Born in 1889, Alan Dinehart made significant contributions to early American cinema as an actor. He appears in Girls About Town (1931), where his performance captures the essence of pre-Code Hollywood, and in The Cat's-Paw (1934), where he further solidifies his presence in the comedy genre. Dinehart's work reflects the transition of film during the early 20th century, bridging the gap between stage and screen with a unique flair that resonates in the cult film conversation.
The Cat's-Paw
Ezekiel Cobb, a naive young man raised by missionaries in China, is sent to the United States to seek a wife. He is promptly enlisted by the corrupt political machine of the fictional city of Stockport, led by the corrupt boss Jake Mayo (George Barbier) to run for mayor as phony "reform" politician. He is expected to be the "cat's paw" of the political machine. Cobb unexpectedly takes his job seriously. Frequently quoting Chinese poet “Ling Po” (an apparent mispronunciation of Li Po), he embarks on a campaign to clean his town of its corrupt political machine. Fighting back, the corrupt politicians frame Cobb. He turns the table on them, however, by enlisting the help of his friends in the local Chinese community, who help him kidnap the corrupt politicians and their hoodlum backers, detaining them in the "cellar of Tien Wang." He tells them that since his attempts to use western methods have not worked, he is going to use the methods of the ancient Chinese: either they confess or they will be executed. They take a man into a back room – everyone says it’s a bluff, but then the man screams in terror and a moment later his decapitated body is brought out with his head set on top of his chest. When the second man is taken to the back room, it is shown that Cobb has enlisted the help of The Great Chang a famous Chinese magician on his first American tour, and that they are using his tricks to fake the executions. This tactic works, and Mayor decides to throw his support to Cobb after all. The town is swept of its corruption and Cobb, with the support of local girl Petunia Pratt (Una Merkel), abandons plans to return to China and stays in the U.S. to fight corruption in his town. But his new wife insists on him returning to China.
