CAPTAIN AMERICA (1944)

The Scarab (Lionel Atwill) vs Captain America (Dick Purcell)

 CAPTAIN AMERICA (15 chapter Republic serial/1944). Directors: Elmer Clifton; John English.

"A shocking exhibition of barbarism!" -- Cyrus Maldor.

District Attorney Grant Gardner (Dick Purcell) is secretly -- actually, not so secretly -- the famous costumed hero Captain America. His adversary, as we know from the first, is the Scarab, who is -- very secretly, except to the audience -- Cyrus Maldor (Lionel Atwill). Maldor first kills off members of an expedition who know too much via a poison known as the Purple Death. He has his men steal a destructive device that brings down a building; uses a scientist's secret of perpetual life to bring one of his henchmen back from the dead; and employs a "Singari blow-gun" to kill off another of his enemies. Later he tries to get a portion of a map that will lead him to a secret city and its treasures. Highlights of this exciting serial include the aforementioned building collapse in chapter one; a bit with a guillotine in chapter five; and a sequence when our hero is nearly crushed by a mine car hurtling down a shaft in chapter six, Another interesting scene has the Scarab brutally whipping John Hamilton, the "chief" from Adventures of Superman. Purcell [Brides are Like That] is quite suitable as Captain America/Grant Gardner; pretty Lorna Gray makes less impression in this than she did in The Perils of Nyoka; and Atwill [The Devil is a Woman], in his classy, elegant and utterly evil performance as Maldor, positively walks off with the picture; his underplaying makes him that much more effective. Jay Novello also registers in his brief turn as a thug. The fight scenes in this are furious and frenetic and very well-done. In the comic books Captain America was a soldier named Steve Rogers, not a D.A. I find this serial a lot more entertaining than the recent movies about this character such as Captain America The First Avenger.

Verdict: Delightful Republic cliffhanger. ***1/2.

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY

REVEILLE WITH BEVERLY  (1943). Director: Charles Barton.

Beverly Ross (Ann Miller) wants to work on the radio in the worst way, so she connives to steal away Vernon Lewis' (Franklin Pangborn) morning program devoted to classical music and replace it with a pop music program. A wealthy man, Barry (William Wright) joins the Army at the same time as his chauffeur, Andy (Dick Purcell), and both bet on whether or not this new Beverly gal on the radio is pretty; she later confuses the two of them with one another. This was one of many wartime alleged morale boosters with a slim plot and many guest appearances by such artists as the Mills Brothers, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Crosby and his band. Irene Ryan has a funny turn as the secretary, Elsie, and Larry Parks plays a soldier named Eddie. Movies from this era either celebrated both pop/swing and classical/opera, with guest stars from various musical genres, or they do what this one does and turn it into a competition, chortling about how people prefer Bob Crosby to Mendelssohn. Franklin Pangborn is as wonderful as ever, cynically cast as the Mean Old Effeminate Classical Music Lover. With her perky, ruthless demeanor and out-sized cheeks, Ann Miller tap dances her way into infinity -- and not a moment too soon. Charles Barton directed many Abbott and Costello movies as well as The Shaggy Dog.

Verdict: No better nor worse than most of these things. **.

IRISH LUCK

Purcell, Darro, Flavin [background], Moore and Darcy

IRISH LUCK (1939). Director: Howard Bretherton.

"Can't you see I'm just one step from finding out who the murderer is?" -- Buzzy

"And you got your other foot on a banana peel." -- Jefferson

Buzzy O'Brien (Frankie Darro) is a bellboy in a hotel but he has an interest in mysteries and crime-solving, much to the consternation of cop Steve Lanahan (Dick Purcell of Captain America and Mystery House). When a man is found dead in the hotel, Buzzy covers up for a pretty gal named Kitty Monahan (Sheila Darcy) who he spotted coming out of the dead man's room; his mother (Lillian Elliott) just likes her because she's Irish. Kitty is concerned about her brother, Jim (Dennis Moore), who found out about some shady stock manipulations or something along that order and is hiding out. When Buzzy gets in a jam confronting the killer, his buddy Jefferson (Mantan Moreland) saves the day. James Flavin is hotel detective Fluger, and Tristram Coffin shows up briefly as a desk clerk. This is another Monogram quickie teaming Darro with Moreland; they are both swell, as are Purcell, Moore and Elliott; the picture runs less than an hour. Bretherton directed The Monster and the Ape and other serials. Moore was in The Master Key and others.

Verdict: Amiable silliness with likable performers. **1/2.

TROCADERO

TROCADERO (1944). Director: William Nigh.

This musical purports to tell the true post-prohibition story behind the famous Trocadero nightclub, making the owner of a humble restaurant a man named Tony Rocadero (Charles Calvert), who has adopted a girl, Judy (Rosemary Lane) and a boy named Johnny (Johnny Downs) before he promptly expires after getting hit by a car. Johnny goes off to war while Judy, with the help of manager Sam Wallace (Ralph Morgan), runs the restaurant, which is eventually changed from "Tony Rocadero's" to the snazzier "Trocadero." Both siblings have romantic problems: Judy is pursued with equal fervor by agent Mickey Jones (Sheldon Leonard) and swing bandleader Spike Nelson (Dick Purcell), while Johnny is engaged to a very snooty gal named Marge (Marjorie Manners), who is embarrassed by what he does for a living. The actors are all very pleasant and professional but what puts this movie over is the music and dancing. Highlights include Downs demonstrating his awesome tap-dancing ability to a crowd of Marge's relatives, and Lane's lovely rendition of the fine ballad, "Trying to Forget." There are other bouncy numbers and the whole production is cheerfully entertaining if borderline dumb.

Verdict: If you dig the music of the era ... ***.

BRIDES ARE LIKE THAT

BRIDES ARE LIKE THAT (1936). Director: William C. McGann.

Bill (Ross Alexander) is an irresponsible and irrepressible young man who charges everything to his angry uncle (Joseph Cawthorn) and wants pretty Hazel (Anita Louise) to marry him. Unfortunately, she's already accepted the proposal of the much more practical if duller Dr. Jenkins (Dick Purcell, who much later played Captain America in the cliffhanger serial). Can Bill win Hazel away from Jenkins, and will he ever find a job? While the premise wasn't exactly original back in 1936, this is a fast-paced and amusing picture with solid acting from virtually everyone in the cast -- all of whom are funny. Ross Alexander makes a very appealing and likable hero. Kathleen and Gene Lockhart are great as Hazel's parents and even Purcell makes an impression. Mary Treen has more lines as usual and is swell as a disapproving friend of Hazel's family.

Verdict: Quick and snappy. **1/2.

MYSTERY HOUSE

MYSTERY HOUSE (1938). Director: Noel Smith. 

When it is determined that a man who supposedly took his own life was actually murdered right on the verge of naming the embezzler on his board of directors, nearly every one of the people in a snowbound hunting lodge becomes a suspect. Dick Purcell stars as a detective to tries to get at the truth at the urging of the victim's daughter (Anne Nagel), and Elspeth Dudgeon is fun as the elderly wheelchair-bound aunt who has her own secrets. William Hopper, son of actress/Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, later played Paul Drake on the Perry Mason TV series. Mystery House is a short, fast-moving mystery -- based on a novel by Mignon Eberhart -- that has virtually no real style but somehow manages to hold the attention. The "Oomph" girl, Ann Sheridan, adds some energy as a nurse.

Verdict: Good for a rainy afternoon or just before bed. **1/2.