Dorothy Libaire Movies

Edward Eggleston's best-selling novel The Hoosier Schoolmaster was brought to the screen in 1935 by Monogram Pictures, which specialized in such bucolic entertainments. Norman Foster plays the title character, an ex-Union soldier named Ralph. After the Civil War, Ralph takes a schoolteacher job in a small Indiana community where resentment against "Damn Yankees" still runs high. Before long, he gets mixed up in local politics, hoping to purge the town of the crooked politicians who've been squandering land-grant money on themselves. He is also forced to confront town bully Bud (Fred Kohler Jr.) over the affections of pretty heroine Hannah (Charlotte Henry) and to face down a hooded band of night riders. The film deftly blends small-town charm with vivid melodrama, most notably in a spelling-bee sequence which segues into a near-riot. The Hoosier Schoolmaster was one of the last productions from the "old" Monogram outfit before its absorption by Republic Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by Raoul Walsh, Baby Face Harrington features actor Charles Butterworth as Willie, a meek clerk who unintentionally gets involved with the mob when he misplaces two thousand dollars from the life insurance policy he was forced to cash after losing his job. While searching for the missing money, Willie (Butterworth) is taken hostage by gangsters. After learning his long-suffering wife Millicent (Una Merkel) plans to divorce him shortly, Willie loses all hope and prepares to hang himself. Just before he jumps to his suicide, however, the crime boss shows up and stops him. It turns out that the mob leader is an old school friend of Willie's, and convinces the former clerk that he still has much to live for. Baby Face Harrington also features actors Harvey Stephens, Eugene Pallette, and Ruth Selwyn. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Shirley Temple's first starring vehicle casts her as the button-cute daughter of ex-convict Eddie Ellison (James Dunn) and his wife Kay (Claire Trevor). Ellison and his old cellmate Larry Scott (Ray Walker) manage to land jobs as chauffeurs for a wealthy family. When a valuable string of pearls disappears, both men are fired and Eddie is accused of the crime. Incredibly, it is little Temple who manages to locate the pearls and clear her father's name. Rather slow going for the most part, Baby Take a Bow comes to life in the final reel, as genuine thief Trigger Stone (Ralf Harolde) grabs Temple and uses her as a human shield during his desperate rooftop escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although released as an "Allied Pictures Special," Picture Brides revealed its Poverty Row origins in almost all departments, including casting and choice of material. Waning silent star Dorothy Mackaill was top-billed as Mame, one of five mail-order brides arriving at Lottagrasso, a remote Brazilian gold mining community. The fifth girl, Mary Lee (Dorothy Libaire), is actually there about a job but knowing the reputation of the mining boss, Von Luden (Alan Hale), Mame supplies the girl with a picture of Dave Hart (Regis Toomey) and tells her to pretend to be a bride as well. Hart, meanwhile, is wanted in the States for embezzlement and rejects Mary. During a night of wanton revelry, Dave saves Mary in the nick of time from being ravished by the unscrupulous Von Luden. The villain attacks instead Mataeo (Mary Kornman), the half-breed daughter of the mining community's doctor (Harvey Clark), who is found dead in a nearby swamp the following morning. In front of a couple of American detectives, there to apprehend Dave, Mataeo's distraught father kills his daughter's murderer. Dave returns the money he had embezzled and begins to plan a new future with Mary. Although performing with her usual assurance, nominal leading lady Dorothy Mackaill was given very little to do by producer M.H. Hoffman, who was obviously more interested in promoting young Dorothy Libaire, the wife of stage and screen director Marion Gering. Libaire, unfortunately, did not live up to her billing and her screen career went nowhere. Esther Muir and the ever-popular Mae Busch did well with what little they were given and Alan Hale chewed up the scenery in a role most likely created for Jean Hersholt. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this drama a store clerk gets involved with a radio singer and ends up in a home for unwed mothers. The home is run by a cruel tyrant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This adaptation of the Puccini opera jettisons all the music and retains only David Belasco's timeworn libretto. American actress Sylvia Sidney plays Japanese maiden Cio-Cio San, while Cary Grant is the dashing American navy lieutenant Pinkerton. The girl and the officer have a brief affair, resulting in a child. Cio-Cio San blissfully awaits the return of Pinkerton, who arrives back in Japan with his American wife in tow. The heartbroken Japanese girl bids farewell to her callous lover, then commits hara-kiri. The absence of Puccini's brilliant music makes the plot contrivances of Madame Butterfly seem creakier than ever, though Sylvia Sidney--in real life a New York Jewish girl-- is moderately convincing as the Oriental heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rakish college student Hal (Norman Foster) is in love with sorority girl Peggy (Claudia Dell), but she only has eyes for Hal's roommate Dan (Philips Holmes). Hoping to get Dan out of the way, Hal enlists the aid of campus vamp Patricia (Sylvia Sidney). She manipulates Dan into a hot necking session, resulting in an unscheduled pregnancy. Dan is tossed off the campus, whereupon Peggy pulls off a few dirty tricks of her own, culminating in a shotgun wedding between Hal and Patricia. Finally Dan shows up to do the Honorable Thing by admitting that Patricia's child is his -- not that this is of any help to Hal, who is now persona non grata with everyone concerned. The New York Times reviewer was right on target when he summed up Confessions of a Co-Ed thusly: "The students devote their whole time to discussing affairs of the heart, never for an instant revealing any inclination for work." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide