THE OLD SWIMMIN' HOLE

Jackie Moran and Marcia Mae Jones

THE OLD SWIMMIN' HOLE (1940). Director: Robert F. McGowan. Colorized.  

Chris Carter (Jackie Moran of Haunted House) has dropped out of high school in a small town and taken a job to help his mother (Leatrice Joy of First Love) out with the bills. Chris wants to be a doctor and is mentored by Doc Elliott (Charles D. Brown of Charlie Chan in Reno), who apparently left his wife and daughter long ago. Now the daughter, Betty (Marcia Mae Jones), is grown and comes to see him. She and Chris realize that his mother and her father are in love but haven't figured it out yet, and scheme to get them together, but a lawyer named Baker (Theodore von Eltz) may stymie their plans. Meanwhile there are problems when Chris, who is head of a boy's club whose clubhouse is next to a swimming hole, refuses to let little Jimmy (Dix Davis) join their club and become a "lion." Tragedy nearly ensues. 

Theodore von Eltz and Leatrice Joy

The Old Swimmin' Hole is a nicely sentimental old film that has more than its share of "lump in the throat" moments, mostly concerning little Jimmy and his dog. (I defy anyone not to get choked up at one scene in particular). Jackie Moran was actually 17, the same age as his character, when he made this film, and he appeared in around forty others, his nadir probably being Russ Meyer's Wild Gals of the Naked West in 1962. Jones' career lasted until the 80s. Moran was a gifted and sensitive actor, although his character's treatment of the boy Jimmy is rather mean-spirited at times (although he makes up for it). A weak point of the film is the character of Chris' grandfather (George Cleveland), who is nothing but a stereotype of the nasty old rich man without a single nuance. The movie is often quite unrealistic in that Chris doesn't seem to realize that it takes money to go to medical school. Leatrice Joy, who was a star in silent pictures, was married to John Gilbert for three years. Dix Davis was a talented child actor who made about twenty pictures. Moran and Jones worked together quite often. 

Verdict: Charm to spare although it goes awry at times. **3/4. 

APOLOGY FOR MURDER

Hugh Beaumont and Ann Savage

APOLOGY FOR MURDER (1945). Director: Sam Newfield.

Toni Kirkland (Ann Savage of Pygmy Island) is married to a much older and wealthy man (Russell Hicks), who has given her no grounds for divorce. Toni wants the money, but she doesn't want him. When reporter Kenny Blake (Hugh Beaumont) shows up to interview Mr. Kirkland, he and Toni are immediately attracted, but Kenny thinks Toni is the old man's daughter. By the time he learns the truth, he's hopelessly smitten, and agrees to help her carry out a plan to murder her husband on an isolated highway. Apology for Murder is a blatant rip-off of both Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice, and it's not what you could call unpredictable, but the leads are interesting and offer solid performances. Poor Pierre Watkin is cast in another thankless role as a friend of Kirkland's, and he's just as mediocre as ever. Charles D. Brown is marginally better as Kenny's editor, and Norman Willis makes a minor impression as Toni's amorous lawyer, Allen Webb.

Verdict: I'm sure Billy Wilder lost no sleep over this. **.

THOROUGHBREDS DON'T CRY

Ronald Sinclair, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland

THOROUGHBREDS DON'T CRY (1937). Director: Alfred E. Green.

Young Roger Calverton (Ronald Sinclair) travels to America in the company of his beloved grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith); the old man's employee, Wilkins (Forrester Harvey); and their horse, which they hope to enter in a race. They induce a  brash jockey, Timmie Donovan (Mickey Rooney) to ride the horse, but fate intervenes in the form of Timmie's miserable father (Charles D. Brown), who claims he desperately needs an iron lung or else he'll die. Timmie is importuned to throw the race, leading to tragedy ... Thoroughbreds Don't Cry was an early hit for Rooney, but he's also got Judy Garland (their very first teaming) -- who for once isn't in love with Rooney's character -- and the inestimable Ronald Sinclair, who proves more than a match for Rooney's thespian skill. Sophie Tucker makes her mark as the woman who runs the boarding house where many jockeys, and Garland, live. Garland does a great rendition of "Goin' to Town." Frankie Darro appears briefly as another nasty jockey. Darro and especially Sinclair were extremely talented child actors, but the former was often relegated to bit parts as he got older, and Sinclair retired from acting only five years later, becoming an editor and producer of several Roger Corman flicks and working on everything from The Amazing Colossal Man to Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikimi Machine to Island Claws. Despite some charming moments and the uniformly excellent acting from the cast, Thoroughbreds can't quite seem to overcome its dated quality, and the whole movie at times seems a little unreal.

Verdict: Not Mickey's best. **1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO

Cute couple: [Victor] Sen Yung and Iris Wong

CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO (1939). Director: Norman Foster.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) arrives in "the biggest little city in the world" after a hateful woman named Jeanne Bently (Louise Henry) is murdered in a hotel occupied by ladies awaiting their divorces. Sheriff Fletcher (Slim Summerville) is convinced that the culprit is Mary Whitman (Pauline Moore), whose husband, Curtis (Kane Richmond) ,was dumping her for Jeanne; Curtis knows Charlie and importunes him to intervene. Suspects and others involved in the case include Mrs. Russell (Kay Linaker), who owns the hotel; Dr. Ainsley (Ricardo Cortez of The Big Shakedown), who is the hotel's doctor; Wally Burke (Robert Lowery), who was jilted by Jeanne; Chief of Police King (Charles D. Brown); Vivian Wells (Phyllis Brooks), who despised Jeanne; a talkative cab driver (Eddie Collins); and the victim's ex-husband, Bently (Morgan Conway of Dick Tracy), who is hiding out in a ghost town. Meanwhile number two son Jimmy (Victor Yen Sung) is investigating/screwing up with the help of the dead woman's pretty maid Choy (Iris Wong). Toler, Yung and most of the cast are very adept, Summerville is terrific, and the movie is fun, if not necessarily one of the better Chan mysteries. This was followed by the excellent Charlie Chan at Treasure Island.

Verdict: Chan and company always amuse. **1/2.