Alice Joyce Movies

Several able silent-screen veterans converge in RKO Radio's Midnight Mystery. Sally (Betty Compson), Tim (Lowell Sherman), Mischa (Ivan Lebedeff) and Paul (Raymond Hatton) are among the shady types whom wealthy Gregory (Hugh Trevor) invites to his isolated island mansion off the coast of Maine. Cut off from the mainland by a fierce storm, the gathered parties begin bickering amongst themselves, culminating in the murder of Mischa. It's up to Sally, Gregory's fiancee and a best-selling author of murder mysteries, to assemble the clues and trick the culprit into confessing. Though Hugh Trevor seems somewhat lost in the leading role, he was in no imminent danger of being dismissed from the film: His aunt was the wife of producer William LeBaron. Midnight Mystery was rather obviously derived from a stage play, in this case Hawk Island by Howard Irving Young. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Still in the Hollywood phase of his career, director Alexander Korda made his talking-picture bow with Warner Bros.' The Squall. Myrna Loy stars as Nubi, a sexy and seductive Hungarian gypsy girl who is caught in a torrential downpour. Taking refuge in a farmhouse, Nubi wreaks havoc on the male occupants, all of whom violently vie for her attentions. In other words, the film's title is both literal and symbolic. Loretta Young appears in the secondary role of Irma, sweetheart of emotional young farmer Paul Lajos (Carrol Nye). The Squall was based on a play by Jean Bart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Noose was based on a story by H. H. Van Loan -- or rather, the play adapted from that story by Willard Mack. Cheap crook Nickie Elkins (Richard Barthelmess) is the son of equally dishonest Buck Gordon (Montague Love). When his ex-wife (Alice Joyce) marries Governor Bancroft (Robert T. Haines), Gordon sees an opportunity for blackmail. To save his mother from disgrace, Elkins kills his own father. The outcome of the story is in the hands of poor Mrs. Bancroft: If she tells the truth, she will cause the ruination of her husband's political ambitions; if she remains silent, her son will be hanged. Strong dramatic support is provided by Lina Basquette as Nickie's faithful sweetheart Dot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sorrell and Son, the best-selling (and frequently filmed) British novel by Warwick Deeping, was afforded its first screen treatment in 1927. Upon returning from WWI, courageous Captain Sorrell (H.B. Warner) returns home to find that his wife (Anna Q. Nilsson) has left him for another. Though his spirit has been crushed, Sorrell has a young son to take care of, so he takes a menial job as a hotel porter. His son Kit (Mickey McBan as a child, Nils Asther as an adult) grows up to become a successful surgeon. Though he worships the ground his father walks on, Kit is unable to watch Sorrell die a lingering death from cancer, so he reluctantly euthanizes his dad. The "mercy killing" element, as controversial in 1927 as it would be in 1997, was the principal selling angle of Sorrell and Son, though it didn't hurt that the acting performances and the Oscar-nominated direction of Herbert Brenon were uniformly excellent. Sorrell and Son was remade in 1934, with H.B. Warner repeating his original characterization. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ronald Colman plays the title role in the first of several screen adaptations of Christopher Wren's tale of adventure in the foreign legion. Beau is the youngest of three brothers who fall into an ethical dilemma when their aunt resorts to stealing valuable jewelry from the family's collection to pay off her home. Beau takes the blame for the crime and, before he can be put in jail, flees the country, with his brothers John (Ralph Forbes) and Digby (Neil Hamilton) in tow. The Geste Brothers eventually join the French Foreign Legion, where they suffer under the tyrannical leadership of the cruel Sgt. Lejaune (Noah Beery Sr.). Unknown to Beau, Lejaune is in cahoots with men who want to capture the Geste Brothers and bring them to justice, but when Arab forces attack the Legion compound, the valiant Gestes fight with such bravery that even Lejaune is impressed with their selfless courage. It's said that Ronald Colman considered his performance in Beau Geste the finest work of his career; lip readers might get a chuckle out of some of Noah Beery Sr.'s non-subtitled dialogue, which today would have pushed the film into an R rating if it were audible. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Who better to play Ace of Cads than that charming reprobate Adolphe Menjou? This time, however, Menjou is reasonably honorable. A high-ranking military officer, he is discredited in the eyes of his fiancee by his military enemies. Driven from town in disgrace, Menjou returns years later to do the "Monte Cristo" bit. Ace of Cads was produced by William LeBaron and directed by Luther Reed, the creative team who'd later put the fledgling RKO Radio studios on its feet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the silent era's most popular tearjerkers, this soapy melodrama was adapted by legendary screenwriter Frances Marion from the 1923 novel by Olive Higgins Prouty. Belle Bennett stars as Stella Dallas, a small town girl who is devastated by her father's death and quickly marries the upper class Stephen Dallas (Ronald Colman), with whom she has nothing in common. After the birth of a daughter, Laurel, the Dallases go their separate ways, Stephen returning to New York. As Laurel (Lois Moran) grows into a spirited young woman, Stella realizes that Stephen can provide their daughter countless opportunities she'll never have while living with a destitute single mother, and so Stella makes a selfless sacrifice and sends Laurel to live with Stephen and his new family. Stella Dallas (1925) would later be remade at least twice, its most beloved and famous version being the 1937 King Vidor classic starring Barbara Stanwyck in the title role. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Although this film sounds like a 1920s version of Mr. Mom, in some ways it's more enlightened than the 1983 comedy -- for one thing, being a stay-at-home dad comes quite naturally to husband Lester Knapp (Clive Brook). Nevertheless, the idea of switching traditional husband-wife roles was quite a radical one in the days when women had only recently won the right to vote, and as such, this drama (with comic touches) was not always warmly received. Knapp is an ineffectual office worker, while his wife, Eva (Alice Joyce), is a paragon of efficiency who, although she loves her children, is woefully lacking in mothering skills. When Knapp is fired from his job, he decides to die "accidentally" so that his long-suffering family can collect on his life insurance. But (according to the title card) "Lester proved a bungler even at dying," and instead he winds up a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair. Eva turns down the charity of Knapp's old boss, Spencer Willing (Lester Whitlock), and instead asks for a job. He gives her one, as a saleslady at one of the company's stores. Eva flourishes at her new position and soon is earning almost twice as much as Knapp ever made. Meanwhile, Knapp's effect on the couple's three children is almost magical, especially when it comes to dealing with their formerly incorrigible three-year-old. This odd set-up is gradually accepted by the Knapp's friends and relatives, but then disaster strikes -- Eva notices Knapp's legs twitching in his sleep, and indeed, he finds out that he can walk again. But Knapp realizes that both he and Eva are ill-suited for the roles originally foisted on them by society, so he swears their reluctant physician, Dr. Merritt (the delightful George Fawcett), to secrecy. Not surprisingly, this picture was adapted by a woman, Mary O'Hara, from a novel by another woman, Dorothy Canfield. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Alice Joyce stars in this tale of darkest Africa. Lady Andrea Pellor (Joyce) agrees to marry a rich South African mine owner only because her parents are in dire financial straits. Just before the wedding, she decides she can't go through with it, and begs an aviator (Kenneth Harlan), whose plane has landed on the beach nearby, to take her away. The aviator takes her into the jungle, where he is known only as White Man. When Lady Andrea contracts jungle fever, he nurses her back to health. They fall in love, but Lady Andrea suspects he is a fugitive from the law, so she treats him with reserve and suspicion. White Man's enemy, the River Thief (the ever-villainous Walter Long), kidnaps Lady Andrea and takes her to his cabin. White Man rescues her by crashing through its roof with his aeroplane. After he returns her to civilization, she discovers that he's a war buddy of her brother (a fledgling actor by the name of Clark Gable, billed at the time as "Clarke Gable"). Before he can return alone to the jungle, she drops her reserve to admit her love for him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Alice Joyce stars in this routine mystery melodrama. On his deathbed, bank president John Randall (Fuller Mellish) confesses to his oldest daughter, Constance (Joyce), that he embezzled money and is making a series of payments to a cashier to assume the guilt. After his death, Constance continues to pay off the cashier. Blackmailer Hugh Martin (Claude King) gets his hands on some letters that Randall and Constance wrote to the cashier. He threatens to reveal all unless he can marry Constance's younger sister, Muriel (Maude Malcolm). Before he can make the letters public, Martin is found dead with a scarab torn from Constance's rare and valuable ring by his side. Because of this circumstantial evidence, Constance is put on trial. Her fiancé, attorney Ward Locke (Joe King), defends her and the case is dismissed. After she gets off, Constance admits that she really did kill Martin, but in self-defense. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Indiana Stillwater (Alice Joyce) is the spoiled daughter of a Midwestern railroad magnate (Frank Sheridan). She falls in love with an Englishman with a long title, the Rt. Hon. Thurston Ralph Viscount Canning (Holmes E. Herbert). Thurston takes her home to Britain, where life is much stiffer and more traditional. Even though Indiana has difficulties adjusting, she is accepted by Thurston's mother (Ida Waterman), and she promises that her husband's word is law. When her mother (Marie Shotwell) and father come to town, Indiana defies Thurston's wishes by dining out with them on a Sunday -- something that is never done in his circle. Thurston angrily locks her out of the house when she comes home late, but the butler lets her in through a window. The next morning, the couple come to a new understanding and make up. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In this silly society drama, Alice Joyce plays Marion Rogers, who's in love with Cameron West (Robert Gordon), the ward of her father (William Tooker). Cameron, however, is dazzled by a bevy of debutantes, especially Diana Spaulding (Ellen Cassity). When he complains that Granville Wingate (Raymond Bloomer) is always hanging around Diana, Marion decides to sacrifice her love and help Cameron's suit by dating Granville. Diana, to make Granville jealous, announces that she and Cameron are engaged. When Cameron finally figures out that his new wife doesn't really love him and that Marion does, he gets a divorce and unites with the patiently waiting Marion. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide