Eva Novak Movies

Although this comedy had an awful lot of inconsistencies, it still was an nicely entertaining programmer -- plus it had the presence of handsome Jack Holt, as Horace Winsby, the lead character. Winsby is a millionaire beet sugar king who owns nearly all of California's San Geronimo Valley -- and he has mortgages on what's left over. But he's also a condescending snob who has no mercy for his debtors and that wins him no friends. He even patronizes Patricia Owens, the girl he loves (Eva Novak), and she turns down his marriage proposal. When it becomes all-too apparent that Winsby has one too many enemies in San Geronimo, he goes to New York to wait for things to cool down. He runs up a big bill at a posh hotel, and when he loses his wallet, he is unable to pay. So the hotel attaches his luggage and throws him out onto the street. Winsby has no choice but to head for a nearby park where he befriends a bum who shows him how to get by. Patricia comes to New York with her father (Joseph P. Lockney), and they find out about Winsby's dilemma. They finally trace him to a hash house where he is working as a dishwasher, a much humbler and happier man. After he straightens things out with the hotel, Winsby extends the mortgages of his debtors and brings his bum friend back home with him. Patricia approves of the new Winsby and agrees to marry him. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Cowboy star Tom Mix wasn't afraid of playing for laughs, or even straying from the usual Western fare. Here he spoofs the mythical kingdom tales that were so popular in the silent era. Because he is singing on the job and flirting with a pretty girl, ranch hand Hank Sherman (Mix) is fired from his job. So he takes his trick mule and his horse and joins the circus, where he performs as a bareback rider, wearing a tutu and a wig. Attending the circus is pretty girl Gloria (Eva Novak), and her father, Emeliano Gomez (Hector Sarno), the deposed ruler of the kingdom of Bargravia. Gomez is looking for someone fearless who will help him lead a counter-revolution, and when he sees Sherman emerge the winner in a fight with some circus hands, he believes he has found his man. Because he wants to be near Gloria, Sherman accepts the job. He has a fierce opponent in Pedro Sachet (Edward Brady). He manages to escape Sachet's clutches and makes it to Bargravia, where he is called "General Motors." Once again he faces Sachet, but he manages to defeat him and restore Gomez to power. He wins Gloria in the bargain. Mix and director Edward Sedgwick wrote the story. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Velma (Eva Novak) is unhappily married to Sam (Leonard Shumway), a user of demon alcohol and a notorious womanizer. He invites Velma and his mistress to take an afternoon trip on his sailboat. Sam tries to force Velma to drink a cocktail, and the virtuous Velma recoils in horror. Sam suffers a debilitating stroke after a booze binge, and a sudden storm puts Velma on a remote island all alone. A plane piloted by Lieutenant Paul Mack (Jack Perrin) makes an emergency landing for fuel. Velma and Paul fall in love with each other but are captured by a gang of vicious bootleggers led by Red Calvin (Jack Curtis). The duo manages to escape, and Paul brings Velma back home. They arrive to discover Sam has survived but is confined to a wheelchair. Velma vows to stand by her man, but Sam kills himself with a final, fatal swallow of whiskey. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Former socialite Maurice "Lefty" Flynn made a bid for western stardom in this mild silent western about a stranger mistaken for an outlaw, the notorious "Night Hawk." He finds a believer in lovely Winifred Sampson (Eva Novak) who shelters the presumed outlaw from the authorities until her fiancee, unscrupulous dam engineer William Kirk (Wallace Beery) turns him in. The Stranger, however, is in reality a detective in disguise and has enough evidence to arrest Kirk, the real outlaw. The commonplace plot was used twice more, in 1927 (as a vehicle for Tom Mix) and 1933, starring George O'Brien. The brawny Flynn never made it as a bona fide western star and was actually better known from the gossip pages than for any particular film. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Max Brand's 1920 novel became a rousing Tom Mix Western less than a year later. A complicated story of love and revenge, Trailin' opens with rivals William Drew (Jay Morley) and John Bard (Cecil Van Auker) battling for the love of Joan (Carol Holloway), the daughter of notorious outlaw Blotto (J. Farrell McDonald). Joan favors Drew, and they marry and have a child. Still jealous, Bard steals the infant boy and leaves for the East, changing his name to John Woodbury along the way. Many years go by and Woodbury (now Bert Sprotte) has become the wealthy and respected "father" of young Anthony (Tom Mix). A vengeful Drew (now James Gordon) suddenly reappears and Bard/Woodbury is killed in a duel. Returning to his roots in Idaho, Anthony finally learns of his true heritage and settles down to marry a local waitress, Sally Fortune (Eva Novak). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This crime melodrama was a change of pace (and a turn for the worst) for Eva Novak, who had been featured in light comedy-dramas. Kate Westhanger (Novak) is the head of a gang of crooks. She is working as a secretary to a financier so she can find out about a gold shipment. She deciphers the code and the gang gets the loot. But she believes she has been double-crossed by some of her associates. In addition she has fallen in love with Mike Pretherson (L.C. Shumway), an amateur detective who is as honest as she is deceitful, and she decides to go straight. So she and Mike try to stop the theft only to be captured by the gang. They are saved by the police in the nick of time. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi