George Siegmann Movies

The success of First National's Harold Teen prompted Universal to cast gangly juvenile Arthur Lake as lead in Stop That Man. The Harold Lloyd-like plot casts Lake as Tommy O'Brien, the spindly younger brother of musclebound Irish cops Bill and Jim (Eddie Gribbon, Warner Richmond). To prove his worth, Tommy dons a policeman's uniform (though he's not a member of the force) and sets out to capture Slippery Dick Sylvaine (Walter McGrail). Instead, he inadvertently helps Sylvaine pull off a heist. Tommy redeems himself by commandeering a battered old streetcar and chasing down Sylvaine, winning the heart of heroine Muriel Crawford (Barbara Kent) in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Francis X. Bushman, who had made a comeback two years previously as Messala in Ben Hur, was still trying to hang onto stardom in this Universal feature. His character, Henry Desmond, is a combination hero/heavy. Desmond is a criminal lawyer, both talented and corrupt. He is involved with Helen (Anna Q. Nilsson), the wife of his friend Richard (Walter Pidgeon). Desmond kills a man (George Siegmann) in self-defense, but Richard is accused of the crime. He is convicted, but Desmond finally comes clean and admits to the murder. The Thirteenth Juror takes itself too seriously at times, making some of the absurd plot twists seem even more absurd. Bushman is his usual, rather stilted self, and his character is not very sympathetic. His career as a leading man, even in such character-type roles, was definitely nearing an end. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

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

Released with sound effects and a music score that included the song "When Love Comes Smiling" by Walter Hirsch, Lew Pollack and Erno Rapee, Paul Leni's near masterpiece remains one of the silent era's last great romantic melodramas. Based on Victor Hugo's 1869 novel L'Homme qui Rit, The Man Who Laughs starred German import Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine, a carnival freak doomed to live life wearing a perpetual grin carved on his face by Dr Hardquannone (George Siegman because his father, Lord Clancharlie (Allan Cavan), had offended England's King James II (Sam De Grasse). Taken in as a child by Ursus, a mountebank (Cesare Gravina), Gwynplaine grows up alongside the beautiful but blind Dea (Mary Philbin). They fall in love but Gwynplaine refuses to marry her because his hideous face makes him feel unworthy. Queen Anne (Josephine Crowell), meanwhile, has ascended the throne and when she learns from her predecessor's evil jester Barkilphedro (Brandon Hurst) that the recalcitrant Duchess Josiana (Olga Baclanova) is in possession of Lord Clancharlie's estates, she decrees that the royal femme fatale must marry Gwynplaine, the rightful heir. Josiana, who has caught Gwynplaine's act incognito and arranged a rendezvous, is at the same time sexually attracted to and repelled by the "Laughing Man," but Gwynplaine, who realizes that the duchess' attraction has legitimized his right to love Dea, renounces his title and follows his heart to the new World. Although Kirk Douglas was long interested in producing a remake, The Man Who Laughs was instead filmed again as L'Uomo che Ride by Italian director Sergio Corbucci in 1966. Corbucci, however, changed the setting from Queen Anne to the infamous sixteenth century Italian court of the Borgias. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

A battle royal ensues when husband Edward Everett Horton tells his wife Laura LaPlante that she can't buy an expensive new rug. In high dudgeon, LaPlante decides to go back to work so she can earn extra pocket money -- even though Horton has expressly forbidden her from doing so. On her own, our heroine lands a secretarial job at the very company where our hero is employed, requiring a lot of calisthenics to prevent hubby from finding out. The fun really begins when Horton is inveigled into posing as his boss' junior partner at a fancy reception -- and is further ordered to introduce the partner's wife as his own. So guess who also shows up at the party? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Imported from the USSR to direct the vehicles of silent-screen diva Pola Negri, Dmitri Buchowetzki eventually found himself working with such lesser (but in fact more popular) stars as Laura LaPlante. Set in pre-revolutionary Russia, the story gets under way when both the Grand Duke Sergius (Pat O'Malley) and banker Ivan Kusmin (George Siegmann) falls in love with American-born ballerina Olga Balashova (Laura LaPlante). For her part, Olga has eyes only for handsome young military cadet Alexei Oroloff (Raymond Keane). When the Grand Duke is found in an innocent but compromising situation with Olga, the infuriated Alexei strikes the man down -- whereupon he is arrested and sentenced to be executed. Desperately, Olga goes to Kusmin, begging him to use his influence to save Alexei. Instead, Kusmin lures Olga aboard his yacht, intending to seduce her. She is saved from that famous Fate Worse Than Death by the Grand Duke himself, who proves that he's a regular guy by rescuing Alexei from the firing squad in the nick of time. Based on a novel by Lauridas Brunn, The Midnight Sun was originally released as a "road-show" attraction, complete with reserved seating and an intermission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three of Hollywood's more enterprising women created this sentimental treatise on sin and redemption: Mrs. Wallace Reid (the former actress Dorothy Davenport) produced and co-directed (with Walter Lang) and Dorothy Arzner's screenplay was based on a story by influential journalist Adela Rogers St. Johns. Priscilla Bonner starred as Gabrielle Darley, a real-life prostitute acquitted of murdering her procurer in 1917. Left in a New Orleans brothel by a bounder she mistakenly believed to be her fiancé, Gabrielle tracks down the man (Carl Miller) in a Los Angeles jewelry shop and kills him in cold blood. Immediately regretting her brutal act, Gabrielle is resigned to her fate when the jury surprisingly returns a verdict of not guilty. A free woman, Gabrielle wants to change her wayward life by becoming a nurse, but is instead invited to live in the palatial Wilshire Boulevard estate of Mrs. Fontaine (Virginia Pearson). With Freddy the chauffeur (Theodore Von Eltz) as her only ally, Gabrielle is cruelly paraded in front of Mrs. Fontaine's society friends, some of whom "have skipped a matinee to see you." Tiring of the notoriety quickly enough, Mrs. Fontaine arranges for an interview with the local hospital, knowing full well that Gabrielle's sordid past will prohibit her ever becoming a nurse. Distraught and penniless, Gabrielle returns to New Orleans, never realizing that Freddy is desperately searching for her. Chased by a pimp in the French Quarter, the exhausted girl runs out into the crowded street and is hit by a passing car. While recovering in the hospital, she fortuitously learns that the hospital needs personnel due to the devastating influenza epidemic and is soon employed as a cleaning woman. It is in the hospital where she is finally found by Freddy as he arrives with soldiers wounded overseas. Despite being shipped off to fight the war in Europe the following day, the former chauffeur vows to return and make Gabrielle his wife. A huge box-office success, The Red Kimono ended up nearly bankrupting Mrs. Reid when the real Gabrielle Darley sued for libel. In the end, Darley won a huge settlement that included the Beverly Hills home which Reid had shared with her late husband, 1910s matinee-idol Wallace Reid. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Charley Chase plays a young married man with a suspicious wife (Katherine Grant) in this Hal Roach silent. The couple's car finally bites the dust (and their garage along with it), so Charley take it to a secondhand sales lot. He gets a tough looking character (the imposing George Siegmann) to buy it and it immediately collapses into pieces. Unfortunately for Charley, that's not the last he's seen of the tough, whose wife (Symona Boniface) is carrying on with Charley's boss (William J. Kelly). Charley winds up driving the philandering young lady to the mountains, with his boss following after -- along with her husband and Charley's wife. In their attempts to escape, Charley and the tough's wife both disguise themselves to look like the lodge's caretaker (James Parrott, Chase's real-life brother). In addition, there's also a "prohibition sleuth" (James Finlayson), who dresses up like the caretaker, too. The result is a hilarious chase throughout the lodge involving four caretakers and mass confusion. Charley makes his getaway, but not unscathed -- his wife knocks him senseless before taking him home. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This romance is based on the best-selling novel by Robert Keable, which was a sequel to yet another novel, Simon Called Peter. Monte Blue stars as clergyman Peter Graham, who is in love with Julie, a nurse (Marie Prevost). Julie, however, refuses to marry him. When World War I breaks out, they both serve in the same unit. When the war ends they are demobilized in Cape Town, South Africa. Julie resumes her nursing career, while Graham goes to work at a trading post. He winds up in a dispute with the corrupt boss, Stenhouse (George Siegmann), who tries to kill him. Mosheshoe, a native loyal to Graham (Charles Stevens), kills Stenhouse, but Graham's leg is shattered. Julie rushes to him and refuses to let it be amputated. She nurses him back to health, and once again he asks her to marry him. She refuses once more and he returns to London without her. He establishes a mission in London, and one day his old sweetheart Angelica (Virginia Brown Faire) shows up. She is pregnant and in need, so Graham offers to marry her. Julie arrives in London and winds up assisting in the birth of Angelica's child. But Angelica dies, freeing Graham and Julie to finally wed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

When a film vehicle was needed for heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, his producers wisely decided to use the story from a 1916 Douglas Fairbanks film. They changed it around, added a lot more fisticuffs, and co-starred the fighter's new bride, Estelle Taylor (the couple, incidentally, would divorce in 1931). The basic story line, however, remains the same -- Steve O'Dare (Dempsey) is called to New York on business, and he wires that he hopes his East Coast friends have some excitement set up for him, because the big city can't possibly compare to the West. On the train to New York, he meets a beautiful and mysterious young woman (Taylor). He sees her again in a cabaret and she tells him that she is in trouble. While trying to come to her aid, he is attacked by a gang and must try to hang onto a curious box that everybody apparently wants. After knocking quite a few people unconscious, O'Dare finds himself in a seemingly deserted house which turns out to have a dining room full of his friends. The whole intrigue was a set up so that O'Dare could have the excitement he was looking for. He outsmarts everyone by taking the girl as his wife. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The wooden performances by a usually fine cast of players suggest that the script to this melodrama -- based on the poem The Spell of the Yukon by Robert W. Service -- is to blame. Barbara LaMarr plays "the lady known as Lou," who is stuck performing in a divey South American cabaret where her husband, Jim (Percy Marmont), plays piano. When "Dangerous Dan" McGrew (Lew Cody) promises to put her name in lights on Broadway, Lou takes off with him, hoping to make enough money to send for Jim and their little boy (Philippe deLacy). Jim follows and catches up with McGrew in a New York nightclub. The two men fight it out and the place catches fire. Jim only narrowly escapes from the flames. McGrew takes Lou up to an Alaskan saloon, where she lures gamblers to his games. Jim shows up in Alaska and finally gives McGrew the fatal shot he deserves. When he discovers that Lou has been faithful to him this whole time, the couple is reunited. Service's poem was filmed once before, in 1915. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Henry "Pathe" Lehrman, the busy but mediocre director of many a 2-reel comedy, was entrusted with the Richard Talmadge vehicle On Time. As usual, stunt-man Talmadge plays a dashing young adventurer, pitted against a veritable legion of villains. This time, he must rescue Billie Dove from the clutches of a Chinese Tong leader. Leaping and bounding up staircases, down fire escapes and off buildings, Talmadge enables the audience to ignore the film's utter lack of a plotline. Only its relatively stellar supporting cast differentiates this Richard Talmadge epic from the star's many other cookie-cutter quickies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After becoming an unwed mother, Joline Hofer (Viola Dana) is cast out of her father's house. After placing her baby in a home, she becomes the party girl of the Parisian underworld. She is noticed by artist Paul Granville (Monte Blue), who uses her as a model. His paintings of her make him very successful. When he hears the tale of a barren rosebush in a monastery, he decides to paint the Madonna. Joline wants desperately to pose, but he scoffs at her offer. So she disguises herself as a boy and goes to the monastery herself. When a monk sees her posing by the rosebush, he thinks she is the Madonna. Joline tries to explain her presence, but the monk insists that the Madonna was acting through her because the bush is now blossoming. The experience causes Joline to repent her wicked ways. She gets honest employment, fetches her son, and Granville marries her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide