Warner Baxter Movies
Steadfast leading man Warner Baxter was born in Ohio and raised in San Francisco by his widowed mother. He worked as a farm implement salesmen in his late teens before turning his hobby of amateur theatricals into a lifelong profession. Alternating between stock-company assignments and "civilian" jobs during the World War I years, Baxter reportedly made his first film in 1914, though he'd later list 1922's Her Own Money as his official screen debut. After one last stage stint in A Tailor Made Man, Baxter became a full-time movie leading man, though full stardom would not be his until his first talkie, In Old Arizona (1929). Armed with a thick Mexican accent and a surfeit of roguish charm, Baxter won an Academy Award for his portrayal of O. Henry's Cisco Kid in this film. His roles became more sophisticated in nature during the 1930s; sporting a rakish mustache and decked out in evening clothes, Baxter cut quite a suave figure in such films as To Mary--With Love (1936) and Wife, Doctor and Nurse (1938). In the '40s he starred in the popular Crime Doctor "B"-picture series at Columbia. One year after completing his final film, 1950's State Penitentiary, Warner Baxter died as a result of cranial surgery, which was intended to relieve his long struggle with arthritis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1918
When factory worker Susan Sweeney (Mae Marsh) receives word that she has inherited half interest in a country hotel, she immediately heads out to see it. Unfortunately it's a run-down place located next door to a sleazy saloon, run by the other half-owner, William Kibby (Jack Dillon). But Susan is determined to turn the place around, and she does, closing down the saloon along the way. Austin Strong (Jere Austin), the attorney who handled the estate, has a sister, Miriam (Hazel Alden), who runs off with Dick Wellman (Arthur Houseman). A rainstorm forces them to spend the night at Susan's hotel and when she finds the page with their registration has been torn from the book, she believes it has been taken by Sam Tupper (John Sainpolis), who is trying to discredit Strong. Susan goes to Tupper's home with Wellman, and in the struggle between the two men, Tupper shoots himself. In order to save Miriam's reputation, Susan takes him back to the hotel, which compromises her instead. But Strong figures out the ruse, and decides that Susan is "all woman." The cameraman on this picture was Oliver T. Marsh, the brother of its star, Mae Marsh. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
The situations in this simple comedy-drama still ring true today. The O'Donnells are a typical, everyday family -- Tad (George Hernandez) is a sensible working man, his wife (Fannie Midgely) is a good mother and their daughter Kathleen (Constance Binney) is pretty and innocent to the point of naiveté. Kathleen works in a factory and its owner, Donald Holiday (Warner Baxter), has taken a shine to her. But instead she falls for slick cab driver Harry Stanton (George Webb), who insists, "Honest, kid, you're the only girl I ever loved." Kathleen falls for this, and when her perceptive father makes clear he doesn't approve of Stanton, she moves out on her own. She gives Stanton all her extra money so he can buy books -- in reality he's using the money to romance other girls. She's totally oblivious to this, however, and when Holiday tries to warn her, she quits her factory job and goes to work as a waitress. There, Stanton's true nature is finally revealed when Kathleen catches him buying another girl dinner. She blows up at the restaurant and walks out. But Holliday is still around to give her comfort, and true love. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
This cross between Cinderella and Peg O' My Heart stars Wanda Hawley. Penniless orphan Ruth Sheldon (Hawley) moves in with her ambitious aunt, Julia Nast (Sylvia Aston), and her daughter, Hattie (Mae Busch). They treat her like a drudge instead of a relative. The catch of the town is banker Thomas Morgan (Warner Baxter), and Ruth wins him by reminding him of his beloved mother. But Julia catches onto this and insists that Ruth give him up so that he will marry Hattie. Ruth obliges by pretending to be a wanton jazz baby at a party. But the next day, Morgan discovers that it was all an act, and that she really is the old-fashioned girl he loved in the first place. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Former Follies star Justine Johnston stars in this crime story. Police sergeant Jim Dark (Riley Hatch) is a single father who has sworn to keep his daughter, Jenny (Johnston), ignorant of the world's wicked ways. He refuses to listen to reporter and family friend Pep Mullins (Warner Baxter), who believes the girl would be better off if she weren't so sheltered. It turns out that Mullins is right because Jenny and her equally naive pal, Adele (Helen Raye), get involved with crooks. Adele's encounter causes her to be kicked out of her father's home. She gets a job as a modiste and through her, Jenny meets Pete (Charles Gerard), a Frenchman who is pretending that he is collecting funds for war orphans. He convinces Jenny to pose as his wife to help his cause. She does and is responsible for netting the crook a quarter of a million dollars. The scandal hits the papers and when Dark tracks Pete down, he finds his own daughter with him. Mullins overcomes Pete in a fight, and marries Jenny. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Although the story to this drama -- based on the novel, Barry Gordon, by William F. Payson -- was ludicrous, female filmgoers were still able to admire the virile good looks of star Herbert Rawlinson. Rawlinson is Barry Gordon, who has inherited a love of drink from his father (Joseph Swickard). Because of this, he gives up his girl, Muriel Beekman (Marjorie Daw) to his brother, Tom (Warner Baxter), and goes to Paris. But then he finds out that Tom is missing is Morocco, so he goes to search for him. Muriel and her father (Winter Hall) are down there too, and she lets him know that she always loved him best. So they wed, and Barry discovers that his brother is being held for ransom. Barry offers up all his money, and himself, for his brother's release, and is accepted. A native girl, however, helps him to escape and although he gets lost in the desert, he is eventually able to return to Muriel. Somewhere along the way, apparently, he has conquered his taste f! or booze, so all ends well. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Rawlinson, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1922
Alice Calhoun stars in this society drama, which is not without comic overtones. Elizabeth Browne (Calhoun) is the daughter of nouveau riche parents (James Donnelly and Victory Bateman), who became wealthy when they struck oil. While she attends finishing school, her folks travel to England in search of a family tree so that they can enter society. They encounter Lady Dysart (Lillian Lawrence), an adventuress who married Lord Dysart shortly before his death. Lady Dysart tries to convince the Brownes that Cecil, her son from a previous marriage (Frank Hall Crane), is the new Lord Dysart. A match between Elizabeth and the mercenary Cecil seems likely until Lord Dysart's real son (Warner Baxter) shows up, called home on the advice of his solicitors. He disguises himself as a man named Jones and becomes Papa Browne's secretary. The scheming Lady Dysart and her son are unmasked, and Elizabeth marries the real Lord Dysart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Calhoun, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1922
In the 1920s, chauvinism and pride overrode economics, and most men would rather have perished than relied on any money their wives may have had. That was the theme to this routine drama, which Warner Baxter falsely claimed was his film debut (he has credits in prior pictures). After five years of marriage, Mildred (Ethel Clayton) comes to the realization that her husband, Lew (Baxter), is going nowhere in the real estate business. Mildred, however, has managed to squirrel away two thousand dollars from the household budget -- enough in 1922 to buy a home. But it turns out that Lew needs just that sum to avoid a financial disaster. Mildred knows that it would be an embarrassment if he had to take the money from her, so she arranges to "borrow" the money from a neighbor. This makes matters even worse, because Lew assumes that his wife and his neighbor are having improper relations. The couple argues, and Mildred leaves and goes back to work as a secretary. Eventually, of course, Lew realizes that Mildred's a gem and begs her forgiveness. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethel Clayton, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1922
This mythical kingdom romance was quite a bit lighter than most of Ethel Clayton's heavily dramatic vehicles. While studying in Paris, Princess Oluf of Kosnia (Andree LeJon) befriends an American girl, Ruth Townley (Clayton), and gives her a locket bearing her name and the royal coat of arms. When Ruth accidentally drops the locket off a balcony, it is returned by a handsome stranger. Back home in Kosnia, Oluf wants to get married, but her choice of mate is challenged by Valdemir, the ruler of a neighboring principality (Warner Baxter). Ruth goes to visit Oluf, but the train wrecks en route and she is rescued by Valdemir, who turns out to be the man who fetched her locket. Since he believes that Ruth is Oluf, he keeps her confined at his castle. In spite of the circumstances, Ruth falls in love with Valdemir, and he plans a royal wedding. Ruth, however, refuses to go along with this, and eventually he discovers the truth. Oluf is allowed to marry the man she loves, and Ruth makes up with Valdemir. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethel Clayton
- 1922
Vitagraph shot this melodrama, based on the stage play by Ramsay Norris, once before, in 1916. The newer version seemed to belong to the earlier decade, and ironically, its star was Colleen Moore, who would wind up making a name for herself by becoming the 1920s ultra-modern, quintessential flapper. Phil Bradbury (Warner Baxter) is engaged to marry society girl Kate Van Dyck (Gertrude Astor). But while he is away, Kate falls in love with Mark Leveridge (Lloyd Whitlock). There is a murder in Kate's home, and Bradbury becomes a suspect, so he runs far away to the town of Marlow. Under the assumed name of Tom Silverton, he falls in love with the town belle, Ruth Blake (Moore). Kate and Leveridge show up in Marlow and recognize him. Silverton is now also suspected of robbery and Ruth is ostracized because she tries to shield him. Silverton prepares to leave town, but a raging forest fire breaks out. It is only through Silverton's heroics that the town is saved. He is exonerated of the crimes he was thought to have committed, so he is able to settle down with Ruth. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1922
Although Alice Calhoun had recently scored in The Angel of Crooked Street, her next picture was this wispy mystery. Calhoun plays Myra Pendleton, who was sent away to be raised after her mother died in childbirth. Now that she's a young woman, her father wants her to return, but instead of simply welcoming her back, he pretends to be the Pendleton Family attorney, who presents her with a lovely home. But the house actually belongs to Kirk Waring (Warner Baxter), who has been abroad. Waring returns to find that he's been swindled out of both house and fortune. He recalls that some bonds were left in a wall safe, and he breaks into his own home to retrieve them. But he's no cat burglar, and he wakes up Myra; once she realizes who he is, she allows him to escape. The two eventually join forces to find out how she wound up with his house, but by the time they discover that the culprit was Myra's father, who gave her the home out of guilt, Waring refuses to prosecute, since the man is now his father-in-law. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1923
After she inherits a fortune, Ann Clemance (Viola Dana) travels to Paris to indulge herself in frivolity. She meets up with an old friend, writer Adrian Torrens (Warner Baxter), who disparages her lifestyle. Ann sees him befriend an Apache dancer and she believes he finds women in need of salvation more appealing. To spark his interest she disguises herself as an Apache (in this instance it refers to a member of the Parisian underworld, not a Native American), and robs his house. Although Torrens sees through her disguise, he doesn't let on. He just takes her through the slums of Paris to show her the misery and suffering of those less fortunate than her. The experience transforms her and she winds up adopting an orphan. Her change in attitude also wins Torrens' Heart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viola Dana
- 1923
Starring New Zealander Shayle Gardner in the title role, this British screen version of Augusta J. Evans-Wilson's sentimental novel and stock company perennial was often mentioned when citing the poor state of British filmmaking in the 1920s. Gardner played the title role, a man who killed his romantic rival in a brawl. Travelling the world as a confirmed misogynist, St. Elmo returns to home and hearth only to fall in love with the daughter (Gabrielle Gilroy) of the local blacksmith. An equally poor Hollywood version of the story was filmed that same year starring John Gilbert, Barbara La Marr, and Bessie Love. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gilbert, Barbara La Marr, (more)
- 1924
Dalla (Betty Compson) is an untamed orphan of the South African veldt. She falls in love with Colonel Valentia, a noted English hunter (Warner Baxter), but his refined friends make fun of her crude ways. Hurt by their taunts, she decides to wed wealthy Boer Barend DeBeer (Noah Beery), under the condition that he wait three years before consummating the marriage. During that time, she goes to England and learns to become a lady. During a lion hunt back in South Africa, Dalla is left alone in her tent. Clon Biron (Freeman Wood) tries to seduce her. DeBeer, however, returns and Biron kills him. Dalla is accused of his murder, but Biron is finally found to be the guilty party. With DeBeer out of the way, Dalla is able to find happiness with Valentia. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Compson, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1924
This adaptation of Kathleen Norris' best-selling novel came out just weeks before its producer, Thomas Ince, mysteriously died while on a cruise on William Randolph Hearst's yacht, the Oneida. The drama was a tour de force for Florence Vidor, who played the title character, Christine Madison. Christine weds Stuart Knight (Warner Baxter) only to discover he prefers the high life to married life. When Dr. Alan Monteagle (Clive Brook) comes along, Christine is drawn to him. But, still determined to stick to her wedding vows, she runs from him, only to get in a car accident with her husband, who happened to be riding by with one of his floozies. Nursed back to health by Dr. Monteagle, she marries him, but soon discovers that his devotion to his work is as all-consuming as Knight's devotion to alcohol and women. As a result, she runs off with Ivan Vianney (Ian Keith), only to discover that he, too, cares more about his work than he cares about her. Meanwhile, Dr. Monteagle takes custody of Christine's child (Dorothy Brock). Christine leaves Vianney and nurses Knight through a terminal illness. Dr. Monteagle realizes that his wayward wife has reformed, and offers to reconcile. Comic actor Walter Hiers has a small role that has little to do with the plot, but the Moving Picture World critic remarked that he "floats through the story like an amiable Zeppelin hovering over a friendly city." ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Florence Vidor, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1924
This drama was based on the play by Leon Gordon and Doris Marquette. The title refers to the estate owned by Flagg (Rockliffe Fellowes), a man of great wealth and few morals. He installs chorus girls there until he grows tired of them. His latest fancy, Dorothy Delbridge (Betty Compson), refuses to have anything to do with him, so he has her fired from the show in which she is performing. Eventually she comes around and becomes mistress of his manor. Then she meets Douglas Crawford (Warner Baxter), a fine, upstanding type who incidentally happens to have quite a bit of money. Without telling Crawford of her sordid past, Dorothy marries him. Flagg comes back to haunt her when he attempts to fleece Crawford. Dorothy wrestles with the possibility of telling her husband of her past without realizing that he's already aware of it. Not only does Crawford forgive her past, he thrashes Flagg, who falls over a balcony railing to his death. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Compson, Rockliffe Fellowes, (more)
- 1924
This melodrama was personally supervised by producer Thomas Ince, and, depending on how one looked at it, it was either anti-alcohol, or against the Volstead Act, which caused the bootlegging of bad liquor. Mary Kane (Lucille Ricksen) is killed during a wreck when the boy driving the car in which she is riding is blinded by bathtub gin. Her brother, Robert (Warner Baxter), swears to fight the bootleggers and becomes a prohibition officer. Meanwhile, Ruth Jordan (Blanche Sweet) comes to town, searching for her brother, Matt (Robert Agnew). Matt is working for rumrunner Red Carney (Matthew Betz). Revenue officer Blaney (Frank Campeau) is in league with Carney, and when another agent is killed, the two crooks frame Matt and see that he is convicted, though Ruth is determined to prove her brother innocent. She meets Kane and convinces him to pretend to be her sweetheart and together they gather enough evidence to save Matt. Carney discovers the ruse, but before he can kill Kane, a group of revenue officers arrive. Matt is freed, and Ruth and Kane discover they really do love each other. This picture was remade as a talkie in 1930. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Sweet, Bessie Love, (more)
- 1924
Warner Baxter lifts himself up from poverty to unlimited riches. The audience knows that Baxter couldn't have done it without the help and support of his wife Grace Darmond. When Baxter starts cheating on her, she divorces him, receiving an enornous settlement. Reduced to penury by various spendthrift mistresses, Baxter is rescued once more by Darmond, who once more guides him to success-and remarries him, this time on her terms. Alimony was directed by James W. Horne, who seemed a lot more comfortable with his subsequent Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1924
Madge Bellamy and Warner Baxter (in that order -- Bellamy was the bigger star at the time) have the leads in this improbable but well-done melodrama. When David Allen (Baxter) is reported killed during World War I, his fiancée, Corinne McRea (Maude Wayne), is willed all his property. Though the report was wrong and Allen is really alive -- he is shell-shocked and has lost his memory. His nurse, Suzanne (Bellamy), doesn't know who he is, so she gives him the name of a dead man, John Rolfe. They get married and come to America, finding work as the butler and maid of a mansion that just happens to be Allen's old home. Although the servants and Corinne recognize him, he doesn't know them. Finally the estate's trustee, Judge Henry (Tom Guise), comes to the conclusion that Rolfe is Allen and makes attempts to recover the estate, though Corinne wants to keep it and attempts to do so by taking the securities from the bank. Suzanne chases after her and gets them back, and Allen has an operation that restores his memory prior to the War, but he doesn't remember Suzanne -- until Corinne tries to have her arrested. When he sees his forgotten wife in trouble, Allen's memory of her returns and the couple is reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1925
The first film version of Arthur Richman's stage comedy The Awful Truth was produced in 1925. A series of misunderstandings between flirtatious Agnes Ayres and sober-sided Warner Baxter lead inexorably to the divorce court. A year after the separation, she hatches a scheme to win her husband back. Perhaps the proceedings would have been funnier had Agnes Ayres possessed any sort of comic timing. The Awful Truth was remade in 1929, 1937, and 1953, the last time as a musical retitled Let's Do It Again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Agnes Ayres, Phillips Smalley, (more)
- 1925
This was Cecil B. De Mille's last film for Paramount (at least for a few years). Irene Rich plays Flora Lee Peake, a cool beauty who, like Lorelei, lures men to death and destruction. Flora Lee weds the Marquis De San Pilar (Theodore Kosloff) and saves the old homestead. The Marquis finds her with the Duc de Savarac (Robert Cain), and the two men fight it out on a cliff. Both fall to their deaths, and Flora Lee returns to the States. Her childhood friend, Admah Holtz (Rod La Rocque), has become wealthy through his candy firm and, even though her sister, Margaret (Vera Reynolds), loves him, Flora Lee snares him. Her extravagance ruins Holtz and he goes to jail for embezzlement. Margaret buys his old candy store and gets it going once again. Flora Lee, meanwhile, runs off with Bunny O'Neill (Warner Baxter), who eventually casts her off. Her life and her beauty destroyed, she returns to the family homestead, which is now a boarding house, and crawls into her crumbling golden bed, an overly elaborate symbol of her former days. Holtz is released from jail and finds her there just before she dies. The ever-faithful Margaret is waiting for him, and they marry. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Rich, Vera Reynolds, (more)
- 1925
Based on a story by Harold Bell Wright, this average silent western starred Warner Baxter as the son who almost loses his ranch to cover his late father's debts. Star-billed Bessie Love had little to do other than looking pretty as Baxter's Irish romantic interest. A former leading man with the Oliver Morosco stock company, the handsome, dark-haired Baxter was treading water in programmers before earning a 1929 Academy Award for playing the Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona. Today, however, Baxter is mainly remembered for playing the Crime Doctor in a series of popular whodunits produced by Columbia in the 1940s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bessie Love, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1925
Fred Prouty (Warner Baxter) and his wife, Nettie (Lois Wilson), are living happily until the day that his aged father (Luke Cosgrave) shows up on their doorstep. He immediately begins creating havoc, upsetting the once-orderly household and trying to force his opinions on everyone. Nettie does her best to be patient with the old man, but the day comes when he brings a group of his pals over while she is holding a meeting of a fashionable club. The men eat all the sandwiches and turn the house upside down -- and Old Man Prouty insists on interrupting the meeting, which causes it to break up. Ultimately Nettie tells Fred that either she or his father must go. Luckily for Fred, his pop visits the Old Men's home and realizes he will be much happier there. When he discovers that Nettie is pregnant, he realizes that he will be in the way and is glad to find a new home with his peers. This comedy-drama had a hard time living up to Minick, the stage play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber on which is was based. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Cosgrave, Warner Baxter, (more)
- 1925
Esther Ralston, who plays a nice chorus girl in this comedy-drama, is upstaged by Margaret Livingston, who has a much-flashier role as her not-so-nice friend. Ralston is Alice O'Neil, who is in love with Bertie Lenox (Joseph Striker), the son of a nouveau riche family. His sister Marian (Margaret Morris) loves the chauffeur, a down-to-earth young man by the name of Henry Morgan (Warner Baxter). Their parents (Edwards Davis and Kathlyn Williams) naturally are less than thrilled with Bertie and Marian's choices -- after all, Alice wants Bertie to give up his money and go to work! And they've picked out Arthur Rockmere (William Austin) as a mate for Marian. Rockmere sets up a meeting with Alice in an attempt to buy her off, which angers Bertie. A fight outside of a supper club results and everyone lands in jail -- except for Alice's friend Millie (Livingston), who bails them all out with the bribery money. In the end, both Bertie and Marian wed their sweethearts, while Millie weds their uncle, George Grafton (Larry Steers). This picture is based on the play by David Grey and Avery Hopwood. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Esther Ralston, (more)
- 1925
This Cape Cod melodrama was based on a novel by Joseph C. Lincoln. Calvin Homer (Warner Baxter) expects to be promoted to captain of the Setuckit Life Saving Station, but Bartlett (Wallace Beery) is appointed because of his political connections. Bartlett's daughter Norma (Lois Wilson) convinces Homer to stay in spite of her father's antagonistic ways. Soon a romance springs up between the two of them, even though Myra Fuller (Phyllis Haver) has already finagled a proposal out of Homer. Eventually Myra breaks it off, however, leaving Homer free. When a storm blows, Bartlett's religious fanaticism proves to be nothing but a cover for his cowardice and he refuses to send his crew out to rescue a vessel in distress. Homer takes charge and saves the day. Bartlett is fired from his position, and Norma becomes angry with Homer. When he takes heroic measures to rescue Bartlett -- who dies in spite of his efforts -- she forgives him and the couple are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lois Wilson, Wallace Beery, (more)
- 1925
By using a borrowed medal, Russ Kane, a crook (Warner Baxter), is able to get a job as an air mail pilot. His plan is to steal some valuable cargo, but soon enough the job begins to have a positive effect on him. When his plane has to make a force landing, he meets Alice Rendon (Billie Dove, who was also the wife of director Irvin Willat). His love for Alice encourages him to go straight. When Alice's invalid father (George Irving) needs medicine, Kane flies to get it, but on his return the craft is pursued by two renegade airplanes. Kane's young friend, Sandy (a very fresh-faced Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), saves the valuable cargo by parachuting out of the plane while holding it. On the ground, three escaped prisoners have taken over Alice's home. The sheriff's posse wipes out the bad guys while Kane destroys the outlaw planes, and Sandy achieves his dream by flying the mail to the next station. Back in 1924 and 1925, the concept of air mail was still very novel (it only took three days to get the mail across country instead of six -- an impressive feat in those days). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Billie Dove, (more)
