Elinor Glyn Movies

It says here that Elinor Glyn, the incredibly pretentious author of such bodice-rippers as Three Weeks, was the director of The Price of Things, but we suspect that Madame Glyn (as she preferred to be billed) had a little uncredited assistance. Walter and Alfred Tennyson play a pair of identical twin noblemen, who constantly bail each other out in awkward romantic situations. When one of the twins can't be on time for his own wedding, the other serves as stand-in. Sure enough, the "wrong" twin falls in love with bride Elissa Landi. Meanwhile, the real bridegroom has a fling with notorious spy Mona Goya. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two young people get married for all the wrong reasons in this romance. Both are wealthy and are trying to run away from their problems. The bride wants to flee her overbearing guardian. The groom wants to ditch a blonde gold digger who dogs him everywhere. Following the wedding, the two spend the night on a yacht. The next day, the bride crawls through a porthole. The sneaky blonde follows her with the hope of ruining her reputation. Many chases ensue before the newlyweds decide that they really do belong together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The confident direction of Allan Dwan transformed The Mad Hour into something more than a mere "soap opera." Based on a novel by Elinor Glyn (the Barbara Cartland of her time), the story concerns a hasty marriage and a long, long repentance. While drunk on bootleg hootch, good-time girl Cuddles (Sally O'Neil) and college-boy Jack (Donald Reed) get married. Jack's wealthy father instantly disowns the boy, while Cuddles finds herself falsely accused of a jewel theft. While serving her prison term, Cuddles gives birth to Jack's baby, only to discover upon her release that her marriage has been annulled and her kid is illegitimate in the eyes of the law. Throwing caution to the winds, the grief-crazed Cuddles hops into a roadster and speeds off a cliff to her death -- while Jack quietly marries his former sweetheart Aimee (Alice White), the expression on his face indicating that he will be tortured with guilt for the rest of his life. The moral: Alcohol and Wedding Bells Don't Mix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Contrary to popular belief, Clara Bow was already Paramount's biggest box-office draw when she starred in this delightful rags-to-riches comedy. But It, from the fertile mind of bizarre best-selling author Elinor Glyn, remains perhaps the quintessential Bow picture. Not that the story of a poor shopgirl falling for her rich employer was anything new (by 1927, Bow could play that role in her sleep), but It came complete with one of the best publicity campaigns in Hollywood history. Glyn herself publicly pointed to Bow as the personification of It, "that quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force." Paramount made sure that Glyn's lofty description of the word sunk in and even convinced the author to explain It in the film to leading man Antonio Moreno (who, according to Glyn, simply oozed It as well). The lightweight comedy behind all this hoopla centered on little Betty Lou Spence, a vivacious salesgirl invited to dinner at the Ritz by foppish wastrel and self-described "old fruit" "Monty" Montgomery (William Austin in one of those roles later personified by Edward Everett Horton). Betty is not paying attention to her dinner companion, however, but is ogling department store heir Cyrus Waltham (Moreno). He notices her too, and takes the salesgirl on a whirlwind tour of Coney Island. But when Betty is mistakenly assumed to be the unmarried mother of an infant (actually her roommate Molly's), stern Cyrus no longer sees her as proper marriage material. Betty, of course, gets her man in the end and Waltham's snooty girlfriend ("other woman" specialist Jacqueline Gadsden) ends up in the drink. Delivering all the vivacious punch expected of a Bow comedy, It takes time out for a couple of rather poignant scenes. With the hindsight that Brooklyn's own Bow was never fully accepted by Hollywood society despite her stardom, it is touching to watch Betty being ostracized at the snobbish Ritz; and Bow is never more affecting than when she realizes that Moreno is offering diamonds and pearls instead of marriage. Priscilla Bonner, as Bow's drab, single-mother roommate, adds a touch of realism to her brief role, enviously observing Betty's frivolity. If It only added to Bow's brilliant success, the film did little for the intelligent Bonner. To the end of her life, Bonner maintained that accepting featured billing in It lost her any chance of true stardom. A very young Gary Cooper, has a bit as a reporter and director Josef Von Sternberg reputedly took over for Clarence Badger during a brief illness. Despite its rather trite Cinderella plot, It magnificently demonstrates why Bow's guileless flapper came to define an entire decade. It is heartbreaking to realize that her decline had already set in, and Bow's very public troubles and eventual career destruction were lurking right around the corner! ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

For this romantic drama, author and Hollywood tastemaker Elinor Glyn began with the premise that a woman does one of three things to a man: she elevates him, degrades him, or bores him to death. Then Glyn does the obvious by introducing three women -- one to represent each possibility -- into the life of her protagonist, Sir Nicholas Thormonde (Lew Cody, who, for once, plays a relatively sympathetic character). Thormonde hires Alathea Bulteel (Harriet Hammond) as his secretary. Although she is an attractive young woman, she purposely makes herself look homely, and while she is attracted to her employer, she is turned off by his womanizing ways. She's especially disgusted by his relationship with Suzette (Renée Adorée). Thormonde comes to love Alathea, but she misunderstands his intentions and quits. Her father (Gerald Grove) gets into trouble with his compulsive gambling, so Alathea agrees to marry Thormonde in name only. Eventually the couple realizes the depth of their feelings for each other. This was definitely one of Glyn's lesser efforts for MGM. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This is yet another costume drama written and supervised by the eccentric Elinor Glyn, who was a Hollywood tastemaker during the silent era. Harry Vane, the Duke of Chevenix (Conrad Nagel), travels from England to the mythical kingdom of Chekia, where he falls in love with Princess Thyra (Eleanor Boardman). Thrya, however, is duty-bound to marry the king (Edward Connelly), even though he is old, ugly, and ill-tempered. When she refuses Vane's suit, he is determined to win her anyway, even after her wedding. A revolution rises in Chekia and the king is assassinated. Revolutionary leader Gigberto (Arthur Edmund Carewe) then carries Thyra away. When the people jail Gigberto, Vane disguises himself as the rebel so that he and Thyra will be tied together. The two of them are thrown into the bay, but Vane is able to free himself from his bonds and rescue Thyra. They escape to his yacht and she finally confesses her love for him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Gritzko, a prince of pre-World War I Russia (John Gilbert), is the ultimate ladies' man. Women fall at his feet -- all except for a young but cold British widow, Tamara Loraine (Aileen Pringle). While she's spurning his advances, Tamara is growing ever more fascinated with Gritzko. And for the first time, Gritzko actually feels true love. Tamara doesn't want to become just another conquest, so she insists on returning home. Gritzko complies, but makes sure they leave alone in a snowstorm so that they are forced to seek shelter at his lodge. Tamara, however, keeps him at bay until she faints from exhaustion. When she awakens and discovers that her shirt is unbuttoned, she is convinced she has become compromised. Even though Gritzko hasn't touched her (except to make sure her heart was beating -- at least, that's what he says), he offers to marry her. She accepts, and after the ceremony, he proves his love by telling her that he will leave her alone unless she sends for him. Only then does she admit she has always loved him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Elinor Glyn, author of the notorious Three Weeks, wrote this story on which this drama was based, so the film was bound to draw interest. Glyn's books may seem tame today but they were scandalous (and delightfully so) to 1920s audiences, and the producers had to tame her material down a bit. This is emphasized by the trade paper Motion Picture News, which affirms, "there is nothing suggestive in this picture. The screen version has been pasteurized as far as this goes and no one will find anything objectionable." After the death of her husband, Olive Kingston (Myrtle Stedman) wants to see her daughter Laline (Corinne Griffith) married off to the wealthy and distinguished Lord Charles Chetwyn (Claude King). Laline accepts her fate and travels to Paris where she meets Dion Leslie (Frank Mayo), a friend of her brother's. Her brother died in battle (the story taking place in post-World War I Europe), so the two visit his grave. They also go to the dugouts, but the entrance caves in, trapping them. Entombed for six days, Laline and Leslie fall in love and are married by a priest , who conveniently has been trapped with them and who then dies in another landslide. Eventually both Laline and Leslie escape. It turns out that Leslie is Chetwyn's son from a former marriage, so Chetwyn not only gives the couple his blessings, but also names the young man heir to his estate. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This picture did great at the box office, and no wonder -- Paramount's biggest star of the day, Gloria Swanson, co-starred with Rudolph Valentino (whose fame was so new that his first name was still being spelled "Rodolph"), in a story written by the most famous trashy novelist of the day, Elinor Glyn. There was no way this romantic drama could have lost. Swanson plays Theodora Fitzgerald, the daughter of poor but aristocratic parents. Her father pushes her into a marriage with a retired and wealthy grocer, but on the honeymoon she meets Lord Bracondale, a stunningly handsome nobleman (Valentino) when he saves her from a mountain climbing fall. The two embark on a torrid affair (enhanced by fanciful historical flashbacks). Although Theodora wishes to do right by her husband, he discovers that she does not love him and goes on an expedition, where he is fatally wounded. Before he dies, he generously gives the errant couple his approval. Between the time this film completed production and the time it came out, The Four Horsemen of the Apolcalypse was released, increasing Valentino's box office value even more. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Cecil B. DeMille's much-maligned cinemadaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's The Affairs of Anatol holds up better than its reputation suggests. Wallace Reid stars as New York socialite Anatol DeWitt Spencer, who after only a few day's marriage has become bored with his new bride Vivian (Gloria Swanson). In search of new romantic vistas, Anatole takes up his old flame Emilie (Wanda Hawley), who repays the "favor" by two-timing him. Briefly returning to his wife, Anatole attempts another extramarital adventure with Annie Elliot (Agnes Ayres), whose tear-stained tales of a tragic life are but a subterfuge to disguise her larcenous streak. Finally, Anatole dallies with Satan Synne (Bebe Daniels), "the wickedest woman in New York"-who turns out to be a virtuous housewife, hoping to raise money for her seriously ill husband. At long last, Anatole decides that he's better off with Vivian, who by now has grown tired of him. In reviewing The Affairs of Anatol, Photoplay magazine said laconically "Cecil B. DeMille, not Arthur Schnitzler. We leave it to you which gentleman has pleased our public more." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide