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Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 17th, 2013, 6:04 am
by Fossy
Ambush (1939)

Criminal master mind Mr. Gibbs (Ernest Truex) has invented a smoke machine. The machine is mounted on a truck and backed up to a bank window. The bank is filled with smoke and held up. The robbers, Mr Gibbs, Randall ( Broderick Crawford), and Sidney (John Hartley) escape with $98000.00.

Jane (Gladys Swarthout) is the bank manager`s secretary. She collapses when she sees the truck being towed away and realises that it is her brother`s truck. She goes home and tries to persuade her brother to give himself up. She is taken prisoner and forced to trick a truck driver, Tony (Lloyd Nolan) into helping her. Tony is taken prisoner and forced to help the criminals.

The chase is on, led by Inspector Weber (William Frawley). All ends well, with the bandits dead or captured, and , of course Gladys in the arms of Tony.

This was the last of five movies to feature Gladys Swarthout, and her only non-singing role, and just to hear her speak was magic.

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 17th, 2013, 2:46 pm
by RedRiver
Fred Mertz is the hero? Wow!

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 17th, 2013, 10:19 pm
by Fossy
RedRiver wrote:Fred Mertz is the hero? Wow!
Well, Red River, you had me tossed for a while. I had never heard of Fred Mertz. It took a bit of searching to find out who he was. Actually the star of the show was Gladys Swarthout, with Lloyd Nolan second listed (and the hero). William Frawley is actually number four on the cast list. Definitely not the hero, but more like the bumbling comic strip detective after whom I am named.

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 18th, 2013, 12:40 pm
by RedRiver
Fossy...Fearless Fosdick?

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 18th, 2013, 5:33 pm
by Fossy
RedRiver wrote:Fossy...Fearless Fosdick?
I am surprised you picked that up. I thought Fearless Fosdick would be long forgotten by now. When I left school I went to work in a bank. I developed a knack of doing things in half the time anyone else took, and getting things right, but no one could figure out how I did it. At the time there was a comic strip in the paper called Lil` Abner. Within the comic strip was a character called Fearless Fosdick who always got his man, but no one could figure out how.He would do something unrelated like (say) catching bank robbers by booking them for parking alongside a fire hydrant. I became, in turn Fearless, Fosdick, and then Fossy.

I found working at the bank very stressful, so after about ten years I left. Occasionally I would meet someone from the bank who would address me as Fossy, but eventually the name died out.

Go forward about thirty five years and I was an Appliance serviceman nearing retirement. The boss called me up one day, There was a frost free fridge at Medowie, about three months old.” The motor keeps running, but it does not get cold. They have had a couple of calls, Check it out and call me from the house “.

It was no big deal, after defrosting it I found the heater to be open circuit. As the heater on this model was built in, the fridge was not repairable. I arranged a replacement and went on to the next job.

A couple of weeks later there was a meeting of service techs. The boss pulled out a wad of claim forms, Gary went out to Mrs soandso at Medowie and---Peter went out a few days later and---Roger went out a few days later and---Gary went back and---Peter went back and---Then the old fossil went out .

I was Fossy again.

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 23rd, 2013, 5:19 pm
by The Ingenue
[u]Fossy[/u] wrote:At the time there was a comic strip in the paper called Lil` Abner. Within the comic strip was a character called Fearless Fosdick.... I became, in turn Fearless, Fosdick, and then Fossy.
"Why is a shoe called a shoe?" I like learning the reason for a name. Thanks for the backstory, Fossy.
[u]Fossy[/u] wrote:Ambush (1939)

Criminal master mind Mr. Gibbs ( Ernest Truex ) has invented a smoke machine. The machine is mounted on a truck and backed up to a bank window. The bank is filled with smoke and held up. The robbers, Mr Gibbs, Randall ( Broderick Crawford ), and Sidney ( John Hartley )...
John Hartley as one of the bank robbers? My goodness...

Which fellow is playing Gladys Swarthout's brother?
[u]Fossy[/u] wrote:This was the last of five movies to feature Gladys Swarthout, and her only non-singing role, and just to hear her speak was magic.
Oh, it sounds like you're a big fan of hers. Have you seen all of her films? I've been wanting to, initially because hers are Paramounts ( my great favorite among the studios ), but now, after seeing Miss Swarthout set like a jewel in the luscious production of "Romance in the Dark", I'm ever more curious to see her other pictures.

By the by, I spotted a photograph of my favorite actress, Frances Dee, adorning a desk of John Boles' in that "Romance..." Have a look: http://www.cgerr.com/sso/frances-romanceinthedark.jpg

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 23rd, 2013, 5:39 pm
by knitwit45
CarrieLiz wrote:
"Why is a shoe called a shoe?" I like learning the reason for a name. Thanks for the backstory, Fossy.

Me, too! Love to know the reasons for names, slang,places.

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 23rd, 2013, 6:17 pm
by The Ingenue
What's behind "knitwit45"? Are you a wiz with the DPNs?

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 23rd, 2013, 6:30 pm
by knitwit45
Dpns, circs, straights...you name it, I'll try knitting it. :D :D

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 23rd, 2013, 7:08 pm
by The Ingenue
Oohhh? Then I'll take one of these...

Image
( Click the image to view this Suse sweater, and its sisters, in the LIFE photo archives. )

...please. :wink:

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 23rd, 2013, 7:16 pm
by knitwit45
Aw, the pattern is out of
stock...I'll let you know when it becomes available.... :lol:

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 23rd, 2013, 7:18 pm
by The Ingenue
:lol:

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 24th, 2013, 5:47 am
by Fossy
Carrieliz asked

Which fellow is playing Gladys Swarthout's brother?

Her brother, Charlie, was portrayed by William Henry, a work horse with 225 movies and TV appearances to his credit. Having made the successful transition from silent movies child actor, he went on to head the cast list ten times.

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: January 28th, 2013, 4:38 am
by The Ingenue
Bill Henry. Ah yes, I should have guessed it. He was the jack-of-all-(young, romantic)-trades at Paramount about then: courting vivacious Judith Barrett in "I'm from Missouri"...inventing a new gadget called the Iconoscope ( big-screen, cross-country TV in '39 ) whilst fighting off the baddies and courting Judith again ( their last scene was one of the most stunningly, unexpectedly romantic things I've seen recently ) in "Television Spy"...fighting injuns in "Geronimo" ( say, I've got a swell still from that one ). I think he's working on the side of the law with William Frawley in "Persons in Hiding", though I haven't seen it yet.

Always liked Bill.

Thanks for answering my question, Fossy.

Re: Ambush (1939)

Posted: May 30th, 2013, 11:56 am
by RedRiver
I confess I'm bored. So I dug up this thread. I haven't seen AMBUSH. It sounds like a satisfying, if forgettable, crime drama. Maybe even silly, but in a fun way! A smoke machine? That's like a Batman villain. Or worse, Underdog! "Simon says, GO SNOW!" Even the title is blunt and sensational. One word. BANG! This sounds like a fun little movie.