Lydia Knott Movies

Chunky character actor J. Edward Bromberg carries the weight of Fair Warning on his burly shoulders. Bromberg is cast as Matthew Jerico, a sheriff in the Death Valley region of California, at present assigned to solve the murder of a wealthy miner. The killing took place at a swank tourist resort, meaning that Jerico has hundreds of suspects to choose from. With the unexpected but welcome assistance of child genius Malcolm Berkhardt (Billy Burrud), Jerico is able to track down the villain via chemical analysis. J. Edward Bromberg and Billy Burrud work so well together in Fair Warning that it's surprising 20th Century-Fox didn't fashion a series around the two players. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rocky Rhodes was Buck Jones' first western vehicle for Universal Pictures. Evidently inheriting a leftover script from previous Universal cowboy star Ken Maynard, Jones plays the title character, who as the film opens is heading back to his home in Arizona with his raffish saddle-pal Harp (Stanley Fields). Upon his arrival, Rocky Rhodes champions the cause of heroine Nan (Sheila Terry), whose ranch is in danger of falling into the grimy hands of the villainous Murich (Walter Miller). The whole affair ends in a tense shoot-out between the good and bad buys, with guess who coming out on top. Rocky Rhodes is beautifully photographed by the ever-reliable Ted McCord, who'd previous labored on the Ken Maynard series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Guilty? could be regarded as a precursor to Citizen Kane -- except that the first film isn't one-20th as good as the second. The story begins when an elderly ex-convict suddenly turns up dead. During their investigation, the police interview ten of the dead man's closest associates, each of whom offers a different perspective on the man's life. Only the victim's daughter (Virginia Valli) knows that her father committed suicide -- and only she knows why. Surprisingly shy of star names in the cast, Guilty? is forced to rely on the power of its narrative to sustain audience interest; alas, it isn't quite enough. The film was adapted for the screen by Dorothy Howell, from her own short story "Black Sheep." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced and directed by veteran silent-screen cowboy Leo Maloney, Overland Bound was the first all-talking independently made western. Maloney cast fellow silent cowboy Jack Perrin as the leading man (Maloney himself had gotten a little thick-waisted by 1929) who saves the community from a crooked railroad agent (Maloney himself). Maloney filmed his little epic on weekends with borrowed equipment, casting old friends like Wally Wales, Allene Ray and Perrin who worked for a percentage in lieu of wages. An independent producer, Maloney was forced to shop around for a distributor and lined several prospects up in New York. Unfortunately, Maloney didn't live long enough to enjoy all the fruits of his success: he died of a heart attack in his New York hotel room at the age of 41. The film, Maloney's main contribution to the western genre, was released posthumously. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Life of an Actress was based on a play by Langdon McCormick. Farm girl Nora Dowen (Barbara Bedford) gets in trouble with her family when she's caught smooching with a travelling actor. Forced to marry local miser Hiram Judd (Sheldon Lewis), Nora runs away from her one-day union and joins a dog-and-pony theatrical troupe. Some nine months later, she has a baby daughter, which is promptly snatched from her arms and placed in the custody of Judd, who raises the kid to despise her mother's memory. Years later, Nora returns to the community as the leading lady of yet another travelling show. Things take a circuitous route to a happy ending when Nora is reunited with her daughter, while her hateful husband is conveniently killed by a speeding train. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having scored big-time box office with his first Biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), Cecil B. DeMille hoped to top this success with his 1927 The King of Kings. Inasmuch as he was now dealing with the life of Christ, DeMille had to be careful to serve up equal amounts of showmanship and reverence. The first creative challenge: how to "introduce" Christ in a tasteful manner? The answer: as a blind child is cured through Jesus' intervention, DeMille cuts to the child's point-of-view, slowly fading in on the kindly countenance of H.B. Warner as the Son of Man. Still, DeMille remained DeMille, especially in his handling of the character of Mary Magdalene (Jacqueline Logan). No longer a tattered streetwalker, Mary Magdalene is now a glamorous courtesan, replete with legions of gorgeous slave girls (one of whom is "bubble dancer" Sally Rand) and dressed in revealing Hollywood-style gowns. In fact, the film opens on this character, as she ruminates over the defection of her favorite customer, Judas Iscariot (Joseph Schildkraut), who is spending far too much time with Jesus of Nazareth. Upon visiting Jesus herself, she immediately repents, casting off all her prior sins. Once again, the efficacy of the Cecil B. DeMille formula is proven: redemption has no dramatic value unless the film shows viewers why the sinner needs to be redeemed. Once he's gotten his box-office considerations out of the way, DeMille adheres faithfully to the particulars of Jesus' life, betrayal, trial, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. (Again, however, the director improves a bit upon his source material: the storm that follows the Crucifixion is of the same spectacular dimensions as the parting of the Red Sea in Ten Commandments, while the Resurrection is filmed in vibrant Technicolor). To back up the authenticity of his images, DeMille -- with an assist from scenarist Jeannie Macpherson -- utilizes Scriptural quotes in his subtitles. And to avoid any untoward publicity while filming, DeMille required all of his actors to sign legal documents preventing them from indulging in any sort of "sinful" activity; this meant that poor old H.B. Warner had to steer clear of alcoholic beverages for nearly a year, though he more than made up for lost time after his contract ran out. Prepared to mercilessly lambaste The King of Kings, DeMille's critics were disarmed by his reverent, tasteful approach to the subject. Years after the film's release, a specially prepared 60-minute version of the 18-reel King of Kings was making the rounds of religious groups, church basements, and Easter-weekend telecasts. The film was remade in 1961 by producer Samuel Bronston and director Nicholas Ray, with Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Going Crooked was based on the stage play by Winchell Smith, William Collier Sr. and Aaron Hoffman. An armored car driver has been killed in a robbery, and an innocent man (Leslie Fenton) has been charged with the murder. DA John Banning (Oscar Shaw) suspects a frame-up, but the only person he is able to haul into jail is Marie (Bessie Love), a minor member of the robbery gang. Realizing that Marie was forced into a life of crime, Banning promises to go easy on her if she'll help him trap the real murderer, gang leader Mordaunt (Gustav von Seyfertitz). Marie nearly loses her own life in the process, but the film comes to its anticipated conclusion as the innocent boy is saved from the Chair just as the switch is being pulled. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ex-football star Maurice B. Flynn, better known as Lefty Flynn, stars as a cop in this comedy melodrama. Patrolman Joe Hanrahan (Flynn) loves Marie Le Doux (Kathleen Myers), a girl on his beat. He has competition, however, in pugilist Battling Kennedy (Tom Kennedy). Fight promoter Jim Burke (Jean Perry) owns an arena which is in a state of disrepair and Hanrahan warns him to restore the gallery. Burke never does comply, and Hanrahan is suspended from the force after publicly getting into an argument with Kennedy. Hanrahan isn't done with his rival yet -- the two of them don boxing gloves and enter the ring. Hanrahan easily whips Kennedy in Burke's arena. Predictably, that's when the gallery gives way, injuring dozens and dozens of people. Hanrahan puts Burke under arrest for criminal negligence. As a result, the captain reinstates him and he wins Marie's love. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Fearless Lover was produced by a company called Perfection Films. It's not quite perfection, but it isn't bad. William Fairbanks (no relation to Douglas) plays a policeman from a family of policemen who is dedicated to upholding the law at all costs. When he is forced to arrest his girlfriend's brother, however, he relaxes a bit and tries to prove the boy's innocence. Our Hero eventually collars the big-time crook who forced the brother into a life of crime. Lifting Fearless Lover from the norm was the action-filled screenplay by western veteran Scott R. Dunlap. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For quite a few years during the 1920s, Colleen Moore was the perfect flapper personified, and the title to this light comedy cashes in on that. (Of course, Moore eventually became bored with one-dimensional flapper roles and demanded something more serious -- unfortunately the resulting film, So Big, didn't do anywhere near as much box office as her comedies.) Tommie Lou Pember (Moore) doesn't start off as a perfect flapper -- in fact she's anything but. She's a sweet, old-fashioned girl who is quite disappointed because so few friends show up at her costume party. But things liven up when one of the boys pours some illicit hooch into the punch. Dick Trayle, Tommie's brother-in-law (Sidney Chaplin, Charles Chaplin's talented half-brother), innocently shares a few glasses with her and soon they are off in their Romeo and Juliet costumes, playing the balcony scene at the local roadhouse. This causes quite a scandal and infuriates Mrs. Trayle, Tommie's sister (Phyllis Haver). To stop the talk, Tommie suggests that the family lawyer, Reed Andrews (Frank Mayo), pretend to be her sweetheart. Tommie actually is in love with Andrews, and she believes the way to catch him is to behave like a flapper. But Andrews is put off by her frivolous, irreverent behavior and tells her so. Tommie is devastated by his words, but he discovers that she is really the old-fashioned girl we saw at the film's beginning and they are united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Eva Novak and William Fairbanks co-star in this bucolic melodrama set in the Bluegrass State. A young Kentucky woman rides a horse to victory in the big race after the regular jockey is the victim of foul play. Lloyd Whitlock, Lydia Knott, Meta Sterling, and Max Asher also appear. Asher provided comedy relief that may be deemed politically incorrect at the approach of the 21st century. Southern audiences of the time found the portrayals of blacks having too much freedom questionable if not objectionable. Sixty years after the Civil War, many Southerners were still bitter over the Confederate defeat and continued to target blacks as the reasons for their social and economic troubles. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Victor Schertzinger both wrote and directed this melodrama. John Corbin (Percy Marmont) works for years on an invention, only to have it stolen by Jonathan "Iron Man" Moore, an iron magnate (Hobart Bosworth). When Corbin's mother (Lydie Knott) dies of starvation, he sinks to the gutter. He receives help from Grogan, a saloon keeper (George Siegmann), and redemption with the help of Hope, a mission worker (Jane Novak). When a party of slumming youths come to the saloon, Corbin has to rescue one of the girls, who turns out to be Moore's daughter, Joy (Eva Novak). Although he sees a way to get revenge on Moore, Corbin hands the girl over so Hope can take her home instead. It's only then that he discovers that Hope, too, is the daughter of Moore. He goes to the Moore home to ask forgiveness and is shot by an attendant. While he is recovering from the wound, Moore comes to see the error of his ways and makes amends. Hope, meanwhile, is won over by the man she redeemed. Jane and Eva Novak were also sisters in real life. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

John Hempstead (House Peters), a former actor, now serves as the benign religious leader of a small community. Marian Dournay (Grace Carlyle), Hempstead's spiteful ex-sweetheart, accuses the minister of theft. In order to prove his innocence -- and to nab the actual culprit -- Hempstead is forced to resort to his old actor's tricks. The strategy works, forcing the genuine thief to turn himself in. Held to Answer was produced by the Metro corporation, a scant few months before the studio's absorption into MGM. Its supporting cast ranges from former Biograph leading man Charles Hill Mailes to star-in-the-making Evelyn Brent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide