Robert Walker Movies
This handsome, mustachioed leading man of the 1910s was, of course, not the young actor of the same name who married Jennifer Jones. The earlier Walker began his screen career with pioneering film companies such as Kalem and Thanhouser and reached stardom as Viola Dana's leading man in Blue Jeans (1917), a charming bit of Americana directed by the much-neglected John D. Collins. In the 1920s, having added a dashing mustache and an air of haughty menace, Walker became one of the best "boss villains" in westerns, handsome enough to be a serious rival to the hero -- at least in the first couple of reels. To the everlasting chagrin of film researchers, the two Robert Walkers careers overlap for four years (1935-1939). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1930
In this musical western, a cowpoke goes searching for his brother's killer. The brother had been a Texas Ranger. He finds the killer and they have a midnight showdown on Main Street. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Dorothy Dwan, (more)
- 1929
Its title and 1929 vintage notwithstanding, Dream Melody was a silent picture. John Roche plays Richard Gordon, an aspiring composer who can't get arrested in his field of endeavor. Upon meeting nightclub singer Mary Talbot (Mary Julienne Scott), Gordon is inspired to write his greatest melody. The song catches the ear of impresario George Monroe (Robert Walker), and before long Gordon has scaled the heights of fame and fortune. Mary despairs that she's been forgotten, but Gordon proves otherwise in the film's emotion-charged climax. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Roche, Mabel Julienne Scott, (more)
- 1927
Cowboy Arthur Weston (Dick Hatton) sulkily observes his girlfriend Mary Osbourn (Elsa Benham) doing the Charleston with smooth city-slicker Stephen Stanton (Robert Walker). The latter is in reality the leader of a gang of cattle rustlers, a fact the stubborn Mary refuses to believe. It takes the combined efforts of Weston and marshal Harry Beal (George Kesterson) to bring the villain and his gang to justice. Kesterson, who later acted under the name Art Mix, tracks down Stanton's henchmen (Al Ferguson and Cliff Lyons from an airplane, a rather spectacular climax to an otherwise extremely low-budget silent western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Miles and miles of stock "tenement fire" footage are expended in this inexpensive actioner. Alice Lake stars as a wealthy socialite who turns reformer, aiming her attacks at the city's slum landlords. The more egregious of these crooks turns out to be Lake's own father (Lionel Belmore), who steadfastly refuses to fireproof the tenements within his jurisdiction. Against this backdrop, a romantic subplot is played out involving the heroine and courageous fireman Roy Stewart. Sure enough, Stewart is called upon to rescue both Lake and her larcenous father when they're trapped in an outsized blaze (again courtesy of stock shots from earlier films). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Lake, Roy Stewart, (more)
- 1926
Stuntman-turned-actor Billy Sullivan performs several awesome feats of strength in the low-budget actioner The Gallant Fool. Sullivan is cast as millionaire's son Billy Banner, who heads to the mythical country of Valdonia to collect a debt in his father's behalf. Instead, he goes the "Prisoner of Zenda" route, posing as the Valdonian prince to foil the evil schemes of the actual monarch, Crown Prince Boris (Ferdinand Schumann-Heink). He also puts down a revolution and wins the undying love of the gorgeous Princess Iris (Hazel Deane). With a little more money and effort, The Gallant Fool might actually been worthy of its leading man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hazel Deane
- 1925
The poverty row team of Ben Wilson and Neva Gerber starred in this obscure silent Western based on General Charles King's A Tale of the Indian Frontier. Set during the Indian Wars, the film centered on a government surveyor who mistakenly believes that a lovely "half-breed" is spying for the enemy. Wilson and Gerber enjoyed a long association that included such serials as The Voice on the Wire (1917) and The Mystery Ship (1917). Despite rumors to the contrary, their association was apparently purely professional. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benjamin F. Wilson, Neva Gerber, (more)
- 1925
One of the few female western stars of the 1920s, Josie Sedgwick, played a girl searching for her outlaw father's killer in this routine Universal oater. Along the way, she nurses a handsome mine manager (Edward Hearn back to health, and they fall in love. As an inside joke, the villain in this film, played smoothly by Robert Walker, was given the name of a well-known supporting player, bearded Slim Cole. Like her sister Eileen, Josie Sedgwick's career waned in the mid 1920s, and she left the screen in 1926, returning only once to play Bob Steele's gun-toting mother in Son of Oklahoma (1932). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Hearn
- 1924
Herbert Rawlinson and Alice Lake star in this uneven drama taken from the Saturday Evening Post story by Calvin Johnston. Harmon McGregor attempts to provide comedy relief as Moron Mike. Robert Walker, Jim Blackwell, and Edwin J. Bradley co-star in this monotonous melodrama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Rawlinson, Alice Lake, (more)
- 1923
Two thieves fight over a packet of stolen money. One (Herschall Mayall) hides the money near a haunted house before being killed by the other (Robert Walker). The surviving crook goes by the name of Doctor Peak. The dead crook's old mother (Gertrude Claire) knows about the hidden money and goes in search of it, but she's thwarted by Peak at every turn. Meanwhile, the old lady's grandson Jerry (Tom Gallery) shows up in town with a medicine show. Jerry and Peak wind up in a furious battle and discover the cash is in a well. The haunted house catches fire and is destroyed. The money turns out to be counterfeit and the village deaf mute (Victor Potel) turns out to be a member of the secret service in disguise. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Gallery, Herschel Mayall, (more)
- 1922
J.P. McGowan certainly knew how to make his adventure films exciting on a shoestring budget. Even though this picture was obviously made on the cheap (it's shot almost completely out of doors, which makes it seem a bit old-fashioned for 1922), McGowan packed in enough thrills so that nobody really cared about its production values. Along with directing, McGowan stars as Terry Nolan, a railroad worker who is arrested for the theft of some ore from a train. He is innocent, however, and escapes. Instead of leaving town, he decides to stick around, mainly because of the charms of Nora Murphy (Dorothy Wood), the daughter of the superintendent (Andrew Waldron). Nolan had made Nora's acquaintance when her car crashed into a wagon, drawing the ire of its owners. It turns out that one of these men, Harry Allen (early screen villain Robert Walker), is the one who took the ore. Nolan puts the blame where it belongs and wins Nora, in spite of her father's opposition. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
A gambler (William S. Hart) seeks revenge on the villain (Alexander Gaden) who ravished his sister (Helen Holly). The brute also attempts to, as an inter title puts it, "possess" the gambler's sweetheart (Vola Vale) and, still not satisfied, lecherously pursues the daughter of his partner-in-crime, an Indian chief (Standing Bear). Hart wrote the story himself, and the film reflects his, by 1921, slightly anachronistically stern view of the West. The great star was no longer the box-office draw of yore, his popularity usurped by more flamboyant, if not downright tongue-in-cheek, cowboys such as Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson. Hart released three more films in 1921 but none the following year and only one in 1923. He wound up his career in 1925, but on a high note: Tumbleweeds, a fascinating epic of the Oklahoma land rush. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William S. Hart, Vola Vale, (more)
- 1920
Although Becky Butler (Mary MacLaren) comes from a distinguished Virginian family, the clan has fallen on hard times, and she finds herself the impoverished last of her line. So she travels to New York in order to become a chorus girl and nab a millionaire. She is successful right off the bat, not only landing the chorus gig but also enticing Wall Street millionaire Carter Willis (Lloyd Whitlock). Her plans, however, are thrown into disarray when she falls in love with stage manager Tom Rushworth (Wallace MacDonald). She intends to marry Willis anyway, but Rushworth is arrested for the murder of one of his former girlfriends. He's given the third degree, but he refuses to divulge his whereabouts at the time of the murder, because it would compromise Becky's reputation. Becky, however, comes to his aid and supplies the necessary alibi, thus getting him exonerated. After that, she realizes that true love has no price tag and sticks with Rushworth. This picture was based on a story by W. Carey Wonderly which appeared in Live Stories magazine. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Theda Bara does her usual vamp turn in this picture, but this time she's a vamp who turns out to have a heart of gold. Her character, Blanchette DuMonde, is known as "the wickedest woman in Paris," and because of this sordid reputation, she is not allowed to serve as a nurse during World War I. So she becomes an Apache dancer instead. A young sculptor is taken with Blanchette and would like her to pose for a statue, but her latest sugar daddy (Eugene Ormonde) won't allow it. Sadly, the sculptor goes to war and comes back home blinded. Meanwhile, Blanchette has dumped her sugar daddy for a ruffian, but she leaves him for the blinded sculptor and is happy taking care of him. Both her ex-boyfriends track her down, and she kills the ruffian. The sugar daddy winds up taking credit for the murder after being upbraided by the blind man, who tells him, "You only saw Blanchette's body. It took a man without eyes to see her soul." The Light was a success after a year's worth of failures for Bara, and it brought life back to her limping career. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
The Whirlpool was based on the novel of the same name by Victoria Morton. Alice Brady stars as Belle Cavello, the mercenary sweetheart of moonstruck Arthur Hallam (William B. Davidson). In order to keep Belle in the manner to which she is accustomed, Arthur resorts to robbery and as a result is accused of a murder he didn't commit. Sobered by this turn of events, the covetous Belle decides to henceforth live a virtuous life, and to that end she marries the highly respectable Judge Reverton (H.E. Herbert). Inevitably, however, Belle's past catches up with her, and her bad traits resurface. The heroine's multitude of personal problems are straightened out -- if such a thing is possible -- by a prominent "brain specialist" (W.E. Williams), who tries to purge the heroine of her inbred wickedness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1918
Inspired by the recent Russian Revolution, At the Mercy of Men casts Alice Brady as Vera Souroff, a Petrograd music teacher. While heading to work, Vera is suddenly seized by three officers of the Czar's Imperial Guard and dragged off to a darkened restaurant, where one of the men rapes her. When the police arrive, Vera is unable to determine which of the three men was responsible for the outrage. The shock of the girl's humiliation has a startling effect on her fiance Boris, who immediately swears vengeance on the Czarist regime and joins the revolutionists. Likewise, Vera's father, a retired Army officer, is galvanized into forming "The Forces of the People." The suggestion that the Revolution was inspired solely by a sexual assault on a single woman may have been a bit hard to swallow, but audiences unfamiliar with the actual political turmoil in Russia were willing to suspend disbelief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1918
Goldwyn Studios' favorite leading lady Madge Kennedy plays the title role in Fair Pretender. Kennedy stars as a young woman of modest means, posing as a millionairess in order to attend a hoity-toity society ball, where she hopes to snare a rich husband. Here she meets handsome young Tom Moore, who is likewise impersonating a man of wealth. The two forget their mutual outrage at each other's subterfuge long enough to subdue a German spy (where did he come from?) Despite their reduced circumstances, Kennedy and Moore end up falling in love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1917
Viola Dana, Metro Studios' favorite leading lady, stars in A Girl Without a Soul. Dana essays a dual role as twin sisters who not unexpectedly are as different as night and day. Priscilla, an aspiring artist, is ruined by scurrilous Russian musician Ivor (Fred Jones). Meanwhile, Priscilla's sister Unity settles down for a wholesome small-town existence with village smithy Hiram Miller (Robert Walker). Ultimately, Unity's husband is blamed for a crime committed by the craven Priscilla. Girl Without a Soul was directed by Viola Dana's talented husband John H. Collins, whose promising career was tragically cut short by the Influenza epidemic of 1918. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1917
The popular star/director combination of Viola Dana and John H. Collins had another winner on their hands with Aladdin's Other Lamp. Dana plays a young Arabian Nights slave girl in search of her mother. Mom and daughter are reunited through the facilities of a magic lamp, allowing the talented Collins free reign in the special-effects department. Since Dana's character name was Patsy rather than Fatima or Yasmin, one suspects that Aladdin's Other Lamp was intended to be an extended dream sequence. Director John H. Collins' career, and his happy marriage to Viola Dana, flourished until he tragically fell victim to the 1919 influenza epidemic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1917
For years, it was a "given" that no director of merit ever emerged from the old Edison studios. This assertion was disproved when several of the films directed by Edison alumnus John H. Collins were rediscovered in the late 1970s. One of the best of Collins' efforts (and, sadly, one of his last) was the six-reel Metro drama Blue Jeans. Based on an old stage play, the film was set in Hill Country, where a long-standing family feud causes trouble for feisty heroine June (played by Collins' talented wife Viola Dana. The climax is that old "meller-drammer" standy, the Hero Strapped to a Log in the Sawmill. Despite the silliness of the situation, Collins plays it dead straight, and the scene is almost unbearably suspenseful (incidentally, the heroine comes to the rescue, thereby reversing the usual cliché). Blue Jeans was exceptionally well cast, with several familiar faces (including John Ford stock-company perennial Russell Simpson) performing above and beyond the call of duty. Alas, John H. Collins would soon fall victim to the influenza epidemic of 1918, robbing the screen of one of its most potent pioneering talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Of the many films inspired by the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, Edison's Children of Eve was inarguably the best. Realistically (and very grimly) directed by the unjustly forgotten John H. Collins, the film stars Collins' actress wife Viola Dana as the spunky daughter of a New York sweatshop owner. She remains fully aware of the dangers facing the young female workers -- the shop has no fire escape and only one stairway. Thus, she obtains a job at the shop under an assumed name, intending to collect evidence for the Labor Commission. Alas, a fire breaks out just as management has blocked off the stairway to make sure that the girls won't try to sneak off the job. Dana courageously helps her co-workers escape, only to be trapped in the conflagration herself. It is the heroine's death (a still-startling moment) that awakens her father, and other fat-cat businessmen like him, of the importance of treating workers like human beings rather than caged animals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
