Wanda Hawley Movies

Trail of the Golden West stars one Jay Wilsey, who enjoyed a brief spurt of western-movie popularity as Buffalo Bill Jr. Most of the actor's talkie vehicles were fairly wretched, but this one has its moments. The hero is a trail scout, shepherding a wagon train through treacherous territory. A duplicitous half-breed foments an Indian raid, but Buffalo Bill Jr. manages to rally the other pioneers to victory. Most of the action highlights in Trail of the Golden West were lifted from earlier films, meaning that the production schedule for this 48-minute quickie probably didn't extend past four days. The leading lady in Trail of the Golden West is Wanda Hawley, a second-echelon starlet of the silent era who fell upon extremely hard times in the 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mary Carr, Hollywood's favorite "martyr mother," does her usual in The Midnight Message. Carr plays the widowed, impoverished mom of Western Union messenger boy John Fox Jr. Dispatched to deliver a night telegram to millionaire Otis Harlan, Fox is overpowered by a gang of burglars. Soon, however, he turns the tables on the crooks, earning a huge reward for his efforts. Fox spends the money on a new sewing machine for her mother, a gift she accepts with unbounded gratitude -- though frankly, the money could have been better spent on a new wardrobe. Midnight Message was directed by Paul Hurst, better known for such acting roles as the Yankee Deserter in Gone with the Wind (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hearts and Spangles stars Wanda Hawley, formerly the "baby vamp" of the pre-1920s, as a gorgeous circus bareback rider. College boy Steve Carris (Robert Gordon) falls in love with circus equestrienne Peg Palmer (Wanda Hawley), but his wealthy parents disapprove. So, Steve chucks wealth and prestige and joins the circus, where he becomes "King of the Clowns" (and never mind that he couldn't raise a chuckle to save his life). The hero eventually rescues Peg from evil ringmaster Rex Barclay (George Cheseboro), who is so mean that he uses a whip on the poor girl whenever her performance isn't up to par. Diminutive Frankie Darro, a real-life child acrobat, steals the show. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

According to critics of the day, the sentimentality of this crook drama was a bit too much even for the 1920s, when mother love was viewed with extreme reverence. A pair of thieves, J. Rupert Doods (Herbert Rawlinson) and Dick Foster (Gareth Hughes), are on the lam from the cops when they meet Mrs. Abbott (Lucy Beaumont), a kindly old lady. They convince the woman to take them in and soon she has practically adopted them. The crooks continue their heists while pretending to run an antiques shop out of Mrs. Abbott's home. When she discovers her boys' real line of work, Mrs. Abbott is horrified. Her attempts to save Foster from his life of crime are futile -- Doods has too strong a hold on him. One night, Mrs. Abbott tries to interfere with Foster's attempt to rob a house and she herself is arrested. She refuses to give away any information regarding the men and faces a prison sentence. Shocked that his callous partner is willing to let her be convicted, Foster confesses. It turns out that Mrs. Abbott is actually the long-lost sister of the woman whose house the men were going to rob, and there is a fortune waiting for her in England. She adopts Foster for real, and he goes to England, accompanied by his new bride, Trixie (Wanda Hawley). ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This "all star" romance picture uses the Chicago fire of 1871 as its backdrop. Wayne Morgan (Frank Mayo) finds out from his mother that a valuable painting belonging to them has been stolen. To locate it, he gets a job as a porter for an art shop owned by Mark Randolph (Eric Mayne). He finds a copy of the painting there and declares it a fake. The thief, Howard Mellon (Harry T. Morey), is exposed and sent to prison. Christine Randolph (Mabel Ballin), who made the copy, explains the machinations behind the plot and she and Morgan begin a romance. The great Chicago fire breaks out when Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicks over a lantern and the whole city catches fire. Morgan saves Christine from the flames and the couple are united. This film was based on a novel about the fire by Reverend E.P. Roe. Roe's book did not serve as the inspiration for the far more successful 1938 film about the fire, In Old Chicago. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

A woman is led to believe her scheming husband is dead in this melodrama taken from the story by Viola Brothers Shore. Beth Wylie (Wanda Hawley) is fooled into thinking her husband Jim (Harris Gordon) is dead. Jim is very much alive and smuggling Chinese into the country. After a quarrel with her uncle John Gordon (J. Farrell MacDonald), Beth moves out and sets up shop as an interior decorator. Tom Benham (Pa O'Malley) is the insurance agent sent to investigate Jim's alleged demise, a character who attempts to provide comedy relief to the fast-paced feature. Wallace Beery plays Cap Bullwinkle and co-stars with Ethel Wales, Betty Jane Snowdon and Marjorie Morton. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The Christie brothers -- Al Christie and Charles Christie -- made popular comedies for many years (one of their alumni was eternal flapper Colleen Moore). For this six-reel feature, based on the London musical comedy by Fred Jackson, the Christies used most of their stock players. Perry Reynolds (John T. Murray) and his wife, Vivian (Wanda Hawley), are on their honeymoon, but Perry still has a roving eye. This does not sit well with Vivian at all, so she throws a party and invites a crowd of her admirers. Perry wants to teach her a lesson, and his friend, Geoffrey (Hallam Cooley), suggests that he pretend to fly to Hawaii. Perry takes him up on the idea, but he winds up on a plane headed to Hawaii for real, and Geoffrey has to rescue him in a speed boat. Perry hides in a boathouse, but Vivian figures out what he's doing and continues to flirt with her men friends. This little scenario is interrupted when a manic, who thinks he is the Hunchback of Notre Dame, runs amok. Perry, Geoffrey, and a Count (Jimmie Adams) all disguise themselves as the madman, causing a lot of mayhem. Vivian finally corners one maniac, who turns out to be her husband. They reconcile, and all is well. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

The Unnamed Woman stars veteran film player Leah Baird, who also wrote the script. The actress plays the greedy, covetous wife of wealthy businessman Herbert Rawlinson. Unhappy with his mercenary spouse, Rawlinson begins keeping time with Katherine MacDonald. Though the relationship is quite innocent, Baird believes otherwise, and sets about to destroy MacDonald's reputation. Only when MacDonald tries to commit suicide does Baird come to her senses, promising to become a better and less self-centered helpmate to her long-suffering hubby. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Judge Somers (Tully Marshall) refuses to let his daughter, Edith (Sylvia Bremer), marry Jerry Warner (T. Roy Barnes) because he does not believe that the young man has any business sense. To help him out, Jerry's Uncle Bellamy (Lincoln Plumer) gives him ten thousand dollars to get started. Judge Somers tells him that if he still has that amount in six months, he can marry Edith. Warner gets off to a rocky start, since he uses half the money to buy oil stock which Somers claims is worthless. An opportunity for quick money appears in the form of an offer from newlyweds Chris and Beatrice Skinner (Harry Meyers and Wanda Hawley). Skinner's grandfather (Jack Duffy) does not approve of Beatrice and threatens to cut off his allowance. The couple decides to divorce and remarry after Skinner gets his grandfather's money. Skinner offers Warner ten thousand dollars to play the corespondent, but then he becomes unreasonably jealous and threatens to divorce Beatrice for real. It gets worse when Edith finds Warner and Beatrice together and doesn't realize it's a set-up for Skinner's grandfather. Finally everything gets untangled, grandpa decides he likes Beatrice after all, and the supposedly worthless oil stock turns out to be quite valuable. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Jack Holt stands out in this adaptation of the William LeBaron stage hit. A pair of con artists have published a book under the fictitious name of Robert Douglas. Now the IRS, the publisher, and various other organizations are after them and they must somehow come up with a "Robert Douglas." They find him in John Webster (Holt), a supposed literary agent, who has arrived in town with his assistant (and former safecracker) Eddie Maloney (Harry Depp). He takes the identity of Douglas, but when he discovers the motives of the men who hired him, he turns the tables on them. In addition, he gets involved with the campaign for governor, and helps the incumbent, Kendall (Charles Clary), to be re-elected. With Maloney's aid, he uncovers a fraudulent scheme that the manager of a lumber company was using against Kendall -- which was Webster's real purpose all along. In the midst of all this activity, he also manages to win the hand of Kendall's pretty daughter, Grace (Wanda Hawley). ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This confusing maritime drama is divided into four parts; the ages of stone, iron, barbarism, and civilization. As the story begins, Dick Halpin (Cullen Landis) takes the blame for stealing the school's athletic funds to protect the real culprit, the brother of his sweetheart Mabel (Alice Calhoun). The sailor decides to become a civilian and is followed by his friend Lieutenant Breen (Earle Williams). Dressed as civilians, the two go to a saloon where Breen tries to dissuade Dick from deserting. In the saloon, Dick and Breen are given knock-out drops and shanghaied. After he regains consciousness, Dick informs the captain he is a member of the United States Navy and demands to be put ashore. Breen refuses to acknowledge Dick is a sailor, revealing himself to be in league with Captain Bilker (Jack Curtis). Further distaff interest is provided by Wanda Hawley, who appears with Martin Turner, Dick Sutherland, and Jack Curtis. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

At the time this film was released, its star, Wallace Reid, was supposedly spending some time in a sanitarium, getting a much needed rest. The truth was that he had been hospitalized for his morphine addiction, which would kill him within a few months. Reid looks tired and strained here, and this poor excuse for a farce was all wrong for him. It was based on a Broadway play by A.E. Thomas and Clayton Hamilton, but did not translate at all well to the screen. Reid plays John Cadwalader Floyd, who gets himself into a lot of trouble when hot-headed Italian Giacomo Polenta (Hershall Mayall) finds him in the arms of his wife, Rosa (Carmen Phillips). The situation is completely innocent, but Polenta won't even consider that. To get away from the man, who is to depart for his home country in 28 days, Floyd begs his pal, Judge Hooker (Charles Ogle) to lock him away in jail for a whole month. The only problem is that Polenta has been thrown into the clink too. Things get even worse for Floyd when his fiancee, Lucy Ledyard (Wanda Hawley) finds him there. Then there's the bear-like presence of the warden, Marcel (Kalla Pasha, of Mack Sennett fame), to add even more complications. Floyd gets in good with Marcel by finding a shortage in the books and is pardoned early. Polenta also gets out but Floyd and his friends manage to capture him, roll him up in a rug and get him to the steamer that will take him out of America, and out of Floyd's life. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi