Posts about “B” films from the 1930s and 1940s.
On Thanksgiving Weekend 1944, Paramount Pictures released One Body Too Many, a comedy-mystery film starring Jack Haley. Haley famously played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (1939). The film also starred Jean Parker, Lyle Talbot, Douglas Fowley and Bela Lugosi in supporting roles. One Body Too Many (affiliate link) begins with millionaire Cyrus J. Rutherford’s heirs gathered to […]
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Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a Broadway comedy team, who transitioned to films in 1929. Before Robert Woolsey’s untimely death in 1938, Wheeler and Woolsey made 24 films in 8 years. Half Shot at Sunrise (1930) was the fourth film starring Wheeler and Woolsey. Set in Paris during World War I, Half Shot at Sunrise (affiliate link) tells the […]
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In one of the last films in the series, British authorites recruit Sherlock Holmes to protect the young heir to a European throne. Universal Pictures released Pursuit to Algiers (1945) on October 26, 1945. Basil Rathbone returns for the twelfth of fourteen times as Sherlock Holmes. Nigel Bruce again plays his assistant Dr. John Watson. As the film begins, Sherlock […]
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Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) stars Sidney Toler as Inspector Charlie Chan. In this film, Inspector Chan is on the trail of the spy Riner. Riner intends to carry out an act of sabotage, when the American fleet passes through the canal. Inspector Chan experiences an unusual situation, when he is arrested for the death of an American agent in […]
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The Thirteenth Guest (1932) is the film version of an Armitage Trail story. Monogram Pictures released the early “B” film (affiliate link) starring Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot. Ginger Rogers was only 21 at the time but would go on to great stardom as Fred Astaire’s most regular dance partner. Lyle Talbot made a living through most of the late […]
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Dick Purcell was the first film Captain America. Purcell starred in a 16 episode serial made by Republic Pictures. For some reason, Captain America’s alter ego was Grant Gardner, a district attorney, instead of Steve Rogers, an Army soldier. Filmed during World War II, Republic Pictures made an odd decision in this storyline variation. Steve Rogers was a frail weakling, […]
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On July 20, 1933, Universal Pictures released Secret of the Blue Room (1933). Produced by Carl Laemmle, the film is set in a castle, where 20 years earlier three people were mysteriously murdered. Secret of the Blue Room (affiliate link) opens with three suitors present for the twenty-first birthday of Irene von Helldorf, played by Gloria Stuart. The inimitable Lionel […]
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Bulldog Drummond’s Secret Police (1939) is the second-to-last Bulldog Drummond film (affiliate link) starring John Howard as Drummond. Drummond is once again preparing for his marriage to Phyllis Clavering. As usual, the marriage plans are disrupted by the revelations of Professor Downey regarding Rockingham Towers, the Drummond Estates. The treasure of an English king is hidden in the catacombs underneath […]
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Black Raven (1943) is a “B” film (affiliate link) from Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). George Zucco plays Amos Bradford aka the Raven, the owner of the Black Raven Inn. Bradford ends up hosting a number of unexpected guests due to a raging thunderstorm. The storm has washed out all the bridges and stranded all the visitors, which include a couple […]
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Sherlock Holmes in The Pearl of Death (1944) is the ninth of fourteen movies in the series starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. In this film (affiliate link), Holmes is battling archcriminal Giles Conover, played by Miles Mander. Conover is attempting to steal a valuable pearl from the British Museum. Holmes is aided in his crimes by accomplices Naomi Drake and […]
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