The League of Frightened Men (1937 film)
Encyclopedia
The League of Frightened Men is a 1937 mystery film based on the second Nero Wolfe novel
by Rex Stout
. Directed by Alfred E. Green, the Columbia Pictures film stars Walter Connolly
as Nero Wolfe
, a role played by Edward Arnold
in the previous year's Meet Nero Wolfe
. The role of Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin
was reprised by Lionel Stander
.
The League of Frightened Men
The League of Frightened Men is the second Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story was serialized in six issues of The Saturday Evening Post under the title The Frightened Men. The novel was published in 1935 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc...
by Rex Stout
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
. Directed by Alfred E. Green, the Columbia Pictures film stars Walter Connolly
Walter Connolly
Walter Connolly was an American character actor who appeared in almost fifty films between 1914 and 1939.Connolly was a successful stage actor who appeared in twenty-two Broadway productions between 1916 and 1935, notably revivals of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Chekhov's...
as Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
, a role played by Edward Arnold
Edward Arnold (actor)
Edward Arnold was an American actor. He was born on the Lower East Side of New York City as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider, the son of German immigrants Carl Schneider and Elizabeth Ohse.-Acting career:...
in the previous year's Meet Nero Wolfe
Meet Nero Wolfe
Meet Nero Wolfe is a 1936 mystery film based on the 1934 novel Fer-de-Lance, written by Rex Stout. Set in New York, the story introduced the detective genius Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin...
. The role of Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin
Archie Goodwin (fictional detective)
Archie Goodwin is a fictional character and detective in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. The witty voice of all the stories, he recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 to 1975 . He lives in Nero Wolfe's brownstone in New York City.Archie was born on October 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio,...
was reprised by Lionel Stander
Lionel Stander
Lionel Jay Stander was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television.-Early life and career:Lionel Stander was born in The Bronx, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants, the first of three children...
.
Cast
- Walter ConnollyWalter ConnollyWalter Connolly was an American character actor who appeared in almost fifty films between 1914 and 1939.Connolly was a successful stage actor who appeared in twenty-two Broadway productions between 1916 and 1935, notably revivals of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Chekhov's...
as Nero Wolfe - Lionel StanderLionel StanderLionel Jay Stander was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television.-Early life and career:Lionel Stander was born in The Bronx, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants, the first of three children...
as Archie Goodwin - Eduardo CiannelliEduardo CiannelliEduardo Ciannelli, sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli, , was an Italian baritone and character actor with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals.-Early life:...
as Paul Chapin - Irene Hervey as Evelyn Hibbard
- Victor KilianVictor KilianVictor Arthur Kilian was an American actor who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s....
as Pitney Scott - Nana BryantNana BryantNana Bryant was an American film actress. She appeared in over 100 films between 1935 and 1955.She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died in Hollywood, California. Her grave is located at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery....
as Agnes Burton - Joseph Allen (Allen Brook) as Mark Chapin
- Walter KingsfordWalter KingsfordWalter Kingsford was a British stage, film and television actor born in Redhill, Surrey, England. He was born Walter Pearce and had several sisters...
as Ferdinand Bowen - Leonard MudieLeonard MudieLeonard Mudie was a British-born character actor whose career ran many decades.His first film appearance was in 1921, and his last on-screen performance was in the Star Trek classic TV series....
as Professor Hibbard - Kenneth Hunter as Dr. Burton
- Charles Irwin as Augustus Farrell
- Rafaela OttianoRafaela OttianoRafaela Ottiano was an Italian-born American stage and film actress.-Early life:Born in Venice, Italy, she emigrated with her parents to the United States, and was processed at Ellis Island in 1910.-Career:...
as Dora Chapin - Edward McNamara as Inspector Cramer
- Jameson Thomas as Michael Ayers
- Ian WolfeIan WolfeIan Wolfe was an American actor whose films date from 1934 to 1990. Until 1934, he worked as a theatre actor. Wolfe mostly found work as a character actor, appearing in over 270 films...
as Nicholas Cabot - 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 Alexander Drummond - Herbert Ashley as Fritz
- James FlavinJames FlavinJames William Flavin, Jr. was an American character actor whose career lasted nearly half a century.-Life and career:...
as Joe
Reception
- The New York Times, July 2, 1937 — The League of Frightened Men is a new Nero Wolfe episode for the screen, and it finds Walter Connolly, the incumbent Nero, prissily substituting chocolate for the more familiar Wolfe diet of beer. This is rather hard on Lionel (Archie) Stander, because chocolate makes him boip, whereas the beer used to be right to his taste... It should be reported that The League of Frightened Men is a well-knit mystery, and well played out.
- Jon Tuska, The Detective in Hollywood — Unhappily, Lionel Stander's Archie in The League of Frightened Men is far too much of a bungler. The plot follows the novel, which ran initially in The Saturday Evening Post. A group of ten men is threatened by one of their number, and murders begin. Eduardo Ciannelli is the logical suspect, since he was crippled in a hazing while the men were all in college. ... The film was in no way the equal of its predecessor.