Lola Todd Movies

Based on Bret Harte's 1925 serialized novel The Saint of Calamity Gulch, this silent Western starred Rex Bell as a lawman tracking a mysterious masked bandit. The "outlaw," however, proves to be lovely Jessie Smith (Lola Todd), a girl wronged. Jessie proves not to be bad at all and actually saves Joe Courtney (Bell) from villainous Dan Carson (Richard Carlyle). 9-year-old Billy Butts provided comedy relief in this Western, one of four Fox oaters starring Bell, a future lieutenant governor of Nevada and the husband of Clara Bow. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Directed by one of "Uncle" Carl Laemmle's many relatives, this Universal "Blue Streak Western" sat on the shelf for two years before being released to a mostly indifferent reception in 1927. The reason for the film's delay could have been aged leading man William Desmond's waning popularity, or its subject matter -- the bad treatment of Native American recruits in the past war -- might have worried a rather matter-of-fact studio such as Universal, despite the success of Paramount's The Vanishing American (1925). Desmond played Chief John Nisheto who, during the campaign in France, saves the life of Jack Burr (Albert J. Smith), the son of a United States senator (Byron Douglas) favorable to Native Americans. After the Armistice, Chief Nisheto starts dating Jack's sister Agnes (Marceline Day), to the dismay of the racist Jack, who doesn't realize that the chief is the man who once saved his life. Nisheto is later mortally wounded and Jack repents his prejudice on his rescuer's deathbed. Despite the film's honorable intentions, Red Clay suffered under Hollywood's stringent miscegenation policy. Desmond (a white actor, of course) had to die for Red Clay to reach an acceptable conclusion. This and several other melodramatic treatments of Native Americans were inspired by pro-Indian legislation enacted by real-life senator John Collier. The subject matter, however, was much better served in the early silent era, where Native Americans were more a subject of benign curiosity than the condescending praise typified by films such as Red Clay and The Vanishing American. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Dorothy Phillips, an actress once billed as the "Duse of the Screen," stars in the Columbia programmer Remember. Phillips is cast as Ruth Pomeroy, who performs yeoman duty to convince her blinded brother-in-law Jimmy (Earl Metcalfe) that his wife -- Ruth's flighty younger sister Constance (Lola Todd) -- remained faithful to him during WWI. Posing as Constance, Ruth tends to Jimmy's needs upon his return, falling in love with him in the process. After a fall down a flight of stairs, Jimmy recovers his eyesight, realizing at long last that it was Ruth and not Constance who was true-blue all along. The script for Remember was written by 2-reel comedienne Dorothy Howell, unexpectedly "going dramatic." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Italian strongman Lucien Albertini was the nominal star of this action serial released in 15 chapters by Universal, but most of the attention went to supporting player Joe Bonomo, who was well on his way to serial stardom himself. Albertini played Paul Breen, a Paris reporter attempting to solve the case of American heiress Arlene Graham (Margaret Morris), who vanishes en route to New York. Villainous Jules Despaed (Jean De Briac) passes his girlfriend Mimi (Lola Todd) off as the missing Arlene, but Paul is on to him and the game is up in chapter 15, "The Confession." A strongman himself, Bonomo was cast as De Briac's henchman and did well enough for Universal to star him in the following year's The Circus Mystery. Directed by action specialist Jay Marchant, The Iron Man also featured former serial star Jack Daugherty, Rose Dione, Jack Pratt, and William Welsh. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide