Lucky Devils (1933)

A group of stuntmen at one studio in Hollywood call themselves "Lucky Devils," and regularly chant "A stuntman makes a bad husband and a husband makes a bad stuntman." It rings true when ... See full summary »

Director:

Ralph Ince

Writers:

Agnes Christine Johnston (screenplay), Ben Markson (screenplay),

Stars:

William Boyd, Dorothy Wilson, William Gargan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Boyd	...	Skipper (as Bill Boyd)
Dorothy Wilson	...	Fran
William Gargan	...	Bob
Bob Rose	...	Rusty
Roscoe Ates	...	Gabby (as Rosco Ates)
William Bakewell	...	Slugger
Julie Haydon	...	Doris
Bruce Cabot	...	Happy
Rochelle Hudson	...	Visitor
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Frankie (as Creighton Chaney)
Phyllis Fraser	...	Toots
Betty Furness	...	Ginger

Storyline

A group of stuntmen at one studio in Hollywood call themselves "Lucky Devils," and regularly chant "A stuntman makes a bad husband and a husband makes a bad stuntman." It rings true when Slugger Jones is killed doing his last stunt right after his marriage. Skipper Clark and Bob Hughes prevent a down-and-out girl, Fran, from committing suicide, and help her get an acting job at the studio. Romance follows, with Skipper marrying Fran, but with the understanding he'll continue doing his stuntwork. But Skipper freezes during a stunt when the frantic Fran signals him to stop, and his friend Bob is nearly killed. This washes Skipper up in the stunt business, so he takes a job on the labor crew, shooting on location, and leaving the pregnant Fran in the care of a cheap doctor. When he gets a wire from the doctor telling him Fran must be sent to a hospital, he decides to do a dangerous stunt the other stuntmen refuse, going over a 30-foot waterfall in a rowboat, for the $200 needed for the ...

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Plot Keywords:

stunt | stuntman | hollywood

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Taglines:

A thrill-romance of the men who make the movies m-o-v-e!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gli arditi del cinema

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

64 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Bob Rose was a stuntman in Hollywood.

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Connections

Features The Lost Squadron (1932)

User Reviews

UNUSUAL PRE-HOPPY, OSHA WOULD BE HORRIFIED!

This is one of the most energetic of the non-Hoppy entries in Boyd's film resume. Here he's Skipper Clark, the nominal head of a group of Hollywood stunt men called, what else, THE LUCKY DEVILS... a bunch of hard drinking, womanizing guys who are full of superstitions. The #1 rule is a married guy can't be a stunt man, which is proven by the death of one of the newly married guys. Enter a beautiful-yet- despondent Dorothy Wilson, easily the best performer in the movie, who threatens the Devil's dynamic. I don't want to give away the plot, but the real interest is the behind the scenes look at early sound movie making. There's several extensive scenes (including a great opener) involving stunt work... many outdoors (along with some obvious rear projection stuff). Lots of talk about safety but you won't see anyone practicing it. Bruce Cabot's seen here as a stunt man, but it he's wallpaper, seemingly saving his voice for his part in then-in-production KING KONG... Creighton (Lon Jr.) Chaney looks 20 years younger than he would just 8 years later in THE WOLF MAN. Enjoy it and add up the felonies Boyd commits in the last 5 minutes of the movie...