''Undercover Men'' is a 1934 American-Canadian
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Sam Newfield
Sam Newfield, born Samuel Neufeld, (December 6, 1899 - November 10, 1964), also known as Sherman Scott or Peter Stewart, was an American B-movie Film director, director, one of the most prolific in American film history—he is credited with d ...
and starring
Charles Starrett
Charles Robert Starrett (March 28, 1903 – March 22, 1986) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the ''Durango Kid'' westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: ...
,
Adrienne Dore
Adrienne Dore (born Elizabeth Himmelsbach; May 22, 1907 – November 26, 1992) was an American actress, model, and beauty pageant winner. She was first runner-up in the Miss America 1925 pageant, competing as Miss Los Angeles. Dore went on to ...
and
Kenne Duncan
Kenne Duncan (February 17, 1903 – February 5, 1972) was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but ...
.
[Pitts p.376] It was made in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
by the
B-movie
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...
company Booth Productions. With a plot following the activities of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
, the film contains elements of a
Northern.
In 1934 it was released as a
quota quickie
The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928.
D ...
in the United Kingdom by
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
, as it was eligible for the British quota having been made within the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
.
Cast
*
Charles Starrett
Charles Robert Starrett (March 28, 1903 – March 22, 1986) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the ''Durango Kid'' westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: ...
as Const. Robert Hunter
*
Adrienne Dore
Adrienne Dore (born Elizabeth Himmelsbach; May 22, 1907 – November 26, 1992) was an American actress, model, and beauty pageant winner. She was first runner-up in the Miss America 1925 pageant, competing as Miss Los Angeles. Dore went on to ...
as Betty Winton
*
Kenne Duncan
Kenne Duncan (February 17, 1903 – February 5, 1972) was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but ...
as Blake Hardy
*
Wheeler Oakman
Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American film actor.
Early years
Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger in Washington, D.C., and educated in that city's schools. He grew up in Fairfax, Virg ...
as Insp. A.R. McCrae
*
Eric Clavering
Eric Clavering (1901–1989) was a British-born actor who spent much of his career in Canada. He played supporting roles in a number of British films during the Second World War. He later moved to Canada, and had a recurring role on the Canadian ...
as Madigan
* Philip Brandon as Const. Jamie Jamieson
* Austin Moran as Sgt. Woods
* Grace Webster as Mrs. Jamieson
* Gilmore Young as Hyde
* Elliott Lorraine as Mr. Winton
* Wilbur Freeman as Hammond
* Farnham Baxter as One-Eyed Ezra Hardy
* Muriel Deane as Lady in hardware store
References
Bibliography
* Pitts, Michael R. ''Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films''. McFarland, 2012.
External links
*
1938 films
1930s action films
1930s English-language films
English-language Canadian films
Canadian action films
American action films
Films set in Canada
Films directed by Sam Newfield
American black-and-white films
1930s American films
1930s Canadian films
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