Irving Bacon Movies
Irving Bacon entered films at the Keystone Studios in 1913, where his athletic prowess and Ichabod Crane-like features came in handy for the Keystone brand of broad slapstick. He appeared in over 200 films during the silent and sound era, often playing mailmen, soda jerks and rustics. In The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) it is Irving, as a flustered jury foreman, who delivers the film's punchline. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Irving played the recurring role of Mr. Crumb in Columbia's Blondie series; he's the poor postman who is forever being knocked down by the late-for-work Dagwood Bumstead, each collision accompanied by a cascade of mail flying through the air. Irving Bacon kept his hand in throughout the 1950s, appearing in a sizeable number of TV situation comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1928
Baroness Gerda Wallentin (Pola Negri) walks out on her philandering husband Count Dietrich (Paul Lukas) and heads to Vienna. En route, she meets musician Raoul Stanislaw (Tullio Carminatti) and agrees to a romantic rendezvous during a stopover at a small village. In the throes of passion, Gerda and Raoul miss their train, which is subsequently involved in a terrible accident. Reported killed in the crash, Gerda, guilty over her indiscretion, decides to remain "dead" for her husband's sake. She dyes her hair, changes her name, and finds work at a gambling casino. Years pass: Count Dietrich inevitably pays a visit to the casino, and with equal inevitability falls in love with Gerda, whom he does not recognize. Our heroine is about to rekindle her romance with the Count but changes her mind when she discovers that he's still keeping company with his mistress. Telling the Count the truth, Gerda leaves him for good and departs for America, intending to start life over for a third time. Three Sinners was based on Das Zweitte Leben, a play by Bernauer Osterreicher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pola Negri, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1928
At 9 reels, The Good-Bye Kiss was comedy producer Mack Sennett's most ambitious feature to date. Eschewing the usual Sennett slapstick, the film is a romantic seriocomedy with a WW I background. Sally Eilers plays a young girl who follows her soldier boyfriend (Johnny Burke) to the front. He is something of a coward, but through his girlfriend's influence he becomes a war hero. One of the few vestiges of the traditional Sennett formula is the presence of reliable character comedian Andy Clyde as the girl's grandfather (Clyde was 34 years old at the time!) The Good-Bye Kiss represented a major break for film editor William Hornbeck, who with this film graduated to features, eventually leading to a long and fruitful career and several industry awards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Burke, Sally Eilers, (more)
- 1927
An inventor attempts to sell his new invention and still has time to fall in love in this romantic comedy. The fellow becomes so obsessed with perfecting a new type of gasoline engine that he ignores the customers who patronize his mechanics garage. One day the car of an automobile tycoon and his daughter breaks down and they must visit the mechanic's business. Opportunity seems to be knocking so he doesn't hesitate to pitch his invention to the stranded magnate. Impressed, the automaker calls in his head engineer. The fellow comes in and it's plain that he resents the inventor's attention towards the pretty daughter. He dismisses the new engine and in the end, the two iron out their differences at the race track. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Foster, John Steppling, (more)
- 1922
Lily Becker (Hope Hampton) is the musically talented daughter whose mother forces her into a marriage to the son of a wealthy man. Mistreated by the callous husband, she flees to New York to make it in the music business. She gives birth to a child and attempts suicide when she nearly starves to death for lack of work. A sympathetic young songwriter who has been down the same road takes her in and offers her the benefit of his musical experience. Lily becomes a successful opera singer the very night her husband perishes in a train wreck. She also must overcome the tragic death of her beloved baby. Lily overcomes her misfortunes to become a successful singer. After her husband dies, she is free to pursue romance with the young maestro in this routine melodrama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
