Robert W. Fraser Movies
This is an adaptation of a popular, violent Marvel Comics series about a character who's a frontier-style vigilante in modern-day urban America. Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, once a crusading police officer whose family was murdered by a car bomb planted by the Mob. Believed to be killed in the explosion, Castle has gone underground, building a subterranean lair in the sewer system and vengefully assassinating various criminals, wracking up an impressive body count of 125 slain in five years. Castle's former partner, Jake Berkowitz (Louis Gossett, Jr.) rightly suspects that he knows the true identity of the motorcycle-riding avenger dubbed "the Punisher." Meanwhile, Castle's bloody campaign has had the intended effect of weakening organized crime, creating an opportunity to consolidate power for the ambitious Gianni Franco (Jeroen Krabbe), the man responsible for the Castle family hit. Sensing an opportunity to muscle in on new lucrative turf, foreign competitors threaten Franco's empire. When the Japanese yakuza has the crime boss' innocent son kidnapped, Castle finds himself in the ironic position of helping a man he'd like to kill. Filmed in Australia, this low-budget action thriller did not get a theatrical release in the U.S., instead going directly to video. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
- 1938
On the Great White Trail was the second B-picture inspired by Laurie York Erskine's "Renfrew of the Royal Mounted" books. James Newill is back as Renfrew, who on this occasion tries to solve a robbery and murder. The villains are a gang of fur thieves who've been targeting the trading posts owned by Andrew Larkin (Robert Fraser). Renfrew's mission is compromised somewhat by the presence of Larkin's headstrong daughter Kay (Terry Walker), who insists upon participating in the manhunt. Originally produced by Criterion Pictures, On the Great White Trail was distributed by Grand National. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Newill, Terry Walker, (more)
- 1937
An uneven mix of '30s crook melodrama and Rose Marie-inspired mountie romance, Renfrew of the Royal Mounted of radio fame came to the screen in 1937, courtesy of the founder of Grand National, Edward L. Alperson. Chosen to play the strapping title role was James Newill, a Nelson Eddy wannabe whose introduction number, "Mounted Men," was almost a carbon copy of "Stout Hearted Men." Newill's Renfrew is assigned to look into a counterfeiting ring operating on the Canadian border with the United States. The ring is headed by lodge owner George Poulis (William Royle), who is coercing convicted engraver James Bronson (Herbert Corthell) into working for him. When Bronson's daughter, Virginia (Carol Hughes), discovers the truth, she convinces the engraver to flee. Renfrew, who has been chasing the crooks on horseback and by airplane, eventually saves the Bronsons from perishing in a meat locker. Filmed in Grand National's studios on Santa Monica Boulevard and at Big Bear Lake, CA, Renfrew of the Royal Mounted proved popular enough to warrant a series. Grand National collapsed two years later but the series was picked up by Monogram and a total of eight Renfrew movies were ultimately released. A former singer on the Burns & Allen radio program, James Newill later went on to co-star in PRC's "trio" series Texas Rangers, where he was reunited with Dave "Tex" O'Brien, who had played one of the crooks in Renfrew of the Royal Mounted. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Newill, Carolyn Hughes, (more)
- 1928
May McAvoy plays the nose-in-the-air title character in Warner Bros' The Little Snob. The daughter of Coney Island concessionaire Alec B. Francis, McAvoy is shipped off to a posh finishing school. Upon her return, she turns her back on her blue-collar family and begins hobnobbing with the New York Upper Crust. McAvoy recovers her basic values just in time to find true happiness in the arms of her sideshow-barker sweetheart Robert Frazer. The Little Snob was May McAvoy's final silent effort; thereafter, she would appear only in talkies or part-talkies, billed by her studio as "The Vitaphone Girl." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert W. Fraser, Alec B. Francis, (more)
- 1924
Robert Fraser plays a double role in this routine melodrama co-starring Elaine Hammerstein, Gladys Brockwell, and Phyllis Haver. Mary Adams (Hammerstein) is the schoolteacher who falls for a lecherous lawyer. She marries the man who saves her from the barrister, but she soon believes he is guilty of being a thief. Her husband is stabbed by his insane mother who believes he is her long-lost husband returning after many years. Although seriously wounded, he races through a raging forest fire to be reunited with his beloved wife. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elaine Hammerstein, Robert W. Fraser, (more)
- 1922
Although she had been Fox's replacement vamp after the exit of Theda Bara, Betty Blythe chose a far less exotic character than 1921's Queen of Sheba for her first self-produced picture. Here she is Rosa Roma, the daughter of a famous prima donna, who has inherited her mother's voice. She comes to America with her aunt, and soon thereafter millionaire Ogden Ward (Charles Lane) offers to finance her studies -- just so long as she doesn't fall in love and follows his direction for her career. But then she meets composer Griffith Ames (Robert Fraser) and all that flies out the window. Ames creates an opera, and Rosa plays the lead for charity, which infuriates Ward. She plans to buy him off with some of her jewels, which she has been hanging onto for sentimental reasons. But the gems are stolen and it is revealed that Ward -- who collects valuable stones -- is in cahoots with a Count-of-no-account, who committed the theft. Rosa overcomes all this, becomes a success, and weds the young composer. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Betty Blythe, Gladys Hulette, (more)
- 1916
Leaving his wife and son behind in the old country, Russian peasant Vladimir Krestovsky (Orrin Johnson) begins a new life in America, celebrating the occasion by adopting a new name, Mr. Krest. Working hard and ruthlessly to rise to the top, Krest soon becomes the millionaire owner of a steel company, acquiring a trophy wife along the way. When his second wife dies, Krest begins experiencing hallucinations, imagining that Jesus Christ has returned to earth to admonish him for his selfishness. Reforming his ways, Krest improves the working conditions for his downtrodden employees, then seeks out the forgiveness of the wife and son he abandoned in Russia -- who, through a typical movie contrivance, have gotten jobs in his steel mill. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
