Three Wise Monks
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Edward Kull
Charles Clague
Glenn Cook
Ashton Dearholt
Ray Mercer
James P. Mulhauser
Film Details
Synopsis
When his newspaper's circulation starts to drop, ace reporter Walter Nose-All's ill-tempered managing editor gives him one last chance to keep his job by coming up with a sensational story. Armed with a portable broadcasting set, Walter sets out in search of news, and as he passes by the home of corrupt banker Jim Panzie, he hears Panzie threatening to foreclose on Old Man Simian's mortgage unless Simian's daughter Pearl agrees to marry him that afternoon. With Walter close behind, Simian goes home and pleads with his daughter, who dutifully agrees to the marriage to save her family's home. Pearl then goes to break the news to her secret fiancé, pool player Van Raalte, who insists that he will marry her himself. That afternoon, as Old Man Simian naps, Van Raalte and Pearl elope, and settle down to a happy married life. Walter, meanwhile, continues to broadcast every detail of the couple's life, and when Pearl gives birth to a son, Walter announces it to the world. Time passes, and the Van Raaltes become prosperous and engage a French nurse to take care of Junior. One day, the bitter Panzie, seeking revenge on Pearl and Van Raalte, has the baby kidnapped from the park. Panzie takes Junior to a deserted house and sets it on fire, leaving the baby to die. Meanwhile, the nurse alerts Van Raalte, who is now chief of the fire department, and he sets out to rescue his son. Just as Van Raalte and his men arrive at the scene, Junior climbs out of the house through the chimney, and father and son are reunited. Panzie attempts to flee town, but is captured by the police.
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Although a print of this film was not viewed, the above credits and plot summary were taken from information contained in the file on the film in the MPPDA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library. The film's cast consisted entirely of monkeys, chimpanzees and orangutans, who acted out the story while voice-overs supplied the dialogue. According to a modern source, Nkima is actually Jiggs, the chimp that appeared in the 1935 Burroughs-Tarzan serial and feature The New Adventures of Tarzan. Although Three Wise Monks is not included in copyright records, a modern source gives a copyright date of 1936 and lists the length as six reels. It has not been determined whether this film was actually released.
