Frank S. Hagney Movies

The plot to this comedy is so dog-eared that only luminaries like star Dorothy Gish and director F. Richard Jones could have made it as lively as it turned out to be. Delsie O'Dell (Gish) is a poor girl who shows up unannounced on the doorstep of her wealthy aunt and uncle, her pet bulldog and parrot in tow. When a seventy-five thousand dollar necklace is stolen, Delsie is determined to track down the guilty parties. She finds them in a deserted, old house that is supposedly haunted, so she sneaks in and plays "ghost" herself, scaring the bejeezus out of the crooks. She gets the necklace back, along with winning the hero (William E. Park). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Dashing cowboy star Fred Thomson donned several disguises in order to catch a gang of cattle rustlers in this, the third filmed (but first released) of the star's initial series for Andrew Callahan's Monogram Pictures Corp. Disguised as a paroled prisoner, Thomson is "rehabilitated" at Hazel Keener's ranch, which is experiencing a series of rustlings. The culprit is the foreman (Frank Hagney), and to catch him red-handed, Thomson dons his second disguise, that of Lopez, a mysterious masked villain whose visage is known to no one. Thomson manages to catch the foreman, but not until a daring rescue by Miss Keener. A former minister and the husband of screenwriter Frances Marion, Fred Thomson reached a popularity in the late 1920s second only to Tom Mix. Sadly, the strapping ex-athlete died at the young age of 27 following an operation. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Dr. Ross Wayne (William Fairbanks) takes a job in the hill country where a long-standing feud continues. When Branch Paxton (Les Bates) is wounded, the call goes out for the doctor to make a housecall. Branch abuses his wife (Billie Bennett) and daughter Beulah (Dorothy Reiver), while his son Lem (Pat Harmon) abuses the two women as well. Dr. Wayne finds Branch near death and determines the only thing that can save the man is to amputate his arm. Branch is furious when he recovers, and Lem recruits Ed Cater (Frank S. Hagney) to help him kill the doctor. Wayne and Beulah escape into the woods with the three angry men in pursuit. The doctor saves Beulah with an emergency blood transfusion by tricking Lem in to the shack to act as the donor. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In Poison, one of his half-dozen low-budget melodramas for Poverty Row producer William Steiner, former serial ace Charles Hutchison played Bob Marston, a San Francisco socialite turned amateur detective assigned to apprehend a gang of bootleggers. Staging a raid on the gang's hideout, a secret cave, Bob not only catches the gang leader, but also rescues a lovely kidnap victim, Doris Townsend. The latter was played by Edith Thornton, Hutchison's real-life wife. Czech-born character actor Otto Lederer played the main villain, with Frank Hagney of B-Western infamy as his chief henchman. Poison, which Hutchison had written himself, was distributed to small towns exclusively by the New-Cal Film Corp. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Western star Fred Thompson was, for many years, the biggest single moneymaker for the small-scale production firm of FBO. The Thompson vehicles enabled the tiny studio to expand to the point that it was attractive enough to be gobbled up by prestigious RKO Radio Pictures. All of this was still five years in the future when, in 1924, Thompson played the title role in Galloping Gallagher. Although released subsequent to The Mask of Lopez and North of Nevada, this fine silent western was most likely the first Fred Thomson oater filmed. Very much in the tradition of Tom Mix, this good-humored little silent melodrama features Thomson as a happy-go-lucky drifter who is elected sheriff of Tombstone on account of his fine horsemanship. He falls for a lady minister (Thomson regular Hazel Keener) and unmasks the town's banker as a notorious bandit known as "Lily Finger." More important than that, Thomson gets to exhibit his much-admired mount Silver King, who plays a major role in the proceedings. Rumor had it in 1920s Hollywood that the consistently high quality of the Fred Thompson westerns was due to the uncredited input of Thompson's wife, award-winning screenwriter Frances Marion. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Silent Western star Fred Thomson inaugurated his own production unit with this fine Western, which, in addition to the magnificent horse Silver King, also featured Thomson's pet bull Murro and frequent leading lady Hazel Keener. Veteran villain Frank S. Hagney plays Eagle Eye, an Indian who cross-breeds one of rancher Harbison's (Herbert Prior) prime cows with a bison. The creature, known as Diablo, spreads terror in the valley exactly as the evil Indian had hoped. The government sends heroic Dan Allen (Thomson) to investigate and, with Harbison's pretty daughter (Keener) by his side, Dan manages to prevent Diablo from hurting anyone else. Photoplay Magazine said at the time, "Fred Thomson and Silver King again prove that their Westerns are different." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

William Fairbanks (no relation to Douglas) stars in this low-budget prizefight melodrama. An aspiring boxer, blacksmith Bob Nichols (Fairbanks) gets his big chance when local champ Knockout Riley (Frank S. Hagney) injures his hand just before a big bout. Nichols takes Knockout's place in the ring, where he finds that his opponent is definitely no pushover. It looks bad for our hero, but with luck and perseverance -- not to mention some sidelines encouragement from his sweetheart Polly (Edith Roberts) -- he emerges triumphant. The film's biggest selling angle is the prizefight finale, expertly staged by actionmeister B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Throughout the '20s and '30s westerns were, for the most part, made cheaply and tossed out to the masses. Rare was the western star who made it to the big, major city movie houses. Those who made the leap were William S. Hart, Tom Mix, and with The Two-Gun Man, Fred Thomson. Thomson earned his stripes; he and his highly-trained horse, Silver King, had been working in the lower-budget field since the early '20s and had built an impressive fan base. In this feature, Thomson plays Dean Randall, a hero of the Great War who comes home to his horse and his father's ranch. He saves a family in a wagon train -- a father (William Courtwright), daughter Grace (Olive Hasbrough), and three orphan children. Back at the ranch, Dean discovers that his father (Joe Dowling) has been conned out of his cattle by rustlers. In addition, the rustlers have gotten a mortgage on the ranch and are threatening to evict the old man. The strain kills Dad Randall, but Grace convinces Dean not to take violent revenge. So he uses his wits instead (plus a lot of impressive stunts with Silver King) to get back the cattle and see that justice is served against the rustlers. This film, and the ones that followed it, showed a lot of promise for Thomson's future; sadly, his death in 1928 kept that promise from being fully realized.
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This silent screen adaptation of "Moby Dick" features John Barrymore in action as Captain Ahab Cooley, played against one of the most famous denizens of the deep, Herman Melville's great white whale. At the beginning of the story, Ahab and his step brother Dererk (George O'Hara) compete for the affections of a winsome minister's daughter, Esther Wiscasset (Dolores Costello). Meanwhile, the albino whale has been eluding harpooners, and bears the scars of many failed attacks against him. His fame has reached epic proportions. One day, Ahab and Derek are on the same whaler as the whale hoves into view. With the visual drama enhanced by the water and pitching boat, Ahab raises his harpoon to kill the beast. At that moment, Derek pushes him overboard and Ahab loses a right leg to the whale. In this scene, Barrymore's portrayal of agonizing pain as an antiseptic is poured over what remains of his leg contributed to his fame as a silents actor. Not long after this incident, the shallow Esther rebuffs Ahab as her suitor once she catches sight of his peg leg. Heartbroken at this turn of events, Ahab blames neither Esther nor his brother - instead he transfers blame and an undying hatred onto the whale. The following saga of Ahab's pursuit of the whale takes on the aura of a super-human quest, far beyond the proportions of its first motivation. One of the most popular of Barrymore's films, this version extends the story beyond the final battle of man versus whale in a variation on Melville's book. Adding publicity to the film was a bit of early Hollywood hype, unintentional though it may seem. The actress Priscella Bonner was fired by Barrymore from the role of Wiscasset, and in a curious parallel to Ahab and the mighty whale, she successfully sued the studio and won a considerable out-of-court settlement. Doubtless due to the popularity of this film, another was released in 1930 under Melville's original book title, with Barrymore again in the role of Captain Ahab. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A robust potboiler from Universal, The Ice Flood stars Kenneth Harlan as Jack De Quincey, a handsome youth returning from Oxford to take part in his father's Oregon lumber business. But Jack demands to work incognito and bets the elder DeQuincey (George Irving) 10,000 dollars that he will not only survive among the roughhewn loggers but prosper. Jack immediately earns the enmity of the camp bully, Pete (Frank Hagney), who takes umbrage to the newcomer's interest in Marie (Viola Dana), the daughter of Superintendent O'Neill (DeWitt Jennings). But Jack not only bests Pete in a fair fight and gets medical attention for little Billy (Billy Kent Schaefer), the camp mascot who suffers from a clubfoot, but also saves Marie from the dangerous natural disaster of the title. The Ice Flood was based on a 1918 short story by Zorro creator Johnston McCulley and had previously been filmed by Universal under its original title, The Brute Breaker (1919). According to some reports, Walter Brennan appears as one of the loggers in this film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The greatest western star of his day, Tom Mix performed several dangerous stunts without the benefit of a double in The Last Trail. One exciting scene had Mix mounting the front wheels of a crashing wagon, riding them like a Roman chariot. Director Lewis Seiler and cameraman Daniel Clark filmed the scene in a way that left no room for doubt as to whether Mix actually performed the dramatic stunt himself. The story, based on a Zane Grey original, has Mix coming to the aid of an old friend (Lee Shumway), the sheriff of Carson City, Nevada, who is having trouble with a gang of stage robbers. Along for the ride is a small child, (Jerry the Giant, who provides the film with added appeal). Jerry the Giant later changed his name to Jerry Madden and played "Slats" Fogarty in Penrod and Sam (1937) and its sequel Penrod and His Twin Brother (1938). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The likable Johnny Hines stars in this comedy-melodrama. Johnny (Hines) is a shoe salesman who can't remember anything. This causes him to get fired from his job, but not before he has met and fallen in love with May Brooks (Edna Murphy). May's father (Henry Barrows) owns a travel agency and Johnny manages to land a job with him as a tour guide. He takes the Brooks' on a junket to the Middle East and winds up in loads of trouble. The desert is populated with amorous sheiks and one of them kidnaps May. In addition, a prince forces Johnny to marry his ample daughter (the hefty Babe London). Nevertheless, Johnny is able to rescue May with the help of a car equipped for the desert (its tires have been replaced with shoes). After a sandstorm and a number of death-defying feats à la Douglas Fairbanks, Johnny gets May and her family safely out of the desert. Since his marriage to the princess isn't legal, he is free to wed May. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Ethnic comedies and melodramas were popular in the late 1920s, a fashion only heightened by the enormous popularity of the Broadway play Abie's Irish Rose. Even Universal cowboy Hoot Gibson went the route, playing an Irishman befriending an old Jewish peddler (William H. Strauss) and his daughter (Chaplin discovery Georgia Hale). Gibson is a rodeo performer who helps the peddler against a nefarious rival (Frank S. Hagney). Naturally, the story takes place out West. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide