Sada Cowan Movies

Forbidden Heaven was accurately assessed by "B"-film historian Don Miller as "a weepie unabashed -- and a successful one." Silent-film heartthrob Charles Farrell stars as a British working stiff named Niba, who hopes one day to attain a Parliamentary seat. Niba's life is permanently altered when he rescues forlorn American girl Ann (Charlotte Henry). Though forced to give up his political dreams, Niba contentedly sets up house with Ann, eventually falling in love with her. Then tragedy strikes -- so suddenly that it seems to have been tacked onto the film as an afterthought because the writers couldn't think of anything else. Despite its abrupt mood changes, Forbidden Heaven was a real audience pleaser, allowing everyone to enjoy a good cry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced by Cecil B. DeMille, Stand and Deliver was directed by former D.W. Griffith associate Donald Crisp. Set in postwar Greece, the story concerns an expatriate Englishman named Roger Norman (Rod LaRoque), who is bored with civilian life and seeks out thrills. He gets more than he bargained for when he joins the Greek army in search of an elusive bandit named Ghika (Warner Oland). During a raid, Norman and the film's heroine Jania (Lupe Velez) are abducted by Ghika's men and spirited off to the mountains. For a while, Norman's loyalties are torn between the charismatic bandit, who seems to have a genuine beef against the government, and the Army, which has threatened to execute Norman because he punched out a superior officer. But by film's end, Norman has realigned himself with the authorities and captured the bandit, winning the girl in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The exotic Pola Negri is given the role of a half-English, half-Chinese girl in this drama based on W. Somerset Maugham's play and directed by Raoul Walsh. In spite of the illustrious names attached to this production, however, it was a weak film which did justice to none of them. When Daisy Forbes (Negri) returns to China after being educated in England, she discovers that her father has died, and she has been ostracized from white society because her mother was Chinese. Daisy had no idea of her origins because her real mother had been posing as her nurse all this time. Although George Tevis (Edmund Lowe) loves her, his uncle convinces him to avoid her. Lee Tai (Sojin Kamiyama), a Mandarin, is determined to have Daisy, and he uses all his wiles to abduct her. She is saved by Harry Anderson (Rockliffe Fellowes), and out of gratitude she marries him. But when he finds himself snubbed by society because of her, he begins treating her cruelly. Nevertheless, he refuses to let her go -- he threatens to kill Tevis if he sees him with her. But Anderson is removed from the picture when he drinks a poisoned glass of wine that Lee Tai had meant for Tevis to drink. Tevis and Daisy return to England together and Lee Tai is executed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Smouldering Fires is a first-rate silent "soap opera," immaculately performed by its superb cast and brilliantly directed by Clarence Brown. Pauline Frederick plays a highly efficient middle-aged business executive, whose motto is "Let No Man Be Necessary to You." She discards this edict when she falls in love with her much-younger employee Malcolm McGregor. Though McGregor sincerely loves Frederick, her younger sister Laura LaPlante assumes that the man is a fortune hunter. After Frederick and McGregor are wed, LaPlante comes to realize that her new brother-in-law is sincere. She also realizes uncomfortably that she has fallen in love with McGregor, and he with her. Out of consideration for Frederick, the younger couple keeps their mutual attraction secret, and promise each other not to act upon their feelings. But Frederick eventually figures out the situation. Magnanimously, she declares that the marriage was a mistake, and that she'll seek a divorce before anyone is hurt. The aftermath of this triangular situation is subtly hinted at by a carefully arranged medium shot of the three principals. Never stooping to cliché or wallowing in phony sentimentality, Smouldering Fires is an honest tale about realistic people with genuine emotions. Most available prints are from the American release version; the slightly longer European version is even better, with some remarkably mature (albeit non-lurid) setpieces. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Seven years after its end, there was a resurgence of films about World War I. This one, based on the novel Invisible Wounds by Colonel Frederick Palmer was pretty good, but a couple of weeks later, The Big Parade would come out and trounce every other World War film that was in distribution. Billy Morrow (Ben Lyon), who comes from a wealthy family, is sailing to Europe with his father (Holbrook Blinn) on their yacht. Along for the ride is Mrs. Parr (Claire Eames) and her stepdaughter. Near the French coast, Billy discovers that Mrs. Parr wants to arrange a marriage between him and the girl, so he escapes and takes a lifeboat ashore. He makes it to Paris, where he meets Rene Darcourt (Blanche Sweet), an American girl who is temporarily working as a model for Picard (Pedro de Cordoba), an artist. Billy and Rene fall in love, but he suspects she is having an affair with Picard, so he enlists when war breaks out. He is wounded in the fighting and taken to a chateau, where he finds Rene working as a nurse. They are united, and Billy learns a new commandment: thou shalt not doubt. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

A very young Norma Shearer and a fine supporting cast that includes Adolphe Menjou and Mae Busch all suffered from a hackneyed screenplay in this silent society melodrama from Metro-Goldwyn, the forerunner of MGM. Shearer plays Grace Durland, a debutante forced to leave college when her father (George Fawcett) goes bankrupt. Reduced to working for a living, Grace falls in love with married Ward Trenton (James Kirkwood), whose disagreeable wife (Winifred Bryson) refuses to grant him a divorce. But when Ward sustains severe injuries in a car accident and may not be able to work again, Mrs. Trenton promptly begins divorce proceedings. Happily, Ward makes a full recovery and proposes to Grace. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The bizarre Mae Murray, she of the bee-stung lips and haughty demeanor, plays sisters in this potboiler set during the Russian revolution. Fleeing to America, the non-identical sisters, both poor peasant types, lead totally opposite lives. The elder, Olga, masquerades as White Russian nobility and manages to land a rich husband, while Zita, the younger, finds herself desperately mired in poverty. When Olga is killed by a rejected suitor (Elmo Lincoln, Hollywood's first "Tarzan"), her kindhearted husband (Freeman Wood) adopts the pathetic but faithful Zita as his own. A typically overblown Murray escapade, Fashion Row was produced by Murray herself and directed by her husband, Robert Z. Leonard. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This romantic drama gave filmgoers everything they expected from a Gloria Swanson picture -- fancy settings, gorgeous clothes, and a story that wasn't too taxing on the brain. It was adapted from the stage play by Alfred Savior, which starred Ina Claire on Broadway. John Brandon, an American millionaire (Huntley Gordon), has been married seven times but never found love. Then, when he is in Paris, Mona de Briac (Swanson) comes into his life. Mona comes from an noble family who is facing ruin. Although the marriage is financially advantageous, Mona really loves Brandon -- until she finds out about his seven other wives. She goes out of her way to do everything she can to test Brandon's love for her, and her tactics bring them to the brink of divorce when he finally loses faith in her. But as he is about to send her away, he realizes that her love is sincere, not her foolish actions. Ernst Lubitsch would remake this film in 1938 as a talkie, with Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert as the stars. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Clara Kimball Young plays twin sisters, one a cabaret entertainer, the other a nun, in this melodrama produced and directed by her husband Harry Garson. Convent novitiate Janet Trevor agrees to exchange places with her worldly sister Lucy, who mistakenly believes that she has killed her longtime friend, politician John McBride (William P. Carleton). McBride had been attempting to save Lucy from her drug habit when a gun accidentally went off, but unbeknownst to Lucy he survived with only minor injuries. Impersonating Lucy, Janet wins everyone at the Cubist Café with her rendition of religious songs, but when she spurns the unwanted attentions of cabaret owner Alan Graves (Richard Graves), the latter threatens to expose McBride as the killer of one of his waiters. Janet, however, persuades the real culprit, lovesick hunchback Ramez (George Hackathorne), to come forward and when McBride discovers that the waiter, Lorenz (Jean De Limur), is not dead at all, but in hiding, Graves admits defeat. Free from accusations, Lucy and McBride plan to marry while Janet returns to her novitiate. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Sidney Franklin, formerly the principal director of the "Fox Kidlettes" series, works with grownups in the silent Courage. Sam DeGrasse plays a brooding Scotsman who spends 18 years in prison on a trumped-up murder charge. Only his wife Naomi Childers believes in DeGrasse's innocence. She nobly awaits her husband's return, ever seeking out the opportunity of exonerating him. Northern California proves an excellent substitute for the crags of Scotland in Courage, which was based on a short story by Andrew Soutar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide