Bessie Barriscale Movies
A major star for producer Thomas Ince in the mid- to late 1910s, Bessie Barriscale's trademark was her beautiful eyes, advertised at the time as the biggest in films. She had been David Belasco's Rose of the Rancho on the stage and recreated her Olde California senorita for directors Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel in and around the famous barn on Selma Avenue in Hollywood in 1914. But it was as an Ince star that she truly made her mark in a seemingly never-ending series of melodramas with titles like Plain Jane and A Corner in Colleenes (both 1916). She married actor/director Howard Hickman and was still a star when the new decade began. But Barriscale was really too Edwardian to fit into the Roaring '20s and she left films in 1921 in favor of vaudeville. There would be a few scattered returns but by the 1930s she was usually playing somebody's mother or maid. Mary Pickford cast Barriscale as one of her unsympathetic children in Secrets (1933); it wasn't quite the actress' swan song, but probably should have been. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1935
This truly offbeat filmization of Jean Bart's stage drama The Man Who Reclaimed His Head has been misleadingly released to TV as part of the "Shock Theater" package, even though the film is more melancholy than horrific. At the height of WW I, the trembling, near-lunatic Paul Verin (Claude Rains) arrives at police headquarters, carrying an ominously heavy handbag. Before revealing the bag's gruesome contents, he relates his tragic story in flashback. At one time a promising writer, Verin was married to the beautiful and ambitious Adele (Joan Bennett), who pushed and prodded him to advance himself. Accordingly, he sold his "head" -- that is, his integrity -- to powerful publisher Henri Dumont (Lionel Atwill), ghostwriting Dumont's anti-war editorials. By the time he realized that the hypocritical Dumont had himself sold out to the pro-war business interests, Verin had lost his wife and child to the scheming publisher. Driven mad on the battlefield, he made his way back to Dumont's mansion, exacting a horrible but appropriate revenge (hence the film's title). The Man Who Reclaimed His Head was remade in 1945 as Strange Confession -- with the pacifist angle completely removed! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Rains, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1934
Few studios ground out as many aviation melodramas as Columbia. In Above the Clouds, Robert Armstrong stars as Scoop Adams, an ace newsreel cameraman whose love affair with the bottle all but destroys him professionally. Scoop manages to get his photographer pal Dick (Richard Cromwell) fired as well, but he promises to restore Dick's reputation, some way or another. He gets his chance while covering a dirigible wreck (some three years before the Hindenburg), saving the day for both Dick and himself. The outcome of the plot hinges on a telephoto lens, a relatively new device in 1934. Dorothy Wilson hangs around in the obligatory but hardly necessary role of the love interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Richard Cromwell, (more)
- 1934
Apparently inspired by Noel Coward's Bitter Sweet, Beloved is a lush, lachrymose musical romance set in Vienna, South Carolina and New York City. John Boles stars as Austrian composer Carl Hausmann, whose musical career is very nearly cut short during the 1848 revolution. Carl is whisked off by his mother (Dorothy Peterson) to the American South, where he establishes a respectable reputation in the years just prior to the Civil War. Forced to relocate to New York with his new bride Lucy (Gloria Stuart), Carl languishes professionally for several years, then gives up composing to support his wife and child as a music teacher. Tragedy strikes once more during the Spanish American War, when the Hausmann's son is killed. Carl and Lucy invest all their love in their grandson Eric (Morgan Farley), a Gershwin type who grows up to become a jazz musician in the post-WWI era. As Eric grows richer and more successful, the Hausmanns continue to live in genteel poverty, with Carl all the while struggling to finish the symphony he began so many years before. After an unpleasant episode in which Eric accuses Carl of "stealing my stuff," our nonagenarian protagonist finally hears his symphony in a radio broadcast arranged by his chastened grandson. Contented at last, Carl peacefully passes on. Ironically, leading lady Gloria Stuart was far more attractive when she really reached her 80s than when she was heavily made up as an old woman in Beloved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Boles, Gloria Stuart, (more)
Silent screen legend Mary Pickford makes her final movie appearance in Secrets, adapted from the play by Rudolph Besier and Mary Edgerton. Edgerton plays a 19th century New England belle who accompanies her husband Leslie Howard to the wilds of California. Pickford's first baby is killed when her cabin is besieged by desperadoes. Howard's reaction to the tragedy is to play around with other women, but Pickford stands steadfastly by her husband for the next half-century. The film ends with an aged Pickford surrounded by her grown children in her luxurious mansion, prattling on about secret joys, secret sorrows, lovely secrets and dreadful secrets. Evidently this film was released in secret, for it failed at the box office and convinced Ms. Pickford (who produced the picture) that her starring days were over. Previously filmed as a Norma Talmadge starrer in 1924, Secrets seemed antiquated in the 1930s, but Mary Pickford's scenes with her dead baby proved that her great talent was undiminished. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Pickford, Leslie Howard, (more)
- 1928
The ebullient Eddie Quillan made his talking-picture bow in the Pathe part-talkie Show Folks. After a chance meeting with counter-girl Rita Carey (Lina Basquette), vaudeville hoofer Eddie Kehoe (Quillan) invites Rita to join his act. On the eve of their all-important Broadway debut, however, Eddie and Rita have a lover's quarrel, prompting Rita to walk out on her partner. Eddie is forced to find another girl for the act; unfortunately, he chooses gold-digging Cleo (a very young Carole Lombard), who can't dance her way out of a wet paper bag. Not surprisingly, the act is a floperoo, and Eddie is sent back to the "small time." He is rescued from permanent obscurity by Rita, who foregoes her own big chance for fame and fortune to rejoin Eddie as his partner -- both onstage and off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Quillan, Lina Basquette, (more)
- 1923
A now forgotten star of the later silent era, Sylvia Breamer took on the old David Belasco stage chestnut in this remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 Western classic. Miss Breamer plays a saloon owner who becomes a pawn between two men, a swashbuckling bandit (played in his usual florid style by J. Warren Kerrigan of The Covered Wagon fame) and a tough lawman (Russell Simpson). The center-piece of the story is, of course, the climactic poker game, in which the stakes are the bandit's life and the girl's virtue. According to contemporary reviews, Sylvia Breamer was sorely miscast as the tough, yet feminine saloon boss and that the film was no improvement over the DeMille original. There would be three further remakes of the old stage play: 1930, starring Ann Harding, and 1938, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, plus the 1943 Italian Una Signora del l'Ovest, featuring Michel Simon, Isa Pola and Rossano Brazzi. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1921
This above-average British melodrama was based on "The Living Dead", a story by Mary Lerner. Bessie Barriscale stars as a woman who is compelled to marry a man she knows is wrong for her. Five hellish years later, her no-good spouse throws her over in favor of his mistress. When he threatens to take away her child, Barriscale is driven to the titular breaking point. She kills the lout, confessing the crime to her understanding mother-in-law. The film's upbeat ending would not have been possible in the Production Code-dominated 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bessie Barriscale, Walter McGrail, (more)
- 1919
Upon the death of her father Hamilton Brisbane (Joseph J. Dowling), society girl Norma Brisbane (Bessie Barriscale) finds that the family fortune has been decimated. But she refuses to accept a life of drudgery as her lot and convinces Cuthbert Van Zelt (Albert Cody), her childhood sweetheart and the idle son of a rich man, to pose as her husband. This is how she is able to attend the weekend party held by some wealthy friends. Attending the party is the Duke of Duffield (Frank Leigh), who is engaged to the hostess's daughter. Norma discovers that the family jewels are fake and thus wins a bet with the Duke. The Duke, knowing that she tricked him, suggests that she use her talents to help him obtain some incriminating letters that he wrote, which are now in the possession of Emerson Trent (Melbourne McDowell). She agrees and not only gets the letters but discovers that Trent is the man responsible for her father's downfall. At first she is determined to turn him in, but when she discovers that he is the uncle of the Duke -- whom she has grown to love -- she forgives him. Nancy and the Duke wind up together, while the useless Cuthbert is set adrift. This picture, a vehicle for silent star Bessie Barriscale, was directed by her husband Howard Hickman. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
Hater of Men stars the versatile Betsy Barriscale as girl reporter Janice Salsbury. After covering a sensational divorce trial, Janice begins to wonder if she herself should marry her fiance Billy Williams (Jack, later John, Gilbert). She decides instead to dump Billy and live the life of a libertine, since this seems to be what men want from their "modern" women. Only after nearly losing her virtue (but wasn't that the idea?) does Janice wise up to herself and return to Billy. Scenarist C. Gardner Sullivan outdid himself in Hater of Men, composing some of the most florid dialogue subtitles ever seen on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1917
Just in case there was any doubt, the plot of Wooden Shoes begins in Holland, where we are introduced to heroine Pampy (Bessie Barriscale). Emigrating to the U.S. to find her wealthy grandfather, Pampy discovers that she has been replaced by an impostor who has already assumed control of grandpa's mansion. Unable to prove her identity, our heroine drifts to an artist's colony in New York's Lower East Side, where she is "adopted" by a group of fellow Dutch expatriates. She also falls in love with artist Donald Luther (Jack Livingston), and it is he who kicks the impostor out of the grandfather's house and restores Pampy to her rightful place in the scheme of things. Not unexpectedly, this pre-PC effort contains several ethnic jokes about "typical" Dutch customs and conventions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
In this silent drama, a socialite and her family lose their fortune. In order to make some fast money, she becomes a model for an amoral sculptor who impregnates her and the takes off for Europe. To avoid scandal, the girl is forced to marry a man she despises. A few years pass and the dastardly but handsome sculptor returns to seduce the woman's little sister. Fortunately, big sister has caught on and shows up to the studio with her husband. A terrible fight follows and the older woman kills the artist. Unfortunately, her husband is arrested for her crime. A trial ensues and during its course the truth comes out. Much to the woman's surprise another truth comes out--she loves her husband after all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1916
In this comedy drama, Charles Ray plays sophomore John Adams, who is working his way through college. Bessie Barriscale is the orphan Jane who works as a drudge at the boarding house where John lives. He doesn't pay much attention to Jane, but one day an elderly photographer dresses her up, takes some pictures and voila! She wins first prize in the college beauty contest. The photographer adopts her and John finally wakes up and falls in love with her. Somehow, the studio managed to stretch this thin plot over five reels. The completed film was no asset to either of its stars. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1916
This Thomas H. Ince production contained enough plot, incidents and characters for three pictures. William Desmond stars as Prince Carl, ruler of a war-ravaged European kingdom. On the orders of pretender-to-the-throne Michael (Wyndham Standing), Carl is lured into a dank dungeon by Michael's vampish sister, Countess Olga (Bessie Barriscale). Sentenced to be executed on a trumped-up charge, Carl is rescued by Olga, who has fallen in love with him. In retaliation, Michael begins plotting Olga's demise, but she in turn is saved by the timely arrival of Carl, who dispatches the villain with his trusty saber. And the story still has at least three more reels to go! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
C. Gardner Sullivan's screenplay for the Ince production Honor's Altar borrowed liberally from several then-popular Broadway domestic dramas. Upon achieving great wealth in his middle years, Frederick Mallery decides that he has outgrown his faithful wife and begins playing around with a younger tootsie. Hoping to sidestep alimony payments, Mallery hires a gigolo named Walter Woods, offering him 50,000-dollars to arrange for Mrs. Mallery to be caught in a compromising situation. Unexpectedly, Woods falls in love with Mrs. Mallery, prompting him to return the 50,000-dollars and call off the agreement. But Mr. Mallery holds Woods to his contract, thereby setting the stage for an emotion-charged finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
In this silent romance a Yankee heads for Erin following the Easter Uprising to claim a recently inherited estate. Upon arrival he finds that his house has been taken over by an elderly nurse and four homeless lassies. They are not happy that the new master of the house is a Yank and give him a hard time until he protects the prettiest girl from the British soldiers who are looking for her. After that the girl begins to see him in a new light and love blossoms. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1916
An all-star cast (by Ince Productions standards, that is) distinguished the domestic drama Home. Bessie Barriscale plays Bessie Wheaton, the daughter of a blue-collar family that suddenly inherits a fortune. Almost immediately, the Wheatons begin comporting themselves in the most vulgar and obnoxious manner possible. The worst of the lot is Bessie's brother Bob (Charles Ray), who begins squandering his time and money on cheap chorus girl Daisy Flores (Louise Glaum). The only member of the family who keeps her feet on the ground is Bessie, and it is she who brings the rest of the clan to its senses -- beginning with boorish Bob. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Before getting a "lock" on his "All-American Boy" screen persona, Charles Ray appeared in several films along the lines of A Painted Soul. Ray plays a young artist who, after gaining fame for a portrait titled "The Painted Soul," seeks inspiration for his next work, "The Fallen Woman." He finds it in the form of beautiful but downtrodden prostitute Bessie Barriscale. As work on the portrait progresses, the artist and his model fall in love -- whereupon Ray's mother, evidently inspired by Camille, begs the girl to break off the romance so as not to destroy her son's future. Tearfully conceding that she must be cruel to be kind, Barriscale runs out into the streets and deliberately propositions a detective, knowing that she will be arrested and thus disgraced in Ray's eyes. The Painted Soul was the tenth of Charles Ray's starring vehicles for 1915. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Chorus girl Jane Wallace (Bessie Barriscale) has earned the soubriquet "Iceberg" because of her refusal to compromise her values by leading the libertine lifestyle of her co-workers. Eventually, however, Jane begins to weaken and at one point nearly allows herself to be the "kept woman" of a millionaire. But fate takes a hand in matters when our heroine is called upon to help out during a premature childbirth. Witnessing her compassion during this emergency is poor-but-proud Dan Colby (Arthur Maude), who persuades Jane to give up show business to become his wife. Produced by Thomas H. Ince, The Reward provided a little extra employment for two veterans of Ince's William S. Hart pictures: actress Louise Glaum and screenwriter C. Gardner Sullivan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Producer Jesse Lasky and stage impresario David Belasco teamed up for several films in the mid-teens and this tale of nineteenth-century California was their first project. Originally a Belasco play with Frances Starr, it became a Cecil B. DeMille/Oscar Apfel-directed feature. It opens up with a band of claim jumpers, led by the villainous Esra Kincaid (Dick LaReno), taking over the Espinoza ranch. The bandits kill the ranch's owner (Sydney Deane) and forces the daughter (future scenarist Jeanie MacPherson) to take her own life. Into this strife-ridden land comes Kearney (J. S. Johnston), an agent sent by the government to bring order out of the chaos. He romances Juanita (Bessie Barriscale), daughter of the Castros, then discovers that the Castro rancho is next on Kincaid's list for attack. Kearney calls for the cavalry, then holds off the outlaws long enough for them to arrive. With the battle won, he is able to declare his love for the vivacious Juanita. While there was a lot of potential to this picture -- it was both based and filmed in California, the involvement of Belasco, etc. -- some of it was cheaply shot, and it showed. Other pictures by the Lasky/Belasco/DeMille team -- notably The Warrens of Virginia -- would turn out far better. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Almost the entire Jesse L. Lasky stock company was trotted out for this minor offering starring stage actor Edward Abeles and Theodore Roberts as a couple of prospectors who get involved with greedy city types on a business trip to New York. The film was the first to be shot entirely on Lasky's new ranch at Wilson Canyon in the San Fernando Valley. The ranch, managed by one Hosea Steelman who also played bit parts, included "varied scenery such as streams, woods, mountain peaks, abandoned mines, ore dumps, miners' huts, and an Indian camp of 35 tepees." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
