William Bendix is a favorite old black and white actor of mine. Known largely for playing tough guy roles, as well as in other fims, he is legendary. Two of my favorites are "A Dark Corner", opposite Lucille Ball and Clifton Webb. Or in this film, "China", with Alan Ladd, where the two adopt a young Chinese girl orphaned by the Japanese.
In this film Alan Ladd is often credited as being the template later used for the character of Indiana Jones, complete with leather jacket and hat. In addition to his costume, Alan Ladd plays a character named David Jones, further cementing the connection.
With William Bendix at his side, the two confront obstacle after obstacle as mercenaries in war torn China on the eve of Pearl Harbor. Also of note are that Sen Yung, Richard Loo and Soo Yong are just some of the actual Asian actors who played roles in this film. And not as stereotypical typecast characters, but as dedicated heroic guerillas fighting the Japanese.
You will also remember Bendix as the tough guy from Brooklyn in just about every World War Two classic war film. Always out front, and always the most likely to be killed while defending a buddy.
A pal of James Cagney he played the bartender in Cagney's early self produced adaptation of the play "Time of Our Lives", which also starred James Barton, Ward Bond and Broderick Crawford. In that film all of the actors played off type roles.
Produced by Cagney's brother Bill and starring his kid sister Jean, it lost the $250,000 which was spent to make it. Cagney, an avid theater lover and good "hoofer", put his money into this one simply because he thought the play, by William Saroyan, hadn't been given a fair shake by the critics.
Bendix was also known for his early TV sitcom "Life of Riley", on which he reprised the character he played for several years before it's successful transition to TV. The series was so well loved by all age groups that the character of Riley was even turned into comic bar star in 1958.
He even played "Babe" in the film, "The Babe Ruth" Story". And, he also played baseball for real, in a way. He'd been a bat Boy as a teenager for the Yankees as a teenager in the 1920's He wasxfired for not getting Ruth all the hotdogs he was wanted before that days game began and worked as a grocer in the1930's.
One of his other well known roles was in "The Glass Key", which featured Brian Donlevy, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in the leads. He drew real notice in Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat", in which he played "Gus", a wounded and dying American sailor.
But my all time favorite Bendix role is in the film, "Macao" as an undercover NYC police detective opposite Robert Mitchum, who plays a broke and wandering ex Naval Officer who cannot go back to America due to having killed someone. With Jane Russell as the female lead, doing her own singing live, on the soundstage, that film rocks.
He is also in his element in the film, "Crashout", as the head of a prison break by 6 men. No long intro leading up to it, the film starts immediately with no flashbacks, and moves all the way to it's inevitale conclusion.
Crisply preserved, many of his films are available at my favorite price of free, on You Tube. I love bringing these film out by voice command on my tablet, and then "casting" them to my TV, in my case, a 49" Roku. Modest but great for they type of films i enjoy most. Black and white.
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