Lillian Langdon Movies

Though its script is credited to D.W. Griffith, The Lamb is actually a film adaptation of Winchell Smith's Broadway play The New Henrietta. In his screen debut, Douglas Fairbanks plays a wealthy wastrel who is framed in a stock swindle. To prove his innocence, Fairbanks is plunked into several situations requiring him to display both his athletic and intellectual prowess. Seena Owen plays the girl who knew Fairbanks was a stalwart fellow all along. The Lamb was remade in 1921 as The Saphead, with Buster Keaton assuming the Douglas Fairbanks role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Cecil B. DeMille adapted the screenplay for Kindling from a play by Charles A. Kenyon. Charlotte Walker plays Maggie Schultz, a young wife and mother-to-be. Through no fault of her own, Maggie becomes the dupe of a gang of burglars. Having already run the gamut of sorrow and misfortune, she despairs at the possibility that her child will be born in prison. Fortunately, the compassionate victim of the burglars takes pity on Maggie and refuses to prosecute, allowing her to return to her husband Heine (Thomas Meighan). In addition to being one of the last WWI-era films to feature sympathetic German characters, Kindling also represented one of the first starring assignments for popular leading man Thomas Meighan. Director DeMille would soon abandon the "naturalistic" style of this film, preferring instead to indulge himself in slick sex farces and overly opulent spectacles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sometime during the shooting of the landmark The Birth of a Nation, filmmaker D.W. Griffith probably wondered how he could top himself. In 1916, he showed how, with the awesome Intolerance. The film began humbly enough as a medium-budget feature entitled The Mother and the Law, wherein the lives of a poor but happily married couple are disrupted by the misguided interference of a "social reform" group. A series of unfortunate circumstances culminates in the husband's being sentenced to the gallows, a fate averted by a nick-of-time rescue engineered by his wife. In the wake of the protests attending the racist content of The Birth of a Nation, Griffith wanted to demonstrate the dangers of intolerance. The Mother and the Law filled the bill to some extent, but it just wasn't "big" enough to suit his purposes. Thus, using The Mother and the Law as merely the base of the film, Griffith added three more plotlines and expanded his cinematic thesis to epic proportions. The four separate stories of Intolerance are symbolically linked by Lillian Gish as the Woman Who Rocks the Cradle ("uniter of the here and hereafter"). The "Modern Story" is essentially The Mother and the Law; the "French Story" details the persecution of the Huguenots by Catherine de Medici (Josephine Crowell); the "Biblical Story" relates the last days of Jesus Christ (Howard Gaye); and the "Babylonian Story" concerns the defeat of King Belshazzar (Alfred Paget) by the hordes of Cyrus the Persian (George Siegmann).

Rather than being related chronologically, the four stories are told in parallel fashion, slowly at first, and then with increasing rapidity. The action in the film's final two reels leaps back and forth in time between Babylon, Calvary, 15th century France, and contemporary California. Described by one historian as "the only film fugue," Intolerance baffled many filmgoers of 1916 -- and, indeed, it is still an exhausting, overwhelming experience, even for audiences accustomed to the split-second cutting and multilayered montage sequences popularized by Sergei Eisenstein, Orson Welles, Jean-Luc Godard, Joel Schumacher, and MTV. On a pure entertainment level, the Babylonian sequences are the most effective, played out against one of the largest, most elaborate exterior sets ever built for a single film. The most memorable character in this sequence is "The Mountain Girl," played by star on the rise Constance Talmadge; when the Babylonian scenes were re-released as a separate feature in 1919, Talmadge's tragic death scene was altered to accommodate a happily-ever-after denouement. Other superb performances are delivered by Mae Marsh and Robert Harron in the Modern Story, and by Eugene Pallette and Margery Wilson in the French Story. Remarkably sophisticated in some scenes, appallingly naïve in others, Intolerance is a mixed bag dramatically, but one cannot deny that it is also a work of cinematic genius. The film did poorly upon its first release, not so much because its continuity was difficult to follow as because it preached a gospel of tolerance and pacifism to a nation preparing to enter World War I. Currently available prints of Intolerance run anywhere from 178 to 208 minutes; while it may be rough sledding at times, it remains essential viewing for any serious student of film technique. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Norma Talmadge, already a star but not yet a STAR, played the eponymous heroine in 1916's Martha's Vindication. To protect the reputation of her best friend Dorothea (Seena Owen, Martha claims that she is the mother of the friend's illegitimate baby. Even though she is ostracized and condemned by the community in general and fire-and-brimstone preacher Hunt (Ralph Lewis) in particular, Martha refuses to tell the whole story, nor will she permit her friend -- now happily married and the mother of a legitimate child -- to speak up. Only Martha's sweetheart William (Charles West) stands by her in her hour of need, and even he has his doubts. But as indicated by the film's title, Martha is eventually proven to be as pure as the driven snow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Desmond, he of the dazzling smile and sleek physique, was starred in the Triangle feature Society for Sale. Desmond plays "Honorable" Billy, an aristocratic Englishman who finds himself a pauper overnight. Hoping to recoup his family fortunes, Billy agrees to marry, sight unseen, a wealthy clothes model named Phyllis Cline (an early starring role for Gloria Swanson). At first feeling that he has married beneath his station, Billy is gratified to learn that Phyllis is the daughter of a prominent English nobleman. By this time, however, he has renounced his previous snobbishness and learned to love Phyllis on her own merits. Though quite easy on the eyes, Gloria Swanson was merely an arm decoration for star Desmond; within a few years, however, her profitable professional association with Cecil B. DeMille enabled her to choose vehicles specifically designed for her unique talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gloria Swanson was still being referred to as a former Keystone star when this drama was released. Here she is struggling artist Marcia Grey, who repulses the advances of rent collector Von Holtz (Harvey Clark). He vindictively has her framed for a theft, and she is sent to jail. When she is released, she joins the Salvation Army where she reacquaints herself with wealthy philanthropist John Stanford (Joe King), and they marry. Von Holtz reappears on the scene as a German spy. Stanford, who is working with the government, has some important papers that Von Holtz wants, and Marcia finds him fiddling with her husband's safe. He threatens to expose her prison term if she does not cooperate with him, so she accompanies him on a meeting with his fellow spies. Stanford's mother (Lillian Langdon) sees them sneaking off together and tells John. Believing that his wife is running off with Von Holtz, he follows, only to discover that Marcia has brought the police into the matter and the spies are arrested. Any doubts John had about his wife are gone, and they are happier together than ever. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

When Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists, they had a dilemma -- only one of them was contractually free to make a film for the fledgling studio -- and that was Fairbanks. But he came through with this winning picture, playing his usual character (at least for his pre-swashbuckling days) -- a young man with too much energy and vigor for his own good -- in a Prisoner of Zenda-like backdrop. William Brooks (Fairbanks) lives in Manhattan on a mysterious but sizable income. He apparently has no family either. When following the New York Fire Department around begins to pall, he goes to Mexico and tangles with bandits. All this is only preparation for his next adventure -- he is called to a tiny European country where a revolution is going on. It turns out that he is heir to the throne and he manages to squelch the plotters and win the girl (Marjorie Daw) in short order. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This first of several cinematic adaptations of the Jean Webster play Daddy Long Legs stars "America's Sweetheart," Mary Pickford. The oldest and cutest of a group of orphans, Pickford is provided with funds for her education and well-being by a mysterious benefactor, whom she knows only as "Daddy Long Legs" because of the spider-like shadow he casts on the orphanage steps. Upon reaching a marriageable age, Pickford falls in love with handsome Mahlon Hamilton, never dreaming that he and Daddy Long Legs are one in the same. When he proposes marriage, she properly announces that she'll need her guardian's consent, and thus the stage is set for the film's conclusion. Like several of Mary Pickford's best silent films, Daddy Long Legs was remade in the talkie era by Shirley Temple (as 1935's Curly Top). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sessue Hayakawa wrote the story for this simple little drama. Wang (Hayakawa) is a Chinese vegetable peddler in the slum area of a big city. He befriends a little boy, Buster (Frankie Lee), and meets the boy's mother, Mary (Bessie Love). Mary has been deserted by her no-good husband, and when Wang finds out that she and Buster are about to be evicted, he pawns his horse, Bimbo, to help them. Without his horse, Wang needs to find other employment, so he becomes a fortune teller. Buster helps out by hiding under the table and peeking into the customers' wallets to ensure that the fortunes are accurate. A new rent collector, Johnny Rand (Ralph McCullough), proves to be Mary's childhood sweetheart, who still carries a torch for her. She discovers that her estranged husband, Spencer Wellington (Harland Tucker), is about to marry Norma Biddle (Janice Wilson). Wang -- and Buster -- are hired as the entertainment for Norma's engagement party. They reveal Wellington's past, and his marriage, so Norma breaks off the engagement. Then Mary proceeds to get a divorce so that she and Rand can marry. Wang gets his horse out of hock, and goes to the Orient to fetch the girl who has been waiting for him all along. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Even though this light comedy never leaves the confines of its hospital setting, it's still highly amusing. Billy Grant (Richard Dix) winds up in the hospital after going on a wild spree when his fiancée breaks up with him. Jane Brown (Helene Chadwick) is his nurse, and he begs her to marry him. She agrees because she believes that he is dying. The truth is that Grant has married her just to get back at his relatives, who helped ruin his relationship with his fiancée. Jane asks to be transferred to the maternity ward, and she helps a newborn baby and its mother reunite with its father. While searching for the man, however, Jane breaks some hospital rules and she's in danger of being fired. Grant comes to her aid and also claims her as his wife. This picture was based on two stories by author Mary Roberts Rinehart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Marie Prevost got her start as a Mack Sennett bathing beauty, and even though this romantic comedy runs rather short for a feature, it's still only got about enough plot for a two-reeler. Spunky Constance Keener (Prevost) and her mother (Lillian Langdon) don't see eye to eye on matters of romance. Mrs. Keener has chosen rich Merton Torrey (J. Frank Glendon) to marry her daughter, who doesn't think he's dashing enough for her. When she attends a masquerade ball and is kissed by a costumed stranger, she thinks he's the one she wants. So she elopes with Dr. Sherman Moss (Lloyd Whitlock), who she believes is the stranger. But on the way to their honeymoon, he kisses her and she realizes he's the wrong man. The train gets held up by a bandit who apparently has only one purpose -- to tear up Moss's marriage license and to kidnap Constance. The bandit turns out to be Torrey -- the same man who kissed her at the ball. Since he's a lot more dashing than she originally thought (not to mention such a good kisser), the end is easily imagined. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

As his first picture for the Goldwyn studios, director Marshall Neilan decided to adapt Donn Byrne's sprawling novel to the screen. He put together an amazing cast, which included such luminaries as Jean Hersholt, Philo McCullough, Stuart Holmes, Claude Gillingwater and Hobart Bosworth, but a lengthy, complicated story kept any of them from making an impression. Basically the story revolves around a shipyard which Derith Keogh (Claire Windsor) inherits upon her father's death. There is trouble amongst workers, fed by labor leader John Trevelyan (Thomas Holding). Derith and her adoptive brother, Angus Campbell (Rockcliffe Fellows) struggle to avoid a strike and appeal to Trevelyan's better nature in order to gain his cooperation. A romantic relationship between Derith and Campbell develops throughout the picture. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide