Lewis J. Selznick Movies
- 1922
Although Elaine Hammerstein is top-billed in this heavy-handed drama, Mahlon Hamilton has the more impressive role. "Big Jim" Powers (Hamilton) has worked his way up the ranks to be a major power broker in the business world. He is determined to ruin Chester Marvin (Dwight Chittendon) because of the slights he received from the Marvin family during his rise to the top. On his deathbed, Marvin confesses to his daughter, Shirley (Hammerstein), that he is a thief who has illegally used trust funds. Shirley meets with Powers, who agrees to call off the legal proceedings if she agrees to marry his brother, Steve (Charles Gerrard). Although Shirley is willing to go along with this, Powers decides to stop the wedding at the last moment. Later on, Steve is found dead after the brothers have quarreled and Big Jim is accused of his murder. Eventually, Powers is cleared of the crime, and Shirley breaks up with her district attorney fiancé (Niles Welch) to marry him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Hammerstein, Mahlon Hamilton, (more)
- 1922
Producer Lewis J. Selznek showed off his skills as a showman with this flashy Elaine Hammerstein vehicle. While Hammerstein was never one of the biggest film stars of the '20s, he backed her up here with an adventuresome and picturesque tale. Beth Wynn (Hammerstein) is a spoiled society girl. At a fashionable party, she agrees to marry Francis Fraser (Hallam Cooley) if he beats her in an airplane race. But the race ends in disaster -- the wing of Beth's craft breaks and it crashes in the mountains of Mexico. She is rescued by three rough men who cut cards to see who gets her. One of the men, Buck Fearnley (Conway Tearle), feels sorry for her and buys her from the winner. He takes her to his cabin, where she overcomes her loathing for him and helps him to become regenerated. Fearnley agrees to send her back to Fraser, but the train carrying her home is swept over a bridge during a storm. Fearnley heroically saves her, while Fraser, who proves to be a coward, is washed away in the raging river. Beth and Fearnley acknowledge their love for each other and are united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Hammerstein, Conway Tearle, (more)
- 1922
This satisfying drama was one of Elaine Hammerstein's better vehicles. When Florette, an actress (Hammerstein), marries Philip Rowland (Niles Welch), his aristocratic family views her with stern disapproval. In addition to their attempts to make her life miserable, a former suitor, Paul Stanley (Ernest Hilliard), tries to destroy her marriage. He tricks Florette into a compromising position and they are caught by Philip's brother, Judge Rowland (Holmes Herbert). The judge orders Florette to divorce Philip and offers her money to do so as quietly as possible. But Florette turns the tables on him by locking him in her room. She declares that if she must divorce she should be able to name her own co-respondent and she has chosen him. As she proceeds to relate the circumstantial evidence that will link them together, the judge sees that perhaps he has jumped to conclusions. After that, he stays out of his brother's affairs.
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Hammerstein, Niles Welch, (more)
- 1921
aka Handcuffs and Kisses The producers of this picture apparently got their inspiration from a magazine story about the mistreatment of girl inmates at New York's Bedford Reformatory. Elaine Hammerstein got stuck with the starring role, Lois Walton. Poor Lois is sent to the reformatory by her wicked stepmother (Julia Swayne Gordon), who wants her inheritance. She spends about three reels in the joint, being subjected to inhuman floggings and ice baths. When she finally gets out, she goes to work as a servant for a doctor. He makes a pass at her and threatens to send her back to the reformatory if she refuses him. She runs away and winds up in a gambling den. The woman proprietor tries to marry her off to a man she hates. Again Lois is threatened with the reformatory but finally she's saved by Peter Madison (Robert Ellis), a young lawyer who had met her while he was investigating the institute. He sweeps her off her feet and spirits her away from her sordid surroundings. This tawdry melodrama did not exactly enhance Miss Hammerstein's career. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Hammerstein, Julia Swayne Gordon, (more)
- 1921
Handsome silent-screen actor Eugene O'Brien finds himself in hot water after saving a girl from drowning in this murder mystery from Selznick Pictures. Not only does the stalwart Hugh Ledyard (O'Brien) save Elinor Ashe (Olive Tell) from committing suicide in the river, he marries the girl. She, in turn, persuades him to hire a new manservant (Warren Cook) despite the fact that the man comes with no recommendations whatsoever. When a houseguest (William H. Tooker) is found murdered, the police arrest the servant who not only proves to be Elinor's father but is a former jailbird. The real killer, as Hugh discovers in an opium den, is blackmail victim Harley Marshall (Arthur Housman), who confesses to the murder with his dying breath. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
