''Remote Control'' is a 1930 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Nick Grinde Nick Grinde (January 12, 1893 – June 19, 1979) was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 57 films between 1928 and 1945. Biography Born Harry A. Grinde in Madison, Wisconsin but nicknamed "Nick", Grinde graduated from th ...

Edward Sedgwick Edward Sedgwick, Jr. (November 7, 1889 – May 7, 1953) was an American film director, screenwriter, writer, actor and film producer, producer. Early life He was born in Galveston, Texas, the son of Edward Sedgwick, Sr. and Josephine Walker, ...

and Malcolm St. Clair and written by Frank Butler, F. Hugh Herbert and Jack Nelson. The film stars

William Haines Charles William Haines (January 2, 1900 – December 26, 1973) was an American actor and interior designer. Haines was discovered by a talent scout and signed with Goldwyn Pictures in 1922. His career gained momentum when he received favo ...

, Charles King,

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

Polly Moran Pauline Theresa Moran (June 28, 1883 – January 24, 1952) billed as Polly Moran, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage and screen and a comedian. Career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started in vaudeville, and widely toured North ...

and

J. C. Nugent John Charles Nugent (April 6, 1868 – April 21, 1947), was an American actor, director, and screenwriter. A veteran stage performer, he appeared in 20 films between 1929 and 1943. Early life Nugent was born in Niles, Ohio, and attended R ...

. It was released on November 15, 1930 by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Plot

A nefarious criminal genius, Doctor Kruger (John Miljan) directs bank robberies from his radio studio, where he poses as a clairvoyant host offering platitudinous advice to listeners. His gang de-codes these broadcast messages and successfully rob designated banks. William Haines (William J. Brennan) discovers the ruse and in turn is kidnapped by the crooks, who are determined to silence him. After a climatic chase, William escapes and Kruger and his gang are exposed and arrested.Dwyer, 1996 p. 218: Filmography, plot synopsis.

Cast

as William J. Brennan * Charles King as Sam Ferguson *

Mary Doran Mary Doran (September 8, 1910 – September 6, 1995) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 80 films from 1927 to 1944. Biography Doran was born in New York and attended public schools there before graduating and going to Columbia ...

as Marion Ferguson *

as Doctor Kruger *

as Polly *

as Smedley *

Edward Nugent Edward James Nugent (February 7, 1904 – January 3, 1995) was an American film and stage actor. Biography Nugent was born on February 7, 1904, and acted in films between 1928 and 1937. When Nugent was a boy, he sang with the Metropolitan Ope ...

as Radio Engineer *

Wilbur Mack Wilbur Mack (born George Frear Runyon, July 29, 1873 – March 13, 1964) was an American film actor and early vaudeville performer from the 1920s through the 1960s. His film acting career began during the silent films, silent film era. Bi ...

as Chief of Police *

James Donlan James Donlan (July 23, 1888 – June 7, 1938) was an American actor. Born in San Francisco, California, Donlan appeared in 107 films between 1929 and 1939. He was the father of actress Yolande Donlan. In his early career Donlan was the actor-ma ...

as Blodgett *

Edward Brophy Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor and comedian, as well as an assistant director and second unit director during the 1920s. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently portr ...

as Al *

Warner Richmond Warner Richmond (born Werner Paul Otto Raetzmann; January 11, 1886 – June 19, 1948) was an American stage and film actor. He began his career as a stock theatre actor and appeared in films in both the silent film and sound eras. His career spa ...

as Max *

Russell Hopton Harry Russell Hopton (February 18, 1900 – April 7, 1945) was an American film actor and director. Biography Hopton was born in New York City, New York. He appeared in 110 films between 1926 and 1945, often playing streetwise characters f ...

as Frank

Notes

References

*Dwyer, Ruth Anne. 1996. ''Malcolm St. Clair: His Films, 1915-1948''. ''

The Scarecrow Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns t ...

'', Lantham, Md., and London.

External links

* * * 1930 films 1930s English-language films American comedy films 1930 comedy films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Nick Grinde Films directed by Edward Sedgwick Films directed by Malcolm St. Clair American black-and-white films Films about radio people 1930s American films English-language comedy films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub