Ricardo Cortez Movies
Though his professional name was suggestive of a Latin Lover type, actor Ricardo Cortez was actually an Austrian Jew, born Jacob Krantz. He arrived in Hollywood in 1922, at a time when the Rudolph Valentino craze was at its height. Producers liked the darkly handsome Jacob Krantz but felt that neither his name nor his heritage would do for publicity purposes: thus he became Ricardo Cortez, and his birthplace shifted to Spain. Despite the fact that his roles called upon his looks more than his talent, Cortez wanted to learn to act, and to that end signed on for the 1926 film The Sorrows of Satan, directed by the legendary D. W. Griffith. But Griffith was going through a career downer, and the disappointed Cortez left the film knowing little more about acting than he had when shooting started. Nonetheless, Cortez was a popular star, so much so that he was billed above up-and-coming Greta Garbo in The Torrent, her first American picture. When sound pictures came in, Cortez' studio dragged its feet with indecision as to whether or not the actor's voice would record adequately. Cortez took matters in his own hands by starring in a cheap independent melodrama titled Phantom in the House (1929). The picture was terrible, but at least Cortez proved he could talk. On top again in the early '30s, Cortez shed his "second string Valentino" image to play wisecracking urban types, including Sam Spade in the 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon. Relegated to second leads and villains by the late '30s, Cortez decided to give directing a try, acquitting himself nicely with 1939's Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence. Eventually Cortez lost interest in Hollywood (and vice versa), choosing instead to dabble in the stock market. Though he still took the occasional film part, by the '50s Cortez was better known for his activities as a member of one of Wall Street's top brokerage firms. Not the only showbiz professional in the Krantz family, Ricardo Cortez was the older brother of cinematographer Stanley Cortez (The Magnificent Ambersons [1942]). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1921
Velma (Eva Novak) is unhappily married to Sam (Leonard Shumway), a user of demon alcohol and a notorious womanizer. He invites Velma and his mistress to take an afternoon trip on his sailboat. Sam tries to force Velma to drink a cocktail, and the virtuous Velma recoils in horror. Sam suffers a debilitating stroke after a booze binge, and a sudden storm puts Velma on a remote island all alone. A plane piloted by Lieutenant Paul Mack (Jack Perrin) makes an emergency landing for fuel. Velma and Paul fall in love with each other but are captured by a gang of vicious bootleggers led by Red Calvin (Jack Curtis). The duo manages to escape, and Paul brings Velma back home. They arrive to discover Sam has survived but is confined to a wheelchair. Velma vows to stand by her man, but Sam kills himself with a final, fatal swallow of whiskey. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eva Novak, Jack Perrin, (more)
- 1923
The premise is clichéd -- it's the usual tale of a pretty girl from the sticks trying to break into movies -- but this satire gives it a number of unexpected turns. In addition, just about every star in Hollywood -- not just those at Paramount, the releasing studio -- has a cameo at one point or another during the film's eight reels. Ironically, nearly all of the lead actors are unknowns (although George K. Arthur would become a noted character comedian). Angela Whitaker (Hope Brown) of Centreville is convinced she has a chance in Hollywood -- all her friends tell her so. So she heads West with her Uncle Joel (Luke Cosgrave) in tow. But Angela has no luck in Tinseltown, while her uncle starts landing roles left and right because of his curious image. Eventually the rest of the family, including Angela's sweetheart Lem Lefferts (Arthur), her grandmother (Ruby Lafayette), and her aunt (Eleanor Lawson) come to Hollywood. All Angela's relatives get movie work because they're character types. Finally a screenwriter tries to help Angela out, but Lem winds up landing a role instead. He becomes a star, which suits Angela just fine because she has married him. The couple have twins, and the babies -- not to mention the couple's pet parrot -- wind up in films, while Angela remains at home. The most notable cameo in this picture is Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who had been shunned in motion pictures since the 1921 scandal surrounding a Labor Day party that allegedly resulted in the death of starlet Virginia Rappe. Here he returns as a man standing in a casting line. When it's his turn to come up to the window, it is shut in his face and a "closed" sign put out. Unfortunately this gag turned out to be all too true; Arbuckle was not seen in front of a camera again until 1932. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Cosgrave, George K. Arthur, (more)
- 1923
Jazz babies and gents danced and partied their way through dozens upon dozens of motion pictures during the Roaring Twenties. After a while, all their plots became interchangeable -- the girls and guys would run wild, but in the end they would realize their parents were right after all, inspiring them to give up their frivolous ways. That's the basic formula in this comedy-melodrama, but there's some Latin American color added to give it a bit of variety. Dancer Theodore Kosloff took the starring role of Richard Forestall, who is engaged to Babs Weston (Eileen Pearcy), the daughter of a rich man (Alec B. Francis). Babs, however, isn't quite ready to settle down, as she proves by getting engaged to two more young men (Ricardo Cortez and Robert Cain). Richard takes off for an island near Cuba where his father (Frank Currier) lives. Babs continues her revelry with her other two suitors and they jump in a plane and head for Havana, where they hope to get more liquor. But the aircraft encounters a storm and is forced to land on the Forestalls' island. Richard puts all of them to work and forces Babs to forego her silly antics. She comes to appreciate his strong and serious nature and her two other boyfriends are out of luck. This film was adapted from the play Other Times by Harold Brighouse. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theodore Kosloff, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1923
Hefty comedian Walter Hiers stars in this tepid comedy. Jimmy Kirk (Hiers) is a soda jerk in love with Mamie Smith (Jacqueline Logan), the daughter of a banker (Charles Ogle). In spite of his lowly position, Jimmy has aspirations and leases a four-foot plot in hopes of building a store. Although his plan comes to naught, he does manage to save up enough money to rent a flivver at 60 cents an hour. When Smith's bank is robbed, Jimmy is accused of being the perpetrator. Even though he didn't do it, the car he rented was used and he finds the money concealed within. He captures the robbers, which entitles him to the reward -- only Smith won't give it to him since some of the bank's money flew out of the car during the pursuit. But Jimmy gets back at him by proving that the bank has encroached on his four-foot space, and he is entitled to a settlement. He also wins the lovely Mamie. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Hiers, Jacqueline Logan, (more)
- 1923
As might be expected, director Victor Fleming, who always did well with outdoorsy material, deftly handles this adaptation of Zane Grey's novel. Glenn Kilbourne (Richard Dix) was gassed during the war. When he comes home to New York he discovers that his fiancée, Carley Burch (Lois Wilson), has not only fallen in with a jazzy, wealthy crowd -- she's one of their leaders. Kilbourne can't cope with this and he has a relapse. A doctor recommends that he go to Arizona to recuperate, but once he has been there for a while he falls in love with the place and becomes a rancher. Carley goes out to see him, but she's disgusted by the rough life and goes back to New York. After visiting a hospitalized friend of Kilbourne's, however, Carley realizes that she's a quitter and she returns to Arizona. It's not a moment too soon -- Kilbourne is about to marry Flo Hutter (Marjorie Daw), a rancher's daughter. Flo knows that Kilbourne still loves Carley, so she willingly gives him up and returns to Lee Stanton (Leonard Clapham), who has been patiently waiting for her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Lois Wilson, (more)
- 1924
American engineer Robert Maury (Conway Tearle) travels to Paris with his wife, Elsie (Dorothy Mackaill). He leaves her there while he goes to Argentina on business. Elsie, like most neglected wives (at least in films), uses this opportunity to get into mischief -- she dresses exotically and draws the attention of Spaniard Don Arturo (Richardo Cortez). She goes to visit Arturo at his estate and his ardor is so passionate that she decides to write her husband a "Dear John" letter. Arturo is killed by a man who is infuriated because he ruined his daughter, and Elsie returns to Paris. When she discovers the letter hasn't arrived yet, she goes with Maury to Argentina. Arturo's servant, Juan Serafin (Lon Chaney) tracks her down with the letter. Elsie confesses all to her husband and insists that he read the letter. When they open up the envelope, it only contains a black sheet of paper -- the original has been destroyed. Maury forgives Elsie, and husband and wife are reconciled. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conway Tearle, Dorothy Mackaill, (more)
- 1924
Argentine Love is based on a novel by Vincent Blasco-Ibanez, whose Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse made a star of Rudolph Valentino. Not surprisingly, leading man Ricardo Cortez plays a Valentino clone: a headstrong Argentinian in love with fetching senorita Bebe Daniels. But Daniels prefers the company of American engineer James Rennie. Argentine Love is kept moving at a fast clip by Allan Dwan, who was far less lugubriously self-indulgent than Four Horsemen helmsman Rex Ingram. In retrospect, it is understandable that Paramount wanted to make a Valentino film without Valentino: he had recently ankled the studio in a bitter (and well-publicized) dispute over story material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bebe Daniels, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1924
When kindly saloon keeper Tim O'Day (Ben Hendricks) is killed by a thug, his wife (Louise Dresser) takes over the business. Because she feels that a saloon is not the best place to raise her little girl Molly (Vondell Darr), she hands the child over to be raised by Mrs. Kendall, a society matron (Kathlyn Williams). When prohibition comes in, Mother O'Day's saloon becomes a fancy cabaret. In the meantime, Molly (now played by Virginia Lee Corbin) has grown up to be a frivolous, self-centered flapper who gets involved with the criminally minded Mark Roth (Ricardo Cortez). Even though Molly scorns her mother, whom she does not remember, Mother O'Day is determined to put Roth behind bars. Roth becomes involved in a shooting at the cabaret. Molly is there, and it brings back the distant memory of her father's murder. She now remembers her mother, and is reunited with Cliff Kelley, her childhood sweetheart (Pierre Gendron). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Dresser, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1924
Irene Rich was one of Warner Bros.' new stars when she made this drama. Poverty-stricken singer Carol Drayton (Rich) attempts suicide, but she is saved by Rose (Louise Fazenda), a woman of the streets. They go to eat at a disreputable cafe where they are joined by the wealthy Gordon Duane (Frank Elliot). The place is raided and Carol is arrested. When she is released and wandering the streets, Carol is approached by Bobby Bleecker (Creighton Hale), who wants her to sing underneath the window of his sweetheart, Aline Sturdevant (a pre-stardom Clara Bow). Carol's beautiful voice is heard by Stratini (Marc MacDermott), a famous impresario who offers to teach her. Trouble follows her when Whitney Duane (Ricardo Cortez) falls in love with her and hears gossip about her. Then she borrows money from Bleecker to help Rose, and Aline becomes jealous of the attention her sweetheart is paying the singer. Finally, when faced with the reappearance of Gordon Duane, Carol decides to tell the truth about her past troubles. She is about to go away, but Stratini stops her and admits that he has fallen for her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Rich, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1924
This society comedy-drama was given witty direction by Allan Dwan, and was based on The Laughing Lady by respected playwright Alfred Sutro. When Marjorie Colbert (Gloria Swanson) is neglected by her husband, Hector (Allan Simpson), she spends time befriending Harrison Peters (Ricardo Cortez). Peters mistakes her attention for love and puts her in a compromising position at a house party. Hector's mother (Ida Waterman) insists that her son get a divorce, and it goes through with the help of a detective and the skill of his talented attorney, Daniel Farr (Rod LaRocque). Marjorie blames the divorce on Farr and is determined to get back at him. She makes it look like he has attacked her, which ruins his reputation. She later regrets her action and, after confessing to the press, she makes plans to leave town. Farr, however, has fallen in love with her, and stops her from leaving. Marjorie realizes that she has fallen for him, too, and the two unite. In his attempt to portray New York society as realistically as possible, Dwan cast Thelma Morgan Converse in a small role. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Swanson, Rod La Rocque, (more)
- 1924
William C. DeMille, Cecil B. DeMille's talented director brother, teamed with his favorite collaborator, scenarist Clara Beranger, for the 7-reel silent The Bedroom Window. Essentially a by-the-book mystery tale, the film is lifted from the ordinary by the expertise of DeMille and the charm of leading lady May McAvoy. She plays the daughter of a murder victim, while Ricardo Cortez co-stars as the Accused. Cortez is saved from the chair by his aunt Ethel Wales, a mystery writer. The real culprit is...well, keep your eye on the least likely, most cooperative member of the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- May McAvoy, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1924
While this Cecil B. DeMille production has many of the elements common to his pictures -- lavish, expensive sets and costumes, a high falutin' society background, and domestic turmoil -- it doesn't quite hit its mark. Part of the reason for this is the dream sequence. Instead of something spectacular and historical, DeMille took his characters into the afterworld, which was a bit morbid for the audiences of 1924. Plus, DeMille was lacking a strong female star here -- Vera Reynolds and Julia Faye just weren't Gloria Swanson or Leatrice Joy. There's an accident during a surfboard race off the coast of Catalina Island, and Kerry Harlan (Rod LaRocque) rescues Amy Loring (Reynolds). Harlan's foot has been mangled by a shark, and he is told by Dr. Fergus Lansell (Robert Edeson) that he must not walk for a year. Amy and Harlan marry, and she goes to work as a model. Dr. Lansell's wife, Bertha (Faye), becomes infatuated with Harlan, and she begins pestering him. One day when she comes over to his home, her husband shows up. Bertha climbs out on a windowsill to hide, but falls to her death. A scandal ensues and Amy walks out on Harlan. Distraught over their separation, Harlan tries to gas himself. Amy returns to find him and decides to die, too. They wind up in the afterworld together and meet up with Bertha, who takes the blame for their unhappiness. The couple are told that their time has not come. Meanwhile, on the more earthly side of things, Dr. Lansell finds their inert bodies, and, in spite of his feelings towards Harlan, he saves the pair's lives. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Reynolds, Rod La Rocque, (more)
- 1925
Having tackled a wagon train in the immensely popular The Covered Wagon (1922), James Cruze directed this would-be epic centered on the famed Pony Express. This time, however, audiences stayed away in droves. Cruze's old-fashioned staging was foremost to blame. He portrayed pretty vistas but little movement in his epics and Pony Express of course even lacked the novelty aspects that had made "Wagon" a box-office success. Austrian-born Ricardo Cortez starred as a gambler who joins the delivery service during the time of California's impending statehood. There is the obligatory Indian attack and a nasty villain played to the hilt by George Bancroft. Still and all, this silent version is superior in almost all aspects to the even more slow-moving 1953 remake starring Charlton Heston. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Compson, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1925
The 1925 silent feature The Swan was the first of three film versions of Ferenc Molnar's play. The original plot was followed to the letter in all three productions: A beautiful young princess of a mythical country, promised in marriage to a much-older prince, falls in love with her handsome tutor. The princess' "arranged" husband-to-be, a decent sort, is obliged to court the young lady, who eventually--and tearfully--sends her beloved tutor on his way. Frances Howard, later the wife of producer Samuel Goldwyn, stars in the first version while Adolphe Menjou is seen as her future husband and Ricardo Cortez is cast as the unlucky "commoner" lover. The two future versions filmed in 1930 and 1955, respectively starred Lillian Gish and (who else?) Grace Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances Howard, Adolphe Menjou, (more)
- 1925
When Rudolph Valentino left Paramount, the studio needed another Latin lover, so they picked Jacob Krantz, whose name had been changed a few years earlier to Ricardo Cortez. Although Cortez does well, the story line is obviously Valentino material. In England, Don Pedro de Barrego (Cortez) meets Dolores Annesley (Jetta Goudal), and he decides he must have her. Dolores, however, refuses to have anything to do with him. Later, when she visits Spain, she discovers he is a famous bullfighter. When Dolores is caught in a storm, she winds up at a mountain castle -- presided over by Don Pedro, who holds her captive. Don Pedro's valet, Gomez (Noah Beery), lusts after Dolores too, and he tries to help her escape. She can't get away from Don Pedro, however, which is just as well because Gomez is really the evil one. Don Pedro finally wins Dolores' love and it turns out that he is a Spanish grandee. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1925
Although trade paper Motion Picture News insisted no pun was intended, readers probably groaned anyhow when it stated that this drama was meant to prove that actress Betty Bronson was no "flash in the pan" -- after all, Bronson had just recently won the lead role in Peter Pan over every female star in Hollywood. This picture takes place in the 1850s, a charming era "not so long ago" by 1925 standards. Michael Dover (Dan Crimmins) has spent a good amount of the family finances to work on his invention -- a horseless carriage propelled by steam. To help make ends meet, his daughter Betty (Bronson) goes to work in the home of Mrs. Ballard (Julia Swayne Gordon). While Dover is getting a loan from Jerry Flint (Edwards Davis) -- who uses the carriage as collateral -- Betty is falling in love with Billy (Ricardo Cortez), her boss' son. Sam Robinson (Laurence Wheat) wants Betty for himself, and he convinces Dover to ask Billy about his intentions. Betty reaches him first and he insists that he would like to marry Betty. Unfortunately, Mrs. Ballard has other plans and fires Betty, after insisting that Billy is engaged to the wealthy socialite Ursula Kent (Jacqueline Gadson). Dover agrees to race against Richardson, who is on foot, to hold off foreclosure. The steam vehicle wins, but later it blows up. Flint is just as happy to have the money that Billy gives him for the note. It turns out that Ursula also was in love with someone else, so Billy is free to pursue his romance with Betty. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Bronson, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1925
Naturalized American Raoul Melnotte (Ricardo Cortez) travels from Chicago to his native France in search of his childhood sweetheart, Marie Dufrayne (Greta Nissen). Unfortunately, he discovers that she has become a wealthy, snobbish social climber. Since she wants a husband with a title, she has no interest in Melnotte, a modest businessman. She has also turned down the suits of the Marquis de Beaumont (Raymond Hatton) and Monsieur Glavis (Wallace Beery). When the two rejected suitors find out that Melnotte was snubbed too, they convince him to court Marie disguised as the Prince of Como and win revenge for them all. Melnotte is more than happy to oblige and weds Marie in a castle just before the real prince -- a middle-aged man -- shows up. When she realizes she has been fooled, Marie is furious. Melnotte is revealed to be her childhood sweetheart, and she is willing to accept him as her husband. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Nissen, Wallace Beery, (more)
- 1926
The Vincent Blasco-Ibanez novel Entre Naranjos served as the inspiration for Greta Garbo's first American film, The Torrent. Garbo plays Leonora, a full-bodied Spanish peasant girl who falls in love with her landlord's son Don Rafael Bull (Ricardo Cortez). To prevent his son from marrying beneath his station, Don Rafael's father banishes Leonora from his property. She relocates in Paris, where she achieves fame and fortune as an opera singer, while back at home Don Rafael becomes a prominent politician. When Leonora returns home, she spurns his offers of marriage, even during a raging flood in which her life is in Don Rafael's hands. After this spectacular sequence, the film's surprisingly unhappy ending seems anticlimactic. Garbo's lover-mentor Mauritz Stiller had originally been slated to direct The Torrent, but at the last minute MGM opted for house director Monta Bell. Whether or not Stiller could have compensated for the script's more ludicrous passages is open to conjecture: Suffice to say that, without Garbo's presence, The Torrent would have been just so much Spanish applesauce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Cortez, Greta Garbo, (more)
- 1926
Eagle of the Sea is based on Charles Tenney Jackson's swashbuckling novel Captain Sazarac. Ricardo Cortez stars as Sazarac, a bold American pirate captain who proves to be putty in the hands of New Orleans belle Louise Lestron (Florence Vidor). While dancing with Louise at a masked ball, Sazarac is recognized by General Andrew Jackson (George Irving), who gives the pirate 24 hours to get out of Louisiana. Months pass before Sazarac and Louise are reunited, and then only because Louise's treacherous uncle (Sam DeGrasse) wants to use the Captain's services in a plot to foment a war between England and Spain. But though Sazarac is a man without a country, he is still loyal to his native United States and refuses to have anything to do with the plan that might endanger his homeland. Louise likewise turns her back on her uncle, whereupon the latter contrives to have the girl kidnapped, spreading the false rumor that Sazarac was her abductor. Thus it is that Captain Sazarac must stay one step ahead of the entire American fleet to rescue Louise from her uncle and his fellow conspirators. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Florence Vidor, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1926
One of the unfortunately "lost" films of silent-screen ingenue Betty Bronson, The Cat's Pajamas casts Bronson as a naïve seamstress. Egotistical opera star Ricardo Cortez, tired of being besieged by his doting female fans, marries Bronson so that he'll be safe from his public. Naturally, it's strictly a business arrangement-or so Cortez thinks. But Bronson has every intention of being a bride in fact as well as name. The Cat's Pajamas represents one of the earliest feature-length directorial efforts of William A. Wellman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Bronson, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1926
Volcano takes forever to get to the climactic eruption. In the meantime, the audience is subjected to the travails of convent-bred Zabette de Chauvalons, who upon returning to her father's estate in Martinique discovers that daddy has died and the property is now in the hands of her evil stepmother. Because of her dusky complexion, it is assumed that Zabette is the illegitimate offspring of her French father and a local native woman, and as consequence she is forced to live in the island's mulatto district. Here she is lusted after by mulatto villain Quembo (Wallace Beery), while handsome white aristocrat Stephane Sequineau (Ricardo Cortez) vows to take the heroine away from her tawdry surroundings. On cue, a volcanic eruption solves everyone's problems -- while simultaneously laying waste to the entire island! Exceptional special effects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bebe Daniels, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1926
Though D.W. Griffith had given up his independent-filmmaker status by joining Paramount Pictures in 1926, he had lost none of his artistry, if this film is any indication. Based on a mystical novel by Marie Correlli, Adolphe Menjou stars as the elegant, sartorially splendid Prince Lucio de Rimanez--but you and I know that he's really the Prince of Darkness. When struggling writer Ricardo Cortez is moved to curse God for his misfortunes, Prince Lucio makes a sudden appearance, informing Cortez that he's inherited a fortune. The only proviso is that Cortez must place his fate entirely in the Prince's hands. As he ascends to the uppermost rungs of European society, Cortez is ordered by Lucio to marry Russian princess Lya DePutti, even though the writer still loves his pre-wealth sweetheart Carole Dempster. Eventually, Prince Lucio reveals his true satanic identity, but not before Lya has taken her own life. By rejecting the Devil and all his false promises, Cortez is permitted a happily-ever-after with Dempster. A tantalizing contemporary article describes how Sorrows of Satan was supposed to have opened with an impressive special-effects sequence, wherein we see Satan literally falling from grace; alas, this prologue was excised from the film and has been lost forever. If it is true that Griffith intensely disliked the Correlli novel upon which Sorrows of Satan was based, one would never know it from his masterful, sensitive direction. The film represented the final screen appearance of Griffith's protege (and reputed lover) Carole Dempster, who actually evinces some acting ability this time around. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1927
By Whose Hand? is a swift little thriller expertly assembled by up-and-coming Columbia Pictures. Ricardo Cortez stars as a society swell who, unbeknownst to all but insurance investigator J. Thornton Baston, is actually the daring Agent X-9. More troubleshooter than spy, Cortez is assigned to solve a baffling jewel theft. All the evidence points to Cortez' sweetheart Eugenie Gilbert, and even he is convinced for a while that she's guilty. The actual miscreant is nearly as clever and resourceful as Cortez-but only nearly. Art director Robert E. Lee does wonders convincing us that Columbia's decidedly economical sets are actually a lavish night club and a huge mansion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Cortez, Eugenia Gilbert, (more)
- 1927
Filmed on location in Manhattan, the 1927 silent New York explores themes later developed more fully in such films as Manhattan Melodrama and Once Upon a Time in America. A product of the Bowery, Trent Regan (William Powell) grows up to become a powerful gangster. Regan's girlfriend Angie Miller (Esther Ralston), hearing that her childhood sweetheart (and Regan's lifelong pal) Mike Cassidy (Ricardo Cortez) is about to marry Marjorie Church (Lois Wilson), pays a visit to Mike to offer congratulations. Convinced that Angie is fooling around behind his back, Regan accidentally kills her. When Mike is charged with the murder, Regan, feeling that "justice" has been served, keeps silent. Ultimately, however, Mike is cleared, and Regan is trapped by the testimony of their mutual chum Buck (Skeets Gallegher). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Cortez, Lois Wilson, (more)
- 1927
One of the rare American films directed by Danish auteur Benjamin Christensen, Mockery stars Lon Chaney Sr. as a half-witted Russian peasant. On the verge of starvation, Chaney is hired to guide a beautiful countess (Barbara Bedford) through the treacherous Siberian wastes. Once he arrives at the countess' home territory, Chaney is swept up by the Bolshevik movement. He comes to despise the aristocracy in general and the countess in particular, but the young woman's kindness towards him weakens his revolutionary resolve. Long thought lost, Mockery was rediscovered and preserved in the mid-1970s; the film was based on a story by Stig Esbern. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lon Chaney, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
