Shorty Hamilton Movies
- 1923
This low-budget Western starred Franklyn Farnum as the hero. Shorty Hamilton, usually the comic relief in Farnum's pictures, is completely miscast here as the villain. Although the Hero (that's how Farnum's character is billed) is supposed to be appointed sheriff of a border town, a wily Mexican, Onate (Hamilton), has forged some papers which make him sheriff instead. He proceeds to make life miserable for the Hero and forces him to kill a man in self-defense. The Hero escapes arrest and finds romance with Jackie (Genevieve Bert), a friendless girl who is thought to bring bad luck to those who associate with her. Onate's men capture our Hero, but Jackie goes to the governor and gets him a pardon. Meanwhile, Onate's Indian servant (Al Hart) turns traitor and takes the Hero's side. Onate gets the punishment due him, the Hero gets his appointment to sheriff, and Jackie's bad luck comes to an end. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1922
Silent Western star Franklyn Farnum travels West to locate a missing girl in this comedy-oater directed by John Ford's older brother Francis. Attempting to return a lost purse to a girl, Farnum finds himself in the middle of a furious labor dispute among miners. Poor Farnum is soon falsely accused of theft, trapped by outlaws in a cave and spurned by the young woman (Genevieve Bert). This inexpensive Western was one in a series of six produced by screenwriter William M. Smith for release by poverty row company Merit in 1922-1923. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklin Farnum, Genevieve Bert, (more)
- 1922
More a prairie whodunit than a straight western, this minor silent melodrama starred the veteran Franklyn Farnum as a rancher solving the mystery of the missing Jack Frayne (George Rheem). It seems that Frayne was shot, in self defence, by his twin brother (also Rheem), who then assumed his identity. Francis Ford, the older brother of John Ford directed this low-budget mess for producer William M. Smith. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklin Farnum, Peggy O'Day, (more)
- 1922
John Ford's older brother Francis Ford directed this very minor, independently produced silent western starring Franklyn Farnum and made on location at Tulsa, Oklahoma. More suited to character roles (of which he would later do hundreds), Farnum benefitted from a case of mistaken identity. He was assumed to be related to brothers Dustin and William Farnum, major stars of the early silent screen, but although hailing from Boston like them, there was no connection. Farnum played a mining engineer in Gold Grabbers, hired to run a valuable mine formerly belonging to lovely Peggy O'Day's family. He naturally falls for the girl and decides to work out a peaceful settlement. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklin Farnum, Shorty Hamilton, (more)
- 1922
Also known as Texas Angel Citizens, this minor silent Western from poverty row producer William M. Smith starred Franklyn Farnum as a drifter who solves a murder in the ill-named frontier town of Angel Citizens. Directed by Francis Ford, the older brother of John Ford, this Western also featured Peggy O'Day as the murder victim's daughter and the comedy of Shorty Hamilton. Angel Citizens was released by Merit Film Corp. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklin Farnum, Peggy O'Day, (more)
- 1921
This Western, starring Franklyn Farnum, combined many different elements -- comedy-drama (with a bit more emphasis on the comedy), romance, and a prize fight. Drifter Jack Bray (Farnum) wanders into a town which is ruled by a gang of masked riders known as the "six-o-one," headed by shifty saloon keeper Jim Dougherty (Al Hart). Dougherty is trying to make moves on his pianist, Olga Swenson (Virginia Lee), who wants nothing to do with him. Bray, naturally, falls in love with her, which earns Dougherty's antagonism. When Bray hooks up with Battling Rush (Shorty Hamilton) and enters him in a prize fight, Dougherty tries to fix the outcome. Bray and Rush find out, so Dougherty's scheme is unsuccessful. The villain's next plan is to gather his masked confederates and hang Bray, but his crooked dealings are revealed and he is forced to leave town. This finally enables Bray and Olga to be together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Reverend Austin (Robert Edeson) and the strapping "Silent" Tex (William S. Hart) fight over the beautiful Belle Shields (Rhea Mitchell) with the reverend emerging the winner. But after she becomes Mrs. Austin, Belle's thoughts frequently center on handsome Tex, now a trusted friend of the family. One night she goes to the saloon and, as she later admits, dances one too many dances with the notorious "Handsome Jack." The following day, a stagecoach is held up, and its only passenger, Handsome Jack, is beaten to a pulp. "I reckon I've paid my debt to the parson," says Tex, the highwayman, to his horse. "But I wonder what is left for me?" William S. Hart was not yet an established star and earned third billing in this typically moralistic love-triangle Western. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1912
A typical sentimental early Western melodrama, this two-reeler starred Harold Lockwood as an army sergeant who adopts an orphan boy. In battle, the boy heroically saves the day for the cavalry, only to die in the arms of his adopted father. The "boy" was played by 25-year-old Shorty Hamilton, a diminutive performer from Chicago who would later star in his own Western two-reelers. In his inimitable way, producer Thomas H. Ince assumed full responsibility for The Sergeant's Boy, although the film was actually directed by Reginald Barker. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1912
In his final film for Thomas H. Ince's New York Motion Picture Company, Harold Lockwood played a young man who enlists in the Confederate Army, along with rival Ray Myers. Though mortally wounded during a skirmish, Lockwood manages to heroically save his rival's life. Following this film, Lockwood signed with The Selig Polyscope Company before gaining his greatest popularity opposite blond May Allison for the American Company of Santa Barbara, CA. Lockwood, sadly, became one of the most prominent victims of the 1918 flu epidemic. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
