Una Merkel

Una Merkel (1903 - 1986) is one actress I cherish.  She had an enormous career spanning 1923 to 1968.  And no one era of hers is better than any other.  She was good in everything!

She made two silent films and then in 1930 was cast in the D. W. Griffith (1875 - 1948) movie, Abraham Lincoln, starring Walter Huston (1884 - 1950) in the title role. 

In 1931 Merkel is in an early sound version of The Maltese Falcon starring Ricardo Cortez (1900 - 1977) as Sam Spade.  That movie had quite a cast, including Bebe Daniels (1901 - 1971) famous for 42nd Street in 1933; Thelma Todd (1906 - 1935) who worked with Laurel and Hardy; and Dwight Frye (1899 - 1943) who played in the wonderful 1931 Carl Laemmle hits, Dracula and Frankenstein.  Una also appears in 42nd Street, her only Busby Berkeley film.

In 1939 we find her in a strong supporting role with Jimmy Stewart in Destry Rides Again (as you know, one of my favorites), and then she makes Some Like it Hot the same year with Bob Hope.  She works with Hope and Crosby in Road to Zanzibar in 1941.  As all fans of comedy know, she played Myrtle Souse in The Bank Dick, W. C. Fields' classic in 1940.

She appears in The Merry Widow twice.  In 1934 with Maurice Chevalier (1888 - 1972) and Jeannette MacDonald (1903 - 1965), and in 1952 with Lana Turner (1921 - 1995) and Fernando Lamas (1915 - 1982).

Television appearances start around 1952 in "Four Star Playhouse" and "Schlitz Playhouse."  Merkel will continue making movies and TV shows for the rest of her career. 

In 1961 she is cast in the Haley Mills (b. 1946) Brian Keith (1921 - 1997) movie The Parent Trap.  She made two other Disney films, Summer Magic (1963) again with Haley Mills, and A Tiger Walks (1964) again with Brian Keith. 

Una Merkel's final work of her 114 titles was in "I Spy" in 1968.  She was never a huge star, but her voice and talent, and her odd name which is apparently her real one, have kept her at the top of the Bit Actor list.

Slowly I Turned...

I had a good time yesterday, watching Niagara from 1953 with Marilyn Monroe.  I think Niagara and Bus Stop (1956) are my favorite Monroe flicks.  Of course, Some Like it Hot (1959) is great, but these two films allow her to act.

Niagara has an almost Hitchcockian (Is that a word?) feel to it.  Pretty good suspense and an ending that makes you think Polly Cutler (played by Jean Peters) may not make it.  The helicopter from the Korean War era was neat!  I will try not to give away too much, in the off chance that a reader may not have seen the film.

1950's special effects aren't the greatest, but the lighting, the framing of the shots, and the way background shots of the falls and the surrounding area are incorporated make up for it.  Marilyn herself could suspend reality.  Just watch her walking away from the camera!  And after she gets out of the shower, her lipstick is perfect!

Now, the important stuff.  A movie this good could not have been made without a great supporting cast.  Let's start with Minerva Urecal.  She played the boarding house landlady who gets upset by all the phone calls looking for a bus station.  Ms. Urecal has 266 acting roles to her credit on IMDb.  She was born in 1894, started acting in films in 1933, and her last gig was on "Petticoat Junction" in 1966, the year she died.

She was in three W. C. Fields movies, had a small part in 1939's Destry Rides Again, worked with James Stewart again in Harvey and The Jackpot in 1950, and again in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation in 1962.  She made a lot of mysteries and westerns in the 30's, 40's and early 50's, until she started working on TV.

1957 to 1960 seemed to be her best TV years where she shows up as Jim Bowie's mother, stars as the title character in "Tugboat Annie", and has a regular spot on "Peter Gunn."  I think Turner Classic Movies show spotlight Minerva Urecal!

Other bit parts of note; we see taxi drivers played by Harry Carey, Jr. and Arch Johnson.  Carey started working in 1946 and is still active.  Johnson's career has 132 credits from 1953 (Niagara was his first film) to 1990.  And don't forget the boatman played by Will Wright, and Don Wilson as Mr. Kettering in his last movie role.

If you haven't seen Niagara, or if it has been a while, take a look at it soon.  A great movie.  (And I apologize for the Three Stooges title!!!)

20,000 Leagues

I found the 1954 classic Disney film, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea on-demand last weekend, so I started watching it.  I have seen it several times in my youth, but not recently, and even this time I didn't quite finish it.  I remember the display at Walt Disney World where they have one of the Nautilus models used to make the movie.

A quick look at IMDB reveals there were three silent versions of the story.  They were released in 1905, 1907 (by Georges Melies), and 1916.  I haven't seen any of them, but the 1915 release apparently had underwater photography that was groundbreaking.  I will have to look for that one.

Back to 1954.  The ticket agent shown in the beginning of 20K was played by Harry Harvey.  He is credited with 417 roles on the IMDB web site, starting with the Tom Mix Destry Rides Again in 1932.  How do I always keep coming back to Destry?!?

Harvey was in Gold Diggers of 1937 with Dick Powell, the 1939 Blondie Takes a Vacation with my friend Penny Singleton, a whole bunch of B westerns, 1942 The Pride of the Yankees, 1942 A Night to Remember (but a different Night to Remember than the 1958 Night to Remember that we talked about a few days ago), a small part in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Danny Kaye in 1947, more B westerns, he was June Alyson's doctor in The Glenn Miller Story, and of course, the list is practically endless. 

The sign of a great bit actor is to remain a viable commodity for small parts.  If you become too famous, you may have a difficult time getting parts because you will be recognized.

Harvey lived from 1901 to 1985 and he was still doing TV parts in the 1970s on "Mannix," "Bonanza," "Gunsmoke," "Ironside," and "Adam-12."  He appeared in the 1970 hit film Airport as a passenger.

I thought I would have trouble finding well exposed bit actors in a Disney film.  Disney keeps stars on contract so they don't have the opportunity to do much work elsewhere.  It seems like Harry Harvey filled the bill!

Destry Rides Again and Again

If you are a fan of Jimmy Stewart (and who isn't?) you are familiar with 1939's Destry Rides Again.  Stewart plays Tom Destry, who is trying to uphold the law in a new, non-violent way.

This series goes back to a Max Brand novel, with Harry Destry as the hero.  Tom Mix made the first Destry Rides Again in 1932, and he changed the character's first name to Tom, which apparently was his preference for most of his characters.  That name stuck, as Stewart and later Audie Murphy also used Tom. 

Of interest is that the 1932 Tom Mix version was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., who had also produced a few rather famous horror flix called Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy.

I have always wondered why the 1954 version with Audie Murphy is called Destry and the other two versions are both ...Rides Again!  Well, Destry Rides a Third Time probably wouldn't work as a title. 

On TV in 1964 his name in the series "Destry" was Harrison Destry, and he was the son of Tom Destry.  I may need to consult a genealogist, so let's stick to Jimmy Stewart!

The cast of 1939's Destry Rides Again is quite large.  Most of the extras and bit actors are not well know, at least to me.  That is where some research comes in handy.  Just click on the link to each actor near the bottom of the full cast list on IMDb.  Here are some names and the number of roles they have played during their career, according to IMDB.
Duke York - 165
Blackie Whiteford - 298
Dan White - 255
Hank West - 1
Minerva Urecal - 269
Jack Tornek - 148
Harry Tenbrook - 359

Jimmy Stewart made 100 films and Marlene Dietrich only made 54.  Of course having a lead part is much more work, whereas an extra is probably done in a day or two, after his/her scenes are shot.  I wonder whatever became of Hank West?

Dickie Jones was 12 when he was in Destry R.A., made in the same year that he was in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, also with Jimmy Stewart.  Dickie had 111 roles to his credit, with 77 of them before he was 18 years old.  His most prominent role came at age 13 in 1940 when he was the voice of Pinocchio for Walt Disney.

Check out some of the others and try to find a favorite bit actor for every film you see.  And if anyone knows how poor Hank West is doing, please let me know.