Otto Hoffman Movies

Directed by character actor Otto Hoffman, this silent Western was produced at Long Beach, California, by the Balboa Amusement Producing Company, a busy firm that lasted from 1913 to 1918. Vola Vale starred as Miriam Vale, who takes a job as a schoolmistress in a Western outpost in order to investigate the death of her grandfather, a prospector. She quickly discovers that the killer, one Henry Stanley (J.B. Warner), is a member of an avaricious family with designs on grandpa's hidden mine. With the help of cousin Blake Stanley (Philo McCullough), Miriam learns the truth of her grandfather's murder, and together they locate the hidden treasure. Both leading man Philo McCullough and supporting villain J.B. Warner would enjoy further success in Westerns in the '20s, the former as a dyed-in-the-wool villain and the latter as a Western star in his own right. Warner's success proved short lived, however; he died of tuberculosis in November of 1924. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Although WWI was clearly winding down in the Summer of 1918, the same could not be said of the cycle of anti-German films coming out of Hollywood. In Thomas H. Ince's The Kaiser's Shadow, an inventor named Boyd (Edward Cecil) develops a super-weapon on behalf of the Allies. The plans for the invention are stolen by German spy William Kremlin (Charles K. French), and for awhile things look pretty bleak for the Good Guys. But Kremlin has reckoned without the valiant Secret Service team of Paula Harris (Dorothy Dalton) and Hugo Wagner (Thurston Hall), who manage to infiltrate the very palace of the Kaiser in order to make the world Safe For Democracy. The Kaiser's Shadow was based on a blood-and-thunder magazine serial co-written by Roy Octavus Cohen, better known for his outrageously stereotypical stories of African American life in the South. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Ray takes his country bumpkin to Paris, albeit briefly, in this comedy-melodrama. After fighting in World War I, Corporal Luther Green (Ray) is on his way back home to Quigley Corners, New Jersey, but first he has to make a quick stop in Paris. In the hour he is there, he meets a French girl, Ninon Robinet (Ann May). Back in the States, Green discovers that his sweetheart, who had promised to wait for him, is now engaged to someone else. But he doesn't have much time to be depressed -- before long, Ninon shows up. She has come to America to find her missing uncle, Andre (Otto Hoffman), but she is kidnapped. She escapes and heads for Green's little village, since he's the only other person she knows in the United States. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

America has just entered World War I, and because of his name, German-American Oscar Krug (Hobart Bosworth) is thought to be an enemy sympathizer. He fights his foes to prove that they're wrong, then immediately enlists and is assigned to the merchant marines. The night before boarding, he marries his sweetheart, Alice Morse (Jane Novak), and she sails with him, disguised as a Red Cross nurse. A German submarine torpedoes the craft and sinks it. Krug and his bride board a lifeboat, where the sub finds them a couple of days later. The Germans take Alice and leave Krug, who swears revenge to the commander (Wallace Beery). Krug is saved by a passing ship and gets his chance a year later when he is in charge of another ship. It blows up a sub, and Krug sees the commander -- the same man he is looking for -- in the water. He pulls the commander on board and tricks him into telling Krug the details of how the commander ravished Alice and threw her body overboard. Then Krug reveals his identity and skins him alive. The movie's end shows Krug a saddened old man, whose soul rises from his broken body (with the help of double exposure) to join his dead bride. This film was based on a Gouverneur Morris story that appeared in Collier's Weekly. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Stop Thief was adapted from the popular Broadway comedy of the same name, with Mary Ryan repeating her original stage role. The story revolves around a pair of thieves, Nell Jones (Ryan) and Jack Doogan (Harry Mestayer), and their efforts to go straight. But before they can do so, Nell and Jack decide to pull off one last "big job." To this end, Nell takes a servant's job in the home of a wealthy family, intending to allow Jack access into the house in the dead of night. After several items of value are stolen, Nell's employers are convinced that they themselves are kleptomaniacs, whereupon they hire a detective to protect the house from themselves. The "detective" is none other than Jack, in a classic case of the fox guarding the chicken coop! Ultimately, Nell and Jack are caught in the act, but their employers decide to let them go free -- but only on the condition that the larcenous pair get married immediately and promise steadfastly never to steal again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the brutal Captain Briggs (a miscast Dustin Farnum) destroys a Malay idol, a native witch (Evelyn Selbie) puts a curse on him. From there on in, death follows him. He marries, but his wife dies when their son is born. The son reaches adulthood and weds, but the couple catch a fever and die, leaving Briggs with an orphaned grandson. The boy, Hal (Bernard J. Durning, also the film's director), grows up to be as violent and mean-tempered as his grandfather. He gets into a brawl and is stabbed by a poison dagger. Briggs, who had once had his own encounter with a poison dagger, has both the poison and the antidote -- unfortunately, he doesn't recall which is which. But he risks his life by tasting one of the powders. It turns out to be the antidote, and he gives it to Hal, who recovers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This light comedy was based on the George Ade play, and Ade in turn seems to have been inspired by It Pays to Advertise, because it's basically the same plot. Ed Swinger (Jack Pickford) has a college degree but no apparent skills. He wants to marry Caroline Pickering (Molly Malone), the daughter of Septimus Pickering, the pickle king (George Hernandez). But Pickering doesn't think Swinger is son-in-law material. To get him out of the way, he gives Swinger twenty thousand dollars and says that if he can double it in 30 days, he can have Caroline. Of course, Pickering is confident that he will get most of his money back and get rid of Swinger. In fact, he manages the former by secretly selling the young man fifteen thousand dollars' worth of bogus oil stock. With five thousand dollars left, Swinger enlists the help of a college chum who wants to break into advertising. They create a campaign around "Bingo Pickles," most of which are just Pickering's pickles with new labels. Everywhere the pickle king goes, he finds himself inundated with "Bingo Pickles" ads. Finally he decides it's best if he buys out the concern and is forced to cough up a hundred thousand dollars -- plus advertising costs. When he finds out that the whole thing was a trick of Swinger's, Pickering is a good enough sport to let him wed Caroline. If Pickford (younger brother of screen star Mary Pickford) doesn't make much of an impression here, perhaps there's a reason -- in September, 1920 his wife, actress Olive Thomas, died under mysterious circumstances, and Pickford mourned deeply for many months. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

A major -- and rare -- failure from legendary producer Thomas H. Ince, The Bronze Bell starred British-born stage idol Courtenay Foote as a Long Island socialite doubling as an Far Eastern revolutionary. As the title indicated, the story hinged upon a huge bell, the possession of which could shake the British Empire to its foundation. Far too expensive for its own good, the production was further marred by the death of minor player John L. Franck, killed in a special effects explosion.on the set. The Bronze Bell was based on a novel by Louis Joseph Vance, the creator of The Lone Wolf. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this rather artificial drama, Shirley Mason plays Constance Bailey, a rich girl who refuses to marry her sweetheart, Bruce Von Griff (Alan Forrest), until she has done some good in the world. She finds work as a teacher on New York's Lower East Side, and one day Bruce shows up in a policeman's uniform -- he has joined the force partly to keep an eye on her, and partly because he wants to do some good in the world himself. He keeps proposing to Constance, who keeps turning him down. She helps a little boy (Pat Moore) and his blind sister (Helen Stone). Meanwhile, Bruce is trying to track down a thief (Otto Hoffman). Coincidentally, the same crook attacks Constance, so Bruce gets to save his sweetheart and collar the wanted man at the same time. Eventually Constance figures she's done enough good and accepts Bruce's proposal. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This comedy is in a similar vein to the popular Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford, which was released the year before. Herbert Rawlinson plays salesman Bob Mortimer, who loses his job but finds he is wealthy when he picks up what he believes to be his valise and finds it stuffed with a million dollars. The bag actually belongs to a crook who is running from the cops. When Mortimer arrives in the hick town of Croesus, he's approached by a slick con artist who calls himself Professor Lang (Lincoln Plumer). Lang mistakes Mortimer for another crook and convinces him to trick the villagers into giving them money for a phony promotion. The sheriff finally gets on their case, resulting in a Keystone-type pursuit. Eventually Mortimer encourages Lang to turn straight and they do right by the villagers. Mortimer also wins the requisite girl, played by former Mack Sennett bathing beauty, Harriet Hammond. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Silent cowboy-star Hoot Gibson specialized in playing ruffled, slightly comical cowpokes suffering from a mix of shyness and brash action. In this typical silent Gibson western, the "Hooter" plays a Quaker, whose father (William Welsh) is falsely accused of murder. The son, up until then the butt of endless jokes because of his pacifist ways, kidnaps the sheriff's pretty daughter (Edna Murphy) in order to enforce a fair trial for his father. She falls for the hero, of course, and he is allowed to track down the real killer (Wade Boteler). A pretty brunette known for her "flapper" roles, Edna Murphy was at one time married to director Mervyn LeRoy. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Even though this light comedy never leaves the confines of its hospital setting, it's still highly amusing. Billy Grant (Richard Dix) winds up in the hospital after going on a wild spree when his fiancée breaks up with him. Jane Brown (Helene Chadwick) is his nurse, and he begs her to marry him. She agrees because she believes that he is dying. The truth is that Grant has married her just to get back at his relatives, who helped ruin his relationship with his fiancée. Jane asks to be transferred to the maternity ward, and she helps a newborn baby and its mother reunite with its father. While searching for the man, however, Jane breaks some hospital rules and she's in danger of being fired. Grant comes to her aid and also claims her as his wife. This picture was based on two stories by author Mary Roberts Rinehart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This character study was adapted from Henning Berger's play, Synafloden, which was known as The Deluge in its English translation. Stratton's Cafe is located in the town of Cottonia, near the banks of the Mississippi River. Since it is below river level, Stratton (Will Walling) has water-tight doors installed. One day the flood alarm sounds and Stratton locks up his cafe. Inside are Billy Bear, a young broker (Richard Dix), Poppy, the chorus girl he once loved (Helene Chadwick), and a number of other people, including a tramp, an alcoholic street preacher, a shyster lawyer, two cotton traders who are enemies, and an out-of-work actor. When they all realize they will probably die of suffocation, they undergo a shift in consciousness. Everyone reforms and forgives their fellowmen in the spirit of brotherly love. Finally they decide to face the flood head on and fling open the doors. To their surprise, the water has receded and all is well. Not surprisingly, everyone immediately reverts to their old, wicked selves -- at least that's the way it was in the play. In the film version, Billy Bear and Poppy hang onto their ideals and head off to get a marriage license. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide