Irving Bacon

Mistaken for train robbers, Matt Dow and Davey Bishop are shot at by the sheriff and his posse but they are cleared and hired as lawmen. Odd little Western that gets off to a snappy start when a man (Matt Dow) is mistaken as a train robber. After the town's sheriff shoots the kid he's riding with, Dow clears his name and ends up as the new sheriff. He romances a Swedish woman and settles in to a peaceful life only to find that the boy has a few secrets of his own.

Biography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944. The unemployed trombone player Glenn Miller is always broken, chasing his sound to form his band and hocking his instrument in the pawn house to survive. When his friend Chummy MacGregor is hired to play in the band of Ben Pollack, the band-leader listens to one Glenn's composition and invites him to join his band. While traveling to New York, Glenn visits his former girlfriend Helen Berger, in Boulder, Colorado, and asks her to wait for him. Two years later he quits the band and proposes Helen that moves to New York to marry him. After the success of "Moonlight Serenade", Glenn Miller's band becomes worldwide known and Glenn and Helen and their two children have a very comfortable life. Duting the World War II, Glenn enlists in the army and travels to Europe to increase the moral of the allied troops. In the Christmas of 1944, he travels from London to Paris for a concert to be broadcast; however his plane is never found in the tragic flight. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In Hollywood, California, many film celebrities attend a gala show at the Shrine Auditorium. Oliver Niles (Charles Bickford), who runs his own film studio, tells publicist Matt Libby (Jack Carson) to keep the alcoholic star actor Norman Maine (James Mason) off the stage, who is clearly drunk at this point. But Norman knocks Libby down and wanders onto the stage while the Glenn Williams Orchestra performs. Vocalist Esther Blodgett (Judy Garland), a young newcomer from the Midwest, incorporates him into the act so the audience doesn't realize that he is drunk. Later, the grateful and intrigues Norman tracks Esther to a small club where she is jamming. When he hears her sing "The Man Who Got Away", he realizes that she has great talent. He convinces her to quit the band she is performing with and take a chance a living her dream to be a big star. Norman promises to get Esther a studio audition. Esther's friend Danny McGuire (Tom Noonan) who works as the pianist, tells her that Norman is just giving her a line. Niles whisks Norman to a faraway location, so he looses contact with Esther before he can help her. Esther is forced to take odd jobs to survive. When Norman hears her voice on a silly TV commercial, he tracks her down to the boarding house where she lives. He gets her a studio contract. Her name is changed to Vicki Lester, but no one pays any attention to her until Norman shrewdly figures a way for Niles to hear Esther/Vicki sing. Niles casts her as the lead in a new musical which is a box office hit and to Esther/Vicki, a star is born. Esther agrees to marry Norman, hoping he will stop drinking and focus on his acting career once again. When they elope, this infuriates Libby, who despises Norman. Niles informs Norman that the studio is dropping him because his alcoholism has made him too great a risk. When Norman cannot find any work elsewhere in any major or independent studio, his fame begins to slip away. Norman starts drinking even more heavily. Esther tries to persuade him to stop drinking or at least "tone it down" but Norman angrily tells her to stay out of his personal business. After Esther is nominated and wins an Oscar for her performance in her first feature musical, Norman crashes the Academy Awards completely drunk and pushes his way on the stage where he embarrasses Esther and himself with his drunken rambling and when she tries to calm him down, he accidentally hits her in the face in full view of the televised audience forcing security men to remove him from the stage. Eventually Norman ends up in a sanatorium where he hopes to stay sober. When Niles sees how depressed that Esther is now that her career is stalled for her association with Norman, he visits Norman at the sanatorium where he offers him a small part in a picture. But this makes Norman even more upset. Due to being so used to having lead roles, Norman is too full of stubborn and foolish pride to accept the offer and pretends that he has other offers when he gets out the sanatorium. A few weeks later when Norman finally gets out of the sanatorium, he hopes to stay sober. But at the Hollywood Park racetrack where he goes to place a few bets, Libby confronts and insults him for living off his wife's salary and new fame, and assumes that Norman is and always will be a drunk. When Norman takes a swing at Libby, he knocks Norman down. A gathering crowd assumes that Norman is drunk. He gets up after Libby walks away and immediately falls of the wagon by ordering a drink at the racetrack bar. After being missing for four days, Esther and Niles learn that Norman has been arrested for drunk driving, getting into a car accident and resisting arrest. When the judge threatens to sentence him, Esther turns up in court and promises to take care of her husband so there will be no more incidents. He is released into her custody. At their beachfront house, while Esther and Niles think that Norman is asleep, he overhears them. Esther confides in Niles that she loves Norman so much despite his alcoholism that she has decides to give up her acting career and go to Europe with him so he can recover. Esther feels she owes her success to him for she believes that he is responsible for the success that she's had. She hopes they both can resume their acting careers abroad in England or Italy, or France. But Niles tells her that Norman's talent disappeared years before when he started drinking. Norman is clearly agonized by what he hears. After Niles leaves, Norman tells Esther that things will be better for her. Then while they go to sleep for the night, he wakes up early the next morning, walks into the ocean from the beach and deliberately drowns himself. Esther goes into seclusion, intending to mourn forever. After several weeks, Danny visits and insists that she appear at a benefit at the Shrine Auditorium. He says that Esther is Norman's monument that her love and success were the only good things in Norman's life. If she kicks it all away, it will be as if Norman never existed. Esther makes a surprise appearance at the shrine. She introduces herself to a worldwide audience: "This is Mrs. Norman Maine."

Charlotte Newton is bored of her quiet and uneventful life. All she wants is for her sophisticated and well-traveled uncle, Charlie Oakley, to come visit them. To her surprise and happiness, a telegram announcing her uncle`s visit arrives. However, something seems to be off when he visits. When two strangers show up with questions about him, Charlotte realizes her beloved uncle Charlie may not be who she thinks he is.

Famous showbiz trio breaks up, as crooner Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) plans to take his fiancée Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale) out to Connecticut to live on a farm and enjoy the lazy life. The problem is that suave dancer Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire) has stolen Lila from Jim and runs off with her to continue their showbiz careers. Farming does not prove as easy as Jim had hoped and after a year, he ends up having a nervous breakdown. In the sanitarium, Jim comes up with the idea to turn his old barn into a nightclub that is only open on holidays. Jim visits Ted and Lila in New York and tells his old agent Danny to send him any talented acts for his club. Danny encounters a young woman at a flower shop who is bent on a career as a dancer and singer. Her name is Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds), and he gives her tickets to a show and tells her to audition at Holiday Inn. At the show she meets Jim and both pretend to be more important than they really are. When she arrives in Connecticut they are surprised to be caught in their lies. Linda auditions and Jim agrees to let her star in his shows beginning with the upcoming New Year's Eve performance. In the meantime, Lila leaves Ted for a Texas millionaire. This starts Ted to drinking, and sends him to his buddy who knows what it is to have the woman you love stolen away from you. When he arrives at the inn he is extremely drunk and ends up dancing with Linda. They dance an incredible improvised comic dance routine that is still a classic. Agent Danny arrives in time to see Linda's back as she walks up the stairs. In the morning when Ted wakes up, he can't remember anything about her but the way that she danced and he know he wants her to be his partner. He and Danny decide to come back to the club on Lincoln's birthday to scout for "the back of a woman they don't know." Meanwhile, Jim has fallen in love with Linda, who can really sing and dance, and he offers her a life at the Inn, and sort of proposes to her. She agrees to stay with him at the Inn and is excited to be sort of engaged. Of course, Ted has also fallen in love with his mystery dance partner who he rediscovers on Valentine's day. He decides to stay at the inn and dance with Linda there. In an elaborate plan to get Linda away from the inn and Jim, Ted arranges for men from Hollywood to watch the 4th of July performance. Jim learns of this plot and decides to sabotage their routine by preventing Linda from arriving that day and inviting Lila, whose millionaire was not who she hoped he would be, to come in her place. In her attempts to get to the inn, Linda meets up with Lila and learns of Jim's plot. When she finally does arrive she is furious with Jim and in her anger agrees to leave with Ted for Hollywood. Jim closes the inn and mopes around. His housekeeper gives him sage wisdom that sends him to Hollywood to get his woman back. He arrives on the day before Linda and Ted's wedding, and sneaks onto the set. Linda gradually picks up signs that he is there and when he finally reveals himself she joyously runs to meet him. The movie culminates with a rewrite of the opening number in which we learn that Jim and Linda will be staying together at the Inn to sing and Ted will resume his dancing career with Lila. Holiday Inn is a Christmas treasure that shows a simpler time in history in a warm and endearing light.

When reporter ANN MITCHELL (Barbara Stanwyck) is laid off by managing editor HENRY CONNELL (James Gleason) because of streamlining, she begs to stay on since she's supporting her MOTHER (Spring Byington) and TWO SISTERS (Tina Thayer and Carlotta Jelm), but it's no use. Angry, she gathers up her belongings but then, as a parting shot, types up a fake letter from "John Doe" stating that he's so downtrodden by the unfairness of things that he intends jumping off the building on Christmas Eve. The paper prints the letter and it causes a sensation. Everyone relates to and wants to help John Doe. Connell, desperate to get hold of the original letter is shocked when Ann tells him there was no letter. Connell, angry, is ready to print a retraction but Ann suggests that they hire a "fake John Doe" to embody the pathos of the letter. She gets her job back along with a lucrative fee and contract. Several desperate MEN line up claiming to have written the letter, so Ann and Connell must now pick the one. When handsome JOHN WILLOUGHBY (Gary Cooper) walks in, Ann's clearly smitten. A likable, quiet baseball pitcher who's fallen on bad times, John's the one who will become "John Doe." Although he seems too honest to lie, Ann believes he's desperate enough. They create a fake letter, put him up at a fancy hotel with bodyguards, making him sign an agreement. Also in tow (much to Connell's chagrin) is THE COLONEL (Walter Brennan), a confirmed vagabond, distrustful of society, who warns John that he's falling into a trap of privilege. Next come publicity photos, which are directed by Ann to get the correct "angry protest" look. With headlines proclaiming his anger at the unfairness of the world, John becomes an increasing media sensation, courtesy of hyperbolic headlines concocted by Connell. Meanwhile, the GOVERNOR (Vaughn Glaser) suspects John Doe is a myth but mistakenly feels it was concocted by publisher B. D. NORTON (Edward Arnold) to discredit him. Ann convinces Norton to play it for what it's worth. Norton offers her money to write radio speeches to sell Doe. He also wants her to work directly with him and not Connell. Ann goes to work, typing up a storm but nothing comes to mind. Ann's Mother (Spring Byington) suggests that she write something upbeat and simple, using the values of Ann's late father as an inspiration. By now, John has begun realizing that his baseball career might not get started again if the John Doe business is revealed as a phony. Nonetheless, John reads his first manufactured upbeat speech, written by Ann, to a packed house. Ann coaches him to be sincere, suggesting that she's fallen in love with John Doe. The speech, broadcast on the radio, stirs the people with its "love-thy-neighbor" style message. CROWDS love him but John can't get away fast enough. He and the Colonel retreat to riding the rails in a boxcar and flee. B. D. Norton, thinking he was great, wants him located. When a DINER WAITER (Sterling Holloway) recognizes him, John's hope for a return to normalcy is squelched by sudden CROWDS, eager to meet him. Ann and Norton locate him. John isn't happy about it. When Norton offers him a lecture tour, he refuses it angrily. When the common PEOPLE who have a "John Doe" club talk to him, however, he softens when hearing how he's touched them. Now, John's torn. His itinerant pal, The Colonel, thinks he's been "hooked" and, disgusted, walks out on him. Norton arranges the lecture tour. John speaks in state after state, addressing the many national clubs in his name. Connell tells Norton, however, that he's curious why Norton is spending so much money on the tour. In the meantime, Ann, knowing that John now likes her, feels increasingly like the heel she feels she is. She feels even worse when John relates a tender dream that he had about her and talks to her about how he relates to the lonely, hungry people to whom he's been speaking. Norton gives Ann a fur coat and a gift. He then tells her that he wants John Doe to announce a new "third political party," which, it's clear to Ann, was Norton's plan all along. Norton wants to be the presidential candidate for that party, which will be less for the people than it is for those like Norton - big business types. John visits Ann's Mother, telling her he'd like to marry Ann. Her gentle advice is just to ask. While John talks with Connell, the editor, who's had a few drinks, blurts that Norton has a dark agenda. John feels hurt and used, as he'd felt the whole John Doe was legitimate, not a tool for Norton's political ambitions. Connell also tells John how well paid Ann is to write the speeches and would do anything for money. Angry, John walk in on Norton and Ann at a lavish dinner party he's having in his mansion. John overhears Norton's political plotting as well as his toast to Ann for having aided him. Ann sees that John is listening. John asks Ann if indeed she wrote Norton's speech and she admits it. John then confronts Norton and all at his party. John threatens to thwart his efforts. Norton accuses John of being the fake, not him. Norton threatens to reveal such if he talks. Aghast that Norton would kill the John Doe movement to protect his own interests, John is furious with all of them. He tells them off with passion, impressing Ann and the STAFF, who overhear. John feels that the movement is far too powerful for Norton and his cronies to stop. Norton wants John stopped before he can blow the whistle at the huge gathering that has now formed at a public arena. Ann catches up with John, trying to explain, telling him that she didn't know what Norton and his people were doing. John doesn't believe her and won't allow her to accompany him in his cab. John shows up at the event as a huge CROWD stands in the rain singing the National Anthem. A PRIEST introduces John. Before he can speak, Norton has published a report that John Doe is a fake. Norton's TROOPERS storm the event as John tries to get the mob's attention and speak. With John subdued, Norton takes the mike and accuses him of being a fraud. As John tries to speak, the Troopers cut the mike cords. Ann listens on the radio as the mob becomes unruly. John returns to his place beneath a bridge with The Colonel. Newspapers herald his faker. Clubs disband. John feels disgraced. He's tortured by memories of the sweet, simple people that he feels he now let down. Christmas Eve comes, the appointed time that John Doe was to take his life by leaping from the building. Some of his FOLLOWERS are convinced he'll jump, so they head for the roof, as does Ann. Indeed, John shows up, a letter in his hand addressed to the admirers he feels he let down. He's about to jump when Norton steps from the shadows with this MEN, telling him that if he jumps the mayor has been instructed to remove his ID, and thus his suicide will be for nothing. But John tells him he's already mailed a copy of the letter elsewhere. John's glad they're here. He tells Norton that the movement that they killed will be born all over again. Ann shows up as he's about to jump, begging him not to do it. She insists they can start it over again together; his followers agree. John and Ann walk away, and Connell gets in the last word with a thwarted Norton.

The film is set in colonial Virginia between the 1750s and 1781. Matt Howard (Cary Grant), orphaned son of a backwoods Virginia farmer, uses his connections with his schoolmate Tom Jefferson to get employment as a surveyor and acquire a thousand acres on the Shenandoah. While surveying the Williamsburg estate of planter Fleetwood Peyton (Cedric Hardwicke) he meets Peyton's sister Jane (Martha Scott). For both of them it is eternal love at first glance, and despite differences of class and culture, and the enmity of Fleetwood, Jane marries Matt and follows him to his cabin in the west country. Within a few years, the estate is thriving and the cabin on the hillside has become a gracious colonial home. There are minor conflicts with neighbors over manners, but the Howards successfully raise a clutch of 3 children. The one major instability is over the eldest son, Peyton Howard, whose looks remind Matt of his hated brother-in-law, and whom Matt therefore cannot love or even bring himself to touch. As time passes, and conflict with England looms, Matt is sent by his neighbors to the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, where he and Fleetwood represent the extreme rebel and Tory positions. In 1776, the entire family moves back to Williamsburg as Indian attacks threatens, and after the passage of the Virginia resolution for independence, Matt leaves to fight the British under General Washington. A few years later, after quarreling with their uncle over their father's rebel stand, Peyton and his younger brother James are expelled from the Peyton home, and they too go north to join up with their father, and Peyton is accepted as dispatch rider for Washington. Listening unseen to his two sons arguing over the merits of the rebellion, Matt Howard realizes that Peyton is closer to his own principles and political beliefs than his beloved James, and he tries to communicate his regrets over his behavior towards his son. But war gets in the way: Peyton is sent with a message for Lafayette, and we see him shot off his horse by a British patrol. Matt and the rest of the army trudge south to meet the British army, which is bottled up near Yorktown. When the army reaches Williamsburg, Matt forces his way into Washington's presence and asks after Peyton: his mission had been to draw the British fire so that other messengers could get through, but he was merely wounded and is recuperating back at home. At Fleetwood Peyton's house Matt finds his son and they reunite, together with their mother and the rest of the Howards. The odd man out is Fleetwood, who has become cynical and bitter at the outcome of the war and what he sees as the destruction of Tidewater society. The film was commercially unsuccessful despite an excellent cast; Cary Grant was out of his element playing a backwoods American, and the script, though literate, was not really strong. The political conflict, though real enough, is never argued intelligently: Matt and Fleetwood seem to be merely acting out their class positions. And the class conflict within the marriage never really surfaces, as Jane's backwoods estate is miraculously transformed into a Tara. The time scheme of the story also seems inconsistent. Matt is 12 when his father is killed with Braddock in the French and Indian War (1755), so he was born in 1743. His sons are supposedly 18 and 16 when they join Washington's army at Valley Forge (1777-8), so they were born in 1760 and 1762. This would require Matt to be 16, or even younger, when he courts Jane Peyton. But neither of them is supposed to be an adolescent, and of course the actors playing them, Cary Grant and Martha Scott, were 35 and 27 when the film was made.

Attorney Anton Adam defeats rival Bentley in murder case and gets partnership offer. His career crashes when framed by racketeer Gilmurry and actress in fake lawsuit. Secretary Olga remains loyal through it all. Idealistic attorney Anton Adam makes headlines when he successfully beats high-profile legal eagle Granville Bentley in a murder case. Bentley asks Adam to become a partner in his law firm. But Adam's rising career takes a nosedive when he's framed by John Gilmurry, a prominent New York racketeer, and a sexy actress in a trumped-up breach-of-promise suit. The only constant in Adam's life is the loyalty and unrequited love of his secretary Olga.