Kent Douglass Movies
- 1931
Mae Clarke had the best role of her career as the heroine of Waterloo Bridge, the first of three filmizations of Robert L. Sherwood's play. Douglass Montgomery (here credited as Kent Douglass) plays a young American soldier who, while on leave from World War I, meets Myra (Clarke) during an air raid in London and falls in love with her, unaware she is a prostitute. Directed with a delicate mixture of realism and impressionism by James Whale, the 1931 Waterloo Bridge is head and shoulders above its heavily laundered 1940 remake -- which in turn is vastly superior to the 1956 re-remake, Gaby. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mae Clarke, Kent Douglass, (more)
- 1931
A man who unthinkingly sullied the honor of a virtuous girl now must deal with his own ethical downfall in this drama. Willi Kasder (Ramon Novarro) is a lieutenant in the Austrian Army who one night picks up an innocent young woman named Laura Taub (Helen Chandler). Willi shares several drinks with the naive Laura and takes advantage of her; the next morning, she discovers to her horror that he left money for her and has no intention of seeing her again. Emotionally shattered, Laura soon becomes the mistress of Herr Schnabel (Jean Hersholt), a wealthy but corrupt gentleman with a taste for gambling. Willi begins gaming with Schnabel and soon falls deeply in debt; eventually Schabel gives Willi two options: pay the money you owe or kill yourself. Willi tries to find a way out of his dilemma while also hoping to free Laura from the corrupt lifestyle into which he led her. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ramon Novarro, Helen Chandler, (more)
- 1931
Based on a story by Fannie Hurst, Five and Ten stars Marion Davies as Jennifer, the spoiled daughter of department-store magnate John Rarick (Richard Bennett). Because Rarick neglects his family, they all manage to get themselves into hot water. Jennifer's mother, Jenny (Irene Rich), nearly runs off with a gigolo, while her alcoholic brother, Avery (Kent Douglass), nearly dies in a reckless aviation escapade. As for our heroine, she messes up her entrée into high society, but at least finds happiness in the arms of architect Berry (Leslie Howard). Rarick finally awakens to his family responsibilities, and in a last-reel flurry of activity, he pulls all their coals out of the fire. Five and Ten was released in Great Britain as Daughter of Luxury. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Leslie Howard, (more)
- 1931
"A house divided against itself cannot stand" declared Abraham Lincoln; proof that a house divided can be repaired is provided in this early talkie effort from director William Wyler. Walter Huston plays alcoholic fisherman Seth Law, who, recently widowed, signs up for a mail-order bride. Ruth Evans (Helen Chandler), Seth's wife-to-be, is instantly attracted...to Seth's ne'er-do- well son, Matt (Kent Douglass). Father and son duke it out, leaving Seth crippled. Though he now despises Ruth, Seth aligns with his son to save the girl when a sudden storm blows up. Seth is killed, but he is satisfied that Ruth is happy and that his son is not the wastrel he thought he was. Interestingly enough, the dialogue for A House Divided was penned by Walter Huston's own son, John. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Walter Huston, Kent Douglass, (more)
- 1930
Paid was the third film version of the Bayard Veiller stage play Within the Law. Joan Crawford is cast as a shopgirl falsely arrested for stealing and sent to jail for three years. She swears vengeance on the store owner (Purnell Pratt), and to that end sets up a shady but legal racket wherein she and partner Marie Prevost act as "matchmakers" for lonely old men. It's all part of a plan to fleece the store owner by placing him in a compromising position, but Joan is sidetracked when she meets the owner's son (Kent Douglass. Marrying him in order to exact revenge on his father, Crawford falls in love with the young man and abandons her scheme. But once more, Crawford is wrongly accused of a crime, this time of murder. Paid ends happily for all concerned--especially MGM, which remade this reliable property (again!) under its old title Within the Law (1939), with Ruth Hussey in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong, (more)
