Supporting Players

Back in the early days of talking pictures, those of the 30's, 40's and 50's supporting players were an important part of each picture. Supporting players were people that you might recognize but would be unlikely to remember their names. To a great extent they would be type cast. Particular directors or produceers would request certain people whenever they had a role of a certain type. However, this wasn't always true. Preston Sturges for example tended to use people outside their normally expected role. A really good example is Jack Norton who was noted through nearly 100 separate films for playing drunks. When Norton played a drunk there was no question as to what his problem was. A good example is the W.C. Fields film "The Bank Dick" where Norton playing a movie film director is completely pie eyed and stumbling along held up by two filming assistants. When Sturges used Norton in "Hail the Conquering Hero" he had him cast as a band director leading a marching band. Norton didn't have any screen credit for this role, and not everyone recognized him which would not have been the case if he had played his typical drunk. Incidentally his screen role title in The Bank Dick was A Pismo Clam.


Things have changed in recent years. The film "An Education," a well received film from 20o9, is an interesting example. It starred Casey Mulligan in the lead role along with Peter Sarsgaard, and Olivia Williams. There were several lead supporting players. Far down the list was Emma Thompson, who has played leads and directed and produced films very successfully for several years. Her work is widely known, but here she was a lower supporting player playing the role of an English girls school principal, with just three short scenes. Even more remarkable was Sally Hawkins who has played lead roles in several films including the recent fun film "Poppy." Her role consisted of about four lines of dialogue with not more than 25 words.


In the earlier days this just didn't happen. A lead actor might not play a supporing role of any type until they reached thesenior or near-senior age backet. Supporting roles were for extras, standins and the like. A real good example of this paradox is the well known but mostly under-appreciated Fanklin Pangborn. Pangborn played in nearly 100 films in his nearly 50 year film career. In most of these he is easily recognized as a rather prissy clerk at a counter or the like. He sported a very skinny moustache and looked about what he portrayed. A slightly different take on his role was in the Bing Crosby short film "Blues In the Night" which was released in 1933. Bing's singing by then was greatly appreciated. During this period he made six films for Matt Sennett that mainly consisted of shallow roles but lots of singing. Arguably the best of these was "Blues In the Night.' In this one Pangborn oddly enough played a film director in his prissy style. He drove a big contervible, perhaps a Deusenberg or some othe vehicle of that class. Twice he manages to fall into or be pushed into a swimming pool where several persons are gathered around. Among them was Toby Wing the very delectable teenager, she was 17 at the time, who most people remember only as Dick Powell's companion in the "Young and Helathy" number for the film "42nd street." Toby has no lines in this film which was typical of her fate. But she was easily remembered for sexy appearance in the 42nd Street number.

An oddity of the "Blues in the Night" film is something that normally would happen on camera result in thescene having to be re-shot. Bing is talking to the films female lead Babe Kane near the pool. As they are talking you can see in the distant background a young woman running full out. She disappears in back of a car. You see her next at the swimming pool and you then recognize that it was the peroxide blond Wing.

Toby did have a line in one of Cary Grant's earlier but not particularly popular pictures. Grant plays a Parisian specialist at making women beautiful in face and figure. It's a very shallow role. Toby is one of the women who comes to him for help. She has a couple of lines of dialogue and takes off her dress and stands in her undergarments. Her beauty and lovely figure made her career advance as much as it did. Incidently in this role she is called Consuelo of Claghorne. Grant, the Parisian beauty expert is Dr. Maurice Lamar.

Pangborn made films forever. Some of his memorable roles were in Preston Sturgess films including "Hail the Conquering Hero" which we discussed above relative to Jack Norton, Pangborn played the organizer and director of the welcoming program for Eddie Bracken's faux hero. This is the same segment where Norton is scene as one of the band leaders.

Here is a short list of films where Pangborn plays in his typical humorous style. All of these are highly rated humor films. You can't go wrong if you make a point of viewing some of them: Sullivan's Travels - 1941, the most highly rated of Preston Sturgis films. The Bank Dick - 1940, where Pangborn plays a bank examiner whose last name is surprisingly,"Snoopington." My Man Godfrey - 1936, a classic screwball comedy starring the real experts in that type of role, William Powell and Carole Lombard. Palm Beach Story - 1942, another Preston Sturges classic starring Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert, which also includes Jack Norton playing a member of the Ale and Quale club. Flying Down to Rio - 1933, the first pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Mr. Deeds Goes to town - 1936, with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. There are a number more where Pangborn contributes his particular expertese, but if you sample some of these you will get acquainted with the Franklin Pangborn style.