Frankie Darro was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles in adventure, western, dramatic, and comedy films, and later became a character actor and voice-over artist. He is perhaps best known for his role as Lampwick, the unlucky boy who turns into a donkey in Walt Disney's second animated feature, Pinocchio (1940). In early credits, his last name was spelled Darrow.
The Phantom Empire is a 1935 American Western serial film directed by Otto Brower and B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Frankie Darro, and Betsy King Ross. This 12-chapter Mascot Pictures serial combined the Western, musical and science-fiction genres. The first episode is 30 minutes, the rest about 20 minutes. The serial film is about a singing cowboy who stumbles upon an ancient subterranean civilization living beneath his own ranch that becomes corrupted by unscrupulous greedy speculators from the surface. In 1940, a 70-minute feature film edited from the serial was released under the titles Radio Ranch or Men with Steel Faces. This was Gene Autry's first starring role, playing himself as a singing cowboy. It is considered to be the first science-fiction Western.
The Devil Horse is a 1932 American Pre-Code movie serial starring Harry Carey, Frankie Darro and Noah Beery, Sr. that was distributed by Mascot Pictures. This is regarded as the best of the three serials Harry Carey made in the early 1930s, the other two being Last of the Mohicans and The Vanishing Legion. Frankie Darro had co-starred with Carey previously in The Vanishing Legion. Lane Chandler played the murdered ranger Elliott Norton, uncredited.
The Gang's All Here (1941) is an American black-and-white feature film starring Frankie Darro, Mantan Moreland, Marcia Mae Jones, and Jackie Moran in a story about a trucking company targeted by saboteurs. The film was directed by Jean Yarbrough, produced by Lindsley Parsons, and is one of several that paired Darro and Moreland. The film is known as In the Night in the UK.
Kane Richmond was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character Lamont Cranston in The Shadow films in addition to his leading role in the successful serials Spy Smasher and Brick Bradford.
Chasing Trouble is a 1940 American comedy-drama film directed by Howard Bretherton, from Monogram Pictures.
The Devil Diamond is a 1937 American film directed by Leslie Goodwins.
The Payoff is a 1935 American dramatic film directed by Robert Florey. James Dunn stars as a newspaper reporter promoted to the sports desk, but saddled with a wife whose spending habits drive her into a relationship with a blackmailing racketeer.
Red Hot Tires is a 1935 American crime drama film produced and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by D. Ross Lederman, and starring Lyle Talbot and Mary Astor. The plot involves a racing driver (Talbot) falsely accused of murdering a rival driver during a race and his friends' attempts to prove his innocence.
Robin Hood, Jr. is a 1936 American musical romance film directed by Leslie Goodwins from a screenplay by Harry O. Hoyt. The film stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, and Muriel Evans.
Little Men is a 1934 American feature film based on Louisa May Alcott's 1871 novel Little Men, starring Ralph Morgan and Erin O'Brien-Moore, directed by Phil Rosen, and was released by Mascot Pictures. Alcott wrote Little Men in response to her prior novel, Little Women, hoping to achieve the same level of success. It is a sequel to Little Women
Vacation Days is a 1947 American Western musical film directed by Arthur Dreifuss and starring Freddie Stewart, June Preisser, and Frankie Darro. It is part of The Teen Agers series.
Freddie Steps Out is a 1946 American film starring Freddie Stewart.
Tough Kid is a 1938 American crime film directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Wellyn Totman. The film stars Frankie Darro, Dick Purcell, Judith Allen, Lillian Elliott, Don Rowan and William Ruhl. The film was released on December 28, 1938, by Monogram Pictures.
Anything for a Thrill is a 1937 American crime film directed by Leslie Goodwins and written by Joseph O'Donnell and Stanley Lowenstein. The film stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, June Johnson, Ann Evers, Johnstone White and Horace Murphy. The film was released on June 15, 1937, by Conn Pictures Corporation.
Racing Blood is a 1936 American crime film directed by Victor Halperin and written by Joseph O'Donnell. The film stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, Gladys Blake, Arthur Housman, James Eagles, Matthew Betz, Si Wills and Fred Toones. The film was released on November 15, 1936, by Conn Pictures Corporation.
Headline Crasher is a 1936 American drama film directed by Leslie Goodwins from a screenplay by Sherman L. Lowe and Charles R. Condon. The film stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, and Muriel Evans.
Born to Fight is a 1936 American drama film directed by Charles Hutchison from a screenplay by Stephen Norris, based on the short story, "To Him Who Dares" by Peter B. Kyne. The film stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, and Jack LaRue.
Young Dynamite is a 1937 American crime film directed by Leslie Goodwins from a screenplay by Joseph O'Donnell and Stanley Roberts, adaptation by Arthur G. Durlam. The film stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, and Charlotte Henry.
Events in 1917 in animation.
