By Glenn Erickson
Men of America
Brief Synopsis
A modern-day rancher faces lynching when he's suspected of a mob killing.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Ralph Ince
Director
William Boyd
Jim Parker
Charles "chic" Sale
Smokey Joe Miller
Dorothy Wilson
Annabelle
Ralph Ince
Cicero
Henry Armetta
Tony Garboni
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Nov
25,
1932
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
58m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
American pioneer Smokey Joe Miller battles Indians on the Comanche Trail and, in 1899, becomes a Pony Express rider and settles in Northern California. In 1932, the now crusty Smokey Joe works in the local post office/general store/gas station with his granddaughter Annabelle, who is in love with Jim Parker, a struggling farmer. After Smokey Joe and Jim engage in a debate concerning the relative dangers of latter-day and modern outlaws, a carload of gangsters pulls up and, at gunpoint, steals gas and cigarettes. Smokey Joe fires his rifle at the fleeing thieves and is nearly killed by their machine guns. The gangsters, who are recent escapees from Leavenworth, then drive to their hidden valley hideout, where Cicero, their leader, upbraids them for their violence. Unable to use the $1,000 bills that they stole during a bank robbery, the gangsters begin raiding the local farms and houses for food and other basic items. When Smokey Joe hears of the thefts, he casts suspicion on Jim, with whom he is angry for kissing Annabelle while she was alone with him in his farmhouse. Jim, meanwhile, loses his kid lambs to the gangsters and reports the theft to their previous owner, grape grower Tony Garboni. As Jim and Tony talk, they are overheard by three of the gangsters, who are hiding in Tony's barn. After Jim leaves, Tony is killed by the gangsters, and his family assumes that Jim is the murderer. In town, a vigilante committee led by Smokey Joe forms to hunt down Jim, who is following the gangsters' trail to the hideout. Alarmed, Annabelle rushes to warn Jim, but on her way back to town, she is ambushed and made a hostage by the gangsters. After Jim convinces the town of his innocence, he organizes a posse and leads them to the hideout, where a fierce shootout ensues. Cicero, the only gangster survivor of the battle, uses Annabelle to escape, but Jim snipes at him from a high rock and, after rescuing Annabelle, finally wins the approval of Smokey Joe.
Director
Ralph Ince
Director
Cast
William Boyd
Jim Parker
Charles "chic" Sale
Smokey Joe Miller
Dorothy Wilson
Annabelle
Ralph Ince
Cicero
Henry Armetta
Tony Garboni
Alphonz Ethier
Indian Tom
Theresa Maxwell Conover
Abby
Eugene Strong
Bugs Foster
Fatty Layman
Henry Ellis
Fred Lindstrom
Ole Jensen
Frank Mills
Inez Palange
Mrs. Garboni
Ling
Chinese Joe
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Nov
25,
1932
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
58m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
Men of America -
The famous 1935 Variety headline read 'sticks nix hick pix,' but movies endorsing rural values never fell out of fashion. Hollywood also weathered a media storm over the supposed glamorization of criminals in gangster pictures, which led to a backlash of vigilante pictures. David O. Selznick's reaction was to produce Men of America (1933), in which honest country folk resist the Tommy guns of urban crooks. Former silent star William Boyd has top billing as the handsome country lad Jim, but the film belongs to vaudeville comic Chic Sale as Smokey Joe, a cantankerous general store proprietor. Joe tells a long tale about his pioneer days before we meet a gang of prison escapees who are terrorizing the locals. Joe at first suspects Jim of the thefts, as he's already caught the young man kissing his daughter Annabelle (Dorothy Wilson). Providing additional comic relief is Henry Armetta, as a grape grower menaced by the crooks. Reviews noted that there was little difference between this 'moral' attraction and the notorious gangster epics, due to a lengthy machine gun battle that delivered an even more violent finale. Although Chic Sale's standard character was an old man with a distinctive white beard, the actor was only 51 when he died in 1936. Actress Dorothy Wilson was noted for having been recruited from the ranks of RKO's secretaries. William Boyd's career hit a snag in the transition to talkies, but he would soon find success with his enormously popular Hop-a-long Cassidy franchise. Veteran director Ralph Ince plays the lead gangster, so Boyd called the shots when Ince was performing. They share directing credit.
By Glenn Erickson
By Glenn Erickson
Men of America -
The famous 1935 Variety headline read 'sticks nix hick pix,' but movies endorsing rural values never fell out of fashion. Hollywood also weathered a media storm over the supposed glamorization of criminals in gangster pictures, which led to a backlash of vigilante pictures. David O. Selznick's reaction was to produce Men of America (1933), in which honest country folk resist the Tommy guns of urban crooks. Former silent star William Boyd has top billing as the handsome country lad Jim, but the film belongs to vaudeville comic Chic Sale as Smokey Joe, a cantankerous general store proprietor. Joe tells a long tale about his pioneer days before we meet a gang of prison escapees who are terrorizing the locals. Joe at first suspects Jim of the thefts, as he's already caught the young man kissing his daughter Annabelle (Dorothy Wilson). Providing additional comic relief is Henry Armetta, as a grape grower menaced by the crooks. Reviews noted that there was little difference between this 'moral' attraction and the notorious gangster epics, due to a lengthy machine gun battle that delivered an even more violent finale. Although Chic Sale's standard character was an old man with a distinctive white beard, the actor was only 51 when he died in 1936. Actress Dorothy Wilson was noted for having been recruited from the ranks of RKO's secretaries. William Boyd's career hit a snag in the transition to talkies, but he would soon find success with his enormously popular Hop-a-long Cassidy franchise. Veteran director Ralph Ince plays the lead gangster, so Boyd called the shots when Ince was performing. They share directing credit.
By Glenn Erickson
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Sources conflict concerning the role that Alphonz Ethier played. In most reviews, Ethier is listed in part of "Ole Jensen." A viewing of the film, however, supports the assertion that Ethier played the role of "Indian Tom." According to a Film Daily news item, actor William Boyd "wielded the megaphone" for director Ralph Ince during the scenes in which Ince acted. Charles Gillette is listed in a Film Daily news item as a cast member, but his participation in the final film has not been confirmed.
