Marc MacDermott Movies

Archduke Alexander (Clive Brook) is better known for his sexual conquests than his diplomatic triumphs. After a lifetime of loving 'em and leaving 'em, the Archduke finally meets a girl he can't leave, Hungarian lass Judith Peredy (Billie Dove). She resists his advances but can't hide the fact that she's in love with him. But Judith's brother Eugene (Nicholas Soussanin) resents the Archduke's presence, leading to the inevitable outbreak of violence. Judith and Eugene are thrown into prison, whereupon the conscience-stricken Archduke renounces his noble title, releases the brother and sister, and promises to be a good and faithful husband to the heroine. The Yellow Lily was the second of four cinematic collaborations between star Billie Dove and director Alexander Korda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Gilbert was fond of a narrative poem called The Widow in the Bye Street by John Masefield and wanted to film it, but when he approached his boss, Louis B. Mayer, with the idea, it sparked a huge argument. Gilbert was determined, however, and Man, Woman and Sin is basically a disguised Americanized version of the poem, which he plotted out with director and friend Monta Bell. Gilbert plays Albert Whitcomb, who is devoted to his mother (Gladys Brockwell). He lands a job as a cub reporter at a newspaper and becomes romantically entangled with the society editor, Vera Worth (Jeanne Eagels). Whitcomb does not realize that she is the mistress of the paper's owner, Bancroft (Marc MacDermott). When Bancroft discovers Albert and Vera together in the apartment on which he's been paying the rent, a fight breaks out, and Albert kills Bancroft in self-defense. Vera, to save her reputation, lets Albert hang, and he is convicted of murder. Finally, out of guilt, she admits she was lying, and Albert's mother is able to get her son off with the new evidence. Although some claim this was Jeanne Eagels' film debut, it was not -- she had made a couple of films a decade earlier. She was riding on the crest of fame when this film came out, though -- her portrayal of Sadie Thompson in the stage presentation of Rain had won her renown. In spite of Gilbert's enthusiasm for this project, it was not particularly well-received; perhaps this was partly because Love, in which he was starred with Greta Garbo, had come out a few weeks earlier and that was bound to eclipse the release of Man, Woman and Sin. ~ Janiss Garza, 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

Another of Raoul Walsh's "lost" silent films, Lucky Lady stars Gretta Niessen as the title character. Convent-bred to assume her position of nobility when the time comes, Princess Antoinette (Niessen) plays hooky from school one day to attend a theatrical performance. Here she meets a handsome young American (William Collier Jr.), and it's love at first sight. Meanwhile, in the Princess' home country, the Prime Minister (Marc MacDermott) plots to quell a rebellion by arranging a marriage between Antoinette and the Grand Duke (Lionel Barrymore). Assuming that the young American is a spy for the rebels, the Prime Minister does his best to break up the Princess' romance, but love wins out over politics in the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This first film version of Andre Picard's stage success Kiki stars Norma Talmadge in the title role. A saucy Parisian dancer, Kiki begins keeping time with theatrical manager Victor Renal (Ronald Colman). Her rival for Renal's affections is icy "legitimate" actress Paulette (Gertrude Astor), but Kiki is willing to go to any lengths to claim her man. In the original play, Renal and Paulette were married, making Kiki the interloper, but this was altered so that producer Joseph M. Schenck could cast his star (and then-wife) Norma Talmadge in a more sympathetic light. Kiki was remade in 1931, with Mary Pickford incongruously cast as the oo-la-la heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A bulky, verbose novel by Herman Suderman was the source for the exquisitely silent Flesh and the Devil. On leave from the Austrian army, lifelong friends John Gilbert and Lars Hanson return to their loving families. At a reception in Hanson's honor, Gilbert makes the acquaintance of the hauntingly beautiful Greta Garbo, whom he'd previously glimpsed for a few fleeting seconds at the railway depot. Those few seconds were enough to thoroughly captivate Gilbert, thus paving the way for a feverish sexual liaison with Garbo. Gilbert is shocked to discover that Garbo is married to aristocrat Marc MacDermott, who challenges Gilbert to a duel--on the proviso that the "official" reason for their argument is a disagreement at cards, so that McDermott will suffer no disgrace. Gilbert kills the husband on the field of honor; as punishment for his unmilitary conduct, he is "invited" to accept a post in Africa. Honoring his promise to the late McDermott, Gilbert reveals his love of Garbo to no one, not even his dearest friend Hanson. As he departs for his five-year exile, Gilbert asks Hanson to look after the "bereaved" Garbo. Pardoned after three years, Gilbert returns home, only to discover that Garbo has remarried--to Hanson. Minister George Fawcett, evidently the only person to know of Gilbert's tryst with Garbo, advises Gilbert to give up his friendship with Hanson so as to avoid the temptation of cuckolding his best friend. But when Hanson falls seriously ill, Garbo begs Gilbert to renew the friendship. He does so, not suspecting that Garbo merely wants to trap him in her web again. Gilbert is caught in a compromising position by the distraught Hanson; he regretfully challenges Gilbert to a duel, to be fought on their favorite childhood playing site, "The Island of Friendship". As Hanson nervously aims his weapon at the repentant, unresisting Gilbert, he realizes that he can't go through with the duel. The two friends embrace, begging one another's forgiveness...while Garbo, who has belatedly headed across the frozen lake to prevent the duel, comes to an icy end. While the overly intense "male bonding" between John Gilbert and Lars Hanson tends to evoke knowing chuckles when seen today, Flesh and the Devil otherwise holds up quite well. Clarence Brown's innovative directorial touches still seem fresh after years of imitation by lesser talents. Ostensibly a John Gilbert vehicle (he receives sole over-the-title billing), Flesh is utterly dominated through sheer force of personality by the divine Garbo; in anyone else's hands, her enigmatic, impulse-driven temptress would have been just another cardboard vixen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Goose Woman was inspired by the notorious Hall-Mills murder case, wherein a woman known as the "Pig Woman" was wheeled into court on her sickbed to provide damning testimony. Louise Dresser plays Marie du Nard, a celebrated opera diva who loses her voice and her reputation after giving birth to an illegitimate son. Reverting to her given name of Mary Holmes, she returns to her hometown, living in a squalid shack and raising geese. Years later, a headline-making murder case is played out in her town. Hoping to capture her past celebrity, Mary claims to be a witness to the murder. Her dreams of glory abruptly fade when she discovers that her grown son Gerald (Jack Pickford) is implicated in the crime. An excellent film by any standards, The Goose Woman served to solidify the reputation of director Clarence Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 12-reel silent adaptation of The Sea Hawk is far more faithful to the Rafael Sabatini original than the 1940 Errol Flynn version. Milton Sills stars as Sir Oliver Tressilien, a wealthy English baronet who is framed for the murder of his fiancée's brother. The instigator of this outrage is Sir Tressilien's covetous half brother, who also arranges for Tressilien to be shanghaied and carried off to sea. When his ship is attacked by Spaniards, Tressilien is put to work as a galley slave. Escaping, he becomes the leader of a gang of Moorish pirates. Despite his now-fearsome reputation, Tressilien is able to win back the love of his fiancée, Lady Rosamund Godolphin (Enid Bennett), who has been compelled to marry his half brother. A thrilling climactic duel to the death brings this sure-fire audience pleaser to a rousing conclusion. The Sea Hawk may well be the best film ever made by the popular Milton Sills. ~ Hal Erickson, 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

"Derr iss too many qveens and not enough qveens!" That was Ernst Lubitsch's response when he turned down the directing assignment for this costume picture starring Mary Pickford. Pickford assumed that he meant that the subplots involving Queen Elizabeth (Clare Eames) and Mary Queen of Scots (Estelle Taylor) overshadowed the title character. Instead, Lubitsch agreed to do Rosita with the star, who still made Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall with Marshall Neilan directing. Neilan, however, was often absent during the filming (stories of his uncontrolled drinking were rampant throughout most of the 1920s), and Pickford directed a number of scenes herself. Unlike the children's roles for which she was most popular, Pickford's Dorothy Vernon is a grown-up young lady of 18 (keep in mind that "little Mary" herself was 32). Ever since childhood, Dorothy has been betrothed to Sir John Manners (Allan Forrest, who happened to be the husband of Pickford's sister, Lottie, who also had a small role in the film). But when Sir John does not arrive in time for the wedding, Dorothy's father, Sir George (Anders Randolf), insists that she marry her cousin, Sir Malcolm Vernon (Marc MacDermott). The feisty Dorothy blows up at this news and a battle of wills between her and Sir George ensues. Sir John, meanwhile, has brought Mary, Queen of Scotts to Rutland. At the forced wedding, with Queen Elizabeth in attendance, Dorothy reveals Mary's presence, which gets both the Scottish queen and Sir John arrested. Dorothy goes to rescue Sir John and discovers a plot by Sir Malcolm to place the Scottish Mary on the throne. Although Queen Elizabeth refuses to believe Dorothy, she and Sir John still manage to save her from being assassinated by Sir Malcolm. Sir John is ordered to be exiled to Wales for a year and Dorothy goes with him. This was not one of the better costume pictures of the era, and Pickford wisely returned to her little girl persona for her next picture, Little Annie Rooney. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

While this isn't one of director John Ford's best early efforts, it does feature a thrilling storm and shipwreck. Gladys Hulette has a dual role. John Linden (Marc MacDermott) leaves his wife (Trilby Clark) because of a misunderstanding created by lawyer Mark Lezzard (Frank Campeau). He takes up with another woman and the wife kills herself. Linden marries the second woman (Regina Connelly) and has a daughter with her, while sending money to support the daughter of his first union. Unfortunately, Lezzard takes the money and uses it for his own means. Eventually Linden leaves his second wife, too, and many years pass before he begins to feel guilty about the daughters he left behind. Meanwhile, his first daughter, Nance (Hulette) has grown up in a fishing village to marry Jack Yeulette (David Butler), while his second girl, Jessie (Hulette again), has become a woman of the streets. Lezzard is trying to destroy Nance's life so that Jack will leave her and she will have to marry him. When he discovers that Jessie is her lookalike, he tries to use her to ruin Nance's reputation. His ploy is almost successful, but everything is cleared up when Linden saves Jessie from a shipwreck. Lezzard is punished for his dirty deeds, and the wayward father is reunited with both his daughters. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Elsie Ferguson plays aspiring New England actress Lizzie Parsons in this light comedy, based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Rita Weiman. With the help of her sympathetic grandmother (Letty Ford), Lizzie makes it to New York, but her stage career goes absolutely nowhere until she meets manager Oswald Kane (Marc MacDermott). With Kane's help, she changes from Lizzie Parsons to the temperamental Russian dramatic actress Lisa Parsinova and becomes a huge star. Her true identity is kept a deep, dark secret, even from Brett Page (Reginald Denny), the man-about-town who falls for her. But Lizzie's maid, Etta (Octavia Handworth), discovers the truth and uses her knowledge to blackmail her. Finally Lizzie tires of the whole ruse and decides to fake Lisa's death. She goes out rowing and is thought drowned. But Brett, who has discovered her real identity, tracks her down. He decides that he loves Lizzie even more than he loved Lisa and they wed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide