Carl Stockdale Movies

The title of Charlie Chaplin's fifth comedy for Essanay refers to the popular term for a Model T Ford, a jitney. Its theme of impersonation was one Chaplin had used before in Caught in a Cabaret and Her Friend the Bandit, and would use again in The Count and other films. Chaplin's girlfriend Edna Purviance is about to be forced by her father to wed the wealthy Count de Ha-Ha (Leo White), whom neither has met. Chaplin, dropping by for a visit, stands below her bedroom window whistling for her. She tosses him a note from the Count, announcing his visit and pleads to be rescued. Chaplin impersonates the Count and is welcomed by her mercenary father. He's given drinks and cigars and sits down to lunch with Purviance and her father. Chaplin performs a bit that he had done in one of the Karno sketches, that of carving a loaf of bread into a spiral and using it as an accordion. Although his table manners are decidedly not upper class, Chaplin pulls off the impersonation until the real Count arrives. The enraged father kicks Chaplin out of the house, then goes out for a spin with Purviance and the Count in the latter's car. They drive to a park where father hopes the Count can sweet-talk Purviance into marrying him. At first horrified by his intentions, she breaks out into gales of laughter at the sight of the tattered seat of his pants. Chaplin happens by and steals Purviance away, dispatching Count and father, along with a couple of cops. The fleeing couple steal the Count's jitney, and lead Count, father and cop, now following in a car they've taken, on a merry chase. The chase leads them to a pier, where in a clever stop-motion photography scene, the cars jockey about until Chaplin bumps the other car off the pier and into the water. A happy Chaplin and Purviance are about to kiss as the film fades out. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide

To date, this D.W. Griffith epic is the only talking-picture effort to encapsulate the entire life of Abraham Lincoln, from cradle to grave. The script, credited to Stephen Vincent Benet, manages to include all the familiar high points, including Lincoln's tragic romance with Ann Rutledge (Una Merkel, allegedly cast because of her resemblance to Griffith favorite Lillian Gish), his lawyer days in Illinois, his contentious marriage to Mary Todd (Kay Hammond), his heartbreaking decision to declare war upon the South, his pardoning of a condemned sentry during the Civil War, and his assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth (expansively portrayed by Ian Keith). This was D.W. Griffith's first talkie, and the master does his best with the somewhat pedantic dialogue sequences; but as always, Griffith's forte was spectacle and montage, as witness the cross-cut scenes of Yankees and Rebels marching off to war and the pulse-pounding ride of General Sheridan (Frank Campeau) through the Shenandoah Valley. Thanks to the wizardry of production designer William Cameron Menzies, many of the scenes appear far more elaborate than they really were; Menzies can also be credited with the unforgettable finale, as Honest Abe's Kentucky log cabin dissolves to the Lincoln Memorial. As Abraham Lincoln, Walter Huston is a tower of strength, making even the most florid of speeches sound human and credible; only during the protracted death scene of Ann Rutledge does Huston falter, and then the fault is as much Griffith's as his. Road-shown at nearly two hours (including a prologue showing slaves being brought to America), Abraham Lincoln was pared down to 97 minutes by United Artists, and in that length it proved a box-office success, boding well for D.W. Griffith's future in talkies (alas, it proved to be his next-to-last film; Griffith's final effort, The Struggle was a financial disaster). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With this lineup -- the star was Dorothy Gish, the director was George Siegmann, who got his training under D.W. Griffith, and the screenwriter was another Griffith protégé, Tod Browning -- one would assume this picture might have something special to offer. But, in spite of Gish's lighthearted charm, it fell flat, primarily because the story was so musty. In fact, it can pretty much be guessed by its title -- there's the horse race (actually there are two), the mortgage held in balance by Atta Boy's ability to win, causing the damsel much distress, etc., etc. The film's one bright moment -and perhaps this is where the Griffith influence comes in to play -- is when the camera, instead of shooting the horse race from a static position, keeps pace with the running horses as Atta Boy comes up from behind. In the mid-1910s, something as simple as a moving camera added spice to a motion picture. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The Battle of Greed was one of the best of the Tom Keene western series produced by bargain-basement Crescent Productions. Keene takes a job in a Virginia mining town in the mid-19th century. Here he makes the acquaintance of none other than Mark Twain (James Bush), currently employed as a newspaper editor. Keene joins forces with Twain in battling the town's corrupt element. While it may not be nice to say this, James Bush frankly gives a more convincing performance than nominal star Keene, who has this bad habit of laughing uproariously at the slightest provocation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charlie Chaplin's last one-reeler (with the exception of The Bond), is an impromptu film shot on the beach at Crystal Pier in Los Angeles, his first film shot there since leaving Keystone. It is superior to similarly made Keystone's in that the timing and gag ideas are much better realized. The film opens with couple Billy Armstrong and Margie Reiger at the beach on a windy day. Margie goes off, telling Billy to stay put. Charlie comes walking down a seaside street eating a banana and, after tossing the peel away, he slips on it. He encounters Billy when both men's hats, attached to them by elastic, get blown off and entangled. This causes a fight between them in which Charlie gets Billy in a headlock and knocks him unconscious, but fleas from Billy's head jump onto Charlie's arms, at which point Charlie performs a precursor of the flea circus routine that is featured in Limelight and the never released The Professor.

Just then Edna Purviance passes by and Charlie flirts with her. She is amused by his antics despite herself. She goes off and sits down by her boyfriend, Bud Jamison, who has been waiting for her on a nearby bench. Charlie and Billy make up, and Billy offers to buy them refreshments at a nearby ice cream stand operated by Snub Pollard. They again begin to fight as Billy refuses to pay. During the fight Bud gets hit by flying ice cream and joins the fray. The fight is broken up by a cop, who drags Billy off. Escaping, Charlie sits down next to Edna, bouncing her up and down by sitting down heavily. He's chased off by the returning Bud and joins Margie (who has been looking for Billy) on another bench until all the others arrive, whereupon Charlie tips over the bench and makes his getaway. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide

Warner Oland made his fifth appearance as wily Honolulu-based detective Charlie Chan in Fox's Charlie Chan's Courage. Hired to deliver a valuable necklace, Chan shows up at a ranch estate, posing as a servant. His task is complicated when Victor Jordan (Jack Carter), the man who engaged his services, is murdered the moment he shows up at the ranch. Maintaining his servant guise, Charlie monitors the movements of the many suspects, eventually unmasking the hidden killer. Among the supporting players are several Chan-movie "regulars," some of whom turned out to be murderers in other series entries. Charlie Chan's Courage is a remake of the 1928 silent film The Chinese Parrot, in which Chan was played by Japanese actor Sojin; alas, neither film is available for viewing today. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This spy thriller is centered upon the actions of the Cipher Bureau, a part of a government agency devoted to intercepting and decoding secret messages. The protagonist must destroy a ring of thinly disguised German spies. The film contains a lot of interesting information about how codes are deciphered and other things such as the ways that broadcast music can contain secret codes. The spies on both sides get involved in a gun battle. The good guys save the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Nothing of cult director Joseph H. Lewis' much-vaunted flair is on display in this average musical Western, the screen debut of Bob Baker, Universal's dark-haired answer to Gene Autry. Baker -- who had beaten a young Roy Rogers for the berth at Universal -- had sung on the National Barn Dance radio program but his vocal prowess quickly proved as untrained as his thespian abilities. Set during the Civil War, Courage of the West opens with President Lincoln (Albert Russell) establishing the Free Ranger corps in order to prevent the constant attacks on gold shipments from the West. After this potentially interesting opening, the Western settles down to tell the rather ordinary story of a ranger (J. Farrell McDonald) adopting the young son (Buddy Cox) of a convicted outlaw (Harry Woods). Years later, the boy has become the head of the rangers and is soon chasing down a gang of gold thieves headed -- unbeknownst to him -- by his own father. In between battling his natural father, Baker sang "Resting Beside the Campfire," "Ride Along Free Rangers," "Song of the Trail," and "I'll Build a Ranch House on the Range," all by Fleming Allen. Although competent enough astride his handsome paint horse, Apache, Baker's vocalizing never gave Gene Autry or Roy Rogers much to worry about and his starring career proved brief. By 1939, he was playing second leads to Johnny Mack Brown and by 1940 bit parts. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Celebrated prize fighter Jack Dempsey was a natural for serials, and industry leader Pathé dutifully cast him in this 15-chapter Western adventure co-starring cowgirl Josie Sedgwick and directed by a young W.S. Van Dyke. The story was the usual chapterplay predicament: A dying father gives his young daughter, Glory (Sedgwick), a bracelet with a gem that contains a partial direction to an underground lake of oil. The other half of the secret is in the possession of James Meeney (Frederick Starr), a gangster who may or may not be working with the girl's greedy stepfather (Herschel Mayall) and brother (Albert Cody). Enter Jack Derry (Dempsey), whose father (Carl Stockdale) is wrongfully imprisoned for a crime actually committed by Royce Rivers (Lon Chaney), a desert rat in league with Meeney. Everything, of course, is cleared up in the final chapter, "The Triple Chase," as Jack not only proves his father's innocence but also wins the affection of the newly oil-rich Glory. Promised a bonus if he could complete each chapter within a week, director W.S. Van Dyke earned a lifelong reputation for speed and efficiency (as well as the nickname "One-Shot Van Dyke") by working his cast and crew furiously but without skimping on quality. On the verge of major stardom, Lon Chaney did double duty in Daredevil Jack as a supporting player and as Dempsey's makeup man, and according to Dempsey, performing the latter duties with "a feather-like touch." Daredevil Jack was a major hit for both Pathé and Jack Dempsey, whose fame skyrocketed as a result. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Paul Muni is a prominent physician who is kidnapped by gangsters and forced to tend the needs of head crook Barton MacLaine. MacLaine takes a liking to the intellectual doctor and allows him to go home after his job is done. Muni finds himself the reluctant "staff physician" for the gangster, thus is periodically spirited away from his practice to look after the criminal. He has given his word not to "rat" on the crooks, but he can't sit idly by while the gangsters loot the city. Muni foils the crooks by injecting them with a drug which induces temporary blindness. Dr. Socrates was remade in 1939 as King of the Underworld, with Humphrey Bogart as the gangster boss and actress Kay Francis in Paul Muni's role (with surprisingly few dialogue alterations to accommodate the gender switch!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fritz Lang's first American film is a vigorous and perceptive indictment of mob law, starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sidney. Katherine (Sidney) leaves her boyfriend, Joe Wilson (Tracy), behind in their Midwestern hometown when she takes a job in another city. Joe is a decent, hard-working soul, who wants to save up to buy a gas station and looks forward to the future when he and Katherine can get married. A year later, Joe is traveling to meet Katherine so that they can be married. Driving through a small town, Joe is stopped by a deputy sheriff waving a shotgun. Apparently there has been a kidnapping, and the fact that Joe has peanuts in his pocket circumstantially incriminates him in the crime. Joe is arrested and jailed. As Joe sits in his jail cell, the local townspeople begin to talk and whisper and spread rumors. Finally, a lynch mob forms and heads toward the jail. The mob tries to storm the jail and frustrated over their inability to penetrate the prison walls, they set the jail on fire. Joe barely manages to escape ("I could smell myself burning"), but the mob thinks that Joe has been burned to death. Behind the scenes, and with the help of his brothers, Joe tries to rig the verdict in the impending trial of the 22 vigilantes. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A silent Western in the grand old tradition of William S. Hart and Harry Carey, The Grail presented a near epic story of crime and redemption. Dustin Farnum starred as Chic Shelby, a Texas Ranger chasing a couple of outlaws -- John Trammel (Jack Rollens) and his son James (James Gordon -- accused of killing a cattleman in the eternal struggle between ranchers and homesteaders. Chic tricks John out of his hiding place by pretending to be an itinerant preacher. The hardened outlaw is so moved by Chic's sermon on eternal love that he comes forward willingly and is arrested. Sam Hervey (Leon Bary), meanwhile, kills James over a girl (Alma Bennett) and pins the blame on Chic. The latter clears himself by capturing Hervey, John is acquitted because of his newfound faith, and lovely Dora Bledsoe (Peggy Shaw) prepares to make a home for the returning ranger. Dustin Farnum, who had starred in the first feature film to be produced in Hollywood proper, The Squaw Man (1914), suffered ill health in his later years and retired in 1924. He returned to play George Armstrong Custer in The Flaming Frontier (1926), but he died from kidney failure at the age of 53 in 1929. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this adventure, trouble ensues when two American French Legionnaires fall for the same girl and begin fighting over her when one of them announces that he plans to marry her. The argument is quite heated and in the ensuing scuffle one of them is shot and wounded. He believes the other did it. It was actually their sergeant who did it, and when he refuses to help out, the accused man punches him out. For hitting an officer, the pugilist is sentenced to Devil's Island. In order to be near her true love, the woman convinces the other to marry her. She then has him get a job as a guard at the notorious prison. It is there that the man realizes his buddy did not shoot him. He then helps him escape with the woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide