Anything for a Thrill (1937)

Don Mallory is the younger brother of ace newsreel photographer Cliff Mallory, and is continually urging Cliff to let him become a cameraman rather than going to college. Cliff refuses. He ... See full summary »

Director:

Leslie Goodwins

Writers:

Peter B. Kyne (story), Joseph O'Donnell (screenplay),

Stars:

Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, June Johnson

Cast

Cast overview:
Frankie Darro	...	Dan Mallory
Kane Richmond	...	Cliff Mallory
June Johnson	...	Jean Roberts
Ann Evers	...	Betty Kelley
Johnstone White	...	Burke aka The Earl
Horace Murphy	...	Boss Kelley
Edward Hearn	...	Collins
Frank Marlowe	...	Joe
Bob Kortman	...	Henchman
Charles Dorety	...	Henchman Charlie
Charles McAvoy	...	Guard

Storyline

Don Mallory is the younger brother of ace newsreel photographer Cliff Mallory, and is continually urging Cliff to let him become a cameraman rather than going to college. Cliff refuses. He is assigned to get some newsreel footage of heiress Betty Kelley, who has never been shot. She arrives at the airport accompanied by a phony Earl, to whom she is reportedly engaged, eludes the cameraman by dressing as the pilot and drives off before Cliff discovers the deception. She also destroys the film he shoots of her by sneaking into the Kelley's heavily-guarded estate. Don, with the help of his girl friend, Jean Roberts, fares better and while Jean attracts the attention of the guards, Don sneaks into the estate and makes off with the film, arriving back at the newsreel office in time to pass it off as Cliff's. When the film is released, Betty threatens a libel suit and finally buys the newsreel company as a compromise. She assigns Cliff to cover a baby parade. Meanwhile, the "Earl" finds ...

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Plot Keywords:

newsreel | gang | estate | photographer | cameraman | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1937 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Conn Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Totally silly but quite enjoyable

Kane Richmond is Cliff, young newsreel photographer looking for a big break. Frankie Darro is his little brother Don, determined to follow his brother into the newsreel business. The break comes when Cliff is assigned to capture pictures of heiress Betty Kelley (Ann Evers), who has never been photographed but—according to the boss's secret information—is coming into town!

Frankie's girlfriend Jean (June Johnson) goes along for the ride, alternately annoying Frankie with her affectionate pestering and assisting him with moral support and enthusiasm. They make a fun couple—lots of good-natured kidding back and forth that isn't especially witty but is at least bright and delivered with energy. His visit to the diner where she works is a highlight of the show, even though it does nothing for the plot—basically, their flirting over the counter builds into a scene where seated customers are shouting out "Pretty pretty please" and Frankie is tossing them cookies across the room. Kind of bizarre, yes.

The heiress is a spoiled rich kid. Why doesn't she want anyone to photograph her? What does she see in that stuffy English "earl" who is actually a crook in disguise? --No time for plot development here; suffice it to say that in very short order she buys the newsreel company, punishes Richmond by holding him to his contract, fires him for disobeying orders, is forced by him to watch some juicy robbery footage that Frankie has captured, and….well, somewhere in there she apparently changes her mind about strong-minded photographers who call her a spoiled brat….

Overall, it's a film that's pretty dumb but a lot of fun. How many times do you see a bunch of gangsters playing jacks for money and arguing nearly to the point of drawn guns about whether that last play was for threeseys or fourseys?

Silly disguise: Richmond in a fake beard pretending to be a portrait artist. (He doesn't fool the heiress.) Darro's frequently repeated line to his girlfriend, always pretending to be annoyed: "There you go again, always wantin' to do what somebody else does!"

Nothing special, I guess, but when it was over I found myself wishing it would go on.