THE GREAT RUPERT

THE GREAT RUPERT (1950). Director: Irving Pichel. 

Now here's a weird one. A down-on-his-luck entertainer, Joe Mahoney (Jimmy Conlin), with a trained squirrel act, reluctantly lets the squirrel, Rupert, go off on his own when he finds he can't get them bookings. Louie Amendola (Jimmy Durante), another entertainer who can't find work, moves into the apartment vacated by Mahoney with his family, but is unaware that the squirrel has moved back in. When Mrs. Amendola (Queenie Smith) prays for money, it drops from the ceiling into her hands! She is unaware that the landlord, who doesn't believe in banks, stashes his loot in a hole behind his bed, from whence the squirrel promptly throws it out. Despite the title, and the pivotal role that Rupert plays in the fortunes of the Amendola family, the squirrel -- animated through stop-motion -- hasn't much to do in the movie (although he isn't entirely forgotten either), which is decidedly bizarre, utterly original, and even strangely touching. The cast, including Durante, Sara Haden (as the landlord's wife), Chick Chandler (as an agent) and Terry Moore (Durante's daughter) are all fine, although love interest Tom Drake is strangely devoid of charm. 

Verdict: Really not as bad as you might expect, but certainly not for everyone. ***.

MR. MOTO TAKES A CHANCE

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) in disguise as an old guru

MR. MOTO TAKES A CHANCE (1938). Director: Norman Foster.

"If I was casting a horror picture I'd have him play the murderer." -- reference to Mr. Moto.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is on an archaeological dig in Cambodia, which is under French rule, when who should drop in by parachute but Victoria Mason (Rochell Hudson), who was flying around the world until her plane caught fire. Among the other supporting characters are filmmakers Marty (Robert Kent of Who's Guilty?) and Chick (Chick Chandler of Circumstantial Evidence), who hope to photograph some of the forbidden royal temples. Objecting to this is Bokor (George Regas), the High Priest, who is in a power struggle with the portly and deceptively amusing Rajah Ali (J. Edward Bromberg of The Mark of Zorro). Then one of the Rajah's wives is murdered by poison dart. Half of the time Moto disguises himself as an elderly guru  who gives orders to the High Priest while spies are plotting and trying to kill each other -- and Moto -- everywhere. If this sounds interesting, be warned that Mr. Moto Takes a Chance is essentially a plot-less stew with a thrown-together script that just gets duller as it goes along until a fairly exciting climax in the temple. Peter Lorre gives his customary good performance but one senses he was mighty bored with the material, along with the audience.

Verdict: Where's Charlie Chan when you need him? **. 

HIDEOUT

HIDEOUT (1949). Director: Philip Ford.

City attorney George Browning (Lloyd Bridges) doesn't know that his girlfriend, Betty (Lorna Gray appearing as "Adrian Booth"), is actually in a gang headed by Arthur Burdett (Ray Collins). After stealing the famous Kaymeer diamonds, Burdett left Chicago for the small town of Hilltop, Illinois, where he masquerades as a dead alumnus of the local college. When a crooked gem expert is murdered by some of Burdett's disgruntled associates, George, hoping to become mayor, decides to investigate. Meanwhile, his new secretary, the highly efficient Edie (Sheila Ryan), mightily disapproves of her rival, Betty. Then Burdett decides that certain people who know too much have to be taken care of ... Hideout is a snappy and very entertaining "B" movie with some good performances and an unpredictable screenplay [John K. Butler]. Ray Collins [The Magnificent Ambersons] is terrific as the slimy and sinister, deceptively pleasant Burdett, and Gray and Ryan [Gold Raiders] are both on the money, with Bridges exhibiting both his competence and his winning personality as George. Chick Chandler has a smaller role as Burdett's associate and driver and is fine. Jeff Corey [Seconds] and Alan Carney make an impression as thugs.

Verdict: Snappy Republic crime movie. ***.

ON THEIR OWN

Spring Byington and Florence Roberts

ON THEIR OWN (1940). Director: Otto Brower.

In this final installment of Twentieth Century-Fox's Jones Family series, Mr. Jones, who is not seen (Jed Prouty, who played the role, is not in the movie as he wanted more money) has a nervous collapse after a Building and Loan crash and the embezzlement of several board members. While Jones recuperates, his wife, Louise (Spring Byington), and children have to deal with the fact that they're going to lose their home and their business. After this grim development, Mr. Jones is sent to a sanitarium in California to recuperate, and his family follows, but have severe money troubles. In an incredible and gutsy maneuver that borders on the unethical and even criminal, Louise and her oldest sons Jack (Kenneth Howell) and Roger (George Ernest), manage to "buy" a rental court from the owner, but not before he evicts his non-paying relatives. The family transform the court into a place where entertainers are welcome, not to mention people with children and pets, which infuriates the landlord of the property next door, who's afraid his tenants will complain about the noise and commotion, leading to a battle in court. Spring Byington takes center stage in this final Jones Family film, and runs with it, and the other actors, including Florence Roberts as Granny, are all terrific. Marguerite Chapman, Chick Chandler, ever-grumpy Charles Lane, and Irving Bacon are in the supporting cast. Call me a sentimental slob, but the depiction of the very obvious love these characters feel for one another is sometimes touching. NOTE: Your reviewer has seen all of the Jones Family films with the exception of Young as You Feel, Off to the Races, and A Trip to Paris. In the unlikely event that anyone has copies of these, especially Paris, please let me know!

Verdict: Not the best of the series, but some sentiment and humor and wonderful performances, and a more than interesting wind-up to the Jones Family (mis)adventures. **1/2.

TOO BUSY TO WORK

Florence Roberts, Spring Byington, and Joan Davis

TOO BUSY TO WORK (1939). Director: Otto Brower.

"If you sent her to Ripley I bet he wouldn't believe it!" -- Granny Jones on Lolly.

Mayor Jones (Jed Prouty) is alarming his wife (Spring Byington) and mother (Florence Roberts) because he's volunteering for too many duties as mayor and neglecting his drug store business to the point where he may lose it. Mrs. Jones decides to wake him up by neglecting her own duties and starring in a little theater production supervised by her old friend, Marge (Marjorie Gateson of Lily Turner). Added complications are the arrival of a niece, Lolly (Joan Davis of Around the World), who becomes the maid in exchange for food and board. Lolly has an eye on policeman Gilligan (Irving Bacon, Ethel's father on I Love Lucy) who loves her cooking but is preoccupied with the capture of safe cracker "Cracker" McGurk (Chick Chandler of Spy Train). Then the mayor discovers that his fellow board members have been behaving unethically and some money turns up missing ... Too Busy to Work is probably the funniest of the Jones Family films, with a good script and many amusing lines and situations to keep it consistently entertaining. Granny is especially acerbic in this entry. The entire cast, including Ken Howell and George Ernest, is top-notch, and Spring Byington certainly gets her chance to shine.

Verdict: Delightful! ***.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

Arthur Vinton and Chick Chandler

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE (1935). Director: Charles Lamont.

Reporter Jim Baldwin (Chick Chandler) is covering a trial where the evidence is strictly circumstantial, and is appalled when the defendant is not only convicted but given the death penalty. Baldwin feels that in cases wherein the evidence is all circumstantial, the defendant should be given a life sentence instead. Meanwhile Fred Stevens (Arthur Vinton), although having an affair with a certain married lady, asks Shirley (Adrienne Grey) to marry him, but she turns him down, accepting Jim's proposal instead. Jim decides to use this awkward situation to  prove that circumstantial cases are unreliable, and gets Fred to go along with his scheme. They will fake an argument over Shirley in front of others, and then Fred will disappear after Jim makes it look like he murdered him. Fred is to come out of hiding at the last minute -- the trouble is that somebody else really murders him! Now Jim is in a pretty pickle. Circumstantial Evidence worked much better when the same plot more or less was used in the far superior Beyond a Reasonable Doubt twenty years later. Chandler [Lost Continent], more of a light comedian than a dramatic type, is okay but tends to overact at times.

Verdict: Predictable, trite, and tedious. *1/2.

JOHNNY DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

William Terry, Simone Simon and James Ellison

JOHNNY DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1944). Director: Joe May.

In this very weird movie a young lady named Kathie (Simone Simon of Girls' Dormitory) takes a train to Washington D.C. and becomes the victim of a tiny bad luck gremlin named Rumplestilzken (voiced by Bugs Bunny's Mel Blanc). She winds up taking the apartment of a departing marine named Johnny (William Terry), but learns too late that he has given out keys to friends, soldiers, lady friends, and other apartment dwellers who need to use the bathroom. (Kathie makes all sorts of repairs to the apartment, but it never occurs to her to have the lock changed!) A sailor named Mike (James Ellison of Next Time I Marry) is one of the interlopers, along with his pal Jack (Chick Chandler of Lost Continent), and he finds himself vying with a returning Johnny, on leave, for Kathie's affections. The first thing you think while watching the beginning of this movie is that it could be either cute or stupid, and unfortunately it's much more of the latter than the former. The cast is appealing, especially a winsome Simon and sensitive Terry, and there are a couple of chuckles, but mostly it's more irritating than amusing. The ending is interesting, however, as you wait to find out which man Kathie is going to agree to marry and there's a surprise or two. Poor Rondo Hatton [House of Horrors] has a bit where he plays an undertaker who frightens Kathie. Grady Sutton and Robert Mitchum have smaller roles and are swell.

Verdict:  Seems different at first but is really the same old silly stuff. **.

LOST CONTINENT (1951)

LOST CONTINENT (1951). Director:Sam Newfield.

When a firebird rocket designed by ex-Russian scientist Michael Rostov (John Hoyt) goes awry, Major Joe Nolan (Cesar Romero) is assigned to finding it so that they can figure out what went wrong. He takes Rostov and others along with him to the South Pacific and discovers the rocket, which terrified the natives, landed at the very top of a high mountain covered by fog. Although no one else seems interested in the rocket, Nolan decides everyone has to ascend to the mountain top immediately, even though they haven't got decent climbing shoes let alone any other standard equipment. In another bit of illogic, the oldest man on the team, Rostov, looks after the least athletic, Briggs (Whit Bissell), even though there are several younger, able-bodied men in the group. The interesting thing about Lost Continent is that the climbing scenes are quite well-done, and have some suspense, which dissipates for the most part the minute the men reach the top [where everything is bathed in a greenish tint] and some crudely animated stop-motion dinosaurs appear. These include a charging brontosaurus and two triceratops who get into a bloody battle. Hugh Beaumont (Michael Shayne, Leave it to Beaver), Sid Melton, and Chick Chandler are in the cast, as are Hillary Brooke and even Acquanetta, however briefly. The acting isn't bad and neither is the movie, all told. The movie with its plateau of monsters was obviously influenced by Doyle's The Lost World, filmed in the silent era and again in 1960.

Verdict: This could have used Ray Harryhausen FX, but it's still minor-league fun. ***.

HONEYMOON DEFERRED

HONEYMOON DEFERRED (1940). Director: Lew Landers.

Private eye Adam Farradene (Edmund Lowe) has just gotten married to Janet (Margaret Lindsay) when an old girlfriend, Eve (Julie Stevens), calls him away because her boyfriend has been murdered and she needs his help. Janet isn't thrilled when Adam's secretary Kitty (Joyce Compton) covers him with kisses at the reception (photo), but his running off at the start of their honeymoon is really too much! Lowe handles this light-weight material with his usual verve and charm, but the killer is revealed halfway through the picture, stripping the film of most of its suspense. Chick Chandler is Adam's buddy, "Hap," and Anne Gwynne certainly makes an impression as the strange Cecile. But the picture is almost completely stolen by the wonderful Elisabeth Risdon as Sarah, a long-time friend of Farradene's. Risdon was also Lupe Velez' disapproving mother-in-law in all those Mexican Spitfire movies.

Verdict: Has its moments -- but you can see why this was forgotten. **.

SPY TRAIN

SPY TRAIN (1943). Director: Harold Young. 

In an attempt to blow up a case containing papers that can expose them, a German spy gang winds up inadvertently planting a time bomb on a train. This sounds exciting, and it might have been with some decent direction and a lively script, but this dull programmer has virtually nothing going for it, aside from a few seconds of minor suspense practically at the very end. Richard Travis, who had starred with Bette Davis in The Man Who Came to Dinner two years previously, demonstrates some charm in this, and Chick Chandler is his usual bouncy self as his buddy. Catherine Craig is the unexceptional heroine of the piece. Travis also starred in Missile to the Moon, which is a lot more fun, and Chick Chandler was in The Lost Continent (1951); ditto. 

Verdict: Pretty much the waste of an hour. *.