Max Davidson Movies

Sometime during the shooting of the landmark The Birth of a Nation, filmmaker D.W. Griffith probably wondered how he could top himself. In 1916, he showed how, with the awesome Intolerance. The film began humbly enough as a medium-budget feature entitled The Mother and the Law, wherein the lives of a poor but happily married couple are disrupted by the misguided interference of a "social reform" group. A series of unfortunate circumstances culminates in the husband's being sentenced to the gallows, a fate averted by a nick-of-time rescue engineered by his wife. In the wake of the protests attending the racist content of The Birth of a Nation, Griffith wanted to demonstrate the dangers of intolerance. The Mother and the Law filled the bill to some extent, but it just wasn't "big" enough to suit his purposes. Thus, using The Mother and the Law as merely the base of the film, Griffith added three more plotlines and expanded his cinematic thesis to epic proportions. The four separate stories of Intolerance are symbolically linked by Lillian Gish as the Woman Who Rocks the Cradle ("uniter of the here and hereafter"). The "Modern Story" is essentially The Mother and the Law; the "French Story" details the persecution of the Huguenots by Catherine de Medici (Josephine Crowell); the "Biblical Story" relates the last days of Jesus Christ (Howard Gaye); and the "Babylonian Story" concerns the defeat of King Belshazzar (Alfred Paget) by the hordes of Cyrus the Persian (George Siegmann).

Rather than being related chronologically, the four stories are told in parallel fashion, slowly at first, and then with increasing rapidity. The action in the film's final two reels leaps back and forth in time between Babylon, Calvary, 15th century France, and contemporary California. Described by one historian as "the only film fugue," Intolerance baffled many filmgoers of 1916 -- and, indeed, it is still an exhausting, overwhelming experience, even for audiences accustomed to the split-second cutting and multilayered montage sequences popularized by Sergei Eisenstein, Orson Welles, Jean-Luc Godard, Joel Schumacher, and MTV. On a pure entertainment level, the Babylonian sequences are the most effective, played out against one of the largest, most elaborate exterior sets ever built for a single film. The most memorable character in this sequence is "The Mountain Girl," played by star on the rise Constance Talmadge; when the Babylonian scenes were re-released as a separate feature in 1919, Talmadge's tragic death scene was altered to accommodate a happily-ever-after denouement. Other superb performances are delivered by Mae Marsh and Robert Harron in the Modern Story, and by Eugene Pallette and Margery Wilson in the French Story. Remarkably sophisticated in some scenes, appallingly naïve in others, Intolerance is a mixed bag dramatically, but one cannot deny that it is also a work of cinematic genius. The film did poorly upon its first release, not so much because its continuity was difficult to follow as because it preached a gospel of tolerance and pacifism to a nation preparing to enter World War I. Currently available prints of Intolerance run anywhere from 178 to 208 minutes; while it may be rough sledding at times, it remains essential viewing for any serious student of film technique. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Amy Burke (Mary Pickford) is as spoiled, temperamental and contrary a lass as her grandfather, Alexander Guthrie (Ralph Lewis), is ruthless and cutthroat a businessman. Amy is bored with the privileged life on Riverside Drive, so when her father, John Burke (Dwight Crittenden), returns to New York, she demands that she go with him instead of traveling through Europe with her grandfather. It comes as a shock to Amy that her father, a writer, is living in a tenement and that she has lost all the perks she had as a child of wealth. But soon she adjusts to life in the slums, wearing loud, mismatched outfits and shooting craps with the best of the kids. And through fraternizing with neighbors, such as the ever-battling Pat O'Shaughnessy (Andrew Arbuckle) and Abram Issacs (Max Davidson) and the nice, but mysterious John Graham (Kenneth Harlan), she learns to be a real person. Watching over the transformation is her grandfather, who has come in disguise to keep an eye on her. But his own transformation is not complete until one night, when Amy and John -- who is now her beau -- break into the Guthrie residence in search of papers which were falsely used to send him to prison. Although they are caught, Guthrie not only forgives them, he consents to their marriage. This was the second of three films Pickford made for First National. In spite of the stellar cast, and the help of director idney A. Franklin and screenwriter Frances Marion, this picture -- based on Burkses' Amy by Julie M. Lippman -- is not one of Pickford's very best. Amy is far too nasty at the beginning, and it takes the audience quite a few reels to forgive her ill-tempered antics. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Famed screenwriter June Mathis wrote the screenplay to this comedy from Kennett Harris's Saturday Evening Post story, "Junk." Sam Weatherbee (Bert Lytell) was born into money, and he seems to think his whole purpose in life is to spend it. But in the midst of a party he is throwing, the young millionaire receives word that his fortune is gone. The concept of working for a living is completely beyond him until he inherits his aunt's cottage in Los Angeles He goes West to discover that the place is loaded with junk, but he realizes that this supposedly worthless stuff may be of use to somebody. So he opens up a trading post in the front yard, which eventually develops into the West Coast Barter and Exchange Company. Weatherbee is once again in the money, and is able to win pretty Mattie Walling (Virginia Valli from his rival, Dillingham Coolidge (John Davidson). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

When prize fighter Johnny Duffey (Bert Lytell) breaks his hand, the doctor orders him to rest for three months before he returns to the ring. Vacationing in Craigmoor, he falls for society-debutante Constance Talbot (Virginia Valli) but later discovers she is engaged to the pompous Roy Van Twiller (Philo McCollough). When Constance's father (DeWitt Jennings) learns about Johnny, he befriends the boxer and conspires with Johnny to get rid of his prospective son-in-law. Without revealing his identity, Johnny is set up with Roy to drive him away from Constance. After his victory, Johnny is welcomed into the family by routing the rogue but the final blow re-injures his hand and prompts Johnny to enter the world of business. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Mabel Normand's last feature-length film is also one of her most entertaining. Sue Graham (Normand) lives in the tiny hamlet of River Bend. When her parents (George Nichols and Anna Hernandez) refuse to let her marry her sweetheart, Dave Giddings (Ralph Graves), she enters a movie contest and wins. But Sue finds stardom in Hollywood very elusive and winds up working in the wardrobe department at a studio. She convinces her parents to sell everything they have to join her in Hollywood, but they are taken in by a swindler and lose all their money. Giddings comes out to help Sue get a better job, but she is determined to track down the swindler and get the money back. Eventually she is successful and everyone returns to River Bend. Normand has one of her most memorable comic moments when she leads a lion around on a leash, fully convinced it is a dog in disguise. Shortly after this picture was released, Normand was involved in a scandal in which her chauffeur shot a male friend with whom she had been drinking. After the 1921 murder scandal involving her colleague Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and the unsolved killing of her good friend, director William Desmond Taylor in 1922, this was the last straw. A number of states banned her from the screen (Ohio's attorney general remarked, "This film star has been entirely too closely connected with disgraceful shooting affairs.") Producer Mack Sennett released Normand from her contract and her career never recovered. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This rather trite romance was saved by its colorful backdrop; the setting is the New York Bowery of the early 1890s. Mamie Rose (Mary Philbin) works as a mender in the secondhand clothing shop run by Old Levi (Max Davidson). Levi's son, Max (William Collier Jr.) is a gentle, meek soul who loves Mamie, but she has also attracted the attention of Mike Kildare (Pat O'Malley). Kildare is a pugilist and henchman for the local political boss and he's surprised when Mamie doesn't swoon over him. But soon enough he figures out that Mamie isn't the sort of girl he is used to and he decides to reform. He quits the boss, only to discover that Mamie has decided to leave town. He finds her giving Max a sweet good-bye and mistakes the scene for something more passionate. The result is an argument, after which Mamie betrays Kildare to his old gang. When she realizes exactly what she's done, it's too late and Kildare suffers a terrible beating. But the incident wins Mamie's love, and the pair marry. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In the Eskimo drama Justice of the Far North, Wamba (Marcia Mason), the half-breed wife of Eskimo chieftain Umluk (Arthur Jasmine), runs off with white trader Mike Burke (Chuck Reisner), kidnapping Umluk's sister Nootka (Laska Winter) for good measure. Harpoon in hands, Umluk chases after his errant wife and her lover across the treacherous Arctic tundra. Ultimately, he rescues Nootka, leaving Wamba and Burke to fend for themselves in the icy wastes. Comedian Max Davidson adds a touch of the Lower East Side in the peripheral role of Izzy Hawkins. Though set in the Far North (at least that's what the title says), the film appears to have been shot primarily in Northern California. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although Jackie Coogan is dressed up (or rather, down) for this comedy in much the same way he was for Charles Chaplin's The Kid, there are two big differences -- he's four years older than when he made the Chaplin film and starting to lose his childish charm. A fire breaks out at an orphanage in New York's Lower East Side, and young Tim Kelly (Coogan) escapes in his nightshirt. He hides from the cops by ducking into a junk wagon belonging to Max Ginsberg (Max Davidson). Ginsberg takes him in, and when Tim proves himself to be an excellent "rag man," the two become partners. Years before, Ginsberg had invented a type of sewing machine, but Bernard (Robert Edeson), a crooked lawyer, cheated him out of the patent. Tim tracks down the devious Bernard and makes him square things with Ginsberg. The two rag men, now incredibly wealthy, become New York's most exclusive antiques dealers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Paradise Alley is the ironic nickname for a rundown tenement district in the Lower East Side. Despite their shabby surroundings, everyone in Paradise Alley is blissfully happy, thanks to the goodwill spread by heroine Barbara Bedford, the "sunshine" of the title. When banker Gayne Whitman proposes to tear down the Alley to erect a factory, Bedford tries to prevent this tragedy. Despite the interference of villainous Nigel Barrie, the heroine succeeds with the help of clean-limbed hero Kenneth McDonald. Jewish comedian Max Davidson provides his usual ethnic buffoonery as a soft-hearted merchant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jewish comic Max Davidson stars in this Hal Roach farce that would most likely have been completely forgotten had not Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Charley Chase turned up in cameo appearances. Davidson, wife Lillian Elliott, and son Spec O'Donnell are attempting to sell their house, which is located right next door to an insane asylum inhabited by a group of would-be radio announcers (the Messieurs Laurel, Hardy, Chase and James Finlayson). At the end of their ropes, the Davidsons finally find a buyer willing to swap houses, "no questions asked." The proud little family takes possession of their new abode, the street number of which is 1313, but it proves to be a lemon of gargantuan proportion where everything is topsy-turvy. A housewarming party ends in a free-for-all that nearly wrecks the house, and, after surveying the damage, the Davidsons discover that the insane asylum has relocated as well -- to right next door. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy can't even tell whose hat is whose, so it's no surprise when they lose their jobs as dishwashers. But it isn't long before they once again obtain employment, this time selling washing machines. Their duties involve dragging a sample machine from door to door. One woman (Anita Garvin) mtions them to come to her door. It's up a very, very high flight of steps, but they make it up there, machine in tow, only to find out that the woman just has a letter she wants them to post. Then when they get back down the stairs she calls them up again -- she forgot to stamp the envelope. Back on the street, another woman (Dorothy Coburn) really wants a demonstration...but she lives back up those steps, so a frustrated Stan kicks her. Angrily, she hits Ollie and leaves the two arguing. Once again they have a mix up with their hats, which spreads a whole streetful of passersby, with everyone mangling everyone else's hats. A steamroller comes by and runs over the washing machine and the crowd of hat destroyers are all arrested -- except for Stan and Ollie, who are still getting their now-raggedy hats on the wrong heads. Sadly, this is the one Laurel and Hardy short that appears to be a lost film -- a brief look at the situations it contains shows how much was borrowed from it in later pictures (the hat switching and reciprocal destruction are only a couple of examples). The stairs in this film -- which are located in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles and still exist today -- were also used in the boys' Academy Award-winning 1934 short The Music Box. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Mary Pickford stars as the "Miss Fix-it" for her eccentric family. Pickford's job at a dime-store keeps her postman dad (Lucien Littlefield), addlepated mom (Sunshine Hart) and loose-living sister (Carmelita Geraghty) from going under. She falls in love with handsome Charles "Buddy" Rogers, never dreaming that the boy is the son of store-owner Hobart Bosworth. The "meeting cute" scene between Pickford and Rogers has been so often excerpted in silent-movie compilations that it's possible many viewers have it memorized. Based on a story by Kathleen Norris, My Best Girl served to introduce Mary Pickford to future-husband Rogers (they were wed nearly a decade later). Lucien Littlefield, the "old codger" who plays Pickford's father, was in reality three years younger than Pickford! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The success of this "Our Gang" comedy is due in great part to the performances of two adult comedians, Edgar Kennedy and Max Davidson. Warning the Gang members to stay away from an old, crumbling condemned house, Officer Kennedy suggests they dig for buried treasure. They do --- in the same house that Kennedy had told them to avoid. Once inside the ramshackle structure, the kids are terrorized by a crazy but harmless old hermit (Davidson), who eats invisible meals, emits loud and eerie howls, and periodically makes the curious announcement "I know --- but I won't tell ya!" The best gags involved a pair of Chinese handcuffs, which manage to incapacitate both Kennedy and the zany hermit. Initially released on December 7, 1929, "Moan & Groan Inc." was originally included in the "Little Rascals" TV package, but has since been withdrawn due to a handful of mild ethnic jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide