Jackie Coogan Movies
American actor Jackie Coogan belonged to a family of vaudevillians. At age four Coogan was already a stage attraction performing with his father when he caught the eye of Charles Chaplin, who immediately hired him (and his father as well). After giving him a bit part in the short A Day's Pleasure (1919), he made Coogan his co-star in the masterpiece The Kid (1921). This launched Coogan's film career and he went on to become one of the highest paid film actors of the day. Movie audiences worldwide doted on him, but his career as a child star petered out when he was 13 and too old to be "cute." In 1935 when his mother and stepfather refused to let him have the $4 million that he had amassed during his child acting days, he filed suit against them. When the settlement finally came, he received a mere $126,000., but the legal fight brought attention to such abuses, and resulted in the "California Child Actor's Bill" also known as the "Coogan Act" which protected the earnings of child actors. He was married to Betty Grable for 3 years, and to three other showgirls in succession afterwards. During his adulthood, he occasionally appeared in films playing character roles and worked frequently in television, most notably as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family TV series. He died on March 1, 1984. ~ All Movie Guide- 1931
Based on the novel by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn stars Junior Durkin in the title role, Jackie Coogan as Tom Sawyer, Mitzi Green as Becky Thatcher and Clarence Muse as Jim the slave. The film hopscotches around the book, ignoring such highlights as the Grangeford-Shepherdson feud and devoting too much time to such minor incidents as Huck and Tom's "orchestrated" rescue of Jim. The basic storyline begins when Huck's no-good Pap (Warner Richmond) kidnaps the boy from his guardian, the Widow Douglas. Huck stages his own "death" and escapes down the Mississippi on a raft, in the company of Tom Sawyer and escaped slave Jim. The threesome link up with two confidence men, the King (Oscar Apfel) and the Duke (Eugene Pallette). The unscrupulous pair plan fleece the grieving family of a recently deceased man of wealth, but Huck falls in love with one of the victims of the scam (Charlotte Henry) and thwarts the villains. Huckleberry Finn was Paramount's followup to 1930's Tom Sawyer, with many of the principal actors repeating their roles. This 1931 version of Huckleberry is easy to take, but somewhat threadbare when compared to later remakes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Coogan, Mitzi Green, (more)
- 1979
- R
Country singer Rachel Foster (Linda Haynes) stumbles across the scene of a mass murder in this routine horror feature. She is arrested and charged with the murders and placed in prison. Psychiatric sessions are run by the sadistic and misogynist Dr. Kline (Geoffrey Lewis). His idea of mental health is to erase the patient's personalities and completely replace them with new ones through brainwashing. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, (more)
- 1969
In the first episode of a pivotal two-part story, Jeannie (Barbara Eden) has found the perfect fifth-anniversary present for her master Tony (Larry Hagman). The gift turns out to be the entire country of Basenji, which is ruled by Jeannie's uncle Suleiman (Jackie Coogan). Unfortunately, Tony has been assigned to escort Hamid (Frank DeVol), the ambassador of Kasha--Basenji's longtime enemy. As a result of the chaos that follows, the infuriated Tony all but orders Jeannie to get out of his life forever! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Tony (Larry Hagman) has banished Jeannie (Barbara Eden), only to find out that he can't live without her. Worse still, Tony has been bumped from the space program and transferred to Alaska, thanks to the previous week's brouhaha involving Jeannie's uncle Suleiman (Jackie Coogan) and the ambassador of Kasha. Putting his own career on the line, Roger (Bill Daily) sets out to reinstate Tony and to reunite him with Jeannie. Ultimately, Tony finally proposes to Jeannie--only to find that he must now pass a rather rigorous test imposed by Suleiman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
It is hardly a fond reunion when Ironside (Raymond Burr) is summoned to his home town by a letter from his former high school classmate Alice Schmidt (Fay Spain). Upon his arrival, the Chief learns that Alice never wrote the letter--and that her husband John has been murdered. When another member of the Class of 1940, Dick Gillis (William Bryant), likewise turns up dead, Ironside follows a trail of clues leading to an accidental killing that occurred 34 years earlier...thereby setting himself up as the murderer's next victim! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Ironside (Raymond Burr) and Mark (Don Mitchell) show up at a prison, ostensibly to receive information about a recent crime. Instead, the pair has been lured into a trap by three desperate convicts who intend to use the Chief's van to make their getaway. How can Ironside turn this situation around to his advantage--especially since the convicts are also holding hostage the wife (Virginia Gregg) of the prison's warden (Arthur Space. Contrary to previously published reports, the role of convict Terry Wilson is not played by former child star Jackie Coogan, but instead by Coogan's son Jackie Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
The killer of police officer Randy Keating (Roger Perry) is himself killed by Keating's partner Frank Carlson (David Carradine)--whereupon Carlson finds himself facing a murder charge. Inasmuch as he attended police academy with both Keating and Carlson, Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) takes a personal interest in the case. With the help of his boss Ironside (Raymond Burr), Ed slowly but surely figures out that Carlson has been framed--but by whom? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Politics and sports clash in this occasionally funny spoof centered around a downed U2 pilot and an extravagant oil sheik. John Goldfarb (Richard Crenna), a former football player, now pilot, sent on a reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union, is lost and crash-lands in the Middle Eastern kingdom of Fawzia. King Fawz (Peter Ustinov) is constructing a football team to defeat Notre Dame and demands that Goldfarb coach his team or be handed over as a spy. In the interests of international relations, the U.S. State Department not only complies with King Fawz's request to bring the Notre Dame team to his country but in true diplomatic form insists that they throw the game. The romantic interest appears in the form of Jenny Ericson (Shirley MacLaine), an American reporter on an undercover assignment in the king's harem. A pleasant view in scanty harem garb, she lends mild amusement to the story with attempts to avoid the king's amourous advances. Although the humor falls short of its potential, the film was fortuitously saved from obscurity due to publicity generated by an unsuccessful lawsuit brought agianst the studio by the University of Notre Dame, which objected to a scene involving Notre Dame players fraternizing with harem girls. The screenplay for John Goldfarb, Please Come Home was written by William Peter Blatty who was later known for his award winning novel and screenplay The Exorcist. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley MacLaine, Richard Crenna, (more)
- 1927
Internationally popular kiddie-star Jackie Coogan was rapidly outgrowing his cuteness when he starred in his 1927 vehicle Johnny Get Your Hair Cut. The title is predicated on the fact that Coogan's celebrated bangs are shorn in the course of the story. Outside of this "gimmick," however, the film is a pedestrian effort, in which orphaned Johnny O'Day (Coogan) is adopted by kindly racehorse owner Baxter Ryan (Maurice Costello). Johnny returns the favor by riding Ryan's horse to victory and by saving the life of his winsome stepsister. Johnny Get Your Hair Cut was "supervised" by Coogan's father, which probably meant that Jackie Sr. was paid a huge sum of money to stay home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Coogan
- 1947
The popular wartime catchphrase "Kilroy Was Here" was affixed to this minor campus comedy. Jackie Cooper plays peripatetic ex-sailor John J. Kilroy, who is assumed to be the Kilroy. Once John finds himself in college on the GI bill, he finds that his fame is also a curse: none of the "right" people want anything to do with him because of his WW2 notoriety. Even worse, John insists upon retaining his friendship with navy buddy Pappy Collins (Jackie Coogan), a "lowly" cabdriver. By film's end, of course, Kilroy and Collins have washed their hands of the campus snobs, but not before several slapsticky complications. At the time of its release, Kilroy Was Here was exploited on the basis of its teaming of former child stars Cooper and Coogan, who work together quite well consider the material they're given. Not unlike 1946's Snafu, Kilroy Was Here ran into some censorship trouble because of the sexual connotations of its inspiration (a line drawing of a face, with a phallic nose resting between two ball-shaped cheeks!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Cooper, Wanda McKay, (more)
- 1939
Originally designed for exhibition at the 1939 World's Fair, Land of Liberty is a 137-minute compendium of filmclips from past American historical epics. The project was sponsored by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc. and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille, who also edited the film with the assistance of his crack Paramount production staff. The narration was written by old DeMille hands Jeannie MacPherson and Jesse Lasky Jr. and spoken by a talented team of uncredited announcers (one of whom sounded suspiciously like old C. B. himself). Clips from such Hollywood productions as America (1924), Abraham Lincoln (1930), Alexander Hamilton (1931), Show Boat (1936), Man of Conquest (1939) and DeMille's own The Plainsman (1936), The Buccaneer (1938) and Union Pacific (1939) are woven together into a chronological continuity, tracing American history from the Revolutionary War to the "present," which is largely represented by newsreel footage of President Roosevelt, the TVA project, and other current personalities and events. In later years, Land of Liberty was redistributed on the classroom circuit, with new footage added from historical dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1924
Jackie Coogan stars as Mickey Hogan, the young orphan who is shipwrecked on his journey from San Francisco to Australia in this adventure drama. He and a black cat raft onto an isolated tropical island inhabited by cannibals. When the fiery youngster fights back, he is made the official god of war by the tribe. Mickey rescues two men and a young girl who inadvertently end up on the menu of the hungry tribe. He is rescued by a U.S. Navy destroyer and reunited in California with his friend Captain McDavitt (Will R. Walling). Tom Santschi, Noble Johnson, and Tote Ducrow co-star with Bert Sprotte and Gloria Grey. After the box-office failure of his previous film A Boy Of Flanders, Coogan re-established his considerable reputation with this performance. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will R. Walling, Tom Santschi, (more)
- 1958
For his film directorial debut, producer Dore Schary selected a longtime pet property: Miss Lonelyhearts, Nathaniel West's trenchant 1933 novel. Montgomery Clift delivers a haunting performance as journalist Adam White, assigned by his cynical editor Adam Shrike (Robert Ryan) to take over a newspaper advice column. Signing himself Miss Lonelyhearts, White is appalled by the human misery pouring out of the letters sent to him (one of his correspndents was born without a nose), but Shrike insists that anyone who'd write to such a column is fake. To find out for himself, White looks up one of the correspondents, unhappily married Fay Doyle (Oscar-nominated Maureen Stapleton). His pity for the seriously disturbed Fay nearly leads to tragedy (in the novel, there's no "nearly"). Meanwhile, Shrike tries to contend with his own tottering marriage to his wife Florence (Myrna Loy). In additional to shortening the title to Lonelyhearts, Dore Schary made a number of radical changes in the original, adding an overabundance of "meaningful" dialogue and softening the character of Florence Shrike. Purists were enraged by Schary's liberties, while critics carped at his perfunctory direction; audiences, however, seemed to like the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan, (more)
- 1923
Metro pulled out all the stops on this picture, which was based on the novel by Mary Roberts Rinehart and starred eight-year-old Jackie Coogan. The studio spent upwards of a million dollars on mob scenes and spectacular sets for this mythical kingdom tale. Coogan's father, Jack Coogan Sr., supervised the production, as he did on many of his son's pictures. King Karl of Livonia (Alan Hale Sr.) has grown old and feeble and the hopes of his country are all on little Prince Otto (Coogan), an orphan who is the only heir to the throne. As a result, Otto is not allowed any childish pleasures -- it's all about court formalities. The boy isn't even allowed to have a puppy. Naturally, the young prince is frustrated and when he gets the opportunity to run off with an American boy, Bobby (Raymond Lee), he takes it. After he returns, the guard keep a closer eye on him -- the country is about to break out into revolution and his life is in danger. But Otto manages to escape once again on his birthday, and while he is gone, the King dies. Without the presence of Otto, the people start rioting. As the prince tries to get back to the palace, the revolutionists kidnap him. Otto's friend, Lieutenant Nikky (Allan Forrest), comes to the rescue and the boy returns to become King. If the name of Raymond Lee doesn't strike a bell, his face should; he's the boy who gives Coogan a black eye in The Kid. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Coogan, Rosemary Theby, (more)
- 1969
- PG
James Garner is so good as Raymond Chandler's philosophical gumshoe Philip Marlowe that you forget he's totally wrong for the part. Based on Chandler's The Little Sister, Marlowe involves the detective's efforts to locate the missing brother of Orfamay Quest (Sharon Farrell). He follows the clues to two men who deny any knowledge of the brother's existence. Since both men soon find themselves on the wrong end of an ice pick, Marlowe deduces that there's more to this caper than a mere missing-person case. The plot thickens as more "dramatis personae" are added to the intrigues, including TV star Gayle Hunnicutt, Hunnicutt's gangster boyfriend H.M. Wynant and stripper Rita Moreno. A pre-stardom Bruce Lee shows up as a karate-happy thug who lays waste to Marlowe's office shortly before suffering a spectacular demise. It is preferable to view Marlowe in videocassette or theatrical form; the commercial TV print cuts so much out that viewers are left with virtually nothing but protection leader and a few close-ups of James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, (more)
Mutated spiders, mad geniuses, childlike mental patients, gold-digging blondes, and vengeful little people are only part of the madness in this legendary bit of oddball science fiction. Grant (Robert Knapp) and Doreen (Mary Hill) wander into a shack in the wastelands of Mexico's Muerto Desert, where the sunburned and dehydrated pair tell their tale to a surveyor for an American petroleum firm. Grant was working as a pilot for millionaire businessman Jan Van Croft (Nico Lek), who was to marry the much younger Doreen when engine trouble stranded them in a Mexican border town. Jan and Doreen were killing time in a roadhouse when they were joined by the eccentric Dr. Leland Masterson (Harmon Stevens), who had recently escaped from a mental hospital. Before Masterson's nurse, George (George Barrows), can lure his patient back to the hospital, Masterson pulls a gun and shoots entertainer Tarantella (Tandra Quinn) while she performs a wild dance routine; Masterson then takes Jan and Doreen hostage and demands that Grant fly them away. Further engine trouble strands the traveling party on a mesa, where they discover a handful of strange, tiny men and statuesque women. In time, we discover that Masterson knows the story behind the Mesa's unusual residents -- they're the products of a series of experiments by Dr. Aranya (Jackie Coogan), whose research into the pituitary glands of spiders has produced unusual results. The only screen credit for screenwriter and co-director Herbert Tevos (who helmed the project with Southern exploitation icon Ron Ormond), Mesa of Lost Women also features a memorably irritating guitar-and-piano score and a brief appearance by Dolores Fuller, best known for her work with one-time beau Edward D. Wood Jr. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Coogan, Richard Travis, (more)
- 1939
No relation to the 1932 W.C. Fields comedy of the same name, Million Dollar Legs is a college picture starring most of Paramount's younger contract players. The college is in financial trouble, so the students pin their hopes on a race horse--the "million dollar legs" of the title. As it turns out, the college's salvation rests with its rowing team, captained by Jackie Coogan (who was once upon a time a leading-man type). At the time Million Dollar Legs was made, Coogan was married to his costar, Betty Grable. A few years later, Grable would parlay her own lovely legs into a career worth several millions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Grable, John Hartley, (more)
- 1922
One of the most accessible of Jackie Coogan's silent vehicles, My Boy is also one of his best and most representative. 7-year-old Coogan plays an orphaned immigrant who hides out from the immigration authorities in the shack of impoverished ex-sea captain Claude Gillingwater. At first, Gillingwater is resistant to Coogan's moppet charms, but before long they are as a close as father and son. The officials eventually catch up with Coogan, and the stage is set for a unhappy ending (even after seven decades this sequence will have you reaching for the Kleenex). Fortunately, Coogan's wealthy American grandmother decides to adopt both Jackie and lovable old Gillingwater. My Boy was "supervised" by Coogan's father, a set-up roughly comparable to the proprietary interest taken in recent years by the father of Macaulay Culkin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Coogan, Claude Gillingwater, (more)
- 1959
Scripted in another era, the premise for this interesting though conventional drama defending a partially mixed marriage would not be as convincing a few decades later. Chuck Nelson (John Drew Barrymore) is a wealthy young man who travels South of the border and meets and then marries Ginny (Julie London). His new bride is a wonderful woman until Chuck's socialite mother (Agnes Moorehead) discovers that one of Ginny's grandparents was of African ancestry. The imperious mother-in-law lands the new couple in an embittered court battle as she makes every attempt to annul their marriage. Nat "King" Cole plays Ginny's uncle, and Anna Kashfi is Maria, her cousin. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie London, John Drew Barrymore, (more)
- 1958
This romantic melodrama centers on a love triangle shaped by the restless, dissatisfied girl friend of a crop-duster who refuses to marry her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1925
The Rag Man proved to be a popular release, so Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer quickly put together this sequel. The studio's brand new starlet Joan Crawford stars alongside young Jackie Coogan and old Max Davidson. When we last saw Tim Kelly (Coogan) and Max Ginsberg (Davidson), the ex-rag pickers had struck it rich. But the copper stock in which they have invested takes a dive and they are compelled to go back into the junk business. They take in the penniless Mary Riley (Crawford) as a roomer and she hits it off so well with them that she winds up becoming a partner in their little company. Mary falls in love with Nathan Burke (Alan Forrest), a young broker, but his mother (Lillian Elliott) opposes the match. Eventually it is revealed that Mrs. Burke came from a poor background herself, and her long-ago sweetheart was Ginsberg. After this discovery, she gives the couple her blessings. The copper stock soars in value once again, so Kelly and Ginsberg are back in the money. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Davidson, Lillian Elliott, (more)
Ostensibly a vehicle for Jackie Coogan, the 1922 Oliver Twist refuses to realign the Charles Dickens novel to accommodate the personality of its star. This Frank Lloyd-directed silent film is one of the most faithful of all cinematic adaptations of the Dickens work. The orphaned Oliver, labelled a "troublemaker" because he dares to ask for more food, is farmed out to work as an undertaker's assistant. Escaping his cruel master, Oliver falls in with a gang of pickpockets, headed by the colorful Fagin (played by Lon Chaney Sr., who steals a lot more than a few watches and wallets in the course of the picture). Kindly Mr. Brownlow (Lionel Belmore), Oliver's real grandfather, tries to help the lad, but the evil Bill Sikes (George Siegmann) complicates matters. While Jackie Coogan may seem a bit too well-fed and self-sufficient to play Oliver, he was certainly more suited to the role than the star of the 1916 filmization of Oliver Twist--actress Marie Doro! Long believed to be a lost film, Oliver Twist was painstakingly restored in the early 1970s, using bits and pieces from various foreign prints and negatives. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney, (more)
- 1952
This off-beat western is set in a remote western town that has made it illegal for men to enter. The town is owned by a powerful female gambler whose reign is toppled by a handsome and persistent cowboy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Windsor, Richard Rober, (more)
- 1921
After his appearance in The Kid, little Jackie Coogan was obviously destined for stardom. For his first starring role, he was given this story written by George W. Peck, which had been made into a stage play by George M. Cohan. While the film didn't live up to the stage version (Moving Picture World said comparing the two "is to compare a two-dollar straw hat to an expensive Panama"), Coogan does have excellent support. Sam Wood directed the picture and the titles were written by Irvin S. Cobb. Young Henry Peck (Coogan) is a troublemaker -- the film begins with him opening the lion's cage at a circus and giving the whole town a scare. Although his father (James Corrigan) refuses to let him attend the circus as punishment, Henry manages to manipulate him into allowing him to go anyway. But his antics don't stop -- he puts ants in his father's "pleurisy pad" and causes a commotion at church. He gets his sister's boyfriend (Wheeler Oakman) into trouble. The boyfriend, however, executes a daring rescue at the end and, as a result, becomes Henry's pal for life. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Coogan, Wheeler Oakman, (more)
- 1961
After she escapes from an asylum for alcoholics, Anne Gilrain (Gloria Talbott) is sent right back by her husband Tom (Liam Sullivan). Sensing that she is being mistreated by her husband, Anne's former boyfriend, comedian Charlie Hatch (Tommy Noonan), vows to "rescue" her. When Tom Gilrain is murdered, Charlie takes the rap for the crime, assuming that Anne is the guilty party--an assumption that proves quite problematic for attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
