Russell Simpson Movies

For years, it was a "given" that no director of merit ever emerged from the old Edison studios. This assertion was disproved when several of the films directed by Edison alumnus John H. Collins were rediscovered in the late 1970s. One of the best of Collins' efforts (and, sadly, one of his last) was the six-reel Metro drama Blue Jeans. Based on an old stage play, the film was set in Hill Country, where a long-standing family feud causes trouble for feisty heroine June (played by Collins' talented wife Viola Dana. The climax is that old "meller-drammer" standy, the Hero Strapped to a Log in the Sawmill. Despite the silliness of the situation, Collins plays it dead straight, and the scene is almost unbearably suspenseful (incidentally, the heroine comes to the rescue, thereby reversing the usual cliché). Blue Jeans was exceptionally well cast, with several familiar faces (including John Ford stock-company perennial Russell Simpson) performing above and beyond the call of duty. Alas, John H. Collins would soon fall victim to the influenza epidemic of 1918, robbing the screen of one of its most potent pioneering talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Another of a successful string of Metro features directed by the vastly underrated John H. Collins, Riders of the Night was set in Kentucky hill country. Collins' wifeViola Dana stars as Sally Castleton, a country girl in love with a brooding and idealistic aristocrat. When her sweetheart joins a night-riding vigilante organization, Sally is temporarily dismayed but resolves to hide the man from the authorities. Ultimately she gives up her own life for the sake of her lover. Though clearly inspired by Birth of a Nation, the film never resorted to mere imitation and was capable of standing up on its own dramatic and aesthetic merits. Unfortunately, like most of the Collins/Dana collaborations, Riders of the Night has apparently long since disappeared. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Character actor Russell Simpson earned a rare lead in this average silent western but found himself somewhat dwarfed by the florid acting style of villain Robert McKim. A triangle melodrama, Out of the Dust tells a sordid tale of an officer's wife (Dorcas Matthews who, out of sheer cabin fever, runs away with a trapper (McKim). The husband (Simpson) tracks the couple down and finds his wife working as a dance-hall hostess (read prostitute). Genre specialist J.P. McCarthy both produced, wrote and directed, releasing his little opus on states rights. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

After committing murder, Hugh Garth (fine character actor Russell Simpson) becomes a fugitive from justice. He takes his younger brother, Pete (Cullen Landis) and the boy's nurse, Bella (Mary Alden) from England to the wilds of Canada. For the next fifteen years, he makes a living as a trapper with Pete selling the skins. Although Bella does everything she can for Hugh, he bullies and mistreats her. One day, he finds Sylvia (Pauline Starke) wandering in the snow. The pretty actress has gotten lost and become temporarily blinded from the snow. Hugh brings her to his cabin and weaves heroic tales about himself, while disparaging both Pete and Bella. Sylvia, who considers Hugh her savior, eats it all up until her sight returns. Then she discovers that Hugh is an ugly old man who is wanted by the Mounted Police. She turns to Pete and they fall in love. Hugh's jealousy abates when he realizes that Bella has been there for him all along. This picture was adapted from a Red Book serial by Katherine Newlin Burt. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Bunty Pulls the Strings was adapted from the immensely popular stage farce by Graham Moffat. Leatrice Joy stars as a Scottish lassie who has her hands full solving various domestic problems. Her brother Raymond Hatton faces a prison term, and she herself is in danger of losing boyfriend Cullen Landis. All ends happily with a double wedding ceremony, with Leatrice's father (Russell Simpson) not only giving the bride away but taking a bride himself. Surprisingly, comic actor James Finlayson, who co-starred in both the British and American stage versions of Bunty Pulls the Strings, does not participate in the film version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The crusty Russell Simpson and villainous James Mason portray a particularly evil father and son team in this intense sea tale, based on the novel, Black Pawl, by Ben Ames Williams. Black Pawl (Simpson) is an atheistic pirate who is headed to the States. In a foreign port, his son, Red -- who Black has taught to be as nasty and mean-spirited as he is -- finds the Reverend Sam Poor (Alec B. Francis) and pretty Ruth Lytton (Helene Chadwick). He brings them to Black, who agrees to give them passage, mainly because he is strangely drawn to Ruth. The ship's second mate, Dan Darrin (John Bowers), falls in love with Ruth, which angers the Pawls, since they both want to possess her. Black reveals to Reverend Poor the reason for his godless views: His wife deserted him while he was off on a voyage and he has hated humankind ever since. After battling a fierce storm, Black is exhausted and Ruth selflessly offers to tend to him. He tries to use this as an opportunity to attack her, but then he recognizes her locket. Inside is a photo of his wife -- Ruth is his long-lost daughter. This realization brings out his latent good side, and he goes to Red to offer him the run of his ship. Red's response is to sneer that his old man can no longer keep up with its care. Black realizes that he raised his son in his own evil spirit too well and the men argue. Red stabs his father, but before he dies, Black kills Red, believing that he is too wicked to live. This leaves Ruth and Darrin free to be together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This obscure silent western-comedy featured Frank Dill as a cowboy passing himself off as a millionaire's son. As it turns out, he really is the son, making the whole overly-padded affair an exercise in futility. Produced by an outfit calling itself Golden State Films, the film trapped some well-known actors in the cast, including near-legendary character star Tully Marshall and Marguerite de la Motte, a pretty starlet who had been Douglas Fairbanks' leading lady in both The Mark of Zorro (1920) and The Three Musketeers (1921). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This romantic drama carried a spiritual theme. In a small rural town next to a lumber camp, two outcasts become friends -- toy maker Amos Deming (Gaston Glass) and Emily Preston (Pauline Stark). Amos' father, Caleb (Russell Simpson), has always resented the fact that his boy had a crippled arm and did not grow up to be strong, and Emily is ostracized by the community because her brother Will (Hallam Cooley) served a prison term. Krieg, a lumberman (Ernest Torrence) has a grudge against Will's partner, Dodd (Gordon Russell), and he kills him. When Emily tries to thwart Krieg's attempts to place the guilt on Will he attacks her. But Amos comes to her rescue and when Krieg wrenches his arm, he finds that, miraculously, he has regained use of the formerly lifeless limb. Caleb believes that his prayers have been answered, and Amos an Emily find happiness together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

After the wild party held by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle that allegedly resulted in a girl's death, and the unsolved murder of director William Desmond Taylor, Women's Clubs -- and the film industry itself -- began to clamor for what was called "clean" entertainment. This picture was Universal's attempt to come up with something wholesome, but it was really just a standard (though well-done) melodrama in a country setting -- the scenes of innocent rural life apparently meant to make it "clean." Tom Logan (House Peters) is taken in by a scheming city woman, Barbara Kay (Edith Hallor). Barbara knows that Tom will inherit his father's land, which sits on a coal field, and she wants a piece of the action. His father (Russell Simpson) sees right through her, and cuts Tom off when he marries her. They have a baby and everything seems all right for a while, but then Barbara tires of the drudgery of farm life. She asks her old lover, just out of prison, to come for her. Tom's father tries to stop them and the lover kills him. Tom thinks that his wife is the guilty one and takes the blame. But Barbara, who is being mistreated by her lover, confesses the truth. After Tom gets out, he finds Barbara and her lover together. The two men fight, and Barbara is killed trying to protect Tom. Tom and his child return to the farm and to his old mother (Gertrude Claire). Incidentally, the story to this picture was written by Hal Reid, father of Wallace Reid -- the star who would die a year later from drug addiction and create yet another Hollywood scandal.
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Trade paper Moving Picture World laid on the praise a little heavily when it proclaimed that this solidly made melodrama was "one of the best pictures of the year and one of the greatest productions ever offered in the independent market." Arrow, the studio responsible for the picture, must have been pleased to read this. Prince Tagor (J. Frank Glendon) is the son of the Maharajah of Darwali (Russell Simpson) and envoy to the British Empire. Against his father's wishes, Tagor converts to Christianity and returns to India as a missionary. He has left his fiancée, Princess Indora (Diana Allen), back in London, where wicked Russian count Boris Voronsky (Stuart Holmes) steals her away. When Tagor returns home to find that he has lost Indora to Voronsky, he obligingly performs the wedding ceremony. But then, Countess Dagmar (Rosemary Theby) reveals that she is already married to Voronsky, and that he is a bigamist. Tagor abandons his ministry work and pursues the newlyweds, but spares Voronsky's life only because he believes that Indora really loves him. Indora, however, is only trying to keep Tagor from committing murder. When Voronsky attacks Indora, Tagor shoots him anyway. After this dramatic climax, Tagor and Indora are united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Circus Days is the first film version of the James Otis novel Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks With a Circus. Jackie Coogan plays 10-year-old Toby, who runs away from his abusive uncle to join the Big Top. The glamour of circus life tarnishes quickly for Toby, but he sticks it out, graduating from lowly candy vendor to star bareback rider. The boy uses the money earned with the circus to rescue his mother from his hated uncle. Circus Days spares us none of the harsher elements of the Otis novel, in contrast to the dry-cleaning job performed on the 1960 Walt Disney version of Toby Tyler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide