Louis B. Mayer Movies
Former junkman Louis B. Mayer rose to become one of the most influential and powerful men in Hollywood during the '30s and '40s, when he was the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, once considered the grandest of Hollywood studios that claimed to have "more stars than there are in the heavens." He was born Eliezer Mayer in Minsk, Russia. The son of a laborer, he emigrated with his family to New York during his childhood. They then moved to St. John, New Brunswick, Canada where young Mayer helped out in his father's successful junk and scrap metal operation. As a young man, Mayer went to Boston and set up his own junk business. He too was successful and after marrying a kosher butcher's daughter in 1904, bought a ramshackle motion picture theater in Haverhill, Massachusetts for a song. After renovating it, he vowed only to show the best films. The gambit was successful and he continued buying theaters until he owned New England's largest theater chain. He then began working in film distribution during 1914 -- when The Birth of a Nation came out, he made a fortune. In 1917, after founding a production company -- first called Alco, and then Metro -- Mayer moved to L.A. with star Anita Stewart. Metro was purchased by studio helmer Marcus Loew in 1924. Loew also bought up controlling interests in the Goldwyn company and in Louis B. Mayer Pictures; the result was MGM, and Mayer was appointed vice-president. He remained there until he was forcibly ousted in 1951. It was Mayer who set the tone of the studio and he quickly became a grandfather figure to all. Though not universally beloved, Mayer was respected for his talent for understanding the public's wants. He was adept at picking personnel and stars; very conservative, he sought to impose his high moral standards upon the films MGM produced, thus many of the films were family oriented. To create his high-quality films, he hired only the best of the best. His first production chief was the brilliant Irving Thalberg. At his apex, Mayer was the highest paid person in the United States, making well over a million dollars a year. The conservative Mayer was also politically active and served as the California state chairman of the Republican party for many years. It was Mayer who formed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the source of the Oscars) in 1927. In 1951, his production chief since 1941, Dore Schary, successfully dethroned King Louis. Mayer then became acting advisor to the Cinerama corporation. The rest of his life was spent unsuccessfully trying to regain some kind of financial control over MGM. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1922
Wealthy Julia Long (Mabel Trunelle) is in love with a poor boy, but Julia's snobbish mother (Helen Strickland) forces her into a loveless marriage with millionaire George Bender (Robert Connesse). Out of boredom, Julia begins taking singing lessons, and before long she has fallen in love with her handsome voice teacher. She runs off to Paris with the teacher, leaving her daughter in Bender's care. Soon afterward, Julia's paramour deserts her, leaving her to fend for herself. Luckily, she makes all the right contacts, and before long she is the reigning opera diva of Paris. Eighteen years later, Julia returns to America, hoping for a reconciliation with her now-grown daughter Cora. Our heroine discovers that her social-climbing mother is still up to her old tricks, trying to marry off Cora to a mercenary European nobleman. It so happens, however, that Julia has herself had an "experience" with Cora's smarmy fiance, and she uses this leverage to break up the engagement, thereby ensuring her daughter the happiness that she herself has never truly enjoyed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Stewart, Darrel Foss, (more)
- 1921
Popular silent star Anita Stewart is the draw in this soap opera-like feature. Julie Laneau, a French-Canadian girl (Stewart) weds distinguished Englishman Geoffrey Arnold (Herbert Rawlinson) and soon enough, she is expecting. But then she is told that Arnold is already married to a woman, Claire (Grace Morse). Julie flees from their cabin in the Northwoods into a blizzard, where she is found by Hubert Randolph (Walter McGrail). Randolph takes her in and takes care of her. He offers to marry her and take her with him to Jamaica and she accepts. But their life together is a disappointment -- Randolph gets so wrapped up in his political ambitions that he neglects Julie and her little boy (Richard Headrick). Randolph wants to become governor, and he asks Julie to help him entertain an important guest who will help him achieve this goal. It turns out the man is Arnold, and she refuses. The two meet up anyhow, and it turns out that she was his legal wife after all. After hearing the whole story, Randolph willingly gives Julie back to Arnold. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Stewart, Herbert Rawlinson, (more)
- 1921
Popular silent star Anita Stewart wasn't immune to appearing in routine program pictures, and this mystery has little to recommend it other than her presence. The lusty Arthur Comstock (Walter McGrail) tries to force himself on lovely Sylvia Langdon (Stewart). In an attempt to escape his unwanted advances, Sylvia hurls a candlestick at him, knocking him senseless. She sees his prostrate form through a window and is convinced she has killed him. She marries her fiancé, Bentley Arnold (Allan Forrest), and tries to forget the incident. But she's in for a shock when she and Arnold throw a party at their home and Comstock shows up. Sylvia dashes out of the room in shock and Comstock follows after her. Instead of demanding her body, however, he demands that she give him the family jewels. Comstock, it turns out, murdered his uncle, and it was his body that Sylvia had seen through the window. Comstock's attempts at thievery are foiled and he gets his due. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
One of the silent era's more popular leading ladies, Anita Stewart, stars in this colorful but not particularly true-to-life picture. Alice Lambert (Stewart) has had a hard life, full of sadness and disillusionment. One day she finally decides to end it all, but she is discovered by David Leighton (Walter McGrail) before she can go through with it. By calling her a coward and a quitter, Leighton convinces her to rethink what she is about to do and strikes a deal with her: He will give her 50 thousand dollars to stay alive for another year, at the end of which she can kill herself. With her sudden wealth, Alice is able to surround herself in luxury -- and she also learns along the way that money isn't everything. At the end of the year, Alice has come to realize that she actually has quite a lot to live for, and one of her reasons is Leighton. He proposes and she is more than happy to accept. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Rosamond Athelstane (Anita Stewart) has been raised in a convent, ignorant of the fact that the woman who claims to be her guardian (Myrtle Stedman) is actually her mother. Because of her sinful life, she has been keeping this fact a secret. When Rosamond discovers that this supposed guardian runs a gambling den, she is so shocked that she breaks all ties with her. A year or so passes and Rosamond manages to become a highly successful actress. She falls in love with Ned Annesley (James Morrison). She doesn't realize that Ned is the adopted son of Brabazon, the father she never knew (Ralph Lewis). There is much antagonism between Brabazon and Rosamond until everyone's identities are sorted out. The only character who doesn't end the film happily is the mother, who dies for her wicked life. Sidney Grundy's novel was shot once before, in 1916. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Stewart, Ralph Lewis, (more)
- 1920
Hilda Nordstrom (Anita Stewart) works for the Secret Service, while her twin sister Berta (also played by Stewart) leads a more wayward life. Berta -- the "Yellow Typhoon" of the title -- first marries Robert Hallowell, a wealthy young naval engineer (Donald MacDonald), and leaves him after she has run through all of his money. Then she goes from running a gambling house in the Orient to linking up with Karl Lysgaard (Joseph Kilgour). Next, in Manila, she runs into her former husband, who is working on plans for a new submarine. Lysgaard wants to get his hands on them, and he encourages Berta to cozy up to Hallowell. By now, Hilda is on her sister's case and tries to trap her. But Berta kills Hallowell, and she and Lysgaard head for New York, still in search of the plans, which are now held by John Mathison (Ward Crane). Hilda follows, but before she can capture them, Lysgaard kills Berta and then himself. Hilda winds up romantically linked with Mathison. This picture was based on a novel by Howard MacGrath which originally appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1920
Pretty Anita Stewart stars in this rough tale of the West, based on the novel by Caroline Lockart. Kate Prentice (Stewart) grows up amidst the sordid atmosphere of a roadhouse run by her mother. When she is assaulted by the vicious Pete Mullendore (the ever-so villainous Walter Long), Mormon Joe (Noah Beery) comes to her rescue. Joe is a hermit sheepherder, and he takes Kate under his wing and teaches her the trade. Some people assume that she is Joe's mistress, and gossip starts. Easterner Hughie Disston (Wallace MacDonald) is unaware of the talk, and he falls in love with Kate. He promises to return for her as soon as he graduates from college. After he leaves, Joe is murdered and Kate is assumed to be the guilty party. Since there is not enough evidence to arrest her, she remains free, but it leaves a black mark on her already damaged reputation. Nevertheless, Kate becomes wealthy in her profession, and when Disston returns, he is not sure he likes it. Mullendore has acquired sheep holdings that rival Kate's, but when he is mortally wounded in a fight, he confesses that he was the one who murdered Joe. Kate is finally accepted into the community, and once again she wins Disston's love. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1920
Anita Stewart plays a young woman with an unfortunate past in this unoriginal drama, based on a magazine story by Kathleen Norris. Harriet Field (Stewart) gets wrapped up in the carefree Greenwich Village life, and Royal Blondin (Ward Crane) tricks her into a fake marriage. When she wakes up to what she's done, she balks, but Blondin forces her to stay until he tires of her, and then he drifts away. Harriet goes to work for the Carter family as a companion to their daughter, Nina (Margaret Landis). Isabelle (Myrtle Stedman), the wife of Richard Carter (Charles Richman), is having an affair with family friend Anthony Pope (Irving Cummings). Blondin, meanwhile, shows up to romance Nina. Harriet doesn't want to see Nina's life ruined, but when she goes to Blondin, he threatens to ruin her reputation. Isabelle and Pope run away together, but they die in an auto accident. Mr. Carter confesses his love to Harriet and convinces her to marry him. She then blocks Blondin's attempt to wed Nina, and confesses everything to Carter. Carter pays Blondin a large sum of money to keep his mouth shut and leave, but before he can take the cash, he is killed by a longtime enemy. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Stewart, Ward Crane, (more)
- 1920
Charles T. Dazey's old theatrical chestnut In Old Kentucky was brought to the screen in 1920, courtesy of up-and-coming producer Louis B. Mayer. Anita Stewart, Mayer's biggest star at the time, plays mountain gal Madge Brierly, who saves the life of flatlander Frank Layson (Mahlon Hamilton). Madge falls in love with Layson, rescuing him from the clutches of a predatory female and ultimately helping him win an important horse race. That is, Layson's horse wins the race, not Layson (he's fast, but not that fast). When next we saw In Old Kentucky on screen in 1927, producer Louis B. Mayer had gone to the head of the glass as top man at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Marie (Anita Stewart), a young princess, finds herself shipwrecked and uses this as a way to escape her royal duties. She takes the guise of a hotel maid, where she meets up with Roger Sloan (Jack Holt), a rich guest. They fall in love, but the class differences keep them apart. That isn't the end of it, however -- they encounter each other again, after Marie has returned to being a princess. This time, Sloan is the one who can't marry into royalty. An impending revolution in Marie's country, however, promises that the couple will finally wind up together on the same socio-economic level. Notably, much of this film was shot at the Alexandria Hotel in downtown Los Angeles -- during the silent era it was very posh, and the hotel of choice amongst visiting film executives and stars. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Anita Stewart plays the title character. Mary Regan is the daughter of a gentleman crook and an heiress. Although she has received a good upbringing, she refuses to marry Robert Clifford (Frank Mayo) for fear of damaging his career as a city official. Some old associates of her father, Peter Loveman (George Hernandez) and Jim Bradley (Brinsley Shaw), want her to help them in their blackmailing schemes. She won't, and escapes from her trying situation by going to the mountains for a rest. Bradley brings up a reckless young man, Jack Morton (Carl Miler). Jack falls in love with Mary and proposes marriage. Mary, wanting to save him from the crooks he befriends, and wanting to save Clifford a lot of trouble, accepts Jack's offer. Mary later finds out about a scam that the crooks are trying to pull off on the wealthy Morton family and tells Clifford about it. He gets the police involved and they halt the crime. Meanwhile, Jack dies from his fast-living ways, freeing Mary to finally follow her heart and be with Clifford. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Anita Stewart had been off the screen for a year when Louis B. Mayer brought her back to star in this film, which was based on a Cosmopolitan serial by Owen Johnson. The society yarn starts off with Stewart's character, Amy, happily married to Andrew Forrester (Conway Tearle), a steel engineer. Millionaire steel magnate Maurice Delabarre (Edwin Arden) wants Andrew to come work for him, offering to double his $25,000 a year salary (an amount which, in those days, offered extremely plush living). Andrew is happy where he is, until he and Amy are invited up to the Delabarre's country estate. He is dazzled by the grand surroundings and decides to accept Delabarre's offer. The only catch is that Andrew has to spend a year roughing it in Colorado to run a steel mill. He leaves Amy behind, believing that Mrs. Delabarre (Hedda Hopper, who was billed here as Mrs. DeWolf Hopper) will take good care of her. What Andrew doesn't realize is that Mrs. Delabarre keeps a stable of male admirers hanging around, and she teaches Amy all of her wiles. She does too well, in fact, because Amy steals away Mrs. Delabarre's pet, Monte Bracken (William Boyd -- yes, none other than a very youthful Hopalong Cassidy!). The scorned woman blows the whistle on Amy and sends word to her husband of the flirtation. Andrew rushes home and, although angry, has to admit that he has never paid his wife enough attention. Then he demands that she return with him to Colorado -- in an hour. Before she can leave, however, she goes to the dock and sees the Delabarre's little boy, helpless in an outof-control motorboat. She rescues him, and the shock of this event reforms Mrs. Delabarre and brings her and her husband back together. So Amy is a bit late, but she does show up on her husband's doorstep in Colorado, and is grateful to be there. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
In spite of an all-star cast and the talents of director Marshall Neilan, there wasn't much that could be done with this overly complicated drama. Judith Rutledge (Anita Stewart) is your typical country girl who has come to the big city. She becomes a secretary to banker James Warren (Frank Currier), who comes to admire her intelligence and common sense -- qualities his grown children seem to lack. Sons Fred (Mahlon Hamilton) and Jim (Thomas Holding) are both in love with Carlotta Stanmore (Anna Q. Nilsson), a forger. When Jim is killed in a car accident, Carlotta tells Fred that his brother was the forger. To save Jim's name, Fred takes responsibility for the crimes. On his deathbed, old man Warren asks Judith to marry Fred so that she can help him carry on his business. She agrees, and marries Fred soon after, but Carlotta and Fred's sister, Penelope (Kathlyn Williams), make her life difficult. Swindler J. Wellington Yarnell (Edwin Stevens) convinces Fred to go into a partnership to develop a tract of land out west. He doesn't tell Fred that the land already belongs to Langley (Tully Marshall) and that the papers were stolen from him after he bought the property. Judith, meanwhile, thinks Fred is more interested in Carlotta than he is in her, so she heads West, where she meets Tom (Tom Santschi), Langley's son. She finds out the truth, and she and Tom halt Yarnell's scheme. Carlotta is revealed as the forger and Fred discovers that he actually loves his wife. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
The leading romantic team of the 1910s, on as well as off the screen, Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne experienced a major failure with this serial released in 18 chapters by Louis B. Mayer. The screenplay, by Fred de Gresac, was the already then hoary old story of a beautiful heiress who must fend off a series of usurpers before she can collect the reward and marry Prince Charming. Serial audiences, alas, didn't take to the Bushman/Bayne team, who was better equipped for stolid society dramas than rough-and-tumble chapterplay shenanigans. The Great Secret, in fact, marked the beginning of a rapid decline for the couple, whose careers were soon in the doldrums. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
