Nell Craig Movies

Harold Lloyd plays Ezekial Cobb, a missionary's son who has spent his entire life in China. Cobb is sent to his father's home church in California, where it is hoped he will find a wife. A true babe in the woods, Cobb is befriended by politician Jake Mayo (George Barbier). Mayo is a cog in a crooked political machine whose bosses plan to set up a "reform" candidate for mayor, so that they can continue their underhanded activities unmolested. The candidate drops dead, so Mayo sets up the innocent Cobb as the mayor-to-be--a "cat's paw" to deflect attention from the system's corruption. But once elected, Cobb takes his duties quite seriously and begins to clean up the town. The machine frames Cobb with planted evidence of wrongdoing, destroying the lad's political career. Undaunted, Cobb remembers the story of an ancient Chinese leader, who, similarly disgraced, took the law in his own hands and executed all known criminals in his last days of power. Cobb orders that every crook in town be rounded up and brought to a dark cellar. He insists that they confess their crimes or face instant death--and backs up his words by "beheading" two of the crooks on the spot! Actually, these executions are cleverly designed magical illusions, and no one is really killed; but the terrified criminals are so hoodwinked by Cobb's apparent cold-bloodedness that they literally climb over one another to confess. Cobb is exonerated, and honesty is restored to his administration. While not Harold Lloyd's best feature film, The Cat's Paw is definitely his most unorthodox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cimarron was the first Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture--and, until Dances with Wolves in 1990, the only one. The film begins on April 22, 1889, the opening day of the great Oklahoma Land Rush on the Cherokee Strip. Boisterous Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his land claim by the devious Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Instead of becoming a homesteader, Cravat establishes a muckraking newspaper, and with pistols in hand he becomes a widely respected (and widely feared) peacekeeper. He also displays a compassionate streak by coming to the defense of Dixie Lee, who is about to be arrested for prostitution. Cravat's insistence on sticking his nose into everyone's affairs drives a wedge between him and his young wife Sabra (Irene Dunne), but she stands by him--until he deserts her and her children, ever in pursuit of new adventures. Sabra takes over the newspaper herself, and with the moral support of her best friend, Mrs. Wyatt (Edna May Oliver), she creates a powerful publishing empire. Cimarron makes the mistake of placing most of the action early in the film, so that everything that follows the spectacular opening land-rush sequence may feel anti-climactic. While it's always enjoyable to watch Irene Dunne persevering through the years, it's rather wearing to sit through the overblown performance of Richard Dix, who seems to think that he can't make a point unless it's at the top of his lungs. Cimarron creaks badly when seen today, but it still outclasses the plodding 1960 remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This so-so Jackie Coogan vehicle was based on the novel, A Dog of Flanders, by Ouida -- and the dog in the film, by the way, is the famed Mack Sennett canine, Teddy. When his mother and grandfather die, little Nello (Coogan) is left all alone in the Dutch village of St. Agneten. The only one who will befriend him is Alois (Jean Carpenter), the young daughter of Baas Cogez (Lionel Belmore), the richest man in the village. Cogez drives Nello away, and he is befriended by canine Petrasche (Teddy). When Cogez's barn burns to the ground, Nello is blamed. He is about to be sent to an orphanage when famed artist Jan Van Dullen (Josef Swickard) comes to town offering a prize for the best sketch done by a child. Nello enters the competition, but his drawing is overlooked and another child wins. The youngster gets lost in a snowstorm, but Van Dullen discovers his drawing and goes looking for him. Petrasche helps him find Nello, who is near death. Cogez comes to respect the lad, and Van Dullen adopts him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although the story to this Harry Carey Western is pretty weak, it still has some amusing moments. Carey plays Blake, who is saved from a stampede by his pal Saunders (Charles LeMoyne). Saunders, however, is badly injured and winds up an invalid without the use of his legs. Blake loyally cares for his friend and then gets himself in a mess of trouble because of Saunders' son, Cons (Cullen Landis), who has turned into a desperado. A half-breed girl is upset with Blake because he is impervious to her charms, and she vindictively helps some bandits rustle his herd of cattle, which leaves him unable to pay a debt to the town's richest man. When the man is found dead, both Blake and Cons are suspects. Cons eventually reforms, Blake's innocence is proven, and he marries Diane (Vola Vale), his mail-order bride. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Since his British accent remained conveniently unheard during the silent era, Reginald Denny made a wonderful all-American hero. He's nicely cast in this romance based on the novel by Jack London. Pat Glendon (Denny) has been raised in the California mountains by his ex-pugilist father (Charles K. French); although the young man is physically powerful, he's so shy around women that he literally runs away from them. Glendon Sr. encourages his son to pursue a career in the ring, and he becomes successful enough to earn the nickname "the Abysmal Brute." His problems with girls continue, however, until he saves society miss Marion Sangster (Mabel Julienne Scott) from drowning. Their acquaintance turns quickly to romance, but Pat has trouble adjusting to the social graces, in addition to hiding his profession from Marion. Not unless he can strip away all hint of his former bashfulness will he have a chance to beat out his romantic rival and win the girl. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

After the success of Humoresque, pictures that extolled the virtues of dear old mom and pop were rampant. Mom was featured in the majority of these sentimental dramas, but occasionally dad would have his day, as he did here. The Goldwyn studios took care to make this a classy production -- Rupert Hughes directed and wrote it, while the art director was Cedric Gibbons, whose reputation was on the rise. Although he graduated from that time-worn university, the college of hard knocks, the tireless efforts of John P. Grout (Claude Gillingwater, Sr.) have paid off. He owns a number of department stores and his wife (Kate Lester) and children (Patsy Ruth Miller and Richard Tucker) are well provided for. However, his family is completely ungrateful and takes him -- and his money -- for granted. Grout's attempts to keep them all happy are driving him to bankruptcy and he eventually becomes seriously ill. Eventually his wife and kids come to realize how badly they've treated Pops, and he recovers to find his family far more appreciative of him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

When Gerald Elliot (Jay Eaton) becomes involved with Lotta St. Regis, a notorious snake dancer (Nell Craig), his cousin Christina (Wanda Hawley) decides to rescue him from her clutches. She heads over to Lotta's house, as does Adrian Maitland (Jerome Patrick), whose younger brother is also involved with the vamp. Christina and Maitland meet on Lotta's front porch, and he mistakes her for the snake dancer. She allows him to believe this, and he takes her prisoner on board his yacht. Christina finally tells him she's not Lotta, but he has fallen in love with her, so they get married. They keep it a secret, however, until Lotta tells Gerald's family that Christina compromised herself with Maitland. The couple pulls out their wedding license and Gerald dumps Lotta, who shrugs her shoulders and goes off in search of her next victim. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The profits accrued by Essanay's Charlie Chaplin and Broncho Billy Anderson films enabled them on occasion to turn out a limited-appeal feature like 1916's The Breaker. Bryant Washburn plays a door-to-door salesman who comes into possession of a satchel of counterfeit money. Girl detective Nell Craig trails Washburn, planning to slip the cuffs on him at a moment's notice. Instead, she falls in love with him. Beyond the gender-switching in the leading roles, The Breaker is hardly out-of-ordinary material, but Essanay was able to attain good bookings all the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "old" fogey mentioned in the title of this circus drama was actually middle-aged -- Ezra, a bookkeeper (Sam Coit), goes to the circus only to please his boss' little girl. Long ago he had taken his sweetheart, Alva (Nell Craig), to the circus and she wound up running away with the ringmaster; he hasn't wanted to see a circus ever since. But now that he's there, not only do his memories come back to haunt him, so does Alva -- she's working as a lion tamer, and still involved with the ringleader, who never married her. Life has hardened her, and she sees Ezra as an old fogey. To keep in her lover's good graces, she swindles Ezra out of ten thousand dollars that belongs to his boss. But when she hands it over to the ringmaster, she discovers that he is seeing another woman. A fight between the three of them breaks out and the other woman is accidentally shot. The ringmaster, believing he will be held for her murder, runs into the hills. While the police are looking for him he is killed by an escaped lion. The ten thousand dollars is returned to Alva who, filled with remorse, returns it to Ezra. He takes back the money but refuses to have anything more to do with her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide