B MOVIE ROUND-UP

LADY IN THE DEATH HOUSE has a striking opening scene – Jean Parker walking the ‘last mile’ to the death house!
The story is told in flashback by psychologist Lionel Atwill.
Jean works in a bank and is blackmailed because of her father’s gangster connections. Her boyfriend is Douglas Fowley in a remarkably different role for this actor – he’s a scientist and,best of all, a part-time executioner for the State!!
Good little thriller.

Funny to see Dorothy Patrick in LONELY HEART BANDITS as the wife of John Eldridge ,a couple who con lonely women.They target widow,Ann Doran but Ann has a friend in Richard Travis who suspects John.

From PRC in 1941, DOUBLE CROSS is a fast paced thriller with likeable Kane Richmond as a cop whose friend is framed and killed .John Miljan is his usual suave bad guy who owns a night club with Wynne Gibson as his no-good girlfriend .
Nice to see Mary Gordon as Richmond’s mother.

The trouble with YOU AND ME is it doesn’t know what it wants to be. Fritz Lang and Kurt Weill is a heady combination.
Harry Carey is a store owner who employs parolees and ex-cons including George Raft and Sylvia Sidney,helping them to start a new life.
Although Sylvia knows George was in prison, she can’t bring herself to tell him she is out in parole.
At one point the ex convicts employed at the shop meet up and ‘reminisce’ about their prison life – in a flashback, they sing!.
They plan to rob Carey’s store and George joins in after finding out Sylvia has deceived him.But Carey traps them – and forgives them all!
A fairy story!

THE SAXON CHARM is an over long story well acted by Robert Montgomery as the Saxon of the title, a broadway producer who employes playwright John Payne who is married to Susan Hayward.
SAXON thinks of nobody but himself and doesn’t appreciate the love of Audrey Totter who plays an actress/singer – nice to hear Audrey (dubbed by Martha Mears) singing “I’m in the Mood for Love”.
It takes Payne a while to realise that Saxon will do him no good and could cost him his marriage.
The ending is uncompromising for once. Montgomery impressed me especially in one scene where he tries to explain to Payne why he is the way he is.
(OK. Not a B movie)

Once I ‘discovered’ Ann Dvorak, I’ve tried to catch up on some of her movies. GIRLS OF THE ROAD only runs about an hour and is almost like a documentary. A story about girl hobos! Ann is the daughter of the state governor who goes undercover to help the girls. Helen Mack and Lola Lane costar and are very good.

In A CRY IN THE NIGHT Irene Hervey  and Edmond O’Brien play the parents of Natalie Wood who is kidnapped by mentally disturbed Raymond Burr.
Edmond is a senior policeman and Brian Donlevy has to deal with him as they race to find Natalie.
Raymond plays his role well, and you feel sympathy for his tortured life.
Only the second time I’ve seen Irene Hervey – I like her.

It was interesting to see Kane Richmond, known for his serial heroes, playing a racketeer in BLACK MARKET BABIES – and doing it well. He and Ralph Morgan ( as an unscrupulous doctor) set up a maternity home and offer babies for adoption – at a price of course.
The title is off putting but the story isn’t bad. From Monogram.