Comments on: Immunity for Mantan

By: Spiderclinic

Spiderclinic — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:38:53 +0000

Mantan’s film sequences with Ben Carter are to be sought out.
Their verbal exchanges are clever conversations with the humor derived from one knowing exactly what the other is just about to say. My description doesn’t do them justice.

I love Mantan in King of The Zombies. “I’ve been zombie-fied!”

A friend told me the new Green Hornet movie is coming out in
December. It reminded me of Bill Cosby’s spoof, The Brown Hornet who was assisted by his faithful valet, Leroy. Couldn’t help thinking of Birmingham Brown (Mantan) and his assistance of
Mr. Chan.

By: belphegor

belphegor — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:51:27 +0000

Good posting. But I believe the correct title of the movie that is being discussed here is “The Strange Case of Dr. R/X.”

By: Richard Sutor

Richard Sutor — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:02:03 +0000

I’m in complete agreement that Mantan Moreland deserves much more respect for his work on countless films. But in the mention of the 10 year “gap” there is an omission of a Laurel and Hardy film in which he appeared. The 1942 20th Century Fox film “A Haunting We Will Go” includes a “cameo” by Mantan. The scene takes place on a train with Mantan playing a waiter. He and Stan Laurel share the screen and, according to line notes packed with the DVD, ad lib most of the scene. Mantan is quoted in the liner notes recalling how he and Stan had a script from which to work but when they thought they could improve on it these two comedy masters went to it.

By: Joe Thompson

Joe Thompson — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:12:11 +0000

Thank you for remembering Mantan. Not long before he passed on, he appeared on a San Francisco UHF show, “The Worst of Hollywood.” The host tried hard to get a good interview, but Mantan didn’t appear to be feeling well. He made much of the opportunities he got.

By: Curt from Mountain View

Curt from Mountain View — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:54:01 +0000

Recently, my 8-year old son and I watched “King of the Zombies.” He commented, “Wow, the best thing about that movie was Mantan Moreland. But, dad, why was his character treated so meanly? The Count didn’t offer him wine like his (white) friends, and Mantan had to sleep downstairs in the basement while his friends got to sleep upstairs in beds.” I explained about the roles that black actors were stuck with, the treatment of black people back then, and what happened to Mantan Moreland’s career in his later years … all from just watching “King of the Zombies.” Now, I can show him this article.

By: wilbur twinhorse

wilbur twinhorse — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:06:47 +0000

With all due respect to Mantan, it seems like slim pickings for black actors in the era you speak of. Minstrels, Vaudeville, you could say they were a mockery of a sham and a sign of the low regard that people of color were held in this country. It was disappointing to see the TCM schedule for Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year. Why couldn’t there have been an extensive program based on the work of Oscar Micheaux, a pioneering Director, Screenwriter, and Producer born in 1884? I guess we still have a long way to go in this. Cheers, Wilbur

By: rhsmith

rhsmith — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:20:27 +0000

yet somehow their characters are never repetitive

You can say that again! What makes Mantan immortal for me is that he is alive in the frame. The passage of 70 years doesn’t dull any of his spontaneity. While the acting styles of the other (white) players seems vintage, classic and of its time, Mantan could just as easily be doing his thing in a contemporary movie.

By: suzidoll

suzidoll — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:39:28 +0000

You can’t beat the old-time vaudevillians for constructing a comic persona to play repeatedly in film after film yet somehow their characters are never repetitive. Also, their approach to physical comedy is sharper and their comic timing tighter than any stand-up comics or comic actors in the movies today. Mantan was extremely talented and a born entertainer; that he had to endure the humiliation of a racist film industry in order to ply his trade is tragic.

By: rhsmith

rhsmith — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:36:16 +0000

I love all those Mike Shayne movies with Lloyd Nolan and possibly Sleepers West the best of all. As I've written in the past, I loves me a "trapped on a moving train" movie and throwing Mantan Moreland into the mix is just the icing on an already tasty cake.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:29:08 +0000

Mantan (I agree, I can never refer to him otherwise) and oft-times partner Ben Carter worked together in a few pictures. I think they and their double talk routine were shown to best advantage in the Mike Shayne movie [b]Sleeper’s West[/b], which is possibly the illegitimate father of [b]The Narrow Margin[/b].