SECOND HONEYMOON

Loretta Young and Tyrone Power

SECOND HONEYMOON (1937). Director: Walter Lang.

Vicky Benton (Loretta Young of The Accused) and her second husband Bob (Lyle Talbot of Jail Bait) are on vacation in Florida when they run into Vicky's first husband, Raoul (Tyrone Power), who is still in love with her. Vicky has nagging feelings of affection for Raoul as well, but tries to suppress them. Then Bob is called to New York on business and Vicky stays behind. From the very first frame you know whom Vicky will wind up with, I mean -- Tyrone Power vs Lyle Talbot? If only the audience had been spared sitting through the 80 minutes that it takes for the two leads to realize whom they really wanted to be with.

Ty Power

Second Honeymoon aspires to be a frenetic screwball comedy, but the script is pedestrian, unfunny, and hopeless. Casting very, very skilled comic actors might have helped a bit, but Young, Power and Talbot are not highly skilled comic actors, although they certainly do the best they can with the material, and Talbot isn't quite as dull as usual. Surely Vicky had very good reasons for divorcing Raoul in the first place, but the movie glosses over them -- sex appeal triumphs as usual! Aside from a possible tendency to chase other women, second husband Bob doesn't seem that bad, at least not bad enough to deserve all the derision that is heaped upon him at the end. But he's not as good-looking as Power, so of course the film must make him the scapegoat.

Violet the raccoon goes a callin'

The film has only one laugh, and that is when Violet, Raoul's pet raccoon (given him by Bob) gets loose on an airplane and crawls curiously all over an old lady. Other actors trapped in this cinematic loser include Stuart Erwin as Raoul's valet; Claire Trevor (!) as Vicky's married friend, Marcia; and Marjorie Weaver as Joy, a personality-plus type gal who inexplicably marries Erwin. With her too-big lips and rather out-sized teeth, Young is definitely not as pretty as Power, but at least the raccoon is cute. The DVD of this is beautiful to look out, sharply remastered, but the movie is just pitiful. Mary Treen has a bit role as Joy's friend and co-worker. Walter Lang directed a great many much better movies, including Desk Set.

Verdict: One honeymoon too many. *. 

SHADOW OF SUSPICION

Marjorie Weaver and Peter Cookson

SHADOW OF SUSPICION (1944). Director: William Beaudine.

Jewelry store manager Frank Randall (Pierre Watkin) receives a visitor named Northrup, who claims to be working out of the firms' security office. Meanwhile the real Northrup (Tim Ryan) shows up and Randall suggests he work closely with the fake Northrup to see what he's up to. Surely it has something to do with the arrival of the fabulous Stonehaven diamond necklace? The fake Northrup is actually Jimmy Dale (Peter Cookson), who romances Randall's secretary Claire (Marjorie Weaver of Fashion Model) while spying on everyone else. Just who is the real bad guy in this? And does anyone give a damn? Shadow of Suspicion is a true Monogram stinker, so poor that you have to wonder why they even bothered releasing it. The acting is professional enough, although Ryan wears out his welcome early on and isn't the least bit funny; Weaver demonstrates little appeal of any kind, including sex appeal; and Watkin is as professionally bland as ever. [The prolific Watkin is not one of those beloved character actors whose presence always graces a film like, say, Eve Arden, nor was he quirky enough to have the "appeal" of a Percy Helton.] The only cast stand-outs are Peter Cookson, who has the looks, charm and suaveness to have a major career which never materialized, and Clara Blandick [Shopworn], as "Mother," the elderly leader of a gang of jewel thieves. For an alleged comedy, this has no laughs.

Verdict: Why Monogram has a bad reputation. *1/2.

FASHION MODEL

Robert Lowery, Tim Ryan, Marjorie Weaver

FASHION MODEL (1945). Director: William Beaudine.

Not long after model Peggy Rooney (Marjorie Weaver of Great Alaskan Mystery) gets into a fight with rival Yvonne (Lorna Gray of The Perils of Nyoka), the latter is found strangled inside the fashion house where they work. Peggy is the first major suspect in the murder, but as more deaths occur, her boyfriend Jimmy (Robert Lowery) catches the eye of dogged Police Inspector O'Hara (Tim Ryan). There's also a missing broach that was given to the dead woman by her rather disinterested fiance, Davis (John Valentine), which engenders a frantic search for the expensive item by Duval (Edward Keane), head of the fashion house, and his employee, Madame Celeste (Dorothy Christy). Fashion Model is a comedy-mystery with a few chuckles, some cold-blooded characters, and an interesting if lower case cast. Tim Ryan could probably have played the role of the inspector in his sleep by now. Robert Lowery registers his usual suave charm, and Marjorie Weaver proves she's definitely no Lucille Ball. Nell Craig and Harry Depp [Black Magic] are fun as a bickering couple who are in the fashion house during the first murder, and Jack Norton nearly steals the picture as the tippling window dresser, Herbert. The most amusing sequence has Herbert trying to undress two mannequins who are actually Peggy and Jimmy in disguise. The ending is kind of nifty and well-done. Dorothy Christy was the evil queen in The Phantom Empire and also appeared in Sons of the Desert with Laurel and Hardy.

Verdict: It's not Blood and Black Lace but it has its moments. **.

MURDER OVER NEW YORK

Ricardo Cortez, Victor Sen Yung and Sidney Toler

MURDER OVER NEW YORK (1940). Director: Harry Lachman.

When Hugh Drake (Frederick Worlock), formerly of Scotland Yard and now with Military Intelligence, is found dead of gas poisoning, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) goes into [relative] action, while son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) kibbitzes. A strange man named Paul Narvo is involved in the murder plot, but even his wife, Pat (Marjorie Weaver of The Great Alaskan Mystery) -- from whom she ran away -- doesn't know who or where he is. Suspects and other characters include the butler Boggs (Leyland Hodgson); Inspector Vance (Donald MacBride); Drake's friend, Kirby (Ricardo Cortez); stockbroker Richard Jeffery (John Sutton); David Elliot (Robert Lowery), special friend of Pat's; the obnoxious Britisher Herbert Fenton (Melville Cooper); and Ralph Percy (Kane Richmond); who is involved with experimental aircraft that may be subject to sabotage. Junior Coghlan [The Adventures of Captain Marvel] has a nice bit as a club employee who helps Chan, and Shemp Howard [Brideless Groom] has an amusing turn as Shorty, who pretends to be the "Great Rashid." The exciting climax has many of the characters in a death-trap on a plane miles high in the air. With Richmond, Lowery, and Cortez in the cast -- as they were in many other Charlie Chan films -- this practically comprises the Charlie Chan Stock Company.

Verdict: Death-traps are always fun! ***.

CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE

Charlie Chan (Toler) meets Ming the Merciless (Middleton)

CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE (1940). Director: Eugene Forde.

When Inspector Duff (Montague Shaw) comes to tell Chan  that he needs his help in finding a strangler who has already claimed several innocent lives, Chan (Sidney Toler) only seems to turn his back for a minute and Duff himself becomes the next victim! Since Duff had narrowed the identity of the mysterious strangler to one of several passengers on a cruise ship, Chan joins the cruise and tries to ferret out who the killer might be. The suspects include: Dr. Suderman (Lionel Atwill), who doesn't seem to hold Chan's abilities in high regard; Susie Watson (Cora Witherspoon of The Bank Dick), a spirited high-society dowager; her playful friend James Ross (Don Beddoe); Professor Gordon (Leo. G. Carroll); wealthy Gerald Pendleton (Leonard Mudie); dreamy Dick Kenyon (Robert Lowery) and his pretty gal, Paula (Marjorie Weaver); the gloomy religious fanatics Mrs. Walters (Claire Du Brey) and her husband (Charles Middleton); and others. Jimmy Chan (Victor Yen Sung) is along for the ride as well. The cast consists of old pros who know just how to play this amusing, suspenseful material. Toler is in top form, Sen Yung as charming as ever, and Atwill, Middleton, Mudie and Witherspoon are all in fine fettle. It's worth the price of admission just for the scene when Toler confronts Middleton and you realize that Chan is having a chat with Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon! This has a good mystery plot with a few surprises as well.

Verdict: Utterly delightful! ***.

GREAT ALASKAN MYSTERY

GREAT ALASKAN MYSTERY (1944). 13 chapter Universal serial. Directed by Ray Taylor and Lewis D. Collins.

This serial focuses on attempts to steal and use a “Peraton” ray gun that uses a new energized mineral as a power source. At the beginning an evil captain maroons the inventor and party on an iceberg, but they manage to survive for several more chapters of highly moderate and essentially mediocre “excitement.” Yep, Great Alaskan Mystery is more evidence of why Universal was never considered one of the better studios for cliffhanger serials. Milburn Stone is too low-key and dull to make a memorable serial hero. There are a few good scenes, however: a polar bear swims after and attacks a man in the water off the iceberg; and a terrific cliffhanger when a mine car plunges into a pit with the added danger in the fact that it's carrying explosives! The theme music is excellent, and the ever-versatile Jay Novello plays an Eskimo chief. With Marjorie Weaver as Ruth Miller and the always-sinister Martin Kosleck as a nasty turncoat scientist.

Verdict: Okay if you're in the mood for nothing special. **.