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H.M. Walker

Known for: Writing

Biography: 1885-06-27

Deathday: 1937-06-23 (51 years old)

Biography

WALKER, H.M. (Harley Marquis Walker) started as a telegrapher, tapping out the descriptions of sportswriters at boxing matches and sending them to the offices of their newspapers. In 1903 he became a sportswriter himself and wrote a column, “The Wisdom of Blinkey Ben,” for the Los Angeles Examiner before ing Roach in 1917 as a part-time scenario and title writer for Harold Lloyd. In 1920, he left newspaper work and ed Roach full time as head of the editorial department. A brilliant title writer in the silent era, Walker was less skilled at dialogue; he was credited for providing these elements on more than 350 Roach comedies. He usually came up with the title for each film and also wrote fairly severe critiques after each preview. After leaving Roach in 1932 he wrote dialogue for some features, including Son of a Sailor (1933) with Joe E. Brown, W.C. Fields’ The Old Fashioned Way (1934), and the ZaSu Pitts picture Affair of Susan (1935). Walker died in the home of his good friend Leroy Shield, who had written scores at the Roach lot in 1930 and ’31. Died June 23, 1937, Chicago, Illinois, age 58; of a heart attack.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harley M. "Beanie" Walker (June 27, 1878 – June 23, 1937) was a member of the Hal Roach movie production company from 1916 until his resignation in 1932. The title cards he wrote for Harold Lloyd, Charley Chase, Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy comedies "have entered legend, both for silent films, and as opening remarks for the earlier talkies." He was also an officer of the Roach Studio corporation.

On Roach's "Lot of Fun", script development usually started with meetings among the gag men, who would develop what was known as an "action script": the outline of the story and a description of the scenes and some of the sight gags, which generally would run three to six legal-size pages. This document would then to Walker, the head of the editorial department, which oversaw not only script editing, but film editing as well. Walker usually came up with the title of each film, wrote "brilliantly witty" title cards which would be produced and inserted into the film, and wrote a critique before the picture went out to the distributors, Pathé Exchange, or later, M-G-M.

Walker's writing did not transition well to talkies and by 1931 he had left Roach studio and wrote dialogue for comedies produced by ex-Roach general manager Warren Doane at Universal Pictures. Later, he worked at Paramount Pictures, where he contributed to the W. C. Fields picture The Old Fashioned Way (1934).

Filmography

all 380

Movies 380

Writer 367

Writer

H.M. Walker

Biography

Filmography

all 380

Movies 380

Writer 367

Public Ghost # 1 (1935)

The Affair of Susan (1935)

Them Thar Hills (1934)

Love Birds (1934)

Son of a Sailor (1933)

Her First Mate (1933)

Horse Play (1933)

They Just Had to Get Married (1933)

Girl Grief (1932)

Free Wheeling (1932)

Alum and Eve (1932)

Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)

Scram! (1932)

Young Ironsides (1932)

Hook and Ladder (1932)

Show Business (1932)

What Price Taxi (1932)

County Hospital (1932)

Wild Babies! (1932)

The Pooch (1932)

The Old Bull (1932)

First in War (1932)

The Chimp (1932)

Too Many Women (1932)

Choo-Choo! (1932)

Strictly Unreliable (1932)

In Walked Charley (1932)

You're Telling Me (1932)

The Music Box (1932)

Spanky (1932)

Red Noses (1932)

The Nickel Nurser (1932)

Any Old Port! (1932)

The Knockout (1932)

Free Eats (1932)

Love Pains (1932)

Sealskins (1932)

Readin' and Writin' (1932)

The Tabasco Kid (1932)

Helpmates (1932)

On the Loose (1931)

Hasty Marriage (1931)

The Kick-Off! (1931)

Beau Hunks (1931)

Dogs Is Dogs (1931)

War Mamas (1931)

What a Bozo! (1931)

One Good Turn (1931)

Mama Loves Papa (1931)

Shiver My Timbers (1931)

The Pajama Party (1931)

Skip the Maloo! (1931)

Come Clean (1931)

Call a Cop! (1931)

Big Ears (1931)

Catch-As Catch-Can (1931)

Pardon Us (1931)

The Panic Is On (1931)

Let's Do Things (1931)

Fly My Kite (1931)

One of the Smiths (1931)

Haunted at Midnight (1931)

Our Wife (1931)

Air-Tight (1931)

Bargain Day (1931)

Playing at Politics (1931)

Rough Seas (1931)

The Skulls (1931)

Love Fever (1931)

Messing Around (1931)

Laughing Gravy (1931)

Little Daddy (1931)

The soul of the party (1931)

High Gear (1931)