Pat O'Malley Movies

Once again, Viola Dana was put through her screen paces by her husband, director John H. Collins, in Edison's Gladiola. Deeply in love with a wealthy city dweller, country girl Dana follows him to the Big Apple and agrees to become his mistress. But when his wife returns, the now-pregnant heroine is cast out of the house. Returning to her home village, Dana is branded a harlot and adulterer by the oh-so-pious townsfolk. Later on, her city lover, now widowed, shows up to ask Dana's hand in marriage. By now, however, she is impervious to his honeyed words and sends him on his way, preferring instead to become the wife of her childhood sweetheart, who has stood by her all along despite the scornful words of the rest of the community. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adopted Son was one of six films directed by Charles J. Brabin in 1917. Francis X. Bushman plays "Two-Gun" Carter, who by virtue of family ties finds himself engaged in a long-standing mountain feud. Bushman wants to marry Beverly Bayne (the actor's real-life wife at the time), but the warring families won't hear of it. Everything is solved when Bushman's genuine family heritage is revealed in Reel Six. Adopted Son was based on a story by Max Brand, of Destry Rides Again and Dr. Kildare fame. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Viola Dana was Metro Pictures' top star when False Evidence came out in 1919. Promised in marriage to wealthy Lot Gordon (Joe King), Scottish lassie Madelon MacTavish (Dana) prefers Lot's poor relation Burr Gordon (Wheeler Oakman). The wisdom of her choice is proven later on, when a vengeful Lot tries to rape the girl. She stabs the bounder, whereupon Burr gallantly takes the blame. When Lot recovers, Madelon fesses up and agrees to marry him if he won't prosecute Burr. It takes the Hand of God to sort this one out. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dinty O'Sullivan (Wesley Barry) is the son of poor Irish immigrants. His father was killed the day he and his mother arrived in the U.S. so he supports his sick mother by working as a newsboy. He goes on to form a syndicate of newsboys and his 12-year-old ambitions are only temporarily damped by the death of his mother. Meanwhile, after his son is sentenced to death, an opium smuggler seeks vengeance on Judge Whitely (J. Barney Sherry) by kidnapping his daughter. Through his fellow newsboys, Dinty finds out about this plot and rescues the girl. As a result, the judge takes the resourceful boy into his home. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Patsie Hannon was a model when Erich Von Stroheim discovered her and gave her the name of Miss DuPont. Duly signed to Universal, she played the female lead in Foolish Wives. The film took so long to make, however, that DuPont starred in several more program features that were released before her actual debut. Miss DuPont was not exactly one of Von Stroheim's most inspired discoveries -- with the release of this romantic drama (her second film to reach the public), trade paper Moving Picture World said, "It is stated, with the earnest hope that it does not sound patronizing, that Miss DuPont shows a little improvement in her work." There wasn't much to work with -- the story is slight and her supporting cast did not show a lot of enthusiasm for their performances. Although Jennie Blake (DuPont) claims she "can't stand the sound of waves," she winds up teaching at a seaport town called Rocky Point. Two men, Paul Whalen (Pat O'Malley) and Jim Payne (Lloyd Whitlock), vie for her; Jennie chooses Whalen. Payne becomes a lighthouse inspector and a few years later, when Whalen is out of work, he gets him a job as a lighthouse operator. It's lonely work, and Jennie appreciates Payne's visits. When Whalen is blinded he begins to believe that Jennie and Payne are having an affair. In spite of his blindness, he gets into a fight with Payne and when he knocks his head into a wall, his sight returns. He and Jennie resolve their differences. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Mild-mannered Wilkins (William V. Mong) has been a bookkeeper for the firm of Bates and Stryker for 15 years without receiving a raise. His sweetheart and co-worker, Emily (Helen Jerome Eddy), is waiting too, because a raise would enable them to marry. Then Wilkins is tricked by Don (Hal Cooley), the son of Bates, the firm's senior partner (Lincoln Plummer), into covering his gambling debts. Don sells him some land which proves to be underwater. Wilkins finally snaps. After helping Don escape from a Chinese gambling den, he takes him to the submerged land and pushes his head under water. Then it turns out that the land is rich in oil. With the profits, Wilkins is able to marry Emily and buy out Bates, whom he generously keeps on as sales manager. Meanwhile, Wilkins' friend Jimmy (Pat O'Malley) marries his own sweetheart, Dorothy (Marguerite de la Motte), the daughter of the firm's other partner, Stryker (Charles Hill Mailes). ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This drama was a rare directing effort from screenwriter Marion Fairfax. Sam Clairborne Sr. (Charles Mailes) wills his estate to his foster son, Bill O'Hara (Pat O'Malley), because his own son, Sam Clairborne Jr. (George Dromgold), has proven to be a drug fiend and unworthy. Part of the Clairborne estate is a dying newspaper, and O'Hara struggles to keep it alive. Although O'Hara loves Sue DeMuidde (Marjorie Daw), he still exposes her father (Noah Beery) in the paper as someone who rents out his property to drug smugglers. Other than that, there's very little news to be had and the paper is about to fold when O'Hara decides to fake a murder to drum up some excitement. The endeavor is a fiasco, and when a dead body is found in the river, Mr. DeMuidde encourages the townsfolk to believe that O'Hara is the killer. It turns out that the dead man is Sam Jr., and he committed suicide. The truth is revealed just in time to save O'Hara. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This heart-warming drama was one of Colleen Moore's first films for First National, but her star would not ascend until later that year when she starred in Flaming Youth; here she primarily supports Wheeler Oakman, who plays the title role. Slippy McGee is a notorious safecracker who is seriously injured when he leaps from a freight train. His mangled leg has to be amputated, and he recuperates at the home of Father DeRance (Same De Grasse). Although McGee goes by an assumed name, the minister figures out his identity, but keeps it a secret because McGee reforms and helps him with his hobby of collecting butterflies. McGee falls in love with Mary Virginia, one of DeRance's parishioners. She loves him in return, but only as a trusted friend, and becomes engaged to someone else. But when a banker tries to force her into marriage through a stack of forged letters, McGee goes back to his old ways one last time. Another version of this story by Marie Conway Oemler was filmed by Republic in 1948 and starred Donald Barry. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This Northwest melodrama was based on the novel The Law Bringers by G. B. Lancaster. Andree Grange (Renée Adorée), the daughter of the local cafe owner (Josef Swickward), is engaged to marry Sergeant Neil Tempest (Earle Williams) of the Northwest Mounted Police. But she falls in love with one of his underlings, Bucky O'Hara (Pat O'Malley), after a flirtation. In her father's cabin Andree is attacked by Barode Dukane (Wallace Beery), and she believes she has killed him in the ensuing struggler. Her father helps her to flee and O'Hara is ordered to find her and put her under arrest. He tracks her down, followed by Tempest. Tempest takes charge of Andree but they find themselves caught in the rapids and are saved only because O'Hara shows up. Andree's innocence is established, and Tempest realizes that she and O'Hara are in love, so he gives her up. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

This second of four film versions of Owen Wister's The Virgininian stars Kenneth Harlan as the nameless principal character. Signed on as ranchhands on a huge spread, the Virginian and his best friend Steve (Pat O'Malley) have themselves a high old time until New England schoolmarm Molly Woods (Florence Vidor) enters the scene. Despite constant provoking from the duplicitous Trampas (Russell Simpson), the Virginian does his best to act like an Eastern gentleman for Molly's sake. When Steve casts his lot with Trampas and indulges in cattle rustling, The Virginian, heading a posse, is forced to hang his old friend. Molly can't understand that duty takes priority over friendship, and breaks off her relationship with The Viriginian. Molly comes to see the error of her ways just before The Virginian had his final showdown with Trampas. Previously filmed in 1914 by Cecil B. DeMille, The Virginian was remade in 1929 with Gary Cooper in the lead, and again in 1946 with Joel McCrea. In 1962, a TV version starring James Drury began its nine-season run. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After seeing their mother (Eugenie Besserer) struggle to eke out a meager existence for her family, her daughters Jeanette (Mae Busch) and Alice (Wanda Hawley) take different paths. Jeanette finds work as a stenographer, while Alice marries a poor workman and gives birth to a brood of children. Jeanette has a suitor, Martin Devlin (Robert W. Frazer), but she turns him down until she is unfairly named co-respondent in her boss' divorce case. To save herself from scandal, Jeanette marries Devlin and tries to settle down. She is miserable over losing her independence, and Devlin's extravagant ways are no help. Jeanette finally decides to leave her husband and return to the working world. She is no happier there, and when she sees how happy Alice is as a stay-at-home mom -- poor as she is -- Jeanette reconciles with Devlin. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Before he became a producer at MGM, Paul Bern showed a flair for directing, adding a sophisticated touch to this comedy-drama. Salesman Fred Hopper (Pat O'Malley) gets by on bluff and he uses his skills to win Eleanor Lawson (Agnes Ayers) over his rival, department store head Clifford Ramsey (Victor Varconi). But once they are wed, Eleanor discovers the truth -- that all of Hopper's flash was bought on loan and now the couple is heavily in debt. Things get so bad that Eleanor goes to work and Hopper asks Ramsey for a job. When he overhears Ramsey discussing the purchase of a new site, he gets an option on the property with the help of a rich widow. Eleanor smells perfume on his sleeve when he returns from the transaction and she suspects he has been unfaithful. She leaves him and Ramsey uses this opportunity to woo her once again. She ultimately decides she wants to stick with Hopper and they are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

The story to this romantic satire was penned by William Elwell Oliver, the winner of a writing contest that Universal Studios held for college students. Not surprisingly, it opens up on campus, where Bill Pendleton (Pat O'Malley) has made a bet with his fraternity brothers -- he will propose to any girl they select. The chosen young lady is Mary Brainerd (Mary Astor), an old-fashioned coed whose father is a missionary. Although she is secretly in love with Bill, Mary is insulted at being the subject of a bet and decides to go to her father in China. Meanwhile, Bill is expelled from school and his father disowns him, so he stows away on the same ship that Mary is taking to China. Fu Shing (Warner Oland), a revolutionary, kidnaps Mary, and Bill has to figure out how to save her. He enlists the help of friend Danny Daynes (Raymond Hatton), an alcoholic war veteran who is now an alcoholic general in the Chinese army. With the use of a couple of airplanes, the two rescue Mary in a thrilling climax. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi