Wilton Taylor Movies

John Gilbert felt his talents were being wasted at Fox, and he was very vocal about his feelings towards the studio. But this film, made about a year before he moved over to MGM, gave him a rare opportunity to play an interesting character. Jaca Javalie (Gilbert) is a thief and a swindler who robs the rich. For a year he has been planning a major heist of a collection of jewels belonging to millionaire Theodore P. Banning (Wilton Taylor). To make inroads into Banning's world, he pretends to be an evangelist and accumulates a number of converts. His plans go awry, however, when he falls in love with Banning's daughter Nanette (Billie Dove). His relationship with the girl changes him into an honest man, and Banning, realizing the young man intends to go straight, protects him from the law. Featured in a bit part as a dancer is Julanne Johnston, who would make her small mark on cinematic history playing Douglas Fairbanks' leading lady in The Thief of Baghdad. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Silent cowboy-star Hoot Gibson specialized in playing ruffled, slightly comical cowpokes suffering from a mix of shyness and brash action. In this typical silent Gibson western, the "Hooter" plays a Quaker, whose father (William Welsh) is falsely accused of murder. The son, up until then the butt of endless jokes because of his pacifist ways, kidnaps the sheriff's pretty daughter (Edna Murphy) in order to enforce a fair trial for his father. She falls for the hero, of course, and he is allowed to track down the real killer (Wade Boteler). A pretty brunette known for her "flapper" roles, Edna Murphy was at one time married to director Mervyn LeRoy. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Even before the Labor Day scandal that ruined him, 1921 was a tough year for Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Arbuckle's contract with Paramount reportedly earned him one million dollars (worth many times that today), and producer Adolph Zukor wanted to get his money's worth. As a result, the rotund comic was put to work nonstop, sometimes at the expense of quality. This picture, based on the James Forbes stage play starring Frank McIntyre (who also starred in the 1916 film version), was obviously made cheaply. In addition, there wasn't the time (and perhaps there wasn't the desire) to add much of the slapstick that had brought Arbuckle fame. So it's a relatively low key Fatty who stars here as traveling salesman, or drummer, Bob Blake. While on the trail to Grand Rapids, Blake -- a self-professed woman-hater -is the victim of a practical joke and winds up leaving the train before his stop. It is pouring rain and he breaks into an empty house to spend the night. When he tracks down the home's owner, Beth Elliot (Betty Ross Clarke) to pay for his lodging, he falls in love for the first time. He also discovers a plot to take away Beth's property. Blake vanquishes the villains -- Franklin Royce (Frank Holland) and Martin Drury (Wilton Taylor) -and wins Beth's hand. this picture, released only a few weeks after Arbuckle's, last one, The Dollar A Year Man, received decidedly mixed reviews. No copy is known to have survived. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Although this mystery-comedy came out mere weeks after John Barrymore portrayed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character, it's not a spoof on Sherlock Holmes. Nevertheless, it's an amusing vehicle for Bert Lytell. The secret formula for the world's most powerful explosive has been stolen from the U.S. government. William Brown (Lytell), a clerk who aspires to be a detective, has just received his badge from some anonymous Midwestern agency (he paid all of 25 dollars for it), and manages to get himself embroiled in the intrigue. And he doesn't do too badly -- he actually gets his hands on the missing envelope, but then he's tricked by the thieves into giving it back to them. Instead of receiving his reward, he is ridiculed and his tin badge is soundly crushed. But all is not lost -- he remembers that the woman in possession of the envelope was wearing sandalwood perfume. He puts his olfactory senses to work, and after he's smelled just about everything he can find, he recovers the document again, gets a real detective badge, and wins his girl (Ora Carew). ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

The story to this mild little romance obviously owed a lot to the play Polly of the Circus, which was made into a 1917 film starring Mae Marsh. Here, Mary Miles Minter is the title character. Pat (Minter) is a little orphan who has been raised around the circus. Her foster father is Toto the clown (Neely Edwards). Toto hopes to marry Pat until the day the circus comes to a Southern town and she meets handsome Dick Beverley (Jack Mulhall). Beverley falls in love with Pat and takes a job as trick rider just to be near her. Beverley's aristocratic parents (Winter Hall and Helen Dunbar) find out about his new job and insist that he come home. He brings Pat with him, and his parents keep a close eye on her to see if she is worthy to marry their son. Pat finds life at the Beverleys' difficult, and while the parents are away, her circus family pays her a visit. Beverley's kid brother, Roddy (Cameron Coffey), spikes the punch with liquor and the circus folk get drunk. The Beverleys return and they throw Pat's guests out. She goes with them, but Dick goes after her. Explanations result in a wedding for Pat and young Beverley. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Treasure Island was the third of Fox's "Sunshine Kiddies" series, a group of literary adaptations starring child actors in adult roles. Little Francis Carpenter was cast as Robert Louis Stevenson's youthful hero Jim Hawkins, who after coming into possession of a valuable map embarks upon a treacherous treasure hunt. It was typical of the Sunshine Kiddies series that Stevenson's lovable villain, ship's cook-cum-pirate Long John Silver, was played by a girl, Violet Radcliffe. Another female child performer, Virginia Lee Corbin, is seen as Jim Hawkins' sweetheart, a character which doesn't appear in the original novel. No mere pastiche, Treasure Island was lavishly produced and meticulously directed, and the juvenile cast took its responsibilities very seriously. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Author George Clayton (H.B. Warner) is a skeptic when it comes to hypnotism. Nevertheless, he allows mesmerist Norman Osgood to put him under. The next day, Harrison Kirke (Howard Davies) is found murdered, and Clayton is the prime suspect because Osgood -- who had a grudge against the victim -- supposedly commanded him to do the deed "one hour before dawn." Only through the skilled work of Inspector Steele (Wilton Taylor) is Clayton found innocent of the crime. This mystery story received fine direction at the hands of Henry King, who was beginning to make quite a name for himself. It was based on Mansfield Scott's novel, Behind Red Curtains. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

In order to rescue his brother, society boy David Strong (Wallace Reid) has to travel through the underworld. He disguises himself as "the Colt Kid," who has just gotten out of prison. During his travels, Strong winds up in a cabaret where he meets singer Joan Gray (Anna Q. Nilsson). Joan is being pestered by coast-to-coast Taylor (Wallace Beery), who wants her as his mistress. Strong saves Joan from this situation and they fall in love. Only after going through some adventures together does she discover his real identity, and he finds out she is actually a writer who has been researching the criminal side of life. This film was based on the play One of Us by Jack Lait. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi