The introduction of sound to filmmaking had been a big draw for moviegoers in the 30’s. In fact, in 1930 alone, 110 million people went to the movies – all the while in the midst of the Great Depression (precipitated by the stock market crash of the previous year). While a staple of the studios, Westerns had little following left in the early ‘30s. The tired “horse drama” formulas were just too predictable.
But then in the mid ‘30s, Hollywood began glamorizing the American West with the emergence of A-list stars to the genre and more adult storytelling. By the late 30’s, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars were featured in Westerns; Errol Flynn with Olivia de Havilland in Dodge City (1939), (1 of 8 films they made together) and even perennial gangster tough guys, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart starred in The Oklahoma Kid (1939).
In addition to Westerns, Swashbuckler films were also a popular draw in the ‘30s; The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Captain Blood (1935), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), among many others. These films featured iconic performances by some of the biggest stars of the era.
Often cited as the greatest anti-war film ever made. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) told a graphic story of the horrors of “The Great War” entirely from the German point of view. WWI provided inspiration for a number of films of the era including; Grand Illusion (1937), The Dawn Patrol (1938), Hell's Angels (1930) – among others.
Noteworthy actors in this early genre: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
But then in the mid ‘30s, Hollywood began glamorizing the American West with the emergence of A-list stars to the genre and more adult storytelling. By the late 30’s, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars were featured in Westerns; Errol Flynn with Olivia de Havilland in Dodge City (1939), (1 of 8 films they made together) and even perennial gangster tough guys, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart starred in The Oklahoma Kid (1939).
In addition to Westerns, Swashbuckler films were also a popular draw in the ‘30s; The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Captain Blood (1935), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), among many others. These films featured iconic performances by some of the biggest stars of the era.
Often cited as the greatest anti-war film ever made. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) told a graphic story of the horrors of “The Great War” entirely from the German point of view. WWI provided inspiration for a number of films of the era including; Grand Illusion (1937), The Dawn Patrol (1938), Hell's Angels (1930) – among others.
Noteworthy actors in this early genre: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
ACTION & ADVENTURE FILMS OF THE 1930s
13 HOURS BY AIR (1936) (80 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Making a transcontinental plane flight in only thirteen hours was quite an achievement when this film was made in 1936 — but it was not impossible, as indicated by Paramount's last-minute decision to "downsize" the film's original title, Twenty Hours by Air. In anticipation of Airport 34 years later, womanizing pilot Jack Gordon (Fred MacMurray) is called upon to safely guide his plane through a blinding blizzard. His task is complicated by a trio of crooks who are escaping from the law after pulling a jewel heist, and by a shady nobleman (Fred Keating) who offers Gordon a large amount of money if he will land the plane before San Francisco. In the climax, one of the passengers hijacks the plane, only to be foiled by — of all people — an obnoxious brat of a youngster (Bennie Bartlett). Oh yes, and before this eventful flight has reached its conclusion, self-styled Lothario Jack has decided to settle down with one girl, wealthy Felice Rollins (Joan Bennett), who, during one of the many crises, is briefly pressed into service as Jack's copilot. Thirteen Hours by Air was produced with the technical assistance of United Airlines.
Starring: Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett, ZaSu Pitts, John Howard | Directed by: Mitchell Leisen
ACE OF ACES (1933) (77 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Ace of Aces was based on Bird of Prey by John Monk Saunders, an acknowledged master of aviation epics. Richard Dix stars as Rex Thorne, a pacifistic sculptor who registers as a conscientious objector when WWI breaks out. Thorne's unwillingness to fight in a war he believes to be unnecessary is misread as cowardice by his socialite sweetheart Nancy Adams (Elizabeth Allen). In "four feathers" fashion, Thorne signs up with the air corps to prove his courage. Before long, he has established a reputation as a reckless, ruthless flying ace, with little concern for anyone's safety, including his own. This fails to satisfy Nancy — now also serving her country as a Red Cross nurse — who feels that Thorne has become too bloodthirsty for his own good (What does this woman want?) The supporting cast includes radio singer Art Jarrett and James Cagney's look-alike brother Bill. Some of the aerial scenes in Ace of Aces were "borrowed" from Howard Hughes's Hell's Angels. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Richard Dix, Elizabeth Allan, Ralph Bellamy, Theodore Newton | Directed by: J. Walter Ruben
ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, THE (1938) (106 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
In order to avoid the material copyrighted by Douglas Fairbanks Sr. for his 1922 Robin Hood, the scripters of this Flynn version relied on several legendary episodes that had never before been filmed, notably the battle between Robin and Little John (Alan Hale, Sr., who played this part three times in his long career) and the "piggy-back" episode between Robin and Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette). The film ties together the various ancient anecdotes with a story line bounded by the capture in Austria of Richard the Lionhearted (Ian Hunter) on one end and Richard's triumphant return to England on the other. Robin Hood is already an outlaw at the outset of the film, while Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) is initially part of the enemy camp, as one of Prince John's (Claude Rains) entourage. Marian warms up to Robin's fight against injustice (and to Robin himself), eventually becoming a trusted ally. James Cagney was originally announced for the role of Robin Hood, just before Cagney left Warner Bros. in a salary dispute. William Keighley was the original director, but he worked too slowly to suit the tight production schedule and was replaced by Michael Curtiz (both men receive screen credit). A lengthy opening jousting sequence was shot but removed from the final print; portions of this sequence show up as stock footage in the 1957 Warners film The Story of Mankind. That white horse ridden by de Havilland in the Sherwood Forest scenes later gained screen stardom as Roy Rogers' Trigger. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains | Directed by: Michael Curtiz / William Keighley
ALLEGHENY UPRISING (1939) (81 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Films set during America's colonial era seldom did well at the box office, and Allegheny Uprising was no exception. John Wayne and Claire Trevor, stars of the recent western hit Stagecoach, are reteamed herein as 18th century adventurer James Smith and his spitfire sweetheart Janie. Taking every opportunity to defy the edicts of the King of England, Smith and his ragtag followers, "The Black Boys," undermine the despotic regime of provincial governor Captain Swanson (George Sanders). To quell Smith's uprising, Swanson arrests nearly half the colonists and holds them without trial or recourse (he doesn't sport a black mustache and shout "Seig Heil", but audiences in 1939 knew exactly who Swanson was supposed to be). In depicting the English in an unsympathetic light, RKO Radio Pictures committed a major political blunder, inasmuch as the British were then engaged in their own struggle against Nazi tyranny. Fearful that the film would offend English viewers, RKO president George J. Schaefer consulted British producer Herbert Wilcox, who suggested a number of judicious cuts and line alterations in the film. Even so, Allegheny Uprising (originally The Last Rebel, also the title of the Neil H. Swanson novel on which it was based) failed to make a dent in the box-offices on either side of the Atlantic. - Hal Erickson
Starring: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, George Sanders, Brian Donlevy | Directed by: William Seiter
ANOTHER DAWN (1937) (73 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
The title of this Errol Flynn vehicle sprang from an "inside" joke at Warner Bros. Whenever the studio depicted a marquee or poster of a fictional film in one of their productions, the film's title was inevitably Another Dawn. When time came to shoot this Flynn epic, the studio, stuck for a title, opted for Another Dawn — and had to cast about for another phony film title whenever the necessity arose. An unabashed soap opera, the film casts Flynn as Captain Denny Roark, a British army officer stationed in a remote Sahara outpost. Against his better judgement, Roark falls in love with Julia (Kay Francis), the wife of his commanding officer Colonel Wister (Ian Hunter). Wister knows what's going on, but he is too much the gentleman to interfere, just as Roark is too much the gentleman to demand that the Colonel grant Julia a divorce. Wister finally does the honorable thing by volunteering for a suicide mission, allowing Roark and Julia to continue their romance unencumbered. About the only distinguishing aspect in this dreary exercise in restraint is the lush Erich Wolfgang Korngold musical score. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Kay Francis, Errol Flynn, Ian Hunter, Frieda Inescort, Mary Forbes. | Directed by: William Dieterle
BARBARY COAST (1935) (90 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
It's the wild and woolly waterfront world of San Francisco in the late 1800s in this rambling tale of an outrageous nightclub owner (Edward G. Robinson) and his efforts at wooing lovely Mary Rutledge (Miriam Hopkins), a lovely Eastern lass left to her own devices in the rowdy port city. The innocent babe loses that innocence when she becomes a kept lady, running the roulette wheel in Robinson's nightclub. The plot matures when Mary falls in love with an honest and upright gold miner. When the lovers are discovered during a fateful tryst, they flee the evil Robinson, hoping to escape as stowaways aboard a departing ship. Robinson is magnificent in this ruffian role. This action-filled adventure is suitable for the whole family. — All Movie Guide
Starring: Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, Joel McCrea, Walter Brennan | Directed by: Howard Hawks
BARRICADE (1939) (71 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
The gathering war clouds in the late 1930s prompted a number of Hollywood films about recent political upheavals, one of which was 20th Century-Fox's Barricade. While fleeing war-torn China by train, two Americans-singer Emmy Jordan (Alice Faye) and journalist Hank Topping (Warner Baxter)-are attacked by Mongol bandits. United in danger, Faye and Baxter fall in love as they attempt to escape the American embassy where they're holed up. More than one reviewer noted that Barricade resembled a modern-dress western, with the Mongol hordes substituting for American Indians. Also noted was the fact that the film had been completed as a nine-reel "A" picture in 1938, undergoing drastic cutting and script revisions before it finally emerged in its present truncated 71-minute form.
Starring: Alice Faye, Warner Baxter, Charles Winninger, Arthur Treacher, Keye Luke, Philip Ahn | Directed by: Gregory Ratoff
BELOW THE SEA (1933) (78 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Ralph Bellamy is incongruously cast as a he-man deep sea diver in the Columbia meller Below the Sea. The plot is set in motion by former U boat commander Frederick Vogeding, who seeks out a fortune in gold and jewels which sank to the bottom of the sea during World War I. There's plenty of wet and wild action towards the end, with Bellamy battling the villains, the elements and a fake octopus to retrieve the loot and rescue the leading lady. At the time he filmed Below the Sea, Bellamy was being rushed from one picture to another at Columbia. When he took a gander at the script and discovered that it was wall-to-wall fistfighters and heavy lifting, the exhausted Bellamy insisted that he be doubled in the more strenuous scenes. Columbia president Harry Cohn agreed, on one condition: that Bellamy not tell the studio's reigning action star Jack Holt, lest Holt demand his own stunt man. From this point onward, all of Bellamy's contractual negotiations at Columbia would invariably end with Cohn screaming "And remember: DON'T TELL JACK HOLT!"
Starring: Ralph Bellamy, Fay Wray, Fredrik Vogeding, Trevor Bland | Directed by: Albert Rogell
BLOCKADE (1938) (73 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Since the United States was officially neutral in the Spanish Civil War, the struggle of the Loyalists against Franco's forces didn't find much favor in Hollywood; this drama, produced by Walter Wanger, was one of the few films to deal with the conflict, albeit in watered-down terms. Marco (Henry Fonda) is a simple farmer driven from his land by troops of invading soldiers; in an act of defiance, he makes a speech declaring the need for freedom from tyranny, and soon Marco's fellow peasants are following him as their leader. Marco becomes a member of the Loyalist forces, and his strong words and fierce beliefs allow him to rise through the ranks and become a key member of the struggle. While stationed in a city under blockade, Marco becomes acquainted with Norma (Madeleine Carroll), who serves as a spy for armies allied with Franco; her sympathies are less with his policies than for the safety of her family, who live in an occupied territory. Despite their differences, the two become close when they're trapped in a building during a bombing raid; eventually Norma finds herself swayed by Marco's impassioned call to stop the murder of the innocent people of Spain. While producer Wanger was one of the few people in Hollywood who felt strongly enough about the situation in Spain to put it on film, the resulting picture doesn't say much about the specific political issues involved in the fight against Franco, and the troops Marco and his men encounter wear uniforms designed not to resemble those of any actual countries, for fear of offending nations that sided with Franco. Despite this, Blockade was deemed a strong enough leftist tract to be used against screenwriter John Howard Lawson when he was blacklisted in the 1950s. — Mark Deming
Starring: Madeleine Carroll, Henry Fonda, Leo Carrillo, John Halliday | Directed by: William Dieterle
BOWERY, THE (1933) (92 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
In this rough-and-tumble action comedy, Chuck Connors (Wallace Beery) and Steve Brodie (George Raft) are friendly rivals on New York's Bowery in the 1890s. Connors owns a fancy tavern and looks after a streetwise kid named Swipes McGurk (Jackie Cooper), while Brodie is a daredevil willing to do nearly anything to get the better of Connors. When both men fall in love with Lucy Calhoun (Fay Wray), who has fallen on hard times, Brodie takes her under his wing and helps get her back on her feet. Connors is furious that his rival has won her heart, so he goads Brodie into doing something spectacular to prove his love for her — jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, for example. Reckless but not stupid, Brodie has no intention of making the jump and plans to use a dummy instead, but when Connors and his henchmen show up to make sure that Brodie doesn't back down, the dare is turned into a wager, and Brodie emerges the new owner of Connors' bar after successfully making the jump. In real life, George Raft and Wallace Beery were not nearly so friendly as their characters: Raft persuaded director Raoul Walsh to hire a number of his underworld cronies as extras, which irritated Beery no end. When the two actors had a fight scene, Beery refused to hold back, and the staged fistfight quickly turned into a for-real battle royale.
Starring: Wallace Beery, George Raft, Jackie Cooper, Fay Wray | Directed by: Raoul Walsh
CALL OF THE WILD, THE (1935) (81 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
The third screen version of Jack London's classic adventure story was also the first with sound, and it toyed with the original story a bit to add a love interest for leading man Clark Gable. Jack Thornton (Gable) is a would-be prospector who has headed to Alaska hoping to cash in on the gold rush. However, he loses most of his stake in a poker game and instead ends up buying a Saint Bernard named Buck. He's able to pick up Buck for a song because he's too ill-tempered to pull a sled; Smith (Reginald Owen), Buck's former owner, treated him with cruelty and the dog mangled Smith's hand in retaliation. Jack loves the dog, though, and treats him with care and kindness. Buck bonds with Jack and soon becomes a loyal companion and a good sled dog. Angry and astounded, Smith bets Jack that Buck can't pull a half-ton sled 100 yards; while the old Buck would never have done it, with Jack's urging the dog manages the feat and Jack now has the funds to set out with his friend Shorty (Jack Oakie) to stake their claim. While searching for gold, Jack and Shorty discover Claire Blake (Loretta Young), the wife of a miner who abandoned her to look for a fresh vein of gold. A warmth grows between Claire and Jack in the frozen North, but Jack is forced to help her husband when he runs afoul of thieves trying to steal his claim. Six more films based on The Call of the Wild would follow this to the screen. — Mark Deming
Starring: Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Jack Oakie, Frank Conroy | Directed by: William Wellman
CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935) (120 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Captain Blood is typical of the better-grade Warner Bros. efforts of the mid-1930s, combining first-rate production values with heavy-duty star power. Directed by Michael Curtiz with his usual economical style and talent for staging complex sequences, the film is among the best of the adventure films of its era, if at times too talkative for a film with only formulaic things to say. The United States was still suffering from the Great Depression in 1935, and films like Captain Blood provided audiences with inexpensive relief from the struggles of the era: the hero is handsome, the beautiful maiden is appealing, good triumphs over evil, and there's a happy ending, all to the stirring music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. — Richard Gilliam
Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill, J. Carrol Naish | Directed by: Michael Curtiz
CAUGHT (1931) (62 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
In the wake of such cinematic Calamity Janes as Jean Arthur and Doris Day, it comes as a shock to find a film in which the famed frontierswoman is played by someone who actually looks the part. Matronly, granite-visaged Louise Dresser stars as Calamity in Caught, an early-talkie psychological western. According to this film, Calamity is a cattle rustler, wanted by the US cavalry. Halfway through this movie the plotline turns into a sagebrush Madame X The young trooper (Richard Arlen) sent to track down Calamity is the woman's long-lost son! It took four writers to cook up this heady brew of motherly love and blazing six-shooters.
Starring: Tom Kennedy, Martin Burton, Richard Arlen, Louise Dresser | Directed by: Edward H. Sloman
CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, THE (1936) (116 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Thundering action based on Tennyson's poem, with immortal charge into the valley of death by British 27th Lancers cavalry. Lavish production values accent romantic tale of Flynn and de Havilland at army post in India. Max Steiner's first musical score for Warner Brothers is superb. Balaklava Heights charge directed by action specialist B. Reeves Eason.
Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, J. Carrol Naish | Directed by: Michael Curtiz
CHINA SEAS (1935) (89 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
China Seas proved that the recently imposed Hollywood production code had little if any effect on the popularity of MGM sex symbols Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. Gable plays the captain of a tramp steamer chugging between Singapore and Hong Kong. Harlow is Gable's ex-main squeeze, a "woman of the world" who books passage on the steamer at the same time that another of Gable's former loves, aristocratic Rosalind Russell, shows up. Wallace Beery plays Gable's supposedly lovable first mate, who is actually in league with a gang of pirates who plan to steal the gold shipment being carried in the hold of the steamer. Harlow tumbles to Beery's secret, but is unable to convince Gable, who is sore at Harlow for mean-mouthing Russell. Out of pique, Harlow casts her lot with the crooked Beery, but when the pirates attack the steamer, she returns to Gable's side. A subplot involves the regeneration of ship's mate Lewis Stone, who has been cashiered out of the navy for cowardice and who redeems himself during the final battle. Based on a novel by Crosbie Garstin, China Seas is a programmer at heart, but is decked out with full A-picture trappings by MGM producer Irving Thalberg. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Rosalind Russell | Directed by: Tay Garnett
DANGER PATROL (1937) (59 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Set amidst the tense and suspenseful world of men who transport large amounts of nitroglycerin, used to put out fires in oil fields, this drama centers on the conflict between a young med student, who has become a nitro handler to help pay his way through school, and the old trucker who hauls the deadly chemical on site. The trucker resents the young man's attentions toward his daughter because he feels that there can be no security with a man who could accidentally blow himself up at any moment.
Starring: Sally Eilers, John Beal, Harry Carey, Frank M. Thomas, Lee Patrick | Directed by: Lew Landers
DAWN PATROL, THE (1938) (103 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
This 1938 remake of Howard Hawks' 1930 film The Dawn Patrol is faithful to the original's basic plotline. The story is set during World War I; the scene is the French headquarters of the British Royal Flying Corps, 59th division. The corps is suffering heavy losses, a fact that ace pilot Courtney (Errol Flynn) ascribes to the supposed ruthlessness of squadron commander Brand (Basil Rathbone). What the audience knows that Courtney doesn't is that Brand is distraught at losing his men, but is forced by his own superiors to push the pilots beyond their limits. After being accused day after day of being a butcher, Brand takes grim delight in turning over his command to Courtney. Soon Courtney finds himself enduring the "butcher" tag, especially after the younger brother of his best friend Scott (David Niven) is killed. To redeem himself, Courtney gets Scott drunk and takes his place in a suicidal bombing mission. Courtney is killed, Scott assumes command, and the cycle begins again. The extensive use of combat scenes from the original Dawn Patrol has led some viewers to assume that the 1930 version is the superior of the two. In fact, the remake is far better than the original on several counts, not least of which was the star power of Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in their third screen teaming. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, David Niven, Donald Crisp | Directed by: Edmund Goulding
DER KAISER VON KALIFORNIEN (1936) (95 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
The story of Johann August Sutter, the Swiss printer who came to California, and it was on his land that gold was discovered and that set off the California Gold Rush of 1848.
Starring: Luis Trenker, Viktoria Von Ballasko, Elise Aulinger, Bernhard Minetti | Directed by: Luis Trenker
DEVIL DOGS OF THE AIR (1935) (85 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Warner Bros.' Devil Dogs of the Air is very much a "formula" picture — but what a wonderful formula it is! James Cagney plays reckless stunt flyer Tommy O'Toole, who is encouraged to join the Marine Flying Corps by his old Brooklyn buddy Lt. William Brannigan (Pat O'Brien). An undeniably talented flyboy, Tommy is also brash, obnoxious and pugnacious, quickly earning the enmity of his fellow trainees. He even falls out with Brannigan over the affections of pretty waitress Betty Roberts (Margaret Lindsay). Very nearly "washing out" of the service, Tommy is eventually brought into line by the combined efforts of Brannigan, Betty, and the rest of the "devil dogs." After earning oodles of money for Warners during its first release, Devil Dogs of the Air proved equally as successful when it was reissued six years later, just before America's entry into WW II. — Hal Erickson
Starring: James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, Frank McHugh | Directed by: Lloyd Bacon
DODGE CITY (1939) (105 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
This landmark western — which, along with Stagecoach, has often been credited with revitalizing what had become a stagnant genre — stars Errol Flynn as Wade Hatton, a cattle man who arrives in the frontier community of Dodge City, which is overrun by footloose cowboys and outlaws. When Hatton helps Dodge City lawmen capture a gang of cattle rustlers led by Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot), he's asked to help guide a wagon train into town with his friends Rusty Hart (Alan Hale, Sr.) and Tex Baird (Guinn Williams). En route, an impulsive young cowpoke named Lee Irving (William Lundigan) needlessly fires off his pistol, sparking a cattle stampede that leads to his death. When Hatton and his men arrive in Dodge, they discover Surrett is once again at large, and his gang has taken over the city. Appointed the city's new sheriff, Hatton is determined to clean up the town and put the outlaws out of business. In his rare moments off duty, Hatton tries to win the affections of Abbie Irving (Olivia de Havilland), but she believes that Hatton is responsible for the death of her brother Lee; Hatton's habit of flirting with dance hall girl Ruby Gilman (Ann Sheridan) does nothing to improve her opinion of him. A solid box office hit, Dodge City was the first of a series of westerns for swashbuckling star Flynn; his next oater, Virginia City, followed in 1940. — Mark Deming
Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Frank McHugh | Directed by: Michael Curtiz
ESCAPE FROM DEVIL'S ISLAND (1935) (64 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Escape from Devil's Island delivers exactly was the title promises...almost. Victor Jory and Norman Foster play two desperate Devil's Island inmates, bitter enemies who pool their resources and work out an escape plan. They bribe those who can be bribed, befriend those willing to be befriended, and strong arm potential "stoolies" into silence. At last, Jory and Foster make good their breakout, but their mutual hatred bubbles to the surface and ruins their clean getaway. In typical Hollywood fashion, the essentially all-male Escape From Devil's Island manages to squeeze in a female romantic interest in the form of Florence Rice.
Starring: Victor Jory, Florence Rice, Norman Foster, Stanley Andrews | Directed by: Albert Rogell
EVERYTHING IS THUNDER (1936) (76 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
A stellar Hollywood cast gives an extra boost to the atmospheric British feature Everything is Thunder. The story involves a Canadian POW being hidden by a German citizen during World War I. The surprise herein is that the German is Constance Bennett, one hundred percent sympathetic and (eventually) apolitical. Douglass Montgomery is the prisoner, first discovered in Connie's bathroom while the police scramble through her apartment building. Despite the possibility of being liquidated as a traitor, Ms. Bennett, who has a remarkable propensity for disguise, helps the likeable Montgomery reach the allied lines. The pro-German sentiments in Everything is Thunder (and in the Jocelyn L. Hardy book on which it was based) were not all that uncommon in 1936 Britain; funny, though, how this film disappeared from circulation in 1939.
Starring: Constance Bennett, Douglass Montgomery, Oscar Homolka, Roy Emerton | Directed by: Milton Rosmer
FAREWELL TO ARMS, A (1932) (89 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
This first film version of Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms stars Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. Cooper plays Lt. Frederick Henry, a World War I officer who falls in love with English Red Cross nurse Catherine Barkley (Hayes)-after first mistaking her for a woman of ill repute. Henry's friend, Major Rinaldi, is envious of the romance, and pulls strings to have Catherine transferred to Milan. When Henry is wounded in battle, he ends up in the very hospital where Catherine works. They resume the affair, which reaches an ecstatic peak just before Henry is returned to the front. The now-pregnant Catherine remains in Switzerland, sending letters by the bushelfull to Henry. But the jealous Rinaldi sees to it that Henry never receives those letters, leading Catherine to conclude sorrowfully that Henry has forgotten her. As the Armistice approaches, Henry makes his way to Switzerland, hoping to find Catherine. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes, Adolphe Menjou, Mary Philips | Directed by: Frank Borzage
FIVE CAME BACK (1939) (75 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Often cited as a "model" B picture, Five Came Back is set in motion when the twelve-seat passenger plane "Southern Star" crashes into a treacherous South American jungle. With a hostile tribe of headhunters drawing ever closer, pilots Bill (Chester Morris) and Joe (Kent Taylor) race against time to repair the crippled plane and rescue themselves and the nine other survivors. It soon becomes tragically apparent that the damaged aircraft will be able to carry only five of the marooned party. It now comes down to a question of who will survive, or who deserves to: Spineless socialite Judson Ellis (Patric Knowles), his embittered wife Alice (Wendy Barrie), elderly scientist Spengler (C. Aubrey Smith), Spengler's devoted spouse Martha (Elizabeth Risdon), trollop Peggy (Lucille Ball), condemned anarchist Vasquez (Joseph Calleia), Vasquez' detective-captor Crimp (John Carradine), likeable mob henchman Pete (Allen Jenkins), or gangster's son Tommy (Casey Johnson)? Suffice to say that the ending is determined by random acts of courage, cowardice, and unexpected self-sacrifice. Scripted by Nathaniel West and Dalton Trumbo and brilliantly directed by John Farrow, Five Came Back was a major critical and financial success for the beleagured RKO. Director Farrow remade the film in 1956 as Back From Eternity. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, Wendy Barrie, John Carradine | Directed by: John Farrow
FRISCO KID (1935) (77 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Clearly inspired by the success of Goldwyn's Barbary Coast, Warner Bros.' The Frisco Kid stars James Cagney as turn-of-the-century opportunist Bat Morgan. Heading to the gold fields of California, Bat is almost shanghaied in San Francisco but manages not only to escape his would-be captors but also to kill the infamous crime lord Shanghai Duck (Fred Kohler Sr.). The grateful citizens enable Bat to rise to wealth and power on the Barbary Coast. But he's less lucky in love, and it is his seemingly hopeless fascination with Nob Hill debutante Jean Barrat (Margaret Lindsay) that may well bring about Bat's downfall. The film is a festival of cliches, occasionally enlivened by barroom brawls and rowdy musical numbers. Featured as extras in Frisco Kid were several stars and directors of the silent era, a "generous" gesture made by Warner Bros. partly to stave off the inevitability of unionized actors.
Starring: James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ricardo Cortez, Donald Woods | Directed by: Lloyd Bacon
FRONTIER MARSHALL (1939) (71 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
The second of three films based on the Wyatt Earp biography by Stuart N. Lake, Frontier Marshal stars Randolph Scott as Marshal Earp of Tombstone. Earp and his brothers enforce the law as much by reputation as by gunplay. Occasionally the Marshal's efforts are complicated by his "friendly enemy" Doc Halliday (based on Doc Holliday) and played by Cesar Romero, a consumptive gunslinger who runs the gambling activities in town. When a murderous outlaw (Joe Sawyer) invades Tombstone and kills Halliday, Earp is moved to action—and the result is the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. A remake of the 1934 film of the same name,was itself remade by John Ford as My Darling Clementine, with Henry Fonda as Earp and Victor Mature as Doc Holliday. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Randolph Scott, Nancy Kelly, Cesar Romero, John Carradine | Directed by: Allan Dwan
GERONIMO (1939) (89 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
The late cinema historian William K. Everson once wrote an article titled "Movies Out of Thin Air", referring to films that were comprised almost exclusively of stock footage from earlier productions. A prime example of this sort of patchwork entertainment is the 1939 Paramount production Geronimo, which though advertised and distributed as an "A" picture was largely and economically cobbled together from existing film vignettes. Essentially a western remake of Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), the film concentrates on the rocky relationship between crusty Cavalry general Steele (Ralph Morgan) and his shavetail lieutenant son (Richard Cromwell). The boy is taken under the wing of kindly Captain Starrett (Preston Foster), who is also occupied with bringing renegade Indian warrior Geronimo (played by Native American actor Chief Thundercloud, unbilled despite his title-character status) to justice. The fly in the ointment is treacherous gunrunner Gillespie (delightfully played as a snivelling coward by Gene Lockhart) who for a price agrees to help Geronimo decimate the local white population. Nominal heroine Ellen Drew has one of the least demanding assignments in movie history, spending two-thirds of the film in a coma after being injured in a stagecoach accident! Among the previous Paramount epics represented in Geronimo via stock footage are Frank Lloyd's Wells Fargo and Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman.
Starring: Preston S. Foster, Ellen Drew, Andy Devine, Gene Lockhart | Directed by: Paul H. Sloan
GRAND ILLUSION (1937) (113 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Frequently cited as both one of the greatest films about war and one of the greatest films ever made, Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion is an often witty, sometimes poignant, frequently moving examination of the futility of war. During World War I, three French airmen are shot down while taking surveillance photographs in German territory: Capt. de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay), a wealthy and aristocratic officer; Lt. Maréchal (Jean Gabin), a burly but intelligent working-class mechanic; and Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio), a prosperous Jewish banker. The three are brought to a P.O.W. camp, where the commander, Von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim), takes an immediate liking to de Boeldieu. They are members of the same social class and believe that the political and intellectual ideals of the Europe they once knew will soon be a thing of the past with the rise to power of the proletariat. The three Frenchmen discover that their fellow prisoners have been digging an escape tunnel, and all of them agree to help — Maréchal and Rosenthal with enthusiasm, de Boeldieu out of a sense of duty. As he puts it, when on a golf course, one plays golf, and while in a prison camp, one tries to escape — it's the accepted thing to do. As Von Rauffenstein and de Boeldieu become friends, and the rank-and-file soldiers banter as much with the German guards as with each other, the characters seem involved less in a war than in some vast, petty game, albeit one with deadly consequences; they often talk about women and food, while never mentioning political ideology. — Mark Deming
Starring: Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich Von Stroheim, Marcel Dalio | Directed by: Jean Renoir
GUNGA DIN (1939) (117 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Though Rudyard Kipling's poem Gunga Din makes a swell recital piece, it cannot be said to have much of a plot. It's simply a crude cockney soldier's tribute to a native Indian water boy who remains at his job even after being mortally wounded. Hardly the sort of material upon which to build 118 minutes' worth of screen time-at least, it wasn't until RKO producer Pandro S. Berman decided to convert Gunga Din into an A-budgeted feature film. Now it became the tale of three eternally brawling British sergeants stationed in colonial India: Cutter (Cary Grant), McChesney (Victor McLaglen) and Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Ballantine intends to break up the threesome by marrying lovely Emmy Stebbins (Joan Fontaine), while Cutter and McChesney begin hatching diabolical schemes to keep Ballantine in the army (if this plot element sounds a lot like something from the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play The Front Page, bear in mind that Hecht and McArthur shared writing credit on Gunga Din with Joel Sayre and Fred Guiol; also contributing to the screenplay, uncredited, was William Faulkner). All three sergeants are kept occupied with a native revolt fomented by the Thuggees, a fanatical religious cult headed by a Napoleonic Guru (Eduardo Ciannelli). Unexpectedly coming to the rescue of our three heroes-not to mention every white man, woman and child in the region-is humble water carrier Gunga Din (Sam Jaffe), who aspires to become the regimental trumpeter. Originally slated to be directed by Howard Hawks, Gunga Din was taken out of Hawks' hands when the director proved to be too slow during the filming of Bringing Up Baby. His replacement was George Stevens, who proved to be slower and more exacting than Hawks had ever been! — Hal Erickson
Starring: Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Fontaine, Victor McLaglen, Sam Jaffe | Directed by: George Stevens
HELL BELOW (1933) (101 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Hell Below transcends its hackneyed World War I plot to emerge as a drama of rare originality and gutsiness. Walter Huston stars as a submarine commander whose lieutenant (Robert Montgomery) falls in love with Huston's daughter (Madge Evans). All cliches (including the intrusive comedy relief of Jimmy Durante) are forgiven and forgotten once the sub is launched on a dangerous mission in the Adriatic. Commander Huston is forced to make several cold-blooded decisions to preserve the safety of his crew members. In one scene, seaman Sterling Holloway is trapped in a room full of poison gas. Huston orders the men not to rescue Holloway, lest they too be exposed to the deadly fumes. As the men grimly try to go about their routine tasks, the dying Holloway presses his face against the glassed-in porthole and piteously begs for help! This brief moment in Hell Below sticks in the mind far longer than Robert Montgomery's own death scene, in which he redeems his reckless behavior during a crucial battle. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston, Madge Evans, Jimmy Durante | Directed by: Jack Conway
HELL'S ANGELS (1930) (129 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
No one was surprised in 1929 that aviation mogul Howard R. Hughes would produce a paean to World War I flying aces like Hell's Angels. Given Hughes' comparative inexperience as a moviemaker, however, everyone was taken slightly aback that the finished film was as good as it was. The very American Ben Lyon and James Hall play a couple of British brothers who drop out of Oxford to join the British Royal Flying Corps. Several early scenes establish Lyon and Hall as unregenerate lotharios, setting up their romantic rivalry over two-timing socialite Jean Harlow. While flying a dangerous bombing mission over Germany, the brothers are shot down. The commandant (Lucien Prival), who'd earlier been cuckolded by one of the brothers, savors his opportunity for revenge. He offers the boys their freedom if they'll reveal the time of the next British attack; if they don't cooperate, they face unspeakable consequences. Lyon, driven mad by his combat experiences, is about to tell all when he is shot and killed by Hall. The latter is himself condemned to a firing squad by the disgruntled commandant—who, it is implied, will soon meet his own doom at the hands of the British bombers. Nobody really cares about this hoary old plot, however: Hell's Angels strong suit lays in its crackerjack aerial sequences. The highlight is a Zeppelin raid over London, one of the most hauntingly effective sequences ever put on film. From the first ghost-like appearance of the Zeppelin breaking through the clouds, to the self-sacrificing behavior of the German crew members as they jump to their deaths rather than provide "excess weight", this is a scene that lingers in the memory far longer than all that good-of-the-service nonsense in the finale. Also worth noting is the starmaking appearance of Jean Harlow. When Hell's Angels was begun as a silent film, Norwegian actress Greta Nissen played the female lead. During the switchover to sound, producer Hughes decided that her accent was at odds with her characterization, so he reshot her scenes with his latest discovery, Harlow. While she appears awkward in some of her scenes, there's no clumsiness whatsoever in her delivery of the classic line about slipping into "something more comfortable". Originally, Marshall Neilan was signed to direct the film, but became so rattled by Howard Hughes' interference that he handed the reins to Hughes himself, who was in turn given an uncredited assist by Luther Reed. Also ignored in the film's credits are the dialogue contributions by future Frankenstein director James Whale, who'd been hired as the film's English-dialect coach. Modern audiences expecting a musty museum piece are generally surprised by Hell's Angels's high entertainment content: they are also startled by the pre-code frankness of the dialogue, with phrases like "The hell with you" bandied about with reckless abandon. In recent years, archivists have restored the film's two-color Technicolor sequence, providing us with our only color glimpses of the radiant Jean Harlow. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow | Directed by: Howard R. Hughes, Marshall Neilan, Luther Reed, James Whale
HERE COMES THE NAVY (1934) (86 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Actually this film should have been titled "Here Comes Jimmy Cagney Again, so Duck!". James Cagney is a bantam-cock sailor who runs up against chief petty officer Pat O'Brien. Seems that Cagney and O'Brien had come to blows early in the film when O'Brien stole Cagney's date at a dance hall. O'Brien resents both Cagney and Cagney's attentions towards O'Brien's sister (Gloria Stuart). The animosity intensifies when O'Brien court-martials Cagney for going AWOL. But all passions are spent when Cagney heroically rescues his shipmates from a raging fire. Here Comes the Navy proved to Jimmy Cagney's fans that he could still deliver the goods even with the tighter movie censorship imposed in 1934. — Hal Erickson
Starring: James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Gloria Stuart, Frank McHugh | Directed by: Lloyd Bacon
I WAS A SPY (1934) (83 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
This story of espionage in World War I is based on a true story. Marthe McKenna (Madeleine Carroll) is a nurse from Belgium who uses her beauty and charm to serve her native land during the war. McKenna is able to ferret out secret information from German officers and pass it along to Allied intelligence officers with the help of fellow spy Stephan (Herbert Marshall). When the evil Commandant Oberaertz (Conrad Veidt) discovers what McKenna has been doing, she's sentenced to be executed, and Stephan must step in to save her. I Was a Spy was the first American sound feature for German actor Conrad Veidt, who electrified audiences with his performance in the silent classic Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari; Veidt left his homeland when the Nazis began their rise to power, though ironically he was to play a number of Nazi villains during his stay in Hollywood. — Mark Deming
Starring: Madeleine Carroll, Conrad Veidt, Edmund Gwenn, Herbert Marshall | Directed by: Victor Saville
IF I WERE KING (1938) (101 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
rousing, thoroughly enjoyable adventure film, If I Were King plays fast and loose with historical fact and truth, but it's so entertaining that few people are likely to care. The basic premise — that Louis XI would appoint a rag-tag poet as king for a week — is pure fiction, but it's the kind of high concept that, when it works, pays off with big dividend, and it certainly works here. Credit for this must be spread around, starting with Preston Sturges and Brandon Fleming's delightful, quick-witted screenplay. Sparkling dialogue flows like French champagne, especially when Ronald Colman and Basil Rathbone have the chance to tear up the screen together, and the script contains plenty of action and drama, as well as ample opportunity for opulence. Director Frank Lloyd takes shrewd advantage of all these elements, never letting the opulence outweigh dramatic necessity, and balancing the humor with moments of genuine emotion. The cast is also first-rate, with top honors going to Colman and Rathbone. Colman is the anchor that holds the film together, and he delivers a captivating, immensely appealing performance that is invaluable. Yet Rathbone, almost unrecognizable beneath a heavy makeup job, still manages to upstage the star, creating one of the most delightfully evil villains the screen has ever known. King is a marvelous film, swashbuckling adventure at its best. — Craig Butler
Starring: Ronald Colman, Frances Dee, Basil Rathbone, Ellen Drew, Sidney Toler. | Directed by: Frank Lloyd
IN THE WAKE OF THE BOUNTY (1933) (70 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Errol Flynn made his screen debut in this Australian feature which blends drama with documentary as it explores the infamous story of the H.M.S. Bounty. Staged sequences re-enact the final voyage of the Bounty as angry sailors, led by Fletcher Christian (Flynn), rise up against brutal Captain Bligh (Mayne Lynton), expelling the captain from the ship and eventually settling on Pitcairn Island, near Tahiti. In addition, documentary footage visits Pitcairn Island in 1933, offering a look at the place where Christian and his men took shelter and visiting with several islanders who are descendants of the Bounty's crew members.
Starring: Errol Flynn, Mayne Lynton, Victor Gouriet, John Warwick | Directed by: Charles Chauvel
ISLE OF FURY (1936) (60 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Based on the W. Somerset Maugham novel The Narrow Corner, the melodramatic adventure Isle of Fury is one of Humphrey Bogart's early starring roles. Valentine "Val" Stevens (Bogart), a reformed criminal who makes a living by diving for pearls in the south seas, gets married to Lucille Gordon (Margaret Lindsay). Meanwhile, Detective Eric Blake (Donald Woods) is sent to bust Val, but he gets shipwrecked in a terrible storm at sea. Val saves his life and rescues the ship's captain Paul Graetz. Eric falls in love with Lucille and makes friends with Val through the course of several sea tragedies before he realizes that he is supposed to arrest him. He then has to make a painful decision regarding his assignment and his sweetheart. E.E. Clive stars as Dr. Hardy, a doctor who offers frequent bible quotes and literary parables.
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Woods, Paul Graetz, E.E. Clive | Directed by: Frank McDonald
JAMAICA INN (1939) (98 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Alfred Hitchcock directed this disappointing misfire, memorable solely for the fact is that it is the final film from Hitchcock's early British period before he left for the Hollywood studio system and David O. Selznick. In the England of the 1800s, a group of ruthless smugglers, led by Sir Humphrey Pengallon (Charles Laughton), prey on ships by blacking out warning signals. When the ships crash on the rocks, the nefarious group loots the remains and kills the sailors. The plot kicks in when the beautiful orphan Mary Yelland (Maureen O'Hara) goes to visit her uncle Joss Merlyn (Leslie Banks) at a creepy hotel called the Jamaica Inn, the home of the gang of smugglers. Mary doesn't realize that Uncle Joss is one of them. Meanwhile, Lloyd's of London sends one of their ablest men, Jem Trahearne (Robert Newton), to investigate the recurring shipwrecks. Jem checks in to the Jamaica Inn, and when the coven of smugglers find out who he is, they capture him and attempt to kill him. But Mary comes to his rescue and saves him. Through the inn the smugglers try to re-capture Jem — along with Mary. Thrown together by dire circumstances, the two fall in love. Meanwhile, all the shenanigans occurring at the Jamaica Inn appear to be driving Pengallon insane. — Paul Brenner
Starring: Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Hay Petrie, Emlyn Williams | Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
JUNGLE PRINCESS (1936) (85 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
In this adventure, a young girl is stranded in the jungle with only a tiger cub for company and grows up to be a wild woman. When an explorer gets lost in the same jungle, she rescues him and takes her to her lair. There he teaches her to speak English and to sing a song. Months pass before the fellow is rescued. Upon his return home he must do plenty of explaining to his fiance. Meanwhile the jungle girl stays behind and sings a romantic song: "Moonlight and Shadows".
Starring: Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, Akim Tamiroff, Lynne Overman | Directed by: William Thiele
LANCER SPY (1937) (84 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Set during World War I, Lancer Spy stars a young George Sanders as Michael Bruce, an officer in the British Navy who bears an uncanny resemblance to the recently-captured Baron Kurt von Rohbach (also Sanders). Rohbach is highly connected in the German aristocracy, and his capture has been kept quite secret. This allows Bruce to be drafted into service to impersonate the German officer, infiltrate the enemy at the top level, and send back information that can turn the tide in the war. Bruce does a remarkable job and fools just about everyone; only the head of the secret police Major Gruning (Peter Lorre) has his doubts, but he can hardly accuse someone of the Baron's standing on nothing more than suspicions. He therefore engages a comely nightclub singer Dolores Daria Sunnell (Dolores Del Rio) to seduce Bruce and find out if his suspicions are sound or baseless. Unfortunately for Gruning, the singer finds her heart genuinely stolen by the imposter. She discovers the truth, but refuses to out him. Meanwhile, Gruning has laid his hands on some evidence of his own, and he moves to capture Bruce. Having accomplished his mission, Bruce flees to Switzerland. Gruning captures Dolores instead and puts her to death for her betrayal. — Craig Butler
Starring: Dolores Del Rio, George Sanders, Peter Lorre, Virginia Field | Directed by: Gregory Ratoff
LAST OUTPOST, THE (1935) (70 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Advertised by Paramount as "Another Lives of the Bengal Lancers," The Last Outpost actually has more in common with two RKO releases, Friends and Lovers and The Lost Patrol. The story takes place during the Kurdistan campaign in WW I. Left to die in the desert, British officer Michael Andrews (Cary Grant) is rescued by intelligence agent John Stevenson (Claude Rains). While recuperating in the base hospital, Andrews falls in love with his nurse Rosemary (Gertrude Michael) — who happens to be Stevenson's wife! This romantic entanglement is taken care of only after a climatic battle at a remote outpost in the Sudan, with Andrews and a skeleton crew desperately fending off hostile Kurdish tribesmen while awaiting reinforcements.
Starring: Cary Grant, Claude Rains, Gertrude Michael, Kathleen Burke | Directed by: Cavalry Charge
LAW AND ORDER (1932) (72 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
An early screen version of the oft-filmed tale of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Law and Order was adapted by young screenwriter John Huston from W. R. Burnett's novel, which alters the names of the principals but few of the facts. The film opens with a montage of the settling of the West, concluding with the observation that lawless behavior soon followed in many settlements. Walter Huston plays Frame Johnson, a steely-eyed gambler whose three companions, Brant, Luther (Frame's brother), and Deadwood, form a team of sorts, wandering from town to town in search of a good poker game. Johnson's reputation as "the man that cleaned up Kansas, the killingest peace officer that ever lived" precedes him when he arrives in Tombstone, a town controlled by the Northrup brothers and their crooked sheriff, Fin Elder. A committee of lawful citizens, led by a judge, try to hire Johnson to clean up the town, but he's reluctant to pin on the badge again. Inevitably, he does, and there's a showdown that leaves a corral full of corpses.
Starring: Walter Huston, Harry Carey, Raymond Hatton, Russell Simpson | Directed by: Edward L. Cahn
LION MAN, THE (1936) (60 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Lad and the Lion, which had been filmed previously in 1917, this ersatz-Tarzan melodrama shifts the scene from Darkest Africa to the Arabian Desert. The treacherous Sheik Youssef Ab-Dur (Ted Adams) kills an entire expedition and among the slain is Sir Ronald Chatham (Eric Snowden). Unbeknownst to the sheik, Sir Ronald's young son (Bobby Fairy) is saved from the attack by Sherrifa (Finis Barton) and given to a kindhearted desert mystic, Hassan El Dinh (Richard Carlyle). A young adult and now known far and wide as El L'ion, young Chatham (Jon Hall) goes in search of the villain who killed his father, falling in love along the way with the beautiful Eulilah (Kathleen Burke). The Lion Man was produced by Arthur Alexander for Normandy Pictures, a Poverty Row company otherwise engaged in producing cheap Westerns.
Starring: Richard Carlyle, Jon Hall, Eric Snowden, Ted Adams | Directed by: J.P. McCarthy
LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1935) (109 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Gary Cooper stars in this rousing adventure saga of three British officers of the 41st Regiment of Bengal Lancers of India. The story begins as Lt. McGregor (Gary Cooper) accepts two new officers to his company — the brash Lt. Fortesque (Franchot Tone) and Lt. Stone (Richard Cromwell), the son of the garrison's commander, Col. Stone (Guy Standing). In an effort not to show favoritism, Stone's father barely acknowledges his son during a parade of the new officers. Lt. Stone resents this treatment by his father and becomes embittered at both his dad and the British army. McGregor is ordered to search for a British spy, Lt. Barrett (Colin Tapley), who has infiltrated the army of crazed chieftain Mohammed Khan (Douglas Dumbrille). The three officers find Barrett, who tells them Khan is planning an uprising against the British, utilizing the mountain tribes for a massive assault. Lt. Stone finds himself captured by the rebels and is taken to Mohammed Khan's mountain fortress to be tortured. Stone's father refuses to send in the lancers to save his son, reasoning that his son was captured to lure the British forces to their doom. Disguising themselves as Indian peddlers, McGregror and Fortesque go off to rescue Stone. But they are soon discovered and taken to Mohammed Khan's lair to be tortured, with Khan telling McGregor, "We have ways of making men talk." Mohammed wants the soldiers to tell him where a shipment of ammunition will be delivered. McGregor and Fortesque withstand the torture without divulging the location, but Lt. Stone cracks and tells Khan what he wants to know. The three officers see the ammunition delivered to Khan's fortress, but then they hear Col. Stone and 300 lancers have arrived outside of Khan's gates. — Paul Brenner
Starring: Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone, Richard Cromwell, Guy Standing, J. Carrol Naish | Directed by: Henry Hathaway
LOST PATROL, THE (1934) (75 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Previously filmed in 1929, Philip MacDonald's novel Patrol was lensed by director John Ford as The Lost Patrol in 1934. Sergeant Victor McLaglen is in charge of a World War I-era British cavalry regiment, stranded somewhere in the Mesopotamian desert. McLaglen hasn't asked for the responsibility: the commanding officer has been killed by an Arab sniper, leaving McLaglen to take over. One by one, McLaglen's men are picked off as they desperately fend off the enemy, waiting for reinforcements to arrive. The most spectacular death scene goes to Boris Karloff, playing a religious zealot who goes insane and begins marching towards the Arabs while bearing a makeshift cross. Max Steiner's relentless musical theme for The Lost Patrol would later be adapted into his score for Warner Bros' Casablanca. Lost Patrol would itself be adapted as the 1939 western Bad Lands. Originally running 74 minutes, Lost Patrol is now generally available only in its 69-minute reissue form. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff, Wallace Ford, Reginald Denny, Alan Hale | Directed by: John Ford
MINE WITH THE IRON DOOR, THE (1936) (64 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Previously filmed in 1924 by producer Sol Lesser, Harold Bell Wright's popular suspense novel The Mine with the Iron Door was again adapted to the screen by Lesser in 1936. Suckered into buying some evidently worthless property in Arizona, Bob Harvey (Richard Arlen) discovers that he may actually have come into possession of the Mine with the Iron Door, a legendary cache of Spanish gold. Teaming up with detective Dempsey (Stanley Fields) and Marta Hill (Cecilia Parker), a young woman whose family lives on Bob's property, our hero goes a-prospecting, with eccentric archaeologist Professor Burton (Henry B. Walthall) leading the way. In love with Marta himself, the jealous Burton does his best to kill Bob during the expedition, but virtue ultimately triumphs and everyone but the villain strikes it rich. Some of the background music in Mine with the Iron Door had originally been composed for 1915's The Birth of a Nation -- which ironically starred Henry B. Walthall as the hero.
Starring: Richard Arlen, Cecilia Parker, Henry B. Walthall, Stanley Fields | Directed by: David Howard
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) (133 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
The 1932 publication of Charles Nordhoff and James Norton Hall's Mutiny on the Bounty sparked a revival of interest in the titular 1789 ship mutiny, and this 1935 MGM movie version won the Oscar for Best Picture. Clark Gable stars as Fletcher Christian, first mate of the infamous HMS Bounty, skippered by Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton), the cruelest taskmaster on the Seven Seas. Bligh's villainy knows no bounds: he is even willing to flog a dead man if it will strengthen his hold over the crew. Christian despises Bligh and is sailing on the Bounty under protest. During the journey back to England, Bligh's cruelties become more than Christian can bear; and after the captain indirectly causes the death of the ship's doctor, the crew stages a mutiny, with Christian in charge. Bligh and a handful of officers loyal to him are set adrift in an open boat. Through sheer force of will, he guides the tiny vessel on a 49-day, 4000-mile journey to the Dutch East Indies without losing a man. Historians differ on whether Captain Bligh was truly such a monster or Christian such a paragon of virtue (some believe that the mutiny was largely inspired by Christian's lust for the Tahitian girls). The movie struck gold at the box office, and, in addition to the Best Picture Oscar, Gable, Laughton, and Franchot Tone as one of the Bounty's crew were all nominated for Best Actor (they all lost to Victor McLaglan in The Informer). The film was remade (badly) in 1962 and adapted into the "revisionist" 1984 feature The Bounty with Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian and Anthony Hopkins as Captain Bligh. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Dudley Digges | Directed by: Frank Lloyd
NIGHT FLIGHT (1933) (84 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
This suspense drama was based on a novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Riviere (John Barrymore), who operates an air delivery service, is fanatical in his dedication to service, putting prompt delivery before the safety of his men or his fleet after receiving a contract to help transport the mail. Riviere's risk-taking earns him the contempt of his pilots, including Jules (Clark Gable), who, despite his misgivings, does his best to satisfy Riviere's punishing schedule. When Jules is lost after a dangerous mission, Riviere has to tell his wife (Helen Hayes) that her husband has died, but despite losing another pilot (William Gargan), Riviere responds by demanding that more pilots be called up to ensure that the letters will be delivered on time.
Starring: John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy | Directed by: Clarence Brown
O.H.M.S. (1937) (71 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Raoul Walsh, best remembered for his rough-and-tumble action pictures, made this film on a rare loan-out to a British studio. Jim Tracey (Wallace Ford) is an American gangster who, while on the run from the law, flees to England, where he joins the British army by posing as a Canadian. Jim and his new friend Bert Dawson (John Mills) go through training together, and they both get to know Sally Briggs (Anna Lee), the daughter of their commanding officer. While Jim and Bert vie for Sally's attentions, Jim discovers that his girlfriend Jean Burdett (Grace Bradley) has followed him to England and is threatening to reveal his true identity. Jim ships out to China with his regiment before Jean's word can get too far; it turns out that Sally is also on board the ship, but that bit of good news turns sour when band of Chinese bandits attempt to seize the ship and take Sally with them. O.H.M.S. was also released under the more American-sounding title You're in the Army Now.
Starring: Wallace Ford, John Mills, Anna Lee, Grace Bradley, Frank Cellier | Directed by: Raoul Walsh
OKLAHOMA KID, THE (1939) (81 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
James Cagney stars in the humorous Western The Oklahoma Kid, set during the land rush of 1893. John Kincaid (Hugh Sothern) and his son, Ned (Harvey Stephens), try to settle on a plot of land, but they are met by the villainous Whip McCord (Humphrey Bogart) and his band of miscreants. McCord runs a saloon and ends up turning the town of Tulsa into a haven of gambling and drinking. Wanting to clean up the town, John runs for mayor and Ned runs for sheriff. McCord doesn't want to lose his power, so he has John framed, jailed, and eventually lynched. Soon, Jim Kincaid (James Cagney) shows up in town and joins his brother Ned in seeking revenge for his father's murder. They stage a big shoot-out in McCord's saloon in order to bring him to justice. Also starring Rosemary Lane as Ned's girlfriend Jane, the daughter of the good Judge Hardwick (Donald Crisp). This movie features James Cagney singing the tunes "Rockabye Baby" and "I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard." — Andrea LeVasseur
Starring: James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane, Donald Crisp | Directed by: Lloyd Bacon
PROFESSIONAL SOLDIER (1936) (75 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Adventurer-for-hire Victor McLaglen is hired by a political faction in a mythical European kingdom. McLaglen's job is to kidnap the young prince (Freddie Bartholomew) so that his employers can take over the government. The prince enjoys the experience because it releases him from the confines of protocol. When the prince is reluctantly rescued, McLaglen is thrown in prison. He escapes upon the realization that the political party he'd been working for actually plans to kill the prince and set up a dictatorship. McLaglen rescues the prince and preserves the Status Quo—and his blossoming friendship with the affable young monarch. Curiously enough, Professional Soldier is based on a story by Damon Runyon, taking a break from his "Guys and Dolls" chronicles.
Starring: Victor McLaglen, Freddie Bartholomew, Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen | Directed by: Tay Garnett
SEA GOD, THE (1930) (77 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: C
The search for sunken treasure provides the basis for this adventure that begins when a treasure hunter's dive is sabotaged. He is diving off the shore of a remote tropical island that is the scene of an inter island war between rival native bands. While he is underwater, enemy natives cut his air hose. He manages to survive and make it to the beach still wearing his cumbersome diving suit. The stunned local cannibals immediately hail him as a sea god. This ruse comes in handy when he finds that evil rival treasure hunters also inhabit the lush isle.
Starring: Richard Arlen, Fay Wray, Eugene Pallette, Robert Gleckler | Directed by: George Abbott
SHADOWS OVER SHANGHAI (1938) (66 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
The bloom of youth had long faded on actor James Dunn when he starred in Shadows Over Shanghai. Even so, he is fairly convincing as hotshot newspaperman Johnny McGinty, on assignment in war-torn China (courtesy of the General Service Studios backlot). McGinty is one of several interested parties involved in a stolen Chinese amulet, which allegedly provides clues to the location of a treasure buried somewhere in America. Also searching high and low for the amulet and the treasure are refugee Russian schoolteacher Irene Roma (Linda Gray) and shady munitions dealer Howard Barclay (Ralph Morgan). To add a bit of versimilitude to the proceedings, newsreel footage of the Sino-Japanese war (from both sides) is inserted into the action, none too convincingly. Its seedy production values aside, Shadows Over Shanghai is reasonably exciting nonsense.
Starring: James Dunn, Ralph Morgan, Linda Gray, Robert H. Barrat | Directed by: Charles Lamont
SPAWN OF THE NORTH (1938) (110 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
The visual wizardry in this period action picture about Alaskan fishermen won a special honorary Oscar in the years before special effects got its own category. Henry Fonda stars as Jim Kimmerlee, a salmon fisherman in Alaska who has become at odds with a childhood friend, Tyler Dawson (George Raft). While Jim attempts to make an honest living, Tyler, whose frustrated dreams of buying his own schooner don't look to be realized anytime soon, has signed on with a Russian crew that steals the catch from others' nets. While the rivalry between the two one-time pals heats up, Jim begins romancing Dian Turlan (Louise Platt), the daughter of a local newspaperman and renowned tippler, Windy Turlon (John Barrymore). Spawn of the North (1938) was remade as Alaska Seas (1954). — Karl Williams
Starring: George Raft, Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, Akim Tamiroff | Directed by: Henry Hathaway
SPY IN BLACK, THE (1934) (82 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
The Spy In Black is the story of a German World War I submarine captain (Conrad Veidt) who is given a mission to discover British intelligence secrets. Once he arrives in the Orkney Islands, he meets up with a female schoolteacher (Valerie Hobson), who happens to be a German agent. Veidt falls in love with Hobson before discovering she's actually a double agent for the British. In America, Spy in Black was originally released under the title U-Boat 29.
Starring: Conrad Veidt, Sebastian Shaw, Valerie Hobson, Marius Goring | Directed by: Michael Powell
SQUAWMAN, THE (1931) (107 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Cecil B. DeMille's third remake of his debut film, this was the first sound version of Edwin Milton Royle's stage western melodrama. The story centers on a British captain who heads into the American West after taking the blame for his embezzling, blue-blooded cousin to protect the reputation of his cousin's wife, whom the captain secretly loves. There he rescues a beautiful Indian woman from a lustful, wicked cattle rustler. Later he and the woman marry and have a baby. To prove her love for her new spouse, the Indian murders the cattle rustler. More trouble brews when the captain's true love comes to tell him that her husband confessed all upon his death bed and that the captain is to the new Earl. — Sandra Brennan
Starring: Paul Cavanagh, Lupe Velez, Eleanor Boardman, Roland Young | Directed by: Cecil B. DeMille
STAGECOACH (1939) (100 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Although there were Westerns before it, Stagecoach quickly became a template for all movie Westerns to come. Director John Ford combined action, drama, humor, and a set of well-drawn characters in the story of a stagecoach set to leave Tonto, New Mexico for a distant settlement in Lordsburg, with a diverse set of passengers on board. Dallas (Claire Trevor) is a woman with a scandalous past who has been driven out of town by the high-minded ladies of the community. Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt) is the wife of a cavalry officer stationed in Lordsburg, and she's determined to be with him. Hatfield (John Carradine) is a smooth-talking cardsharp who claims to be along to "protect" Lucy, although he seems to have romantic intentions. Dr. Boone (Thomas Mitchell) is a self-styled philosopher, a drunkard, and a physician who's been stripped of his license. Mr. Peacock (Donald Meek) is a slightly nervous whiskey salesman (and, not surprisingly, Dr. Boone's new best friend). Gatewood (Berton Churchill) is a crooked banker who needs to get out of town. Buck (Andy Devine) is the hayseed stage driver, and Sheriff Wilcox (George Bancroft) is along to offer protection and keep an eye peeled for the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), a well-known outlaw who has just broken out of jail. While Wilcox does find Ringo, a principled man who gives himself up without a fight, the real danger lies farther down the trail, where a band of Apaches, led by Geronimo, could attack at any time. Stagecoach offers plenty of cowboys, Indians, shootouts, and chases, aided by Yakima Canutt's remarkable stunt work and Bert Glennon's majestic photography of Ford's beloved Monument Valley. It also offers a strong screenplay by Dudley Nichols with plenty of room for the cast to show its stuff. John Wayne's performance made him a star after years as a B-Western leading man, and Thomas Mitchell won an Oscar for what could have been just another comic relief role. Thousands of films have followed Stagecoach's path, but no has ever improved on its formula.
Starring: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, Thomas Mitchell | Directed by: John Ford
STAND UP AND FIGHT (1939) (105 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Directed with customary haste by Woody Van Dyke, Stand Up and Fight is an excellent dual vehicle for veteran Wallace Beery and up-and-coming Robert Taylor. Set in the American west in the mid-19th century, the story concerns the efforts of empire-building Blake Cantrell (Taylor) to construct a railroad across the wide open spaces. Cantrell is faced with obstacles at every turn, none more obstreperous than stagecoach-line owner Captain Boss Starkey (Beery), The film traces Cantrell's progress from drunken roisterer to pioneering visionary, and Starkey's parallel transition from deadly foe to trusted friend. The villlain of the piece is slave-trader Arnold (Charles Bickford), who exploits his friendship with Starkey to Cantrell's disadvantage. Romance enters the picture in the form of Southern belle Susan Griffith (Florence Rice), who has almost nothing to do but look demure and lovely in a series of attractive period costumes.
Starring: Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor, Florence Rice, Helen Broderick, Charles Bickford | Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke
TARZAN AND HIS MATE (1934) (105 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Most Tarzan enthusiasts consider 1934's Tarzan and His Mate to be the best of the Johnny Weissmuller-Maureen O'Sullivan Tarzan efforts. Certainly it is the sexiest, with Weissmuller and especially O'Sullivan wearing next to nothing for most of the film's running time. Picking up where 1932's Tarzan the Ape Man left off, the film's plot is set in motion by avaricious ivory hunter Paul Cavanaugh, who arrives in the African jungle in search of the fabled Elephant's Graveyard. Accompanying Cavanaugh is Neil Hamilton the former fiance of Jane Porter (Maureen O'Sullivan), who for the past two years has been living with jungle lord Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) without benefit of clergy (this is strictly a pre-code effort, as evidenced by Jane's bikini-like attire and the now-famous skinny-dipping sequence). Jane briefly entertains notions of returning to civilization, but opts for her blissful outdoor existence with Tarzan. The plot rears its ugly head again when Cavanaugh shoots Tarzan and leaves him for dead, the better to seek out the precious ivory unimpeded. Rescued by his simian friends, Tarzan races towards the elephant's burial site, where Cavanaugh and Hamilton have been eaten by lions and Jane is next on the menu. A convenient elephant stampede--heralded by that classic Tarzan ahh-ee-yahhhh-ee-yahhhh--saves Jane from the lion's fangs in the nick of time. Tarzan and His Mate was the last of MGM's "Tarzan" series to be targeted for a strictly adult audience: the remaining MGM Tarzans, made under stricter censorship guidelines, were geared for the whole family.
Starring: Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Paul Cavanagh, Forrester Harvey, Nathan Curry | Directed by: Jack Conway / Cedric Gibbons
TARZAN, THE APE MAN (1932) (100 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Tarzan, The Ape Man was not only MGM's inaugural "Tarzan" film, but also the first to star former Olympic swimming champ Johnny Weissmuller as The Lord of the Jungle (strange but true: one of the pre-Weissmuller "Tarzan" candidates was Clark Gable!) Utilizing scads of stock footage from MGM's Trader Horn (1931), the film begins with great white hunter James Parker (C. Aubrey Smith) trekking through darkest Africa in search of the legendary Elephant Graveyard. Accompanying Parker is his daughter Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan) and her erstwhile beau Harry Holt (Neil Hamilton). The expedition is habitually sabotaged by the ecology-conscious Tarzan, a white man who'd been lost in the jungle years earlier and raised by Apes. Tarzan kidnaps Jane and spirits her away to the treetops, where she gradually overcomes her fear of the Loinclothed One and teaches him to speak English ("Tarzan...Jane", not "Me Tarzan...You Jane" as has often been reported). The perfect gentleman, Tarzan returns Jane to her father and swings off into the distance. When Parker, Jane and Holt are captured by pygmies, Tarzan comes to the rescue, with an entourage of his elephant friends. At fade-out time, Jane has decided to renounce civilization and spend the rest of her life with Tarzan. The only one of the MGM "Tarzans" actually based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs originals, Tarzan the Ape Man proved a surprise hit, spawning an endless parade of sequels and remakes. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Doris Lloyd | Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke
TRADER HORN (1931) (123 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
A major undertaking for M-G-M and the first non-documentary production to be filmed in Africa, Trader Horn starred the veteran Harry Carey in the title-role, Aloysius "Trader" Horn, a white explorer in Darkest Africa. Travelling up a heretofore undiscovered river, Horn and his young companion Peru (Duncan Renaldo) experience strange and disturbing behavior from the native population. As Horn explains: "When the Masai and the Kukua Tribes get together, the devil is certainly involved." Along with their native tracker Renchero (Mutia Omoolo), Horn and Peru encounter Mrs. Edith Trent (Carey's wife Olive Golden), whom Horn calls "the bravest woman in all of Africa," and who is determined to trek above the perilous Opanga Falls in search of her missing daughter Nina, rumored to be the captive of the Isorgi tribe. Although refusing to let Horn and Peru accompany her — because "the presence of white males with guns will only startle the warriors into violence" — Mrs. Trent consents to let the men follow her at a distance. Horn discovers the elderly woman's slain body soon after and pledges to continue the search for her missing daughter. After encountering sundry ferocious wildlife fauna along their way, our heroes finally locate Nina (Edwina Booth), who instead of being kept prisoner turns out to be a sadistic white goddess ruling the tribe with an iron fist. Having immediately sentenced the intruders to the stake, Nina has a change of heart in the last moment and agrees instead to accompany them back to civilization. After braving a series of hair raising perils, during one of which Ranchero sacrifices his life to protect his charges, the group are shown to safety by a tribe of pygmies. — Hans J. Wollstein
Starring: Harry Carey, Edwina Booth, Duncan Renaldo, Mutia Omoolu | Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke
U-67 - THE SEA GHOST (1931) (62 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: B
Alan Hale Sr. plays an American navy officer who allows German sub commander Peter Erkenlez to escape prosecution at the end of WWI. But Hale soon changes his mind when he discovers that Erkenlez was responsible for the death of Hale's wife, who drowned when her ship was torpedoed. Thereafter, the gloves are off, and a terrible revenge is extracted. The Sea Ghost bears traces of the famous 1919 seafaring melodrama Behind the Door, though the villain is spared the grisly fate of Wallace Beery in the earlier picture. Laura La Plante, in one of her final starring features, is cast as Hale's peacetime sweetheart.
Starring: Alan Hale, Laura La Plante, Clarence H. Wilson, Claud Allister | Directed by: William Nigh
UNION PACIFIC (1939) (135 Min.) Genre: 1930 ACTION, Transfer Quality: A
Cecil B. DeMille takes us back to the 1860s, then rebuilds the first intercontinental railroad in Union Pacific. The real-life spectacle is occasionally interrupted by the fictional adventures of railroad overseer Joel McCrea, postmistress Barbara Stanwyck (with an incredible Irish brogue), and McCrea's best pal Robert Preston. Unfortunately Preston has fallen in with Brian Donlevy, who is dedicated to destroying the Union Pacific railroad on behalf of a crooked political cartel. During an Indian attack, McCrea and Preston fight side by side to save Stanwyck, prompting Preston to turn honest. On the day in 1869 that the "Golden Spike" is to be driven at Promontory Point, Preston is killed saving McCrea from Donlevy's bullets. Union Pacific owes a great deal to John Ford's 1924 film on the same subject, The Iron Horse, even restaging one or two major action sequences from the earlier film. This DeMille spectacular was a big hit with audiences of 1939, who craved a booster shot of flag-waving now and again. — Hal Erickson
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Robert Preston, Akim Tamiroff, Brian Donlevy, Evelyn Keyes | Directed by: Cecil B. DeMille
