Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States.

Career

Banks was born Mario Bianchi in

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

, Italy. In 1914, Bianchi emigrated to the United States, first trying his luck on the New York stage. By 1918, he was an actor in Hollywood with the Arbuckle Company, performing in over 35 silent short comedies by the early 1920s, and then, starring in feature-length action comedy-thrillers as '' Play Safe'' (1927). (A large excerpt from this movie is included in Robert Youngson's compilation film ''Days of Thrills and Laughter'' (1961) and the car-to-train transfer stunt explained in the 1980 documentary series ''

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

''). Like

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film co ...

, the comedy-thrillers he produced were popular but became increasingly risky and Banks was seriously injured after being roped to the back of a car and dragged down a cliff face. With the arrival of

sound films A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, Banks's strong Italian accent forced him to phase out his acting career in favor of working as a gagman and director. He directed

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

in their film '' Great Guns'', under the name "Montague Banks". By the 1930s he had relocated to the United Kingdom where he produced and directed “quota quickies“ for the comedy team of

Leslie Fuller Leslie Fuller (9 October 1888 – 24 April 1948) was a British comedy film actor. Early life Albert Leslie Fuller was born in 1888 at 14 Pollard Row, Bethnal Green, London.Some sources wrongly give his birthplace as Margate, as he had a lifelo ...

and

Syd Courtenay Syd Courtenay was a South African-born British actor and screenwriter. He was a frequent collaborator with the comedian Leslie Fuller. Courtenay first met Fuller in 1919 in Margate and they soon struck up a partnership with routines featuring thei ...

, and later the breakthrough films of

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

and

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

. After

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

purchased

Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky1 and others. The complex also provide ...

outright in 1934, he directed (and occasionally acted in) various comedies and crime stories intended for UK release only, featuring actors of the caliber of Douglas Fairbanks Jr.,

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won th ...

and

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...

. Banks subsequently became an associate producer at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Personal life

He was married to American actress

Gladys Frazin Gladys Frazin (June 21, 1900 – March 9, 1939) was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in a mixture of American and British films. On Broadway, Frazin played Mimi in ''The Masked Woman'' (1922). Also on stage she featured in Edgar ...

. The marriage was not a happy one and they divorced on 29 April 1932 as a result of her abusive behaviour. She subsequently committed suicide in March 1939. Banks met British singer and actress

in 1935, subsequently directing her in four of her films, and they married in March 1940. As an Italian national, he would have been classified as an 'enemy alien' in Britain during World War II. Consequently, he and Fields left the UK for Canada initially, and then the neutral

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in order to prevent his internment.

Italian American internment The internment of Italian Americans refers to the government's internment of Italian nationals in the United States during World War II. As was customary after Italy and the US were at war, they were classified as "enemy aliens" and some were d ...

also came into place in the United States during 1941 and 1942, affecting thousands of Italians, but this was eventually relaxed.

Death

Banks held dual Italian and American citizenship. He died, reportedly in the arms of Fields, while traveling on the

Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...

train just outside Arona, Italy, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, aged 52.

Aula Didattica Monty Banks

In his home town of

a Foundation was created in honor of Banks, entitled the Aula Didattica Monty Banks. It is "an initiative promoted by the municipality, the course is open to all and provides the opportunity to create videos".

Selected filmography

Actor

* ''

A Scrap of Paper ''A Scrap of Paper'' is a 1918 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. Cast * Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Fatty * Glen Cavender - The Kaiser * Al St. John - The Crown Prince * Monty Banks - Soldier See also * Fatty ...

'' (

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

) * ''

The Sheriff ''The Sheriff'' is a 1918 American short comedy film directed by and starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The film is considered to be lost.

'' (1918) * '' Camping Out'' (

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

) * ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

'' (1919) * ''

Too Much Johnson ''Too Much Johnson'' is a 1938 American silent comedy film written and directed by Orson Welles. An unfinished film component of a stage production, it was made three years before Welles directed ''Citizen Kane'', but it was never publicly screen ...

'' (1919) * ''

Hot Sands ''Hot Sands'' is a 1924 silent film comedy short produced, directed by and starring Monty Banks. Herman C. Raymaker shares directing credit with Banks. It is preserved in the Library of Congress collection''Catalog of Holdings The American Fil ...

'' (1924) * '' Racing Luck'' (1924) * '' Atta Boy'' (1926) * '' Horse Shoes'' (1927) * ''

Flying Luck ''Flying Luck'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Herman C. Raymaker and starring Monty Banks, Jean Arthur and Jack W. Johnston.Walker p.577 Cast * Monty Banks as The Boy * Jean Arthur as The Girl * Jack W. Johnston as The Col ...

'' (1927) * '' Play Safe'' (1927) * ''Chasing Choo Choos'' (1927) two-reel version of ''Play Safe'' (1927) showing only the train chase * ''

Adam's Apple The Adam's apple or laryngeal prominence is the protrusion in the human neck formed by the angle of the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx, typically visible in men, less frequently in women. Structure The topographic structure which is e ...

'' (1928) * '' A Perfect Gentleman'' (1928) * ''

Weekend Wives ''Weekend Wives'' is a 1928 British silent comedy film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Monty Banks, Jameson Thomas and Estelle Brody. It was made at British International Pictures's Elstree Studios. The film is set in Paris and resort t ...

'' (1928) * ''

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

'' (

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

) * '' You Made Me Love You'' (1933) * ''

Heads We Go ''Heads We Go'' (U.S. title: ''The Charming Deceiver'') is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Constance Cummings, Frank Lawton and Binnie Barnes. It was made at Elstree Studios (Shenley Road), Elstree Studios by Briti ...

'' (1933) * ''

The Girl in Possession ''The Girl in Possession'' is a 1934 British comedy film starring Laura La Plante and Henry Kendall and directed by Monty Banks, who also wrote the screenplay and featured in the film himself. The film was a quota quickie production shot at Twi ...

'' (1934) * ''

Falling in Love Falling in love is the development of strong feelings of attachment and love, usually towards another person. The term is metaphorical, emphasizing that the process, like the physical act of falling, is sudden, uncontrollable and leaves the ...

'' (1935) * '' So You Won't Talk'' (1935) * '' Blood and Sand'' (1941) * ''

A Bell for Adano ''A Bell for Adano'' (1945) is a film directed by Henry King and starring John Hodiak and Gene Tierney. It was adapted from the 1944 novel of the same title by John Hersey, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1945. In his review of t ...

'' (1945)

Director

* ''

'' (1924) * ''

Cocktails A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...

'' (1928) * ''

Why Sailors Leave Home ''Why Sailors Leave Home'' is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Leslie Fuller, Peter Bernard and Eve Gray. The screenplay concerns a British sailor on shore leave in the Middle East who ends up being mistaken for a ...

'' (1930) * ''

The Black Hand Gang ''The Black Hand Gang'' is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Wee Georgie Wood, Viola Compton and Alfred Wood. It was made by British International Pictures and based on a play by ''Black Hand George'' by Bert Lee an ...

'' (1930) * ''

The Compulsory Husband ''The Compulsory Husband'' is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and Harry Lachman and starring Banks, Lillian Manton and Clifford Heatherley. It was based on a novel by John Glyder. Cast * Monty Banks as Monty * Lillian Manton ...

'' (1930) * '' Almost a Honeymoon'' (1930) * '' What a Night!'' (1931) * '' Old Soldiers Never Die'' (1931) * ''

The Wife's Family ''The Wife's Family'' (also released as ''My Wife's Family'') is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gene Gerrard, Muriel Angelus, and Amy Veness. It was based on the popular stage farce by Fred Duprez. The play was ...

'' (1931) * ''

Poor Old Bill ''Poor Old Bill'' is a 1931 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Leslie Fuller, Iris Ashley and Syd Courtenay. It marked the film debut of a very young Peter Lawford, playing the child of the main character, Bill (Leslie F ...

'' (1931) * '' Not So Quiet on the Western Front'' (1932) * '' Love and Luck'' (1932) * ''

Kiss Me Sergeant ''Kiss Me Sergeant'' is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Leslie Fuller, Gladys Cruickshank and Gladys Frazin. It was based on a play by Syd Courtenay and was sometimes released under the alternative title ''Idol ...

'' (1932) * '' Money for Nothing'' (1932) * '' For the Love of Mike'' (1932) * '' Tonight's the Night'' (1932) * '' Leave It to Me'' (1933) * '' You Made Me Love You'' (1933) * ''

'' (1933) * ''

Father and Son Father and Son or Fathers and Sons may refer to: Literature * ''Father and Son'' (book), a 1907 memoir by Edmund Gosse *Father and Son (comics), cartoon characters created by E. O. Plauen * ''Fathers and Sons'' (novel), an 1862 novel by Ivan Tur ...

'' (1934) * '' The Church Mouse'' (1934) * '' Man of the Moment'' (

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

) * ''

'' (1935) (also acted) * ''

Hello, Sweetheart ''Hello, Sweetheart'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Claude Hulbert, Gregory Ratoff and Jane Carr. The film was made by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers at the company's Teddington Studios.Wood p.86 I ...

'' (1935) * ''

18 Minutes ''18 Minutes'' is a 1935 British drama film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gregory Ratoff, John Loder and Benita Hume. It was shot at Walton Studios near London. Plot A lion tamer adopts an orphaned girl and marries her, only to find ...

'' (1935) * ''

No Limit No Limit may refer to: Music Record labels *No Limit Records, a record label founded by Master P * No Limit Forever Records, a record label founded by Romeo Miller, son of Master P Albums * ''No Limit'' (Art Pepper album), 1977 * ''No Limit'' ...

'' (

) * ''

Keep Your Seats, Please ''Keep Your Seats, Please'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring George Formby, Florence Desmond and Alastair Sim. It marked the film debut of the child star Binkie Stuart. The film was made by Associated Talking ...

'' (1936) * ''

Queen of Hearts The queen of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. Queen of Hearts or The Queen of Hearts may refer to: Books * "The Queen of Hearts" (poem), anonymous nursery rhyme published 1782 * ''The Queen of Hearts'', an 1859 novel by ...

'' (1936) * ''

We're Going to Be Rich ''We're Going to Be Rich'' is a 1938 British historical musical comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gracie Fields, Victor McLaglen and Brian Donlevy. Plot During the 1880s Kit Dobson, an English music hall singer performing in Austr ...

'' (1938) * '' Keep Smiling'' (1938) * ''

Shipyard Sally ''Shipyard Sally'' is a 1939 British musical comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gracie Fields, Sydney Howard and Norma Varden. The film is notable for the song "Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye", which became a major hit. Plot ...

'' (1939) * '' Great Guns'' (

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

)

References

Sources

* *

External links

* * *
Notes for an essay on the film career of Monty Banks

Monty Banks
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Monty 1897 births 1950 deaths American male film actors American male comedy actors American male silent film actors Italian male film actors Italian male silent film actors Italian film directors Italian emigrants to the United States People from Cesena Silent film comedians 20th-century Italian male actors 20th-century American male actors