Vera Lewis Movies

Released in Great Britain as Sealed Lips, this WWI melodrama stars Constance Bennett as Carla, aka Russian spy "K-14." Though there's no room for romance in her line of work, Carla falls in love all the same with Austrian captain Rudi (Gilbert Roland). When he discovers that she's working for the enemy, Rudi is forced to arrest Carla, a turn of events which she takes in stride as the fortunes of war. Though slated for a firing squad, Carla manages to escape and after the war is reunited with Rudi at the train station where they first met. One of the screenwriters was Worthington Miner, later a leading light of the TV anthology series Studio One. Coming at the tail end of the early-1930s "spy cycle," After Tonight lost $100,000 at the box office, forcing RKO Radio to rethink the studio's contract with Constance Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Wellman's Night Nurse survives as a potentially interesting but ultimately unsatisfying melodrama about a nurse discovering evildoings in the household where she is caring for a couple of sick children. Based on a 1930 novel by Dora Macy, Wellman's probe into medical corruption is one of the director's more cynical looks on Depression-era America, but most of the characters are weakly drawn and the denouement a cheat, cinematically. Barbara Stanwyck plays Lora Hart, an ambitious student nurse whose first assignment after graduation is tending to a couple of deathly ill little girls, Nanny (Marcia Mae Jones) and Desney (Betty Jane Graham). Despite their posh surroundings, the girls are apparently suffering from malnutrition; their mother, Mrs. Ritchey (Charlotte Merriam), is hopped-up on bootleg booze ("I'm a dipsomaniac! A dipsomaniac I tell ya! And I like it!"), and the girls' physician (Ralf Harolde) is a society quack with a facial tick. Lora soon realizes that the good doctor is deliberately starving the children to death in order to gain access to their trust fund and that Mrs. Ritchey is kept in line by Nick (Clark Gable), a black-clad gangster posing as the family chauffeur. A desperate Lora proposes to contact the authorities, but her medical sponsor (Charles Winninger) deems that unethical and instead suggests that she find a solution from inside the family. Nearly at the end of her ropes -- and having accepted one too many blows to the chin from Nick -- Lora is saved by an admirer, good-natured bootlegger Mortie (Ben Lyon), whose "friends" take the evil chauffeur on a final "ride." None of this makes much sense, and the film appears to have been tampered with along the way. One of the children disappears without any explanation halfway through, and the hospital establishment's reticence is never properly explained. Instead of a coherent plot, Night Nurse, in typical pre-Production Code style, offers quite a few scenes of Barbara Stanwyck and fellow nurse Joan Blondell dressing and undressing and a rather brutal portrayal by a very young Clark Gable on the threshold to fame. Warner Bros. had borrowed Gable from MGM to play the despicable chauffeur when the original choice, James Cagney, suddenly proved too valuable a commodity for what was actually a supporting role. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this sweet comedy, a meek and clumsy employee of a large firm is filled with useful ideas, but is too shy to present them. He gets involved with the boss's straight-forward daughter who helps get his ideas across. Mayhem ensues and the company's superintendent is fired. The employee's ideas are then implemented. As the frosting on his cake, the mild-mannered fellow also gets to marry the boss's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A wealthy man hits the half-century mark and promptly suffers a mid-life crisis in this silent romantic comedy. Like countless fellows before and after him, he ends up falling for a beautiful young woman. Trouble comes when the besotted gent's best friend begins suspecting that the girl only wants her beau's considerable fortune. Wanting only to protect him, the best buddy begins trying to beak up the affair. This is an early sound film and is one of the first to utilize dialog, not as a novelty, but as a serious way to advance the plot. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The title of this "woman's picture" had little to do with its content. The story is set in an industrial town, where domineering old matriarch Vera Lewis controls the lives of everyone. The old woman's granddaughter Claire Windsor lives in the "wrong" part of the town, having been disowned by her grandmother because of her questionable parentage. Despite her social-pariah status, Windsor manages to attend a fancy dress ball, where she wins the heart of wealthy and handsome Cornelius Keefe. Eventually, Lewis is made to realize the error of her ways, and Windsor is finally acknowledged as the old woman's flesh and blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed three times (in America, at least), Leo Tolstoy's mammoth novel Resurrection was once more brought to the screen in 1927. Dolores Del Rio plays the beleaguered heroine Katusha, who is seduced and abandoned early in the proceedings by the callous Prince Dmitri (Rod LaRocque). Years later, Dmitri is summoned to serve as a juror on a murder trial. Imagine his surprise when he discovers that the defendant is none other than poor Katusha! At first hypocritically suggesting that she find comfort in God, the conscience-stricken Dmitri follows Katusha into exile in Siberia, where at last he "does right" by the girl. The screenwriters made a noble effort to capture the philosophical asides of the original novel, but this proved difficult in a silent film. Director Edwin Carewe remade Resurrection in 1931, again with a Mexican actress, Lupe Velez, in the lead; the story was then retooled in 1934 as the Anna Sten vehicle We Live Again and in 1961 was refilmed under its original title in the USSR. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Broken Gate was based on a novel by Emerson Hough, of Covered Wagon fame. Dorothy Phillips stars as Aurora Lane, who has never acknowledged the existence of her illegitimate son. Aurora's past catches up with her when her now-grown son (William Collier Jr.) is arrested and falsely charged with murder. The boy is saved from hanging at the last minute, but the local bluenoses and bigots insist upon driving Aurora out of town. Happily, the heroine is able to start life anew in a less-judgmental community with her now-forgiving son. Up-and-coming starlet Jean Arthur plays the nominal romantic lead opposite William Collier Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alma Rubens, a hauntingly beautiful silent screen actress whose career was cut short by drug addiction, stars in The Gilded Butterfly. Rubens plays Linda Haverhill, who has been raised to be a golddigger by her mercenary father. While vacationing in Monte Carlo, she loses her heart to handsome American Brian Anestry (Bert Lytell). She also loses most of her money, which gets her in a jam when one of her "sugar daddies" demands repayment of past gifts. A bizarre twist of fate saves Linda from having to surrender her virtue, leading to a happy denouement with stalwart Mr. Anestry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having squandered his allowance, gay blade Tom Eggett (Reginald Denny) is given a second chance when he inherits his uncle's department store. If he can post a profit within three months, the store will be his forever; if not, it's back to the unemployment line. An aficionado of amusement parks, Tom transforms the store into a funfair for the masses, with roller-skating sales clerks, scantily clad female mannequins, and various and sundry games of chance. Store manager Cyrus Crabb (Lucien Littlefield), who aspires to Tom's job, tries his best to undermine our hero, but with the help of pretty secretary Grace Gordon (Blanche Mehaffey) Tom wins out at the end. Take It From Me was another winner from the stellar actor-director team of Reginald Denny and William A. Seiter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While it seems extremely tame now, Clive Arden's novel was considered quite racy in its day. While doing relief work in Belgium, Leonore Bewlay, a little American girl (Mary Astor), meets Richard Valyran, an opera singer (Ian Keith). After the war's end, they meet again in Switzerland. Leonore, or Leo, has grown into a lovely young woman, but she doesn't realize that this changes her relationship to Valyran, who becomes infatuated with her. Leo is hurt in an avalanche and she's shocked when Valyran kisses her after coming to her aid. She marries Englishman Henry Wallis (Clive Brook), whom she really loves, but his relatives disapprove of her. Valyran's wife sues for divorce and names Leo as corespondent. Wallis believes she really has done something wrong. To keep Leo's life from being ruined, Valyran kills himself. Wallis, humbled by Valyran's sacrifice, reunites with Leo. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This is yet another costume drama written and supervised by the eccentric Elinor Glyn, who was a Hollywood tastemaker during the silent era. Harry Vane, the Duke of Chevenix (Conrad Nagel), travels from England to the mythical kingdom of Chekia, where he falls in love with Princess Thyra (Eleanor Boardman). Thrya, however, is duty-bound to marry the king (Edward Connelly), even though he is old, ugly, and ill-tempered. When she refuses Vane's suit, he is determined to win her anyway, even after her wedding. A revolution rises in Chekia and the king is assassinated. Revolutionary leader Gigberto (Arthur Edmund Carewe) then carries Thyra away. When the people jail Gigberto, Vane disguises himself as the rebel so that he and Thyra will be tied together. The two of them are thrown into the bay, but Vane is able to free himself from his bonds and rescue Thyra. They escape to his yacht and she finally confesses her love for him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

A young American girl in Paris is loved by three handsome men in this romantic melodrama based on Belonging, a popular 1920 novel by Olive Wadsley. Virginia Valli plays the young woman, Sara, who is asked to chose between three disparate suitors: Count Desanges (Marc MacDermott), who is considerably older; Charles Carleton (Stuart Holmes), who is married; and Julian Greer (Lloyd Hughes), a handsome -- and unattached -- American. In a dramatic climax, a paralyzed Count Desanges shoots and kills Carleton just as he attacks a helpless Sara. In the end, the self-sacrificing count gives his blessing for Sara to marry her true love, Julian. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This farce comedy stars Marie Prevost and Monte Blue. Ernest Todd (Blue) is not doing very well in the insurance business, so his pal, Billy Breese (Creighton Hale), suggests that he use his wife, Mabel (Prevost), to vamp customers, thus luring them in. Mabel obliges by flirting with Henry Bancks (Claude Gillingwater) at a jazz party the couple is attending, but Todd is not happy with the situation. The couple argues after Mabel has gone to a cabaret with Bancks, and they separate. Todd is forced to run the house solo and he fails miserably. When he runs into Mabel at a diner, he begs for her help. She agrees to act as if they have made up so that Todd can entertain Bancks at home. Everything goes wrong, but Bancks still signs up for a big policy and Mabel decides to return to her husband. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide