Alys Murrell Movies
- 1926
The Temptress was Greta Garbo's second American film, and while it may strike modern viewers as excessively melodramatic, Garbo is always worth watching. The star plays Elena, the wife of Monsieur Canterac (Lionel Barrymore) -- and the mistress of rich Parisian banker Monsieur Fontenoy (Marc MacDermott). When the banker's Argentine friend Robledo (Antonio Moreno), a dynamic young engineer, pays a visit to Paris, the fickle Elena immediately falls in love with him. Upon learning that Fontenoy has lost his fortune, Elena dumps him and returns to her husband, whereupon the banker kills himself. Evidently not content with ruining one life, Elena heads to Argentina and goes to work on Robledo, leading to a bloody whip duel between Robledo and his rival Manos Duros (Roy D'Arcy). Inevitably, Elena drives Robledo to perdition and indirectly causes the destruction of the magnificent dam upon which he has worked all his life. Banished from Argentina, she returns to Paris, where she spends the rest of her days as a seedy streetwalker. At least, that was the ending of the European version of The Temptress. The American version incredibly ends happily, five years after the above-described events, as Robledo and the reformed Elena triumphantly supervise the opening of his now-repaired dam! Initially, the film's director was Garbo's mentor-lover, the brilliant Mauritz Stiller, but he was replaced halfway through by the competent but uninspired Fred Niblo -- and the finished picture shows this division of interests all too clearly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Garbo, Antonio Moreno, (more)
- 1925
Sheriff Frank Moody (Jack Hoxie) has his hands full chasing after a notorious bandit known only as the Raven. His younger brother Henry (Bartlet Carré) is suddenly jailed for a bank robbery and accused of being the Raven. Henry is about to be hanged when Moody dramatically climbs the scaffold to take his brother's place. The Raven, who turns out to be the bank's manager (Duke R. Lee), steps forward rather than let an innocent man hang. Angular supporting actor Bartlet Carré later worked as a stunt-man, assistant director, and production manager on scores of "B"-westerns. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hoxie, Bartlett Carré, (more)
- 1924
Falsely accused of murdering a prospector and on the lam from the law, rancher Jess Dean (Yakima Canutt) not only tracks down the real culprit (shifty-eyed Wilbur McGaugh) but earns the love and respect of his enemy's daughter (Aly Murrell). Directed by prolific western performer Paul Hurst, this independently produced silent western was one of the earliest starring vehicles for legendary stunt-coordinator Yakima Canutt. Cannutt's career as a leading man didn't survive the changeover to sound, but his stunt work made a lasting impression on the film industry and earned him a special Academy Award in 1966 "for creating the profession of stunt man as it exists today." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yakima Canutt, Judge Hamilton, (more)
