Gilbert Roland Movies
Mexico-born Gilbert Roland planned to become a bullfighter like his father, but these plans were shelved when his family moved to the U.S. during the Mexican Revolution. Roland began getting film work as an extra in 1918 in such productions as Cecil B. DeMille's Joan the Woman. In the 1920s, Roland befriended superstar Rudolph Valentino, who helped open several professional doors for the young aspiring actor. Roland's first important film role was Armand in Norma Talmadge's 1926 adaptation of Camille. In talkies, Roland was often consigned to traditional Latin Lover parts, though his athletic prowess and sense of comedy enabled him to expand his range. In the 1940s, Roland became the first and only genuine Mexican to portray the Cisco Kid onscreen, essaying the role in 11 films. A born-and-bred romantic (his first wife was the glamorous film queen Constance Bennett), Roland wrote and published reams of poetry, some of which he was able to incorporate into his film dialogue. Gilbert Roland remained active in films until 1982, exuding warmth and virility to the very end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1932
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
- Starring:
- Loretta Young, Eric Linden, (more)
- 1930
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
- Starring:
- Barbara Leonard, Arnold Korff, (more)
- 1929
Terrified at the prospect of making her talking-picture debut, silent-screen queen Norma Talmadge spent several months taking diction lessons before shooting commenced on New York Nights. The results were negligible: though she managed to keep her thick Brooklyn accent in check, Talmadge was ultimately defeated by the banalities of the script. Based on the stage play Tin Pan Alley, the film casts Talmadge as Broadway musical star Jill Deverne, the wife of struggling composer Fred Deverne (Gilbert Roland). Her new husband's drinking problem causes our heroine to seek solace in the arms of gangster Joe Prividi (John Wray), but after a bloody gangland shootout (filmed on location at New York's 125th Street Station), Jill is more than happy to return to the now-repentant Fred. After a second talkie attempt, Dubarry: Women of Passion, Norma Talmadge, a millionaire several times over, wisely elected to retire from films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland, (more)
- 1928
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
- Starring:
- Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland, (more)
- 1927
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
- Starring:
- Norma Talmadge, Noah Beery, Sr., (more)
- 1927
This tale of California's Spanish days is gorgeous fiction, from the sumptuous settings to the stars -- the leads are lovely, doe-eyed Mary Astor and the impossibly handsome Gilbert Roland. Juan (Roland) is about to elope with the convent-bred Elena (Astor), when he is chosen to assassinate the governor (Montagu Love), who is about to hand California over to the Russians. Since the governor also happens to be Elena's father, this puts him in quite a fix. Elena discovers the scheme, and, in order to save her father, blows the whistle on Juan. Then, to save Juan, she calls on the United States Marines, who come to everybody's rescue. The plot of the Russian prince (Andre Cheron) is foiled, Juan is saved, and California goes to the United States. In spite of his association with the Russians, the governor proves not to be a bad sort after all, and Elena winds up with Juan. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Gilbert Roland, (more)
- 1927
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
- Starring:
- Norma Talmadge, Gilbert Roland, (more)
- 1927
The Love Mart was based on The Code of Victor Jallot, an adventure yarn by Edward Childs Carpenter. The story is set in Old New Orleans, where the worldly possessions of impoverished aristocrat Louis Frobelle (Emile Chautard) have been put on the auction block. One of the interested bidders is the diabolical Captain Remy (Noah Beery), who insists he has evidence that Frobelle's daughter Antoinette (Billie Dove) is an octoroon -- and as such, is a slave of the household who by rights should be auctioned off with the rest of the property. It's all a plot by Remy to claim Antoinette as his mistress, but his plan is foiled by gallant Southern gentleman Victor Jallot (Gilbert Roland). The whole thing sounds a lot like Robert Penn Warren's Band of Angels -- which hadn't been written yet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billie Dove, Gilbert Roland, (more)
- 1926
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
- Starring:
- Bebe Daniels, James Hall, (more)
- 1926
A novel by Stephen French Whitman was the source for First National's The Blonde Saint. Lewis Stone stars as Sebastian Maure, a world-famous author and a notorious ladies' man. Well aware of Maure's reputation, heroine Anne Bellamy (Doris Kenyon) refuses to have anything to do with him -- but the audience knows that she's secretly in love with the "bad boy" novelist. Travelling by steamship from Italy to England, there to marry stuffy Brit Vincent Pamfort (Malcolm Denny), Anne can't seem to shake the persistent Maure, who has booked passage on the same ship. In desperation, Maure grabs Anne and leaps off the side of the boat. The two swim to the shore of a tiny Sicilian fishing village, where hero and heroine find themselves at the mercy of homicidal jewel thieves. As if that weren't enough, a plague breaks out in the village, endangering the lives of everyone in the community. Through his selfless ministrations to the sick, Maure proves to Anne that he'd be a worthy husband despite all his faults -- and when her British fiance shows up to rescue her, our heroine steadfastly refuses to be rescued. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis Stone, Doris Kenyon, (more)
- 1925
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
- Starring:
- Clara Bow, Donald Keith, (more)
- 1925
During a carnival in Venice, Horace Pierpont, a wealthy American (Lewis Stone), falls in love with Fay Kennion (Virgina Valli). Their romance is derailed when she goes over to his apartment and finds the vampy Fifi (Nita Naldi) there. Fay goes down to Algiers, where she marries a former sweetheart, Dr. Alan Mortimer (Edward Earle). Pierpont goes after Fay and when he discovers she has wed, takes a trip with the Mortimers over the desert. Dr. Mortimer is suspicious of the relationship between his wife and the newcomer, and when Pierpont is bitten by a viper, he refuses to treat him if there is a relationship going on. Fay lies so that Mortimer will take care of the wound. Later, she confesses the truth and sends Pierpont away. Eventually Mortimer is killed by an Arab attack, and when Fay runs into Pierpont, he reveals that Fifi was at his apartment that long-ago day to exact revenge. Now that nothing at all stands in their way, the pair reunite. This drama was based on the novel Snake Bite by Robert Hichens, a popular writer of the day. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis Stone, Virginia Valli, (more)
