Rupert Hughes Movies

Lippert's Fingerprints Don't Lie stars Richard Travis as fingerprint expert James Stover. At the moment, Stover is attempting to solve the murder of a small-town mayor. When the most likely suspect has been collared, Stover determines that the fingerprints found at the scene of the crime have been forged. Thus it is that the actual murderer is still around and about. In fact, he's much closer to Our Hero than anyone might have suspected. Fingerprints Don't Lie co-stars Sheila Ryan (in one of her last film appearances before becoming Mrs. Pat Buttram) and Lippert's resident utility player Sid Melton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Italian immigrant George Raft uses his wits and his fists to rise to prominence in a local political machine. He falls in love with Rosalind Russell, the wife of a prominent banker, but discreetly hides his feelings even as he and Russell are thrust together by social circumstances. The banker turns out to be an embezzler, but Raft comes to the rescue by replacing the stolen funds. Accused of conspiring with the banker because he'd failed to make the original embezzlement public, Raft is grilled by a grand jury. Once cleared, Raft is finally able to wed the divorced banker's wife, who it turns out had always had a crush on him. It Had to Happen is most entertaining in its early scenes wherein we see George Raft strongarming his way to success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the eve of her marriage to Cary Grant, socialite Nancy Carroll is visited by her sadistic ex-lover Louis Calhern, who threatens to have his gangster pal Jack LaRue rub out Grant if Carroll doesn't give up her marriage plans. She responds by killing Calhern with a piece of statuary; a sympathetic housekeeper helps Carroll hide all evidence of the crime, but LaRue, whom Calhern had telephoned just before the killing, has heard all. While on her honeymoon ocean voyage with Grant, Carroll is accosted by John Halliday, a friend of Calhern's who suspect her of being responsible for Calhern's death. Halliday's cat-and-mouse game comes to an ugly head during a mock trial held by the partying passengers. Carroll confesses, but the passengers think she's just playacting. Later on, Grant is informed that Carroll's confession was for real. The couple are met at dockside by Halliday, who has produced LaRue as a witness to the crime. Grant strongarms LaRue into changing his testimony; with no evidence, the DA is compelled to free Carroll. Had this labyrinthine melodrama been made after the Production Code went into effect, not only would Nancy Carroll have paid for her crime, but Cary Grant would also have spent a few years in stir for witness tampering. A Woman Accused is based on one of those "committee" literary works (a la The President's Mystery and Naked Came the Stranger) wherein each chapter is written independently by a different author. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a politician must deal with the aftermath of a young girl's damning accusation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this drama, an old sea captain and his feisty daughter are squatting upon the land of another. The trouble begins when their humble home burns down and the old salt is falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned. To make matters worse, the daughter is then wrongly ostracized for being pregnant. This causes her boy friend, their landlord's son, to dump her. Fortunately, she ends up marrying him in the end and happiness finally ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In spite of its unbelievable storyline, She Goes to War manages to sustain interest from first reel to last. During WWI, spoiled socialite Joan Morant (Eleanor Boardman) heads to France, hoping to be reunited with her soldier sweetheart Reggie (Edmund Burns). Her presence is resented by Reggie's CO, Lieutenant Tom Pike (John Holland), who endeavors to prove to the heroine that social standing means nothing in the face of war. When Reggie turns coward and refuses to march into battle, the newly-responsible Joan, hoping to save Reggie's honor, dons a uniform and marches off in his place! Through a bizarre turn of events, Joan ends up saving the lives of everyone else in the regiment. Currently available from several public-domain videocassette sources, She Goes to War is worth seeing if only for its brief talkie sequences, in which the voice of actress Alma Rubens (cast as ukelele-plucking Rosie Cohen) was heard for the first and only time; within two years, Rubens would be dead, having lost her ongoing battle with drug addiction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Such was Richard Barthelmess' popularity in 1927 that audiences were willing to sit through all 12 reels (approximately 130 minutes) of The Patent Leather Kid. Barthelmess plays a cocky prizefighter who isn't the least bit concerned when America enters World War 1. Doing his best to avoid the army, the boxer is shamed into signing up by his girl friend Molly O'Day. Once on the battlefields of France, Barthelmess forsakes his previous selfishness and begins to pull together with his buddies. While performing a conspicous act of bravery, he is permanently crippled. The finale, in which the paraplegic Barthelmess painfully and courageously salutes the American flag, is still capable of reducing an audience to tears. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Long derided by film historians as a talented but visually unimaginative director, James Cruze made up for any and all past artistic sins with his rousing Old Ironsides. Per its title, this 11-reel silent film is set at the time of Stephen Decatur's defeat of the Barbary pirates in Tripoli. Decatur himself (played by comic actor Johnnie Walker) is a secondary character herein -- most of the screen time goes to the romantic leads, able-bodied seaman Charles Farrell and damsel-in-permanent-distress Esther Ralston. The acting honors go to those inveterate scene-stealers Wallace Beery and George Bancroft, cast respectively as Bos'n and Gunner. The film accommodates everything from outsized sea battles to a daring rescue from the clutches of the lustful pirates. A life-sized replica of "Old Ironsides" (aka the "Constitution") was built for the film; it remained a useful piece of bric-a-brac for many a subsequent Paramount seafaring epic. When originally released, the film utilized a wide-screen technique during many of the battle sequences. The videocassette version of Old Ironsides is, of course, unable to convey this, but it does have the bonus of a rousing musical score by Gaylord Carter. This print, incidentally, is crystal clear, enabling sharp-eyed viewers to spot Boris Karloff in a bit as a menacing Saracen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Norma Shearer and Conrad Nagel star in this farce based on the successful stage play by Rupert Hughes. Lieutenant Harry Mallory (Nagel) wins a promotion for his valor and is ordered to go to the Philippines. His fiancée, Marjorie Newton (Shearer), wants to go with him so they decide to get married. They're unable to find a minister before the train leaves for San Francisco. They see one boarding the train, however, and chase after him. When they can't track him down, Mallory finds himself consigned to the wash room for the night. Various misunderstandings ensue -- Mallory runs into a former sweetheart, Francine (Renée Adorée), and Marjorie believes that he is the father of her little boy. Then there's the drunk, Jimmy Wellington (Bert Roach), who just won't go away, and the convention of ministers at one train stop. The train overturns while trying to avoid a burning bridge and Mallory has to be rescued. Somehow, he and Marjorie are able to get married in time to catch the boat headed for the Philippines. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Director Rupert Hughes adapted Gimmie from a short story written by himself and his wife. Helene Chadwick plays working girl Fanny Daniels, who borrows $500 from her boss to pay for her wedding trousseau. When her boss demands repayment, Fanny draws the money from her new husband's account, assuming that under the circumstances, he'll understand. But hubby Clinton Ferris (Gaston Glass) is appalled at Fanny's seeming extravagance. She, in turn, realizes that Clinton intends to treat her like a helpless child, whereupon she returns to her old job. That's when Clinton realizes he can't go on living without Fanny, so he swallows his pride and asks forgiveness. In the 1920s, it was a rare film indeed where the husband went crawling back to the wife, rather than the other way around. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1920s version of women's liberation had nothing to do with women having equal pay for equal work -- it meant that a wife should share equally in her husband's earnings. Author/director Rupert Hughes was considered broad-minded for stating just that in this light domestic comedy. Fanny Daniels (Helene Chadwick) is an independent young woman who works for interior designer Claude Lambert (David Imboden). At her job she meets Clifton Ferris (Gaston Glass), whose wealthy mother (Kate Lester) is one of Lambert's clients. The two fall in love, but Mrs. Ferris does not approve of the match. Clifton rebels and goes to work. Fanny borrows 500 dollars from Lambert for her trousseau and after the wedding he wants the money returned. But Clifton pays little attention to financial matters, and Fanny is loathe to ask for the sum. Finally she secretly draws a check for Lamber on her husband's account. Clifton blows up when he finds out and Fanny walks out. She goes back to work for Lambert, who lures her to his home and attacks her. Clifton, who realizes that his wife deserves better treatment, arrives in time to put a halt to Lambert's unwanted advances. Rather surprisingly, film star Henry Walthall has a bit part as a househusband. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Writer Rupert Hughes chose this predictable story as his first directorial effort, but he brings it fresh life with the help of Colleen Moore (who, at the time, was a rising star, not yet the icon for a generation of flappers). Moore plays Idalene Nobbin, the classic ugly duckling, both homely and gauche. Attending a dance thrown by the popular Prue Nickerson (Laura LaPlante) only adds to her woes. Two boys she meets there -- Phin Larrabee (Rush Hughes) and Roy Duncan (Tom Gallery) -- make her an object of ridicule. Finally, at the Junior Prom, her humiliation is so great that she runs out of the building, right in the path of an oncoming car. Idalene is not killed, but both her legs are broken. A good-hearted pair -- young society girl Pamela Shiel (Gertrude Astor) and her pal, Walt Breen (Richard Dix) -- pick her up, and while she is recuperating, teach her how to be stylish and beautiful. It works, and Breen falls in love with the lovely girl who has emerged from her shell. ~ 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