Clyde Fitch Movies

As an actor, British film star Stewart Granger was very handsome, but this is all that is required of him in Beau Brummell. Granger plays the famed 18th-century dandy and social arbiter who rises from poverty to become the adviser and severest critic of the Prince of Wales (marvelously portrayed as a self-involved neurotic by Peter Ustinov). Secure in his station in life, Brummell goes one step too far when he jokes about the Prince's obesity. The future King George IV will forget the whole thing if Brummell will apologize, but the haughty trendsetter refuses to do so. Brummell is banished from court, losing everything -- including his chance at finding happiness with the aristocratic Elizabeth Taylor -- in the process. Filmed on location in England, Beau Brummell was based on the same war-horse play by Clyde Fitch that had served as the inspiration for the 1924 Brummell starring John Barrymore. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Climbers is the third film version of the same-named play by Clyde Fitch. Whereas the original play took place in contemporary America, the 1927 movie version was transplanted to the Spanish Empire, during the reign of King Ferdinand VII (Max Barwyn). In her efforts to enrich herself and increase her social prestige, the Duchess of Aragon (Irene Rich) has become a cruel despot, ruling her land holdings in Puerto Rico with an iron fist. Rising up against the Duchess' tyranny is the Robin Hood-like bandit El Blanco, who by day is the foppish Duke Cordova (Forrest Stanley). The plot becomes as thick as pea soup when El Blanco falls for the Duchess' daughter Laska (Flobelle Fairbanks). For the record, the original The Climbers had something to do with a social-climbing husband who is disgraced after destroying the lives of his loved ones. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This romantic comedy from Warner Bros. was based on the stage play by Clyde Fitch. Although Mary Larkin (Gertrude Olmstead) loves Tom Singleton (Robert Ellis), she can't see herself as the wife of a country doctor. Since Singleton won't leave the little New England town where they live, Mary decides to encourage the attentions of Herbert Woodbridge (Crauford Kent), a flashy stranger who has come to town. Singleton, meanwhile, has taken on what another, more old-fashioned doctor (George Periolat) believes to be a hopeless case -- a little boy who can't walk. The young doctor takes both the boy and his mother (Frances Dale) into his home, and is able to cure the youngster. Meanwhile, Mary accepts Woodbridge's marriage proposal and asks the local minister -- who happens to be Singleton's father (Norval McGregor) -- to perform the ceremony. He fetches his son to be a witness, and for a second witness, Singleton brings along the mother. It comes as a surprise to everyone, when the mother identifies the would-be groom as the husband she divorced for non-support. But after seeing his son, Woodbridge decides to reconcile with his ex-wife, and Mary happily returns to Singleton. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This Western was based on an old Clyde Fitch play and (unfortunately) bears no relation to the 1938 Gary Cooper/Merle Oberon movie of the same name. It's one of Mary Miles Minter's last films and she plays Jessica Weston, who manages a ranch while her philandering husband makes time with Molly (Viora Daniel), proprietess of the local cafe. Jessica meets a "dude" cowboy named Teddy North (Tom Moore), and when he saves her life, an attraction develops between them. North protects Jessica from her husband's cruelties, then comes to her aid once again when Weston is found murdered and she's accused of killing him. North takes the blame for the murder. But he's saved from the hangman's noose when Molly reveals that Ross, her former lover (Guy Oliver), is the guilty party. With Weston dead and out of the way, North and Jessica are able to find happiness together. It is a gross exaggeration to say that 19-year-old Mary Miles Minter completely lost her box office appeal after the unsolved murder of the man she loved, 49-year-old William Desmond Taylor. This film was released over nine months after Taylor's death and trade paper reviews of the day encouraged exhibitors to use Minter's name in their promotions. Minter, in fact, did not want to act any longer and was perfectly agreeable to seeing her contract end in 1923. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi