Frank S. Hagney Movies
Arriving in America from his native Australia at the turn of the century, Frank S. Hagney eked out a living in vaudeville. He entered films during the silent era as a stunt man, gradually working his way up to featured roles. While most of Hagney's film work is forgettable, he had the honor of contributing to a bonafide classic in 1946. Director Frank Capra hand-picked Frank S. Hagney to portray the faithful bodyguard of wheelchair-bound villain Lionel Barrymore in the enduring Yuletide attraction It's A Wonderful Life (1946). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1925
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
- Starring:
- William Fairbanks, Edith Roberts, (more)
- 1925
Peter the Great was one of the dog stars to come in the wake of other successful canine luminaries as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart. There isn't much to the story of this United Artists picture -- as usual with pictures like this one, the dog's the whole show. Bob Blake (Frank Hagney) murders Hadley, a prospector, and takes over his cabin. Blake, however, cannot make friends with Hadley's dog, Arno (Peter the Great). Arno clearly dislikes him, so he sells him to Dave Wright (George Sherwood), a doctor. Hadley's daughter, Polly Ann (Frances Teague), shows up and Wright rescues her from Blake's attack. The evildoings of the villain are not over yet -- he convinces the villagers that Wright is the one responsible for Hadley's murder. Wright manages to prove himself innocent and forces Blake to confess. Blake escapes from the lockup, however, and is pursued by Arno, who is still determined to avenge his master's death. This he does by driving Blake over a precipice. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter the Great
- 1924
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
- Starring:
- William J. Dyer, William Fairbanks, (more)
- 1924
Jack Wade (Reed Howes) is the son of a wealthy father who runs a successful ship-building company. He uses his athletic prowess to defeat the villainous competitors who are out to financially ruin his father. The films is a vehicle for the handsome Reed Howes to appear in various costume changes for the benefit of his female fans. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reed Howes, Ethel Shannon, (more)
- 1924
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
- Starring:
- Frank S. Hagney, Charles Hutchinson, (more)
- 1924
Handsome silent star Fred Thomson's fifth western for producer Andrew Callaghan was the old story of a prizefighter falsely assuming he has permanently injured an opponent in the ring (real-life boxer Al Kaufman). Thomson's Lightning Kid hightails it to the West where he manages to defeat a local bully, former fighter-turned-dance-hall-operator Wildcat Rea (Frank S. Hagney). Thomson cut a handsome figure astride his famous horse Silver King, and his films often included children. The Dangerous Coward benefitted from both child actors and Hazel Keener, a pert redhead who appeared in the initial six Thomson oaters. The trade magazine Variety considered the film "one of the best (to) have come along in some time." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Thomson, Hazel Keener, (more)
- 1924
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
- Starring:
- Fred C. Thompson, Hazel Keener, (more)
- 1924
Cowboy star Harry Carey occasionally appeared in films that weren't Westerns, and this heavily sentimental action-drama suited him well. While fighting at Chateay-Thierry during the First World War, Bill Benson (Carey) rescues a little French orphan (Frankie Darro). Benson adopts the boy, calling him Little Bill (which, of course, makes him Big Bill). After the war, Benson returns to his job as a train engineer and brings Little Bill along on the job. But the youngster is a mischievous troublemaker, and when Benson has to save him from a fall, it causes a collision with another engine. Benson is fired as a result and becomes a hobo. He makes his way to the Northwest, where a big railroad project is being sabotaged by Malcolm Gregory (Wallace MacDonald), who is in charge of rival interests. With the help of foreman Red Burley (Frank S. Hagney), he hopes to make the project miss its deadline. Little Bill is on a bridge that Burley blows up, and the boy's eyes are burned. In order to get the money for an operation, Benson agrees to take the fall for a murder committed by Gregory, providing he cares for Little Bill. Gregory agrees, only to hand the boy over to the brutal Burley. With the help of his sweetheart, Nora (Edith Roberts), Benson gets out of jail and takes an engine through a forest fire set by Burley. He rescues Little Bill and saves the day for the project. As a result, he gets a reward, a job, and Nora's hand. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Carey, Frankie Darro, (more)
- 1923
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
- Starring:
- Fred Thomson, Wilfred Lucas, (more)
- 1923
Respected stage star Alfred Lunt occasionally appeared in motion pictures; this curious and not terribly inspired mystery from Goldwyn was his inauspicious film debut. When Yvonne de Chausson (Edith Roberts) comes home from a trip to France, she is told that her grandfather, lumber magnate Andre de Mersay (Emile La Croix), has been stricken with an undisclosed illness. He is sequestered in a room and his secretary refuses to allow Yvonne to see him. Her attempts to get to him are constantly thwarted and the plot thickens with the appearance of John Thorne (Lunt), who purchases part of the family's land holdings without Yvonne's consent. A flashback to the France of the days of Louis XV early on in the film gives a few clues to the finish. Yvonne eventually discovers that her grandfather is dead, and a fight between Thorne and the old man's doctor (Frank Evans) proves that Thorne is really on Yvonne's side. Romance and resolution follow. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edith Roberts, Alfred Lunt, (more)
- 1921
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
- Starring:
- Dorothy Gish, William Parke, (more)
- 1921
This story of a rugged rural family made for an above-average programmer. The Brockton clan considers the mountain Little Smoky their own, but then the government comes in and declares it a forest and game preserve. This doesn't stop the family, who swears they will do what they want with the land. Forest ranger Bob Hayne (Joe King) catches the head Brockton (Frank Sheridan) poaching -- a nasty set of circumstances because Hayne loves Brockton's daughter Anne (Winifred Westover). The two men wind up in a fierce fist fight and Brockton is reported to be dead. Bloodhounds are set on Hayne's trail, but Anne, who is determined to save her lover, puts on an outfit of his so that the dogs will follow her. Unfortunately, she unwittingly leads the hounds right to him. On the same stormy night, Gita, a Gypsy girl (Dolores Cassinelli), is attacked by a vicious half breed, and shell-shocked war veteran Tom Brockton (Ralph Faulkner) comes to her rescue. The incident brings him back to his senses. Eventually the elder Brockton is found, very much alive, and he has become friends with Hayne, so all ends well. At the time this picture was made, Winifred Westover was married to cowboy star William S. Hart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
