Hank Mann Movies
American comedian Hank Mann was a product of the turbulent tenement district of New York in the 1880s, where a kid had better learn to be handy with his fists or lose all his teeth by the age of 12. Putting his physical prowess to practical use, Mann became a circus acrobat, then headed westward for a job at Mack Sennett's Keystone studios. His junkyard-dog face was softened a bit by a huge paintbrush mustache, which emphasized his expressive, almost wistful eyes. Seldom a star comedian at Sennett, Mann quickly learned how to "catch flies" -- steal scenes, that is. In the most famous example of this, Mann played the foreman of a jury where Chester Conklin was on trial for his life; as Conklin energetically pleaded his case, Mann grabbed the audience's attention by silently yanking up his necktie in a hanging motion. Mann left Keystone for his own starring series at Fox, thence to a career as a character comic in feature films. He had the potential to be one of the top comedy stars of the era, but bad management and worse judgment left him broke by the late '20s. Mann was given a good break as Charlie Chaplin's contemptuous boxing opponent in City Lights (1931), and was provided with a meaty role as a house detective in the 1935 two-reeler Keystone Hotel, which reunited such former Sennett headliners as Ford Sterling, Ben Turpin, Chester Conklin and Marie Prevost. But Mann's talkie career consisted primarily of bit parts. He worked steadily in the films of Frank Capra, a friend from the silent days, and appeared prominently in two Three Stooge comedies, 1934's Men in Black (as a long-suffering janitor) and 1937's Goofs and Saddles (performing some bone-crushing pratfalls as a confused cattle rustler). Mann also showed up briefly in the two-reelers of such Columbia contractees as Andy Clyde, Buster Keaton and El Brendel. When jobs were scarce, Mann farmed out his services as a makeup artist, and also ran a small California malt shop. During the '50s, Hank Mann could always be relied upon for newspaper interviews about the good old days, and he was cast along with other silent comedy vets in such nostalgic feature films as Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955) and Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1934
Although it was nominated for an Academy Award, the third Three Stooges comedy two-reeler for Columbia has not dated well. A spoof of MGM's Clark Gable vehicle Men in White, Men in Black was a rather shapeless romp in which Moe, Larry, and Curly played dumbbell interns at the Lost Arms Hospital. The team was supported by such veteran comedians as Bud Jamison, Dell Henderson, Hank Mann, and Neal Burns, while Ruth Hiatt, Kay Hughes, and a host of starlets appeared as nurses, but the two-reeler remains one of the team's lesser early efforts. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moe Howard, Larry Fine, (more)
- 1933
Tom Mix once again goes up against corrupt Fred Kohler in this would-be epic Western filmed on-location at Kanab, UT. Retiring from a life of train robbing, Benjamin R. Jones (Kohler) takes over the ghost town of Stillwell, knowing full well that the property belongs to Molly O'Rourke (Margaret Lindsay). Enter horse wrangler Tom Mason (Mix), who smells a rat and does his best to unmask Jones as the crook he knows him to be. Molly at first falls for Jones' scheme, but confronts him when a general feeling of lawlessness sets in. The villain, alas, has an ace up his sleeve: Molly owes back taxes on her property, which is ripe for a takeover. The Fourth Horseman was the fifth of nine Westerns Tom Mix would make for Universal from 1932-1933 before an on-the-set accident basically ended his career as a series Western star. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Lindsay, Raymond Hatton, (more)
Eagle Productions was another of those exotically named independent studios that came and went in the early 1930s. Eagle's The Big Chance stars John Darrow as an aspiring boxer. Ignoring the advice of trainer Matthew Betz, Darrow falls among bad company. Faithful Merna Kennedy saves Darrow from such predators as vampish Natalie Morehead and slimy J. Carroll Naish. The Big Chance was reissued in the late 1930s to cash in on the popularity of Mickey Rooney, here cast as a hero-worshipping urchin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Darrow, Merna Kennedy, (more)
- 1933
The 1933 Fox production Smoky was the first of three film adaptations of the classic Will James novel. James himself served as off-screen narrator for this story of bronco buster Clint's (Victor Jory) undying devotion to his horse, and vice versa. Separated early on from Clint, Smoky is sold to a notions dealer, undergoing the humiliation of hauling a junk wagon until he grows too old for this sort of work. Slated for the glue factory, Smoky is rescued in the nick of time by Clint, who has never given up hope of someday reclaiming his beloved steed. Though not as effectively cast as Fred MacMurray in the first of the remakes, Victor Jory is quite convincing in his offbeat (for him) role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Jory, Irene Bentley, (more)
- 1932
In this romantic drama, an ambitious young dress designer decides to make an upward career move by making a play for her employer. Later that night, the two go out, but they are involved in an auto accident. Knowing that a major scandal will erupt if it is discovered that the two are dating, the employees at the store try to create a believable cover story. Because the boss' daughter and her fiancé were also in the car, they have the girl trade places with the daughter. The fiancé takes her home and en route they fall in love. At the same time, a corrupt executive tries to extort money from the hapless employer, who suspects that the dress designer is in cahoots on the scam. In the end, her innocence is revealed, she gets to marry the man she loves, and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Shilling, Holmes Herbert, (more)
- 1932
In this strange, convoluted tale, a hotel clerk ends up pregnant and alone after she has a brief fling with a wealthy playboy. Shortly after her daughter's birth, she hooks up with a criminal. She does not realize that the good-hearted bellboy with whom she works secretly loves her. When the criminal inadvertently involves her in a murder, an eager-beaver reporter, who also grows to lover her, hatches a clever scheme to save her and win her hand. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Dvorak, Lee Tracy, (more)
Completed in mid-1930, Scarface, based on Armitage Trail's novel of the same name, might have been the first of the great talkie gangster flicks, but it was held up for release until after that honor was jointly usurped by Little Caesar and Public Enemy. Paul Muni stars as prohibition-era mobster Tony Camonte, a character obviously patterned on Al Capone (whose nickname was "Scarface"). The homicidal Camonte ruthlessly wrests control of the bootlegging racket from his boss, Johnny Lovo (Osgood Perkins), and claims Lovo's mistress, Poppy (Karen Morley), in the bargain. But while Poppy satisfies him sexually, Tony has a soft spot in his heart only for his sister Cesca (Ann Dvorak). The film's finale is one of the longest and bloodiest of the 1930s, maintaining suspense and concern for the characters involved even though Muni has deliberately done nothing to make Tony likeable to audience. The grimness of Scarface is leavened by a few choice moments of black humor. Forced to leave a stage production of Rain in order to commit a murder, Tony returns to his theater seat and anxiously asks his buddies how the play came out. Some of the film's funniest moments belong to Vince Barnett as the mentally deficient, illiterate gangster secretary, who at one juncture gets so mad at a caller on the phone that he shoots the receiver. Scarface features a famous "'X' Marks The Spot" logo, inspired by news photos of gangland murders: whenever a character is killed, the letter "X" appears on screen in one form or another. Example: When a rival gangster (played by Boris Karloff) is killed at a bowling alley, the camera cuts to his bowling ball knocking down all the pins -- a strike, denoted, of course, by an "X." Producer Howard R. Hughes couldn't release Scarface until he toned down some of the violence, reshot certain scenes to avoid libel suits, added the subtitle "The Shame of the Nation" to the opening credits, and shoehorned in new scenes showing upright Italian-Americans banding together to wipe out gangsterism. After its first run, Scarface was completely withdrawn from distribution on Hughes' orders; the film would not be seen again on a widespread basis until it was reissued by Universal in 1979, shorn of 8 of its original 99 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, (more)
- 1932
"Klopstokia: A Far-Away Country. Chief Exports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Imports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Inhabitants: Goats and Nuts." This introductory title ushers in Million Dollar Legs, one of the zaniest comedies ever to emerge from a major studio. W.C. Fields stars as the president of Klopstokia, who will hold on to his office so long as he can best the secretary of the treasury (Hugh Herbert) in their daily arm-wrestling contests. Like most of the Depression-era world, Klopstokia is broke, forcing the government to take drastic measures to raise money. Fortunately, everyone in the country is a super-athlete, inspiring visiting Fuller Brush salesman Migg Tweeney (Jack Oakie) to come up with a brilliant idea: Klopstokia will enter the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Alas, the subversive cabinet members, hoping to overthrow the president, plot to undermine the Klopstokian athletic team with the aid of sexy seductress Mata Machree (Lyda Roberti), "the woman no man can resist." Words can hardly describe the nonstop parade of gags and verbal insanity in Million Dollar Legs: Ben Turpin, playing a cloaked-and-caped spy, pops in and out with neither rhyme nor reason; the conspirators' outdoor hideout is incongruously equipped with hydraulic lifts and elevators; Mata Machree's butler informs the villains that "Madame can only be resisted from 2 to 4,"; and, when asked why all the Klopstokian men are named George and the women named Angela, the president's daughter (Susan Fleming, later the wife of Harpo Marx), replies "Why not?" then launches into the national anthem -- a double-talk version of "One Hour With You." Among the writers were Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Henry Myers, who were also responsible for the wacky Wheeler andWoolsey political satire Diplomaniacs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, W.C. Fields, (more)
- 1932
More a romantic melodrama than a true Western, this Buck Jones vehicle from Columbia starred Jones as Buck Randall, a carefree cowboy whose popularity with the local saloon girls becomes the talk of the town. The new marshal, Joseph Slyde (Russell Simpson), gets on Buck's bad side by enforcing a "no gun" rule. Buck returns the favor by falling in love with the marshal's mistreated wife, Mary (Mary Doran), and she asks her husband for a divorce so she can marry Buck. After helping Mary escape a lecherous deputy, Frame (Walter Miller), Buck hears a shot and returns to find Frame dead and Mary holding a smoking gun. Marshal Slyde enters and accuses Buck of the crime. Convicted of murder in Slyde's kangaroo court, Buck is saved from being lynched by a more level-headed judge (Robert Mckenzie). As it turns out, Slyde is the real killer and Buck is free to pursue a life with Mary. A former Ziegfeld girl, blond Mary Doran was one of Hollywood's better "other women." She left films in 1937 to marry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Charles Chaplin was deep into production of his silent City Lights when Hollywood was overwhelmed by the talkie revolution. After months of anguished contemplation, Chaplin decided to finish the film as it began--in silence, save for a musical score and an occasional sound effect. Once again cast as the Little Tramp, Chaplin makes the acquaintance of a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill), who through a series of coincidences has gotten the impression that the shabby tramp is a millionaire. A second storyline begins when the tramp rescues a genuine millionaire (Harry Myers) from committing suicide. When drunk, the millionaire expansively treats the tramp as a friend and equal; when sober, he doesn't even recognize him. The two plots come together when the tramp attempts to raise enough money for the blind girl to have an eye operation. Highlights include an extended boxing sequence pitting scrawny Chaplin against muscle-bound Hank Mann, and the poignant final scene in which the now-sighted flower girl sees her impoverished benefactor for the first time. Chaplin's decision to release the silent City Lights three years into the talkie era was partially vindicated when more than one critic singled out this "comedy in pantomime" as the best picture of 1931. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, (more)
- 1931
In this screwball comedy, Annabelle Leigh (Jeanette MacDonald) happily spends the $5,000 sent her each month by her husband, whom she hasn't seen since eleven hours after they were married. She explains to friends that while in Montana, she was injured and cared for by a burly, bearded miner, Hefty Jack (Victor McLaglen), who later married her for the sake of appearances. Less than a day later, Annabelle fled back to New York; Hefty Jack struck it rich, and has been sending her money ever since. Now Annabelle finds herself in financial hot water and desperately turns for help to John Rawson, a newcomer to the city; Annabelle is unaware that he is the now-beardless Hefty Jack. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Jeanette MacDonald, (more)
- 1931
A fine early sound Western, this Buck Jones series entry from his Columbia period told the well-known story of a feud between cattle barons and sheep men. When Mart Denton (Charles Morton), son of a wealthy cattle man, kills a homesteader during a quarrel, Sheriff Larry Williams (Jones) faces a difficult dilemma. The sheriff is not only Mart's best friend but also engaged to the young man's sister, June (Miriam Seegar). But the law is the law and Mart is arrested. The angry cattlemen help the youngster escape and Larry is wounded. The escaped prisoner, however, is later killed by his own father (Erville Alderson) who mistakes him for one of the sheepherders. This final tragedy helps bring the old feud to a peaceful conclusion. Although the story was hardly new, The Dawn Trail was told forthrightly by veteran director W. Christy Cabanne who stretched realism over romance. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erville Alderson, Miriam Seegar, (more)
- 1930
Based on the play Penny Arcade, Sinner's Holiday marked the film debut of James Cagney. After seeing the performance on Broadway, Al Jolson bought the rights to the play and sold it to Warner Bros. under the agreement that both Cagney and co-star Joan Blondell reprise their stage roles for the screen. The story concerns an overprotective mother, Ma Delano (Lucille LaVerne), who runs a penny arcade in Coney Island and lives with her children: Harry (James Cagney), Joe (Ray Gallagher), and Jennie (Evelyn Knapp). Harry works for a sideshow ran by liquor-dealing gangster Mitch McKane (Warren B. Hymer), who wants to date ennie. Grant Withers plays Angel, Harry's co-worker and the hero that saves Jennie from Mitch's advances. When Mitch goes to jail, Harry takes over his shady liquor business and keeps the extra money for himself, leading to a deadly gunfight. When he's accused of murder, Harry begs his mother for protection and she frames Angel with the weapon out of a bizarrely obsessive love for her son. agney would go on to play other tough-guy characters with overly loving mothers in his next film, The Public Enemy ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Withers, Evelyn Knapp, (more)
- 1930
Warner Baxter, who had won an Academy Award for playing the Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona (1929), is at it again, fake Spanish accent and all, in this fanciful Western filmed on-location at Utah's Zion National Park. Cisco in anything but name, The Arizona Kid loves all the ladies in Rockville, UT, but especially the fiery Lorita (Mona Maris), who sings in the local saloon. Operating a secret mine by day and playing the noble bandit at night, the Kid is only one step ahead of the local sheriff (Walter P. Lewis), who has his suspicions as to his real identity. Said identity, however, is about to be revealed when the carefree bandit falls for a flaxen-haired Easterner, Virginia Hoyt (Carole Lombard), who arrives in Rockville with Nick (Theodore Von Eltz), a handsome crook whom she passes off as her brother, but in reality is her husband. Although contemporary reviewers believed The Arizona Kid to be yet another O. Henry creation, the character was conjured up by screenwriter Ralph Block. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Mona Maris, (more)
- 1929
In this comedy, a businessman takes his client with a beautiful escort to a fancy nightclub where he plans to close an important business deal. Unfortunately, the client's joins them. The escort must then pretend to be the businessman's wife. Marital trouble ensues when the businessman's real wife, at home and listening to a radio show originating from the club, hears a request sent out by her husband and his "wife." The suspicious woman wastes no time in getting to the club. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patsy Ruth Miller, Ford Sterling, (more)
- 1929
In his last silent film, Buster Keaton plays a pants-presser who pines for aloof stage actress Dorothy Sebastian. When she is jilted by her fiance Edward Earle, Sebastian spitefully marries Keaton. He is ecstatic (or as ecstatic as the poker-faced comedian ever gets) until he finds out why Sebastian has said "I do." Disconsolately, Keaton takes a job on the crew of a boat owned by bootleggers. He rescues Sebastian from the crooks in the climax, and she realizes at last that she's really loved him all along. Though Buster Keaton had involuntarily given over much of the control of his pictures to his new bosses at MGM (for example, he was no longer permitted to perform his more dangerous stunts), Spite Marriage still contains several vintage Keaton moments, including his classic "putting a drunken woman to bed" routine. The film would be remade in 1944 as the Red Skelton vehicle I Dood It. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buster Keaton, Dorothy Sebastian, (more)
- 1929
Even as his parent studio MGM was gearing up for talkies, popular western star Tim McCoy ground out four silent vehicles during 1929. The second of the four was Morgan's Last Raid, in which McCoy's romantic vis-a-vis was busy MGM contractee Dorothy Sebastian. Conscripted into the Union army during the Civil War, Tennessee-born Capt. Clairbourne (Tim McCoy) is branded a coward when he refuses to fight opposite his friends and neighbors. This puts Clairbourne on the outs with his Yankee sweetheart Judith Rogers (Sebastian). But when Clairbourne joins a Confederate guerilla group called Morgan's Raiders and saves Judith's life, she sings a different tune. Allan Garcia, best remembered as the snooty butler in Chaplin's City Lights, plays Morgan, while another City Lights supporting player, Hank Mann, provides comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Sebastian, Wheeler Oakman, (more)
- 1929
This comedy-mystery is famed director Frank Capra's first all-talking film. It tells the story of a bungling police inspector who tries to re-enact a murder scene with disastrous results. The first killing occurred within a darkened dining room. Unfortunately, when the inspector resets the scene, someone else is murdered. The poor inspector is terribly embarrassed, but this does not stop him from trying one more time. The original guests assist him and the murderer is finally captured. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Holt, Dorothy Revier, (more)
- 1928
Director Howard Hawks never attempted another Valentinoesque melodrama like Fazil. Beautiful Fabienne (Greta Nissen) is wooed and won by Arab sheik Fazil (Charles Farrell, who is a bit on the thin side for this role). He takes her off to his fabulous palace, where he holds her a virtual prisoner, refusing to let her see anyone else. Fabienne can't get over past loves -- nor can they get over her, as evidenced by their elaborate attempt to rescue her. Only when Fazil is mortally wounded by her rescuers does Fabienne realizes she's truly in love with him. She takes poison and dies by his side. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Farrell, Greta Nissen, (more)
- 1927
The popular screen team of Jack Mulhall and Dorothy Mackaill were back again in Smile, Brother, Smile. The stars are cast respectively as hot-shot salesman Jack Lowery and sagacious secretary Mildred Marvin, employees both of a big-time cosmetics company. Inexplicably, the company's sales are dropping, and it looks as though there's going to be some "downsizing" in the near future. Putting their heads together, Jack and Mildred discover that the firm's duplicitous manager Harvey Renrod (Philo McCullough) is actually in the employ of a rival firm. In a fit of euphoria, Mildred sample's some of her company's product and transforms from an ugly duckling into a swan, thereby cinching a fat new contract for her boss and simultaneously winning the love of Jack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Mulhall, Dorothy Mackaill, (more)
- 1927
The "Ladybirds" are a gang of crooks who prey upon the rich and famous. At present, the Ladybirds are at large in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Heroine Diane Whitman (Betty Compson) finds herself inextricably involved in the gang's criminal activities, and for a while it looks as though she's going to end up six feet under. Instead, Diane anticipates The Avengers' Emma Peel by besting the gang's leader with a fantastic display of ju-jitsu! Former Mack Sennett comedian Hank Mann plays a comparatively straight role in this colorful thriller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Compson
- 1927
It has often been reported that Howard Hawks tried and failed to create an "art" film with Paid to Love, only to return to his traditional no-nonsense cinematic approach when the film failed at the box-office. While it is true that Hawks adopted a "Germanic" approach, replete with languid tracking shots and offbeat camera angles, Paid to Love was in fact a very conventional-looking film, especially for a Fox production of 1927. Written and rewritten numerous times before production began, the story concerns the misadventures of Crown Prince Michael (George O'Brien), the shy and introverted regent of a mythical European country. Even Michael's own subjects consider him a stick in the mud, preferring the roguish escapades of his playboy cousin Prince Eric (William Powell). While on a visit to America, Michael loses his inhibitions thanks to the tender ministrations of down-to-earth showgirl Dolores (Virginia Valli), who has been hired to arouse the Crown Prince's libido and thereby transform him into a more popular ruler. Inevitably, Dolores and Michael fall in love, leading to the equally inevitable complications -- and a surprising conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Brien, Virginia Valli, (more)
- 1927
Reed Howes stars as Mike O'Malley, a daring racecar driver, known as "The Scorcher" for his tendency to "burn up" the track. The wealthy heroine (Thelma Parr) is in love with Mike but feels that he's too irresponsible for marriage. But when the future of his business partner Goldberg (Hank Mann) is at stake, Mike shows that he's comprised of equal parts bravado and common sense. The last-reel race sequence is the best part of the picture, combining clever camerawork with razor-sharp editing. Director Harry Joe Brown later went into the production end of the business, forming a lucrative partnership with western star Randolph Scott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reed Howes, Hank Mann, (more)
- 1927
One of the better Sam Sax-produced actioners of the late 1920s, When Danger Calls stars William Fairbanks as a fearless fire inspector. Despite stiff opposition from a cadre of corrupt politicians, Fairbanks endeavors to expose several recently-constructed tenements as dangerous firetraps. The chief crook manages to unload his property holdings on unsuspecting heroine Eilleen Sedgwick, knowing full well that any subsequent tragedies will be blamed on the girl. The owner of a slum mission, Sedgwick assumes that her "benefactor" is on the up and up, and naturally resents Fairbanks' snooping around. The inevitable climax finds the hero rescuing the heroine from a roaring blaze then settling the hash of the bad guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Fairbanks, Eileen Sedgwick, (more)
- 1926
This early William Wellman directorial effort stars George K. Arthur as the title character, an incredibly naïve farmhand named Peter Good. Spurned by Amy (Gertrude Olmstead), the girl he loves, Peter sets out to prove that he isn't a boob. He joins a posse hunting for a gang of bootleggers, and sure as shootin' he rounds up the bad guys single-handedly. The film's highlight is an elaborate production number set at a burlesque theater, where scores of contract starlets have their clothes removed with the help of wires and pulleys. Billed third in the cast is Joan Crawford, whom MGM was obviously preparing for bigger and better things. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gertrude Olmstead, George K. Arthur, (more)
