Wilson Benge Movies
British stage actor and producer Wilson Benge inaugurated his Hollywood career in 1922. From 1925's Lady Windemere's Fan onward, the slight, balding Benge was typecast in butler and valet roles. He played Ronald Colman's faithful retainer Denny in 1929's Bulldog Drummond, performed virtually the same function for Colman as Barraclough the valet in Raffles (1930), and portrayed Brassett in the 1931 version of Charley's Aunt, among many others. His "domestic" career extended to such two-reelers as Laurel and Hardy's Scram (1932). One of Benge's few non-servant roles was supposed murder victim Guy Davies in the 1945 Sherlock Holmes entry The House of Fear. He remained active in films until 1951, essaying still another manservant role in Royal Wedding (1951). Wilson Benge was married to actress Sarah L. Benge, who preceded him in death by one year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1927
Another of Reginald Denny's money-spinning Universal vehicles, Fast and Furious casts Denny as "speed demon" Tom Brown. Fascinated with fast roadsters, Tom enjoys nothing more than "opening up" on the highway -- at least, until he's run off the road by another reckless driver. After emerging from the hospital, Tom discovers that he's developed a mortal fear of automobiles -- in fact, he jumps three feet in the air whenever he hears a honking horn. Naturally, the outcome of the plot hinges on Tom's willingness to man the controls of a racing car for the sake of his sweetheart Ethel (Barbara Worth). All that prevents Fast and Furious from being a "perfect" Reginald Denny picture is a moment near the climax, when our jailed hero is released from his cell when his father bribes the guard: undoubtedly, Denny's fans would have preferred that he figure a way out of his dilemma. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reginald Denny, Barbara Worth, (more)
Having scored big-time box office with his first Biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), Cecil B. DeMille hoped to top this success with his 1927 The King of Kings. Inasmuch as he was now dealing with the life of Christ, DeMille had to be careful to serve up equal amounts of showmanship and reverence. The first creative challenge: how to "introduce" Christ in a tasteful manner? The answer: as a blind child is cured through Jesus' intervention, DeMille cuts to the child's point-of-view, slowly fading in on the kindly countenance of H.B. Warner as the Son of Man. Still, DeMille remained DeMille, especially in his handling of the character of Mary Magdalene (Jacqueline Logan). No longer a tattered streetwalker, Mary Magdalene is now a glamorous courtesan, replete with legions of gorgeous slave girls (one of whom is "bubble dancer" Sally Rand) and dressed in revealing Hollywood-style gowns. In fact, the film opens on this character, as she ruminates over the defection of her favorite customer, Judas Iscariot (Joseph Schildkraut), who is spending far too much time with Jesus of Nazareth. Upon visiting Jesus herself, she immediately repents, casting off all her prior sins. Once again, the efficacy of the Cecil B. DeMille formula is proven: redemption has no dramatic value unless the film shows viewers why the sinner needs to be redeemed. Once he's gotten his box-office considerations out of the way, DeMille adheres faithfully to the particulars of Jesus' life, betrayal, trial, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. (Again, however, the director improves a bit upon his source material: the storm that follows the Crucifixion is of the same spectacular dimensions as the parting of the Red Sea in Ten Commandments, while the Resurrection is filmed in vibrant Technicolor). To back up the authenticity of his images, DeMille -- with an assist from scenarist Jeannie Macpherson -- utilizes Scriptural quotes in his subtitles. And to avoid any untoward publicity while filming, DeMille required all of his actors to sign legal documents preventing them from indulging in any sort of "sinful" activity; this meant that poor old H.B. Warner had to steer clear of alcoholic beverages for nearly a year, though he more than made up for lost time after his contract ran out. Prepared to mercilessly lambaste The King of Kings, DeMille's critics were disarmed by his reverent, tasteful approach to the subject. Years after the film's release, a specially prepared 60-minute version of the 18-reel King of Kings was making the rounds of religious groups, church basements, and Easter-weekend telecasts. The film was remade in 1961 by producer Samuel Bronston and director Nicholas Ray, with Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- H.B. Warner, Dorothy Cumming, (more)
- 1927
Those who believe that misleadingly titled "instant" movies produced in the wake of earth-shaking news events are an aberration of the 1990s are referred to 1927's The Lone Eagle. The title, of course, was meant to invoke Col. Charles Lindbergh. Unfortunately for Universal Pictures, Lindbergh turned down every movie contract offered him, so the studio was compelled to cast contractee Raymond Keane as "Lt. William Holmes." And, because Lindbergh was averse to seeing his life recreated on celluloid, Universal's "lone eagle" became a World War I pilot (shades of Wings), who overcomes an initial bout of cowardice to vanquish a Von Richtoffen-like German air ace. The haste with which Lone Eagle was produced was made obvious in its unconvincing miniature work during the "dogfight" scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Keane, Barbara Kent, (more)
- 1926
Vampy Margaret Livingston and stalwart Earl Foxe seem miscast in this farce comedy. Foxe plays a young hypochondriac who believes that he has only a week to live. His name, by the way, is Welland Strong (get it?). He decides to visit his uncle (J. Farrell MacDonald) in the short amount of time he has left in the world. On the train he runs afoul of Norman Blood (Harry Woods), a jealous bridegroom who mistakenly believes that he is involved with his new wife, Rose (Marie Astaire). At his uncle's, he meets Alicia Guyer (Livingston), an attractive young widow. Alicia is visiting the uncle's ward, Marion Haste (Gladys McConnell), who wants to marry Gayne Wilder (a pre-Janet Gaynor Charles Farrell). The uncle, however, disapproves of the match. Eventually Strong winds up in Chinatown, where once again he runs into Blood -- who is still out for blood. Eventually Strong figures out he is well, and free to marry Alicia. Marion, meanwhile, elopes with Wilder. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Mary Carr, Hollywood's favorite "martyr mother," does her usual in The Midnight Message. Carr plays the widowed, impoverished mom of Western Union messenger boy John Fox Jr. Dispatched to deliver a night telegram to millionaire Otis Harlan, Fox is overpowered by a gang of burglars. Soon, however, he turns the tables on the crooks, earning a huge reward for his efforts. Fox spends the money on a new sewing machine for her mother, a gift she accepts with unbounded gratitude -- though frankly, the money could have been better spent on a new wardrobe. Midnight Message was directed by Paul Hurst, better known for such acting roles as the Yankee Deserter in Gone with the Wind (1939). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Carr, Wanda Hawley, (more)
- 1925
Unable to rely upon Oscar Wilde's epigrammatic dialogue to carry the day (this was, after all, the silent-film era), director Ernst Lubitsch substitutes verbal wit for the visual variety in his 1925 filmization of Lady Windermere's Fan. Ronald Colman has one of his first important screen roles as the slightly caddish Lord Darlington, who is in love with the very pretty--and very married--Lady Windermere (May McAvoy). The lady is rescued from disgrace at the hands of Darlington by the notorious Mrs. Erlynne (Irene Rich), who unbeknownst to everyone is Lady Windemere's long-lost mother. Filmed at the still young-and-hungry Warner Bros. studio, Lady Windermere's Fan was an enormous hit, and an instant candidate for the many "Ten Best" lists tabulated by the fan magazines of the era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Colman, Irene Rich, (more)
- 1925
Cecil B. DeMille's century-hopping extravaganza The Road to Yesterday begins in the present (1925, that is). Wealthy Joseph Schildkraut can't understand why his wife Jetta Goudal is so cold to him. Goudal senses that Schildkraut had once done her dirt....in a previous life. Likewise unhappily married are William Boyd and Vera Reynolds. All four principals are on an express train which crashes. While unconscious, the foursome flash back to their previous existences in Elizabethan England. Schildkraut was then a knight, Goudal a gypsy, and Boyd and Reynolds were royal hangers-on. Just as Schildkraut is about to burn Goudal at the stake, the four protagonists return to the present. Armed with the knowledge of their past misdeeds, the lovers all vow to set things right in their current lives. Nobody believed The Road to Yesterday back in 1925 (any more than anyone believes it today), but everybody enjoyed it for what it was: a slam-bang piece of pure entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Schildkraut, Jetta Goudal, (more)
- 1925
Piccadilly Charlie (Gladden James) and his female associate (Evelyn Brent) are on the run from the police after a jewel heist, and the girl hides out in a car belonging to John Reagan (William C. Mong). Reagan -- who had a wayward past as a young man -- takes her in and influences her to reform. Under the name Mary Flynn, she starts a new life and becomes engaged to Reagan's son, Tim (Malcolm McGregor), a district attorney who is not aware of her background. Jason Forbes (Lou Payne) steals some jewels and threatens to expose Reagan's dark past if he will not help him. Mary recovers the jewels and hides them. Piccadilly Charlie kills Forbes in his own attempt to get the jewels, and Reagan is accused of the crime. He admits his past, and Mary's, to his son and together they figure out how to catch the real killer. Charlie is rounded up, and Mary and Tim wed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1923
Cecil B. DeMille's first screen version of The Ten Commandments is only peripherally a Biblical story. The film's first 45 minutes recaps the struggle between Moses (Theodore Roberts) and Rameses (Charles de Roche) over the liberation of the Hebrews. Only after the Lord has imposed a series of plagues upon Egypt does Rameses relent and permit the Exodus to take place--only to go back on his word a few moments later. The scenes of thousands of Hebrews trekking across the desert, the parting of the Red Sea (an effect accomplished in part by splitting a bowl of gelatin down the middle) and the pre-Commandments revelries before the Golden Calf--complete with a fetchingly undressed Estelle Taylor as Miriam--are produced on a spectacular scale...but this is only the beginning. Just as Moses is invoking the Wrath of God upon the ungrateful Hebrews, the film dissolves to the present day (1923, that is). We are introduced to the MacTavish Family: pious, Bible-thumping Martha McTavish (Edythe Chapman) and her sons, straight-arrow John (Richard Dix) and hedonistic Dan (Rod LaRocque). Both sons love Mary Leigh (Leatrice Joy), but the roguish Dan wins out. While John continues honoring the Ten Commandments, Dan breaks as many as he can get his hands on, especially after falling under the spell of Eurasian adventuress Sally Lung (Nita Naldi). Before the uplifting climax, wherein John and Mary finally get together with (it is implied) the blessings of Heaven, we are treated to a series of disastrous plot turns, including the death of mother McTavish in a collapsing church, Sally Lung's revelation that she has leprosy, and a wild speedboat chase. All that's missing is the kitchen sink. Partially filmed in Technicolor at a then-astronomical cost of $1.2 million (a sum that caused a decade-long rift between Cecil B. DeMille and Paramount Pictures), The Ten Commandments grossed several times that amount. DeMille's 1956 Ten Commandments dispenses with the modern story to concentrate on the life of Moses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theodore Roberts, Charles de Roche, (more)
Robin Hood, Douglas Fairbanks' biggest (though not necessarily best) production of the silent era, represents the first time that many familiar of the elements of the Robin Hood legend were presented on screen. To bring the project to full fruition, Fairbanks and his wife Mary Pickford purchased the old Jesse Hampton studio in Santa Monica, and on that site constructed a near-lifesized replica of 12th century Nottingham. The humongous castle set was so awesome that Fairbanks became worried that his own performance might be dwarfed. It wasn't: take our word for it. When first we meet Robin Hood, he is still the Earl of Huntington, preparing to joust with his bitter enemy Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Paul Dickey). Despite Sir Guy's propensity for cheating, the Earl is victorious. Shortly thereafter, Huntington rides off to the crusades with Richard the Lionhearted (Wallace Beery). Upon learning that Prince John (Sam De Grasse), goaded on by Sir Guy, has usurped his brother Richard's throne, Huntington returns to Nottingham in a new guise: dashing righter-of-wrongs Robin Hood. While robbing from the rich, giving to the poor, and bedevilling the villains, Robin romances the fetching Maid Marian (Enid Bennett). The film's singular highlight is Fairbanks' slide down a two-story tapestry, a bit of bravado accomplished by hiding a playground slide behind the huge cloth. As in all of Fairbanks' films, Charlie Stevens, a grandson of Geronimo and Doug's "mascot", appears in several minor roles. Also appearing is Alan Hale Sr. as Little John, a role he'd repeat in the 1938 Errol Flynn Robin Hood, not to mention the 1950 swashbuckler Rogues of Sherwood Forest. Long thought lost, Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood (as the film was so copyrighted) was rediscovered in the early 1960s. Most current prints fail to do justice to Arthur Edeson's glistening photography; also, some versions are stretch-framed to slow down the action to "normal" speed, a process that retards the marvelously fast pace instilled by star Fairbanks and director Allan Dwan. We recommend that you seek out a good-quality, tinted print of Robin Hood, processed at the slightly faster-than-life speed at which it was originally filmed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Beery, (more)
