NICE GIRL?

Franchot Tone, Deanna Durbin, Robert Stack

NICE GIRL? (1941). Director: William A. Seiter.

Small-town girl Jane Dana (Deanna Durbin) has a perfectly swell, handsome boyfriend in Don Webb (Robert Stack of The Tarnished Angels), but wanting to appear more sophisticated, she makes a flagrant play for an older man, Richard Calvert (Franchot Tone of Honeymoon), which only makes her seem like an idiot. That's basically the plot of this dull movie that hasn't enough drama or laughs to make it even worth sitting through -- not even Durbin's singing can save it! There are some good actors in it, including Robert Benchley [The Bride Wore Boots] as Jane's father; Helen Broderick as a housekeeper, Cora; and Walter Brennan (almost looking young) as a mailman who has a hankering for Cora. Ann Gillis and Anne Gwynne play Jane's younger sisters, and we've also got Elisabeth Risdon from the Mexican Spitfire movies and Kenneth Howell from the Jones Family series in much smaller roles.

Verdict: This picture is so slight it hardly seems to exist. *1/2.

GIRLS' TOWN

June Storey and Kenneth Howell

GIRLS' TOWN (1942). Director: Victor Halperin.

Myra Norman (June Storey) wins the "Miss Ohio Valley" beauty contest and is sent to Hollywood with her plainer sister, Sue (Edith Fellows) as her chaperon. The girls live in a boarding house run by wheel-chair bound Mother Lorraine (Anna Q. Nilsson). Myra is an opportunist who latches onto Kenny Lane (Kenneth Howell), an agent for animal acts who wants to try his luck with humans for a change. But when director Lionel Fontaine (Paul Dubov) sees Sue act, he thinks she may have a lot more on the ball than her haughty sister. Which sister will become the movie star? Kenny, who's been dumped as hooker-hard Myra's agent, assures Sue that double-crossers don't get far in Hollywood -- who's he kidding? Hollywood is made up of double-crossers! In any case, Girls Town is a typical low budget PRC production with little to recommend it, although the acting isn't bad and Kenneth Howell, looking especially good in a mustache, is as charming as he was in all those Jones Family Movies such as Back to Nature for Twentieth Century-Fox. Edith Fellows was also in the 1934 version of Jane Eyre. One gal who makes an impression in this picture is Peggy Ryan [Chip Off the Old Block], who does a very good imitation of Bette Davis in Dark Victory. Talented and tragic Howell made his last film in 1951 and committed suicide 15 years later.

Verdict: "Jack Jones" to the rescue. **.

ANDY! ANDY! ANDY!

Studly? Rutherford, Rooney, Garland, Turner

ANDY! ANDY! ANDY!

One might as well say "Mickey! Mickey! Mickey! as actor and role were pretty much inseparable. There were other girl-crazy teens in old time movie series -- Jimmy Lydon in the Henry Aldrich series and  Kenneth Howell in the Jones Family series [both of whom were quite talented] -- but nobody was quite like Andy Hardy. Andy was sort of in-between the very silly if lovable Henry and the more serious and stable Jack Jones, although all three could lose their heads over the ladies.

Below is a round up of the last entries in the Andy Hardy series beginning with Life Begins for Andy Hardy and ending with Andy Hardy Comes Home, although one could claim that the last true Hardy film was Love Laughs at Andy Hardy 12 years earlier. Andy Hardy Comes Home was to be the first of a new series, but its mediocrity and other problems put paid to that idea.

The Hardy movies varied in quality, ranging from the excellence of Andy Hardy's Double Life to the comparative miserableness of Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble, with others stuck in the middle. But none of the Hardy films were completely awful, if for no other reason than the excellent performances of Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, and especially the irrepressible Mickey Rooney.

ON THEIR OWN

Spring Byington and Florence Roberts

ON THEIR OWN (1940). Director: Otto Brower.

In this final installment of Twentieth Century-Fox's Jones Family series, Mr. Jones, who is not seen (Jed Prouty, who played the role, is not in the movie as he wanted more money) has a nervous collapse after a Building and Loan crash and the embezzlement of several board members. While Jones recuperates, his wife, Louise (Spring Byington), and children have to deal with the fact that they're going to lose their home and their business. After this grim development, Mr. Jones is sent to a sanitarium in California to recuperate, and his family follows, but have severe money troubles. In an incredible and gutsy maneuver that borders on the unethical and even criminal, Louise and her oldest sons Jack (Kenneth Howell) and Roger (George Ernest), manage to "buy" a rental court from the owner, but not before he evicts his non-paying relatives. The family transform the court into a place where entertainers are welcome, not to mention people with children and pets, which infuriates the landlord of the property next door, who's afraid his tenants will complain about the noise and commotion, leading to a battle in court. Spring Byington takes center stage in this final Jones Family film, and runs with it, and the other actors, including Florence Roberts as Granny, are all terrific. Marguerite Chapman, Chick Chandler, ever-grumpy Charles Lane, and Irving Bacon are in the supporting cast. Call me a sentimental slob, but the depiction of the very obvious love these characters feel for one another is sometimes touching. NOTE: Your reviewer has seen all of the Jones Family films with the exception of Young as You Feel, Off to the Races, and A Trip to Paris. In the unlikely event that anyone has copies of these, especially Paris, please let me know!

Verdict: Not the best of the series, but some sentiment and humor and wonderful performances, and a more than interesting wind-up to the Jones Family (mis)adventures. **1/2.

TOO BUSY TO WORK

Florence Roberts, Spring Byington, and Joan Davis

TOO BUSY TO WORK (1939). Director: Otto Brower.

"If you sent her to Ripley I bet he wouldn't believe it!" -- Granny Jones on Lolly.

Mayor Jones (Jed Prouty) is alarming his wife (Spring Byington) and mother (Florence Roberts) because he's volunteering for too many duties as mayor and neglecting his drug store business to the point where he may lose it. Mrs. Jones decides to wake him up by neglecting her own duties and starring in a little theater production supervised by her old friend, Marge (Marjorie Gateson of Lily Turner). Added complications are the arrival of a niece, Lolly (Joan Davis of Around the World), who becomes the maid in exchange for food and board. Lolly has an eye on policeman Gilligan (Irving Bacon, Ethel's father on I Love Lucy) who loves her cooking but is preoccupied with the capture of safe cracker "Cracker" McGurk (Chick Chandler of Spy Train). Then the mayor discovers that his fellow board members have been behaving unethically and some money turns up missing ... Too Busy to Work is probably the funniest of the Jones Family films, with a good script and many amusing lines and situations to keep it consistently entertaining. Granny is especially acerbic in this entry. The entire cast, including Ken Howell and George Ernest, is top-notch, and Spring Byington certainly gets her chance to shine.

Verdict: Delightful! ***.

QUICK MILLIONS

Robert Shaw, June Carlson, Kenneth Howell, Helen Ericson

QUICK MILLIONS (1939). Director: Malcolm St. Clair.

Just when the Jones Family has returned from their adventure in Hollywood, they discover that an uncle has died and left them a house and a mine -- in the middle of the Grand Canyon! What's worse, the notorious bank robber, Floyd "Bat" Douglas (Horace McMahon) and his gang are using the place as a hide-out. The gun moll Daisy (Helen Ericson) passes phony money to Mayor Jones (Jed Prouty) and the cops think he's one of "Bat's" confederates. Then there's the question of whether or not there's any gold in the mine or just new cans of pork and beans. Robert Shaw -- not the actor from Jaws -- plays a ranger that Lucy (June Carlson) is attracted to and Eddie Collins is the alleged lawyer, "Beaver." Funny, while I wasn't overly impressed with Jed Prouty the first time I saw him, I have to say he grows on you and is especially good in this installment. As usual Granny (Florence Roberts) nearly walks off with the movie. Collins was also in the Jones Family film Down on the Farm.

Verdict: Actually quite pleasant and amusing. ***.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Mayor Jones [right] samples some of Cy's corn liquor

DOWN ON THE FARM (1938). Director: Malcolm St. Clair.

When the fire department accidentally makes a mess of their home, the Jones family head off to spend some time with Mayor Jones' sister, Ida (Louise Fazenda of The Old Maid) on the farm she co-owns with her brother. Mayor Jones (Jed Prouty) importunes hired hand and Ida's boyfriend Cy (Eddie Collins) to enter a corn husking contest -- Jones was once a corn-husking champ -- but learns that the town council thinks he's got a good shot at running for senator if he enters it himself. When a political boss (an uncredited Sidney Blackmer of Rosemary's Baby), who's backing someone else, offers Jones a post as state coroner, Grandma Jones (Florence Roberts) and Ida rightly see that it's only a bribe to get him out of the race -- no country bumpkins, they. Roger (George Ernest) has a girl named Emma (Roberta Smith) chasing after him, while Jack (Kenneth Howell) is immediately attracted to her older sister, Tessie (Dorris Bowden). Will John Jones win the corn husking contest and get to go to the senate? This is more amiable fun with a very creditable cast who by now were very much at home in their roles. Granny is a little more grumpy in this than usual, but still lovable.

Verdict: More fun with the Joneses. ***.

SAFETY IN NUMBERS [JONES FAMILY]

Lucy is comforted by her mother 

SAFETY IN NUMBERS (1938). Director: Malcolm St. Clair.

Mrs. Jones (Spring Byington) wins a radio contest as "best mother" after daughter Lucy (June Carlson) pens an essay about her. Meanwhile Major Jones (Jed Prouty) is nearly hornswoggled by some folks who say the town swamp contains mineral water with miraculous properties and want money to build a health spa on the site. On the romantic front, Jack (Kenneth Howell) falls seriously for a gal, Toni (Iva Stewart), who is already engaged to another, a situation which doesn't thrill her mother (Helen Freeman). The title comes from a speech Mrs. Jones has in which she mentions that the advantage of large families is that if one member is sad or in trouble, the others can pitch in and help -- there's safety in numbers. Robert Lowery [Batman and Robin] has a small role as a radio show host, and Cy Kendall is again the portly Chief of Police. Followed by The Jones Family in Hollywood.

Verdict: More than acceptable entry in the Jones Family series. **1/2

BORROWING TROUBLE

Tommy and Roger make plans

BORROWING TROUBLE (aka The Jones Family in Borrowing Trouble/1937). Director: Frank R. Strayer.

As Bonnie Jones (Shirley Deane) nervously prepares for her wedding to florist Herbert (Russell Gleason), her father, now Mayor Jones (Jed Prouty), becomes a "Big Brother" to a troubled boy from the wrong side of the tracks named Tommy (Marvin Stephens). Mayor Jones is none too thrilled to have the boy among his household, but his wife (Spring Byington) and mother (Florence Roberts) importune him to give Tommy a chance. Part of Tommy's problem is that his older brother, Lester (George Walcott), who works in a pool room, has fallen in with a bad crowd. And then the safe in Mayor Jone's drug store is robbed ... Borrowing Trouble, in which Papa Jones learns not to judge people by their appearance (although his wife's "no bad boys" attitude is quite unrealistic), the seventh entry in the Jones Family series, is, as usual, well-acted with its sentimental aspects never becoming too cloying. Bonnie and Herbert finally get married even if the ceremony is interrupted in riotous fashion. The Jones get a new addition in this installment -- a dog. Oldest son Jack (Kenneth Howell) has little to do in Borrowing Trouble, as he only shows up for the wedding at the end. Roger (George Ernest) gets the lion's share of the footage and gives a very ingratiating performance; Stephens is also notable. His character of Tommy McGuire was carried over to future Jones films, such as The Jones Family in Hollywood, becoming Lucy Jones' (June Carlson) boyfriend. The ever-mediocre Cy Kendall, who plays Chief Kelly in this and other Jones' films, was in a number of serials [Jungle Queen] and "B" movies [The Shadow Strikes].

Verdict: Another amiable evening with the Joneses. **1/2.

HOT WATER

Jed Prouty and Spring Byington as Mr. and Mrs. Jones

HOT WATER (1937). Director: Frank R. Strayer.

Mr. Jones (Jed Prouty) is up in arms over a place called the Red Mill, which has illegal gambling in its back parlor and sells liquor to the under-aged. But will the mayor shut it down, or does he have an interest in the place himself? Jones is importuned to run for mayor himself, with son Ralph (George Ernest) both helping and hindering him by putting out his own newspaper and promoting his dad. Oldest son Jack (Kenneth Howell) is waylaid by a pretty singer who works at the Red Mill in a frame up which has him accused of paralyzing a pedestrian, but Ralph comes to the rescue with a bunch of bees. Bonnie (Shirley Deane) and Herbert (Russell Gleason), who seemed to get engaged at the end of the last Jones Family film, Big Business, still aren't married. The acting is as good as ever. Spring Byington and Florence Roberts play Jones' wife and mother respectively.

Verdict: Amiable and entertaining if minor. **1/2. 

BIG BUSINESS

Jack (Kenneth Howell) races to town to save the day

BIG BUSINESS (1937). Director: Frank R. Strayer. 

In this very entertaining installment of the Jones Family series, oldest daughter Bonnie (Shirley Deane) is a little disgusted with her fiance, Herbert (Russell Gleason), because he's dragging his feet regarding marriage until he thinks he's saved up enough money. Bonnie thinks she's come up with the answer when former football hero Ted Hewett (Allan Lane of King of the Mounties) shows up in town selling stock in the Eureka oil well. Hewett importunes Father Jones (Jed Prouty) and many other townspeople to buy stock  -- Herbert drags his feet on this as well --  and gets Jones to invest money he really can't afford in a new oil well. But will the Eureka well gush oil or just mud and water? In the meantime oldest son Jack (Kenneth Howell) has invented a super-charger that will make cars go super-fast. As usual, Granny Jones (Florence Roberts) has a lot to say, and at one point even manages so steal a kiss from young Herbert. Well-acted by all, Big Business has some genuine suspense and zips along under Strayer's brisk direction. Strayer also directed Manhattan Tower and Lane starred in King of the Mounties. 

Verdict: Fun and charming. ***.

BACK TO NATURE

Kenneth Howell and George Ernest 

BACK TO NATURE (1936). Director: James Tinling.

A third Jones Family programmer was rushed out in 1936 and proved a touch funnier than the previous installments. In this Father Jones (Jed Prouty) goes to a convention and is pressured into bringing the whole family along [a premise that was used again in The Jones Family in Hollywood and probably others]. He buys an $800 trailer and most of the family foolishly ride inside it during the trip. There's a scene involving the trailer and a cliff that prefigures The Long, Long Trailer, but is less elaborate. At Crystal Lake, Jack (Kenneth Howell) dates a loopy gal named Mabel (Dixie Dunbar, carried over from the previous film, Educating Father, but playing a supposedly different character), and the two are involved in a near-disastrous boat ride just as they were nearly in a plane crash in the last installment. Tony Martin [Here Come the Girls] plays a romantic interest for Bonnie (Shirley Deane) -- and plays it very well, with suave flair and assurance -- but the romance decidedly hits a snag. Excellent performances help put this over, although Dunbar and her character are rather irritating. You keep hoping she'll run into Jason Vorhees from that other Crystal Lake in Friday the 13th!

Verdict: Palatable hijinks with the Joneses. **1/2. 

EDUCATING FATHER

Granny Jones reads her horror stories

EDUCATING FATHER (1936). Director: James Tinling.

The first sequel to Every Saturday Night, in which the Evers Family became the Jones Family, was rushed out the same year, becoming a sort of theatrical hour-long sitcom for fifteen more installments. In this entry Mr. Jones (Jed Prouty) wants his son, Jack (Kenneth Howell) to follow him into the pharmacy business, but Jack is more interested in the field of aviation and has been taking flying lessons on the sly. There's a hair-raising bit when a silly gal named Millicent (Dixie Dunbar) climbs into the back seat of a plane without his knowledge and nearly causes a crack-up. In another sub-plot Mr. Jones goes fishing in a place miles away from anywhere just when his lease is coming up on his pharmacy, and Jack has to fly into the wilderness to get him back to town in time or he'll lose his store. Granny Jones (Florence Roberts) reads horror stories, and Mrs. Jones (Spring Byington) wrings her hands and offers sage advice. In this entry oldest daughter Bonnie is played by Shirley Deane.

Verdict: Passable comedy with likable players. **.

EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT

Jack gets advice from his granny

EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT (1936). Director: James Tinling.

When 20th Century-Fox came out with this adaptation of the stage play about a warm and loving family with their share of minor disagreements, they probably had no idea it would make enough money to engender no less than sixteen sequels! That means that there was one more entry in [what became] the Jones Family series than in MGM's Andy Hardy/Hardy Family series (even when you count the much-later Andy Hardy Comes Home and don't count a couple of Andy Hardy shorts), which began with A Family Affair (also from a play) the year after Every Saturday Night debuted. Ironically, the Jones Family series is pretty much completely forgotten, while everyone has heard of Andy Hardy, probably thanks to the irrepressible Mickey Rooney. 

In Every Saturday Night the name of the family is actually Evers, but it was changed for subsequent entries, although when the film was re-released as a "Jones Family" feature the "Evers" name wasn't over-dubbed. Evers/Jones (Jed Prouty) is a small-town pharmacist who, as his mother (Florence Roberts) tells him, raises his children as if it were twenty years earlier, and forgets the trouble he got into himself when he was a boy. His oldest daughter, Bonnie (June Lang) is dating a guy named Clark (Thomas Beck) who drives drunk and nearly kills a girl. The younger daughter, Lucy (June Carlson) wants to be an actress and is always imitating Hepburn, Garbo or someone else. Oldest son Jack (Ken Howell) gets in hot water when he takes Dad's car without permission, and borrows money from his serious younger brother Roger (George Ernest) at high interest. Then there's a near-crisis when little Bobby (Billy Mahan) gets a serious cut. Mrs. Evers (Spring Byington) is wise enough to know when to intercede and when to keep quiet. Every Saturday Night is certainly not a masterpiece, but it is surprisingly touching at times in its warmth and honest sentiment, and the obvious love these characters feel for one another is almost palpable, thanks to very adept performances by the entire cast.

Verdict: A lost bit of Hollywood history. **1/2.

THE JONES FAMILY IN HOLLYWOOD

George Ernest tries to console June Carlson

THE JONES FAMILY IN HOLLYWOOD (1939). Director: Malcolm St. Clair.

The long-running Jones Family series [a total of 17 movies!] actually started with Every Saturday Night in 1936 when the family was named "Evers." (Presumably somebody with the same name objected because they became the more generic Jones Family with the next installment and thereafter.) This movie is about at the halfway mark for the series, and has the family traveling to Hollywood when Father Jones (a dithery and unappealing Jed Prouty) attends an American Legion convention, and everyone else, including the peppery Granny Jones (Florence Roberts), insists on going along. Lucy (June Carlson) thinks she's going to become a movie star thanks to the manipulations of sleazy actor Danny Regan (William Tracy of Terry and the Pirates), while girl-crazy Jack (Kenneth Howell) thinks he's fallen for an actress who only wants to use the handsome lug for research. The more studious brother, Roger, is played by the aptly-named George Ernest. At one point Roger, who is making a home movie, stands in for Lucy and shows her how to make love to her boyfriend, Tommy (Marvin Stephens), making it seem as if he has a crush on him. The actors are all adept, but the script is thin and silly and the laughs merely sporadic when they come at all.The only "name" in the cast is Spring Byington (Walk Softly Stranger), who is her usual self as Mrs. Louise Jones. Howell was also in Henry Aldrich for President and Junior G-Men. St. Clair also directed Jitterbugs with Laurel and Hardy.

Verdict: If nothing else a quaint curiosity of a long-forgotten series. **.

JUNIOR G-MEN

JUNIOR G-MEN (1940). 12 chapter Universal serial. Directed by Ford Beebe and John Rawlins.

In this serial a few members of the Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys basically play variations of their usual personas. Billy Barton's (Billy Halop) father, a colonel and an “inventive genius,” has come up with a formula that is coveted by enemy agents. With this formula, vibrations from explosions can set off other explosions within a range of 100 miles! Colonel Barton is kidnapped, and the enemy agents keep trying to kidnap Billy so that they can threaten him with harm to make his father comply. Billy and his buddies, including “Gyp” (Huntz Hall) and Terry (Gabriel Dell), not only get involved with real FBI men [headed by Jim Bradford, played by Joan Crawford's ex Phillip Terry], but also commingle with Junior G-Men led by Bradford's nephew Terry (Kenneth Howell). The enemy group is called the Flaming Torch and Billy and Gyp refer to the members of the outfit as “torchies.” The lead torchie is the same chubby guy who played head villain Monroe in The Green Hornet, Cy Kendall. The serial takes a while to get going but before long there are exciting cliffhangers involving a collapsing fire escape and a descending elevator cage. The theme music is good and there is absolutely no sign of Leo Gorcey.

Verdict: Not top-notch by any means but slightly better than the typical Universal entry. **1/2.