Thu 6 Feb 2014
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: MICHAEL O’HALLORAN (1937).
Posted by Steve under Films: Drama/Romance , Reviews[5] Comments
MICHAEL O’HALLORAN. Republic Pictures, 1937. Wynne Gibson, Warren Hull, Jackie Moran, Charlene Wyatt, Sidney Blackmer, Hope Manning, G. P. Huntley Jr. Based on a novel by Gene Stratton Porter. Director: Karl Brown. Shown at Cinefest 26, Syracuse NY, March 2006.
One of the great film reference books is Jack Mathis’s Valley of the Cliffhangers, a fascinating detailed history of the Republic serials, and during his research for additional volumes on the studio,he was allowed to have prints made from studio negatives of some rare titles. Three of these ware shown during the weekend.
Unfortunately, this film, in which Wynne Gibson, an irresponsible party girl, attempts to present herself as a fit parent in a custody struggle with Sidney Blackmer, her dull respectable husband, continues the Cinefest tradition of scheduling a dog to initiate the screenings.
The plot is mainly an excuse to showcase what my fellow attendee Jim Goodrich referred to as the “unquestionable” talents of a popular young child actor, Jackie Moran, whose invalid sister becomes the do-good project that Gibson takes on to improve her image.
About twenty minutes of the film don’t survive (except for the soundtrack) and that was something of a blessing. It didn’t, however, deprive us of an especially saccharine (and inept) imitation of Shirley Temple by a child actress who does a walk-on.
February 7th, 2014 at 12:27 am
I see the IMDB notes that this has been made into a film three times: 1923,1937,1948.
Speaking of the great VALLEY OF THE CLIFFHANGERS, I still have my copy which I bought when it was published for the cover price of $66.00. I’ve seen copies go for many times that figure. It’s a shame that Jack Mathis died before he could complete his big trilogy on Republic Studios.
For many years I received his updates on the project and I remember thinking that he better get it done before dying. But he didn’t make it.
February 7th, 2014 at 1:14 am
I have always enjoyed the novels of Gene Stratton Porter, especially Freckles and Daughter of the Land. I don’t know anything about this film other than what is above, but based on credits and studio, it would have to be a pass. As for Jack Mathis, I have his book about Republic Confidential – The Players. The little bit of material is fascinating but I found glaring error(s) re the confusion of Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea and this for me calls the entire project and every detail into question.
February 10th, 2014 at 11:48 am
I must confess that I’ve never read very carefully any of Mathis’ volumes, but I’m not sure that I would dismiss an entire project even for what is a major flaw.
I bought my copy of “Valley” what was, at the time, a very reasonable price of $200. Like Walker, I regret that Mathis was unable to complete his trilogy.
February 10th, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Walter,
I am not dismissing the entire project but in research the details, all of them, need to be right. In published work, a knowledgeable editor is required. If I can spot one or more flaws — good chance there are more.
February 11th, 2014 at 1:08 am
The first rule of research when I took Historiography was never rely on a single resource for anything because virtually all research is going to be flawed at some level.
My tutor for my all too brief stay at Oxford was the celebrity historian Sir Hugh Trevor-Roper, a highly respected historian and even a minor television personality on the Beeb (usually pitted against Cambridge don A.J.P. (Alan) Taylor), but when Trevor-Roper indorsed those phony Hitler diaries it was a blow his career never fully recovered from. Even the mighty in the research business have feet of clay.
Not all research is as flawed as what you suggest here of course, and one hopes later editions would be corrected (thank God for later editions, the historians best friend, but while I applaud your high standard when I need a for work a salary depends on and can cross check it I’ll go for it. If they conflict you go for another until you find two or more that agree on a salient point.
Luckily for us all scientific and medical research is generally held to a much higher standard.