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Frankie Darro
Frankie Darro (born Frank Johnson, Jr.; December 22, 1917 – December 25, 1976) was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles in adventure, western, dramatic, and comedy films, and later became a character actor and voice-over artist. He is perhaps best known for his role as Lampwick, the unlucky boy who turns into a donkey in Walt Disney's second animated feature, ''Pinocchio'' (1940). In early credits, his last name was spelled Darrow. Early life Frankie Darro was born on Saturday, December 22, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, as Frank Johnson, Jr. His parents, Frank Johnson, Sr. and his wife Ada, were known as ''The Flying Johnsons'', and had been working for the Cook Shows organization: "The Flying Johnsons have signed with the Cook Shows for the summer season to do their ceiling walking and double ring act." After the baby was born, the Johnsons toured with the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Let's Go Collegiate
''Let's Go Collegiate'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring Frankie Darro, Marcia Mae Jones, Jackie Moran and Keye Luke. It was produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures. It was released under the alternative title ''Farewell to Fame'' in the United Kingdom. Plot Frankie is the coxswain on the rowing team at Rawley University. His friend Tad is a stroke on the crew, president of the Kappa Psi Delta fraternity, and leader of the campus swing band. Rawley's administrators are eagerly awaiting the arrival of renowned athletic star Bob Terry. Tad learns that Terry has been drafted to the army and will not be joining the crew, nor will he be attending the party welcoming him. Frankie and Tad don't have the hearts to tell their girlfriends Midge and Bess, who have worked hard to prepare the party, and instead look for a replacement for Bob for the evening. They find truck driver Hercules "Herk" Bevans loading a safe onto his truck singleh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silent Film
A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of inter- title cards. The term "silent film" is something of a misnomer, as these films were almost always accompanied by live sounds. During the silent era, which existed from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, a pianist, theater organist—or even, in larger cities, an orchestra—would play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would play either from sheet music, or improvisation. Sometimes a person would even narrate the inter-title cards for the audience. Though at the time the technology to synchronize sound with the film did not exist, music was seen as an essential part of the viewing experience. "Silent film" is typically used as a historical term to describe an era of cinema p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lightning Warrior
''The Lightning Warrior'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code Mascot movie serial starring Rin Tin Tin in his last role. It is regarded as one of the better Mascot serials. A number of the production's outdoor action sequences were filmed on the rocky Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California, known for its huge sandstone boulders and widely recognized as the most heavily filmed outdoor shooting location in the history of the movies. Released in December 1931, this was the last movie of the original Rin Tin Tin, as he died in August 1932, being replaced that same year by Rin Tin Tin Jr. Plot The Wolfman, a mysterious masked figure, is leading an Indian uprising to drive local settlers off their land. The Wolfman kills Jimmy Carter's father and Alan Scott's brother, which leads the two heroes and Alan's dog Rinty to hunt down and defeat the villain. Cast *Rin Tin Tin as "Rinty", a dog known as The Lightning Warrior to the local Indians *Frankie Darro as Jimmy Carter *George Brent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vanishing Legion
''The Vanishing Legion'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film serial from Mascot, directed by Ford Beebe and B. Reeves Eason. Stars Harry Carey and Edwina Booth were originally intended to be in the studio's previous serial, '' King of the Wild'', but had to be re-cast when the MGM film '' Trader Horn'' (1931) overran its schedule. Both also starred in the Mascot serial ''The Last of the Mohicans'' and Carey was the lead in '' The Devil Horse''. An infection received while filming ''Trader Horn'' led to Booth's retirement from acting. Boris Karloff supplied the voice of the serial's mystery villain, "The Voice". Plot Masked mystery villain The Voice is out to sabotage the Milesburg Oil Co. "Happy" Cardigan needs to successfully drill for oil before his contract with Milesburg expires or he goes broke. Jimmie Williams' father, Jed ( Edward Hearn), has been framed for murder. Secretary Caroline Hall appears to have an ulterior motive. The mysterious "Vanishing Legion" is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serial Film
A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, generally advancing weekly, until the series is completed. Usually, each serial involves a single set of characters, protagonistic and antagonistic, involved in a single story. The film is edited into chapters, after the fashion of serial fiction, and the episodes should not be shown out of order, as individual chapters, or as part of a random collection of short subjects. Each chapter was screened at a movie theater for one week, and typically ended with a cliffhanger, in which characters found themselves in perilous situations with little apparent chance of escape. Viewers had to return each week to see the cliffhangers resolved and to follow the continuing story. Movie serials were especially popular with children, and for many youths in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mascot Pictures
Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s, best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1935, it merged with several other companies to form Republic Pictures. Mascot's serial '' The King of the Kongo'' (1929) was the first serial to include sound, beating Universal Studios by several months. The company's logo featured a roaring tiger resting on top of a model of the planet Earth. Early years Mascot was created in 1927 by Nat Levine, a former personal secretary to Marcus Loew, after the success of his independent serial '' The Silent Flyer'' (1926). In the beginning the company operated out of the upstairs offices of a contractor's business on Santa Monica Boulevard. It rented all of its equipment and facilities. In 1929 the studio made serial history with the production of '' The King of the Kongo''. This was the first serial, from any production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nat Levine
Nat Levine (July 26, 1899 – August 6, 1989), was an American film producer. He produced 105 films between 1921 and 1946. Born in New York City, he entered the film industry as an accountant for Metro Pictures and became personal secretary to Metro head Marcus Loew. He moved to Hollywood in 1925, setting out to produce his own movies. He had made many friends in film distribution, and arranged with them to release his films on the independent state's rights market. He called his company Mascot Pictures. Mascot Levine knew that theater managers, especially in smaller towns, liked movies that emphasized action. He filled that demand with western and dramatic serials. Levine was well aware that small-town exhibitors were slow to convert to the new talking-picture technology, so he concentrated on silent pictures until the end of the silent-film era. Levine released his 1929 serial ''The King of the Kongo'' in both talking and silent versions. He hired Walt Disney's recording e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and business failures around the world. The economic contagion began in 1929 in the United States, the largest economy in the world, with the devastating Wall Street stock market crash of October 1929 often considered the beginning of the Depression. Among the countries with the most unemployed were the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Weimar Republic, Germany. The Depression was preceded by a period of industrial growth and social development known as the "Roaring Twenties". Much of the profit generated by the boom was invested in speculation, such as on the stock market, contributing to growing Wealth inequality in the United States, wealth inequality. Banks were subject to laissez-faire, minimal regulation, resulting in loose lending and wides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mayor Of Hell
''The Mayor of Hell'' is a 1933 American pre-Code Warner Brothers film starring James Cagney. The film was remade in 1938 as '' Crime School'' with Humphrey Bogart taking over James Cagney's role and ''Hell's Kitchen'' with Ronald Reagan in 1939. Plot Racketeer Patsy Gargan is made deputy commissioner of a reform school A reform school was a Prison, penal institution, generally for teenagers, mainly operating between 1830 and 1900. In the United Kingdom and its colonies, reformatory, reformatories (commonly called reform schools) were set up from 1854 onward f ... as a reward from his corrupt political cronies. Initially, he has no interest in the school, but his sympathy for the boys, who are abused and battered by a brutal, heartless warden and his thuggish guards convince him to take the job seriously, as does an attractive resident nurse named Dorothy. Gargan sends Thompson, the superintendent, on vacation and, while he is gone, puts Dorothy's reform ideas into action. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three On A Match
''Three on a Match'' is a 1932 American pre-Code crime drama film released by Warner Bros. The film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and stars Joan Blondell, Warren William, Ann Dvorak, and Bette Davis. The film also features Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Bogart, Allen Jenkins, and Edward Arnold. Plot Three women who went to the same New York City elementary school (P.S. 62), Mary, Ruth, and Vivian, meet again as young adults after some time apart. They each light a cigarette from the same match and discuss the superstition that such an act is unlucky and that Vivian, the last to light her cigarette, will be the first to die. Mary is a showgirl who has established stability in her life after spending some time in a reform school, while Ruth works as a stenographer. Vivian is the best off of the three, married to a successful lawyer, Robert Kirkwood, with a young son, Robert Jr., but she has grown dissatisfied with her life and decides to take a trip to Europe with her little boy. J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Bros., Warner Brothers studios, the other being his colleague Michael Curtiz. LeRoy's most acclaimed films of his tenure at Warners include ''Little Caesar (film), Little Caesar'' (1931), ''I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang'' (1932), ''Gold Diggers of 1933'' (1933) and ''They Won't Forget'' (1937). LeRoy left Warners and moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in 1939 to serve as both director and producer. He is best known for the 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz''. Early life LeRoy was born on October 15, 1900, in San Francisco, California, the only child of Edna (née Armer) and Harry LeRoy, a well-to-do department store owner. Both his parents' families had fully Jewish assimilation, assimilated, residing in the Bay Area for several generations. LeRoy described his rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warner Bros
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Founded on April 4, 1923, by four brothers, Harry Warner, Harry, Albert Warner, Albert, Sam Warner, Sam and Jack L. Warner, Jack Warner, the company established itself as a leader in the American film industry before diversifying into animation, television, and video games. It is one of the "Major film studios, Big Five" major American film studios and a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). The company is known for its film studio division, the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, which includes Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Castle Rock Entertainment and the Warner Bros. Television Group. Bugs Bunny, a character created for the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
