Virginia Brown Faire Movies

According to the original studio press releases, contentious Columbia president Harry Cohn not only produced Pleasure Before Business but directed it as well. In truth, Frank Strayer was the director, though he undoubtedly danced to the crack of Mr. Cohn's whip. Jewish comedian Max Davidson stars as a prosperous cigar manufacturer who suffers a nervous breakdown. Ordered to take a rest by his doctor, Davidson gets his chance when his wife inherits an enormous sum of money. The previously parsimonious hero goes on an uncontrolled spending spree, culminating in a trip to the racetrack where he puts his entire fortune on a 40-to-1 shot. It is at this point that Davidson discovers that his wife's inheritance was a hoax, and that he's flat broke -- and will be a whole lot flatter and broker if his horse loses. But things turn out OK for Davidson, who's learned the hard way that even a successful cigar maker can be full of empty smoke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced on the very cheap by Sanford F. Arnold, this minor silent Northwest melodrama featured 1922 WAMPAS Baby Star Virginia Brown Faire as a Northwoods girl suspecting her boyfriend (Gordon Brinkley) of being a dope smuggler. Unbeknownst to the damsel, however, Brinkley is really a Northwest Mounted Police Officer in disguise who is searching for his father's killer, Reckless Jim Regan (Fred Kohler). Miss Faire, who had played Tinker Bell in the 1924 version of Peter Pan, spent most of her remaining career in slipshod productions such as The Devil's Masterpiece. She was married to action movie director Duke Worne. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This lively Rin Tin Tin drama throws in everything but the kitchen sink. This time Rinty finds himself on the site of a dam project, where the villains intend to destroy the huge structure for their own gain. Our canine hero not only prevents the sabotaging of the dam but also participates in a thrilling train chase. In the excitement of completing the picture, the filmmakers evidently forgot that the title was Tracked by the Police, inasmuch as there wasn't a single policeman in the entire story! Perhaps as compensation, a closing title was hastily inserted, claiming that, because of his courage and tenacity in bringing the criminals to heel, Rin Tin Tin was appointed an honorary policeman -- thus, the villains were indeed "tracked by the police." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A James Oliver Curwood story was the source for this rugged Canadian Mountie melodrama. Alan Roscoe plays Sgt. Steve Drew, the "lone rider" of the Mounties, at present on the prowl for illegal wolf trappers. Before he's able to get his man, Sgt. Steve spends a lot of time in the company of two women: Helen Ainsworth (Mildred Harris), the wife of the chief suspect, and Minnetaki (Virginia Brown Faire), an Indian maiden. Eventually, the villain is rounded up, and the hero is matched with the "proper" heroine. Wolf Hunters was produced by former serial star Ben Wilson and released through Rayart, one of the precursors of Monogram Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thunder the Dog, one of the worthier rivals of canine star Rin Tin Tin, heads the cast of Wings of the Storm. Curiously, the plot is quite "human," with a cowardly, pampered German Shepherd becoming a hero when he's adopted by a rugged forest ranger (Reed Howes). The daring doggie not only rescues his former owner (Virginia Brown Faire) from an untimely death but also exposes the treachery of a villainous lumber-camp superintendent (Bill Martin). The climactic sequence, in which the bad guy unloads a supply of logs on the helpless hero and heroine, is the equal of anything ever seen in a Rin Tin Tin opus. Wings of the Storm was directed by John G. Blystone, whose gallery of cinematic collaborators ranged from Tom Mix to Laurel and Hardy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Temptress was Greta Garbo's second American film, and while it may strike modern viewers as excessively melodramatic, Garbo is always worth watching. The star plays Elena, the wife of Monsieur Canterac (Lionel Barrymore) -- and the mistress of rich Parisian banker Monsieur Fontenoy (Marc MacDermott). When the banker's Argentine friend Robledo (Antonio Moreno), a dynamic young engineer, pays a visit to Paris, the fickle Elena immediately falls in love with him. Upon learning that Fontenoy has lost his fortune, Elena dumps him and returns to her husband, whereupon the banker kills himself. Evidently not content with ruining one life, Elena heads to Argentina and goes to work on Robledo, leading to a bloody whip duel between Robledo and his rival Manos Duros (Roy D'Arcy). Inevitably, Elena drives Robledo to perdition and indirectly causes the destruction of the magnificent dam upon which he has worked all his life. Banished from Argentina, she returns to Paris, where she spends the rest of her days as a seedy streetwalker. At least, that was the ending of the European version of The Temptress. The American version incredibly ends happily, five years after the above-described events, as Robledo and the reformed Elena triumphantly supervise the opening of his now-repaired dam! Initially, the film's director was Garbo's mentor-lover, the brilliant Mauritz Stiller, but he was replaced halfway through by the competent but uninspired Fred Niblo -- and the finished picture shows this division of interests all too clearly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "mile-a-minute man" in this action quickie is one "Speedy" Rockett, played by William Fairbanks. Speedy's dad O. I. Rocket (George Periolat) is a car manufacturer, so it stands to reason that Rocket's top racecar driver is his own son. The plot thickens when Speedy falls in love with Paula Greydon (Virginia Brown Faire), the daughter of Rocket's chief rival. This modern-dress Romeo and Juliet dilemma is resolved to everyone's satisfaction during the climactic Big Race. Curiously, Mile a Minute Man was released sans production credits for it initial New York showing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This adventure virtually butchers its source, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel. But with stop-motion photography and special effects that were incredibly innovative in 1924 and 1925, who cared? These effects were the whole film, and Wallace Beery's inspired performance was a bonus. The tale opens on reporter Edward Malone (Lloyd Hughes), who wants to marry Gladys Hungerford (Alma Bennett). Gladys, however, only wants to marry a man of great deeds. So Malone, having asked his editor for an adventuresome assignment, is given the task of interviewing Professor Challenger (Beery), who is planning an expedition to a "lost world." Malone accompanies Challenger and his men to South America where, on a great plateau, they find a prehistoric world occupied by dinosaurs and ape-like men. They barely escape with their lives, but they manage to bring a brontosaurus back to London. The beast breaks out and terrorizes the city before crashing through the London bridge and swimming out toward the ocean to freedom. In the midst of all this, Malone has fallen in love with Paula White, the daughter of an explorer (Bessie Love). Since Gladys, it turns out, has married a clerk, Malone is able to wed his new sweetheart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This drama about a Jewish family on New York's Lower East side marked the screen debut of respected stage actor Rudolph Schildkraut (whose son, Joseph Schildkraut, would also become a stage and screen star). Rabbi Cominsky (Schildkraut) has been reduced to working as a pushcart peddler, but he and his wife, Rosie (Rosa Rosanova), scrimp and save so that their two sons can get an education. Morris (Arthur Lubin) grows up to become a successful lawyer, but Sammy (George Lewis) displeases his father by becoming a pugilist. Cominsky throws him out of the house, not realizing that Morris is the ungrateful one -- he has become engaged to his boss' daughter and, ashamed of his humble family, says he is an orphan. The old man becomes very ill and Sammy wins enough money in a prize fight to send him away to get well. While the father is away, Sammy confronts his brother, and Morris begs his family for forgiveness. Cominsky realizes that he misjudged Sammy and takes him back into the fold. Sammy, meanwhile, finds romance with Mamie Shannon (Blanche Mehaffey), a pretty Irish girl. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Famed stunt flyer Al Wilson was handsome and personable enough to successfully star in a series of fast-moving silent actioners in the 1920s. In The Air Hawk, Wilson plays the titular character, a secret service agent posing as a "regular Joe" flyboy. It is Wilson's task to track down some platinum thieves who have murdered heroine Virginia Browne Faire's father. The film's highlight is a fistfight between Wilson and the chief villain, staged on the wing of a plane in flight. As brave as Al Wilson obviously was in Air Hawk, mention should also be made of the equally fearless cinematographer Bert Longenecker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Paramount bought the rights to the delightful James M. Barrie story, every actress in Hollywood wanted the role of Peter Pan, made famous on the stage by Maude Adams. Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, and even Gloria Swanson thought they were perfect for the role, but Barrie's own choice was Betty Bronson, a virtual unknown. The story is familiar to nearly everyone. When Mr. and Mrs. Darling (Cyril Chadwick and Esther Ralston) go to a party, they leave their children -- Wendy (Mary Brian), Michael (Philippe de Lacey), and John (Jack Murphy) -- in the care of their dog, Nana. But Peter (Bronson) shows up with the fairy, Tinker Bell (Virginia Brown Faire), and they take the children to Never Never Land. They have a series of adventures with the Lost Boys and defeat Captain Hook (Ernest Torrence) and his band of pirates. Finally, the children return home to Mrs. Darling, who is overjoyed to have them back. She adopts the Lost Boys and offers to take Peter in too, but he refuses to grow up and flies away after promising to visit Wendy every year. An interesting side note -- although she had no involvement in casting Brian as Wendy, Ralston had discovered her a couple of years earlier while judging a beauty contest. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although its popularity didn't endure, The Cricket on the Hearth was originally the favorite of Charles Dickens' Christmas Books (the most well-known today is, of course, A Christmas Carol. Director Lorimar Johnston makes an imposing Josiah Tackleton (also known as "Old Gruff"), and producer Paul Gerson is a handsome and likable John Peerybingle. The rest of the cast is filled with favorites of the silent era -- Fritzi Ridgeway has the pivotal role of Bertha Plummer, the blind girl, and character actor Josef Swickard is her father, Caleb. Virginia Brown Faire is Dot Peerybingle. Peerybingle marries his much-younger sweetheart Dot and they establish a happy home in the little village of Tindsley. Nearby lives a poor toymaker, Caleb Plummer who weaves idealistic fibs of his rich home and life for his blind daughter, Bertha. But Old Gruff, the town's most powerful figure, wants young, beautiful May Fielding (Margaret Landis), who loves Plummer's son Edward (Paul Moore). After knocking down Tackleton in a fight, Edward is forced to leave town for a year. He returns disguised as an old man in time to save May from a forced marriage to Tackleton. Tackleton, meanwhile, has played on Peerybingle's jealousy in an attempt to destroy his happiness, and Bertha has learned that her father's tales are untruths. But Edward has brought a fortune in Brazilian diamonds with him, enough to make his father's stories a reality. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide