THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR

Hugh Herbert and Eddie Quillan

THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR (1939). Director: Joseph Santley.  

George Pierce (Hugh Herbert of We're In the Money) runs a small-town household consisting of wife Rose (Ruth Donnelly), daughters Susan (Juanita Quigley) and Laura (Joy Hodges), and sons Sammy (Eddie Quillan) and Rufus (Benny Bartlett). While aspiring singer Laura has some romantic problems, son Sammy conspires with his mother to cash in some bonds in order to buy property that he is sure will become valuable once a railroad stop is erected. Alas ... In 1937 MGM started their long-running Hardy Family series with A Family Affair while 20th Century Fox beat them out with the first Jones Family entry, Every Saturday Night the year before. The Family Next Door was released by Universal, and perhaps there was some hope that it would be as successful as the other studios' entries, but this picture was not developed into a series. On its own terms, The Family Next Door is a very funny movie bolstered by fine comic performances. Ruth Donnelly especially stands out as the mother who goes to some extreme lengths for her pretty daughter, who has fallen for newcomer Bill Trevis (Thomas Beck), and there's an amusing party scene that reminds one a bit of Alice Adams (in other ways as well). Cecil Cunningham makes an impression as Bill's disapproving Aunt Cora. There is also an adorable family pet named Baby, who in one charming scene commiserates with the (temporarily) heartbroken Laura, and Lillian Yarbo, as usual, is very amusing as the maid Blossom. The dramatic developments are fairly predictable, but The Family Next Door is quite entertaining.

Verdict: Fun, old-fashioned family comedy with expert players. ***.

WE'RE IN THE MONEY

Blondell and Farrell

WE'RE IN THE MONEY (1935). Director: Ray Enright.

Ginger (Joan Blondell) and Dixie (Glenda Farrell) are process servers for dithery lawyer Homer Bronson (Hugh Herbert). Their latest assignment is to serve papers on a host of men who are being sued for breach of promise by the same Frenchwoman, Claire LeClaire (Anita Kerry), who was actually born in Brooklyn. Using various tricks and clever maneuvers, the gals are able to pass on the subpoenas, but there's an awkward snag when it turns out that the "chauffeur" Ginger is dating, and is in love with, is actually wealthy Richard Courtney (Ross Alexander), one of the litigants! We're in the Money is an amusing, well-played comedy with the ladies in top form, and good support from Kerry, Herbert [The Black Cat] and Alexander, as well as Lionel Stander and Phil Regan as two more of LeClaire's victims. One of the best scenes has Ginger serving Regan as he entertains in a nightclub. Enright also directed River's End.

Verdict: Cute and snappy. ***.

THE BLACK CAT

Gale Sondergaard

THE BLACK CAT (1941). Director: Albert S. Rogell.

In this entertaining comedy-thriller, the relatives of elderly Henrietta Winslow (Cecelia Loftus) are gathered inside the obligatory spooky mansion waiting for her to die and wondering how much they'll each get. Naturally murders and weird goings-on ensue. The Black Cat certainly has an unusual collection of actors: everyone from Bela Lugosi (as a groundskeeper) to Broderick Crawford to Alan Ladd to Gale Sondergaard [who at least you expect to see in stuff like this] and even Gladys Cooper [whom you don't]. Sondergaard is very amusing as the sinister housekeeper, Abigail, and Gladys Cooper practically steals the picture in her turn as Myrna -- her husband is played by no less than Basil Rathbone, and he, too, is excellent. Anne Gwynne, Claire Dodd, and John Eldredge also have roles and Hugh Herbert is comic relief -- or something. Some may find this a little too humorous to sustain any kind of real atmosphere but it's fun and has an exciting climax.

Verdict: Any picture with this cast can't be all bad. ***.

SH! THE OCTOPUS

SH! THE OCTOPUS (1937). Director: William C. McGann.

Allen Jenkins (pictured) has a rare lead role as a cop, Dempsey, teamed with irritating Hugh Herbert, who plays Kelly. The two find themselves investigating an alleged murder at a spooky lighthouse. (The body dangling from way high overhead in the tower, dripping blood onto Herbert, is a startlingly macabre touch). This has something to do with a mysterious crime leader, the scourge of the area, who is known as the Octopus. There is also a real octopus hanging around the lighthouse whose well-articulated tentacles float in now and then to close doors, turn off lights, and snatch people out of windows and into the ocean. John Eldredge plays the new owner of the lighthouse, and Marcia Ralston is a pretty lady, Vesta Vernoff, who is certain that her stepfather is the body dangling over everybody's heads. Despite (or because of) all these macabre, spooky touches, the movie -- based on that chest nut The Gorilla -- is never as funny as it's supposed to be, and hasn't got a strong enough story to hold one's interest. Elspeth Dudgeon is a riot as Vesta's old nanny, but you keep hoping that Abbott and Costello will show up to create some real laughs.

Verdict: Not a total stinker, but close. **.