G. I. HONEYMOON

Peter Cookson and Gale Storm

G. I. HONEYMOON (1945). Director: Phil Karlstein (Phil Karlson). 

Ann (Gale Storm of Gambling Daughters) and Lt. Bob Gordon (Peter Cookson) get married but things keep conspiring to keep them apart. They wind up renting an apartment in a place that was once a gambling casino -- leading to further complications -- and Ann incurs the wrath of the owner, Ace Renaldo (Jerome Cowan), when she manages to get a train compartment away from him via a little flirting and subterfuge. Renaldo makes certain the Military Police are informed that the place is off limits when Bob has a whole bunch of superior officers over for a cocktail party. Alleged pandemonium results. 

Gale Storm and Frank Jenks

The main strength of G.I. Honeymoon is the acting from the entire cast. Even in these early days Storm was an old pro, and Cookson displays his usual charm and adeptness. Cowan gives another excellent performance, and Frank Jenks (of The She Creature) scores a bullseye as Cowan's associate, "Blubber" Malloy. Arline Judge, Virginia Brissac (of The Mysterious Mr. M), and Jonathan Hale are also on hand and are also good, along with an uncredited actor who plays the love-smitten "Casanova." Although there are a few laughs in the film, there just aren't enough of them, with the picture coming off more as busy and frenetic than hilarious. From Monogram studios, of course.

Verdict: Just misses being a really funny movie. **1/4. 

FEAR

Peter Cookson

FEAR (1946). Director: Alfred Zeisler.  

Medical student Larry Crain (Peter Cookson) is weeks behind in his rent when he learns that he will no longer be able to get a scholarship. Feeling that a person should be allowed to be above the law if the situation warrants it, he murders Professor Stanley (Francis Pierlot), a miserly unlicensed pawnbroker, for his money, although things don't go quite as planned. As his relationship with a young lady named Eileen (Anne Gwynne) deepens, he is followed and interrogated by two policemen, Schaefer (Nestor Paiva) and Captain Burke (Warren William). Will guilt begin eating away at Larry? When another man is arrested for the crime, Larry may think he's gotten away with murder ... 

Anne Gwynne with Cookson

Who would have ever thought that Monogram studios would dare attempt their own version of Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" or that it would be as credible as it is? Now let me make it clear from the first that this is by no means on the level of the book or of such previous film versions as Crime and Punishment with Peter Lorre in the lead, but it is also not the disaster that you might imagine it would be. Although the notion that guilt is eating away at Larry does not quite come across -- not because of any insufficiency in Cookson's acting but because of the very short running time -- Cookson delivers in a role that generally doesn't call for his usual charm or suavity. Anne Gwynne is not quite up to her more dramatic moments, but William and Paiva are perfect as the police officers. Without giving too much away, the film has two endings: one is more or less tragic, and the other -- well, let's just say it's rather "dreamy" and leave it at that. With another half hour of character development, this really might have amounted to something, but it's still interesting as it is. Jackson Rose's cinematography is an asset, as is the score by Edward J. Kay. 

Verdict: Crime and Punishment with a happy ending? ***.   

ARIZONA TERRITORY

Whip Wilson

ARIZONA TERRITORY (1950). Director: Wallace Fox. 

Prospector Jeff Molloy (Whip Wilson) comes across a pretty gal, Doris (Nancy Saunders), in a runaway wagon and rescues her. Along with her ex-con Uncle Otis (John Merton of Radar Patrol vs Spy King), Doris runs a trading post in the wild territory of Arizona. Suspecting Otis of going back to his old ways of counterfeiting, Jeff teams up with an undercover U.S., Marshall named Luke Watson (Andy Clyde). Another player in this undistinguished oater is Greg Lance (Dennis Moore) who wants to marry Nancy but is secretly in cahoots with her uncle. Meanwhile Jeff is hoping that Nancy is on the up and up. 

Dennis Moore

Although he made a couple more films than Lash Larue, Monogram's Whip Wilson was probably the least of the western cowboy stars and isn't much remembered today. His comic book for Atlas/Marvel only lasted three issues. This is one of the very few films in which he didn't play himself, but it scarcely makes a difference. Handy with a whip, Wilson proves to be an amiable if minor-league screen presence, although he handles the dialogue and action scenes professionally enough. Veteran character actor Andy Clyde, who supported Whip in several films, was 58 but looked quite a bit older. There was a forty-year gap in the acting career of Nancy Saunders, who stopped acting in the late fifties and took it up again in the nineties! Dennis Moore of The Purple Monster Strikes -- he had 264 other credits! -- gives the best performance. 

Verdict: Nothing special in this B western, but it's always nice to see Moore! **. 

LURE OF THE ISLANDS

Robert Lowery and Margie Hart

LURE OF THE ISLANDS (1942). Director: Jean Yarbrough.  

During WW2 two American agents -- Wally (Robert Lowery of Sensation Hunters) and Jinx (Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams) -- are told by the skipper (Tristram Coffin) to swim to a Tropical island paradise that may be a nest of Axis agents. There the boys encounter two women: Brooklyn-born Tana (Margie Hart), who hopes Wally will marry her and take her back to the U.S.; and Maui (Gale Storm of Nearly Eighteen), who is only interested in Jinx when Tana fibs that he's a pig millionaire. In this not terribly serious "war" film with song numbers, the foursome have to deal with a Nazi commandant (Ivan Lebedeff) and some Japanese who hope to turn the island into their base. 

Williams and Storm

Margie Hart was a burlesque stripper -- a competitor of Gypsy Rose Lee's -- who tried to kickstart a movie career by starring in this Monogram cheapie, which throws in everything but the kitchen sink. Unfortunately, Hart proved to be barely adequate as an actress. Although she later took acting lessons and did some theater, Lure of the Islands was her first and last movie. However, this is the kind of schlock that Lowery, Williams and Storm could probably do in their sleep, and they make a better impression. Hart warbles the pretty title tune (although she may have been dubbed) and Gale does a very cute number entitled "My Tahiti Sweetie" that boasts some clever and amusing lyrics. Kahala and Odetta Bray are the pretty native dancers and singers. 

Verdict: Another weird low-budget melange from Monogram. **1/2. 

SENSATION HUNTERS (1945)

Doris Merrick and Robert Lowery

SENSATION HUNTERS (aka Club Paradise/1945). Director: Christy Cabanne.

Julie Rogers (Doris Merrick) has an unpleasant home situation with a grumpy father (Byron Foulger), drunk brother, pregnant sister-in-law and so on, but she does have a sympathetic boyfriend in aspiring musician Ray (Eddie Quillan). But things go awry when Ray takes her gambling and the joint is raided, resulting in Julie being thrown out of the house. She goes to work as a dancer at a dumpy gin mill called the Paradise Club. As Ray rises in the world and gets his own band, Julie becomes hung up on a good-for-nothing heel and gambler named Danny Burke (Robert Lowery), but this relationship may only lead to tragedy. 

Constance Worth and Lowery

Sensation Hunters could easily be sub-titled "When Good Girls Go Bad Due to Bad Guys." At 62 minutes the film certainly moves fast, but it could have used a lot more character development. Lowery is okay in the thankless and generic role of the good-looking creep who essentially lives off of women and has little back story. Doris Merrick's part is also under-written, but she does get across the confusion and desperation of her character. Constance Worth of G-Men vs the Black Dragon is excellent as Irene, the lady who runs the Paradise Club and is also carrying a torch for Danny. Wanda McKay of Roaring City scores as Helen, Julie's alleged friend who romances Ray and then goes after Danny herself. Isabel Jewell plays a singer at the Paradise who has seen better days, and Nestor Paiva is a loan shark who is after Danny for money. This is the second of two films that Monogram Studios released with the title of Sensation Hunters. Robert Lowery was the second screen Batman. 

Verdict: Not as sensational as you might hope. **. 

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. 

NEARLY EIGHTEEN

NEARLY EIGHTEEN (1943). Director: Arthur Dreifuss. 

Gale Storm, who later went on to fame as the star of My Little Margie, was 21 when she made this Monogram cheapie musical. 17-year-old Jane Stanton (Storm) comes to New York to find work as a singer. She's almost hired by one saloon, until the owner discovers she's still a minor. Then a handsome manager (who's really a bookie), Tony (Rick Vallin), sends her over to a talent school run by Jack Leonard (William Henry). Unfortunately, the school doesn't take anyone over the age of 14, so Jane is forced to masquerade as a child. There were certainly exploitable and amusing elements in this picture, but none of them are developed in such a fashion as to provide meaty laughs. Storm, however, is poised, very attractive, and already shows signs of the talent for comedy that she'd display years later in two successful sitcoms. The scenes when Jack comes close to nearly kissing a girl he thinks is only 14 are kind of creepy. The best thing about the picture are the snappy musical numbers, such as "The Little Bell Rang," which are more-than-competently delivered by Storm, who sold a few successful records later in her career. 

Verdict: A passing storm on the way to better things. Nice songs, though, and Storm and her leading men are easy on the eyes. **.

THE LOST VOLCANO

Johnny Sheffield as Bomba

THE LOST VOLCANO (1950). Director: Ford Beebe. 

Paul and Ruth Gordon (Donald Woods and Marjorie Lord) are troubled by reports that their young son, David (Tommy Ivo), has an "imaginary" friend named Bomba (Johnny Sheffield). David argues that Bomba actually exists, and his friend, the maid Nona (Elena Verdugo) concurs. The Gordons aren't crazy about their son running around the jungle in a loincloth accompanied by Bomba, but they quickly change their tune once David is kidnapped. Previously Bomba had taken David to a secret location, an extinct -- or "lost" -- volcano inside which is hidden treasure, and now two hunters, Barton (John Ridgely) and Higgins (Don C. Harvey), want David to take them there -- or else. As his parents and Nona search frantically for the missing boy, Bomba comes to the rescue, but an earthquake and bullets may cause a problem ... 

Tommy Ivo and Donald Woods

The Lost Volcano is an entertaining Bomba programmer with Sheffield appealing as the jungle "boy" and a climax that has lots of action. The movie judiciously uses lots of stock footage, although there are times when one can't quite place the actors in true relationship to their surroundings, a typical problem with low-budget movies. Despite this, the movie is fun due to its fast pace and generally spirited cast. There is a humungous python that wraps itself around one of the villains, tunnels and caverns full of skeletons and jewels, and an unexpected eruption with lava flows, adding up to an effective climax. Little Tommy Ivo amassed 85 credits, and then retired to become a professional race car driver. 

Verdict: Not bad Bomba feature with pleasant players. **3/4. 

THE HIDDEN CITY

Johnny Sheffield and Sue England

THE HIDDEN CITY (aka Bomba and the Hidden City/1950). Director: Ford Beebe.

Dennis (Damian O'Flynn) and his driver Hadji (Smoki Whitfield) are taking nature shots of the jungle when they spot Bomba, the Jungle Boy (Johnny Sheffield) swinging by. They report this to Hassan Emir (Paul Guilfoyle), the leader of a place called the "Hidden City." Dennis wants to capture Bomba, more out of curiosity than any malevolence, but Hassan and his right-hand Abdullah (Charles La Torre) seem to want Bomba dead.

Haggard in the jungle: Sue England

Apparently they are afraid that Bomba may know the true origins of a young lady named Zidah (Sue England), an orphan who has been taken in by adoptive father, Raschid (Leon Belasco). Raschid is anxious to get in good with Hassan, so when the latter comes to choose a wife -- or slave -- from the girls of a nearby village, he is eager to offer Zidah. However, Zidah runs off and tries to set up housekeeping with Bomba in the jungle -- Bomba will have none of it. (It may be that in some shots Zidah looks old enough to be Bomba's mother, or that Bomba hasn't yet developed much interest in the opposite sex; English was 22 and Sheffield 19.)

Belasco, O'Flynn and Whitfield

The Hidden City is a standard Bomba adventure with some amusing moments and a fast pace courtesy of director Ford Beebe. Sheffield is charming, England  adequate, and Guilfoyle, and especially Belasco, make a decided impression in their roles. In one scene Abdullah savagely whips a prone Bomba, but neither the blows nor the teenager are seen in the frame. Although the title sort of promises some kind of mysterious adventure or locale, this doesn't quite materialize. The film is reasonably pleasant for Bomba and jungle movie enthusiasts. From Monogram.

Verdict: So-so Bomba adventure that moves too swiftly to wear out its welcome. **. 

VACATION DAYS

Warren Mills and Freddie Stewart

VACATION DAYS (1947). Director: Arthur Dreifuss.

Miss Hinklefink (Belle Mitchell), a teacher at Whitney High, takes her graduating students -- and Professor Townley (Milton Kibbee), the principal of the school and her crush -- for a vacation at her ranch in the town of Gulch's Gulch. There young Freddie Trimball (Freddie Stewart) is mistaken for a notorious outlaw named "Angel Face," whom he greatly resembles, and assorted people do their damnedest to kill him. 

Jim Hart and June Preisser

Vacation Days is yet another in the series of "Teen Agers" films from Monogram studios and along with the aforementioned players we've also got the usual suspects: Frankie Darro, Noel Neill, Warren Mills as the kind-of-campy Lee, and perky June Preisser; Jackie Moran was apparently on a real vacation when this was made.  Handsome Jim Hart plays "Big Jim," the foreman at the ranch, who gets the girls' juices flowing but may not be all he seems to be; Hart had a minor career primarily based on his looks but he amassed 168 credits! 

With his very nice voice and amiable screen presence, Freddie Stewart makes an impression singing the standard "Once in a While," but despite a few chuckles and spirited players, the movie has little else to recommend it. 

Verdict: More Teen Agers than you can shake a stick at! **.

HIGH SCHOOL HERO

Freddie Stewart

HIGH SCHOOL HERO (1946). Director: Arthur Dreifuss. 

The third "Teen  Agers" film from Monogram features the old -- and I mean old -- high school gang up to assorted shenanigans at Whitney High amidst singing and dancing. Freddie's (Freddie Stewart) rival Jimmy (Jackie Moran) is now at Fairview High along with his buddy, Roy (Frankie Darro), and Jimmy is still trying to court Dodie (June Preisser). The only thing that will keep the Whitney football team from being trounced by Fairview is by secretly substituting Dodie for Lee (Warren Mills) during the games. When this subterfuge is discovered, the football team resorts to using dance moves to confound their opponents. In another development Freddie has been told that his show for the governor's appearance has been canceled in favor of professional entertainers. Dodie stupidly blames Freddie for this, but he has a plan. He nearly gets in hot water with sexy singer Chi Chi (Lita Baron), and Dodie's sister, Betty (Noel Neill) is on hand to report it all for the school paper. 

Lita Baron as Chi Chi

High School Hero is good-natured nonsense that features a good cast and some nice musical numbers. Freddie Stewart has quite a nice voice as well, and does a fine job crooning the ballad "You're Just What I Crave." Lita Baron scintillates during her nightclub act and has fun trying to vamp the innocent Freddie. Milton Kibbee and Belle Mitchell are back as Professor Townley and Miss Hinklefink, who has a crush on the professor, and Leonard Penn is cast as a psychology professor who ignites the romantic interest of Dodie's other sister, Addie (Anne Rooney). Just when you think the man couldn't possibly appear in yet another movie, Pierre Watkin shows up as the governor!

Verdict: Another amiable Monogram musical. **1/2.