Lloyd Whitlock Movies

The Cohens and the Kellys, those ever-feuding in-laws introduced in the 1925 play Two Blocks Away, are at large again in this fourth entry in the Cohen-Kelly series. Once again, George Sidney stars as Jewish shopkeeper Cohen, while Charlie Murray co-stars as Irish cop Kelly. On vacation with their wives (Vera Gordon and Kate Price) our heroes arrive in Scotland to buy up as much plaid fabric as possible, intending to sell the material at a handsome profit to a foreign prince, likewise in Scotland to participate in a national golfing tournament. It must needs be that Cohen and Kelly find themselves on the golf links, with hilarious results. Most of the gags arise from the ongoing comparison between Jewish and Scottish stinginess, the sort of exaggerated ethnic humor that would be purged from Hollywood films after the strengthening of the Production Code in 1933. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

The Trespasser was Gloria Swanson's first all-talking picture. All talk is right. Swanson plays a humble secretary who marries the son (Robert Ames) of a domineering millionaire (William Holden--no, not that William Holden). The father-in-law bullies Swanson into giving up his son; she agrees to step out of his life, proudly withholding the fact that she's about to become a mother. Later, Swanson enters her ex-husband's social class via an inheritance. Unfortunately, he's remarried to Kay Hammond, who is crippled and thus more needful of the man's love and comfort than self-reliant Swanson. Tearfully, Swanson gives up the man she loves, left only with her child and a bulging bank account. When Trespasser was remade by director Edmund Goulding as That Certain Woman with Bette Davis in 1937, a last-minute happy ending was tacked on--if one can call the death of wife number two a joyous event. As for the original film, Gloria Swanson proved (contrary to the popular belief engendered by Sunset Boulevard) that she could have been just as big a star in talkies as she'd been in silents (she even sings well); unfortunately her subsequent judgment in screenplay selection resulted in a string of flops. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Boris Karloff played a red herring in this the final silent serial from chapter play specialist Mascot, who reportedly spared all expenses this time around. Helene Costello, a former Warner Bros. star now down on her luck, starred as Dorothy Rogers, the daughter of a banker (George Periolat) who disappeared mysteriously while reading a novel entitled "The Fatal Warning." The vanished Rogers was accused of absconding with 100,000 dollars in cash and Dorothy hired private investigator Russell Thorne (Ralph Graves) to clear her father's good name. Suspects abounded, of course, including bank president John Harmon (Tom Lingham), a clerk (Karloff), the inevitable butler (Sid Crossley), a two-bit femme fatale (Symona Boniface), and sundry other nefarious types, all of whom proved to be innocent. In the tenth and final chapter, "Unmasked," Thorne discovered that Rogers had been guiding the investigation from his hiding place and the identity of the real culprit was revealed. Since The Fatal Warning appears to be among the lost, we may in good conscience reveal his identity here as well: seemingly stalwart businessman Leonard Taylor (Phillips Smalley). In addition to the presence of a pre-Frankenstein Boris Karloff, The Fatal Warning is also noteworthy for an early appearance by future Three Stooges foil Symona Boniface. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The popular (if short-lived) screen team of Glenn Tryon and Patsy Ruth Miller were back on the job in the breezy comedy Hot Heels. The two stars play a vaudeville dance team, touring the provinces in a broken-down "mellerdrammer" troupe. After a series of Snub Pollard-like gags involving a gimmick-laden hotel, the plot proper gets under way, as Tryon and Miller pin their hopes -- and their bankrolls -- on a racehorse called Hot Heels. Real-life jockey Tod Sloan appears as himself in the climactic racing sequence. Hot Heels was released a scant few weeks after the running of the 1928 Kentucky Derby (what a tie-in!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Cecil B. DeMille's own production company was absorbed by Pathe in 1928, several DeMille contractees went along for the ride. One of these was William Boyd, the star of the 1929 Pathe effort The Leatherneck. The setting is China, specifically the headquarter of the 6th U.S. Marine regiment, where Calhoun (Boyd) and Schmidt (Alan Hale) are facing court-martial for desertion. In a series of flashbacks, the viewer is apprised of the reasons for the two leathernecks' supposed dereliction of duty. Essential to the action are a third marine, the unfortunate Joe Hanlon (Robert Armstrong), and a mysterious Russian girl named Tanya (Diane Ellis). A silent picture for most of its 76-minute running time, The Leatherneck includes approximately eight minutes' worth of dialogue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This silent adventure is best remembered for its spectacular forest fire scenes that were staged and shot by extraordinary cinematographer Stumar. The story is routine and centers on the romantic rivalry between two Alaskan men in love with the same woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When cowboy Buck Thomas' (Buck Jones) beloved horse Silver is "drafted" into the Cavalry during WWI, Buck loyally joins up as well. Both master and horse eventually find themselves on the battlefields of France, where Buck's outfit is slated to be wiped out in a surprise attack by a German raiding party. Riding his horse across enemy lines, Buck manages to halt the ambush and capture the boche. In so doing, he wins the love of dimpled Red Cross nurse Audrey Evans (Lola Todd). One of the best of the Buck Jones silents, War Horse was co-scripted by Jones and director Lambert Hillyer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "poor girls" in this big-city melodrama are actually one in number: heroine Dorothy Revier, who has been raised to believe that she was born into a wealthy and well-connected family. Upon learning that her sainted mother is a "mere" nightclub hostess, the pampered Revier leaves home in a huff and heads for New York, where she lands a job in a department store. Only after being threatened by various urban pitfalls does Revier come to realize how much she truly owes her mother for sheltering her from such perils. Critics in 1927 complained that Dorothy Revier's character was too unsympathetic to sustain interest for six full reels. Nor were they impressed by leading man Edmund Burns, whom they found stiffer than usual. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Energetic cowboy Buck Jones is almost swindled out of his valuable land in this above-average silent Western produced by Fox. Like most Westerns of the era, the film was contemporary in setting and featured automobiles, trains and even motorcycles. There's gold in them thar hills and Buck must fight the unscrupulous Lloyd Whitlock and his various henchmen to keep it safe. There is a girl waiting with open arms back in Los Angeles and when her father finally changes his mind about Buck's suitability as husband material, the scene is set for a happy ending. Leading lady Sally Long was a former Ziegfeld girl who, along with Joan Crawford, Fay Wray and Mary Astor, was voted a 1926 WAMPAS Baby Star by the Hollywood publicists. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Sparrows, Mary Pickford's 1926 release, superbly combines the two elements--sentiment and adventure--that characterized Pickford's best work. At first glance, the film seems to be a horror picture, as satanic potato farmer Grimes (Gustav Von Seyfertitz) crushes a child's doll with his thumb and forefinger and tosses the plaything into the dismal swamps surrounding his lands. We learn that Grimes has been exploiting the children from a local orphanage, forcing them to work his farm day and night. Though collecting a hefty maintenance pay for the orphans, Grimes dresses them in rags and feeds them a starvation diet. Happily, Mary Pickford, the oldest of the orphans, has enough gumption to stand up to Grimes and prohibit him from inflicting any further atrocities. The plot thickens when a kidnaped child is left in Grimes' care in exchange for a generous portion of the ransom money. Mary rescues the abducted child, as well as all the other orphans, by leading them through the alligator-infested and quicksand-festooned swamp--a truly frightening sequence, made even more so by the use of real gators. Sparrows falters only in those scenes where Pickford, with genuine but somewhat misguided piety, "converses" with the Almighty, and in the final motorboat-chase sequence, which seems prolonged (and unnecessary!) after that heart-pounding swamp escape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although he bore no relation to Douglas Fairbanks, William Fairbanks cashed in on the last name by specializing in roles that required stunt work. This lesser Fairbanks, however, was definitely of the low-budget variety, as this effective, but obviously cheaply made Columbia programmer illustrates. Jack Curtis (Fairbanks) is quite wealthy, but when he falls in love with thrill-seeking flapper Peggy Howell (Pauline Garon), he goes to work for her family as a chauffeur just to be near her. Peggy figures out his real identity quickly enough, but keeps mum. Curtis comes to her aid when she gets entangled with a society crook known as Captain Winslow (Lloyd Whitlock). The heroic young man saves Peggy from drowning, and pursues Winslow and his associate when they steal jewels from Peggy's mother (Adelaide Hallock). After retrieving the jewels and giving the crooks their just desserts, Curtis easily wins Peggy. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although this film sounds like a 1920s version of Mr. Mom, in some ways it's more enlightened than the 1983 comedy -- for one thing, being a stay-at-home dad comes quite naturally to husband Lester Knapp (Clive Brook). Nevertheless, the idea of switching traditional husband-wife roles was quite a radical one in the days when women had only recently won the right to vote, and as such, this drama (with comic touches) was not always warmly received. Knapp is an ineffectual office worker, while his wife, Eva (Alice Joyce), is a paragon of efficiency who, although she loves her children, is woefully lacking in mothering skills. When Knapp is fired from his job, he decides to die "accidentally" so that his long-suffering family can collect on his life insurance. But (according to the title card) "Lester proved a bungler even at dying," and instead he winds up a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair. Eva turns down the charity of Knapp's old boss, Spencer Willing (Lester Whitlock), and instead asks for a job. He gives her one, as a saleslady at one of the company's stores. Eva flourishes at her new position and soon is earning almost twice as much as Knapp ever made. Meanwhile, Knapp's effect on the couple's three children is almost magical, especially when it comes to dealing with their formerly incorrigible three-year-old. This odd set-up is gradually accepted by the Knapp's friends and relatives, but then disaster strikes -- Eva notices Knapp's legs twitching in his sleep, and indeed, he finds out that he can walk again. But Knapp realizes that both he and Eva are ill-suited for the roles originally foisted on them by society, so he swears their reluctant physician, Dr. Merritt (the delightful George Fawcett), to secrecy. Not surprisingly, this picture was adapted by a woman, Mary O'Hara, from a novel by another woman, Dorothy Canfield. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide