Series: 'Hunky' Dorrey w/Earl Mohan
Director: Ralph Ceder
Producer: Hal Roach
Titles: 
Photography: Len Powers
Editor: 
Stars: Earl Mohan, Billy Engle
Company: Pathé Exchange
Released: 11 October 1925
Length: 1 reel
Production No.: D-53
Filming dates: February 14-23, 1924;retakes March 28 - April 1, 1924
Rating: 3/10
Solid Ivory
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Available on DVD:
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"Hunky" Dorrey (Earl Mohan) is a professional boxer, who along with his manager "Dinky" Dubbs (Billy Engle) are on their way to town to fight the champion. When their car comes upon a steep hill they find the vehicle just will not climb it so they put it in reverse and drive up backwards (and not very straight either!) Dorrey (the driver) stops just in time to save the car reversing all the way over the steep cliff behind them. But of course, the inevitable happens when both men get out of the car and almost seem to deliberately push it over! Now on foot the two men walk along a back road where they fail to flag down several passing cars. That is until Hunky Dorrey gets the idea to lay in the middle of the road in order to force the next car to stop. (see favourite bit) The two men arrive at the venue for the fight and after stuffing his face with a turkey sandwich and finding he is one pound overweight, Hunky Dorrey is pummelled by a guy until the excess weight is gone. Then it's time for the action. Hunky Dorrey versus the Foreign Champion. But Dorrey is groggy from the pounding he took back stage and begins yawning. This in turn starts everybody else yawning. The fight begins and the opponent gets the upper hand with his acrobatics, jumping and flying all over the ring whilst Hunky Dorrey tries to register a single hit. All seems lost and Dorrey is knocked down to the canvas but when the opponent goes to check on him and kisses him, Dorrey suddenly gets to his feet and knocks the champion out cold! Dorrey then turns to his manager and kisses him in celebration only to have the manager knock Dorrey out cold! |
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Favourite bit Lying in the middle of a road in order to get a car to stop and pick you up sometimes works. And sometimes it doesn't! |
| Trivia • Copyrighted October 8, 1925. • The original title card shows the title series to be "Hunky Dorrey", but the altered DVD title card from Looser Than Loose shows the series to be "Knockout" Kelly. • The reference of "solid ivory" is shown early on in an intertitle card to describe Hunky Dorrey's head. • The Hunky Dorrey fight with the "foreign champion" takes place on June 15th at the Western Athletic Club in Carson. The incentive for winning the match is a chance to fight "Dempsey". This is a reference to Jack Dempsey, a professional heavyweight boxing champion of the day. Alpha DVD -vs- Looser Than Loose DVD: • This comparison was constructed from an impartial perspective for factual purposes and not to criticize either print. OPENING TITLES & CREDITS Alpha has the original title card and lists the series name as Hunky Dorrey; LTL has a remade title card and lists the series name as Knockout Kelly. Alpha's original credits lists Len Powers for the photography; LTL lists Nick Barrows for the photography. LTL has an extra credit in the opening titles for the Pathé copyright credits. This card is remade. COLORING & SHARPNESS The Alpha print has a slight blue tint to it and is a relatively sharp print; the LTL print is more grey in its tones and more washed out. PICTURE FRAMING & RATIO In terms of picture ratio the LTL shows slightly more height. This is evident when we see the telegram near the beginning and also when we see the Western Athletic Club introduced. The LTL disc shows the top of the screen and the banner but the Alpha DVD cuts it off. INTERTITLE CARDS Both prints appear to use the original intertitle cards throughout. LTL is missing two cards [*see "missing footage"]. JUMP IN FOOTAGE In the scene where they drive the car backwards up the hill there is a noticeable cut in the action in the LTL, though the Alpha print has the scene intact. It's less than 1 second in running time but very obvious when you see the prints side-by-side. MISSING FOOTAGE There is a whole short scene missing from the LTL print after the guys push the car off the cliff. They turn and walk away down a country lane for 7 seconds. There is a large hill in the distance behind them. This is followed by an intertitle card:   This card is on screen for a further 7 seconds, making 14 seconds in total of footage included in the Alpha DVD. In the changing rooms after Hunky Dorrey is pummelled we switch to the ring, but before we cut to the ring the Alpha DVD has an intertitle card lasting 6 seconds on screen whish is missing from the LTL DVD: 
RUNNING TIMES Alpha's film runs 10 minutes 42 seconds; LTL's film runs 9 minutes 23 seconds. MUSIC Both prints have different music. DVD AVAILABILITY & PRICES Alpha DVD is $5.99 and shares the disc with 6 other films: https://www.oldies.com/product-view/7420D.html LTL DVD was $39.99 and part of a 3-disc set which includes 18 films. The print is struck from a 16mm transfer. The company is now closed and the DVD is no longer available. My opinion • Much better than I was expecting. Usually the films in this series have proven to be complete flops. Watchable. I cannot believe I just said that! |
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Earl Mohan 'Hunky' Dorrey |
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Billy Engle 'Dinky' Dubbs |
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Jack Gavin Cornerman |
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Pierre Couderc Foreign Champion |
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Al Ochs Referee |
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Bud Ross Shady bystander |
UNIDENTIFIED CAST |
| CREDITS (click image to enlarge) | INTERTITLES (click image to enlarge) |
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| Acknowledgements: John Benson (help with acquiring original titles) Jesse Brisson (identification of Pierre Couderc, Bud Ross and Al Ochs) This page was last updated on: 25 September 2022 |