MovieChat Forums > The Hatchet Man (1932) Discussion > J. Carrol Naish

J. Carrol Naish

posted 15 years ago by pedro4300
3 replies | jump to latest

Was I the only one that thought Naish was basically squinting to the point where he couldn't see anything? I mean he was almost bumping into to stuff from not being able to watch where he was going. He was basically playing an Asian man with a squinting problem, because that was way over the top. I like Naish, don't get me wrong, but that was a power squint all the way.

BUT, on the flipside, I never knew who "Leslie Fenton" was before watching this movie, but I was totally convinced he was Asian! No lie, I thought he was Asian with a bit of Caucasian in him, I honestly thought he was the real deal!

[–] tesab-1 11 years ago

I didn't recognize Naish, but it's funny that when you pointed out his squinting, I do remember thinking how "slitty" his eyes were. Also, I thought Leslie Fenton was part Asian, too.

[–] bradford-1 9 years ago

J. Carroll Naish played virtually every nationality in his long career EXCEPT Irish. On radio and TV, he starred in "Life With Luigi." In films, I've seen him play Mexicans, Arabs, Indians/Sikhs, Native Americans, Japanese, Jews, Russians, Spanish and German.

May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

[–] HarlowMGM 8 years ago

BUT, on the flipside, I never knew who "Leslie Fenton" was before watching this movie, but I was totally convinced he was Asian! No lie, I thought he was Asian with a bit of Caucasian in him, I honestly thought he was the real deal!

Leslie Fenton totally stole this film IMO. He's best known for his part in The Public Enemy but apparently these two movies were his only notable roles although he was in scores of 1930's films in supporting roles. And yes, his makeup job was outstanding, he did indeed look Asian unlike Robinson who in some scenes is made up more than in others (and his acting is also uneven with sometimes playing his role as a stereotype and in other scenes just playing it as he would any other role.)