This remarkable little action-drama follows newspaper editor Melvyn Douglas as he traces back the ownership of a $100 bill, used as ransom money in a notorious kidnapping case, from hand to hand. The clever premise is absorbing in itself, but also serves as an excuse for a series of dramatically charged vignettes revealing the complex lives of a myriad of well-drawn, idiosyncratic characters, as the investigation descends the social scale. Director Leslie Fenton packs a wealth of detail into the 60-plus minute running time, keeping the camera and actors moving at all times, but knowing when to pause for effect. Many have remarked on the moving sequence of a black boxer's wake (surprisingly dignified and emotional for the time), but just as stunning is the chilling look of murderous intent in the ancient Halliwell Hobbes's eyes as he learns that his much younger wife is being unfaithful. The cast is filled with veteran bit players (including Mantan Moreland in a don't-blink cameo), there are a few nice comic touches, and the small-city newspaper office scenes are authentic looking. By the way, Seinfeld fans should note that Douglas must have been the original "close talker" as he blusters about imposing himself on people's lives.
14 Reviews
A surprisingly entertaining little mystery and crime drama, with good performances.
Art-2224 October 1999
Watch this film if only to see black actress Theresa Harris in a dramatic role. I am so used to see her playing maids in films of the 30's that it was a refreshing change of pace and a revelation. She can act! Her home was one of many to which star Melvyn Douglas was led in his effort to track down the owner of a $100 bill that was part of a ransom payment after a kidnapping. Actor Leslie Fenton's first directorial effort is also a well-paced 69-minute crime and mystery drama, packing lots of sleuthing by Douglas, endangering himself and the only witness (Louise Platt) to the kidnapping. I was glued to the story and was biting my nails during the exciting ending. Well worth watching.
fast-moving B from MGM
blanche-218 September 2014
Melvin Douglas stars in the 1939 B movie, Tell No Tales.
Douglas plays Michael Cassidy, who is the editor of a newspaper whom he's told is about to close its doors. In the meantime, a rag has been sensationalizing a kidnapping; a witness (Louise Platt) is being kept a virtual prisoner at the school where she teaches. While Mike is having a drink in his usual bar, the bartender checks a list and realizes that he has one of the bills the kidnappers received. This gives Mike the idea of tracking down and catching the kidnapper himself and giving his newspaper a great final issue.
I often wonder how Melvin Douglas must have felt, breezing his way through one film after another, possibly knowing that he was one of the finest actors of the century. It was a talent he wouldn't be able to show until he was an old man, but when he did, one saw how wasted he had been all those years. He's wonderful here in a spirited performance.
It was nice to see Mantan Moreland and Theresa Harris in this film, as they were two black actors deserving of more recognition. Moreland is probably best remembered as Birmingham, Charlie Chan's chauffeur. He had a friendly face and an enormous comic talent. Theresa Harris for some reason had better roles in precode films than she did later on. I suppose in a way this is a film about wasted talent - Moreland and Harris, a beautiful and sexy woman, were victims of their time and Douglas was in a groove from which he did not escape until much later.
Good movie with some very good performances.
Douglas plays Michael Cassidy, who is the editor of a newspaper whom he's told is about to close its doors. In the meantime, a rag has been sensationalizing a kidnapping; a witness (Louise Platt) is being kept a virtual prisoner at the school where she teaches. While Mike is having a drink in his usual bar, the bartender checks a list and realizes that he has one of the bills the kidnappers received. This gives Mike the idea of tracking down and catching the kidnapper himself and giving his newspaper a great final issue.
I often wonder how Melvin Douglas must have felt, breezing his way through one film after another, possibly knowing that he was one of the finest actors of the century. It was a talent he wouldn't be able to show until he was an old man, but when he did, one saw how wasted he had been all those years. He's wonderful here in a spirited performance.
It was nice to see Mantan Moreland and Theresa Harris in this film, as they were two black actors deserving of more recognition. Moreland is probably best remembered as Birmingham, Charlie Chan's chauffeur. He had a friendly face and an enormous comic talent. Theresa Harris for some reason had better roles in precode films than she did later on. I suppose in a way this is a film about wasted talent - Moreland and Harris, a beautiful and sexy woman, were victims of their time and Douglas was in a groove from which he did not escape until much later.
Good movie with some very good performances.
Slightly offbeat newspaper mystery-drama
csteidler13 April 2016
Suave newspaper editor Melvyn Douglas proudly runs the Guardian, a noble institution that has served the public for 75 years. But look out—tabloid owner Douglas Dumbrille has just purchased the Guardian and intends to kill it to increase his own rag's circulation. Seems like a serious newspaper melodrama....
But the picture quickly morphs into a detective story when sharp- eyed Douglas stumbles on a $100 bill that he recognizes as a marked bill used as ransom money in a recent high profile kidnapping case. He sets out to trace the bill's journey, hoping it will lead him to the kidnappers.
The search for the bill leads Douglas through an interesting series of vignettes .Each clue he follows leads him to a new stop where his visit has a strange and surprising effect (an imminent wedding is abruptly called off, for example). A post-funeral family gathering is the film's most somber and serious moment.
Douglas also manages to connect with schoolteacher Louise Platt, who witnessed the kidnapping. Although the police have her school pretty well surrounded specifically for her protection, clever Douglas manages not only to sneak into the school and find her, but to talk her into sneaking out with him to go chase the crooks .
Okay, so it gets a little far-fetched at times. However, despite some silliness the picture is not only entertaining but fascinating—even if it's not particularly good or believable, somehow you care what happens. Melvyn Douglas and Louise Platt are both easy to watch, and the supporting cast is full of fine performances from MGM's great roster of character actors.
But the picture quickly morphs into a detective story when sharp- eyed Douglas stumbles on a $100 bill that he recognizes as a marked bill used as ransom money in a recent high profile kidnapping case. He sets out to trace the bill's journey, hoping it will lead him to the kidnappers.
The search for the bill leads Douglas through an interesting series of vignettes .Each clue he follows leads him to a new stop where his visit has a strange and surprising effect (an imminent wedding is abruptly called off, for example). A post-funeral family gathering is the film's most somber and serious moment.
Douglas also manages to connect with schoolteacher Louise Platt, who witnessed the kidnapping. Although the police have her school pretty well surrounded specifically for her protection, clever Douglas manages not only to sneak into the school and find her, but to talk her into sneaking out with him to go chase the crooks .
Okay, so it gets a little far-fetched at times. However, despite some silliness the picture is not only entertaining but fascinating—even if it's not particularly good or believable, somehow you care what happens. Melvyn Douglas and Louise Platt are both easy to watch, and the supporting cast is full of fine performances from MGM's great roster of character actors.
Melvyn Douglas is newspaper editor
ksf-23 August 2019
Director Leslie Fenton had more acting roles than directing roles, but he sure worked with some of the biggies as an actor. and was married to the delicious Ann Dvorak. In Tell No Tales, Melvyn Douglas is the editor of a newspaper that's being shut down, but he thinks he can solve one last big crime to save the paper. Co-stars Gene Lockhart, Louise Platt, and Douglass Dumbrille. some running gags to keep it light. Cassidy (Douglas) helps Ellen (Platt) hide out while he tries to solve the riddle. this one goes all around the mulberry bush.... through a black funeral, through an opera. it's actually quite good. we go along for the ride. and the whole time, we're never sure who's telling the truth. plays now and then on turner classics channel.
Zippy Newspaper Pic.
rmax30482324 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
There aren't too many surprises in the casting. Melvyn Douglas is the dedicated editor of a newspaper about to be closed by the ruthless owner. The day before doomsday he stumbles across a counterfeit bill that was involved in the unsolved kidnapping of a child and is determined to track down the source of the bill. (No doubt the Lindbergh case of a few years earlier was still fresh in the public's mind.) He's tipped off by the friendly bar tender. Take a guess at the bar tender's ethnic background. When he hears about the paper's forthcoming closure, he tells Douglas, "I'm THAT sorry."
The minor characters are all well developed, especially the first person connected to the counterfeit bill, a little man who is about to be married to a chinless cartoon of a wife with a voice like an air raid siren and whose hefty future mother-in-law looks like the spawn of Mighty Joe Young. The dialog is both functional and colorful. An opratic soprano has "a nice voice and a nice heart -- like Grant's Tomb." Later she's described as "smooooth, with a heart like a banana split." The film isn't carelessly done.
Douglas Dumbrille is the Philistine newspaper owner who cares only about money and nothing about tradition or truth. Zeffie Tilbury is the paper's oldest employee, a humble but spunky proof reader. We need more of them in our schools.
I guess Louise Platt as the endangered witness to the kidnapping is a surprise. She's a pretty woman with an impish nose and a pouty expression. I never noticed that she had such a marked overbite when she played the aristocratic officer's wife in "Stagecoach." She could win a corn-eating contest at an Iowa picnic. She has an undeniable physical appeal but I don't know about her acting range. She only gets to smile once, at the very end of the story, and one can almost hear the creaking of long-dormant facial muscles.
It's lively and coherent, in contrast to so many dull movies from minor studios that are now in the public domain. I got a kick out of it.
The minor characters are all well developed, especially the first person connected to the counterfeit bill, a little man who is about to be married to a chinless cartoon of a wife with a voice like an air raid siren and whose hefty future mother-in-law looks like the spawn of Mighty Joe Young. The dialog is both functional and colorful. An opratic soprano has "a nice voice and a nice heart -- like Grant's Tomb." Later she's described as "smooooth, with a heart like a banana split." The film isn't carelessly done.
Douglas Dumbrille is the Philistine newspaper owner who cares only about money and nothing about tradition or truth. Zeffie Tilbury is the paper's oldest employee, a humble but spunky proof reader. We need more of them in our schools.
I guess Louise Platt as the endangered witness to the kidnapping is a surprise. She's a pretty woman with an impish nose and a pouty expression. I never noticed that she had such a marked overbite when she played the aristocratic officer's wife in "Stagecoach." She could win a corn-eating contest at an Iowa picnic. She has an undeniable physical appeal but I don't know about her acting range. She only gets to smile once, at the very end of the story, and one can almost hear the creaking of long-dormant facial muscles.
It's lively and coherent, in contrast to so many dull movies from minor studios that are now in the public domain. I got a kick out of it.
fine crime drama
SnoopyStyle26 July 2019
Michael Cassidy (Melvyn Douglas) runs the old respected newspaper, The Guardian, like a family affair. The new owner Matthew Cooper orders it to shutdown in favor of his own tabloid, The Evening Record. Cassidy turns down his pick of a job at the Record. With a clue to a famous kidnapping, he makes a final stab at saving his beloved paper with the hot new story in a final edition. He sneaks pass the police to retrieve kidnap victim Ellen Frazier (Louise Platt) who is under police protection.
The plot is a straight line of one stop to another as Cassidy tracks down the journey of that $100 bill. It's not the most imaginative plot structure. It is good enough to leverage a good performance and a nice crime thriller. The movie is able to maintain its kinetic motion all the way through. It's not really a mystery to solve. It does need some action to punch it up. It's a little flat but it's pretty good.
The plot is a straight line of one stop to another as Cassidy tracks down the journey of that $100 bill. It's not the most imaginative plot structure. It is good enough to leverage a good performance and a nice crime thriller. The movie is able to maintain its kinetic motion all the way through. It's not really a mystery to solve. It does need some action to punch it up. It's a little flat but it's pretty good.
Melvyn Douglas and MGM get a bit more out the genre than usual...
planktonrules9 February 2018
In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made tons of mystery films in which private citizens outwit the cops and solve crimes...usually murders. There is a certain sameness to the plots and at least "Tell No Tales" offers a few changes to this formula...the best of which is having it star Melvyn Douglas--a marvelous and versatile who is one of my favorites.
When the story begins, a newspaper is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Unfortunately, just after the festivities begin, the editor, Michael Cassidy (Douglas) learns from the paper's new owner that he's shutting it down....selling it because he never really wanted to own the business, just make a buck splitting it apart!
Naturally Michael is in a funk and he ends up in a local bar. Instead of getting wasted, however, he stumbles upon something which MIGHT help him keep the paper going. One of the bills the bartender had given him turned out to be from a ransom! So, Michael decides to investigate it on his own instead of just passing on this information to the police.
As usual, Douglas turns in a nice and apparently effortless performance. I appreciate how his newspaper editor character differs from the abrasive characters usually played by Lee Tracy (he played newspaper men A LOT).
Unlike most murder mystery B-movies, this one is from MGM...a big studio. While the big studios did make Bs, when it came to murder mysteries, the smaller studios glutted the market....and too many of these films from Monogram, Republic and PRC are inferior in most ways. Here, however, the writing is nice, as is the music, supporting characters...heck, everything is quite polished and nice here. Well worth seeing, though clearly one of Douglas' lesser films.
When the story begins, a newspaper is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Unfortunately, just after the festivities begin, the editor, Michael Cassidy (Douglas) learns from the paper's new owner that he's shutting it down....selling it because he never really wanted to own the business, just make a buck splitting it apart!
Naturally Michael is in a funk and he ends up in a local bar. Instead of getting wasted, however, he stumbles upon something which MIGHT help him keep the paper going. One of the bills the bartender had given him turned out to be from a ransom! So, Michael decides to investigate it on his own instead of just passing on this information to the police.
As usual, Douglas turns in a nice and apparently effortless performance. I appreciate how his newspaper editor character differs from the abrasive characters usually played by Lee Tracy (he played newspaper men A LOT).
Unlike most murder mystery B-movies, this one is from MGM...a big studio. While the big studios did make Bs, when it came to murder mysteries, the smaller studios glutted the market....and too many of these films from Monogram, Republic and PRC are inferior in most ways. Here, however, the writing is nice, as is the music, supporting characters...heck, everything is quite polished and nice here. Well worth seeing, though clearly one of Douglas' lesser films.
A tale worth telling
TheLittleSongbird29 April 2020
Saw 'Tell No Tales' seeing as it has the kind of story that has always appealed to me straightaway. It was interesting to see how actor Leslie Fenton (have much more of his work to see though) would fare in his feature debut as director. And also to see Melvyn Douglas in a different and less suave role to usual (he was one of the best at that kind of role at the time in my view) and talented actors such as Gene Lockhart and Theresa Harris in also atypical supporting roles.
'Tell No Tales' turned out to be very entertaining and always engaging, very solidly done in most areas. Those playing against type surprisingly excel at it, Fenton does a remarkably good job as first time director and it always intrigues. It is not quite great, despite it having potential to be, and is not perfect, but despite any misgivings there is so much done right and the best of the good things are pretty brilliantly done. So well worth seeing.
Admittedly, 'Tell No Tales' gets far-fetched and contrived in places. The very end is too tacked on and doesn't ring true, due to not gelling with what goes on before.
It could have gotten going a little earlier perhaps too.
However, 'Tell No Tales' is well filmed with a slick, stylish yet never glossy look, with some atmospheric lighting, and Fenton keeps things moving at a crisp pace. Without rushing events through. William Axt's score has the appropriate typical moodiness. The script is taut, eventful and has very little extraneous fat, meaning that it always intrigues and it never goes limp. Some nice sharp wit too to not allow the film to get too dark.
Furthermore, the story has a good deal going on and doesn't feel dull, with some nice tension (towards the end to the maximum) and an exciting climax. It doesn't try to do too much and has enough surprises without being over-complicated, even if it does get silly and contrived as said in spots. The Wake sequence is a powerful one. All the actors do well, with Douglas having his usual suave persona mixed with a gritty edge. Louise Platt is charming without being pallid, Lockhart is fun in his part and Harris stretches her acting chops in a more substantial role than as a maid type of part.
On the whole, good fun though with flawed moments. 7/10
'Tell No Tales' turned out to be very entertaining and always engaging, very solidly done in most areas. Those playing against type surprisingly excel at it, Fenton does a remarkably good job as first time director and it always intrigues. It is not quite great, despite it having potential to be, and is not perfect, but despite any misgivings there is so much done right and the best of the good things are pretty brilliantly done. So well worth seeing.
Admittedly, 'Tell No Tales' gets far-fetched and contrived in places. The very end is too tacked on and doesn't ring true, due to not gelling with what goes on before.
It could have gotten going a little earlier perhaps too.
However, 'Tell No Tales' is well filmed with a slick, stylish yet never glossy look, with some atmospheric lighting, and Fenton keeps things moving at a crisp pace. Without rushing events through. William Axt's score has the appropriate typical moodiness. The script is taut, eventful and has very little extraneous fat, meaning that it always intrigues and it never goes limp. Some nice sharp wit too to not allow the film to get too dark.
Furthermore, the story has a good deal going on and doesn't feel dull, with some nice tension (towards the end to the maximum) and an exciting climax. It doesn't try to do too much and has enough surprises without being over-complicated, even if it does get silly and contrived as said in spots. The Wake sequence is a powerful one. All the actors do well, with Douglas having his usual suave persona mixed with a gritty edge. Louise Platt is charming without being pallid, Lockhart is fun in his part and Harris stretches her acting chops in a more substantial role than as a maid type of part.
On the whole, good fun though with flawed moments. 7/10
The editor turns detective
bkoganbing6 April 2016
A rather unrealistic happy ending prevents me from giving Tell No Tales a higher rating. A lot of the plot premises of this film can be found in the Humphrey Bogart classic Deadline,USA, but that one was far more true to life.
Melvyn Douglas is the editor of a respectable paper that has been bought by a Rupert Murdoch like publisher played by Douglass Dumbrille who wants to just close the paper. Well if they got to close the paper Douglas edits will go down in a blaze of glory.
A kidnapping that has been sensationalized in Dumbrille's paper and the main witness Louise Platt has become a target because of it is what Douglas uses as his cause. The editor turns detective and of course finds out who the kidnappers were. It's a rather methodical process that puts him into contact with all kinds of people. Back in the 30s kidnapping was a hot issue because of the Lindbergh case and a lot of films were made on the subject.
Besides those mentioned look for a good performance by Gene Lockhart as a gambling house proprietor. It's not quite the usual Gene Lockhart role.
To bad a lousy ending spoiled a good B film from MGM. There B films could have been A products at other studios.
Melvyn Douglas is the editor of a respectable paper that has been bought by a Rupert Murdoch like publisher played by Douglass Dumbrille who wants to just close the paper. Well if they got to close the paper Douglas edits will go down in a blaze of glory.
A kidnapping that has been sensationalized in Dumbrille's paper and the main witness Louise Platt has become a target because of it is what Douglas uses as his cause. The editor turns detective and of course finds out who the kidnappers were. It's a rather methodical process that puts him into contact with all kinds of people. Back in the 30s kidnapping was a hot issue because of the Lindbergh case and a lot of films were made on the subject.
Besides those mentioned look for a good performance by Gene Lockhart as a gambling house proprietor. It's not quite the usual Gene Lockhart role.
To bad a lousy ending spoiled a good B film from MGM. There B films could have been A products at other studios.
Adventures of a Hundred Dollar Bill!!!
kidboots12 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Leslie Fenton, as an actor, had been around since the late 1920s, mostly as not very likable gangsters or crooks and because he was never the star always disappearing about half way through the movie. I always liked him, mainly I think because he happened to win the heart of one of the most beautiful and unusual of the early thirties actresses - Ann Dvorak. He stopped acting in the late thirties (one of his last roles was in "Boy's Town") and had a brief period of directing shorts. "Tell No Tales" was his first feature and his best.
Melvyn Douglas plays Michael Cassidy, a managing editor of a reputable newspaper "The Evening Guardian" that ceases publication on it's 75th anniversary. It has been closed down by Matt Cooper (Douglas Dumbrille), owner of a rival newspaper which happens to be a "yellow" tabloid. Despondent at the thought of all the staff losing their jobs he cashes his pay check at the local bar and receives one of the $100 bills used in a kidnapping ransom - a case that is sweeping the city. It is the first break in the case and Michael is determined to break it so the paper can go out with a bang!!!
Ellen Fraser (Louise Platt) a young teacher at a private school was the only witness and is under 24 hour police protection. Cassidy manages to squirrel the girl away from her "prison" but while they begin to hunt for the kidnappers (by tracing the path of the $100 bill) they, in their turn, are followed and it isn't long before Ellen disappears only to re-emerge a few minutes before the ending. Cassidy then plunges into tracing the bill's journey, from a disgruntled would be bride groom (and according to the fight that ensues when Cassidy leaves, never to be!!!) to a wealthy society wife with something to hide ("you told me you were through with him" he husband (Halliwell Hobbes) hisses!!) to a confronting and touching Afro-American wake. It was a dramatic breakaway from the stereotypical depiction of black people at that time. Mantan Moreland was one of the guests and it gave a poignant acting opportunity to Theresa Harris and the marvellous old Griffith actress Madame Sul-te-Wan ("Hoodoo Ann") as the grieving mother.
I liked the way the plot led to some tantalising, unrelated gossipy bits (the bridegroom and the society girl) - we never find out whether Hobbes kills his wife as he lunges for her, the camera just continues with the main story. I thought the movie was exciting and fast paced. I also liked the fact that two of the co-stars, Douglas Dumbrille and Gene Lockhart, two very oily villains of the 30s, pop up in quite ambiguous roles - especially Lockhart as Arno, a quietly spoken, canary loving gambling den proprietor!!
Melvyn Douglas plays Michael Cassidy, a managing editor of a reputable newspaper "The Evening Guardian" that ceases publication on it's 75th anniversary. It has been closed down by Matt Cooper (Douglas Dumbrille), owner of a rival newspaper which happens to be a "yellow" tabloid. Despondent at the thought of all the staff losing their jobs he cashes his pay check at the local bar and receives one of the $100 bills used in a kidnapping ransom - a case that is sweeping the city. It is the first break in the case and Michael is determined to break it so the paper can go out with a bang!!!
Ellen Fraser (Louise Platt) a young teacher at a private school was the only witness and is under 24 hour police protection. Cassidy manages to squirrel the girl away from her "prison" but while they begin to hunt for the kidnappers (by tracing the path of the $100 bill) they, in their turn, are followed and it isn't long before Ellen disappears only to re-emerge a few minutes before the ending. Cassidy then plunges into tracing the bill's journey, from a disgruntled would be bride groom (and according to the fight that ensues when Cassidy leaves, never to be!!!) to a wealthy society wife with something to hide ("you told me you were through with him" he husband (Halliwell Hobbes) hisses!!) to a confronting and touching Afro-American wake. It was a dramatic breakaway from the stereotypical depiction of black people at that time. Mantan Moreland was one of the guests and it gave a poignant acting opportunity to Theresa Harris and the marvellous old Griffith actress Madame Sul-te-Wan ("Hoodoo Ann") as the grieving mother.
I liked the way the plot led to some tantalising, unrelated gossipy bits (the bridegroom and the society girl) - we never find out whether Hobbes kills his wife as he lunges for her, the camera just continues with the main story. I thought the movie was exciting and fast paced. I also liked the fact that two of the co-stars, Douglas Dumbrille and Gene Lockhart, two very oily villains of the 30s, pop up in quite ambiguous roles - especially Lockhart as Arno, a quietly spoken, canary loving gambling den proprietor!!
A Sleeper With a Surprisingly Dark Display from MGM
LeonLouisRicci7 November 2014
A Rich and Nifty Little B-Movie that Takes an Investigative Journalist on a Quest to Find Kidnappers and Stop His Newspaper from Folding. Melvyn Douglas is the Protagonist, but it is the Many Set-Pieces of People and Places that Make This Special.
Always Engaging and there are Outstanding Side-Bars and a Surprisingly Dark Atmosphere and Snappy Dialog Along the Way that was Not Typical of MGM. The Scene at an African American Wake and the Climatic and Dark Display in the Gangster's Car are Exceptional, as are Brief Encounters with a Bird Loving Casino Owner and a Henpecked Groom to be.
Overall, a Very Good Sleeper that is Virtually Unknown and is Deserving of a Rediscovery.
Always Engaging and there are Outstanding Side-Bars and a Surprisingly Dark Atmosphere and Snappy Dialog Along the Way that was Not Typical of MGM. The Scene at an African American Wake and the Climatic and Dark Display in the Gangster's Car are Exceptional, as are Brief Encounters with a Bird Loving Casino Owner and a Henpecked Groom to be.
Overall, a Very Good Sleeper that is Virtually Unknown and is Deserving of a Rediscovery.
Noir Track
artalaska-2464510 August 2019
This is a trail movie, the Hitchcock MacGuffin being a $100 marked bill. Where did it come from? Turns out it passed through many hands. Each party on the trail is the center of increasingly interesting scenes until, for meanness, Gene Lockhart bangs the base drum. Talk about noir, the film grows darker and darker, both ways. For me this film is an eye opener as it proceeds from procedural adventure to the interesting seaminess of a flirtation with the allure of serious film noir.
Mantan Moreland, African-American Comedian
hhbooker25 May 2002
Greetings & Salutations! Mantan Moreland (1902-1973), native of Monroe, Louisiana, really made a difference in the 134 movies he appeared in in a 40 span, worthy of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Up there with Hattie McDaniel, Bo Jangles, Stepin Fetchet, Spencer Williams, Tim Moore, Ernestine Wade, and so many other great African-American actors and actresses. Just with his wide eyed look he could bring down the entire audience or when he feigned fear in horror/drama films like "Feathered Serpent" (1948), "The Spider" (1945), "The Shanghai Cobra" (1945), and "Phantom Killer" (1942). I collect African-American films on VHS format and treasure mostly Mantan's films. These movies are really timeless and always evoke laughter and are worth collecting!
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