Howard Emmet Rogers Movies

With a star-director combination like Tommy Meighan and Allan Dwan, how could Tin Gods not succeed at the box office? After the death of his child in an accident, engineer Roger Drake (Meighan) parts company with his politically ambitious wife Janet (Aileen Pringle). Unable to hold onto a job in the U.S., Drake ends up working on a treacherous bridge project in South America. Stricken with fever, Drake is saved through the tender ministrations of native girl Carita (Renee Adoree). But when he recovers, our hero indicates that he may wish to reconcile with his wife, whereupon the heartbroken Carita jumps off the newly-completed bridge to her death. Profoundly affected by this, Drake elects to remain in South America long enough to build a shrine for his lost love. Among the screenwriters for Tin Gods was actor Paul Dickey, who'd previously played Guy of Gisborne in the Allan Dwan-directed Robin Hood (1922). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's a shame that so many of the silent directorial efforts of the innovational Gregory La Cava no longer exist. LaCava's Paradise for Two certainly sounds interesting, and any film combining the talents of Richard Dix and Betty Bronson can't have been too shabby. In addition, the witty subtitles were provided by renowned New York-wit Robert Benchley, representing one of his first forays into moviemaking. The story concerns a bachelor named Steve Porter (Richard Dix) who must be married within two days to collect his family fortune. Not wishing to tie the matrimonial knot just yet, Steve hires budding actress Sally Lane (Betty Bronson) to pose as his wife. The plot is predictable in the extreme, but surely LaCava and Benchley imbued the story with a clever surprise or two. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This was comedian Harold Lloyd's last silent film, and one of his most charming. Lloyd's character here is called Harold "Speedy" Swift, an upbeat young man whose fatal attraction for baseball always causes him to lose his jobs. After his latest firing, he impulsively spends a day at Coney Island with his sweetheart, Jane Dillon (Ann Christy). Ann's grandfather, Pop Dillon (Bert Woodruff), meanwhile, has a dilemma -- he runs the last horse-drawn trolley in New York City, and the railway magnates desperately want his route. Since Pop won't sell it to them, they plan to get it by underhanded means. Pop must make his rounds at least once every 24 hours, so the magnates hire thugs to stop him. Speedy hears about this plan and, being gainfully unemployed, takes over the route to protect the old man. But the magnates then steal the trolley, and the climax of the film involves Speedy's dash to find the trolley and get it back to its route before the 24 hours are up. He makes it just in time and then forces the magnates to buy the route for a cool 100,000 dollars. This picture was shot on location in a Manhattan that now looks almost quaint for all its concrete and steel. Baseball legend Babe Ruth had a cameo role, playing himself as a very harassed fare when Speedy is working as a cabbie. Their wild ride ends at the old Yankee Stadium. Other historically interesting sites include Coney Island's Luna Park, and Columbus Circle and Wall Street as they were in 1928. In the film's climax, the trolley has a spectacular crash at the Brooklyn Bridge -- this accident was not planned, but was left in the film anyhow. At the time of this picture's release, Lloyd was a top box-office draw, a bigger moneymaker than Charlie Chaplin (whose releases during the '20s was infrequent) and Buster Keaton (whose quirky comedy wouldn't be fully appreciated for several decades). While Lloyd made some fairly amusing sound films, he never again matched the quality of his silent work. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Based on "Bride 66", a tone poem by composer Herbert Stothart, The Lottery Bride takes place in a distinctly Hollywoodized Norway. Ever on the lookout for extra cash, heroine Jenny Swanson (Jeanette MacDonald) coerces her sweetheart Chris Svenson (John Garrick) to participate with her in a three-day marathon race. When the exhausted couple fails to win first prize, Jenny enters herself in a "wife lottery." Though the lucky winner appears to be Chris's older brother, it is actually Chris himself -- but he isn't aware of it, having embarked on a dirigible expedition to the Yukon. Only after surviving a crash landing does Chris return home for a blissful reunion with Jenny. With a plot this silly, why did the producers bother to hire Joe E. Brown and ZaSu Pitts as comedy relief? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this faithful adaptation of the popular 1925 Broadway hit musical, a Bible salesman helps three women with their troubles and finds himself in deep when all three show up at his Atlantic City cottage simultaneously. Songs include: "Dance of the Wooden Shoes," "As Long as I'm With You," "King of the Air," "No, No Nanette," "Dancing to Heaven," "Tea for Two," and "I Want to be Happy." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an oily tongued sleazy lawyer, who specializes in injuries, makes sure all of clients, regardless of the size of their injuries, make it big in court. He is assisted by a thoroughly convincing doctor who can make the smallest bruise look like life-threatening internal bleeding. The lawyer is so successful, that one of the companies he constantly sues attempts to get him disbarred. To prove that he's a shyster, the company hires a pretty woman to seduce the truth out him. Unfortunately, they end up falling in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

There's nothing wrong with Hold Your Man that a little editing wouldn't cure. Clark Gable plays a raffish young petty crook who hides out in hard-boiled Jean Harlow's apartment after he pulls off a robbery. Harlow enjoys Gable's company, and soon the two are living together. Gable puts his criminal career on hold for a while, but when Harlow, jealous of her boy friend's womanizing, fabricates a romance with "wealthy" laundry owner Paul Hurst, Gable decides to knock over Hurst's establishment. Hurst is accidentally killed, whereupon Gable runs off to parts unknown, leaving Harlow to take the rap. While in prison, Harlow discovers she's pregnant with Gable's baby. The conscience-stricken Gable tries to fix things by sneaking into prison and hastily marrying Harlow. By coming out of hiding, Gable allows himself to be arrested, but Harlow promises to wait for him. Hold Your Man starts out as an acerbic "sez you" comedy-drama, then bogs down into a big pile of sentimental goo (a common problem with MGM films of the early 1930). Still, the first few reels are infinitely entertaining, thanks to the chemistry between Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

MGM was seldom content to just film a mystery; the story had to be dressed up in some elaborate, unorthodox fashion. Mystery of Mr. X is given an additional visual boost by setting the story in 19th century London, allowing for a full array of the costumes and plush backgrounds of the era and locale. Robert Montgomery is an elegant jewel thief who happens to be working the same territory where a mysterious murderer has struck. Montgomery deduces that the killer, whose victims are all constables, is operating in a pattern resembling the letter "X". To avoid being mistakenly arrested as the murderer, Montgomery endeavors to second-guess where the killer will strike next--and then lies in wait to trap Mister X himself. Adapted from a novel by Philip MacDonald, Mystery of Mr. X was remade in 1952 as The Hour of Thirteen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Unguarded Hour opens with prosecutor Sir Alan Deardon (Franchot Tone) in the midst of a murder trial. He gets his conviction, while his wife, Lady Helen (Loretta Young), sits furrow-browed on the sidelines. Helen had witnessed the murder and thus can prove that the condemned man (Dudley Digges) is innocent. But she cannot come forth with this information without revealing a past indiscretion in her husband's life, for which she is being blackmailed. To make a long story short, which MGM didn't, Sir Alan ends the film not as a prosecutor in a murder case, but as the prosecuted. Based on a play by Ladislas Fodor and Bernard Merivale, The Unguarded Hour represented the Hollywood debut of that splendidly satanic villain Henry Daniell, cast to type as the blackmailer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Newlywed Carolyn Martin (Barbara Stanwyck) has been raised to expect the finer things in life, but these are things that can't be provided by her working-stiff husband Michael (Gene Raymond). Hoping to supplement the family coffers, Carolyn offers to take a job, but the chauvinistic Michael won't hear of it, insisting that the couple live on his measly 35 dollars per week, causing no end of trouble when wifey overextends her bank account. When millionaire Hugh McKenzie (Robert Young) enters her life, Carolyn is sorely tempted to walk out on her husband -- and, as indicated by the film's title, she does. Ultimately, however, money flies out the door when love flies back in the window. Counterpointing the marital travails of our hero and heroine is the contentious union between Mattie and Paul Dodson (Helen Broderick and Ned Sparks), who've learned to be happy while miserable. Black comic actor Willie Best is prominently billed in The Bride Walks Out, but his role was cut down to a mere walk-on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sleazy lawyer gains clients by showing up at terrible accidents. His boss is determined to stop him so he hires a pretty girl to cozy up and coerce the truth out of the ambulance-chaser. Unfortunately, the boss doesn't count on the romance factor and sure enough, love blossoms between the girl and the shyster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The famous outlaw rides again in this fictionalized western that chronicles Billy's turn from criminal to fine upstanding citizen. The film received an Oscar nomination for its color cinematography. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

For Me and My Gal, a leisurely period musical, represents the first on-screen dancing of MGM's new star Gene Kelly. Judy Garland plays a member of a vaudeville troupe consisting of herself, George Murphy, Ben Blue and Lucille Norman. She leaves the act to join up with Kelly, who promises to propel her to the big time. Two unsuccessful years later, Garland and Kelly are still struggling in the small time, while Murphy and his bunch are headliners. Kelly nearly throws Garland over for singer Marta Eggerth, but Judy remains loyal--at least until Kelly deliberately breaks his hand to avoid serving in World War I. Having lost her brother Richard Quine to the war, Garland denounces Kelly as a coward and walks out. Kelly redeems himself by joining an overseas entertainment troupe, saving several lives when he finds himself under attack on the front. Judy and Gene are at last reunited in Paris. A major break for both Gene Kelly and Judy Garland (who proved once and for all in this film that she was no longer just a "juvenile"), For Me and My Gal was based on a story by Howard Emmett Rogers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide