Gareth Hughes Movies

After chronicling various chapters of Irish history in such films as In the Name of the Father and The Field, writer/director Jim Sheridan turns his lens upon his own family's experiences immigrating to the United States in the aptly titled In America. The loosely autobiographical script centers on Johnny (Paddy Considine), a young actor sneaking his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton), and daughters, Christy and Ariel (real-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger, respectively), over the Canadian border in the hopes of jump-starting his career in New York City. They soon find that America is not the land of boundless opportunity, however, as they move into a dank, dilapidated apartment building populated by drug dealers, transients, and thugs. Johnny doesn't snag auditions as easily as he may have hoped, and he and Sarah are forced to take meager jobs after spending their savings on food, rent, and utilities. Still in grief over the untimely death of their toddler son back in Ireland, the couple find their relationship further strained by the pressures of life in the city. Little by little, however, things begin to look up for the fiercely protective family unit, especially when they befriend an eccentric artist neighbor named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou). In America saw its world premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and played to enthusiastic crowds at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival before its theatrical release in the fall of that year. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

To say that ace stuntman Richard Talmadge was invariably better than his movie vehicles is small praise, indeed, since most of his films were shabbily produced and miserably directed. Scareheads isn't much better than the usual Talmadge epic, but the star is as watchable as ever. This time, Talmadge plays a reporter who conducts a campaign against the crooked incumbent mayor. As a result, our hero is framed for murder and tossed into the jug. Through a series of eye-popping athletics, Talmadge escapes from jail to track down the real killers. Scareheads represents the first major screen appearance of perennial ingenue Jacqueline Wells, who later enjoyed a lengthy "second career" as leading ladyJulie Bishop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romance, an organ grinder falls in love with a corrupt mayor's daughter. The mayor, worried that the organ grinder will reveal his knowledge of the politician's illegal activities, does all he can to persuade the organ grinder that the girl is not interested in him, but the intrepid street performer is not dissuaded. In the end, the girl winds up tying herself to his donkey and begging him to take her away. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cabaret dancer Alberta Vaughan falls in love with upright Southern gentleman Gareth Hughes. To save Hughes' sister Vivian Rich from ruination, Vaughan "comes on" to Rich's would-be seducer Bud Shaw. The younger girl is kept from losing her virtue, but the price of her salvation is Vaughan's reputation. But when the heroine rides her family's "old" horse to victory in a Big Race -- despite the fact that the race has been fixed in the favor of Shaw's nag -- all is forgiven. Very, very cheaply made, Old Age Handicap was redeemed by the razor-sharp cinematography of Jules Cronjager. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Several years before organizing Invincible Pictures, producer George Batcheller was releasing his product through Invincible's future "sister company" Chesterfield. In Batcheller's Sky Rider, an ill-tempered young man is cut off without a cent by his wealthy uncle, while the bulk of the estate goes to the clean-limbed aviator hero. Seeking revenge, the disinherited relative sabotages the hero's plane -- and when this fails, he arranges his uncle's kidnapping. The hero manages to foil the rat with the help of his newly-repaired aircraft, and with considerable ground assistance from his faithful dog (played by Rin-Tin-Tin wannabe Champion). The best scene in Sky Rider, set in an operating room-turned-torture chamber, seems to have sprung from a different film entirely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whirlwind of Youth was taken (as far as possible, apparently) from Soundings, a novel by Hamilton Gibbs. Impulsive 18-year-old Nancy Hawthorne (Lois Moran) falls hard for Bob Whittaker (Donald Keith), a rakish "love 'em and leave 'em" type. At first refusing to take Nancy seriously, Whittaker changes his mind when he realizes that he, too, has fallen truly in love. The film was designed to show off Paramount's latest crop of young contractees, including Larry Kent, Gareth Hughes and Alyce Mills. Incidentally, leading lady Lois Moran was reportedly the inspiration for Daisy Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

According to critics of the day, the sentimentality of this crook drama was a bit too much even for the 1920s, when mother love was viewed with extreme reverence. A pair of thieves, J. Rupert Doods (Herbert Rawlinson) and Dick Foster (Gareth Hughes), are on the lam from the cops when they meet Mrs. Abbott (Lucy Beaumont), a kindly old lady. They convince the woman to take them in and soon she has practically adopted them. The crooks continue their heists while pretending to run an antiques shop out of Mrs. Abbott's home. When she discovers her boys' real line of work, Mrs. Abbott is horrified. Her attempts to save Foster from his life of crime are futile -- Doods has too strong a hold on him. One night, Mrs. Abbott tries to interfere with Foster's attempt to rob a house and she herself is arrested. She refuses to give away any information regarding the men and faces a prison sentence. Shocked that his callous partner is willing to let her be convicted, Foster confesses. It turns out that Mrs. Abbott is actually the long-lost sister of the woman whose house the men were going to rob, and there is a fortune waiting for her in England. She adopts Foster for real, and he goes to England, accompanied by his new bride, Trixie (Wanda Hawley). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The second version of novelist Henry Herbert Knibbs' western romance Overland Red, previously filmed in 1920 under that title and starring Harry Carey, The Sunset Trail featured veteran action star William Desmond as a disgraced former sheriff who saves a miner from dying in the desert. Desmond is rewarded with a map of a lost gold mine and, eventually, the miner's lovely daughter (Lucille Hutton). Along the way, he clears himself of a bank-robbery charge and catches the real culprit. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The rights to Don Cesar, the novel by Vicente Blasco-Ibanez, were originally purchased by Paramount as a vehicle for Rudolph Valentino. When he and the studio had a parting of the ways, the story was rewritten for Pola Negri, with Gypsy dancer Maritana as the lead. This was Negri's third film for Paramount, and it was released around the same time as Rosita, which starred Mary Pickford and had a very similar plot (in addition, Rosita was directed by Ernst Lubitsch, who Negri had wanted for her own film). While Rosita has managed to survive the ages, The Spanish Dancer was considered the better film at the time it came out, and no wonder -- Negri was totally believable as the exotic, temperamental dancer, whereas such a role was quite a stretch for the still-girlish-at-30 Pickford. Don Cesar de Bazan (Antonio Moreno) is about to be seized for his debts, but Maritana helps him to escape. When King Philip (Wallace Beery) gets a look at the beautiful dancer, he wants her for himself and sends his soldiers after her. Don Cesar tries to rescue Maritana, but he violates a royal edict and is sentenced to death. The double-dealing Don Salluste (Adolphe Menjou) takes Maritana to Don Cesar for a secret wedding, but after the ceremony, takes her to the king. Don Cesar, meanwhile, is saved from execution with the help of Lazarillo, a boy he has befriended (Gareth Hughes). Don Cesar winds up in a duel with the king, but the arrival of Queen Isabel (Kathlyn Williams) brings things to a head. Maritana stirs up her jealousy, which so pleases the king that he gives her and Don Cesar his blessings. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Penrod (Ben Alexander) and his pal Sam (Joe Butterworth) are the all-American boys growing up in a small town in this comedy drama taken from Booth Tarkington's popular novel. The boys form an exclusive club and conspire to keep the neighborhood wimp and his toady companion away from their clubhouse. Penrod's beloved pet terrier Duke dies and is buried in a somber ceremony on the vacant lot. When the wimp's father buys the land, the boys are kicked off what they consider to be hallowed ground. Perod's mother (Gladys Brockwell) convinces his father (Rockcliffe Fellows) to buy back the land to make the boy happy. Mary Philbin, Gareth Hughes, and William V. Mong appear along with Buddy and Gertrude Messinger. Martha Mattox plays the schoolmarm Miss Spence, and Vic Potel is the town drunk. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Although this drama tugged a little too insistently at the heartstrings, Billie Dove -- still a fresh star -- stands out as the crippled young orphan girl. She is left in an asylum by her mother (Irene Hunt), who can't afford to keep her. As the years pass, the girl forms a friendship with another orphan, a boy (Gareth Hughes), which grows into love as they become teens. By then, the mother is living a life of luxury (just how this happens is never explained), and she returns to the asylum. But she doesn't recognize her own daughter, so she adopts the boy instead. Later, the girl is taken in by an old street musician (Otto Lederer), who teaches her how to play the violin. One day she is hired to play a wedding, which turns out to be the wedding of her former sweetheart from the asylum. The girl eventually becomes a concert violinist and the boy, whose wife (Myrtle Lind) has died, finds her once again. Not only are the couple reunited, but the girl finds out the identity of her mother and is reunited with her, too. This picture was efficiently directed by W.S. Van Dyke -- he was still pretty new to the craft, but he would one day earn the nickname "One-Take Woody" for his speed in shooting films. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This comedy was based -- as many silent films were -- on a Saturday Evening Post story. Blanche St. George (Eunice Van Moore) has a repertory company that performs Uncle Tom's Cabin in every tiny hamlet they can manage to reach. Two of her star players are her sons, John (Benjamin Haggerty), who plays Uncle Tom, and Roy (Gareth Hughes), who at 16, balks at the fact that he's still playing Little Eva -- especially since his girl lives in the next town. The troupe registers at the only hotel around, and Blanche is horrified to discover that the proprietor, Mr. Wilson (Edward Martindel), is her ex-husband. John, who has not seen his father since he was very little, confides in him and confesses that both he and his brother hate the theatrical life. They're stuck with it, however, until their mother makes enough money to buy the hometown opera house. Wilson offers to help. The show that night is a complete disaster. Just as Eva is about to ascend, a jeer from the crowd infuriates Roy and he tears off his wig. Then he catches his robe in the scenery and knocks the backdrop down. He immediately takes off for Wilson's farm. Wilson gives his wife the money to buy the opera house, providing she let him have the boys. She agrees, and John and Roy have a much happier life with their father. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Tommy Sandys (Gareth Hughes) is a poor Scottish boy who has an endless imagination. At the age of 16, he comes to the town of Thrums with his sister, Elspeth (Leila Frost). They meet Grizel (May McAvoy), a sweet young girl whose mother is known as the Painted Lady (Mabel Taliaferro). This woman was deceived by a man and is now unhinged; Grizel is actually head of the household, and she takes care of all the chores. Tommy protects Grizel from the taunts of the local boys, and she falls in love with him. Because of his vivid imagination, Tommy eventually goes to London and becomes a very successful novelist. He returns to Thrums where he finds that Grizel still loves him. In a sentimental moment, he proposes to her. Grizel realizes that he doesn't really love her and she turns him down. So Tommy returns to London where he is lionized by Lady Alice Pippinworth (Virginia Valli) and her friends. This whimsical film was based on two of Sir James M. Barrie's novels, Sentimental Tommy and Tommy and Grizel. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide