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. 

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. 

BAREFOOT BOY

Jackie Moran and Marcia Mae Jones

BAREFOOT BOY (1938). Director: Karl Brown.

Billy Whittaker (Jackie Moran) is a small town boy who runs about barefoot all the time and has a crush on a neighbor girl named Julia (Marilyn Knowlden). Vying for her affections is an obnoxious lad named Kenneth Hale (Bradley Metcalfe), whose father, John (Ralph Morgan of The Monster and the Ape), is just out of prison and sends the arrogant youngster to live with the Whittakers. An old house in the woods holds a secret, not only the bank notes supposedly stolen by John Hale but the real criminals, hiding out, as well. Marcia Mae Jones [Haunted House] plays Julia's sister Pige, who is even more obnoxious than Kenneth, and Johnnie Morris is their likable brother, Jeff. Barefoot Boy is supposedly inspired by the poem of the same name, but it really has nothing to do with it -- this is just another Moran/Jones movie from Monogram. Moran and most of the other actors are fine, but the movie is cheap and unmemorable. Pudgy-faced, plain, and extremely irritating, most viewers probably wanted to strangle Miss Jones. Metcalfe makes a better impression as Kenneth.

Verdict: Proof that some children should be seen and not heard. *1/2.

HAUNTED HOUSE

Jackie Moran

HAUNTED HOUSE (1940). Director: Robert F. McGowan.

In a small town a handyman named Olaf (Christian Rub) is on trial for murder. A young aspiring reporter named Jimmy (Jackie Moran) believes in Olaf's innocence but has absolutely no evidence to back this up. Into town comes Mildred Henshaw (Marcia Mae Jones), who is the daughter of Albert Henshaw (George Cleveland of Pillow of Death), the editor of the paper. Jimmy and Millie are immediately attracted to one another, and set out to find out who actually murdered Olaf's elderly employer. The two young people prove to be very lousy detectives, but they sort of stumble into a solution. There is no actual Haunted House in Haunted House, only the now-deserted domicile of the murdered woman. Moran [Let's Go Collegiate] is charming, full of that breathless boyishness so typical of the period, and Jones is fine, with some good supporting actors helping things along. Clarence Wilson and Mary Carr [The Sea Fiend] are notable as, respectively, the gas station owner named Eph, and the old lady everyone calls "Grandma."

Verdict: Minor if smooth Monogram filler. **1/2.

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. **.

THERE GOES KELLY

THERE GOES KELLY (1945). Director: Phil Karlson.

A Monogram cheapie musical comedy of sorts in which two page boys, Jimmy (Jackie Moran) and Sammy (Sidney Miller) get involved with the murder of radio singing star Rita Wilson (Jan Wiley). There's the usual gruff boss, inept exasperated cop, a terrible singing cowboy (John Gilbreath), and a pretty wannabee singer, Ann (Wanka McKay, pictured). A couple of the songs are pleasant but a bit when the two page boys put on black face and do an alleged comedy routine is really awful. Moran, Miller, and McKay are likable leads, however, but this is a bit of fluff with little or no staying power. Miller had an especially long career, which included television directing.

Verdict: Don't bother to tape. *1/2.