| The Battling Kangaroo | |
|---|---|
| _title.jpg.webp) opening title card | |
| Directed by | Jules White | 
| Story by | 
 | 
| Produced by | George Marshall | 
| Starring | 
 | 
| Production company | |
| Distributed by | Fox Film | 
| Release date | 
 | 
| Running time | 18 mins. | 
| Country | US | 
| Language | English | 
The Battling Kangaroo is a two reel, slap stick Silent comedy film directed by Jules White in 1926.[1] Fox Film Corporation produced and distributed the film.[2] Fox Film released it in the US on December 5, 1926.[1]
Sterling Holloway made his motion picture debut in this film.[2]
Plot
Limber Lucy, a trapeze artist, wants to leave the carnival of which her family is part, but they cannot leave until her father repays $1,000 to the carnival owner, Knockout Kelly. The latter is a former farmhand "who loved to plant cauliflowers on people's ears." Lucy flees Kelly after he accosts her.[3]
Pete Brush, a taxi driver who fancies Lucy, learns of Kelly's pursuit of Lucy and that "a thousand dollars stand between [Lucy] and happiness." Brush sees an advertisement that "Knockout Kelly Fights Anything on Two Feet. $1000.00 CASH If You Knock Him Out." After failing to knock out Kelly himself, Brush and two carnival workers attempt to hijack a passenger from a competitor's taxi, as the rider has offered "A thousand dollars if you reach the dock before my boat departs."[3]
After commandeering the passenger, they deliver him to the boat but fail to procure the fare. Fleeing the irate taxi driver, the three men accidentally free three kangaroos from a crate, who cause havoc. The three men are then able to guide one of the kangaroos, attired for boxing, into the ring with Knockout Kelly. The kangaroo, after battling with Kelly, then knocks him out. Brush receives the thousand dollars for the knock out. He and Lucy kiss.[3]
Cast
The cast credits are from the film's intertitles.[3]
- Lige Conley as Pete Brush, the taxi driver who fancies Lucy
- Sterling Holloway as Napoleon French, a carnival worker[2]
- George Gray, credited as George Grey, as another carnival worker
- Mildred June as Limber Lucy
- Al Kaufman as Knockout Kelly
Gallery
_Mildred_June.jpg.webp) Mildred June Mildred June
_Halloway.jpg.webp) Sterling Holloway Sterling Holloway
_Holoway%252C_Conley%252C_and_Grey.jpg.webp) Holoway, Conley, and Grey Holoway, Conley, and Grey
_Conley%252C_Grey%252C_and_Holloway.jpg.webp) Conley, Grey, and Holloway Conley, Grey, and Holloway
_%E2%80%94_hijacking_a_passenger.jpg.webp) The abduction of a passenger from another taxi The abduction of a passenger from another taxi
_Conley.jpg.webp) Conely Conely
_%E2%80%94_travelling_by_kangaroo.jpg.webp) Grey travelling by kangaroo Grey travelling by kangaroo
_Conley_and_June.jpg.webp) Conley and June in the kangaroo boxing scene Conley and June in the kangaroo boxing scene
_extra_and_Kaufman.jpg.webp) An extra and Kaufman as a knocked-out boxer An extra and Kaufman as a knocked-out boxer
References
- 1 2 3 Library of Congress (1927). "Classes L and M. Motion Pictures". Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1: Books, Group 2. Vol. 23. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Copyright Office. p. 2180. hdl:2027/uiug.30112100650289. OCLC 1348619420 – via HathiTrust.
- 1 2 3 Rubin, Steven Jay (2018). The Twilight Zone encyclopedia. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. p. 431. ISBN 978-1-61373-889-4. OCLC 1004368231.
- 1 2 3 4 White, Jules (1926). The Battling Kangaroo (Motion picture). Fox Animal Comedies. Fox Film. ASIN B005W4SBHS. OCLC 423078859.
External links
- The short film The Battling Kangaroo is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- Video on YouTube
- The Battling Kangaroo at IMDb