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after British-born actor Herbert Rawlinson had passed from the scene, film
fans who'd grown up in the teens and Within a few years, he was a Major star, specializing in fast-paced detective stories and serials. Somehow it seemed logical for the sartorially splendid, every-hair-in-place Rawlinson to jump from motorcar to streetcar and back again in a chapter-play chase sequence – yet still retain enough poise to romance the willing heroine a reel or so later. Eclipsed by
younger action stars in the
'20s, the still-buoyant Rawlinson found himself in minor films and -- briefly --
as a two-reel comedy star in Hal Roach's “Slipping Wives” (where his thunder
was stolen by a pair of supporting players named Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy). Too
old to recapture his public when sound came in, Rawlinson nevertheless spoke his
lines with relaxed conviction, and came in handy for character roles, often
playing the "above suspicion" leading citizen who turned out to be
behind a city's criminal activities. In 1937, Rawlinson returned to serials in
the title role of Blake of Scotland Yard, which, though hampered by a tiny
budget and utter lack of background music, was well cast with several reliable
silent film veterans. Herbert
Rawlinson remained active in films until 1951; he died of lung cancer in 1953,
shortly after (unfortunately) being coaxed out of retirement to appear in the
Edward D. Wood Jail Bait (1954). Hal
Erickson For those of you who are regularly visiting this site please review the Photos section since that is where most of all the new information is being posted. Also please click on all of the links which will take you all over the Internet to various locations that have information on many of the individual movies. David C. White - Herbert's grandson
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Send email to David
White with questions or comments about this site
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