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
- 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
- 1924
Real-life husband and wife James Kirkwood and Lila Lee play Mr. and Mrs. in Another Man's Wife. Neglected by her husband, Lee pretends to desert him in order to win him back. This she does, but not before she and Kirkwood have gotten themselves entangled with various and sundry antagonists, including a gang of rumrunners. The film really comes to life during its rescue-at-sea finale. Wallace Beery, a few years away from full stardom, plays the glowering, grimacing villain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Kirkwood, 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)
- 1928
Director James W. Horne, best known today for his Laurel and Hardy comedies, called the shots on the inexpensive "emotional" drama Black Butterflies. Heroine Dorinda Maxwell (Jobyna Ralston) enters into a marriage of convenience, even though she cannot abide her new husband. In so doing, she is separated from her true love, David Goddard (Robert Frazer). Fate and the scriptwriters contrive to keep hero and heroine apart for the balance of the picture; at one point, Goddard is blinded in an auto accident. All turns out OK in the end except for the "heavy" of the piece, vampish Kitty Perkins (Mae Busch, likewise a future Laurel and Hardy "regular"), who must pay for her sins with her life. Black Butterflies reaches three possible endings, opting at last for the weakest of the three. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jobyna Ralston, Mae Busch, (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)
- 1926
Celebrated Yiddish-theatre luminary Maurice Schwartz was both star and director of Broken Hearts. Schwartz plays Benjamin Rezanov, a Jewish author forced to leave his wife behind when he flees the pogroms and persecution of Czarist Russia. Immediately upon arriving in New York, he receives word that his wife has died. After an appropriate period of mourning, he marries a rabbi's daughter, and all goes well until he discovers that his first wife is still alive. He dutifully heads back to Russia, only to be told that he's too late: his wife has expired in a Soviet hospital. After digesting all this, Benjamin comes back to New York, hoping to patch things up with wife number two -- which he does, conveniently in time to celebrate Yom Kippur. With the exception of leading lady Lila Lee, every cast member in Broken Hearts was recruited from New York's Yiddish theater talent pool. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Schwartz, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1935
A pre-Charlie Chan Sidney Toler stars in Champagne for Breakfast as The Judge, a philosophical racetrack tout. Though eternally broke, the Judge manages to smooth the path of life for Vivian Morton (Joan Marsh), a nice girl to whom he's taken a fancy. By and by, the Judge brings together Vivian and handsome young Bob Bentley (Hardie Albright), then rescues Vivian's sister Natalie (Lila Lee) from the clutches of lecherous villain Osborne (Bradley Page). Though top-billed, Mary Carlisle has comparatively little to do as socialite Edie Reach. All things considered, Champagne for Breakfast is really Sidney Toler's film, and it's nice to see this perennial supporting player in a major role for a change. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Carlisle, Hardie Albright, (more)
- 1925
Because he wants a promotion, Tom Blackford (Thomas Meighan) marries Alice Rand (Lila Lee), the daughter of his boss, John Rand (John Miltern). Rand is aware of Blackford's motivations and he sends him to take over as superintendent of one of the company's mines in the hopes that he will fail. To further his cause, Rand contacts Joe Lawler (Wallace Beery), who wanted the position, and tells him that he can have it if Blackford quits -- and that he doesn't care what Lawler does to get Blackford out. Alice accompanies her new husband to the mines, even though she says she doesn't love him. With the help of saloonkeeper Shackleton (Laurence Wheat), Lawler stirs up trouble and inspires the workers to strike. Blackford closes down the saloon and proves to the miners that Lawler has been cheating them. Lawler and Blackford come to blows, but Lawler causes his own end when a crowbar he is using as a weapon gets caught on some machinery and throws him from the coal tipple. The strike ends, and Alice confesses that she does love Blackford after all. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1967
Hayseeds abound in this musical comedy, two star-struck hoboes hop what they think is a west-bound train that will land them in Hollywood. Well, it's going to Hollywood all right, but unfortunately its destination is Hollywood, Florida. The two become so hungry along the way that they are forced to ditch the train. They end up somewhere in the deep South and eventually try to swipe a hen. Unfortunately, they get caught by the Zickafoose family who chase them all about. Soon white lightning runners are also after them and all sorts of chaos ensues. Songs: "Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers," "This Must Be the Bottom," "Comin' On Strong," "Dirty Ole Egg Suckin' Dog," "Not Me," and ""Messed Up."" ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The zany vaudeville comedy team of Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson was still one year away from their smash Broadway hit Hellzapoppin' when they starred in Republic's Country Gentlemen. The daffy duo plays a couple of gold-stock swindlers who try to fleece the citizenry of a small town. They end up purchasing a vacant lot for $4000, which they try to pass off as an oil field. A group of local WWI veterans invest heavily in Olsen and Johnson's latest venture, meaning that the boys will be in for quite a lot of lumps if the expected "gusher" doesn't come in. Thanks to good influence of heroine Lila Lee, our heroes change their crooked ways -- but not quite in the nick of time! Critics weren't keen on the notion of middle-aged Ole Olsen being cast as a romantic lead, but everyone was satisfied with the supporting performance of perennial "dumb blonde" Joyce Compton as the team's Girl Friday. Originally released at 66 minutes, Country Gentlemen is presently available in its 53-minute TV reissue form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, (more)
- 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)
- 1929
A love triangle between two twin brothers and a lovely young woman provides the framework for this drama (it was the first talkie to feature an actor in a dual role). One of the brothers is a policeman; the other belongs to a band of robbers working the garment district. The cop has orders to shoot the robbers on sight. He warns his evil twin to stay away from the garment district. The twin tells him to stay out of there too. They ignore each other's advice. More trouble ensues when the bad brother abducts the other, steals his uniform, and then gets himself killed. He does this to save his other brother who gets the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Mulhall, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1930
In this crime drama a reformed safecracker is pressured by his ex-cellmate to pull off one last job. The cellmate gives the safecracker a chance for peace and happiness on an isolated farm. There he meets a pretty woman and her grandmother. He falls in love with the young woman. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that they are part of his cellmate's gang. Eventually the two lovers are reunited and truly reformed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ames, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1929
No, Richard Barthelmess doesn't don women's apparel in the 1929 talkie The Drag. Barthelmess plays a Vermont newspaper editor, happily married to Alice Day. That is, he was happy until the day his wife's troublesome in-laws (Lucien Littlefield, Katherine Ward) came to visit. Wifey's parents stay, and stay, and stay--and what a drag it is. The title could also refer to the film itself, since The Drag drags along at an excruciating 118 minutes (plus two arbitrarily inserted songs). This yawn-inducer was based on a (hopefully) more entertaining novel by William Dudley Perry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Barthelmess, Lucien Littlefield, (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)
- 1932
In this melodrama, a sleazy plastic surgeon from Chicago bungles an operation and causes the amputation of his patient's legs. Naturally, she takes the quack to court. Unfortunately she loses the case. The enraged patient then fatally shoots the doctor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lowell Sherman, Peggy Shannon, (more)
- 1926
Fascinating Youth was designed as a showcase for the winners of Paramount's Junior Star contest of 1926. Newcomer Charles "Buddy" Rogers heads the cast as Teddy Ward, the son of a wealthy hotelier (Ralph Lewis). Disturbed by Teddy's hedonistic lifestyle, Ward Sr. orders the boy to take over management of a winter resort hotel. With the help of talented sketch artist Jeanne King (Ivy Harris), Teddy mounts a big-time advertising campaign and transforms the dormant resort into a smashing success. Outside of Buddy Rogers and Ivy Harris, the other Junior Stars given a boost in Fascinating Youth include future cowboy hero Jack Luden and the delightful comedienne Thelma Todd. Also performing box-office duty in cameo roles are such established Paramount luminaries as Richard Dix, Adolphe Menjou, Clara Bow, Lois Wilson and Thomas Meighan, not to mention contract directors Lewis Milestone and Mal St. Clair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ivy Harris
- 1929
This early Frank Capra talkie stars popular screen action team Jack Holt and Ralph Graves as US marines stationed in Nicaragua. The "two guys fighting over one gal" throughline is there because the audience expected it -- and besides, leading lady Lila Lee is awfully cute. But the meat of the story lies in the fact that Holt and Graves are pilots, required to fly their Curtis fighter-bomber on dangerous missions. The flight scenes, shot without the benefit of special effects or back projection, are truly awe-inspiring, and served as stock footage for countless Columbia films in future years. Released in both silent and sound versions, Flight was a major success for the tiny Columbia studios. Its effectiveness is all the more remarkable when one realizes that star Jack Holt had a lifelong fear of flying! ~ Hal Erickson, 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
- 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
- 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
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
- 1929
In this sad drama, a nightclub chanteuse gives up everything to have her daughter educated abroad. When her grown-up, highly cultured daughter returns from Europe, she is appalled to learn the truth about her mother -- that she has a low class job entertaining boozy old men. She disowns her mother and the distraught mother begins singing the blues in earnest. Songs include: "I'm The Last Of The Red Hot Mommas," "I'm Doin' What I'm Doin' For Love," "He's A Good Man To Have Around," "I'm Feathering A Nest (For A Little Bluebird)," and "I Don't Want to Get Thin." and "Some of These Days." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophie Tucker, Lila Lee, (more)
