Madge Bellamy Movies
The daughter of the dean of literature at the University of Texas, Margaret Philpott began her showbiz career in a Denver stock company. Margaret was elevated to Broadway by impresario Charles K. Frohmann, who gave her the stage name of Madge Bellamy. After a few seasons as a chorus girl, Madge made her Broadway acting debut in 1918, replacing Helen Hayes in Dear Brutus. A moderately popular film actress in the 1920s, Madge starred in such prestigious Fox Studios productions as Lorna Doone (1922) and The Iron Horse (1924), as well as Fox's first feature with recorded dialogue, 1928's Mother Knows Best. When she turned down the leading role in The Trial of Mary Dugan, a stage play which Fox had purchased with her in mind, Madge was dropped by the studio and blackballed from the industry. She made a tentative comeback in the early 1930s, but outside of the 1932 horror classic White Zombie, most of her talkie appearances were unremarkable. She was thrust into the public arena once more in 1943, when she shot her millionaire lover A. Stanford Murphy. Murphy lived; Madge spent five days in jail, then was placed on probation. Living in and out of poverty in her later years, she at one time managed a large junkyard in Ontario, California. Madge Bellamy died in 1990, one month before the publication of her memoirs, Darling of the 20s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Produced by Gower Gulch maverick Robert L. Lippert and filmed in not-so-glorious two-strip Cinecolor near Idyllwild, California, this Northwest Mounted melodrama starred the veteran Bob Steele as a rather surly mountie who, against his own better judgment, is persuaded to escort a patronizing Eastern girl (Joan Woodbury through the wilderness to her uncle's logging camp. Constantly bickering with her guide, the girl is carrying $20,000 in her purse, payroll money which is promptly stolen. At the logging camp, Steele runs into trouble with the local sergeant, Means (John Litel), who may not be all he appears to be, a wife-beating saloon-keeper (George Meeker, and sundry other more or less mysterious persons, most of whom were aware of Miss Woodbury's travel plans. Steele, who was nearing the end of his starring career (four Grade-Z Westerns were to come), also headlined Wildfire (1945), another Cinecolor "experiment" for Lippert's Action Pictures. Northwest Trail, however, was all but stolen by Miss Woodbury, whose feisty character made up for Steele's aging inertia. Troubled silent star Madge Bellamy made her final screen appearances as the mistreated wife of the saloon proprietor and real-life circus performer Poodles Hanneford played himself Like so many low-budget mountie melodramas, this one implied a non-existent connection to pulp writer James Oliver Curwood. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1936
Otto Preminger was able to make his directorial debut on Under Your Spell solely because Darryl Zanuck couldn't care less about the film's quality; it was a contractual obligation film for Lawrence Tibbett, who was proving a washout as a film star. In Spell, Tibbett plays Anthony Allen, a world famous singer who has grown tired of the trials that come with celebrity. Seeking to avoid the spotlight, ceaseless publicity and determined fans, Allen enlists the aid of his butler in secretly escaping to a ranch in Mexico. Allen's manager (Gregory Ratoff) is understandably upset with his client's behavior and so sets in motion a scheme of his own. He contacts celebrity-hunting heiress Cynthia Drexel (Wendy Barrie) and lets her know where to find the reluctant star. Drexel quickly hunts down her prey and sticks to him like glue. Although Allen initially is exasperated with her, he soon finds himself attracted to her. In addition to arias from The Marriage of Figaro and Faust, Tibbert performs Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz's "Amigo," "My Little Mule Wagon" and the title song. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Tibbett, Wendy Barrie, (more)
- 1935
A writer of mysteries helps a house detective solve a murder in this murder mystery. The murder occurs in the hotel in which the writer is staying. It is a mystery because, though the corpse was found in a hotel room, it was not the room he had registered for. One of the suspects claims that the man had asked to switch rooms. This leads the house detective to suspect the one who exchanged rooms.Unfortunately, the detective is easily mislead and it is up to the author to help solve the case. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, (more)
- 1935
The Daring Young Man is hotshot-reporter Don McLane, played by James Dunn. Always on the prowl for a good story, McLane is persistently outscooped by his rival, sob sister Martha Allen (Mae Clarke). After several reels of double-crossing one another, hero and heroine give in to the inevitable and fall in love. But as Martha waits at the altar in her wedding gown, McLane is off on another crusade, this time getting himself arrested to expose corruption within the prison system. This last assignment provides the films biggest laughs, as well-connected prison inmates live the Life of Riley while waited upon hand-and-foot by supplicative guards. The Daring Young Man was co-written by real-life newspaper columnist Sidney Skolsky, later one of the most vocal of the "Red-baiters" of the 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Dunn, Mae Clarke, (more)
- 1934
Honolulu detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) spends an eventful weekend at an English country estate in this fog-bound series entry. Young Neil Howard (Ray Milland) has been accused of murder, but family friend Geoffrey Howard (Alan Mowbray) expresses the hope that Chan will be able to locate the genuine killer. The weapons this time include a set of poison darts, while a series of cryptic notes provide vital clues to Chan and his Scotland Yard counterpart Sgt. Thacker (E.E. Clive), who insists upon calling the humble oriental sleuth "Mr. Chang" throughout the picture. Crucial to the plot's development is a fox hunt, predating a similar sequence in John Huston's The List of Adrian Messenger by nearly 30 years. At 79 minutes, Charlie Chan in London is the longest of Fox's Chan series -- unnecessarily so, since the identity of the "surprise killer" is obvious from reel one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Drue Leyton, (more)
- 1933
The first of five Western serials Buck Jones was to make for Universal, this film was based on a story by Peter B. Kyne, Oh, Promise Me!. Jones, who was doubled in this serial by Cliff Lyons, is hired to look into a series of cattle rustlings, quickly discovering that the leader of the rustlers is the Mulford ranch foreman Rance Radigan (Walter Miller) and that the gang uses the notorious Ghost City as their hideout. Unfortunately, Mary Gray (Madge Bellamy) and her grandfather (Tom Rícketts), a prospector, have discovered a secret gold strike underneath one of the town's empty stores. If that didn't complicate matters enough, a mysterious gun man suddenly appears, threatening both Buck and the outlaws. A major Fox star of the '20s, Madge Bellamy found her career plummeting at the changeover to sound. Spending the remainder of her screen career at dreaded Poverty Row, Bellamy is today best remembered for co-starring with Bela Lugosi in the ultra-cheap White Zombie (1932). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1933
A couple of demoted cops fight over a gangster's moll in this cheap crime drama produced and directed by Harry S. Webb. A major star of the silent era now down on her luck, Madge Bellamy earned top-billing as Lil Daley, the moll assigned to lure handsome detective Bob Larkin (Pat O'Malley) to an apartment where gangster Diamond Jareck (Addison Richards) is lying in wait. Larkin, however, escapes and instead falls in love with Lil, who is being courted by detective McCue (James Flavin). The two officers' rivalry has them demoted to the riot squad, where they continue to fight over Lil. When it appears that Lil is involved in the kidnapping of a judge's daughter (Alene Carroll), Larkin denounces her. Lil is being blackmailed by Diamond, however, and the riot squad eventually frees the kidnap victim and arrests Diamond. Exonerated, Lil is free to marry Larkin. Riot Squad was released to television in the 1950s, as Police Patrol. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Pat O'Malley, (more)
Silent screen favorite Madge Bellamy starred in this low-budget melodrama written and directed by character actor Alphonse Martell. In love with a rich customer, Count Albert Valraine (Theodore Von Eltz), salesgirl Suzanne Ricord accepts his engagement ring, but when she fails to understand "the rules of the game," as he puts it, the caddish Valraine demands that she return the bauble. Disillusioned, Suzanne takes to performing in a posh cabaret where gigolo Antoine "Tony" Ferand (Gilbert Roland) helps her retrieve the ring from Diane (Natalie Moorhead), Valraine's new wife. Suzanne flaunts the ring to Albert, only to turn him down when he asks her forgiveness. Tired of leading a desultory life, Tony leaves for Monte Carlo, but is arrested by the police when a watch given to him by Suzanne proves to be stolen goods. Fortunately, Suzanne, who has realized that she is in love with Tony, turns up in the nick of time to unmask the real thief (Paul Porcasi), one of the roués frequenting the cabaret. Deciding to give up the gigolo business once and for all, Tony and Suzanne instead plan to marry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Gilbert Roland, (more)
It is altogether typical of Bela Lugosi's lousy business judgement that he accepted one of his finest film roles for a mere $500 dollars. In the haunting low-budgeter White Zombie, Lugosi stars as Murder Legendre, a shadowy character who exercises supernatural powers over the natives in his Haitian domain. Coveting beautiful Madge Bellamy as his bride, wealthy Robert Frazier is refused her hand in marriage. He enters into an unholy agreement with Lugosi, whereby Madge will fall ill and die, then be resurrected as a zombie-and, implicitly, Frazier's love-slave. This is accomplished, but Lugosi, relishing the hold he has over Frazier, refuses to release Madge's soul. She is ultimately rescued from Living Death by her faithful beau Robert Harron and missionary Joseph Cawthorn (heretofore merely the comedy relief). Few talkie horror films have ever so expertly captured the "feel" of the silent cinema as White Zombie; the film's ethereal, ghostlike ambience enables the audiences to accept even the most ludicrous of plot twists. The producers, Victor and Edward Halperin, use the film's tiny budget to their advantage, evocatively suggesting the horrors that they haven't the financial wherewithal to show on screen. Lugosi is superb throughout, making the most of such seemingly innocuous lines as "Well, well, we understand one another better, now." Long ignored or shunted aside as insignificant, White Zombie can hold its own with any of the like-vintage Universal horror classics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, (more)
- 1929
Accused of murdering her employer, nightclub vocalist Alice Carroll (Madge Bellamy) is vigorously prosecuted in court by ambitious young DA Dick Starr (Don Terry). After Alice is sent to prison, however, Starr begins having second thoughts. He ends up helping her escape from jail so that she can help him prove her innocence. Alice returns the favor by rescuing Starr from the genuine murderers. Based on a story by journalist Richard Harding Davis (who seldom allowed himself to be confused by the facts), Fugitives was one of the last Fox silent films before the studio switched over exclusively to the Movietone sound process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Don Terry, (more)
- 1929
In this comedy drama, a married man finds himself in philanderer's heaven when he gets involved with three local women. Fortunately, before it all goes too far, his son confesses that one of the letters his father found was really meant for him. Romantic mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Robert Ellis, (more)
- 1928
Madge Bellamy stars as Nancy Woods, the secretary to a successful divorce lawyer. Soured on matrimony by the examples set in her boss' office, Nancy decides to marry for money then dump her husband and live off the alimony. When she entraps millionaire Stockney Webb (Johnny Mack Brown) as her hubby, Nancy falls in love with the guy and can't go through with her scheme. But Webb, having been apprised of Nancy's plan by her "friend" Lorna Estabrook (Mary Duncan), renounces his new wife on their wedding night and refuses to have anything to do with her. Upon discovering that Lorna spilled the beans so she could get her own hands on Webb, the reluctant bridegroom finally relents and agrees not to divorce Nancy -- who, by this time, could care less about alimony. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Johnny Mack Brown, (more)
- 1928
Flower-shop clerk Madge Norton (Madge Bellamy) loses her job because she won't fool around with her boss. Figuring that the only way to get anywhere in the world is to be bad, Madge tries to become a loose woman. Unfortunately, she is too good to be bad and is thwarted in her efforts to live a life of sin by her inherent moral fibre. Virtue is ultimately rewarded when Madge falls in love with clean-cut Bradley Lane (Johnny Mack Brown). Play Girl afforded the tired businessmen in the audience ample opportunity to see star Madge Bellamy in a variety of revealing outfits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Johnny Mack Brown, (more)
- 1927
A long lost silent comedy-drama, Colleen was a great success for Madge Bellamy, whose popularity reached its zenith in the mid-1920s. According to the Motion Picture News, Bellamy played a debutante who falls in love with the son (Charles Morton) of an impoverished nobleman. "Their love making under difficulties and constant squabbles form the basis of the action," the trade-paper stated rather tersely. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1927
The "silk legs" of the title belong to star Madge Bellamy, and a fine pair of extremities they are indeed. The story focuses on the rivalry between two travelling lingerie salespersons, Ruth Stevens (Madge Bellamy) and Phil Barker (James Hall). Phil has the slicker sales approach, but Ruth has the advantage of being able to model her wares. The animosity between the two halts abruptly when Phil becomes worried that one of their customers, elderly Ezra Fulton (Joseph Cawthorn) harbors improper attentions towards Ruth. When it turns out that old Ezra's interest in the girl is strictly platonic, the relieved Phil relaxes long enough to declare his love for the heroine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, James Hall, (more)
- 1927
Madge Bellamy plays a vivacious clothes model in Ankles Preferred. Tired of being appreciated only for her beauty, Bellamy sets out to prove that she's got brains as well. This leads to a number of comic mishaps, ranging from a tussle with an amorous financier to a zany car chase. In the end, she causes feminist teeth to gnash all over the country by deciding that good looks are infinitely preferrable to intelligence. Three writers worked on the screenplay of Ankles Preferred--all men. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Lawrence Gray, (more)
- 1927
Earlier in the century, this melodrama about a young girl in the garment industry was a famous stage play. To bring it to the screen in 1926, the Fox studios changed modest Bertha in her gingham apron into a modern young lady who wears silk lingerie. Madge Bellamy was well-cast in the title role. Bertha Sloan is a sewing machine girl for only a few minutes of screen time. In short order, she is fired from her job and lands a new one, as the telephone girl for a company that manufactures fine women's lingerie. Bertha falls in love with Roy Davis, a young shipping clerk (Allan Simpson), and Morton, the company's manager (Paul Nicholson), makes her one of their models. He also invites the unsuspecting girl onto his yacht, where he tries to have his way with her. But Davis comes to the rescue and saves Bertha's virtue. It turns out that Davis is not a clerk at all, but the head of the company. He fires Morton and marries Bertha. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Anita Garvin, (more)
- 1927
Telephone operator Kitty O'Brien (Madge Bellamy) can't help but get involved in the problems of her customers. Right now she is concerning herself with the well-being of Tom Blake (Lawrence Gray), the honest son of crooked political boss Jim Blake (Holbrook Blinn). Through her intervention, Kitty clears the sullied name of Blake's political opponent Matthew Standish (Warner Baxter). Grateful that his father has been saved from himself, Tom marries Kitty in the finale. Telephone Girl was directed by Herbert Brenon, a former specialist in expensive epics who did some of his best work in quiet, unassuming films such as this one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Holbrook Blinn, (more)
- 1927
Madge Bellamy stars as a humble sales clerk, forced by circumstance to pose as a famous female athlete. In this guise, she is wooed by wealthy Pat Cunning, who makes it clear that he's crazy about "outdoor" girls. So as not to lose Cunning, Bellamy endures a rigorous weekend of jogging, hiking, rowing and mountain-climbing. Only when the picture is nearing its end does the heroine come to realize that the hero is in love with her and not her phony reputation. Joseph Cawthorn has the film's best scenes as Cunning's crotchety, smarter-than-he-looks father. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Cawthorn, Mary Duncan, (more)
- 1926
Summer Bachelors is predicated on a hot-weather ritual which was later satirized to the hilt in George Axelrod's The Seven Year Itch. Every summer, the wives of New York businessmen are bundled off to vacation in the mountains, while their husbands stay behind on their jobs. Naturally, when the cats are away the mice will play, and it's not uncommon for the stay-at-home husbands to dally with other women. Capitalizing on this, heroine Derry Thomas (Madge Bellamy) sets up a club to keep these "summer bachelors" occupied -- and out of trouble. During one club meeting, she meets wealthy Tony Lander (Allan Forrest), whom she assumes is married. Later, while under hypnosis, Derry confesses that she's in love with Tony. Worried that she's breaking up someone's happy home, Derry is relieved to discover that Tony isn't married after all -- though it's a safe bet that he soon will be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Allan Forrest, (more)
- 1926
Jean Paul Fippany (J. Farrell MacDonald) is so wrapped up in his horse, a filly named Marseillaise, that he neglects his wife, Josephine (Claire McDowell), and his daughter, Aida (Madge Bellamy). Finally, Josephine is fed up and walks out on him. Aida also leaves after her romance with Jimmy Pickett (Jack Mulhall) sours. Fippany is miserable without his family, and he comes to realize that his obsession has driven them away. In an attempt to right his wrongs, he sells Marseillaise to Jimmy's father (Edward Martindale), sends his wife the check, and disappears. Jimmy tracks Aida down and reconciles with her. Marseillaise, meanwhile, is badly driven and loses a race. Fippany returns from his self-imposed exile, takes control, and rides the filly to victory. He and Josephine are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Pert and pretty Sandy McNeill (Madge Bellamy) is strong-armed by her parents into marrying wealthy Ben Murillo (Bardson Bard). Ben turns out to be a sadistic wife-beater whose cruel excesses lead to the death of Sandy's baby. Fleeing this abusive environment, Sandy falls in love with handsome architect Ramon Worth (played by the "original" Harrison Ford). Her happiness proves short-lived when Ramon's former sweetheart Judith (Gloria Hope) arrives on the scene. Sadly, Sandy moves in with her cousin Isabel (Lillian Leighton) -- whereupon she promptly falls for Isabel's boyfriend Douglas Keith (Leslie Fenton). When Ramon finds out about this, he shoots Sandy and kills himself. To avoid scandal, Douglas valiantly takes responsibility for Ramon's death, but Sandy steps forward to exonerate him in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Joan Standing, (more)
- 1926
Black Paradise begins as lifelong crook Jack Callahan (Leslie Fenton) promises that he'll reform for the sake of his sweetheart Sylvia Douglas (Madge Bellamy). But he can't, and when detective Lawrence Graham (Edmund Lowe) comes calling, Jack takes Sylvia by the hand and escapes to the safety of the schooner owned by criminal chieftain Murdock (Ed Peil Sr.), moored 12 miles outside of San Francisco. Graham boards the schooner, only to be caught by Murdock and forced to work as a crewman. The vessel ends up in the South Seas, where Jack takes up with a local native girl; meanwhile, Sylvia falls in love with the captive Graham. Murdock orders Sylvia to "give in" to him, threatening to kill Graham if she doesn't. Only the timely eruption of a volcano saves Sylvia from sacrificing her virtue to save the man she loves. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madge Bellamy, Leslie Fenton, (more)
