Franklin Farnum Movies
A rugged and trustworthy Western hero from Boston, silent screen cowboy Franklyn Farnum's appeal was closer to William S. Hart than Tom Mix. Farnum's road to screen stardom began in vaudeville and musical comedy. While he was not related to stage and screen stars William Farnum and Dustin Farnum, two legendary brothers who also hailed from Boston, he never really dissuaded the name association, and while he never achieved the same success as the other Farnums, it was not for lack of trying. Onscreen from around 1914, Franklyn Farnum was usually found in inexpensive Westerns and reached a plateau as the star of the 1920 serial The Vanishing Trails and a series of oaters produced independently by "Colonel" William N. Selig, formerly of the company that bore his name. In 1918, Farnum received quite a bit of press for marrying screen star Alma Rubens, but the union proved extremely short-lived. As busy in the 1920s as in the previous decade, Farnum made the changeover to sound smoothly enough, but he was growing older and leading roles were no longer an option. He maintained his usual hectic schedule throughout the following three decades, more often than not playing villains and doing bit parts, working well into the television Western era. For many years, Farnum was the president of the Screen Extras Guild. In 1961, Franklyn Farnum died of cancer at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1918
Wealthy Henry Arlington (William Lloyd) despairs that his profligate nephew Dick (Franklin Farnum) will never amount to anything. At the end of his tether, Arlington announces that he will cut his nephew off without a cent -- but before he can make this decision legal, the old man is shot to death. Certain that he will be accused of the crime, Dick heads for the hills. During his flight, he saves the life of pretty Margaret Hammersley (Gloria Hope). Hero and heroine become engaged, but their wedding plans are scuttled when word gets out that there is a $5000 reward on Dick's head. Convincing Dick to stop running away from his troubles, Margaret transports him back to the scene of the murder, where together they expose the guilty party -- who turns out to be the same fellow who advised Dick to escape the law in the first place! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1931
In this western adventure set in the Sonora Desert upon the border between Mexico and the US, a marshal is summoned to stop renegade Indians from attacking hapless settlers. He is aided by a Mexican bar maid and soon discovers that the "redskins" are really whites in disguise. To stop them, the marshal hires real Native Americans, tired of taking the blame for the massacres. A battle ensues, but eventually the criminals get their due and the marshal finds love with the villainous ringleader's lovely, innocent daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1922
Also known as Texas Angel Citizens, this minor silent Western from poverty row producer William M. Smith starred Franklyn Farnum as a drifter who solves a murder in the ill-named frontier town of Angel Citizens. Directed by Francis Ford, the older brother of John Ford, this Western also featured Peggy O'Day as the murder victim's daughter and the comedy of Shorty Hamilton. Angel Citizens was released by Merit Film Corp. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklin Farnum, Peggy O'Day, (more)
- 1917
Playboy Franklyn Farnum inherits a Western ranch on the condition that he shall run it properly for 6 months. A villain (none other than Lon Chaney) makes an attempt to distract him from reaching the goal, but Farnum, no longer the wastrel of yore, persists and becomes full owner of the property. Despite a strong supporting cast -- including veteran vamp Claire Du Brey, the always menacing Sam De Grasse and, of course, Chaney -- Anything Once was deemed only fair entertainment by most reviewers. The rough-hewn Farnum, despite hailing from Boston, was decidedly miscast as a socialite. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklin Farnum, Claire Du Brey, (more)
- 1934
The first of seven Western featurettes produced by low-budget entrepreneur William Pizor and starring silent screen cowboy Wally Wales, Arizona Cyclone also featured Silver King, a horse formerly belonging to the late Western star Fred Thomson. Pizor had discovered Silver King stabled in the San Fernando Valley and reportedly rented him for a symbolic amount. Wales was paid more -- but not much -- and the seven featurettes were filmed back to back with a stock company that also included silent star Franklyn Farnum, Fred Parker, Barney Beasley, Jack Kirk, Herman Hack, Bud Pope, and Sherry Tansey, the brother of director Robert Emmett Tansey. Wales played a cowboy coming to the aid of a banker (Farnum) and his daughter (Karla Cowan), who are in hot water with a gang of outlaws. The screenplay for this 19-minute Western was by Al Lane, who had starred earlier for Pizor in the feature Western The Galloping Kid (1932). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1924
Jesse J. Goldburg (the "J" stood for "Jesse," of all things!) produced this minor silent western starring Franklyn Farnum as a rancher falsely accused of cattle theft. The true culprit, however, is megalomaniacal cattle baron Andrew Waldron, who wants all the land for himself. Although hailing from Boston, rugged Franklyn Farnum was not related to fellow Bostonians William and Dustin Farnum. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
"Suggested" by the book The West That Was by legendary showman William F. Cody, this 12 chapter Universal serial was merely another slam-bang affair in which Cody (Tom Tyler) and his younger sidekick, Dave Archer (Rex Bell), battle a nasty claim jumper, Jim Rodney (Francis Ford), and his gang. Resenting the interference in his plans, Rodney not only incites the local Indian tribe to attack the town but also blackmails the local community to elect him sheriff. Not one of the era's better serials, Battling with Buffalo Bill still manages to engage no less than 10 former silent cowboy stars in the cast, somewhat of a record. Of course, most of the gentlemen in question were finding the new audible Hollywood an inhospitable place and were just happy to be working, even for the lousy wages offered by Universal producer Henry MacRae. Leading man Tom Tyler, who had replaced Tim McCoy, would become a regular serial hero in the sound era, bringing such comic book heroes as "Captain Marvel" (1940) and The Phantom (1943) to life. A former Fox star, second-billed Rex Bell was the husband of Clara Bow and a future lieutenant governor of Nevada. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1941
20th Century-Fox mixed together elements of its own Jesse James and Selznick's Gone with the Wind, and the resultant brew was Belle Starr. Looking precisely nothing like the real Belle, Gene Tierney plays the title role, whom the screenplay suggests was the daughter of a Southern aristocrat. When those Damn Yankees march in and appropriate Belle's land, she heads to Missouri and joins forces with a Confederate guerilla fighter (Randolph Scott). Belle marries the man, and together they become outlaws, hoping to avenge the fallen South. For reasons best known to the studio, Belle Starr is overloaded with offensive African American stereotypes, including the faithful old ex-slave (George Reed) who narrates the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Tierney, Randolph Scott, (more)
- 1930
Saucer-eyed silent-screen cowboy Jack Perrin and his magnificent horse, Starlight, star in this ramshackle early sound western. Perrin is falsely accused of a robbery actually committed by his onetime partner (fellow silent western star Edmund Cobb) and must flee South of the border to Mexico. Once there, he mobilizes a posse of expatriate cowboys and returns to bring the villain to justice. Penny-pinching poverty-row studio Big Four Corp. was able to hire several former westerns stars (Perrin, Cobb, Buffalo Bill, Jr., Pete Morrison, Franklyn Farnum), all of whom were out of work because of sound. Thus, Beyond the Rio Grande benefitted from a lineup that would have been unthinkable in previous years. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Perrin, Franklin Farnum, (more)
- 1951
William Holden plays Boots Malone, a dishonest--and impoverished--jockey's agent. Malone sees a chance to crack the big time through the talents of young jockey John Stewart. Stewart's wealthy mother wants to remove the boy from the rarefied world of the race track, but it is Malone himself who destroys his friendship with Stewart by ordering the boy to throw the race, or else they'll be put on the spot by gangsters. Malone's last-minute regeneration restores Stewart's faith in him. Filmed on location, Boots Malone is a satisfying horse-race drama, though one might expect a little something extra from star William Holden and director William Dieterle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, John Stewart, (more)
- 1934
According to legend, B-movie star Blanche Mehaffey valiantly but unsuccessfully attempted to keep her old potboilers out of the reach of the television industry in the early '50s. A viewing of this pedestrian bore of a Western goes along way to explain why. Despite featuring no less than six former silent cowboy stars, Border Guns remains one of the worst oaters ever forced upon an unsuspecting audience. The direction of legendary cheapskate Robert J. Horner was never more stilted and Frank Bender's camera seemed bolted to the floor. Bill Cody, looking haggard and old, starred as an undercover lawman who gets unexpected assistance from a notorious outlaw (Franklyn Farnum) battling a gang of rustlers. An unusually stilted George Chesebro headed bad guys, while old-time serial star William Desmond appeared stoically as the local doctor. Mehaffey played Desmond's daughter but attempted to hide that fact by assuming the alias of Janet Morgan. In addition to Cody, Farnum, Desmond, and Chesebro, silent Western stars Fred Church and Wally Wales also appeared, the latter sporting a handsome mustache in his unbilled turn as the sheriff. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1925
Veteran actor-director-writer J.P. McGowan helmed this cheaply made silent comedy-western for Jesse J. Goldburg's Independent Pictures Co. Minor western star Franklyn Farnum plays a cowpoke who saves his weak brother (Jack Vernon) from various romantic entanglements on the Mexican border. In keeping with the spirit of the film, well-known supporting player Charles "Slim" Whitaker was billed as "Slender" Whitaker for the occasion. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklin Farnum, Mathilde Brundage, (more)
- 1949
After Ray Milland turned down the leading role in Bride of Vengeance, Paramount contractee John Lund stepped into the role of Alfonso D'Este, second husband of the notorious Lucrezia Borgia. The ruthlessly ambitious Lucrezia is played by Paulette Goddard, who seems ill at ease in the role. MacDonald Carey is better suited to his assignment as Cesar Borgia, the real villain of the piece. The plot proper gets under way when Lucrezia seeks revenge for her first husband's murder. The supporting cast is an odd lot, especially Billy Gilbert as Beppo, a wandering minstrel. A far better recreation of the Borgia "regime" was offered in the like-vintage Prince of Foxes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulette Goddard, John Lund, (more)
- 1917
Franklyn Farnum and Brownie Vernon team up yet again for another Universal comedy-drama. In his will, Mr. Baird leaves his son Arnold (Farnum) just one seven-passenger auto and a hundred dollars to keep it filled up and in good repair. When James Bennett (Mark Fenton) hears of this, he insists that Baird do something to make his fortune before he can marry his daughter Ruth (Vernon). Bennett begins by using the car to start a jitney-bus line. This is not terribly impressive to Bennett -- who owns a trolley company -- and he decides he would rather see Ruth married to his controller, William Mott-Smith (H.J. Bennett). But when labor leader Israel Helmstone (Walter Belasco) calls a strike against the company, Baird gets traffic moving with the help of his pals, who also offer their vehicles as jitney-buses. Bennett's company is in danger of crumbling, and he is forced to bargain with the strikers through Baird. Meanwhile Mott-Smith's evil nature is uncovered, thus Bennett has no issue with giving Baird a job -- and Ruth's hand. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
Carrie is based on Sister Carrie, a novel by Theodore Dreiser. Dreiser's clumsy, unwieldy prose is streamlined into a neat and precise screenplay by Ruth and Augustus Goetz. Jennifer Jones stars as Carrie, who leaves her go-nowhere small town for the wicked metropolis of Chicago. Here she becomes the mistress of brash traveling salesman Charles Drouet (Eddie Albert), then throws him over in favor of erudite restaurant manager George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier). Obsessed by Carrie, George steals money from his boss to support her in the manner to which he thinks she is accustomed. Left broke and disgraced by the ensuing scandal, Carrie deserts George to become an actress. Years later, the conscience-stricken Carrie tries to regenerate George, who has fallen into bum-hood. If Laurence Olivier seems a surprising casting choice in Carrie, try to imagine what the film would have been like had Cary Grant, Paramount's first choice, accepted the role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, (more)
- 1936
Enjoying a break from crime-solving, oriental sleuth Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) takes his 12 children to the circus. It isn't long, however, before he's sucked into yet another murder case, with a more colorful array of suspects than usual. Meanwhile, Number One Son Lee Chan (Keye Luke) tries to make time with pretty Chinese lass Su Toy (Shia Jung), a task made difficult by his morbid fear of the circus animals. One of the secondary villains, sinister lion tamer Tom Holt, is played by J. Carroll Naish, who later portrayed Charlie Chan on a late-1950s TV series. Some of the best moments in Charlie Chan at the Circus are contributed by brother-and-sister midget performers George and Olive Brasno. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Keye Luke, (more)
- 1944
Bill Elliot is back as Red Ryder in Cheyenne Wildcat. Also back are Ryder's perennial cohorts Little Beaver (Bobby Blake, later Robert Blake of Baretta fame) and the Duchess (Alice Fleming). When not pummeling the bad guys, Ryder is the reluctant apex of a love triangle. It's formula stuff all the way, socked across with ingenuity by director Leslie Selander. Cheyenne Wildcat is especially fun to watch during the finale, when Republic's battery of stunt experts take over. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1917
The Clean Up was ostensibly set in Illinois, but the distinctly Californian topography and foliage in the outdoor scenes rather gave the game away. Franklin Farnum plays Stuart Adams, the publicity man for a rag-tag burlesque troupe which pitches camp in the tiny Illinois town of Weston. Stuart is soon smitten by Hazel Richards (Brownie Vernon), the daughter of the town's bank president. Naturally, Hazel's daddy frowns upon her fraternizing with "show folk," but Stuart gets into the old man's good graces when he helps to foil a bank robbery. The individual plot elements of The Clean-Up make little sense, notably a subplot involving a "woman of the world" who turns out to be a government agent. Evidently, Universal was relying upon the engaging personality of star Farnum to smooth over the film's many rough spots. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1950
The Randolph Scott western Colt .45 was retitled for TV so as not to be confused with the TV series of the same name. The new title, Thundercloud, misleads the audience into expecting a Native American epic. Actually the film involves a gun salesman (Randolph Scott) whose sample case of Colt 45's is stolen by an outlaw (Zachary Scott--no relation to Randolph). Accused of being a member of the outlaw gang when they start using the Colts in their holdups, the salesman is obliged to track down the crooks. Thundercloud, or Colt .45, represented the last film of supporting actor Alan Hale Sr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman, (more)
- 1923
This low-budget Western starred Franklyn Farnum as the hero. Shorty Hamilton, usually the comic relief in Farnum's pictures, is completely miscast here as the villain. Although the Hero (that's how Farnum's character is billed) is supposed to be appointed sheriff of a border town, a wily Mexican, Onate (Hamilton), has forged some papers which make him sheriff instead. He proceeds to make life miserable for the Hero and forces him to kill a man in self-defense. The Hero escapes arrest and finds romance with Jackie (Genevieve Bert), a friendless girl who is thought to bring bad luck to those who associate with her. Onate's men capture our Hero, but Jackie goes to the governor and gets him a pardon. Meanwhile, Onate's Indian servant (Al Hart) turns traitor and takes the Hero's side. Onate gets the punishment due him, the Hero gets his appointment to sheriff, and Jackie's bad luck comes to an end. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1924
Silent screen Western star Franklyn Farnum played a stagecoach agent in this inexpensive oater from Jesse J. Goldburg's low-budget Independent Pictures Corp. A series of stage robberies have been plaguing the area, but using cunning detective methods and a pair of fast fists, Farnum manages to apprehend the guilty party. In the process, he is reunited with his long-lost mother (Billie Bennett). A popular star of low-budget independent Westerns, Franklyn Farnum enjoyed a screen career that spanned from the mid-1910s well into the television era. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklin Farnum
- 1949
A sequel to 1947's Dear Ruth, this movie has William Holden and Joan Caulfield portraying a young married couple with some definite in-law problems. When Caulfield's younger sister gets Holden to run for the State senate, a whole new kettle of worms is opened--his opponent is his Father-in-law. In spite of former suitors trying to break up their relationship and the obvious stress caused by the campaign, everything works out Hollywood-style. This was followed by a sequel for the younger sister, entitled Dear Brat. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Joan Caulfield, (more)
- 1934
Based on a novel by Cortland Fitzsimmons, the storyline of this "gimmick" mystery follows the St. Louis Cardinals during a championship season. The arrival of hotshot pitcher Larry Kelly (Robert Young) coincides with an apparent plot to sabotage the Cards' chances of making it to the World Series. A failed attempt to poison all the pitcher's mitts is followed by a series of murders: catcher Dunk Spencer (Joe Sauers) is shot while sprinting to third base, pitcher Frank Higgins (Robert Livingston) is strangled in the locker room, and lovable catcher Truck Hogan (Nat Pendleton) is killed with an arsenic-laden hot dog. Finding himself one of the many suspects, Kelly nearly becomes a victim as well when he is slipped a booby-trapped baseball. With the help of sportscaster Jimmy Downey (Paul Kelly), Kelly exposes the murderer, surviving to win the pennant and the heroine, team secretary daughter Frances Clark (Madge Evans). Partly filmed on location at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs' minor-league LA farm team), Death on the Diamond offers a fresh slant to the standard whodunit format, with some particularly good work by Ted Healy as an exasperated umpire. That MGM produced the film is tipped off by two of the studio's trademarks: The killer's last-minute confession, wherein the guilty party transforms from a mild-mannered soul into a raving lunatic, and the shoddy process-screen work in the ballgame scenes. Future stars Mickey Rooney, Walter Brennan and Bruce Bennett show up in bit roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Madge Evans, (more)
- 1935
Produced by Victor Adamson (aka Denver Dixon), directed by Alan James (aka Alvin J. Neitz), and written by Van Johnson (no, not that Van Johnson), this minor -- very minor -- Western-melodrama starred yet another alias, Tom Wynn, the real name, apparently, of stuntman Wally West. Wynn played a young cowboy searching for the villain who swindled his father out of his property. The youngster obtains a job on the Crazy K. Ranch, whose owner (William McCall) is having trouble with a gang of rustlers. To no one's surprise, the leader of the rustlers, "Lynx" Merson (Lew Meehan), is the very same man the redoubtable Wynn is searching for. A veteran purveyor of cheap sagebrush theatrics, Adamson hired several of his best friends -- not to mention his wife Delores Booth -- to act in this barely released film, including silent screen Western heroes Franklyn Farnum and Bill Patton. Adamson himself also appeared -- under yet another pseudonym, Art James -- as did Buster Keaton's brother Harry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wally West, Tonya Beauford, (more)
- 1950
Producer-director Edward L. Cahn's Prominent Pictures produced this low-budget thriller-noir which was then sold outright to RKO. Joyce MacKenzie stars as Laura Mansfield whose father (Franklyn Farnum) is killed in cold blood by smalltime hoodlum turned messenger boy Jackie Wales (Stanley Clements). But the latter has a seemingly ironclad alibi and Laura goes undercover as a nightclub cigarette girl to trap him. Unbeknownst to the heroine, however, Wales is blackmailing Armitage (Albert Dekker), the ruthless nightclub operator who had hired him to murder Mansfield in the first place. But is Armitage the real "Mr. Big" or is someone else pulling the strings? ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joyce MacKenzie, Stanley Clements, (more)
