Arthur Hoyt Movies

After ten years in China, Monty Gray (Franklyn Farnum) meets up with old friend Wilbur Mason. He sees a photo of Wilbur's cousin, Constance (Agnes Vernon) and immediately falls in love with the girl. Wilbur warns him that Constance's mother is determined that she will marry someone of title, but this doesn't stop Monty. He becomes "Lord Winston Radleigh" so he can woo her. At a house party thrown by Constance's family, Monty finds he has competition in a man called the Duke of Cannister. But Constance -- who isn't as title-mad as her mother -- is not interested in the Duke, or in Monty's fake title. She is interested in Monty himself, however, and sets up a situation to test his mettle -- she has a group of cowboys from her father's ranch kidnap her. Monty rises to the occasion and comes to her rescue. He has beaten up most of the cowboys when Constance tells him it was a set up. She decides that Monty is the man for her, which is just as well because it turns out that the Duke was a phony and a con man. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Kitty Manning (Gloria Swanson) lives with her husband, Jim (Lee Hill), a telegraph operator, at a remote railway station. After her baby dies, she can no longer stand the loneliness of the place and joins a musical show as a chorus girl. While Jim is making his way up in the railway company, Kitty is noticed by Stephen Morton, the railroad's president (Arthur Millet). Morton's wife, (Nellie Allen) only cares about his money, and he makes Kitty a proposition. She asks him to wait while she decides, but when she misses a connection as she's heading for the city, she is stuck at a station very much like the one she left. A couple is happily living there with their baby, but the husband is very ill. Since Kitty knows telegraphy, she offers to help out so that the husband can go to the hospital. While she is in charge, the trestle is struck by lightning. Kitty keeps the arriving express train from wrecking, and on board are both her husband and Morton. She turns down Morton's offer and reunites with her husband. Although Gloria Swanson had nothing good to say about this programmer in her 1980 autobiography, her performance was noted favorably by critics of the day. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Legendary escape artist Harry Houdini stars in the offbeat adventure yarn The Grim Game. Houdini plays Harvey Hanford, a young journalist who is framed for the murder of his uncle. Since it was well-known that no jail cell or pair of handcuffs could hold Houdini, the film has to work overtime in building up suspense. The most memorable scene finds the great magician suspended by a rope between two flying airplanes. An unrehearsed plane crash during this sequence was captured on film and exploited to the hilt in Grim Game's publicity campaign. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After graduating from college, rich girl Margery Carr (Doris May) decides to do some good in the world. Much to the chagrin of her father (Otis Harlan), she decides to open an office to help derelicts. For her secretary, she picks an ex-gangster named Bubbs (who else but Bull Montana?) out of the throng. To push her cause, she throws a reception at her home and then has a party at a theater -- and of course, she invites all her down-and-outers. Eventually, she realizes that maybe she doesn't belong amongst the criminal element and returns to her sedate life as a society girl, and to her fiancé. This was Doris May's first picture in which she was starred on her own. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although by no means the definitive version of the Alexander Dumas story -- scenarist June Mathis modernizes it and the overall tone is rather cool for such a group of supposedly hot-blooded characters -- this picturization is notable for a number of reasons. To play Camille's lover, Armand Duval, film star Alla Nazimova hired a handsome young up-and-comer named Rudolph Valentino. Valentino's friend Mathis was primarily responsible for this -- although he had already been in a few films, the just-completed Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse would not be released until a few days before Camille began shooting. So the silent screen's biggest heartthrob was still a virtual unknown, as far as Nazimova was concerned. But as Armand he nearly steals the show because he seems so much more natural than Nazimova's stagey Camille -- not to mention the fact that by the film came out, Four Horsemen had already made him a star. The art direction shows the stylized hand of Natacha Rambova, and it was on this production that she and Valentino met and became lovers. The plot to Nazimova's picture stays close to the book at first -- the glamorous demi-monde gives up her lifestyle for young Armand, then gives him up at the behest of his father (William Orlamond) -- but then the ending strikes a sour note. In every other version of Camille ever filmed, the tuberculosis-stricken courtesan dies in Armand's arms. Here she dies with only Gaston (Rex Cherryman) and Nichette (Patsy Ruth Miller) in attendance -- no Armand! In spite of this huge disappointment, the picture still made money for its releasing studio, Metro. Nevertheless, this was Nazimova's last picture for the company. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Author Gertrude Atherton wrote this story especially for the screen; it is supposedly based on a true story that happened in San Francisco's society circles. Langdon Masters, a newspaper editor and writer (Lewis S. Stone), falls in love with Madeline (Mabel Julienne Scott), the neglected wife of the aristocratic Dr. Howard Talbot (Charles Clary). Although Masters and Madeline decide that they should not see each other, when Talbot discovers the affection between them, he demands that Masters leave San Francisco and his newspaper career. Masters agrees and wanders to New York's notorious "Five Points" district, where drink and degradation follow. Madeline, fed up with her husband's cruel nature and cold demeanor, finally obtains a separation. She heads for New York and proceeds to track down Masters. She finds him in one of the city's worst dives and proceeds to pull him out of the gutter. With her love, Masters is able to once again lead a useful life. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

William Desmond Taylor's final film -- a poorly paced, overly sentimental romance -- only proves that if he had not been the victim of an unsolved murder, his name would likely have faded into the far reaches of silent-cinema history. Although as a human being he apparently had many admirers (one of them was the star of this picture, May McAvoy; another was set designer George Hopkins, who wrote the scenario), his directing skills were rarely more than competent. For some reason, he had the brunette McAvoy wear a blonde wig as Hilda O'Shaunnessy, which detracted from her good looks. Hilda lives in a tenement apartment with her aunt, Mrs. Brady (Carrie Clark Ward), and her crippled younger brother Micky (Pat Moore), and works in a department store where her boss lusts after her. But happiness comes into her life when she meets artist Emery Gray (Walter McGrail). Gray's wife deserted him long ago, leaving him with their daughter Susan (Mary Jane Irving) to raise. While Susan and Micky become playmates, Hilda restores Gray's faith in womanhood. He offers to pay for an operation for Micky and also puts to rout the wicked boss -- who turns out to be the man who stole his wife.
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Marie Prevost got her start as a Mack Sennett bathing beauty, and even though this romantic comedy runs rather short for a feature, it's still only got about enough plot for a two-reeler. Spunky Constance Keener (Prevost) and her mother (Lillian Langdon) don't see eye to eye on matters of romance. Mrs. Keener has chosen rich Merton Torrey (J. Frank Glendon) to marry her daughter, who doesn't think he's dashing enough for her. When she attends a masquerade ball and is kissed by a costumed stranger, she thinks he's the one she wants. So she elopes with Dr. Sherman Moss (Lloyd Whitlock), who she believes is the stranger. But on the way to their honeymoon, he kisses her and she realizes he's the wrong man. The train gets held up by a bandit who apparently has only one purpose -- to tear up Moss's marriage license and to kidnap Constance. The bandit turns out to be Torrey -- the same man who kissed her at the ball. Since he's a lot more dashing than she originally thought (not to mention such a good kisser), the end is easily imagined. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Because Owen Moore's biggest claim to fame is that he was Mary Pickford's husband before she fell in love with Douglas Fairbanks, his acting talents are generally overlooked. But he had a nice flare for farce, as he proves in this entertaining bit of fluff. Tony Churchill (Moore) has finally convinced Judge Griggs (Thomas Guise) that his past is squeaky clean and he is fit to marry the judge's daughter, Helen (Marjorie Daw). Just then Churchill's pal, Harold Wright (Arthur Hoyt), informs him that his old flame -- a chorus girl named Marion (Charlotte Mineau) -- is coming to town. Churchill had once made a not very sincere promise to marry her, but she plans to hold him to it. To get out of this dilemma, he convinces the wife (Alice Howell) of the building's superintendent (Snitz Edwards) to pretend she is married to Churchill. Since the super isn't aware of the arrangement, this causes some major complications; then Helen comes to believe that her fiancé is already married. She winds up waiting at the altar while Churchill dodges a process server and searches for some incriminating letters. He finally makes it to the church (though not on time) and the couple resolves the misunderstanding. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This comedy-melodrama, based on the novel by Rupert Hughes (who also directed), blends fiction and reality to tell the story of a young woman's rise in Hollywood; the film uses real stars and productions (even Charles Chaplin filming A Woman of Paris) as its backdrop. Eleanor Boardman plays Remember Steddon, better known as Mem. Mem is a small-town girl who marries slick bad guy Owen Scudder (Lew Cody); Owen insures his brides and then murders them for the money. After the wedding, Mem starts to have her doubts about him and runs away while their train is chugging through the desert. She happens on a film crew and gets work as an extra, later becoming a famous dramatic actress in Hollywood with the help of director Frank Claymore (Richard Dix). Scudder finally tracks her down during a shoot involving a circus tent; when a storm sets the tent on fire, Scudder loses his life saving Mem from a wind machine's propeller. Freed from her marriage, Mem is able to choose between Claymore and her leading man. Boardman, whose first starring role finds her surrounded by a long and impressive supporting cast, wound up at the Goldwyn studios through a "New Faces" contest. Her co-winner, future star William Haines, also had a bit part as the company's assistant director. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This well-cast light comedy was based on the stage play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. Three clerks for the Kincaid Piano Company -- Leonard Beebe (Edward Everett Horton), Chester Mullin Z. Wall Covington), and Tom Baker (Arthur Hoyt) are in competition for a promotion to factory manager. The boss, John Kincaid (Theodore Roberts), relies on the judgment of his wife (Louise Dresser) when it comes to important decisions, and she favors Baker. But when the Kincaids visit the Beebes, Leonard's wife Elsie (Helen Jerome Eddy) proves to be every bit as dynamic a woman as Mrs. Kincaid. Beebe and Baker are invited to a banquet, and Beebe is expected to give a speech. After intently rehearsing one that is already prepared, Beebe arrives at the banquet only to see Baker give the exact same speech. Beebe is struck dumb, so Elsie takes over with some rousing words, claiming that her husband is feeling ill and winning Beebe the job. Their ruse is discovered, however, and Beebe is demoted. Once again Elsie comes to the rescue, and with Mrs. Kincaid's help, Beebe is reinstated. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

John Craig and Mary Eileen Anderson are childhood sweethearts who grow up in a small town in this melodrama taken from the poem by James Whitcomb Riley. John becomes the owner of the local paper and dedicates himself to the public good. His childhood friend Stuff Shade (Lloyd Whitlock) promotes an oil-speculation scheme in the paper. Soon the townsfolk are pooling their money in hopes of getting rich on the oil reserves. John discovers the scheme is all a ruse and tries to warn the people that they are being swindled. After the perpetrators are exposed, a gusher comes in that makes people rich. Pat Moore and Elliot Dexter play John as child and grown-up respectively. Mary Jane Irving and Helen Jerome portray Mary Eileen, and Turner Savage is the young Stuff Shade. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Agnes Ayres, who'd once been topbilled over Rudolph Valentino, was beginning the slow downward slide when she starred in Bluff. Ayres plays a young woman who must raise a great deal of money in a hurry to afford medical treatment for her brother. Thus she poses as a world-reknowned fashion designer, and in this guise is able to accrue the necessary funds. Her plan backfires when she is arrested for crimes committed by the designer. Attorney Antonio Moreno saves the day. Bluff was directed by Sam Wood, whose more famous endeavors included A Night at the Opera, Goodbye Mr. Chips and The Pride of the Yankees. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide