Bradley Barker Movies

Most of the late-1920s George Walsh vehicles were directed by "B"-picture specialist Bernard McEveety, and Inspiration was no exception. The plot concentrates on ascertaining the parentage of an illegitimate child. Falsely accused of being the daddy, wealthy Walsh is ostracized from polite New York society. He heads for Port Said and a life of drunken depravity, until he is rescued by native dancer Gladys Frazin. Armed with a new reason for living, Walsh cleans himself up and returns to New York to face down his unforgiving accusers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of several "lost" W.C. Fields silent comedies, The Potters was based on a play by J.P. McEvoy. Pa Potter (Fields) puts his family's financial well-being in dire jeopardy when he invests $4000 in some oil stock. The stock turns out to be worthless, whereupon Ma Potter (Mary Alden) takes great delight in ringing variations on the them "I told you so." On the verge of losing everything they own, the Potters are saved when a new supply of oil is found in the previously dried-up wells. The best scene -- at least according to critics of the period -- was when Pa Potter literally performed handsprings in his living room upon discovering he'd struck it rich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Likable Johnny Hines stars in this lively comedy. Plumber Tommy Burke (Hines) is getting nowhere in life until he receives an inheritance from a rich uncle. All it is is a brown derby, but supposedly the hat is charmed and brings luck to the wearer. Tommy's life takes quite a turn when he goes to do some work at the estate of heiress Edith Worthing (Diana Kane). The butler introduces him as "a plumber," and since Edith is expecting her long-lost uncle, A. Plummer, to arrive, a situation of mistaken identity is clearly in the offing. Since Tommy has long admired Edith from afar, he's thrilled to win so much of her time. Her no-good sweetheart is not so thrilled and he sets out to prove the Tommy is an impostor. Tommy comes out on top, however, winning Edith away from her suitor and helping Betty Caldwell (Ruth Dwyer) and Frank Boyle (Harold Foshay) elope in the bargain. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Popular silent light comedian stars in this riotous comedy about a pickle salesman involved in a South American revolution. Returning to the family pickle business in Florida after working his way through college as a short order cook, Tommy Perkins (Charles Hines) successfully launches "Perkins' Stuffed Pickles." Planning to overthrow the government of Esquasado, General Bannon (Henry West) and his equally unsavory partner Alonzo Lopez (Bradley Barker) purchase a shipment of 5,000 pickles, which they then stuff with ammunition. Tommy, who has fallen for the general's innocent daughter, Rose (Sigrid Holmquist), is on to the scheme, however, and deftly switches the contraband with pickles stuffed with cheese. All hell breaks lose in Esquasado, but Tommy, masquerading as a revolutionary general, saves both the day and his pickle company. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Because of an injury, "the Great Maranelli" (Johnny Hines) is forced to give up his job as a circus performer. He hits the road with his pal Sawdust Sam (Edmund Breese) and along the way they meet pretty Dorothy Langdon (Mildred Ryan). Her father, Henry Langdon (J. Barney Sherry), runs the power company, and he gives Maranelli a job. Langdon and George Trent, Dorothy's fiancé (Bradley Barker), are putting together an amusement park. Dorothy asks Maranelli for help selling the concessions. Trent is secretly trying to ruin the plans for the amusement park, and he kidnaps Dorothy and destroys the park's dynamo. Maranelli saves the day by hitching the park up to the city circuit and getting it up and running as scheduled. Needless to say, Trent finishes out of the money and Maranelli wins Dorothy. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This independently made feature boasted to have an all-star cast. That statement had a certain amount of truth to it; the names of these actors were certainly well-known in their day. But, they were minor stars at best, and their fame did not extend much beyond the silent era. Rufus Asher (Kenneth Harlan) believes that Barbara Wier (Jane Novak) is plotting to run off with Edmund Hyde (David Powell), who is married to Asher's sister, Linda (Faire Binney). To put a halt to the affair, Asher kidnaps Barbara and hides her in a mountain cabin. But Barbara sends word out to Hyde of her whereabouts through a tramp. Asher goes out for supplies and when he returns unexpectedly, Barbara thinks it's the tramp, coming back to attack her, and shoots at him. Asher is wounded, and as Barbara nurses him back to health, she explains what was really going on -- she and Hyde were working to stop Linda from running off with Hugh Langely (Bradley Barker). Her friendship with Hyde is completely innocent. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

There were two versions of Into the Net -- a 15-reel serial and a seven-reel melodrama. The story was written by Richard E. Enright, New York City's police commissioner. Apparently Enright wanted to bring the kind of literary fame to New York's finest that London's bobbies and Paris' gendarmes had. Unfortunately America's men in blue just didn't share the same aura of romance, but Enright's tales made for some action-packed film footage. Madge Clayton (Constance Bennett), a society girl, mysteriously disappears. The police suspect a master criminal is behind the girl's abduction, but her brother, Bob (Jack Mulhall), and fiancé, Bert Moore (Bradley Barker), help with the search. They unearth a scheme to kidnap another girl, Natalie Van Cleef (Edna Murphy), and the evidence takes Bob and Bert to an estate on Long Island. There, they discover a ring of international crooks, who, along with the usual robberies, also abduct girls for their boss. The two young men bring these bad guys to justice -- with the help of the New York police force, of course. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although Richard Barthelmess was one of the bigger stars of the silent era, not all his films were worthy of his talents. This society drama was decidedly mediocre fare. The wealthy McCulloughs (Joe King and Dorothy Cumming) separate when their son, Julian, is seven. Mrs. McCullough convinces her estranged husband to let her raise the boy without his interference and she brings him up to be a weakling. When he reaches the age of 20, Julian (Barthelmess, who was actually 28 at the time) falls in love with Lynnie Willis (Dorothy Mackaill), who is far below him socially. When they are returning from a dance, the car breaks down and they are forced to find shelter at an inn, where they register as brother and sister. This causes a scandalous situation and Julian is more than willing to marry Lynnie, but his father insists that he will have the marriage annulled, since his boy is not yet 21. Julian goes away to work as a cab driver, while Mr. McCullough makes an effort to find someone else to marry Lynnie. Mr. McCullough is attacked in a garage by thugs and Julian comes to his rescue. He is injured in the fight, but it enables him to reconcile with his father. Once he has recovered Julian is able to marry Lynnie, since he has just turned 21. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Ex-Follies girl Dorothy Mackaill was perfectly cast as what else -- a chorus girl -- in this light comedy. However, her character, Camilla Van Dam, starts off the picture as a society miss. She is in love with John Hamilton (Wilfred Lytell), a poor clerk who works under her father, Morgan Van Dam (Edmund Breese). But Van Dam doesn't approve of the romance, and he talks his daughter into testing the young man's love. The old man sails to Europe and Camilla agrees to tell Hamilton she is going with him. Van Dam figures that if the couple don't communicate for a year, they will forget each other. So Van Dam leaves for Europe, but Camilla stays home and becomes a chorus girl under an assumed name -- unbeknownst to her father, of course. Hamilton meets her and although he is struck by her resemblance to his sweetheart, she insists that she is merely a double for Camilla. Van Dam has left blank checks for his daughter, but his secretary uses them. Camilla saves the day by keeping the secretary from skipping out of town. When her father is reported to be shipwrecked, the truth about Camilla's identity finally comes out. The news about the wreck turns out to be false and Van Dam returns home early. He admits that his daughter has outwitted him and gives the couple his blessing. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Lew Cody leads an excellent cast in this colorful romance. While visiting France, Prince Rudolph (Cody) falls in love with a peasant girl (Jane Thomas), but her parents force her to marry a man of their own choosing. Both the girl and her unwanted husband suffer early deaths, and her daughter winds up being raised by a member of the Paris underworld. Years later, Rudolph, now a king, goes incognito to Paris in search of his former sweetheart. He happens on a dive called the Rat Hole, where thieves and criminals congregate, and where Mayflower, the daughter of his sweetheart (Gladys Hulette), is also found. Mayflower is pals with Francois (William Collier Jr.), a young man whose father is a thief fronting as a schoolmaster (Montague Love). Rudolph romances and wins the hand of Mayflower, while Francois is reunited with his long-lost mother (Effie Shannon), who turns out to be Rudolph's former nurse. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although Jim Carson (Fred Burton) supposedly runs Society Chatter, a scandal sheet, it is Maxwell Stone (Frank Losee) who is the publisher and real power behind the paper. There is talk of a juicy scandal going on at a posh Italian resort, and Stone goes to check it out, combining the trip with a visit to his daughter, Sylvia (Alice Brady). At the resort, Sylvia has become friends with Laura Hill (Edith Stockton), the flighty Milly Sayres (Nora Reed), and Milly's brother, Oliver Ellis (Richard Hatteras), who owns a New York morning newspaper. Sylvia also has become infatuated with Ettare Forni, a lusty tenor (Harry Mortimer). They plan to run off together, but Sylvia changes her mind when she discovers he does not plan to marry her. Stone unearths a scandalous tidbit surrounding Laura, and runs it in the paper. Laura is devastated by this and commits suicide. Sylvia returns to New York with Milly and Ellis, intent on avenging Laura's death. Carson tries to stop them by looking for dirt on Ellis. An attempt to link Milly with Forni is unsuccessful, and Carson is revealed as a blackmailer. Sylvia is shocked to discover that her father is the owner of Society Chatter, but he promises to close down the paper and reform, so she forgives him. She and Ellis wind up together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Henry Allen (Lionel Barrymore) swears revenge when attorney Cortland Wainwright (Ralph Kellard) sends his innocent brother to the electric chair. After becoming an underworld bigwig, Allen discovers that Wainwright worships a girl he met only briefly, Maggie Flint (Gypsy O'Brien). The girl has a prison record, so he sends her abroad to be educated, then brings her back into Wainwright's life. After they marry and Wainwright is running for governor, Allen reveals Maggie's background, which, if exposed, will force Wainwright to give up his candidacy. But Maggie appeals to his better nature and Allen realizes that revenge isn't all it's cracked up to be. He backs off and leaves the couple alone. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide