TUGBOAT ANNIE

TUGBOAT ANNIE (1933). Director: Mervyn LeRoy. 

Annie Brennan (Marie Dressler) lives and works on her tugboat, along with her often-drunk and lazy husband, Terry (Wallace Beery), whom she dearly loves. The only thing that comes between them is their son Alec (Robert Young), a successful captain of a luxury liner, who is disgraced by his father's behavior and wants his mother to leave him. This causes an estrangement between son and parents that is painful for all. Tugboat Annie features that swell team Dressler and Beery in top form. (Although Young is okay, he's rather one-note and out-classed in this company). Maureen O'Sullivan is excellent as Alec's girlfriend, and Frankie Darro is fine as Alec as a boy in the earlier scenes. Tugboat Annie and its leads never let you forget the pathos underneath the comedy. The only debit is that the climactic storm-at-sea sequence goes on a little too long, and is a bit confusing as well. 

Verdict: Dressler and Beery at their best. ***.

JUNIOR PROM

Freddie Stewart

JUNIOR PROM (1946). Director: Arthur Dreifuss.

"You're all acting like a bunch of drips!"

At Whitney High School there's an election for student body president, with the two nominees being Freddie Trimball (Freddie Stewart) and Jimmy Forrest (Jackie Moran of Barefoot Boy). Jimmy's father tells the principal, Professor Townley (Milton Kibbee), that if his son doesn't win the election the school won't get new uniforms or any donation from him. Initially Freddie drops out of the race for the good of the school, although Townley refuses to buckle under. But eventually Freddie and Jimmy run a heated campaign, with Jimmy's manager, Roy (Frankie Darro), going so far as to romance school reporter Betty Rogers (Noel Neill of Superman) to get his man favorable publicity, leading to an estrangement between Betty and her two sisters. Every once in awhile someone, mostly Freddie, breaks out in a song ...

June Preisser and Freddie Stewart

Junior Prom was the first starring role for the now-forgotten Freddie Stewart, an amiable and nice-looking crooner who sang for Tommy Dorsey. Unfortunately, his Hollywood offers only included one from cheapie Monogram studios, who cast him in a series of "Teen Agers" films, of which Junior Prom was the first. His love interest was generally June Preisser [Strike Up the Band], herein cast as Dodie Rogers. He made eight more "Teen Agers" movies even though he was already 21 at the time of filming this flick, and the other "teens" were a bit long-in-the-tooth as well. His various attempts at a comeback were not successful.

Harry the Hipster: This was once the epitome of "cool"

As for Junior Prom, it is also amiable, with some snappy dance numbers and an especially good routine from Preisser during a lively "Teen Canteen" production number, which also features bandleader Abe Lyman (black musician Eddie Heywood appears in an earlier sequence). Another cast member is Warren Mills, who plays the borderline camp and take-charge Lee Watson. "What if you didn't have a boy to take you to the prom?" Dodie asks Lee. "What if I did?" replies Lee, who doesn't seem adverse to the idea even if he's going with Dodie's other sister, Addie (Judy Clark). Murray Davis is cast as fat soda jerk Tiny, but his supposedly funny shtick can sometimes he painful. The picture has the usual tiresome swing vs classical music business. Harry "the Hipster" Gibson, playing himself, does one irritating number. This was his only film appearance.

Verdict: Enthusiastic and talented players, but for most of them this was not an auspicious debut. **3/4. 

TOUGH KID: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF FRANKIE DARRO

TOUGH KID: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF FRANKIE DARRO. Lulu; 2008.

This look into the life and career of actor Frankie Darro is a labor or love for author John Gloske, who knew the man in his final years when the author was just a star-struck youngster. Darro's father pushed his son into show business, but didn't set aside any of the boy's income for a rainy day. Frankie had a successful career in silent films as a child star, and because of his short stature remained a "juvenile" well into adulthood. The book goes into Darro's cliffhanger serials such as Burn 'Em Up Barnes and The Phantom Empire; his team-ups with Kane Richmond [Anything for a Thrill] and Mantan Moreland [The Gang's All Here]; his starring role in Wild Boys of the Road for William Wellman, who always admired the man's talent; his three marriages; and his descent into poverty row productions and alcoholism. The jobs got scarcer and Darro drank more than ever, and even ruined one possible opportunity for a TV interview show by showing up soused to the gills. He guest-starred on numerous TV shows, including a memorable part on Peter Gunn; his two Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes were "I Can Take Care of Myself" and "Ten O'Clock Tiger." Darro also appeared in a series of "Teen Agers" films, and some of the Bowery Boys programmers, and played more jockeys than you can shake a stick at. Darro was hired to move around inside Robby the Robot in Forbidden Planet but was fired for drunkenness when in truth the hot and heavy outfit would have been difficult for anyone to tolerate. In his later years, Darro looked years older than he actually was due to his alcohol consumption. The sad thing about Darro is that he was genuinely talented, which was noted by critic after critic no matter what kind of production he was in. Tough Kid gets credit for being very well-researched, as the author digs up much more information on Darro (some of which, of course, came from Darro himself) than you might expect for a C-list actor. If the book ever has a new edition, however, careful proof-reading is a must. With many personal photographs and a complete filmography.

Verdict: Good, informative, enthusiastic, sometimes fascinating, and ultimately moving look at the often bizarre life and career of Frankie Darro. ***.

ANYTHING FOR A THRILL

Brothers: Kane Richmond and Frankie Darro

ANYTHING FOR A THRILL (1937). Director: Leslie Goodwins.

"Sometimes I think you're next to an idiot."

Newsreel photographer Cliff Mallory (Kane Richmond) is told by his boss, Collins (Edward Hearn), to get some footage of pretty heiress Betty Kelley (Ann Evers) or else. Apparently Miss Kelley has an aversion to having her picture taken by anyone, including Cliff and his younger brother, Dan (Frankie Darro). Dan has a sort of girlfriend named Jean (June Johnson), and Betty is engaged to a suave lowlife named Albert (Johnstone White), who is only hoping to get money out of her. The crap hits the fan when the Mallory brothers do manage to  get Betty on film, and she retaliates ... Anything for a Thrill is one of a number of cheap movies [such as Tough To Handle] starring Richmond and Darro as brothers, or student and mentor, and this one is about average. The screenplay is not terrible, just minor-league, with characters that are not much developed beyond stereotypes. Darro is as good as usual, while Richmond, a handsome serial star [Haunted Harbor] with a pleasing presence, is more than competent but not exactly a gifted comedian. Ann Evers makes an impression as the heiress, but squeaky-voiced June Johnson is as grating as she is "cute;" neither actress had that many credits. Edward Hearn and Darro also appeared together in The Vanishing Legion serial.

Verdict: Darro is generally superior to his material. **.

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.

SARATOGA

Jean Harlow and Clark Gable

SARATOGA (1937). Director: Jack Conway.

Margaret Hamilton to Frank Morgan: "You have no idea what my face looked like before I used your cream."

Frank Morgan to Margaret Hamilton: "I can imagine."

Race track gambler Duke Bradley (Clark Gable) thinks that Carol Clayton (Jean Harlow), the daughter of his friend, Frank Jonathan Hale), is a bit snooty. Carol is engaged to the rich "sucker" Hartley Madison (Walter Pidgeon), but she finds herself drawn to the cruder Duke even as she engages in verbal fisticuffs with him. Will Carol and Duke admit their feelings for one another? This is the slight premise of Saratoga, which also has some bits of business about bidding on horses, switching jockeys at the last minute, and betting on the climactic race, most of which is a little confusing and even a bit on the dull side. This is a shame, because each and every cast member is working at the top of his or her game, and that not only includes the already-named, but Una Merkel as Duke's racing pal; Frank Morgan as her befuddled and jealous husband, who markets cold cream as "Harriet Hale;" Hattie McDaniel as Carol's saucy and lovable maid/companion; Frankie Darro as an obnoxious jockey; and George Zucco (doing a rare turn at comedy) as a slightly strange doctor. Margaret Hamilton also scores in a small role as one of Morgan's unsatisfied customers, and Lionel Barrymore is fine, as usual, working in his befuddled, cranky, old-timer mode.The acting in this is just wonderful and there are some memorable scenes, such as a near-silent one in which Duke communicates to Carol that her father has died. There's a very enjoyable train scene with the various principals taking turns at singing a chorus, their acting skills and personality making up for untrained voices. Despite several genuinely amusing moments, the film has an air of sadness because Harlow died tragically young while making this picture, and her scenes had to be finished with a dubbed double seen only from the back or behind binoculars. The film has an amiable nature, even though the Walter Pidgeon character is treated especially shabby, and Carol doesn't come off like the most likable of creatures.

Verdict: So many fine actors and so many good things in it that it's too bad this really isn't all that memorable. **1/2.

THE PUBLIC ENEMY

James Cagney and Jean Harlow

THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931). Director: William A. Wellman.

Tom Powers (James Cagney) and his pal, Matt (Edward Woods), grow up in a tough part of the city, and get in with a bad crowd. Tom becomes a gangster and killer during prohibition, earning the enmity of his brother, Mike (Donald Cook), who has little but contempt for him. Tom is such a creep that at one point he even shoots a horse! Tom and Matt work for Nails Nathan (Leslie Fenton) and Paddy Ryan (Robert Emmett O'Connor), and get involved with such "broads" as Gwen Allen (Jean Harlow), Mamie (Joan Blondell), Kitty (Mae Clarke), who gets a grapefruit in the face, and Nail's unnamed girlfriend (Dorothy Gee), who earns Tom's scorn by getting him drunk and going to bed with him. The Public Enemy is refreshingly frank and well-acted, with Cagney getting high marks, along with Fenton [The House of Secrets], O'Connor, and Beryl Mercer [Jane Eyre] as Ma Powers. Harlow was still considered a lousy actress this early in her career, but she's actually competent, if unexceptional, and her performance is satisfactory. Frankie Darro and "Junior" Coghlan (Frank Coghlan, Jr.) play Matt and Tom as boys and are both good. One of the best scenes is a dinner at the Powers house where ex-soldier Mike can no longer control his anger at his brother and bootleg beer goes flying, and the death of Putty Nose (Murray Kinnell of Charlie Chan in Paris) is also well-handled. That said, The Public Enemy has not really worn well with time -- especially when you take into account the many superior gangster films that came later --   but it still remains an interesting picture. The great final scene of the movie almost makes the whole movie! Handsome Edward Woods was supposed to play Tom Powers, the lead role, but it was given to Cagney instead,; he became a star and Wood's career eventually faded out after only 13 credits.

Verdict: Cagney holds the attention. *** out of 4.

WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD

Frankie Darro and Edwin Phillips

WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (1933). Director: William A. Wellman.

During the depression, two friends, Eddie (Frankie Darro of No Greater Glory) and Tommy (Edwin Phillips), decide to leave town and look for work when it is clear that their desperate parents haven't enough money to provide for them. On the rails the fellows meet a young lady named Sally (Dorothy Coonan) who is hoping to hook up with her aunt. Things don't quite work out as planned for any of them ... Wild Boys of the Road, a rather heavy-handed message film, purports to be a study of the situation of homeless youth in the thirties, but unfortunately it has too much of an Eastside Kids sensibility to be the masterpiece it might have been. The light touch throughout most of the film is at odds with the very grim subject matter, and once the ever-weird Sterling Holloway [Cheers for Miss Bishop] shows up the picture almost loses it completely. On the other hand, the acting is quite good (even if Darro is a little too "gosh darn" at times) and the close relationship between the young men is often touching. A scene when one of the boys is hit by a train is horrifying and very well done. Grant Mitchell makes an impression as Eddie's desperate father, middle-aged and out of work and facing eviction from his home, and there are other able supporting performances. The picture resolves many things a bit too neatly (although there is no assurance of happiness for any of the characters), but this has many very lovely things in it, especially a moving scene between Eddie and his dad when the former sells his beloved old car for needed money. Edwin Phillips was a very talented and attractive actor but he only appeared in three films; he lived until 1981. After appearing in just a few movies Dorothy Coonan married director Wellman the following year, retired from films (aside from one bit credit years later), and had seven children with Wellman. Wellman also directed the original A Star is Born and many, many others.

NOTE: In 1932 William Wyler and John Huston were planning to collaborate on a film about just this situation entitled The Forgotten Boys, but it was shelved when reforestation camps opened to employ these youths that same year and the situation changed. It would have been interesting to see Wyler's version of the story, which probably would have been more powerful.

Verdict: The flaws pale besides the honest sentiment. ***.

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACE TRACK

Keye Luke and Warner Oland

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACE TRACK (1936). Director: H. Bruce Humberstone.

Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) uncovers skulduggery surrounding a race horse when its jockey (Frankie Darro of Burn 'Em Up Barnes) throws a race, and that's only the beginning. On shipboard, the horse's owner is found trampled to death but Chan quickly deduces that it was not an accident and the horse is not to blame. Suspects and other characters include Lee Chan (Keye Luke) who pretends to be a steward to help/hinder his father; Alice Fenton (Helen Wood), Bruce Rogers (Thomas Beck), jockey Eddie Brill (Junior Coghlan of The Adventures of Captain Marvel); horse owner George Chester (Alan Dinehart of Seven Days Ashore); and his daughter, Catherine (Gloria Roy). There's also a mischievous monkey called Lollipop; a groom named Streamline (John Henry Allen, who seems to be doing a Stepin Fetchit imitation); and when offered refreshment, Chan asks not for spirits but sarsaparilla. Charlie actually discusses blood spatter evidence at one point, proving such matters were invoked decades before CSI and Henry Lee.

Verdict: Fun, as usual, if not topnotch Chan. **1/2.

UP IN THE AIR

Darro, Renolds, Moreland, and Coffin have a conference

UP IN THE AIR (1940). Director: Howard Bretherton.

Frankie (Frankie Darro) is a page boy in a radio studio who tries to impress new receptionist Anne (Marjorie Reynolds of The Time of Their Lives) by pretending to be a producer, which doesn't sit well with her or with their boss, Mr. Farrell (Tristram Coffin). Farrell and others at the station are having problems with difficult, bitchy radio singer Rita Wilson (Lorna Gray of The Perils of Nyoka) but those problems abruptly end when she's shot dead by an unknown person during a rehearsal. Will Anne be chosen to go on in her place? Will Frankie and his buddy Jeff (Mantan Moreland) unveil the murderer before the police do? Yes, it's another Darro-Moreland mystery comedy from Monogram studios, full of flavorful actors but without much of a story. Gordon Jones (The Green Hornet) is a lousy cowboy singer; Dennis Moore (The Purple Monster Strikes) is a gag writer; Dick Elliott is Hastings, the station owner; and John Holland (The Girl in Black Stockings) -- also Alice's handsome boss on an episode of The Honeymooners -- is Sam Quigley, another executive. Neither of the "girl" singers really do justice to the snappy number "Conga;" the best scene has Mantan Morelamd doing a soft shoe routine.

Verdict: Very likable leads but where's the decent script? **.

ON THE SPOT

Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland

ON THE SPOT (1940). Director: Howard Bretherton.

Frankie Kelly (Frankie Darro), a soda jerk in a drug store with an eye on becoming a doctor, and his buddy Jefferson (Mantan Moreland) are in the store when a dying gangster with a bullet in him comes in and tries to impart information before expiring. Everyone -- townspeople, cops and crooks alike -- thinks the fellows were told where the dead man stashed some loot, but they actually know nuthin'. When another mobster is shot in the drug store, Frankie makes up his mind to find out who the killer is. John St. Polis is the "doc" who owns the drug store, and Mary Kornman is his daughter, Ruth. Maxine Leslie plays a lady investigator who gets a room in Frankie's house, making Ruth slightly jealous. I could swear that's Tristram Coffin in the role of her boss, but he is neither credited nor listed on imdb.com. In any case, Darrro and Moreland are as likable and professional as ever, but this very minor poverty row movie is pretty much a waste of time. The two actors did a whole series of similar films for Monogram studios.

Verdict: Darro and Moreland always make a good team, but ... **.

TOUGH TO HANDLE

"Do you come here often?" Kane Richmond; Johnston White

TOUGH TO HANDLE (1937). Director: S. Roy Luby.

Grandpa Sanford (Burr Caruth) is delighted to learn that he has a winning ticket in the Irish sweepstakes, but concerned to discover that his number is associated with another person's name. Grandpa has, unfortunately, been sold a phony ticket, and when the crooks try to get it back from him they give him a fatal heart attack. Reporter Joe MacIntire (Kane Richmond) suspects nightclub owner Tony Franco (Harry Worth) of being behind the phony ticket racket, but Sanford's grandson, Mike (Frankie Darro) and his sister Gloria (Phyllis Fraser), both of whom work for Franco, don't want to believe their benefactor could be such a skunk. Johnston White plays a drunk in the nightclub who gives Joe pause when he asks him if "he comes here often" and has quite a few tricks up his sleeve. Franco reports to a sinister unseen figure who gives him his orders, and has a jealous girlfriend, Myra (Betty Burgess), whom Joe happily romances for info, although Gloria is his girl. The actors give their all to this B material, with Darro his usual effervescent self, and Burgess especially snappy and attractive. Richmond is as handsome and stalwart as ever and White is terrific. Burgess had presence, looks, and talent but she only made five pictures.

Verdict: Minor but has a few surprises. **1/2.

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.

THE VANISHING LEGION

"The Voice" confronts a cowering member of the Legion

THE VANISHING LEGION (12 chapter Mascot serial/1931). Directors: Ford Beebe; B. Reeves Eason.

"The Voice ... has spoken." 

Oil man "Happy" Cardigan (Harry Carey) has a certain time period to bring in a gusher but he finds this is difficult to do when he has to deal with raids on the oil fields by a group of men on horseback calling themselves the "Vanishing Legion." Then there's a mysterious character called "The Voice," who issues commands using a special transmitter and never speaks above a whisper. It is suggested that the Voice is actually one of the four directors of the oil company. Adding to the intrigue is a company secretary named Miss Caroline Hall (Edwina Booth), who may be an agent of the Voice, and may even have something to do with the Vanishing Legion. If that wasn't enough mystery, we have young lad Jimmie Williams (Frankie Darro) who is the only one who can ride a wild horse named Rex, and his father, Jed (Edward Hearn), who is wanted for murder. As the serial progresses, things get a little confusing with all the inter-relationships, and people turning out to be something other than you thought they were. Darro probably has more to do in this serial than anyone except maybe Carey, but he's billed after Carey, Booth and even "Rex, King of the Wild Horses." He gives an excellent performance and out-acts most of the adults, although Carey, Hearn and others are at least competent. Booth comically over-acts at times, but she's continually called on to suggest an alternating good gal and bad girl to keep the audience guessing which she might actually be, and generally she's both attractive and vital. Other prominent characters include Ashton (Philo McCullough), who may have some relationship to the man allegedly murdered by Jimmie's fugitive dad; the Sheriff (William Desmond), who at one point is suspected of being the Voice; and Hornbeck (Lafe McKee), Jed Williams'  lawyer. Although he does not actually appear in the serial, the voice of the "Voice" is supplied by none other than Boris Karloff, which not only adds some spookiness to the proceedings but neatly hides the identity of the actual villain. Two memorable cliffhangers in the movie involve Carey nearly getting trampled by a pack of wild horses, and Booth opening a door in a hallway and discovering that there's no room inside, just a quick path to the sidewalk far below.  Booth had very few film appearances but Carey was also in Beyond Tomorrow and had a notable role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

In the entertaining book Classic Cliffhangers Vol. 1  by Hank Davis, the author suggests that there's something "unnatural" in the (off-screen!) relationship between Frankie Darro, and the actor who plays his father, Edward Hearn. Davis seems to think that Hearn fondles Darro too much (but I watched the uncut movie and saw absolutely nothing over the top in the realistic displays of affection a father would show for a motherless boy whose whole world revolves around his beloved dad) and he is particularly disturbed by a scene in which father and son kiss on the lips. The kiss may seem to be held longer than necessary (and looking at it with 21st century eyes one might find it discomforting) but Davis neglects to inform the reader that this scene occurs at a highly emotional moment when both father and son are afraid they may never see each other again. To suggest that Hearn was getting off on it and is therefore a pedophile is patently unfair. This was a more innocent time period, and parents and children did kiss on the lips without anyone thinking it was automatically unnatural. The boy actually initiates the kiss and this is not the only time he does so, and given the time period especially, it doesn't seem that weird.  Davis also doesn't mention that in other scenes, such as when Jimmie thinks his father has been killed, "Happy" hugs the boy to his breast, strokes his hair, but there's no suggestion (and shouldn't be) that this makes actor Harry Carey a pedophile. I'm as repelled and outraged by child molestation as anyone else, but I don't think it's fair to label someone a pedophile based on a scene in a movie! There is nothing on the Internet to indicate any unnatural interest in children on Hearn's part; only that he was married and had a child. Hopefully I'm wrong, but it's almost as if Davis for some reason decided Hearn was gay and that therefore he must be a child molester! This would be especially bizarre as Davis spends a lot of time decrying the racist aspects of many of these old serials.

Verdict: Creaky but somewhat entertaining old serial, but not one of Mascot's best. **1/2.

THE PHANTOM EMPIRE

Autry with the evil queen

THE PHANTOM EMPIRE (1935) Directors: B. Reeves Eason; Otto Brower.

Gene Autry (radio singer Gene Autry) is host of a radio show with songs and dramatic serials called Radio Ranch, because it is, well, broadcast from a ranch. A group of "archaeologists" headed by Professor Beetson (Frank Glendon) suspect that there's radium on the property adjacent to the ranch, as well as the remains of a lost civilization, and want to get rid of Autry and his gang so they can proceed with their investigations; to this end they frame Autry for the murder of his partner. Frankie (Frankie Darro) and his sister Betsy (Betsy King Ross ), the children of the murdered man, are members of a teen group they call "Junior Thunder Riders" after some mysterious horsemen they encountered only once (who do indeed make a thunderous clamor when they ride); wouldn't you know these horsemen are actually called Thunder Riders in the underground world they come from, Murania, which is enclosed in a vast cavern 25,000 miles below the earth -- that can be reached by a elevator tube! Murania is ruled by a horrible queen Tika (Dorothy Christy), who seems to think her society is so much nicer and more advanced than the surface world, but is constantly ordering her slave-like soldiers put to death and even tries to kill Frankie and Betsy, two children, with a missile! (Better she should kill off the Thunder Riders, who apparently ride through the surface desert periodically and could easily lead people to the hidden entrance to Murania.) In the meantime, Murania's Lord Argo (Wheeler Oakman), who is supposed to kill off those who displease the queen in a lightning chamber, actually saves them so they can join his revolution, although he isn't much nicer than the queen.

The feature-length version of Phantom Empire was frequently shown on television when I was a boy and I have to say I didn't like it much even then. One can say it has a loopy charm, but whatever its assets it simply isn't very good. Autry isn't an especially dynamic leading man for an adventure sci-fi serial -- hard to believe that once upon a time he was a tremendous star --  although Christy, who was excellent as Stan Laurel's wife in Sons of the Desert, is at least somewhat forceful as the evil queen. Frankie Darro was always okay in this stuff, but while Betsy is cute, she was really a specialty horse rider and not an actress. The two morons Oscar (Smiley Burnette) and Pete (William Moore) are tiresome. The serial doesn't do much with the whole idea of what should be a fascinating underground city, and a sequence in which a disintegration weapon goes wild isn't very memorable (certainly not like a similar scene in Atlantis, the Lost Continent.) Watching Murania kind of melt is a mild sort of fun, however. Mascot made much, much better serials than this.

Verdict: Everyone should see this once and then completely forget it. **.

THE GANG'S ALL HERE

Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland

THE GANG'S ALL HERE (1941). Director: Jean Yarbrough.

"A buck an hour -- and all we gotta do is sit!"

Frankie O'Malley (Frankie Darro) and Jefferson Smith (Mantan Moreland) take a job at a trucking company unaware that the owner, Pop Wallace (Robert Homans) has been conspiring with a bad dude, Norton (Ed Cassidy) to commit insurance fraud, with the result that trucks are being run off the road and drivers killed. Pop has a slightly bitchy daughter named Patsy (Marcia May Jones) who is always nagging her boyfriend -- and Pop's employee -- Chick (Jackie Moran) to better himself, and even goes so far as to flirt with Frankie to make him jealous. As usual, Darro and Moreland, who made a number of movies together for Monogram studios, play well together, even if it can be a little disturbing to watch Darro boss the black man around [although Jeff often gets the last laugh]. It's interesting to note that Chinese-American actor Keye Luke is allowed a little dignity in his role, and even turns out to have a position of authority, but the black character remains a lazy buffoon, however lovable. Another black actor, Laurence Criner, plays Ham Shanks, who works for Norton. Anyway, despite the title the Monogram gang isn't all here -- there's no Gale Storm or Rick Vallens. 

Verdict: Mostly likable actors and little else. **.

LET'S GO COLLEGIATE

Frankie and Tad have both gotten the kiss-off from their girlfriends

LET'S GO COLLEGIATE (1941). Director: Jean Yarbrough.

Gale Storm! Mantan Moreland! Frankie Darro! What a stellar "B" movie cast this picture has. Frankie (Frankie Darro) and Tad (Jackie Moran), members of the Kappa Psi Delta fraternity of Raleigh U, have promised to deliver a sports hero named Bob Terry in order to give the school a champion rowing team. Then they discover that Terry can't come because he's just been drafted. Now none of this is their fault, but instead of simply telling the truth -- which no reasonable person could blame them for -- they decide to pass off an uneducated burly and surly truck driver named "Herc" Bevans (Frank Sully) as Terry. [Of course, if the boys acted sensibly there would be no movie.] Herc appalls the professors with his stupidity, has a hatred of water which makes rowing problematic, and worst of all steals away the fellows' girlfriends, Midge (Gale Storm) and Bess (Marcia Mae Jones). This idea could have been turned into a very cute picture but the laughs are very sporadic in the movie, and most of them are provided for by Mantan Moreland as an apparent chauffeur named Jeff.  Marguerite Whitten appears as Jeff's girlfriend Malvina, and Tristram Coffin shows up as an alumni and police officer. Keye Luke appears as another student named Buck Wing and he's surprisingly serious, probably trying to hold on to his dignity. The performances in this are good, with Sully effective as the impersonator.  There's even a nice number entitled "Let's Do a Little Dreaming," but this is more of a time-waster than anything else. This is one of several pictures Darro did with Moreland for Monogram. Moran was "Buddy" in the Buck Rogers serial, and Marcia May Jones had a significant role in These Three.

Verdict: Interesting cast given too little of note to do. **.

BURN 'EM UP BARNES

BURN 'EM UP BARNES (12 chapter Mascot serial/1934). Directors: Colbert Clark; Armand Schaefer.

Race car driver "Burn 'Em Up" Barnes (Jack Mulhall) decides to seek other employment after his friend, a photographer, dies on the race track. He joins up with Marjorie Temple (Lola Lane) to form the Temple and Barnes school bus transportation company. Marjorie is unaware that there is oil on her property, which is why Lyman Warren (Edwin Maxwell) desperately wants to buy it and will stop at nothing to put her in the position where she needs to sell. Early in the serial Warren and his associate Drummond (Jason Robards Sr.) frame Barnes for vehicular homicide, but his young buddy Bobby (Frankie Darro) has film that proves his innocence -- naturally this film passes among many hands before the serial is through. At one point Barnes starts doing stunt work for a movie company [just when the serial begins running out of skimpy plot] with the bad guys still trying to kill him off via assorted accidents. The cliffhangers in this serial are generally well-done and quite credible with none of the "cheating" that often occurs in serials. Mulhall seems like a vaudeville entertainer who wandered into the wrong set and is a terribly obvious actor. Lane is lovely and reasonably competent, and Darro is just swell. Maxwell, Robards and Francis McDonald are credible enough villains, and Julian Rivero does the comedy relief as grease monkey Tony as well as anyone. This is not a terrible serial, but it's not on the top of Mascot's cliffhanger list to be certain.

Verdict: A lesser serial but not without some entertainment value. **1/2. 

CHICK CARTER, DETECTIVE

CHICK CARTER, DETECTIVE 15 chapter Universal serial (1946). Directed by Derwin Abrahams.

Lt. Chick Carter ( Lyle Talbot) gets involved when a famous blue diamond disappears from a nightclub. Singer Sherry (Julie Gibson) hid the diamond in a fake snowball she used in a [rather sadistic] song number and which she marked with her lipstick, but she lobbed it at the wrong person. Others involved in the story include reporter Rusty Farrell (Douglas Fowler), photographer "Spud" (Eddie Acuff), mysterious cigarette girl Ellen (Pamela Blake), villains Mack (Jack Ingram) and Vasky (Leonard Penn), a nasty little guy known as the Creeper (Frankie Darro), and shady nightclub characters Joe (Charles King) and Nick (George Meeker). Private eye Dan Rankin (Robert Elliott) is killed off in chapter three's cliffhanger, and the serial is as much about finding out whoever was responsible for his death as it is in finding where the blue diamond is. This serial might have made an acceptable feature film, but stretched out over 15 episodes and with completely prosaic cliffhangers and neither a dynamic hero nor master villain -- and direction devoid of panache -- it emerges as rather dull stuff. Talbot was usually cast as a villain in these things -- portly, potato-faced and double-chinned, he makes an unlikely action hero. Maybe that's why Chick Carter [a character in pulp magazines] comes off like a supporting player in his own serial, with much of the running time given to Rusty and Spud. Spud is the one who's usually in danger in the cliffhangers, and indeed Eddie Acuff comes off much more like the star of the movie than Talbot does. Acuff is an acquired taste but he's not bad at the comedy relief stuff. Nice theme music.

Verdict: Not a very memorable serial. *1/2.

NO GREATER GLORY

NO GREATER GLORY (1934). Director: Frank Borzage.

In Germany a group of young boys have laid claim to a vacant lot and call themselves the Paul Street Boys. A group of older boys, bullies, are after the lot for themselves, and the younger lads are determined to defend it at any cost. The smallest boy, Nemecsek (George Breakston), is the only one of the Paul Street gang to be a private, and he is also determined to prove that he is as brave and able as any of the others and win his stripes. It all ends in tragedy, however.

I have a good friend who loves this picture, partly because it reminds him of his youth and his experiences in the Army. I really wanted to like this film -- I had already seen the remake called The Boys of Paul Street (1969) -- but it came off to me as nothing so much as a more serious Little Rascals movie! The movie is obvious from the get-go, simplistic and superficial, and actually rather tedious. The business with the vacant lot being a kind of microcosm of war is beaten to death long before the movie's conclusion. The acting of an uncredited Lois Wilson as Nemecsek's mother at the climax isn't nearly strong enough, although I do have to say that the performances of young Breakston, Jimmy Butler, Frankie Darro, and the other youngsters are exemplary. But I could hardly wait until it was over, and to my great surprise I wasn't much moved by the tragic ending either -- perhaps because I would have admired the pathetic Nemecsek more if he had tried to talk the boys into sharing the damn lot instead of eagerly throwing himself into "warfare." Still, it does have a certain poignancy, and a nice musical score by R. H. Bassett.

Verdict: Not exactly Lord of the Flies. **.