Edwin Mordant Movies
Best remembered for playing the coroner in Bride of Frankenstein, 1930s bit player Edwin Mordant had been a Broadway performer of some fame in the early years of the 20th century, appearing in such plays as Sherlock Holmes (1915) with William Gillette and the hugely successful Business Before Pleasure (1917), while moonlighting in New York-lensed screen melodrama for Famous Players. He became a Hollywood bit player late in life, a career that lasted until 1938 and included such potboilers as the Bela Lugosi serial S.O.S. Coast Guard (1937) and Grand National's Shadows Over Shanghai (1938), in both of which the veteran character actor played medical doctors. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
The bloom of youth had long faded on actor James Dunn when he starred in Shadows Over Shanghai. Even so, he is fairly convincing as hotshot newspaperman Johnny McGinty, on assignment in war-torn China (courtesy of the General Service Studios backlot). McGinty is one of several interested parties involved in a stolen Chinese amulet, which allegedly provides clues to the location of a treasure buried somewhere in America. Also searching high and low for the amulet and the treasure are refugee Russian schoolteacher Irene Roma (Linda Gray) and shady munitions dealer Howard Barclay (Ralph Morgan). To add a bit of versimilitude to the proceedings, newsreel footage of the Sino-Japanese war (from both sides) is inserted into the action, none too convincingly. Its seedy production values aside, Shadows Over Shanghai is reasonably exciting nonsense. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Ralph Morgan, (more)
With the departure of John Wayne to more prestigious films, Robert Livingston returned to the role of Stony Brooke in Republic's "Three Mesquiteers" series. In Outlaws of Sonora, Stony and his saddle pals Tucson (Ray Corrigan) and Lullaby (Max Terhune) are hired by a cattleman's association. While transporting his employers' money to the bank, Stony is waylaid by an outlaw who is his exact double (Livingston plays both roles, of course). Keeping our hero under wraps, the villain poses as Stony in hopes of further financial gain. While thus disguised, the false Stony kills a banker, leaving Tucson and Lullaby to wonder if their good pal has gone bad. Eventually everything is straightened out, thanks to the intervention of sharp-witted Dr. Martin (Jack Mulhall). Outlaws of Sonora is one of the best-known "Three Mesquiteers" entries thanks to constant TV exposure and videocassette rentals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max "Alibi" Terhune
In his third of four action serials, horror star Bela Lugosi played Boroff, an internationally notorious fiend who's attempting to pawn off his deadly invention, a disintegrating gas, to the highest bidder. Before the gas can be manufactured, however, Boroff must go in search of certain hard to come by ingredients and the villain is thwarted at every step by US coastguard agent Terry Kent (Ralph Byrd and crusading newspaper woman Jean Norman (Maxine Doyle. In the serial's 12th and final chapter, "The Deadly Circle," Boroff is finally destroyed by his own invention, civilization thus saved for Democracy. Down on his luck by 1937, Lugosi could only watch as Republic Pictures' screenwriters Barry Shipman and Franklyn Adreon wickedly named his character "Boroff," an obvious reference to Lugosi-rival Boris Karloff. S. O. S. Coastguard nevertheless emerged as one of the Hungarian star's better vehicles, in no small measure due to its vigorous hero, Ralph Byrd, a handsome actor perhaps better remembered from Republic's Dick Tracy serials. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Byrd, Bela Lugosi, (more)
- 1937
Eric Linden and Cecilia Parker, the stars of Grand National's first release In His Steps (1936), were reunited in the same studio's Girl Loves Boy. Linden plays Bob Conrad, the playboy son of town squire Charles Conrad. Much against his dad's wishes, Bob falls in love with Dorothy (Parker), the daughter of penniless widow Mrs. McCarthy (Dorothy Peterson). At the insistence of Conrad Sr., Bob weds Sally Lacy (Bernadene Hayes), but Dorothy's broken heart is mended when it turns out that Sally's divorce from her previous husband was never finalized. Like the previous In His Steps, Girl Loves Boy was scripted by cinematographer-director Karl Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Linden, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1937
A jockey is thrown off the track after it is discovered that gangsters drugged his horse. This drama follows his attempts to redeem himself. First he and his buddy get jobs working on a horse-breeding farm. There he finds himself attracted to the farmer's pretty daughter. The farmer is unhappy with this, but is even more unhappy when he learns that the rider has secretly been training a promising young horse and has entered him in the Big Race without permission. Just before the start of the race, the gangsters try to drug the horse again, but this time the jockey is ready for them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Arledge, John Farrell MacDonald, (more)
- 1935
Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell, the female Laurel and Hardy of Warner Bros., share top billing in We're in the Money. This time Blondell and Farrell are cast respectively as Ginger and Dixie, intrepid process-servers for goofy lawyer Homer Bronson (Hugh Herbert). Things go from the ridiculous to the even more ridiculous when the girls are ordered to serve a summons to Ginger's wealthy boyfriend C. Richard Courtney (Ross Alexander), who's entangled in a breach-of-promise suit. Our heroines are also called upon to deliver their missives to a nightclub singer (Phil Regan), a brawny wrestler (Man Mountain Dean) and a surly gangster (Lionel Stander), with predictable but hilarious results. With so many expert farceurs in the cast, poor Ross Alexander virtually ends up as dramatic relief! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, (more)
This greatest of all Frankenstein movies begins during a raging thunderstorm. Warm and cozy inside their palatial villa, Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon), Percy Shelley (Douglas Walton), and Shelley's wife Mary (Elsa Lanchester) engage in morbidly sparkling conversation. The wicked Byron mockingly chastises Mary for frightening the literary world with her recent novel Frankenstein, but Mary insists that her horror tale preached a valuable moral, that man was not meant to dabble in the works of God. Moreover, Mary adds that her story did not end with the death of Frankenstein's monster, whereupon she tells the enthralled Byron and Shelley what happened next. Surviving the windmill fire that brought the original 1931 Frankenstein to a close, the Monster (Boris Karloff) quickly revives and goes on another rampage of death and destruction. Meanwhile, his ailing creator Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) discovers that his former mentor, the demented Doctor Praetorius (Ernst Thesiger), plans to create another life-sized monster -- this time a woman! After a wild and wooly "creation" sequence, the bandages are unwrapped, and the Bride of the Monster (Elsa Lanchester again) emerges. Alas, the Monster's tender efforts to connect with his new Mate are rewarded only by her revulsion and hoarse screams. "She hate me," he growls, "Just like others!" Wonderfully acted and directed, The Bride of Frankenstein is further enhanced by the vivid Franz Waxman musical score; even the film's occasional lapses in logic and continuity (it was trimmed from 90 to 75 minutes after the first preview) are oddly endearing. Director James Whale was memorably embodied by Ian McKellen in the Oscar-winning 1998 biopic Gods and Monsters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, (more)
- 1935
In this romance, a social worker employed by Traveler's Aid finally is able to show her love to a construction foreman responsible for building the Golden Gate Bridge. She has loved him for nine years and is delighted that they can finally be together. Unfortunately, both of them are so busy that it is difficult to be together. Fortunately, they do eventually connect. The film contains actual footage of the construction of the great San Francisco Bridge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kay Francis, George Brent, (more)
- 1934
Lee Tracy once again plays a Winchellesque newspaper reporter in Universal's I'll Tell the World. More interested in his sex life than his career, news hawk Brown (Tracy) nonetheless agrees to cover the activities of a European archduke (Onslow Stevens) on behalf of his wire service. To circumvent rival reporter Briggs (Roger Pryor), Brown adopts a variety of disguises, and while travelling under an alias he makes the acquaintance of Jane (Gloria Stuart), a princess posing as an American tourist. The finale is a melange of romance, international intrigue, and journalistic double-crosses, culminating in Brown saving Jane's kingdom from revolution. The 1945 Universal minimusical I'll Tell the World is not a remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
We Live Again was based on Tolstoy's Resurrection; the title was changed upon producer Sam Goldwyn's theory that it meant the same thing as Resurrection and was easier to understand. The film was meant as an introductory showcase for Goldwyn's latest discovery, Russian actress Anna Sten. The story, much laundered from the Tolstoy original, depicts the downfall of a peasant girl who is seduced by a Russian prince (Fredric March). The once-callous nobleman tries to make amends for the hurt he has inflicted on the girl, who has wound up in prison for solicitation. The first American version of Resurrection, directed by D. W. Griffith, was made in 1909 and lasted ten minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Sten, Fredric March, (more)
- 1920
The Cost is what wayward lass Violet Hemming must endure for lovely not wisely but too well. Seeking an escape from the drudgery of boarding house life, Hemming marries cotton merchant Edwin Mordant, convincing herself that she cares for him. By the time she realizes her mistake, it is too late, both for Hemming and the man she truly loves, Ralph Kellard. Meanwhile, Mordant carries on an affair with a colleague's wife. Hemming leaves him, but loyally returns when he loses his fortune. Only when Mordant conveniently dies is Hemming finally able to follow the dictates of her heart. A novel by David Graham Phillips served as the basis for this tear-stained drama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
Age could not wither the waiflike beauty of Marguerite Clark, which is why she continued playing Mary Pickford-style roles even as she approached forty. In Molly Make Believe, Clark plays the title character, a "Cinderella" type who vows to save her family home from foreclosure. With the help of her brother, Molly travels to the Big City in a dog cage so as to avoid paying train fare. An accident en route brings our heroine in contact with handsome railroad official Carl Stanton (Mahlon Hamilton), and it is hard to figure out how this association will end up. Molly Make Believe was based on a story by Eleanor Howell Abbott. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
In her longest film to date -- 6 reels -- Mary Pickford starred in this well-made drama as an American girl, kidnapped as a baby and raised in Italy by a peasant family. She refuses to marry the husband chosen for her and stows away on a boat to America dressed as a boy. In New York, she falls in with a crowd of Italian gangsters -- the very same gang that had once kidnapped her -- and is caught passing counterfeit bills. In love with the girl, the district attorney (Eugene O'Brien) forces the truth out of the kidnappers, and Peppina is reunited with her American parents. Filmed almost cinema verité in the streets of New York, Poor Little Peppina was the first production in which Pickford had a financial interest beyond her ever skyrocketing salary. It was a major success despite the star's antipathy toward director Sidney Olcott. "We got through Poor Little Peppina all right, but only because I bit my lip and did as I was told," she later stated. "But I resolved I would never again work with Olcott." The film's most talked about scene came early on in the story when Jack Pickford, playing Mary's foster brother, cuts her (fake) curls in order for her to believably impersonate a boy. Pickford's much ballyhooed tresses almost took on a life of their own, and audiences were audibly shocked when Jack appeared to go at them with a vengeance. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1915
An old Hungarian story was the basis for the Marguerite Clark vehicle Seven Sisters. The story takes place in a Budapest household, where it is believed that if one of the younger daughters marries first, her older siblings will be doomed to live out their lives as old maids. The youngest daughter, 5-year-old Clara (played by future leading lady Madge Evans) is hardly of marriageable age, nor are the next two daughters. But the fourth oldest, Mici (Marguerite Clark), is much sought after by potential husbands, driving her older sisters into a frenzy. For their own protection, the older girls arrange for Mici to be shipped off to a convent school, far removed from anyone in trousers. Despite her cloistered existence, Mici manages to escape long enough to attend a masked ball, where she meets and falls in love with Count Horkoy (Conway Tearle). With his help, Mici finds suitable husbands for her older sisters, and everything turns out "Jake." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
A Royal Family was produced by Columbia Films -- no relation to the later Columbia, but instead a division of Metro Pictures. Prolific "B"-picture "regular" William Nigh both directed the film and played a leading role, while other familiar names in the cast included Montague Love and Fuller Mellish Sr. The story takes place in the mythical kingdom of Arcacia, where in the first scene the infant heir-apparent to the throne is kidnapped. Nearly two decades later, the prince, unaware of his true identity, works as a bartender in the tavern owned by his abductor. Meanwhile, the Cardinal of Arcacia (Fuller Mellish Sr.) attempts to avert a war with neighboring Kurland by arranging a marriage of state between the Princess of Arcacia (Ann Murdock) and the Crown Prince of Kurland (Montague Love). Travelling to Arcacia incognito on a secret mission, the Crown Prince meets the Princess, who immediately falls in love with him without realizing his true identity. Thus, when ordered to return to the palace for her upcoming marriage, the Princess tearfully bids her sweetheart goodbye, totally unaware that he is actually slated to be her future husband. At this point, the true Prince of Arcacia (remember him?) becomes aware of his birthright, whereupon he makes short work of the treacherous Prime Minister who intends to break up the wedding, thereby forcing Arcacia into war with Kurland. Which so much story and so little time to tell it, it is amazing that the actors in A Royal Family found any time to act. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Subtlety was not the strong suit of the barnstorming Clyde Fitch play The Moth and the Flame. As indicated by the title, this is the story of a foolhardy country girl named Jeanette Graham (Irene Howley), who is led astray by seductive city slicker Edward Fletcher (Stewart Baird). Though burned by the "flame," the "moth" refuses to merely wither and die. Awaiting the opportunity to publicly denounce and humiliate the man who ruined her life, Jeanette gets her chance as Fletcher marches down the aisle with his virginal fiancee Marion (Adele Rey). Sidney Olcott's direction was recognized as being vastly superior to the material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
