Sheldon Lewis
- 1936
Ken Maynard goes the Zorro route in this lethargic Western produced by Larry Darmour for Columbia. Ailing rancher Cal Pierson (Sheldon Lewis) is being double-crossed by his own foreman, the greedy Ranse (Ward Bond), who has hired a quack doctor (Edward Cecil) to make certain he won't recover. Forcing the local cattle ranchers to pay a heavy toll for the use of the pass on Pierson's land, Ranse is interrupted by a masked avenger who destroys the fence. The intruder having apparently vanished into thin air, Ranse instead comes across Jim (Maynard), a traveling peddler who may know the whereabouts of the masked stranger. In reality, Jim is Ken Martin, an agent for the Cattlemen's Association. With the assistance of Pierson's pretty nurse, Alice (Geneva Mitchell), Ken sets a trap for Ranse and his henchmen, who are caught in a landslide. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Geneva Mitchell, (more)
- 1934
In this western, a band of avaricious men kill a rancher in order to take over his land. The dead man's nephew was slated to inherit the ranch, but he has vanished so the outlaws hire another to impersonate the heir. Trouble ensues when the real heir, a state ranger, appears, gets his revenge, and gets his ranch. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Hooper Atchley, (more)
It is difficult to believe that this ultra-cheapie ever actually scared anyone; it's just possible that audiences laughed as loudly at the film in 1932 as they do today. On a dark and stormy night, Hero and heroine Rex Lease and Vera Reynolds head to Reynolds's ancestral mansion to claim her inheritance. Everyone in the house takes great delight in informing the girl that her scientist father died suddenly (the word is repeated at least 20 times in the first two reels). Soon our heroine discovers that she, too, has been marked for death by her maniacal uncle Sheldon Lewis, who is using his deranged son Micha Auer, Auer's housekeeper-mother Martha Mattox, and a huge and surly ape as his vessels of wrath. The climax finds Auer binding Reynolds to a post as he exhorts the ape to tear her apart; unfortunately for him, the big beast chooses to rend the villains asunder. Black comedian Willie Best (here billed as Sleep 'N'Eat) is supposed to be the comedy relief, but Mischa Auer is heaps funnier unintentionally. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Reynolds, Sheldon Lewis, (more)
- 1932
Filmed at Red Rock Canyon, AZ, and at rental stages at the California Tiffany Studios, Tombstone Canyon was the fifth of eight low-budget westerns Ken Maynard would make for independent producer E. W. Hammons' K.B.S Productions. Searching for his parents' killers, Ken goes up against a mysterious masked villain, "The Phantom," whose shrill cry of vengeance sends shivers through the settlers in Tombstone Canyon. But as Ken quickly learns, "The Phantom" (Sheldon Lewis) only kills men working for nasty Alf Sikes (Frank Brownlee). The latter attempts to blame Ken for the recent slayings of his henchmen but the newcomer manages to prove otherwise. In the end, there is a huge surprise in store for our intrepid hero, whose parentage is not quite what he has always believed. Although technically crude and directed with the usual lethargy by Alan James (formerly Alvin J. Neitz), Tombstone Canyon is at times beautiful to look at and presents a legendary cowboy star at the height of his game. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1932
Future producer Wallace MacDonald earned a starring role in this low-budget western based on an original story by veteran screen villain Robert Walker. Stopping at a hacienda for rest and food, Tex (MacDonald) falls in love with the pretty owner, Dolores (Virginia Brown Faire), despite the fact that the presence of an infant suggests that the girl is already married. Leaving to pay a debt, Tex returns to find Dolores kidnapped by his worst enemy, the nasty bandit Sounders (Claude Peyton). He locates the bandit's lair, rescues the damsel-in-distress and discovers that the baby actually belongs to her sister. Director Alvin J. Neitz wrote the screenplay under his usual pseudonym of Alan James. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace MacDonald, Virginia Brown Faire, (more)
- 1931
A couple of ranchers, Bob Lane (Lane Chandler) and Travis (Bob Card) fight over the pretty daughter (Karla Cowan) of a cantina owner in this no-budget western released by William Pizor's Imperial Distributing Corp. Bob is convinced by his snobbish family to give up the cantina girl, Nieta, in favor of the more suitable Doris Hart (Lorena Carr). He follows their advice but is soon falsely accused of poisoning the local watering hole. The real culprit is Travis, whose little daughter (Betty Lou Gay) Bob saves from dying in the desert. Returning the child, Bob and Doris agree to let the authorities deal with the ungrateful Travis. This rather incoherent story was filmed near Palm Springs by the Tansey brothers, John and Robert Emmett. Chandler later complained that the brothers never paid him his full salary. Producer-director Robert Emmett Tansey also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym "R.E. Barringer." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1931
A largely forgotten comedy-chiller in the tradition of The Cat and the Canary, The Phantom, from Poverty Row company Artclass Pictures Corp., emerges as one of the loonier films of the early sound era. Guinn Williams, sans his nickname "Big Boy" and the usual B-Western regalia, stars as nervy reporter Dick Mallory who, along with Ruth (Allene Ray), the daughter of the district attorney (Wilfred Lucas), goes in search of the Phantom, a masked killer whose recent jailbreak is alarming the citizenry. They find him running an insane asylum (a rather appropriate place for a deranged killer), but not before a series of encounters with Swedish-accented domestics and the usual thick-headed police officers. It is all played for laughs and with that in mind, the film is much better than its reputation. Williams is quite good and even Ray, a silent serial queen in her final film, manages to deliver her few lines with some conviction, especially in lieu of the fact that sound is supposed to have destroyed her career. Through it all runs veteran bogeyman Sheldon Lewis, for no other purpose, apparently, than to give the audience the expected chills. Contrary to popular wisdom, Lewis does NOT play the Phantom; the role of the killer is instead enacted by veteran B-Western villain William Gould. Director Alan James also wrote the screenplay under his real name, Alvin J. Neitz. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Allene Ray, (more)
- 1930
Poverty row entrepreneur John R. Freuler's Big Four Corporation released this oater produced by one of Hollywood's few women producers, Flora E. Douglas. Douglas did not deal in filmmaking on the grand scale, to say the least, and Firebrand Jordan played the hinterlands only. Yakima Canutt, while probably the finest stuntman of his era, did not possess a heroic voice and was demoted to character parts in talkies. The hero here was Lane Chandler a strapping young actor who, like Canutt, was really better-suited to playing villains. Chandler plays a cowboy on the trail of a gang of counterfeiters. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lane Chandler, Sheldon Lewis, (more)
- 1929
A horse and a dog play the lead roles in this inexpensive silent Western produced and directed by Harry S. Webb. Virginia Browne Faire is falsely accused of bond theft and is cleared by a handsome air mail pilot (Gaston Glass) and the aforementioned four-legged thespians. The premiere production of Webb's Biltmore organization, Untamed Justice's main claim to fame were indeed Arab the Horse and Muro the Dog, who were reunited in the company's best remembered vehicle, Phantoms of the North (1929). Browne Faire had played Tinker Bell in Peter Pan but her subsequent career never went far above B-level. Widowed by action director Duke Worne, she retired in 1934. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Brown Faire, Gaston Glass, (more)
- 1929
In this curious film, a knickknack collector falls in love with the daughter of a jewel collector. When a rare stone is swiped from a reception at the latter's home, the daughter and her sweetheart begin looking for it. As they drive to the police, they are taken upon a most circuitous path until they end up at the home of Satan, wherein many strange people dwell. The couple is befriended by a helpful dwarf. They must all attend a masquerade ball, and there some of Satan's minions abduct the woman and demand that she produces the jewel, lest she be tortured. Both she and her love then must endure a number of terrifying encounters before they can escape. Unfortunately, the bizarre ordeal has rendered them both stark raving mad. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Fazenda, Thelma Todd, (more)
In the opener of Universal's 15-chapter serial Tarzan the Tiger, Tarzan, aka Lord Greystoke (Frank Merrill), returns to Africa with his bride, Lady Jane (Natalie Kingston), hoping to locate the famous Jewels of Opar and thus save the Greystoke estate in England. At their plantation, the noble couple is entertaining seemingly friendly scientist Albert Werper (Al Ferguson) who, unbeknownst to the Greystokes, is in reality a greedy soldier of fortune. To Werper, Tarzan explains how he, years ago, rescued Lady Jane from La (Mme. Kithnou), the jealous Queen of Opar. "Have you no pity for me -- a woman like yourself," a tied-up Jane had pleaded, but to no avail. Happily, Tarzan had arrived with not a second to spare to rescue Jane from certain death. Now, and despite Jane's misgivings, the Englishman is planning to return to Opar. Werper, meanwhile, conspires with Tarzan's enemy, slave trader Achmet Zek (Sheldon Lewis), to sell Lady Jane to the highest bidder. The following night, while Tarzan is fighting the ferocious lion Numa, Zek and his band of Nomads kidnap a prostrate Jane. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1928
The Little Wild Girl is hoydenish French-Canadian lass Marie Celeste (Lila Lee). Assuming that her sweetheart Jules (Cullen Landis) and her father Duncan (Arthur Hotaling) have died in a fire, Marie wanders aimlessly around in the woods, where she is discovered by Broadway impresarios McBride (Frank Merrill) and Hampton (Bud Shaw). Enchanted by her beauty, the two men take Marie to New York, where she becomes a popular musical comedy star. Her innocent involvement in a nasty murder scandal ruins Marie's career, but she finds happiness at last with her boyfriend Jules, who didn't die after all. Boris Karloff is seen in a secondary "heavy" role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cullen Landis, Arthur Hotaling, (more)
- 1928
Warner Bros. contractees Myrna Loy and Walter Pidgeon were "borrowed" by low-budget Lumas pictures for the 1928 military drama Turn Back the Hours. Based on the venerable stage play by Edward E. Rose, the film stars Pidgeon as a Naval officer who is dishonorably discharged for cowardice. While being transported home to England, Pidgeon is caught in the middle of a shipwreck, from which he is rescued by passenger Loy. Recuperating in the Caribbean home of Loy's wealthy father, our hero returns the favor by rescuing the heroine and her daddy from a gang of bandits. In so doing, Pidgeon regains his courage and self-respect -- not to mention the love of the grateful Loy. Elements of Turn Back the Hours later resurfaced in the 1942 Humphrey Bogart vehicle Across the Pacific. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Myrna Loy, Walter Pidgeon, (more)
- 1928
Having been in show biz since infancy, Broadway chorus girl Beatrice (Virginia Brown Faire) regrets her lack of formal education. Upon unexpectedly falling heir to a huge sum of money, Beatrice decides to make up for lost time by enrolling in a fancy girl's school. Though many of her snooty classmates shun her, our heroine makes a valuable friend in the form of the daughter (Thelma Hill) of an oil-company executive (Bryant Washburn). Said executive falls in love with Beatrice, much to the dismay of wealthy widow Mrs. Garrett (Hedda Hopper), who's set her sights on the man. Mrs. Garrett stirs up animosity and bigotry against Beatrice, but in the end the heroine prevails, if for no other reason than she's the nicest character in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Brown Faire, Sheldon Lewis, (more)
- 1928
Several years before organizing Invincible Pictures, producer George Batcheller was releasing his product through Invincible's future "sister company" Chesterfield. In Batcheller's Sky Rider, an ill-tempered young man is cut off without a cent by his wealthy uncle, while the bulk of the estate goes to the clean-limbed aviator hero. Seeking revenge, the disinherited relative sabotages the hero's plane -- and when this fails, he arranges his uncle's kidnapping. The hero manages to foil the rat with the help of his newly-repaired aircraft, and with considerable ground assistance from his faithful dog (played by Rin-Tin-Tin wannabe Champion). The best scene in Sky Rider, set in an operating room-turned-torture chamber, seems to have sprung from a different film entirely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gareth Hughes, Josephine Hill, (more)
- 1927
The forgotten Vincent Brownell stars in this low-budgeter as the son of a wealthy lumber camp owner. Brownell arrives at the camp early in the film to make sure that nothing goes wrong with an important log shipment. But something does, thanks to his father's wicked rival David Torrence. Dismissed by one and all as a coward, Brownell stands up to the villain, retrieves the logs, ships them on schedule, and wins the girl (Virginia Brown Faire). Anyone who couldn't figure out the outcome of the plot by the second reel should have been drummed out of the theater in disgrace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Brown Faire, David Torrence, (more)
- 1927
The "Ladybirds" are a gang of crooks who prey upon the rich and famous. At present, the Ladybirds are at large in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Heroine Diane Whitman (Betty Compson) finds herself inextricably involved in the gang's criminal activities, and for a while it looks as though she's going to end up six feet under. Instead, Diane anticipates The Avengers' Emma Peel by besting the gang's leader with a fantastic display of ju-jitsu! Former Mack Sennett comedian Hank Mann plays a comparatively straight role in this colorful thriller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Compson
- 1927
Life of an Actress was based on a play by Langdon McCormick. Farm girl Nora Dowen (Barbara Bedford) gets in trouble with her family when she's caught smooching with a travelling actor. Forced to marry local miser Hiram Judd (Sheldon Lewis), Nora runs away from her one-day union and joins a dog-and-pony theatrical troupe. Some nine months later, she has a baby daughter, which is promptly snatched from her arms and placed in the custody of Judd, who raises the kid to despise her mother's memory. Years later, Nora returns to the community as the leading lady of yet another travelling show. Things take a circuitous route to a happy ending when Nora is reunited with her daughter, while her hateful husband is conveniently killed by a speeding train. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lydia Knott, Barbara Bedford, (more)
- 1927
The "U.P." in the title refers to the Union Pacific railroad, the trail of which is followed by famed frontier scout Buffalo Bill Cody (here played by Roy Stewart). Hired to provide food for the railroad workers during the Union Pacific's Westward expansion, Buffalo Bill also prevents the employees from falling into the hands of hostile Indians. The plot is for the most part a fabrication, as witness the scene in which Buffalo Bill grows wealthy by building a prosperous "whistle stop" along the Union Pacific path. As pointed out by the trade magazine Variety, had Bill become a frontier burgomeister, he would never have had any reason to go on tour with his fabled Wild West Show. Oh, well...if the moviegoer wanted accuracy, he could always go to the library. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cullen Landis, Roy Stewart, (more)
- 1927
Cruise of the Hellion was a "B" picture with a "B" cast, but that's not to say it wasn't entertaining. Donald Keith plays the wastrel son of a millionaire who "toughens up" in a hurry when he's shanghaied by burly ship's captain Sheldon Lewis. When he isn't beaten knocked around by the boozy Lewis, Keith finds himself the personal punching bag of first mate Tom Santschi. Finally, Keith is able to best Santschi in a fight, earning him the respect of the crew. Still, the captain intends to bump off the hero the moment he retrieves a valuable treasure from the ocean's floor. Suffice to say that Keith lives long enough for a fadeout kiss from heroine Edna Murphy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles French, Donald Keith, (more)
- 1927
Though he'd fallen from the upper ranks of directors, James Young was still capable of excellent work in 1927. Young's low-budget Driven From Home recycles one of the oldest plots on record: the cruel father who orders his daughter out of the house when she elopes with the "wrong man." The girl (Virginia Lee Corbin) must not only contend with her father's rejection, but also with the lustful advances of opium-den proprietor Sojin. The blood-and-thunder aspects of the storyline are handled with taste and artistry by Young, who never gives the impression that he's "slumming". Driven From Home was produced by Chadwick films, one of several small companies that was later absorbed by Warner Bros.-First National. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna May Wong, Melbourne MacDowell, (more)
- 1927
A low-budget drama with high-budget pretensions, The Love Wager begins by focusing on the relationship between care-worn mother Lucy Beaumont and her scampish son Arthur Rankin. Upset that her boy never comes home before 3 AM, Beaumont decides to go to the police to search for Rankin, but en route she is struck down and killed by a car driven by her own son. Sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter, Rankin commits suicide, whereupon his cellmate Sheldon Lewis rifles through the kid's pockets, finding a letter of introduction to pretty socialite Lenore Bushman. Upon his release, Lewis makes a beeline to Grey's home, and immediately begins formulating plans to steal the girl's pearl necklace. So what does this have to do with a "love wager"? Well, it seems that wealthy bachelor Gaston Glass has bet millionaire W. W. Watson that he, Glass, can make his own living for six months without relying on his family's money. If he succeeds, Glass will permitted to marry Bushman, who happens to be Watson's daughter. Thus, when the girl's necklace turns up missing, guess who gets the blame? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucy Beaumont, Arthur Rankin, (more)
- 1926
"Love of money is the root of all evil." That's the message conveyed to the audience with the subtlety of a sledgehammer in The Gilded Highway. This is the story of the Welby family: Papa (Macklyn Arbuckle), Mama (Florence Turner), daughter Primrose (Dorothy Devore) and son Jack (John Harron). The Welbys are shaken out of their middle-class complacency when Papa inherits a fortune. Soon everyone in the clan is behaving atrociously, alienating their old friends with their snobbish and avaricious ways. The only way the Welbys realize the errors of their ways is by losing all their money in one fell swoop. Based on a novel by William Babington Maxwell, The Gilded Highway is one of a handful of American films directed by British cinema pioneer J. Stuart Blackton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maclyn Arbuckle, Florence Turner, (more)
- 1926
Produced by and starring lower-echelon silent screen cowboy Bill Cody, this minor Western featured yet another variation on the Hatfield/McCoy feud. Ma Cowan (pinch-faced Nora Cecil) mistakenly believes that Luke Barstow (John P. Lockney) shot her husband 20 years earlier. Much to Ma and Barstow's disgust, young Billy Cowan falls in love with pretty Barbara Barstow (Barbara Luddy) and the feud is dangerously close to continue into a new generation. But Billy discovers that his evil uncle Tolliver (Sheldon Lewis) is fanning the flames for his own selfish reasons. Directed by the prolific Alvin J. Neitz (later known as Alan James), Born to Battle also found employment for such B-Western stalwarts as Olin Francis, Frank McGlynn, Jr., Ralph Yearsley, Lew Meehan, Sailor Sharkey and, as the sheriff, Fred Burns. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
