Quotes

[on Black Aces (1937)] The only B-Western I ever made was "Black Aces". It was a good part as parts in Westerns went . . . I did more than watch the hero ride off into the sunset. I actually crossed the Kern River on the old swing bridge. No one told me the weight of my body forced the boards to rise to meet my feet with each step. With the wind swinging the bridge from side to side, looking down at the Kern River 40 feet below boiling over the rocks, holding my hat on my head--I had just taken it from one of the "heavies" and it had no chin strap--and hanging onto the handhold cable . . . it was the longest block and a half I ever walked. Buck Jones was furious with the director [Lesley Selander[. As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, Les' credit does not appear on the crawl. The stunt girl, Aline Goodwin, was furious. She was done out of a fat fee and felt it absolutely cruel to put me through such trauma. I heartily agreed-but the scene is effective. Buck Jones was one of God's good gentlemen and an honor to the motion picture business.

[on Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)] Mark Sandrich was a gifted director and Jack Benny a fine gentleman. Jack was terrified of horses. When we did the runaway scenes on the mechanical horses we both got desperately seasick. In spite of my good scenes that ended on the cutting room floor, the picture was one of the most enjoyable I ever made. If ever an actor earned a halo as a human being, that person was Jack Benny.