Hayden Stevenson Movies

Based on a classic tale from Rudyard Kipling, this melodrama chronicles the desperate attempt of a painter to finish his greatest painting before he goes blind. His affliction is due to a war wound and his final project is to paint a portrait of London's most notorious prostitute. Trouble begins when the hooker falls deeply in love with the artist. Unfortunately, social mores forbid their union and this frustrates the wanton woman. Meanwhile, the artist feverishly continues to paint her. The result is exquisite. Unfortunately, by this time, the whore can no longer contain her frustrated rage, and unbeknownst to the painter whose sight is nearly gone, viciously slashes it. Later the artist takes his prized work and shows it to his best friend, a military officer, in a heartbreaking scene. Afterward the two colleagues head down to fight in the Sudan. There, the devastated painter begs the officer to allow him to participate in one final, glorious charge atop a shining white stallion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an American golf pro falls in love with a woman while visiting France; before long they are married and in the US. Upon their arrival, they are dismayed to discover that the golfer's parents have arranged for him to marry a wealthy socialite so they can use her money to support their business. The dutiful son then lies about his recent marriage and feigns affection for the heiress. They begin planning their "wedding," but eventually, he tells his new fiancee the truth about his marital status. She decides to help him and then the fun begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Financier J.B. Ball (Edward Arnold) -- known in the press as "the Bull of Broad Street" -- may be one of the wealthiest investment bankers in the country, but he also knows the value of a dollar. And when his wife (Mary Nash) spends 50,000 of them on a sable coat, he is driven into such a fury in the ensuing argument on the roof of their Fifth Avenue townhouse, that he throws the coat into the street -- where it promptly lands on the head of Mary Smith (Jean Arthur), a clerk-typist on her way to work, riding on the upper deck of a double-decker bus, ruining her hat in the process. She jumps off the bus to try to return the coat, but Ball insists that she keep it. What she really needs, however, is not a 50,000-dollar sable coat so much as a ride to work -- as she doesn't even have a dime for bus fare -- and perhaps a new hat. Ball obliges, taking her to one of the top clothing stores in New York, buying her an expensive fur hat to go with the coat, and then dropping her at work in his limo. Her superiors, seeing her decked out in a sable coat and a new hat, and getting out of the chauffeured car, conclude that Mary is a kept woman, and, therefore, unfit to work for the boys magazine where she is employed, and they fire her. Now out of work and virtually broke, she seems to have become a victim of random fate, but suddenly the scales start to tip the other way from the very same misunderstanding that got her fired. Having been seen in the company of J.B. Ball -- whose name she didn't even get -- she is rumored to be his mistress; the prissy clothing store proprietor (Franklin Pangborn) spreads this story, and that turns Mary into the object of attention for Mr. Louis Louis (Luis Alberni), the owner of a failed luxury hotel on which Ball's bank holds the mortgage, and is about to foreclose. For reasons that she can't begin to understand, since there is nothing going on between her and J.B. Ball (whose name she doesn't even know), or between her and anyone, Louis moves her into the most luxurious suite in his hotel for a dollar a day, asking her only to inform "that certain someone" of how she loves living there. Mary has no idea of who "that certain someone" is, or what Louis is talking about, but she needs a place to live, and Louis is insistent. She still needs to eat, and, while trying to get a meal at the automat, she crosses paths with a handsome, well-meaning, but inept waiter (Ray Milland), who gets fired for helping her. She takes him into her suite so he has a place to stay, and the two fall in love in the course of finding out about each other. She knows that he is John Ball Jr., but doesn't realize that he is the son of J.B. Ball, trying to make it on his own, nor does she yet realize who J.B. Ball is, in terms of being the man who gave her the coat and the new hat, or one of the wealthiest men in the country. But after the elder Ball spends an innocent night at the Hotel Louis, a gossip columnist named "Wallace Whistling" (William Demarest) prints that he is keeping a woman at the hotel, and suddenly the Hotel Louis, perceived as a fashionable playground for the upper-crust, is filled with guests. This multiple case of mistaken identity plunges through two or three new layers, eventually bringing about an impending stock market crash to rival 1929, before Mary discovers who her would-be benefactor and her would-be fiancé are. She bails them out of the jam that they're in, also restoring the Ball's marriage, her own reputation, and her romance with Ball's son in the process. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

A gangland murder is the motivating factor of this fast-moving crime drama. George Murphy stars as reporter Kent Shevlin, whose investigation of the murder leads to a tenure as a temporary FBI agent. His subsequent adventures lead him to Mexico, where he makes the acquaintance of Ramirez (Akim Tamiroff), a bold bandido who isn't all that he seems to be. The story ends up with a kidnapping masterminded by smooth mob boss Riley Ferguson (Sidney Blackmer). The woman of the title is Barbara Andrews (Gertrude Michaels), the daughter of a U.S. senator (Samuel S. Hinds) who figures prominently in the various intrigues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, Marilyn David (Claudette Colbert) is a stenographer who has become good friends with Peter Dawes (Fred MacMurray), a newspaper reporter who takes the same subway as she does each morning. While Peter is crazy about Marilyn, she has her eye on Charles Gray (Ray Milland), a wealthy Englishman. Charles is the son of Lloyd Granville (C. Aubrey Smith), a titled British nobleman, which means Charles is rich, good looking, and minor royalty, tipping the scales in his favor. Charles proposes marriage to Marilyn, but after a sudden argument, she turns him down. Peter is ecstatic at this bit of news and publishes an article about the working girl who passed on a chance to marry into money and nobility. Marilyn is suddenly famous as "The No Girl," and is even able to turn her sudden notoriety into a new career as a nightclub performer. Marilyn's fame causes Charles to take a second look at her; he asks her to reconsider, but Marilyn wonders if she might be better off with Peter after all. The Gilded Lily was the first co-starring vehicle for Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, who would go on to make seven movies together. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Actor Ralph Graves was responsible for the original story upon which Vengeance was based -- although, perhaps wisely, he elected not to appear in the film. Dorothy Revier stars as Margaret, the sexy wife of Charles Summers (Philip Strange), the tyrannical owner of an African rubber plantation. Suffering from what one observer has described as "Somerset Maugham disease," Margaret is bored out of her gourd by her isolated existence. Thus, when handsome overseer John Meadham (Jack Holt) arrives on the scene, she throws herself at him. It's virtually impossible for John to resist Margaret's charms, prompting the despicable Charles to plot a horrible revenge. Somewhat surprisingly, action star Jack Holt never puts up his dukes, preferring to do his fighting with a glib tongue and quick wit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A spin-off of the popular two-reel comedy series The Collegians, this early talkie once again featured George J. Lewis and Eddie Phillips as rivals for the affection of Dorothy Gulliver, the prettiest co-ed of imaginary Calford College, an institution of higher learning where academics take a decided back seat to romance and sporting activities. When "Flash" Thomas (Phillips), captain of the football team, finds Dorothy May (Gulliver) in the arms of his best buddy, Bob Wilson (Lewis), the dejected youth tries to forget his defeat by crashing a forbidden road house party. Bob tries valiantly to cover for his missing friend but Coach Jones (Hayden Stevenson) smells a rat and bans both from participating in the Big Game. Does Coach Jones come to regret his harsh decision and is Bob allowed back in to score the winning touchdown? Why, yes! Pert leading lady Dorothy Gulliver always retained fond memories of both the series and College Love, which she considered "the happiest time of my professional career." ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Red Lips was based on the novel The Plastic Age by Percy Marks, previously filmed under its original title in 1925. Charles "Buddy" Rogers stars as college track star Hugh Carver, who'd rather party than anything else. Hugh's bad habits eventually catch up with him, leading to his expulsion when co-ed Cynthia Day (Marion Nixon) is found in his dorm room (it's all quite innocent, but try telling that to the Dean). Fortunately, Cynthia is able to get Hugh to stop feeling sorry for himself; our hero gets his act back together in record time, is reinstated on the football team, and emerges the winner in the Big Game. The film was also released as Cream of the Earth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hayden Stevenson played the title role in this, one of Universal's most popular silent serials. A mystery villain, known only as the Spider (Al Hart), is out to steal Lord Blanton's (Herbert Prior) secret formula for the manufacturing of gold. Blanton's plucky daughter, Lady Diana (Gloria Grey), hires Angus Blake, a retired Scotland Yard detective, to capture the Spider, which the eminent sleuth finally manages to do in chapter 12, "The Final Reckoning." Along the way, Blake is aided at key moments by the helpful but enigmatic Lady in White (Grace Cunard). Produced for around 100,000 dollars, Blake of Scotland Yard grossed more than three million dollars worldwide and necessitated a sequel, The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929). A remake starring Herbert Rawlinson was produced by low-budget Victory Pictures in 1937. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Behind the Front is a raucous silent vehicle for Paramount's Mutt-and-Jeff comedy team of Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. The film begins during the early months of World War I; myopic detective Beery chases pickpocket Hatton into an "enlistment" party held by pretty socialite Mary Brian. The boys are so moonstruck by her that both agree to sign up for the Army on the spot. The rest of the film is comprised of familiar but hilarious war-comedy sight gags; the overall mood is encapsulated by the wisecracking subtitles of Ralph Spence (sample: "Listening Post...Where Men are Men but wish they weren't"). Behind the Front is punctuated by a terrific closing gag, wherein Beery and Hatton team up after the Armistice to beat to a pulp the young man (Richard Arlen) in charge of the company that produces their indigestible "K Rations"--a young man who happens to be the fiance of leading lady Mary Brian. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Reginald Denny is Alec Dupree, a young but serious college professor who is hard at work on a book. He is interrupted by a colleague who needs someone to show wealthy widow Agnes Clevenger (Cissy Fitzgerald) the town. The idea is to encourage Agnes to donate money to the college. Alec agrees, but soon he finds his evening overbooked -- he is also called upon to entertain a friend's wife and the pretty Hazel Deming (Marion Nixon), who he loves. He winds up dining at the same restaurant with all three women, none of whom realize that they're not Dupree's only date. Then he gets a message to return to his hotel, where he finds yet another women -- an old flame of his who is unhappily married. Her angry husband shows up, and Dupree desperately tries to hide her in another room. Even though he winds up in all sorts of trouble, he still manages to run off with Hazel, who accepts his proposal. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Universal luminary Herbert Rawlinson, whose star was on the wane by 1924, has the lead in this rather predictable murder mystery. Although Sheldon Polk (Rawlinson) is only a bank cashier, his extravagant ways reveal that his father is the man who owns the bank. Frank Farnsworth (Hayden Stevenson) wants to borrow 25,000 dollars from the senior Polk, and offers a 100,000-dollar necklace as security. Sheldon is given the task of taking the funds to Farnsworth, but he is robbed along the way. Meanwhile, his father is murdered and the necklace disappears. Because of circumstantial evidence, Sheldon is sent to prison, but he manages to break free (via a dirigible), and sets out to prove his innocence. It's an easy task to figure out that the real culprit is Farnsworth, who had put together the whole operation. Ruth Dwyer -- who is best known as Buster Keaton's leading lady in Seven Chances -- plays Sheldon's main squeeze, a girl by the name of Sunny Day. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This comedy-drama was based on the novel Love Insurance by Earl Derr Biggers and stars all-American boy Reginald Denny (at least he played all-American boys until sound pictures revealed his British accent). Denny is Dick Minot, who is employed by Floyd's Insurance Company. Lord Harrowby (William Austin) has taken out a hundred-thousand-dollar policy insuring his upcoming wedding to heiress Cynthia Meyrick (Ruth Dwyer). Minot is sent off to make sure that the wedding takes place, and meets Cynthia on the train. The two fall for each other, but Minot is determined to do his job and make sure that Cynthia marries Harrowby. He even exposes a Lord Harrowby impostor and saves the real Harrowby from some trouble with a chorus girl. But Harrowby, who is broke, assigns the policy to Wells (Tom McGuire), and Cynthia breaks the engagement because of it, which cancels it completely. So Minot is able to win Cynthia without upsetting his employers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide