MovieChat Forums > The Broadway Melody (1929) Discussion > Explanation for Hank's name?

Explanation for Hank's name?



Just watched this tonight and was pleasantly surprised by the performances.

Did I miss a part, tho, where they explained why Bessie Love's character is named Hank? Is it one of those kind of "We wanted a boy...." parent things? And now that I think of it, Queenie is pretty unusual, too! Oh wait. Maybe this is it: her name is Henrietta, right??!

Any thoughts are appreciated!

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It is a bit odd, and I can't recall hearing any explanation for it. But then, names change over time, so maybe it wasn't so unusual for females to be called Hank (and maybe Bruno, Igor and Knuckles) back then.

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Could Hank be a nickname for Henrietta? Or something similar?

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Queenie is actually not that uncommon a name for women born in the late 19th and early 20th century: Queenie Smith and Queenie Leonard were pretty well known actresses and IMDB lists almost 50 actresses whose first name was Queenie.

I do think Love's character is called "Hank" as a nickname for Henrietta; also it kind of sets up the character as a "pal" type rather than someone whose going to win the leading man.

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I agree HarlowMGM, Queenie wasn't that uncommon. It's now generally classed as out of fashion, and old but I think it's a nice name.
I'm stumped with 'Hank', perhaps Henrietta.. perhaps the Photoplay book lists her forename in full but I doubt it.
Talking of unusual names... Anita Page as 'Kentucky' in 'Our Modern Maidens'.
Has there been a discussion about this before? I don't think I've ever come across an answer to why she was called that, unless it was where the character was born?

www.anitapage.webs.com

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I do think (for some reason) that her character in Our Modern Maidens was from the south...perhaps that lent itself to her nickname.

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It also was meant to show they were really hicks.

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Queenie was a common nickname for girls named Victoria (after Queen Victoria)in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
And Hank would indeed have been derived from Henrietta.

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The IMDb Storyline calls her "Harriet", though I can't recall it being used in the movie. Since Harriet is a feminine form of Harry, I guess "Hank" makes a type of sense. Though Etta, Hettie, and Hattie are more common pet forms of Harriet.

He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45

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the character is named Harriet. In the early part of the century, chorus girls were often given boys names as short forms for their own names... Joan Crawford (real name Lucille LeSeur) was called Billie her entire life (Billy was generally a short form of Lucille)...

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