Stanley Blystone Movies
Wisconsonite actor Stanley Blystone was the brother of director John G. Blystone and assistant director Jasper Blystone. Entering films in 1915, the burly, muscular, mustachioed Blystone excelled in gruff, villainous roles; he was particularly menacing as a crooked ringmaster in Tom Mix's The Circus Ace (1927). In the talkie era, Blystone was busiest at the 2-reel comedy mills of RKO, Columbia and Hal Roach, often cast as brutish authority figures at odds with the comedy leads. In the Three Stooges' Half Shot Shooters (1936), he plays the sadistic Sgt. McGillicuddy, who reacts to the Stooges' ineptness by taking aim with a long-range cannon and blowing the three comedians right out of their boots! Blystone was much in demand as both "action" and "brains" heavies in Columbia's westerns and serials of the 1940s. Extending his activities to television in the 1950s, the 71-year-old Stanley Blystone was en route to Desilu Studios to play a small role on the TV series Wyatt Earp when he collapsed on the sidewalk and died of heart failure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1924
Nila Lyons (Laura La Plante) is a suburban housewife who craves excitement in her life. She gets it -- and how! -- when she's kidnapped by an Egyptian potentate. Crammed into a mummy case, Nila is rescued at the last possible moment by her "dull" husband Hiram (William Welsh). He then reveals that her abduction was a hoax, staged to cure her of her desire for thrills. Nila then responds by ramming Hiram's head upside his body, but this was a 1920s comedy, so all is forgiven. The plot of Excitement wasn't new in 1924 -- it had previously been employed, with variations, by Doug Fairbanks and Harold Lloyd -- and it certainly wouldn't be the last such "teach 'em a lesson" escapade, as witness such talkie two-reelers as Our Gang's Shiver My Timbers (1931) and Harry Von Zell's Meet Mr. Mischief (1947). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1925
This melodrama about the moral redemption of two crooks stars Eileen Pearcy and Tom Moore. Whitey (Moore) goes from being a war hero to a crook. He earns the admiration of Kitty, a fellow crook (Pearcy), when he saves her from the advances of Mal (James Mason). She goes to the country to recover from a nervous breakdown, and to reform. Whitey and his pal, Skeeter (Eddie Phillips), are in the midst of a job when they are caught by the night watchman. Skeeter shoots him and is himself killed. Although Whitey is held as a witness, his friend, detective Jim Condon (Stanley Blystone), allows him to go free on the condition that he will go straight. Whitey goes to the same small town where Kitty resides and gets a job in a bank. It turns out that Kitty is staying with Skeeter's mother, and Whitey tells her that her son died a war hero, and hands over his own medal to prove it. He believes that Kitty is in love with Fred Morton, the bank's cashier (Tom Gallery), so he keeps his distance. There's a shortage at the bank and Whitey is a suspect, but Morton -- who throws over Kitty when he discovers her past -- is the real culprit. The despondent Kitty tries to commit suicide by going over the falls, but Whitey rescues her. The two reformed crooks are ultimately united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eileen Percy, Tom Moore, (more)
- 1927
Silent screen Western star Tom Mix falls in love with a lovely circus performer in this fanciful (and typically overblown) star vehicle. Mix plays a sharpshooter and roping specialist who joins a travelling one-ring circus and falls for a lovely trapeze artiste (Natalie Joyce). There is the obligatory crooked politician whose greatest ambition is to close down the show but most of the screen time is dedicated to Mix's shootin' and ridin' (he even ropes an elephant!) and various big top acts. A 1925 WAMPAS Baby Star, Natalie Joyce ran away with the notices for this film and was reunited with Mix in Daredevil's Reward later that year. The brunette starlet allegedly told Mix aide Sid Jordan that she would never amount to much in the film industry because of her refusal "to put out." She retired from the screen in 1930. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Mix
- 1928
Long though lost, Four Sons reemerged in the 1960s, proving anew that the silent films of director John Ford were every bit as accomplished as his talkies. More "Germanic" in tone and texture than later Ford films, Four Sons is the story of the Bernle family of Bavaria. Mother Bernle (Margaret Mann) dotes upon her four sons Joseph (James Hall), Johann (Charles Morton), Franz (Francis X. Bushman Jr.) and Andres (George Meeker), but is powerless in guiding their destinies. When WW I breaks out, her sons march off to the front: one of the boys fights for the AEF, the others for the Kaiser. The film's most poignant sequence takes place on the battlefield, when one of the sons stumbles upon his mortally wounded brother. Though the dying man's plaintive cries are heard on the Fox Movietone soundtrack, the scene itself is effectively played in pantomime. An updated version of Four Sons, wherein the locale was switched from Bavaria to Czechoslovakia, was filmed in 1940, starring Don Ameche, Alan Curtis, Robert Lowery and George Ernest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Mann, James Hall, (more)
- 1929
A murder trial provides the setting of this drama that presents, via flashback, three very different versions and motives of the killing. According to the prosecution, the deceased's sexy (and very much married) mistress is behind the murder. The defense asserts that the woman's lover killed himself because she would not give into his demands. Unfortunately, neither side is correct. Fortunately, the real culprit confesses in court at the very last minute. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Duncan, Edmund Lowe, (more)
- 1929
Colleen Moore's starring vehicles were never as "naughty" as their titles suggested. In Synthetic Sin, for example, Moore is cast as virtuous small-town girl Betty. An aspiring actress, Betty scores a huge flop in her local stage debut. Deciding she hasn't "lived" enough to be a good actress, our heroine heads to the Big City, hoping to experience a life of sin and heartbreak. Nothing of the sort happens, of course, and by film's end the girl has managed to find success with her virtue still intact. Based on a play by Frederic and Fanny Hatton (two prolific comedy specialists of the period), Synthetic Sin was released with a synchronized Vitaphone musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colleen Moore, Antonio Moreno, (more)
- 1930
While on an outing to go fishing, Oliver Hardy is trying to get some sleep. He's disturbed by a newspaper that blows in, advertising the reading of the will of an Ebeneezer Laurel. Convinced that his partner, Stan Laurel, must be the heir, the pair head for the Laurel mansion. Upon arrival they find a detective (Fred Kelsey) who suspects murder and forbids anyone to leave the house. Laurel and Hardy spend a chilling night, assigned to the same bedroom in which the murder was committed, their ineptitude only heightening their fright. Various Laurel relatives keep disappearing mysteriously; a trapdoor is found. Hardy winds up in a death struggle with one of the murderers, only to wake up back on the boat. It was all just a dream. Not one of Laurel and Hardy's most hilarious three-reelers, but with many funny moments nonetheless. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1930
Having recently signed with Universal, Western star Ken Maynard became his own producer with this early talkie Western directed by Harry Joe Brown. Maynard plays Bud Rand, who, with his young ward, Billy (Jackie Hanlon), in tow, accepts an offer to ride the notorious "Mankiller" with the Copeland Wild West Show. Nasty Dude (Stanley Blystone), Copeland's right-hand man, soon resents the newcomer's friendship with pretty Mary Owens (Gladys McConnell). There is a fight which Dude loses, and in revenge, the villain makes certain that Bud suffers a devastating fall with "Mankiller." Suddenly regarded as a coward, Bud is forced to stay behind as the show moves on, but when he learns that little Billy has taken ill, he returns to duke it out with the villain and regain Mary's confidence. Maynard hired the Coleman Circus to provide the backdrop for this exciting, quite elaborate Western, which equalled the star's earlier grade-A Westerns for First National in both look and budget. Stock footage of Maynard and young Hanlon reappeared in King of the Arena (1933), a low-budget oater which was also built around the Coleman Circus. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gladys McConnell, Otis Harlan, (more)
- 1930
Aerial photography highlights this early sound actioner, set during World War I. Lt. Robert Banks (Charles "Buddy" Rogers), an American flier on leave in Paris, meets fellow American Mary Gordon (Jean Arthur) and the two fall in love. In combat, Banks makes a captive of Von Baden (Paul Lukas), the notorious "Grey Eagle." He brings Von Baden to Army headquarters, but there he is drugged by Mary, and she and Von Baden disappear. Eventually Banks discovers that Mary is an American counterintelligence agent, on a mission from the government. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1930
In this musical western, a cowpoke goes searching for his brother's killer. The brother had been a Texas Ranger. He finds the killer and they have a midnight showdown on Main Street. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Maynard, Dorothy Dwan, (more)
- 1931
In this western, a cowboy and an eastern city-slicker find they are co-inheritors of a ranch. The genteel woman loathes the West and is appalled by the rough and tumble ways of the cowboy. Later after he saves their ranch from cattle rustlers, she changes her tune and they fall in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Keene, Marion Shilling, (more)
- 1931
Billed as "The Ace of Screen Dare-Devils," stuntman Richard Talmadge usually starred in films that suffered from strained or nonexistent budgets. Dancing Dynamite seems to be a bit more expensive than the usual Talmadge vehicle, but only by a few bucks. The star plays Dick Barton, a Catalina fisherman with aspirations to crash High Society. Tired of hearing Barton's incessant chatter about the rich and famous, his pal Bull Evans (Stanley Blystone) bets Dick that he could never hobnob with the upper classes. Dick takes that bet, and before the film is over he has rescued wealthy Murray Van Lane (Harvey Clark) from bankruptcy -- and as a bonus, he marries Van Lane's lovely daughter Helen (Blanche Mehaffey). Rychard Cramer, usually cast as a sadistic villain, is a hoot as a dimwitted detective. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Talmadge, Blanche Mehaffey, (more)
- 1931
The Man From Death Valley is steely-eyed western hero Tom Tyler. A mysterious figure in the opening scenes, Tyler rides out of the nowhere and into a dusty frontier town, there to renew his romance with an old sweetheart. Upon learning that the girl is engaged to the sheriff, Tyler is about to leave town when he overhears a plan to hold up the local bank. Our hero robs the bank himself to keep the money safe, but try telling that to the sheriff, who immediately throws Tyler in the slammer. With the help of his former sweetie, Tyler escapes from jail to track down the bandits -- whereupon he discovers that the sheriff himself is in cahoots with the crooks. Man From Death Valley was one of several mildly offbeat Tom Tyler westerns produced during the 1931-32 season by G. A. Durlam and Lloyd Nosler (who also directed). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Oscar, Stanley Blystone, (more)
- 1932
Bret Harte's story Salomy Jane's Kiss provided the basis for a play (by Paul Armstrong and a number of films, including 1932's Wild Girl. Set in the High Sierras at the end of the Civil War, the "wild girl" of the title is Salome Jane Clay (Joan Bennett). Rather tomboyish and determined, she isn't the vixen that the title suggests; as a matter of fact, she is upset and angry over a man who has tried to take liberties with her. A stranger Charles Farrell shows up, looking for the same man who has incurred Jane's enmity. Farrell has a score to settle, for this man ruined the life and reputation of Farrell's sister. He shoots him, then flees the town with Jane's help. They are pursued by numerous individuals; as they overcome various obstacles, they find themselves falling in love. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- 1932
In this western, based on a Zane Grey novel, the hero leaves town after someone is killed during a feud. As he escapes, he meets up with Indians. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Running a swift 55 minutes, Trial of Vivienne Ware packs in more sheer entertainment value than its longer, more prestigious "role model," The Trial of Mary Dugan. Joan Bennett plays the title character, a beleaguered young woman accused of murdering her nasty fiancee (Jameson Thomas). She is defended in court by hotshot lawyer John Sutherland (Donald Cook), who happens to be in love with her. Subtlety is checked at the door in the ensuing trial, which comes to a climax when the actual murderer tosses a knife at a female witness, just as she is about to make a startling revelation. ZaSu Pitts is hilarious as Miss Fairweather, a lachrymose radio personality who during her daily courtroom broadcasts seems less concerned with the progress of the trial than with Vivienne's wardrobe. Trial of Vivienne Ware was based on a novel by Kenneth M. Ellis, which had been previously adapted as a popular radio serial. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, Donald Cook, (more)
- 1932
The most intriguing aspect of the 1932 Bert Wheeler-Robert Woolsey romp Hold 'Em Jail was that it was co-scripted by legendary humorist and frequent Marx Bros. contributor S. J. Perelman. The film bears a slight resemblance to the like-vintage Marx/Perelman collaboration Horse Feathers, in that both pictures are climaxed by a zany football game sequence. But while Horse Feathers is set at a college, Hold 'Em Jail takes place behind the cold gray walls of Bidemore Prison. Edgar Kennedy, Bidemore's warden, is all geared up for an impending all-prisoner football game; alas, his team is woefully short of talent. Kennedy puts out a call to Bidemore's "alumni," one of whom is nightclub-owner John Sheehan. When novelty salesmen Wheeler and Woolsey show up at Sheehan's club, the owner frames the two goofs on a robbery charge so that they'll be carted off to Bidemore and recruited for the football team. W&W make themselves at home in jail, securing jobs as trustees so that Wheeler can romance Kennedy's pretty daughter Betty Grable (who was 16 at the time, and looks it), while Woolsey pitches woo at Kennedy's homely sister Edna May Oliver (explaining that she's spent four years studying music in Paris, Edna confesses "I'm not a virtuoso." "Not after four years in Paris" is Woolsey's response). During the climactic gridiron activity, Wheeler and Woolsey spot the duplicitous John Sheehan on the other team, and struggle manfully to get him to sign a confession that will exonerate them. When originally previewed, Hold 'Em Jail was a musical comedy running 74 minutes; audiences laughed at the comedy scenes but groaned at the songs, whereupon the film was pared down to a 66-minute non-musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, (more)
- 1932
Tall, steely-eyed Tom Tyler makes a physically impressive RCMP officer in Honor of the Mounted. Tyler manages to "get his man" early in the proceedings, only to lose him immediately when he's knocked unconscious in a fall. After a treacherous canoe trip down the rapids, our hero catches up with the villain (Stanley Blystone), but again the scoundrel slips through his fingers. This goes on for several more reels until the bad guy is finally vanquished. Excellent photography and well-chosen locations are the most tangible assets of this "northern western." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis McDonald
- 1932
Film editor Lloyd Nosler was afforded his first opportunity to direct with the Tom Tyler western Galloping Thru. Tyler plays a young galoot who returns to his hometown after several years' absence, only to see his father shot down in front of him. The local constabulary doesn't seem to be too anxious to seek out the murderers, so Tyler takes the job on himself. Meanwhile, our hero's sweetheart Betty Mack is slowly being wooed away by Tyler's best friend (some friend!) The action is consistently exciting throughout, especially during the last reel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Mack, Al Bridge, (more)
- 1933
In this western, a renowned eastern polo-player will not go West with his girlfriend who desires to be with her father, a rancher. Eventually, he decides to follow her even though he realizes that while Easterners consider him tough, out West he will be considered a pampered sissy-boy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Blystone, Julian Rivero, (more)
- 1933
In his first Western of 1933, Columbia Pictures' Tim McCoy once again played a Texas Ranger, this time investigating the death of a supposed bank robber, "the Falcon." Tim and his buddy, Miguel (Julian Rivero), arrive at the Sherman ranch, whose owner (Lafe McKee) is the real victim of the robbery and is now about to lose his property. As it turns out, the robbery was staged by banker Frank Caldwell (Joseph W. Girard), who had advanced Sherman 10,000 dollars to pay his mortgage. Caldwell, meanwhile, is being blackmailed by evil Kit Masters (Stanley Blystone), who wants both the Sherman ranch and the rancher's pretty daughter, Irene (Caryl Lincoln). Although having to fight an unsympathetic sheriff (Wheeler Oakman) and his even more unscrupulous deputy (Ted Adams) all the way, Tim manages to save the Sherman ranch, force a confession out of meek bank teller Summers (Walter Brennan), and bring all the villains to justice. McCoy had great rapport with comic sidekick Julian Rivero (whose character answered to the imposing name Don Miguel y Guillermo Pablo Pancho Castrano de Villero), whom he always credited with teaching him the South-of-the Border accent he would employ in many of his future films. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
An admirably tough B-picture enlivened by an energetic James Cagney performance, Picture Snatcher stars Cagney as Danny Kean, a former gangster who has decided to go straight after a stretch in the big house. Danny has fallen for Patricia (Patricia Ellis), the daughter of the cop who put him away (Robert Emmett O'Connor). Dad isn't convinced that Danny has left his life of crime behind him, and he isn't too impressed with his new career taking pictures for a sleazy tabloid newspaper. Between getting a lurid photo of a fireman in front of a burning building (where his wife and her lover met their fate) and a daring shot of a woman being executed (based an actual incident when a New York Daily News photographer got a photo of Ruth Snyder in the electric chair), Danny's work is selling papers but hardly making Officer O'Connor think his daughter is in good hands (especially since he was in charge of press security for the execution). Short, sweet and sassy, Picture Snatcher is the sort of gutsy fare Warner Bros. did best in the 1930's; Ralph Bellamy turns in a great supporting performance as Danny's boozy editor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1933
Gangsters and cowboys don't mix as a recently returned World War I veteran soon discovers in this drama. The trouble is set in the hometown of Tom Allen, the returned G.I. He returns to find that one of his friend's has been murdered and that another friend has been framed for it. The real killer is the son of a mine owner in cahoots with Chicago gangsters and together they take-on Tom. He beats them all and the mobsters return to Chicago, the bad son is convicted, and Tom gets a beautiful girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Keene, Betty Furness, (more)
