Allen Jenkins - Turner Classic Movies

Allen Jenkins

Actor

About

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Also Known As

Al Mcconegal, Allan Jenkins

Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Born

April 09, 1900

Died

July 20, 1974

Biography

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Commonly cast as a dimwitted thug in gangster movies, Allen Jenkins was a popular character actor of the '30s and '40s and part of the so-called "Irish Mafia" of Hollywood actors that included James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and Frank McHugh. Jenkins was born to a show business family, and studied at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts before appearing in numerous Broadway produ...

Filmography

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The Front Page (1974)

Getting Away From It All (1972)

Doctor, You've Got To Be Kidding (1967)

The Spy in the Green Hat (1966)

For Those Who Think Young (1964)

Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

Photos & Videos

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Ball Of Fire (1942) -- (Movie Clip) Two And Two Are Five

Blessed Event (1932) -- (Movie Clip) How Can You Say No?

Biography

Commonly cast as a dimwitted thug in gangster movies, Allen Jenkins was a popular character actor of the '30s and '40s and part of the so-called "Irish Mafia" of Hollywood actors that included James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and Frank McHugh. Jenkins was born to a show business family, and studied at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts before appearing in numerous Broadway productions throughout the '20s. After replacing Spencer Tracy as the lead in "The Last Mile" he was recruited by Darryl F. Zanuck to work for Paramount Pictures out in Hollywood. For his first film role he recreated his character of Frankie Wells for the 1932 film adaptation of the play "Blessed Event." A series of tough-guy goon roles made Jenkins somewhat of an icon of the '40s, and the image stuck throughout his career. As the style of Hollywood films changed in the '60s and '70s and his steady stream of film roles started to wane, Jenkins went where the work was--television. He often played cops, janitors, or just plain, old blue-collar simpletons on shows like "Adam-12" and "Bewitched." He also voiced the character of Officer Charlie Dibble on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon "Top Cat." His last role was that of a telegrapher in Billy Wilder's 1974 comedy feature "The Front Page" with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. He died later that same year of lung cancer.

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

The Front Page (1974)

Getting Away From It All (1972)

Doctor, You've Got To Be Kidding (1967)

The Spy in the Green Hat (1966)

For Those Who Think Young (1964)

Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

I'd Rather Be Rich (1964)

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Pillow Talk (1959)

Chained for Life (1952)

Oklahoma Annie (1952)

The WAC from Walla Walla (1952)

Let's Go Navy (1951)

Behave Yourself! (1951)

Crazy Over Horses (1951)

Bodyhold (1950)

The Big Wheel (1949)

The Inside Story (1948)

The Senator Was Indiscreet (1948)

Easy Come, Easy Go (1947)

Wild Harvest (1947)

The Case of the Baby Sitter (1947)

Fun on a Weekend (1947)

The Hat-box Mystery (1947)

Singin' in the Corn (1946)

The Dark Horse (1946)

Meet Me on Broadway (1946)

Wonder Man (1945)

Lady on a Train (1945)

Stage Door Canteen (1943)

Tortilla Flat (1942)

Ball of Fire (1942)

Eyes in the Night (1942)

A Date with the Falcon (1942)

Jonathan "Goldy" Locke

Maisie Gets Her Man (1942)

"Pappy" Goodring

The Falcon Takes Over (1942)

Jonathan "Goldy" Locke

They All Kissed the Bride (1942)

Dive Bomber (1941)

Footsteps in the Dark (1941)

The Gay Falcon (1941)

Jonathan "Goldy" Locke

Time Out for Rhythm (1941)

Off-Beat [One Note] Davis

Go West, Young Lady (1941)

Brother Orchid (1940)

Willie the Knife

Tin Pan Alley (1940)

Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love (1940)

Meet the Wildcat (1940)

Destry Rides Again (1939)

Naughty but Nice (1939)

Five Came Back (1939)

Torchy Blane...Playing with Dynamite (1939)

Lt. Steve McBride

Sweepstakes Winner (1939)

[Xerxes] "Tip" Bailey

Swing Your Lady (1938)

Going Places (1938)

A Slight Case of Murder (1938)

The Amazing Doctor Clitterhouse (1938)

Heart of the North (1938)

Corpl. Bill Hardsack

Racket Busters (1938)

Fools for Scandal (1938)

Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)

Hard to Get (1938)

Marked Woman (1937)

The Perfect Specimen (1937)

The Singing Marine (1937)

Sergeant Mike [Kelly]

Dead End (1937)

Sing Me a Love Song (1937)

Christopher Cross

Ever Since Eve (1937)

Marry the Girl (1937)

Sh! The Octopus (1937)

Ready, Willing and Able (1937)

J. Van Courtland

Dance Charlie Dance (1937)

The Singing Kid (1936)

Three Men on a Horse (1936)

Cain and Mabel (1936)

Sins of Man (1936)

Page Miss Glory (1935)

Sweet Music (1935)

The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935)

While the Patient Slept (1935)

The Case of the Curious Bride (1935)

The Irish in Us (1935)

Carbarn [Hammerschlog]

A Night at the Ritz (1935)

Miss Pacific Fleet (1935)

Kewpie [Wiggins]

I Live for Love (1935)

Mac [Jim McNamara]

Broadway Hostess (1935)

Fishcake [Carter]

Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934)

Happiness Ahead (1934)

The Big Shakedown (1934)

The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)

The St. Louis Kid (1934)

Jimmy the Gent (1934)

I've Got Your Number (1934)

The Merry Frinks (1934)

Whirlpool (1934)

Employee's Entrance (1933)

42nd Street (1933)

Lawyer Man (1933)

The Silk Express (1933)

Rusty, alias of Raymond Griffith

Bureau of Missing Persons (1933)

The Keyhole (1933)

Professional Sweetheart (1933)

Blondie Johnson (1933)

Hard to Handle (1933)

Radio announcer

The Mind Reader (1933)

Havana Widows (1933)

The Mayor of Hell (1933)

Tomorrow at Seven (1933)

Three on a Match (1932)

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Rackety Rax (1932)

Blessed Event (1932)

The Girl Habit (1931)

Cast (Short)

A Day at Santa Anita (1937)

Breakdowns of 1936 (1936)

Things You Never See on the Screen (1935)

Misc. Crew (Short)

Three Cheers for the Girls (1943)

Archival Footage

Life Events

Photo Collections

Brother Orchid - Movie Poster

Here is the American One-Sheet Movie Poster for Warner Bros' Brother Orchid (1940), starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern, and Humphrey Bogart. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

Twenty Million Sweethearts - Lobby Cards

Here are several Lobby Cards from First National's Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934). Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

Swing Your Lady - Movie Poster

Here is the American half-sheet movie poster for Warner Bros' Swing Your Lady (1938), starring Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, and Louise Fazenda.

Videos

Ball Of Fire (1942) -- (Movie Clip) Two And Two Are Five Allen Jenkins is the garbage man, seeking trivia help from encyclopedia-writing professors (Oscar Homolka, Aubrey Mather, Richard Haydn, S.Z. Sakall et al), Potts (Gary Cooper) committing to new research, in Howard Hawks' Ball Of Fire, 1942.

Blessed Event (1932) -- (Movie Clip) How Can You Say No? Often mentioned but seen now for the first time 30-minutes into the picture, Dick Powell as radio band-leader Bunny Harmon, the frequent target and general enemy of gossip columnist Alvin (Lee Tracy) offers a tune by Joseph Burke, Al Dubin and Irving Kahal, then an insult as he hands off to Alvin, who counters, in Warner Bros.’ Blessed Event, 1932.

Marked Woman (1937) -- (Movie Clip) From Tiddlywinks To Roulette Gangster Johnny Vanning (Eduardo Cianelli), his character inspired by Charles "Lucky" Luciano, surveys the goods (including staff hostesses, Bette Davis as Mary, Lola Lane as Gabby, Isabel Jewell as Emmy Lou and Mayo Methot as Estelle) in the night club he's taken over, early in Marked Woman, 1937.

Hard To Handle (1933) -- (Movie Clip) It Ain't Humanely Possible Joining director Mervyn LeRoy’s breakneck opening, Allen Jenkins the MC at an outrageous Hollywood dance marathon, the last two couples standing are (second-billed) Mary Brian with Matt McHugh and Sterling Holloway with Mary Doran, before we meet the promoter, above-the-title billed James Cagney as Lefty, in Warner Bros.’ Hard To Handle, 1933.

Time Out For Rhythm (1941) -- (Movie Clip) Did Anyone Ever Tell You? Rollicking start, with Rosemary Lane belting a Sammy Cahn-Saul Chaplin original, Richard Lane her agent Mike at the bar with Harvard man Rudy Vallee, then fisticuffs when Princeton arrives, Allen Jenkins the piano player, in Columbia’s Time Out For Rhythm, 1941.

Time Out For Rhythm (1941) -- (Movie Clip) The Boogie-Woogie Man Quite the novelty number, after a time-lapse montage in which Rudy Vallee and Richard Lane have become big-time agents, a number sung by Pee Wee Hunt, with the Glen Gray (Casa Loma) Band, composition by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin, Franz/Frank Planer on camera but no credit for special or photographic effects, in the Columbia variety vehicle Time Out For Rhythm, 1941.

Time Out For Rhythm (1941) -- (Movie Clip) A-Twiddlin' My Thumbs Ann Miller, first-billed among many in a Columbia variety feature, crushes a Sammy Cahn-Saul Chaplin tune, dance by LeRoy Prinz, as the maid for a singer that agents Rudy Vallee and Allen Jenkins hope to lure back, in B>Time Out For Rhythm, 1941.

Slight Case Of Murder, A (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom Ex-bootlegger turned legit-but-broke brewer Marko (Edward G. Robinson) visiting his "alma-mater" orphanage, Margaret Hamilton in charge, collecting his annual summer adopt-ee, (Bobby Jordan), in A Slight Case Of Murder, 1938, from the Damon Runyon and Howard Lindsay play.

Slight Case Of Murder, A (1938) -- (Movie Clip) Wash Your Neck Speaking from the original Damon Runyon and Howard Lindsay play, bootlegger Remy Marko (Edward G. Robinson) informs his troops (Edward Brophy, Allen Jenkins, Harold Huber et al) of the new plan, early in Warner Bros.' A Slight Case Of Murder, 1938.

Case Of The Curious Bride, The (1935) -- (Movie Clip) Nothing But Deadly Monotony Visiting due to boredom with their friend the San Francisco coroner Wilbur (Olin Howland), Warren William (title character) and sidekicks Spudsy and Toots (Allen Jenkins, Thomas Jenkins), share in the surprise over an exhumed body, in the Warner Bros. Perry Mason serial The Case Of The Curious Bride, 1935.

Case Of The Curious Bride, The (1935) -- (Movie Clip) I Know A Little Jiu Jitsu Arriving with sidekick Spuds (Allen Jenkins) at the San Francisco airport, lawyer Perry Mason (Warren William) manages to intercept ex-girlfriend Rhoda (Margaret Lindsay), now a murder suspect, before the cops (Barton MacLane et al) can grab her, in The Case Of The Curious Bride, 1935.

Jimmy The Gent (1934) -- (Movie Clip) I Love Your Enthusiasm The criminal underbelly of a big-city hospital, medical staff (Mary Treen the nurse, Philip Faversham the intern on the phone) sharing word of a loaded corpse, intercepted by Philip Reed, relaying the call to second-billed Bette Davis, who works for slick Alan Dinehart, in Jimmy The Gent, 1934, starring James Cagney.

Dead End - (Original Trailer) A killer (Humphrey Bogart) returns to the mean streets that made him in William Wyler's Dead End (1937) co-starring Sylvia Sidney and Joel McCrea.

Bibliography

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