Claire Windsor Movies

Too Wise Wives was an independent film produced and directed by prominent woman director Lois Weber. It is a pointed soap opera about the state of marriage and women's roles in society in the early 1920s. Two couples are newly married. Marie (Clarie Windsor) and David Graham (Louis Calhern) are rich. She agonizes about doing everything she can to make her husband happy. This just irritates him to no end. The other couple, Sara Daly (Mona Lisa) and John Daly (Phillips Smalley) are very rich. She married him for his money. He dotes on her all of the time. Since he travels a lot, she gets bored. Also, she used to be David's girlfriend, and she want's David back and works hard to make Marie miserable. Real trouble begins when Marie intercepts a note that Sara sent to David asking him to meet for a secret affair. The cinematography is beautiful -- the movie was obviously filmed on some huge estates in Southern California. At the time this film was released, Cecil B. DeMille was famous for his films that were celebrations of materialism. This film is just the opposite. Director Weber shows how "keeping up with the Joneses" can harm a marriage. ~ Bruce Calvert, All Movie Guide

The rugged Franklyn Farnum stars in this tale of Northwest bootleggers. Two revenuers, Fitzgerald (Farnum) and Herrick (Bud Osborne), are on the trail of a gang of whiskey smugglers who are led by Hank Nelson (John Hatfield) and his son. Before he heads off to track down Nelson, Herrick says good-bye to his sweetheart, Honey Moore (Claire Windsor), whose father (Frederick Soult) owns the Medicine Creek Ranch. Herrick mentions to Honey that he thinks this new assignment may be his last. The conversation is overheard by Bob Thiele (Vester Pegg), who also loves Honey, and who decides to make Herrick's premonition come true. Shortly afterwards, Herrick is found shot to death. It is up to Fitzgerald to track down the smugglers, and he also becomes determined to find Herrick's killer. He discovers it is Thiele, and traces him to a cabin, where he has imprisoned Honey. Fitzgerald rescues the girl, and Thiele is struck by lightning and killed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The solid production (courtesy of director William Worthington) made this Universal programmer an above-average offering. Dr. Jim Keene (Frank Mayo) is a devoted surgeon -- too devoted for his wife, Helen (beautiful Claire Windsor, who was then still known in certain circles under her homely real name, Olga Cronk). Just about every social function she wants to attend is ruined because one important case or another interferes. But things change when Keene suffers a nervous breakdown and he and Helen go on a sea voyage for his health. The ship is manned by a brutal captain whose machismo sparks Helen's interest. But when the captain falls ill, Keene helps saves his life. The captain, however, fakes his death and later returns to do battle with Keene, who was recovered Keene is victorious, and Helen finally learns to appreciate him. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

For a director with less-than-stellar talents, Louis J. Gasnier certainly led a charmed life for a while, something attested to by this picture. Gasnier did a mediocre (at best) job on this cliched film, which should have been a mere programmer but wound up being a 6,500 feet "special," one that wasted the talents of Claire Windsor and House Peters. What's more, it was "presented by" B.P. Schulberg who later discovered Clara Bow. Peters plays the ill-tempered John Masters, who is none too pleased when another man chases after his wife, Gay (Windsor). He believes the two are having an affair, so he tosses Gay out of the house and tells their child ("Baby" Richard Hedrick) that she is dead. This doesn't stop Gay from coming by the house so the boy (who believes she's a ghost) can kiss her through the front door's glass -- an especially heart-wrenching touch. Things come to a head when grouchy Masters decides to loosen up and throw a party. Somehow he is talked into dressing up his little boy as Cupid and having him do a dance in a fountain. At this juncture, Gay appears, convinced that this will make her child sick. She angrily throws the revelers out of the house, and Masters begs for forgiveness. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Back in 1922, grand larceny meant theft of anything more than 50 dollars. In this tale of domestic turmoil, however, it refers to the theft of a wife's affections. John Annixter (Elliott Dexter), an attorney, knows all the legal ins and outs. Because he spends so much time on his work, he allows his friends to keep his wife Kathleen (Claire Windsor) company. But Kathleen is a pretty, flirtatious Southern belle and one man, Barry Clive (Lowell Sherman), takes her behavior personally. Kathleen is quick to set him straight, however, and he comes to her home to ask for forgiveness. Annixter walks in on the scene and misunderstands. He throws them both out of the house, and as they are leaving, implies that neither of them is capable of being faithful to the other. Because she doesn't know what else to do, Kathleen marries Clive after the divorce, but Annixter's words have made them permanently suspicious of one another. When the three meet up once again, Clive begs Annixter to take Kathleen off his hands. But Kathleen won't have either of them, and insists that she will go it alone. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

The Little Church Around the Corner is important as the first major financial success for the fledgling Warner Bros. studios. Kenneth Harlan plays a mining-town clergyman who falls in love with his benefactor's daughter. He is about to settle into a life of cozy complacency when a group of miners come to his doorstep, asking that the minister plead to the owners for better living conditions. To prove himself to be "one" with the miners, Harlan moves into their shanty community. This causes a rift with his sweetheart's father, who happens to be one of the owners. A cave-in, an angry mob and a supposed miracle are part and parcel of this 1923 adaptation of the war-horse Marion Russell play, which is directed with a sure, subtle hand by William A. Seiter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As his first picture for the Goldwyn studios, director Marshall Neilan decided to adapt Donn Byrne's sprawling novel to the screen. He put together an amazing cast, which included such luminaries as Jean Hersholt, Philo McCullough, Stuart Holmes, Claude Gillingwater and Hobart Bosworth, but a lengthy, complicated story kept any of them from making an impression. Basically the story revolves around a shipyard which Derith Keogh (Claire Windsor) inherits upon her father's death. There is trouble amongst workers, fed by labor leader John Trevelyan (Thomas Holding). Derith and her adoptive brother, Angus Campbell (Rockcliffe Fellows) struggle to avoid a strike and appeal to Trevelyan's better nature in order to gain his cooperation. A romantic relationship between Derith and Campbell develops throughout the picture. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Marshall Neilan once more makes lemonade from a lemon in The Eternal Three. Hobart Bosworth plays Frank R. Walters, an elderly doctor who takes for himself a young bride, portrayed by Claire Windsor. Feeling neglected, the new wife starts up an affair with Walter's adopted son Bob (George Cooper), who has a terrible reputation with the ladies. In ways both large and small, both lovers pay for their sins, and the doctor is made to realize how his neglect of his wife caused the whole imbroglio. Raymond Griffith deftly steals the film with his perfectly timed and paced comedy relief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This famous old stage melodrama by Owen Davis is directed with a lot of spirit by Emmett J. Flynn and features a first rate cast. The overworked Robert Horton (Hobart Bosworth) convinces his friend Thomas Lipton (also played by Bosworth) to take his place for a year. Mrs. Horton (Dorothy Cummings) goes on vacation and her five-year-old daughter, Allyn (Betsy Ann Hisle), is left in Lipton's care. Horton comes back and, in an argument, tries to shoot Lipton. Lipton runs off, taking the child along with him, who he raises as Nellie. When she reaches young womanhood, Lipton falls ill and Nellie (now played by Claire Windsor) finds a job as a cloak model with the help of her friend, Polly Joy (Mae Busch). The shop where Nellie works is run by Walter Peck (Lew Cody), her mother's cousin. He will receive her fortune if her lost daughter is never found. When he discovers that Nellie is the missing girl, he kidnaps her and hires two thugs to tie her to the tracks of an elevated train. That same day, Horton dies, and Lipton urges Mrs. Horton to come for her long lost daughter. Coincidentally, she and Polly are travelling on the very train that is headed for Nellie's unconscious body. But Nellie is saved in the nick of time and is happily reunited with her mother. The surprise ending reveals that the whole film was actually a play being performed in a theater. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This romantic drama only used half the clichés of the typical horse racing story. There's the impoverished Colonel (or in this case, a judge) and his pretty daughter, who may have to marry the bad guy who has the mortgage on the family home. At least the story draws the line at this juncture -- there are no drugged or kidnapped jockeys and the heroine doesn't put on the jockey's outfit to ride the horse to victory, which is the way most racing melodramas end. Judge Roberts (Frank Keenan) is living a life of genteel poverty, but he doesn't let his daughter, Virginia (Claire Windsor), know. He rears her in luxurious circumstances by selling off his land, bit by bit, until all that is left is the old homestead and a racehorse, who is about to have a colt. But the horse gets out of the stable during a rainstorm and dies after giving birth. The colt, Dixie, just barely survives. Johnny Sheridan (Lloyd Hughes) is down on his luck, and Judge Roberts takes him in. The young man works in the stable and when the colt, Dixie, is badly injured, he saves its life. Dexter, a trainer for a neighboring millionaire (John St. Polis), finally tells Virginia the truth about her father's circumstances. Dixie is entered in a big race and wins 50 thousand dollars, saving Virginia from marrying the man who carries the mortgage on the old homestead. It turns out that Sheridan comes from a good family, so he is able to marry Virginia. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Although MGM was known for its streamlined, quality pictures, that didn't mean all its product was glossy, high-budget stuff. Take, for example, this programmer -- a summer release about the frozen north (in the days before air conditioning, snow films were popular releases during the hot months -- supposedly, watching other people freeze cooled off the audience). The man in charge of constructing a railroad is pushing a tunneling job far too fast, and Barry, the engineer (Pat O'Malley), is very concerned about the consequences. His fears are confirmed because the dynamite blasts have weakened the snow ledges. One explosion sets off an avalanche which practically destroys the camp, leaving the workers blocked in without food. After many failed attempts, Barry decides to try saving the workers himself. His bravery wins the admiration of Robinette (Claire Windsor). He manages to tap the wires and request food and supplies, then he fires up the snow plow. Almost single-handedly, Barry saves the camp and wins Robinette's devotion, too. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This drama was the type of feature that was very popular among typical filmgoers in the 1920s. Fred and Alice Garlan (Eugene O'Brien and Claire Windsor) are happy newlyweds, but once they settle into their marriage, things get a little dull. Fred focuses on his work and Alice gets wrapped up in a "fast" set of friends. Among them are Esther Hamilton (Eileen Percy) and Harrison Morrill (Anders Randolf). Alice envies Esther's sables, not realizing the price she had to pay to get them. Morrill begins paying a lot of attention to Alice and Fred starts suspecting that she is another one of his conquests. When Jim Hamilton (Robert Ober) discovers his wife's affair with Morrill, he kills her in a fury. This wakes Alice up to what is really going on, and she and Fred reconcile. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Long before becoming the talkie era's foremost screen sourpuss, Ned Sparks was seen as a double-dyed villain in such films as Money Talks. Sparks is cast as Lucius Fenton, a vicious rum-runner who meets his Waterloo in the form of go-getting advertising man Sam Starling (Owen Moore). Hoping to stir up business in a run-down resort, Sam converts the property into a health spa. He hires a charter boat to deliver customers to the spa, little suspecting that the boat's captain -- Lucius Fenton -- is using the job as a cover for his own crooked activities. When Fenton hijacks the boat with Sam's estranged wife Phoebe (Claire Windsor) as hostage, our hero races to the rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide