Leo D. Maloney

                                         Leo D. Maloney (1888 - 1929)

Récemment vu un film avec ce sympathique acteur né en 1888 ou 1885 selon les sources (156 films) et réalisateur (47 films) : Leo Daniel Maloney.

5'11" (1m80)

170 pounds (85 kg)

Propriétaire des studios "Leo Maloney Studio" situés dans les montagnes du San Bernardino dans le sud de la Californie. Quelques uns des tout premiers westerns y ont été filmés. Le dernier film produit et dirigé par Leo Maloney "Overland Bound," a été l'un des tout premiers film parlant. C'est juste après avoir fêté le succès de ce film que Maloney a eu une crise cardiaque, à l'âge de 41 ans !

Le maître mot de la carrière qui court sur plus d'une décennie de cet acteur/scénariste/réalisateur/producteur est intégrité, à l'heure où les producteurs indépendants souffraient d'un vrai manque d'argent pour dénicher des talents capables de concurrencer un Tom Mix ou un Hoot Gibson.

Après avoir suivi des études au College Santa Clara tout près tout près de San José, sa ville natale, il travaille ensuite dans de nombreux ranchs de la région. Vers 1912 il entre dans l'industrie cinématographique : son premier goût du succès, il l'obtiendra face à Helen Holmes dans la série The hazards of Helen produite par Kalem en 1914.

Maloney incarnait en général un homme de loi déchiré entre son sens du devoir et son amour pour l'héroïne. Contrairement à de nombreux héros qui ne succombent jamais à la tentation face à leur devoir, Leo était souvent tenté voire même succombait volontiers temporairement aux charmes d'une femme dont le chemin n'était pas le plus droit ! Leo devait ensuite racheter son honneur et gagnait ainsi l'amour de l'héroïne. Contrairement à de nombreuses stars du western de l'époque, il portait volontiers une redingote et la cravate fine (string tie).


Un de ses compagnons les plus fidèles était un chien appelé Bullet qui avait un rôle de pivot essentiel dans l'action de la plupart de ses films. Si le chien avait été aussi malin que Rintintin, l'action n'aurait jamais pu dépasser la première bobine mais grâce à ce chien, pas très malin et lent, une piste était découverte et suivie puis ignorée à différents stages de l'action ce qui permettait au public de connaître une partie de l'intrigue qui apparaitrait à la lumière au final.
Bullet était un cascadeur intrépide lorsqu'il s'agissait de sauter d'une falaise de 15 mètres (50 ft).



Senator était le nom de son cheval.

Les westerns tournés pour Pathé en 1927 et 1928 étaient particulièrement fort en thèmes et actions. Malheureusement les studios Pathé sombrèrent en faillite et le succès de Maloney fut dès lors sur le déclin.
En été 1929, alors qu'il dirigeait Overland Bound le premier parlant des producteurs indépendants pour ses productions Presidio avec Allene Ray, Lydia Knott, Jack Perrin, Wally Wales (Hal Taliaferro si vous préférez), les premières critiques furent bonnes.

1929 Overland Bound

1929 The Fire Detective

1928 Yellow Contraband

1928 The Vanishing West

1928 Vultures of the Sea

1928 The Apache Raider

1927 The Devil's Twin

1927 Border Blackbirds

1927 Two-Gun of the Tumbleweed

1927 Don Desperado

1927 The Man from Hard Pan

1927 The Long Loop on the Pecos

1926 The Outlaw Express 

1926 The High Hand 

1926 Without Orders

1926 The Blind Trail 

1925 Luck and Sand

1925 Ranchers and Rascals

1925 Win, Lose or Draw

1925 The Blood Bond

1925 Flash o' Lightning

1925 Across the Deadline

1925 Revenge of the Range

1925 The Shield of Silence

1925 The Trouble Buster

1924 The Loser's End

1924 Not Built for Runnin'

1924 The Perfect Alibi

1924 Riding Double

1924 Payable on Demand

1924 Huntin' Trouble

1924 Headin' Through

1923 King's Creek Law

1923 Warned in Advance (short)

1923 In Wrong Right (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1923 Yellow Gold and Men (short)

1923 Steel Shod Evidence (short)

1923 The Rum Runners (as Leo Maloney)

1923 Tom, Dick and Harry (short)

1923 Hyde and Zeke (short)

1923 The Unsuspecting Stranger (short)

1923 Wings of the Storm (short)

1923 100% Nerve (short)

1923 When Fighting's Necessary (short)

1923 The Extra Seven (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1923 Partners Three (short)

1923 Double Cinched (short)

1923 Lost, Strayed or Stolen (short)

1923 Smoked Out (short)

1923 Border Law (short)

1923 Under Suspicion (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1922 Here's Your Man (short) 

1922 The Western Musketeer

1922 One Jump Ahead (short)

1922 Man Tracker (short)

1922 His Enemy's Friend (short) 

1922 The Drifter (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1922 Out o' My Way (short)

1922 The Bar Cross War (short) 

1922 Rough Going (short)

1922 Laramie and Me (short)

1922 Deputized (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1922 Come and Get Me (short) 

1922 His Own Law (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1922/I The Test (short)

1922 Out of the Storm (short)

1922 Heads or Tails (short)

1922 Ambushed (short)

1922 Forty-Five Calibre Law (short)

1922 Eight Four One Two (short)

1922 Nine Points of the Law / Fred Cullen (as Leo Maloney)

1922 Santa Fe Mac (short)

1922/I Under Orders (short)

1921 Ghost City / Jim Hendricks (as Leo Maloney)

1921 The Wolverine / Charlie Fox (as Leo Maloney)

1921 No Man's Woman

1920 One Law for All (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1920 The Honor of the Range (short) (as Leon Maloney)

1920 The Lone Ranger (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1920 The Great Round-Up (short)

1920 Red Hot Trail (short)

1920 The Fatal Sign / Jerry

1919 The Arizona Cat Claw / Asa Harris (as Leo Maloney)

1919 The Spitfire of Seville / Pedro (as Leo Maloney)

1919 The Captive Bride (short)

1919 Riding Wild (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1919 The Secret Peril (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1918 Wolves of the Range (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1918 A Fight for Millions

1917 The Lost Express / Pitts

1917 The Railroad Raiders / Wallace Burke

1916 The Girl Detective (short)

1916 A Lass of the Lumberlands / Tom Dawson

1916 A Mistake in Rustlers (short) / Sheriff (as Leo Maloney)

1916 The Manager of the B & A / Dan Oakley (as Leo Maloney)

1916 The Diamond Runners / Inspector Hudson

1916 Judith of the Cumberlands

Creed Bombright

1916 Whispering Smith

1915 The Girl and the Game

1915 When Rogues Fall Out (short)

1915 A Desperate Leap (short)

1915 The Mettle of Jerry McGuire (short)

1915 The Brave Deserve the Fair (short)

1915 The Girl and the Mail Bag (short)

1915 Her Slight Mistake (short)

1915 The Auction Sale of Run-Down Ranch (short)

1915 The Range Girl and the Cowboy (short)

1915 How Weary Went Wooing (short)

1915/I Never Again (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1915 A Lucky Deal (short)

1915 The Gold Dust and the Squaw (short)

1915 The Taking of Mustang Pete (short)

1915 The Child, the Dog and the Villain (short)

1915 A Deed of Daring (short)

1915 A Wild Ride (short)

1915 The Midnight Limited (short)

1915 In Danger's Path (short)

1915 Near Eternity (short)

1915 The Pay Train (short)

1915 The Human Chain (short)

1915 A Railroader's Bravery (short)

1915 The Broken Train (short)

1915 The Wild Engine (short)

1915 The Box Car Trap (short)

1915 A Race for a Crossing (short)

1915 The Girl Engineer (short)

1915 The Girl on the Trestle (short)

1915/II A Life in the Balance (short)

1915 The Girl at Lone Point (short)

1915 The Railroad Raiders of '62 (short)

1915 The Death Train (short)

1915 The Man from Texas (short)

1915 The Red Signal (short)

1915 The Escape on the Fast Freight (short)

1915 The Broken Circuit (short)

1915 The Leap from the Water Tower (short)

1915 A Militant School Ma'am (short)

1914 Cactus Jake, Heart-Breaker (short)

1914 The Escape on the Limited (short)

1914 The Black Diamond Express (short)

1914 The Man from the East (short)

1914 The Flying Freight's Captive (short)

1914 Saved by a Watch (short)

1914 The Stolen Engine (short)

1914 The Rival Stage Lines (short)

1914 The Scapegoat (short)

1914 The Sheriff's Reward (short)

1914 The Hazards of Helen (short) 

1914 The Telltale Knife (short)

1914 Why the Sheriff Is a Bachelor (short)

1914 Jimmy Hayes and Muriel (short)

1914 The Mexican (short)

1914 The Way of the Redman (short)

1914 The Rival Railroad's Plot (short)

1914 The Express Messenger (short)

1914 A String of Pearls (short)

1914 The Flaw in the Alibi (short)

1914 A Man's Soul (short)

1914 The Stolen Rembrandt (short)

1914 The Nurse and the Counterfeiter (short)

1914 Under Desperation's Spur (short)

1914 Fast Freight 3205 (short)

1914 The Refrigerator Car's Captive (short)

1914 The Delayed Special (short)

1914 A Million in Jewels (short)

1914 The County Seat War (short)

1914 Playing for a Fortune (short)

1914 Explosive 'D' (short)

1913 Gilt Edge Stocks (short)

1913 The Foot Print Clue (short)

1913 In Peril of His Life (short)

1913 The Express Car Mystery (short)

1913 The Runaway Freight (short)

1913 The Silent Warning (short)

1913 The Hermit's Ruse (short)

1913 The Battle at Fort Laramie (short)

1913 A Demand for Justice (short)

1913 The Little Turncoat (short)

1912 The Doctor's Double (short)

1912/I The Reckoning (short)

1912 A Gentleman of Fortune (short) (as Leo Maloney)

1912 Hard Luck Bill (short)

1911 Why the Sheriff Is a Bachelor (short)

Source principale : Winners of the West, the Sagebrush Heroes of the Silent Screen par Kalton C. Lahue, 1970 A.S. Barnes

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0540575/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_D._Maloney