William Parker Movies

Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was making the transition from modern romantic stories to adventures when The Nut was made -- The Mark of Zorro was the picture before this one, and The Three Musketeers would come after. He doesn't do as many of his famous stunts here, either -- he suffered a serious injury while jumping out a window in one scene and production had to be halted while he healed. This no doubt forced him to slow down, and at some point between this picture and the mid-1920s he secretly began using a double for some stunts (actor/stuntman Richard Talmadge was the man used). The title character that Fairbanks plays is Charlie Jackson, a Greenwich Village character who invents Rube Goldberg-style contraptions. He uses them to please his friends and his sweetheart, Estrell Wynn (Marguerite De La Motte) but more often than not, they backfire. Estrell, who lives in his apartment building, wants to benefit slum children by having them entertained with the help of New York's biggest society names. This gives Jackson a new project to undertake; to get publicity he steals a load of wax statues from a show and is pursued by cub reporter Pernelius Vanderbrook (Morris Hughes). A gambler (Gerald Pring) who lusts after Estrell tricks her into coming to his apartment. Jackson saves her from being compromised and helps her escape by taking her through the furnace pipes of the building. Featured in the story is a lawn party where Fairbanks is imitating a number of famous figures, one of them being comedian Charles Chaplin. This was actually the real Chaplin (a good pal of Fairbanks') parodying himself. Supposedly, Chaplin did all the other imitations, too. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

An early directorial effort by King Vidor, The Jack Knife Man is based on a sentimental story by Ellis Parker Butler. Vidor avoids many of the obvious Pathos pitfalls of the Butler original, turning out a story that is as credible as it is heartwarming. Fred Turner stars as a lonely old man who lives on a decrepit houseboat. His dour outlook on life is brightened a bit when he meets a small orphaned boy. The two "outcasts" share many an adventure over the next five reels, enjoying a happy ending despite several last-reel reverses. Florence Vidor, then the wife of the director, appears in Jack Knife Man in the small role of Mrs. Montgomery. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Playboy Franklyn Farnum inherits a Western ranch on the condition that he shall run it properly for 6 months. A villain (none other than Lon Chaney) makes an attempt to distract him from reaching the goal, but Farnum, no longer the wastrel of yore, persists and becomes full owner of the property. Despite a strong supporting cast -- including veteran vamp Claire Du Brey, the always menacing Sam De Grasse and, of course, Chaney -- Anything Once was deemed only fair entertainment by most reviewers. The rough-hewn Farnum, despite hailing from Boston, was decidedly miscast as a socialite. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This drama was based on the then-popular novel by Richard Hardin Davis. Billy Winthrop (Franklyn Farnum) is the idle son of Samuel Winthrop (Al Filson). When Billy discovers that it's destroying his father financially to constantly get him out of trouble, he straightens up. Although Billy loves Beatrice Forbes (Edith Johnson), she is already engaged to marry Ernest Peabody (Sam deGrasse), the son of banker Cyrus Peabody (Howard Crampton). Billy and Beatrice plan to elope, but it isn't as easy for them to run off together as they thought it would be. They get tangled up in situations involving forgery and murder that need to be solved before they can get married. Both Peabody father and son are revealed as the crooks. Director Joseph deGrasse was the older brother of Sam deGrasse. A pre-stardom Lon Chaney has a small but intense role as Beatrice's father, Paul Revere Forbes. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi