Bunker Bean (1936) User Reviews

Charming lightweight story

[bthomasreinitz · 7/10 · 15 July 2020]

I found this charming and lightweight comedy with a fun cast. The lead was great esp when he got a little spine.

I think he's Dumbo!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 2 July 2019]

Bunker Bean (Owen Davis Jr.) is a very meak man and his boss and co-workers walk all over him. However, something odd happens...he is convinced by some phony psychics that he's been reincarnated. First, they tell him he was once Napoleon and later they convince him he was a Pharaoh! As a result, he becomes a new man...full of courage and willing to stand up to anyone...especially his cheapskate boss! And, oddly, the plot ends up being a lot like "Dumbo"! See the film...see what I mean.

This is a silly little B-movie....and an enjoyable one. It has a few elements to the story I didn't love (such as his purchasing a mummy) but considering Bs were made quickly and re-writes/edits were rare, I can ignore the things I didn't like because I liked so much of the picture. Well worth seeing and an excellent B.

The Worm Turns

[boblipton · 6/10 · 2 November 2006]

This 1936 programmer starring Owen Davis, Jr. as Bunker Bean shows signs of having been a Douglas Fairbanks Sr. sort of show when it was originally produced for the New York stage in the mid Teens. Bunker Bean, a downtrodden clerk, finds his nerve and self confidence at the hands of some spiritualist swindlers. It is a cute idea and there are several lovely moments, but Davis' performance at the beginning of the movie is so low-key and depressing that it stops the movie from rising much above average. Later on, he seems to turn into Rudy Vallee. The bravura performance that Fairbanks would have given it hangs over the entire story.

Happily, Davis is not the whole show. Robert McWade gives a good turn as his irascible, predatory boss, Hedda Hopper is fine as McWade's annoying wife and, for completists, Lucille Ball has a credited role as a gum-chewing receptionist. But her performance -- indeed the performances of all the employees shown in this movie seem completely indifferent to their jobs and all the bosses seem to think that every good deal must involve a large measure of cheating. This limited range of character types threaten to sink the movie, but some good writing manages to make the entire thing, if not outstanding, amusing.

Short, enjoyable romantic comedy

[daneldorado · 7/10 · 5 November 2006]

"Bunker Bean" is an enjoyable "the worm has turned" tale centering on Bunker Bean (Owen Davis Jr.), a meek office clerk. Bunker has grandiose dreams but seems destined to remain forever in his lowly station.

He seeks out the help of a fortune-teller, to help him gain confidence. She tells him (falsely) that he is the reincarnation of the Emperor Napoleon, and also of an ancient Egyptian monarch. Armed with a new sense of power, Bunker proceeds to take charge of his life.

In one of the most amusing moments, he "tames" Mary Kent (Louise Latimer), the lovely but shrewish daughter of his employer, by putting her over his knee and giving her a solid spanking. No matter. Once they have made friends again, they fall in love with each other.

Next, he trumps his own boss' sneaky business tactics. The boss (Robert McWade) tries to get an important patent Bunker's uncle left him as an inheritance... but Bunker, thinking himself omnipotent, skillfully negotiates with the boss' business rival and finally has them competing against each other for the patent.

Once Bunker realizes he's been made a fool of by the phony fortune-teller, and reverts to his meek, ineffectual self, the wind goes out of his sails. But Mary, who is now in love with him, encourages him to stick to his guns and claim what is rightfully his. Emboldened by her love, Bunker realizes that it was he himself who was so forceful before, not some powerful ancestor. And he succeeds through sheer spunk and belief in his own abilities.

The supporting cast is quite good for a minor programmer. It includes Lucille Ball in an early role, Hedda Hopper (she would become a famous entertainment columnist), and Jessie Ralph as Mary's grandmother. The one sour note in all this is that Jessie Ralph -- who was excellent in this and many other films -- was really not the right age for her role. Or, to put it another way, her "son" (Robert McWade) was too old. In real life, McWade was only eight years her junior.

But "Bunker Bean" is still an enjoyable entertainment if you are looking for some light diversion.

Dan Navarro -- ([e-mail])

promising premise

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 11 June 2022]

Bunker Bean is a meek office clerk. He asks his boss for a raise and is rudely rejected. He's a push-over. He visits a fortune teller who tells him that he is the reincarnation of Napoleon. He gains a fresh sense of power and uses it in his life, even with the daughter of the boss. He inherits a patent from a dead uncle which his work company needs and a large amount of cash. The fortune teller is a crook and starts working another scam on him.

Lucille Ball has a minor role. She has sass but doesn't get to do much. The lead is a little too good at being meek. He's not the most leading of leading men. I really love the Napoleon premise but they could have taken it much further. I don't condone the spanking but it's hilarious. There is a lot of fun potential and it is able to do some of it. The uncle inheritance is way too convenient. It's cheating the story construction. I would be more impressed if the story doesn't need to pull something out of the blue to make it work. This needs some rewriting and a better lead but the overall premise holds real comedic promise.

Light, preposterous fun with memorable character performances.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 16 January 2019]

Here's an opportunity to see to future 1950's TV Sitcom Queens in the same movie, although they do not appear in the same scene together. Actually, Lucille Ball opens up the film as the lazy wisecracking receptionist to the cranky and wealthy Robert McWade, and Joan Davis finishes off the film as Owen Davis Jr.'s wisecracking secretary who gives McQuaid a hard time. Lucy gets to speak the first lines, but after two brief scenes is never seen again. Although she is fifth billed, she has equal amount of screen time to Davis who probably because she was under contract to 20th Century Fox did not get billing.

The story surrounds Davis who as McWade's speedy stenographer, patent a new invention is that McWade and his rival fight over for a ridiculous low amount of money. Davis makes the mistake of getting involved with phony clairvoyants who have him convinced at first that he is the descendant of Napoleon and later an old Egyptian pharaoh. While staying over at McWade's mansion, Davis allows his Napoleon personality to take over pulling spoiled daughter Louise Latimer into a much deserved a spanking, something that mother Hedda Hopper and McWade should have done years ago. Latimer at first is horrified by what Davis does, but for some reason, that spanking wakes her up and she decides to stand by him to make sure that he is not scammed.

Stealing every scene that she is in is the always delightful Jessie Ralph who in the same year confided her sordid past as a Nob Hill San Francisco Society matron to Jeanette MacDonald and insulted nephew-in-law William Powell in "After the Thin Man". she looks far too young to be McWade's mother, but is hysterical as to how she reacts to all of the pretentious idiots around her. Unfortunately, she disappears ahd her presence is much-missed for the rest of the film.

While the idea of naive Davis being conned does set up the conflict, what makes this film less believable than it would have been is the way that Latimer changes personalities. I never completely bought her all of a sudden falling head over heels in love with him just because of a spanking. Sibyl Harris and Berton Churchill give very showy performances as the two con artists clairvoyants, with Churchill going deliciously camp as he describes Davis's Egyptian past and Harris giving him the side eye for the absurdity of his claims. It's simple, silly innocuous fun that's entertaining and will keep in your memory several of the supporting performances even if the film itself slips out soon afterwards.

Not bad but not worth much time

[Handlinghandel · 4/10 · 1 June 2007]

I watched this because Lucille Ball was listed high in the cast list. Well, she plays a secretary. She has five or six lines.

With the exception of performers in small roles, I don't recognize the names of the people who do star. In small roles are Hedda Hopper and Jessie Ralph.

It reminds me a little of the "Merton of the Movies" story: It's about a meek young man who toes the straight and narrow. He keeps trying and -- well, I won't tell what happens.

There must be a reason for the odd title. Was Bunker a popular name -- ever? Today it seems off-putting. What IS a bunker bean? It's a who, not a what. And it's fine if one has nothing better to watch.

Gem of a Film

[tr-83495 · 9/10 · 3 July 2019]

Bunker Bean is a comedy in which an introvert is portrayed, probably for the first time on film. Owen Davis, Jr. does a masterful job of acting the part. We watch as his belief in spiritualism (a widespread, common "religion" of the 20s and 30s) leads him to charlatans who convince him he is the reincarnation of Napoleon and an Egyptian pharaoh. This gives him confidence, and Davis becomes animated and determined, his acting skills on full display. This film entertains, is believable for the time, and shows a very common metamorphosis from introvert to confident man. All the actors do a good job and the plot is funny. RKO came out with some excellent movies that have been overlooked because they were a minor studio -- and this was one of them.