Monty Banks was an Italian-born comedian who started his career in the US in 1914. He initially worked on stage in musical comedy and cabaret, and later turned to films, acting and doing stunt work at Keystone, Universal, and for Al Christie. Banks changed his name from Mario Bianchi to Monty Banks, possibly due to Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle's suggestion, which was a reference to his playing "montebanks".
By 1919, Banks had moved to Vitagraph to play a villain in The Grocery Clerk (1919),alongside star comic Larry Semon. He then became the star of the "Welcome Comedies" made by Warner Brothers, and spent the early 1920s at Fox and Grand Asher. Banks graduated to writing and directing two-reel comedies with himself as the star, and his most notable entries include Pay or Move (1924) and The Golf Bug (1924),which featured inventive sight gags and madcap plots.
Banks' success prompted him to create an independent production company, the Monty Banks Pictures Corporation, in conjunction with writer/director Howard Estabrook. He made several feature-length films for Pathe, including Play Safe (1927),which is generally considered his best work and features a climactic runaway train sequence. This style of fast-action slapstick made it inevitable that Banks suffered more than his fair share of injuries, especially since he continued to do many of his own stunts.
From the late 1920s, Banks worked in England and made several appearances in sound films. However, his accent proved to be an obstacle, and he decided to concentrate on directing and producing after 1930. He helmed four features starring the popular entertainer Gracie Fields, who became his second wife in 1940. In 1935, he directed a well-received George Formby comedy, No Limit (1935),about the TT motorcycleraces on the Isle of Man, which were shot on location there.
During World War II, Banks, being an Italian citizen, would have faced internment in England as an enemy alien. He therefore decided to flee to Canada, and from there to the neutral United States. He eventually obtained American citizenship, for which he had applied years earlier but had forgotten to submit the necessary paperwork. Back in Hollywood, he ended up at 20th Century-Fox, directing Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in Great Guns (1941),which is arguably one of their lesser efforts.
Monty Banks died of a heart attack during a trip through Italy in January 1950, aged just 52. Sadly, the majority of his one- and two-reelers are now considered lost films, which may have diminished his status as a leading comic of the silent screen - except perhaps in his home town of Cesena, where a foundation was established in his honor, offering students practical courses on experimental aspects of video production.
