Anita King Movies

When New England schoolmarm Faith Miller (Anita King) comes West to inspect a mine she has bought, she discovers it is a fake. But she finds a savior in the rough cow town in which she has landed -- Jim Ralston (Wallace Reid). With the help of the deputy sheriff, he "salts" the mine to trick the crooked promoter into buying it back from Faith. But there is more trouble afoot -- the sheriff is murdered by two outlaws and Jim is accused of the crime. Jim is set to be hung when the real killer admits to the dirty deed. The posse rounds up all the bad guys including arch villain Henry Slade (Tully Marshall) and all is well with Faith and Jim. This was one of Wallace Reid's lesser programmers. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

William deMille, Cecil's (arguably) more talented brother, served as director for Anton the Terrible. Theodore Roberts, who later played Moses in brother Cecil's The Ten Commandment, here portrays a fierce Cossack chieftan. He spends the first three reels of the film avenging the rape of his sister (Elia Trombly), and the final two reels courageously sacrificing himself to save his mother's (Edythe Chapman) life. Elements of the plotline of Anton the Terrible would later resurface in such films as The Rogue Song and Adventures of Michael Strogoff. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the few opera divas to achieve success on the silent screen (due in part to her affable, non-diva temperament), Geraldine Farrar was starred in several Cecil B. DeMille productions, the third of which was 1916's Maria Rosa. Adapted by C.B.'s brother William C. DeMille from a play by Angel Guimara, the film starred Farrar as the title character, a Catalonian peasant girl. Local vintner Andreas (Wallace Reid) and his "pal" Ramon (Pedro de Cordoba) are both madly in love with Maria Rosa. When Ramon stabs and kills another man, Andreas is arrested for the crime. Maria Rosa promises to wait for Andrea, but Ramon convinces her that her sweetheart has died behind bars. Paroled for conspicuous bravery during a prison riot, Andreas arrives in time to prevent Maria Rosa from marrying the treacherous Ramon -- and, as a bonus, is present at Ramon's own sticky demise at the hands of the heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Paramount version of Carmen had Cecil B. DeMille directing, prima donna Geraldine Farrar in her film debut, recreating a role she had already excelled at on stage -- and, as a bonus, the handsome Wallace Reid as Carmen's lover, Don Jose. How could the Fox version starring Theda Bara (which was released the same week) compete? Because of its star, DeMille's Carmen stuck closer to the Bizet opera than to the Prosper Merimee novel -- after a nasty fight with another girl at the cigarette factory, Carmen is handed over to officer Don Jose. But he falls in love with her and she convinces him to let her go. She runs off with a band of Gypsies, followed by Don Jose, who has been disgraced. But Carmen couldn't care less -- she finds a new lover in matador Escamillo (Pedro deCordoba). In a fit of jealous passion, Don Jose fatally stabs the unrepentant Carmen at the bullring. Farrar was a natural in front of the camera and with this picture, she made a broad leap from opera star to film star. Both this film and Fox's Carmen received glowing reviews, but the overall consensus was that Farrar's performance beat out Bara's. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Bowery toughie Chimmie Fadden was the creation of New York Sun journalist E. W. Townsend. Chimmie proved popular enough with Sun readers to spawn a novel, play, and finally, a 1915 4-reeler. Victor Moore stars as the boisterous Chimmie, who decides to mend his ways when he is befriended by a society lady. She hires the Fadden family as servants, leading to a spot of bother when Chimmie's crooked brother (Raymond Hatton) tries to abscond with the silverware. As for Chimmie himself, he inaugurates a romance with French maid Camille Astor, though he's too shy to give her a kiss until the final fadeout. Chimmie Fadden was directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who was reteamed with Victor Moore five months later for Chimmie Fadden Out West. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although this was Cecil B. DeMille's third directorial effort, it was the first time he attempted it on his own, without the skills of his more experienced co-director Oscar Apfel. Most of the Lasky Company productions were based on either a novel, a stage play, or in the case of The Virginian, a novel (by Owen Wister) that became a stage play. The title character is played by Dustin Farnum and Winifred Kingston is his schoolteacher ladylove, Molly Wood. The setting is Bess Creek, Wyoming. The Virginian's compadre Steve (J.W. Johnston) has gotten himself mixed up with some rustlers. Steve's hanging, in fact, is aided by his former friend. One famous scene -- known by many people who haven't even seen this or any other filmed version of the story -- occurs when the head of the rustlers, Trampas (Billy Elmer), calls the Virginian a vile name. Our hero's steely reply is "When you call me that -- smile." (This line was lampooned hilariously in, among other places, Buster Keaton's 1926 comedy, Go West.) It's a mistake for these cattle thieves to mess with the Virginian -- he vanquishes them and shoots Trampas in a showdown, thus winning Molly's hand. Incidentally, this picture shows how rudimentary DeMille's directorial skills were at the time -- it's technically one of his weakest. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi