Kane Richmond Movies
Stalwart, granite-jawed Kane Richmond was gainfully employed as a States' Rights film booker when he was invited to appear in films. Richmond's first acting assignment was Universal's The Leather Pushers, a long-running series of boxing two-reelers. Leather Pushers had made a major star out of Reginald Denny in the 1920s, but Richmond was not so lucky. He spent the first half of the 1930s playing bits in big studio films and heroes in basement-budgeted serials like Krellberg's The Lost Jungle (1935). In the latter part of the decade, he co-starred with juvenile actor Frankie Darro in a series of peppy action films produced variously at Ambassador and Monogram. By the 1940s, Richmond was firmly established as a serial leading man at Republic -- one of the very few of that breed who could act as well as take punches. Most fans of the chapter-play genre consider Richmond's dual role in Spy Smasher (1942) as his best work. Kane Richmond retired from films in 1948, then went on to make a fortune in the fashion business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1937
Nancy Steele was the baby daughter of a munitions tycoon who was kidnapped by an antiwar activist who did it to protest the magnate's support of WW I. This drama provides a sympathetic portrait of the kidnapper who leaves the baby with two close friend who assume it's his and raise her. The activist later gets arrested during a fight and sentenced to two years in prison that become a life sentence after he is framed during a failed escape. One night, he sleeps in his cell when his cellmate overhears the sleeping protestor talking about the notorious kidnapping. When the protestor if finally released, he immediately visits the girl, whom he regards as his daughter. She thinks he is her father too. Together, the two go to New York, where he gets a job working as a gardener for her real father. Trouble comes in the form of his blackmailing cellmate and in the end, the protestor must make a difficult decision involving the fate of his daughter and himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Walter Connolly, (more)
- 1937
The popular B-flick team of Frankie Darro and Kane Richmond star in the slick quickie Headline Crasher. Little Frankie and Big Kane play a pair of roving journalists who investigate a politician (Richard Tucker) up for re-election. When it seems as though the politico is being set up for a fall by yellow journalists, Darro and Richmond try to get to the truth of the matter. The original story for Headline Crasher is credited to Peter B. Kyne, creator of the "Broncho Billy" western stories. The film has all the pace of a cowboy opus, which is helpful in patching up the plot holes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, (more)
- 1937
One of the better Pinky Tomlin vehicles for low-budget Ambassador films, With Love and Kisses casts the bespectacled crooner as Arkansas farm boy "Spec" Higgins. An acknowledged genius at composing hit tunes, Higgins works under a handicap: he can only write his ditties in the company of his pet cow Minnie. Unwilling to head to the big city, our hero is forced to do so when radio crooner Don Gray (Kane Richmond) claims authorship of one of Higgin's best songs. The irresistibly cute Toby Wing (then Tomlin's off-screen sweetie) is delightful as female vocalist Barbara Holbrook, while inimitable movie drunk Arthur Housman essays one of his largest screen roles as an imbibing radio sponsor with a very selective memory (shades of the inebriated millionaire in Chaplin's City Lights). Among the screenwriters for With Love and Kisses was a young Morey Amsterdam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane Richmond, Russell Hopton, (more)
- 1937
A policeman is able to learn about the activities of a criminal gang when he gets dishonorably discharged. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1936
The victim of an express office hold-up, a young boy (Bobby Nelson) is saved by yet another Rin Tin Tin wannabe in this incredibly cheap little action-thriller. Having lost not only his father, but also his pet dog in the express office carnage, Bobby is befriended by prospector Jack Hall (Kane Richmond) and his police dog, Thunderbolt (Lobo). The latter comes to the rescue when Bobby finds himself trapped in a burning cabin with the very same murderous outlaws (Hank Bell and Barney Furey) who killed his father. Thunderbolt was produced by Sherman Krellberg, a Poverty Row veteran best remembered for co-financing the cult classic White Zombie (1934). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane Richmond
- 1936
Private Number is the old saw about the wealthy young man who marries his family's serving girl. This time Richard Winfield (Robert Taylor) is the handsome, aristocrat hero, while Ellen Neal (Loretta Young) is the gorgeous, low-born heroine. Though they oppose the match, Richard's parents cope with the situation as best they can, but arrogant family butler Wroxton (Basil Rathbone) works overtime to break up the happy couple. Wroxton, of course, is not entirely motivated by snobbery -- he has a craving for Ellen himself. Private Number is based on Cleave Kinkead's stage play Common Clay, previously filmed twice under that title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1936
An obscure backstage drama from Poverty Row company Puritan Pictures, The Reckless Way stars Marion Nixon as Helen Rogers, a hotel stenographer hoping to break into the movie business. Although her ad agency boyfriend, Don (Malcolm MacGregor), disapproves, Helen accepts the opportunity to make a screen test for imperious director Von Berg (John Peters). The test proves a flop, but hotel clerk and budding screenwriter Jim Morgan (Kane Richmond) pens a story based on Helen's own life that succeeds. Prompted by Jim, Von Berg admits to Helen that it was Don who sabotaged the first test and the discouraged girl returns to the Knickerbocker Hotel. Jim, meanwhile, has earned a five-year contract from Apex Studios and Helen gladly accepts his proposal of marriage. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
In this high-flying mystery set aboard a cross-country flight to New York, some of the passengers are kidnappers who are trying to locate a hidden cache of loot. Unfortunately, something goes wrong during the trip and the pilots must land the plane in the Arizona desert during a terrible storm. There all of the passengers and crew find cramped accommodations in a lonely farmhouse where murder, mystery and mayhem occur. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Esther Ralston, Onslow Stevens, (more)
- 1935
Poverty Row company Stage and Screen was somewhat partial to Northwest Mounted melodramas, releasing three films in the genre in 1935. The Silent Code starred the tough-looking Kane Richmond as Jerry Hale, a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman transferred to a lonely outpost run by the greedy Peter Barkley (Barney Furey). When Barkley's brother-in-law, a prospector (Edward Coxen, is murdered over the claim to a valuable strike, the killer frames officer Hale. The murdered man's daughter, Helen (Blanche Mehaffey), initially believes the mountie to be guilty, but she is convinced otherwise by some tell-tale beads left on the body by the killer, Barkley's henchman Lobo (Carl Matthews). Nothing out of the ordinary, The Silent Code was at least more professionally assembled than Stage and Screen's two other Northwest thrillers of 1935: Timber Terrors and Courage of the North, both of which starred a non-entity named John Preston. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
The original Rin-Tin-Tin and his pal Rex get involved in animal capers in this adventurous 12-part serial. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1935
Treasury agent Dave Elliot (Donald Cook) dedicates himself to smashing a crime syndicate, especially after his best friend is killed by the mob. This requires Elliot to go undercover, posing as a criminal. He gains the confidence of sadistic mob gunman Lefty (J. Carroll Naish), and it's nip-and-tuck from then on until the identity of the mysterious Mister Big is revealed. Evalyn Knapp is excellent as glib-tongued mob bookkeeper Maxine, and Warren Hymer is equally good as a stupid numbers runner. Confidential can be seen as a Mascot Pictures pocket version of Warner Bros.' Special Agent, which in turn was inspired by the tax-evasion downfall of Al Capone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Cook, Evelyn Knapp, (more)
- 1935
1932 WAMPAS Baby Star Dorothy Wilson was trapped in this mediocre circus melodrama from low-budget Peerless Pictures Corp. Wilson played Elaine Cavanaugh, whose mother, Stella (Dorothy Revier), joined a traveling tent show after being ostracized by her husband's wealthy family. The story repeats itself years later when Elaine breaks up with her wealthy boyfriend Dale Wentworth (Kane Richmond), whose aunt (Gladys Gale) and snobbish sister (Anne Hovey) warn him against getting involved with show people. At the circus, Elaine works as the assistant to fake astrologer Zirillo (William Ruhl). When Dale later accuses the act of swindling his aunt, Elaine pretends to be in on the ruse, hoping that he will forget her. Tommy (Sumner Getchell), a former pickpocket and Elaine's friend, tells Dale that Elaine believed Zirillo to be the genuine article and the lovers are reunited. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Wilson, Kane Richmond, (more)
- 1935
After Rex the Wonder Horse escapes the capture of some evil horse thieves, he teams up with his pal Rinty (a smart German Shepherd) to avoid recapture. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1934
A genial lampoon of the Greta Garbo craze, Let's Fall in Love stars Ann Sothern as Jean, a Brooklyn-born aspiring actress. It so happens that Ken (Edmund Lowe), an ambitious movie director, is searching for a Swedish actress to replace his temperamental star Forsell (Tala Birrell). In desperation, Ken decides to transform Jean into a Scandinavian film sensation, spending six weeks coaching her in the proper accent and "I vant to be alone" demeanor. The ruse is successful until Ken's jealous ex-fiancee Gerry (Miriam Jordan) exposes Jean as a phony, but by this time the inevitability of a happy ending is never in doubt. The Harold Arlen-Ted Koehler title tune from Let's Fall in Love would become something of an anthem for Columbia Pictures, popping up in everything from Pal Joey to Shake, Rattle and Roll! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1934
Acknowledging the success of animal-trainer Frank Buck's "Bring 'Em Back Alive"-style documentaries for RKO Radio, Fox Films signed Buck's longtime cohort Clyde E. Elliott to star in and direct Devil Tiger. Elliot took his cameras to the Malaysian jungles, where among other things he captured on film a fight to the death between a crocodile and a tiger?and a python and a lion?and a boa constrictor and a buffalo?and so on. Unlike the Buck films, Devil Tiger includes a dramatic storyline, involving hero Kane Richmond, heroine Marion Burns and villain Harry Woods (none of whom ever venture any farther than the Fox backlot). There's also a lengthy plot strand involving the "rite of passage" trek into the jungle by eight-year-old Ramsaye Doyle. By throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, Devil Tiger lacks the simplicity and focus of the Frank Buck vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1934
The legendary so-bad-it's-good serial The Lost City manages to keep the audience on its toes for 12 full chapters. It all begins when Hero Bruce Gordon (Kane Richmond) invents a device to track the mysterious electrical disturbances which are causing turmoil all over the world. The invention leads Gordon to Central Africa, where he comes upon a gigantic "Magnetic Mountain" which shelters the lost city of Liguria. This art-deco dominion is ruled by mad scientist Zolok (played by William "Stage" Boyd with what one historian described as "alcoholic intensity"), who gleefully monitors the activities of his minions via television and who fiendish plans to create an army of zombie giants with which to rule the world. Zolok's reluctant assistant is the brilliant Dr. Manyus (Josef Swickard), who is being forced to cooperate lest harm befall his beautiful daughter Natcha (Claudia Dell). Manyus' chief claim to fame is a machine that will turn black people white -- prompting the sensitivity-challenged Gordon to exclaim "That's wonderful!" The story careens wildly from one incredible peril to the next, suggesting that the writers were making it all up as they went along. The film's most enjoyable character is renegade trader Butterfield (George "Gabby" Hayes), who goes from good guy to villain to good guy again, depending on the dictates of the script. Cheap, silly and overacted, Lost City is also a lot of good campy fun. The serial is also available in two separate feature versions, one of which is titled City of Lost Men. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane Richmond, George "Gabby" Hayes, (more)
- 1934
Ex-convict Steve Nichols (Onslow Stevens) may be a free man, but it looks like he'll never be able to escape the onus of his past life. Unable to get a legitimate job, Steve decides to become as crooked as everyone imagines him to be. Before he makes this terrible mistake, however, the truth about the shady stock transaction for which he was originally jailed finally comes to light. Typical of the low-budget fare prevalent in the 1930s, I Can't Escape is bogged down with banal dialogue and substandard production values. Onslow Stevens is good, though, as is his "B"-picture supporting cast, including Lila Lee and silent-movie vets Otis Harlan and Clara Kimball Young. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Onslow Stevens, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1934
Another of western star Tim McCoy's non-westerns for Columbia, Voice in the Night casts McCoy as telephone-company owner Tim Dale. The hero's operation is a small one, but it offers formidable competition for the rival firm owned by Tim's distant relative Robinson (Joseph Crehan). The plot thickens when Tim falls in love with Robinson's daughter Barbara (Billie Seward). In an exciting climax, Tim is obliged to stretch a telephone wire across a sickeningly deep canyon -- and if there's any doubt that he accomplishes this, it's only because the doubter has never seen the star in action. Voice in the Night may not technically be a western, but Tim McCoy remains tall in the saddle even while driving a roadster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Billie Seward, (more)
- 1934
This third entry in Columbia's "Inspector Trent" series is cleverly (and economically) set in a movie studio. A malevolent leading lady (Gail Patrick) is murdered while filming a scene, whereupon the nervous studio head calls in Inspector Trent (Ralph Bellamy). Since everybody on the lot despised the victim, there's a surplus of suspects -- among them nominal romantic leads Shirley Grey and Kane Richmond and future director Vincent Sherman. The key to the solution is a booby-trapped camera, a gimmick that strains the audience's credulity but which works well within the film's framework. Among the film's highlights is a nightclub scene in which a bit player, who later became famous as mentalist Norvelle, predicts Trent's future (and he's right!) Crime of Helen Stanley was remade four years later as Who Killed Gail Preston, with Rita Hayworth as the unfortunate title character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kane Richmond, Bradley Page, (more)
- 1932
In this football drama, a tough steelworker's son wins a scholarship to Yale and attempts to use his talent on the football field to become popular. His ploy doesn't work. He cannot even con the girl of his dreams into going out with him. After four years, he finally grows up and his future begins looking brighter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ramon Novarro, Madge Evans, (more)
The first of four low-budget Westerns that veteran cowboy star Harry Carey made for poverty row company Artclass Pictures, this film was a sometimes thoughtful, mostly heavy-handed story of a cavalry captain attempting to keep the peace between Indians and settlers. A gang of whites are robbing the local tribe of its gold shipments and framing the Indians in a cattle rustling scheme. The mastermind behind the scheme, as Captain Carey soon realizes, is Lee Burgess (Ted Adams), foreman of the Fernandez Rancho. Like John Wayne would in his later years, Carey sensibly left the necessary romantic interludes to younger cast-members, in this case Kane Richmond, as Carey's handsome younger brother, and Carmen la Roux, as Dolores Fernandez. Five-year-old Elena Verdugo -- later a popular Universal starlet and, later still, Nurse Lopez on television's Marcus Welby, M.D. -- made her screen debut in this film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
In this comedy, a female mayoral candidate promises to rid the town of gangsters. She joined the race in the first place when her daughter got involved with a young mobster who has been framed for a murder. With her manager's assistance, the candidate rallies all the women in town and gets them to stop taking care of their husbands unless the men vote for her. It works like a charm and the woman is elected. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, (more)
- 1931
Norma Shearer stars in this pre-Code melodrama as Lisbeth Corbin, who is in love with Alan (Neil Hamilton), a globe-trotting newspaper reporter, but also strings along Steve (Robert Montgomery), a well-mannered local boy who is good friends with Lisbeth, even though she doesn't love him. When Alan is sent to Mexico to cover a story, love-struck Lisbeth goes with him, but when he's next sent to China, Alan leaves Lisbeth behind. Heartbroken, she heads for Europe, where she tries to forget Alan with a series of short-term love affairs. Try as she might, Lisebth can't forget Alan, but when she returns home, lonely and desperate, she finally agrees to marry Steve. Alan picks this moment to return, but just as she's thrown over Steve for her true love, Alan learns of Lisbeth's escapades in Europe and breaks off the engagement, sending her to the brink of suicide. Keep an eye peeled for an early appearance by Ray Milland as one of Lisbeth's suitors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, (more)
- 1930
William Powell stars in this drama as William Foster, a gifted defense attorney with a gift for making cases go his way. Foster's winning record in the courtroom has earned him a colorful clientele, including several notorious criminals, but he doubts his abilities when his girlfriend Irene Manners (Kay Francis) is charged with manslaughter after a violent incident which occurred while she was drinking. Wanting to protect Irene, Foster tries to pull a few strings, but the results find Foster facing a five year sentence for jury tampering. While Foster certainly doesn't want to be separated from the woman he loves, he also knows that in prison he'll have to face several former clients whose defense didn't pan out. For The Defense was based in part on the true story of William Fallon, a well-known attorney of the day. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Kay Francis, (more)
