Harmon Weight Movies

In this essentially silent drama, a cultured Southern belle must work in a gambling house after her deeply indebted father kills himself. She does so in order to pay her father's debts. In this humble place, the woman meets a handsome, charming man who sweeps her off her feet and takes her away from it all. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Given a title like Hook and Ladder No. 9, just guess what this picture was about. The main story concerns the romantic rivalry between firemen Johnny (Cornelius Keefe) and Dan (Edward Hearn) over the affections of Mary (Doris Smith). When Mary weds Johnny, Dan broods himself into thoughts of revenge. But when Mary and her new baby are trapped in a burning building, Dan forgets his animosity and rescues them both. A "lady or the tiger" finale caps this better-than-average firefighting opus, which benefited from some truly terrifying conflagration scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Gertrude Short takes a break from portraying telephone operators in this Cinderella-like romantic drama. Instead she plays a little drudge, Anne Smith, who is being threatened by hoodlums. Wealthy Wellington Kingston (Creighton Hale) comes to her rescue. New York's 400 are having their annual ball, and Anne enviously watches from the outside. To her horror, a drunken guest drags her inside. Kingston sees her and comes to her aid once again. He introduces her as a princess who is visiting America in disguise. Madeline Sheivers (Rosa Rudami), who wants Kingston herself, blows Anne's cover. One of Madeline's suitors, who is tiring of her, gives Anne a job as a mannequin in his establishment. When her boss is shot and killed, Anne thinks that Kingston is the murderer. To save him, she takes the blame. The real killer is finally discovered, and Anne's rags-to-riches tale is complete when she weds Kingston. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Mary Carr (the charming old woman from Over the Hill to the Poorhouse) plays Drusilla Doane, a charity case at an old ladies' home. When Elias Arnold (Henry Barrows) gets upset with his son, Collin (Kenneth Harlan), he wills his fortune to Drusilla instead. Upon his death, the old lady finds herself a millionaire and goes to live in his mansion. After a mother deserts her baby on Drusilla's doorstep, she decides to open her home for more abandoned babies and finds her true life's purpose. Meanwhile, Collin is injured in a car accident trying to avoid hitting Sally May Ferris (Priscilla Bonner). Sally, an orphan, nurses him back to health and they marry. Daphne Thornton (Claire Du Brey), wanting to break the will and marry Collin herself, goes to work on Sally. She convinces Sally that she is ruining Collin's life, so she leaves him. While living in poverty, she has Collin's baby and she tries to leave it on Drusilla's doorstep, but she is caught and hauled into jail. She refuses to divulge her husband's name and Daphne manages to keep Collin -- who has been desperately searching for her -- out of the courtroom. Just as the baby is taken away, however, he shows up and the couple are reunited. Drusilla takes the couple in to live with her in the Arnold mansion. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

The role of American millionaire turned office clerk was quite a turnaround from playing an Indian rajah in The Green Goddess. Even so, character actor George Arliss was able to make just about any part uniquely his own, and in spite of his queer looks, became an incredibly popular film star. Here, he is steel magnate John Reeves, who is fed up with his lazy son, Chester (Ronald Colman). He cuts the young man off with only 20 dollars a week, then to set a good example, goes out and gets a job as a clerk at a rival steel company. His boss, William Hart (Taylor Holmes), is annoyed because his sister, Muriel (Edith Roberts), had adopted a little boy (Joseph Donohue). So he decides to "adopt" Reeves as his father. In the midst all of this domestic havoc, Reeves discovers that Hart's competitors are trying to ruin him. He helps save Hart's business, and when he reveals his true identity, the two men form a partnership. Meanwhile, Chester -- who has gone to work and made good -- forms a marriage partnership with Muriel. This picture was based on Franklin Adams' novel, The Adopted Father. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This formulaic drama didn't miss a cliché -- there was the small-town boy with big dreams (Kenneth Harlan), his old mother (Mary Carr), the pretty daughter (Madge Bellamy) of the wicked financier (Edwards Davis), and the villainous attorney who's really causing all the trouble (John Miljan). Put all these characters together, and the plot falls right in line -- Lafayette Jordan (Davis) wants to build a water power project in the Ashaluna valley, but property belonging to Judson Forrest (Harlan) and his mother (Carr) stands in the way. Forrest has fallen in love with Jordan's daughter, Mary (Bellamy), without realizing who she is. Henry Mogridge, Jordan's attorney (Miljan), is jealous because he wants Mary himself, so he goes about trying to ruin Forrest. Judson is an aspiring inventor and he mortgages his property in order to fund one of his creations. With the help of the village banker, Mogridge buys the mortgage and proceeds to foreclose. Forrest thinks Mary is part of the scheme, but he and his pals manage to pay off the mortgage just in the nick of time (which happens to be "on the stroke of three"). Forrest discovers that Mary had nothing to do with the plot and that Jordan had no idea of Mogridge's machinations. The motion picture was adapted from the novel The Man From Ashaluna by Henry Payson Dowst. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Although United Artists was primarily formed to release films from its founders -- Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith -- the firm almost immediately began releasing pictures from other sources. This comedy-drama, based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Earl Derr Biggers and starring the always excellent George Arliss, was a good choice. After suffering a nervous breakdown as the result of hard business dealings, millionaire James Alden (Arliss) is forced into retirement. But Alden is not happy being part of the social whirl, so he sneaks around behind his wife (Ida Darling) and daughter, Angie (Doris Kenyon), and gets another job. He goes into partnership with young Bill Merrick (Edward Burns) and they open a garage. It turns out that running a garage is every bit as cutthroat as big business was, and to complicate matters, Angie is in love with Merrick without realizing that her father is his partner. The partners manage to make their garage a success, and Angie and Merrick agree to wed. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi