Freeman Wood Movies

Feeling stifled by her wealthy existence, flighty heiress Kay (Joan Crawford) falls in love with poor archaeologist Terry (Brian Aherne). The couple seems happiest when they're yelling at one another, indicating perhaps that screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz was none too fond of either character. Anyway, Terry decides that a marriage to Kay would be a big mistake, so he talks her into jilting him at the altar, thereby making a public declaration that their romance is through. But Kay "double-crosses" Terry by showing up at the wedding anyway, allowing the couple to live scrappily ever after. It's hard to tell if this is supposed to be a rip-off of It Happened One Night, but it sure plays that way in the first few reels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this romance, an impoverished Viennese aristocrat becomes a gigolo. While on the job, he encounters a Yankee widow who is terribly impressed by titled men. They get involved and she helps him start afresh. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Silent screen sweetheart Corinne Griffith, who originally wanted to retire when talkies came in, proved the wisdom of her earlier decision when she starred in the clunky musical drama Lilies of the Field. Griffith is cast as Mildred Harker, who loses custody of her child in a messy divorce settlement. Leaving her hometown in disgrace, Mildred heads to New York, where after a crash course in the school of hard knocks she joins the chorus of a Ziegfeld-like musical revue. Now a full-fledged gold-digger, she enjoys the favors of backstage johnnies and elderly sugar daddies, but finally finds true love in the form of Park Avenue socialite Ted Willing (Ralph Forbes). Alas, Mildred is damaged goods, and soon she's back in the gutter whence she came. A remake of a 1924 silent film which also starred Corinne Griffith, Lilies of the Field is distinguished by a bizarre musical number in which the star is dressed (just barely) as an art-deco automobile hood ornament! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Amidst the furor of the Civil War a courageous Union captain, nursing a broken heart, volunteers for spy duty. Masquerading as a Confederate sympathizer who has obtained important Union plans, he eventually lands at the plantation of home of a southern belle with whom he falls in love. Her love for him proves problematic because part of his duty is to get arrested so he can slip the bogus plans to the Confederate army. Unfortuantely, every time he is about to be arrested, the belle intervenes and gets him released. After finally escaping her influence long enough to complete his mission, he is captured and sentenced to stand before a firing squad. But is this end or will salvation again come in the nick of time? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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, Rovi

Despite the creative input of producer David O. Selznick and director William A. Wellman, Chinatown Nights was just so much chop suey. In her first (and last) talking-picture appearance, silent screen queen Florence Vidor plays Joan Fry, a San Francisco socialite who ruins her reputation when she falls in love with Chinatown gang boss Chuck Riley (Wallace Beery). When she fails to convince Chuck to quit the rackets, the couple splits up. Unable to return to her own social class, unlucky Joan ends up as a streetwalker (albeit a very glamorous one!) Realizing that he is responsible for the girl's present sorry state, Chuck promises to reform, and together he and Joan leave Frisco to start life anew. In later years, the long-retired Florence Vidor described Chinatown Nights as "absurd," citing producer Selznick's decision to team her with the rough-hewn Wallace Beery as its biggest absurdity. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director William Wellman's follow-up to Wings was based in part on his own WWI experiences with the Lafayette Flying Corps. Four young men from various walks of life sign up for the French escadrille known as "The Legion of the Condemned." In essence, all four are running away -- from the law, from love, from themselves. Whenever a suicide mission comes up, the four men draw cards to see who will fly off to near-certain doom. With his best friend Byron Dashwood (Barry Norton) already haven died in combat, Gale Price (Gary Cooper) waxes fatalistic when he draws the high card next time around. As he prepares to drop a spy behind enemy lines, Gale flashes back to the events leading up to this moment -- specifically, to his ill-fated romance with Christine Charteris (Fay Wray), whom he has been led to believe is a German spy. Returning to the present, Gale discovers that his passenger is Christine, who is actually an operative in the French secret service. Before explanations can be exchanged, Gale is obliged to fly Christine to her rendezvous point. She is arrested as a spy and sentenced to be executed but is saved when the firing squad is decimated by a bombing raid, paving the way for a tender reunion with Gale. The screenplay for Legion of the Condemned was written by Wellman and his Wings collaborator John Monk Saunders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After losing a fistfight to his romantic rival Freeman Wood, wastrelly Warner Baxter skulks off to the North Woods. Hoping to redeem himself in the eyes of his sweetheart Sharon Lynn, Baxter signs on as an apprentice to he-man trapper Raoul Paoli. In time-honored Charles Atles fashion, Baxter later has an opportunity to settle accounts with Wood. Oh, and he wins the girl, too. The Coward was produced by FBO, the scrappy little studio that later matriculated into RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Caught in a heavy rainstorm without a car, Edward Everett Horton purchases a dilapidated taxicab so that he can get his girlfriend Marion Nixon home safely. The couple arrives at a rustic church, where Nixon impishly talks Horton into getting married. But before the ceremony concludes, the police arrive; it turns out that Horton had bought the taxi from a gang of crooks who'd stolen the vehicle. Making matters worse, Nixon's guardian shows up, angrily demanding Horton's hide. The couple dashes out of the church, with the cops and the guardian in hot pursuit -- though they manage to circle the building often enough for the preacher to pronounce them husband and wife. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally, Louise Brooks was only supposed to have a supporting role in this comedy-drama starring Adolphe Menjou. Partway through filming, however, Menjou's co-star Greta Nissen dropped out and Brooks' role was rewritten and expanded. It was only her third film. Menjou is Max Haber, a barber in a small town who works at the shop belonging to his father (a surprisingly unslapstick-y Chester Conklin). His sweetheart is Kitty Laverne, an ambitious manicurist (Brooks). She goes to New York in hopes that Max will follow. He does, and he manages to land a job at a big New York barber shop. Mrs. Jackson-Greer (Josephine Drake) convinces Max to pose as a French Count, and he is pursued by April King, a title-seeking young woman (Elsie Lawson). Eventually Max's fakery is unmasked and he happily returns to his small town, followed by Kitty. Unfortunately, no copies of this film seem to exist -- the last known print was lost in a fire at the Cinematheque Francais. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi

Pauline Frederick plays the title role in this cinemadaptation of Kathleen Norris' novel Josselyn's Wife. Jilted by her artist lover Pierre Marchand (Armand Kaliz), heroine Lillian (Pauline Frederick) marries Thomas Josselyn (Holmes Herbert) on the rebound. Though she loves her husband, Lillian has never quite gotten over Pierre, and when her ex-sweetheart returns to the U.S. in the company of his new wife Ellen (Josephine Hill), Lillian is tempted to succumb to the charms of the flirtatious artist. She even offers to pose for him at his studio -- but when he tries to seduce her, she indignantly knocks him down and stalks out. Later on, Pierre is found murdered, whereupon Lillian, believing that she is responsible for his death, confesses to the crime. But during the emotion-charged courtroom finale, the truth is revealed, and Lillian and Josselyn are happily reconciled. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This drama (adapted from the play by Gerald du Maurier and Viola Tree) was typical for its era: a jazz baby parties up a storm and pays the price for her sins. Tony (George O'Brien) and Una (Madge Bellamy) are childhood sweethearts who promise to marry when they grow up. Tony travels to South America, where he opens up a successful saloon and dance hall. One of the dancers, Maxine (Alma Rubens), falls in love with him, but he remains true to Una. Una, however, has immersed herself in a round of wild parties and she totally forgets Tony. She allows one of her admirers, Evan Carruthers (Freeman Wood), to take advantage of her. Tony becomes very wealthy upon his uncle's death, and he returns home to settle his affairs and marry Una. Although Una's aunt insists that she keep her affair with Evan a secret, Una's guilt is overwhelming. Finally, as they are about to be married, she confesses all to Tony. He forgives her, but she takes poison and dies anyhow. Tony returns to South America and weds Maxine. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi