Elinor Fair Movies

Of the two 1934 film versions of the life of Russia's Catherine the Great, Josef von Sternberg's The Scarlet Empress was the most opulent and exotic. Marlene Dietrich plays the German-born Catherine, who is required to marry Russia's mad Grand Duke Peter (Sam Jaffe, decked out in a Harpo Marx wig). As if her joke of a marriage isn't torment enough, Catherine must endure the excesses of her new mother-in-law, Empress Elizabeth (Louise Dresser). Eventually, Catherine finds solace -- and romance -- in the form of Count Alexei (John Lodge). But even this balm is denied her when the ambitious Alexei begins wooing the much-older Elizabeth. When the old Empress dies, Catherine ascends to the Russian throne, knowing full well that her addled husband would kill her at the slightest provocation. Soon her power outstrips Peter's, and the opportunistic Alexei now comes back into her life. The finale finds Catherine emerging triumphant over all her enemies -- and, in the film's least subtle sequence (which is saying a lot!), the new Empress is shown astride a horse, to whom she displays far more affection than any of her human compatriots. The Scarlet Empress has even less to do with accuracy than Paul Czinner's Catherine the Great of the same year, which starred Elizabeth Bergner. Watch for Dietrich's real-life daughter Maria Sieber (aka Maria Riva) as the 7-year-old Catherine in the early scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced by Cecil B. DeMille, Friend from India was directed by, of all people, prissy character actor Franklin Pangborn, who also played the leading role. The star plays an impoverished young man who is forced to impersonate a Hindu prince. This leaves our hapless hero wide open for the assaults of suspicious customs officials, would-be kidnappers, and fanatical fakirs. By the time he reveals his true identity, Pangborn has become a hero, and thus a worthy husband for heroine Elinor Fair. Evidently a lost film, Friend From India may well have been Franklin Pangborn's finest hour on the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Boyd, in his pre-Hopalong Cassidy days, played a variety of roles, but he already was showing a flair for Westerns in this film. Cowboy Jim Burgess (Boyd) leaves the West to do some traveling, and while he's in Italy he meets Polly Graydon (Elinor Fair). They meet up once again in New York, but Jim has other business to attend to -- he finds out that his father has been murdered in a sheep feud. He vows revenge and goes after his father's murderer. He kills the man in an attack, but then discovers that Polly is the heir to his ranch. Although Polly is angered by Jim's actions, she still warns him when she hears of a plot to kill him. The two of them escape the explosion meant for Jim, but the next day they are tied up by marauders. Jim escapes and fetches the law, who round up the bad guys. Jim and Polly are united. Elinor Fair was -- at least for a while -- Boyd's wife. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

One of the most readily available features of the silent era, The Yankee Clipper is happily also one of the best. A pre-Hopalong Cassidy William Boyd plays Hal Winslow, the scion of a prominent Boston shipbuilding family. Manning the helm of the Yankee Clipper, Winslow prepares to race The Lord of the Isles, a British vessel; the winner will control China's tea trade to America. The race begins at Foo Chow Harbor, where Winslow is paid a courtesy visit by Lady Jocelyn (played by Elinor Fair, then the wife of star Boyd), the daughter of the rival English captain. Lady Jocelyn is escorted by her fiance Paul de Vigny (John Miljan), whom we will learn in due time is a cad and bounder. The Yankee Clipper shoves off while Lady Jocelyn and de Vigny are still on board. They demand to be put ashore, but Winslow, anxious not to lose any sailing time, refuses. Lady Jocelyn's presence on board is resented by cabin boy Mickey (Junior Coghlan), who hates all "wimmin"; on the other head, crew member Iron Head Joe (Walter Long), "mongrel whelp of the high seas", begins drawing up plans to rape the girl at the first opportunity. An outsized typhoon imperils the Yankee Clipper, its crew and passengers, but stalwart Captain Winslow manages to save everyone from drowning. After the storm, the water supply is rationed. Angrily demanding more water, the crew joins a mutiny fomented by the treacherous de Vigny. Meanwhile, Iron Head Joe chases Jocelyn and Mickey to the very top of the rigging, intending to kill the boy and have his way with the girl. Both of the film's villains are foiled in very permanent fashion before the thrill-packed finale at Boston Harbor. One of the videocassette versions of The Yankee Clipper is introduced by surviving cast member Junior Coghlan, now better known as Frank Coghlan Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When not appearing in the films directed by their boss Cecil B. DeMille, Rod LaRocque and Elinor Fair were kept busy in such DeMille-produced programmers as Bachelor Brides. About to be wed to titled Englishman LaRocque, the fair Fair is thrown into a panic when her family jewels are stolen. All the suspects are forced to spend the night in Fair's mansion by an outsized rainstorm, allowing LaRocque time aplenty to figure out the identity of the thief. He is "helped" by a pair of dimwitted detectives, who make Laurel and Hardy look like Rhodes scholars. And no, the butler didn't do it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Buck Jones and Elinor Fair starred in this average Fox western directed by future MGM ace Woody S. Van Dyke. Jones plays a lumber man, the Timber Wolf, who comes to the aid of an old prospector, Joe Terry (Sam Allen). Terry has hit pay dirt and is besieged by villains, including the notorious Babe Deveril (David Dyas). Babe instructs an accomplice, Reenee (Fair), to seduce the Timber Wolf into telling her the location of the secret mine. Instead, the two fall in love, and Reenee betrays her former boss. The trade-paper Variety praised the film as "a very fair western on the strength of the constant action." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Baby Peggy, a popular child star of the 1920s who grew up to become film historian Peggy Carey, who stars in The Law Forbids. This time around, little-miss-fix-it Carey prevents her mother (Elinor Fair) from making a big mistake by divorcing Daddy (Robert Remsen). Separated from her husband, mother packs Peggy off to the family's country estate. The precocious tyke accidentally-on-purpose gets lost, reuniting her wandering parents. Based on a story by Bernard McConville, The Law Forbids concludes with a tear-stained courtroom scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This melodrama about jewel smugglers -- a starring vehicle for J.P. McGowan, who also directed and wrote the screenplay -- was just an average programmer. Burke (McGowan) is a revenue agent whose mission is to retrieve the crown jewels from a gang of smugglers. Morgan (Herbert Pattee), the head of the gang, gives Helen (Helen Holmes) the task of outwitting Burke. But the agent isn't easily disposed of -- after the thieves believe he has been imprisoned, he reappears on a steamer carrying the gang to its destination. Helen sneaks the jewels into a box of candy which is in the possession of the innocent Sylvia Ellis (Elinor Faire). Burke figures this out, but before he can get his hands on the jewels, he is suspended by his superiors. Nevertheless, he is determined to finish his job, and enlists Sylvia's help. But he also is aided by an unexpected party -- Helen, who has fallen in love with him. She winds up saving him, although she gives up her own life -- neatly simplifying the romantic relationship between Burke and Sylvia. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Early silent screen matinee idol James Kirkwood starred in this romantic Western, which also offered a good role for veteran D. W. Griffith actress Mary Alden. Miss Alden plays a bossy female rancher who hires a war veteran (Kirkwood) as a ranch hand. She falls in love with him, of course, but he has eyes only for the woman's pretty niece (Elinor Fair). Enraged, Alden forces Kirkwood and Fair off her land but reconsiders her rash decision once the outcasts vanish in a blinding blizzard. Mary Alden is known in film history, not for this quickly forgotten Western, but as the mulatto housekeeper in Griffith's masterpiece The Birth of a Nation (1915). A smooth leading man type of the early 1910s, Kirkwood was the father to James Kirkwood, Jr., the songwriter-creator of the Broadway hit A Chorus Line. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Manly Hobart Bosworth tackles one of his characteristic roles -- that of a brutal sea captain -- in this drama written by C. Gardner Sullivan. "Hurricane" Hardy (Bosworth) is the terror of the African coast, and when he encounters Helen Maitland (Elinor Fair), he only thinks of her in terms of his lust. Helen is the daughter of a missionary who died from fever in the Sahara Desert and she is headed to the port so she can sail back to civilization. At the port town is a shabby, run down hotel run by Leon Roche (perennial villain Robert McKim). Hardy and Roche both want to get their hands on Helen, but she falls for Ralph Alden (Freeman Wood), a young, drug-addicted American. She helps him recover from his addiction, while an innocent little toddler known only as Peroxide (Muriel Frances Dana) helps Hardy to reclaim his soul. Hardy winds up fighting Roche and his underlings so that he can take Helen, Alden and Peroxide away on the ship. This film, incidentally, was distributed by Wid Gunning, who once owned a trade paper, Wid's which, after he sold it, became Film Daily. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Earle Williams stars in this unusual comedy-drama. Austin Crane (Williams) is the author of several detective novels which feature a character named Hammond Knox. During a dinner party, the host, Webb Standish (Henry Barrows), and the other guests agree that Crane's stories are impossible. The only one who stands up for the author is Standish's daughter, Eve (Elinor Fair). Craig sets out to prove the naysayers wrong. He gets a job working for the Morning Clarion as a reporter and the editor, Byron Tingley (William McCall), assigns him to investigate some unscrupulous business doings. Just like the character in his books, Crane goes about searching for evidence and finds out that Standish really is bilking the public. He tries to pull out of the assignment but Tingley won't let him. With the help of Spike Dawson, a former crook (Alfred Aldridge), he sneaks into the Standish home to find some documents. Dawson also decides to take the Standish jewels. Standish calls the police, who trace Dawson to Crane's home. Crane reveals to Standish that all his actions were meant to prove that the stories of his books could happen, and he returns the documents to him on the condition that he reform. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide