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- 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
- 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)
- 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
