About the Game Set
There are at least two different editions of this game set.
The bottom right corner of the box cover above does contain a notation of “Copyright 1929 by Wilder Mfg. Co., St. Louis, USA,” and that date does hold for the original and more commonly seen version of the set. There is also a second later edition of the game set with entirely different stars featured on the game cards. This later edition also carries the 1929 copyright date on the box top, but the group of stars pictured inside more accurately points to 1931, possibly 1932.
To further confuse matters, I’ve seen game sets* that in all ways match the 1929 first edition of the game except for a “Copyright 1930” notice on back of the larger KEENO game cards.
* I’ve handled approximately 6-8 various copies of the Movie-Land Keeno game set over the years. At least 3 of those in the past year. While I’m at it, I’ll mention that this webpage is a 2018 update of a page I last updated in 2005.
So, I mentioned KEENO cards, what’s that about? Well, there are a few different types of parts found inside the Movie-Land Keeno game boxes and (luckily) most of them are collectible. Near the very bottom of this page you’ll find a reproduction of the game instructions printed under the box top. To save you the trouble of scrolling down there right now, I’ll just reproduce the first line of those instructions here:
“This set of Movie-Land Keeno consists of 8 KEENO cards, 48 CALLING cards and a quantity of round markers.”
Okay, we’re not interested in the round markers. They’re just little anonymous cardboard circles for use in playing the game.
The main collectible pieces here are the 48 CALLING cards, each of which pictures a different movie star on one side. These game cards are similar to playing cards in size, shape, and function, and to trading or tobacco cards in terms of collectibility.
Each CALLING card measures approximately 2-5/16″ X 3/5/16 inches with rounded corners and identical backs carrying the Movie-Land Keeno logo in a blue design. This holds for all versions of the game.
Above: Example of both sides of a popularly collected CALLING card from the earliest 1929 edition of the game, Myrna Loy.
You’ll find a high quality gallery of all 48 CALLING cards from the earliest (1929) version of the game set below to illustrate. Most of the CALLING cards from the later (1931) edition of the game are also shown below; however, I must apologize in advance for the poor quality of these later card images—they’re leftover scans from 2005 because it’s just been that long since I’ve had them.
There are also separate galleries below displaying the KEENO cards from both editions of the game. These larger “cards” are printed on a heavy cardboard stock and measure 7 X 8-7/8 inches—think of them more as a game board than as a card, and game board is actually what they were.
One side of each KEENO card is filled by a large portrait of one of the stars from the game set. On the reverse side, which is actually the playing side of the card, there are 16 smaller movie star images which match the images found on the smaller CALLING cards.
Above: Both sides of the Clark Gable KEENO card from the later (circa 1931) edition of the game set.
(I haven’t played the game, but recalling other Keeno games from my youth [Pokeno, anybody?], I imagine you match the star from the CALLING card to the small image on the KEENO board and place one of the little round markers on your board to claim the space.)
Now for the fun visual stuff: following below are galleries and images of the various game pieces described above. Below these galleries you’ll find the game instructions, and below that are a sampling of any of my currently available Movie-Land Keeno sales listings. Enjoy:
Gallery of Movie-Land Keeno CALLING Cards
The following gallery pictures the 48 smaller “calling” cards from the earliest version of the game set, 1929. Each CALLING Card measures 2-5/16 X 3/5/16 inches. Every CALLING Card has the same design on back (shown in the second scan).
Just click on any image to open to full size and from there you can scroll through them all. A text checklist follows the gallery.
1929 Movie-Land Keeno CALLING Card Checklist:
Renee Adoree
Richard Arlen
Wallace Beery
Constance Bennett
Monte Blue
William Boyd (Hoppy)
Evelyn Brent
Mary Brian
Clive Brook
Johnny Mack Brown
Sue Carol
Nancy Carroll
Lon Chaney
Ina Claire
Junior Coghlan
June Collyer
Betty Compson
Gary Cooper
Joan Crawford
Karl Dane
Richard Dix
Billie Dove
Josephine Dunn
Charles Farrell
Louise Fazenda
Janet Gaynor
James Hall
Neil Hamilton
Ann Harding
Doris Hill
Buster Keaton
Lupino Lane
Bessie Love
Edmund Lowe
Myrna Loy
Douglas MacLean
Patsy Ruth Miller
Lois Moran
Jack Mulhall
Charlie Murray
George O’Brien
Anita Page
Charles “Buddy” Rogers
Al St. John
Ernest Torrence
H.B. Warner
Alice White
Lois Wilson
1929-30 Movie-Land Keeno KEENO Card Gallery:
Also included in the set are 8 larger KEENO cards. These cards are on a heavy cardboard stock and measure 7 X 8-7/8 inches. The ones pictured here appear to be from an intermediate version of the set as they carry a Copyright 1930 notice on the back of each card:
1929-30 Movie-Land Keeno KEENO Card Checklist:
William Boyd
Nancy Carroll
Betty Compson
Joan Crawford
Billie Dove
Charles Farrell
Janet Gaynor
Charles “Buddy” Rogers
Circa 1931 Movie-Land Keeno KEENO Card Gallery:
I say intermediate because, as mentioned above, Wilder Manufacturing later updated the entire game set. The box remained the same, but most of the CALLING and KEENO cards were completely different, more reflecting a who’s who of Hollywood from circa 1931-32. This time we’ll begin with the 8 larger KEENO cards:
Circa 1931 Movie-Land Keeno KEENO Card Checklist:
Constance Bennett
Maurice Chevalier
Joan Crawford
Marlene Dietrich
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Charles Farrell
Clark Gable
Norma Shearer
You’ll notice that the same Charles Farrell pose appears on KEENO cards in both versions of the game:
But the stars shown on the reverse side of each Farrell card are completely different showing stars and poses from the different versions of the game. Same for Joan Crawford, who also appears on KEENO cards in all versions of the game, though with a more obvious difference:
While I was recently able to get a hold of all eight KEENO cards from the later (1931) version of the Movie-Land Keeno game set, I’m afraid I’m going to have to rely on a group of small lousy images I originally took for my previous Keeno page to show you the smaller CALLING cards. These shots are from my original Movie-Land Keeno page, last updated in 2005—I haven’t been able to get a hold of them since that time. If I ever do, I will be thrilled to update with a more standard gallery.
(Text checklist follows images)
Circa 1931 Movie-Land Keeno CALLING Card Checklist:
Richard Arlen
Lew Ayres
Talullah Bankhead
John Barrymore
Richard Barthelmess
Wallace Beery
Constance Bennett
Bill Boyd (again, Hoppy)
Clive Brook
Joe E. Brown
James Cagney
Eddie Cantor
Nancy Carroll
Ruth Chatterton
Maurice Chevalier
Ina Claire
Claudette Colbert
Ronald Colman
Gary Cooper
Jackie Cooper
Joan Crawford
Marion Davies
Frances Dee
Marlene Dietrich
Richard Dix
Billie Dove
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Charles Farrell
Clark Gable
Greta Garbo
Janet Gaynor
John Gilbert
Ann Harding
Jack Holt
Paul Lukas
Fredric March
Marian Marsh
Adolphe Menjou
Tom Mix
Robert Montgomery
Chester Morris
Ramon Novarro
William Powell
Norma Shearer
Sylvia Sidney
Barbara Stanwyck
Gloria Swanson
Loretta Young
Following are the complete instructions to the Movie-Land Keeno game, found on the inside of the box top:
