Bert Frank

Movies

Double or Nothing
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In this Broadway Brevities short, a stunt double is hit on the head and imagines himself in a series of movie scenes with doubles for various stars.
One for the Book
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In this entertaining short, famous literary figures step out of the pages of books after dark.
Seeing Red
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When he is fired from his job, Red puts a hex on his boss. That evening, the boss goes to a nightclub and discovers that the hex worked.
For Your Convenience
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In this short film's four segments, "Bowery Beautician", "Chutes", "Home Brew", and "Girth Control", the viewer is shown how certain conveniences and inventions aid the user.
At Home
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The Knight Is Young
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June never leaves her apartment, which has a view of an advertising sign of a knight in shining armor. She is two weeks behind in her rent and believes that if she leaves the apartment, the landlord will never let her back in. The only way she gets food is when her friend, singer Earlayne Schools, brings it to her. One evening June sees Hal, a tap-dancing sign painter, painting over her knight. She explains her predicament, and he does his best to help her out.
Toyland Casino
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A score of amateur children sing and dance in costume in a multi-act musical revue.
Night Intruder
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The Prisoner of Swing
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Musical satire based on Anthony Hope's Ruritanian novel "The Prisoner of Zenda" in which a commoner takes the place of a lookalike king.
Public Jitterbug No. 1
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The government has set up a special agency to stamp out what it considers the number one public menace: the jitterbug. They aren't after the many followers, but the primary perpetrator of the jitterbug, who they've coined "Public Jitterbug No. 1". Hal Sturges is one of several agents working on the case who goes undercover as a dancer in Broadway haunts to find and capture Public Jitterbug No. 1. In his investigation, Hal runs across the beautiful Betty, a seemingly innocent bystander. Hal and Betty fall for each other. However Betty is unaware that Hal is a federal agent, and Hal is unaware that Betty is Public Jitterbug No. 1. Will their roles as agent and public menace number one take priority over their roles of man and woman?
Alibi Mark
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When an out-of-work Chicagoan travels west as a hobo on a freight train, he finds himself falsely accused of murder.
Postal Union
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A telegraph postal union worker has no luck when asks a pretty co-worker to marry him. She says he'd have to be a magician to get her to say yes. Things are complicated when, as a favor to a stuttering acquaintance, he takes his overweight girlfriend to the movies to propose to her by proxy. Unfortunately the pretty co-worker spots him with her in the theater, so he begins to learn magic tricks.
Home Run on the Keys
Editor
In this short film, Babe Ruth proposes to put a song about baseball on the radio.
Hotel a la Swing
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In this musical-comedy short, an out-of-work theatre troupe assumes management of the debt-ridden Grand Majestic Hotel.
The Backyard Broadcast
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In this short film, a boy holds a talent show in his backyard by and for his adolescent friends.
Shake, Mr. Shakespeare
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Comedic short featuring Shakespeare's notable characters; many performing musical numbers. An assistant director is told to read all Shakespeare’s works in order to mine them for potential film plots. Falling asleep on the job, he dreams of various Shakespearean characters coming to life from the pages of giant books and singing and dancing in celebration of their "goin’ Hollywood." The characters appearing include Romeo, Juliet, Juliet’s Nurse, Puck, Peter Quince, Hamlet, Old Hamlet’s Ghost, Falstaff, Antony, Cleopatra, and Macbeth. Shakespeare appears toward the end of the film to object, but he is quickly convinced by his characters to join a big song and dance routine. Includes passing references to a number of familiar Shakespearean scenes including Hamlet’s "to be or not to be" soliloquy, Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene, Hamlet with Yorick’s skull, and Enobarbus’ speech on Cleopatra’s barge.
Can You Imagine?
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This short shows various curiosities of people and nature across the United States, in the style of the "Believe It or Not" series. Among the dozen subjects are Milwaukee's Monkey Island; a boy in Salt Lake City who wrestles with his pet lion; a tree that grows out of a courthouse's stone roof; a well shaft in Pennsylvania that freezes in summer and melts in cold weather; and the town crier of Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Rhythmitis
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A doctor develops pills that make Hal a great tap dancer. Lola Green sees Hal dancing in a drugstore and asks him to join her vaudeville show. Everything is fine until Hal's pills disappear.
Maid for a Day
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Real-life mother and son entertainers Grace and Peter Lind Hayes star as a mother and her son. She’s a fading Broadway star working as a maid to prep for a possible comeback role and he’s the offspring who wants to follow in mom’s footsteps.
I'm Much Obliged
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Newspaper columnist Mr. Inquisitive telephones readers to ask, "What would you like to do?", with the chosen responses being eligible for a prize. The callees include torch singer Vera Van, bandleader Lester Cole (and his Texas Rangers), and other late-period vaudeville acts, all whom are ready to perform.
Broadway Ballyhoo
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In this musical short, three barkers for a New York City sightseeing bus drum up customers with songs and nightclub tours.
Dublin in Brass
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In this musical short, a singing Irishman graduates from a police academy and heads to New York City to join the force.
Hail Columbia
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This short film provides highlights from American history, focusing on George Washington's farewell to the troops to the War of 1812.
The Camera Speaks
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In this short film, an elderly cameraman and his camera reminisce about their days shooting silent films and news stories.
Movie Album Featurettes
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Thrills of Yesterday
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This short takes a comic look at serious moments from past serials. In part I - "Gin" - of "The Curse of a Drinking Heart", a woman is drowning her sorrows in a bar. Upon leaving, she is attacked. Will anyone come to her rescue? In "Gun-and-a-Half Dugan", the hero and heroine are trapped in a house by marauding gunman above Cactus Gulch. Can our two heroes escape capture? In "The Man Without a Country-Club", a villain is holding a young couple out fishing at gunpoint. Mother Nature may be on our young couple's side. In "The Clutching Foot", villains are trying to get the secret formula from our hero. They manage to tie him up. But as our hero is played by Harry Houdini, how long will it be until his magic can get him out of this predicament? In "The Perils of Pauline Lipschitz", an adventurer in Africa is mesmerized by the dancing blond white woman native to the area. And in "The Yellow Tickee", two Chinese villains are chasing our hero atop a big city's skyscrapers.