Harry Dunkinson Movies
A tall, heavyset character actor, Harry Dunkinson (born Leopold) began his stage career at the young age of nine. After touring with Denman Thompson in The Old Homestead and opposite Augustin Daly and Horace McVicker, Dunkinson entered films with the pioneering Essanay company in Chicago, joining a stock company that also included Wallace Beery and Beery's future wife, Gloria Swanson. Very busy through the entire silent era, Dunkinson played a wide variety of characters that included the title role in the second screen version of Officer 666 (1920), the circus manager in Eileen Percy's The Tomboy (1921), and Uncle Joe in Booth Tarkington's Gentle Julia (1923). Less frequently used after the advent of sound, Dunkinson can be seen today in such minor potboilers as the independently produced dog melodrama The Ferocious Pal (1934), in which he is the sheriff. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1936
Previously filmed in 1927 with Gary Cooper and Thelma Todd, the Zane Grey story Nevada was remade in 1936 with Buster Crabbe and Kathleen Burke. Crabbe plays Nevada, a cattle-drive trail boss, while Burke is cast as Hettie Ide, who is brought into the story when Nevada rescues her from a runaway horse team. Unpopular with his fellow cattlemen because of his criminal past, Nevada is accused of aiding and abetting a gang of rustlers. The actual miscreant turns out to be another cattle rancher, played by an actor who always seemed to be cast as "mystery" villains in Paramount's Zane Grey series. A third version of Nevada would be filmed in 1944, with Robert Mitchum and Nancy Gates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Kathleen Burke, (more)
- 1935
Broadway producer George White, who was the title character of 1934's George White's Scandals, heads for Florida following his latest hit. He makes it to Georgia where he sees an advertisement for a show called White's Scandals. Suspicious, he attends and learns that it is a hodge-podge variety show put on by another fellow named White. The show isn't very good but for the talent of its star, a beautiful singer. He is deeply impressed and hires her to headline his next show in New York. Well, just having only one of the entertainers come just won't do and George ends up taking an entire entourage including the Georgia White and the singer's love-interest. Still it's for the best and the New York production is a tremendous success. Things go well until a seductress shows up and steals the singer's beau. This creates personal friction that reflects in their performances. Things get sticky for awhile and it looks as if the show is going to fall apart until the singer's peach of an aunt shows up and puts it all back together. Eleanor Powell makes her screen debut as the troublesome vamp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George White, Alice Faye, (more)
- 1935
A best-selling nonfictional book of the 1920s provided the title for this Will Rogers vehicle. Rogers plays a small town newspaper editor who prints all the news that fits his own homespun view of the world. Against the wishes of the town higher-ups, Rogers tries to clear the name of Richard Cromwell, a young man accused of a long-ago bank robbery. Along the way, the genial editor smooths the path of romance between Cromwell and sweet Rochelle Hudson. Life Begins at 40 contains some great bits of dialogue, notably Rogers' comment after unloading a box of canned goods that the American emblem should be changed from an eagle to a can opener. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Rogers, Rochelle Hudson, (more)
Based on an idea by Will Rogers, the story concerns the efforts by the President of the United States to get the public's mind off the Depression. To this end, he appoints Broadway impresario Lawrence Cromwell (Warner Baxter) to the new cabinet position of "Secretary of Amusement." Wasting no time, Cromwell sets about to nationalize the entertainment industry, organizing singers, dancers, actors and other variety artists into batallion-like touring units. Cromwell is fought at every turn by a cartel of wealthy industrialists, who've been profiting from the Depression and have no desire to see America pull itself upward. Happily, every effort to bribe or cajole Cromwell into giving up his mission is thwarted and the Department of Amusement goes on to help the the country at a time when its citizens most needed it. Among the highlights are an energetic "revival-meeting" musical number by Aunt Jemima (Theresa Gardella), and 6-year-old Shirley Temple's rendition of "Baby Take a Bow." Originally released at 80 minutes, Stand Up and Cheer was edited to 69 minutes for reissue, then to 65 minutes (removing most of Stepin Fetchit's scenes) for television: it was this last version which was computer-colorized in 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Madge Evans, (more)
- 1934
Intrepid low-budget entrepreneur Sol Lesser attempted to recreate the popularity of the silent dog melodramas with this mix of Depression-era mise-en-scene and Grade-Z western tropes. Juvenile runaways Johnnie Diggins (Gene Toler) and Patsy Bolivar (Ruth Sullivan) meet on a freight train bound for Oregon, where the latter has an uncle. Along the way, they are rescued from a couple of lecherous hoboes (one of whom is B-Western perennial Bud Osborne) by another stowaway, Kazan, a handsome German Shepherd, whom they quickly adopt. In the small Oregon community of Wooltown, the trio uncover a scheme by local entrepreneur Dave Brownell to rustle the area's sheep. Brownell, whose own German Shepherd Champo (Prince) is spreading terror in the small community, accuses Kazan of the widespread "sheepicide" and offers a $500 reward for his capture. But aided by Dr. Elliott (Robert Manning), who has fallen in love with Patsy, Johnnie, Patsy and Kazan unmask the real culprit, Champo, whose master is apprehended by Sheriff Henry Dunkinson. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Dunkinson, Henry Roquemore, (more)
- 1934
This is an especially violent -- but very funny -- Laurel and Hardy two-reeler. It opens in a courthouse where the vicious Butch Long (Walter Long) is being sentenced for murder. After the judge commends Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy for providing the evidence necessary for the conviction, he gives Long a life sentence. "Aren't you going to hang him?" Stan asks. Long swears revenge on the boys, promising to track them down, break off their legs, and then tie their legs around their necks. With this threat hanging over their heads, the boys decide to leave town. Since they need help financially, they put an ad in the paper for a third party to travel with them, and the ad is answered by a woman (Mae Busch). While Stan and Ollie are on their way to pick her up, her boyfriend shows up -- it's Butch Long, escaped from jail. Quickly, she hides him in the trunk, unaware that he's looking for the guys who are on the way to her home. When the boys arrive, Mae explains that her "friend" fell in the trunk. But the lock is stuck, so Stan and Ollie bore holes in its sides so he has more air. That, and the various ways they attempt to get the trunk open, are all injurious to the ever-angrier Long. Finally, in a rage, the killer bursts open the trunk and sees who his "helpers" have been. Meanwhile, the police have uncovered Long's whereabouts, and they arrive at his girlfriend's apartment to apprehend him. Unfortunately for Laurel and Hardy, the cops are a few minutes too late, and Long has already exacted his promised revenge. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1933
Design for Living was based on the stage comedy by Noel Coward, though little of his dialogue actually made it to the screen. Playwright Fredric March and artist Gary Cooper both fall in love with Miriam Hopkins, an American living in Paris. Both men love the girl, and the girl can't make up her mind between the two men, so the threesome decide to move in together--strictly platonically, of course. As the men gain in success and prominence, the chasteness of the "menage a trois" begins to be threatened, and soon both March and Cooper clash over Hopkins. She reacts by marrying her wealthy but dull boss (Edward Everett Horton). Miriam is bored to tears until March and Cooper invade one of her husband's stuffy parties and chase the tiresome guests away. Miriam's husband huffily agrees to a divorce, and the girl returns to her unorthodox relationship with her two former suitors. The subtle homosexual implications of the Noel Coward stage original were dissipated by the presence of the aggressively masculine Gary Cooper and Fredric March in the film version of Design for Living. Replacing these implications were the equally subtle but more "mainstream" boudoir innuendos of director Ernst Lubitsch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Gary Cooper, (more)
- 1933
Alison Skipworth and W.C. Fields play Tillie and Augustus Winterbottom, a husband-and-wife team of con artists. The larcenous couple is summoned to a small town by their niece (Jacqueline Wells) and her husband (Clifford Jones) when the niece's father dies. Hoping for a sizeable inheritance, Tillie and Gus discover that the legacy consists of one rundown ferry boat. When they notice that a local lawyer (Clarence Wilson) seems unusually interested in obtaining this seemingly worthless vessel, T and G decide to help their niece restore the boat and keep the ferry line running. The climax occurs during a boat race between Tillie & Gus and the duplicitous lawyer; the prize is a large cash settlement from a major ferry franchise. Disappointingly restrained for a W.C. Fields film, Tillie and Gus is still good for a few quiet chuckles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- W.C. Fields, Alison Skipworth, (more)
- 1927
Fired for crashing his aeroplane into his employer's ranch, Tom Mix is elected sheriff in a town with, as a title stated, "a high mortality rate among sheriffs." Mix, of course, prevails against almost impossible odds, at one point cornering a gang of cutthroats holding leading lady Dorothy Dwan captive in the crater of a volcano about to erupt. Mix was at his best in fanciful Westerns like this one, although purists everywhere decried the use of fast cars, airplanes and stunts seemingly too impossible to be real. Most of them, amazingly, were all too real, a fact that was actually lost on contemporary audiences. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Dorothy Dwan, (more)
- 1926
Once again the battle between cattle ranchers and encroaching sheep farmers takes center stage in a silent western, this time with an added touch of Romeo and Juliet. Returning from college, Wils McCann (Buck Jones discovers that the long-standing feud between his family and their neighbors is actually the fault of the nasty Martin brothers. In love with neighbor girl Julia Starke (Florence Gilbert), Wils succeeds in setting the record straight and disarming the villainous brothers. This average western benefitted by an unusually strong cast that included Canadian-born flapper star Pauline Garon, as Julia's sister and the wonderfully hammy Montagu Love as one of the nasty Martin brothers. Love is perhaps best remembered as the lecherous stranger killed by Lillian Gish in the late silent masterpiece The Wind. Although far from original, The Desert's Price was remade twice, as The Ivory Handled Gun (1935), again starring Jones, and as Law of the Range (1941), featuring Johnny Mack Brown. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Jones, Florence Gilbert, (more)
- 1926
Who better to star in Doubling with Danger than one of Hollywood's premiere stunt doubles, Richard Talmadge? "The Prince of Pep" (as he was billed by his studio) stars as a devil-may-care aviator, working on a government project. A gang of unpatriotic criminals intends to steal the plans for a revolutionary "silent airplane." But with Talmadge on the scene, the crooks haven't got a chance. Doubling with Danger was directed by Scott R. Dunlap, who as a Monogram producer was later responsible for such popular film series as "The Cisco Kid" and "Charlie Chan." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Talmadge, Ena Gregory, (more)
- 1924
This low-budget Finis Fox drama marked the film debut of Gloria Grey. Grey is Hope Anthony, the motherless daughter of an old music professor (Paul Weigel). When she manages to scrape together 50 dollars, Hope heads for the big city, in search of adventure and Hal Tracy (John Roche), a handsome and wealthy young man she has met. Extravagantly, Hope takes the bridal suite at a posh hotel, but then she discovers that it costs more money than she brought with her. She sneaks out, leaving what money she has, and returns home. But there is a jewel robbery at the hotel, and Hope becomes a suspect. The hotel detective (Harry Dunkinson) makes sure that Hope is tracked down and put behind bars. Hope is forced to turn to her spoiled, wealthy cousin, Lola Cooper (Carmelita Geraghty), for help before the real culprit turns up and confesses. Both Geraghty and Grey (who starred in Girl of the Limberlost that same year) became WAMPAS baby stars in 1924. The honor didn't do either of them much good, and their acting careers were something less than stellar. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Grey, Adele Farrington, (more)
- 1924
The Last Man on Earth begins in the future -- meaning sometime in the 1940s. Instead of World War II (which no one in 1924 could have foreseen), there is an epidemic of a strange disease, masculitis, which kills off every male over the age of 14. Every male, that is, except for one. Elmer (Earl Foxe) has had an argument with his sweetheart, Hattie (Derelys Perdue), so he jumps in a plane to go somewhere where there are no women. A few years later he is discovered by Gertie, a gangster (Grace Cunard). She brings him back to civilization where he finds nothing but women. The government buys him for ten million dollars and two female senators decide to fight for the right to have him as a husband (in 1924, no one would have thought to spread him around). He finds Hattie and rushes to her. The couple reconcile and get married. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buck Black, Maurice Murphy, (more)
- 1924
Poverty row actor-director-producer Ashton Dearholt, as Pinto Pete, battles a gang of railroad saboteurs led by the spiteful Hurricane Smith (Francis Ford who also directed). Dearholt collaborated with genre specialist Ben Wilson on this little oater, casting Mrs. Dearholt (Florence Gilbert) in the femme lead. Released on states rights through the Arrow organization, Lash of the Whip had little more than an exploitative title to offer. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1923
A rancher comes to the assistance of an Indian prospector friend in this low-budget silent Western directed by genre star Dick Hatton and produced by Ashton Dearholt. Dearholt himself portrayed the Indian, whose rich gold mine is desired by an unscrupulous saloon owner (Arthur Morrison). Edmund Cobb, as the young rancher, attempts to help his Native friend but is instead falsely accused of murder by the saloon keeper. To the rescue comes Helene Rosson, whose last-minute evidence helps clear the accused. Leading man Edmund Cobb had begun his starring career with the old Selig Polyscope Company in Colorado in 1914. The Sting of the Scorpion was scripted by Daniel F. Whitcomb and also featured Joseph W. Girard as Rosson's father and Harry Dunkinson. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Cobb
- 1923
Julia (Bessie Love) is a small-town girl who falls in love with George Crum (Frank Elliott) a much-older man. Though the object of her affection regards her as a nuisance, Julia tags after Crum all the way to Chicago. Just when it looks as though Julia's dream romance is about to be consummated, she discovers that her Romeo already has a Juliet-or should we say Mrs. Crum. Disillusioned, Julia returns home, where her faithful boyfriend has been waiting for the girl to wake up and smell the coffee. Based on a novel by Booth Tarkington, Gentle Julia was remade in 1936, with the script reshuffled to put the emphasis on Julia's kid-sister Florence (played in the remake by Jane Withers). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bessie Love, Harold Goodwin, (more)
- 1922
Western ace Buck Jones had one of his best early roles in this well-mounted silent action melodrama directed by Bernard J. Durning. Jones played Stanley Carson, a cowboy who, while visiting the Deep South, gets in trouble with a gang of crooked gamblers led by Carl Baldwin (Adolphe Menjou in a rare Western role) and the brother (James Mason) of his girlfriend. When the gamblers abduct Virginia (Eileen Percy), Carson takes up the pursuit by boat, train, mail truck, and racecar. The girl and her kidnappers are holed up in a swank hotel which catches on fire. The irrepressible Carson not only manages to rescue Virginia but an entire family trapped by the flames. The Fast Mail was based on an unpublished play by Lincoln J. Carter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles "Buck" Jones, Eileen Percy, (more)
- 1921
Screenwriter Jules Furthman made a rare plunge into directing with Blushing Bride. The title character, played by Eileen Percy, is mistaken for nobility by millionaire Herbert Heyes. Before she can set him straight, Heyes marries her. She moves into her hubby's magnificent mansion, only to discover that her raffish uncle Harry Dunkinson is employed as a butler. All sorts of class-conscious comic situations occur before everything is settled to everyone's satisfaction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Former socialite Maurice "Lefty" Flynn made a bid for western stardom in this mild silent western about a stranger mistaken for an outlaw, the notorious "Night Hawk." He finds a believer in lovely Winifred Sampson (Eva Novak) who shelters the presumed outlaw from the authorities until her fiancee, unscrupulous dam engineer William Kirk (Wallace Beery) turns him in. The Stranger, however, is in reality a detective in disguise and has enough evidence to arrest Kirk, the real outlaw. The commonplace plot was used twice more, in 1927 (as a vehicle for Tom Mix) and 1933, starring George O'Brien. The brawny Flynn never made it as a bona fide western star and was actually better known from the gossip pages than for any particular film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Max Brand's 1920 novel became a rousing Tom Mix Western less than a year later. A complicated story of love and revenge, Trailin' opens with rivals William Drew (Jay Morley) and John Bard (Cecil Van Auker) battling for the love of Joan (Carol Holloway), the daughter of notorious outlaw Blotto (J. Farrell McDonald). Joan favors Drew, and they marry and have a child. Still jealous, Bard steals the infant boy and leaves for the East, changing his name to John Woodbury along the way. Many years go by and Woodbury (now Bert Sprotte) has become the wealthy and respected "father" of young Anthony (Tom Mix). A vengeful Drew (now James Gordon) suddenly reappears and Bard/Woodbury is killed in a duel. Returning to his roots in Idaho, Anthony finally learns of his true heritage and settles down to marry a local waitress, Sally Fortune (Eva Novak). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Director Lynn F. Reynolds, Western star Tom Mix, and cameraman Benjamin Kline travelled to San Francisco for this average Mix oater based on a story by William McLeod Raine. Mix played Larry McBride, a cowboy who, according to the film's press-book, "goes to city, dresses up to date and gets into thrilling and humorous adventures." Most of these "thrilling and humorous adventures" centered on Ora Carew, whom Mix saves from both a rattlesnake and a wild steer. Veteran sagebrush comic Gilbert "Pee Wee" Holmes was along for the ride, but his humorous antics were a definite matter of taste. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Gilbert "Pee Wee" Holmes, (more)
- 1921
Admired for his comedy timing as much as for his athleticism, cowboy star Tom Mix turned to out and out burlesque in this comedy of mores, which only masqueraded as a western. Mix played Jim Rose, a young ranch hand in love with the boss' daughter, Mabel (Rhea Mitchell). The rancher, King Brentwood (Harry Dunkinson), who is being sued for breach of promise by a local widow (Eugenie Forde, Mix's real-life mother-in-law), opposes the match. Learning that the annoying woman is coming to pay him a visit, Brentwood has his men fake a holdup of her stagecoach. Hoping to win the approval of his boss, Jim "saves" the widow from her "abductors." Charmed by this act of chivalry, Widow Farrell convinces Brentwood to let the youngsters marry. In this and several other "Westerns," Mix displayed a breezy charm that was compared favorably to Douglas Fairbanks. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Rhea Mitchell, (more)
- 1918
As usual serving as his own producer and director, William S. Hart played the title role in the six-reel western Selfish Yates. The story is set in Arizona, where the aptly nicknamed Yates is the proprietor of the local saloon. Unable to find any other work, pretty Mary Adams (Jane Novak) is forced to scrub floors in Yates' establishment. At first treating her with the same disdain that he extends to the rest of the townsfolk, Yates slowly but surely falls in love with Mary, and for her sake he changes his selfish ways. In traditional Bill Hart fashion, the unheroic hero ends up putting his own life in jeopardy to save Mary from the clutches of resident villain "Rocking Chair" Riley (Bert Sprotte) -- and, just to prove that he has thoroughly reformed, Yates compassionately allows Riley to escape an angry lynch mob. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1917
This simple scenario is based on a story by Henry Irving Dodge which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. Skinner (Bryant Washburn) is one of those office drudges who works hard but never gets any recognition and who timidly shrinks from his employer -- he's the kind of guy who grows old and gray without ever receiving a promotion. Finally, his wife (Hazel Daly) encourages him to buy a dress suit and, presenting himself at his best, changes his personality. He is finally able to exude the confidence and assurance he never had before, and this helps win him success and a partnership in the firm. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1915
An outright farce produced in Chicago by the Essanay company, this film was set in the country of Morovenia, where fat women were considered beautiful. Poor Princess Kalora (Ruth Stonehouse), unfashionably slender, cannot find herself a husband despite efforts to appear fatter by stuffing pillows down her dress. Kalora's father, Count Malagaski (Harry Dunkinson), ships her off to an American fat farm, where the thin princess falls in love with American businessman Alexander Pike (Francis X. Bushman). The Count forbids his daughter to marry a commoner, so the American is presented at the Morovenian court as "the Grand Exalted Ruler of the Fraternal Order, a Knight Templar and King of the Hoo Hoos." The Morvenian ruler accepts the disguise and the two lovers marry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
