Joseph Henaberry Movies
American director Joseph Henaberry spent his first eight years in the workplace as correspondence filer for a railroad. He devoted his evenings to attending theatrical performances, sometimes appearing on stage as an extra. When his bosses refused to give him a raise, Henaberry quit the railroad and decided to give acting a try, then became intrigued with the burgeoning movie industry. Joining D. W. Griffith's troupe, Henaberry worked his way up to assistant director, tracking down research material for Griffith's groundbreaking films The Birth of a Nation (1915) (in which Henaberry also appeared as Abraham Lincoln) and Intolerance (1916). After this valuable first-hand experience, Henaberry became a full fledged director. He worked with most of the major stars of the early '20s, including Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Miles Minter, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Rudolph Valentino; as a favor to Fairbanks, he directed Douglas Jr. in the boy's film debut (Stephen Steps Out [1923]). For obscure reasons, Henaberry slipped from the front ranks in the late '20s. In the early '30s, Henaberry worked extensively at Vitaphone's Brooklyn studios, turning out a string of two-reelers; among these were a series of shorts based on the works of mystery writer S.S. Van Dine, and a group of dance-band specialties. During this period he was reunited with Fatty Arbuckle, guiding the rotund comedian through his "comeback" shorts series. Until 1957, Henaberry directed Army training films for the US Signal Corps. After a decade in retirement, Joseph Henaberry gained nationwide prominence in 1968, when his detailed reminiscenes of his years with D.W. Griffith were published in Kevin Brownlow's silent-film overview The Parade's Gone By. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1948
Though the most famous and controversial of the WWII "shell shock" documentaries, John Huston's Let There Be Light, was withheld from public view for nearly four decades, there were a few similar films made available for general distribution. One of these was Shades of Gray, produced under strict governmental supervision by the U.S. Army Pictorial Service. Because of the censorial hue and cry over the use of actual shell-shock victims in Let There Be Light, it was decided to use professional actors in Shades of Gray. The results are stiff and contrived, and not nearly as powerful as the images seen in the Huston film. In addition, the "solutions" offered by the film's psychiatrists seem to be pat and pedantic, as if all the mental problems fomented by the war could be resolved by a few carefully chosen words (it should be noted without further comment that the script was approved in advance by the Army's psychiatric technical advisers). Shades of Gray was directed by Joseph E. Henabery, whose film career extended all the way back to The Birth of a Nation (1915). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Larson
- 1943
A superior Hopalong Cassidy Western, The Leather Burners benefits from a good script by Joe Pagano. In trouble with a gang of cattle rustlers who have murdered his neighbor, former Bar 20 ranch hand Johnny Travers (Jay Kirby) sends for old friends Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) and California Carlson (Andy Clyde). Hopalong Cassidy immediately suspects mine company president Dan Slack (Victor Jory) to be behind the rustlings and decides to go undercover. As it turns out, the Slack mine is not what it appears to be and there is a traitor among the ranchers. But who? With the assistance of Sharon Longstreet (Shelley Spencer) and her young brother Bobby (Bobby Larson), who have discovered Hopalong Cassidy's real mission, the secret of the mine is revealed and peace is restored to the area. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Andy Clyde, (more)
- 1935
Though the film is called Speed Devils, the only racetrack scenes occur at the very beginning of the picture. After cracking up during a race, the driver of the car (Paul Kelly) is advised to get into another line of work. Picking up on this, he and his buddy (Russell Hardie) open up a garage, only to be pounced upon by crooked politicians who want a chunk of the profits. The friend agrees to play ball with the crooks, but his partner balks at the idea. The villains then contrive to frame the reluctant man for a crime he didn't commit, and when this fails they lock our hero and his girlfriend (Marguerite Churchill) in a burning building. His pal comes to the rescue, and the two then team up to smash the corrupt politicos once and for all. Speed Devils was directed by former D. W. Griffith protégé Joseph Henaberry, who spent much of his talkie career on Poverty Row. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Kelly, Marguerite Churchill, (more)
- 1930
"East is East, West is West, Never the Twain Shall Meet." That's the lesson to be learned in the low-budget exotic romance The Love Trader. Leatrice Joy plays the restless young wife of an elderly ship's captain (Henry B. Walthall). While her husband goes on a pearl-hunting expedition in the South Seas, the woman inaugurates an romance with a handsome native (Roland Drew). There love, however, is never consummated, since both are aware of the social ramifications of miscegenation. Even so, our heroine cannot bear the "shame" of betraying her race, leaving her no alternative but to drown herself. This one is hard to watch today with a straight face. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leatrice Joy, Chester Conklin, (more)
- 1929
This 1929 drama about mistaken identities contains three eight minute scenes that involve talking. The rest of the film is silent and subtitled. The trouble begins when the hero follows a pretty lady aboard an ocean liner. He boards the ship using the name of his friend who was supposed to take the cruise for health reasons. The friend was told that if he did not board the boat, he would not receive his inheritance. Unfortunately for the hero, a male nurse believes that he is the sick friend and forces him to stay in the cabin and subsist upon a diet of goat's milk. He is finally able to escape the nurse and search for the girl. Unfortunately, a band of jewel thieves sees him and mistakes him for a detective. The robbers are after the girl's necklace. The nurse finds the hero and forces him back to the cabin explaining to the crew that the man is crazy. Later the hapless hero unknowingly thwarts the thieves, gets away from the nurse, and finally gets the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reginald Denny, Olive Hasbrouck, (more)
- 1929
"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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Keith, Dorothy Revier, (more)
- 1929
The fact that "all-American" leading man Reginald Denny spoke with a pronounced British accent somewhat worked against his portrayal of a New York parole officer in Red Hot Speed. Alice Day plays the daughter of newspaper publisher DeWitt Jennings, the latter currently engaged in an "anti-speeding" campaign. Sure enough, Day is arrested by a traffic cop for going approximately 75 in a 25-mile an hour zone. She is put in the care of Denny, who sets about to "reform" the heroine while keeping her identity a secret to save her father from embarrassment. Four screenwriters were responsible for this entertaining trifle, which began life as a silent picture but emerged on screen as a part-talkie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reginald Denny, Alice Day, (more)
- 1929
Although a humble stable boy, Ben Lyon is a whiz when it comes to medical know-how. This endears Lyon to his boss, Fred Kohler Sr., who taps the hero's services as a horse doctor. Lyon also has a talent for music, and this wins him the affections of Kohler's girlfriend Dorothy Revier. A flashback reveals that our hero was once a brilliant surgeon who gave it all up when he failed to save his mother's life after an accident (this doesn't explain where his musical prowess came from, but what the heck). Back in the present, the enraged Kohler accuses Lyon of stealing Revier, whereupon a fight breaks out. Hoping to save the hero, Revier shoots Kohler -- at which point Lyon summons up all his latent medical skills to save Kohler's life. A "quitter" no more, Lyon resumes his career as a doctor, with the blessings of his "friendly enemy" Kohler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, Fred Kohler, (more)
- 1928
A rather muddled prize-fighting melodrama from low-budget company Gotham Productions, United States Smith featured former Keystone comic Eddie Gribbon and 14-year-old Canadian actor Mickey Bennett). Gribbon played a Marine boxing champ and Bennett the young Russian immigrant he takes under his wing. Lila Lee, formerly of Cecil B. DeMille marital comedies, acted the female lead, for whose sake Gribbon is willing to throw a championship fight. Bennett, however, convinces him otherwise and all live happily ever after. United States Smith took no less than 7 reels to tell its little story and was directed by Joseph Henabery, a Hollywood veteran who had played Abraham Lincoln in Griffith's The Birth of a Nation.(1915). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Gribbon, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1928
Informed by her doctor that she is going blind, Mary Astor tearfully breaks off her engagement with Lloyd Hughes, hoping to spare him the stigma of a sightless bride. When Hughes catches up with her and demands an explanation, Astor pretends to have fallen out of love with him and further convinces him that she has turned into a shameless hussy. When blindness overtakes her, Astor shoots herself, but as luck would have it the bullet alleviates the pressure on her optic nerves, instantly restoring her sight! A tender reunion with Hughes is inevitable -- but what does all this have to do with sailors and their wives? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Lloyd Hughes, (more)
- 1928
A mother stows away on a ship in order to be close to her long-lost son in this seafaring melodrama from small-time company Gotham Productions. Mrs. Wallace Reid (aka Dorothy Davenport) played the suffering mother whose child was taken away 20 years earlier because her husband, Captain Bronson (Noah Beery), mistakenly believed her to be unfaithful. Joining Reid on board the "hellship" was pretty Mary Younger (Helen Foster. The girl, of course, falls in love with Reid's son (Reed Howes), and even the elder Bronsons are reunited. Repenting his earlier cruelty, Captain Bronson sacrifices himself during a storm so that Tim and Mary may live. Ingenue Helen Foster had earlier starred in Mrs. Wallace Reid's alcohol awareness melodrama The Road to Ruin (1928). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Reid, Noah Beery, Sr., (more)
- 1927
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Banks, Virginia Lee Corbin, (more)
- 1927
Jack Mulhall stars as Jerry Marsden, the wastrelly son of millionaire milk wholesaler J. Marsden Sr. (George Fawcett). After bailing Jerry out of one scrape too many, the elder Marsden cuts off the boy's allowance and tells him he's on his own. While looking for work, Jerry is hired by wealthy Roger Whitney (Crauford Kent) to serve a brief jail term on Whitney's behalf. Locked up in a minimum-security prison especially designed for "celebrity" convicts, Jerry is ensconced in a luxury cell and waited on hand-and-foot by the supplicative guards. He enjoys the occasional visits from Whitney's pretty sister Ruth (Alice Day). Entering into a business deal with another of the millionaire prisoners, Jerry strikes it rich, pleasing his dear old daddy to no end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Mulhall, Alice Day, (more)
- 1927
The lonesomest of the titular lonesome ladies is Polly Fosdick (Anna Q. Nilsson), the wife of wealthy John Fosdick (Lewis Stone). Convinced that her husband is playing the field with sexy widow Mrs. St. Clair (Jane Winton), Polly follows the advice of her block-headed girlfriends and accepts a dinner invitation from rakish playboy Motley Hunter (Edward Martindel). Just as the audience is primed for a showdown between Fosdick and Hunter, the latter timidly excuses himself and leaves the room. The wind taken out of his sails, Fosdick has no choice but to forgive his wife and escort her home. The unexpectedly low-key climax is par for the course for this genteel romantic comedy, in which the characters behave like human beings rather than refugees from a French farce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis Stone, Anna Q. Nilsson, (more)
- 1926
Former D.W. Griffith associate Joseph Henaberry handled the directorial reins in Shipwrecked. Based on a popular stage play, the story takes place on board a ship bound for the South Seas. One of the passengers is escaped criminal Seena Owen, who falls in love with galley hand Joseph Schildkraut. In turn, Owen is lusted after by ship's captain Matthew Betz, but before he can make his move, the vessel is wrecked in a storm. The captain and the crew jump ship, leaving Schildkraut and Owen to fend for themselves. The couple lands on an extradition-free South Sea island, where they hope to start life anew -- until that pesky captain makes a surprise reappearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seena Owen, Joseph Schildkraut, (more)
- 1926
A reasonably well-received silent comedy, The Broadway Boob was Merton of the Movies all over again, but with a change of setting. Glenn Hunter, who had played Merton in both the stage and the 1924 screen version, is Dan Williams, a country pumpkin, who, against all odds, lands a chorus job in a Broadway show. To drum up some interest in the newcomer, Dan's press agent (Antrim Short) releases a story that his client is making 3,000 dollars a week. In financial distress and faced with a run on his bank, Dan's father appeals to his "wealthy" son for help and Dan is forced to tell the truth. To make amends, he concocts a scheme that ultimately saves the banks. Returning to his hometown a hero, Dan marries his childhood sweetheart (Mildred Ryan). The Broadway Boob was directed by Joseph Henabery, who a decade earlier had played Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
This routine romantic comedy was slight of plot and light on name actors. Joseph Schildkraut plays Nicholas Alexnov, an impoverished Russian prince who winds up living with his family in a tenement on New York's Lower East Side. There is an American heiress whom he is trying to marry when he meets Annabelle Ford (Marguerite de la Motte), the girl of his dreams. Annabelle, however, is angling for a rich husband, and Nicholas' sister, Princess Sophia (Julia Faye), tries to match her up with Peter Paget (David Butler), a wealthy oil man. Nicholas uses "cave man tactics" (1920s lingo for playing rough) to show Annabelle that he means business. She weds the prince, but it turns out that they are not faced with life in a garret after all -- Paget discovers that he loves Sophia. He marries the princess and has enough money to share with the whole family. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
Silent screen idol Rudolph Valentino made his next-to-last screen appearance in this romantic comedy/drama. Count Rodrigo Torriani (Valentino) is a notorious ladies' man who has become the subject of a long list of breach-of-promise suits filed by disappointed former girlfriends, which has left him destitute. Needing to learn a new trade, Rodrigo comes to the U.S., where his knowledge of Italian artifacts is put to good use by Jack Dorning (Casson Ferguson), an antique dealer. While Rodrigo's new trade would presumably put him back on the straight and narrow, such is not the case, as he finds himself the object of two different women's affections -- Mary (Gertrude Olmstead), Jack's secretary, and Elise (Nita Naldi), a wealthy socialite. Cobra reunited Valentino with Nita Naldi, who had starred with him in Blood and Sand and A Sainted Devil; within a year of Cobra's release, Valentino would die unexpectedly, and within three years, Naldi would retire from the screen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1925
Glenn Hunter was still riding high from his success with Merton of the Movies, and in just a few weeks his co-star, Constance Bennett, would achieve stardom herself with the release of Sally, Irene and Mary when they made this ordinary romantic comedy. True to type, Hunter plays Joel Martin, a gawky New Englander who goes to college and almost immediately becomes the focus of the upperclassmen's pranks. But Abbie Nettleton (Bennett) takes pity on him, and when he wants to return home, she calls him a quitter and inspires him to stay. He gets a place on the baseball team, but it's a given that he is really only the mascot. Everyone can predict the rest of the story: There's the big game, and no one is available except Joel to pinch-hit. He steps up to the plate, slams a home run, and wins the game for his alma mater -- and, of course, he wins Abbie, too. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1924
An attorney (Thomas Meighan) becomes the intermediary between an Indian tribe and the territory's settlers in this fine silent western based on a novel by Peter Clark MacFarlane. Meighan, however, gets in hot water when, upon his advice, the Indians sell their land to an outright crook (Berton Churchill). One of the great stars of the silent era, Thomas Meighan died relatively young in 1936 and has been unfairly forgotten. Following on the heels of The Alaskan, this was Meighan's second action adventure in a row, but the classically trained actor was more popular in society dramas such as DeMille's Male and Female (1919) and Why Change Your Wife?) (1920). Directed by Joseph Henaberry, who had played Abraham Lincoln in The Birth of a Nation, Tongues of Flame became the screen debut of corpulent Berton Churchill, a fine character actor best known for portraying blustery men of means. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Bessie Love, (more)
- 1924
There's something very calculated about this Rudolph Valentino vehicle. As he did in Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the star plays an Argentine with a talent for the tango. The production and costuming are elaborate, and the story was based on the Rex Beach novel Rope's End. But none of this can help a weak plot line which is stretched mighty thin to last for nine reels. It is arranged for Don Alonzo de Castro to marry Julietta (Helen D'Algy), who comes from a noble Spanish family. Castro's jealous ex-girlfriend, Carlotta (Nita Naldi), schemes with bandit El Tigre (George Siegmann) to destroy their happiness. On the couple's wedding night, El Tigre stages a raid and kidnaps Julietta. Carlos goes after him, but is enraged when he sees a woman with a bridal veil embracing the bandit. He believes it is Julietta, when it's actually Carlotta. Castro plans revenge on El Tigre. Meanwhile, Julietta escapes to a nunnery with the help of Carmelita, a dancing girl (Louise Lagrange). Although Carmelita loves Castro herself, she eventually reveals Julietta's hiding place and the couple are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolph Valentino, Nita Naldi, (more)
- 1924
Tully Marshall plays "the Stranger," an outcast who works in a saloon frequented by Peggy Bowlin, a poor girl suffering through hard times (Betty Compson). She finds romance with Larry Darrant (Richard Dix), and her life begins to improve. They make plans to wed and leave England, but when a convict assaults Peggy, Larry gets involved and accidentally kills him. The Stranger is arrested for the murder, but he refuses to declare his innocence because he doesn't want to destroy Peggy's happiness. Larry wants to confess, but his brother Keith (Lewis Stone) has political aspirations and refuses to let him. After the Stranger is sentenced to death, however, Larry insists that he must do what is right and they show up at the scaffold. The Stranger, however, has heart failure just as the noose is being put around his neck and he dies. Larry's secret dies with him, so he and Peggy are free to pursue their dreams. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Compson, Richard Dix, (more)
- 1923
Hefty comedian Walter Hiers stars in this tepid comedy. Jimmy Kirk (Hiers) is a soda jerk in love with Mamie Smith (Jacqueline Logan), the daughter of a banker (Charles Ogle). In spite of his lowly position, Jimmy has aspirations and leases a four-foot plot in hopes of building a store. Although his plan comes to naught, he does manage to save up enough money to rent a flivver at 60 cents an hour. When Smith's bank is robbed, Jimmy is accused of being the perpetrator. Even though he didn't do it, the car he rented was used and he finds the money concealed within. He captures the robbers, which entitles him to the reward -- only Smith won't give it to him since some of the bank's money flew out of the car during the pursuit. But Jimmy gets back at him by proving that the bank has encroached on his four-foot space, and he is entitled to a settlement. He also wins the lovely Mamie. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Hiers, Jacqueline Logan, (more)
