My dad was in "U.S.S VD: "Ship of Shame"

[Parry Hall]

Hello,
I wanted to check into this message board, My dad, Eddie Hall was a bit player/actor/extra/stuntman/standin from 1937 to 1948. I just found out last Tuesday that he was an actor in "USS VD: Ship of Shame". I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did spot him in a screen-capture on the film's home page. He is the sailor on the left, dancing with a woman. My dad's credit for this film will show up on the IMDB soon...along with his other 170 titles. I've been doing reseach on his career for the past 20 years and this credit is one that I am very proud of: he made it to a cult movie! I've fast forwarded through hundreds and hundreds of videos to catch glmpses of him.
Does anyone out there have any "memoribila" from this title? Anything? I know it was a Paramount film prodced for the Navy Dept...and not available to the general public...but one never knows.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Sincerely,
Parry Hall

[Menard]

I am not familiar with that particular movie. When I get on the other computer, I will reference his name on the search engines and see if I have seen any of his work. Be patient on this board as you could get a reply in a short time or it may take a day or longer.

[Scott]

Ooops. I didn't see the other post. Your dad sounds interesting Parry Hall. Did he do Westerns? By the way welcome to badmovies.org..................

[Menard]

Considerng the staggering list of movie appearances for Eddie Hall (170) on IMDB I am posting a link to the page:

Eddie Hall Filmography/IMDB


Here are a few of his appearances you may have seen:

Abbott and Costello's BUCK PRIVATES (1941) (man in crap game on train)

Abbott and Costello's IN THE NAVY (1941) (bare-chested sailor)

ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY (1945) (man walking down gangplank with woman)


I must admit that U.S.S. VD: "SHIP OF SHAME" is a great title.


Considering that Eddie Hall worked in small or bit parts for 11 years, he may well have many more uncredited parts than the 170 listed.


His picture is posted on the IMDB page I have linked.


If you can assist Parry with any information regarding his father's roles, please do.


I believe Sinister Cinema and Something Weird has put out collections of VD films. If anyone has any of these, is "SHIP OF SHAME" on any of them?

[Scott]

That's quite a resume !  He worked with a lot of the great ones. He must have been well known in the industry. Love the Craps Game in Abbott & Costello. Abbott would say "Hey, where d'ya learn that" and Costello would reply "boys club" after Abbott waffled him. They have a picture of Eddie Hall on the IMDB link Menard put up, so next time I watch that film I'll be looking for him.

[Menard]

Here is the url (I could not get the link to take) to a Buster Crabbe page with a lobby card from the Western SHADOWS OF DEATH (1945) which shows Buster and Eddie. Parry provided the image of the lobby card for the site.


http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/crabbe4.htm

[Scott]

Checked out the link. I think I can spot him know when I catch ABBOTT AND COSTELLO again.

This guy also played in NABONGA. Thats a film I've been waiting to see.



Post Edited (01-16-05 23:30)

[Menard]

I have found two sources for USS VD SHIP OF SHAME available on VHS tape.


This is a link to Something Weird Video:

Something Weird/VHS/Letter U


This is a link to Movies Unlimited which has it on a double-feature VHS with RED NIGHTMARE.

Movies Unlimited/VHS/Exploitation


Interestingly enough, it has been reviewed on this very site:

badmovies.org/ship of shame

Just noticed this. On the review page on this site is a link to Amazon.com for TEASE SLEAZE & SOCIAL DISEASE on VHS and DVD which has USS VD SHIP OF SHAME on it with another feature.



Post Edited (01-17-05 03:09)

[Parry Hall]

Wow Guys,,,
Thanks for the interest.  I really do appreciate it.  I have found a dvd of the title and should be here any day.I have been doing research on his career for 20 years.  I have pieces of memoribilia from many of his films from shows and mainly e-bay.  Hard research because he only got billing in 2 Republic films in 44.  And others that he was slated to be in were "cut".  Yes there are other films out there...because 170 isn't enough somehow. (soon to be 171 when USS VD Ship of Shame" gets added).

The research has been basically renting hundreds and hundreds videos and fast forwarding through them.  I've used dad's Social Security records as a loose guide when finding out what year and studio/production company to go through title-wise.  Eddie Brandt's in North Hollywood CA is the greatest video store around...and they have supplied me with a majority of the titles.  Other were snagged on spec from collectors; looking for dad.

Dad was friends with and stood in for Tom Brown, Tom Neal and oddly enough Edward Everett Horton...who my dad stayed friends with until my dad had his fatal heart attack in 1963...when I was 5.

Did someone say that my dad  Eddie Hall was spotted in a Buster Crabbe film, "Nabonga"?  Or were you talking about seeing Buster?  My dad was in a  PRC "oater" called "Shadows of Death" that starred Crabbe.  My dad's only supporting role.

If anyone has memoribilia that has my dad in it, I will buy it...that includes production materials with his name, lobbies, stills, 1 sheets...etc.

I wish I could have spoken with him about his career...he never talked about it.  I can imagine the stories from "old" Hollywood.
I hope to hear from you folks again, thank you for the interest.

Oh...btw...thank you for setting up the links.  I feel truly "welcomed" by the obviously friendly crowd here.

Sinncerely,
Parry Hall
(Eddie's Kid)

[Scott]

According to the imdb.com credits under Eddie Hall it list NABONGA as one of his films. 171 films that is a lot of films. More than many stars even had the chance to work in.

[peter johnson]

Now that's a career!
I was recently wondering how I managed to do "so many" little films over the years.  I haven't done squat!!!
171:  Now THAT'S a number!
One of my acting teachers -- perhaps my best film-acting teacher -- is a guy named Wiley Harker, who only ever got one featured role too -- and the guy is in his 80's now.  He plays the Normandy vet. in the diner in David Lynch's "The Straight Story".  Otherwise, you can see him playing dead Nazi's and dead bad-guys in just about every Errol Flynn movie & other Warner's pictures of the day.
For all I know, Wiley may have been shot along with Eddie Hall in a few things -- My hat is way off to people like this --
peter johnson/denny crane

[Menard]

*Update: Parry Hall has informed me that the Eddie Hall in MIXED MAGIC is a different Eddie Hall. The N.Y. Times has mistakenly credited the role to Parry's father.



Post Edited (01-18-05 08:15)

[Parry Hall]

That particular Eddie Hall has been a thorn in my side for many years...he was if you will...the NY version...he worked in many of the Educational shorts...When I "thought" my dad had worked with Buster Keaton, I about came out of my skin...then severly disappointed.

Parry

[trekgeezer]

Excuse my French, but Holy s**t ! What a list of films and many of them classics in their genre.  

Too bad your Dad didn't talk about  his film career, he could've probably told some good ones about some very famous people. He probably got a pretty good view of some big name stars by being one of the little people in the background.  These are usually the people who get to see the "Stars" the way they really are.

I'll keep my eyes out for him from now and let you know if I come across anything that might be of interest to you.

This did get me interested in old military training films. When I was stationed in the Aleutians back in  76-77, we used to watch old training films for entertainment when we got snowed in.  The one I remember most was "Electricity, Your Deadly Shipmate" about a sailor that finds an old reciprocating fan at a dump and brings it back to ship and ends up getting electrocuted by it . Interestingly enough I googled the title and it is still listed in the Navy's training films and it had to be from the 40's or 50's.  I don't think we ever watched in VD films.



Post Edited (01-18-05 13:29)

[peter johnson]

Ah, training films!  My bread & butter . . .
I made 8 films that I can remember for the Rocky Flats Nuclear Trigger Facility in the '80's -- most of them involved not sticking ones screwdriver in wall-sockets, etc., so the Electricity citing really brought back memories --
I got about $600 per for those, that I remember . . . could do with that now . . .
peter johnson/denny crane