Robert Harron Movies
Teenaged New Yorker Robert Harron escaped the bleak poverty of his Irish-immigrant neighborhood by taking a messenger job at the American Biograph film studios in the Bronx. When director D. W. Griffith arrived at Biograph in 1908, he took a liking to Harron and decided to take advantage of the boy's photogenic qualities. Before he was 20 years old, Harron was one of the busiest and most popular players at Biograph, acting opposite such "youngsters" as the Gish Sisters and Mary Pickford and playing an exhausting variety of characters, from country bumpkins to hollow-eyed drug addicts. He played one large role and several smaller ones in Griffith's groundbreaking Birth of a Nation (1915), and was prominently featured as the young man unjustly sentenced to hang in the director's follow-up epic Intolerance (1916). He remained with Griffith in 1920, then broke off to form his own production company. Unfortunately, Harron never realized his goal. In September of 1920, Harron died when he was fatally wounded by a gunshot to the left lung in what was officially ruled an accident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Since much of this film takes place in rural Kentucky, where director D.W. Griffith grew up, it no doubt has many autobiographical touches. Since the setting was so close to his heart, that may be why this simple and winsome picture is one of Griffith's most charming creations. With complete lack of pretension, it tells the story of John Logan Jr. (Robert Harron), an ambitious young inventor who is determined to be a success. So he heads for the big city to achieve his dream of making a toy frog that actually swims. Not that he hasn't had opposition -- his sweetheart, Jennie Timberlake (Lillian Gish, in a rare showing of her comic ability) and his parents (George Fawcett and Kate Bruce) have done everything they could to make him stay. Although he promises to return in a year's time, John gets caught up in the temptations of the city, including a flirtation with a spirited young lady (Carol Dempster in her first credited role). Eight years pass, and finally after much struggle, John's frog becomes a resounding success. He returns home to Happy Valley just in time -- his father is facing financial ruin and is desperate enough to commit robbery. John's presence saves the family, and he and Jennie are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1912
A prospector's (Charles Gorman) wife (Blanche Sweet) is kidnapped by a Mexican bandit (Charles Hill Mailes), but the two men call a temporary truce in order to defeat the common enemy -- the Indians. This typical Biograph Western melodrama was filmed on location in Southern California during the studio's 1911-1912 winter sojourn. It is preserved in the paper print collection of the Library of Congress. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Billy Jenks (Robert Harron) is a small-town boy who comes to New York City to be a huge success. All he succeeds at doing, however, is landing a job as a cashier in a department store. He meets Phoebe Howard, a talented pianist who is working as a secretary (June Walker), and their romance interferes with their jobs so much that they are fired. Desperate for money, Billy wires his wealthy aunt in the West, asking her to send funds, but he finds out she is dead. All is not lost, though -- it turns out that she has left Billy 100 thousand dollars. The law firm handling her estate locates him through a strange coincidence, and gives him the inheritance. The money is stolen from him, and it takes a series of coincidences before he gets it back and marries Phoebe. This comedy was the last film made by the talented Robert Harron, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in September 1920 -- to this day, no one is sure whether his death was accidental or a suicide. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Harron, June Walker, (more)
