Barricade (1939 film)
Encyclopedia
Barricade is a 1939 adventure film
directed by Gregory Ratoff
and starring Alice Faye
, Warner Baxter
, Charles Winninger
, Arthur Treacher
, and Keye Luke
.
by train. A romance sparks, but is soon interrupted by a fierce group of murderous bandits. Fleeing, Emmy and Hank team up with others, eventually culminating in a fierce shootout with the marauders. If I recall correctly as a youngster of ten years, the Emmy and Hank team seek safety in a small fort or an antiquated country home located on barren lands. As the bandits approach, they hide in a basement level, protected only by a floor-board cover. As the bandits enter the building, the baby of Emmy and Hank begins to cry, thereby revealing the location of the couple and their team. As the bandits begin to chop their way through the floor boards, a rescue squad on motorcycles speeds over a nearby hill towards the building, then succeeding to rescue those trapped below the floor.
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
directed by Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. His most famous role as an actor was as producer Max Fabian who feuds with star Margo Channing in All About Eve ....
and starring Alice Faye
Alice Faye
Alice Faye was an American actress and singer, called by The New York Times "one of the few movie stars to walk away from stardom at the peak of her career." She is remembered first for her stardom at 20th Century Fox and, later, as the radio comedy partner of her husband, bandleader and comedian...
, Warner Baxter
Warner Baxter
Warner Leroy Baxter was an American actor, known for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona , for which he won the second Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1928–1929 Academy Awards. Warner Baxter started his movie career in silent movies...
, Charles Winninger
Charles Winninger
Charles Winninger was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals, but equally at home in drama.-Biography:He began as a vaudeville actor...
, Arthur Treacher
Arthur Treacher
Arthur Veary Treacher was an English actor born in Brighton, East Sussex, England.Treacher was a veteran of World War I. After the war, he established a stage career and in 1928, he went to America as part of a musical-comedy revue called Great Temptations...
, and Keye Luke
Keye Luke
Keye Luke was a Chinese-born American actor. He was the first Chinese-American contract player signed with RKO, Universal and, later, MGM and is generally acknowledged as the leading Asian-American actor of this era of American cinema.-Background:...
.
Plot
A singer named Emmy (Faye) meets broken down journalist Hank Topping (Baxter) while travelling across MongoliaMongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
by train. A romance sparks, but is soon interrupted by a fierce group of murderous bandits. Fleeing, Emmy and Hank team up with others, eventually culminating in a fierce shootout with the marauders. If I recall correctly as a youngster of ten years, the Emmy and Hank team seek safety in a small fort or an antiquated country home located on barren lands. As the bandits approach, they hide in a basement level, protected only by a floor-board cover. As the bandits enter the building, the baby of Emmy and Hank begins to cry, thereby revealing the location of the couple and their team. As the bandits begin to chop their way through the floor boards, a rescue squad on motorcycles speeds over a nearby hill towards the building, then succeeding to rescue those trapped below the floor.
Behind the Scenes
- The film was viewed as being so mediocre by 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
that it was shelved. A year later, with actress Alice FayeAlice FayeAlice Faye was an American actress and singer, called by The New York Times "one of the few movie stars to walk away from stardom at the peak of her career." She is remembered first for her stardom at 20th Century Fox and, later, as the radio comedy partner of her husband, bandleader and comedian...
's popularity booming, the film was released to expected sub-par success.
- There were extensive revisions and retakes which eliminated actors J. Edward BrombergJ. Edward BrombergJoseph Edward Bromberg was a Hungarian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s....
and Joseph SchildkrautJoseph SchildkrautJoseph Schildkraut was an Austrian stage and film actor.-Early life:Born in Vienna, Austria, Schildkraut was the son of stage actor Rudolph Schildkraut. The younger Schildkraut moved to the United States in the early 1900s. He appeared in many Broadway productions...
from the cast. The song "There'll Be Other Nights" by Lew Brown and Lew Pollack, recorded by Alice Faye, also was cut from the final print.
Cast
- Alice FayeAlice FayeAlice Faye was an American actress and singer, called by The New York Times "one of the few movie stars to walk away from stardom at the peak of her career." She is remembered first for her stardom at 20th Century Fox and, later, as the radio comedy partner of her husband, bandleader and comedian...
as Emmy Jordan - Warner BaxterWarner BaxterWarner Leroy Baxter was an American actor, known for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona , for which he won the second Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1928–1929 Academy Awards. Warner Baxter started his movie career in silent movies...
as Hank Topping - Charles WinningerCharles WinningerCharles Winninger was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals, but equally at home in drama.-Biography:He began as a vaudeville actor...
as Samuel J. Cady - Arthur TreacherArthur TreacherArthur Veary Treacher was an English actor born in Brighton, East Sussex, England.Treacher was a veteran of World War I. After the war, he established a stage career and in 1928, he went to America as part of a musical-comedy revue called Great Temptations...
as Upton Ward - Keye LukeKeye LukeKeye Luke was a Chinese-born American actor. He was the first Chinese-American contract player signed with RKO, Universal and, later, MGM and is generally acknowledged as the leading Asian-American actor of this era of American cinema.-Background:...
as Ling - Cady's Secretary - Willie Fung as Yen - Cady's Major Domo
- Doris LloydDoris LloydHessy Doris Lloyd was an English actress.She appeared in over 150 films between 1920 and 1967, including the 1933 low-budget Monogram Pictures version of Oliver Twist, in which she played Nancy...
as Mrs. Ward - Eily MalyonEily MalyonEily Malyon was an English character actress in the 1930s and 1940s.Born as Eily Sophie Lees-Craston in London in 1878 or 1879. Her mother, Agnes Thomas, was also an actress...
as Mrs. Little - Head of Mission - Joan CarrollJoan CarrollJoan Carroll was a successful child star in movies between 1938 and 1948.-Biography:Born as Joan Felt, she became an accomplished child actress, scoring personal successes on Broadway in the hit musical Panama Hattie, and the 1940 film, Primrose Path, as Ginger Rogers's younger sister...
as Winifred Ward (as Joan Carol) - Leonid Snegoff as Boris - Russian Consul
- Philip Ahn as Col. Wai Kang
- Jonathan HaleJonathan HaleJonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.-Career:Born Jonathan Hatley in Ontario, Canada, Hale was well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Farnack in various The Saint films...
as Assistant Secretary of State - Moroni OlsenMoroni OlsenMoroni Olsen was an American actor.-Biography:Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Mormon parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Marsha Hoverholst who named him after the Moroni found in the Book of Mormon. Some sources have claimed that Olsen's birth name was John Willard Clawson, or even John Willard...
as Shanghai Managing Editor - Harry Hayden as Shanghai Telegraph Manager