Adeline Hayden Coffin Movies
- 1928
Misguided heroine Louise Harding (Juliette Compton) marries into wealth for convenience's sake. While going about her obligatory charitable work, Louise becomes interested in a variety of her male co-workers. The formerly demure bride suddenly turns into a sexy seductress, completely destroying the life of one of her paramours. On the verge of triumphing over a second victim, Louise is murdered by the cast-off fiancee of her previous lover. Plenty hot stuff, A Woman Tempted was based on a novel by Countess Vera Cathcart. Director Maurice Elvey co-produced the film with John Maxwell. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julie Compton, Warwick Ward, (more)
- 1925
This is a 7-reel British romantic drama, written by and starring Mrs. John Russell. Russell plays a woman vexed by an unfaithful husband. She seeks out her ex-beau and goes to work at his dress shop, turning the establishment into a howling success. Now: just guess what kind of business the Honorable Mrs. John Russell managed in real life. You win: Afraid of Love is little more than a feature-length "infomercial" for Mrs. Russell's thriving London dressmaking company. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1924
The oft-filmed Edgar Wallace novel Flying Fifty-Five was given its first screen treatment in 1924. Lionelle Howard plays Reggie Cambray, a nobleman with a fondness for horse racing. Falling love with Stella Barrington (Stephanie Stephens), Reggie comes to her rescue when she is victimized by crooked gamblers. Taking the place of Stella's jockey, who has been beaten senseless by the villains, Reggie rides his girl friend's horse to victory. Reviews indicate that Flying Fifty-Five was pretty slow going until the pulse-pounding racetrack finale. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1923
In this silent British boxing drama, a conniving woman frames her stepson into entering the squared circle in place of his manager father's best fighter. Real life heavyweight champ Victor McLagien plays the title role. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1923
As a rule, British silent films were about as esthetically pleasing as a can of gray paint. Not so the productions of the prolific Maurice Elvey, who always managed to keep things visually fascinating even when the plot and characters let him down. When he had a literary classic at his disposal, Elvey was home free, and such was the case of Don Quixote. Stage star Jerrold Robertshaw stars as the ageing "knight errant" Quixote, while music hall favorite George Robey costars as Quixote's faithful servant Sancho Panza (Robey would repeat this characterization in the 1934 talkie version of the Cervantes classic). Dispensing with the pathos and satire of the original, director Elvey and his stars concentrate on the broad, slapsticky aspects of the story, especially during the tilting-at-windmills scene. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1923
For the first three-quarters of the twentieth century, women were expected to sacrifice all their aspirations in favor of motherhood. This preachy, British-made picture (directed by American Denison Clift) did its best to hit that point home. Rosalie Aubyn (Fay Compton) grows up wanting a career. Although she has no desire to marry and have a family, that changes when she meets Harry Occleve (Clive Brook). One wedding and three children later, Rosalie decides to go back to work, leaving the children and domestic chores in the hands of others. Two of her three children, Huggo (John Stuart) and Doda (Nancye Kenyon) wind up in trouble -- Huggo goes to prison after making a shady deal and Doda becomes a playgirl who is betrayed by a rogue. Both of them blame their sorry fates on the fact that Rosalie was never there for them. Although Rosalie has become a successful business woman, she realizes she has paid a high price for her achievements. The film was based on a then-popular novel by A.S.M. Hutchinson. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fewlass Llewellyn, Adeline Hayden Coffin, (more)
- 1923
This British-made drama based on the novel by Sir Hall Caine apparently ran about 17 reels, but was cut to ten for American release (the leftovers were issued as The Return of the Prodigal). Much of it was shot in Iceland, where the action takes place. Stephan Stephanson, the governor of Iceland (Frank Wilson), arranges to have his son Magnus (Stewart Rome) wed Thora Neilson (Colette Brettel), the youngest daughter of another official. But when Stephanson's younger son Oscar (Henry Victor) returns home, he falls in love with Thora. Magnus steps aside, even though it means his disgrace. After the marriage, however, Oscar's attention is diverted by Thora's sister, Helga (Edith Bishop). When Thora has a baby, Helga schemes to get it away from her. The stress and the grief kill Thora. Oscar, meanwhile, has forged his father's name on a big check in Monte Carlo. Stephanson pays the check but it breaks him. Driven from home, Oscar meets Helga once again in Monte Carlo, but after he becomes involved in a card scandal, she refuses to have anything to do with him. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1919
After Many Days was no better nor worse than any other British film of its period. The plot concerns a burglar who seduces an aspiring model. When the girl has a baby, the burglar intimates that his own brother was responsible. Though innocent, the brother does "the right thing" by the girl. In the last reel, the burglar is revealed as a cad and bounder, to the surprise of absolutely no one. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
