Topic: Gino Corrado Sighting in THE LOST CITY

[Dog Hambone]

I was recently watching a movie called THE LOST CITY, and lo and behold, there was Gino Corrado playing an Arab sheikh. The movie is dated 1935 & stars someone named William Boyd. I don't recall ever spotting Gino Corrado anywhere else. For those of you who don't recall, he plays Signor Spumoni in the Stooges short MICRO-PHONIES.

THE LOST CITY would probably have been a good candidate for MST3K except that it's 204 minutes long.

Here's the synopsis: "Scientist Bruce Gordon develops a machine that tracks the electrical disturbances wrecking [sic] havoc on the world. His device leads him to a remote Central African region called the Magnetic Mountains, where a hidden city houses a mad scientist with plans to take over the world by using an invention that has been creating the electrical disturbances. Gordon and his band of explorers must try to stop this madman while also liberating the creator of the electrical machine and his beautiful daughter."

[BeAStooge]

I don't recall ever spotting Gino Corrado anywhere else.

... & stars someone named William Boyd

You've never seen THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940), CITIZEN KANE (1941), CASABLANCA (1942), THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940), MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939), TOP HAT (1935), or any of Gino's other almost-400 film credits?

William Boyd was once a household name as westerns character 'Hopalong Cassidy.'

[Dog Hambone]

Thanks for the info. Corrado was quite the prolific bit player, wasn't he?

I figured you'd know more about the Stooges supporting players than just about anyone else. 

[Rich Finegan]

William Boyd was once a household name as westerns character 'Hopalong Cassidy.'

The William Boyd in "The Lost City" was NOT the same William Boyd who later became famous as Hopalong Cassidy. The Boyd in "The Lost City" was known as William "Stage" Boyd to attempt to avoid confusion with the other Boyd.

"The Lost City" was actually a serial, hence the extra-long running time noted above. It was also released and rereleased a few times cut down to feature length.

[metaldams]

You've never seen THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940), CITIZEN KANE (1941), CASABLANCA (1942), THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940), MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939), TOP HAT (1935), or any of Gino's other almost-400 film credits?

William Boyd was once a household name as westerns character 'Hopalong Cassidy.'

He's also the guy carting Groucho around in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA.

Yeah, Gino Carrado is the only actor to appear in both CASABLANCA and CITIZEN KANE.  I've read him listed as an extra on INTOLERANCE too!

[Dog Hambone]

"The Lost City" was actually a serial, hence the extra-long running time noted above. It was also released and rereleased a few times cut down to feature length.

It should have been pretty easy to pare it down to feature length. Most of the movie involves the good guys getting caught by the bad guys & then escaping; over & over again, ad nauseum.

I watched CASABLANCA the other night on TCM. Not much of a role for Gino in that one; he was a waiter in the background of the scene for maybe 10 or 15 seconds. If I had blinked, I'd a missed him. A far cry from the rather substantial speaking role he had in THE LOST CITY. 

[Rich Finegan]

It should have been pretty easy to pare it down to feature length. Most of the movie involves the good guys getting caught by the bad guys & then escaping; over & over again, ad nauseum.

I watched CASABLANCA the other night on TCM. Not much of a role for Gino in that one; he was a waiter in the background of the scene for maybe 10 or 15 seconds. If I had blinked, I'd a missed him.  

Let that be a lesson to you. Never blink during any movie!

[metaldams]

It should have been pretty easy to pare it down to feature length. Most of the movie involves the good guys getting caught by the bad guys & then escaping; over & over again, ad nauseum.

I watched CASABLANCA the other night on TCM. Not much of a role for Gino in that one; he was a waiter in the background of the scene for maybe 10 or 15 seconds. If I had blinked, I'd a missed him. A far cry from the rather substantial speaking role he had in THE LOST CITY. 

The way you described THE LOST CITY sounds just like any other serial.  Not my favorite genre of movies.

As for Gino's limited role in CASABLANCA, I can't think of a single Curly/Shemp era Stooge supporting player who had a major role in an A-list Hollywood film, or if they did (see Linda Winters/Comingore in CITIZEN KANE), they've moved on from Stooge films by this point..  We all love Columbia shorts, and I personally would rather watch them than almost anything else, but let's be honest, these aren't prestige films.

[Rich Finegan]

I can't think of a single Curly/Shemp era Stooge supporting player who had a major role in an A-list Hollywood film, or if they did (see Linda Winters/Comingore in CITIZEN KANE), they've moved on from Stooge films by this point..  We all love Columbia shorts, and I personally would rather watch them than almost anything else, but let's be honest, these aren't prestige films.

Bruce Bennett's career went from leading roles to Stooges and other non-prestige Columbia shorts, then back to leading roles. I've always thought that was quite impressive that he was able to do that.
And of course we all know about Lucille Ball and Lloyd Bridges having roles in Stooges shorts early in their careers...but as you noted about Linda Winters, some had moved on from Stooges films by that point.

[metaldams]

Bruce Bennett's career went from leading roles to Stooges and other non-prestige Columbia shorts, then back to leading roles. I've always thought that was quite impressive that he was able to do that.
And of course we all know about Lucille Ball and Lloyd Bridges having roles in Stooges shorts early in their careers...but as you noted about Linda Winters, some had moved on from Stooges films by that point.

Geez, how can I forget Lucy?      Lloyd Bridges too was in THEY STOOGE TO CONGA, that's right.

With the exception of Chaplin and Thalberg era Marx films, pretty much all non screwball comedies were considered low brow in the talking era.  I got volume 2 of the Laurel and Hardy Fox set recently, and the audio commentaries pretty much state how a new actor or actress at Fox would be thrown into a L&H film to get their feet wet.