Louise Lorraine Movies
American silent screen heroine Louise Lorraine (born Louise Escovar) began her career as Louise Fortune opposite Chai Hong, a Chinese screen comic known as the "Chaplin of the Orient." She was briefly mentioned as Harold Lloyd's new leading lady, but starred instead opposite Elmo Lincoln in the serial Elmo the Fearless (1920). With that, a new action queen was born and Universal signed her to a long-term contract. She was reunited with the brawny Lincoln in The Flaming Disc (1920) and The Adventures of Tarzan(1921). She was soon challenging Allene Ray's position as America's favorite damsel in distress. As fearless as the previous decade's Pearl White, Lorraine reportedly insisted on doing even the most dangerous of stunts herself -- until she witnessed an automobile overturn during the filming of The Great Circus Mystery (1925) that killed the passengers. In 1925, she married one of her leading men, the hard-drinking Art Acord, and together they left Universal to star in Westerns produced by poverty row company Truart. The strain quickly began to show both on- and offscreen, and the marriage ended in 1929. Entertaining the idea of escaping action melodramas altogether, Lorraine signed with posh MGM, but without her riding britches she was unremarkable. Returning to Universal for one final serial fling, The Lightning Express (1930), Lorraine discovered that some of the fun had gone out of filmmaking with the introduction of sound and she retired. In her later years, she remained amazed at how well both she and her serials continued to be remembered. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1928
Universal's "Champion Boy Rider," toothy Newton House, starred in this 12-chapter Western serial set among gold prospectors Down Under. House played Ruben Whitney, who, along with his older sister (Louise Lorraine), travels to Australia to join Papa Whitney in his search for gold. The older Whitney is found murdered, and with the help of the handsome Captain Wilson (Buffalo Bill Jr.), Ruben goes in search of the killer, a despicable villain known as Black Jack (Edmund Cobb). Universal's many Western heroes apparently engaged elsewhere, the studio borrowed Buffalo Bill Jr. (aka Jay Wilsey) from Poverty Row company Rayart for this exciting serial, which was directed by action specialist Ray Taylor. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1928
Filmed in 1917 with Frank Morgan and in 1921 with Fatty Arbuckle, Baby Mine was brought to the screen a third time in 1928. This time, the warhorse Margaret Mayo stage play was refashioned into a vehicle for the MGM comedy team of Karl Dane and George K. Arthur. The plot remains as always: Dane's wife Charlotte Greenwood, hoping to win back her husband after an argument, claims that she's delivered a bouncing baby boy. This time around, Dane and Arthur engage in some broad but hilarious byplay concerning diapers. There's also an amusing vignette involving a midget (smoking the inevitable cigar). For reasons unknown, Baby Mine was never remade as a talkie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Dane, George K. Arthur, (more)
- 1925
Louise Lorraine stars as a fashion model who takes a job with government agent Lou Tellegen. At least, he says he's with the government; actually, he's a jewel thief who hopes to utilize Lorraine's charm to gain access to a valuable gem. Meanwhile, another crook, Ward Crane, has his eyes on the jewels. At least, he says he's a crook....yeh, that's right. He isn't. Borrowed Finery was directed byOscar Apfel, who in 1914 collaborated with Cecil B. DeMille on the direction of The Squaw Man, the first feature film made in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Lorraine, Ward Crane, (more)
- 1928
Critics in 1928 often commented on the near-oriental facial features of popular screen comedian Johnny Hines (political correctness wasn't a consideration back then), so few were surprised when Hines turned up in the 8-reel comedy Chinatown Charlie. The star plays a likeable pickpocket who happens to stumble onto a white slavery ring while plying his trade in Chinatown. Hines tries to inform the police, but they never believed him before, so why should they believe him now? Thus, it is up to Hines to rescue heroine Louise Lorraine from the clutches of murderous Mandarin (Sojin, who, by the way, was a Japanese actor). As a bonus, he also recovers a valuable ring, which cinches the future financial security of hero and heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Hines, Harry Gribbon, (more)
- 1928
Circus Rookies was a by-the-numbers vehicle for MGM's Mutt-and-Jeff comedy team of George K. Arthur and Karl Dane. As indicated by the title, our heroes -- this time playing a reporter named Francis Byrd and an animal trainer named Oscar Thrush -- join a travelling circus, where they are put to work as menial laborers. Francis and Oscar are smitten by pretty aerialist Belle (Louise Lorraine), prompting both men to perform some rather foolhardy feats of valor. Despite their monumental stupidity, the boys manage to save Belle and everyone else in the circus when a crazed gorilla (played by cowboy star Fred Humes!) goes on a rampage in a runaway train. Circus Rookies was followed in short order by two more Arthur-Dane epics, Brotherly Love and All at Sea, each film cut from the same formula cloth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Dane, George K. Arthur, (more)
- 1920
Universal's top serial queen, Grace Cunard was all set to start this sequel to the popular Elmo the Mighty (1919) when felled by illness. The beneficiary of Miss Cunard's misfortune was former comedienne Louise Lorraine, who thus embarked on a lucrative stint in serials that would garner her a faithful following through the 1920s. The male star, of course, was the screen's first Tarzan, Elmo Lincoln, whose popularity as the Jungle King had earned him title billing. Playing the Stranger, a young adventurer, Elmo is shanghaied by Checko the Crimp (V.L. Barnes) and forced to work in a Northwoods lumber camp. Capitalist Robert Stillwell (William Chapman), meanwhile, has in his possession the proof of a murder actually committed by his own attorney (Roy Watson), who will stop at nothing to prevent disclosure. Stillwell's daughter, Edith (Lorraine), is kidnapped and it is up to Elmo to not only free the damsel in distress but quell a mutiny onboard a vessel bound for a secret gold mine. Needless to say, everything is worked out by the 18th and final chapter, "The Fateful Letter." Elmo the Fearless was produced by the Stern brothers, Abe and Julius, relatives of Universal founder Carl Laemmle, and directed by J.P. McGowan, an old hand at this sort of thing. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Exit Smiling is perhaps the only film that ever fully utilized the comic genius of the incomparable Beatrice Lillie. The star is cast as the wardrobe lady of a touring theatrical company. She is introduced to the audience via subtitle as "Violet, the drudge of the troupe...Who also plays parts like 'Nothing' in Much Ado About Nothing." Though bogged down in a treacly plot concerning fugitive-from-justice Jimmy Marsh (Jack Pickford), Lillie manages to rise above the material with her first-rate clowning. Her particular highlight is an extended routine involving a string of pearls (a Lillie "standard" that she'd use time and again on stage). Alas, after the box-office failure of Exit Smiling, Bea Lillie would be confined to secondary film roles, often as not far beneath her talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beatrice Lillie, Jack Pickford, (more)
- 1923
George O'Hara, Louise Lorraine, and Mary Beth Milford star in this comedy drama about Christian martyrs in ancient Rome. In part two, an aspiring actor becomes a prize fighter to win money and the heart of a beautiful heiress. A hurricane scene shows two poodles on leashes suspended in mid air from the gale while their worried society matron holds on. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Hara, Mary Beth Milford, (more)
- 1923
Although portraying a doughboy in this comedy-adventure seems like a stretch for cowboy star Hoot Gibson, it really isn't -- he served in World War I. A pair of American servicemen, Dennis O'Shane (Gibson) and Johnny Day (Tom O'Brien), get two weeks' furlough and plan to spend it in Paris. But instead they wind up in a Spanish principality called Cardonia. O'Shane falls in love with the beautiful Carmen Navarro (Louis Lorraine), daughter of the reigning Grand Duke (Albert Prisco). But Carmen is already promised to a Spanish Don (Frank Leigh), even though she doesn't love him, and to save her, O'Shane masquerades as a Robin Hood type of bandit. He winds up being elected overlord of the province -- and then the M.P.s arrive and take him into custody for being A.W.O.L. Before he leaves, however, he promises Carmen he will return, just as soon as his punishment is over. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hoot Gibson, Louise Lorraine, (more)
- 1927
Hard-drinking silent screen hero Art Acord starred opposite his then-wife Louise Lorraine in this Universal oater directed by a young William Wyler. The story is something about a fake army colonel (Albert J. Smith) who blackmails Acord into doing his bidding, including smearing a rancher and his pretty daughter (Louise Lorraine. Unfortunately listed among the countless missing silent films, this Acord vehicle remains the most obscure film in director William Wyler's portfolio. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Art Acord, Louise Lorraine, (more)
- 1922
In spite of an original beginning, this Hoot Gibson picture quickly gets down to the usual Western business, with the hero at odds with a crooked ranch foreman. Gibson's co-star here is Louise Lorraine, whose stunt skills rivaled that of any cowboy's. After returning from World War I, Bill Perkins (Gibson) travels across country by hitching a ride in a airplane. He parachutes down near a ranch where he looks for work. All he is able to get is a job as the cook's helper. Foreman Mark Peters (Charles LeMoyne) wants to steal the ranch land, and he convinces Perkins to pose as the heir to the property. He agrees, and along the way discovers that Peters and his gang are rustlers. Through his craftiness, Perkins rounds up Peters and his men -- and then turns around and proves that he really is the heir to the ranch. He also wins the hand of pretty Ann Forrest (Lorraine). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hoot Gibson, Gertrude Short, (more)
- 1927
Comedians Al Cooke and Kit Guard would never be mistaken for Laurel and Hardy (or even Olsen and Johnson, for that matter), but they managed to supply plenty of laughs in the low-budget Legionnaires in Paris. Not "Foreign" Legionnaires, however, but American Legionnaires, at large in the City of Light. Suckered into believing they've killed a man, WWI doughboys Al and Kit are divested of their bankroll by a clever con artist. Convinced that they're fugitives from justice, our heroes flee Paris, landing jobs at an upstate New York beanery. Years later, the American Legion elects two delegates to attend a convention in Paris -- and guess which two are chosen? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kit Guard, Louise Lorraine, (more)
- 1923
In this tale of the Northwest Mounted Police, William Desmond goes through his paces without a lot of enthusiasm (and, at the age of 45, he was getting a bit old for leading man roles -- "Desmond is getting heavy," Motion Picture News noted). Bob McGuire (Desmond) is a Mountie out to "get his man," in this case the leader of a band of opium smugglers. He has his eye on Big Bill Lusk (Willard Louis), proprietor of the local gambling house. But Lusk drugs him, and when he wakes up the next morning he finds himself wedded to dance hall girl Katie Peck (Vera James). McGuire is crushed by this turn of events because he is in love with Julie Montreau (Louise Lorraine), a pretty French-Canadian girl. Nevertheless he is determined to honor the marriage, even though Katie is in love with Lusk. Lusk shoots McGuire's superior and tries to lay the blame on the Mountie. But Katie, on her deathbed, reveals the whole plot. As a result, McGuire is able to close the case and reunite with Julie. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Desmond, Louise Lorraine, (more)
- 1930
Nearing the end of his long association with Universal, rough-edged silent screen cowboy Hoot Gibson released eight sound Westerns in 1930 before the studio dropped him in favor of the more streamlined Ken Maynard. Mounted Stranger, a remake of Gibson's 1924 The Ridin' Kid From Powder River, certainly broke no new ground and the once so popular entertainer was increasingly criticized for refusing to change with the times. Gibson played Pete Ainslee, who as a child witnessed his father's killing. The adult Ainslee, known as the "Ridin' Kid," locates the killer, Steve Gary (Fred Burns ), whom he wounds in a gun battle. Gary, unfortunately, recovers and seeks revenge. Ainslee manages to stay a couple of steps ahead of the killer, who is subsequently killed by his own disgruntled gang members. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buddy Hunter, Milton Brown, (more)
- 1930
Bob Steele's talkie debut was the usual story of cattlemen versus sheepmen. Steele, the son of a cattle rancher, naturally belongs to the former group and is soon falsely accused of murdering an old sheepherder. The dead man, alas, is the father of Steele's girlfriend (Louise Lorraine) and the young cowboy is desperate to prove his innocence. While Bob Steele's career continued to rise in talkies, Louise Lorraine, the widow of silent Western star Art Acord, retired following this film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Gangly Karl Dane and diminutive George K. Arthur were teamed up for the first time in MGM's Rookies. Clearly conceived to cash in on the success of Paramount's Wallace Beery-Raymond Hatton service comedy Behind the Front, this Dane-Arthur vehicle finds our mismatched heroes cast as a sergeant and private during WWI. After several hilarious if disjointed slapstick misadventures, the boys are set adrift in a reconnaissance balloon. There was hardly an original moment in Rookies, but that's not to say it wasn't funny. The film was an enormous box-office hit, spawning a series of equally well-received feature films starring Dane and Arthur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Dane, George K. Arthur, (more)
- 1928
As an answer to Warner Bros.' immensely successful canine star Rin-Tin-Tin, MGM launched Flash, a police dog. In Shadows of the Night Flash assists police sergeant Jimmy Sherwood (Lawrence Gray) in catching the feared Feagan gang. Louise Lorraine, formerly of Universal oaters, appeared briefly to provide the necessary love interest and the film did what it was supposed to do, clean up in the kiddie market. Flash, alas, remained unimpressive and was never a serious contender to Rinty's throne. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Gray, Louise Lorraine, (more)
- 1926
Returning home from the Great War, "Breezy" Hart (Fred Humes) and his shell-shocked buddy Frank Wilcox (Ralph McCullough) discover the Wilcox property in the hands of evil Sam Hardy (William Norton Bailey). Frank, who is the rightful heir to the ranch, goes into hiding, while "Breezy" takes a job in the ranch kitchen. Learning of Frank's whereabouts, Hardy plots to have the young heir killed. Luckily, Breezy overhears the villain plotting with his henchmen and is able to rescue his friend. Hardy and his men are arrested, and Frank, now cured of his illness, is reunited with his girl, June Marston (Nita Cavalier). Breezy, meanwhile, is busy romancing his kitchen staff colleague, Mary Jane (Louise Lorraine). Director William Wyler, a distant relative of Universal's founder, Carl Laemmle), began his distinguished career helming Fred Humes and Ted Wells program Westerns. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Produced by the low-budget Weiss brothers, Leonard and Louis, The Adventures of Tarzan was the first of no less than five jungle serials to be produced in the span of only ten months and by far the most popular. Starring burly Elmo Lincoln, and 16-year-old Louise Lorraine as Jane, the 15-chapter cliffhanger was based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Return of Tarzan and Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. Returning to his beloved jungle kingdom, Tarzan spurns the love of Queen la of Opal (Lillian Worth), who in revenge attempts to sabotage the jungle king's efforts to defeat a treasure-hunting Bolshevik, Rokoff (Frank Whitson), and his own cousin, William Clayton (Percy Pembroke), a pretender to the title of Lord Greystoke. The early chapters of The Adventures of Tarzan came in for some criticism from bluenoses and Lincoln's manly chest was quickly covered up. Unbeknownst to the majority of moviegoers, Elmo was doubled by 1918 gymnastic champion Frank Merrill, whose athletic skills did much to ensure success. Merrill would eventually play Lord Greystoke in two Universal serials: Tarzan the Mighty (1928) and Tarzan the Tiger (1929), the last mentioned a partial remake of The Adventures of Tarzan featuring the exotic Kithnou as the evil jungle queen. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elmo Lincoln, Louise Lorraine, (more)
- 1922
Popular Universal leading man Frank Mayo is put through his customary paces in The Altar Stairs. Mayo plays a rugged ship's captain who comes to the rescue of a group of South Sea natives. The locals have embraced Christianity, but a gang of unscrupulous opportunists have shown up, hoping to exploit this new-found reliogisity. Mayo sets things aright, winning native girl Dagmar Godowsky in the process. Based on a novel by G. B. Lancaster, The Altar Stairs is breezily directed by western-movie vet Lambert Hillyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Stunt man supreme Richard Talmadge both produced and starred in Blue Streak. Talmadge plays a businessman's son who heads South of the Border to check on one of his dad's businesses, a gold mine. Once in Mexico, Talmadge discovers that the mine isn't as profitable as it once was. And small wonder: a band of crooks is stealing the ore. Talmadge punches, leaps and sprints his way through 5 reels of intrigue before unmasking the unsuspected ringleader of the gang. Oh, yes: he also gets the girl (Louise Lorraine). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Talmadge, Charles Clary, (more)
- 1920
Elmo Lincoln, the screen's first Tarzan, plays both the hero and the villain's henchman in this serial released in 18 chapters by Universal. One of those crazed professors so beloved by pulp writers has invented a lens capable of reducing iron and steel to ashes, a contraption coveted by yet another master criminal. Opposing the forces of evil are Secret Service agent Elmo Gray (Lincoln) and the professor's daughter (Louise Lorraine), but the team is frustrated at every turn by the agent's identical twin brother (also Lincoln), who has been hypnotized into doing the villain's bidding. Law and order, however, prevail in the final chapter which, not too surprisingly, is entitled "The End of the Trail." Lee Kohlmar plays the professor, Roy Watson is the master criminal, and the entire concoction is directed with a firm sense of melodrama by newcomer Robert F. Hill. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Colonel Tim McCoy continued his string of successful historical Westerns with The Frontiersman, a muscular adventure set in 1813. John Dale (McCoy) and Abner Hawkins (Tom O'Brien) are members of Andrew Jackson's Tennessee Militia, assigned to make peace with the Creek Indian tribe in general and the treacherous White Snake (Frank Hagney) in particular. Dallying with the beauteous Athalie Burgoyne (Louise Lorraine), Dale is forced into dueling a rival (John Peters). Jackson (Russell Simpson) calls him in for a reprimand, and Dale falls instead for the general's pretty ward, Lucy (Claire Windsor). Jackson once again disapproves, but he changes his mind when Dale rescues the girl from the marauding Indians. Both Windsor and Lorraine had been elected WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1922 by the Hollywood publicists. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McCoy, Claire Windsor, (more)
- 1926
Produced independently by the enterprising Nat Levine, this ten-chapter action serial featured Danish-born character actor Anders Randolph as the inventor of a completely silent airplane motor. Various villains are out to steal the potentially valuable contraption but are foiled at every turn by the serial's star trio: handsome young secret serviceman Lloyd Darrel (Malcolm MacGregor), pretty Helen Corliss (Louise Lorraine), and most importantly, Silver Streak, a clever German shepherd. The latter, of course, was Levine's low-budget answer to Warner Bros.' lucrative Rin Tin Tin. Hughie Mack, an obese comic in the style of "Fatty" Arbuckle was added to provide comedy relief. Levine produced the entire serial on location and on rented stages, managing to bring all ten chapters in on a budget of 70,000 dollars. Instead of releasing this his first serial on the usual states rights basis, Levine sold it outright to Universal for 75,000 dollars, the profits going toward establishing Mascot Pictures, a Poverty Row company that would proudly carry the serial tradition into the talkie era. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
