Lila Lee Movies
A pretty, apple-cheeked WAMPAS Baby Star of 1922, Lila Lee had been a performer since childhood and was widely known as "Cuddles," one of the stars of Gus Edwards' kiddie troupe. She was brought to Hollywood by Paramount's Jesse Lasky and headlined in her very first film, The Cruise of the Make Believe (1918). In typical silent screen style, she played a poor girl secretly supported by a rich admirer and the New York Times thought she had a "limitless future before her."After appearing as the servant wench in Cecil B. DeMille's Male and Female (1919), Paramount began to see the newcomer as a potential successor to that popular film's star, the elegant Gloria Swanson, and embarked on a hefty publicity campaign. Lee's detractors, however, were quick to point out that her work never really lived up to the ballyhoo. "She seemed permanently neutral," as one critic pointed out. Her co-starring turn opposite Rudolph Valentino in the immensely popular bull-fight melodrama Blood and Sand (1922) was still far from persuasive but her jet-black hair, severely braided in coils over each ear, created a trend and the fan mail kept pouring in. Her tumultuous marriage to matinee-idol James Kirkwood, very much an "A Star Is Born" affair, created additional headlines that lasted until their divorce in 1931.
Lila Lee's up-and-down screen career was bedeviled by severe bouts with what was euphemistically referred to as tuberculosis but whispered to be the results of acute alcoholism. As Lon Chaney's leading lady in The Unholy Three (1930) , she was positioned to become one of the new sound era's first major stars but a series of bad judgments and, again, highly publicized bouts with illness, led to supporting roles in Grade-B films. In 1936, she was a witness to the suicide of playboy Reid Russell and the resulting headlines reportedly made her camera shy. There were several aborted stage comebacks in the 1940s, a short-lived marriage or two, and appearances on early television soap operas in the 1950s. Her son with Kirkwood, James Kirkwood Jr., became a noted author and playwright but Lee did not live to see his crowning glory, the legendary Broadway musical A Chorus Line. Retiring from performing after playing country singer Margie Bowes' hayseed mother in the Florida-lensed Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967), the veteran star died of a stroke at Saranac Lake, NY, in November of 1973. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1919
When her father, a lunch-wagon owner, dies suddenly, Jane Neill (Vivian Martin) pluckily takes charge of the family business, acting as surrogate mother to her twin sisters. When her added responsibilities threaten to overwhelm her, Jane takes a job as a stenographer for millionaire David Lyman (Spottiswoode Aitken), leaving the lunch stand in the care of her erstwhile boyfriend Micky Donovan (Casson Ferguson). Not long afterward, Lyman also dies, bequeathing his entire fortune to Jane. At first, Jane is inclined to hand the money over to Lyman's nephew Monty (Niles Welch), with whom she has fallen in love. When Monty reveals himself to be a spineless wastrel, Jane elects to return to Donovan, allowing Monty to keep the money anyway. Things turn out well for all concerned when a play written by Monty becomes a hit, whereupon the heretofore worthless nephew hands over all the royalties to Jane and her new husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1919
In this Pollyanna-ish story, Lila Lee plays Mary Lenox, who is orphaned when her parents die during a cholera epidemic in India. Archibald Craven (Spottiswoode Aitken) is appointed her guardian, and she is sent to England to live with him. Craven is a crotchety old man who has never been the same since his wife died in childbirth. His son, Colin (Dick Rosson), is a cripple -- or at least, that's what Craven's doctor brother, Warren days. But the doctor is trying to drive Colin to an early grave, figuring that when both Archibald and his son die, he'll wind up with the family fortune. When Mary brings her sunny self to this situation, she stirs things up. First she convinces Colin that he's better off without the heavy brace his uncle is making him wear, then she talks the help into opening up the walled-in garden that has been sealed since the death of Mrs. Craven. The doctor, seeing that Colin is beginning to thrive, decides to poison him -but both Mary and Colin see him put the poison in the drinking water. Mary goes for help, but gets stuck in a bog. Colin saves her, and the doctor, his plans thwarted, takes off. Craven becomes a whole lot less crotchety and Colin enters the British army and weds Mary. This picture was based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lila Lee, Spottiswood Aitken, (more)
- 1919
Douglas Fairbanks starred in the original Broadway production of James B. Fagan's Hawthorne of the USA, but Doug was too busy setting up United Artists in 1919 to appear in the film version. The popular Wallace Reid takes over as Anthony Hamilton Hawthorne, a young man who wins a tidy sum at Monte Carlo. He then vacations in a mythical middle-European country, where he foils a Bolshevik uprising. As a bonus, he wins the hand of Lila Lee, daughter of the rightful ruler. Is it really necessary to note that the "Harrison Ford" who co-stars in Hawthorne of the USA is not the same guy who starred in Raiders of the Lost Ark? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Don't let that title fool you: Male and Female is really James M. Barrie's The Admirable Crichton, as interpreted by Cecil B. DeMille. Thomas Meighan plays Crichton, the very proper butler in the British household of Lord Loam (Theodore Roberts). When masters and servants go on a yachting excursion, the vessel is destroyed in a storm, marooning everyone on a desert island. The helpless aristocrats must turn to the resourceful Crichton for survival. Before long, Crichton is ruling the roost, while his masters are cheerfully performing the most menial of tasks. Haughty Lady Mary (Gloria Swanson) foregoes her class-conscious upbringing and falls in love with Crichton. Once the castaways are rescued and brought back to England, however, the original class distinctions are restored. Lady Mary goes ahead with a marriage to stuffy Lord Brockelhurst as scheduled, but it is obvious that she will be unhappy in this "socially correct" union. Meawhile, Crichton finds happiness with scullery maid Tweeny (Lila Lee), who has loved him all along. Feeling that the Barrie play didn't have sufficient "punch" to go over with 1919 filmgoers, DeMille interpolated a dream sequence in which Gloria Swanson imagines herself a Babylonian princess; this gave the actress the opportunity to share a scene with a live and none-too-docile lion. One would think that critics of the era would haul DeMille over the coals for taking so many liberties with The Admirable Crichton, but such was not the case. One reviewer of Male and Female even congratulated DeMille for making Barrie "filmable"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Gloria Swanson, (more)
- 1920
After directing him as the title character in Huckleberry Finn, William Desmond Taylor again used boy actor Lewis Sargent in this picture. His character, known merely as "the boy," has been raised in an orphanage where he has caused as much trouble as possible. He finally can't stand living there anymore and runs away. On the streets he finds a friend in Mike (Ernest Butterworth), a newsboy. Mike teaches him how to survive but inevitably the boy gets hauled into court. However, the judge sees potential in him and hands him over to be adopted by a young politician. The judge, incidentally, is played by Judge Ben Lindsey, who was famous in his day for his efforts to give delinquent boys a decent chance in life. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1920
The careful direction of William C. DeMille (brother of Cecil) brought fresh life to Cosmo Hamilton's all-too-typical story, His Friend and his Wife. Because Bob Meredith (Jack Holt) spends all his time working, his wife Margaret (Lois Wilson) feels the romance has ebbed away from their marriage. One night, while Meredith is at the office, family friend Julian Osborn (Conrad Nagel) -- whose own spouse (Lila Lee) is out of town -takes Margaret to a dance. They wind up at a hunting lodge and begin to get carried away, but stop before things get out of hand. The pair agree to keep their encounter a secret, but unfortunately, they've been seen and word gets back to their spouses. Finally everyone gets together, confessions are offered and all is forgiven. Incidentally, Midsummer Madness was released in the dead of winter. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Because of the scandal that befell comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in 1921, his Paramount starring feature Gasoline Gus never received an American release. A pity, since the film was (from all accounts) his best feature-length vehicle thus far. Arbuckle of course plays the title character, a young man saddled with a phony oil well. Still, he manages to make a great deal of money off this fraudulent gusher, which inevitably proves to be the Real McCoy by film's end. Gasoline Gus was one of three Arbuckle features which were shelved by Paramount at great expense after the comedian was banned from the screen after his sensational rape trial (and never mind that he was acquitted). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1921
While Cecil B. DeMille busied himself with lavish sex comedies and garish historical melodramas, his director brother William C. deMille (note the lower case) was content with subtler human dramas. The "other" DeMille's After the Show was adapted from Rita Weiman's story "The Stage Door." Lila Lee plays Eileen, a starry-eyed young girl employed as a chorus dancer in New York. Eileen can never be certain if the men in her life are sincere, or if they perceive her as mere temporary plaything. Among the "stage door johnnies," "tired businessmen" and "sugar daddies" surrounding Eileen are Jack Holt and Carlton S. King. Also on hand is Charles Ogle as the lovable old stage manager, named-what else?--Pop. Like most of William deMille's films, After the Show has long been missing and assumed lost. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Crazy to Marry was one of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's most delightful feature-length vehicles. Arbuckle plays a doctor who hopes to cure criminals via brain surgery. In one hilarious sequence, Fatty surgically recovers several valuables-watches, gems etc.-from the abdomen of plug-ugly Bull Montana. A film that has evidently vanished from the earth (though rumors of a extant European print resurface from time to time), Crazy to Marry represented the last Arbuckle silent film to be released before outbreak of the scandal that ruined his career. It was also the third collaboration between Fatty and director James Cruze (they'd planned a fourth, One Glorious Day, which had to be refashioned as a Will Rogers picture). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1921
The star power of Wallace Reid kept the silent farce Charm School afloat. Auto salesman Reid inherits a school for proper young ladies. Realizing that the students are withering on the vine thanks to the antiquated curriculum, Reid transforms the establishment into a charm school, complete with athletics and dancing lessons. It must needs be that Reid sneaks into the school in the dead of night and is forced to disguise himself as a girl to escape detection. The popular if not particularly innovative James Cruze directed Charm School, adapting the screenplay from a novel by Algonquin Round Table habituee Alice Duer Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Reid
- 1921
Maurice Travers (Robert Gordon) attends college, funded by the sweat and blood of his widowed mother (Blanche Davenport). But he spends too much time on sports and not enough on his studies and flunks out. He elopes with Donna Wayne (Virginia Lee), the flirtatious daughter of a wealthy man and they go to the big city. Meanwhile, Madeline Marshall (Madeline Claire), the girl back home who really loves him, takes care of his mother, who is going blind. She sells a collection to Donna's father (Frederick Burton) and tells old Mrs. Travers that the money came from her son. When the mother dies, Madeline goes to the city to find Maurice and discovers that he is miserable with his selfish, shallow wife and has been arrested for striking an officer. Madeline goes to the courtroom and gets him a pardon because of the death of his mother. Maurice and Donna divorce and he ends up with Madeline. This picture was adapted from the Honore de Balzac story, Meditations on Marriage. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Seafarer/novelist Leonard Fayne (Thomas Meighan) takes The Easy Road when he weds wealthy Isabel Grace (Gladys George). Once an ambitious workhorse, Fayne degenerates into a slothful lounge lizard and drunkard. Despairing over his fall from grace, Fayne gets a new lease on life by rescuing suicidal Ella Klotz (Lila Lee) and encouraging her to persevere. When wife Isabel returns from a desultory affair, she finds that her husband is a "new man"--one worthy of her unconditional love. Billed third in The Easy Road is Grace Goodall, who spent the rest of her career playing society dowagers in two-reel comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Gladys George, (more)
Both animal and human nostrils flare, and passion reigns in this classic romantic tragedy with Rudolph Valentino. Valentino is Juan Gallarde, an aspiring bullfighter, married to his loving childhood sweetheart Carmen (Lila Lee). But as his fame rises as a matador, so does his hot Spanish blood, and he succumbs to the passionate embraces of the sultry Doña Sol (Nita Naldi). When Juan is gored by a bull, his bullfighting fame is cut short, and Carmen returns to his side to nurse him back to health, and, as he struggles to regain his strength and make a comeback in the bullring, Carmen is there for him. At last he returns to the bullring, but in the stands, Juan sees Doña Sol with another lover. His attention distracted, a furious bull charges him and he is killed, dying in the arms of Carmen. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1922
This jumbled light comedy was one of the last pictures featuring silent matinee idol Wallace Reid -- after being given morphine for an injury in 1919, Reid became a drug addict and he died a few months after this film's release. When the penniless Maria Theresa (Lila Lee) hears of a treasure hidden in a deserted castle, she decides to track it down. With the help of her cousin, the Duke D'Alva (Arthur Carewe), Maria goes to New York, where the papers which reveal the treasure's location sit in a museum. She meets handsome Warren Jarvis (Reid), who has gotten involved in a feud in his native Kentucky and is trying to escape. He and Maria join forces when they discover that the castle is haunted, and they sail to Spain. It doesn't take Jarvis long to figure out that the Duke is responsible for the phony ghosts that haunt the castle, and he forces him to confess. Although Jarvis and Maria end up treasure-less, they do find romance together. Rotund Walter Hiers does a blackface turn as Rusty Snow, Jarvis' valet -- a gag which modern audiences would find highly offensive, but which amused filmgoers of the day. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Reid, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1922
This comedy-drama featured a wry story by humorist George Ade and a warm performance by the always likable Thomas Meighan. Meighan is Tom Redding, who, upon his father's death, finds that he and his mother (Maude Turner Gordon) are broke. Without the Redding wealth, they become outcasts in the social circles where they were once welcomed, and Tom's girl, Olivia Hornby (Florence Deshon), throws him over. Tom finds a more loyal sweetheart in May Thorne (Lila Lee), who offers him her savings so that he can develop an oil well. The well becomes a gusher, and Redding finds himself wealthy once again. But instead of returning to town a success, a pal suggests that he pretend to be a failure to see who his real friends are. While using this ruse, Tom secretly buys up the companies from all the men who snubbed him and his mother. The town is shocked when they discover that Redding is the millionaire who now practically controls the town. But instead of taking vengeance, Redding magnanimously returns the men to their former positions. Mary, who has stuck by him all this time, is proud to become his wife. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1922
Although Wallace Reid stars in this picture (based on the comic opera by Richard Harding Davis), Walter Long just about steals the show. Brooke Travers (Reid) is the easygoing son of a banana merchant. He runs up a 60-dollar fare by playing stage-door Johnny up and down all the Broadway theaters, and cab driver Biff Dooley (Long) is determined that Travers will ante up. But Dooley's task proves to be more difficult than he first suspected when Travers follows pretty Juanita Rivas (Lila Lee) to her home country of San Manana, in South America. First off, the two men have to work for their passage on the boat; then when they arrive in San Manana, they find it in the midst of a revolution. Travers has to save Dooley from a firing squad and he helps put Juanita's father Carlos (Theodore Kosloff) into power. The grateful Rivas makes Travers, who marries Juanita, Minister of Finance. While trade paper Motion Picture News gave the film good marks, it notes that Reid "has lost some of his dash and spontaneity" -- an ominous statement considering that the star died from his addiction to drugs six months after its release.
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Reid, Theodore Kosloff, (more)
- 1922
This romantic adventure was based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. An old skipper, Captain Davis (George Fawcett), has as his companions two derelicts -- one, Huish (Raymond Hatton), is a Cockney, and the other, Robert Herrick (James Kirkwood) was once a gentleman. In Tahiti they board a schooner and a storm takes them to an uncharted island. Living there is pearl broker Richard Attwater (Noah Beery), and his daughter Ruth (Lila Lee). Attwater is bitter because a supposed friend stole his wife and he has sworn to wreak vengeance on any white man he happens to encounter. Davis and Huish want to get their hands on his pearls, while, Herrick falls in love with the man's daughter. The relationship that develops between Ruth and Herrick inspires him to become a gentleman once more. Although he tries to stop his two compatriots from stealing Attwater's pearls, the antagonism continues. Eventually Davis, Huish and Attwater all meet their deaths, enabling Herrick and Ruth to be together. This picture was filmed again as a talkie in 1937. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lila Lee, James Kirkwood, (more)
- 1922
Silent matinee idol Wallace Reid played a speed demon in quite a few popular light comedies for Paramount. Here he takes a break from the fast cars, and frankly, this mediocre picture suffers for it. In spite of the protests of his father (Henry Barrows), Buell Arnister, Jr. (Reid) pursues a career as an artist. Unfortunately he's not too successful and his landlady tosses him out of his studio, forcing him to camp on the roof. Over on the next building are a couple of other roof dwellers -- Barbara Teller (Lila Lee) and her friend, Justine Tate (Gertrude Short). Arnister finds a plush, unoccupied home and decides to squat there. He invites the girls to share it with him, completely unaware that it belonged to Barbara's late father -- after he died, his second wife (Claire McDowell) threw her out of the house. Eventually the woman returns, having remarried and become the Countess de Mourney. Arnister, however, has found a note in a dressing gown which leads to a will giving Barbara her father's fortune. The Countess and her husband (Clarence Geldart) are now the homeless ones, and Arnister winds up with Barbara. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Reid, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1922
This quirky comedy with its mystical overtones was a departure for the down-to-earth Will Rogers. The story opens up with a title card that announces there are spirits floating around waiting to be born into the material world. One spirit, the mischievous Ek (young John Fox), misses being born by a few seconds and wanders around earth, looking for a body to enter. He happens upon Ezra Botts (Rogers), a retiring professor of spiritualism who has gotten tangled up with some crooked politicians who think they can make him do their will. Botts, who is in love with Molly McIntyre, his landlady's daughter (Lila Lee), has been nominated for mayor. When Botts uses his psychic powers to send his spirit to a meeting, Ek takes over his temporarily spiritless body. Ek in Botts body battles with the politicians, drinks liquor -- much to the horror of his fellow spiritualists -- and beats up Wadley (Alan Hale), who has insulted Molly. On top of everything else, Botts' new persona is a hit with the voters. Finally, Botts' body faints, since it's unaccustomed to all this activity and the real Botts is able to get his body back from Ek. But he returns a changed man and overcomes his shyness enough to propose to Molly. Much credit went to cameraman Karl Brown, who accomplished quite a bit with double exposures in an era where special effects cinematography was still in its rudimentary stages. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Rogers, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1923
When wealthy Rockwood dies, he wills his fortune to his four grown children, providing they're all married by a certain date. Failing that, the money will go to charity. Three of the Rockwood siblings are quick to find matches but Tom Rockwood (Thomas Meighan) is determined to wait for true love. At last he finds it with Louise Halliday (Lila Lee), but her guardian is Milo Bleech (John Sainpolis) who is the family lawyer. Bleech would benefit if the fortune went to charity, so he tries to sabotage the relationship. He is nearly successful, and Tom leaves for Europe. Also on the boat is the unhappy English sweetheart of his brother Dick (Robert Agnew). Louise is there to see the girl off, but isn't able to disembark before the ship leaves port. She and Tom meet up and straighten out their differences. Then, when Dick is discovered on board as a stowaway, a double wedding is in order. Meanwhile, the sisters back home quickly marry their beaus and the fortune remains in the family. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1923
The premise is clichéd -- it's the usual tale of a pretty girl from the sticks trying to break into movies -- but this satire gives it a number of unexpected turns. In addition, just about every star in Hollywood -- not just those at Paramount, the releasing studio -- has a cameo at one point or another during the film's eight reels. Ironically, nearly all of the lead actors are unknowns (although George K. Arthur would become a noted character comedian). Angela Whitaker (Hope Brown) of Centreville is convinced she has a chance in Hollywood -- all her friends tell her so. So she heads West with her Uncle Joel (Luke Cosgrave) in tow. But Angela has no luck in Tinseltown, while her uncle starts landing roles left and right because of his curious image. Eventually the rest of the family, including Angela's sweetheart Lem Lefferts (Arthur), her grandmother (Ruby Lafayette), and her aunt (Eleanor Lawson) come to Hollywood. All Angela's relatives get movie work because they're character types. Finally a screenwriter tries to help Angela out, but Lem winds up landing a role instead. He becomes a star, which suits Angela just fine because she has married him. The couple have twins, and the babies -- not to mention the couple's pet parrot -- wind up in films, while Angela remains at home. The most notable cameo in this picture is Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who had been shunned in motion pictures since the 1921 scandal surrounding a Labor Day party that allegedly resulted in the death of starlet Virginia Rappe. Here he returns as a man standing in a casting line. When it's his turn to come up to the window, it is shut in his face and a "closed" sign put out. Unfortunately this gag turned out to be all too true; Arbuckle was not seen in front of a camera again until 1932. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Cosgrave, George K. Arthur, (more)
- 1923
Although this Rex Beach story was filmed before in 1916 as a "super-feature," seven years later it would become a routine Paramount release starring the ever-steady, enduringly popular Thomas Meighan. Meighan is Kirk Anthony, a young spendthrift whose wild parties and all-around laziness cause his father no small amount of frustration. Anthony's next abandoned revelry turns out to be his last -- his father has him shanghaied and shipped off to Panama. He gets a job on the railroad and falls in love with Chiquita (Lila Lee), the pretty daughter of Andreas Garavel, one of the country's big politicos (Gus Weinberg). But he finds himself in a lot of trouble when he's vamped by Edith Cortlandt, a young American wife (Gertrude Astor). When her husband (John Miltern) kills himself, scandal and possibly a murder indictment threatens. But Edith clears Anthony, and he is able to earn his father's -- and Chiquita's -- respect. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1923
Thomas Meighan was appropriately cast in this ocean-bound romance based on the novel A Light to Leeward by Peter B. Kyne. First mate Jim Bedford (Meighan) saves a ship when he takes over command from its drunken captain, Svenson (Gus Weinberg). Svenson is then given charge of a yacht belonging to Mary Brent (Lila Lee), the daughter of wealthy ship-owner Rufus Brent (Charles Abbe). Bedford puts him off the boat and takes command once again. During the trip, Bedford and Mary fall in love and they secretly marry. Brent wants to get rid of Bedford, so he gives him the assignment of taking an old ship to South America, but Mary stows away. Brent chases after the ship in his yacht, but it is disabled in a storm. Bedford tows the yacht, then presents Brent with a bill. This insult, on top of Bedford's marriage to Mary, infuriates Brent., but he eventually comes to appreciate his son-in-law, and offers him a partnership in his firm. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lila Lee
