#699) Hands Up! (1926)

#699) Hands Up! (1926)

OR “Pest in the West”

Directed by Clarence Badger

Written by Monte Brice and Lloyd Corrigan. Story by Reggie Morris.

Class of 2005

The Plot: Near the end of the Civil War, both sides discover that they can win if they obtain a load of gold from a Union mine in Nevada. While the Union entrust Captain Edward Logan (Montague Love) to retrieve it, the Confederate send their own spy Jack (Raymond Griffith) to infiltrate the Union base and get the gold first. A sly, sophisticated criminal, Jack manages to evade capture and stumble onto a stagecoach carrying the mine’s owner Silas Woodstock (Mack Swain) and his two adult daughters Alice and Mae (Virginia Lee Corbin and Marian Nixon). Jack’s covert operation faces many setbacks along the way, but he still finds time to simultaneously woo both Woodstock sisters! And the hilarity just keeps ensuing in this comic output from one of the silent era’s many forgotten stars.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is mostly a tribute to Raymond Griffith, whose on-screen comic persona was “worlds away from the frantic, rubber-faced funnymen who stereotypically appeared in silent films.” An essay by silent film comedy expert Steve Massa is comprised of mini biographies for the major players of “Hands Up!”

But Does It Really?: When we think of silent film comedy, we think of Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd, as if these were the only three comedians at the time. While these three are the ones whose films have endured (both in a cultural and more literal sense), they are the tip of the iceberg for a plethora of comic filmmakers whose work is mostly lost to time. “Hands Up!” is on this list to represent Raymond Griffith, another popular comedian of the era. While “Hands Up!” is not without its faults, it made me laugh out loud a few times, and it was fun to discover Griffith’s work and talents. A pass for “Hands Up!”; an enjoyable, if not integral, silent comedy from an unsung artist.

Everybody Gets One: Raymond Griffith started out as a child actor in touring melodramas. Griffith would later claim that all the yelling he did in performances caused his unique raspy voice, though others have suggested his malady was caused by a case of diphtheria. Either way, he was a natural for silent film. His early film work with the likes of Mack Sennett was mostly behind-the-scenes as a writer, but by the 1920s he had developed his on-screen character: the unflappable, urbane dandy. “Hands Up!” was one of 10 starring vehicles Griffith made for Paramount from 1925 to 1927, and one of only a handful of his movies to survive.

Wow, That’s Dated: Well obviously the less-than-stellar depiction of a nameless Indigenous tribe in the middle of this movie. It’s a brief episode, but these are the stereotypical “savages” that all but defined Indigenous people in the early days of film (and by “early days”, I mean the first century or so).

Other notes

The film’s subtitle intrigued me: “An historical incident with variations.” Turns out that in addition to the film’s Civil War setting, we get actual historical figures like Abraham Lincoln! This is at least the fifth film I’ve covered for the blog to feature Lincoln as a character, which according to my notes ties Honest Abe with Jesus and Chaplin’s Tramp for most NFR appearances.
The first bit that made me laugh out loud was the scene in which Robert E. Lee enlists Jack to get the gold, reminding Jack that this mission should be kept a secret between the three of them. When Lee’s right-hand man is immediately shot and killed, an unphased Jack corrects Lee: “Two of us, sir.” Good stuff.
The hardest I laughed this whole movie was when Jack is up against a firing squad and uses nearby plates to reroute their fire. It’s a great comic premise with a funny visual, which is really all you can ask for in a silent movie. Jack’s eventual escape by painting a mock-up of himself puts him at a Bugs Bunny level of trickery.
And then the Woodstock’s stagecoach gets surrounded by “Indians” and things get uncomfortable real fast. Fortunately, Jack wins over this tribe by teaching them how to gamble and do the Charleston. What’s the opposite of a White savior?
According to one cast list, the tribe’s leader is supposed to be Sitting Bull? Either I missed that intertitle, or the film doesn’t mention him by name. Regardless, please don’t get Sitting Bull mixed up in this. What did he ever do to you?
Just when I think we’re out of the woods with the harmful stereotypes, along comes the film’s one Black character, a southerner who recognizes Jack and almost blows his cover. The unnamed character talks in intertitles phonetically spelled out in the most offensive ways possible. I’m beginning to see why this movie doesn’t get brought up that often.
This whole runner with the Woodstock sisters is so bizarre. First off, aside from their different hair colors there is no distinction whatsoever between the two. Secondly, they do practically everything in unison like they’re in a bad Doublemint commercial. And finally, how do neither of them have any objection to being hit on by this guy at the same time as their sister? Whatever, maybe I’m overthinking this and it was all a laugh riot in 1926.
Now I get why this movie is called “Hands Up!”: The third act is half of the characters holding the other half at gunpoint.
The final chase sequence is a lot of fun, with Jack trying to dodge everyone he has double-crossed in the last hour. But like so many film comedies thin on plot, what to do for an ending? Well, this movie offers two last minute solutions…
Historical deus ex machina #1: When Jack is surrounded by Union soldiers and all seems lost, it is announced that General Lee has surrendered, and the war is over. I guess this means Jack is off the hook (future treason charges notwithstanding). But what about his promise of marriage to both Woodstock sisters? About that…
Historical deus ex machina #2: While talking to Alice and Mae about their predicament, the trio happen to meet LDS president Brigham Young, travelling through town with five of his nineteen wives. Intrigued by the prospect of polygamy, Jack and the sisters hop in Brigham’s wagon and head to Salt Lake City. Sure, it’s funny, but I feel like the film was setting things up for Jack to not get away with anything. He doesn’t get the gold, but goes unpunished and gets to marry both girls? Yeah, I’m definitely overthinking this whole movie.

Legacy

As you’ve probably guessed, the film acting career of raspy-voiced Raymond Griffith was all but ended by the advent of sound. Griffith’s final on-screen performance was a brief turn as a dying French soldier in “All Quiet on the Western Front“, and he pivoted back to behind-the-scenes work writing and producing.

By the time Raymond Griffith died in 1957, his career as a silent comedian was all but forgotten. According to the Massa essay, interest in Griffith’s films was revived by theater critic Walter Kerr and his 1975 book “The Silent Clowns”, which devotes a chapter to Griffith among write-ups of his more impactful contemporaries. Although Griffith’s film legacy hasn’t measurably improved in the last 50 years, his surviving films are readily available online, and there are historians like Steve Massa willing to sing his praises.