Otto Hoffman Movies
Gangly, bald-pated stage actor Otto Hoffman inaugurated his screen career with producer Thomas Ince in 1916. After directing Ince's Secret of Black Mountain (1917), Hoffman concentrating on acting. He was seen as cadaverous, crafty, menacing, and sometimes near-moronic types in such silents as Human Wreckage (1918), The Eagle (1925), The Terror (1928) and Noah's Ark (1929). His ethnic range in talkies embraced the Riffian Hasse in Desert Song (1929), frontiersman Murch Rankin in Cimarron (1931), and Gandhi parody "Khook" in Eddie Cantor's Kid Millions (1934). Otto Hoffman spent his last film years in bit roles, most often cast as pawnbrokers or caretakers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1931
This British remake of 1923's Captain Applejack follows the courageous exploits of a mild mannered citizen who fights back when robbers break into his house in search of treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Howard Hawks' early sound prison melodrama, based on a play by Martin Flavin, already contains his stylistic signature of over-lapping dialogue -- a technique he would greatly expand upon in the next ten years. Walter Huston is district attorney Brady, who quickly convicts Robert Graham (Phillips Holmes) of murdering a man who was harassing his girlfriend. Brady is later made the warden of the prison where Robert is held. Brady tries to make friends with Robert, but Robert will have no dealings with the new warden. Nevertheless, Brady, who thinks Robert is a decent man who became embroiled in extraordinary circumstances, gives Robert a job as his chauffeur. As he drives with Brady's daughter Mary (Constance Cummings), the two fall in love. Meanwhile, things heat up back at the prison, where crazed killer Ned Galloway (Boris Karloff) kills the squealer Runch (Clark Marshall). Robert knows Ned killed Runch, but refuses to tell Brady. Brady reluctantly sends Robert to solitary confinement to get him to give up the murderer's name, but Robert holds out on him. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, (more)
- 1930
Based on the play Penny Arcade, Sinner's Holiday marked the film debut of James Cagney. After seeing the performance on Broadway, Al Jolson bought the rights to the play and sold it to Warner Bros. under the agreement that both Cagney and co-star Joan Blondell reprise their stage roles for the screen. The story concerns an overprotective mother, Ma Delano (Lucille LaVerne), who runs a penny arcade in Coney Island and lives with her children: Harry (James Cagney), Joe (Ray Gallagher), and Jennie (Evelyn Knapp). Harry works for a sideshow ran by liquor-dealing gangster Mitch McKane (Warren B. Hymer), who wants to date ennie. Grant Withers plays Angel, Harry's co-worker and the hero that saves Jennie from Mitch's advances. When Mitch goes to jail, Harry takes over his shady liquor business and keeps the extra money for himself, leading to a deadly gunfight. When he's accused of murder, Harry begs his mother for protection and she frames Angel with the weapon out of a bizarrely obsessive love for her son. agney would go on to play other tough-guy characters with overly loving mothers in his next film, The Public Enemy ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Withers, Evelyn Knapp, (more)
To date, this D.W. Griffith epic is the only talking-picture effort to encapsulate the entire life of Abraham Lincoln, from cradle to grave. The script, credited to Stephen Vincent Benet, manages to include all the familiar high points, including Lincoln's tragic romance with Ann Rutledge (Una Merkel, allegedly cast because of her resemblance to Griffith favorite Lillian Gish), his lawyer days in Illinois, his contentious marriage to Mary Todd (Kay Hammond), his heartbreaking decision to declare war upon the South, his pardoning of a condemned sentry during the Civil War, and his assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth (expansively portrayed by Ian Keith). This was D.W. Griffith's first talkie, and the master does his best with the somewhat pedantic dialogue sequences; but as always, Griffith's forte was spectacle and montage, as witness the cross-cut scenes of Yankees and Rebels marching off to war and the pulse-pounding ride of General Sheridan (Frank Campeau) through the Shenandoah Valley. Thanks to the wizardry of production designer William Cameron Menzies, many of the scenes appear far more elaborate than they really were; Menzies can also be credited with the unforgettable finale, as Honest Abe's Kentucky log cabin dissolves to the Lincoln Memorial. As Abraham Lincoln, Walter Huston is a tower of strength, making even the most florid of speeches sound human and credible; only during the protracted death scene of Ann Rutledge does Huston falter, and then the fault is as much Griffith's as his. Road-shown at nearly two hours (including a prologue showing slaves being brought to America), Abraham Lincoln was pared down to 97 minutes by United Artists, and in that length it proved a box-office success, boding well for D.W. Griffith's future in talkies (alas, it proved to be his next-to-last film; Griffith's final effort, The Struggle was a financial disaster). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Huston, Kay Hammond, (more)
- 1930
Edward Knoblock's warhorse theatrical piece Kismet, first filmed in 1920, resurfaced as a talkie in 1930. Repeating the role he'd created on stage in 1911, Otis Skinner stars as Hajji, the wily Baghdad beggar who goes from rags to riches to rags again to riches again in the space of 24 hours. Outwitting the evil wazir (Sidney Blackmer), Hajji manages to install himself in the royal palace, romance the wazir's gorgeous "head wife," and arrange the marriage between his own daughter (Loretta Young) and the caliph's son (David Manners). Though well on in years, Skinner conveys much of the effortless charisma which had endeared him to audiences since the turn of the century. Kismet was remade in 1944 with Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich; the popular Broadway musical version was brought to the screen in 1955, with Howard Keel as Hajji. The subsequent film versions have kept the 1930 Kismet out of television circulation, denying future generations the pleasure of watching the legendary Otis Skinner in action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otis Skinner, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1930
In this romance, two old flames meet and find that their rekindled romance is as white hot as it ever was. Unfortunately, the woman has married an terribly jealous, narcissistic man. To protect her, the old love, affects cowardice, but eventually, after her husband is accidentally killed, the two again become lovers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Cimarron was the first Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture--and, until Dances with Wolves in 1990, the only one. The film begins on April 22, 1889, the opening day of the great Oklahoma Land Rush on the Cherokee Strip. Boisterous Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his land claim by the devious Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Instead of becoming a homesteader, Cravat establishes a muckraking newspaper, and with pistols in hand he becomes a widely respected (and widely feared) peacekeeper. He also displays a compassionate streak by coming to the defense of Dixie Lee, who is about to be arrested for prostitution. Cravat's insistence on sticking his nose into everyone's affairs drives a wedge between him and his young wife Sabra (Irene Dunne), but she stands by him--until he deserts her and her children, ever in pursuit of new adventures. Sabra takes over the newspaper herself, and with the moral support of her best friend, Mrs. Wyatt (Edna May Oliver), she creates a powerful publishing empire. Cimarron makes the mistake of placing most of the action early in the film, so that everything that follows the spectacular opening land-rush sequence may feel anti-climactic. While it's always enjoyable to watch Irene Dunne persevering through the years, it's rather wearing to sit through the overblown performance of Richard Dix, who seems to think that he can't make a point unless it's at the top of his lungs. Cimarron creaks badly when seen today, but it still outclasses the plodding 1960 remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, (more)
- 1929
Gangster boss Egan (Sam Hardy) manages to beat a murder rap by framing his mistress Marion (Margaret Livingston) for the crime. After eight years in stir, Marian is released on good behavior. She seeks out Egan and tries to persuade him to confess his crime, but he is unmoved. But when his life is saved by Marian's sweetheart Dr. Bradford (Lloyd Hughes), Egan magnanimously turns himself in. In the course of the film, ratchet-voiced Sam Hardy sings the Irving Berlin standard What'll I Do, which was at least good for laughs (whenever he hears or sings the song, the sentimental gangster decides not to kill his latest victim!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Hughes, Margaret Livingston, (more)
- 1929
Previously filmed in 1923, the William Collier Sr.-Victor Mapes stage play The Hottentot was exhumed as an Edward Everett Horton vehicle in 1929. An inveterate horse lover, Sam Harrington (Horton) brags to his girlfriend Peggy Fairfax (Patsy Ruth Miller) that he is an expert rider. In truth, Sam hasn't a clue as to which end of the horse to mount, meaning that the script will inevitably require him to put his money where his mouth is. The climax finds poor Sam astride the contentious nag "Hottentot" during an all-important steeplechase. Variations of The Hottentot would be churned out for the next several years by Warner Bros., most of them starring Joe E. Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Everett Horton, Patsy Ruth Miller, (more)
- 1929
This early talkie antique is a backstage musical from Warner Bros. The plot involves the out-of-town tryout of a new musical comedy, and the people who perform therein: a bitchy leading lady (Betty Compson), an arrogant comedy lead (Joe E. Brown), and a starstruck chorus kid (Sally O'Neil). At the very last moment, the leading lady refuses to go on, forcing the producer to put the chorus girl in her place. It turns out that the star's seemingly rotten behavior was deliberately designed to give the chorine her big break. In between several Technicolor musical numbers (now only existing in black-and-white), we hear a lot of pedantic talk about "the show business." On with the Show's sole virtue is the exquisite Ethel Waters, who introduces her hit song "Am I Blue?" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Compson, Louise Fazenda, (more)
- 1929
Although there was little love lost between star Dolores Costello and director Michael Curtiz, the two Warner Bros. contractees collaborated on several films, including the early-talkie Madonna of Avenue A. Costello plays Maria Marton, an expensively educated young miss who has been led to believe that her mother Georgia (Louise Dresser) is a high-society doyenne. Our heroine is in for quite a shock when she learns that her sainted mom is actually the blowzy proprietress of a seedy dime-a-dance joint. Among the scriptwriters of Madonna of Avenue A was one Mark Canfield, a pseudonym for Warner's scriptwriter/producer Darryl F. Zanuck. The film's plot would be reworked several times, most memorably as the 1953 Doris Day vehicle Lullaby of Broadway. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolores Costello, Louise Dresser, (more)
- 1929
After literally inventing the movie musical with The Jazz Singer, Warner Bros. purchased the motion picture rights to the evergreen Sigmund Romberg/Oscar Hammerstein II 2nd operetta The Desert Song. Although the results looked like a photographed stage play (a common failing of early-talkie songfests), the unforgettable Romberg-Hammerstein tunes (The Riff Song, One Alone, the title number) more than carried the day. John Boles stars as The Red Shadow, the Robin Hood-like leader of the Riffs and the bane of the existence of General Bierbieu (Edward Martindel). The good General has another cross to bear in the form of his nerdish, lily-livered son Pierre, who is likewise despised by heroine Margot (Carlotta King). Little does anyone suspect that the wimpy Pierre and the dashing Red Shadow are one in the same! Myrna Loy is exotica personified as the Red Shadow's native sweetheart Azuri (her navel-exposing harem outfits must be seen to be believed), while comedy relief is supplied by "nance" comedian Johnny Arthur as effeminate reporter Benny Kidd, and Louise Fazenda as Benny's rambunctious assistant Susan. Partially filmed in Technicolor, this version of The Desert Song, and its 1943 remake, were long withheld from distribution due to the rather lukewarm 1953 version, likewise produced by Warner Bros., which starred Gordon MacRae and Kathryn Grayson. A "pocket" version of The Desert Song, the 2-reel musical The Red Shadow, was released by Warners' short-subject subsidiary Vitaphone in 1933, with Alexander Gray and Bernice Claire in the leading roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Boles, Louise Fazenda, (more)
- 1929
Inimitable, top-hatted clarinetist Ted Lewis stars in Is Everybody Happy? (the title, of course, was a Lewis catchphrase). Lewis plays Tod Todd, a Hungarian-emigre violinist who disdains the classics in favor of jazz, much to the dismay of his traditionalist parents (didn't we already see this plot in The Jazz Singer?) Upon discovering that his son is playing in honky-tonks and not with the New York Symphony, Todd's old-world papa Victor (Lawrence Grant) blows his top and disowns the boy. All is forgiven when Todd is headlined in a jazz concert at Carnegie Hall. Surprisingly, such trademarked Ted Lewis tunes as "When My Baby Smiles at Me" and "Me and My Shadow" are not included in Is Everybody Happy? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1928
Despite the challenges of his many imitators, there was only one Rin Tin Tin, as proven in such tailor-made vehicles as Rinty of the Desert. The plot is summed up by the title, as Rinty rescues heroine Audrey Ferris and hero Carroll Nye from all manner of desert dangers, both natural and man-made. The film's high point of tension finds the canine star rescuing Nye from a deep pit (and yes, there are a few snakes in the vicinity). Audiences and critics alike carped that Rinty of the Desert contained too many extraneous scenes in the heroine's bedroom, but the non-dog fans in that crowd had to watch something. The film was directed by D. Ross Lederman, who later helmed several episodes of the Rin Tin Tin TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rin Tin Tin, Audrey Ferris, (more)
- 1928
Directed by a young Michael Curtiz, this Warner Bros. epic had aspirations of becoming another Intolerance (1916). In the end, Curtiz' treatise of man's inhumanity to man was ironically sabotaged by the enormous success of yet another studio release, the groundbreaking The Jazz Singer (1927). Basically a quaint romantic melodrama set during World War I, Noah's Ark opens with American George O'Brien falling in love with German Dolores Costelllo while travelling on the Orient Express on the eve of war. The train wrecks and the two seek shelter at a nearby hostelry. Russian military officer Noah Beery tries to molest Miss Costello but is repulsed by O'Brien. The three meet again near the end of the war in a little French village, where Beery accuses Costello, now Mrs. O'Brien, of being a German spy. Placed before a firing squad, Dolores is saved in the nick of time by her husband, a member of the squad.The Germans use this very moment to bomb and all are soon entombed in the basement of a demolished building. Comparing the war with the Biblical account of the Flood, screenwriters Anthony Coldeway and Darryl F. Zanuck flash back to Miriam (Costello) and Japheth (O'Brien) at the festival of Jaghut. The climactic Flood (the filming of which brought Miss Costello a severe case of pneumonia) pulls out all the stops and is magnificent in UCLA's lovingly restored print. After the deluge, the story shifts back to war-torn France, where Costello and O'Brien are rescued by the Red Cross on the eve of the Armistice. Ready to be released, Warner Bros. withdrew the film in order to add several scenes of dialogue, considered a necessity after the unprecedented reception of The Jazz Singer. The results were doleful: Ever so often, Noah's Ark comes to a screetching halt as the characters leave the realm of silent movies to speak stolid lines of dialogue. The cumbersome Vitaphone sound-on-disc made for pedestrian drama as everyone were forced to speak slowly and enunciate carefully. Dolores Costello, Warners' blonde leading lady and the off-screen Mrs. John Barrymore, suffered the most and would see her flourishing career all but evaporate. But UCLA's restoration of Noah's Ark proves once and for all that the rumors of Miss Costello having trouble with sibilants were highly exaggerated. It was Costello's line-reading of "Merthy, merthy, have you no thisther of your own?" in Tenderloin (1928) that supposedly sealed her fate in talkies. But even though the restored Noah's Ark shows little sign of the dreaded lisp, the hapless Miss Costello is visibly ill at ease before the microphone and her stilted dialogue, by Coldeway, is of no help whatsoever. "Part-talkies" like Noah's Ark were mercifully only a stop-gap measure; by the time of M-G-M's Broadway Melody (released June 6, 1929), "all-talking, all-dancing" features had already freed themselves from the constraints of early sound technology. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolores Costello, George O'Brien, (more)
- 1928
The Grain of Dust was based on the best-selling novel by David Graham Phillips. Lillian Walker plays Dorothy Hallowell, known as "the grain of dust" because of her questionable parentage and her tendency to drift in and out of trouble. Unfairly branded a "scarlet woman," the innocent Dorothy finally decides to live up to her billing and attempts to steal small-town lawyer Frederick Norman (Ramsey Wallace) away from his wife Ursula (Corinne Urzell) -- hardly a difficult task, since Frederick is hardly a paragon of virtue. But Dorothy is essentially a good girl, and her virtue is ultimately rewarded. The Grain of Dust was remade in 1928, with Alma Bennett playing the title character as a villainous predator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alma Bennett, Richard Tucker, (more)
- 1927
The "stolen bride" of the title is Sari (Billie Dove), a Hungarian countess. During WWI, Sari falls in love with Franz Pless (Lloyd Hughes), an American-educated soldier in the Hapsburg army. Unable to marry Sari because of the differences in their "stations in life," Franz is forced to kidnap the countess, who doesn't seem all that put out over being an abduction victim. Of interest only as the first American film of European producer-director Alexander Korda, The Stolen Bride lacks the spark and vivacity of Korda's later efforts. Still, he got along just fine with Billie Dove, and went on to direct three more of the actress' vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billie Dove, Lilyan Tashman, (more)
- 1927
Arriving in the small town of Toptown to participate in the local rodeo, Buck Sims (Hoot Gibson) meets lovely Pony Blenning (Ethlyne Clair), who, with her crippled father (Charles Sellon), operates a merry-go-round. Pony's regular suitor, town bully Pinto Pete (William Dunn), attempts to warn off the newcomer, but is beaten in the ensuing fight. Pony's father is suddenly found shot and Buck is arrested. The Blennings, however, refuse to prosecute and Buck is free to win the Big Race, beating Pete once again. Pete then kidnaps Pony with Buck in hot pursuit. The final battle takes place in a canoe, where Buck finally manages to rescue Pony. Universal's highest paid Western star and a special favorite of studio owner Carl Laemmle, Hoot Gibson was at the top of his game in 1927. Directed by action expert B. Reeves Eason, Painted Ponies benefitted from the typical Gibson mix of rustic humor and hard riding. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hoot Gibson
- 1925
Director Victor Sjöström gave MGM this well-crafted adaptation of Alphonse Daudet's novel, Kings in Exile. The King of Illyris (Lewis Stone) weds the princess from a neighboring mythical kingdom, making her his Queen (Alice Terry). She is disgusted to discover that he has a mistress, Sephora (Helena D'Algy), and turns to Prince Alexei (John Bowers) for friendship. A revolution flares up in the little nation, and the King is willing to abdicate, but the Queen wants the crown for the sake of their son. The royals escape to Paris, and the King finally begins to grow on the distrustful Queen. In spite of his behavior, the King admits that he has always loved her. It turns out that Sephora is in league with the revolutionists, and this puts the King's life in danger. He decides to abdicate in favor of his son, and the Queen resolves to stick by his side. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Terry, Lewis Stone, (more)
Based on a Pushkin novel, The Eagle stars Rudolph Valentino as a Russian cossack who is the special favorite of the formidable Catherine the Great (Louise Dresser). He spurns her attentions, preferring not to be a kept consort. When his lands are stolen from him, Valentino transforms into a Robin-Hood-like masked avenger. Vilma Banky plays the daughter of the man who killed Valentino's own father. Despite his thirst for revenge, our hero falls in love with Vilma, who goes the "Lois Lane" route of adoring the masked-avenger Valentino but disdaining the unmasked Rudy, little guessing that the two are one in the same. Watch quickly for Gary Cooper as one of Valentino's masked minions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Banky, (more)
- 1925
This muddled murder mystery-comedy was based on the Max Marcin stage play The Night Cap. Bank president Robert Andrews (James Kirkwood) has loaned someone money out of the bank funds and he wants to distract the bank examiner from examining the books and discovering the shortage. So he invites him, and the directors, over to his house. All sorts of intrigue happens at the gathering -- Andrews argues with Jerry Hammond (Tom Ricketts), who is in love with his ward, Anne Maynard (Madge Bellamy). Lester Knoles (Arthur Stuart Hull), meanwhile, is jealous of Andrews' friendship with his wife (Rosemary Theby). In addition, we discover that Andrews has a life insurance policy that will cover the shortage should he die. Not too surprisingly, after some strange goings-on, Andrews is found dead in Mrs. Knoles' room. The police investigate and everybody seems to have a motive to kill Andrews. A lot of confusion ensues, until it is discovered that Andrews isn't really dead after all, and the man who he loaned the money shows up and straightens things out. It's also revealed that the bank examiner has given up his job in favor of selling real estate. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Kirkwood, ZaSu Pitts, (more)
- 1925
In spite of a fine cast and director, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer somehow managed to turn the stage play by W. Somerset Maugham into merely a classy-looking program picture. The Cheneys are "veddy" proper upper-class Englishmen, so it's a shock in the 1890s when Lady Catherine, wife of Lord Clive Cheney, runs off with Hugh Porteous, who was best man at the wedding. Now, in the mid-'20s, Elizabeth (Eleanor Boardman) is married to Lord Clive's highly dignified and rather dull son Arnold (Creighton Hale), and she is considering running off with Edward Luton (Malcolm McGregor). To help her decide, she invites Porteous (George Fawcett) and Lady Catherine (Eugenie Besserer) to the ancestral castle on the assumption that Lord Clive (Alec Francis) will be in London. Of course, he shows up unexpectedly and is shocked to find his wife has grown fat and silly, while Porteous is an irascible old man. After spending time with the couple, Elizabeth decides she should probably stay home -- until she sees them embracing. That convinces her to take off with Luton. But only a few miles down the road, the car stops and the chauffeur gets out -- it's Arnold, who gives Luton a sound thrashing. That finished, he promptly takes Elizabeth back to the castle. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Boardman, Alec B. Francis, (more)
- 1924
Ultra suave Adolph Menjou plays an urbane, filthy rich bachelor who finds himself falling for a socialite just as carefree as he. At first he is delighted by her gadabout ways, but after a while her cocquettish ways towards others begin to grate upon him. Deciding he needs a break from shallowness he lets a room in a boarding house for theater people. There he meets a struggling ex-convict. Her prison record causes her to lose her job. Smitten by her beauty and earthiness, the playboy takes her in and tries to help her integrate into his glittering world by telling people that she is his ward. things are finally looking up when a crooked detective appears and tries to blackmail her. Fortunately, her millionaire hero isn't about to let her life be destroyed again. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolphe Menjou, Norma Shearer, (more)
- 1924
Based on a 1918 magazine serial by Fred Jackson, this typical silent-action melodrama from Universal starred Herbert Rawlinson as Hi Moreland, a handsome athlete battling with a wealthy but insipid rival for the attention of pretty Marjorie Holbrook (Carmelita Geraghty), the daughter of a bank president. The loathsome rival, Dick Farrell (Bert Roach), attempts to frame Moreland, but he manages to wiggle out of the situation and win the girl. The suave Herbert Rawlinson, from England, was one of many actors attempting to rival the era's great swashbuckler, the inimitable Douglas Fairbanks. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Rawlinson, Carmelita Geraghty, (more)
