Roscoe Karns Movies

In this comedy, a lonesome fellow returns from Peru with a fortune and begins looking for a wife. While still single, he has a real estate agent show him a home or two. The agent invites him to dinner. During the meal the agent and his wife bicker constantly, causing the poor fellow to rethink the idea of matrimony. He decides that he still wants to share his new home with someone and so ends up having the agent's sister-in-law move in. She performs all the wifely duties but one... The two go on dating other people until they both realize that they have fallen in love with each other. Look carefully for brand new starlet Jean Harlow in a bit part. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This silent romantic adventure is set in the Sahara desert, and purports to be a sequel to the successful Beau Geste. Like the first, it is based on a story by Christopher Wren and features members from the original cast. The story begins as three Legionnaires do not return promptly from furlough and end up in the poky. There, the hero duels with a traitor and wins, causing him to gain the designation "Beau Sabreur." Later he is sent into the desert to learn the ways of the Arabs and to help forge a peace treaty. There he encounters a lovely American journalist. Meanwhile the defeated traitor tries to stop the treaty from going through. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This silent Paramount Zane Grey Western marked the screen debut of the then 7-year-old Tim Holt. Young Tim's father, Jack Holt, starred as John Ballard, a courageous rancher who leads his neighbors in their righteous fight against corrupt politician John Murdock (William Powell) and his even nastier brother, the local sheriff (Fred Kohler). The brothers are attempting to acquire the valley's water rights by force. In the scuffle, John Murdock shoots and kills a rancher but manages to shift the blame onto Ballard. Banished from the settlement, Ballard returns with renewed fervor and extracts a confession from Murdock. Young Tim appeared in a flashback sequence playing his father as a child. In the '40s, Tim Holt became a B-Western star for RKO, but is today best remembered for playing George Amberson Minafer in Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons and one of the three prospectors in the Humphrey Bogart classic The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). Tim's sister, Jennifer Holt, appeared in 38 B-Westerns in the '40s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

On the verge of receivership in 1926, Warner Bros. studio decides to risk its future by investing in the Vitaphone sound system. Warners' first Vitaphone release, Don Juan, was a silent film accompanied by music and sound effects. The studio took the Vitaphone process one step farther in its 1927 adaptation of the Samson Raphaelson Broadway hit The Jazz Singer, incorporating vocal musical numbers in what was essentially a non-talking film. Al Jolson stars as Jakie Rabinowitz, the son of Jewish cantor Warner Oland. Turning his back on family tradition, Jakie transforms himself into cabaret-entertainer Jack Robin. When Jack comes home to visit his parents, he is warmly greeted by his mother (Eugenie Besserer), but is cold-shouldered by his father, who feels that Jack is a traitor to his heritage by singing jazz music. Several subsequent opportunities for a reconciliation are muffed by the stubborn Jack and his equally stubborn father. On the eve of his biggest show-business triumph, Jack receives word that his father is dying. Out of respect, Jack foregoes his opening night to attend Atonement services at the temple and sing the Kol Nidre in his father's place. Through a superimposed image, we are assured that the spirit of Jack's father has at long last forgiven his son. Only twenty minutes or so of Jazz Singer is in any way a "talkie;" all of the Vitaphone sequences are built around Jolson's musical numbers. What thrilled the opening night crowds attending Jazz Singer were not so much the songs themselves but Jolson's adlibbed comments, notably in the scene where he sings "Blue Skies" to his mother. Previous short-subject experiments with sound had failed because the on-screen talent had come off stilted and unnatural; but when Jolson began chattering away in a naturalistic, conversational fashion, the delighted audiences suddenly realized that talking pictures did indeed have the capacity to entertain. Despite its many shortcomings (the storyline goes beyond mawkish, while Jolson's acting in the silent scenes is downright amateurish), The Jazz Singer was a box-office success the like of which no one had previously witnessed. The film did turn-away business for months, propelling Warner Bros. from a shoestring operation into Hollywood's leading film factory. Proof that The Jazz Singer is best viewed within its historical context is provided by the 1953 and 1980 remakes, both interminable wallows in sentimental goo. Worse still, neither one of those films had Al Jolson--who, in spite of his inadequacies as an actor, was inarguably the greatest musical entertainer of his era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This melodrama, the first release from a small-time independent company called Gotham, is an old-fashioned thriller. David Barton (Malcolm McGregor) is the consulting engineer for a railroad company; his father, Big Ed (Ralph Lewis), is the engineer for the Overland Limited. David is in charge of building a bridge over a mountain gorge, but his rival, Bruce Miller (John Miljohn) -- both are in love with the same girl, Ruth Dent (Olive Borden) -- is determined to see the project fail. He and his associates weaken the structure, hoping that the blame will fall on David. Miller doesn't realize that on the Overland Limited's first trip across the bridge, his mother and Ruth are both on board. So is Farrell, a mad pugilist (Charles Buddy Post). Farrell breaks free from his minders and knocks both Big Ed and the fireman unconscious. Big Ed comes to in time to uncouple the engine, which falls into the gorge. The cars are all derailed. Miller's mother is killed, and Miller confesses to his crime. Big Ed recovers to ride the Overland Limited over the rebuilt bridge, and David and Ruth are united. ~ Janiss Garza, 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

In the 1920s, chauvinism and pride overrode economics, and most men would rather have perished than relied on any money their wives may have had. That was the theme to this routine drama, which Warner Baxter falsely claimed was his film debut (he has credits in prior pictures). After five years of marriage, Mildred (Ethel Clayton) comes to the realization that her husband, Lew (Baxter), is going nowhere in the real estate business. Mildred, however, has managed to squirrel away two thousand dollars from the household budget -- enough in 1922 to buy a home. But it turns out that Lew needs just that sum to avoid a financial disaster. Mildred knows that it would be an embarrassment if he had to take the money from her, so she arranges to "borrow" the money from a neighbor. This makes matters even worse, because Lew assumes that his wife and his neighbor are having improper relations. The couple argues, and Mildred leaves and goes back to work as a secretary. Eventually, of course, Lew realizes that Mildred's a gem and begs her forgiveness. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Minor Universal star Gladys Walton plays an especially pitiful character in this subpar programmer. Mamie Judd (Walton) is a drudge for a theatrical troupe. She adores leading man Herman Jenks (Jack Perrin), who barely acknowledges her existence -- occasionally he will gift her with an autographed photo. When the troupe lands in a small town, Mamie overhears a plot between the manager and the star, Irene La Rue (Kathleen O'Connor) -- they are planning to swindle Neal Selden (Roscoe Karms), son of the town's banker (Tom D. Guise). La Rue works her feminine wiles on young Selden, but when he doesn't cough up any money, the star and manager rob the bank. Mamie keeps them from escaping and becomes a heroine. At last Jenks realizes he loves her and all is well. Stuck far back in the cast is a bit player named Mary Philbin -- a few months later the inexperienced actress would be promoted to stardom by director Erich Von Stroheim, who cast her as one of the leads in The Merry Go Round. She flourished under Stroheim's care, but on other films -- yes, even Phantom of the Opera -- her performances aren't nearly as strong. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Director King Vidor would always take the slightest excuse to champion the common man (or woman), and that he does with this slight little film. Country girl Dorothy Perkins (Florence Vidor, the director's wife) goes to the big city and lands young millionaire Monte Rhodes (Charles Meredith). Monte is quite fond of his family tree, so he is horrified when Dorothy's relatives, with their homespun ways, come to visit. When he gives his wife a hard time about being "common," she promptly leaves him and goes home, where she is warmly welcomed. While she is gone, Monte comes to appreciate her simple ways and asks her forgiveness. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide