Robert Vignola Movies

Still hanging on in 1935 despite several financial setbacks, brave little Majestic Pictures continued turning out such worthwhile programmers as The Perfect Clue. Eloping with boyfriend Ronnie Van Zandt (Skeets Gallagher), madcap heiress Mona Stewart (Dorothy Libaire) changes her mind about marriage and runs away from her fiancé. Mona hires a car in a small town, only to discover that her chauffeur, David Mannerling (David Manners) is a hold-up man who robs her and leaves her stranded in the middle of nowhere. Having a change of heart, David returns to Mona, promising to behave himself for the rest of the ride. This proves difficult when the mismatched couple gets mixed up in a murder case, with David winding up the prime suspect. The most amusing aspect of The Perfect Clue is that neither hero nor heroine are terribly bright; truth to tell, they're both dumb as doornails. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama a father rejects his son after his wife dies in childbirth. As a result, the boy is sent to live with his relatives. Six years later, the father reconsiders and tries to regain custody of his son. A custody battle ensues with the father emerging victorious. But the victory is bittersweet as he must now cope with problems between his second wife and his son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A nightclub dancer is torn between two men -- a tough detective and an unscrupulous gangster -- in this rather lurid silent melodrama starring one of the icons of the era, "shimmy" dancer Gilda Gray. Miss Gray's kid brother Andy (Jack Egan) has fallen in with gangster Sam Roberts (Charles Byer) and the latter is shot and killed after an altercation in her dressing-room. Although an obvious case of self-defense, Andy is accused of murder by the dead gangster's moll (Mona Palma) and is forced to stow away on a liner bound for South America. Detective Tom Westcott (Tom Moore), meanwhile, tricks the moll into telling the truth and the kid is cleared of all charges. Despite her popularity on the stage and in the first screen version of Aloma of the South Seas (1926), Gilda Gray's fame was fleeting and her screen career was over by the advent of sound. Cabaret, which of course bore no relation to the later musical, was directed by one of the pioneers of the industry, Robert G. Vignola, whose career had begun with the old Kalem company back in 1908. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The Summons by Katherine Newlin Burt made for such tired movie material that director Robert G. Vignola and scenarist Albert Shelby LeVino decided to have some fun with it. The film version of this boy-gets-girl tale begins in LeVino's office, where he is trying to come up with a screenplay that will be accepted -- several have already been turned down. Allowed to pick his own star, he chooses Eleanor Boardman, who emerges from her photograph in miniature (via double exposure) and insists on picking her own leading man, selecting Matt Moore. From there the story begins in earnest, with occasional cuts back to the chain-smoking LeVino. Rosamond (Boardman) is a spirited girl who is disgusted when her beau, George (Moore), voices the opinion that women need to be treated like horses. After the couple attend a prize fight, Rosamond is arrested for speeding, but she refuses to be released into George's custody, preferring to stay behind bars -- that is, until she gets into a fight with another girl. Then, when George tries to take her to her father in the mountains, she uses an excuse to ditch him and drives off. The car careens down the mountain and she winds up in a stream. She is rescued by Brand (William Russell) and Matt (Matthew Betz), who turn out to be murderers. George tries to save her from the killers, but an avalanche separates them. Unable to think of a solution, Rosamond herself goes to LeVino for an answer and he tells her to shoot her attacker. She does, and then she and Matt return to LeVino's typewriter for a clinch on top of the keys. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The talented and beautiful Marion Davies is practically lost under the opulence of this expensive, overdone historical romance. Her producer (and lover), newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, was attempting to recreate the success of one of Davies' prior epic vehicles, When Knighthood Was in Flower. Once again he based the picture on a novel by Charles Major and brought in set designer Joseph Urban to work his magic. But this Major story wasn't as good as Knighthood and Urban did his work too well; the sets are both gorgeous and overwhelming. Ultimately, the production cost too much for Hearst to make a profit, even though the film performed well at the box office. The backdrop is fifteenth century France, and Charles, Duke of Burgundy (Lyn Harding) has promised his daughter, Princess Mary (Davies), that she can marry the man she loves, Prince Maximilian of Styria (Ralph Graves). But when the Swiss threaten war, the duke is compelled to take back his word and he arranges for Mary to wed the half-witted dauphin (Johnny Dooley) of France's King Louis XI (Holbrook Blinn). Mary, however, runs away and disguises herself as Yolanda, a commoner. At a silk fair she meets and falls in love with a strange knight, only to discover that it's Maximilian in disguise. Although she is found and turned over to be married to the dauphin, Maximilian rescues her. When the Duke of Burgundy is killed, Mary shows up with Maximilian by her side to rule over her people. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Marion Davies, who'd coincidentally later star in Cain and Mabel, is top-billed in Adam and Eva. Adam Smith (T. Roy Barnes) is appointed head of the business owned by Eva's (Marion Davies) wealthy father. It is hoped that the personable Adam will be able to curb Eva's impulsiveness and tendency to spend money faster than her dad can earn it. Adam hits upon the strategy of telling Eva that her father has gone broke. It is at this point that the girl proves she's a good egg after all by going to work to support her "destitute" dad. Adam and Eva had all the ingredients for success, but it was sabotaged by the publicity overkill generated by Marion Davies' "sponsor", publisher William Randolph Hearst. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Film critics (at least those who weren't employed by the Hearst Corporation) frequently complained about the amount of money newspaper magnate and motion picture producer William Randolph Hearst spent on the pictures starring his companion Marion Davies. When it came to this historical adventure, they certainly had fodder to lambaste the film; it cost 1.5 million dollars, a real fortune in 1922 cash. But in spite of the over-inflated budget, critics had to admit that even at a lengthy 12 reels, this was solid entertainment -- and Davies was good in it. The picture was based on the novel by Charles Major, and what it lacked in historical accuracy it certainly made up for in the sumptuous Joseph Urban sets. Mary Tudor (Davies), the younger sister of King Henry VIII (Lyn Harding), falls in love with commoner Charles Brandon (Forrest Stanley). There are other plans for Mary, however; she is supposed to make a politically strategic marriage to the elderly King Louis XII of France (William Norris). Brandon is framed for murder, but Mary, disguised as a boy, helps him to escape. Henry tracks down his sister and her lover at a Bristol Inn, and Mary agrees to wed the French king if Brandon's life is spared. After Brandon is exiled, Mary goes ahead with the wedding, but King Louis, in his attempt to prove he is lively enough for such a pretty young bride, drops dead. His nephew and heir to the throne, Francis (William Powell, in his first really important film role), wants to wed Mary, but Brandon comes to the rescue. When Henry discovers that his sister and Brandon have married, he remarks, "I should have consented in the first place, and saved us all this trouble." The Hearst machine used the film's great expense as a promotional device, and this won the criticism of one newspaper writer, who felt that Davies' talent stood on her own. Instead of being incensed, Hearst was pleased that Davies was so passionately supported, and he hired the reporter, Louella Parsons. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Enchantment is a thoroughly delightful bit of froth, tailor-made for the talents of Marion Davies. Our heroine plays Ethel, the spoiled-brat daughter of millionaire Mr. Hoyt (Tom Lewis). Inspired by a staging of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Mr. Hoyt decides that a rough-and-tumble he-man might be able to straighten out his daughter. To that end, the millionaire hires Ernest Eddison (Forrest Stanley), the actor playing Petruchio in Shrew. Ernest talks Ethel into auditioning for an amateur production of Sleeping Beauty, then runs her roughshod during rehearsals. Ethel is on the verge of exploding when Ernest finally wins her over with a lulu of a third-act kiss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This moderately low-budget comedy-drama was nevertheless well-made. It had a good foundation -- the scenarist was Frances Marion). When things get too hot in New York, a pair of crooks, "Cat" Carter (Matt Moore) and "Loot" Follett (George Parsons), head for the country. They break into an unoccupied wing of an old house and discover the place belongs to two women, matronly Aunt Mehitabel (Mabel Bert) and her pretty niece, Dorcas (Gladys Leslie). But it may not be in the women's hands for long -- it is heavily mortgaged to a nasty old character. The crooks don't want to see these nice ladies thrown out in the cold so they decide to help. After a session with the Ouija board, Mehitabel and Dorcas become convinced that Uncle Henry, now in spirit, has hidden some treasure around the house. Carter and Follett use their wiles to make this a reality. They also catch the mortgage holder breaking into the house. The crooks part ways but when Carter, who was gone straight, comes calling on Dorcas some time later, he finds his old associate managing Mehitabel's farm. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Lila Lee spent the early part of her film career playing sweet young things in innocuous pictures such as this one. Josephine Darchat (Lee) lives in the country with her grandfather, Os Whipple (Charles Ogle). A camp belonging to the wealthy Prendergasts is located nearby. Whipple and Prendergast (Guy Oliver) are feuding over the rights to a spring, but this doesn't stop Josephine from starting a romance with the Prendergast son, Russ (Tom Forman). The young Prendergast children throw a wrench into the relationship by replacing flowers Russ leaves for Josephine with a cook's switch. When they hide Josephine's kitten and she believes it has died, it's the last straw -- she empties the spring's basin and lets out the overflow. In retaliation, Prendergast hires thugs to tear up Whipple's fences. Everything is eventually worked out, and Josephine and Russ reconcile. Finally, the kitten is found, rolling in some catnip that has been spread over its grave. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Louisiana Rogers (Vivian Martin) lives in the mountains of rural North Carolina with her father Lew (Noah Beery). Pa Rogers wants his daughter to become cultured so he sends her to the city to get an education. Her old-fashioned ways charm the townsfolk, especially playwright Laurence Ferol (Robert Ellis). Ferol is in North Carolina gathering color for a play and he goes to Louisiana's home to visit and to meet her father. She is embarrassed by her uncivilized surroundings, and when Ferol makes some uncomfortable jokes, she angrily sends him away. He returns to apologize, but one of Louisiana's old suitors has it in for him. Louisiana saves Ferol from the man's wrath and they reunite. This film was based on a book of the same title by Frances Hodgson Burnett. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Major Milligan (well-respected character actor Theodore Roberts) wanted a son but instead he got Jemmy (Shirley Mason). His wife dies giving birth to a second child, this time a boy, and a few years later the Major marries a widow with three children. As the oldest sibling, Jemmy becomes a tomboyish second mother to the brood. But when she meets up with Stanley Templeton (Niles Welch), an aviator on furlough, her femininity finally comes to the fore and a romance blossoms. Stan's wealthy mother (Helen Dunbar), however, refuses to give the union her blessing. Jemmy won't marry Stan without the mother's permission and he returns to France to continue fighting in the Great War. At this juncture, Jemmy discovers that her father is horribly in debt, and despite his protests, she rounds up all her brothers and sisters and they go to work in a factory. On the job, Jemmy uncovers the evil deeds of a German spy who is trying to destroy a quantity of airplane cloth. She is given a large reward and much publicity, and Mrs. Templeton is now sorry she disapproved of the girl. None of this can cheer up Jemmy, however, because she hasn't heard from Stan in months. But one day, as she's leaving the factory, she finds Stan waiting for her. Just then, news comes in that the armistice has been signed, and this adds to the happiness of the couple's engagement. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide