Frank E. Woods Movies
- 1927
Those who believe that It Happened One Night was the first film to tap the comic potential of "auto courts" (later known as motels) are referred to the 1927 film Rubber Tires. It all begins when the Stack family sells all its worldly possessions, invests in a car, and heads to California. Every possible disaster befalls them, from flat tires to busted radiators, but the family is always rescued by Bill James (Harrison Ford), the erstwhile sweetheart of Mary Ellen Stack (Bessie Love). Upon arriving in the Golden State, Pa Stack (Erwin Connelly) finds that a promised job has fallen through, but fortunately the manufacturer of their car gives the family a huge cash reward for proving the durability of the auto. Rubber Tires was filmed on locations ranging from Monterey Bay to the coast of Carmel; according to co-star Frank "Junior" Coghlan, one scene was filmed in the tiny chili stand owned by future "restaurateur-to-the-stars" Dave Chasen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bessie Love, Erwin Connelly, (more)
- 1925
A woman is led to believe her scheming husband is dead in this melodrama taken from the story by Viola Brothers Shore. Beth Wylie (Wanda Hawley) is fooled into thinking her husband Jim (Harris Gordon) is dead. Jim is very much alive and smuggling Chinese into the country. After a quarrel with her uncle John Gordon (J. Farrell MacDonald), Beth moves out and sets up shop as an interior decorator. Tom Benham (Pa O'Malley) is the insurance agent sent to investigate Jim's alleged demise, a character who attempts to provide comedy relief to the fast-paced feature. Wallace Beery plays Cap Bullwinkle and co-stars with Ethel Wales, Betty Jane Snowdon and Marjorie Morton. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat O'Malley, Wanda Hawley, (more)
- 1925
Cecil B. DeMille's Producers Distributing Corporation released this routine silent western starring brunette Mabel Ballin as an aspiring singer who marries the church organist (Andre deBeranger). He turns out to be a heel, unfortunately, and Ballin turns to the rough-hewn Modoc Bill (Forrest Stanley) for comfort. None of the leads felt all that at home in westerns -- least of all the Australian-born deBeranger (AKA George Beranger), who had played Lord Byron the previous year in Beau Brummel. Beauty and the Bandit was yet another western based on popular pulp writer Peter B. Kyne. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mabel Ballin, Forrest Stanley, (more)
- 1924
Jeanie Andrews (Dorothy Mackaill) wonders what to do when her husband loses his memory and she is left to fend for herself and her baby. Luckily, the talent and charm of Mackaill and her co-star John Harron (brother of D.W. Griffith as well as star Robert Harron) keep this feature from becoming too trite. Manufacturer Henry McLean (William V. Mong) sends his stepson, Donald (Harron), to go work in his factory. Donald gets a job under the name of Jack Nelson and goes to live in a cheap rooming house. He falls in love with Jeanie, a pretty cashier, and they marry. McLean doesn't reveal his real identity to Jeanie immediately because he is waiting for the right moment. That time never comes because soon after the birth of their baby, McLean is hit by a car, causing him to lose all memory of his life as Jack Nelson. He returns to his mother (Louise Dresser) and stepfather instead. Jeanie finally tracks him down, but he denies he has ever seen her before. It takes the efforts of Jim Brown (Tom O'Brien), a former suitor of Jeanie's, to bring McLean's memory back so that he can reunite with his wife. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Mackaill, John Harron, (more)
- 1923
Since Wallace Beery stood out as King Richard in Douglas Fairbanks' Robin Hood, it wasn't too much of a leap to cast him as the king once again in this adventure, based on the novel, The Talisman, by Sir Walter Scott. The story follows Richard the Lion-Hearted as he leads his Crusaders into the Holy Land. Although Sir Kenneth, Knight of the Leopard (John Bowers) once saved the king's life, he has since been disgraced because of a misunderstanding involving Queen Berengaria (Kathleen Clifford). Disguised as a slave he has returned to the king's service. Sultan Saladin (Charles Gerrard), leader of the Saracens, lures Richard away from camp and sends his men in to attack. But Sir Kenneth puts on his armor, saves the queen and Lady Edith, the king's niece (Marguerite de la Motte), and once again raises his standing with the king. When it is discovered that Kenneth is actually the brother of the king of Scotland, he is able to marry Lady Edith. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery
- 1921
Before it reached the screen, this story already had a long history -originally a novel by Darragh Aldrich called Enchanted Hearts, it was adapted to the stage as A Prince There Was by the illustrious George M. Cohan. Unfortunately it was not really screen material and made a poor vehicle for Thomas Meighan, who had little to do in it. This picture was also a comedown for Mildred Harris -- after the failure of her marriage to Charles Chaplin, she was summarily bumped down to co-starring and supporting roles. Although Charles Edward Martin (Meighan) has loads of money, he has little to keep him occupied, and his pal, Jack Carruthers (Nigel Barrie), urges him to do something with his life. When Martin encounters Katherine Woods (Harris), who is forced to eke out a living as a writer after her father's suicide, he believes he has a cause. He takes a job as assistant editor on Carruthers' magazine, calling himself Mr. Prince, and moves into the boarding hous! e where Katherine lives. He buys the story that Carruthers rejected, and when he refuses to run it, buys the whole magazine and publishes it. When Katherine uncovers the whole tale, it causes a rift in their romance, but they make up soon enough. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mildred Harris, Charlotte Jackson, (more)
- 1916
The Little School Ma'am is Nan, portrayed by Dorothy Gish. A Southern gal, Nan heads westward to take charge of a classroom in a puritanical frontier village. Though dedicated to her job, she yearns for the companionship of a male over the age of 12. Virginia-born playwright Wilbur Howard (Elmer Clifton) newly arrived in town for a vacation, falls hard for winsome Nan. Their chastely conducted romance stirs up a great deal of gossip, leading to a devastating scandal. In the end, it is Nan's loyal schoolkids who clear up matters so that Nan and Wilbur can be married. Stills exist from The Little School Ma'am showing Dorothy Gish in a pirate costume, suggesting that a masquerade party was somehow woven into the storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
Norma Talmadge, already a star but not yet a STAR, played the eponymous heroine in 1916's Martha's Vindication. To protect the reputation of her best friend Dorothea (Seena Owen, Martha claims that she is the mother of the friend's illegitimate baby. Even though she is ostracized and condemned by the community in general and fire-and-brimstone preacher Hunt (Ralph Lewis) in particular, Martha refuses to tell the whole story, nor will she permit her friend -- now happily married and the mother of a legitimate child -- to speak up. Only Martha's sweetheart William (Charles West) stands by her in her hour of need, and even he has his doubts. But as indicated by the film's title, Martha is eventually proven to be as pure as the driven snow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
According to this film, Man's Prerogative would seem to be to cheat upon his sweetheart whenever and wherever he pleases. This, at least, is the philosophy of one Oliver Rand (Robert Edeson). Though promised in marriage to Elizabeth Town (Mary Alden, Oliver dallies with a pretty artist's model (Billie West). But when Elizabeth decides to play the field herself, she is branded as a brazen hussy -- the Double Standard at work again. The producers of A Man's Prerogative made their point early in the film, then proceeded to beat it to death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The most successful and artistically advanced film of its time, The Birth of a Nation has also sparked protests, riots, and divisiveness since its first release. The film tells the story of the Civil War and its aftermath, as seen through the eyes of two families. The Stonemans hail from the North, the Camerons from the South. When war breaks out, the Stonemans cast their lot with the Union, while the Camerons are loyal to Dixie. After the war, Ben Cameron (Henry B. Walthall), distressed that his beloved south is now under the rule of blacks and carpetbaggers, organizes several like-minded Southerners into a secret vigilante group called the Ku Klux Klan. When Cameron's beloved younger sister Flora (Mae Marsh) leaps to her death rather than surrender to the lustful advances of renegade slave Gus (Walter Long), the Klan wages war on the new Northern-inspired government and ultimately restores "order" to the South. In the original prints, Griffith suggested that the black population be shipped to Liberia, citing Abraham Lincoln as the inspiration for this ethnic cleansing. Showings of Birth of a Nation were picketed and boycotted from the start, and as recently as 1995, Turner Classic Movies cancelled a showing of a restored print in the wake of the racial tensions around the O.J. Simpson trial verdict. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, (more)
- 1915
Former D. W. Griffith assistant William "Christy" Cabanne, in collaboration with Frank E. Woods, called the shots in The Absentee-NRA. Robert Edeson, another Griffith alumnus, stars in this tale of labor unrest. When a justifiable strike goes on indefinitely, the owners call in the militia, with violent results. Many of the scenes are allegorical in nature, placing the events in context with worldwide strife. Absentee NRA was the sort of film that would disappear from screens during World War 1, a period when free speech was bascially "closed for the duration". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1914
This Reliance four-reeler starred Dorothy Gish as the title character, a rambunctious frontier dance-hall gal named Nell. When a dissolute, drunken Easterner (Henry B. Walthall) arrives in town, he proves easy prey to the local bullies and sharpsters. But Nell takes pity on the stranger and nurses him back to health. The redemption turns out to be two-tiered: Completely recovered, the Easterner marries Nell and rescues her from her wild-and-wooly environs. Though Dorothy Gish made several westerns, she was deathly afraid of horses, the result of a traumatic accident in her youth. Among the Reliance"regulars" appearing in minor roles are James Kirkwood (who also directed), Donald Crisp and Walter Long. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Forced by the dictates of his Biograph contract to give up directing in favor of "supervising," D.W. Griffith left the studio as soon as possible. Thus, though Griffith is credited as supervisor of the 4-reel Classmates, he actually had very little to do with the production. The story concerns four West Point cadets, one of whom, played by Henry B. Walthall, is unjustly expelled in his junior year. Vowing vengeance against the student who engineered his dismissal, Walthall follows the man to the steamy jungles of South America, where through various acts of conspicuous bravery he is at last able to clear his own name. Based on a play by Margaret Turnbull and William C. DeMille, Classmates was remade in 1924 with Richard Barthelmess in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1914
The direction of 1914's His Last Dollar has often been attributed to D.W. Griffith. However, since Griffith was preoccupied with such trivialities as The Birth of a Nation at the time, it is likely that he merely supervised the film, handing the directorial reins to Frank Powell. Venerable stage star David Higgins does his best to impersonate a very young man who leaves his frontier home for New York. Though wealthy, Higgins is soon reduced to penury by a gang of con men. Left with only a dollar, Higgins takes a chance at the race track, and guess what happens next? Aw, you peeked. Running a brisk 4 reels (approximately 50 minutes), His Last Dollar was based on a stage play co-written by star David Higgins and Baldwin G. Cooke (could this have been the same Baldwin Cooke who was once the vaudeville partner of Stan Laurel? No.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Conservative Biograph Studios, having galloped to prominence on the coattails of their star director D.W. Griffith, refused to allow Griffith to make any film longer than two reels. Ignoring this edict, Griffith permitted his Biblical epic Judith of Bethulia to stretch to four reels; Biograph's reprimands were so blistering that the director quit the studio, setting up his own independent operation. While of great historical value, Judith of Bethulia is, truth to tell, not one of Griffith's best efforts. Among other things, the film is hampered by uninteresting exterior locations and a storyline that switched dramatic gears far too often. The basic story of young widow Judith (Blanche Sweet) offering herself to Assyrian leader Holofernes (Henry B. Walthall) in order to kill the man and thus avenge the subjugation and slaughter of her countrymen was strong enough on its own to carry the day. It was hardly necessary for Griffith to concoct a last-minute-rescue subplot involving Bethulian warrior Robert Harron and damsel in distress Mae Marsh. Historians have suggested that Griffith, impressed by the recently released Italian spectacular Quo Vadis, may have conceived Judith as an American "answer" to that film--an ill-advised decision, since the plotlines of the two properties bear precious little resemblance to each other. Still, it is fascinating to watch Griffith experiment with many of the story elements and techniques that he'd later hone to perfection in such films as Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916) and Orphans of the Storm (1916); it's also an enjoyable film-buff exercise to spot such Griffith regulars as Lillian and Dorothy Gish and Harry Carey in minor roles. Biograph--whose fortunes diminished after Griffith's departure--reissued Judith of Bethulia in 1917 in an expanded version titled Her Condoned Sin, using outtakes that Griffith had wisely jettisoned back in 1914. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Sweet, Henry B. Walthall, (more)
- 1910
Among the many villains in D.W.Griffith's 1916 epic Intolerance were those self-styled "social uplifters" who presumptuously impose their moral values on others. Six years before Intolerance, Griffith gave these uplifters a good going over in his Biograph one-reeler A Simple Charity. In this instance, a poor scrubwoman is targeted for "redemption" by a pompous charitable organization. Rather than help the woman, however, the do-gooders hurt her by insisting that she put her life and future entirely in their hands. By film's end, the well-meaning uplifters are shown the error of their ways. A Simple Charity was partially filmed on location at Fort Lee, New Jersey (the current home of the CNBC and MSNBC cable TV networks). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1910
Peggy (Mary Pickford) is a strong-willed young woman who lives during the 18th century. She is not attracted to any of her suitors, but an English Lord becomes intrigued with her and convinces Peggy to marry him. However, Peggy's earthy manner doesn't blend well with the cultured nobility, and she is embarrassed at a party. She flees the party with the Lord's cousin, but the Lord is worried that the cousin will make advances to her, so he follows them. When the cousin does make a pass at Peggy, she loses her temper and throws things at him, and the Lord is reassured that she loves him after all. While Peggy does submit to a man long enough to get married, she does as she pleases for most of the film. Mary Pickford gives another strong performance as an independent woman. ~ Bruce Calvert, All Movie Guide
