Wilbur Mack Movies
Gaunt, hollow-eyed character actor Wilbur Mack spent his first thirty years in show business as a vaudeville headliner. With his first wife Constance Purdy he formed the team of Mack and Purdy, and with second wife Nella Walker he trod the boards as Mack and Walker. In films from 1925 to 1964, he essayed innumerable bits and extra roles, usually playing doormen or cops. Mack also appeared in a number of "Bowery Boys" comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1929
Real-life aviator Al Wilson starred in a series of popular silent actioners, of which 1929's Sky Skidder was among the last. Hero Al Simpkins (Wilson) invents a revolutionary fuel that will enable pilots to clock 1000 miles on a single pint. The villain, surprisingly enough, is not an oil magnate who hopes to suppress the invention, but instead a run-of-the-mill mustache-twirler (Walter McGaugh) who wants to steal the fuel for himself. Caught in the middle of all this is heroine Stella Hearns (Helen Foster), who ends up being kidnapped by the heavy. In the film's climactic "money scene," hero and villain duke it out on the wing of a plane in flight (a specialty of star Al Wilson). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Foster, Wilbur Mack, (more)
- 1928
Universal's also-ran cowboy hero Ted Wells starred in this routine silent western directed by genre specialist Ray Taylor. Wells played "Six Gun" Phil Lang, a stalwart cowboy who comes to the aid of a beleaguered old miner (Buck Connors). The oldtimer is having problems with a gang of claim jumpers headed by the sly-looking Wilbur Mack, but Six Gun has the law -- and pretty Lotus Thompson -- on his side. The studio issued potboilers like this as so much sausage, but the Wells unit ranked below those of Hoot Gibson and Fred Humes. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Wells, Lotus Thompson, (more)
- 1928
When Sandow the dog failed to work out as Pathe's answer to Rin Tin Tin, the studio banked its hopes on another noble hound, Grey Boy. The human hero of The Avenging Shadow is Ray Hallor, playing a young bank clerk framed on a robbery charge. Grey Boy gallops to the Great White North in search of the genuine miscreants. Hallor is cleared, winning the hand of warden's daughter Margaret Morris in the process. The Avenging Shadow is utterly free of surprises, but it cleaned up at the box offices in the hinterlands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Hallor, Wilbur Mack, (more)
- 1928
Universal's also-ran cowboy star Fred Humes starred in this typical silent oater, billed by the studio as a "Ranch Rider Western." Humes plays Larry Day, the foreman of the 3X Ranch who, with his fellow "range riders," saves old Jake Landis from a life of crime. In love with Landis' lovely daughter Jeanne (Derelys Perdue), villainous Jeff Thorne (Wilbur Mack) blackmails the girl into accepting his proposal of marriage by threatening to expose her father's complicity in a series of rustlings. The conversation is overheard by Larry who challenges the villain and his henchmen. Thorne and Larry meet head on, with Larry and the "range riders" emerging the winners. Director Ray Taylor was Universal's busiest Western and serial director. The "range riders" in this and other Humes Westerns consisted of diminutive Gilbert "Pee Wee" Holmes, rustic Ben Corbett, obese Scotty Mattraw, and veteran Western villain Dick L'Estrange. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Humes, Derelys Perdue, (more)
- 1928
A prize-fighter and a professional wrestler meet in a benefit match in this routine comedy-drama. Believing boxer Jack Townsend (Jack Daugherty) is his romantic rival, fortune hunter Peyson Turner (Wilbur Mack) places a stolen bracelet in his dressing-room during the match. Townsend escapes the police to search for the real thief, who turns out to be none other than the wrestler (George Kotsonaros). Virginia Brown Faire, who was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1923 (an award given by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers to promising young actresses), had played Tinkerbell in Peter Pan (1924), and was cast as hero Daugherty's socialite girlfriend in this late-silent from Universal. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Daugherty, Virginia Brown Faire, (more)
- 1928
Breaking up a stage robbery, cowboy Bill Allen (Ted Wells) discovers to his dismay that the leader of the gang (Wilbur McGaugh) is the brother of his sweetheart (Duane Thompson). Arguably the best-looking of Universal's silent cowboy stars, Ted Wells was a former stunt-double for Rudolph Valentino and was publicized by the studio as the "World's Champion Rider." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Wells, Duane Thompson, (more)
- 1927
Straight Shootin' is a rubber stamp Universal western vehicle for second-string cowboy hero Ted Wells. The villains kidnap a grizzled old prospector, threatening to starve him to death unless he reveals the whereabouts of his gold mine. The old man's far-from-loyal partner locates the mine on behalf of the crooks, hoping to get a piece of the action himself. Crosses and double-crosses abound until Wells shows up to settle matters. Were it not for the fact that future Oscar-winner William Wyler was the director, Straight Shootin' would be completely forgotten today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Wells
- 1927
Long before such films as The Little Foxes and Detective Story, director William Wyler served his apprenticeship on low-budget westerns like Ranch Riders. Minor-league cowboy star Ted Wells comes to the rescue of heroine Lillian Gilmore when she inherits a gold mine. The villains would like to get their dirty hands on the gold, and to that end they've enlisted the aid of Gilmore's jellyfish nephew. Wells straightens the kid out in time, then concentrates on mowin' down the bad guys, one by one. It isn't likely that Wyler indulged in his habit of filming dozens of takes of each scene while putting together Ranch Riders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Wells, Garry O'Dell, (more)
- 1927
Little is known about the low-budget Love of Paquita, but it's a safe guess that the film belied the name of its production company, Hi-Mark Films. Set in Spain, the story details the trials and tribulations of the title character, played by Marilyn Mills. Since Mills was hired for her skills as a horsewoman, it hardly mattered that she couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag. In fact, when the film opened in New York, its marquee display emphasized the horses appearing in the picture, as if to admit that they were indeed the stars of the proceedings. Variety played along with this, giving the horses the best reviews. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Emerson, Wilbur Mack, (more)
- 1927
Hayden Stevenson played the title role in this, one of Universal's most popular silent serials. A mystery villain, known only as the Spider (Al Hart), is out to steal Lord Blanton's (Herbert Prior) secret formula for the manufacturing of gold. Blanton's plucky daughter, Lady Diana (Gloria Grey), hires Angus Blake, a retired Scotland Yard detective, to capture the Spider, which the eminent sleuth finally manages to do in chapter 12, "The Final Reckoning." Along the way, Blake is aided at key moments by the helpful but enigmatic Lady in White (Grace Cunard). Produced for around 100,000 dollars, Blake of Scotland Yard grossed more than three million dollars worldwide and necessitated a sequel, The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929). A remake starring Herbert Rawlinson was produced by low-budget Victory Pictures in 1937. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayden Stevenson, Gloria Grey, (more)
- 1926
Mary Carr is once more cast as a saintly matriarch in The Hidden Way. This time she plays the sweet, grey-haired mother of Mary (Gloria Grey), a wide-eyed young innocent who brings three hoboes home for a nice dinner. What Mary doesn't know is that two of her new "friends," Bill (Tom Santschi) and Mulligan (Ned Sparks), are ex-convicts. Under the influence of Mary's mom, Bill decides to "go straight," as does the third hobo, handsome Harry (Arthur Rankin), who has fallen in love with Mary. Discovering an artesian well on Mary's property, Bill and Harry decide to turn the house into the headquarters for a pure-spring-water company. Once the two ex-bums have accumulated a tidy nest egg on behalf of Mary, Mulligan reveals his true colors by stealing the money and heading for the border. But Mulligan's two former partners capture the thief before he gets very far, paving the way for a happy -- and financially lucrative -- ending for Mary and her Mom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Carr, Gloria Grey, (more)
- 1925
When Buddy (Buddy Roosevelt) halts a stagecoach robbery, he is given the job of riding the coach himself. He finds he has his work cut out ahead of him because the Crawford clan are trying to steal a mine from Bill Mason (William H. Turner), the father of Helen, who Buddy loves (Ann McKay). With the help of Horatio Jefferson Blaabs, a stranded actor (Nelson McDowell), Buddy manages to stop them. By hanging from a tree, Buddy is able to knock a couple of bad guys off their horses, and a third one falls off a cliff in the midst of a fist fight. The leader of the bad guys kills himself while trying to blow up the mine, and Buddy wins Helen. There was nothing new or original about this independently made Western, but who cared when Buddy Roosevelt offered such entertaining stunts? ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
