Charles Avery Movies
A busy presence in American filmmaking from the very beginning, Chicago-born Charles Avery had starred in Charley's Aunt and played in the original Broadway production of The Clansman before entering films with the Biograph Company in 1908. Like his good friend and Biograph colleague Mack Sennett, Avery quickly displayed a talent for rough-and-tumble comedy and would be part an important part of Sennett's original Keystone company. Claiming to have directed Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in 31 comedies while at Keystone, Avery was just as busy in front of the camera, appearing opposite veteran comedian Charles Murray in scores of "Hogan" comedies. Leaving directorial duties to others in the 1920s, Avery later played supporting roles in low-budget Westerns such as The Rambling Ranger (1927) and Western Rover (1927). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1986
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This program presents the story of the Italian sculptor Donatello, whose 15th century works revolutionized the art of sculpture. Donatello was the first sculptor to produce a nude, with his David, which stood in his native Florence. He was also the first sculptor to work in bronze. The program presents many of the artist's greatest works, including statues he did of saints, such as Magdalene and Peter. Art historians and modern sculptors discuss Donatello's importance and his influence on modern sculpture. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Returning to the family ranch after a spell as a circus performer, Art Hayes (Art Acord) finds that a crooked ranch foreman (Albert J. Smith) has forced his father into bankruptcy. Hayes, however, unravels a cattle-rustling scheme, forces the villain to show his hand, and romances the neighbor's daughter (Ena Gregory AKA Marian Douglas). Veteran cowboy star Acord had an on-again, off-again relationship with Universal in the 1920s. An excessive drinker, the star was showing clear signs of deterioration by 1927, the beginning of a downhill slide that would end with his mysterious death (suicide? murder?) in Chihuahua, Mexico, January 4, 1931. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Art Acord, Ena Gregory, (more)
- 1925
After crashing his plane in the wilderness, a young airborne forest ranger is nursed back to health by a mountain man and his pretty daughter in this 18-chapter serial from Universal. The Marshalls, father William Welsh and daughter Eileen Sedgwick, have been hiding out in the hills for years following a killing. As ranger Terence O'Rourke (Jack Daugherty) discovers, the Marshalls were framed by their erstwhile foreman, "Topaz" Taggart (Bud Osborne), who is now stealing them blind. Released in May of 1925, The Fighting Ranger was yet another attempt by Universal to turn handsome Jack Daugherty into a viable action star, the studio counting on the actor's much publicized marriage to Metro star Barbara La Marr. Rumors of drug abuse, however, got in the way and Daugherty never quite made the grade. The Fighting Ranger should not be confused with an ultra low-budget Al Hoxie oater of the same title and release year. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Hoping to cash in on the popularity of his former employee Charlie Chaplin, producer Mack Sennett hired Charlie's half-brother Sydney Chaplin, an excellent farceur in his own right, to star in series of Keystone comedies. Syd's best-remembered effort from this era was the 4-reel "special" A Submarine Pirate, a spoof of contemporary war melodramas. Cast in his familiar "Gussle" characterization (wing-tipped moustache, baggy pants and all), Chaplin plays a clumsy waiter who happens to overhear a band of pirates who plan to seize control of a submarine. Armed primarily with kitchen utensils and an excess of nerve, our hero boards the captured sub, rounds up the villains, and blows up the vessel, all in record time. Sydney Chaplin served as co-director of A Submarine Pirate, while future director Wesley Ruggles essayed a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Although better known as Charlie Chaplin's 17th appearance in a Keystone comedy, The Knockout is really a Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle film. The big event in Fatty's town is a prizefight in which champ Cyclone Flynn will meet all comers. Fatty is tricked into accepting the fight by two hobos who are making book on the fight. Through a note ostensibly from Flynn, they offer Fatty a split if he throws the fight, but Fatty, thinking one of the hobos is Flynn, refuses. The real Flynn arrives and dispatches the impostors. The match proceeds with heavy betting going on and Fatty's girlfriend dressed as a boy in order to gain entrance to the arena. Charlie is the referee who is constantly being knocked down by the fighters because he keeps getting in between them. Angered by losing after a short count, Fatty grabs two six-guns from a gambler at ringside and begins firing in all directions. Cyclone takes to his heels and a classic rooftop Keystone chase ensues, with the Keystone Kops in pursuit of Fatty, in pursuit of Cyclone. When the Kops lasso Fatty, he drags six of them along the ground by the rope until he leaps off a pier taking them all with him. With everyone treading water, the Kops surround Fatty as the film ends. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Minta Durfee, (more)
