Charlotte Walker Movies
American actress Charlotte Walker played leading roles in numerous silent films. She was eventually relegated to character roles. Born in Galveston, TX, she spent several years as a leading lady on Broadway. Walker's daughter, Sara Haden, was also an actress. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1941
Scattergood Meets Broadway was the third of RKO's film series based on the long-running radio favorite Scattergood Baines. Guy Kibbee once again plays the avuncular Mr. Baines, philosophical storekeeper of the mythical town of Coldriver. Though he has no use for the Big City, Scattergood heads to New York to save local boy Davy (William Henry), a would-be playwright, from being victimized by a team of clever Broadway con artists (Frank Jenks and Bradley Page). Before the final fade out, Scattergood is nearly suckered himself by the slickers, but he turns out to be a bit too smart for 'em. Some of the film's biggest laughs are provided by Joyce Compton as a deceptively dumb-blonde showgirl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Kibbee, Emma Dunn, (more)
- 1933
In this drama, set within an urban hotel, a nightclub dancer witnesses a gangland killing and must flee for her life. She escapes to the Hotel Variety, a home for aspiring performers, and there meets a young dancer and his young son. Naturally the two fall in love. Unfortunately, the hitman has located her and has begun to search the hotel halls. Just as it looks like it's curtains for the woman, the clumsy killer falls from a hotel fire escape and dies. Later a friendly investor hires them all to be in his newest film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hal Skelly, Olive Borden, (more)
Yet another variation on the already then-ancient Madame X theme, this early talkie stars Helen Twelvetrees in the title role, a small-town girl marrying a New York City businessman (James Hall). The union produces a daughter, but ends when Millie catches her husband with a mistress (Marie Astaire). Attempting to make a life for herself without turning to gold-digging, like her friends, Angie (Joan Blondell) and Helen (Lilyan Tashman), Millie is once again disappointed by a man when reporter boyfriend Tommy (Robert Ames) is found in another girl's apartment. Years later, a nearly destitute and much hardened Millie discovers that an old admirer, Jimmy Damier (John Halliday), is about to seduce her now 17-year-old daughter, Connie (Anita Louise). Catching the couple almost in the act, Millie shoots and kills Jimmy, but is acquitted when the jury learns the identity of the molested girl. Millie was an independent Charles R. Rogers production sold to RKO when producer Rogers joined that company. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Twelvetrees, Lilyan Tashman, (more)
- 1931
In this religious (but not overbearingly so) drama, a good man gets involved with a woman who wants to marry the man who impregnated her. When the lout refuses, her good friend intervenes to defend her and accidently kills the other. As a result he is imprisoned for five years. Following his release, the woman joins the Salvation army to support him and help him become pure again. Eventually her good work pays off, and he joins her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Graves, Helen Chandler, (more)
- 1930
In rare film appearance, Broadway luminary Elsie Ferguson repeats her 1929 stage role in the 1930 film version of Scarlet Pages. Ferguson is cast as brilliant attorney Mary Bancroft, who defends nightclub songstress Nora Mason (Marian Nixon) from a murder charge. The victim was Nora's rapacious stepfather, who died while trying to assault the girl. As the trial progresses, Mary comes to the startling realization that Nora is her own out-of-wedlock daughter, given up for adoption years earlier. The film is a typical early-talkie bore, but it's worth enduring to watch the great Elsie Ferguson give her all to her art. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elsie Ferguson, John Halliday, (more)
- 1930
First filmed in 1926, the venerable stage melodrama Three Faces East was remade as a talkie in 1930. Set during WWI, most of the film takes place in the London home of Sir Winston Chamberlain (sic), First Lord of the Admiralty. What Sir Winston doesn't know is that his faithful butler Erich Von Stroheim is the head of a German espionage ring. What nobody knows are the true loyalties of heroine Constance Bennett, who might be a British agent, a German spy, an innocent bystander, or none of the above. The property would be filmed again in 1940 as British Intelligence, with Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay in the leading roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Bennett, Erich Von Stroheim, (more)
- 1930
Lightnin' is based on the 1918 stage play by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon, in which Bacon (the father of director Lloyd Bacon) had starred for years on Broadway and "the road." Will Rogers steps into the leading role as "Lightnin'" Bill Jones, the slow-moving husband of Mary Jones (Louise Dresser). Mr. and Mrs. Jones are co-owners of a hotel built right on the borderline between California and Nevada, used as the temporary home of divorcing wives so that they may pretend to be in the "California" half of the hotel while establishing residency in the "Nevada" half. Lightnin' befriends lawyer John Marvin (Joel McCrea), at present residing in the California half to avoid arrest on a trumped-charge. When Lightnin' refuses to sell his share of the hotel to a gang of stock crooks headed by Raymond Thomas (Jason Robards Sr.), Mary is coerced into divorcing her husband so that she can sign over the deed herself. In the semi-serious courtroom finale, Lightnin' not only convinces Mary that she's still in love with him but also manages to clear John Marvin's name. Director Henry King clearly exercised no control over Will Rogers, whose incessant ad-libbing, amusing though it is, slows the film to a crawl. Still, Lightnin' proved to be just as successful as any other Rogers talkie vehicle, proving that audiences came to see the star and not the story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Rogers, Louise Dresser, (more)
- 1930
In this crime drama a reformed safecracker is pressured by his ex-cellmate to pull off one last job. The cellmate gives the safecracker a chance for peace and happiness on an isolated farm. There he meets a pretty woman and her grandmother. He falls in love with the young woman. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that they are part of his cellmate's gang. Eventually the two lovers are reunited and truly reformed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ames, Lila Lee, (more)
- 1929
This drama is an adaptation of a popular 1927 play and tells the story of a pair of married liberals who are content to remain faithful in spirit only. The ends up having an affair with a musician while her husband heads for Europe. When he returns he tells her about his affair with a French woman. The wife is devastated, for never did she believe her husband would actually sleep with another. In the end, they decide to re-adopt traditional marital morals and remain monogamous. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Harding, Fredric March, (more)
- 1929
In this comedy drama, a very early talkie, set in the splendiferous South Seas, a French lassie charms a sea captain who takes her for his wife and sets sail for his conservative New England home. There the staid locals are shocked by the captain's free-spirited bride. More trouble ensues when the bride becomes disenchanted with her new husband because she believes that he loves his ship more than he does her. In the end the sea captain sails to France. There he discovers that his bride has inherited a fortune. Songs include: "Raymond," "Bric-a-Brac," "Sidewalks of New York," "An Idyll of the South Seas," "If You Believed in Me," and the title song. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lenore Ulric, Charles Bickford, (more)
- 1928
Directed by Cabanne, himself a graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy, this is a schmaltzy propaganda film aggrandizing the male bonding and "code of honor" adherent to the Academy plebes. Ostensibly the story of a love triangle, it is really a stereotyped tale of two friends who follow the "code" no matter what intervenes in their lives or what adversity they encounter. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hobart Bosworth, William Bakewell, (more)
- 1927
In this silent crime drama, a clown comes home and finds his wife in bed with his colleague. He naturally flies into a jealous rage and tries to kill his rival. A storm erupts and destroys their house. The woman dies and the lover accuses the husband of killing her. The husband goes to prison for many years. One day, a circus comes to the prison and there the hero sees his own child playing a clown. He is so proud and excited that he busts out of prison to get grisly revenge, involving the lover and a hungry lion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Walker, Dorothy Revier, (more)
- 1926
The Great Deception is set during WWI. Educated in Germany, British youth Cyril Mansfield (Ben Lyon) is seemingly uncertain of his loyalties when the War breaks out. Refusing to enlist in the British army, Cyril is accused of being a slacker and a coward. He then commits the ultimate betrayal by selling his services to the Germans. What none of Cyril's friends know is that he is secretly in the employ of British intelligence, pretending to be a spy for the Kaiser in order to get his hands on the enemy's secret war plans. His true purpose is revealed when his girlfriend Lois (Aileen Pringle) is kidnapped by German agent Von Markow (Lucien Prival). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Lyon, Aileen Pringle, (more)
- 1925
Maria Maretti (Bebe Daniels) works as a manicurist at a posh hotel. She is in love with Tony Luca (Edmund Burns), and they are saving up to buy a home and get married, but Maria isn't blind to what is going on around her. She watches the other girls take money and favors from their wealthy men patrons and wishes that she could have some of what they're getting. One of the hotel's guests, James Morgan (Hale Hamilton), takes a liking to her. He sends her flowers and ten dollars for theater tickets (a good sum for theater tickets in 1925) because she is reluctant to accept his invitation. Instead, Tony takes her to the theater, where they sit in the gallery, and on the way home he's too cheap to grab a taxi in the rain. While he is off chasing his hat, which has blown away in the wind, Morgan sees Maria and offers to take her home. She accepts and they stop at a supper club on the way. Maria shows up late and has a fierce argument with Tony. She turns to Morgan, but is shocked to realize he is married. She brings him and his wife (Charlotte Walker) back together, and she and Tony reconcile. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bebe Daniels, Edmund Burns, (more)
- 1924
The play by William C. deMille and Margaret Turnbull was filmed once before in 1914. This version features Richard Barthelmess as the star and some scenes were actually shot at West Point. Duncan Irving Jr. (Barthelmess) is the son of the village postmaster (Claude Brooke) in a small southern town. He's in love with Sylvia Randolph (Madge Evans, finally old enough to play ingenues), who comes from a wealthy, snobbish family. Her cousin, Bert Stafford (Reginald Sheffield), dislikes the modest Duncan. Duncan goes to West Point and when he's an upper classman, Bert enrolls. Bert hates being ordered around, especially by Duncan, who he considers his social inferior. One day he angrily insults Duncan, who hits him. Bert fakes blindness, then takes off for South America on an expedition. Duncan is expelled and Sylvia refuses to hear his explanations. To save face, Duncan and some of his friends travel to South America to find Bert, who has become lost. After a lot of hardship and adventure, they find him and they return to the States. Bert finally tells the truth about what happened and Duncan is reinstated at West Point. He also reconciles with Sylvia and after he gets his commission, they are wed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Brooke, Richard Barthelmess, (more)
- 1924
This drama of international crime and intrigue was based on the famous series of novels by Louis Joseph Vance. Jack Holt plays gentleman crook Michael Lanyard, also known as the Lone Wolf. The United States government has developed a ray that can stop an airplane engine in midair, but the plans, hidden in a deck of cards, are stolen. A ring of crooks known as the Pack find out that Eckstrom (Alphonse Ethier) has the plans and goes after them. One of the gang, Lucy Shannon (Dorothy Dalton), meets Lanyard and suspects that he is the Lone Wolf. Lanyard has gone to the American Embassy and offered to get the plans back, but only if the United States will allow him to live, unmolested, in America. One of the Pack gets the plans from Eckstrom, but Lanyard knocks him unconscious and steals them. He removes them from the deck of cards and secrets them away in a cigarette. Lucy has decided to help Lanyard and they plan to escape together, but the Pack finds them together, and Lucy pretends she is still on their side by holding Lanyard at bay with a revolver. Lanyard lays the deck of cards on the table and the gang takes them. Eckstrom, however, knows better and demands the cigarette. He takes off in a plane and Lanyard and Lucy pursue him for a dramatic fight in the air. Only after they get the plans and return to earth does Lanyard find out that Lucy is actually a member of the Secret Service. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Dalton, Jack Holt, (more)
- 1924
Stage actor William Faversham makes one of his infrequent screen appearances in The Sixth Commandment. John Brandt (John Bohn), Robert Fields (Neil Hamilton), and Marian Calhoun (Kathleen Martyn) all grow up together. John grows up to be a preacher, but has nevertheless inherited the biggest fault of his father, David (Faversham) -- stubborn pride. Although he loves Marian, he keeps his distance because everyone assumes that she and Robert will marry. When the World War breaks out, both John and Robert go to France. John is blinded while helping Robert. When they return from the war, Robert neglects Marian for other women and she breaks up with him. John threatens Robert's life because of his callous treatment of the girl he has always loved. After John's blindness is cured, Robert is found dead and he becomes a murder suspect. Eventually he is found innocent and he and Marian are able to wed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Faversham, Charlotte Walker, (more)
- 1918
While director Raoul Walsh's film was released after World War I, when audiences had grown tired of the subject, the way he approached it is notable. It's refreshingly devoid of propaganda and there are no cliched evil Prussians to be found. It's the simple tale of a mother (Charlotte Walker) who is afraid to let her boys go off to battle. Her eldest (Edwin Stanley) enlists and is reported missing the day after the middle son (Ray Howard) has left for Europe. When the middle boy is seriously wounded in action, the mother desperately clings to her youngest (Gareth Hughes), determined to keep him home. The father (Percy Standing) becomes disgusted when she spirits the youth off to their beach home to avoid the draft. The parents are arguing over this when refugees from a torpedoed ship are brought to town. They stay at the family's beach house and their suffering turns the mother around. Finally, she lets her last boy go. And her faith is rewarded: On Christmas all her sons return. The eldest, who was found, has been promoted to Captain and he brings home as a wife the French girl (Corone Paynter) who saved him from the Germans; the middle son comes back safe and sound, and the youngest receives a leave of absence for the holiday. This film could have been sickeningly saccharine, but, for the most part, Walsh's talent kept it grounded in a real emotional base. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1916
This is Cecil B. DeMille at his most dressed-down. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine takes place in the Virginia mountains. Jack Hale (Thomas Meighan) is a revenue officer sent to track down some moonshiners. While on his hunt, he meets and falls in love with June Tolliver (Charlotte Walker), the daughter of the very people he's looking for. The Tolliver family see this love affair as their opportunity to outsmart Hale and get him out of their way. Led unwittingly by June, Hale almost falls into their trap, but the girl's father (Theodore Roberts) comes around -- in the end he destroys his still and gives his daughter's hand to Hale. DeMille's handling of this drama with its simple setting won him notices that were nearly as good as the ones he got for the Geraldine Ferrar spectacles he was also making at the time. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Walker, Theodore Roberts, (more)
- 1915
Director Cecil B. DeMille adapted the screenplay for Kindling from a play by Charles A. Kenyon. Charlotte Walker plays Maggie Schultz, a young wife and mother-to-be. Through no fault of her own, Maggie becomes the dupe of a gang of burglars. Having already run the gamut of sorrow and misfortune, she despairs at the possibility that her child will be born in prison. Fortunately, the compassionate victim of the burglars takes pity on Maggie and refuses to prosecute, allowing her to return to her husband Heine (Thomas Meighan). In addition to being one of the last WWI-era films to feature sympathetic German characters, Kindling also represented one of the first starring assignments for popular leading man Thomas Meighan. Director DeMille would soon abandon the "naturalistic" style of this film, preferring instead to indulge himself in slick sex farces and overly opulent spectacles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
