Mario Majeroni Movies
- 1925
This heavy-handed drama from the Arrow film company is based on a particularly unrealistic premise -- that a man, suddenly gone blind, would mistake another woman for his wife. When Red Cross nurse Hilda Nevers (Jane Novak) returns from the Orient, she is left penniless because her father has died. She goes to work at a hospital where Dr. Kitchell (Gordon Standing) is impressed by her voice, which is almost identical to that of his lover, Evelyn Wentworth (Louise Carter). Evelyn is engaged to Lawrence Sinton (Niles Welch), but only for his money. On their wedding night, Sinton is blinded when a burglar hits him on the head. Hilda is substituted for Evelyn, who is then free to continue her affair with the doctor. A family friend finally exposes the situation, but by then, Hilda and Sinton have fallen in love. Sinton has an operation that restores his sight, and he and Hilda are united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Novak, Niles Welch, (more)
- 1925
This romance was based on the best-selling novel by Anne Douglas Sedgwick. While serving in the Great War, Owen Bradley (Anthony Jowett) tells his fiancée, Toppie Westmacott (Esther Ralston), that his leave has been canceled so that he can spend time with the seductive Madame Vervier (Alice Joyce). Later he is killed in action, but he has asked his brother, Giles (Neil Hamilton), to take Madame Vervier's daughter, Alix (Mary Brian), to London. Alix is a hit in London society and is soon engaged to marry a viscount. Meanwhile, Giles, who loves Toppie, tries to prevent her from entering a convent. Alix confesses to Toppie that her mother had an affair with Owen. Word gets around that Madame Vervier has had affairs with many men, not just Owen, and her reputation in London diminishes rapidly. The viscount breaks off his engagement with Alix and Toppie still enters the convent. Giles finally realizes that it's Alix he loves and he follows her to France. Although she is being courted by Andre Valenbois (Paul Doucet), Giles still manages to win her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Joyce, Mary Brian, (more)
- 1924
Glamorous Gloria Swanson dressed down for this story of a little Parisian thief. Toinette (Swanson) is the leader of a band of thieves called "the Wolves of Montmartre." Dressed like a boy, she is known only as the Humming Bird and is wanted by the police. American reporter Randall Carey (Edward Burns) is determined to help the police identify Humming Bird. At an underworld den he come to Toinette's defense and when he is injured she nurses him back to heath. The two fall in love, but then the World War breaks out. Carey enlists and Toinette patriotically convinces her Wolves to enlist. She also decides to hand over her loot to the church. She is caught while doing this, however, and imprisoned. Carey is wounded in battle and a bomb frees Toinette from the prison. She goes to Carey, and they are found by the police chief. Toinette confesses that she is the notorious Humming Bird, fully expecting to be arrested. However, she has been pardoned for inspiring the Wolves of Montmartre to fight in the war. This leaves her and Carey free to be together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Swanson, William Ricciardi, (more)
- 1924
Gloria Swanson was near the peak of her career when she made this film, and while it isn't one of her best -- a Graustarkian tale by Mary Roberts Rinehart wasn't really up her alley -- it certainly had a lot of spectacular touches. Swanson wears a 100,000-dollar bridal outfit (that was more than the budget of many silent films), and there was a real baroness and a real Russian general in the cast. Princess Marie of Viatavia (Swanson) falls in love with Captain Rudi of the king's guard (Ian Keith). But, her father, the archduke (George Fawcett), insists that the princess marry the king of a neighboring country. So Marie and Rudi decide to be secretly wed by a Gypsy. But her father chooses to ignore the union, and sends Rudi to Australia and forces Marie to wed the king. When Marie has a baby prematurely, she tells the king it does not belong to him. He angrily banishes her to a convent and tells her that if she tries to see her son, he will kill him. Rudi returns from Australia and helps Marie escape the convent. Marie goes into hiding until she hears her son is ill and then she sneaks into the castle to see him. But the king discovers her and tries to kill the child. Marie stops him, and in the struggle the king has a heart attack, giving Marie and the boy the opportunity to escape. Later, the Prime Minister (Mario Majeroni) tells her that the king is dead, and that the boy is now ruler. Marie, however, tells him to give the kingdom to the people, and that Rudi will take care of her and the child. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Swanson, Ian Keith, (more)
- 1924
Argentine Love is based on a novel by Vincent Blasco-Ibanez, whose Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse made a star of Rudolph Valentino. Not surprisingly, leading man Ricardo Cortez plays a Valentino clone: a headstrong Argentinian in love with fetching senorita Bebe Daniels. But Daniels prefers the company of American engineer James Rennie. Argentine Love is kept moving at a fast clip by Allan Dwan, who was far less lugubriously self-indulgent than Four Horsemen helmsman Rex Ingram. In retrospect, it is understandable that Paramount wanted to make a Valentino film without Valentino: he had recently ankled the studio in a bitter (and well-publicized) dispute over story material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bebe Daniels, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1923
The credibility of this northwoods melodrama strains at the seams and even the usually excellent Alice Brady in the starring role can't do much to give it life. Annette Leroux (Brady) is the daughter of fur trader Gaston Leroux (Mario Majeroni). Annette and the sheriff, Andre Porel (Maurice B. "Lefty" Flynn), are in love, but their romance is interrupted by a murder. Indian Charlie (Nick Thompson), an unscrupulous fur trader, gets into a fight with Leroux and is killed. Paul Gerard (Jack Baston), a slimy alcoholic who has witnessed the murder, tells Annette that unless she marries him he will tell all. Annette agrees to the marriage, but plans to take poison before the wedding. Gerard accidentally gets his hands on the potion and drinks it instead. When he dies, Annette is accused of his murder and sentenced to the gallows. As she is led to the scaffold by Porel, Leroux confesses to Charlie's murder and claims he is responsible for Gerard's death. An avalanche conveniently destroys the gallows, and the townsfolk decide this is God's way of saying that Annette is innocent. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Brady, Maurice B. Flynn, (more)
- 1923
This Horatio Alger-type drama stars John Striker. Titus Burke (Walter Lewis) is a thief, and the sheriff gathers up a posse to capture him. Burke's wife Martha (Mary Alden) convinces their son Angus (Joseph Drew) that their lives are in danger and, as a result of his fear, Angus shoots the sheriff dead. The mother is also killed in the fray. Although he's only a boy, and an orphan, Angus is tried for murder. He is found not guilty and a kind-hearted man gets him a job on the local newspaper. The small-minded townsfolk don't want him around, however, and he is sent away. Twelve years later he returns (played by Striker) and takes over the paper. In spite of opposition, he proves his worth and helps to save the town from a group of swindlers. Now firmly established in the town that once shunned him, he is able to settle down with his childhood sweetheart Lydia (Margaret Courtot). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marguerite Courtot, Miriam Battista, (more)
- 1923
This epic production was the last film that producer and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst produced for Paramount (after that, his production company, Cosmopolitan, went over to Goldwyn, which later merged with MGM). It was based on a novel by Vicenti Blasco Ibanez, who also wrote The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In addition to lavish sets by Joseph Urban, the cast and crew also filmed on-location in Paris and Monte Carlo. Russian Prince Lubimoff (Lionel Barrymore) thinks only of his wealth and his own gratification. After fighting a duel, he has to flee from the ire of the Czar, and Duchess Alicia (Alma Rubens) helps him to get out of the country. While he is staying at his villa in Monte Carlo, World War I breaks out, but neither he nor his associates even consider going to fight. Lubimoff, who won't even acknowledge that he is in love with Alicia, is incensed when he finds her embracing a young man. Without realizing that it is her 16-year-old son, Lubimoff and his friends form a group called "Enemies of Women." Because of the war, the feudal estates are lost, and Alicia's son dies just before he is about to enter into a duel. Lubimoff, who has finally realized that the world does not revolve around him, goes to fight and uses the money he has left to help the downtrodden. On the front lines, he meets Alicia, who has become a Red Cross nurse, and they are united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Alma Rubens, (more)
- 1922
Although the silent screen of the early '20s was inundated with dramas of the Northwest, many of them based on the novels of James Oliver Curwood, this one stands out for a number of reasons. First off, it benefited from the fine directorial hand of Frank Borzage. In addition, it had star Alma Rubens as the leading woman, and Lew Cody, in those days better known as a heavy, playing the hero. Corporal Kent (Cody) is wounded in the course of duty, and, since he believes he is dying, he confesses to a murder to pay back a debt of gratitude. But he recovers, and is arrested. Marette Radison (Rubens), who has come to live with Inspector Kedsty (George Nash), knows who the real killer is, and she helps Kent to escape. He hides in Kedsty's home and the next day, the inspector is found strangled with a rope of women's hair, the same way the two other men were found dead. Kent is pursued by his friend and fellow Mountie, O'Connor (Joseph King), so he and Marette flee. While heading for "the valley of silent men," the pair are separated, but Kent later finds Marette in the home of her father, Pierre (Mario Majeroni), who reveals that he is the killer. O'Connor arrives and hears the old man's deathbed confession. Kent's name is cleared and he weds Marette. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alma Rubens, Lew Cody, (more)
- 1920
Although not a crook herself, Mary Regan (Pinna Nesbit) comes from criminal stock; her father was a top international thief who had her educated in France. As she is sailing for New York, she meets detective Robert Clifford (William B. Davidson). He falls in love with her, and together they enjoy the glamour of the big city. Clifford is not sure if she is an innocent girl or a thief herself, and she comes to be tested through the wiles of a corrupt police chief, Matthew Brady (Emmett Corrigan). By turning on Brady, she proves to Clifford which side of the law she's on. This film was one of producer Samuel Goldwyn's "Eminent Authors" series. It was based on a series of seven short stories that appeared in Metropolitan Magazine by then-noted author Leroy Scott. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1916
In this lesser Mary Pickford vehicle -- her first picture under the Artcraft banner -- the star plays Radha, an English girl who was abandoned by her drug-addicted father, a British Army officer, in India. She has been brought up by Ramlan, a native swordmaker (Mario Majeroni), and believes herself to be a Hindu. There is an uprising, and Captain Richard Townsend (David Powell), who has befriended Radha, is wounded and in danger of being killed. But Radha saves him, and then she goes to rescue Ramlan, who has been jailed. Ramlan reveals her English origins, and she returns to England to claim the inheritance that is due her. But she discovers that Townsend, who is a nephew of her grandfather, has been bequeathed the fortune. This doesn't matter, however, because Townsend marries Radha. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Ethel Barrymore's first starring film was a 5-reel version of her stage success The Nightingale. Already quite matronly-looking, Barrymore nonetheless managed to convey the impression of extreme youth in the role of Isola Franti, aka "The Nightingale." The film was a rags-to-riches affair, with the heroine rising from humble tenement origins to the heights of stardom as a singer, only to have her life and well-being threatened by sinister underworld influences. Many critics felt as though the screen version of The Nightingale was better than the stage original, citing the "radiance" exuded by the leading lady. Nonetheless, Ethel Barrymore despised motion pictures, and would not return to them on a regular basis until it became financially necessary for her to do so. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
