Haddon Mason Movies

Famed Swedish director Victor Sjostrom was coaxed out of retirement to direct his final film, Under the Red Robe, a swashbuckling adventure that takes place in the France of Louis XIII. Conrad Veidt stars as Gil de Berault, quick with his sword yet set for execution. But right before his sentence is carried out, Cardinal Richelieu (Raymond Massey) offers a stay of execution if Gil will find and kill a duke suspected of leading the revolutionary antimonarchist Huguenots. Gil tracks the duke to a castle, sneaks into the guarded fortress, and ends up falling in love with the duke's sister, Lady Marguerite (Anabella). Gil now has to save the duke without bringing about his own execution. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This 5-reel British quota quickie takes place virtually in its entirety in an Old Dark House. Mad scientist Eric Adeney is conducting unspeakable experiments in his basement laboratory. He has the gorilla...all he needs is a brain...a human brain (hoo hoo ha ha hahhh). Lovely Ilsa Kilpatrick is the unwitting candidate for Doc Adeney's transplant operation. But not if Dick-the-Stick leading man Haddon Mason and comedy relief Wally Patch have anything to say in the matter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this interesting British prison film, an innocent man goes to prison and his wife later commits a crime so she can join him there. Unfortunately, while she is out trying to get in, he gets released. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this British mystery, set along the Cornish coast, a detective impersonates an escaped convict to get inside a smugglers ring. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

One of the first talkie adaptations of an Edgar Wallace story, The Yellow Mask is set in motion by the skullduggery of Chinese nobleman Li San (Warwick Ward). With the reluctant aid of heroine Mary Trayne (Douglas Secombe), Li San manages to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Fortunately, Mary's reporter boyfriend (William Shine) rescues the girl and, after a short sojourn in a torture chamber, settles the villain's hash. The trick now is to sneak the jewels back into the Tower without tipping the authorities. Four screenwriters collaborated on this unjustly forgotten comedy-melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the most controversial British films of the 1920s, Dawn is the story of World War 1 nurse and martyr Edith Cavell. Making a rare film appearance, Dame Sybil Thorndike stars as Cavell, who risked her life by rescuing British POWs from the Germans. Captured by the Kaiser's minions, Cavell was sentenced to be executed, an action that sparked an international outpouring of outrage, even from neutral nations. At the time Dawn was filmed, the world was at peace and the Germans were striving mightily to suppress their previous reputation as warmongers. Thanks to legal and political intervention, the film was heavily censored, then removed from distribution altogether (the official reason for the suppression was the film's startlingly brutal depiction of warfare). In 1939, with the threat of war once more looming over Britain, producer/director remade Dawn as Nurse Edith Cavell, with Anna Neagle in the starring role and with all the original film's anti-German sentiments intact. Both Dawn and its remake were based on a play by Reginald Berkeley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Per its title, Lady of the Lake was inspired by the Sir Walter Scott poem. The titular lady, played by Benita Hume (later Mrs. Ronald Colman), is exiled from her homeland by royal decree. Though she has every right to be bitter, Hume saves King James V (Percy Marmont) from being killed by bandits. Given the shoddy production values of most British silent films, Lady of the Lake was a work of art by comparison. In 1931, the film was reissued with a new music and sound-effects track. It is this 55-minute version, minus the tacked-on soundtrack, that is most readily available today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide