Walter Morosco Movies

Corinne Griffith, the stunningly attractive "orchid lady" of the silent screen, originally intended to retire when talkies came in. The wisdom of this decision was demonstrated in her handful of sound-picture appearances, of which Lily Christine is among the least memorable. While driving along in her touring car, Lily Christine (Griffith) breaks her glasses. Since her travelling companion Rupert Harvey (Colin Clive) can't drive at all, he and Lily are forced to spend the evening at Harvey's home. It's all quite innocent, but Harvey's wife Muriel (Anne Grey) suspects that her husband and Lily have been canoodling around, an opinion also held by Lily's own husband Ivor (Jack Trevor), an inveterate philanderer who has been looking for an excuse to divorce his wife. Disgraced in the eyes of the world, Lily attempts to kill herself, but there's a happy ending in the offing for herself and Harvey -- who, as it turns out, has loved her all along. Lily Christine was based on a considerably racier novel by Michael Arlen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The crackerjack director/cinematographer team of Harry Lachman and Rudolph Mate (Dante's Inferno, Our Relations) brought an extra veneer of class to the 1932 Gertrude Lawrence vehicle Aren't We All. She plays a shy and retiring lass who harbors a secret past indiscretion. Her "shameful" secret is revealed just as she plans to marry wealthy Owen Nares. The future husband expresses outrage, but his father Hugh Wakefield comes to Lawrence's rescue by exposing one or two of Nares' past peccadillos, and by inviting the girl's former lover to state his case. This British drawing room comedy was based on a stage play by the prolific Frederick Lonsdale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this British drama, a colonel is upset to learn that his daughter is planning to leave her dishwater-dull husband in favor of his male secretary. More trouble ensues when the colonel learns that his secretary is the son of his butler. He decides to end the affair and heads for Paris where he does just that. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this melodramatic early sound-film an innocent country gal tires of her dull pastoral life and equally boring beau so she heads for the big city in search of adventure. Instead she finds herself the kept woman of a rich war profiteer. Deep down, she still loves the country boy who has been seriously injured while fighting WW I. He returns home blind and dying. When the girl hears about this, she pleads with her wealthy benefactor to be allowed to see him one last time. She returns to the lad, marries him, and then after he passes on, leaves her sugar daddy to lead life as a sadder but wiser girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Mammy features Al Jolson as the star of a travelling minstrel show, appearing in a small Southern town. Jolson falls in love with an actress in the troupe (Lois Moran), but she loves another. One of Jolson's fellow minstrels (Lowell Sherman) is shot backstage, and it is assumed thanks to several plot convolutions that Jolson is guilty of the deed. He heads for the hills, but returns to the show, his reputation restored but his love for the actress unrequited. Maudlin in the extreme, Mammy is salvaged by several enjoyable songs by Irving Berlin and by its Technicolor photography (though most TV prints are black and white). The film's fascination with modern viewers rests with the presence of Al Jolson--and with the casual use of profanity during his confrontation scene with Lowell Sherman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frank Lloyd both produced and directed The Divine Lady, a Hollywood slant on the 19th century romance of Lord Horatio Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton. American film star Corinne Griffith, decked out in a blonde wig, is decorative but otherwise unconvincing as Lady Emma, while Hungarian-born Victor Varconi brings an inappropriate continental air to the veddy British Lord Nelson. Both stars found themselves playing second fiddle to Marie Dressler, mugging to her heart's content as Lady Emma's ambitious mother. The scandal surrounding the leading characters' illicit affair is secondary to the film's exciting reconstructions of Nelson's celebrated sea battles. Technically a silent, Divine Lady was released with a Vitaphone musical score and sound effects. Lost in the shuffle during the switch over to talkies in 1929, Divine Lady is forgotten today, totally eclipsed by the immensely successful 1941 film Lady Hamilton, starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having worn out his welcome in country-bumpkin roles, silent film star Charles Ray made an effort to re-establish himself in sophisticated parts. The Garden of Eden finds the dinner-jacketed Ray as a urbane Parisian bachelor, with Corinne Griffith co-starring as a wide-eyed rural lass. While visiting Paris, the nonplused Corinne is transformed into an elegant fashion plate by a mysterious "fairy godmother." Directed by Lewis Milestone, The Garden of Eden featurs art-direction courtesy of William Cameron Menzies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Flighty Denise Lake (Irene Rich) tries to be faithful to her husband Howard (Huntley Gordon), but while vacationing in Hungary she falls for a shabby violinist named Tade Adrian (Victor Varconi), who claims to be of noble birth. Her understanding hubby allows Denise to have her fling but arranges to reveal Adrian as a phony before he can complete his seduction. Even after learning her lesson, however, Denise can't avoid winking at the next handsome fellow who passes by. Silken Shackles represented the directorial debut of Walter Morosco, who later became a producer for 20th Century-Fox. Featured in the cast is former Sennett comedian Kalla Pasha, who enjoyed a healthy career until the early 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide