THE ADVENTURES OF FRANK MERRIWELL

Donald Briggs as Frank Merriwell

THE ADVENTURES OF FRANK MERRIWELL (12-chapter Universal serial/1936). Directors: Clifford Smith; Lew Landers. Colorized version.

Famed college athlete Frank Merriwell (Donald Briggs) is beloved by most of his classmates aside from the jealous and bitter House Peters (House Peters Jr.) Merriwell's father has been missing for two years, but Frank learns of a ring that may lead to a treasure. While Frank and his pals ponder this, an evil man named Daggett (Ben Hewlet), who always wears a weird mask, is out to get the treasure for himself. Frank and a whole host of classmates -- and his girlfriend, Elsie (Jean Rogers of Flash Gordon) -- travel by boat in pursuit of clues to the treasure. They eventually find the gold but it is alternately stolen by and taken back from Daggett and his desperadoes. Along the way Frank and his buddies find themselves in mortal danger ... 

Ben Hewlet as Daggett

Frank Merriwell, whose adventures originally took place around the 1890s, was once a very famous fictional character with dozens of stories detailing his exploits. These translate well to the serial medium, and make use of several good cliffhangers: a train smashes into an uncoupled runaway engine; Frank and Elsie are nearly crushed by a towering tree when it crashes downward; Frank is attacked by an escaped lion at the circus etc. The pace of the serial is generally swift, but there are duller detours showing us stage acts, assorted parties, and the unfunny antics of class cut-up, the dufus Harry (Sumner Getchell). 

John King and Jean Rogers

There is some strange casting in the serial. As mentioned the character of House Peters is played by House Peters, Jr., the son of silent film star House Peters. Other classmates of Merriwell's are also played by the sons of (at the time) well-known actors, including Wallace Reid Jr. and Edward Arnold Jr. However, Frank's best buddy, Bruce, is played by John "Dusty" King, who displays an excellent baritone singing voice and later went on to play the lead in the serial Ace Drummond. Adventures of Frank Merriwell, even when colorized, remains a bit creaky and forgettable, despite a couple of decent moments. The villain in this is utterly colorless. 

Verdict: You may be wishing this was over long before it's over! **1/4. 

THREE SMART GIRLS

THREE SMART GIRLS (1936). Director: Henry Koster.

Dorothy Craig (Nella Walker) has been divorced from her wealthy husband, Judson (Charles Winninger) for years, when she discovers that he's keeping company with a marriage-minded gal named Donna (Binnie Barnes). Her three daughters, who haven't seen their father in ten years, jet from Switzerland to New York City -- along with nanny-maid Martha (Lucile Watson) -- to break Judson and Donna up and reunite their parents. Three Smart Girls sort of glosses over the fact that there's no excuse for a father not to see his own daughters in a decade, but as he's played by the "lovable" Winninger, it's made more palatable, if not quite excusable. You have to wonder why Judson would have the slightest interest in seeing his wife again let alone remarrying her. The three sisters are Joan (Nan Grey of Dracula's Daughter), who falls for her father's associate, Bill (John King of Charlie Chan in Honolulu); mousy Kay (Barbara Read), who is unaccountably pursued by Lord Michael Stuart (Ray Milland); and Penny (Deanna Durbin), who is the youngest and most high-spirited of the bunch. Universal obviously put the publicity push strictly behind Durbin, giving her several song numbers to showcase her glorious voice, and letting the other two gals sink or swim. Grey had quite a few credits before Three Smart Girls, while this was the first picture for Read, who had a few later credits. Except for a short, this was also Durbin's first movie. Whatever its flaws, Three Smart Girls is amusing, entertaining and well-acted by all, with Barnes especially good as Donna, and Alice Brady [Beauty for Sale] scoring as her mother. Mischa Auer is quite funny as a man hired by the girls to romance Donna. Followed by Three Smart Girls Grow Up.

Verdict: Cute picture with a winning Durbin and others. ***.

THE HARDYS RIDE HIGH

Mickey Rooney, Ann Rutherford and William Orr

THE HARDYS RIDE HIGH (1939). Director: George B. Seitz.

"Why do I want to get married and make one woman miserable when I can stay single and make lots of women happy!' -- Andy Hardy.

Judge Hardy (Lewis Stone) gets the astonishing news that he may have inherited two million dollars so he packs up the family to a Detroit mansion to check out the claim's validity. In the meantime son Andy (Mickey Rooney) goes "high-hattin'" to nightclubs where he refuses liquor and has trouble taking a smoke, but he is, after all, only sixteen years old [Rooney was actually three years older]. Daughter Marian (Cecelia Parker) proves to be as big an ass as usual. Aunt Milly (Sara Haden), who is the judge's sister-in-law [but always seems more like his sister] glamorizes herself but alas is still pretty homely, although gauche Andy thinks she's "all done up like a plush horse!" And Mrs. Hardy (Fay Holden) is just happy that she found a good frying pan in Detroit. A very young and unrecognizable Virginia Grey [Jeanne Eagels] plays a chorus girl who tries to vamp Andy -- the young stud is positively terrified by such a sophisticated city woman -- at the direction of her boyfriend, and rival heir, Phil Westcott (John King). Andy complains to girlfriend Polly (Ann Rutherford) that he's "all right until some la-di-da lizzie comes along," referring to the snooty Dick Bannersly (William Orr). The Hardys Ride High is a delightful entry in the series, with the usual top performances, especially the great Rooney, lots of humor, and the usual dose of honest sentiment. Judge Hardy comes mighty close to committing a crime in this, and frankly the whole business about the inheritance is never satisfactorily resolved, as if something were left on the cutting room floor. Marsha Hunt has a small role as a wife who appears before the court. William Orr later became the head of Warner Brothers television and was executive producer of many hit shows, including 77 Sunset Strip and Hawaiian Eye.

Verdict: Riding high indeed. ***.

CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU

 [Victor] Sen Yung and Sidney Toler

CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU (1938). Director: H. Bruce Humberstone.

"What a wonderful gift for science your brain would make, Mr. Chan." -- Dr. Cardigan

"I prefer to keep it for myself." -- Charlie Chan

Back home in Honolulu with his very large family, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is awaiting the birth of his first grandchild. His oldest son, Lee, has gone to New York to study art [!] and his love of mystery-solving has been passed on to brother Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung), not to mention little Tommy (Layne Tom Jr). When a murder occurs on a freighter with passengers, these two set off to solve it while Papa is at the hospital; eventually Charlie takes over. Suspects and other characters include secretary Judy Hayes (Phyllis Brooks of The Shanghai Gesture), a witness to the crime; seaman Randolph (John King), who has special feelings for Judy; Carol Wayne (Claire Dodd of Babbitt), who is busy keeping secrets; animal trainer, Hogan (Eddie Collins) who is transporting beasts to the San Francisco Zoo and has a pet lion named Oscar; Dr. Cardigan (George Zucco), who in a weird development keeps a "living brain" in his cabin; Joe Arnold (Richard Lane), a cop who is escorting the prisoner Johnny McCoy (Marc Lawrence); Inspector Rawlins (Paul Harvey), who is Chan's somewhat befuddled boss; and Captain Johnson (Robert Barrat), who only wants everyone to get off of his ship so he can finally set sail with his cargo. Sidney Toler took over the role of Charlie Chan after Warner Oland's death, and he is excellent, if more grandfatherly, which is appropriate as Chan becomes a grandfather in this film [Phlip Ahn plays his son-in-law Wing Foo]. Sen Yung is a memorable addition to the Charlie Chan cast, and has a lot to do in the movie. Charlie Chan films had always had comedy relief, but in this film there is so much humor that it has to be considered a comedy-mystery, and it is very, very funny at times. A notable sequence has Chan testing Cardigan's deafness by throwing a coin on the ground behind him, which Cardigan turns to pick up. "When money talks," says Chan, "few are deaf." Zucco is especially good in this, but the whole cast is on top of things. Cardigan brings up the notion that the retina of the eye retains the image of the last thing the dead person saw a la Four Flies on Grey Velvet, but Chan debunks this theory immediately. ["All I see are reflections of self."] The movie boasts consistently amusing dialogue and has a generous amount of suspense as well.

Verdict: A very auspicious debut for Toler and Sen Yung. ***.