Michael Dark Movies
- 1925
Breezy Raymond Griffith became a full-fledged screen star with this highly entertaining comedy. Alexis (Griffith), the prince of a European principality, is run ragged by his many duties -- trivialities such as christening ships, kissing babies, reviewing troops, and the like. But when he meets a girl (Mary Brian) and falls in love, he wants nothing except to be with her. Unfortunately, neither his position nor his prime minister (Gustav Von Seyffertitz) will allow it. On top of that, every time he steals a moment to talk to her, he is surrounded by hundreds of people who recognize him. The situation becomes even more frustrating when the king (Tyrone Power Sr.) dies, and Alexis winds up on the throne. He solves this dilemma by helping a revolutionist (Nigel de Bruliere) overthrow the government. Unfortunately, Alexis is so popular that he is elected president, so his duties never end. Fortunately, he is now a commoner so he can marry the girl. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Raymond Griffith, Mary Brian, (more)
John Barrymore is virtually the entire show as 18th-century British fashion plate Beau Brummel. Thanks to his sartorial splendor and quick wit, Brummel is a favorite of the Prince of Wales (Willard Louis)--and with several ladies, though his heart belongs to the beautiful, unobtainable Lady Margery Avanley (played by 17-year-old Mary Astor, who during filming was carrying on a most passionate affair with her leading man). The arrogant Brummel falls from grace after insulting the Prince and then refusing to apologize. We last see Brummel in an asylum, dressed in rags, but with still enough pride to turn away his true love rather than allow her to throw her life away on him. John Barrymore is superb throughout, especially in the poignant sequences after his descent into poverty and disgrace. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1924
In this taut silent mystery, a young woman mends her recently broken heart by reluctantly accepting a young lawyer's proposal. To save her tarnished reputation (for her ex-lover turned out to be married) she asks her old beau to give back her potentially incriminating love letters. Unfortunately, he plays the cad and refuses. Deeply disturbed, she sleepwalks one night and enters his home to get the letters. She awakens the next day with no memory of her nocturnal excursion and so is mortified to find herself accused of his murder. Much evidence supports the accusation and her new love must use all his wits to save her. Believing her story, he has her hypnotized. He then learns that she witnessed the crime and can finger the real culprit, a South American who killed the philanderer because he had an affair with his wife. In the end, the grateful girl finally realizes that she truly loves the lawyer and marital bliss ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patsy Ruth Miller, Frances Raymond, (more)
- 1924
Johnny Hines wrote the screenplay for this entertaining comedy in which he starred. Terry O'Toole (Hines) comes to America from Ireland to seek his fortune and becomes a trolley conductor. One day, while working, he saves the life of Bobby Connelly (Byron Sage), the son of the line's president (Fred Esmelton). He is rewarded and welcomed into the Connelly home, where he meets the daughter, Noretta (Doris May). They begin a romance, and Terry's father, Mike (Dan Mason, who was known for his "Toonerville Trolley" shorts), comes over from Ireland. There is a power struggle between the president and vice president of the trolley company, and a mere two shares of stock will determine who is the victor. The bad guys forge the shares, but old man O'Toole digs up two real shares, which he had bought many years before. Connelly keeps control of the company and gives his blessings to Noretta's relationship with Terry. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Johnny Hines, Doris May, (more)
- 1924
Ultra suave Adolph Menjou plays an urbane, filthy rich bachelor who finds himself falling for a socialite just as carefree as he. At first he is delighted by her gadabout ways, but after a while her cocquettish ways towards others begin to grate upon him. Deciding he needs a break from shallowness he lets a room in a boarding house for theater people. There he meets a struggling ex-convict. Her prison record causes her to lose her job. Smitten by her beauty and earthiness, the playboy takes her in and tries to help her integrate into his glittering world by telling people that she is his ward. things are finally looking up when a crooked detective appears and tries to blackmail her. Fortunately, her millionaire hero isn't about to let her life be destroyed again. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Norma Shearer, (more)
- 1923
The G. Marion Burton poem served as inspiration for several films (including the 1914 comic satire by Charles Chaplin), but this melodrama, directed by John Ford, was the most sincerely done. In a barroom, artist Robert Stevens (Henry Walthall) drunkenly relates his sad story -- he was engaged to marry a society girl, Marion (Ruth Clifford), when her brother took advantage of a fisherman's daughter, who commits suicide. To protect Marion's brother, Stevens takes the blame for the girl's sad end. Marion leaves him and he begins his descent into the gutter. Stevens is falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned. He is pardoned, however, because he has saved the life of the governor (Norval McGregor). Stevens completes his sorry tale by painting Marion's face on the barroom floor. Because someone recognizes the likeness he is able to locate her. He manages to pull himself out of his alcoholic haze and the couple are reconciled. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ruth Clifford, Walter Emerson, (more)
- 1922
This melodrama of the high seas sandwiches pretty silent star Dorothy Dalton between the handsome, virile Jack Holt and the not-so-handsome but equally virile Mitchell Lewis, whose character is referred to as "a ruffian." Society girl Leone Deveraux (Dalton) is sailing off to marry a man chosen by her father (Winter Hall), but whom she does not love. The ship catches fire and sinks mid-ocean, however, and she is rescued by two stokers, Jim Doran (Holt), and the aforementioned ruffian, Joe Polack (Lewis). The three of them land on a derelict ship and the two men fight it out to see who gets Leone. Polack wants her out of mere lust; Doran sincerely cares for her. Polack is fortuitously killed by a falling mast, and Leone and Doran are rescued. With a heavy heart, Leone heads for her unwanted wedding but (in a rather burlesque ending), she is suddenly snatched away by Doran, who reveals that he is actually the scion of a wealthy family, making him a perfect match for her. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dorothy Dalton, Jack Holt, (more)
- 1922
Although Charles Ray doesn't play one of his country boy roles in his first picture for United Artists, John Paul Bart could be considered the city cousin -- he's a poor pants presser who believes that clothes really can make the man and sets out to prove it. He "borrows" a dress suit from the tailor shop where he works and crashes a fancy reception. Even though he risks making a fool of himself, Bart draws the attention of Abraham Nathan, the president of a steamship company (Stanton Heck). Nathan invites Bart on a cruise, and he is able to show off his real talents as a mediator when labor unrest occurs. Nathan is impressed and gives him an important job in his firm. Bart continues his romance with Tanya Huber (Ethel Grandin), his sweetheart from the tailor's shop, but he has a rival in one of the labor leaders. The worker exposes him as a former clothes presser and the humiliated Bart goes back to the tailor's shop. Nathan, however, doesn't care about Bart's past and tracks him down. Bart is back where he really belongs, and he and Tanya become engaged. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Ray, Thomas Ricketts, (more)
- 1921
Although Erich von Stroheim's Foolish Wives had been released only a few short months earlier, the title to this drama actually came from the Donn Byrne novel on which it was based. Doris May plays Georgia Wayne, a young woman from the South who is stagestruck and convinces her husband Lafayette (Charles Meredith) to move to New York. She gets wrapped up in the heady theatrical life, and when her husband discovers she has been unfaithful, he throws her out. Mildred Manning plays Sheila Hopkins, who marries poet Anthony Sheridan (Wallace MacDonald) because he will allow her to pursue her literary career. The marriage drives Sheridan to drink and he dies in the arms of his mother (Margaret McWade). The only non-foolish matron is actress Annis Grand (Kathleen Kirkham), who marries Dr. Ian Fraser (Hobart Bosworth) and convinces him to leave the city and move to the country. This wasn't one of Maurice Tourneur's better pictures, but it is worthwhile to note that it was co-directed by his protégé, Clarence Badger), who would have a long and illustrious career at MGM. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hobart Bosworth, Doris May, (more)
