Eddy Chandler Movies
Stocky character actor Eddy Chandler's movie career stretched from 1915 to 1947. In 1930, Chandler was afforded a large (if uncredited) role as Blondell, partner in crime of villain Ralf Harolde, in the RKO musical extravaganza Dixiana. Thereafter, he made do with bit parts, usually playing cops or military officers. His brief appearance in Frank Capra's It Happened One Night as the bus driver who begins singing "The Man on a Flying Trapeze"--and plows his bus into a ditch as a result--assured him choice cameos in all future Capra productions. Chandler can also be seen as the Hospital Sergeant in 1939's Gone with the Wind. One of Eddy Chandler's few billed roles was Lewis in Monogram's Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1929
In spite of its unbelievable storyline, She Goes to War manages to sustain interest from first reel to last. During WWI, spoiled socialite Joan Morant (Eleanor Boardman) heads to France, hoping to be reunited with her soldier sweetheart Reggie (Edmund Burns). Her presence is resented by Reggie's CO, Lieutenant Tom Pike (John Holland), who endeavors to prove to the heroine that social standing means nothing in the face of war. When Reggie turns coward and refuses to march into battle, the newly-responsible Joan, hoping to save Reggie's honor, dons a uniform and marches off in his place! Through a bizarre turn of events, Joan ends up saving the lives of everyone else in the regiment. Currently available from several public-domain videocassette sources, She Goes to War is worth seeing if only for its brief talkie sequences, in which the voice of actress Alma Rubens (cast as ukelele-plucking Rosie Cohen) was heard for the first and only time; within two years, Rubens would be dead, having lost her ongoing battle with drug addiction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Boardman, John Holland, (more)
- 1928
Freckled little Buzz Barton again portrays boy rider Red Hepner in this well-made silent western. This time he foils a plan to steal the airmail and in one especially exciting scene takes to the air armed only with a (very effective) slingshot.. As always, the young star gets fine support from grizzled sidekick Frank Rice. Veterans Edmund Cobb and Alma Rayford take care of the few romantic interludes. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buzz Barton, Edmund Cobb, (more)
- 1927
Dapper, diminutive slapstick comedian Monty Banks spoofed the aviation-film cycle in Flying Luck. Most of the story deals with the comic conflict between hapless amateur flyboy Banks and tough army sergeant Kewpie Morgan (whose resemblance to Oliver Hardy was so pronounced that many film historians have assumed that he was Hardy). Having earned his aviation license via correspondence school, Banks has no concept of what it's really like to soar above the clouds -- but he soon finds out when he enters a flying contest. Performing daring (and impossible) aerial stunts, Banks manages to win an aerial polo game on behalf of the army, much to the delight of the previously antagonistic Morgan. The inconsequential heroine was played by Jean Arthur, just on the verge of bigger and better things. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Banks, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1927
Action hero William Fairbanks goes "through thick and thin" to trap a gang of vicious drug smugglers. Going undercover, Don Dixon (Fairbanks) heads to the criminals' cabaret hideout in Mexico, where he secures a job as a bouncer. He then falls in love with Miss Morris (Ethel Shannon), even though he suspects that the girl's father is the gang's mysterious Mister Big. But when the suspect himself turns out to be a detective, he joins forces with Don to trap the villains -- and, incidentally, to rescue the heroine from their eeeeevil clutches. It's not for nothing that director B. Reeves Eason's nickname was "Breezy." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Fairbanks, George Periolat, (more)
- 1925
This melodrama featured Edmund Lowe in a dual role, and a very young Carole Lombard. Cyril Gordon (Lowe) joins the secret service, and since he is a dead ringer for international crook Harry Holden (also Lowe), he is assigned the task of retrieving a stolen government code from Holden's gang. He discovers that Celia Hathaway (Lombard) is being forced into a loveless marriage with the crook, so, still posing as Holden, he marries her himself. As they head for Chicago by train, they are pursued by the real Holden. Gordon tells Celia his true identity and the couple goes to Washington, D.C., where he reports to his higher ups. Holden breaks into Gordon's apartment and the two men fight it out. Holden loses and his gang is jailed. Celia decides she loves Gordon and wants to stay married to him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
