Frank Clarke Movies
Known as one of the film industry's most daring stunt pilots, Frank Clarke, part Irish and Cherokee, grew up on a ranch near Fresno, CA. But instead of becoming a rodeo cowboy, Clarke caught the aviation fever and became a student of the "grand old man" of movie stunt pilots, Al Wilson. Like Wilson, the handsome Clarke briefly became a star in his own right headlining the 1928 serial The Eagle of the Night. But although a distinct presence onscreen (one columnist declared Clarke "satanically good-looking"), the neophyte thespian proved rather wooden, and although he would play several minor roles in the future, he ultimately made his mark as a stuntman, technical advisor, and even second unit cameraman on a host of films with flying scenes ranging from the Laurel and Hardy comedy Flying Deuces (1939) to such WWII melodramas as Dive Bomber (1941), often in partnership with another veteran pilot, Frank Tomick. Like so many of his generation of barnstorming pilots, Clarke perished in a crash, in his case in a surplus BT-15 above Lake Isabella, CA, in June of 1948. Longtime friend, actor Richard Arlen, delivered the eulogy at Clarke's funeral. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
In their first starring feature away from the Hal Roach studios, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy play a couple of fish peddlers from Des Moines on a Cook's Tour of Paris. While stopping over at quaint suburban inn, Ollie falls in love with innkeeper's daughter Georgette (Jean Parker). At Stan's prodding, Ollie pops the question to Georgette, who gently refuses because there is Someone Else. Disconsolately, Ollie decides to commit suicide by jumping into the Seine, insisting that Stan join him in his plunge to oblivion. The boys are halted from this drastic action by the timely arrival of Francois (Reginald Gardiner), an officer in the French Foreign Legion. Francois convinces Stan and Ollie that they'll forget all about Ollie's lost love if they join the Legion, and within a few days our heroes are in uniform at an outpost in French Morocco, where they are promptly assigned to laundry detail. Alas, try as he might, Ollie can't forget his beloved Georgette-until Stan suggests that he pretend to forget so that they can get back in their own clothes and head home. This Ollie does, but not before accidentally setting fire to a mountain of laundry. After leaving behind a rather nasty letter of resignation for their scowling commandant (Charles Middleton), Stan and Ollie pack their bags and head for the airport-where Ollie is reunited with Georgette, who turns out to be the wife of their commanding officer Francois! Sentenced to death for desertion, the boys tunnel their way out of their jail cell and hide out in an airplane, which Stan accidentally sends into flight. After a wild and noisy ride, the plane crashes, leading to the flm's hilarious-and somehow touching--"freak" ending. Officially a remake of Les Aviateurs, a French vehicle for Fernandel and Toto, The Flying Deuces also owes a lot to the earlier Laurel & Hardy Foreign Legion farce Beau Hunks. Highlights include Stan and Ollie's impromptu soft-shoe rendition of "Shine on Harvest Moon", and Stan's lunatic excursion into Harpo Marx territory as he plays a bed-spring "harp". Produced by Boris Morros and released by RKO Radio, Flying Deuces is unquestionably the best of Laurel & Hardy's non-Hal Roach vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, (more)
No one was surprised in 1929 that aviation mogul Howard R. Hughes would produce a paean to World War I flying aces like Hell's Angels. Given Hughes' comparative inexperience as a moviemaker, however, everyone was taken slightly aback that the finished film was as good as it was. The very American Ben Lyon and James Hall play (respectively) Monte and Roy Rutledge, a couple of British brothers who drop out of Oxford to join the British Royal Flying Corps. Several early scenes establish Lyon and Hall's romantic rivalry over two-timing socialite Helen (Jean Harlow). While flying a dangerous bombing mission over Germany, the brothers are shot down. The commandant (Lucien Prival), who'd earlier been cuckolded by one of the brothers, savors his opportunity for revenge. He offers the boys their freedom if they'll reveal the time of the next British attack; if they don't cooperate, they face unspeakable consequences. Roy, driven mad by his combat experiences, is about to tell all when he is shot and killed by Monte. The latter is himself condemned to a firing squad by the disgruntled commandant -- who, it is implied, will soon meet his own doom at the hands of the British bombers. Nobody really cares about this hoary old plot, however; Hell's Angels culls most of its strength from its crackerjack aerial sequences. The highlight is a Zeppelin raid over London, one of the most hauntingly effective sequences ever put on film. From the first ghost-like appearance of the Zeppelin breaking through the clouds, to the self-sacrificing behavior of the German crew members as they jump to their deaths rather than provide "excess weight," this is a scene that lingers in the memory far longer than all that good-of-the-service nonsense in the finale. Also worth noting is the star-making appearance of Jean Harlow. When Hell's Angels was begun as a silent film, Norwegian actress Greta Nissen played the female lead. During the switchover to sound, producer Hughes decided that her accent was at odds with her characterization, so he reshot her scenes with his latest discovery, Harlow. While she appears awkward in some of her scenes, there's no clumsiness whatsoever in her delivery of the classic line about slipping into "something more comfortable." Originally, Marshall Neilan was signed to direct the film, but became so rattled by Howard Hughes' interference that he handed the reins to Hughes himself, who was in turn given an uncredited assist by Luther Reed. Also ignored in the film's credits are the dialogue contributions by future Frankenstein director James Whale, who'd been hired as the film's English-dialect coach. Modern audiences expecting a musty museum piece are generally surprised by Hell's Angels' high entertainment content: they are also startled by the pre-code frankness of the dialogue, with phrases like "The hell with you" bandied about with reckless abandon. In recent years, archivists have restored the film's two-color Technicolor sequence, providing us with our only color glimpses of the radiant Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, James Hall, (more)
- 1928
Dynamite, one of canine star Rin-Tin-Tin's many imitators, starred in this silent action melodrama from Universal, in which the pooch saves Silver Creek's new schoolmarm Molly (Gloria Grey) from a serious injury. Later that day, Dynamite witnesses the killing of John Lawton (Frank M. Clark) by his longtime enemy Marvin Henley (Gladden James). Retrieving some valuable papers that Henley stole from Lawton, Dynamite also rescues the dead man's young son Spots (Billy "Red" Jones, who is given shelter by the dog's owner, sportsman Jack Brooks (Edmund Cobb). The latter, who earlier saved Molly from Henley's unwanted advances, manages to catch the crook and place him under arrest. Spots receives an inheritance and Jack proposes to Molly. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dynamite the Dog, Edmund Cobb, (more)
- 1926
That fine physical specimen Reed Howes stars in the airborne actioner High Flier. An erstwhile inventor, Howes befriends a titled Frenchman who likewise enjoys tinkering with gadgets. The plot contrives to have Howes pose as the French nobleman, which earns him the temporary scorn of heroine Ethel Shannon, the daughter of a wealthy plane manufacturer. All turns out well for the hero when his propeller invention is proven a smashing success -- but not before he is forced to "take the air" himself. A heady combination of laughs and thrills, High Flier delighted its target audience back in 1926, and might well be worth seeing again -- if one could locate a print, that is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reed Howes, Ethel Shannon, (more)
- 1925
This melodrama about the moral redemption of two crooks stars Eileen Pearcy and Tom Moore. Whitey (Moore) goes from being a war hero to a crook. He earns the admiration of Kitty, a fellow crook (Pearcy), when he saves her from the advances of Mal (James Mason). She goes to the country to recover from a nervous breakdown, and to reform. Whitey and his pal, Skeeter (Eddie Phillips), are in the midst of a job when they are caught by the night watchman. Skeeter shoots him and is himself killed. Although Whitey is held as a witness, his friend, detective Jim Condon (Stanley Blystone), allows him to go free on the condition that he will go straight. Whitey goes to the same small town where Kitty resides and gets a job in a bank. It turns out that Kitty is staying with Skeeter's mother, and Whitey tells her that her son died a war hero, and hands over his own medal to prove it. He believes that Kitty is in love with Fred Morton, the bank's cashier (Tom Gallery), so he keeps his distance. There's a shortage at the bank and Whitey is a suspect, but Morton -- who throws over Kitty when he discovers her past -- is the real culprit. The despondent Kitty tries to commit suicide by going over the falls, but Whitey rescues her. The two reformed crooks are ultimately united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eileen Percy, Tom Moore, (more)
