Ethan Laidlaw Movies
An outdoorsman from an early age, gangling Montana-born actor Ethan Laidlaw began showing up in westerns during the silent era. Too menacing for lead roles, Laidlaw was best suited for villains, usually as the crooked ranch hand in the employ of the rival cattle baron, sent to spy on the hero or heroine. During the talkie era, Laidlaw began alternating his western work with roles as sailors and stevedores; he is quite visible chasing the Marx Brothers around in Monkey Business (1931). Though usually toiling in anonymity, Ethan Laidlaw was given prominent billing for his "heavy" role in the 1936 Wheeler and Woolsey sagebrush spoof Silly Billies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1929
With less sumptuous production values perhaps, but with just as much savoir faire as in his earlier Fox Westerns, Tom Mix starred in this late-silent Wild West melodrama from poverty row company FBO as a ranch foreman assigned to escort his employer's daughter (Kathryn McGuire) from the big city back to the ranch. The girl, Ellen, is carrying the valuable Regent diamond, and the pair become the target of a gang of thieves led, it turns out, by Ellen's former fiancée Rodney (Ernest Hilliard). Still a name to be reckoned with, Mix was released from his contract later that year when FBO abandoned the outdoor units in preparation for a merger with RKO and sound films. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix, Kathryn McGuire, (more)
- 1929
A prospector's unhappy wife (Alice Calhoun) takes in, cares for and later comes to love a man (LeRoy Mason) who is unjustly accused of a killing. The true killer, however, turns out to be her husband (Ethan Laidlaw), a fact the audience spotted long before the characters caught on. This basically silent western came augmented with a few sound effects and offered an early sympathetic portrayal by LeRoy Mason, a dapper-looking actor more at home playing smooth-talking villains. In fact, had the film been made only a few years later, Mason, whose darkly good looks were almost too sinister for heroics, would undoubtedly have played the murderous husband. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Calhoun, LeRoy Mason, (more)
- 1929
Fourteen-year-old Buzz Barton is the "Little Savage" in this compact FBO western. Once again, diminutive hero Red (Barton) tries to help the adult characters in their fight against the villains. Also once again, Red is most effective whenever he's roping and riding -- especially the latter. In lieu of his usual sidekick Frank Rice, Buzz Barton is teamed with grizzled old Milburn Morante, who was still in films as late as the mid-1950s! When FBO Pictures was succeeded by RKO Radio, The Little Savage was added to RKO's release schedule for the 1928-29 season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buzz Barton, Sam Nelson, (more)
- 1929
Circus life provides the framework of this drama that chronicles the love, life, and aspiration of a young circus waif. The aspiring star is learning to walk the high-wire with the young wire-walker she adores. He loves another, his partner, but she is untrue to him. As a result he is almost on the edge of a breakdown. When she abandons him, he takes comfort in drinking too much. The plucky young girl tries to help him return to his former glory. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clara Bow, Richard Arlen, (more)
- 1929
Gary Cooper, as a lanky Wyoming ranch and foreman, places his gun on a poker table after being insulted by one of the gamblers and intones, "If you want to call me that . . . smile." That much quoted line's origin is in this early sound version of the Owen Wister novel, The Virginian, directed by Victor Fleming. When the Virginian meets his old friend Steve (Richard Arlen), he gives him a job on his crew at the Box H Ranch near Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Newly arrived in town is the new schoolmarm, Molly Wood (Mary Brian), and both men take notice. Afterwards, in a saloon, The Virginian encounters the evil Trampas (Walter Huston), and the two get into an argument over a dancer. The Virginian calls Trampas' bluff but, although Trampas backs down, he seethes inside. Afterwards, following a christening party, The Virginian walks Molly back home, and a friendship grows between the two that burgeons into love. But when Steve joins up with Trampas and his gang of rustlers and is captured by a posse, The Virginian is forced to supervise Steve's lynching. After that, Molly spurns The Virginian. However, when The Virginian is wounded, Molly forgets all that, and nurses him back to health. They decide to finally marry, but Trampas interferes with their plans --Trampas wants The Virginian to leave town, and he is out gunning for him. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Walter Huston, (more)
- 1928
Laconic silent western hero Bill Cody both produced and starred in this minor effort released by the Pathé organization. Cody plays a cowboy who inherits an estate in Chicago. Once there, naturally, he runs afoul of some grifting city slickers and returns to his element poorer but wiser. No great shakes in the acting department, Cody nevertheless enjoyed a minor starring career that lasted until 1936. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Cody, Rose Blossom, (more)
- 1928
FBO's juvenile cowboy hero, Buzz Barton, once again played Red Hepner in this pleasant, if minor, silent western. With his gruff sidekick, Hank Robbins (Frank Rice), Red comes to the rescue of Pap Curtis (James Welch), the owner of a medicine show who is falsely accused of payroll theft. The real culprit, however, is one Cal Rogers (Ethan Laidlaw), who Red catches singlehandedly. Meanwhile, Pap Curtis' daughter Sally (Betty Welch) and the sheriff (Bert Moorehouse) have fallen in love and plan to marry. James and Betty Welch were father and daughter in real life as well. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buzz Barton, James Welch, (more)
- 1928
A popular comedy duo towards the end of the silent era, Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatten once again join forces for this rollicking comedy concerning a pair of nitwits who unwittingly become embroiled in an age old feud between two mountain families. When snake-oil salesmen Pete (Beery) and Gus (Hatten) accidentally stumble directly into the battleground of the warring Hicks and Beagle clans, it appears as if our bumbling heroes may have hocked their last bottle of the elixir. Though Pete continually interrupts Gus in his attempts to perform his latest magic trick, Gus eventually gets his moment in the spotlight to predictably disastrous results. Will the feud finally be resolved by the prospect of an impending marriage between members of the warring clans, or Pete and Gus' lame brained antics simply serve to add more fuel to the fire? ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery, Raymond Hatton, (more)
- 1927
New York subway guard Barry Baline (Monte Blue) is struck down by a speeding car on New Years' Eve. The driver, a mentally unhinged millionaire named Johnson Craigle (John Miljan), exchanges clothing with the unconscious Barry. When he awakens, Barry is assumed to be Craigle, leading to a series of amazing adventures, culminating in an episode with a gang of blackmailer-kidnappers. Deciding to assume Craigle's identity for expedience's sake, Barry pretends to play along with the blackmailers' schemes so that he can rescue abducted housemaid Minnie Humphrey (Patsy Ruth Miller). The subway-chase finale reportedly rivalled the similar climax in 1977's The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three. Wolf's Clothing was one of seven 1927 films starring Monte Blue, moneymakers all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monte Blue, Patsy Ruth Miller, (more)
- 1927
Tall, strapping Tom Tyler was poverty-row studioFBO's final silent western hero. A better actor than most of his contemporaries, Tyler was awarded above-average production values, solid scripts and a fine sidekick in young Frankie Darro. In this fine little western, rancher's daughter Peggy Montgomery loves Tom, the handsome foreman. Unfortunately, she is betrothed to a nasty city-slicker type (Bruce Gordon); until, that is, the fellow is shown for the cad he really is.Tom Tyler's career survived the changeover to sound, and he even played in several notable non-westerns. In 1940, Universal surprisingly chose the tall actor to play the title-role in The Mummy's Hand. Tyler might have gone a lot further as a character actor had not an arthritic condition curtailed his screen career. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tyler, Peggy Montgomery, (more)
- 1927
One of the better Sam Sax-produced actioners of the late 1920s, When Danger Calls stars William Fairbanks as a fearless fire inspector. Despite stiff opposition from a cadre of corrupt politicians, Fairbanks endeavors to expose several recently-constructed tenements as dangerous firetraps. The chief crook manages to unload his property holdings on unsuspecting heroine Eilleen Sedgwick, knowing full well that any subsequent tragedies will be blamed on the girl. The owner of a slum mission, Sedgwick assumes that her "benefactor" is on the up and up, and naturally resents Fairbanks' snooping around. The inevitable climax finds the hero rescuing the heroine from a roaring blaze then settling the hash of the bad guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Fairbanks, Eileen Sedgwick, (more)
- 1926
Admittedly, gridiron flash Harold "Red" Grange was more at home on the football field than before the cameras, but he was an agreeable screen presence in his handful of starring films. In Racing Romeo, his second movie vehicle, Grange is cast as auto mechanic and aspiring racer Red Walden. For the sake of the lovely Sally (Jobyna Ralston), Red enters the obligatory Big Race. Three guesses as to who crosses the finish line ahead of the other cars (and the first two guesses don't count!) Providing strong support for the personable Mr. Grange are such sure-handed comic performers as Trixie Friganza and Walter Hiers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reed Howes
- 1926
The popular screen team of cowboy hero Tom Tyler and diminutive child athlete Frankie Darro was back in Out of the West. As much a baseball picture as a Western, the story is motivated by the rivalry between two neighboring ranchers, John O'Connor (Alfred Hewston) and Jim Rollins (L.J. O'Connor). Their mutual animosity spills over onto the baseball field, with O'Connor's star player and top cowhand, Tom Hanley (Tom Tyler), proving a formidable foe for Rollins' team. Another of O'Connor's players, Bide Goodrich (Ethan Laidlaw), has been bribed to throw the next game, and when Tom finds out about it, he and O'Connor's daughter Bernice (Bernice Welch) are kidnapped by Rollins' minions and hidden in a cave. Rescued by his young pal Frankie (Darro), Tom shows up in time to win the game. A major-league scout, who happens to catch Tom in action, offers him a contract, but our hero would rather stay on the ranch with the beautiful Bernice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- L.J. O'Connor, Alfred Hewston, (more)
- 1926
This silent gangster film plays like a B-Western and was actually made by specialists of that genre. There is even a thrilling transfer stunt where young Francis X. Bushman, Jr. (or his stunt double) switches from speeding motorcycle to runaway automobile much like a Western hero would from horse to carriage. Bushman plays a small-town cub reporter who comes to the assistance of a couple of revenue agents (Jack Perrin and Hal Walters) tracking a gang of hi-jackers. Half-way through, unfortunately, the story moves indoors to a swank hotel and the film begins to drag a bit, its makers obviously out of their natural element. Western villains Ethan Laidlaw and Tom London are the leaders of the gang, while Mildred Harris, the first Mrs. Charles Chaplin, does the ingenue bit as the sister of one of the agents. The son of the matinee-idol, Francis X. Bushman, Jr. later worked under his real name, Ralph Bushman. The penultimate entry in a series of eight crime melodramas, Dangerous Traffic was produced independently by Otto K. Streyer for release by poverty row company Goodwill. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Bushman, Mildred Harris, (more)
- 1926
Cup reporter Ralph Tanner (George O'Hara) hopes to make a name for himself by writing a searing exposé of a local political boss. Unfortunately, Ralph loses his exclusive story before he's able to submit it to his editor. Fearing a libel suit, Ralph spends the rest of the picture trying to track down the story and to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. One slapstick disaster after another befalls our poor hero before he is able to prove his allegations against the villain. Hard to believe that director Del Andrews would later be one of the screenwriters for the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George O'Hara, Doris Hill, (more)
- 1925
A young man is looked upon as a coward because of an affliction that causes him to tremble in this bizarre silent melodrama. When the world war breaks out, Jimmy Jones (Kenneth MacDonald) comes under the influence of tough Master Sergeant Banks (J.P. McGowan) who shows him how to be a man. Returning from the war, a new and improved Jimmy manages to beat his rival (Ethan Laidlaw) and win the hand of lovely Lillian (Clara Horton). Produced by low-budget Bud Barsky Corp., Makers of Men was one in a series of action-melodramas meant to make Kenneth MacDonald a major genre star. Although handsome enough, MacDonald did better as a smooth villain, and went on to enjoy a long career in supporting roles. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William H. Burton, Kenneth MacDonald, (more)
