Fred Malatesta Movies

What's Your Racket? was another aimless crime drama from low-budget Mayfair Productions, albeit with a more alluring title than usual (most Mayfair efforts bore such yawn-provoking names as Her Forgotten Past and Sister to Judas). The story opens as heroine Mae Cosgrove (Noel Francis) robs the home of gangster Jimmie Dean (a miscast Creighton Hale). Mae's not really a bad girl; she's just fallen into bad company. She alters her course in life when she falls in love with rookie cop Bert Miller (Regis Toomey), who doesn't suspect that Mae is tied in with chief villain Dick Graves (J. Carroll Naish) The "surprise" revelation of Mae's true identity -- she's the daughter of a banker framed for robbery by Dean and Graves -- comes out of nowhere, suggesting that the producers showed up on the set one day and exclaimed "Say, we gotta wrap this film up some time!" What's Your Racket? was directed by Fred Guiol, who once piloted the comedies of Laurel & Hardy at Hal Roach Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stuntman extraordinaire Richard Talmadge is the only reason for sitting through the dreary poverty-row quickie Get That Girl. Hero Talmadge comes to the rescue of heiress Shirley Grey, whose life is put in peril by the villains. When Gray is spirited away to a private sanitarium, Talmadge literally swings into action, jumping over fences and off buildings to rescue the girl. He also beats up a virtual battalion of henchman, never raising so much as a sweat. It's all nonsense, but Richard Talmadge is a truly remarkable athlete, and as such is eminently worth watching no matter what his surroundings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charlie Murray and George Sidney, the Irish-Jewish duo who'd starred in so many The Cohens and the Kellys comedies of the silent era, team up again for Tiffany Studios' Caught Cheating. The burden of the plot falls on the shoulders of the portly Sidney, who is mistakenly put "on the spot" by a criminal gang. A rival gang comes to Sidney's rescue just in the nick of time. Top-billed Charlie Murray hasn't got much to do outside of reacting in mock dismay to Sidney's fractured English. Caught Cheating was written by W. Scott Darling, whose later scripts for Laurel & Hardy were likewise festooned with gangsters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This adventure serial was the last to team the popular Allene Ray and Walter Miller and the last to be produced by Pathé, the company that more than any other had become identified with the genre. Ray played a girl detective and Miller was her stalwart hero, a rehabilitated former crook. The two go in search of a couple of black books containing information that might lead to a secret uranium mine. Having based her screen career on serials, Allene Ray went on to star opposite Tim McCoy in The Indians Are Coming (1929), which contained one "dialogue scene" in each chapter and thus has gone down in history as the first "talkie" serial. Unfortunately, weight gain and a certain awkwardness in front of a microphone cut Allene's career short. Miller continued to appear in both serials and B-Westerns, but almost always cast as a villain. Interestingly, The Black Book was directed by Spencer G. Bennet who much later would helm the very last American-made chapterplay, Blazing the Overland Trail (1956). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this, at times, hilarious silent, romantic comedy, love blossoms after a posterhanger has an highway mishap with a Broadway star. Later the hard-working fellow finds out that someone has stolen the actress' jewels from her New York home. Still smitten, he heads for the Big Apple to get them back and win her affection. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Rafael Sabatini swashbuckler Bardelys the Magnificent served as an excellent vehicle for MGM's top male star John Gilbert. Set during the regime of France's King Louis XIII, the story concerns a bold young braggart named Bardelys (Gilbert), whose sexual conquests have become legendary. When informed that there is at least one member of Louis' court who will not succumb to Bardelys' charms, our hero wagers that he will able to melt this "ice princess," a regal beauty named Roxelanne de Lavedas (Eleanor Boardman). But before he can concentrate his efforts on Roxelanne, Bardelys agrees to deliver some important diplomatic documents on behalf of a dying man named Lesperon. When it turns out that Lesperon was a traitor to the throne, Bardelys is sentenced to hang. In the final scenes, our hero desperately tries to escape his fate, while Roxelanne tearfully prepares to marry the only man who can clear Bardelys' name. Unfortunately, Bardelys the Magnificent no longer exists, though a tantalizingly brief excerpt appears in the Marion Davies comedy Show People. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Prince Kaloney (Edmund Lowe) is loyal to Messina's King Louis (Sheldon Lewis), even after he has been deposed. While trying to inspire the people to bring back the king, Kaloney is shot. Patricia Carson, an American heiress (Claire Adams) nurses him back to health. The king, meanwhile, is happy with his carefree life of exile, and he plots to have the prince betrayed to the conspirators in office. When he meets Patricia, he forgets his mistress and tries to win her. The jealous mistress causes a lot of trouble for the king, who is forced to flee. Kaloney is reunited with Patricia and he sets out to see that the little crown prince is placed on the throne. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This comedy-drama was based on the novel Love Insurance by Earl Derr Biggers and stars all-American boy Reginald Denny (at least he played all-American boys until sound pictures revealed his British accent). Denny is Dick Minot, who is employed by Floyd's Insurance Company. Lord Harrowby (William Austin) has taken out a hundred-thousand-dollar policy insuring his upcoming wedding to heiress Cynthia Meyrick (Ruth Dwyer). Minot is sent off to make sure that the wedding takes place, and meets Cynthia on the train. The two fall for each other, but Minot is determined to do his job and make sure that Cynthia marries Harrowby. He even exposes a Lord Harrowby impostor and saves the real Harrowby from some trouble with a chorus girl. But Harrowby, who is broke, assigns the policy to Wells (Tom McGuire), and Cynthia breaks the engagement because of it, which cancels it completely. So Minot is able to win Cynthia without upsetting his employers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Famed character actor William V. Mong wrote the screenplay to this drama, in which he is also starred. Although his acting is better than his screenwriting ability (with the story's broad scope, it's clear he's bitten off more than he could chew in five reels), he's aided by an excellent supporting cast. A Russian Jewish couple, Nathan and Esther Levinsky (Mong and Marcia Manon), are persecuted in their home country, so they escape to America. Eventually Esther runs away with the shady Max Levy (Fred Malatesta), and circumstances force her to give up her little boy, David (Bruce Guerin), to be adopted by the wealthy Danvers family. Nathan travels to California, where he builds up a ranch next door to John Comstock (Charles French), who is prejudiced against the Jewish race. Little does he know that Jimmy Danvers (Edward Sutherland), the sweetheart of his daughter, Helen (Mary Wynn), is Nathan's long-lost son. Nathan himself only discovers the truth when Jimmy bares his arm in a fight and reveals an identifying mark. He says nothing, however, and when a fire wipes him out, he starts over again in San Francisco. Jimmy's adopted father reveals the truth of his parentage, and the young man goes in search of Nathan. Although Comstock is shocked to discover that Jimmy is Jewish, he and Helen go in search of him anyhow. Once they reach the city, Helen vanishes. Nathan runs into Esther and finds Helen in Max Levy's company. He risks his life to rescue her. Comstock overcomes his prejudices, and gives his blessing to Helen and Jimmy. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Gladys Walton is the self-reliant heroine of All Dolled Up. A humble salesgirl, she comes to the rescue of wealthy Florence Turner when the latter is victimized by pickpockets and blackmailers. Literally pummelling the crooks into insensibility, Walton earns a million dollar reward. Though she rises to the top of the social ladder, she remains as likeable and down-to-earth as ever. All Dolled Up was the sort of fare that was eagerly lapped up by all the shopgirls and clerks in the audience, who believed that "There but for the grace of the screenwiter..." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tomboy Phillipa (Gladys Walton) isn't thrilled with the exploits of her flirtatious-but-married sister Ericka (Maude Wayne). During a house party thrown by the girls' parents, Ericka makes a date to meet a stranger on his yacht. Phillipa puts a halt to this by locking her up and going to the yacht herself. Ericka manages to get out and asks another guest, Captain Chantry (Louis Willoughby), to go to the yacht after Phillipa. What she doesn't know is that the so-called Captain is really a Raffles-like crook who has been planning to steal jewelry from several of the house guests. But Chantry agrees to the errand and saves Phillipa from the lecherous yachtsman. After that she trusts him so completely it inspires the thief to go straight. The two girls keep him from being arrested and he goes off, promising to come back when he has become worthy of their company. It probably isn't necessary to mention that this picture has nothing to do with the 1983 film of the same name (incidentally, two other unrelated pictures with the same title were made in 1928 and 1939). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

In the sentimental world of filmmaker D.W. Griffith, the greatest thing in life is love. Obtaining it and understanding it, however, isn't so easy, as Jeanette Peret (Lillian Gish) learns. While working in her father's Greenwich Village cigar store, she meets an attractive but arrogant Southern youth, Edward Livingston (Robert Harron). She and her father (Adolphe Lestina) visit their country of origin, France, but unbeknownst to Jeanette, Edward has paid for the trip. While in France, Jeanette meets and marries an earthy and rather plodding grocer, Monsieur le Bebe (David Butler). The first World War begins, and both Jeanette's husband and Edward wind up enlisting. In battle, the insolent young Edward learns a lot about humanity while Monsieur le Bebe is killed. Edward returns from the war a changed man and finally finds a permanent place in Jeanette's heart. When The Greatest Thing in Life was released, much ado was made over a new photographic effect used in the film -- the soft-focus close-up. Also, notably, there is a touching scene between Harron's character and an African-American soldier. The soldier saves Edward's life, but is mortally wounded. When the dying man calls out for his mother, Edward pretends to be his mother, cradling him in his arms and even giving him a kiss. This is quite a difference in attitude toward blacks compared to The Birth of a Nation. Griffith was not a racist, he was merely a product of his Southern background. The Greatest Thing in Life, along with Griffith's other Artcraft-distributed features (there were seven), was underappreciated in its time. Other films from this period of Griffith's career (such as A Romance of Happy Valley) have grown in stature. Unfortunately, it is doubtful that the true value of The Greatest Thing in Life will ever be realized, as it remains a lost film. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide