Monty Banks
Monty Banks was a short, stocky but somehow debonair Italian-born comic actor, later also writer and director. In the US from 1914, he first appeared on stage in musical comedy and cabaret. By 1917 he was working as a dancer in New York's Dominguez Cafe. After this he turned to films, acting and doing stunt work at Keystone, Universal and for Al Christie. Changing his name from Mario Bianchi to Monty Banks may have been prompted by Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle as a passing reference to his playing '"montebanks". By 1919 Banks had moved to Vitagraph to play a villain in The Grocery Clerk (1919), foil to star comic Larry Semon. Banks first came to the fore in his own right as star of the "Welcome Comedies" made by Warner Brothers. He spent the early 1920s at Fox and Grand Asher, graduating to writing and directing two-reel comedies with himself as the star. Most noteworthy entries in regard to inventive sight gags and Mack Sennett--style madcap plots are Pay or Move (1924) and The Golf Bug (1924). The success of this series prompted Banks to create an independent production company, the Monty Banks Pictures Corporation, in conjunction with writer/director Howard Estabrook. He made several feature-length films for Pathe, including Play Safe (1927)) (generally considered his best work), which featured a climactic runaway train sequence. This style of fast-action slapstick made it inevitable that Banks suffered more than his fair share of injuries, especially since he continued to do many of his own stunts. From the late 1920s Banks worked in England and made several appearances in sound films. However, his accent proved to be something of an obstacle. He therefore decided, after 1930, to concentrate on directing and producing. He helmed four features starring the popular entertainer Gracie Fields, who became his second wife in 1940. In 1935 he directed a well-received George Formby comedy, No Limit (1935), about the TT motorcycle races on the Isle of Man, which were shot on location there. With the outbreak of World War II Banks--being an Italian citizen--would have faced internment in England as an enemy alien. He therefore deemed it necessary to flee to Canada, and from there to the neutral United States. He eventually obtained American citizenship, for which he had applied years earlier, but had forgotten to submit the necessary paperwork. Back in Hollywood he ended up at 20th Century-Fox, directing Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in Great Guns (1941), arguably one of their lesser efforts. Banks died of a heart attack during a trip through Italy in January 1950, aged just 52. Sadly, the majority of his one- and two-reelers are now considered lost films. As a result, his status as a leading comic of the silent screen may have somewhat diminished--except, perhaps, in his home town of Cesena, where a foundation was established in his honor (the "Aula Didattica Monty Banks"), offering students "practical courses on experimental aspects of video production".
Fotos
Filme (98)
Days of Thrills and Laughter
1961 · Self (archive footage)
Elstree Story
1952 · Himself
The Slappiest Days of Our Lives
1951 · (archive footage)
A Bell for Adano
1945 · Giuseppe
Great Guns
1941 · Director
Blood and Sand
1941 · Antonio Lopez
Olympic Honeymoon
1940 · Orban, Writer
Shipyard Sally
1939 · Director
We're Going to Be Rich
1938 · Director
Keep Smiling
1938 · Director
Queen of Hearts
1936 · Montague Banking, Director
Keep Your Seats, Please
1936 · Director
No Limit
1935 · Director
Man of the Moment
1935 · Doctor, Director
Hello, Sweetheart
1935 · Director
18 Minutes
1935 · Director
So You Won't Talk
1935 · Tony
Father and Son
1935 · Director
The Church Mouse
1934 · Harry Blump, the Window Washer (uncredited), Director
Votre sourire
1934 · Director
Falling in Love
1934 · Film Director, Director
The Girl in Possession
1934 · Caruso, Director, Writer
You Made Me Love You
1933 · Taxi Driver (uncredited), Director
Heads We Go
1933 · Chauffeur, Director
Leave It to Me
1933 · Director
Love and Luck
1932 · Director
For the Love of Mike
1932 · Chef, Director
The Tenderfoot
1932 · Adaptation
Money for Nothing
1932 · Director
Tonight's the Night - Pass It On
1931 · Convict, Director
Poor Old Bill
1931 · Director
My Wife's Family
1931 · Director
What a Night!
1931 · Director, Producer
Old Soldiers Never Die
1931 · Producer, Director
The Black Hand Gang
1930 · Director
Almost a Honeymoon
1930 · Writer, Director
Why Sailors Leave Home
1930 · Director
Kiss Me Sergeant
1930 · Director
His First Car
1930 · Director
Not So Quiet on the Western Front
1930 · Director
The Jerry Builders
1930 · Director
The New Waiter
1930 · Director
The Musical Beauty Shop
1930 · Director
Amateur Night in London
1930 · Director, Writer
Eve's Fall
1930 · Director
Atlantic
1929 · Dandy
The Compulsory Husband
1929 · Monty, Director
Week-End Wives
1929 · Max Ammon
Cocktails
1928 · Director
Adam's Apple
1928 · Monty Adams
A Perfect Gentleman
1928 · Monty Brooks
Flying Luck
1927 · The Boy
Chasing Choo Choos
1927 · Monty, Story
Horse Shoes
1927 · Monty Milde, Screenplay, Executive Producer, Story
Play Safe
1927 · The Boy, Story
Atta Boy
1926 · Monty Milde, Executive Producer
Africa F.O.B.
1925 · Monty Banks, the Stranger
Keep Smiling
1925 · The Boy, Writer
Home Cooking
1924
The Golf Bug
1924 · Monty
A Wild Goose Chase
1924 · Monty
Pay or Move
1924 · Monty, Producer
Wedding Bells
1924 · The Groom
Hot Sands
1924 · Director
Taxi Please
1923 · The Taxi Driver
The Covered Schooner
1923 · The Boy
Paging Love
1923 · The Encyclopedia Salesman
Love's Handicap
1923 · The Watchful Waiter
Oils Well!
1923 · Monty, the Office Force, Producer
Six A.M.
1923
Always Late
1923
Brilliantine the Bull Fighter
1922 · Adolph Brilliantino
Derby Day
1922
Cleaned and Dry
1921 · The Dry Cleaner Delivery Wagon Driver
Fresh Air
1921 · The boy
In and Out
1921 · Mr. Newlywed
A Bedroom Scandal
1921 · A Husband
Where Is My Wife?
1921 · The Jealous Husband
Nearly Married
1920 · Count Up / Mac Aroni
A Flivver Wedding
1920 · The Boy
The Garage
1920 · Man with Dog (uncredited)
The Grocery Clerk
1919 · The Tow Gusher, a 'He Vamp'
Too Much Johnson
1919 · Leon Dathis
The Head Waiter
1919 · Dinning Customer
Don't Park Here
1919 · A Rival
One Night Only
1919
Her First False Hare
1919 · Unnamed
Coppers and Scents
1919 · Sherlock McNutt
Love
1919 · Farmhand
Camping Out
1919
The Sheriff
1918
A Scrap of Paper
1918 · Soldier
The Belles of Liberty
1918 · Harold Hatband (Son) as Frenchie Bianchi
A Blind Pig
1918 · French Salesman
Did She Do Wrong?
1918
The Purple Mask
1916 · Jack Elliot & Jacques, Patricia's Butler (as Mario Bianchi)
Cold Hearts and Hot Flames
1916
Squirrel Food
· The Jailbird
Serien (0)
Keine Filmografie verfügbar.