Ethel Grey Terry Movies

In this drama, an impoverished girl defies her mother and marries her employer. When she becomes pregnant, her husband accuses her of adultery and casts her out. She then moves to a boardinghouse where she is befriended by a sympathetic writer who turns her sad tale into a best seller and hit play. When the husband reads about himself, he feels bad and begs for his wife's forgiveness. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The "modern" mother in this modest melodrama released by Columbia was played by Helene Chadwick, a minor screen vamp of the later silent era. Chadwick played Adele Dayton, a Broadway star whose daughter, Mildred (Barbara Kent), is reared in rural Massachusetts by Maizie and John (Ethel Grey Terry and Alan Roscoe). Adele often visits but is prohibited from telling Mildred the truth of her parentage. On one such visit, Adele becomes infatuated with Mildred's handsome boyfriend, struggling playwright David Starke (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.), who she brings to New York. On opening night of David's new play, Mildred blithely walks in on a romantic embrace between Adele and David and is both shocked and hurt. Realizing she is ruining her daughter's happiness, Adele sacrifices her own love by suddenly acting cold and indifferent toward the young man who soon returns, older but wiser, to Mildred. A dreary potboiler, Modern Mothers was written by Peter Milne, a former film reviewer who should have known better. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Motorcycle cop Rex Lease falls in love with Charlotte Stevens, the daughter of political boss James Gordon. This results in something of a conflict of interest for Lease: How can he round up the local criminal element, when most of the crooks are connected in some way or another to the cigar-chomping Gordon? Electing to sacrifice love for the sake of duty, Lease perseveres in his crime-busting activities -- and as a reward wins the girl anyway. The action highlights include a climactic set-to in an abandoned warehouse, where Lease takes on a battalion of baddies to rescue the heroine. The Variety reviewer, at the time this movie was released, suggested that the plotline of Cancelled Debt was so old and reliable that it would probably still be in used in 1950; he was right. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tom Mix plays an Eastern dandy who finds himself banished to a Western ranch in this routine silent Western which boasted of an above-average supporting cast. The sophisticated Helene Chadwick, a discovery of producer Samuel Goldwyn, is the rancher whom Mix constantly provokes, while William E. Lawrence, a former Universal series star, portrays a rival ranch hand. There is a conspiracy to part Miss Chadwick from her fortune, but Mix, of course, manages to save the day -- and Miss Chadwick. The film also featured performances from such popular silent screen players as sour-faced Emily Fitzroy, comedian Spec O'Donnell, Phyllis Haver, a Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty, and Ethel Grey Terry, who later played Calamity Jane in Wild Bill Hickock (1923). Hard Boiled was based on the short story Ridin' with Youth by Shannon Fife. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This drama was based on the novel Joseph Greer and His Daughter by Henry Kitchell Webster. Inventor Joseph Greer (Lewis Stone) has been separated from his wife for many years, and suddenly discovers he must look after Beatrice (Shirley Mason), his grown daughter who he didn't even know existed. Greer has created a new way to make linen and he is being backed by a group of financiers. Although he does not agree with their marketing schemes, he hopes that his connection to them will help Beatrice socially. Instead, it creates disaster. Vi Williamson (Ethel Grey Terry), the wife of one of the money men (David Torrence), makes a pass at Greer, and when he turns her down, she becomes vengeful. She turns her husband against Greer, and he ruins the inventor. Beatrice, meanwhile, marries Burns (Hugh Allen), the chauffeur. Greer takes to drinking, but with the help of Beatrice and her husband, he pulls himself together. His secretary, Jennie McArthur (Barbara Bedford), also returns, and Greer fights his way back to the top. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

In his third-to-last Western, austere silent-screen hero William S. Hart tackles the legend of gambler/lawman Wild Bill Hickock. Unfortunately, Hart's approach was, to quote the trade-paper Wid's, "rather dull and tedious." Hart belonged thoroughly to the 1910s, and his stark ways were considered old hat and no match for the circus atmosphere created by younger cowboy stars. Hart is otherwise well-cast as the former gambler turned upholder of law and order after a run-in with a gang of stage robbers. Having given up his guns for good, he finds Dodge City so rough that he quickly retrieves them. Only an approaching blindness can threaten Hickock's tough adherence to law and order, but when arch-enemy Jack McQueen (James Farley) accuses him of losing his nerve, Hickock is ready with his usual no-nonsense response. There's a woman (Kathleen O'Connor), of course, but only briefly since she is devoted to another (Carl Gerard). And there's the inevitable gallery of colorful supporting characters, from Bat Masterson (Jack Gardner) and Calamity Jane (Ethel Grey Terry) to none other than Abraham Lincoln himself. Despite all this, the film was an expensive failure and hastened Hart's departure from Famous Players Lasky. Supporting actors Carl Gerard and Ethel Grey Terry were married in real life. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Jack Pickford made a strong showing in this romantic drama, adapted from the novel by W.B.M. Ferguson. Two schemers, Crimmins (Clarence Burton) and Lilly Allen (Ethel Grey Terry), dope jockey Billy Garrison (Pickford) and cause him to be disqualified from the Carter Handicap. His bad luck continues when he is attacked and beaten after trying to drink away the memory of this disgrace. Because of his head injuries, he loses his memory and is discovered wandering around New York by a pair of kindly tramps. They find the address of Sue Desha (Madge Bellamy) in his pocket and they send him there. Sue, who loves Garrison and knows his story, gets him a job working in the stables belonging to her father, the Colonel (Charles A. Stevenson). Garrison's riding talent earns him a promotion to jockey and he is scheduled to ride in the Kentucky Derby. But Crimmins finds out and reveals Garrison's identity to the Colonel, who fires him. The villain's conniving ways, however, are uncovered in time to put Garrison back in the race. He rides the Colonel's horse to victory and proposes to Sue. This picture was an attempt by Pickford's famous sister, Mary Pickford, to inject some life into Jack's flagging career. She also wrote the titles, and (on a more economical note) lent co-star Madge Bellamy her own frocks to wear on screen. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

In this domestic drama from Universal, Claire Howard (Ethel Grey Terry) is a neglected wife whose husband, Austin (Vernon Steele), is so focused on his work that he never notices his business partner has been making moves on Claire. When Claire's younger sister Alice (Margaret Landis) and her husband David (Niles Welsh) come to visit , Alice soon realizes that her sister is getting herself into trouble. In an attempt to save the Howards' marriage, she shows up at the cottage where Austin's associate has planned a rendezvous with Claire and pretends to be the compromised one, which infuriates David. The couple is on the verge of divorce when Claire arrives and confesses to her part in the matter. Alice and David make up, and Austin realizes he needs to pay more attention to his wife. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

The real draw of this suspenseful drama was the yacht race and the motor boat chase, which included a hydroplane. No one cared much about the plot, but here it is anyway: Wealthy Lawrence Bradbury (a miscast Dustin Farnum) owns a transatlantic line which is being plagued by silk thieves. When he weds his fiancee, Constance (Ethel Gray Terry), he doesn't realize that her brother Ned (Maurice "Lefty" Flynn) is a detective who's on the case (as a matter of fact, the audience isn't apprised of this, either). Constance can't tell him because she is duty bound to keep Ned's profession secret. Bradbury comes to suspect that both his brother Jim (Fred Thomson) and Constance are part of the gang, but finally after a load of complications the truth comes out. The small role of Helen Palmer is one of Aileen Pringle's first appearances in a major studio film. In fact no one seemed to get the name of the future star of Three Weeks correct -- it ranges from Adele Pringle (Motion Picture News) to Eileen Pringle (Film Daily). ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Laurette Taylor played the orphan Peg for so long on stage that by the time she starred in the motion picture, she was undoubtedly too old for the part. But then, when Marion Davies starred in the 1933 talkie version, she was 36. The performances of both women in their respective pictures were surprisingly good, considering that in those days film was considered a medium tailor-made for dewy-eyed youth. When her mother dies, Margaret O'Connell, better known as Peg, has to leave her father (Russell Simpson) in Ireland to live with her snooty English relatives so that she can inherit a lot of money. But her relatives -- Mrs. Chichester (Vera Lewis), Ethel Chichester (Ethel Grey Terry), and Alaric Chichester (D.R.O. Hatswell) abuse her and her dog Mike. Only the presence of their neighbor, Sir Gerald Adair (Mahlon Hamilton) -- whom she calls Jerry -- makes things even remotely tolerable. But Peg finally decides she can't stand the Chichesters any longer and returns to Ireland. Jerry goes after her to declare his love and they marry. King Vidor directed -- it was an unusual type of picture for him, but critics singled his work out for praise. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

aka A Bride of the Gods This exotic adventure drama was based on the novel, The Daughter of Brahma, and went through at least one title change before reaching the screen as Shattered Idols. Jean Hurst (Ethel Grey Terry), the widow of a British Army officer in India, hates her crippled son David (Frankie Lee) because she thinks he is a coward and a weakling. She sends him away to England for his education. When he returns to India (to be played as an adult by James Morrison), he falls in love with native girl Sarasvati (Marguerite de la Motte), who he saves from being burned on a funeral pyre. They marry and go to England, but she's not accepted in society. When Sarasvati learns that Diana, David's childhood sweetheart (Louise Lovely), still loves him, she allows a group of Hindu conspirators to take her back to India. She becomes involved in the uprising there and David goes after her. He risks his life to rescue her, but she is killed protecting him. Diana, who has come to India too, finds him grieving over Sarasvati's dead body. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Veteran western star Harry Carey came up with the story of The Kick Back -- ranch owner battles villains attempting to take over his valuable property -- while George Edwardes-Hall, an old hand at this sort of thing, wrote the screenplay. In this above-average silent western, Carey plays "White Horse" Harry Redding, whose scheming neighbor (Henry B. Walthall) accuses him of cattle rustling during a buying expedition to Mexico. The federales believe the accusations, and "White Horse" finds himself in a Mexican jail. A kind senorita (Mogninne Golden) helps him escape, but a lynching party is awaiting him at the homestead. The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, are on to Walthall's schemes and arrive in the nick of time to prevent a grave injustice. Freed of all suspicions, Carey proposes to his girl (Ethel Grey Terry). Leading lady Terry is perhaps best remembered as the heroine in Lon Chaney's The Penalty (1920). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

This above-average British melodrama was based on "The Living Dead", a story by Mary Lerner. Bessie Barriscale stars as a woman who is compelled to marry a man she knows is wrong for her. Five hellish years later, her no-good spouse throws her over in favor of his mistress. When he threatens to take away her child, Barriscale is driven to the titular breaking point. She kills the lout, confessing the crime to her understanding mother-in-law. The film's upbeat ending would not have been possible in the Production Code-dominated 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi