Allan Simpson Movies

Mary Philbin, best remembered as the heroine of the 1925 Lon Chaney version of Phantom of the Opera, stars in this murky low-budget melodrama. Philbin plays the daughter of truculent lighthouse keeper Russell Simpson. She goes ga-ga over society rake Edmund Burns, which greatly displeases her father. So put out is dead old dad that he goes after Burns with an axe, whereupon Philbin arms herself with a gun. Since most of After the Fog is set in a lighthouse, it is altogether appropriate that it was put together by Beacon Productions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Produced by small-scale firm Peerless, this silent melodrama told the ancient story of the girl whose refusal to "put out" loses her a chance for stage prominence. French-Canadienne Pauline Garon played the girl this time, with William Eugene as the unscrupulous theatrical backer and Allan Simpson as the nice boy she meets in Havana. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Earlier in the century, this melodrama about a young girl in the garment industry was a famous stage play. To bring it to the screen in 1926, the Fox studios changed modest Bertha in her gingham apron into a modern young lady who wears silk lingerie. Madge Bellamy was well-cast in the title role. Bertha Sloan is a sewing machine girl for only a few minutes of screen time. In short order, she is fired from her job and lands a new one, as the telephone girl for a company that manufactures fine women's lingerie. Bertha falls in love with Roy Davis, a young shipping clerk (Allan Simpson), and Morton, the company's manager (Paul Nicholson), makes her one of their models. He also invites the unsuspecting girl onto his yacht, where he tries to have his way with her. But Davis comes to the rescue and saves Bertha's virtue. It turns out that Davis is not a clerk at all, but the head of the company. He fires Morton and marries Bertha. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Based on a novel by Francis Brett Young, Sea Horses stars Florence Vidor as Helen Salvia, who is deserted early on by her no-good husband Lorenzo (William Powell). With her 4-year-old daughter Cina (Mary Dow) in tow, Helen heads to a sinister African port town in search of her husband. During the long ocean voyage, Helen is lusted after by two of the deckhands, Cochran (George Bancroft) and Harvey (Alan Simpson). Ship's captain George Glanville (Jack Holt) is also attracted to the heroine, but he's too much the gentleman to put the moves on her. At film's end, it is Glanville, with the unexpected aid of Cochran, who rescues Helen from her vicious husband. The film's highlight is a storm-at-sea sequence, a near flawless combination of scale models and miniatures. Sea Horses was directed by the talented Allan Dwan, whose self-styled "artlessness" was an art form in itself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Richard Keith (Conway Tearle) is a struggling artist in love with Betty Lynch (Sigrid Holmquist), the daughter of a wealthy father (Arthur Donaldson). He proposes marriage providing she give up her life of luxury to live on the money he makes as a painter. Richard and Betty are married and later welcome a new baby into the family. Tired of living on love and constantly impoverished, Betty runs home to her heartless father Jordan. She returns to Richard's loving arms after she realizes her cold-hearted father will never change. This was Sigrid Holquist's last film, as well as the last appearance for Dorothy Allen, who played a minor role. Donaldson would go on to make two more films. Peggy Kelly makes her film debut as Lady Atherton, but would only appear in two more features. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This society comedy-drama was given witty direction by Allan Dwan, and was based on The Laughing Lady by respected playwright Alfred Sutro. When Marjorie Colbert (Gloria Swanson) is neglected by her husband, Hector (Allan Simpson), she spends time befriending Harrison Peters (Ricardo Cortez). Peters mistakes her attention for love and puts her in a compromising position at a house party. Hector's mother (Ida Waterman) insists that her son get a divorce, and it goes through with the help of a detective and the skill of his talented attorney, Daniel Farr (Rod LaRocque). Marjorie blames the divorce on Farr and is determined to get back at him. She makes it look like he has attacked her, which ruins his reputation. She later regrets her action and, after confessing to the press, she makes plans to leave town. Farr, however, has fallen in love with her, and stops her from leaving. Marjorie realizes that she has fallen for him, too, and the two unite. In his attempt to portray New York society as realistically as possible, Dwan cast Thelma Morgan Converse in a small role. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

The Exciters is the old one about a footloose heiress who must marry by the age of 21 or forfeit her fortune. The girl (Bebe Daniels), an inveterate thrill-seeker, chooses as her mate a handsome gangster (Antonio Moreno). Lots of thrills and laughs occur as a result of this shaky union. The gangster eventually reveals that he's an undercover cop, and the girl finally agrees to curb her craving for excitement. Veteran scenarists Sonya Levien and John Colton adapted The Exciters from a novel by Martin Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi