Owen Moore Movies

A Star is Born came into being when producer David O. Selznick decided to tell a "true behind-the-scenes" story of Hollywood. The truth, of course, was filtered a bit for box-office purposes, although Selznick and an army of screenwriters based much of their script on actual people and events. Janet Gaynor stars as Esther Blodgett, the small-town girl who dreams of Hollywood stardom, a role later played by both Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand in the 1954 and 1976 remakes. Jeered at by most of her family, Esther finds an ally in her crusty old grandma (May Robson), who admires the girl's "pioneer spirit" and bankrolls Esther's trip to Tinseltown. On arrival, Esther heads straight to Central Casting, where a world-weary receptionist (Peggy Wood), trying to let the girl down gently, tells her that her chances for stardom are about one in a thousand. "Maybe I'll be that one!" replies Esther defiantly. Months pass: through the intervention of her best friend, assistant director Danny McGuire (Andy Devine), Esther gets a waitressing job at an upscale Hollywood party. Her efforts to "audition" for the guests are met with quizzical stares, but she manages to impress Norman Maine (Fredric March), the alcoholic matinee idol later played by James Mason and Kris Kristofferson. Esther gets her first big break in Norman's next picture and a marriage proposal from the smitten Mr. Maine. It's a hit, but as Esther (now named Vicki)'s star ascends, Norman's popularity plummets due to a string of lousy pictures and an ongoing alcohol problem. The film won Academy Awards for director William Wellman and Robert Carson in the "original story" category and for W. Howard Greene's glistening Technicolor cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"I'm the finest woman who walked the streets," declares bejeweled, hip-swishing Lady Lou (Mae West) at the beginning of She Done Him Wrong. Lou works as a singer at the Gay Nineties saloon of Gus Jordan (Noah Beery Sr.), who plies her with diamonds to keep her by his side. She runs afoul of stalwart mission captain Cummings (Cary Grant), who warns her that she's on the road to perdition. Mae West's first starring film, She Done Him Wrong literally saved Paramount Pictures from bankruptcy. It would remain the best of her feature films, most of which were severely watered down by the Production Code (whose renewed stringency of 1933 was brought about in great part by West herself). She Done Him Wrong was based on West's own stage play, Diamond Lil, which ran on Broadway for 97 weeks. West sings "Frankie and Johnny," "I Like a Man Who Takes His Time," and ""I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone."" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A woman trying to live down her past finds it coming back to haunt her in this drama. Steve Pelton (Owen Moore) is the leader of a gang of confidence men and petty criminals who have set up a base of operations in a large house they all share. One of Pelton's roommates is his girlfriend, Janet Gordon (Joan Bennett), who is convinced Pelton will propose to her someday. However, when Pelton and his mob are raided by the police, Gordon ends up in jail with the rest of them. With the help of kindly cop Dan Emmett (Douglas Cosgrove), Gordon gets an early release, and she meets Stuart Elliot (Hardie Albright), a wealthy and sophisticated man about town. Elliot falls for Gordon and they soon marry, but her happiness is shattered when Pelton is released and decides to blackmail Gordon, threatening to tell Elliot about her scandalous past unless she does his bidding. Hush Money also features George Raft and Myrna Loy in supporting roles as members of Pelton's gang. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The widow in question is wealthy Tamarind Brooks (Gloria Swanson), who flits from one man to another with the rapidity of a butterfly. Beginning in New York and ending in Paris, Tamarind collects men like some people collect stamps. Among her most ardent suitors are lawyer Gerry (Owen Moore), violin virtuoso Baslikoff (Gregory Gaye), opera baritone Alvarado (Herbert Braggiotti), and cabaret dancer Victor (Lew Cody). After playing the field with gay abandon, Tamarind finally returns to square one (in a manner of speaking) and marries Gerry. Gloria Swanson is given opportunity aplenty to display her splendid singing voice, and even gets to hark back to her Keystone Comedy days by indulging in some gratuitous slapstick. In a sense, What a Widow was filmic valentine to Swanson from her sponsor-lover, producer Joseph P. Kennedy (JFK's father). Audiences, however, were not quite as smitten as "Papa Joe," and the film was a box-office bust. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This crime drama chronicles the exploits of three Irish brothers who have taken dramatically different life paths. Tom is an amiable policeman while Matt is a surgeon. The third brother, Owen, is the family black sheep who makes his living running illegal booze. He operates under the alias Barney Muller. His more honest brothers have no idea what Owen does for his money. Things go well for the Muller gang until they commit a murder and the newly promoted Tom is assigned to investigate the case. Meanwhile, Tom's beloved goes to a party at Muller's house in Manhattan. There she overhears some damning information about Muller. She goes back to Tom and Matt with the info and together the three learn the truth about Muller's identity. When Muller learns that a cop is dogging his gang, he orders him killed. He has no idea that it is his own brother. The killers prepare a trap for the unwitting cop, but suddenly Owen shows up and tries to stop it; as a result he is shot and dies in the arms of Tom. Later Tom lies to their parents to save them from unbearable shame. He tells them that Owen has gone away on a very long trip. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Actress is a silent-film adaptation of Arthur Wing Pinero's evergreen stage play Trelawny of the Wells. Norma Shearer plays Rose Trelawny, who becomes an accomplished actress only after she learns to "love the players"-that is, to believe in what she's doing. While touring with a second-string company, Rose falls in love with aristocratic Arthur Gower (Ralph Forbes), whose parents frown on show folk. Impressed by Rose's pluck, Arthur's grandfather (O.P. Heggie) changes his mind about the theatre. The old man bankrolls a play that will make Rose a star, paving the way for a happy third-act curtain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as Women Love Diamonds, this MGM picture was to have been a Greta Garbo vehicle, but when Garbo went on strike for a higher salary the film was deferred to contractee Pauline Starke. The story concerns the beautiful mistress (Starke) of an elderly millionaire (Lionel Barrymore), who falls in love with younger, handsomer Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Upon announcing his intention to marry Starke, Moore is told flatly that such a union is impossible: it turns out that the girl is of illegitimate birth. But Starke proves that she has more inner nobility than anyone else in the family when she selflessly acts as surrogate mother to the children of mortally injured chauffeur Owen Moore. It seems fairly certain that, by refusing to appear in Women Love Diamonds, Garbo didn't hurt her career one teeny bit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously teamed for the popular MGM farce Adam and Evil, stars Lew Cody and Aileen Pringle and director Robert Z. Leonard were reunited for Tea for Three. Cody plays Carter Langford, who has good reason to suspect that his wife Doris (Pringle) is stepping out on him in favor of family friend Phillip Callamore (Owen Moore). Taking things in stride, Langford offers to cut cards with Callamore. High card gets Doris, while "low card" agrees to kill himself. When Langford draws the low card, he considerately books passage on an ocean liner for the purpose of jumping overboard, but at the last minute Doris returns to his side. Much funnier than its synopsis would indicate, Tea for Three was based on a play by Karl Sloboda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite its posh MGM trappings, Becky is at heart a "B" picture, sacrificing pretentiousness in favor of good, solid entertainment values. Sally O'Neil stars as the title character, a pretty New York salesgirl who aspires to a stage career. She gets her chance when she's hired for a Broadway show, working her way up to the leading role and ending up an overnight "smash." One of the fringe benefits of Becky's new-found celebrity is her whirlwind romance with a wealthy playboy (Owen Moore). But her new beau ultimately rejects her, prompting Becky to be more careful in her romantic selections in the future. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having nothing whatever to do with the Rudyard Kipling poem, The Road to Mandalay is a typically bizarre collaboration between star Lon Chaney Sr. and director Tod Browning. Chaney plays Singapore Joe, the one-eyed proprietor of a Mandalay bordello. Joe's convent-bred daughter Rosemary (Lois Moran) is totally ignorant of her father's existence and of course knows nothing of the manner in which her education was financed. When the girl falls in love with Admiral Edward Harrington (Owen Moore), Joe recognizes the admiral as one of his old partners in crime and vows to save Rosemary from ruining her life. But Harrington has totally reformed, and it is he who ultimately rids the world of Singapore Joe. Even in 1926, critics recognized the Oedipal subtext in Road to Mandalay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This characteristically grim Lon Chaney/Tod Browning collaboration stars "The Man of a Thousand Faces" in two distinct characterizations. By day, the crippled Bishop of Limehouse (Chaney) is a kindly, beneficent figure, ministering to the needs of the poor and destitute. But by night, the Bishop sheds his clerical garb-and his physical handicap-to become the Black Bird, mastermind of a vast underworld organization. Completely undetectable and untouchable, the Black Bird can only be destroyed by himself-a fact that consumes the film's final reels. Renee Adoree and Owen Moore also star in this atmospheric melodrama, which was adapted by Waldemar Young from Tod Browning's story The Mockingbird. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Long before becoming the talkie era's foremost screen sourpuss, Ned Sparks was seen as a double-dyed villain in such films as Money Talks. Sparks is cast as Lucius Fenton, a vicious rum-runner who meets his Waterloo in the form of go-getting advertising man Sam Starling (Owen Moore). Hoping to stir up business in a run-down resort, Sam converts the property into a health spa. He hires a charter boat to deliver customers to the spa, little suspecting that the boat's captain -- Lucius Fenton -- is using the job as a cover for his own crooked activities. When Fenton hijacks the boat with Sam's estranged wife Phoebe (Claire Windsor) as hostage, our hero races to the rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shy cowboy Cal Thurman (Owen Moore) falls for sophisticated city girl Georgie May (Constance Bennett) in this, the first of two versions of Zane Grey's story. When Georgie May haughtily rejects the poor cowpuncher, he sets out to stake his claim, gets in trouble with a gang of crooks, and later saves the repentant Georgie May from a forest fire. Code of the West was not one of Grey's better efforts but is worthwhile as a rare glimpse of the glittering Constance Bennett, who, as The New York Times put it, "is not the kind of girl one would expect to find on an Arizona ranch." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide