Bunker Bean (1936)

Directors:

William Hamilton
Edward Killy

Writers:

Harry Leon Wilson (novel)
Lee Wilson Dodd (play)

Release Date:

26 June 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Bunker Bean, a meek office clerk, has grandiose dreams but seems destined to remain forever in his lowly station...

Plot Keywords:

Reincarnation | Patent | Transformation | Business Competition | Self Confidence

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Owen Davis Jr.	...	Bunker Bean
Louise Latimer	...	Mary Kent
Robert McWade	...	John 'J.C.' Kent
Jessie Ralph	...	Grandmother
Lucille Ball	...	Rosie Kelly
Berton Churchill	...	Professor Ed Balthazer
Edward J. Nugent	...	Mr. Glab (as Edward Nugent)
Hedda Hopper	...	Mrs. Dorothy Kent
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Dr. Meyerhauser
Leonard Carey	...	Kent's Butler
Russell Hicks	...	Al 'A.C.' Jones
Sibyl Harris	...	Countess Cassandra

Also Known As:

His Majesty Bunker Bean (UK)

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2209)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The original play opened in New York on 2 October 1916.

Quotes:

Grandmother: [Bunker Bean gets a high head about himself and starts spanking his own bosses daughter. Well, Mr. Kent and his wife come in and start pampering her scolding him saying they had never struck her in her life! And Jessie ralph's character, the grandmother, comes up to him after they leave laughing and she says] "Son you'll get into heaven for this!"

Movie Connections:

Version of His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1918)

Not bad but not worth much time

I watched this because Lucille Ball was listed high in the cast list. Well, she plays a secretary. She has five or six lines.

With the exception of performers in small roles, I don't recognize the names of the people who do star. In small roles are Hedda Hopper and Jessie Ralph.

It reminds me a little of the "Merton of the Movies" story: It's about a meek young man who toes the straight and narrow. He keeps trying and -- well, I won't tell what happens.

There must be a reason for the odd title. Was Bunker a popular name -- ever? Today it seems off-putting. What IS a bunker bean? It's a who, not a what. And it's fine if one has nothing better to watch.