital by its owner, philanthropist Mrs. Stack (Blanche Yurka). There've been some very weird goings-on at the hospital as of late, and Mrs. Stack wants to get to the bottom of things.
After her family's mansion is burned down by Yankee soldiers for hiding the rebel leader Captain Sam Starr (Scott) Belle Shirley (Tierney) vows to take revenge. Breaking Starr out of prison, she joins his small guerrilla group for a series of raids on banks and railroads, carpetbaggers and enemy troops. Belle's bravado during the attacks earns her a reputation amongst the locals as well as the love of Starr himself. The pair get married, but their relationship starts to break down when Sam Starr lets a couple of psychotic rebels into the gang, leaving Belle to wonder if he really cares about the Southern cause.
A best-selling author of women's issues and a medical academic find it is to their mutual advantage to falsely claim that they are married.
When he has to pay a debt to a fearsome money lender, a man accepts the help of a friend who takes him to a scientist where he can sell his body, but things get worse than expected.
Wendy Ballantine's parents decide to retire from show biz so she can have a normal life. They are unwelcome in the small town until a storm lets the family show their stuff.
Inventor Thomas Edison's boyhood is chronicled and shows him as a lad whose early inventions and scientific experiments usually end up causing disastrous results. As a result, the towns folk all think Tom is crazy, and creating a strained relationship between Tom and his father. Toms only solace is his understanding mother who believes he's headed to do great things.
Country boy joins a circus in the 1840s and falls in love with the bare-back rider. Later he falls in love with another circus runaway.
Baby Dumpling, the six-year-old son of Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead disappears from sight during his first day at school. While Dagwood frantically combs the city in search of the boy, Baby Dumpling spents a nice, safe afternoon with poor little rich girl Melinda Mason, who with her new playmate's help arises from her sickbed to walk across the room for the first time in months.
Dr. Francis Flegg , a specialist in blood disease and research, has been assisted in recent months by a mysterious fellow named Marshall Quesne who is extremely pale, with a streak of white hair. Newspaperman Garrett following the disappearance of an actress, whom he claims he saw was dead, turns up alive again, making Garrett look foolish. But he slowly becomes suspicious of Quesne and Flegg.
In this sequel to Four Daughters, Ann struggles to move on after the death of her husband as she falls in love with Felix, but on the day of her engagement discovers that she carries Mickey's child.
Days of Jesse James is a 1939 American film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Roy Rogers. Bank robbery pulled off by the bank officials, not the usual James gang.
While participating in a contest at a local newspaper in which school children are asked to submit a news story, local attorney Carson Drew's daughter Nancy intercepts a real story assignment. She "covers" the inquest of the death of a woman who was poisoned. Nancy doesn't think the young woman accused of the crime is guilty and corrals her neighbor Ted into searching for a vital piece of evidence and stumbles onto the identity of the real killer.
The spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner is forced to use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty, following Maj. Gen. William Sherman's destructive "March to the Sea,” during the American Civil War.
Gangsters and police cross each other, including murder, in an attempt to cover up crimes.
Society matron Emily Kilbourne has a habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants. Her latest find is a handsome tramp who shows up at her doorstep and ends up in a chauffeur's uniform. He also catches the eye of Geraldine.
Story of three buddies at the Virginia Military Institute. Cadet Bing Edwards is secretly married and soon to be a father.
A San Francisco astrologer correctly predicts a ship passenger's death and then helps the police look for the murderer.
The Ritz Brothers pretend to be Kentucky hillbillies in order to get a booking on a radio show.
The son of a man sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit vows to become a criminal himself. He starts his own street gang, and their crime spree is financed by a mysterious young man--who turns out to be the son of the District Attorney who sent the boy's father to the electric chair.
Tom Sawyer and his pal Huckleberry Finn have great adventures on the Mississippi River, pretending to be pirates, attending their own funeral and witnessing a murder.
When the murdered body discovered by beautiful, vivacious socialite Melsa Manton disappears, police and press label her a prankster until she proves them wrong.
Bickering husband-and-wife stage stars are manipulated into a break-up for publicity purposes.
Mary Robbins is a moderately educated, beautiful, young woman who owns the saloon called "The Poker". She is the only woman in the town of Couldee - making her the fancy of all the men there, especially to Sheriff Jack Rance. On the way to Monterey to sing at a mass officiated by Father Sienna, her stagecoach is held up by the infamous masked bandit, Ramerez. He too takes a fancy to Mary, and decides to secretly follow her, taking on the identity of an officer named, Lieutenant Johnson. While in Monterey, he dances, sings and courts Mary, who has now fallen in love with him. He then has to make a quick getaway. In the mean-time, Sheriff Jack has set up a trap to catch Ramerez at "The Poker". When Ramerez does arrive he soon discovers that Mary is the owner, and quickly changes to the identity of Lieutenant Johnson. How long can this charade last?
Frantic screwball comedy about a meek personal assistant (Frank McHugh) who is promoted to managing editor of a newspaper features syndicate that is owned by and staffed with cuckoos.
When a small-town girl is diagnosed with a rare, deadly disease, an ambitious newspaper man turns her into a national heroine.
A ruthless outlaw becomes very protective of a prizefighter when he learns the young man is his own son. Western.
Social butterfly marries Park Avenue doctor and learns that his nurse is in love with him.
Mary Beamish, a folksy Ozark girl, yearns for the glitter of show business and for a man. She knows she is anything but gorgeous, but figures her enthusiasm offsets that small deficit.
An ex-con takes flight after he's framed for a jewelry store robbery and murder.
Perry and Della are finally married by his old friend, Judge Mary. They plan to go on a honeymoon, but before it can start, Perry is retained by a woman with a gun and $5000.
In the second screen version of The Maltese Falcon, a detective is caught between a lying seductress and a lady jewel thief.
The Big Noise is retired textile manufacturer Julius Trent (Guy Kibbee). Seeking a new outlet for his entrepreneurial energies, Trent buys a half interest in a thriving dry-cleaning establishment. This gets him mixed up with a gang of protection racketeers, who promise dire consequences if Trent doesn't dance to their tune.
The partners of stage-producer J. J. Hobart gamble away the money for his new show. They enlist a gold-digging chorus girl to help get it back by conning an insurance company. But they don’t count on the persistence of insurance man Rosmer Peck and his secretary Norma Perry.
City girl marries country doctor, meets prejudice and exclusion when she tries to befriend the townspeople.
After being run out of town after town for trying to sell worthless stock, two con artists breeze into the small town of Chesterville, where they find themselves accused of kidnapping a young boy to whom they offered a ride. When that misunderstanding is cleared up, the two conmen hatch a plot to unload all their worthless paper on the gullible citizens of Chesterville.
A salesman tries to sell a tractor to a customer who hates tractors while falling for the girl.
Frank Patton is the promoter of the Lucky Legs Contest. The problem is that he always skips town before paying the $1000 to the winner...
After giving the District Attorney another stinging defeat, Perry plans to take a vacation in China. That is, he was, until Rhoda, his old flame, meets him at a restaurant. It seems that her husband Moxley, who had been allegedly dead for four years, is alive and demanding money as she has married into wealth. The case escalates when the police find the body of Moxley and charge her with the murder.
An entertainer impersonates a look-alike banker, causing comic confusion for wife and girlfriend.
Dr. Socrates gave up his brilliant career as surgeon in a prominent hospital because his betrothed died under his knife. He is now a struggling doctor in a small town that has a gangster's hideout.
In this romantic comedy, an aspiring socialite heads for a vacation in Monte Carlo where she befriends a wealthy widowed duchess and then begins blackmailing her after she steals a scandalous letter.
Wagon Wheels is a 1934 remake of 1931's Fighting Caravans, using stock footage from the original and substituting a new cast headed by Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick to replace the earlier film's Gary Cooper and Lili Damita. The western movie was directed by Charles Barton from the Zane Grey novel "Fighting Caravans."
When Blondie Johnson's mother dies in poverty, Blondie vows that she will never be poor again. Convinced that virtue doesn't pay, she travels to the city and immediately begins a con with the help of taxi driver Red Charley. Later that evening, after splitting the take with Red, one of her marks, Danny Jones, spots her and invites her home with him for a talk.
A play by Nina Wilcox Putnam was the source for the empire-building drama Golden Harvest. Chester Morris stars as ambitious grain trader Chris Martin, who through fair and foul means corners the wheat market and becomes a millionaire. Outgrowing his humble farm beginnings, Chris makes a bid for respectability by marrying Chicago socialite Cynthia Flint (Genevieve Tobin).
Little Women is a coming-of-age drama tracing the lives of four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. During the American Civil War, the girls father is away serving as a minister to the troops. The family, headed by their beloved Marmee, must struggle to make ends meet, with the help of their kind and wealthy neighbor, Mr. Laurence, and his high spirited grandson Laurie.
In their farm house in a New York village, Ma Shelby prepares breakfast for her four children, Isaac, Tommy, Johnny and Susan, and then awakens them. The racket the boys make as they play and fight awakens their father, who spanks the eldest, Isaac. When a visitor chides Pa for not working, Ma sticks up for her husband, saying that he has a weak back and that he is waiting for a promised government job.
Mamie, an orphan girl who was abused in the orphanage, is taken in by Mrs. Caldwell, a kindly woman with a young son named Alexander. Mamie hits it off with the lad, and nicknames him "Zander". When Mrs. Caldwell dies, the authorities decree that the boy must be placed in the same orphanage where Mamie was mistreated. Horrified, Mamie determines to see to it that the boy will be spared the same treatment that she had to suffer.
It is 1774, the eve of the American War of Independence. Janice comes from a Tory household. She cavorts with American and British alike, is pursued by Charles Fownes, patriot and friend of General Washington.
The Black Death is ravaging Spain. As Camille Saint-Saëns's "Danse Macabre" plays on the soundtrack, a mix of animation and acted scenes tells the story of Youth and Love meeting one night. They dance, embrace, and kiss. As the night wears on, exuberant Death, a skeletal figure with a violin, pursues the couple. They try to elude him. Eventually, Love swoons. Youth is powerless to protect her. Is she doomed?
This story revolves around a young woman who loses her job and a young man who has been unable to make a success as an art photographer. A fire breaks out in the house where the woman is rooming, and she rushes to the street en dishabille, just as the man appears. Immediately he has visions of a fortune, and persuades her to pose as a wild Greek girl. He has her arrested for performing Grecian dances in the street in her scanty attire.
A middle-aged couple find their rural lives in disarray when they inherit eighty-nine million dollars.
