Dell Henderson Movies
Tall, stocky comic actor Dell Henderson left his stage career behind when he and his actress wife Florence joined D. W. Griffith's Biograph players in 1909. He was frequently co-starred with fellow Biograph contractee Mack Sennett, and when Sennett set up his own Keystone studio, Henderson went along as an actor and director. He continued directing into the 1920s, also functioning as producer on such features as Gambling Wives (1924), Quick Change (1925) and Rough Stuff (1925). In 1927, Henderson resumed his acting career; one of his best late-silent performances was as Marion Davies' father in 1928's Show People. During the talkie era, Henderson appeared in dozens of two-reel comedies produced by Sennett, Hal Roach and Columbia. Most of his feature-film roles at this time were bits, with such notable exceptions as the kindly used-car dealer in Leo McCarey's Make Way For Tomorrow (1937) and the night court judge in Laurel and Hardy's Our Relations (1936). Del Henderson's last public appearance was on a 1954 This is Your Life TV installment honoring his former colleague Mack Sennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1910
The unfortunate title is the only truly "racist" aspect of this Biograph one-reeler. Set in the Old West (actually the Upstate New York community of Cuddebackville), the story concentrates on a young Chinaman who smuggles himself into America. Upon his arrival, our hero quickly grasps the English language and just as quickly becomes a business entrepreneur. Even so, he is looked down upon by the bigoted residents of Golden Gulch, until he proves his mettle by single-handedly capturing a notorious bandit. Dell Henderson is among the Biograph stock-company players in this effective little plea for racial tolerance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1910
When an Indian is found cruelly murdered, the tribe begins to plan for a revenge attack against the nearby white settlement in this typical one-reel Biograph melodrama directed by D. W. Griffith in the wilds of Coytesville, New Jersey. A little Indian girl Gladys Egan who had earlier been given a doll by her white playmate, warns the settlement of the impending Indian attack. No longer taken by surprise, the settlement is able to beat off their attackers, but the little Indian girl is among the lost. The Broken Doll is preserved in the paper print collection of the Library of Congress. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1910
This Biograph gambling melodrama was completed by D.W. Griffith in a fast two days. The hero, a chronic gambler, embezzles funds from his employer to feed his "habit." Discovering the discrepancy in the books, the employer figures out what has happened but compassionately gives the embezzler two days to return the money. The hero's wife willingly hocks her family jewels to save her husband from prison, but even this is not enough to make up the loss. In desperation, he sits in on a marathon poker game, hoping to win enough money to square himself. Instead, he loses spectacularly to a smooth cardsharp. On the verge of killing himself, the hero discovers that the cardsharp was in fact his wife's brother, who uses his own winnings from the other players to pay off the employer and save the day. James Kirkwood, Florence Barker and Owen Moore are among the Biograph players showcased herein. The Last Deal represented another stylistic step forward for Griffith with its innovational over-the-shoulder medium shots during the climactic card game, and with the director's striking utilization of a moving camera in one crucial scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1909
Advertised by Biograph studios as a "Contemporary Temperance Melodrama," D. W. Griffith's The Broken Locket was filmed in part at Edgewater, New Jersey, near the Hudson Palisades. Not wishing to break his fiancee's heart, a young drunkard vows to go "cold turkey." As good as his word, he leaves for the Big City to make his fortune but not before giving his sweetheart one-half of a locket as a remembrance. Alas, our hero becomes entangled with a seductress, who spitefully sends a letter to the heroine, falsely claiming that her boyfriend has been killed. The girl's grief manifests itself into temporary blindness, while the young man, led astray by the big-city temptress, once again descends into drunkenness. Hero and heroine are reunited at the end, but while the "broken locket" shared between them is repaired, their relationship, sadly, is irreparable. Mary Pickford, Frank Powell and Kate Bruceare among the Griffith regulars appearing in this one-reel heart-tugger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
