A BRIDE FOR HENRY

Anne Nagel

A BRIDE FOR HENRY (1937). Director: William Nigh.

Spoiled socialite Sheila Curtis (Anne Nagel of The Secret Code) is furious at being stood up at her wedding by her fiance, Eric (Henry Mollison), so she importunes her lawyer Henry (Warren Hull) to marry her. The plan is for her to eventually file for divorce in Reno, but first she decides to go on a chaste honeymoon with Henry -- and then Eric shows up. Carrying a torch for his own wife, Henry takes up with blond heiress Helen Van Orden (Claudia Dell), leading to mostly unfunny complications. As Eric tries to woo back his angry former fiancee, Henry does his best to make his wife jealous. But whom will our Sheila ultimately wind up with, and will anybody care?

Claudie Dell and Warren Hull

A Bride for Henry is a minor-league would-be screwball comedy from Monogram Pictures, which tells you something right there. It's one of those movies where everyone can tell in the first minute that Sheila should be with the much more appealing Henry, but it takes her nearly an hour to figure it out. The characters are not developed beyond stereotypes, and while there's the occasional stab at a funny line or situation, the picture doesn't have the right pacing or slickness. The acting is of the overly broad, too-cutesy type that generally sinks this kind of fluffy concoction, although Nagel is still very likable and Hull, better-known as a serial hero in such as The Spider and The Green Hornet, is so handsome one can't imagine why Sheila never noticed his charms long before the picture begins. 

Verdict: Nagel and Hull give it the old college try. **1/4. 

SWING IT PROFESSOR

Pinky Tomlin

SWING IT PROFESSOR (1937). Director: Marshall Neilan. 

Professor Artemis J. Roberts (Pinky Tomlin) doesn't much care for swing music, but the members of the board of the music college where he is employed -- all of whom are significantly older than him -- think he's not very hip and fire him. Through circumstances not that interesting to tell, Artemis winds up being front man for a nightclub owned by Lou Morgan (Milburn Stone of Inside Job). There he catches the eye of singer Teddy Ross (Paula Stone), while Artemis' former pupil, Joan (Mary Kornman), finds herself the object of Lou's personal interest. 

Milburn Stone and Paula Stone

None of this leads into anything terribly exciting, even when a gangster named Randall (Bill Elliott) shows up with his thugs in tow. There are, however, some pleasant song numbers, including "Old-Fashioned Melody;" and "Richer Than a Millionaire." An admittedly charming bit occurs when some hobos start singing opera -- rather well, in fact -- and then join in for the latter tune. There is a trio of Three Stooges imitators who are called "The Gentle Maniacs;" they are terrible, and, mercifully, only appeared in one other movie. A climactic bit of business with a dozen cabs taking off in pursuit of Artemis does not engender any laughs. Milburn Stone and Paula Stone were cousins in real life. Paula was not especially pretty and she only had a few credits.

Musician/actor Pinky Tomlin has an unassuming, pleasant if highly un-dynamic personality and a singing voice that can best be described as okay and nothing more. Despite her terrible moniker, the undistinguished Mary Kornman amassed quite a few credits while Bill Elliott appeared in over 260 vehicles. 

Verdict: Gotta love that Pinky! **.