Police Court
Encyclopedia
Police Court is a 1932 American Monogram Pictures
drama
motion picture
starring Henry B. Walthall
, Leon Janney
, Lionel Belmore
, and King Baggot
. Directed
by Louis King
and produced
by I. E. Chadwick, the screenplay
was adapted by Stuart Anthony from his story. Police Court features an all-star cast from the silent film
era.
. The legendary film star is forced by necessity to take a job selling patent medicine
at a traveling sideshow
dressed in a costume as Abraham Lincoln
. Having trouble staying sober, he is arrested and taken before a "police court" for drunken disorder. His teenage son, Junior Barry (played by Leon Janney), pleads on Barry's behalf and Judge Robert Webster (played by Edmund Breese) grants him a reprieve.
Junior is determined to see his father make good again, vowing to keep him off the bottle and on the screen. He attempts to get bit part
s for Barry, but he has trouble delivering his lines on the movie set for the compassionate director, Henry Field (played by King Baggot).
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Henry B. Walthall
Henry B. Walthall
Henry Brazeale Walthall was an American film actor.-Career:Walthall began his career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway in a supporting role in William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide in 1906–1908. His career in movies began in 1908, in the film Rescued from an Eagle's Nest, which also...
, Leon Janney
Leon Janney
Leon Janney was an American actor and radio personality between 1920 to 1980.-Career:Born Leon Ramon in Ogden, Utah, Janney made his first theatrical appearance at age two before an audience at the Pantages Theatre in his hometown...
, Lionel Belmore
Lionel Belmore
Lionel Belmore . When he was born, Wimbledon was in Surrey. He was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century, appearing with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, Lily Langtry and other famous actors. He entered in films from 1911...
, and King Baggot
King Baggot
William King Baggot was an American actor, director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent era...
. Directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Louis King
Louis King
Louis King was an American actor and movie director of westerns and adventure movies in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. He was born on June 28, 1898 in Christiansburg, Virginia....
and produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by I. E. Chadwick, the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was adapted by Stuart Anthony from his story. Police Court features an all-star cast from the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era.
Plot
A once popular actor, Nat Barry (played by Henry B. Walthall), is a has-been because of his alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. The legendary film star is forced by necessity to take a job selling patent medicine
Patent medicine
Patent medicine refers to medical compounds of questionable effectiveness sold under a variety of names and labels. The term "patent medicine" is somewhat of a misnomer because, in most cases, although many of the products were trademarked, they were never patented...
at a traveling sideshow
Sideshow
In America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair or other such attraction.- Types of attractions :There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions:...
dressed in a costume as Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. Having trouble staying sober, he is arrested and taken before a "police court" for drunken disorder. His teenage son, Junior Barry (played by Leon Janney), pleads on Barry's behalf and Judge Robert Webster (played by Edmund Breese) grants him a reprieve.
Junior is determined to see his father make good again, vowing to keep him off the bottle and on the screen. He attempts to get bit part
Bit part
A bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue . In British television, bit parts are referred to as under sixes...
s for Barry, but he has trouble delivering his lines on the movie set for the compassionate director, Henry Field (played by King Baggot).
Cast
- Henry B. WalthallHenry B. WalthallHenry Brazeale Walthall was an American film actor.-Career:Walthall began his career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway in a supporting role in William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide in 1906–1908. His career in movies began in 1908, in the film Rescued from an Eagle's Nest, which also...
as Nat Barry - Leon JanneyLeon JanneyLeon Janney was an American actor and radio personality between 1920 to 1980.-Career:Born Leon Ramon in Ogden, Utah, Janney made his first theatrical appearance at age two before an audience at the Pantages Theatre in his hometown...
as Junior Barry - Lionel BelmoreLionel BelmoreLionel Belmore . When he was born, Wimbledon was in Surrey. He was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century, appearing with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, Lily Langtry and other famous actors. He entered in films from 1911...
as Uncle Al Furman - King BaggotKing BaggotWilliam King Baggot was an American actor, director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent era...
as Henry Field, movie director - Al St. John as Skid
- Edmund BreeseEdmund BreeseEdmund Breese was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Long on the stage with a varied Broadway career before entering movies he appeared with James O'Neill in The Count of Monte Cristo , The Lion and the Mouse with Richard Bennett, The Third Degree with Helen Ware, The...
as Judge Robert Webster - Aileen PringleAileen PringleAileen Pringle was an American stage and film actress during the silent film era.-Early life:Born Aileen Bisbee into a prominent and wealthy San Francisco, California family and educated in Europe, Pringle began her acting career shortly after her 1916 marriage to Charles McKenzie Pringle, the son...
as Diana McCormick - Walter James as Cappy Hearn
- Al BridgeAl BridgeAl Bridge was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954...
- Bud OsborneBud OsborneBud Osborne was an American film actor. He appeared in over 600 films and television programs between 1912 and 1963.Osborne was born in Knox County, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack...
- Paul PanzerPaul PanzerPaul Panzer was a German-American silent film actor. He appeared in 333 films between 1905 and 1952. Panzer was best known for playing Koerner/Raymond Owen in The Perils of Pauline....
as movie actor - Natalie JoyceNatalie JoyceNatalie Joyce was an American movie actress from Norfolk, Virginia.Joyce began her motion picture career in a series of two-reel comedies produced by the Christie Film Company. She was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1925. In 1927 she co-starred with Tom Mix in The Circus Ace for Fox Pictures...
as actress - Jack RichardsonJack Richardson (actor)Jack Howard Richardson was an American actor.Born in New York, New York, he was signed to a contract in silent films in 1911 by the Thanhouser Company, where he worked for several years....
- Fred ToonesFred ToonesFred "Snowflake" Toones was an African-American film actor comedian of the early sound era...
as Snowflake
External links
- Police Court at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...