30's fan

Had a cold and caught up on these 2 gems on a cold afternoon.
A Night in Montmartre ( approx 1930) is a fairly thin plot but I thoroughly enjoyed it with a delicious young Kaye Hammond as a drunk barfly, Hugh Williams as the good looking lead and a gorgeous old actor Horace Hodges as a bumbling detective.
Did Horace appear in much? His character would have been so good in a series.

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (late 1930's) was also very good due mainly to the tremendously eccentric (but very intelligent) detective/police inspector played by Leslie Banks. I would have liked to have seen more of his character in other films.
Can anyone tell me anything more about either of these films and recommend other similar ones? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img]

Johnny Rico

[quote name='30's fan' date='May 31 2006, 03:04 PM' post='42717']

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (late 1930's) was also very good due mainly to the tremendously eccentric (but very intelligent) detective/police inspector played by Leslie Banks. I would have liked to have seen more of his character in other films.
Can anyone tell me anything more about either of these films and recommend other similar ones? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img]
[/quote}]
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The legendary Herbert Chapman in this - Playing himself naturally . I gather the Players of the time appeared and were spectacularly wooden ( see also the Ipswich Team in "Escape to Victory" )


Any remake would now be the Emirates Stadium Mystery [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

Can you imagine...

Police Inspector : Mr Wenger , There was a terrible Crime commited here...
Arsene Wenger : I saw nuzzink!
Police Inspector : No change there then...

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Couldn't You just try acting , Old Boy...It's so much easier

Steve Crook

There aren't many films like The Arsenal Stadium Mystery, and there aren't many actors like Leslie Banks. He did "intelligent but eccentric, or laid back" very well. Some others you might like him in are:
Went the Day Well? (1942) - as the wicked squire
Cottage to Let (1941)
Fire Over England (1937)
The Tunnel (1935)
Sanders of the River (1935)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Red Ensign (1934)

He also had smaller roles in quite a few other films and he's usually worth watching.
e.g.
The Small Back Room (1949)
Henry V (1944)
The Night of the Party (1935)

Some of those earlier ones might be a bit hard to find but they've all been released commercially so should be available second-hand if you can't find them as new.

Steve

30's fan

Thanks for the information, I am very keen on British Films of the 1930's, particularly Aldwych Farces.
Leslie Banks was obviously very versatile.

jersey_lightning

Leslie Banks was extremely versatile, and I'd like to add these titles to the list above:

The Most Dangerous Game (1932) as Count Zaroff, who had set up his South Sea island to hunt the most dangerous game ... man.

Sanders of the River (1935) as Sanders, the district officer in British colonial Nigeria, playing opposite Paul Robeson as the native chief

Jamaica Inn (1939) as the murderous Joss Merlyn.

I find it particularly interesting that about the time Banks was making Jamaica Inn, he was also playing the lead in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" on the West End. Talk about roles at the opposite end of the spectrum!

Kat in the U.S.

dylan

>The Most Dangerous Game (1932) as Count Zaroff, who had set up his South Sea island to hunt the most dangerous game ... man.<

This was Banks' second film and also American. It has been re-made many, many times.

D.