Charles Gerrard Movies

In this comedy, a chimney sweep is swept into a political campaign and finds himself not only supporting the Labour Party, but also running against the elitist incumbent. When the sweep's son falls for the opposition's daughter, trouble ensues, but the sweep wins anyway. Later he realizes that he is not cut out for the job and backs out. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

"I am....Drac-u-la. I bid you velcome." Thus does Bela Lugosi declare his presence in the 1931 screen version of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Director Tod Browning invests most of his mood and atmosphere in the first two reels, which were based on the original Stoker novel; the rest of the film is a more stagebound translation of the popular stage play by John Balderston and Hamilton Deane. Even so, the electric tension between the elegant Dracula and the vampire hunter Professor Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) works as well on the screen as it did on the stage. And it's hard to forget such moments as the lustful gleam in the eyes of Mina Harker (Helen Chandler) as she succumbs to the will of Dracula, or the omnipresent insane giggle of the fly-eating Renfield (Dwight Frye). Despite the static nature of the final scenes, Dracula is a classic among horror films, with Bela Lugosi giving the performance of a lifetime as the erudite Count (both Lugosi and co-star Frye would forever after be typecast as a result of this film, which had unfortunate consequences for both men's careers). Compare this Dracula to the simultaneously filmed Spanish-language version, which makes up for the absence of Lugosi with a stronger sense of visual dynamics in the lengthy dialogue sequences. In 1999, a special rerelease of Dracula was prepared featuring a new musical score written by Philip Glass and performed by The Kronos Quartet. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

John Ford directed this undersea adventure from the early days of the sound era; it features talking sequences along silent passages with intertitles. After a brief shore leave in Singapore, where sailors have the opportunity to slake their thirsts for both liquor and women, the crew of a U.S. Navy S-13 submarine is ordered back to duty (with many still drunk) in hopes of getting into safer waters before rough weather hits. In the midst of a storm, the sub collides with a ship and starts to sink; the S-13 begins taking on water, which knocks out their radio equipment not long after they begin sending out distress signals. The sub has a limited amount of oxygen on board, and tempers begin to flare as the men begin to wonder who (if anyone) can survive if they are not rescued soon. Adding to this tension is the presence of torpedo launcher Burke (Kenneth MacKenna). The ship's commander, Weymouth (Charles Gerrard), thinks that Burke may actually be Quartermain, a British officer who was the enemy of Weymouth's best friend and was widely presumed to be dead after going missing in action. A young Frank Albertson plays the sub's ensign, and John Wayne has a small part as a radio operator. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The 1930 Laurel & Hardy 3-reeler Another Fine Mess is a remake of the team's 1927 effort Duck Soup--which, in turn, was based on "Home from the Honeymoon", a vaudeville sketch written in 1908 by Stan Laurel's father. Escaping from an angry cop, Stan and Ollie take refuge in a posh East Side mansion. It turns out that this is the home of great white hunter Colonel Buckshot (James Finlayson), who has just gone on an expedition to Africa, leaving his butler and maid with instructions to rent the mansion in his absence. But the servants have snuck out for the weekend, leaving Laurel & Hardy alone to contend with potential renters Lord Plumtree (Charles Gerard) and his sexy American wife (Thelma Todd). To avoid being arrested, Ollie poses as Colonel Buckshot, while Stan does double duty as both butler and maid (complete with flaxen wig). Originally lensed in black and white, Another Fine Mess was computer-colorized in 1986, but you'll enjoy it anyway. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

"Light Fingers" is both the name and the physical description of this film's hero, a dapper petty thief played by Ian Keith. Falling in love with virtuous Dorothy Madison (Dorothy Revier), Light Fingers promises to give up his life of crime if only she will marry him. He tries hard to keep his word, but circumstances force him to return to larceny -- all for a good cause, of course. A very minor endeavor, Light Fingers is redeemed by the smooth performance of Ian Keith, an actor usually typecast as seedy con artists and disgraced gentlemen. And here's a bit of esoterica for film trivia buffs: The film's director was Joseph Henaberry, who played Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915) -- while Keith, the star, went on to play John Wilkes Booth in Griffith's 1930 talkie Abraham Lincoln! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In a departure from his usual fare of Richard Talmadge action melodramas, low-budget entrepreneur A. Carlos produced this low-key silent drama of a man seeking vengeance on the villain whose lies sent him to prison on the night of his wedding. The emaciated H.B. Warner, the Christ of Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings (1927), and early silent star Anita Stewart played the leading roles under King Baggot's direction. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Thanks to constant exposure in excerpt form in scores of silent-movie compilations, Play Safe is the best-known of the Monty Banks comedies. Banks plays a dapper little doofus who tries to rescue heiress Virginia Cragg (Virginia Lee Corbin) from the evil machinations of crooked estate trustee Silas Scott (Charles Mailes). The film comes to a heart-pounding climax as Virginia is kidnapped by Scott's minions and spirited off to a freight train. Banks mans a fruit wagon, gives chase after the villains, and ultimately boards the train, leading to a spectacular slapstick setpiece in which both hero and heroine narrowly escape death at every twist and turn. The justly famous runaway-train finale was later released separately as the two-reeler Chasing Choo-Choos. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the George W. Sutton Jr. story Dawn of My Tomorrow, Framed turned out to be another winner for box-office "reliable" Milton Sills. The story begins with the court-martial of military officer Raoul Hilaire (Sills); thanks to a series of explanatory subtitles, we know that Hilaire is innocent of all charges, but the rest of the characters do not. Leaving France in disgrace, Hilaire heads to South America where he is hired as overseer of a Brazilian diamond mine. Here he is reintroduced to his ex-sweetheart Diane Laurens (Natalie Kingston), whose husband Alphone (E. J. Radcliffe) is the man who framed Hilaire on the jewel-robbery charge that got him booted from the army. After rescuing Diane from a mudslide, Hilaire decides to confront his accuser -- only to find that Alphonse has been satisfactorily hoist on his own petard. Deciding that his old enemy has been punished enough, Hilaire returns to the arms of his true love. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Better 'Ole was based on a play by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot, which was itself inspired by a cartoon character created by Bairnsfather during WWI. Decked out in a lavish paintbrush mustache, Sydney Chaplin is cast as Bairnsfather's immortal British army sergeant Old Bill, whose philosophy is "If you know of a better 'ole [foxhole, that is], go find it!" Convinced that his CO (Charles Gerrard) is a spy for the Kaiser, Old Bill dons a German uniform and sneaks behind enemy lines. The upshot of all this is that our hero is captured by his own men and sentenced to a firing squad! Through sheer dumb luck, Old Bill clears himself and reveals the identity of the actual spy. For many years, The Better Ole was available only in the incomplete version stored at the University of Wisconsin; recently, however, the film was restored to its original length and pictorial quality, and its Vitaphone musical soundtrack (complete with overture) was likewise saved from extinction. The film was directed by Chuck Reisner, who began his career as an assistant to Sydney Chaplin's brother Charlie Chaplin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For Wives Only was based on the stage play The Critical Year. The story takes place in Vienna, where handsome Dr. Rittenhaus (Victor Varconi) spends most of his time avoiding the amorous advances of his adoring female patients (shades of Lubitsch's The Marriage Circle). Hoping to use Rittenhaus' influence to secure a well-paying job, Professor Von Waldstein (Claude Gillingwater) talks the young medico into entertaining Countess Von Nessa (Dorothy Cumming), a wealthy hospital patroness. Certain that her husband is cheating on her with the Countess, Rittenhaus' wife Laura (Marie Prevost) concocts an elaborate scheme to arouse his jealousy. Part of her plan requires her to pledge eternal devotion to three of her husband's colleagues -- and from this point on, it's "Oh, Doctor!" all the way. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sydney Chaplin -- older brother of Charles Chaplin -- specialized in films in which his character wound up dressing in drag at some point during the picture. This comedy, very loosely adapted from the novel by Harold McGrath, was released not long after Chaplin appeared in the very successful Charley's Aunt. Bob Warburton (Chaplin) is financing an invention by Lampton (Theodore Lorch), which both the government and foreign powers are anxious to get. But Lampton becomes convinced that Warburton is having an affair with his wife (Kathleen Calhoun). Warburton is forced to flee and poses as a groom for Betty Annesly (Alice Calhoun). To keep his eye on the foreign emissaries, he disguises himself as a French maid. Eventually Warburton is able to save the plans for the invention, unmask the spies (one of whom is played by the film's director, Charles "Chuck" Reisner) and, of course, win Betty's heart. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Jesse J. Goldburg's low-budget Independent Pictures offered its customers more than Bill Cody or Bob Custer B-Westerns, including dreadful melodramas such as Accused. Although reared by Cyrus Braidwood (Eric Mayne) as his own daughter, young Helen (Dorothy Drew) is actually the offspring of a murderer, Lait Rodman (Charles Gerrard), whose written confession is kept under lock by Braidwood. Rodman manages to retrieve the confession and Helen goes to his apartment looking for it. Once there, she meets young Steve Randall, and through a series of misunderstandings, they both end up as prisoners of a gang of crooks. This unfocused melodrama was directed by former slapstick comic Dell Henderson, whose directorial career never rose above low-budget action fare. Also trapped in the film were former luminaries Du Pont, once the most foolish of Erich Von Stroheim's Foolish Wives (1922), and the distinguished Biograph actor Spottiswoode Aitken. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi