Jameson Thomas Movies
A London stage actor from the early 1900s, Jameson Thomas made his film debut in 1923's Chu Chin Chow. With such exceptions as Hitchcock's The Farmer's Wife (1928), Thomas was dissatisfied with the British phase of his film career, though he remained philosophical, observing, "If one wants to live by playing in British films, it is better to be miscast than never to be cast at all." Moving to Hollywood in the early talkie era, he was largely confined to minor roles until his death in 1939. His larger assignments included the role of Claudette Colbert's fortune-hunting husband King Westley in It Happened One Night (1934) and Charles Craig in the 1934 version of Jane Eyre. Jameson Thomas was married to actress Dorothy Dix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1925
The Daughter of Love is winsome Violet Hopson. The film's euphemistic title alludes to the legitimacy of Hopson's birth, or lack of same. Wealthy John Stuart falls in love with Hopson, but Stuart's father refuses to sanction his son's marriage to a...you know what. All ends happily when it turns out that the girl is actually the daughter of highly respected physician Jameson Thomas. Isn't it amazing what could shock British folks way back in 1925? Daughter of Love was based on a novel by E. J. Key. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1934
This is the second movie version of Willa Cather's Pulitzer Prize winning novel that tells the story of a bride-to-be whose fiance is near-fatally injured by the jealous husband of a woman he had an affair with. The poor young woman is so upset by the situation that she swears she will never love another and takes off to live in an isolated mountain retreat. There she feels terribly sorry for herself. One day she is moping along a rough trail, falls and hurts herself. Fortunately, she is rescued by an elderly lawyer who helps her heal both physically and psychologically. The grateful girl ends up marrying him. Unfortunately she meets a handsome young man with whom she falls passionately, but chastely in love. Now she regrets marrying the old attorney. She decides to tell the lawyer her true feelings. When she is finished he promptly keels over with a heart attack. It might be noted that after Cather saw this film, she forbade the further sale of her works to Hollywood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Morgan, (more)
In this comedy, an experienced newspaperman caves in to the constant badgering of his thoughtless family and ends up losing his job. Fortunately, he finds a new niche on the radio. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1925
This is a 7-reel British romantic drama, written by and starring Mrs. John Russell. Russell plays a woman vexed by an unfaithful husband. She seeks out her ex-beau and goes to work at his dress shop, turning the establishment into a howling success. Now: just guess what kind of business the Honorable Mrs. John Russell managed in real life. You win: Afraid of Love is little more than a feature-length "infomercial" for Mrs. Russell's thriving London dressmaking company. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Mongram "special" Beggars in Ermine was based on a novel by Esther Lynd Day. Having lost both legs in an accident, steel-mill owner John Dawson (Lionel Atwill) disconsolately goes among "the people" in hopes of finding a reason for living. Upon befriending blind peddler Marchant (Henry B. Walthall), Dawson puts his organizational skills to practical use by "unionizing" Walthall's beggar pals, doubling and tripling their effectiveness. His new "street" friends help Dawson get the goods on his crooked business manager James Marley (Jameson Thomas), who had arranged Dawson's "accident." It's quite refreshing to see perennial screen-villain Lionel Atwill in a 100% sympathetic role, which he carries off in grand style. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Atwill, Henry B. Walthall, (more)
- 1933
A nightclub singer with a strong work ethic marries a freeloading heir in this romantic drama. Trouble ensues when the singer, desiring that her new spouse learn the value of work, convinces his father to cut off his allowance. The ploy does not work, and the young man ends up spending most of his days at the racetrack. In frustration, the singer leaves. As a result, the son changes his life and his name. He begins working at a new, challenging job. The singer's helpful boss at the nightclub intervenes and forces her to meet with her estranged spouse. She is impressed with him. Happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Lombard, Gene Raymond, (more)
- 1935
As much a horror film as a murder mystery, Charlie Chan in Egypt is one of the best entries in the "Chan" series. The story is motivated by a King Tut-like curse, which has apparently befallen the members of an archeological expedition. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is brought into the case when a French museum wants to find out how several valuable Egyptian artifacts, originally slated for museum exhibition, have ended up for sale to the highest bidder. Arriving in Egypt, Chan must first figure out the modus operandi for two murders in which neither a weapon nor a wound was found. The solution to the killings involves a certain musical pitch played on a violin (a familiar mystery-movie device of the period). Though the screenwriters do a good job concealing the identity of the villain, Fox Studio's typecasting policy tends to give away that identity somewhat ahead of schedule. Prominent among the supporting players is black comedian Stepin Fetchit, whose stereotyped routines may offend the sensibilities of modern viewers. Originally released at 72 minutes, Charlie Chan in Egypt is currently available only in its choppy, shortened reissue version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Pat Paterson, (more)
- 1925
The tale of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves was made into this silent picture by British producer Graham Wilson. Betty Blythe stars as the beautiful Zahrat, who is kidnapped by Abou Hassan (Herbert Langley) on the day she is to wed her lover, Omar (Jameson Thomas). Hassan sells her to Kasim Baba (Randle Ayrton), a miser and moneylender of Baghdad. But then, disguised as Chinese Prince Chu Chin Chow, he kidnaps her once again, promising her freedom if she reveals the whereabouts of some valuable jewels. He goes back on his promise, and Kasim Baba's brother Ali Baba (Judd Green) comes in search of the jewels, too. Through Ali Baba, Zahrat is freed and at a big feast. She exposes the 40 thieves hidden in 40 jugs by Hassan. He is reviled by the crowd and Zahrat finally returns to Omar. This story was remade as a talkie in 1934. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Blythe, Herbert Langley, (more)
- 1931
Seldom was there a less appropriately named film company than Artclass Pictures, a firm which specialized in the lowest of low-budget productions. In Artclass's Convicted, silent-film favorite Aileen Pringle plays Barbara Norvelle, a stage actress who is being ardently pursued all over an ocean liner by her "sugar daddy" John Blair (Richard Tucker). Not long after being turned down for the umpteenth time by Barbara, Blair is found murdered, and the thousands of dollars that he has absconded with from his company appears to have been stolen. Not surprisingly, Barbara is accused of the murder, but a sharp-eyed reporter (Jameson Thomas) suspects that someone else was responsible. He's right, but it takes him the rest of the picture (all 55 minutes' worth) to prove it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aileen Pringle, Jameson Thomas, (more)
- 1935
Former child actor Johnny Downs acts his first adult lead in this nonsensical but charming little musical which benefits greatly from the appearance of Eddy Duchin and his band. To keep troublesome socialite Johnny Marvin (Downs) out of mischief, Coronado Hotel manager Carlton (Jameson Thomas) persuades Duchin to hire the lad as a band member. Johnny falls in love with singer June Wray (Betty Burgess), but she mistakenly believes he is interested in her sister Violet (Alice White), newly married to sailor Chuck Hornbostel (Jack Haley). Marvin Sr. (Berton Churchill) and June's vaudevillian father Oscar (Leon Errol), meanwhile, conspire to keep their offspring apart by exaggerating their differences, but after a jaunt into Mexico -- during which the young hero impersonates a doctor in order to spring Chuck and his pal Pinky Falls (Andy Devine) from the local jail -- Johnny and June are reunited with the blessings of their fathers. Accompanied by Eddy Duchin and His Orchestra, Betty Burgess, Johnny Downs, Jack Haley, and Leon Errol perform "All's Well," "Coronado by the Sea," "Doing the Coronado," "You Took My Breath Away," and "Down on the Isle of Oomph," all by Richard Whiting and Sam Coslow. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Haley, Andy Devine, (more)
- 1939
Two Canadian Mounties and the son of Rin Tin Tin join forces to solve a complex mystery in the north woods. The trouble begins when a lumber heiress finds herself victimized by two rivals who are after her land. She seeks help from her English uncle. Unbeknownst to her, he was killed by his aide who begins impersonating him. The disguised aide then goes to Canada to take the land for himself The heiress's rivals find themselves accused of the uncle's murder. Meanwhile, an addled mountain man claims that the land is really his. It is up to the RCMP and their dog to clear the whole mess up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edgar Edwards, Sheila Bromley, (more)
- 1924
During the 1920s, it was a common occurrence for British filmmakers to lense their productions in Germany, and vice versa. Thus it was that Herbert Wilcox travelled to Deutschland to film his lavish Decameron Nights. The film was based on a play by McLoughlin and Lawrence, which in turn was adapted from the spicy tales of Giovanni Boccaccio. Hollywood's Lionel Barrymore plays a sultan whose son falls hopelessly in love with a Moslem princess. Also in the cast is Werner Krauss, of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari fame. Decameron Nights was more or less remade in 1953, with Louis Jourdan and Joan Fontaine in the leads. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Werner Krauss, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1930
In emulation of such "all-talking, all-singing, all-star" Hollywood extravaganzas as The Show of Shows and Hollywood Revue of 1929, Britain's Elstree Studios served up its own big-budget revue, Elstree Calling, in early 1930. This plotless melange of musical numbers and "Heavens My Husband!" comedy sketches rises or falls on the merits of the individual stars. Among the Elstree contractees taking part herein are Will Fyffe, Tommy Handley, Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, and Lily Morris, together with such British International Pictures "regulars" as Anna May Wong and Gordon Harker. The tenor of the production can be measured by the scene in which the exotically beautiful Ms. Wong participates in a Keystone-style pie-throwing sequence. According to the film's credits, Alfred Hitchcock was responsible for "sketches and other interpolated items," reportedly taking over direction of the film when Adrian Brunuel was fired; other sources adamantly deny that Hitchcock had anything at all to do with the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Murray, Jack Hulbert, (more)
- 1932
Didn't the beautiful, ubiquitous Sally Blane ever take a day off in 1932? In Escapade, the busy Blane is cast as Kay Whitney, the wife of jailbird Phillip Whitney (Anthony Bushell). Upon his release, Phillip and Kay head to the home of his brother, celebrated lawyer John Whitney (Jameson Thomas) who, incredibly, is unaware that Phillip has "done time." It doesn't take long for Kay and John to fall in love, but this doesn't weaken John's resolve to save Phillip from the wrath of one of his former cellmates, the much-feared Gimpy McLane (Walter Long). Conveniently, Phillip and Gimpy knock each other off during a climactic gun battle, clearing the field for John and Kay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Bushell, Sally Blane, (more)
- 1930
The marriage between Jim and Esther Hamilton (Owen Moore and Dorothy Christy) spirals downhill rapidly when Esther purchases a sable coat for herself. Hoping to live up to her expensive accessory, Esther begins imagining herself a glamorpuss and soon is keeping company with caddish Morrell (Jameson Thomas). Jim brings his wife's galavanting to an abrupt end by committing suicide. All of this is related by the sadder-but-wiser Esther as an object lesson for young Alice Kendall (June Collyer), who out of love for her sweetheart Fred Garlan (Lloyd Hughes) returns the fur coat that she's bought on impulse. The only thing "extravagant" about this pinchpenny Tiffany Studios production is its title. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Moore, June Collyer, (more)
- 1937
Eric Linden and Cecilia Parker, the stars of Grand National's first release In His Steps (1936), were reunited in the same studio's Girl Loves Boy. Linden plays Bob Conrad, the playboy son of town squire Charles Conrad. Much against his dad's wishes, Bob falls in love with Dorothy (Parker), the daughter of penniless widow Mrs. McCarthy (Dorothy Peterson). At the insistence of Conrad Sr., Bob weds Sally Lacy (Bernadene Hayes), but Dorothy's broken heart is mended when it turns out that Sally's divorce from her previous husband was never finalized. Like the previous In His Steps, Girl Loves Boy was scripted by cinematographer-director Karl Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Linden, Cecilia Parker, (more)
- 1929
Based on a play by Pemberton Billing, High Treason is set in The Future -- 1940, to be exact. The Federated Countries of Europe seem poised on the brink of another war, this one sparked by a border dispute between Canada and the United States (!) Dr. Seymour (Humberstone Wright), head of the European Peace League, tries to avert the war, while Seymour's daughter Evelyn (Benita Hume) carries on a romance with Michael Deane (Jameson Thomas), the militaristic head of the Air Force. In the film's incredible denouement, Dr. Seymour is forced to resort to assassination to keep the peace (in other words, "support the anti-war movement or I'll kill you.") If one could find a print of High Treason today, one might be amused by the film's futuristic prognostications, including electric signboards in place of newspapers, private helicopters which can land on residential rooftops with impunity, two-way televisions in every home, and miniskirts on every woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benita Hume, Basil Gill, (more)
Frank Capra's seminal screwball comedy, which won all five major Academy Awards for 1934, is still as breezy and beguiling today. Claudette Colbert plays Ellie Andrews, a spoiled heiress who has married fortune-hunting aviator King Westley (Jameson Thomas), despite her father (Walter Connolly)'s objections. To keep Ellie from marrying this lothario, her father has been holding her prisoner aboard his yacht. But Ellie bolts from the yacht, swims ashore in her clothes, and eventually slips onto a Greyhound bus bound for New York. Aboard the bus is newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable), who has recently been fired for drinking on the job. Peter gets the last seat on the bus -- but when he gets up to argue with the bus driver, Ellie takes his seat. Since it is the last seat on the bus, they have to share it. When Ellie has her purse stolen and she refuses to report it, Peter begins to suspect something. The next morning, they both miss the bus after a leisurely breakfast, and Peter reveals that he knows her identity. She makes a deal with him: if he helps her get to New York, he can write a scoop about her for his paper. Peter thinks she is a spoiled brat, however, and refuses a monetary bribe: "I'm not interested in your money or your problem. You, King Westley, your father -- you're all a lot of hooey to me!" But as they travel northward and engage in a series of misadventures, the gruff newspaperman and the spoiled rich girl, thrown together by circumstances, fall in love with each other. This movie set the pace for the "screwball" comedy, the witty and romantic clash of temperaments between a man and a woman mismatched in both personality and social position, a type of movie often associated with Katherine Hepburn in such classics as Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), and, with Spencer Tracy, Adam's Rib (1949), Pat and Mike (1952), and Desk Set (1957), among others. The only other movies to win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay) were One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, (more)
This version of the Charlotte Bronte classic is the first to use sound. The story closely follows the book as it chronicles the romantic travails of a troubled orphan girl who grows up to be a governess in love with her employer who returns her affections. She has finally found happiness. Alas, her happiness is short-lived as she learns that her love has locked his crazy wife in a remote wing of the house. The distraught governess flees and gets engaged to a new man. Just before they marry, she learns that her true love's house has burned down, immolating his wife and leaving him nearly blind. Without hesitation she returns to him and romantic bliss ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Bruce, Colin Clive, (more)
In this drama, a manicurist is mistaken for the winner of a large sweepstakes and finds herself pursued by fortune hunters. One of them wants to marry her for the publicity and a stage contract. The trouble really begins when the real winner shows up. She is more than happy to let the manicurist get all the attention, provided she gets the money. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Farr, William Bakewell, (more)
- 1931
This first of three talkies bearing the title Lover Come Back stars Constance Cummings as Connie, a super-efficient stenographer. Connie would willingly forsake her career if office manager Tom Evans (Jack Mulhall) would propose, but he barely knows she's alive. When Tom marries Vivian (Betty Bronson), the disenchanted Connie weds Tom's boss Yates (Jameson Thomas), a bore and a pest. Things straighten themselves out when Tom finally realizes that Vivian is the wrong girl for him (indeed, she's the wrong girl for anyone). Star Jack Mulhall is afforded the opportunity to sing a forgettable ballad called Cigarette, proving that he was an ideal silent film actor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Cummings, Jack Mulhall, (more)
When a car crash ends the life of a fabulously wealthy patron of the arts, the decedent's $20,000,000 fortune is inherited by one Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) of Mandrake Falls, Vermont. Already a reasonably successful local businessman, Deeds doesn't really feel the need for anything extra in his life: he just wants enough time to practice his tuba and compose greeting-card doggerel. When Deeds is convinced to move to New York, hard-boiled newspaper reporter Babe Bennett (Jean Arthur) is dispatched to get the inside scoop on "The Cinderella Man." Babe's stories of Deeds' eccentricities and no-nonsense dealings with phonies and poseurs provide excellent headline fodder; but she begins to regret her actions, having fallen in love with the big lug. Deeds ultimately sets up a foundation to dispense his fortune to the country's neediest souls, on the proviso that the recipients do their best to get back on their feet, a turn of events that leads his lawyer John Cedar (Douglas Dumbrille) to try to have him declared insane. By the end of the sanity hearing, the judge (H. B. Walker) declares: "Not only are you sane, but you're the sanest man who ever walked in this courtroom!" A joyously unadulterated hunk of Frank Capra-corn, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was adapted by Robert Riskin from Clarence Buddington Kelland's short story "Opera Hat." In addition to the pleasure of watching the country bumpkin outwit city slickers, the movie is a film buff's dream, boasting one of the best character-actor casts ever assembled for a single film. Nominated for four Academy Awards, the film won Frank Capra his second Oscar (out of three) as Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1935
Mr. Dynamite was based on the Dashiel Hammett novel On the Make. Edmund Lowe plays jaunty private eye T. N. Thompson, or T.N.T. ("Mistery Dynamite", get it?) Nothing pleases Thompson more than running rings around the San Francisco police force, headed by the dyspeptic detective King (Robert Gleckler). On this occasion, Mr. Dynamite stumbles upon several corpses, taking it all in stride as he follows the trail of clues to the guilty party. Alas, he's broken several laws along the way, thus our hero is forced to hop the first train out of town, accompanied as always by faithful secretary Lynn (Jean Dixon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Jean Dixon, (more)
- 1933
A young woman believes that her mother's gambling house is a hotel. When a gambler angry about being cheated there convinces her to join her mother's business, it really does turn into a hotel. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claire Windsor, Theodore Von Eltz, (more)
