Emmett Corrigan Movies

The Bitter Tea of General Yen is the oddest, least characteristic talkie effort of director Frank Capra. Barbara Stanwyck stars as the intended of an American missionary (Gavin Gordon) who is sent to spread the good word in China. During a military revolution, Stanwyck and her fiance inadvertently wander into forbidden territory while trying to help a group of orphans escape. The couple is forcibly detained by elegant warlord General Yen (played by Swedish actor Nils Ashter), who relies upon the financial advice of drunken American expatriate Walter Connolly. Yen is overcome with desire at the sight of Stanwyck; at first repulsed by his attentions, Stanwyck finds herself strangely drawn in by his charisma. When everyone but Connolly deserts Yen when he needs them most, Stanwyck offers to stay behind with the General. Fearing that he will never be able to truly attain the woman he so loves, the honorable General Yen commits suicide by drinking poisoned tea rather than put her in harm's way. The one scene that everyone remembers takes place during one of Stanwyck's fevered dreams, in which she imagines Yen as a Fu Manchu-type rapist, who then melts into a gentle, courtly suitor. Directed with the exotic aplomb of a Josef von Sternberg by the usually down-to-earth Frank Capra, The Bitter Tea of General Yen was unfortunately a box office failure, due in great part to its miscegenation theme (this was still 1933). Even so, the film was chosen as the first attraction at the new Radio City Music Hall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The factual story of H.A.W. Tabor and "Baby Doe" was the inspiration of Silver Dollar. Edward G. Robinson plays the Tabor counterpart, a prospector who strikes it rich with a silver mine. Robinson establishes the city of Denver, strongarms his way into political power, buys every creature comfort he can get his hands on, and deserts his faithful wife (Aline McMahon) for a flashy younger woman (Bebe Daniels, playing the character based on Tabor's mistress "Baby Doe"). Robinson is ruined by the decline of the silver market, spending his last days in near-madness planning and dreaming for a return to his glory days. In real life, it was Baby Doe who went insane, living (and dying) in a tiny shack near the once-prosperous silver mine. Stodgily directed, Silver Dollar isn't nearly as surrealistic as the true story it's based on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this detective drama, a gumshoe falls in love with a torch singer who is unfortunately, involved with a crook. The two lovers then take off to Bermuda, but not before the crook double-crosses his own gang. The detective is then persuaded into following the two and bringing the traitor back to his gang. He does so, but just as the gang is about to double-cross and kill him, motorcycle cops intervenes. Justice prevails, and romance ensues as the remaining two begin to finally fall in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Russian Revolution provides the backdrop for Paramount's The World and the Flesh. Marked for death by the Bolsheviks, a group of incognito aristocrats try to escape Russia by boxcar. The story focuses on one of these refuges, Maria Yasaka (Miriam Hopkins), the mistress of Grand Duke Dmitri (Alan Mowbray). Arriving in a French seacoast village, the little party is about to sail to England when the town is taken over by Russian sea captain Kylenko (George Bancroft). To save her travelling companions from arrest and execution, Maria pulls a Boule de Suif and sleeps with Kylenko -- only to fall in love with him. There's suspense aplenty in the final scenes of World and the Flesh, when it appears that everyone, heroine included, is doomed to face a firing squad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Of interest mainly because of the talent involved, this film remains a tepid bootleg melodrama about a small-town football hero attempting to prove that he is as ruthless as his rich girlfriend's father. Spoiled Alison Corning (Alison Loyd) persuades her Wall Street banker father (Emmett Corrigan) to hire her newest beau, gridiron star John Hawkes (Chester Morris). Hawkes, however, does not approve of the banker's heartless business practices and is fired for refusing to sell questionable stock. To get back at Corning, John and his tipsy sidekick Chub Hopping (Frank McHugh), go into business together, hijacking the bootleg cargo of gangster Big John (Fred Kohler) and selling the contraband to Corning. Big John, as it turns out, is employed by the banker, who is thus made to pay for his own liquor twice. A couple of gang members, Slim (Ned Sparks) and Sophie (Mayo Methot), conspire with Hawkes to doublecross Big John and are killed for their efforts. Despite the ruthlessness of the gangster and his henchman Fish Face (Frank Rice), Hawkes manages to get the upper hand, proving once and for all that he is the banker's equal and worthy of Alison's love. Corsair (which was the name of Chester Morris' pirate vessel) was produced at Catalina Island by silent screen director Roland West as a showcase for for his girlfriend Thelma Todd. A gifted comedienne, Todd was made to change her name to Alison Loyd for the occasion, but producer-director West gave her very little to work with, and she quickly returned to her former employer, comedy king Hal Roach. West, who had helmed a couple of interesting silent melodramas, ended his screen career with Corsair, opening instead a restaurant with Todd as his partner. The Thelma Todd Sidewalk Café on Pacific Coast Highway just north of Santa Monica remained a popular industry hangout until Todd's mysterious death in 1935 from carbon monoxide poisoning in a garage belonging to Roland West's estranged wife, silent screen actress Jewel Carmen. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this mystery set at an Army post, two women are having a passionate affair with a soldier. The trouble begins when one of the women's husbands is mysteriously killed. The conniving daughter of the commanding officer is behind the death, but she tries to frame her lover. Later when the accusatory finger is pointed at her and evidence of her guilt is presented, the woman commits suicide. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Turmoil was one of Booth Tarkington's most popular novels, and when Universal brought it to the screen, they assigned it to director Hobart Henley, who had directed another Tarkington book-turned-film, The Flirt. James Sheridan Sr. (Emmett Corrigan) is a powerful industrial force in his town, and he expects his three sons to follow in his footsteps. Two of them, Jim (Theodore Von Eltz) and Roscoe (Edward Hearn), willingly follow his decree, but Bibbs (George Hackathorne), the youngest, wants to become a writer. Sheridan forces him to go to work at the shop and he falls apart. The other sons are faring even worse -- Roscoe is so wrapped up in business that his wife Sybil (Eileen Pearcy) gets involved with a womanizer. Jim is drowned when a dam he is working on bursts. Mary Ventrees (Eleanor Boardman) had become engaged to Jim even though she didn't love him, and Bibbs falls for her. He knows that her family has little money, so he proposes. When she turns him down, Sheridan, who has come to see the error of his ways, works on Bibbs' behalf to bring the young people together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Marshall Neilan's fame as a director of quality films was at its peak during the period this romantic melodrama was made. Because he married without the czar's consent, Prince Sergei (Richard Travers) is banished to Siberia. After having a baby girl, Sergei's wife dies. His enemies have ordered his death, so Sergei has to flee Siberia, leaving his child in the care of Vassily (Emmett Corrigan), who raises her as his own. By the time the girl, Vera, has grown to young womanhood (to be played by Lucille Rickson), the revolution has occurred and Godunoff, a Cossack brigand (Elmo Lincoln, best known as cinema's first Tarzan) declares himself governor of the province. Soldiers are sent to Siberia, among them American Walter Stanford (Conrad Nagel), who falls in love with Vera. When he is ordered back to the States, he leaves Vera in the care of his friend, Winkie, a British sergeant (Sydney Chaplin, in a bit of comic relief). Godunoff tosses Vassily in prison and forces Vera to marry him. His brutal treatment of her makes her deaf. Stanford comes back for Vera, and Godunoff heads for the shrine which is their meeting place. Vera innocently locks the door on him, not realizing that this will mean his death. With him out of the way, she is able to sail for America with Stanford. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide