Hands Up! (1926)

A southern spy during the Civil War, he must try to capture a shipment of gold. His task is complicated by the two sisters, the Indians and a firing squad.

Director:

Clarence G. Badger

Writers:

Monte Brice, Lloyd Corrigan,

Stars:

George A. Billings, Virginia Lee Corbin, Charles K. French

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
George A. Billings	...	Abraham Lincoln
Virginia Lee Corbin	...	Alice Woodstock
Charles K. French	...	Brigham Young
Raymond Griffith	...	Jack, a Confederate Spy
Noble Johnson	...	Sitting Bull
Montagu Love	...	Capt. Edward Logan
Marian Nixon	...	Mae, the Girl He Loves
Mack Swain	...	Silas Woodstock

Storyline

A southern spy during the Civil War, he must try to capture a shipment of gold. His task is complicated by the two sisters, the Indians and a firing squad.

---

Plot Keywords:

spy | gold mine | 19th century | american civil war | soldier

---

Taglines:

You'll put your Hands Up! and scream with laughter

---

Genres:

Comedy | War

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 1926 (USA)

Also Known As:

Golpes de Audácia

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point during shooting, Raymond Griffith reportedly wanted to fire his co-star Mack Swain as he believed that Swain was "too funny." Film critic Walter Kerr has argued that this was not a result of jealousy but rather because Griffith considered Swain's acting style unsophisticated.

User Reviews

unique, overlooked silent comedy

If the name Raymond Griffith is familiar today only to historians and silent comedy completists, blame the fact that his reputation rests entirely on two surviving but rarely shown features: 'Paths To Paradise' (1925) and 'Hands Up!' (1926). Neither comedy can match the sublime heights of invention achieved by Keaton, Chaplin or Lloyd (or, in his brief prime, Harry Langdon), but Griffith was an engaging talent who, given time, could have developed into a master craftsman. The Civil War comedy 'Hands Up!' is more self-consciously offbeat than the earlier film, showing one direction Griffith might have pursued had his career been more successful. Again the playful impostor (a role he could have patented), Griffith plays a Confederate spy (dressed, incongruously, in top hat and tails) sent West to hijack a Union gold shipment. The film is a daring, if not always successful, departure from the conventional farce of 'Paths To Paradise' (with a curious romantic triangle involving twin sisters), but unfavorable (and unfair: the film is more a Western) comparisons to Buster Keaton's Civil War classic 'The General' have doomed it to obscurity. Griffith, and his films, deserve better.