Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: When Muggs and the rest of the East Side Kids stop a mugging and recover a wallet full of cash, the wealthy victim, John Cortland, rewards them by giving them 24/7 access to the gymnasium in his mansion. The help from Muggs and company doesn't stop there. They also save a dinner party, stop Courtland's daughter from marrying a conman and, after learning Courtland's son, Roy, was one of the muggers, work to turn him away from a life of crime. Who's in it? The movie stars Leo Gorcey , Huntz Hall, Louise Currie, Johnny Duncan and Herbert Heyes. Review: I couldn't make up my mind between a choice of three movies this morning, so I called an audible and looked for another East Side Kids/Bowery Boy film instead. Million Dollar Kid has been in my library for a while, and I finally gave it a try. It ended up being a good choice. I think the thing I liked best about this movie is how the film does a good job showing why Muggs (Gorcey) is the leader of his gang....

Synopsis: A once-promising boxer, Davey Gordon, loses yet another fight and decides he should move back to Seattle to work on his uncle's ranch. That same night, he saves his next-door neighbor, Gloria Price, from an attempted rape by her boss, Vinnie Rappalo. The two fall in love and Gloria decides to go with Davey to Seattle. However, when they attempt to collect their final paychecks, a series of events lead to Gloria being kidnapped and Davey being accused of murdering his manager. Who's in it? The movie stars Jamie Smith, Irene Kane, Frank Silvera, Jerry Jarrett and Felice Orlandi. Review: I came across Killer's Kiss on Screenpix's 25 movies to watch before you die list last night and, while I wasn't sure if I'd be interested in watching it at first, decided to do so after seeing it was written and directed by Stanley Kubrick. I watched it this morning and, while I could clearly tell it was a Kubrick movie and understand why it made that list, my opinion...

Synopsis: After his gang stops another shipment of vital supplies to a remote wild west town, Malgrove believes he'll be able to buy the local ranches for pennies on the dollar and mine them for gold. However, his plan has one sudden and unexpected obstacle, a stranger, John Carruthers, who has ridden into town and is helping the local sheriff investigate. Who's in it? The movie stars John Wayne , George 'Gabby' Hayes , Eleanor Hunt, Edward Peil, Sr. and Yakima Canutt . Review: I had time to scroll through movies while waiting for my daughter to get done with work last night and ultimately decided on Blue Steel . I watched it this morning and thought it was a good choice. One of the first things I noticed about this movie is it had a bit of a silent film-feel to it. There's not a ton of dialog and a lot of the story is told through body language and a whole lot of horse riding. This works in the movie's favor, I think. The plot isn't anything overly compl...

Synopsis: When Jerry Duncan is murdered after a dinner party, the police arrest Diana Amberson, who was seen entering his room right around the time he was killed and refuses to say why she was there. Mystery writer Harry Forrest, who is in love with Diana, believes her innocence, which is later proven when another guest is killed, and helps the police find the person who is responsible and why. Who's in it? The movie stars Jameson Thomas , Florence Britton, Lillian Rich, Lew Kelly , George 'Gabby' Hayes and Edmund Burns . Review: Some late morning/early afternoon storms are brought some much-needed rain today but also meant I couldn't go for a walk at lunch. Since I was stranded indoors, I finally decided to watch The Devil Plays , which had been in my library for a few weeks.  It was an OK movie but also seemed to lack something. The mystery itself was reasonably decent. The victim (Jack Trent) doesn't get a lot of screen time, but the movie gives just enough ...

Synopsis: After realizing he isn't serious about their relationship, fashion designer Geraldine "Gerry" Trent breaks up with her lover, Jim Woodward, on New Year's Eve. Sometime after, she falls in love again, with novelist Tony Blake, who wants to marry her even after finding out she's no longer a virgin. Her happiness is soon put to the test, however, when her sister, Joan, returns from Paris and Gerry learns Jim has stolen her sister's heart. Determined to protect Joan, Gerry works to break up their relationship and puts her engagement to Tony at risk in the process. Who's in it? The movie stars Gloria Swanson, Ben Lyon, Monroe Owsley, Barbara Kent, Arthur Lake and Maude Eburne.  Review: My original choice for a movie this morning turned out to be pretty bad, bad enough for me to turn it off after only about 10 minutes. Indiscreet was readily available as an alternative so I gave it a try. It ended up being an OK choice. Gloria Swanson was an incred...

Synopsis: While on an African safari with her parents and fiancé, Eleanor Reed is rescued from the mud by a loin-cloth-wearing man who calls himself Tarzan and eventually spends a day together with the jungle man. Tarzan soon needs to come to the rescue again when a chieftain, Ben Alleu Bey, kidnaps Eleanor so he can make her part of his harem. Who's in it? The movie stars Glenn Morris, Eleanor Holm, Hedda Hopper , C. Henry Gordon, George Meeker and George Barbier. Review: I've had Tarzan's Revenge in my movie library for months and just never got around to watching it. I decided to finally do that this morning and, while it wasn't a terrible movie, it also wasn't as good as I was hoping. I'll start out with the positives. Glenn Morris makes a halfway decent Tarzan. He had the yell down, looked the part and has decent chemistry with his love interest, Eleanor (Holm). The movie also has some solid supporting characters. Eleanor's mother, Penny (Hopper), ...

Synopsis: After her son is killed in a racing accident, Lenora Spence hires struggling attorney Preston Morgan to visit her estranged daughter-in-law, Sabena, in Acapulco with an offer of $500,000 to give up custody of her son to the wealthy heiress. Even though success would mean a life-changing commission, Preston is relieved when Sabena refuses and the pair even begin a romantic relationship. However, Sabena's twin sister, Dara, and her husband are desperate for money and scheme to murder Sabena so Dara can take her place. Who's in it? The movie stars Craig Hill , Marcia Henderson, Robert Lowery , Irene Tedow, Dayton Lummis and David Renard. Review: I had other movies in my library, but when I came across Deadly Duo last night, I decided to add it to the top of my list and wound up watching it this morning. It proved to be a solid movie that wasn't anywhere near as predictable as I feared it would be. Marcia Henderson does an excellent job in her dual role as both Sab...

Synopsis: Even though everyone believes Dr. Henry Frankenstein's creature is dead; it survived the windmill fire and is being hunted by villagers. The disgraced Dr. Pretorius sees an opportunity to build on his own attempts to create life and forces Henry to help him create a mate for the monster by kidnapping Henry's wife, Elizabeth. Who's in it? The movie stars Colin Clive , Boris Karloff , Ernest Thesiger , Valerie Hobson , Dwight Frye and Elsa Lanchester . Review: Our Wisconsin summer of extreme weather resulted in yet another day of it being too hot and humid to take a walk at lunch so, once again, I filled the time by watching a movie. I noticed there is a remake of Bride of Frankenstein on one of my movie channels and, since I am still undecided about watching that, decided to go with the original. I've seen this film probably about a dozen times now and there are things about it that I'm not a huge fan of. However, as far as classic horror goes, it is a ...

Synopsis: After a successful career in journalism, Hildy Johnson walks into her newsroom with her new fiancé, Bruce, and tells her editor/ex-husband, Walter Burns, she is quitting the business for good. Walter, however, doesn't want to see her leave and, after convincing her to write one last editorial about soon-to-be executed convicted killer Earl Williams, does his best to sabotage her engagement. Things take an unexpected twist when Williams escapes and Hildy, believing he is mentally ill and shouldn't be executed, hides him in the press room at the courthouse. Who's in it? The movie stars Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy , Gene Lockhart and Porter Hall. Review: I added His Girl Friday to my movie library nearly a year ago but, other than the first couple minutes before getting interrupted, had not taken the time to watch it. I decided to finally correct that this morning and am a bit disappointed I waited so long. I think the thing that really impressed...

Synopsis: While dining at a restaurant with his secretary, private investigator Oliver Keith is approached by his friend, Julia Sayre, who asks him for his help because she believes her new, wealthy husband, Albert, is in some sort of trouble and she'd like to know what he is hiding. However, when they return to Albert's office, they discover the art dealer has been murdered and later learn $100,000 in government bonds have been stolen from a safe only Albert and Julia knew the combination to. Who's in it? The movie stars Reginald Denny, Patricia Farr, Dorothy Revier, Jameson Thomas and Lew Kelly. Review: After a short walk to the Kwik Trip a couple blocks from my office, I realized it was getting too hot/humid for a longer walk and decided to watch a movie at lunch instead. This ended up being  The Lady in Scarlet,  which I came across last week and thought sounded interesting. After watching it, I can say it more than met my expectations. The murder mystery turned out...

Synopsis: Cowboy Chris Morrell is caring for Nina, a young half Native American whose white father abandoned her now-deceased mother before she was born. When a piece of land leased in her mother's name strikes oil, Chris seeks to find Nina's father and gain guardianship of the girl to help her cash in on the newly discovered wealth and be taken care of. However, a gang of outlaws led by Sam Black are looking to steal the claim, putting Nina in danger. As a further complication, Chris is framed for an armed robbery. Who's in it? The movie stars John Wayne , Sheila Terry , Shirley Jean Rickert, Yakima Canutt and Jack Rockwell. Review: I must have forgotten what day it was because I overslept by nearly thirty minutes this morning. However, I have a built-in time buffer and modified morning routine for that very scenario and still had time to watch a short film before I needed to worry about heading into the office. This resulted in ' Neath the Arizona Skies being the...

Synopsis: Harry Baldwin takes his wife Ann and two teenagers, Rick and Karen, on a camping trip in Sierra, Nevada. While on they are on the road, nuclear war breaks out, wiping out their home in Los Angeles as well as other major cities and quickly throwing the world into chaos. Determined to keep his family safe, Harry drives them as far from civilization as possible and they take up residence in a cave. However, he soon learns even hiding in the deep wilderness isn't enough to protect them from danger. Who's in it? The movie stars Ray Milland , Jean Hagan , Frankie Avalon , Mary Mitchel and Joan Freeman. Review: I overslept a bit this morning and realizing I couldn't remember the movie I had planned on watching, randomly selected one from my library. This ended up being Panic in Year Zero! I've seen plenty of end-of-the-world movies and some are much better than others. This is one I would describe as one of those better ones. One of the things I liked most about t...

Synopsis: Tom Breneman hosts popular radio show Breakfast in Hollywood and during one of the tapings, meets a young woman from Minnesota, Dorothy Larson, who is looking for her sailor fiancé, Jimmy, and introduces her to another sailor from Minnesota, Ken Smith. The pair hit it off with Ken developing an instant crush. However, when Dorothy learns Ken is friends with Jimmy and he tells her the truth about her fiancé, their relationship seems doomed and a desperate Ken begs Breneman for help. Who's in it? The movie stars Tom Breneman, Bonita Granville , Edward Ryan, Beulah Bondi and Hedda Hopper . Review: I've had Breakfast in Hollywood in my library for some time, mostly because I am a Bonita Granville fan. However, I was somewhat reluctant to watch it because I wasn't completely sure it would be a movie I'd enjoy. I ended up giving it a try this morning though and it proved to be a much better choice than expected. The movie's concept is somewhat clever. Breakf...

Synopsis: Mary Linden, a receptionist at a paper milling company, is secretly in love with salesman James Duneen. When her boss, John Ritter, is forced to retire for health reasons, she uses her influence to help Duneen earn a promotion to company president and stays by his side as his indispensable private secretary. However, despite everything she does for him, Duneen doesn't share her romantic feelings and even forces her to hire one of his lovers as her assistant. Things come to a head when Duneen becomes engaged to Ritter's daughter and his jealous fiancée forces Mary to quit. Who's in it? The movie stars Mary Astor , Robert Ames, Ricardo Cortez , Catherine Dale Owen and Kitty Kelly . Review: I added Behind Office Doors to my library after reading a Mary Astor biography and deciding I should try to watch more of her films. Based on the description, I wasn't sure if it was a movie I would enjoy and, after watching the first few minutes this morning, was still u...

Synopsis: After being double crossed by a crooked promoter and seriously injured in the ring, Johnny Higgins would rather drink his troubles away than fight again. However, when his kid brother, Jimmy, is killed trying to take his place, Johnny agrees to let Slip Mahoney and the Bowery Boys train him for a comeback. They are successful and he earns a shot at the championship but the promoter, Blinky Harris, is determined to do whatever it takes to keep the title on his man and force Johnny to throw the fight. Who's in it? The movie stars Leo Gorcey , Huntz Hall , Frankie Darro , Lyle Talbot and Bert Conway. Review: After being under a heat advisory the past couple days, it is finally cooling down a bit but was raining this morning. So, since a walk was out of the question, I once again found a movie to watch. I've had Fighting Fools on my list for a while and finally selected it. It ended up being a great choice and might even be the best Bowery Boys movie I've watched...

Synopsis: Small-town accountant Frank Bigelow takes a vacation in San Francisco and after a night of partying with other hotel guests, wakes up feeling sick. He learns he has been intentionally poisoned with an incurable luminous toxin and will die. Ignoring advice to check into a hospital, Bigelow goes in search of the person who murdered him. Who's in it? The movie stars Edmond O'Brien , Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, William Ching and Lynn Baggett. Review: I have quite a few movies in my library I intend to watch but while trying to pick one last night, I ended up coming across D. O. A.  It looked interesting and I'm always a fan of a good mystery, so I decided to give it a try this morning. While not quite what I was expecting, it was still a decent film. The thing that made this movie interesting is Bigelow (O'Brien) was just an ordinary guy. Sure, he was a bit of a womanizer who, at least at the beginning, was leading his personal secretary, Paula (Britton) on, ...

Synopsis: Madeleine Damien is a beautiful and successful art editor who is sought after by many men and has had multiple lovers, including jeweler Felix Courtland, one of her magazine's biggest advertisers. When she learns she has become the subject of rumors and mockery at the magazine, Madeleine quits her job and, at the advice of her psychiatrist, relocates under an assumed name and tries to make a living as an artist.  She meets and falls in love with one of her neighbors, Dr. David Cousins but is reluctant to marry him because he doesn't know the truth about her or even her real name. Things become even more complicated when Courtland finds her and she is later falsely accused of the jeweler's murder, making her past public knowledge, jeopardizing her relationship with Cousins and, because she feels defeated and unwilling to mount a defense, risking a murder conviction. Who's in it? The movie stars Hedy Lamarr , Dennis O'Keefe , John Loder, William Lundigan ,...

Synopsis: After working 40 years in the oil business and digging wells for others, Dan O'Reilly has gone into business for himself and with help from a new investor, Hank, is close to striking oil and ensuring his teenage son, Clifford's, future. However, the oil tycoon he leases the land from, J. C. Anderson is determined to stop the digging long enough for O'Reilly's lease to run out so he can reclaim the property, including an act of sabotage that takes O'Reilly's life and leaves the well to Clifford. Who's in it? The movie stars Frankie Darro , LeRoy Mason, Gloria Shea, Berton Churchill and Fred 'Snowflake' Toones .  Review: I had to pick up my daughter from an overnight community theater "lock-in" with friends early this morning and, while waiting to pick her up, looked for a movie to watch. I picked Black Gold mostly because of Frankie Darro starring in it and, overall, I thought it turned out to be a good classic drama. I thought...

Synopsis: Once a promising Hollywood director, Jimmie Dale is now out of work with no studio willing to take a chance on him. Desperate for employment, he accepts a job teaching at a sham acting school run by J. Walter Delmar and actor Adrian Almont.  Delmar and Almont see a way to increase their profit by conning a new Hollywood arrival, Frank Young, into investing his inheritance into a motion picture starring Almont and one of Dale's students, Alice Perkins. However, their plan to keep a large percentage of the money for themselves goes awry when Dale decides to use the full $75,000 and make a legitimate movie. Who's in it? The movie stars James Dunn , Alice Faye, Frank Mitchell, John Bradford, Jack Durant and Grant Mitchell . Review: I have had 365 Nights in Hollywood in my library for a few months and, while I did start watching it once, only to be interrupted a few minutes into it, I didn't get around to finally watching it until this morning. At first, I wasn...

Synopsis: After local physician Hugo 'Doc" Robbin is declared dead following an explosion at his office, his nurse, Ann Loring, is accused of murder. A group of children hear her testifying on the witness stand and call her a liar, resulting in them being called as witnesses. Their testimony ends up clearing Loring but implicating their friend and mentor 'Fix-it' Dan Cameron. With him behind bars, the kids decide to re-visit the scene of the explosion and find evidence to clear him. Who's in it? The movie stars George Zucco , Virginia Grey , Don Castle , Whitford Kane, Larry Olsen and Peter Miles. Review: I've been on the fence about watching Who Killed 'Doc' Robbin? since adding it to my library because, while the plot sounded interesting and the movie had some familiar names, I have a long history of not liking films that are centered around cute kids. I finally decided to watch it this morning, and it turned out not to be as bad as I feared. It w...