Lloyd Whitlock Movies
The quintessential silent screen villain, tall (6'1"), mustachioed Lloyd Whitlock is perhaps best remembered as one of the kidnappers in Mary Pickford's Sparrows (1926) and for playing innumerable blackguards in B-Westerns and serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Trained as a civil engineer, Whitlock toured with several stock companies prior to making his screen debut with New York's Biograph company in the very early 1910s. By the mid-1910s, he had become a featured actor for Kleine, Kalem, and Universal and was already more often than not cast as lecherous blackmailers, crooked lawyers, medical hacks, and the like. He made the transition to sound with ease but quickly began showing up in Poverty Row productions and is memorable as the airline manager in the John Wayne serial Hurricane Express (1932) and as the boss villain in four of Wayne's Lone Star Westerns for Monogram. Although his roles greatly diminished in importance from the mid-'30s on, Whitlock remained a busy supporting actor through the 1940s. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1925
By using a borrowed medal, Russ Kane, a crook (Warner Baxter), is able to get a job as an air mail pilot. His plan is to steal some valuable cargo, but soon enough the job begins to have a positive effect on him. When his plane has to make a force landing, he meets Alice Rendon (Billie Dove, who was also the wife of director Irvin Willat). His love for Alice encourages him to go straight. When Alice's invalid father (George Irving) needs medicine, Kane flies to get it, but on his return the craft is pursued by two renegade airplanes. Kane's young friend, Sandy (a very fresh-faced Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), saves the valuable cargo by parachuting out of the plane while holding it. On the ground, three escaped prisoners have taken over Alice's home. The sheriff's posse wipes out the bad guys while Kane destroys the outlaw planes, and Sandy achieves his dream by flying the mail to the next station. Back in 1924 and 1925, the concept of air mail was still very novel (it only took three days to get the mail across country instead of six -- an impressive feat in those days). ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Baxter, Billie Dove, (more)
- 1925
Granite-jawed Jack Holt plays a rugged logger in The Ancient Highway. When not cutting down trees and shouting "TIMMMM-BERRRRR!", Holt has to deal with someone who's sabotaging the camp. The miscreant turns out to be the odious Montagu Love, whom Holt dispenses with in a climactic fisticuffs session. Billie Dove provides the toothsome romantic interest. Miss Dove was then the wife of Ancient Highway director Irvin Willat, who was Jack Holt's favorite megger until Frank Capra came along. The film was based on a story by Great White North specialist James Oliver Curwood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Holt, Billie Dove, (more)
- 1924
Robert Fraser plays a double role in this routine melodrama co-starring Elaine Hammerstein, Gladys Brockwell, and Phyllis Haver. Mary Adams (Hammerstein) is the schoolteacher who falls for a lecherous lawyer. She marries the man who saves her from the barrister, but she soon believes he is guilty of being a thief. Her husband is stabbed by his insane mother who believes he is her long-lost husband returning after many years. Although seriously wounded, he races through a raging forest fire to be reunited with his beloved wife. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Hammerstein, Robert W. Fraser, (more)
- 1924
Eva Novak and William Fairbanks co-star in this bucolic melodrama set in the Bluegrass State. A young Kentucky woman rides a horse to victory in the big race after the regular jockey is the victim of foul play. Lloyd Whitlock, Lydia Knott, Meta Sterling, and Max Asher also appear. Asher provided comedy relief that may be deemed politically incorrect at the approach of the 21st century. Southern audiences of the time found the portrayals of blacks having too much freedom questionable if not objectionable. Sixty years after the Civil War, many Southerners were still bitter over the Confederate defeat and continued to target blacks as the reasons for their social and economic troubles. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eva Novak, William Fairbanks, (more)
- 1924
A typical low-budget social drama from Sam Sax's Gotham Productions, Unmarried Wives starred Charles Chaplin's first wife, Mildred Harris, as Maggie, a chorus girl who, through the efforts of her press agent, becomes a famous revue artist. She is pursued by wolfish Tom Gregory (Lloyd Whitlock), whose wife (Gladys Brockwell), to get back at him, stages a kidnapping. Maggie survives the scandal only to face a lecherous stage manager. She is saved in the nick of time by her boyfriend Joe (George Cooper) and vows to retire from show business and become his wife. A rather plumb ingenue, Mildred Harris traded on her past relationship with Chaplin in the 1920s but played mainly bit parts thereafter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mildred Harris, Gladys Brockwell, (more)
- 1924
This plodding melodrama fails to measure up to the original 1917 version directed by Charles Giblyn. Mildred Gower (Alma Rubens) is a young woman who marries an old sea captain to save her mother (Eugenie Besserer) from losing the family home. A young physician who loves her accuses her of selling herself to the old salt and peppers her with questions. Her husband conveniently drowns at sea, leaving Mildred free to pursue romance with the dashing doctor. William Walsh, Freeman Wood, and Otto Hoffman co-star with Frank Mayo, Lloyd Whitlock, and Wilfred Lucas in this inferior remake. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alma Rubens, Eugénie Besserer, (more)
- 1924
This railroad melodrama, featuring fading star Elaine Hammerstein, gave up-and-coming actor William Haines his first notable role (he was on loan to Columbia from Goldwyn). As Jack Oakes, the wastrel son of a railroad magnate, Haines actually has more to do than Hammerstein. Jack's father (George Nichols) becomes frustrated with his son's wild ways. To prove himself, Jack goes to work in the railroad yard as a laborer. An escaped convict, Silent Bill Brachley (Pat Harmon), steals Jack's car, and the chase leads to a meeting between Jack, the engineer of the Midnight Express, and the engineer's pretty daughter, Mary (Hammerstein). As he is led back to jail, Brachley swears revenge. As soon as he is able to escape again, he corners Jack at a dispatch station and the two duke it out. Jack wins the fight just in time to save the Midnight Express from a row of freight cars that have broken from their engine and are headed in its direction. Jack finally wins his father's respect, and Mary's love. After viewing the film, famed femme fatale Peggy Hopkins Joyce told Screenland magazine that the kiss between Haines and Hammerstein was the best she'd ever seen onscreen. As a result, Goldwyn publicists tried -- unsuccessfully -- to create a love match between Haines and Joyce. This is all the more ironic because Haines was one of the most well-known homosexuals of the silent era. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Hammerstein, William Haines, (more)
- 1923
This heart-warming drama was one of Colleen Moore's first films for First National, but her star would not ascend until later that year when she starred in Flaming Youth; here she primarily supports Wheeler Oakman, who plays the title role. Slippy McGee is a notorious safecracker who is seriously injured when he leaps from a freight train. His mangled leg has to be amputated, and he recuperates at the home of Father DeRance (Same De Grasse). Although McGee goes by an assumed name, the minister figures out his identity, but keeps it a secret because McGee reforms and helps him with his hobby of collecting butterflies. McGee falls in love with Mary Virginia, one of DeRance's parishioners. She loves him in return, but only as a trusted friend, and becomes engaged to someone else. But when a banker tries to force her into marriage through a stack of forged letters, McGee goes back to his old ways one last time. Another version of this story by Marie Conway Oemler was filmed by Republic in 1948 and starred Donald Barry. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wheeler Oakman, Colleen Moore, (more)
- 1923
This picture is based on the novel by Leroy Scott. Because of her brains and charming manner, Cordelia Marlowe is called "the Magnificent" by her friends. But she finds herself suddenly thrust into poverty, and instead of marrying Jerry Plimpton (Lloyd Whitlock) for the financial security, she goes to work. A shifty lawyer enlists her help in getting information about a society matron who has a "past." Cordelia is innocent of his true motives, which involve blackmail, and when she discovers his game, she finds herself ostracized by Plimpton. She works to clear herself, with help from James Grayson -- a man she met while he was posing as a butler (Lewis Dayton). The lawyer is exposed as the bad guy, and Cordelia's good name is cleared. Clara Kimball Young's vogue as a star had already pretty much passed by the time she starred in this society drama. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clara Kimball Young, Huntly Gordon, (more)
- 1923
In this drama based on the novel by Henry Kistaemaecher, Clara Kimball Young plays Vivian Hunt, a woman married to aspiring sculptor Leonard Hunt (Lloyd Whitlock), who is working on a memorial statue he plans to enter in a million-dollar competition. But when Leonard falls in love with his model, Sylvia Morton (Kathryn McGuire), causing Vivian incredible pain and suffering, he is infuriated by his own actions and smashes the statue, which seems as soulless to him as does Sylvia. He believes his inspiration to have vanished, but it returns when he finds what he's searching for in his wife's face. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1923
This melodrama from Fox stars William Russell. Jack Arnold (Russell), the secretary of a mining syndicate, is sent to the South Sea Island of Pago Tai to land an option on a black opal mine. He just manages to make the same steamer that is carrying the members of a rival company to the same destination. Clive Langdon (Frank Beal), representing the other company, is accompanied by his niece Caroline Peyton (Dorothy Devore) and her fiancé, Neal Travis (Lloyd Whitlock). Caroline pays Jack's fare and he begins to fall in love with her. Both Langdon and Travis use the pair's growing affection to trap Arnold. But they're still not able to prevent him from getting to the mine. He makes friends with its owner and is able to get the option. Caroline, meanwhile, has come to realize that she doesn't care for Travis at all, so she throws him over for Arnold. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Russell
- 1923
Although this was one of William Wellman's early directorial efforts, his talent still shows through in this Western programmer. Dustin Farnum stars as Bill, a gambler, whose friend Scipio (Ralph Cloninger) goes in search of his wife Jessie (Jacqueline Gadsden). Jessie, fed up with her life of poverty, has run off with the wealthy and villainous James (Lloyd Whitlock). She has left behind her two children (Muriel McCormack and Micky McBan) on James' promise that she can send for them later. Scipio leaves the tots with Bill when he goes on his search. With the help of three old gamblers, Bill cares for the children. In short order, he keeps them from being kidnapped by James, saves a gold shipment from being stolen, and convinces Jessie to return to her husband, who finds oil on his property. Ultimately, Bill sacrifices his life in his attempt to round up the villains. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Cloninger, Lloyd Whitlock, (more)
- 1923
John Craig and Mary Eileen Anderson are childhood sweethearts who grow up in a small town in this melodrama taken from the poem by James Whitcomb Riley. John becomes the owner of the local paper and dedicates himself to the public good. His childhood friend Stuff Shade (Lloyd Whitlock) promotes an oil-speculation scheme in the paper. Soon the townsfolk are pooling their money in hopes of getting rich on the oil reserves. John discovers the scheme is all a ruse and tries to warn the people that they are being swindled. After the perpetrators are exposed, a gusher comes in that makes people rich. Pat Moore and Elliot Dexter play John as child and grown-up respectively. Mary Jane Irving and Helen Jerome portray Mary Eileen, and Turner Savage is the young Stuff Shade. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Moore, Elliott Dexter, (more)
- 1923
Universal showed off their impressive back lot in this comedy-western starring Hoot Gibson as a cowboy turned movie stunt-man. The plot is something about a visiting Arabian prince (fellow studio western hero William E. Lawrence) but the film mainly functions as an excuse to parade a host of studio stars. Among the Universal contract players playing themselves were Billie Dove, Norman Kerry, King Baggot (the studio's first star), Mary Philbin and Reginald Denny. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hoot Gibson, Billie Dove, (more)
- 1922
Although this domestic drama was certainly subpar, it featured two of the most beautiful faces of the silent screen -- Katherine MacDonald and Barbara LaMarr. (LaMarr had just come off an impressive appearance in The Prisoner of Zenda and was not yet a star.) Judge James Benton (William P. Carleton Jr.) sends Joe Martin (Frank Leigh) to jail for beating his wife (LaMarr) after finding her with another man. But Benton doesn't realize that he's abusing his own wife Barbara (Benton) just as much by his neglect. He gets his just desserts when he hires an artist, Pierre (George Fisher), to paint her portrait. The day comes when the judge arrives home and finds Barbara in Pierre's arms. Without waiting for an explanation he banishes Barbara from his home. Later he asks her to come back because their separation is having a negative effect on his position, but she refuses. She meets Mrs. Martin through charity work, and the two women become friendly. When Martin gets out of jail, he heads for the judge's house with a loaded gun. Mrs. Martin warns Barbara, who goes to protect Benton. The result is that both men are reconciled with their wives.
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katherine MacDonald, Frank Leigh, (more)
- 1922
This was yet another Northwestern melodrama -- several dozen were released in 1922 alone. At least this one has the capable presence of Roy Stewart, who fared well in outdoorsy roles. Virginia Tremont (Jane Novak) is engaged to Harold Lounsbury (Lloyd Whitlock); his brother Kenly (Herbert Prior) is Virginia's guardian. When their father (Spottiswoode Aitken) admits on his deathbed that he had staked a mine years before, the brothers turn against each other in their attempts to be the first to get it. Kenly sends Harold in the wrong direction and he becomes lost. After a year Virginia goes in search of him. But Kenly leaves her and her guide, Bill Bronson (Stewart) in a cabin bearing insufficient supplies. Bronson, who is the son of a man old Lounsbury had wronged, helps Virginia survive the wilds. Finally they locate Harold, who is now a squaw man. This matters little to Virginia, who has fallen in love with Bill. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Novak, Roy Stewart, (more)
- 1922
Pretty Eileen Pearcy plays the title character in this adaptation of the Booth Tarkington novel. Cora (Pearcy) is the spoiled daughter of the Madison family. Everyone caters to her every whim. She is engaged to Richard Lindley (Edward Hearn), although her sister Laura (Helen Jerome Eddy) secretly pines for him. But when Valentine Corliss (Lloyd Whitlock) comes to town, Cora forgets her beau altogether. Corliss is working a stock swindle and he uses Cora's affection to enlist the help of her father (George Nichols), who is highly respected in the community. Cora forges her father's name on a document and gives it to Corliss, who skips town. The locals who have been cheated out of their money are in an uproar and Papa Madison is in danger of being arrested. Cora tries to reconcile with Lindley, who refuses to have her back. Laura forces Cora to confess to the forgery, and brother Jimmy (Harold Goodwin) comes home to make good his father's losses. Corliss is found in New York and arrested. Lindley, meanwhile, finds out about Laura's love and marries her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Nichols, Lydia Knott, (more)
- 1922
Vitagraph shot this melodrama, based on the stage play by Ramsay Norris, once before, in 1916. The newer version seemed to belong to the earlier decade, and ironically, its star was Colleen Moore, who would wind up making a name for herself by becoming the 1920s ultra-modern, quintessential flapper. Phil Bradbury (Warner Baxter) is engaged to marry society girl Kate Van Dyck (Gertrude Astor). But while he is away, Kate falls in love with Mark Leveridge (Lloyd Whitlock). There is a murder in Kate's home, and Bradbury becomes a suspect, so he runs far away to the town of Marlow. Under the assumed name of Tom Silverton, he falls in love with the town belle, Ruth Blake (Moore). Kate and Leveridge show up in Marlow and recognize him. Silverton is now also suspected of robbery and Ruth is ostracized because she tries to shield him. Silverton prepares to leave town, but a raging forest fire breaks out. It is only through Silverton's heroics that the town is saved. He is exonerated of the crimes he was thought to have committed, so he is able to settle down with Ruth. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Patsie Hannon was a model when Erich Von Stroheim discovered her and gave her the name of Miss DuPont. Duly signed to Universal, she played the female lead in Foolish Wives. The film took so long to make, however, that DuPont starred in several more program features that were released before her actual debut. Miss DuPont was not exactly one of Von Stroheim's most inspired discoveries -- with the release of this romantic drama (her second film to reach the public), trade paper Moving Picture World said, "It is stated, with the earnest hope that it does not sound patronizing, that Miss DuPont shows a little improvement in her work." There wasn't much to work with -- the story is slight and her supporting cast did not show a lot of enthusiasm for their performances. Although Jennie Blake (DuPont) claims she "can't stand the sound of waves," she winds up teaching at a seaport town called Rocky Point. Two men, Paul Whalen (Pat O'Malley) and Jim Payne (Lloyd Whitlock), vie for her; Jennie chooses Whalen. Payne becomes a lighthouse inspector and a few years later, when Whalen is out of work, he gets him a job as a lighthouse operator. It's lonely work, and Jennie appreciates Payne's visits. When Whalen is blinded he begins to believe that Jennie and Payne are having an affair. In spite of his blindness, he gets into a fight with Payne and when he knocks his head into a wall, his sight returns. He and Jennie resolve their differences. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miss Du Pont, Pat O'Malley, (more)
- 1921
Philip and Carol Lawton (Ralph Lewis and Kathlyn Williams) adopt Jeanne Millette, a French war orphan (May McAvoy). Her loyalty to the Lawtons, and to their little daughter, Betty (Gladys Fox), is unshakable; a romance with Jerry Hayes, who works for Lawton as a trainer (Bruce Gordon), should make her life complete. The Lawtons are having marital difficulties: Philip spends most of his time with his race horses, leaving Carol to feel neglected. As a result, she encourages the attentions of Alec Crosby (Lloyd Whitlock), and the illicit couple make plans to run away together while Lawton is off at a distant race track. Jeanne, however, convinces her to stay for Betty's sake. Philip returns, his suspicions regarding Crosby aroused, and he confronts his wife. Jeanne jumps in and claims that Crosby was carrying on with her, not Mrs. Lawton. Hayes catches Jeanne sneaking Crosby out of the house and the two men come to blows. Crosby dies when he falls from a balcony. Hayes realizes that Jeanne is innocent, and the Lawtons reconcile. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- May McAvoy, Bruce Gordon, (more)
- 1921
A man who believes he is a murderer travels the world to escape his past in this often confusing crime drama. Richard Dix stars in a double role of twin brothers Paul and Arthur Ellison. Arthur flees New York for South America for help from his brother Paul, an engineer by trade. Paul feels partially responsible for Arthur's behavior after he accidentally shot him in a childhood mishap. Arthur assumed his brother's identity and travels to the Orient. Sylvia (Elsa Chetwood) meets him five years later and assumes he is Paul. Romance between the two lead to marriage plans, but an oily gambler named Craig (Herbert Prior) is on board the ship bound for America. Prior tries to kill Arthur and collect the reward money to cover his debts. Arthur holds a diamond given to him by a grateful native prince after saving people from a plague. A final showdown between Arthur and the gambler reveals Prior was the one who committed the murder that has tormented Arthur the last five years. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1921
After being given the "Hollywood treatment," author Johan Bojer's famed novel changed from a story of breadth and scope into a trite domestic drama. Harold Mark, a country doctor (Edward Hearn), falls in love with Thora (Barbara Bedford), who lives with her crippled grandfather (Harry Duffield). Mark cures the grandfather and he and Thora marry. They move to the city, but after Mark earns a scholarship, he gets wrapped up with a radical movement. It takes time away from both his studies and his marriage. Thora, starved for attention, falls prey to Monsieur Duparc, a charismatic sculptor (Lloyd Whitlock). She leaves Mark and goes to live with Duparc's aunt. Mark, meanwhile, becomes disillusioned with his radical friends and eventually becomes the head of a hospital. Thora realizes that she does not want to spend her life with Duparc and tells him so. He drives to see Mark, but is involved in a car accident. Duparc is brought into the hospital and Mark saves his life. Mark and Thora are finally reconciled. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Bedford, Edward Hearn, (more)
- 1921
When inventor Otto Trueman (J.P. Lockney) claims to have created a machine which makes artificial rubber, young promoter Robert Gardner (T. Roy Barnes) thinks he's found a great get-rich-quick scheme. He mails hundreds of thousands of letters touting this invention and searching for investors until it is discovered that the machine doesn't do what Trueman says it does. The postal authorities get involved, and Gardner's friend, Billy Noble (Lloyd T. Whitlock) suggests that he play crazy to avoid arrest. He does, and in the meantime Trueman sells his contraption for a million dollars. Trueman, Gardner and Noble split the profits and then find out that the machine makes a fantastic paving block. This picture was a weak adaptation of the stage play by Max Marcin, which also starred Barnes. There is a 1945 film with the same title that was based on a different play -- also with the same name. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Jim Glover (Wallace Reid) is an engineer in charge of constructing a railroad to the sea. He gives the company president Gage (Theodore Roberts) a tour of the area of land coveted for its use as a short cut that can save hours on the journey. After the officials visit a recently constructed dam, the train makes a stop in a dull town, and Gage's daughter Laura (Agnes Ayers) throws a charity bazaar to combat the boredom. Jim puts together a mock-holdup that saves the event from financial ruin, endearing Laura to him. Later, an accident traps three workers in a cave, and Jim is called away to rescue the victims. While he is gone, the villain Harrison (Lloyd Whitlock) tries to claim the land slated for the railroad shortcut for himself. Jim must save the men, claim the land parcel and win the girl before all is lost. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Reid, Agnes Ayres, (more)
