Dynamite
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
William H. Pine
William Gargan
Virginia Welles
Richard Crane
Irving Bacon
Mary Newton
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After his blasting crew is dismissed from a job when one of his workers is killed in an accidental explosion, Jake and his daughter Mary visit their friend, Nellie Brown, who runs a Los Angeles boardinghouse for "powder monkeys." Jake is able to keep the company afloat after his friend, Hank Gibbons, hires his crew to blast a tunnel. When Nellie's son Johnny returns home from two years of college, the young World War II veteran replaces Jake's dynamiter against his mother's wishes. Nellie, whose husband died accidentally while working for Jake, blames attractive Mary for Johnny's interest in the company. While the crew is driving to their next job, the dynamite-carrying truck loses its brakes, and Johnny risks his life to save Jake's longtime employee, Hard Rock Mason. After Nellie lends Mary and Hard Rock money for a new truck when they are turned down for a bank loan, Johnny and egotistical precision dynamiter Gunner Peterson compete on the job for Mary's affection. The crew blasts granite from a quarry, then goes to work on Hank's job, where they are to blast through a hill and create a new highway tunnel. Jake assigns Gunner to direct the work, but inexperienced Johnny, who has learned geology in college, argues with Gunner on how to set the dynamite. When Jake injures his ankle, Gunner helps him to a trailer, and during their absence, Johnny drills according to his own specifications. He and Gunner then get into a fistfight, and Johnny thinks of quitting. Out of fairness, however, Jake asks Hard Rock to investigate Gunner and Johnny's work and determine who is right. Hard Rock returns and agrees with Johnny's opinion, so Jake asks him to surreptitiously re-set the blasting sites. Unaware that the hillside is made partially of sandstone, Hard Rock is killed in the blast, and Gunner blames himself for not listening to Johnny's advice. While Gunner goes out on a drunken binge, Johnny and Jake work overtime to meet Hank's deadline. Johnny invents a new time-saving way to blast the hill, but when his dynamite misfires, he goes in to double-check it and is buried alive when a stick accidentally explodes. Mary retrieves Gunner from a bar, as only his expertise can save Johnny. Although Johnny faints from lack of oxygen, Gunner saves his life. Later, Mary chooses Johnny as her husband, and they leave on their honeymoon.
Director
William H. Pine
Cast
William Gargan
Virginia Welles
Richard Crane
Irving Bacon
Mary Newton
Frank Ferguson
Douglass Dumbrille
Crew
Darrell Calker
Ellis W. Carter
Lewis H. Creber
Alfred Kegerris
Tom Lambert
Howard Pine
William H. Pine
Milton Raison
Howard Smith
William C. Thomas
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Hard to Handle and Hard to Kill. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, producer William C. Thomas originally intended to direct this picture. Some scenes were shot on location in Riverside, CA. Actor Paul Harvey was included in the cast on a Hollywood Reporter production chart, but he was not in the released film.
