Carol Holloway Movies
Although perhaps not in a league with Pearl White and Ruth Roland, Carol Holloway (sometimes credited as Halloway) was one of the early silent screen's great serial queens. The daughter of a college professor, Holloway began her professional career with the Carleton Stock Company and later appeared on Broadway in Every Woman. By 1914, she was appearing in one-reel Billy van Dusen comedies with the now forgotten John Steppling, a good enough introduction apparently to the wild and woolly world of Vitagraph serials, of which The Fighting Trail (1917) with William Duncan was her first. They became something of a team and also did five-reel Westerns, but in 1918 Duncan replaced Holloway with his wife Edith Johnson. The actress was instead teamed with Antonio Moreno in the 15-chapter serials The Iron Test (1918) and The Perils of Thunder Mountain (1919), sometimes despairing over the sameness of it all. "I've climbed every rock that anybody in the state has ever heard of," she once told a fan-magazine writer, quickly adding that she loved the overall fun and camaraderie of serial-making. Like most of her action heroine contemporaries, Holloway's career slowed down in the more corporate 1920s, but she did appear opposite Tom Mix in the well-received 1925 screen version of Zane Grey's The Rainbow Trail. She continued to act in small roles and as an extra in films until at least 1940. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi- 1939
The "Lady" of the title is horse-farm owner Penelope Hollis (Ellen Drew), but during the first half of this film, bookie Marty Black (George Raft) only has eyes for Penelope's prize two-year-old. After losing his gambling joint, Marty finds himself with half ownership of the horse as his sole asset. He tries to persuade Penelope to continue racing the horse, but she will have none of this and packs the nag back to her Kentucky farm. Through Marty's persistence, the horse is entered in an important stake race, but in the process is "ridden out" and rendered useless. The enraged Penelope refuses to have anything to do with Marty again unless he changes his reckless ways-which of course he does. The best moment in The Lady's From Kentucky comes at the end, when supporting players Hugh Herbert ("Woo woo!") and ZaSu Pitts ("Oh, dear, oh, my") imitate each other's catch-phrases, a gag repeated the following year by Mae West and W.C. Fields in My Little Chickadee. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Raft, Ellen Drew, (more)
- 1937
Thunder Trail is a thoughtful, intelligent adaptation of the Zane Grey yarn. Arizona Ames. The storyline is a Grey favorite, concerning a pair of brothers separated at birth. One of the boys grows up to be an outlaw, while the other remains on the right side of the law. Meeting in adulthood as enemies, the brothers bury the hatchet when the "good" one kills the man responsible for the death of their father. The two heroes are played by Mexican actor Gilbert Roland and North American Native James Craig (to "explain" Roland's pronounced accent, it is shown that he is raised by Mexican J. Carroll Naish -- in real life an Irishman!) If the music score sounds familiar, it's because it was originally composed for Cecil B. DeMille's The Plainsman. Thunder Trail was reissued to television as Thunder Pass. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gilbert Roland, Marsha Hunt, (more)
- 1937
Paramount's final "Big Broadcast" musical had perhaps the least exciting musical lineup of the series (Tito Guizar, The Shep Fields Orchestra, and opera singer Kirsten Flagstad are hardly household names today), but a slightly stronger storyline than the others, as well as a top-notch comic cast. This time out, most of the action takes place as sea, as S.B. Bellows (W.C. Fields) shows off his new invention: an ocean liner that can turn radio signals into electricity and part the waves at 100 miles per hour. He challenges another ship to a race while a number of music and comedy acts appear in the ship's showroom. Along with Fields, who performs several classic pool and golf routines, Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour, and Ben Blue add to the laughs; Bob Hope made his feature debut here, and he even sings his future theme song, "Thanks for the Memories". ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- W.C. Fields, Martha Raye, (more)
- 1937
In this black comedy, a twitchy hypochondriac ends up conned into giving up his $500,000 inheritance in exchange for $50,000 cash. He does this because he is sure that he will die before he can get the money. The fellow's nurse loves her healthy charge and inspires him to live again. Together they conspire to regain their money by having him threaten suicide. If he does so, he would nullify their contract. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward Everett Horton, William Hall, (more)
- 1935
In this bouncy musical, a sax-playing ex-convict joins a swing band and embarks upon a cross-country tour. He does really well until an old friend tries to tempt him into becoming a criminal again. The convict refuses the offer so the "friend" retaliates by doing the job anyway and leaving the con to take the rap. Then the band is kidnapped by a powerful person desiring a private concert. The ex-con saves the band by informing on the crook. He is then allowed to play with them again and musical happiness ensues. Songs include: "Would There Be Love," "Let's Spill the Beans," "I Never Had a Man to Cry Over," and "Fagin Youse is a Viper" (Mack Gordon, Harry Revel). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Raft, Ben Bernie, (more)
- 1935
Radio baritone Joe Morrison was being groomed for stardom by Paramount when he was top-billed in One Hour Late. Morrison is cast as shipping clerk Eddie Blake, whose girlfriend Betty Dunn (Helen Twelvetrees) is secretary to big boss Stephen Barclay (Conrad Nagel). A trusting soul, Betty sees nothing wrong in accepting Barclay's invitation to visit his home for the weekend. But Eddie suspects the worst and tags along to make sure that Betty's virtue remains intact. As it happens, Eddie's fears are groundless -- as are those of Barclay's wife Ellen (Gail Patrick), who was poised to walk out on her husband at the first sign of extramarital hanky-panky. The script contrives to have a radio station located in the building where Eddie works, permitting Joe Morrison to croon a medley of his hit "The Last Roundup." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Morrison, Helen Twelvetrees, (more)
- 1928
Chicken a la King was based on Mr. Romeo, a play by Harry Wagstaff Gribble. When his brother-in-law Oscar Barrows (Arthur Stone) announces his plans to marry chorus girl Maisie DeVoe (Nancy Carroll), priggish Horace Trundle (Ford Sterling) is aghast. How can Oscar throw his life away on a girl who is obviously nothing more than a golddigger? Heading backstage to reprimand Maisie, Horace suddenly discovers that he enjoys being surrounded by pulchritudinous females. This inspires Horace's long-suffering wife Effie (Carol Holloway) to land a chorus-girl job herself, just to teach her wandering hubby a lesson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nancy Carroll, George Meeker, (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)
- 1922
For a director with less-than-stellar talents, Louis J. Gasnier certainly led a charmed life for a while, something attested to by this picture. Gasnier did a mediocre (at best) job on this cliched film, which should have been a mere programmer but wound up being a 6,500 feet "special," one that wasted the talents of Claire Windsor and House Peters. What's more, it was "presented by" B.P. Schulberg who later discovered Clara Bow. Peters plays the ill-tempered John Masters, who is none too pleased when another man chases after his wife, Gay (Windsor). He believes the two are having an affair, so he tosses Gay out of the house and tells their child ("Baby" Richard Hedrick) that she is dead. This doesn't stop Gay from coming by the house so the boy (who believes she's a ghost) can kiss her through the front door's glass -- an especially heart-wrenching touch. Things come to a head when grouchy Masters decides to loosen up and throw a party. Somehow he is talked into dressing up his little boy as Cupid and having him do a dance in a fountain. At this juncture, Gay appears, convinced that this will make her child sick. She angrily throws the revelers out of the house, and Masters begs for forgiveness. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- House Peters, Claire Windsor, (more)
- 1921
Max Brand's 1920 novel became a rousing Tom Mix Western less than a year later. A complicated story of love and revenge, Trailin' opens with rivals William Drew (Jay Morley) and John Bard (Cecil Van Auker) battling for the love of Joan (Carol Holloway), the daughter of notorious outlaw Blotto (J. Farrell McDonald). Joan favors Drew, and they marry and have a child. Still jealous, Bard steals the infant boy and leaves for the East, changing his name to John Woodbury along the way. Many years go by and Woodbury (now Bert Sprotte) has become the wealthy and respected "father" of young Anthony (Tom Mix). A vengeful Drew (now James Gordon) suddenly reappears and Bard/Woodbury is killed in a duel. Returning to his roots in Idaho, Anthony finally learns of his true heritage and settles down to marry a local waitress, Sally Fortune (Eva Novak). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
John Nelson (Hobart Bosworth) is a cruel sea captain who has harbored a grudge against humankind ever since his wife deserted him 16 years ago. When Tom Walton (Emory Johnson) is cast aside by his family for his debaucherous behavior, he takes a job as a deck hand on Nelson's whaling ship. The crew tries to mutiny when the water supply goes low, and Nelson single-handedly beats up the surly sailors. Tom is sent ashore to a South Seas island to fetch more water and discovers a young girl (Bessie Love) and an old man. Tom brings the two island dwellers aboard, where the girl experiences Nelson's cruelty first-hand. Tom and the girl escape, just as a menacing storm begins to form. Nelson reads the young girl's Bible and realizes the girl is his long-lost daughter by the woman who deserted him years before. He turns the ship around and tries to make a dramatic rescue before the storm's fury drowns the helpless couple. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
The Saphead was based on the tried-and-true Winchell Smith stage comedy The New Henrietta, previously filmed in 1915 as The Lamb. Buster Keaton, at the time a popular 2-reel comedy attraction, makes his feature-film debut in the role of the addlepated son of Wall Street lion William H. Crane. In an effort to make something worthwhile of his unprepossessing offspring, Crane gives Keaton $100,000 to buy a seat on the stock market. Keaton gets mixed up in a seemingly worthless stock, but proves at the end that he's got more business sense than all the other brokers combined. Surprisingly, The Saphead is almost bereft of slapstick, until Keaton forces the issue in a riotous stock-exchange climax. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- William H. Crane, Buster Keaton, (more)
- 1915
The title to this picture makes it sound like a Monty Python offering, but in reality it's just a standard silent comedy. When Loulie, a rich girl (May Allison) suddenly loses her fortune, she is forced to become the social secretary to a Mrs. Hazard (Lillian Gonzales). Her main duty is to play matchmaker for Mrs. Hazard's grown children, Hap (Harold Lockwood and Laura (Carol Holloway). Loulie is successful in steering Hap's attentions away from the unsuitable Natalie (Josephine Ditt), but getting rid of Laura's suitor, Winthrop (William Ehfe), is a bit stickier. Some valuable paintings are stolen, and Winthrop is the main suspect. But it turns out the real thieves are the Duc de Trouville (Carl Von Schiller) and house guest Mrs. Cutler. Winthrop is returned to favor, Loulie wins Hap, and all turns out well. This film was based on the novel by May Futrelle. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
