Franklin Pangborn Movies
American actor Franklin Pangborn spent most of his theatrical days playing straight dramatic roles, but Hollywood saw things differently. From his debut film Exit Smiling (1926) to his final appearance in The Story of Mankind (1957), Pangborn was relegated to almost nothing but comedy roles. With his prissy voice and floor-walker demeanor, Pangborn was the perfect desk clerk, hotel manager, dressmaker, society secretary, or all-around busybody in well over 100 films. Except for a few supporting appearances in features and a series of Mack Sennett short subjects in the early 1930s, most of Pangborn's pre-1936 appearances were in bits or minor roles, but a brief turn as a snotty society scavenger-hunt scorekeeper in My Man Godfrey (1936) cemented his reputation as a surefire laugh-getter. The actor was a particular favorite of W.C. Fields, who saw to it that Pangborn was prominently cast in Fields' The Bank Dick (1940) (as hapless bank examiner J. Pinkerton Snoopington) and Never Give a Sucker An Even Break (1941). Occasionally, Pangborn longed for more dramatic roles, so to satisfy himself artistically he'd play non-comic parts for Edward Everett Horton's Los Angeles-based Majestic Theatre; Pangborn's appearance in Preston Sturges' Hail the Conquering Hero (1942) likewise permitted him a few straight, serious moments. When jobs became scarce in films for highly specialized character actors in the 1950s, Pangborn thrived on television, guesting on a number of comedy shows, including an appearance as a giggling serial-killer in a "Red Skelton Show" comedy sketch. One year before his death, Pangborn eased quietly into TV-trivia books by appearing as guest star (and guest announcer) on Jack Paar's very first "Tonight Show." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1926
Exit Smiling is perhaps the only film that ever fully utilized the comic genius of the incomparable Beatrice Lillie. The star is cast as the wardrobe lady of a touring theatrical company. She is introduced to the audience via subtitle as "Violet, the drudge of the troupe...Who also plays parts like 'Nothing' in Much Ado About Nothing." Though bogged down in a treacly plot concerning fugitive-from-justice Jimmy Marsh (Jack Pickford), Lillie manages to rise above the material with her first-rate clowning. Her particular highlight is an extended routine involving a string of pearls (a Lillie "standard" that she'd use time and again on stage). Alas, after the box-office failure of Exit Smiling, Bea Lillie would be confined to secondary film roles, often as not far beneath her talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beatrice Lillie, Jack Pickford, (more)
- 1927
Flamboyant flapper Cynthia Stockton (Marie Prevost) and misogynistic author Stanley Warrington (the "original" Harrison Ford) "meet cute" when their cars collide. Hoping to escape Warrington's wrath, Cynthia hitches a ride on a milk truck and returns home earlier than expected. Upon finding her fiance in the arms of her own sister, the disillusioned Cynthia dashes off into the night, taking shelter in a posh mansion -- owned, of course, by Warrington. When the acerbic author discovers Cynthia asleep in his bed, he blows his top, but his anger is nothing compared to the rage exhibited by Cynthia's father (Franklin Pangborn), who assumes the worst. Hastily, Cynthia claims that she and Warrington are married, leading to further misadventures during their "honeymoon" cruise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1927
This first film version of the popular Russell Medcraft-Norma Mitchell stage farce The Cradle Snatchers is also one of the earliest directorial efforts of Howard Hawks. Tired of their husbands' philandering, three wealthy matrons decide to fight fire with fire by hiring three college boys to pose as their "young lovers." The boys do their job so well that, for a while, it looks like everybody's going to end up in divorce court. Fortunately, however, the wandering husbands see the error of their ways and return to their spouses. Long believed lost, The Cradle Snatchers was rediscovered by Howard Hawks aficionado Peter Bogdanovich in the mid-1970s; while only 5 1/2 reels of the 7-reel picture could be restored, it was enough to prove that even this early in the game, Hawks was a master farceur (interestingly, the original stage version of the play co-starred Humphrey Bogart, who later collaborated with Hawks on To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep). The property was remade as the Broadway and Hollywood musical Let's Face It. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Fazenda, Ethel Wales, (more)
- 1927
Previously filmed in 1914, the popular turn-of-the-century stage farce Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary was remade in 1927. This time, the title character was played by May Robson, repeating her original Broadway role. A priggish spinster, Aunt Mary (Robson) kicks up her heels when she is reunited with her childhood sweetheart. Visiting a nightclub for the first time in her life, Auntie proceeds to get royally plastered, culminating in her arrest when the cops raid the joint. Dragged into night court, Aunt Mary is brought before the judge -- who, of course, is none other than her old boyfriend. For the rest of the picture, Aunt M. and her erstwhile beau are kept apart by the rowdy antics of her ne'er-do-well nephew, who for all that is the fellow who brings the two old folks back together in the final footage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- May Robson, Phyllis Haver, (more)
- 1927
Hardly an important film, Finger Prints pleased the crowd with its heady combination of slapstick comedy and old-dark-house melodrama. A professional crook is collared by the law, but not before squirreling away a fortune in hidden money in a crumbling country mansion. The crook's sister is kidnapped by his accomplices, who take the girl to the mansion, hoping to force her to reveal the whereabouts of the loot. What they don't know is that the house has been fitted with all sorts of modern, push-button devices, which thoroughly flummox the bad guys while delighting their unterrified captive. The day is saved by the timely intervention of comic-relief servant Louise Fazenda (who certainly deserves the top billing bestowed upon her). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Fazenda, Warner P. Richmond, (more)
- 1927
As a follow-up to the successful marital farce Up in Mabel's Room, PDC Productions came out with a film version of the evergreen Avery Hopwood stage comedy Getting Gertie's Garter. Charles Ray, once again trying vainly to shed his "boy next door" image, stars as a bachelor lawyer who gives a jeweled garter and a photograph to his girlfriend Marie Prevost. Upon becoming engaged, however, Ray realizes that his bride-to-be is not the understanding type. Thus, he spends the rest of the picture trying to retrieve the garter from Prevost, who isn't about to give up the precious -- and embarrassing -- keepsake. Famed fan dancer Sally Rand shows up in a supporting role, as does that ubiquitous movie fussbudget Franklin Pangborn. Getting Gertie's Garter was remade in 1944 with Dennis O'Keefe and Marie McDonald. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Rand, Harry Myers, (more)
- 1927
Girl in the Pullman is a standard door-slamming farce in the fine tradition of Up in Mabel's Room and Getting Gertie's Garter. While on his honeymoon with his new bride, Harrison Ford (not the same!) discovers that his ex-wife is occupying the adjacent pullman sleeper in the company of her new mate. The inevitable mix-ups ensue, with everyone suspecting the worst and no one willing to listen to explanations. Franklin Pangborn, a semi-regular in silent films of this nature, scores the biggest laughs as the outraged "other man." Reviewers in 1927 suggested that Girl in the Pullman was more suited to Mack Sennett than to its actual producer, Cecil B. DeMille. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Prevost, Harrison Ford, (more)
- 1928
Produced by Cecil B. DeMille, Friend from India was directed by, of all people, prissy character actor Franklin Pangborn, who also played the leading role. The star plays an impoverished young man who is forced to impersonate a Hindu prince. This leaves our hapless hero wide open for the assaults of suspicious customs officials, would-be kidnappers, and fanatical fakirs. By the time he reveals his true identity, Pangborn has become a hero, and thus a worthy husband for heroine Elinor Fair. Evidently a lost film, Friend From India may well have been Franklin Pangborn's finest hour on the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elinor Fair, Franklin Pangborn, (more)
- 1928
First filmed 1917, the Elmer Rice play On Trial was remade as a talkie eleven years later. The original stage version was hailed for its innovational use of flashbacks, a technique faithfully carried over to the screen. Bert Lytell stars as Robert Strickland, who as the picture opens is standing trial for the murder of his best friend Gerald Trask (Holmes Herbert). A young attorney (Jason Robards, Sr.) hopes to make a name for himself by mounting a spectacular defense for Strickland, but he is nearly defeated by his overeagerness and inexperience. During flashback testimony, however, it is revealed that the murder was justified, as it was committed to preserve the good name of Strickland's wife May (Lois Wilson). On Trial was remade again in 1939 with John Litel as Strickland, but by that time the property had lost its novelty value. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauline Frederick, Bert Lytell, (more)
- 1928
Previously teamed for a number of boudoir farces like Getting Gertie's Garter and Up in Mabel's Room, star Marie Prevost and director E. Mason Hopper once more pooled their talents in Blonde for a Night. Prevost plays the dowdy brunette wife of roving husband Harrison Ford, who prefers to spend his evenings with beautiful blondes. On the advice of cosmetician Franklin Pangborn, Prevost dons a blonde wig and steps out for a night on the town on her own. Sure enough, Ford fails to recognize Prevost, and spends the entire evening trying to put the make on his own wife. The plotline for this 7-reel comedy was later boiled down to 20 minutes by Charley Chase in The Chump Takes a Bump (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Prevost, Harrison Ford, (more)
- 1929
D.W. Griffith's last silent film, The Lady of the Pavements was based on La Paiva, a story by Karl Gustav Vollmoeller. Set in 19th-century Paris, the story concerns the romantic travails of Prussian aristocrat Count Karl von Arnim (played by future "Hopalong Cassidy" star William Boyd). Feeling betrayed by his flirtatious fiancee, Countess Diane des Granges (Jetta Goudal), Karl misanthropically declares that he'd sooner marry a "lady of the pavements" (Hollywoodese for "prostitute"). Hoping to demonstrate to Karl that appearances are deceiving, Diane engages the services of low-born Spanish cabaret entertainer Nanon del Rayon (Lupe Velez), dressing the girl in gorgeous gowns and passing her off as a noblewoman. Karl is smitten by Nanon and proposes marriage, but during their wedding reception Diane spitefully reveals Nanon's true identity as "proof" that Karl wouldn't know a Girl of the Streets if he actually met one. By this time, however, Karl has genuinely fallen in love with Nanon, whereupon Diane's nasty scheme blows up in her face. For a director who was considered a relic and a has-been, D.W. Griffith invests Lady of the Pavements with all sorts of cinematic nuances, including a remarkable multiple-exposure sequence in which William Boyd appears on screen in 13 different guises at once! Completed as a silent, the film was slightly reshot to qualify as a part-talkie, including two musical numbers and a dialogue sequence in which Griffith experimented with "sound modulation" -- another important (and frequently unheralded) innovation from the Father of American Film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lupe Velez, Jetta Goudal, (more)
- 1929
The Sap is Edward Everett Horton, a small-towner with big plans, but lacking the wherewithal to put them in motion. Even worse, Horton allows everyone to take advantage of him, further driving the nails into the coffin of his ambitions. When his brother-in-law gets mixed up with an embezzlement scheme, the Sap loyally takes the rap, going so far as to conspire with a couple of crooks to replace the money. This time, however, things turn out to our hero's advantage -- though just how this happens isn't entirely clear, even when one sees the movie. Co-starring in The Sap is silent-film ingenue Patsy Ruth Miller, an old friend of Edward Everett Horton, who'd previously appeared with Horton's California-based repertory theatre along with such mutual chums as Mary Astor, Laura LaPlante and Franklin Pangborn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Everett Horton, Alan Hale, (more)
- 1930
A pre-Dagwood Arthur Lake plays a hapless hayseed who becomes a popular crooner in this fluffy musical comedy that begins during the robbery of a big-city radio station. There the gunman forces him to sing on the air. The audience loves him and he is an instant star. Delighted with his sudden success, the bumpkin sends for his beloved pumpkin back home so they can marry. The young singer's boss, afraid that married life will steal away his new-found gravy train, tries his darnedest to break the young lovers up and even convinces a seductress to ruin the youth. Look closely for John Wayne in a bit part. Songs include: "The Shindig," "Where Can You Be?" and "You May Not Like It But It's A Great Idea." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dixie Lee, Arthur Lake, (more)
- 1930
Laurel and Hardy weren't the only comics to employ the "tit for tat" idea of reciprocal destruction in their comedies. Here, two men who are better known as supporting players to Laurel and Hardy star in an amusing tit-for-tat short comedy. Edgar Kennedy plays a composer in need of a little peace and quiet so he can complete his song; his next-door neighbor, Arthur Housman (who was famed for playing drunks), is recovering from a hangover. Between a persistently ringing phone and banging screen doors, they drive each other crazy, and their fury grows over the course of two reels -- Kennedy, the master of the slow burn, tears at what little hair he has, while Housman remains deadpan, but no less furious, throughout. The two of them wind up taking their frustrations out on each other's homes, and as they and their wives storm from one place to the next, they also destroy the handiwork of their equally aggravated landlord (Franklin Pangborn), who is trying to build a picket fence. Before long, the wreckage resembles something you might see on a Laurel and Hardy set. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edgar Kennedy, Arthur Housman, (more)
- 1930
Previously filmed in 1923, the George S. Kaufman-Marc Connelly stage comedy Dulcy was remade as a talkie in 1929 under the new title Dulcy. Marion Davies stars as Dulcinea, the illogical, cliché-spouting young housewife created by newspaper humorist Franklin P. Adams. Hoping to help her fiance George (Elliot Nugent) get ahead in business, Dulcy invites taciturn executive Forbes (played by William Holden -- no, not that William Holden) for a dinner party. The event turns into a disaster, and it is only through the intervention of Dulcy's butler (George Davis), an ex-convict, that the day is saved. Marion Davies comic expertise is matched by Franklin Pangborn as an epicene novelist and Donald Ogden Stewart (a future Oscar-winning screenwriter) as a libidinous financier. Not So Dumb was remade under the original title Dulcy as an Ann Sothern vehicle in 1940. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Elliott Nugent, (more)
- 1930
In this melodrama, a husband gets on with his life after his wife goes to Europe to get a divorce. Thinking the deed done, the husband marries another. Unfortunately, his first wife returns and tells him that she never went through the procedure and that she has no intention of ever freeing him. His second wife becomes distraught and attempts to kill herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Nagel, Genevieve Tobin, (more)
- 1930
Helen Twelvetrees became a major star in this laundered version of the "naughty" Broadway play Frankie and Johnny. A singer in a Havana dive, Frankie is fought over by the proprietor, Johnny (Ricardo Cortez), and Dan O'Keefe (Phillips Holmes), an American sailor who sees some good in the girl. When Frankie decides to leave Havana with Dan, Johnny has his henchmen abduct the couple, but is himself accidentally killed in the ensuing melee. A successful combo, Twelvetrees and Cortez were reunited with director Tay Garnett for the gangster melodrama Bad Company (1931). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, Marjorie Rambeau, (more)
- 1931
In this dramatic adventure a shady lady becomes a spy for the Austrian intelligence agency and ends up involved with a man suspected of being a German spy. She only pretends to love him to discover the truth. The man she really loves is a young naval officer, but in order to serve her country, she must end her love affair. Later the counter-spy commits suicide to avoid detection, while at the same time, the woman is wounded. Though she only has a few months left to live, the officer marries her. His family objects because they think she has a venereal disease. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, William Bakewell, (more)
