Norman Kerry Movies

A Poverty Row western that has the rare distinction of being shot in color, director Jacques Jaccard's action-packed shoot 'em up tells the tale of a peaceful prairie beset by a mysterious phantom. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A typical pre-code era comedy, Bachelor Apartment was the creation of its leading man, silent screen matinee-idol Lowell Sherman. He plays Wayne Carter, a Park Avenue roué, whose dalliances with a series of women are beginning to catch up with him. Enter a brunette and rather drab Irene Dunne searching for her wayward sister (Claudia Dell). Sherman falls like a ton of bricks for the no-nonsense and seemingly unresponsive Dunne, whom he hires as his executive secretary. For unexplained reasons, Dunne falls in love with her whimsical boss as well and after Sherman shows signs of shaping up, they embrace for a happy ending. Daring in its day, Bachelor Apartment is not really worth a second look except for a next-to-final glimpse of silent screen femme fatale Mae Murray. Playing Sherman's most ardent conquest -- who, as the suave playboy explains, "might commit a sin but never a faux pas" -- Murray has to be seen to be believed. Valiantly attempting to display her trademark bee-stung countenance while at the same time deliver a series of hoary lines, the still svelte Murray -- who is introduced to the strains of an ersatz Merry Widow Waltz lest we forgot -- offers an overripe performance that all but ended her screen career. Sherman used her once more -- in High Stakes, another frothy comedy -- but the aging Murray was obviously not talkie material. Bachelor Apartment offers a glimpse of yet another faded silent screen star, the mustachioed Norman Kerry of Phantom of the Opera fame, here playing the minor role of a theatrical wolf. Like Murray (and Lowell Sherman himself), Kerry's looks and mannerisms belonged to a bygone era. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Capricious Constance Bannister (Sally Eilers) has had 12 fiances, but has yet to take her marital vows. Fiance number 13, Oliver Mowbray (Norman Kerry), suffers the same fate as his predecessors when Constance impulsively weds doctor Thorvald Ware (Jason Robards Sr.) Grace (Thelma Todd), Ware's jilted sweetheart, cooks up a scheme to win back her man. Constance and Ware divorced, whereupon she marries Mowbray, and he links up with Grace. Years pass: the four protagonists are brought together by chance, whereupon they decide they've all made a mistake and begin playing "musical mates" all over again! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Victorien Sardou's 1882 stage play Fedora was transformed by future director John Farrow into the Pola Negri vehicle The Woman from Moscow. The star plays White Russian princess Fedora, who harbors a seemingly hopeless love for dashing Boris Ipanoff (Norman Kerry). Kept separated throughout the film by class differences, military interventions and revolutionaries, hero and heroine suffer magnificently for nearly eight full reels. Sardou had written his play as a vehicle for Sarah Bernhardt, and indeed it seems at times that Negri has been possessed by the spirit of "The Divine Sarah." Though filmed silent, The Woman from Moscow was able to accommodate two tacked-on musical sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this lavishly produced MGM production, the ethereal Lillian Gish is a bit more earthy than normal, due in part to the selection of her co-star, he-man Norman Kerry. "Suggested by" the well-known song, the story involves two feuding Scottish clans, the MacDonalds and the Camerons. Annie Laurie (Gish) tries to bring the two clans together peacefully at her home, Maxwelton, but winds up being the cause for even more enmity because both Ian MacDonald (Kerry) and Donald Cameron (Creighton Hale) love her. She throws her lot in with Ian when the vengeful Donald uses underhanded means to get rid of his foes. Annie battles the Camerons and climbs a mountain to light a warning beacon. After her ordeal, Ian carries her to a barge and they sail over the loch. The last part of the film was shot in two-strip Technicolor. Annie Laurie wound up losing 264,000 dollars, which certainly did not help the ever-worsening relationship between Gish and the studio. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Body and Soul was a remake of the heavy-breathing 1920 melodrama The Branding Iron. Lionel Barrymore is shameless in his portrayal of double-dyed villain Dr. Leyden. After disgracing his profession, Leyden escapes to Switzerland, where he is smitten by inn servant Hilda (Aileen Pringle). Tricking her into marriage, he treats her atrociously, so it's hardly a surprise when Hilda falls in love with handsome young skier Buffo (Norman Kerry). Tricking the boy into an accident, Dr. Leyden threatens to let Buffo die unless Hilda returns to him. She agrees, but to bind the bargain he brands the poor girl with a red-hot iron. This guy is definitely overdue for a horrible demise -- which comes in due time in the form of a deux ex machina avalanche. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

MGM's silent programmers were often more elaborate than the "A" product from most other studios, and The Barrier was no exception. Norman Kerry plays a Virginian blueblood who comes to the North Woods. Here he falls in love with Marceline Day, the daughter of Henry B. Walthall. Only she's not really Walthall's daughter, but instead the offspring of evil Lionel Barrymore. The Rex Beach story upon which The Barrier was based ended on a sorrowful note; not so this 1926 film version, which in addition to sending the audience home happy also featured a whale of an ice-floe finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dashing Norman Kerry wasn't exactly what one would call a "cowboy" type, but that didn't stop his home studio of Universal from casting him in Under Western Skies. The plot centers around two basic incidents: A wild horse roundup and a championship hurdling race. Bob Erskin (Norman Kerry) captures and tames a magnificent wild stallion then rides the horse to victory in the race. Much of the climax was filmed during the real-life Pendleton Round-Up, an annual Oregon event. Critics who carped that the storyline of Under Western Skies was shaky had no complaints about the thrill-packed finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This ordinary romantic programmer starred Universal regulars Norman Kerry and Virginia Valli. Linnie Randall, a shopgirl (Valli), is bored with her humdrum life. Her complaints are overheard by the wealthy Garry Schuyler (Kerry), who is disguised as a mechanic. He asks her out to dinner and, to her delight, he calls in a limousine. The two of them wind up spending a whirlwind week together and marry at the end of it. Their happiness is ruined, however, when Schuyler's aristocratic mother (Kate Lester, who died before the film's release) returns from Florida and loudly voices her disapproval of her new daughter-in-law. She makes life so miserable for Linnie that she runs away. She is accidentally hit by Garry's car and taken to the hospital. He believes she is dead, and comes down with "brain fever." His mother takes him to Europe, while Linnie recovers and gives birth to his son. Linnie becomes a famous dancer, and when Garry returns and finds her still alive, they are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Patsy Ruth Miller plays a female Tarzan in this adventure drama. When John Livingstone marries a circus performer, his father (Joseph J. Dowling) is furious. Nevertheless, he offers to raise the couple's daughter, Lorraine (Doreen Turner). The boat taking the circus to the States wrecks and everyone is reported lost. Lorraine lands on an island, along with her companion, a gorilla named Bimi (Fred Humes), an elephant, and a cage of lions. Lorraine lives amongst these creatures for a decade while her grandfather, who is convinced she is alive, goes in search for her. He finally locates her with the help of Don Mackay (Norman Kerry), a student of the occult. Lorraine and Bimi are brought back to civilization and the girl, now a young lady (as portrayed by Miller), must acclimate herself to a new way of living. When Bimi misbehaves, he is put in a cage. A storm blows and without Lorraine around, Bimi panics and breaks out. He finds the girl and runs off with her. Mackay gives pursuit and rescues Lorraine. Bimi's fate is not so bright -- he is shot and killed. Lorraine is disconsolate at the loss of her friend, but finds happiness in the arms of Mackay. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide