Gilbert Roland Movies

Produced by Preferred Pictures on rental stages at FBO and on-location at Pomona College in Claremont, CA, The Plastic Age was Clara Bow's 15th and final release of 1925 and the comedy-drama that made her a major star. She plays Cynthia Day, the campus flirt whose "hotsy-totsy" lifestyle does not bode well for freshman Hugh Carver (Donald Keith), smitten with Cynthia from day one. The pride of his community, Hugh is expected to become a track star but late nights with Cynthia take too much out of him and Coach Henry (David Butler) is soon in despair. After yet another wild night at the local roadhouse, during which Hugh saves his romantic rival, Carl Peters (Gilbert Roland), from a police raid, Cynthia realizes the error of her ways and nobly refuses to see him again. Hugh quickly regains his athletic prowess, wins the big game for Prescott College and is rewarded with both self-respect and the love of a properly chastened Cynthia. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Though well into her twenties, Bebe Daniels effectively passes as a teenager in The Campus Flirt. Daniels plays the spoiled-rotten daughter of a haughty rich woman. After receiving an expensive (if desultory) European education, Daniels is enrolled at an all-American college by her down-to-earth father. Her imperious attitudes win her few friends, but before long she has become a "regular fellow" by joining the girl's track team. Vaudeville comedian El Brendel makes his film debut as a simple-minded Swede, while real-life track star Charlie Paddock appears as himself. The Campus Flirt was one of several Bebe Daniels vehicles wherein the actress went through paces usually reserved for male film stars-without losing any of her charm and femininity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the warhorse stage play by Willard Mack, The Dove proved a so-so vehicle for Norma Talmadge, but the lady's box-office appeal helped to overcome the film's weaker passages. Set in a mythical Mediterranean country, the story is motivated by despotic political boss Don José (Noah Beery Sr.) Madly in love with cabaret dancer Dolores (Talmadge), Don José is sorely annoyed when the girl evinces a preference for gambler Johnny Powell (Gilbert Roland). Pulling strings and calling in favors, Don José frames Johnny on a murder charge and sentences the poor fellow to the firing squad. But when Dolores implies that Don José is "less than a man" because he fears Johnny's competition, the villain relents and sets the gambler free -- losing his girl in the process, but regaining his bluster and bravado. The Dove was remade in 1932 as Girl of the Rio, then again in 1939 as The Girl and the Gambler; in both cases, Leo Carrillo took over from Noah Beery as the "good bad man." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This was the most popular of the many silent adaptations of Alexandre Dumas' famous story of a courtesan who finds true love too late. In this version, a man who has been suffering from a bout of depression buys a painting of a beautiful women and discovers that her diary is included in the deal. As he reads her words, the ghost of the woman, who is named Camille (Norma Talmadge), appears before him to tell her sad story. Camille began her life under poor circumstances, but with determination she went from a humble shop girl to the most elegant and wealthy courtesan in Paris. However, selling her affections has not brought her real love. She meets a student named Armand (Gilbert Roland), who soon falls in love with the mysterious beauty. However, even though Camille has fallen in love with him, she resists his advances; Armand's father (Maurice Costello) has learned of his son's desire for her, and he has begged her to stay away from Armand, as an affair between them would bring scandal and shame to the young man. Before long, Camille contracts tuberculosis, and Armand encounters his would-be love as she bravely tries to hide her soon-to-be fatal condition from him. This is thought to be the ninth film based on the Dumas story (including adaptations under other names), and like several others, this film is currently lost, barring a future discovery of a print by film scholars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Long-reigning screen queen Norma Talmadge's last silent film (albeit with a synchronized musical score) was the exotic melodrama A Woman Disputed. Talmadge is cast as Mary Ann Wagner, a European orphan girl jointly (and unofficially) adopted by two young military officers: Paul Hartman (Gilbert Roland), an Austrian, and Nika Turgenov (Arnold Kent), a Russian. When her village is conquered by the Russians, Turgenov's interest in Mary Ann shifts from paternal to carnal. She submits to his desires on the condition that he agree not to execute three of the town's leading citizens, including the priest (Michael Vivitch). Naturally, Hartman believes that Mary Ann has betrayed him and renounces her in public. But a deathbed confession by Turgenov reveals that the girl's motives were purely patriotic. Based on a play by Denison Clift, A Woman Disputed also owes a debt to DeMaupaussant's Boule de Suif. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At the height of his activity as Hollywood's foremost producer of 2-reel comedies, Hal Roach developed the urge to direct a feature film and thus went down the street to MGM to helm the rip-roaring adventure yarn Men of the North. Gilbert Roland stars as Louis LaBey, a French-Canadian trapper who falls in love with Nedra (Barbara Leonard), daughter of a wealthy gold-mine owner. Hampering Louis' romance is the fact that he is suspected of a series of daring daylight robberies, wherein gold messengers are robbed of their cargo. It turns out that he is guilty, but through an 11th-hour plot twist it is proven that Louis was actually only stealing from himself! Men of the North was also filmed in Spanish, German, French and Italian-language versions, with Gilbert Roland repeating his role in the Spanish adaptation, and John Reinhardt, Andre Luguet and Franco Corsaro respectively starring in the other versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Crusading district attorney Jerry Bennett (Gilbert Roland) would give anything to get the goods on unscrupulous criminal lawyer Clyde Corbin (Noah Beery). Alas, Corbin proves too slippery a target -- and besides, he's got too many irons in the fire to be bothered by Bennett. Halfway through the picture, Corbin temporarily leaves the legal world behind by masterminding a race track swindle, targeting lovable Pop Everett (Otis Harlan) as his fall guy. Bennett teams with lady detective Emilia (Carmel Myers) to save Pop from losing his money, but the DA's girlfriend Carol (Barbara Kent), Pop's daughter, misunderstands the situation and walks out on Bennett. This sets the stage for a comic denouement straight out of the The Front Page. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed with Marion Davies in 1928, Jacques Deval's warhorse stage property Her Cardboard Lover was revamped four years later as the Buster Keaton vehicle The Passionate Plumber. The Great Stone Face stars as Elmer Tuttle, a Parisian plumber who is hired by dizzy heroine Patricia Alden (Irene Purcell) to make her sweetheart Tony Lagorce (Gilbert Roland) jealous. With the help of Patricia's chauffeur McCracken (Jimmy Durante) and her maid Albine (Polly Moran), the feckless Elmer is transformed into a Great Romeo, doing his job so well that the hot-headed Tony challenges him to a duel. This material was not ideally suited for Buster Keaton, nor was it a particularly brilliant strategy to team the solemn comedian with the bombastic Jimmy Durante. Still, a few hilarious moments shine through, especially during the climactic duel sequence. The Passionate Plumber was remade under the original title Her Cardboard Lover with Norma Shearer in 1942, while Keaton himself distilled the story -- and the best gags -- into his 1941 Columbia two-reeler She's Oil Mine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Life Begins is an episodic Warner Bros. programmer about one unusually busy night in a maternity ward. Loretta Young is the central character, a convicted murderess who has been impregnated by her gangster boyfriend. She is moved to the hospital to give birth, sharing ward space with hard-boiled Glenda Farrell, who's willing to sell her unborn child, and several other mothers-to-be from various walks of life. Under the benign supervision of head nurse Aline MacMahon, most of the babies are born safely, though the repentant Young dies in the process. Based on a play by Mary McDougal Axelson, Life Begins was remade as A Child Is Born (1940), which was not nearly as effective (or as frank) as the original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Our Betters is adapted from Somerset Maugham's play about the shallowness and hypocrisy of the idle rich. American heiress Constance Bennett snares a titled British husband (Alan Mobray), but when she discovers that he is merely marrying her for her money, she decides to carry on a few affairs of her own. Going from wide-eyed innocent to bitter cynic, Bennett tries to maneuver her own sister (Anita Louise) into a titled marriage so that the "gravy train" of privileges and sexual liaisons will never end. Bennett ultimately ends up alone and miserable, though she retains her wealth and puts up a good front right to the final fade-out. Maugham's original play was intended to satirize wealthy Americans who buy their way into European society, but the film version of Our Betters is far rougher on the Continental Set than it is on Constance Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"I'm the finest woman who walked the streets," declares bejeweled, hip-swishing Lady Lou (Mae West) at the beginning of She Done Him Wrong. Lou works as a singer at the Gay Nineties saloon of Gus Jordan (Noah Beery Sr.), who plies her with diamonds to keep her by his side. She runs afoul of stalwart mission captain Cummings (Cary Grant), who warns her that she's on the road to perdition. Mae West's first starring film, She Done Him Wrong literally saved Paramount Pictures from bankruptcy. It would remain the best of her feature films, most of which were severely watered down by the Production Code (whose renewed stringency of 1933 was brought about in great part by West herself). She Done Him Wrong was based on West's own stage play, Diamond Lil, which ran on Broadway for 97 weeks. West sings "Frankie and Johnny," "I Like a Man Who Takes His Time," and ""I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone."" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A romantic triangle during WW I provides the basis of this drama. The trouble begins when a young wife gets involved with a coffee baron while her husband is off fighting WW I. Her shell-shocked husband finally returns. He is terribly jealous. To help him, the wife takes him to a Western dude ranch. Her lover also goes, and the two men soon become friends. The coffee magnate helps to cure him, but then breaks his heart by telling him that he and the wife are planning to run away. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide