Frankie Darro Movies
The son of circus performers, the diminutive Frankie Darro began appearing in films as a juvenile player in 1924; he co-starred with western star Tom Tyler in several silent oaters at FBO in the mid-1920s, and was cast in leading roles in Little Mickey Grogan (1927) and The Circus Kid (1928). During the 1930s, Darro showed up in innumerable bit and supporting roles, often playing juvenile delinquents; he carried over this particular characterization into his voiceover stint as Lampwick in the 1940 animated Disney feature Pinocchio. He was given star billing at such minor-league studios as Ambassador and Monogram, co-starring with black comedian Mantan Moreland at the latter studio in an enjoyable series of action programmers, often cast as a jockey because of his stature. In the late 1940s, Darro was a frequent stunt double for such pint-sized actors as Leo Gorcey. Frankie Darro was compelled to accept bit roles into the 1960s; he was also featured in several Red Skelton Shows of the period, often dressed as an old woman for a peculiar comic effect. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1938
Inasmuch as diminutive Frankie Darro was Hollywood's foremost portrayer of jockeys, it should come as no surprise that Darro heads the cast of Racing Blood. The story begins when young Frankie Reynolds (Darro) rescues a crippled nag from the glue factory. With faith and perserverance Frankie builds the horse into a champion racer, only to be kidnapped by the villains on the eve of the Big Race. Escaping from his captors, our hero commandeers an ambulance (a bit "borrowed" from Joe E. Brown's Alibi Ike) and makes it to the racetrack in the nick o' time. Darro's frequent costar Kane Richmond plays stable owner Clay Harrison, who in the last reel proves a suitable love interest for Frankie's sister Phyllis (Gladys Blake). Minimal comedy relief is provided by black actor Fred Toones, once again demeaningly billed as "Snowflake". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, (more)
This Frankie Darro-Kane Richmond vehicle benefits from the brisk direction of onetime serial star Charles Hutchison. Richmond plays Bomber Brown, a pugilist forced to go on the lam after he punches out crooked gambler Smoothy (Jack LaRue). Travelling incognito bomber befriends aspiring boxer Baby Face (Darro) and trains the boy for the Championship. Smoothy tries to sabotage Baby Face's career, but Bomber cleans the villain's clock once and for all. Produced independently by the parsimonious Maurice Conn, Born to Fight is at its best in the boxing scenes, photographed with all the slick efficiency of an "A" production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, (more)
- 1938
Rising star Rita Hayworth puts in a little box-office duty in the Columbia "B" Juvenile Court. The star of the proceedings is Paul Kelly as crusading public defender Gary Franklin, who hopes to establish a Police Athletic League to give street kids a new chance in life. His toughest charge is Stubby (Frankie Darro), a born leader with potential for either the White House or the Electric Chair. Once he's won over Stubby, Franklin is able to get the rest of the neighborhood kids to attend his new athletic outfit. The far- reaching influence of Franklin's pet project is proven when a group of young punks change their minds about committing a robbery. As Franklin's girl friend Marcia Kelly, Rita Hayworth has virtually nothing to do but stand around and look pretty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Rita Hayworth, (more)
- 1938
Co-directed by former supporting player Mack V. Wright and Sam Nelson, The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok is considered by connoisseurs of the genre the best serial Columbia Pictures ever made. The star, former supporting actor Gordon Elliott (born Nance) changed his first name to Bill for the occasion and emerged a full-fledged star. He later went all the way and became known as William "Wild Bill" Elliott, hero of first-rate Republic Westerns and for years a top sagebrush moneymaker. Robert J. Fiske played Wild Bill's adversary, Morrell, a nasty character who leads his Phantom Raiders in attacks on both the old Chisholm Trail and the encroaching railroad. Wild Bill Hickok is appointed U.S. marshal and assigned to ensure safe passage for both cattle and the railroad. Columbia screenwriters George Rosener, Charles A. Powell, G.A. Durlam, Tom Gibson, and Dallas Fitzgerald made sure that there was something for everyone in this serial, including a shapely heroine (Carole Wayne) to please the adults in the audience and no less than three juvenile actors -- Frankie Darro, Sammy McKim, and Dickie Jones -- for the small fry to root for. Roscoe Ates, he of the bobbing Adam's apple, and veteran slapstick comic Monte Collins provided laughs, and producer Jack Fier rounded up a fine supporting cast that included such veterans as Monte Blue, Kermit Maynard, Chief Thundercloud, George Cheseboro, Edmund Cobb, Hal Taliaferro, Art Mix, Tom London, and Lew Meehan. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1938
Diminutive Danny (Frankie Darro) is Wanted by the Police in this Monogram actioner. Danny is basically a good boy, but he's fallen into bad company-specifically, a gang of toughs who have a habit of taking automobiles that belong to others. The hero's Irish mother (Lillian Elliot) finally figures out what's been going on and begs Danny to cease and desist. When this fails, Mom enlists the aid of Danny's sister Kathleen (Evalyn Knapp) and Kathleen's police-officer boyfriend Mike (Robert Kent) to right old wrongs and set Danny on the proper course. Wanted by the Police was partially remade as the 1948 "Bowery Boys" entry Angels Alley, which also featured Frankie Darro. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Lillian Elliott, (more)
- 1937
Young Roger Calverton (Ronald Sinclair) and his uncle Sir Peter Calverton (Sir C. Aubrey Smith) bring their prize race-horse The Pookah to America, hoping to win a major purse and save their impoverished family estate. They cross paths with Tim Donahue (Mickey Rooney), one of the top young jockeys in the business, and also with Cricket West (Judy Garland), the niece of Mother Ralph (Sophie Tucker), who runs the boarding house where Donahue resides. Cricket likes to sing every chance she gets, and also has a terrible crush on Tim, but even she can't abide his brash, cocky attitude about himself -- and as a good hostess and also a sensible girl, she also gets just a tiny bit smitten with Roger. He and Tim have a rough first meeting but find that they do sort of like each other, and soon Tim -- who has had a tough, hard-scrabble life -- becomes very close to his new friend from England and to Sir Peter, especially when he finds out how much they love horses and racing. He agrees to ride The Pookah -- but then the young jockey is suckered by his estranged father (Charles D. Brown), a low-life member of a gambling syndicate, into throwing the race. This leads to a tragedy that forces Tim to walk away from his profession and everyone he knows, until Cricket finds him and convinces the boy that what he did wasn't entirely his fault, and that he still has the power to make up for a part of it. Tim steals some of the money he gave his father -- supposedly to save the man's life -- to help Roger get The Pookah into another race, but he still has to overcome the machinations of the mob so he can right the wrong he did to the best friends he's ever had. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, (more)
- 1937
In this youthful adventure, a young brother and sister dream of becoming newsreel photographers. They get their chance when they shoot footage of an elusive heiress and help save the foundering career of a cameraman. As an added bonus, they become friends with the wealthy woman. Later they help save her from the criminals who are trying to steal her fortune. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, (more)
In this crime drama, a newsboy and a reporter join forces to stop the racketeer who has been bilking lottery winners. The crook also runs the local sleazy bar where the newsboy's sister sings. The young lad gets involved when gangsters kill his grandpa and try to steal his winning lottery ticket. The boy has the ticket and in the end, he and the reporter must fight the gangsters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, (more)
- 1937
In this drama, a Boy Scout leader hosts a local gossip show. Trouble ensues when he predicts a politician's murder just before it occurs. He is arrested by the DA, but before getting to jail, he is abducted by irate gangsters--the real killers. Fortunately, his loyal Scout troop rallies to his rescue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Ruggles, Alice Brady, (more)
A Day at the Races was the Marx Brothers' follow-up to their incomparable A Night at the Opera. Groucho Marx is cast as Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a veterinarian who passes himself off as a human doctor when summoned by wealthy hypochondriac Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) to take over the financially strapped Standish Sanitarium. Chico Marx plays the sanitarium's general factotum, who works without pay because he has a soft spot for its owner, lovely Judy Standish (Maureen O'Sullivan). Harpo Marx portrays a jockey at the local racetrack, constantly bullied by the evil Morgan (Douglass Dumbrille), who will take over the sanitarium if Judy can't pay its debts. After several side-splitting routines--Chico selling Groucho tips on the races, Chico and Harpo rescuing Groucho from the clutches of femme fatale Esther Muir, all three Marxes conducting a lunatic "examination" of Margaret Dumont--the fate of the sanitarium rests on a Big Race involving Hi-Hat, a horse belonging to the film's nominal hero, Allan Jones. Virtually everything that worked in "Opera" is trotted out again for "Races", including a hectic slapstick finale wherein the Marxes lay waste to a public event. What is missing here is inspiration; perhaps this is due to the fact that MGM producer Irving Thalberg, whose input was so essential to the success of "Opera", died during the filming of "Races". Even so, Day at the Races made more money than any other previous Marx Brothers film--the result being that MGM, in the spirit of "they loved it once", would continue recycling Races' best bits for the studio's next three Marx vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, (more)
Following the capture of jewel thieves, two detectives encounter danger. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane Richmond, June Gale, (more)
- 1937
In this crime drama, a newly deputized state trooper gets killed on his very first day. His younger brother, desiring to follow in his brother's footsteps swears vengeance. His sister's fiance helps him find the gangsters who did the killing. They find them and then trick the crooks into entering a boarding house where they claim gold is hidden. There the heroes discover that the crime boss is a crippled boarder who lives there. Just when it looks like curtains for the heroes, the cops arrive and bring the crooks to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, (more)
- 1937
The popular B-flick team of Frankie Darro and Kane Richmond star in the slick quickie Headline Crasher. Little Frankie and Big Kane play a pair of roving journalists who investigate a politician (Richard Tucker) up for re-election. When it seems as though the politico is being set up for a fall by yellow journalists, Darro and Richmond try to get to the truth of the matter. The original story for Headline Crasher is credited to Peter B. Kyne, creator of the "Broncho Billy" western stories. The film has all the pace of a cowboy opus, which is helpful in patching up the plot holes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, (more)
- 1937
Jean Harlow offers her final screen performance in this witty and -- in retrospect -- quite moving racetrack comedy-drama co-starring Clark Gable and Walter Pidgeon. When her father dies shortly after losing his horse farm to Duke Bradley (Gable), Carol Clayton (Harlow) refuses the handsome bookmaker's offer to forget the debt and instead vows to pay him back in full. She even forbids her stockbroker fiancé, Harley Madison (Pidgeon), to make wagers that may benefit Duke, but promises to marry him once her champion horse wins at Saratoga. But against all the odds, Carol falls in love with Duke and when he appears in danger of ruination, she finds herself rooting for the competitor to win the all-important race. Saratoga, which was finished using both onscreen and voice doubles for Jean Harlow, was partially filmed on-location at Lexington and Louisville, KY, and in Saratoga Springs, NY. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, (more)
- 1936
The "ex" of the title is daffy mystery-writer Jean Arthur, former wife of urbane doctor William Powell. When Powell becomes the prime suspect in a murder case, Arthur endeavors to solve the case herself -- and to reclaim her ex-hubby in the process. After a well-directed semiclimax at a race track, the killer is revealed during one of those expository scenes in which all the suspects are gathered together in one room. The murderer attempts to escape, and Powell is knocked cold in the process. When he awakens, he discovers that Arthur has set up some projection equipment, and is running a film of a minister reciting the wedding vows. Curses! Trapped again! Like William Powell's previous RKO effort Star of Midnight, The Ex-Mrs. Bradford was an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Powell's Thin Man films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1936
En route from Honolulu to Los Angeles by steamship, Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is pressed into action when a fellow passenger is killed. The dead man was a prominent horse breeder, whose favorite stallion has been entered in the Santa Anita handicap. At first glance, it appears as though the victim has been kicked to death by his own horse, but further investigation reveals the complicity of a crooked gambling ring. The excitement of the "photo finish" climax is amplified when Charlie and Number One Son Lee (Keye Luke) are kidnapped by the gamblers -- and the murderer still hasn't been revealed! The best line in Charlie Chan at the Race Track occurs at the end, when Lee excitedly bursts into a room with a vital clue that Charlie has already revealed, whereupon Mr. Chan murmurs: "Please -- save clue for next case." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland
Stodgily directed by actor Russell Hopton, this low-budget oil-drilling melodrama was one of three action-adventures teaming boy actor Frankie Darro with B-Western villain LeRoy Mason, the latter changing his billing to "Roy Mason" for the occasion. Young master Darro plays Clifford Riley, nicknamed "Fishtail," whose father Dan (Frank Shannon) is killed when a rival, J.G. Anderson (Berton Churchill), sabotages his oil well. Enter geologist Hank Langford (Mason), who persuades "Fishtail" to hold on to the potentially valuable well. In retaliation, Anderson has Hank abducted, but the young geologist manages to escape. Learning that Anderson is planning to blow up the Riley well with nitroglycerin, the hero arrives just in time to rescue "Fishtail," but Anderson is killed in the ensuing explosion. The blast also causes the well to come in and both Hank and "Fishtail" emerge from the wreckage as millionaires. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, LeRoy Mason, (more)
- 1935
The hero of The Pay-Off is somewhat denser than usual, making his ultimate victory all the more amazing. James Dunn plays newspaper columnist Joe McCoy, who is inveigled by his no-good wife Maxine (Claire Dodd) to become the dupe of crooked sports promoter Marty Bleuler (Alan Dinehart). So devoted is Joe to Maxine that he's willing to overlook the fact that she's committed murder to achieve her own goals. But the guilty must be punished eventually, and Maxine comes to an ignoble end, leaving Joe free to marry his co-worker Connie (Patricia Ellis), who's loved him all along. This 1936 The Pay-Off is not a remake of the 1930 film of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Claire Dodd, (more)
- 1935
Saved from electrocution by the sudden appearance of a trap door operated by the traitorous Lord Argo (Wheeler Oakman), Gene Autry overhears the Muranian conspirators plan to destroy the universe by means of several hideous weapons invented by Rab (Warner P. Richmond). After subduing both Rab and Gaspar (Stanley Blystone), Gene is able to contact Frankie (Frankie Darro) at the Radio Ranch. Believing that Gaspar has betrayed her, Queen Tika (Dorothy Christy) orders the Junior Riders to be destroyed by a guided radium bomb. Gene bravely fights his way to the surface armament tower and manages to change the bomb's trajectory away from the kids. Unfortunately, the device makes a u-turn instead and explodes the armament tower. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1935
In this action film, Wallace Storm, ace race car driver, gets into real trouble when he is accused of killing his partner over the love of a pretty girl. In court he is found guilty of tampering with his partner's car, causing it to crash during a race, and is sent to prison. While there, his good buddy Johnny works to prove him innocent. Unable to wait, Wallace escapes from jail and heads for South America, assumes an alias, and goes on to become a championship driver. He eventually returns to the States when his girl's father needs a driver for his new car. During the big race, the judge who convicted him, is so impressed by Storm's heroism, that all is forgiven and he is freed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyle Talbot, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1935
On Queen Tika's orders, a lifeless Gene Autry) is brought to Murania's Radium Reviving Room, the queen (Dorothy Christy) hoping that the crooner may disclose the identity of the traitor among her officers. But before the reconstituted Autry can spill the beans, Lord Argo (Wheeler Oakman) destroys Murania's main power line and the entire city is thrust into darkness. Escaping Argo's henchmen in the ensuing confusion, our hero battles his way to the surface elevator -- playfully getting slapped on the butt by one of the top-hatted worker robots along the way -- but as chapter seven reaches its conclusion, Autry finds himself cornered once again by Queen Tika's Thunder Guard. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1935
In his first starring role, Gene Autry must perform daily on Radio Ranch or forfeit his contract. Meanwhile, local kids Frankie (Frankie Darro) and Betsy Baxter (Betsy Ross King) establish a group of Junior Thunder Riders to emulate a mysterious band of horsemen that seems to vanish into thin air. In reality, the real Thunder Riders disappear 25,000 ft. below the earth's surface to the "Scientific City of Murania," an underground empire lorded over by Queen Tika (Dorothy Christy), a blonde Amazonian who constantly compares her superior society with that of the pitiful world above. But Gene's broadcasts draw too many curious onlookers, among them Professor Beetson (J. Frank Glendon) and a group of crooked scientists who will stop at nothing, including murder, to get their hands on Murania's wealth of radium. While Queen Tika is busy preventing an insurrection lead by the evil Lord High Chancellor (Wheeler Oakman), the scientists do their level best to keep Gene from performing his daily broadcast, which includes such favorite Autry tunes as "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine" and "I'm Getting a Moon's Eye View of the World". Comic sidekicks Smiley Burnette and William Moore add to the overall fun with their rendition of I'm Oscar, I'm Pete" and other comical selections. The Phantom Empire has been credited with inspiring not only Republic Pictures' similar Undersea Kingdom (1936) but also Universal's superior Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials and was remade as part of the short-lived 1979 television series Cliffhangers. No less than two reedited feature versions of The Phantom Empire were released in 1940, Men With Steel Faces, distributed by Times Pictures, and Radio Ranch, distributed by Nat Levine and carrying the now defunct Mascot label. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1935
Both Frankie (Frankie Darro) and Betsy (Betsy Ross King) survive the airplane crash no worse for wear but are quickly picked up by the Muranian Thunder Riders. Brought before Queen Tika (Dorothy Christy), the kids ridicule Murania in general and the queen in particular and are condemned to spend the remainder of their lives in "the lower dungeons." Happily, the Muranian guards are easily fooled and our young friends manage to evade their captors. An increasingly desperate Queen Tika orders the removal of the electric eye that operates the entrance to Murania, thus preventing Gene Autry) from reaching Frankie and Betsy. Henceforth, the entrance can only be opened from inside the control room, which is guarded by a dangerous radium beam. In order to escape Murania, Frankie breaks the beam and all hell breaks lose. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, (more)
- 1935
The indomitable May Robson is firmly in the driver's seat of this Runyonesque comedy-drama. While riding through Central Park, peppery millionairess Mary Jane Baxter (Robson) is thrown from her carriage and rescued by three scruffy orphans (Frankie Darro, Billy Benedict, Billy Burrud). The kids take her to the home of their guardian, Italian barber Tony (Henry Armetta), with the intention of letting her recuperate. Upon awakening, Mary Jane assumes that she's been kidnapped and imperiously demands to be released. Eventually won over by her lovable young "abductors," Mary Jane is able to rise to the occasion magnificently when a real kidnapping occurs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- May Robson, Frankie Darro, (more)
