Jesse James 1939 - A highly romanticized account of the infamous criminal

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031507/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5
IMDB rating: 7,1

Director: Henry King
Main Cast: Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull, Brian Donlevy, John Carradine, Jane Darwell

"Historians will shudder at Jesse James, a biopic which is much more interested in the legend of the famous outlaw than in the facts, but viewers looking only for entertainment will be quite happy with this rip-roaring adventure tale. While the story has been whitewashed, credit should be given to the creators of Jesse for at least not making the title character as pure as the driven snow. Though the motivation they have devised for his first forays into crime make him out to be something of an avenging angel, as time goes on they show that greed does enter into his continued career. Still, with matinee idol Tyrone Power playing the part, there's only a certain amount of 'sullying' that can come into play. Power does very well with the part, turning in a powerful performance that anchors the film and handling his dramatic scenes with aplomb. As brother Frank, Henry Fonda's role is much smaller, but he makes a terrific impact; granted, the part is written as a bit of a scene stealer, but Fonda really runs with it and his scenes are especially memorable. Nancy Kelly is only so-so, but the rest of the supporting cast is right on target. Henry King's direction is nimble and deft, staging the action sequences in glorious outsized fashion, notably the famous bank-robbery scene in which Jesse rides his horse through a plate glass window. Jesse James was filmed largely on location in Missouri, resulting in crowd-control nightmares for the picture's beleaguered assistant directors." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/jesse-james-v26071/

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Stanley and Livingstone 1939 - The great explorer and the Victorian saint

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031973/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,2

Directors: Henry King, Otto Brower
Main Cast: Spencer Tracy, Cedric Hardwicke, Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene, Walter Brennan, Charles Coburn, Henry Hull

"Stanley and Livingstone is perhaps more faithful to its historical source than most Hollywood biopics, but even so it completely whitewashes the character of Henry Stanley. This is particularly true at the end, when Stanley returns to Africa, presumably a changed (and religiously inspired) man. It's totally false as history, but it makes for a great movie; for once, the studios' insistence on adding significant amounts of fiction to their fact-based products produced good drama. And Stanely is definitely a good drama, as well as a rousing adventure and an intriguing character study. The team of screenwriters have crafted a narrative that is totally engaging and peopled it with characters that leave their impressions on you, none more so than the two title characters. Henry King has directed with finesse, making sure that there's an excellent balance of action, adventure and inspiration, and even making the extraneous romantic subplot work fairly well. Of course, he's aided enormously by Spencer Tracy's towering yet nuanced performance. Tracy gets to play it both rough and pious, the adventurer and the thinker, the amoralist and the moralist, and he does so superbly. No other actor could combine gusto with restraint in the way that Tracy could, and watching his transformation from the beginning of the film to the end is a true treat. Cedric Hardwicke is also in top form as Livingstone, celebrating the man's deep religious faith without ever commenting upon it. The supporting cast is good, the cinematography evocative (even if the rear screen projections are occasionally obvious to modern viewers)." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/stanley-and-livingstone-v46460/

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In old Chicago 1937 - Hollywood's version of the 1871 Chicago fire

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029047/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Henry King
Main Cast: Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Alice Brady, Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, Phyllis Brooks

"In Old Chicago was 20th Century-Fox's spin on MGM's San Francisco - a personal saga played out against the backdrop of a famous 19th Century disaster. We have Tyrone Power and Brian Donlevy here as the primary antagonists who, in this case, battle to the near-death of their city. The movie benefits considerably from opulent production values and a solid supporting performance from Alice Faye as a woman who is convincingly vivacious enough to turn the heads of several key male characters; and Alice Brady adding a memorable turn as the well-intended but ill-fated Mrs. O'Leary, mother of two of the protagonists. Don Ameche also gives a rich, rounded performance as Power's straightarrow brother, and Andy Devine adds some comic grace notes while Rondo Hatton - with some lines of dialogue, no less - is hanging about in the background adding menace to the proceedings. And even several decades later, it seems as though no expense was spared on the climactic fire (a masterwork of special effects courtesy of 20th Century-Fox's Fred Sersen) or the depiction of its aftermath, which is as impressive a screen spectacle as anything seen before Gone With the Wind's burning of Atlanta." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/in-old-chicago-v96405/

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State fair 1933 - A wonderful movie with charms, warmth and virtue

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024610/
IMDB rating: 7,0

Director: Henry King
Main Cast: Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, Lew Ayres, Sally Eilers, Norman Foster, Louise Dresser

"The 1933 State Fair was the first of three film versions of the Phillip Stong bestseller. Some consider it the best of the three because of its stricter adherence to the source material and the presence of star Will Rogers.
The original film State Fair has suffered an ignominious fate, owing - ironically enough - to the consequences growing out of the virtues that made it so notable in the first place. The story, by Phillip Strong, was a good one, about a family that finds joys and some unexpected personal trials while attending the Iowa State Fair. Henry King, who'd made his mark on pictures a dozen years earlier with the rural tale Tol'able David, did some of his best sound work in that milieu on this particular picture. And that's not surprising, given that he had the opportunity to work tandem with Will Rogers, Louise Dresser, and Janet Gaynor. King had a light touch as a director, giving his actors room to do what they did best, and they all ran with it, and the results were so impressive that they ended up inspiring Rodgers and Hammerstein to try their hand at film scoring a dozen years later. And that musical version eclipsed the very work that had inspired them in the first place. This movie has many of the same virtues that one found in the other films of Rogers and Gaynor, plus King's ability to move a story along. The warmth of the characterizations radiates from the screen, and even those who have grown up on the more familiar films of the R&H musical version may be impressed with the straight dramatic approach that one finds here." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/state-fair-v111659

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