home/movie/1933/hard to handle

Hard to Handle

NR

ComedyRomance

6.6/10(13 ratings)

A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.

01-28-1933

1h 18m

Hard to Handle

Backdrop for Hard to Handle

Main Cast

Movie Details

Production Info

Director:: Mervyn LeRoy

Production:: The Vitaphone Corporation, Warner Bros. Pictures

Key Crew

Story:: Houston Branch

Screenplay:: Robert Lord

Costume Design:: Orry-Kelly

Makeup Artist:: Perc Westmore

Locations and Languages

Country:: US

Filming:: US

Languages:: en

Main Cast

James Cagney

James Cagney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American film actor. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of roles, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys". In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time. In his first performing role, Cagney danced dressed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a hoofer and comedian until his first major acting role in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good reviews before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews for his acting, Warners signed him for an initial $500 a week, three-week contract to reprise his role; this was quickly extended to a seven year contract. Cagney's seventh film, The Public Enemy, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. Notable for its famous grapefruit scene, the film thrust Cagney into the spotlight, making him one of Warners' and Hollywood's biggest stars. In 1938, he received his first Academy Award Best Actor nomination for Angels with Dirty Faces, before winning in 1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. He was nominated a third time in 1955 for Love Me or Leave Me. Cagney retired for 20 years in 1961, spending time on his farm before returning for a part in Ragtime mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke. Cagney walked out on Warners several times over his career, each time coming back on improved personal and artistic terms. In 1935, he sued Warners for breach of contract and won; this marked one of the first times an actor had beaten a studio over a contract issue. He worked for an independent film company for a year while the suit was settled, and also established his own production company, Cagney Productions, in 1942 before returning to Warners again four years later. Jack Warner called him "The Professional Againster", in reference to Cagney’s refusal to be pushed around. Cagney also made numerous morale-boosting troop tours before and during World War II, and was President of the Screen Actors Guild for two years. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Cagney, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Sly

Sly

2023

Ragtime

Ragtime

1981

White Heat

White Heat

1949

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Front Page

The Front Page

1931

Peggy Grant

Peter Pan

Peter Pan

1924

Wendy Darling

The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss

The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss

1936

Frances Clayton

Allen Jenkins

Allen Jenkins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Allen Jenkins (April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor on stage, screen and television. He was born Alfred McGonegal on Staten Island, New York. He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In his first stage appearance, he danced next to James Cagney in a chorus line for an off-Broadway musical called Pitter-Patter. He made five dollars a week. He also appeared one thousand times in Broadway plays between 1924 and 1962, including The Front Page with Lee Tracy (1928). His big break came when he replaced Spencer Tracy for three weeks in the Broadway play The Last Mile. He was called to Hollywood by Darryl F. Zanuck and signed first to Paramount Pictures and shortly afterwards to Warner Bros. He originated the character of Frankie Wells in the Broadway production of Blessed Event and reprised the role in the film adaptation, both in 1932. With the advent of talking pictures, he made a career out of playing comic henchmen, stooges, policemen and other "tough guys" in numerous films of the 1930s and 1940s, especially for Warner Bros. He was labeled the "greatest scene-stealer of the 1930s" by the New York Times. He voiced the character of "Officer Dibble" on the Hanna-Barbera television cartoon Top Cat and was a regular on the 1956-1957 television situation comedy Hey, Jeannie! (1956), starring Jeannie Carson. He was also a guest star on The Red Skelton Show, I Love Lucy, Playhouse 90, The Ernie Kovacs Show, Zane Grey Theater, and The Sid Caesar Show. Eleven days before his death he made his final appearance, at the end of Billy Wilder's 1974 film adaptation of The Front Page. He went public with his alcoholism and was the first actor to speak in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate about it. He helped start the first Alcoholics Anonymous programs in California prisons for women. Jenkins, James Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh were the original members of the so-called "Irish Mafia". He was the seventh member of the Screen Actors Guild. Description above from the Wikipedia article Allen Jenkins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

King Kong

King Kong

1933

Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel

1932

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

1963

Ruth Donnelly

Ruth Donnelly

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982) was an American stage and film actress. Her father was the mayor of Trenton, New Jersey. She began her stage career at the age of 17 in 1913, in The Quaker Girl. Her Broadway debut brought her to the attention of George M. Cohan, who proceeded to cast her in numerous comic-relief roles in such musicals as Going Up (1917). Though she made her first film appearance in 1913, her Hollywood career began in earnest in 1931 and lasted until 1957. In her films she often played the wife of Guy Kibbee (Footlight Parade, Wonder Bar, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). Among her roles was the part of Sister Michael in The Bells of St. Mary's, starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman.

Known For

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Where the Sidewalk Ends

1950

The Bells of St. Mary's

The Bells of St. Mary's

1945

Claire Dodd

Claire Dodd

Claire Dodd (born Dorothy Arlene Dodd, December 29, 1911 – November 23, 1973) was an American film actress.

Known For

Footlight Parade

Footlight Parade

1933

Roberta

Roberta

1935

In the Navy

In the Navy

1941

Robert McWade

Robert McWade

Known For

Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel

1932

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

1932

42nd Street

42nd Street

1933

Clay Clement

Clay Clement

Known For

The Thin Man

The Thin Man

1934

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties

1939

Bureau of Missing Persons

Bureau of Missing Persons

1933

Don Brodie

Don Brodie

Don Brodie was an American stage, screen, and television actor.

Known For

Pinocchio

Pinocchio

1940

The Great Dictator

The Great Dictator

1940

The Comancheros

The Comancheros

1961

Berton Churchill

Berton Churchill

Known For

Stagecoach

Stagecoach

1939

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

1932

Hi, Nellie!

Hi, Nellie!

1934

Davison Clark

Davison Clark

Known For

Samson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah

1949

The Greatest Show on Earth

The Greatest Show on Earth

1952

Red River

Red River

1948

G. Pat Collins

G. Pat Collins

G. Pat Collins, also known as George Pat Collins or Pat Collins (born George Percy Collins; December 16, 1895 – August 5, 1959) was an American actor of the stage and screen.

Known For

They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front

1930

White Heat

White Heat

1949

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Battle Cry of Peace

The Battle Cry of Peace

1915

Poet Scout

Mary Doran

Mary Doran

Known For

Three on a Match

Three on a Match

1932

Murder in the Fleet

Murder in the Fleet

1935

The Broadway Melody

The Broadway Melody

1929

Lester Dorr

Lester Dorr

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lester Dorr (born Harry Lester Dorr; May 8, 1893 - August 25, 1980) was an American actor who between 1917 and 1975 appeared in well over 500 productions on stage, in feature films and shorts, and in televised plays and weekly series. His extensive filmography attests to his versatility as a supporting actor and reliability as a bit player. Although Dorr's screen roles are at times credited, the great majority of his work is uncredited. Dorr was cast in more than 250 films in just the 1930s alone. Dorr continued to appear regularly in studio productions throughout the 1940s, but with reduced frequency when compared to the preceding decade; nevertheless, he still added more than 140 Hollywood films to his résumé in that decade. His work on the big screen decreased even further in the 1950s as acting opportunities increased on television. He was, though, cast in at least 45 feature films and shorts during the 1950s. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, programming in the rapidly expanding medium of television attracted the talents of many experienced personnel in the film industry, including Dorr. As with his film career, Dorr’s 15 years of being cast in television series consisted predominantly of brief appearances on screen and portraying characters who had relatively few lines. Yet, his characterizations on television, like in films, were highly diverse and can be seen in at least 84 episodes of Westerns, crime and detective series, courtroom and hospital dramas, adventure programs, and sitcoms of the period.

Known For

Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind

1939

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

East of Eden

East of Eden

1955

Douglass Dumbrille

Douglass Dumbrille

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor and one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood. In 1913, the East Coast film industry was flourishing and that year he appeared in the film What Eighty Million Women Want, but it would be another 11 years before he appeared on screen again. In 1924, he made his Broadway debut and worked off and on in the theatre for several years while supplementing his income by selling such products as car accessories, tea, insurance, real estate, and books. During the Great Depression, Dumbrille moved to the West Coast of the U.S., where he specialized in playing secondary character roles alongside the great stars of the day. His physical appearance and suave voice equipped him for roles as slick politician, corrupt businessman, crooked sheriff, or unscrupulous lawyer. He was highly regarded by the studios and was sought out by Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Capra, Hal Roach and other prominent Hollywood filmmakers. A friend of fellow Canadian-born director Allan Dwan, Dumbrille played Athos in Dwan’s 1939 adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Dumbrille had roles in more than 200 motion pictures and, with the advent of television, made numerous appearances in the 1950s and 1960s. He had the ability to project a balance of menace and pomposity in roles as the "heavy" in comedy films, such as those of the Marx Brothers or Abbott and Costello.

Known For

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments

1956

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

1953

Baby Face

Baby Face

1933

Emma Dunn

Emma Dunn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English character actress on the stage and in motion pictures. Emma Dunn appeared onstage in her early teens, graduating to the London stage for several years and later became a noted Broadway actress. She appeared in the first American production of Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1906) with Richard Mansfield as Peer. She played Peer's mother, Ase, even though she was, in real life, 20 years younger than Mansfield. She appeared in three productions for theatre impresario David Belasco: The Warrens of Virginia (1907), The Easiest Way (1909) and The Governor's Lady (1912). In The Easiest Way, Dunn portrayed Annie, who was black, in blackface. In 1913 Dunn appeared in vaudeville. Dunn made her first film in 1914, a silent film of her 1910 stage success, Mother, directed by Maurice Tourneur. This was Tourneur's first American film. Dunn's second film was 1920's Old Lady 31, reprising the role she played in the 1916 Broadway play of the same name. One more silent film followed in 1924, Pied Piper Malone, before she made her talkie debut in Side Street, co-starring the Moore brothers, Matt, Owen and Tom as her sons. Dunn wrote two books on elocution and speech: Thought Quality in the Voice (1933) and You Can Do It (1947). Emma Dunn was born 26 February 1875, in Birkenhead, England, although she sometimes gave her year of birth as 1883. Dunn married Harry Beresford, an actor who was then known professionally as Harry J. Morgan, in Chicago on 4 October 1897. They divorced on 10 February 1909, in New York City. She was awarded sole custody of their young daughter, Dorothy. On 19 May 1909, Dunn married John W. Stokes (John W. S. Sullivan), an actor, playwright and theatrical manager. They subsequently adopted a second daughter, Helen. The couple divorced sometime between 1923 and Stokes' death in 1931. After suffering a heart attack some months before, Dunn died 14 December 1966, in Los Angeles, California, aged 91.

Known For

The Great Dictator

The Great Dictator

1940

The Talk of the Town

The Talk of the Town

1942

I Married a Witch

I Married a Witch

1942

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

Woman at Station (uncredited)

The Women

The Women

1939

Mrs. Goldstein (uncredited)

Three on a Match

Three on a Match

1932

Fat Prisoner (uncredited)

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Dancing Town

The Dancing Town

1928

Horace Pepperall

D’Ye Ken John Peel?

D’Ye Ken John Peel?

1935

The Ghost Talks

The Ghost Talks

1929

Franklyn Green

Bess Flowers

Bess Flowers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 – July 28, 1984) was an American actress. By some counts considered the most prolific actress in the history of Hollywood, she was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in over 700 movies in her 41 year career. Born in Sherman, Texas, Flowers's film debut came in 1923, when she appeared in Hollywood. She made three films that year, and then began working extensively. Many of her appearances are uncredited, as she generally played non-speaking roles. By the 1930s, Flowers was in constant demand. Her appearances ranged from Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford thrillers to comedic roles alongside of Charley Chase, the Three Stooges, Leon Errol, Edgar Kennedy, and Laurel and Hardy. She appeared in the following five films which won the Academy Award for Best Picture: It Happened One Night, You Can't Take it with You, All About Eve, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Around the World in Eighty Days. In each of these movies, Flowers was uncredited. Including these five movies, she had appeared in twenty-three Best Picture nominees in total, making her the record holder for most appearances in films nominated for the award. Her last movie was Good Neighbor Sam in 1964. Flowers's acting career was not confined to feature films. She was also seen in many episodic American TV series, such as I Love Lucy, notably in episodes, "Lucy Is Enceinte" (1952), "Ethel's Birthday" (1955), and "Lucy's Night in Town" (1957), where she is usually seen as a theatre patron. Outside her acting career, in 1945, Bess Flowers helped to found the Screen Extras Guild (active: 1946-1992, then merged with SAG), where she served as one of its first vice-presidents and recording secretaries.

Known For

Vertigo

Vertigo

1958

Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind

1939

Rear Window

Rear Window

1954

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments

1956

Trojan Ambassador

Notorious

Notorious

1946

Ernest Weylin (uncredited)

White Christmas

White Christmas

1954

General Carlton (uncredited)

Grace Hayle

Grace Hayle

Known For

The Great Dictator

The Great Dictator

1940

The Shop Around the Corner

The Shop Around the Corner

1940

The Women

The Women

1939

Sterling Holloway

Sterling Holloway

Sterling Price Holloway, Jr. was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television programs. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company. He was well-known for his distinctive tenor voice, and is perhaps best remembered as the voice of Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh.

Known For

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

1951

The Aristocats

The Aristocats

1970

The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book

1967

Harry Holman

Harry Holman

Known For

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life

1946

It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night

1934

Jesse James

Jesse James

1939

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight

1933

Butler (uncredited)

Nothing Sacred

Nothing Sacred

1937

Tearful Waiter (uncredited)

Let Freedom Ring

Let Freedom Ring

1939

Hunky (uncredited)

Eddie Kane

Eddie Kane

Known For

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life

1946

The Mummy

The Mummy

1932

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Magnificent Ambersons

The Magnificent Ambersons

1942

Citizen (uncredited)

The Westerner

The Westerner

1940

Ticket Man (uncredited)

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

1932

Diner Cook (uncredited)

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Up the River

Up the River

1930

Mrs. Massey (uncredited)

The Brat

The Brat

1931

Lena

The Phantom of Paris

The Phantom of Paris

1931

Mme. Frontenac

Eric Mayne

Eric Mayne

Eric Mayne (April 28, 1865 – February 10, 1947) was an Irish born American actor. Mayne was born in Dublin and was a star on stage in London in the early 20th century, at the London Lyceum and at Drury Lane. In 1908 and 1910 he played Prince Hildred in The Prince and the Beggar Maid at the Lyceum Theatre in London. He appeared in the films The New York Peacock, Wife Number Two, Her Hour, Help! Help! Police!, Marooned Hearts, The Conquering Power, Turn to the Right, The Prisoner of Zenda, Pawned, Dr. Jack, My American Wife, The Christian, Suzanna, Prodigal Daughters, Human Wreckage, Her Reputation, Cameo Kirby, The Drums of Jeopardy, Black Oxen, The Yankee Consul, Gerald Cranston's Lady, Her Night of Romance, The Scarlet Honeymoon, Cyclone Cavalier, East Lynne, Hearts and Spangles, Folly of Youth, Money to Burn, Married Alive, The Canyon of Adventure, Rackety Rax, Night of Terror, The Drunkard and Ticket to Paradise, among others. Mayne died in his sleep in Hollywood, California, on February 10, 1947.

Known For

They Died with Their Boots On

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

Holiday

Holiday

1938

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

White Heat

White Heat

1949

Clocker (uncredited)

The Mayor of Hell

The Mayor of Hell

1933

Johnston's Assistant (uncredited)

Bullets or Ballots

Bullets or Ballots

1936

Referee (uncredited)

Matt McHugh

Matt McHugh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Matthew O. McHugh (January 22, 1894 – February 22, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 200 films between 1931 and 1955, primarily in small cameo parts. McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents ran a stock theatre company and, as a young child, he performed on stage. His brother, Frank, who went on to become part of the Warner Bros. stock company in the 1930s and 1940s, and sister Kitty performed an act with him by the time he was fourteen years old, but the family quit the stage around 1930. His brother Ed became an agent in New York. Matt made his Broadway debut in Elmer Rice's Street Scene in 1929, along with his brother Ed, and also appeared in Swing Your Lady in 1936. Despite his actual origins, McHugh usually performed his roles with a Brooklyn accent, and was often cast as characters explicitly from Brooklyn. In Star Spangled Rhythm (1941), his one scene is a protracted monologue during the climactic "Old Glory" sequence, in which McHugh plays a character who literally embodies the spirit of Brooklyn.

Known For

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

Holiday

Holiday

1938

The Pride of the Yankees

The Pride of the Yankees

1942

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Thin Man

The Thin Man

1934

Burly Party Waiter-Bodyguard (uncredited)

Baby Face

Baby Face

1933

Laborer (uncredited)

Dodge City

Dodge City

1939

Conductor (uncredited)

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Ziegfeld Girl

Ziegfeld Girl

1941

Floor Manager (uncredited)

She Done Him Wrong

She Done Him Wrong

1933

The Tenor (uncredited)

Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride

1950

Wedding Guest (uncredited)

Cliff Saum

Cliff Saum

Cliff Saum was born on December 18, 1882 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for A Bum Mistake (1914), The Volunteer Fireman (1915) and The $5,000,000 Counterfeiting Plot (1914). He died on March 5, 1943 in Glendale, California, USA.

Known For

Baby Face

Baby Face

1933

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties

1939

Dark Victory

Dark Victory

1939

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Killers

The Killers

1946

Fight Arena Doctor (uncredited)

The Pride of the Yankees

The Pride of the Yankees

1942

First Paper Hanger (uncredited)

Woman of the Year

Woman of the Year

1942

Red Face (uncredited)

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Buck Privates

Buck Privates

1941

Corporal (uncredited)

King of Jazz

King of Jazz

1930

Bridegroom ('Bridal Veil'

Keep 'Em Flying

Keep 'Em Flying

1941

Cadet (uncredited)

Harry Strang

Harry Strang

Harry Strang was an American screen and television actor, his career active from 1929 to 1965.

Known For

King Kong

King Kong

1933

Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind

1939

North by Northwest

North by Northwest

1959

William H. Strauss

William H. Strauss

Known For

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

1932

The Mayor of Hell

The Mayor of Hell

1933

Golden Boy

Golden Boy

1939

Charles Sullivan

Charles Sullivan

Known For

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life

1946

The Great Dictator

The Great Dictator

1940

Scarface

Scarface

1932

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

1934

Morrel

Emma

Emma

1932

Dr. Horton (uncredited)

You Can't Take It with You

You Can't Take It with You

1938

Governor Leach (uncredited)

Charles C. Wilson

Charles C. Wilson

Charles Cahill Wilson (July 29, 1894 – January 7, 1948) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in numerous films during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the late 1920s to late 1940s. Born in New York City in 1894, the white-haired, burly actor was often typecast as an earnest police officer, newspaper editor or principal. He appeared in over 250 films between 1928 and 1948, mostly playing small supporting roles with a few sentences. Charles Wilson began his acting career at the theatre, including roles in six Broadway plays between 1918 and 1931. In 1928, he directed the Hollywood comedy Lucky Boy (1928), where he also made his film debut. According to the Internet Movie Database, Lucky Boy was Wilson's only film as a director. His most notable role was probably Clark Gable's "wonderfully aggravated" newspaper boss in Frank Capra's comedy It Happened One Night, which won five Academy Awards in 1935. He was also cast in small roles in other Capra movies such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Shortly before his death, Wilson appeared as the boss of the Three Stooges in the two-reel comedy Crime on Their Hands (1948).

Known For

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life

1946

It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night

1934

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

1947

Unknown Actor

Unknown Actor

Known For

Casablanca

Casablanca

1943

Waiter (uncredited)

House of Wax

House of Wax

1953

Elevator Operator (uncredited)

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

1936

Courtroom Reporter (uncredited)

Allen Wood

Allen Wood

Known For

Used Cars

Used Cars

1980

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

1939

Storm Warning

Storm Warning

1951