J. Gordon Edwards Movies

Herbert Heyes, a prominent stage and screen actor of the teens and twenties (and the father of writer/director Douglas Heyes), stars in It is the Law. Heyes is framed for murder by Arthur Hohl, who is jealous over the fact that he lost his girl friend Mimi Palmieri to Heyes. The man killed by Hohl was his wealthy exact double, whose identity Hohl assumes. Years later, justice is belatedly served when Heyes kills Hohl-then is let off the hook because he can't be tried twice for the same murder! It is the Law was adapted from a play by Elmer Rice and Hayden Talbott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This mystery-drama was one of the last films from director J. Gordon Edwards, who is best known for his work in the 1910s with screen vamp Theda Bara (Edwards died in 1925). It is also the final film made by very minor screen star (Barbara Castleton). Bruce Norman (Raymond Bloomer) is being hunted down as a murderer and his wife, Allayne (Barbara Castleton), figures out a way to save him. A stranger with amnesia (Albert Roscoe) wanders into their studio, so Allayne places some of Norman's letters in his pocket while Norman himself steals away. As a result, the man is identified as Bruce Norman -- and a killer. Since he has lost his memory he has no way of standing up for himself. Predictably, the man recovers his memory just in time to keep from being convicted of murder. The picture was based on the novel and play by Maravene Thompson. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The Fox studio wasn't known for its big-budget spectacles, but when it needed to, it could really come through, as proven here. Director J. Gordon Edwards spent eight months in preparation and a couple of months in Italy filming the story of the last of the Caesars -- quite a long time in those days. Except for Violet Mersereau, who played the part of the Christian heroine Marcia, the whole cast was made up of Italian actors (appropriate, considering that the film was about ancient Rome). For the most part, Edwards made good use of the 11 reels it took to tell Nero's story, showing off the immense Circus Maximus, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and giving heated life to the burning of Rome (accomplished with a combination of miniatures and full-size sets). The only time he goes just a touch overboard is when the Roman people, fed up with their mad emperor (played by Jacques Gretillat), assemble into an angry mob; at this point he tries a little too hard to be D.W. Griffith. This was Fox's big mid-year release for 1922.
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

It is easy to imagine Theda Bara playing the lead in this Fox Biblical epic, especially since its credited director is J. Gordon Edwards, who manned the megaphone for many of Bara's films. But by 1920, Bara had pretty much left films (she would only make two more pictures during the 1920s), and Betty Blythe, who also became known for her exotic vehicles, played the lead. Blythe, however, did not exude the unbridled sexuality that Bara did -- something that trade paper Moving Picture World saw as a plus: the fact that "there is never a suggestion of the vamp in one of her poses or gestures," it noted, would keep the bluenoses from complaining about her skimpy costumes. And there is much bare flesh to be had in this picture. When the Queen of Sheba kills her mate, the wicked King (George Siegmann), her people are grateful. She pays a visit to the court of King Solomon (Fritz Leiber) and wins a chariot race for him. Solomon falls in love with her, and the night before she leaves she visits him in his private quarters. The result of this meeting is a child, which the Queen's people accept as the son of the dead King. When the boy (Pat Moore) is four, she sends him to visit Solomon, who is happy to see him. His brother (G. Raymond Nye), however, is not so thrilled -- he believes that Solomon plans to make the boy heir to his throne. He attempts to overthrow the King, and the Queen, realizing that her son is in danger, takes her army to help Solomon. Once the King's foes are vanquished, the Queen tells Solomon good-bye, and returns home with her son. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama, the usually virile William Farnum was cast against type as a violinist who is devoted to his sister. Pierre Fournel (Farnum) and his sister Gabrielle (Betty Milburn) are residents of a Quebec village. Gabrielle is married to Rouget (Rowland G. Edwards), a ne'er-do-well who is merely taking advantage of her. Kathleen Noyes, a New York society girl (Gladys Coburn), comes to the village and is entranced by Fournel's violin playing. Her fiancé Rupert Blake (Robert Cain) is furiously jealous, and plots with Rouget to destroy Fournel's reputation. When he travels to New York, Fournel learns that Rouget isn't married to Gabrielle after all. In addition, Fournel is falsely accused of theft. He clears up the charge, then goes to Quebec and gives Rouget a sound thrashing (finally showing some of that Farnum feistiness). Rouget reforms and does right by Gabrielle. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Don Caesar de Bazan (William Farnum) falls in love with Maritana (Estelle Taylor), when he sees her dancing before Queen Isabel's court. But Prime Minister Don Jose (Paul Cazeneuve) has other plans for the girl -- he wants to use her to compromise King Charles (Harry Southard), so that the queen (Dorothy Drake) will fall into his hands. To further his plan, Don Jose has Don Caesar jailed for dueling and tells Maritana he will be pardoned if she marries him. She readily complies, but the Prime Minister just wanted her to have a title to make her more attractive to the king. After the ceremony, he sends Don Caesar to be executed. The villain doesn't realize that a boy who Don Caesar has befriended has loaded the soldier's guns with blanks. Don Caesar "miraculously" comes back to life, exposes the Prime Minister's intrigues and wins the ministership (he's already won the girl). In early 1920, nobody was much interested in costume dramas (rarely a popular medium in film, really), so the trades tried to sell this picture -- based on a famous play, Don Caesar de Bazan), by E. Lloyd Sheldon -- with its action quotient, which included a lot of swordplay. Of course, when Douglas Fairbanks' The Mark of Zorro came out later in the year, this kind of swashbuckling adventure tale became classic cinematic fare. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Manly William Farnum stars in this Fox melodrama. Because mining engineer Bruce Andrews (Farnum) has not been able to find any copper ore on his land, he turns it into a sheep ranch. Edmund Rawn (Charles Clary), who owns the mine next to Andrews' ranch, knows better, and he is determined to get his hands on the land. Rawn's partner, Burton Mortimer, is interested in Isabel Hollins (Louise Lovely), a young girl from the East, but she marries Andrews. All this is enough reason for the two bad guys to want Andrews out of the way, so Rawn hires him to investigate a mine down in Chile, and they blow it up while he is inspecting it. Andrews is assumed to be buried alive, but he actually escapes, his memory shattered. Isabel is told that her husband is dead, and eventually marries Mortimer. Andrews' memory finally comes back and he returns home to find Mortimer married to Isabel and his land controlled by his enemies. He leaves when Mortimer convinces him that it would be in Isabel's best interests if he didn't show his face. Eventually, however, Andrews finally comes out on top by ruining his foes on the stock market and reuniting with Isabel. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In this western, William Farnum plays yet another Zane Grey character. Duane Steele (Farnum) is a Texas Ranger who is determined to get the outlaws out of his part of the Lone Star state for good. Right off, he comes across some cattle rustlers, who are manhandling a young lady named Ray (Louise Lovely). Steele rescues her, and her father (Charles Clary) gratefully offers him a job on his ranch. Since this will put him close to the outlaw camp (not to mention Ray), Steele accepts. He proceeds to round up the outlaws, dead or alive -- all but one. Leader Cyrus Longstreth eludes his grasp until Steele finally figures out that he is Ray's father, the grateful ranch owner. But the truth is that Longstreth is tired of the rustling business and his henchmen have been forcing him to remain with the gang. Ultimately the dilemma is solved to everyone's satisfaction -- except, of course, the rustlers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Theda Bara does her usual vamp turn in this picture, but this time she's a vamp who turns out to have a heart of gold. Her character, Blanchette DuMonde, is known as "the wickedest woman in Paris," and because of this sordid reputation, she is not allowed to serve as a nurse during World War I. So she becomes an Apache dancer instead. A young sculptor is taken with Blanchette and would like her to pose for a statue, but her latest sugar daddy (Eugene Ormonde) won't allow it. Sadly, the sculptor goes to war and comes back home blinded. Meanwhile, Blanchette has dumped her sugar daddy for a ruffian, but she leaves him for the blinded sculptor and is happy taking care of him. Both her ex-boyfriends track her down, and she kills the ruffian. The sugar daddy winds up taking credit for the murder after being upbraided by the blind man, who tells him, "You only saw Blanchette's body. It took a man without eyes to see her soul." The Light was a success after a year's worth of failures for Bara, and it brought life back to her limping career. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Theda Bara doesn't do much vamping in her follow-up to Salome. She is Lillian Marchard, nursemaid to the lecherous Mortimer West (Joseph Swickard). While West makes disgusting advances towards Lillian, she pines for his son, Michael, who is a clergyman (Albert Roscoe). One night when the old man paws at Lillian, Michael walks in on them. He denounces Lillian, and the shock of the whole situation brings old man West to his death. Michael tells Lillian she is the cause of all this and throws her out. The disheartened girl transforms herself into a dancer named Poppea, and attracts the attention of Michael's cousin Reggie (Jack Rollens). Michael asks her to send the young man away. During their meeting, Poppea tries desperately to get back together with Michael, and she is successful. But Reggie has been spying on the two of them and he kills himself. Once again Michael blames the girl for this misfortune and leaves. At the end of her tether, Poppea decides to auction herself off to the highest bidder and then drink poison, but before she can end it all, she receives a bunch of lilies -- a peace offering from Michael, who finally realizes that she was innocent of any wrongdoing. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

By 1917, Theda Bara had become one of the screen's biggest stars, and her fans had long been suggesting that she portray ancient Egypt's famed queen. So Bara's studio, Fox, shipped her out to Los Angeles for this spectacular production (all of her prior films had been shot on the East Coast). Bara did extensive research on the role, and she knew that Cleopatra was a cunning political leader; the studio, of course, played up the sex angle, so she comes across as a woman who, if she didn't sleep her way to the top, at least slept her way through the top. She first seduces Caesar (Fritz Leiber), then after his assassination, she turns her adversary Pharon (Albert Roscoe) into a lover. Finally, Marc Antony (Thurston Hall) tries to conquer Cleopatra but instead is conquered by her charms. Even marriage to Octavia (Genevieve Blinn) can't keep him from joining his destiny with the Queen of the Nile. It turns out to be his downfall, as Octavia's brother Octavius (Henri de Vries) opposes and defeats him, and he is forced to kill himself. Instead of using the dagger like Antony, Cleopatra prefers the drama of being bitten by a poisonous snake. The studio's publicity department had a field day with the promotion for this picture -- this was when they came up with the brilliant insight that the name "Theda Bara" was an anagram for "Arab Death." Bara herself went along with the fun, first claiming to be the reincarnation of a daughter of Seti, high priest of the pharaohs, and then insisting that in a past life she was Cleopatra herself. Years later, long after the end of her career, she gleefully admitted it was all a wonderful joke. Unfortunately, the film itself, which ran over two hours and was one of the top box office draws of 1917, has apparently been lost. This is especially tragic, since still photos of the elaborate sets and shockingly bare costumes only serve to heighten curiosity about this motion picture. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

You'd never know it from the title, but The Darling of Paris was a film version of Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame. The titular hunchback (played by the forgotten Glen White) is downplayed in favor of gypsy dancing girl Esmerelda, here played by movie vamp Theda Bara. Esmerelda essential innocence and naivety were probably beyond the range of Bara, but audiences in 1917 would have lined up to see the star in a movie adaptation of the Los Angeles City Directory. The spectacular elements of the story were adeptly handled by director J. Gordon Edwards, who later helmed Theda Bara's successor Betty Blythe in The Queen of Sheba. Like all of Edwards' films (and most of Bara's), The Darling of Paris no longer exists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title character in Dumas' Camille is a Parisian courtesan, but the heroine is relatively sympathetic, especially when she gives up her aristocratic young lover Armand Duval (Albert Roscoe) "for his own good." Like many of Bara's "literary" vehicles, this 1917 version of Camille was directed by J. Gordon Edwards, the grandfather of Blake Edwards. The critic for the trade magazine Variety spoke for many when he noted that the zaftig Bara seemed a bit too "voluptuous" to play the consumptive heroine. This shortcoming was, however, common to practically all the cinemazations of Camille, with the possible exception of the 1936 Greta Garbo version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide