Betty Bouton Movies

This is a rather confusing silent Western melodrama in which Jack Mills (Buck Jones) comes to the aid of a friend, Bud Loupel (William Scott), who has robbed a bank to keep up his house payments. Idiotically, Jack helps his friend by holding up the very same bank, pretending to steal the money his friend had already taken. But Bud gets into a shooting fight with the bank president and, on his deathbed, confesses his guilt. Despite the far-fetched, downright silly plot, the trade magazine Variety claimed the film was "probably the best release Jones has had to date." Rhody Hathaway, the father of director Henry Hathaway, played the heroine's father. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This epic production was the last film that producer and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst produced for Paramount (after that, his production company, Cosmopolitan, went over to Goldwyn, which later merged with MGM). It was based on a novel by Vicenti Blasco Ibanez, who also wrote The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In addition to lavish sets by Joseph Urban, the cast and crew also filmed on-location in Paris and Monte Carlo. Russian Prince Lubimoff (Lionel Barrymore) thinks only of his wealth and his own gratification. After fighting a duel, he has to flee from the ire of the Czar, and Duchess Alicia (Alma Rubens) helps him to get out of the country. While he is staying at his villa in Monte Carlo, World War I breaks out, but neither he nor his associates even consider going to fight. Lubimoff, who won't even acknowledge that he is in love with Alicia, is incensed when he finds her embracing a young man. Without realizing that it is her 16-year-old son, Lubimoff and his friends form a group called "Enemies of Women." Because of the war, the feudal estates are lost, and Alicia's son dies just before he is about to enter into a duel. Lubimoff, who has finally realized that the world does not revolve around him, goes to fight and uses the money he has left to help the downtrodden. On the front lines, he meets Alicia, who has become a Red Cross nurse, and they are united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Joseph C. Lincoln was a popular writer of the day who specialized in stories about life in Cape Cod, and this romantic drama is based on his book, The Rise of Roscoe Paine. Although Irene Castle gets star billing, the original title hints that most of the action centers around Ward Crane's character. The Coltons (Howard Truesdale and Emily Fitzroy) move to a small fishing village called Ostable, with their debutante daughter, Mabel (Castle) in tow. Mabel becomes intrigued by Roscoe Paine (Crane), a wealthy young idler who owns a strip of land that Colton wants to buy to please his wife. But Paine refuses to sell until finally one of his friends need the money. In spite of his apparent indifference, Mabel manages to infuse some ambition into Paine, who helps save her father from being ruined on Wall Street by a rival financier. Paine is rewarded with a good position at Colton's offices, and by winning Mabel's hand. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide