James Finlayson Movies

Jewish comic Max Davidson stars in this Hal Roach farce that would most likely have been completely forgotten had not Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Charley Chase turned up in cameo appearances. Davidson, wife Lillian Elliott, and son Spec O'Donnell are attempting to sell their house, which is located right next door to an insane asylum inhabited by a group of would-be radio announcers (the Messieurs Laurel, Hardy, Chase and James Finlayson). At the end of their ropes, the Davidsons finally find a buyer willing to swap houses, "no questions asked." The proud little family takes possession of their new abode, the street number of which is 1313, but it proves to be a lemon of gargantuan proportion where everything is topsy-turvy. A housewarming party ends in a free-for-all that nearly wrecks the house, and, after surveying the damage, the Davidsons discover that the insane asylum has relocated as well -- to right next door. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A wild stallion becomes the protector of a prospector and his foster daughter in this fine Western adventure produced by comedy specialist Hal Roach. Several members of the Roach "all-star" comics played straight roles this time around, including Oliver Hardy, here appearing scruffy, unshaven, and sporting an eye-patch. Mere months away from being officially teamed with fellow Roach comic Stan Laurel, Hardy plays Sharkey Nye, who -- with his equally unsavory buddy Spider O'Day (Theodore Von Eltz) -- stumbles upon a lonely mining camp lorded over by Rex, King of the Wild Horses. O'Day, "a man too bad to be a good man, but not bad enough to be a bad man," falls for the miner's pretty foster-daughter Toby (Barbara Kent) and quickly abandons all plans to take over the place. Consumed with jealousy, Sharkey challenges his former partner to a chess match for the rights to Toby. O'Day emerges the winner but is shot by Sharkey, who proceeds to ravish Toby. The girl is saved in the nick of time by Rex and the villain finally bites the dust. Recovering from his wounds, O'Day discovers that his love is reciprocated by Toby. Co-directed by Fred Jackman and writer . Richard Jones, No Man's Law endured a torturous location shoot in the blistering Moapa Valley 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The original location was to have been the more temperate Lone Pine, California, with Raymond McKee as the good-bad man Spider McKee. At the last moment, the company settled for Moapa and McKee was replaced by Theodore Von Eltz. A mustachioed actor usually associated with playing suave society wolves, Von Eltz filled his unaccustomed role rather well, but the film's real surprise was Oliver Hardy, who made an utterly convincing and downright despicable villain. Much has been made of the intemperate nature of the film's equine star, Rex. Played by a horse named Casey Jones, Rex, according to director Jackman, proved the perfect co-worker, to the point, in fact, where Jackman could wire the home office that "He acts like he was at home and was never so docile and obedient." No Man's Law is equally famous for leading lady Barbara Kent's "nude" swim (she wore a body stocking), often compared to Hedy Lamarr's famous dip in Ecstasy (1933). The script had actually called for nude scenes by both Miss Kent and veteran comic James Finlayson, the latter cast as the old prospector. Happily, Roach was persuaded to excise most of this footage prior to release, but the film still suffered heavy censorship problems in less sophisticated locations. Finlayson and a couple of tired burros supplied rare comedic touches to the otherwise rather grim proceedings; in fact, some reviewers found the film too morbid for comfort and certainly not geared to children, Roach's usual audience. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Easily one of the fastest and funniest of the silent Our Gang comedies, Thundering Fleas is set in motion with a sidewalk performance of Professor Clements' Trained Flea and Insect Circus. When the Professor's star attraction, Garfield the flea (depicted via animation) escapes, Clements offers to pay the Our Gang kids a dollar if they can locate the wayward insect. Alas, all of the fleas manage to get away thanks to the gang's "assistance," and pretty soon the entire city is scratching and writhing. The limit comes when the kids -- and the fleas -- attend the fancy wedding reception of Mary Kornman's older sister. Comedy buffs will be amused by the presence of three major Hal Roach stars in minor roles: Oliver Hardy as a pants-less policeman, Charley Chase (hidden behind a huge walrus moustache) as a twitching wedding guest, and a moustache-less James Finlayson -- of the raised eyebrow and the spectacular double take -- as the justice of the peace. Originally released on July 18, 1926, Thundering Fleas is also available in a shortened, TV version retitled The Flea Circus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This two-reel Hal Roach comedy was not one of James Finlayson's best starring efforts, but it's notable because it's the first film in which Stan Laurel directed his future comic partner, Oliver Hardy. Hardy just has a bit part, and according to Rob Stone's excellent book, Laurel or Hardy, he only received 12.50 for a day's work -- an extra's pay -- instead of his usual 250 dollars per week. Nanette (Lyle Tayo) informs her family that she has married the perfect man, but when she arrives home with hubby Hillory (Finlayson), no one is terribly impressed. In fact, Nanette's family does everything they can to make the wimpy Hillory miserable, especially when it comes to his cheap toupee. Even Nanette's former suitor (Hardy) comes around to give the hapless new husband a hard time -- until Hillory finally rounds up enough courage to get rid of the ex-boyfriend and assert himself. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Ignored by her parents and browbeaten by her governess (May Beatty), poor little rich girl Mary Kornman finds comfort only in her collection of dolls, which bear a striking resemblance to the familiar Our Gang kids. And well they should: The dolls were carved by an Italian gardener who used the kids as his models. After an enchanting sequence in which Mary dreams that her dolls have come to life, who should arrive at her home to deliver a basket of laundry but the Our Gang-ers themselves. The nasty old governess, who previously threw away Mary's dolls, gets her comeuppance when the presence of the real kids convinces her that she's gone crazy. An uneasy combination of charming whimsy and traditional Our Gang slapstick, the silent, two-reel Mary, Queen of Tots was originally released on August 23, 1925. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although this Stan Laurel two-reeler -- a parody of 1923's Rupert of Hentzau -- was handsomely produced, the jokes were slapstick at their crudest. There's a lot of kicking rear ends and slipping on banana peels. The King (Laurel) is constantly drunk, much to the disgust of the princess (Ena Gregory), who decides to have him overthrown. Traveling salesman Rudolph Razz (also Laurel) shows up at the palace and turns out to be the exact double of the King. It's an easy enough task to get the King away from the palace and put Razz in his place. Unfortunately the traveling salesman has no idea of court protocol and one of the irked men (the always-irked James Finlayson) challenges Razz to a sword fight. The battle is interrupted when the real King shows up, and he defeats his double and returns to his throne. Laurel's common-law wife, Mae Laurel, plays the Queen, and Sammy "Sunshine" Morrison -- one of the best child actors of the silent era -- has a small part, as do a couple other members of the Our Gang team. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Early on in his new contact with producer Hal Roach, Stan Laurel shot a comic short that had much of the same material as a two-reeler he made the year before, The Egg. Since The Noon Whistle was only one reel, however, the superfluous subplot about the company president being blackmailed was dumped. Most of this picture involves the slapstick antics between Laurel, as Tanglefoot -- the worst employee at a lumberyard -- and the foreman, O'Hallahan (James Finlayson). O'Hallahan has been told to get the lazy workers off their cans and his biggest problem is Tanglefoot. Eventually, Tanglefoot and his irascible boss get involved in a battle of nerves that escalates until one of them gets fired -- O'Hallahan. This was the first of countless times Finlayson and Laurel would work together. In fact, when Laurel formed a comic team with Oliver Hardy, Finlayson would become their most well-remembered onscreen victim. The Noon Whistle bears some resemblance to a later Laurel and Hardy short, 1933's Busy Bodies (which did not feature Finlayson). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This one-reel comedy was one of Stan Laurel's early films for the Hal Roach studios (it would be nearly four years before Laurel teamed up with fellow Hal Roach actor Oliver Hardy). Laurel plays a street sweeper who finds himself in deep trouble when he neglectfully grabs a baby stroller instead of his cart. A cop (Marvin Loback) mistakes him for a kidnapper and gives chase. After running himself ragged all over town, the street sweeper finally manages to escape the cop and hides by taking the place of a traveling dentist. He performs a number of successful extractions by knocking the patients out with a hammer at the beginning of the operation (two of his victims happen to be James Finlayson and Mark Jones). But then the cop shows up with a toothache and finds him. It's the street sweeper who gets the hammer this time around, and he's carted off unconscious. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although this Stan Laurel one-reeler is based on a very simple premise, it's quite funny. Adding to the mirth is the presence of James Finlayson, who always worked well with Laurel, and became an even greater comic antagonist when Laurel teamed up with Oliver Hardy. Laurel plays a none-too-bright young man who is riding a streetcar. When he asks the conductor how to get to his destination, the conductor suggests that he follow a young woman who is going the same way. The problem is that Stan winds up following a different woman wearing a similar dress. As a result, he winds up all over town, part of the confusion being that there are a lot of women who are wearing that very same outfit. During his travels, Stan goes into a department store and is pursued by the store's detective (Finlayson), who finds his behavior suspicious. The lady Stan is following also thinks he's a suspicious character and sets a cop on him. Stan finally gets away from both the detective and the cop and is about to leap onto a waiting streetcar -- except as his head is turned to bid adieu to his pursuers, the streetcar leaves and a paddy wagon pulls up. He leaps on the back of the wagon and the cops pull him inside. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This hilarious slapstick comedy from Mack Sennett finds Sam Smith (Ben Turpin), the resident of a small town, accused of stealing. The jealous villain J. Wellington Jones (James Finlayson) orchestrated Sam's frame-up to keep him from wooing Mary (Phyllis Haver), the prettiest single girl in town. Sam moves to Hollywood where he meets movie-star Marcelle Mansfield (Marie Prevost). He manages to get into the film business and stars as a Roman gladiator, but his helmet keeps slipping down over his crossed eyes. He gets a job as a stuntman when he tries to kill himself and lands a part as a western hero. Sam returns to his hometown a celebrity, but Jones once again tries to discredit him and abduct Mary. Sam uses his acting skills to chase down the villain -- the ensuing chase destroying the entire town -- and save the damsel in distress. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide