James Vincent Movies

Universal's newest "heartthrobs" Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie were first teamed in this lavish adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's The Prince Who Was a Thief. Curtis stars as Julna, the rightful heir to a Middle Eastern throne. Kidnapped in infancy, Julna is raised as a thief by the roguish Yussef (Everett Sloane). Eventually, however, Julna's true identity is revealed, prompting him to lead a revolt against the evil, usurping Mustapha (Donald Randolph). Piper Laurie steals the show as Tina, a carnival contortionist who falls in love with Julna and helps him regain his throne (most of Laurie's trickier stunts were performed in long shot by a much heftier double). Fine escapist entertainment, The Prince Who Was a Thief secured major stardom for both its leading players. And no, this is not the film in which Tony Curtis utters the apocryphal line "Yonduh lies duh castle of my faddah." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Marguerite Namara portrays a young woman who is living with her guardian (a prosecuting attorney) and his mother. Even though her guardian loves her and hopes to marry her, she is infatuated with a South American novelist. She sneaks over to the novelist's home and writes a love note in one of his books. When he discovers he must go back to South America, he asks the girl to accompany him. She accepts, but when she discovers that a marriage proposal is not part of the bargain, she rejects him and marries her guardian. The novelist returns to America and tries to use the girl's love note to blackmail her. When she goes to get the note back, he attacks her and she stabs him with a knife that is lying on the table. When he is found dead the next day, the girl's husband gets on the case. Luckily for the girl, it turns out she did not kill him -- he came to and was murdered by the brother of a woman he had wronged. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This silent drama tells of a man and woman who battle wits when they try to locate the Army Code. ~ Rovi

In the third chapter of A Woman in Grey, Tom Thurston (Henry G. Sell rescues Ruth Hope (Arline Pretty) just as she is about to be mauled by the nefarious J. Haviland Hunter (Fred Jones). Hunter makes his escape at gunpoint, but when she regains consciousness, Ruth discovers that she is still in possession of the Amory code. "You call yourself Ruth Hope," Thurston thunders, "but I don't quite believe that's your name. You're going to tell me who you are before you leave this room!" Cornered, resourceful Ruth prettily persuades her hero to be patient until their next meeting. Enjoying a weekend horseback ride through the countryside, Ruth and Tom realize that they are being followed by Hunter and a couple of henchmen. They hide in an abandoned shack which, fortuitously, comes fully equipped with a telephone. While Tom calls for help, Ruth makes her escape through the chimney. Dazed and confused, the poor girl is crossing the railroad tracks when her foot is caught in a switch. With the engine barreling down the track at full throttle, Ruth closes her eyes. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Plunging from the severed clothesline in chapter six of A Woman in Grey, Ruth Hope (Arline Pretty) fortuitously lands on the roof of a truck parked below and is unhurt. Paula Wynne (Margaret Fielding), meanwhile, picks J. Haviland Hunter's (Fred Jones) pocket and retrieves the Amory code, which she plants in Ruth's room to frame the girl. Jones, who has revealed to Paula that he is the son of murdered Amory housekeeper Mrs. Haynes, enters the Amory mansion through a secret passageway and retrieves the code from Ruth's room. In the garden, Wilfred Amory welcomes Ralph Gordon (Jack Newton), the attorney who defended Florence Haynes in the murder of her mother. Gordon denies that Ruth Hope is Florence, but does admit that she bears a strong resemblance to Mary Edwards and admonishes Miss Traill (Ann Brodie), Ruth's chaperone, to remove the girl from the house. Determined to learn whether Ruth's bracelet hides a scar that may reveal her true identity, Paula corners her rival and attempts to remove the ornament. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

In chapter seven of A Woman in Grey, the unscrupulous J. Haviland Hunter (Fred C. Jones) is forcing Ruth Hope (Arline Pretty) to reveal her identity when he is interrupted by Tom Thurston (Henry Sell). Aided by Paula Wynne (Margaret Fielding), who is in love with him, Hunter manages to escape through a hidden door. Enjoying a trip to town the very next day, Ruth and Tom encounter their nemesis, whom they chase to his hideaway. While Tom and Hunter fight, a couple of henchmen capture Ruth who is soon once again bound and gagged. One of the thugs (Walter Chapin) sets the room on fire, leaving the girl to perish in the flames. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

In chapter nine of the serial A Woman in Grey, Ruth Hope (Arline Pretty) once again narrowly escapes certain death, this time by the fortuitous arrival of attorney Gordon (Jack Newton). Ruth and Tom (Henry Sell) make their escape from the factory, while Gordon continues to question the girl's presence in the Amory home. The next day, Gordon arranges for her to be abducted by Mr. Trail, the father of her companion, Naomi (Ann Brodie). Learning of the plan, dastardly J. Haviland Hunter (Fred C. Jones) takes the place of the Trail chauffeur and drives the party to the spooky, abandoned old River Club. There, Ruth is bound, gagged, and placed directly below a huge slab of concrete hanging precariously by a rope. As a cackling Ma Trail (Adelaide Fitzgallen) sets the rope on fire, Tom, who has miraculously arrived on the scene, falls through a trap door into the basement, which appears to be the home of a bearded old man. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

While Tom Thurston (Henry Sell) and a couple of miners save Ruth Hope (Arline Pretty) from the quicksand, Paula Wynne (Margaret Fielding) administers chloroform to her uncle, Wilfred Amory (John Heenan), and steals the Amory code. Tom and Ruth return to the mansion to find Amory unconscious and the code missing and Ruth immediately suspects Paula. The latter, meanwhile, refuses to hand over the code to J. Haviland Hunter (Fred C. Jones), her villainous boyfriend, but Hunter forces it from her. A struggle ensues in which Paula is killed. Hunter accuses the newly arrived Ruth of the murder and when she attempts to escape, he pushes her out of the window. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Attempting to remove the bracelet that conceals the proof of Ruth Hope's (Arline Pretty) true identity, nasty J. Haviland Hunter (Fred Jones) is interrupted by both Tom Thurston (Henry Sell) and the mystery woman. Hunter and the woman make their escape through the tunnel leading to the garden and Tom trails Ruth to the office of attorney Ralph Gordon (Jack Newton). Gordon declares his love and devotion, but she confesses not to harbor any romantic feelings toward him. Gordon then threatens to reveal her secret and reminds the girl of the incriminating evidence stored in the safe of Dr. Paul Lepel. An eavesdropping Tom hurries to Dr. Lepel's address. At Lapel's sanatorium, Tom pretends to be there for Ruth, who needs treatment. Although the good doctor (J.W. Driscoll) is surprised that Miss Hope needs another treatment ("I have never performed it twice but it can be done!"), he agrees to operate for the price of 2,000 dollars. "Miss Hope may be so changed that recognition will be impossible," Dr. Lepel adds mysteriously, after which they both enter the basement through a secret trapdoor. Dr. Lepel shows Tom a small metal container and hands him a key. "Open it. It will explain the secret of Ruth Hope -- who she once was." On the floor above, an eavesdropping Ruth is suddenly faced with the villainous Hunter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

The bullet fired by Attorney Gordon (Jack Newton) in chapter 14 of the serial A Woman in Grey only grazed Ruth Hope (Arline Pretty), much to the relief of the girl's ardent suitor, Tom Thurston (Henry Sell). At the Amory residence, George Haynes (formerly named J. Haviland Hunter and played by Fred Jones), confronts Ruth, whom he accuses of being not only his stepsister, but also the woman who murdered his mother, the Amory housekeeper. "Unless you lead me to the Amory fortune in this house, I'm going to hand you over to the police," Haynes hisses. But the law is already in the house and Haynes is arrested. "There is Florence Haynes, the murderess!" the cornered villain exclaims pointing at Ruth, who confesses. "But there is the real murderer of Mrs. Haynes -- her own son," exclaims the mystery woman, who proves to be the missing Amory maid Mary Edwards. Mary explains how she has shielded George Haynes all along because the bounder had sworn that he loved her. George himself is killed attempting to escape and at the stroke of midnight, Amory (John Heenan), now in possession of both codes, finally locate his father's secret treasure. Explaining that the late Mrs. Haynes adopted her, Ruth/Florence produces a photograph of her real mother that reveals her real identity, that of Amory's long-lost daughter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This charming little Graustarkian tale, which stars Virginia Pearson, sounds like it was borrowed from a comic opera. Since she was a child, Princess Sylvia (Pearson) has loved Emperor Maximillian of Rhaetia (Irving Cummings). But when his Prime Minister (Alex K. Shannon) proposes that the two marry, she turns him down because she wants a marriage of love, not of politics. Posing as an English girl, she goes to a mountain village where the emperor likes to hunt incognito. She meets him and pretends she has no knowledge of his royal blood. They fall in love and he proposes a morganatic marriage. She turns him down and he goes to the prime minister to see about making her empress. The prime minister is convinced this unknown woman must be an adventuress and asks Sylvia's brother, Gerald (Boyce Coombe), to compromise her. He agrees and takes her to an inn, where the emperor walks in on them. At first he's infuriated, but then Gerald introduces Sylvia as his sister. Everything is cleared up immediately and the happy couple prepare for their wedding. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

In his long screen career, Stuart Holmes played everything from romantic leads to 2-reel comedy villains to gray-haired bit parts. Holmes was afforded top billing in Fox's The Sins of Men, in which he was cast as George Marvin, who in later years might have been a suitable Ayn Rand hero. A disciple of "The Creed of Selfishness," Marvin is dedicated to gratifying his own needs and desires at the expense of everyone else. The creator of this creed is German philosopher Wilhelm Schumann (Tom Burrough, who comes to a sorry end when a grieving father, angered that Marvin has seduced his daughter, storms into Schumann's home and shoots the old man dead. The last-reel revelation that the entire story was a bad dream undoubtedly disappointed many hardcore melodrama fans. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi