3 Men on a Horse (Warner Bros.) (1936)

Frank McHugh Shows Rare Modesty For Movie Actor Star Of “Three Men On A Horse” Never Underscores His Name By CARLISLE JONES Frank McHugh’s scrap books are dusty from lack of use but he can, on occasion, be persuaded to bring them out and thumb through the not too neatly kept pages. Frank, who has the leading role in the First National picture, ‘‘Three Men on a Horse,’’ now showing at the Ses Theatre, is thirty-seven years old and he has spent twenty-eight of those thirty-seven years in stage and screen work. Yet, in spite of this he is, perhaps, the least “actorish” actor in Hollywood today. His scrap books show this. No place in them has his own name been underlined. This is the eighth wonder of the movie world. “TY’ve always intended to fix them up,” he explains by way of apology, “but somehow I never seem to get the time, or the energy.” He made a rapid search through three volumes of clippings, pictures and theatrical announcements and found the one poor notice he had saved. It was the report a Washington, D. C. critic had written following the opening of the play “Princess April” in the Belasco theatre in the capital city. It said unkind things about the production in a rather pleasant way and ended with the line, “Oh! To be in England, now that April’s here!” “He didn’t like it,’ grins Me Hugh. The discovery of this review led the actor on to other items he remembers with particular interest. One was a clipping from a Waterbury, Conn. newspaper which announced, in headlines, “Whole town of Waterbury regrets departure of McHugh.” “I got a friend of mine to put it in,” explains Frank. “He worked on the newspaper and we were great friends. Near the end of the first season I played in stock in Waterbury, I began to be worried because the management hadn’t offered me a job the next year. My friend fixed up the story.” “Did it work?” McHugh turned the page and pointed to a second clipping which was headed, “Frank Me Hugh will be back.” “Tt did,” he said. One printed notice, meant to be pasted as an insert into a London theatre program, oceupies a place of honor in the third scrap book. It reads: “Notice. Owing to the sudden indisposition of James Gleason, the part of H. A. “Hap” Hurley will be played at this performance by Frank MeHugh. Apollo Theatre.” “That was pasted to programs every night for twelve weeks,” explains Frank. “Jimmy Gleason was having appendicitis at the time. Later, when Bob Armstrong was married and went away on his honeymoon, I played his part. I was a general understudy and I staged the show.” Another early clipping, glued into the scrap book years after it was first printed, discloses the fact that Frank played the role of Mary Morgan in “Ten Nights in a Barroom.” She was the little girl who came nightly to get her drunken father to “Come home with me now.” In 1930 McHugh found himself “between engagements” due to the depression and other things over which he had no control and started for Hollywood to see if he could recoup his fortunes there. “Three Men on a_ Horse.” marks the end of his long struggle for recognition in pictures and the beginning of his sereen stardom. Joan Blondell Once Waited on Gilbert Joan Blondell, who plays the part of an ex-chorus girl who gets tangled up with a racing tout in the First National picture, “Three Men on a Horse,” now showing at the .............0000. Theatre, once waited on table in a Santa Monica restaurant. It was owned by her parents. Her greatest thrill was when the late John Gilbert ate at her table and left her a fifty cent tip. Oiwin Picks A Winner Now in its second capacity year on Broadway and being played in four countries by ten companies to thousands of hilrrious crowds, ‘“Three Men on a Horse,’’ declared to be the funniest picture ever filmed, will open at the ........ccc00.. Theatre ON see , with Frank McHugh (above) and Joan Blondell heading the funniest cast ever assembled for a Warner Bros. production. Mat No. SAM LEVENE — is the son of a cantor and might have been one himself except for the fact that he ean’t sing ... He was born in the Bronx and brought up there ... He studied at the Ameriean Acadamy of Dramatic Art and later supported many of the most famous stars ... Among his Broadway plays are “Yellow Jacket,” “Spring Song,” “Tin Pan Alley,” “Dinner at Hight” and “Street Scene.” ... He was appearing in “Three Men on a Horse” on the stage when Mer Sam Levene in ’ Three Men on a Horse’’ at the Strand. Mat No. 105 10e¢ vyn LeRoy, who was to direct the picturization, saw him and insisted that he do the same role in the picture ... Sam Levene is dark ... thirty ... superstitious . .. likes baseball and has so far steered clear of marriage . . e As one of the three smalltime race touts who lure timid Oiwin to his downfall... he is the last word in brash, smoothtalking and utterly ludicrous comedy ... There is a hard-hitting vitality about all the portrayals of Sam Levene... a quality which makes him unforgettable to those who have been fortunate enough to see him on the stage or in pictures. 995 _90e ac)— CAROL HUGHES — danced and sang her way into the talkies. . Born in Chicago, she finished high school there, and then began to study dancing and singing to prepare herself for musical comedy ... Given a try-out by the Keith-Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit she enjoyed three successful seasons with the comedy team of Carol Hughes in j ‘‘Three Men. © on a Horse’’ at the Strand. Mat No. 107 10¢ ... When her act reached Los Angeles she got a good part in a musical show . . A First National scout saw her and at once signed her up for Taylor and Hughes pictures ... She’s been in “Ceiling Zero,” “The Golden Arrow,” “The Singing Kid” and other film hits ... But it is as the weepy wife of Oiwin in the uproarious “Three Men on a Horse” that she finds her best opportunity to date . .. This charming little dark-haired Irish-American has brought something to the screen which is absolutely her own. Glenda Farrell, Jane Bryan, Ruby Keeler and Jeanne Madden have added their own personality to pictures ... each differing greatly from the others. Now comes Carol Hughes of the Windy City. More power to her, as the Irish say ... and may her shadow never grow less. FRANK Mc HUGH — he of the faintly querulous ‘ha-ha-ha’ and the outlandish facial contortions was fore-ordained to the stage.. for both his parents were actors and took him touring as soon as he was able to ‘lisp in numbers’ which was extremely early ae cording to family records ... He was born in Homestead which is ten miles or so from Pittsburgh where he attended grammar and high school, and where later he was a member of a stock company ... The wandering Irish in him took him to London at an early age and while there he understudied the lead in James Gleason’s “Is Zat So” and “The Frank McHugh in ‘““Three Men on a Horse’’ at the Strand. Mat No. 104 10¢ Fall Guy”... He was making his mark on Broadway when he tried his luck in a short... which resulted in a long term First National contract ... In “Three Men on a Horse” he plays the ludicrous role of Erwin (pronounced Oiwin) a timid writer of greeting card verses ... who possesses the secret gift of picking the winners in horse races... a talent which leads to his downfall! ... It is as Oiwin that McHugh is said to come into his own as the prime comedian of the screen. K ALLEN JENKINS — the comedian who rolls ’em in the aisles with his sour-puss, raucous, treat ‘em rough -andlet -’emlike -it-or lump-it mannerism is a New Ycrker of New Yorkers ... His parents were both professionals ... He entered the stage by the back door route, his first job being assistant stage manager to Allen Jenkins in ““Three Men on a Horse’’ at the Strand. Mat No. 118 10¢ BP Sam H. Harris’s show, “Secrets” ..Broadway saw him in “What Price Glory,” “Rain,” “The Last Mile,” “The Front Page,” “Five Star Final” and “Blessed Event” .. . He has the funniest of his always funny “hard boiled” roles in “Three Men on a Horse.” 4 TEDDY HART — was discovered by Director Mervyn LeRoy who saw him in the stage version of “Three Men on a Horse” and insisted that he play the same role in the sereen version . He is five feet two inches Teddy Hart in ‘* Three Men on a Horse’’ at the Strand. Mat No. 128 10¢ et Hie. fore he became an actor he sold brushes, silver polish and fly tall, weighs 12 “poun swatters He even wrote songs... His first part was in “Parlor Bedroom and Bath”. . . Reads a great deal but is not addicted to athleties. JOAN BLONDELL — blonde, beautiful and unfailingly lighthearted and mirth-provoking.. . was born in New York City... But the moment she was able to use a stage-trunk for a cradle her parents whisked her off overseas . . . Long before Joan’s advent, and after it, they toured every corner of the world as vaudeville performers . .. She never passed a birthday in the United States till she was in her teens... Fi nally deciding to get acquainted with her own country she began working in stock companies in small towns ... Broadway saw her first in “The Trial of Mary . . She was in “Penny Warner Bros. Dugan” . Areade” when Joan Blondell in ‘* Three Men on a Horse’? at the Strand. Mat No. 106 10¢ bought it, changed its title to “Sinners’ Holiday”... and ealled Joan to Hollywood with Jimmy Cagney to do the roles they had created on the stage... Her suecess Was instantaneous and she has been featured in numerous pictures . .. a number of them with a singing star from Arkan sas named Dick Powell... It’s only a few weeks since the two middle-aisled and set out for Joan’s home town by way of the Panama Canal... They motore’l up Broadway with cireling planes, confetti, a police escort and cheering crowds to the Waldorf Astoria . . . and began to live happily ever afterward ... ‘Mr. and Mrs. is the name’ now . Those who know say that the funniest role Joan has ever had in all her happy-go-lucky career is her current part in “Three Men on a Horse.” 4 GUY KIBBEE — hus traveled u long way in the fifty years since his arrival in El Paso, Texas... as bald as he is today ... and much less agreeable .. . It is the bland and jovial humanity of Guy Kibbee that makes him so popular with all sorts of people everywhere ... Yet he had toured the country with barn-storming companies for over a quarter of a century before he got the role on Broadway in “Toreh Song” which in turn led to Guy Kibbee in ‘*Three Men on a Horse’’ at the Strand. Mat. No. 108 10¢ Hollywood ... He has been in countless pictures from ribald farces to comedies that gave him a chance to show his real ability and his fame has never suffered . . He is happily married and has two little girls ... His hobbies are fishing and gardening ... and he can tell a tall tale with the best ... In “Three Men on a Horse” he plays the peppery boss for whom Frank MecHug): writes greeting card verses by the gross... There is something strangely ingratiating about Guy Kibbee. All who see him in whatever role he is featured suddenly get the feeling that the world is a much better place than they had imagined. Page Thirty-three