Most tolerable Movie series
by dan_dassow | created - 02 Jan 2014 | updated - 04 Jan 2014 | PublicNot franchise-not sequals-not tent poles. No serials- No TV - Title listed is first in the sound-era series...or the first one that has a site picture.
Which one of these series, if you had to watch them all, do you think might be the most tolerable?
Suggested by horn-5.
You may discuss the poll here.
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1. You're Only Young Once (1937)
Passed | 78 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
On vacation with his family on California's Catalina Island, Andy Hardy falls head over swim fins for a sophisticated young beauty. Judge Hardy warns his son that she is too fast for him.
Director: George B. Seitz | Stars: Lewis Stone, Cecilia Parker, Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden
Votes: 560
The Hardy Family - 19 films
2. One Mysterious Night (1944)
Approved | 61 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Blackie is enlisted by the police to help recover the Blue Star of the Nile diamond, stolen from a war relief exhibit.
Director: Budd Boetticher | Stars: Chester Morris, Janis Carter, William Wright, Richard Lane
Votes: 470
Horatio 'Boston Blackie' Black - 14 films
3. Marshal of Reno (1944)
Approved | 54 min | Drama, Western
In 1895, a crime wave prevents Blue Springs from becoming county seat but Red Ryder suspects the shady citizens of rival Rockland of being behind it all.
Director: Wallace Grissell | Stars: Bill Elliott, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Robert Blake, Alice Fleming
Votes: 80
Red Ryder - 28 films
4. Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Passed | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
A trader and his daughter set off in search of the fabled graveyard of the elephants in deepest Africa, only to encounter a wild man raised by apes.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith, Maureen O'Sullivan
Votes: 8,220
Tarzan - 32 films
5. The Canary Murder Case (1929)
Passed | 82 min | Crime, Mystery
A beautiful showgirl, nicknamed 'the Canary', is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and soon ends up dead. But who killed 'the Canary'. All the suspects who knew her had ... See full summary »
Directors: Malcolm St. Clair, Frank Tuttle | Stars: William Powell, Jean Arthur, James Hall, Louise Brooks
Votes: 834
Philo Vance - 15 films
6. Blondie Takes a Vacation (1939)
Passed | 69 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Blondie and Dagwood are in charge of operations at a mountain motel. The elderly owners of the establishment are in danger of losing their life savings. Among other things, arson threatens.
Director: Frank R. Strayer | Stars: Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Daisy
Votes: 424
The Bumstead Family - 28 films
7. Dead End (1937)
Approved | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
The lives of a young man, a young woman, an notorious gangster, and a group of street kids converge one day in a volatile New York City slum.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie
Votes: 8,592
The Dead End Kids - 19 films
8. Spook Busters (1946)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy
Newly graduated from exterminator college, Slip and the boys open a pest control business. Their first job leads to a doctor who wants to transplant Sach's brain.
Director: William Beaudine | Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Douglass Dumbrille, Bobby Jordan
Votes: 560
The Bowery Boys - 46 films
9. Michael Shayne: Private Detective (1940)
Approved | 77 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
After gumshoe Mike Shayne is hired by a millionaire to keep his daughter away from gambling and gamblers, he becomes involved in the murder of a racetrack tout.
Director: Eugene Forde | Stars: Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, Joan Valerie, Walter Abel
Votes: 604
Michael Shayne - 12 films
10. Maisie (1939)
Approved | 75 min | Comedy, Drama
A showgirl stranded in a Wyoming town ends up being hired as a maid at a ranch.
Director: Edwin L. Marin | Stars: Robert Young, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey, Ian Hunter
Votes: 691
Maisie Ravier - 11 films
11. Charlie Chan in London (1934)
Open | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Charlie visits a wealthy country home in England. Suspects in the murder range from a housekeeper, to a stableman, to a lawyer.
Director: Eugene Forde | Stars: Warner Oland, Drue Leyton, Ray Milland, Mona Barrie
Votes: 2,169
Charlie Chan - 44 films
12. Whistling in the Dark (1941)
Passed | 78 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Radio crime show host 'The Fox' along with his fiancée and ex-girlfriend are kidnapped by a larcenous cult who demand that he help them plan a perfect murder.
Director: S. Sylvan Simon | Stars: Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, Ann Rutherford, Virginia Grey
Votes: 1,098
Wally Benton - 3 films
13. The Thin Man (1934)
TV-PG | 91 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Former detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton
Votes: 32,558
Nick and Nora Charles - 5 films
14. The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935)
Passed | 73 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Detective Ellery Queen's vacation is interrupted when murder strikes next door to his oceanside cabin.
Director: Lewis D. Collins | Stars: Helen Twelvetrees, Donald Cook, Berton Churchill, Frank Sheridan
Votes: 326
Ellery Queen - 9 films
15. The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)
Passed | 74 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
An agitated and desperate man spares no expense in insisting that Mason represent him against a neighbor's howling dog and act as executor of his will.
Director: Alan Crosland | Stars: Warren William, Mary Astor, Allen Jenkins, Grant Mitchell
Votes: 1,024
Perry Mason - 6 films
16. Francis (1950)
Approved | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
During World War II, a junior American Army officer, Lt. Peter Stirling, gets sent to the psychiatric ward whenever he insists that an Army mule named Francis speaks to him.
Director: Arthur Lubin | Stars: Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina, Zasu Pitts, Ray Collins
Votes: 1,459
Francis the Talking Mule - 7 films
17. The Egg and I (I) (1947)
Approved | 108 min | Comedy, Romance
On their wedding night, Bob reveals to Betty that he has purchased an abandoned chicken farm. Betty struggles to adapt to their new rural lifestyle, especially when a glamorous neighbor seems to set her eyes on Bob.
Director: Chester Erskine | Stars: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Marjorie Main, Louise Allbritton
Votes: 3,074
The Kettle Family - 10 films
18. East Side Kids (1940)
Approved | 62 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After being falsely accused of a murder, a group of kids have to find the real killer in order to clear their name.
Director: Robert F. Hill | Stars: Leon Ames, Dennis Moore, Joyce Bryant, Hal E. Chester
Votes: 297
The East Side Kids - 23 films
19. Jungle Jim (1948)
Passed | 71 min | Adventure, Family
Lady scientist, Hilary Parker is searching for a rare drug to help combat polio. Opportunist Bruce Edwards joins the quest but is actually after gold and buried treasure.
Director: William Berke | Stars: Johnny Weissmuller, Virginia Grey, George Reeves, Lita Baron
Votes: 811
Jungle Jim - 13 films
20. Crime Doctor (1943)
Approved | 66 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Amnesia victim, Robert Ordway, becomes the country's leading criminal psychologist. When he is hit on the head (by someone from his past) he suddenly remembers his previous life as a criminal.
Director: Michael Gordon | Stars: Warner Baxter, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Ray Collins
Votes: 588
Dr. Robert Ordway/The Crime Doctor - 10 films
21. Smart Blonde (1937)
Passed | 59 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Female reporter Torchy Blane teams with her cop boyfriend Lt. Steve McBride to solve the killing of an investor who just bought a popular local nightclub.
Director: Frank McDonald | Stars: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Wini Shaw, Addison Richards
Votes: 717
Torchy Blane - 9 films
22. The Shadow Strikes (1937)
Approved | 61 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
Lamont Cranston assumes his secret identity as "The Shadow", to break up an attempted robbery at an attorney's office. When the police search the scene, Cranston must assume the identity of the attorney.
Director: Lynn Shores | Stars: Rod La Rocque, Agnes Anderson, James Blakeley, Walter McGrail
Votes: 586
The Shadow - 6 films
23. Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)
Passed | 67 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
Seven maps, when found and put together, reveal the location of the treasures of Genghis Khan.
Director: Norman Foster | Stars: Peter Lorre, Thomas Beck, Pauline Frederick, Jayne Regan
Votes: 1,079
Mr. Moto - 10 films
24. Mr. Wong, Detective (1938)
Passed | 69 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
In San Francisco, Simon Dayton, the senior partner in a chemical company, visits famed detective James Lee Wong as Dayton fears for his life stemming from a series of unexplained events in ... See full summary »
Director: William Nigh | Stars: Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Maxine Jennings, Evelyn Brent
Votes: 1,227
James Lee Wong - 5 films
25. Bulldog Drummond (1929)
Passed | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A bored WWI veteran helps out a young woman whose uncle is being held hostage by embezzlers.
Director: F. Richard Jones | Stars: Ronald Colman, Claud Allister, Lawrence Grant, Montagu Love
Votes: 1,328
Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond - 21 films
26. The Lost Volcano (1950)
Approved | 76 min | Adventure
When a young boy is kidnapped by hunters who believe he knows the location of a great treasure, Bomba the Jungle Boy seeks to rescue him from them and from a volcano which is about to erupt.
Director: Ford Beebe | Stars: Johnny Sheffield, Donald Woods, Marjorie Lord, John Ridgely
Votes: 249
Bomba - 12 films
27. The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939)
Passed | 71 min | Adventure, Mystery
A group of spies is after the plans for an anti-aircraft gun, and the leader uses the opportunity to embroil the Lone Wolf in the plot. Trying to settle an old score, this shady character ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Godfrey | Stars: Warren William, Ida Lupino, Rita Hayworth, Virginia Weidler
Votes: 821
Michael Lanyard/The Lone Wolf -18 films
28. The Saint Strikes Back (1939)
Passed | 64 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Simon Templar, the Saint, travels to San Francisco to solve crime mysteries within the police department.
Director: John Farrow | Stars: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Jonathan Hale, Jerome Cowan
Votes: 1,084
Simon Templar - 9 films
29. The Gay Falcon (1941)
Passed | 67 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
The Falcon investigates jewel thieves who are working with hard up socialites to defraud insurance companies. First of the Falcon series.
Director: Irving Reis | Stars: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins, Nina Vale
Votes: 1,229
Gay Lawrence(1st Falcon)/Tom Lawrence(2nd Falcon) -13 films
30. Topper (1937)
Passed | 97 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A fun-loving couple, finding that they died and are now ghosts, decide to shake up the stuffy lifestyle of a friend of theirs.
Director: Norman Z. McLeod | Stars: Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke
Votes: 8,327
Cosmo Topper - 3 films
31. Internes Can't Take Money (1937)
Passed | 78 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In his first film, young Dr. Kildare helps a female ex-con find her child.
Director: Alfred Santell | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Lloyd Nolan, Stanley Ridges
Votes: 784
Dr. James "Jimmy" Kildare - 9 films
32. In Old Arizona (1928)
Passed | 95 min | Drama, Western
A charming, happy-go-lucky bandit in old Arizona plays cat-and-mouse with the sheriff trying to catch him while he romances a local beauty.
Directors: Irving Cummings, Raoul Walsh | Stars: Edmund Lowe, Warner Baxter, Dorothy Burgess, Henry Armetta
Votes: 1,295 | Gross: $2.83M
Cisco Kid - 23 films
33. Nancy Drew: Detective (1938)
Approved | 66 min | Comedy, Crime, Family
After a wealthy dowager who has made a substantial donation to her alma mater suddenly disappears, Nancy Drew sets out to solve the mystery.
Director: William Clemens | Stars: Bonita Granville, John Litel, James Stephenson, Frankie Thomas
Votes: 1,203
Nancy Drew - 4 films
34. Smashing the Money Ring (1939)
Passed | 57 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
T-Man Brass Bancroft goes undercover in a prison which has a secret counterfeit operation set up in the print shop.
Director: Terry O. Morse | Stars: Ronald Reagan, Margot Stevenson, Eddie Foy Jr., Joe Downing
Votes: 269
Lt. 'Brass' Bancroft - 4 films
35. Palooka (1934)
Unrated | 86 min | Comedy, Family, Music
Knobby discovers young hunk Palooka and trains him to fight the reigning champ, also drunken sot, Al McSwatt.
Director: Benjamin Stoloff | Stars: Jimmy Durante, Lupe Velez, Stuart Erwin, Marjorie Rambeau
Votes: 416
Joe Palooka - 21 films
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