George A. Billings Movies

It is time for Spanky McFarland and his family to have a group portrait taken, and prissy photographer Otto Phocus is the man for the job. At least, that's what Otto thinks, before he's worn to a frazzle trying to coax a smile out of the taciturn Spanky. Meanwhile, the rest of the Our Gang kids inadvertently lay waste to Mr. Phocus' developing room. Originally released on October 28, 1933, "Wild Poses" benefits from a strong adult cast: Franklin Pangborn as the persnickety Otto Phocus, the Burns-and-Allen clones Emerson Treacy and Gay Seabrook as Spanky's parents ---and even a surprise guest appearance by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sophisticated, silk-hatted silent-film comedian Raymond Griffith had at least one classic in him, and Hands Up was that film. Griffith plays a Southern spy during the Civil War, sent West to retrieve a vital gold shipment. Along the way, he meets boisterous Mack Swain (who was nearly booted from the film because the vainglorious Griffith felt he was "too goddamned funny") and falls in love with both of Swain's pretty daughters (Marian Nixon, Virginia Lee Corbin). After the Civil War angle has been eliminated from the proceedings, Griffith must rescue Swain and his daughters from a band of Indians. This, however, does not solve the basic dilemma: how can Griffith marry two women, both of whom he loves with equal fervor? The answer (curiously missing from many available prints of this film) is to head to Salt Lake City, the polygamy capitol of America. Though Griffith never displays an emotion nor outwardly elicits audience sympathy throughout Hands Up, we're pulling for him all the way, eagerly anticipating his every move. Best bit: Griffith, facing a firing squad comprised of the best skeet-shooters in the region, blithely throws a plate into the air--whereupon the squad instinctively takes aim at the plate, allowing Our Hero to escape! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This epic covers all of Lincoln's life. His birth in a blizzard; his boyhood (depicted by Danny Hey as young Lincoln); his romance with the ill-fated Anne Rutledge (Ruth Clifford) and courtship of Mary Todd (Nell Craig), who he married; his debates with Stephen Douglas (William Humphreys); and his rise to the presidency. The Civil War is covered, including the surrender of Lee (James Welch), then Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth (William Moran). Playing Lincoln as an adult is George A. Billings, an uncanny lookalike. Because of its scope, the film seems a bit sketchy at times, but its sincerity is always obvious. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although John Greenleaf Whittier wrote the poem Barbara Frietchie, it was actually the Clyde Fitch play that served as inspiration for both this and the 1915 film by the same name. In the days before the Civil War, southerner Barbara Frietchie (Florence Vidor) falls in love with Captain Trumbull (Edmund Lowe), a northern friend of her brother, Arthur (Charles Delaney). But when the war between the states breaks out, Trumbull must fight for the North. His troops take over Frederickstown, where the Frietchies live, and Barbara discovers her love for him overrides her feelings for the Confederacy. The couple goes to Hagerstown to marry, but a Confederate advance prevents the wedding. Arthur Frietchie wounds Trumbull and takes him into his own home. Because she believes her sweetheart is dying, Barbara hangs the stars and stripes out the window as the Confederates march by. The crowd is furious, but Stonewall Jackson, impressed by her courage, announces that anyone who harms her is to be shot. One man, Trumbull's rival, Jack Negly (Joe Bennett), ignores the order and shoots Barbara. She is not seriously wounded, and she then discovers that Trumbull is still alive. She nurses him back to health, and after the war they are finally married. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide